Author: Kivo Daily Staff

2022 has been welcomed with a surge in inflation that hasn’t occurred since the 1980s.  Prices have risen everywhere, including gasoline, food, and energy.  Inflation, which is calculated based on a basket of economic indicators that are established by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is a trend that will continue to affect our economy for the time being. 

Nonetheless, a 6.3% increase in food prices costs an average U.S. household $24 more per month, something that is also happening for other goods and services.  Investors usually look towards real estate as a hedge against inflation because property values surge during inflation as rental income rises and mortgage rates stay fixed.  However, new homeowners feel the negative impact of inflation as many regions in the U.S. face underbuilding issues.  The housing unit gap has risen to 5.5 million in just 20 years even though more people are looking for homes as November 2021 saw more than 6 million homes sold, a level that hasn’t been reached since 2006. 

The pandemic causing a supply and demand crisis is playing a big part in driving inflation rates.  The pandemic has led to global production shutdowns that resulted in the lowest housing inventory in the U.S. in 2021.  In fact, home inventories were only able to provide 4.4 months of home sales and one month of car sales in the summer of 2021, which was about one month’s worth of sales less for both the car and home industries compared to pre-pandemic times.

The real estate/housing industry also saw significant changes in construction material costs as supplies decrease.  As prices for materials such as lumber and steel increase, so does the cost of the overall construction process, which is 35% to 60% impacted by the building materials.  Policy decisions such as putting tariffs and quotas on steel and aluminum further aggravate the situation while the industry continues to face rising labor costs.   

The pandemic has also caused concerns that have led consumers to focus their money more on goods instead of services as federal stimulus checks help boost consumer spending.  Consumer spending actually rose to 21.7% for goods and 2.8% for services by September 2021.  The poorly balanced supply and demand during the pandemic has led to major inflation rates for commodities (8.4%) and services (3.2%). 

Many are starting to view inflation trends as no longer being “transitory.”  This means that people could expect inflation to persist for a while and cause the Federal Reserve System to raise interest rates in 2022 and 2023.  If the impacts of the pandemic are able to decline, demand for goods and services will stabilize, which will help supply chains relax and production to gradually recover. Although certain policy decisions could decrease material costs, lumber prices are still climbing, meaning that building costs will probably remain high. 

The future of the housing market is still uncertain, but inflation coupled with the pandemic-induced supply chain problems could mean that home sales could increase by 6.6% while appreciation rises by 2.9% with the caveats of decreasing home inventory and rising interest rates dampening demand.  Nonetheless, real estate investments in areas such as commercial real estate and trusts as well as the metaverse provide a safe bet to hedge against inflation.  

Who knows? Inflation could possibly be your next step in combating the inflation crisis.

Regardless of how much success one has accumulated in their professional career, their background will always determine how one interacts among their peers. Cassandra Smith is an entrepreneur and the founder of Blanks Galore, one of the most successful companies in the sublimation business. While it is often difficult for one to make the waves in the industry, the entrepreneur has proven to be an anomaly with consistent growth in her endeavors. Rather than keep the secrets to success for herself, Cassandra has been using her platform to share her knowledge with others.

Born and raised in McRae, Georgia, Cassandra Smith is one of seven children in a single-parent household who watched her mother work hard enough to bring food to the table. Cassandra’s mother’s hardworking example planted something in her mind that she would later cultivate to start and grow her brand. By adulthood, Cassandra moved to Atlanta to begin an entrepreneurial career and she knew she’d see success.

Although Blanks Galore has become a successful establishment today, the entrepreneur was not without some hardships along the way. Two years ago, Cassandra was homeless, running into many closed doors along the way.

“When I began my journey, I looked for ways to learn and grow my business, but I was met with so many challenges just to get information,” she explained. “That left me discouraged but unfettered, stressed but not hopeless, and even resulted in me making avoidable mistakes along the way. But I learned from them and persevered.”

When Cassandra started to crack the code, she knew that she wanted to create an easier path for others like her who weren’t just looking for a handout but were looking for a helping hand to lead them the right way. So, with a gap in the market, Blanks Galore has been excelling, and Cassandra Smith has curated a top-class team of experts in every area of business that will hold her students by the hand and help them reach their goal, turning their hobby into a profit.

Through Banks Galore, the entrepreneur has been teaching other creative entrepreneurs how to start their own business, providing them with the necessary tools to emulate similar success. Her branded BG Sublimation Paper, Sublimation Blanks, and her hands-on and virtual sublimation classes are among her tools. 

While Blanks Galore has been influential, Cassandra also had reservations about sharing her knowledge. Business owners are most likely afraid to share their knowledge and resources with people who might utilize their business and become their competitors. The entrepreneur shared the same concerns, but in her experience, Blanks Galore ended up growing even more.

“My biggest revelation was that collaboration over competition is the way to go,” she shared. Cassandra leads by providing value and free gems to make an immediate positive impact, so when she charges her students, they will be confident in getting their money’s worth. “I teach a blueprint that transcends industries and is able to be applied to any field and allows you to take one area of expertise and create several streams of income.”

Cassandra Smith is optimistic about the future of her company. She foresees BG franchises showing up across the globe, making sure the people who want to delve into the industry will have the help needed to start their sublimation business.

Learn more about Cassandra Smith and Blanks Galore by visiting their official website.

Fiat Wealth Management is providing people with the understanding they need to enjoy their retirement instead of focusing solely on their account balance.

Providing People With the Financial Advice They Need to Enjoy Their Retirements

Fiat Wealth Management has been providing financial advice to a wide variety of clients in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota since 2009. Within the past two years, they have expanded their services across the entire country. Its two founders, Brad Gotto and Matt Stahl, have found that retirement is among the most common concerns that their clients have. However, they also believe that many of these clients don’t necessarily have their priorities quite in order.

That’s why much of their advice focuses on providing the essential financial education that present or soon-to-be retirees need to better contextualize their saving and spending habits. Before this helpful advice from Gotto and Stahl, many of their clients worry excessively over their savings, no matter how substantial they might be.

The Careful Savers Who Need to Learn How to Spend

Part of what Fiat Wealth Management does to help these people is through what they call “teaching them how to spend.” Many of their clients have spent decades with their sole financial aim being to amass the largest possible savings for retirement.

While there is no question that prudent and effective saving is essential to a fruitful retirement, they are missing parts of the bigger picture. A balance can be found between careful saving and enjoying what they already have.

Gotto and Stahl often encourage their clients to consider what their actual intentions for their retirement are. In many cases, their current savings are already enough or even beyond enough to realize their goals.

They also find that the extent to which their clients worry about their savings typically has little to do with their actual situation. Those with plenty of savings, more than any reasonable lifestyle could require, are often among the most concerned for their future financial picture. 

Instead of focusing on the optimal strategy for income, savings, and taxes, these people could be sharing their wealth with their children, supporting causes important in their own eyes, or otherwise living their lives to the fullest.

That isn’t to say that the technical side of things isn’t an essential part of what Gotto and Stahl do as fee-only fiduciary advisors. Optimizing financial plans for today, five years, ten years, and even further towards the horizon is crucial to retirement planning.

The point that Fiat Wealth Management emphasizes for its clients is to find the balance that’s going to work for each one of these points.

Changing the Way Their Clients Approach Retirement

Conventional financial advice has an incredibly strong focus on accumulation, without any real attention paid to what those accumulated funds are going to be used for when the time comes.

Fiat Wealth Management provides people with the essential financial advice they need to plan for retirement, along with the education and understanding they need to enjoy it. Anyone interested in their financial management services can reach out to Fiat Wealth Management for a complimentary visit.

Advisory services are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, a SEC registered investment adviser.

Engel & Völkers Florida’s 30A Beaches location recently announced a record-breaking sales year for 2021. The luxury real estate brokerage was ranked #1 in Gross Commission Income among Engel & Völkers shops in Florida, vastly outperforming even their own lofty expectations.

Engel & Völkers 30A Beaches broker Libby Roozen highlighted the incredible performance of the entire 30A Beaches team, with several notable sales – including a record-setting home sale in Alys Beach.

“Engel & Völkers Florida’s 30A Beaches had an incredible year,” Roozen said. “One of our biggest accomplishments in 2021 was hitting over one billion dollars in sales volume.”

Reaching a company-wide goal of that magnitude would not have been possible without the hard work of the advisors who make up the 30A Beaches franchise. As Roozen explained, every advisor had a significant role in the firm exceeding its sales targets.

“Our 76 advisors made this possible by hitting record highs in the market,” Roozen said. “In 2021, we closed a total of 808 transactions with an average sales price of $1.25 million.”

Their phenomenal sales figures were made possible because of consistent excellence from the entire roster of advisors, including several astounding property sales.

“We are so proud to represent one of the highest sales in the area,” Roozen said. 

The property, a single-family Gulf-front home located along Scenic Highway 30A, recently sold for $12.5 million. The deal was brokered by The Blankenship Group representing the seller and the Bobby J Team representing the buyer. Both groups work within the Engel & Völkers 30A Beaches shop.

That was not the only memorable deal of the year. In summer 2021, Karen Holder and Nikita Korkh sold an Alys Beach property with a closing price of $8.5 million. It represented the highest price per square foot of a single-family home in Alys Beach.

Finally, the Bobby J Team closed out the incredible sale of an oceanfront home on Camp Creek Point in Inlet Beach. The home sold with an impressive closing price of $7.195 million after only one day on the market. 

These were only a few of the highlights in what was an astonishing sales year for the team at 30A Beaches. However, they believe that the year ahead has the potential to be even better.

“As we enter into the new year, we want to thank all of our advisors, clients and administration for being able to make this all possible,” Roozen said. “We have major plans for 2022.”

At least one thing will remain the same, however. Engel & Völkers Florida’s 30A Beaches will continue to provide the highest quality experience for clients searching to buy or sell a home in the area.

“Reach out to any of our advisors for the best possible real estate experience,” said Roozen.

Engel & Völkers 30A Beaches is part of Engel & Völkers Florida, the Master License Partner of Engel & Völkers throughout the state of Florida. Engel & Völkers is a global luxury real estate brand with an international network of over 14,000 real estate advisors in 30 countries.

For more information about Engel & Völkers 30A Beaches, including new listings in Alys Beach, Seacrest, Rosemary Beach, and Inlet Beach, visit www.30abeaches.evrealestate.com.

Dr. Kami Hoss is a successful business owner and dentist operating out of San Diego, California. As a leading expert in his field, Dr. Hoss holds a master’s degree in craniofacial biology from the University of Southern California, a doctorate degree in dental surgery from UCLA, and a post-doctorate in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. With over twenty years of industry experience serving his local community, Dr. Hoss is the owner and co-founder of The Super Dentists—a leading multi-disciplinary dental practice. Utilizing the latest tools and techniques, their team of professionals are committed to providing top-quality patient care.

Tell us a bit about your business and educational background, how did you get started in dentistry?

I am the owner and co-founder of The Super Dentists, a multidisciplinary dental office operating in San Diego, California. We specialize in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics. We are recognized for our outstanding patient care and our innovative approach to treatment. I knew early on in my education that I wanted to be able to help people, and my day to day is highly rewarding. 

What services do you provide?

We are well known for our AADvance braces, which consist of rhodium-coated brackets that gently realign teeth in a matter of months. After years of serving the local community, we realized that while traditional places are a safe and effective alternative, they are also painful and can lead to tooth discoloration. We wanted to provide patients with another option, that is available exclusively at our practice. We also offer pediatric services and adult dentistry. 

How can someone currently fulfilling their post-secondary degree get into dentistry, what is some advice you have for them?

It may seem counterintuitive, but my advice would be to not follow anyone’s advice. During my undergrad I was constantly provided unsolicited advice, and while I understand it was with the best intentions, sometimes it is best to follow your own path. Everyone is different and worked for someone else, may not for you. Do not strive to be ordinary.

How do you market your business?

We utilize social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. We market ourselves as a very family-friendly dental office as we provide services for both children and adults. We want to be accessible, so individuals can feel comfortable asking questions and inquiring into our products and services. 

Has the pandemic had any impact on your business?

The pandemic really forced us to re-evaluate our services. COVID-19 was a scary time for the world and many businesses were forced to strategize alternative solutions. While we were forced to shut down at one point we remained active on our social platforms so that our patients were aware of any updates or changes to our business policies. 

When you aren’t working, what interests you?

I consider myself a family person, so when I am not in the office I do my best to spend time with my wife and family. I think taking the time to relax and de-stress is the key to success. 

Do you have any future plans for your business? 

I am immensely proud of how far we have come in the last twenty years. We are now a recognized name in dentistry and we take pride in serving the San Diego community. My best hope for the future would be to continue providing the best possible service and to continue shaping the patient care paradigm in the United States.