" People make very poor life - change decision during chaos like this . I saw it happen in 2001 , I image it happen in 2008 , I saw it happen in 2020 . you’re able to literally be yourself trillion of dollars if you make a panic decision . "
Last week, President Trumpannouncedblanket tariffs on imported goods from over 180 countries around the world.
What does this news mean for you and me? Last week, I spoke withan economic analystabout how the tariffs are likely to pan out, and the tl;dr is “not great.” So, this week, I reached out to personal finance expertRamit Sethito get his advice for surviving a bad economy.
Here’s what we talked about:
1.First, Ramit said that the tariffs will impact middle-class and poor Americans far more than wealthier people.
2.Declining 401(k) balances and retirement worries are dominating headlines, but Ramit cautions against taking drastic action right now, especially if you’re still decades away from retirement age.
3.Instead, he says your number one financial priority right now should be beefing up your emergency fund.
4.If you, likea lot of Americans, don’t have much in savings at the moment (much less a fully-stocked emergency fund that could cover your basic living expenses for a full year), Ramit offered a five-step plan for socking away cash.
5.If you’re torn between paying off debt and building your savings, Ramit explained that paying it all off could come back to bite you in the ass if you don’t also have an emergency fund you can draw on.
6.To make your savings do the most work for you, Ramit advises keeping your emergency fund in a very specific type of savings account that offers higher-than-average interest rates.
7.Finally, Ramit gave his take on one of the most common questions people have been asking him about the tariffs.
You can follow Ramit onInstagram.
