SoFi Blog

So far the world is living up to the hype of a post-election economic expansion. Economies are large, inertial systems and there is little doubt that the seeds of the current uptick in activity were laid several months ago. Regardless, the upward revisions in expected growth and inflation after the election of Donald Trump continue to be vindicated as the data fits the narrative. We are beginning to hear more about increased uncertainty surrounding Trump’s economic policies but our experience is that economic forecasters always view the world as “unusually” uncertain.

For many Americans, the beginning of a new year is a time for self-reflection and personal goal-setting — losing those holiday pounds, learning a new language, or maybe getting to a better place with their finances.

As a personal finance company devoted to helping a new generation achieve prosperity, we decided we’d dive into the financial aspect of these resolutions, especially among younger Americans. We also wanted to see how recent events might have shaped those resolutions. So we surveyed more than 500 college-educated Americans ages 25-34 — the older cohort of U.S. Millennials — to find out their attitudes on a variety of forward-looking finance topics.

With markets quiet heading into year-end, it seems a good time to set out what we will look for in 2017. No one knows the future, but we can prepare for developments that are likely to drive markets over the next year.

U.S. Equity markets were down slightly last week, shrugging off a bond market selloff in China, increased geopolitical uncertainty, and the expected increase in the federal funds rate. Ten-year Treasury yields were higher on the week and the dollar continued to rally against the euro and yen, hurting dollar returns in global equity indices.

December is the time of year to reflect on your personal and professional goals of the past 12 months, and make resolutions. But don’t forget to look ahead financially. The actions you take in the next couple of weeks can save you a good chunk of change in 2017. Consider these four money moves before you ring in the new year.