4 Steps for Benefiting from the 2% Economical Growth of 2017-2018

Since the worldwide financial crisis of 2008, most developed economies have struggled with growth. Between 2017 and 2018, however, growth in the United States is expected to return to two percent per year, representing a substantially higher rate than recent averages. 

Here are four things you should be doing to financially benefit from faster growth in the US economy.

Purchase a House

If you are still renting your home or apartment, you’re gradually pouring money into an asset owned by someone else. A much better move, regardless of the economic climate, is to purchase a home of your own. In this time of faster growth, however, the benefits are magnified. 



Since rents and property values both tend to increase during growth periods, buying a house will help you save money while building equity. If you are in a position to purchase luxury property, the benefits are greater still, owing to higher values.

Explore New Job Opportunities

When economies grow, so do businesses, which means that companies need to bring on extra staff. At the moment, unemployment is low and the labor market is tight, leading to a large buildup of available jobs. 

This is the perfect climate in which to look into new job opportunities, especially if you have high-demand skills.

Get Serious About Investing

If you haven’t built a serious investment portfolio already, now is the time to get around to it. As the economy grows, share prices typically rise, meaning gains for people who have already bought and higher prices for those who haven’t. 

Putting your money into solid investments now will allow you to capitalize on higher growth rates. If you’re new to investing, consider putting your money into an index fund that will track the movements of a major stock index, such as the S&P 500.

Pay Your Debts

Because it brings the possibility of higher earnings and more job security, a period of economic growth is a perfect time to pay down old debts. 

Ridding yourself of debt is one of the key steps to ensuring your own financial stability. Take advantage of the boom to eliminate debt payments and put yourself on better financial footing going forward.

Wherever your financial life is now, you should be positioning yourself to benefit from the two percent growth projected for 2017 and 2018. If you play your cards right, you’ll be able to improve your finances and let your wealth grow with the American economy.

Not a Bad Start to 2013 for UK's Economy

There is understandably cause for concern across the land. The last few years have not been excessively kind to our local economy, which is partly understandable. We are so interconnected with the rest of the world, that problems halfway across the globe will still have an impact on us. With major countries such as the United States and the entire Eurozone having had a wide variety of problems in recent years, our ability to trade with them effectively has diminished. Fortunately, the United States is beginning a small but important rebound, but the Eurozone continues to be stuck in neutral.

Actually, it's worse than neutral. According to recently published reports, the overall economies in the Eurozone have contracted for three consecutive quarters. It only takes two consecutive quarters for the trend to be deemed a recession. So, unfortunately, we can now say that the Eurozone is officially in a recession. Not that that is surprising news to anyone who tries to export products made in the UK across the Channel. Several of the major countries, such as Spain and Italy are going through economic convulsions and demand has dropped off significantly. Now, even Germany and France are beginning to go backwards, which does not bode well for anybody.

A Lukewarm Economic Spring

Fortunately England doesn't count only on Europe for its economic survival. There is a robust internal market, as well as a long-standing relationship with the United States and even parts of the Pacific Rim. As a result, despite the problems that Europe is struggling with, the UK can expect a slight, but important economic growth pattern in 2013. Granted, there are many variables at this time which could affect the ultimate outcome substantially. If conditions in Europe worsen, which is not completely out of the question, it could have a negative impact on the UK. If the modest economic recovery that United States is enjoying should stall, that too would have serious consequences for our local economy.

Looking For Viable Markets

Many experts in the UK are also counting on the Pacific Rim region to boost exports from the UK. This is a somewhat dangerous gambit, as China continues to grow at a snail’s pace, and Japan appears to actually be sliding into a recession itself. The UK cannot count on its own economy for growth unfortunately. With the average household spending power limited by an unemployment rate which is close to 8%, a lot of the retail spending that fueled the economy a decade ago just isn't there anymore, at least not for the moment.

Therefore, many experts feel that UK overall can expect a growth of only 1% this year. That does not leave a whole lot of margin for error, as described above. We can only hope that our trading partners are able to get their economic house in order, so that we may continue to prosper.

Chris Harlepp is a US-based lifestyle writer covering some of the latest trends in modern consumer habits and tendencies, such as researching how to sell your house fast. He writes on a freelance basis for many of the major lifestyle blogs.

Walmart Critics Get Second Opinion

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently we have read and heard a lot about Walmart and the employees concerned about the level of pay they earn. There has been talk about strikes and walking off the job. The nations constant dialogue on the state of Walmart, its employees, and lack of healthcare for it's workers has caused many to demonize this monster retail business.


Before you join the angry crowd that is criticizing Walmart, consider the interesting comments of Peter Suderman. He makes some interesting points about Walmart's effect on its employees and the country.

Who is Peter Suderman? 

Peter Suderman is a senior editor at Reason Magazine and Reason.com, where he writes regularly on health care, the federal budget, tech policy, and pop culture. He is also a film critic forThe Washington Times and a 2010 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.

Here is his Twitter feed on Saturday :