African-American consumers spend $1.1 trillion a year. And as a consumer group, if it were a nation, would rank as the 16th wealthiest in the world. As consumers you can check the box. We have to unlock the economic and entrepreneurial power of black America.

In Raleigh-Durham NC area, people do the simple maneuver of converting your personal residence to a rental property. This maneuver brings with it many tax rules, mostly good when you know how they work

A Case For A Bull Market In 2020 What if the optimists are right? What if the glass is half full? Although no one can predict the next move in stocks, and you don’t want to bet your retirement on it, it’s not hard to see the case for a bull market in 2020 — even after a spectacular year for stocks in 2019. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index historically trades at a market multiple of 16 to 18 times its expected earnings. Put another way, the average share in the S&P 500 historically is priced at between 16 and 18 times every dollar of profit per share it’s expected to earn in the next year. Lately the price of the S&P 500 has been trading above the normal valuation band, at about 19 times expected earnings. Normally that would be a sign of overvaluation, but what if the market multiple continues to expand? The Standard & Poor’s 500 index historically trades at a market multiple of 16 to 18 times its expected earnings. Put another way, the average share in the S&P 500 historically is priced at between 16 and 18 times every dollar of profit per share it’s expected to earn in the next year. Lately the price of the S&P 500 has been trading above the normal valuation band, at about 19 times expected earnings. Normally that would be a sign of overvaluation, but what if the market multiple continues to expand? The latest economic data from The Conference Board on the leading economic indicators, the Census Bureau on housing starts, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis on real disposable income all confirmed The Wall Street Journal’s most recent consensus forecast of economists for an expected growth rate of just under 2% for the next five quarters and the S&P 500 index once again broke all-time high price records on the news. While you never make financial plans based on things going right, sometimes the glass indeed is half-full. Please contact us with any questions fulbrightteam@moneyful.com or to set up a meeting, and don't hesitate to share this video with people who might benefit from our work.

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Can You Spot The Hidden Trend? Can you spot the hidden trend? A major demographic trend that is driving the U.S. economy and financial markets is right here in front of your eyes, but it’s not so easy to see without a trained eye. If you knew what to look for, you’d see that China, Japan, Germany, and other major economies are grappling with a decline in their working-age population in the decades ahead, while the U.S. working-age population is expected to grow. Since growth in the size of the labor force is one of the two determinants in economic growth, it’s a key fundamental factor that will shape the future of financial markets. With the working age population stalling, Europe’s economic growth is sluggish. To stimulate the economy, Germany’s central bank has pushed lending rates into negative territory, which is unprecedented. Germany is the world’s second largest issuer of government-backed bonds and its action has depressed interest rates on U.S. Treasury Bonds. While the demographic trend is hidden in plain sight, it’s set to shape growth in major economies across the globe for the decades ahead, and it means low interest rate conditions could persist for years. No one can predict the next move in the stock market, but demographics are fairly stable and predictable. This is an important trend. Be sure your strategic investment plan — especially, your portfolio’s allocation to bonds — is in sync with this key fundamental. Please contact us with any questions fulbrightteam@moneyful.com or to set up a meeting, and don't hesitate to share this video with people who might benefit from our work.

Longest U.S. Expansion Keeps Rolling Third quarter economic growth was just revised upward, and the new monthly personal income figure over the last 12 months, after adjusting for inflation, accelerated sharply. This newly released data confirms that the 10-year-old expansion — already the longest in post-War history — is likely to continue at a modest sustainable pace in the months ahead. First, let’s look at the upward revision to gross domestic product. These are the four components of economic growth — consumers, business investment, exports net of imports, and state and local government spending. Every quarter, the government issues three estimates of the growth rate. The first estimate, released three weeks ago, was for a third-quarter growth rate of 1.93%. The new figure, 2.13%, is the first in a series of three revised estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis before the final third GDP figure for the quarter ended September 30th, will be released on January 10th. An upward revision of 10% is sizable, and most of it came from growth in the rate of business investment, hinting at a bottom in this key factor in the wealth of the nation. This new data confirmed that U.S. growth is being driven by consumer strength and low inflation.

Many people are drowning in debt. They must deal with this debt issue in order to move forward in quest to find financial freedom or to be able to have the choice of working or not. Consumer debt including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards & student loans has increased to over $13.51 trillion dollars in the US. You have to make tough decisions about your spending and possibly your income. The most important step is to take action vs hoping your debt will go away. Taking action will forward to financial freedom and avoid you having to experience the pain of hitting rock bottom. You may have to file bankruptcy in order to have the chance at financial freedom. In order to avoid bankruptcy, you must control your spending.

With stocks hovering around an all-time record high, a growing likelihood of a Federal income tax rate hike by 2021, and the deadline for end-of-year tax tactics closing in fast, this is a timely reminder to run a reality check on your retirement income plan. An unusual confluence of tax, financial-market and political factors make this a particularly good time for high-income and high net worth individuals to check their retirement income plan. Let’s get specific about current conditions: In 2019, the federal government is spending a trillion dollars more than it collected in revenue, and at the end of 2018, the national debt totaled $22 trillion Meanwhile, changing political winds could sweep in higher federal tax rates. Managing your tax bracket now — in case of a hike in federal income tax brackets — could lower your tax bill, not just for 2019 but in the year or two ahead, as well. Proactive tax planning before the end of 2019 may be especially timely for business owners with an interest in a pass-through entity, like an LLC, S corp, or sole proprietorship.