Tariff Trade Wars Making You Nuts? Financial Advisors Say Always Make These Money Moves
Written by
Jordan Rosenfeld
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Before President Donald Trump assumed the office for a second time in January 2025, few people had heard of tariffs. Now they’re a regular topic of conversation as Trump changes the amounts imposed on trading partners, timelines and even amount of the tariffs.
These tariff trade wars have had a direct impact on consumer prices as companies have begun to raise prices immediately to brace for their own costs going up.
Focusing on tariffs could drive anyone nuts; instead, financial experts offered money moves you should always prioritize, no matter what’s happening economically.
Retirement Savings
If retirement is not imminent, it can be easy to drop this as a priority. However, according to Steve Sexton, CEO of Sexton Advisory Group and a retirement planning professional, he likes to drive home a mantra that “financial freedom in retirement is a long-term accumulation event.”
This means consistently setting aside at least 10% of your earnings every month for your retirement investments, whether that is a 401(k), a Roth or Traditional IRA, mutual funds or other proven means of investing, he said.
“If you start young, the power of compound interest is on your side, and it is easy to build momentum with consistency.”
Budget in 3-Month Windows
Good financial habits don’t stop at investing, Sexton said. Being able to budget realistically for your lifestyle is also important to mastering your finances.
“If you haven’t already done so, a great way to start is to review three months of your most recent expenditures. From there, you can decide if anything needs to be eliminated or reduced, which will help you develop spending guardrails for the future,” he explained.
Without a budget, it’s difficult to know where your money is going, therefore making it difficult to save, invest and pay off debt effectively.
Handling Debt
Another financial priority is staying on top of debt, Sexton said. “Letting this go unmanaged can seriously jeopardize your financial health and future.”
Tackling high interest debts or loans with an interest rate of 7% or higher, should be high on your priority list. “If you don’t know where to start, the debt avalanche or snowball methods are effective ways to pay off debt systematically,” Sexton said.
Maintain an Emergency Fund
Though times seem economically challenging right now, Sexton pointed out this isn’t our first or last economic downturn. In other words, there’s always a need to prepare yourself for potential emergencies with a fully funded emergency fund.
“Beyond economic uncertainty, there’s no denying that life happens. You could lose your job, get into an accident or receive an unexpected medical diagnosis,” he pointed out.
Your emergency fund will help to soften the financial blow and hopefully prevent you from going into debt.
Prepare for Volatility
Whether its tariffs today, an economic downturn tomorrow or any other challenge, the people who can absorb price hikes and income drops are those who prepare for volatility, according to William “Bill” London, a business attorney and partner at Kimura London & White LLP.
“Give the highest importance to developing a pragmatic, flexible budget that caters to increasing expenditures on essentials such as food, fuel and imports,” London said.
Shop Domestic
London said that now is a good time to get into the habit of buying domestically made products as often as possible, too. While some of these will be more expensive, you can absorb these costs and position yourself for future hikes.
“By purchasing locally produced products, consumers are able to expect less price movement and more predictability in the event of a trade dispute.”
Review and Rebalance Investments
Investors should always have a financial advisor on deck to help ensure their portfolios are “adequately diversified” and “not excessively weighted” in areas that are most easily affected by stock market volatility, London said, such as international exports, manufacturing or technology.
Estate Planning
Much like retirement, estate planning is something that you might feel you can “save for later,” but Kevin Quinn, J.D., an estate planning attorney with Legacy Counsellors, P.C., recommended against waiting. “Don’t abandon your estate plan or stop the process of planning in the belief that estate taxes don’t matter anymore,” he said.
He said it’s not the laws in the immediate future that should concern you the most, anyway. “What matters is what the law is when you die. Power switches back and forth. In the next couple months and years, it is subject to change.”
He advises people to stay “diligent in your planning and don’t abandon your trust.”
Regardless of what’s happening to the economy, practical money moves like these can keep you safe no matter what happens.
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