Since the financial crisis of 2007, the stock market has gone up by 260% from its price low in 2009.
Have you participated in this increase?
Over any 20-year period of time, the U.S. stock market has gone up. This is one of the reasons why it is a favorable location to park long-term money.
But there is a sharp difference in stock market participation among two groups of people. Since 2007, those earning less than $30,000 a year dropped their stock market participation by 25%. In contrast, people earning over $75,000 a year maintained their stock market participation.
This participation gap, along with a rising stock market, partially explains why the wealth gap has been increasing since 2008. Is your stock market participation moving you toward the wealthier group or poorer group? The stock market is not the best place for everyone’s money, but you need to have money invested in some vehicle that returns far more than a current bank savings account; so where is your money working?