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Summer Reflections
The pandemic has provided many a time of self-reflection. A time to take a moment to drill down to what is really important to each of us. For many, there has been a reawakening of what they value most and so often this may be family, friends, and community.

Over the last few months, people have been emerging out of Covid fatigue to reconnect with friends and family. Those projects that had been put on hold may be getting dusted off and revisited. Do you need help completing them? One interesting concept to help out neighbors in your community or to request help yourself is something called the Care and Share TimeBank. It is an organized way to swap favors within your local community. What a cool idea on these hot days! Swapping favors with neighbors is nothing new, but this group has created a way to do it efficiently. Check out their website at www.hourworld.org and select your local city. If there isn’t one in your community, create one if you think it would be beneficial.

• HAPPENING AT AFP •

  • Covid Policy Update – Given the current surge in the Delta variant of Covid-19, we will be adhering to the CDC guidelines as they evolve. We are starting to see clients in the office again, we are fully vaccinated and currently unmasked. If it is recommended that we reverse this policy of having clients in the office, we will let you know. We kindly ask that you continue to use our Zoom virtual meeting options if you are not yet fully vaccinated or not comfortable meeting in person.

  • Office Refresh – In anticipation that we could begin to have in-person meetings again, we have been sprucing up the conference room! We have new chairs (no more worries of falling over), a larger monitor and a new rug! Can't wait to see you soon. 
  • Website Revamp -   Over the last year we have been working toward a better explanation of our services in written form and how to communicate these changes on our website. Our newly revised website was launched this past Saturday and we hope you will give it a test drive. We added a new tab called Client Center that provides "How To" videos as well. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! You can find it at www.AlexanderFinancialPlanning.com.
FYI

  • Orion Portal Reminder - If you cannot access your Orion Portal, contact Tracey to request a password reset. The Orion Portal requires a password reset every 4 months (120 days) and becomes Inactive after 8 months (240 days).
• THIS MONTH'S BLOG •
Click below to read our July 2021 Blog edition.


We would enjoy receiving your feedback on our Blog. Please share any comments or suggestions for future topics with us via email.

• ON A PERSONAL NOTE •
+ Teri's World
If there is a way to pack a year into a month, July sure has felt that way. We did our traditional black raspberry picking at the beginning of July. We had an enjoyable time seeing Dublin's 4th of July fireworks on the 3rd only to be followed by a call that evening from my daughter that her water had broken. Grandbaby #4 decided it was time to enter the world a good month and a half early, but the doctors wanted to hold off as long as possible. Given the fact that Jen was on bedrest at Riverside Hospital and the protocol is no visitors, we were in a wait and see period. Gene and I decided to go on our one week planned vacation to Glacier National Park at the urging of family. Part of the way through our trip, complications arose so Jen had a C-section and Elliot made his debut! He was in the NICU for a little over a week before he came home. Still weighing around 4 lbs., he is making strides every day. My daughter has had some issues as well and thought she should just change her address to Riverside Hospital. I am happy to say we haven't been there for almost a week now. Just a lot of doctor visits for the next few weeks. Family is invaluable in these unexpected times and everyone chipped in to make this work as best as possible. It was also wonderful to experience one of our National Parks for a short while. It is so majestic and such a treasure. I continue to chip in where needed as my daughter's family navigates this somewhat challenging time in their lives.
+ What about Bob
After our June trip to Greece, it has been a wonderfully quiet July! We’ve been able to catch up on those super fun activities like weeding, mulching, grass cutting, and laundry. I can’t believe how many weeds there are and how big some of them have gotten in such a short amount of time.

Layla has been to several volleyball camps this month and has really enjoyed all of them. When she hasn’t been at volleyball camps there have been numerous overnight stays with her girlfriends’. There are just a few short weeks left in her summer break and she isn’t quite as excited about going back to school as Christine and I are.

Grandson update –

Logan has mastered his balance bike is very close to riding his 2-wheel bike without training wheels. He just needs to learn how to use the brakes on his 2-wheeler. 

Lowell continues to grow and pack on the pounds and has the rolls to prove it. He is so alert and just has to know what’s going on around him all the time. He is such a happy and easygoing boy too!
+ Tracey's Time
We managed to get away for another week in July to complete our mission. We have now been on all of the Great Lakes!

We spent the week camping in Marblehead on Lake Erie. We visited South Bass Island and spent one day exploring the island by golf cart. Other days we kept busy fishing and golfing.

We found the Liberty Aviation Museum which houses a wonderful collection of airplanes and military vehicles. A Ford Trimotor plane is being restored by volunteers in an onsite hangar and you can see the progress up close. We missed an opportunity to ride in a Trimotor plane by just one day! The museum also chronicles the history and importance of planes for 20th century inhabitants on the local islands.

We capped the week off with a weekend stop in Apple Valley Ohio to visit dear friends .
• POINTS OF REFERENCE •
Current Economic and Investment Information
HAVE A BETTER IDEA? - 54% of young adults ages 18-24 surveyed in June 2021 have a negative view of capitalism (source: SurveyMonkey).   

WONDER WHY? - Despite an increase in the price of oil in 2021, the production of crude oil is relatively flat this year. Crude oil was $48.52 a barrel as of 12/31/20, increasing to $71.81 a barrel as of Friday 7/16/21. The US field production of crude oil was 11.0 million barrels a day as of 1/01/21, up to 11.4 million barrels a day as of Friday 7/09/21 (source: Department of Energy).

WHAT’S YOUR HOME DONE? - The average single-family home in the USA has appreciated +15.7% over the 1-year ending 4/30/21, up +7.9% per year over the last 5-years, up +6.4% per year over the last 10-years, and up +4.1% per year over the last 20-years (source: Federal Housing Finance Agency).

MORATORIUM IS ENDING - Banks repossessed just 9,730 homes during the first 6 months of 2021, down from 37,917 bank repossessions completed in the first half of 2020. Homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages have benefited from the foreclosure moratorium on federally backed homes loans that is in effect until 7/31/21. No moratorium was in place during the first half of 2010 when banks repossessed 527,906 homes during the global mortgage crisis (source: ATTOM Data Solutions).

ONLY ONCE - Inflation, using the “Consumer Price Index” (CPI) as the measurement, was up +5.4% on a trailing 1-year basis as of 6/30/21. In the last 30 years, there was only 1 month when trailing 1-year inflation was greater than +5.4%. Inflation was up +5.6% for the 1-year ending 7/31/08 (source: Department of Labor).

OFFICE SPACE - 73% of Fortune 500 CEOs surveyed in May 2021 say their firms will need less office space in the future than they required in 2019 before the pandemic occurred (source: Fortune).

BIG SKY BENEFIT - The state of Montana has been paying a $1,200 “Return-to-Work Bonus” since 5/04/21 to jobless individuals who were receiving unemployment benefits, and then went back to work for at least 4 weeks (source: Montana.gov).

LOTS OF PEOPLE NEED HELP - Medicare covers 61.2 million Americans, while Medicaid covers 73.8 million low-income Americans (source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

END OF LIFE - More Americans died in 2020 (3.381 million) than in any year in US history (source: National Center for Health Statistics).

HOSPITAL PRICE TRANSPARENCY RULE - Since 1/01/21, US hospitals are required by law to post on their websites the prices of approximately 300 common services they provide, i.e., the cost actually paid by patients or by the insurance companies that provide coverage for patients (source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid).
The World's Population by Age Group

By Carmen Ang
Visual Capitalist
An aging population can have far-reaching consequences on a country’s economy.

With this in mind, today’s graphic looks at the age composition of the global population in 2020, based on the latest figures from the United Nations.

Click here to read this article.

• TIMELY TOPICS •
LIFE EXPECTANCY
Covid continues to impact us in ways unimaginable. This article points out one of those impacts and intern, on financial planning projections as well.
U.S. Life Expectancy Drops Sharply

By Betsy McKay
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Life expectancy in the U.S. fell by 1.5 years in 2020, the biggest decline since at least World War II, as the Covid-19 pandemic killed hundreds of thousands and exacerbated crises in drug overdoses, homicides and some chronic diseases.

Provisional data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that American life expectancy dropped to 77.3 years in 2020, roughly the same level as in 2003, erasing years of hard-won gains in the nation’s public health. It was the largest single-year decline recorded since 1943. It isn’t entirely clear what caused the drop that year, when the U.S. was fighting World War II.

Click here to continue reading this article.
BOND YIELDS
The 10-year U.S. Treasury is getting a lot of attention lately. So what's the buzz all about? In many ways it is a barometer of sorts reflecting the health of our economy. This is often in reference to or in relationship to other interest sensitive securities and inflation. Sam Goldfarb's article does a great job explaining not only the relationship between yields on bonds to inflation, but why it matters.
Bond Rally Undercuts Inflation Fears

By Sam Goldfarb
Source: The Wall Street Journal
The monthslong decline in bond yields exemplifies investors’ belief that inflation likely isn’t the biggest problem facing the U.S. and global economy.

Monday’s sharp selloff in major U.S. stock indexes highlighted investors’ mounting concern that the biggest risk to markets right now is underwhelming growth, rather than the runaway price increases feared earlier in the year. At the same time, many investors think inflation readings may run hot for some period, then subside on their own or lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates and slow the economy.

Click here to continue reading this article.
• QUOTE •

Piglet asked Pooh, “What is the bravest thing
you ever said?”

"HELP", said Pooh.

- A.A. Milne
Alexander Financial Planning
1621 W. First Avenue
Grandview Heights, OH 43212
614-538-1600

Registered Investment Advisor
This material is distributed by Alexander Financial Planning, Inc., (AFPI) and is for information purposes only. Although information has been obtained from sources to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy. It is provided with the understanding that no fiduciary relationship exists because of this report. Opinions expressed in this report are not necessarily the opinions of AFPI and are subject to change without notice. AFPI assumes no liability for the interpretation or use of this report. Financial planning, investment conclusions and strategies suggested in this report may not be suitable for all investors and consultation with a qualified advisor is recommended prior to executing any investment strategy. All rights reserved.