Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Taking care of personal finances during economic volatility

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 2.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, March 2, 2020, in New York City. Stocks were up slightly in morning trading following a week that saw a massive sell off due to fears over the Coronavirus.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The stock market continues on a roller coaster ride of slopes and drops, caused by fears over the spread of coronavirus around the globe and the possibility of a recession.

On Thursday morning, the stock market tumbled again, with indexes in the United States dropping as low as 8 percent. The day before, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 900 points, and that’s a change from earlier ups and downs.

This economic turmoil is happening amid changes in how people gather, travel and work and as countries around the world try to figure out how to contain the virus and stop further economic challenges. This volatility isn’t just causing concern for industries and businesses, though — it’s also raising personal finance questions for people thinking about how they make money; whether to make big purchases or refinancing changes; and investments and retirement.

Guest host and senior economics contributor at Marketplace, Chris Farrell, talked with a certified financial planner about personal finance during the financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Guest:

  • Carolyn McClanahan is a Certified Financial Planner, physician, and the Director of Financial Planning at Life Planning Partners.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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