Burnsville, MN

With inflation taking a bigger bite out of the family pocketbook in 2022, the holidays could be an especially stressful period this year. According to pwc’s 2022 Holiday Outlook survey, 35% of higher-income shoppers plan to spend more than they did last year — an average of $1,430 on gifts, travel and entertainment.

Are women and men different when it comes to their finances? What tends to drive financial decisions for women? How do they find the balance between saving, spending and planning for the future? Historically, much of the academic literature on gender differences has focused on the level of confidence in women. The data suggested that women lacked confidence about their money, while men “forged ahead.”

This has been a crazy year for the economy and markets, with inflation rising as the highest rate in 40 years. But as we advise our clients, you need to control what you can control and try to forget everything else. By sticking to a well-conceived plan, you remove a lot of market-related stress from your decision making. This quarter we’re focusing on tips for increasing your savings, planning for long-term care and giving to charity.

If an increase in your income results in an increase in your spending, you’re subject to lifestyle inflation or lifestyle “creep.” It tends to become greater every time you get a raise or higher paying job. On the surface, why should lifestyle creep be any cause for concern? After all, if you’re earning more, doesn’t that mean you have the means to spend more? Not exactly, for these three reasons:

Over the past several months, there have been many days when financial markets move up or down by 1% or 2%. This level of market volatility often attracts people who try to time the market — to guess when a new high or low is reached, and then to sell or buy stocks accordingly at those points.