Growing up in the late 80’s early 90’s I would sit with my grandpa, and he would tell me story after story of the Good Old Days – days that you would walk to school, play with friends till dusk, and trade baseball cards for bubble gum. Everything seemed a lot simpler back then and almost romanticized. Housing was affordable, cost of living was much less, and the day-to-day rat race wasn’t as heightened as today. I often wondered if I would ever be able to tell my kids stories of the Good Old Days as per my experiences. Now I can tell you I’ve seen gas prices at $0.29/litre, detached homes UNDER $400k, bought real cheeseburgers for 59 cents, and used a flip phone… I’m learning that each generation will get to experience their own version of the Good Old Days in this ever-changing economy.
Where does that leave us today? The volatility in the markets has added pressure to cost of living, interest rates, and inflation. The market as of today has been on quite the roller coaster, and unfortunately, it is not going the direction we were hoping for. Over the last year, the market has had one of the top 10 worst quarters in the history of the S&P 500… Yup, 2022 ranks #3, right behind the second quarter market crash of 2008.
