Why are people feeling so good about retirement?

The answer is a bit surprising. See the "Chart" section below.

?? Learn: Solid Q2 Earnings and Resilient Consumer Spending

Over 95% of S&P 500 companies have reported their Q2 earnings, and the results are solid. Earnings are up 8% year-over-year, with revenues rising 5.1%, and those numbers could get even better once all the data is in.

About 80% of companies beat their earnings-per-share estimates, which points to a stronger-than-expected quarter. This is not getting a lot of media attention.

For over a year we've been hearing market experts say that the U.S. consumer was running out of steam, contributing to negative investor sentiment.

But the latest retail sales data from July shows a different story. Sales were up 1% month-over-month, recovering from a slight dip in June.

Spending increased across most categories, with strong vehicle sales and rising purchases in grocery, electronics, and online retail.

The fears of a slowdown haven't materialized, and the gap between negative sentiment and positive fundamentals is widening—just the type of setup investors want to see.

The Bottom Line:

Looking ahead, S&P 500 earnings for 2024 are expected to grow by 8% on 1.8% higher revenues. Excluding the drag from the Energy sector, earnings for the rest of the index are expected to rise 9.6%.

But here's the key takeaway: these strong fundamentals aren’t yet reflected in market sentiment. In my view, the "wall of worry" is still up, and that’s often a bullish indicator for the months ahead.

?? Chart: Why are people feeling so good about retirement?

There is always so much doom and gloom about retirement. Headline after headline says people are going to run out of money.? Mainstream marketing loves to sell on fear. ?

Well, here is some good news. 74% of retirees are feeling financially comfortable in retirement.

The biggest surprise: Social Security accounts for a bigger share of retirement income than people originally thought.

People expected SS to be 35% of retirement income, but it’s 58%.??

I think this adds to the overall sense of financial comfort. 58% of your income is guaranteed every month.

Additionally, people thought 401k’s would be 50% of retirement income, but are only 29%.

Prior to the 401k Generation, retirement income was dominated by social security and pensions.

In retirement, nothing beats predictable, stable sources of income. This is what I call building offensive and defensive assets.

You can read more about this in the past issue of the newsletter.

?? Productivity: Take control of your life by moving from “task based” to “time based” strategies

The Time Sector System by Carl Pullein is about moving away from the standard to-do list.?

Running my own business, my to-do-list seemed to never end. I was never feeling like I got caught up.?

But, switching to a time-based system and coordinating tasks I need to do with blocks on my calendar I rapidly gained control over what I work on and when.

With this system, you very quickly learn how much you can reasonably do each day and coordinate this with a simple calendar system.?

This uses ToDoist and Carl has free templates and videos to show how to set up the system.

?? Concept: ?Portfolio Priorities

If you would like to learn more about how you can build your modern family dynasty and start becoming financially unbreakable visit this page.

?? Resources:

?? Videos on Financial Education and Free Guides: https://bit.ly/ModernFamlyDynasty1

“5 Secret Strategies Millionaires Use To 5x Their Wealth & Immediately Cut Their Taxes By 50%” get instant access in the Wealth For Life LinkedIn Group?— https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/5156642/

Want to brainstorm on financial topics? It’s great to have conversations!

Click here to schedule a chat via zoom: https://bit.ly/3JCGpCF

Thank you for?reading!