All posts by Financial Independence Hub

6 Recession-proof Careers for 2020 graduates

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By Sia Hasan

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

It seems safe to assume that 2020 has been considerably different than what you expected when you first started your higher education. Back then, your future may have seemed assured. Though things are more uncertain now, do not give up hope. There are still opportunities available to you.

Even if there were not a pandemic, chances are good that you would not have been able to acquire your dream job immediately upon graduating anyway, due to your lack of experience. While the economic fallout of COVID-19 is troubling in many ways, this may be an opportunity for you to pursue a new career option that you might not have thought of before, one that offers you more stability or teaches skills that you can transfer to your chosen field. Here are some of the top recession-proof career options for newly minted graduates:

1.) Attorney

If your dream is to become a Phoenix criminal defense lawyer or attorney in another practice area, there is no need to give that up. Granted, your career path may have to take some detours as the bar exam has been rescheduled in some states. Nevertheless, there will always be a need for people with in-depth knowledge of the law to represent the interests of ordinary citizens.

2.) Teacher and Teacher’s Aide

Even before the pandemic, traditional classroom education was adapting to new technologies that allow for distance learning. Nevertheless, someone will always have to be there to provide instruction to students, whether in person or online. Distance and on-demand learning offer advantages such as flexible scheduling to teachers as well as students. Granted, if you wish to pursue a nontraditional career path in education, you must make sure that not only your teaching credentials but your technological literacy levels are in impeccable order.

3.) Health Care Professional

The medical field encompasses a broad range of professionals, not only doctors and nurses but physicians assistants, lab technicians, physical therapists, and many more. There are also health care professionals not involved directly in patient care, such as administrative support staff and medical records technicians. All have a vital role to play in providing adequate health care while protecting patient safety.

Health care professionals will still be in high demand even after the pandemic eventually subsides. There is always a need for patients to receive treatment for medical conditions. Even before COVID-19, health care professionals were aggressively sought after. Physicians and other professionals belonging to the baby boom generation are nearing retirement age, and more providers are needed to care for boomers as they become more vulnerable to age-related disease and disability.

4.) Actuary

You might be surprised that financial services are in greater demand during an economic downturn. However, when one’s financial situation is less stable, it becomes more important to keep careful tabs on it. Continue Reading…

Less Coffee demand in the world, while Office Workers stay home

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Kyle Glen Unsplash

By Emma Williams

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Are you currently working from home? If so, have you noticed changes in your daily coffee consumption after your usual work schedule was placed on hold?

COVID-19 has changed many aspects of working individuals’ daily lives, including their coffee routines. Players in the coffee industry have been in survival mode as their creativity is needed more than ever to stay successful in today’s business landscape. Unfortunately, for those in the office coffee service industry, the pandemic is taking a significant toll, making it increasingly important to understand changes in consumer behavior.

The office coffee service industry is experiencing a 40 per cent revenue loss, which is the greatest setback in the industry’s history. The Freedonia Group, a market research organization, does not expect a recovery in the coffee service industry any time soon with the recent ongoing changes.

One example of a critical change is when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged employers to close off shared spaces and invest in single-serve items for their workers as opposed to communal items, such as coffee pots.

Closing offices and pushing workers to instead be productive from home furthers the shift in coffee consumption in the face of COVID-19. More than 90 per cent of people who are working remotely end up drinking homemade brewed coffee. Instead of drinking coffee at the office, consumers are now ordering coffee subscriptions and purchasing online more than ever. By selecting different blends and customizing their coffee subscriptions, they are attempting to achieve the “away from home” quality of the coffee.

U.S. office workers’ coffee usage during the lockdown

These direct-to-consumer sales completed through coffee subscription, mail-order sales, and delivery is the best way for companies to tap into new areas of growth in the office coffee service industry. Regular instant coffee will no longer satisfy coffee drinkers as they work from home. Compared to the February to March period, subscription sales were up by 109 per cent during the March to April period. Also, in comparison to March 2019, packaged coffee sales in the U.S. in March 2020 were up by 70 per cent. With a focus on at-home consumption, the negative impact will not be as detrimental because of the limited elasticity of coffee demand.

Emre Gencer Unsplash

During the pandemic, subscriptions have become increasingly popular. Many companies are seeing five times more daily subscription sign-ups now versus pre-COVID-19. They are also noticing increases in subscribers who log back on to repurchase bags of coffee that they enjoyed. Subscription growth is on the rise and continues to deliver above-market growth. These increases can be explained by the convenience subscriptions bring to coffee drinkers. By investing in options that can be delivered directly to consumers’ homes, busy workers can continue their coffee drinking routine.

The quality and convenience of direct-to-consumer sales are not the only reasons subscriptions are appealing during the lockdown: safety precautions play a major role too. Going out in public spaces during a pandemic feels risky and uncomfortable for many people. When people do go out, they prefer to spend as little time out as possible. Continue Reading…

8 investment hacks to become the next self-made millionaire

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By Lachlan Malone

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

It is the desire of many people to be rich but unfortunately, not everyone would be able to achieve that except those who take conscious steps to do so.

For one to become a self-made millionaire, it will require making certain sacrifices and conscious efforts in order to realize it. Granted that one can become a millionaire through inheritance or by winning a lottery, but it’s unlikely the majority of people will have such opportunities. Here are 8 ways through which you can successfully become a millionaire.

Always invest in You

The importance of investing in oneself has become a popular cliché but it can’t be overemphasized because it’s crucial in helping one to achieve other vital needs. When you fail to invest in yourself adequately, you stand the risk of losing all other investments you made elsewhere.

There are many ways through which you can invest in yourself, as listed below:

  • Invest in your mind; people often forget to invest in their minds but that could prove costly in the long run. You can invest in your mind by reading constantly. Aside from helping you gain more knowledge, reading will equally sharpen your brain and help to guard against deterioration. Another way is through meditation, which will help you to relax and focus.
  • Invest in your body; this is as important as investing in your mind. Neglecting your body can have disastrous consequences. Ways through which you can invest in your body include exercise, regular checkup, adequate sleep, eating healthy foods, avoiding bad habits like smoking, alcoholism etc.

Make a monthly Budget Plan

Basically, making a budget plan entails creating a practical analysis on how you hope to make your expenses. This plan will enable you to proactively decipher if you have the capacity to carry out certain projects or not. Through your budget plan, you can easily prioritize areas to spend more or less as well as tasks to do at the moment or in the near future.

A budget plan will help you to manage your resources efficiently and effectively, and equally help you to make the right choices. A good budget plan can ultimately help you to accumulate wealth.

Check your achievements today

In a fast paced world like ours today, people tend to be in a perpetual race in trying to pay the bills, meet work obligations, complete a course/program, earn more money, climb the ranks etc.; all these activities can occupy their time so much that they hardly sit back to take stock.

It’s important to make periodic assessments of your aims and objectives as well as to take stock of all the things you’ve achieved so far. You need to cut yourself some slack on how far you’ve gone and the achievements you’ve made while self-motivating yourself to continue climbing the ladder of success.

Find a right Business

The type of business you do could potentially make or mar your chances of becoming rich. Fact is some businesses are more profitable than others. Similarly, some businesses are more risk prone than others, and some are more demanding than others. Continue Reading…

The economy and stock markets making for strange bedfellows

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By Ian Riach and David Andrews, Franklin Templeton Canada

(Sponsor Content)

Equity markets that bear little resemblance to the wider economy has been one of the major investment stories of 2020. It has been an historic year, marked by some wild swings in stock valuations, and with the prospect of much more volatility to come. The U.S Presidential Election in November looms large on the horizon, not to mention the small matter of COVID-19.

The coronavirus has devastated the world economy; in its most recent forecast, the IMF predicted a global economic contraction of 4.9% for 2020. To put that number in perspective, such a downturn would represent the worst annual decline since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Equity markets tell a different story, and stocks have rallied strongly since the bear market lows of March this year. In fact, U.S. equities reached record highs with the S&P 500 up more than 21% on a one-year basis at the end of August.

This disparity has brought the relationship between stocks and the overall economy into sharp focus in 2020. While both the U.S. and Canada posted some positive job numbers in August, unemployment remains high (10.2% in Canada; 8.4% in the U.S.) and the stimulus measures that kept the economy afloat during the lockdown will not continue indefinitely. Then there is the virus itself to consider, particularly the threat of a second wave that is even more devastating than the first, which is what happened with the Spanish Flu of 1918–1920.

The economy is precarious

The economy is clearly in a quite precarious position and some areas (tourism, hospitality, air travel) could take years to recover, if at all. It does seem logical to presume that stock market performance and economic conditions should go hand in hand — economic growth resulting in higher corporate profits and in turn, higher share prices.

Often that is not the case, with a low, and sometimes even negative, correlation between stock market returns and GDP throughout history. Despite Donald Trump’s assertion that everything is fine when the stock market goes up, the stock market is not the economy.

Stock markets, represented by indices such as the S&P 500, are comprised of a very select group of firms that are publicly traded. Most indices are market cap weighted, which means larger firms have more of an impact on overall index movements — think of the FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) stocks and their influence this year.

The chart above displays just how influential large stocks can be on an index. Year to date, the S&P 500 has a positive return but only because of strong returns by the FAANG stocks. The ‘other 495 stocks’ have not fared nearly as well as the index would imply. It is clear that a few companies have benefitted from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, but most have not. Continue Reading…

8 financial benefits employers can use to attract good employees

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In today’s environment, great candidates are not just looking for a competitive salary. They want great benefits as well! With many companies offering unique perks like extended vacation days or flex time, it is important that you bring something to the table that stands out. Financial benefits are a great way to do just that! 

By rewarding employees with more than just disposable income, you are creating new opportunities for things that they find rewarding. To get a better understanding of how different companies implement financial benefits, we chatted with eight business leaders about their approaches. Check out their ideas below!

Signing Bonus

While offering a signing bonus isn’t a necessity, employees greatly appreciate it. This could give your new employee some extra cash to compensate for moving or for making up for the time in between jobs. It is a great way to say “welcome to the team!”  — Pete Newstrom, Arrowlift

Pension Matching 

To attract good employees, it is necessary to offer something competitive that other companies might not offer. Matching your employee’s 401(k) contributions up to a certain percentage is a great way to let the people that work for you know that you care about their future. — Chris Dunkin, Portable Air  Continue Reading…