Adam Taggart | Thoughtful Money, Released on 1/28/24
According to the latest government data, the US economy is growing faster than expected, inflation is largely under control, jobs are plentiful and consumer households remain “resilient”. So from this perspective, times are good. But talk to real consumers and you hear a very different story. The cost of living is at crippling levels, forcing consumers to stop saving and put an increasing amount of their living costs on revolving credit — which currently charges record high APRs. Consumers looking for new jobs report the market is not nearly as hungry for workers as the government numbers suggest. Instead, hiring freezes and layoffs are prevalent. From their view, times are tight and getting tougher. Which story is the more accurate one? And should we expect things to get better or worse from here? For answers, we’re fortunate to turn to Danielle Park, president and portfolio manager for Venable Park Investment Counsel, Inc, where she manages millions for some of Canada’s wealthiest families. She’s also proprietor of the daily financial website JugglingDynamite.com
Portfolio Manager, attorney, finance author, a regular guest on North American media. Danielle Park is the author of the best selling myth-busting book “Juggling Dynamite: An insider’s wisdom on money management, markets and wealth that lasts,” as well as a popular daily financial blog: www.jugglingdynamite.com. Danielle worked as an attorney until 1997 when she was recruited to work for an international securities firm. A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), she now helps to manage millions for some of North America’s wealthiest families as a Portfolio Manager and analyst at the independent investment counsel firm she co-founded Venable Park Investment Counsel Inc. www.venablepark.com. Over the last decade, Danielle has been writing, speaking and educating industry professionals and investors on the risks and realities of financial behaviors. A member of the internationally recognized CFA Institute, Toronto Society of Financial Analysts, and the Law Society of Upper Canada. Danielle is also an avid health and fitness buff.
Adam Taggart is the Founder of Thoughtful Money. He is also Co-Founder and former President of Peak Prosperity. Adam is an experienced Silicon Valley internet executive and Stanford MBA. Prior to partnering with Chris Martenson (Adam was General Manager of our earlier site, ChrisMartenson.com), he was a Vice President at Yahoo!, a company he served for nine years. Before that, he did the ‘startup thing’ (mySimon.com, sold to CNET in 2001). As a fresh-faced graduate from Brown University in the early 1990s, Adam got a first-hand look at all that was broken with Wall Street as an investment banking analyst for Merrill Lynch. Most importantly, he’s a devoted husband and dad.