I’m not a doom and gloom podcaster as a general rule. There are plenty of those out there predicting the zombie apocalypse.

However, I have to say that I’m pretty sure I’ve been seeing some questionable zombiesque characters running around town lately.

It has occurred to me, however, that most people are not seeing what I am seeing. After all, the job markets are humming along just great and inflation, while still high, has decelerated.

If you are a high paid professional, you are cranking away at your day job and nothing really seems that much different because a little bump in the price of groceries isn’t a big deal to you.

In fact, you might be irritated that your investments haven’t been performing well and wonder why. 

But from where I am seated, I have to tell you, it’s kind of scary out there. The investment real estate market is in turmoil and there is significant amount of distress because of the steepest increase in interest rates in American history over the last year.

Real estate syndicators like me are all chanting the same mantra across the board, “stay alive until 25”.

The office sector of real estate is already bathing in blood. The majority of that debt is held by small regional banks. It is hard for me to believe that we won’t have further bank failures.

And it looks like we are about to have another war in the Middle East. What do you think that’s going to do to energy prices?

Guys…it’s kind of scary out there. Pay attention. 2024 is likely to be a very tough year and there will be pain. And the global economy is not the fault of one person or a single company so stop pointing fingers.

Now there is a silver lining to this all. As much as these transitional periods cause pain, they are also opportunities. Everyone successful says the same thing. Those who can overcome their own fear and can act rationally during this time will be in for the best investing years of their life. 

In the meantime, take the time to make sure you’ve taken care of housekeeping items. Make sure your asset protection is in place. Make sure your estate planning is done and that you have adequate life insurance coverage. Do the mundane things that have to be done for proper personal finance plans.

Tax planning is part of that. And, if you haven’t really sat down and thought about how to mitigate your own tax liability, you should do that now.

My guest on Wealth Formula Podcast this week, Tom Wheelwright, is the smartest tax professional I know. Make sure to tune in to our discussion about taxes and his 5 decades worth of perspective on today’s global economy. 

Buck