Natalie Pace Blogs
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 Four nines fine standard 400 oz gold bars. Photo: Chepry. Wiki commons. Used with permission. Will Gold Become a Tier 1 HQLA Currency on July 1, 2025? There’s been a lot of chatter online about a Basel III change effective July 1, 2025, when gold allegedly moves from a Tier 3 to a Tier 1 asset. According to both ChatGPT and Google AI, this would drive a “surge in demand for physical gold.” All artificial intelligence platforms warn that AI can make mistakes. So, is this earthshattering event really happening or not? At the top of this blog, I want to stress in the most clear way possible that two of the most trusted, independent organizations in the gold space, The World Gold Council and the London Bullion Market Association, are both denying this. According to the LBMA, “There have been inaccurate reports online that gold will be reclassified as Tier 1 HQLA (High Quality Liquid Asset) under Basel III as of July 1, 2025. This information is not correct; no official announcement has been made or is expected on gold gaining HQLA status.” Of course, even when rumors are untrue, they can spark a frenzy. So, will investors pile into gold over the next few days? Why is gold down -6.4% over the last two weeks? Here are the things I’ll cover in this blog. How Did Artificial Intelligence Get It So Wrong Hallmarks and Red Flags of Scams. The World’s Top Holders of Gold Is There a Physical Gold Rush? Breaking the U.S. Dollar’s Grip on the Global Reserve Currency The Return of the Gold Standard The Volatility of Gold And here is more information on each topic. How Did Artificial Intelligence Get It So Wrong Any of us who have had our virtual assistant AutoCorrect to silly (or even obscene) words knows that artificial intelligence can get it wrong. In the case of the inaccurate reporting about gold becoming a Tier 1 currency, which is wrong, the data that both ChatGPT and Google AI were relying upon were from gold bug websites, not from respected data providers. In other words, the source data was inaccurate and those providing the misinformation had money to gain from it going viral. The sophisticated analyst will know how to look for the source data and determine whether it is provided by an unbiased independent provider or by an opportunistic marketing campaign, that could in fact be predatory. However, many Main Street investors might have a more difficult time discerning the difference. For now, it's very important to verify what AI says before acting on the information. This tip came from someone in our community. We’re always grateful when you reach out to inform us and we are able to issue an Investor Alert. Hallmarks and Red Flags of Scams. Whenever I see a deadline that encourages people to act now or lose out, that’s a neon red flag. If we must act before XYZ date or the world ends or we lose all our money, that is actually a warning that predatory marketers have their claws in us. Yes, of course, there can be certain events that are scheduled to happen on XYZ date. However, most will be known about well in advance, particularly if they are as game changing as moving gold to a Tier 1 currency. We know the exact dates that the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release the monthly GDP reports about a year in advance. We also know when the FOMC meetings will occur, and which ones will contain the Summary of Economic Projections – a year in advance. Another red flag is when the website or person providing the data has a track record of problems with the SEC or is based out of Florida or Texas. (Both are homestead states where some assets are protected from lawsuits). FINRA.org and the SEC offer BrokerChecks. However, some fraudsters can slip through the cracks by simply setting up a new company. The World’s Top Holders of Gold So, who are the top holders of gold in the world? Are countries stockpiling and hoarding it? Below is a list of the top 20 biggest holders of gold in the world, along with whether they are increasing or decreasing their gold holdings. Black means that the holdings have remained the same this year, while blue indicates an increase and red indicates a decrease in holdings.  Source: World Gold Council. Gold.org. The U.S. is the top holder of gold in the world by far. The holdings have remained constant for years. Is There a Physical Gold Rush? As you can see above, Main Street ETF investors are very interested in gold and have increased their holdings, pushing the price up. China, India, Turkey, Poland and Taiwan also increased their holdings, while Russia and Uzbekistan sold some gold. Gold prices hit an all-time high of $3,509.90/ounce on June 13, 2025. As I mentioned at the top of this blog, gold is down -6.4% from that all-time high. Gold has been the top performing investment so far in 2025, with gains of 23% year to date. Silver has also been spectacular, with gains of 21%. By comparison:
(The underperformance of the DJIA is one of the reasons why we are using value substitutions in our sample Wealth Plan pie charts.) The S&P500 hit a record high on June 27, 2025, making headlines. However, that milestone doesn’t reveal the real story so far this year. Breaking the U.S. Dollar’s Grip on the Global Reserve Currency The BRICS currency is designed to break the dollar’s dominance as the global reserve currency. The countries promoting this currency have made that quite clear. Is it working? As I indicated in prior blogs, there are many reasons why the world, outside of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, doesn’t yet trust the BRICS currency. Over the past two decades, the dollar has slipped from 71% of the global currency to 57.3% of the allocated reserves. That mostly has to do with the launch of the euro in 1999. The dollar is still dominant, followed by the euro. Learn more in my Global Reserve Currency blog. The BRICS currency isn’t really held outside of the five-country alliance. The Chinese yuan is slightly more popular, but it is still just 2% of the allocated foreign exchange reserves. China’s economy is large and growing. However, safety, trust and liquidity remain concerns. The Index of Economic Freedom considers China to be a repressed economy. The Return of the Gold Standard There is far too much debt in the world for there to be a return of the gold standard. It would be impossible for the supply to meet that demand anytime soon. The World Gold Council and the London Bullion Market Association would love to see gold as a Tier 1 HQLA currency, and lobby for that constantly. While the gold market is highly liquid at this time, we have seen periods where it was quite a frozen market and stuck at very low prices. In fact, there was a quarter of a century between the highs of 1980 and about 2005, when gold was stuck in a trading pattern of $350/ounce, down about 56% from the high of $800 in 1980.  The Volatility of Gold Gold has been volatile more recently, as well. On Sept. 5, 2011, gold hit a high of $1,920/ounce. It dropped to the $1200 range in 2013 and to $1000 in 2015, down by almost half. Gold didn’t come back to the 2011 highs until the pandemic (2020). It is important for gold bugs to understand that precious metals are an emotional investment. During frenzies (which happened in 2011 and in 1980), many people get caught buying high, before a period of prolonged weakness. Most of us can’t afford to lose half of our wealth for a decade. It makes life very difficult and could even cost us our home. However, there is a difference between all and nothing. As you can see in our sample pie charts, it’s a good idea to lean into hot investments – within reason. If we’re interested in gold, silver or Bitcoin (perceived safe havens from a weak economy or dollar), consider these assets as “at-risk” investments in our age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan. The pie chart system with regularly balancing will help to keep us on the right side of the trade, prompting us to capture gains at the high and buy more low if we hit a period of weakness. This is a lot better than just riding the rollercoaster of prices of this precious metal, and it is certainly better than betting the entire farm on it. Full disclosure: I’m leaning into silver in my personal hot slices. Bottom Line Gold is not going to become a Tier 1 HQLA reserve currency on July 1, 2025. However, it is certainly popular, particularly with Main Street investors around the world. The future for gold could continue to be bright because of the level of concern over elevated debt and leverage in the world and a weakening dollar. Stocks and real estate have remained strong and are at historic highs. If we hit weakness in stocks or if housing prices start to fall, we could see even more people interested in gold, Bitcoin and gold’s sibling, silver. Recessions do occur, although it’s been quite a while since we had a real one. (We borrowed our way out of a recession during the pandemic with trillions of dollars.) At the beginning of the recession, gold and silver prices typically drop with stocks. However, there is a point when they decouple and soar. This historic trend makes a case for using the pie chart format for our precious metal holdings. Register now to join us at our online Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 where you'll learn how to protect your wealth, save thousands annually in your budget and how to hedge in a volatile Debt World. If you'd like a life-changing adventure of a lifetime, be our guest at a royal manor house in Cornwall, England, March 12-19, 2027. (With just eight rooms available, this exclusive, private, bucket-list adventure sells out a year in advance!) Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] to learn more. The 2025 Restormel Retreat was a magical and royal experience. Click to learn more. Receive the best price and a complimentary 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400) when you register for the Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 by June 30, 2025. Request testimonials at [email protected]. You can also view some on the flyer page of the retreat. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and crypto), * Evaluate stocks, * Avoid capital gains and financial predators, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Receive the best price and a 50-minute private coaching session with Natalie Pace when you register by June 30, 2025. Visit NataliePace.com to learn more. Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] for pricing, additional information and to register.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 2027. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. Register now to receive the best price, the best room and eight private, prosperity coaching sessions. There are only 8 rooms available. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two. Considering the perks, you're receiving a 65% discount to learn the life math that we all should have received in high school, and the room is free! Email [email protected] to learn more. The best rooms at the 2025 retreat were sold out in 2024! Yes, it's a great idea to register and start transforming our lives now!  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money (6th edition) and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Is Your Income Strategy Losing Money? Gold, Silver & Crypto Soar. Stocks Offer 5%. Debt Balloons. Some Foreigners are Selling U.S. Treasuries. Get Safe & Hot in 1 Easy Plan. Home Prices Soften. Is Your City Next? Tesla Vision vs. Waymo LiDAR and Air Taxis. Are Any of Them Safe? Archer Aviation is Chosen to be the Exclusive Air Taxi Service for the 2028 L.A. Olympics. Company of the Year? USA Downgraded. Is U.S. Reserve Currency Status Threatened? Utilities: In the Eye of the Natural Disaster Storms. Aging Mom Doesn't Want to Discuss Dilapidated House. Investors Ask Natalie. Sell in May? Tesla, Tariffs, Chinese Competition and Price Wars. Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day April 22nd. Will the Correction Become a Bear Market? 21st Century Recessions Look More Like Depressions. Will Oil Prices Sink or Soar? Executives are Uncertain. Health Savings Accounts. Save Thousands. Get a Tax Credit. Provide for Tomorrow's Healthcare Needs. Restormel Manor House 2025. A Truly Royal and Magical Adventure. 9 Ways to Cut Your Tax Bill in Half and Save Thousands Annually. Berkshire Hathaway. Should I Just Invest in Warren Buffett? Should I Have a Money Manager? The Cleanest Cities in the World. Can Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Gaza Become Edens? Rebuilding Gaza. American Companies Will Benefit. Top Dividend/Income Strategies for 2025. 2025 Crystal Ball: Who Will be the Superstars of Wall Street? Gold & Crypto IRAs and the Risk of Fraud and Losses. 10 Rules of Successful Investing. Quantum Computing. Paper Losses. Another Warning About Long-Term Bonds! 2025 Investor IQ Test. 2025 Investor IQ Test Answers. Apple iPhone Sales Plunge in China. Indonesia: Rich in Nickel with Ambitions of Becoming an EV Battery Hub. RoboTaxis. AI. The Magnificent 7. Charitable Giving. Nonprofits that are Worthy of Supporting. Why Are So Many Safe Investments Losing Money? A Bargain-Priced AI Company. Canadian, Australian and U.S. Banks. Are Any of Them Safe? Ireland. Rich in Technology, Biotechnology and Agribusiness. Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly-traded companies, funds or projects mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect an age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan, which has been designed strategically, with the assistance of financial professionals who are familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge, patience and diversified strategy. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument.  Is Your Income Strategy Losing Money? Over the past few years, we’ve had many blogs on the risks that conservative investors are taking on – most of the time without ever realizing it — how people are being told that they’re earning an income, while many are losing principal, or even being sold into things that they can’t get rid of without substantial losses. Many conservative investors think they are protected from losing money because that is what they’ve asked for. When they ask about the performance of their plan, they might be told about the “income“ they are earning, without being informed in clear language that, due to paper losses, combined with the expenses and fees of the managed account, their wealth is performing at less than half of the speed of the "income," or even shrinking rather than growing. Wall Street was on fire in 2023 and 2024, earning more than 50% cumulatively. (Stocks are only up 4.6% so far this year. Click to learn more in my June 23, 2025, blog.) So, if your plan isn’t worth a great deal more than it was in 2022, it’s time to understand why. Why didn’t your plan have 50% or more gains, at least in some of the funds/slices of your strategy? Has your wealth more than doubled over the last decade? What’s the easiest way to measure performance? Simply ask your broker-salesman for a performance chart of your plan, including fees, compared to the S&P500 for the past 3, 5 and 10 years. That will include the spectacular performance of 2023 & 2024, the correction of 2022 and the pandemic. It should also be easy to see if a simple S&P500 index fund, with no cost at all at an online discount brokerage, performed better than your complicated, expensive plan. Here are the things we will cover in today’s blog. Are You Really Earning Any Income? The Risk of Income-Producing Stocks Annuities: You Can Lose Up to 9% The Minute You Purchase It. Bonds & Treasuries Money Market Funds & Certificates of Deposit What is Safe? Fixed Income Without Paper Losses Masterclass Oct. 18 And here’s more information on each point. Are You Really Earning Any Income? Our brokerage statement will show us almost everything we need to know about our plan. However, since the information might be located on different pages, we might not be adding up the complete picture. When we think about income, we must subtract the fees and any paper losses in order to understand whether or not we are making any money. One page of our brokerage statement might show us all of our paper losses, another will show us how much we paid in expenses and fees, while yet another tells us how much income we’re making. If we are only looking at the income and not factoring in the fees and paper losses, then we are not aware of just how little we are earning – or how much we might actually be losing. Paper losses are far more problematic than we are being told. They reduce our wealth and our FICO score and prevent us from accessing our money. They might be more permanent than the moniker indicates. Holding to term is going to be impossible in many long-term bonds, either because the payback date is longer than we will live, or due to the elevated credit risk, which increases the probability of principal loss due to debt restructuring. I’ve seen conservative investors sold into 85-year term junk bonds. Do you know what you own? The Risk of “Income-Producing” Stocks A few of the most infamous examples of trying to earn a small amount of income while putting our principal at great risk are found in the 2017 GE dividend rate cut, the GM bankruptcy, the PG&E bankruptcy restructuring, and the MF Global bankruptcy. Click on the blue-highlighted words to access additional information on those. With over half of the S&P500 at or near junk-bond status, it’s best to understand that most of the time, the higher the dividend, the higher the risk. If you are a conservative investor who doesn’t want to lose any money, it’s quite important to know the financial health of the company before buying into an income that could be less than 4-5%. In our sample pie charts, we are using international value replacement funds. Some of those funds offer higher credit quality and higher yield. So, we’re getting paid more to take on less risk. The pie chart system itself helps us to capture gains at the high and add more at the low – increasing performance – something that is impossible to do in a target date retirement plan or an account with hundreds of holdings. Additionally, the fund company matters. In the case of the MF Global bankruptcy, gold investors were distressed to discover that their gold fund investments were part of the bankruptcy. Investors were eventually made whole, but it took four years of fighting and waiting. Some investors are jumping into funds with enticing names, without realizing how risky a new fund company really is. How hundreds of stocks might not be diversified at all… We might think that having hundreds of different companies protects us, when in fact we might be in the same kind of company (large value size/style with very high debt, flat or negative sales growth and low margins). 18 pages of holdings often adds up to a lot of large cap companies, with very little exposure to anything else. We could have one page with 10 funds that would be far more diversified at lower cost. Another concern of the 18-page, hundreds of holdings plan is that the fees might be killing our returns. Email [email protected] if you’d like to personalize your own nest egg pie chart with our free web apps, or if you might be interested in an unbiased 2nd opinion of your current wealth plan.  Sample wealth plan of a 30-year old who is overweighting 20% safe. Annuities: You Can Lose Up to 9% The Minute You Purchase It. Annuities are very popular. At the same time, as FINRA.org, warns, “Annuities are complex and can be costly. Make sure you understand all the fees, expenses, charges, and any features or added benefits (often sold as “riders” at an additional cost) before making a purchase.” A good salesman might assure us that our money will be safe and cannot lose. However, are we being told that the minute we purchase certain annuities we can lose up to 9% of our principal? (They call it a surrender fee.) Annuities can have hidden fees, pay high commissions to brokers, and typically underperform the market. Other risks of annuities are as outlined below.
Bonds & Treasuries The weakness in long-term bonds and treasuries were at the root of the problem in 2023, when we saw 5 banks fail. The problem didn’t go away. (We’ve had another 3 fail since then.) It’s just that the Federal Reserve did some financial engineering to prevent other banks from failing. Long-term bonds (including long-term treasuries) are carrying credit risk and duration risk. This doesn’t go away with interest rate cuts for a number of reasons.
 Traditionally, bonds and T-bills were considered safe. However, due to duration and credit risk, they are not as safe as they were in the past. Bonds have lost more than stocks over the past three years, as you can see clearly in the performance charts below. The safe side is where we want to preserve our wealth – not lose our money.   Money Market Funds & Certificates of Deposit Money market funds are funds. That means they are not FDIC-insured, and they can go down in value. These funds can get into trouble in recessions. When interest rates get cut, the yield of the MMF goes down. So, in addition to these being riskier than FDIC-insured certificates of deposit, if interest rates get cut (as they are expected to do over the next couple of years), you could be getting paid less to take on more risk. Certificates of deposit can charge us if we need the money before the term is up. So, it is important to determine when we’re going to need that money before we buy the C.D. Also, due to heightened credit and duration risk, it’s important to keep the terms short and the creditworthiness high in all of our fixed-income investments. It’s also important to observe FDIC insurance levels. Uninsured deposits are not protected by the FDIC. In addition to short terms and high creditworthiness, rolling maturity dates ensure that we always have access to our money to take advantage of opportunities that might arise. What is Safe? So how do we protect our principal while earning a little money? Every year what’s hot and what’s safe changes. If you had attended one of our Financial Freedom Retreats between 2009 and 2016, we were strongly suggesting that you consider safe, income-producing hard assets, namely real estate. Real estate more than doubled over that period; it was a great idea. Now with real estate prices at an all-time high, investing is a lot trickier (though doable with a creative template – something we teach in our Real Estate Masterclass). After the Great Recession, with interest rates at zero, there wasn’t a lot of income to be made. Today, it’s easy to get a safe 4% ROI, but it is tricky. (Many fixed-income investors are experiencing those problematic paper losses.)
Again, this is not forever. There will be future opportunities (which is why we want to keep our money and have access to it). It’s also important to remember that if we have $1 million earning 4.2% that’s about $42,000 each year. Of course, it’s only that amount if we are not being charged a management fee or investing in something that has paper losses. Fixed Income Without Paper Losses Masterclass Oct. 18 Please join me for our masterclass on how to earn a reliable 4% income without paper losses on October 18, 2025. This is the Saturday after our October 11-13, 2025, Financial Freedom Retreat. We spend one full day on what safe at the retreat, which is a key preparation for the masterclass. So, it’s important to attend the retreat before the fixed-income masterclass. We offer a special bundling package for attending both together. You might also consider purchasing a 12-month all-access pass to all our online master classes and retreats (3-4 of each per year). The cost of the-all access pass is a savings of 72% off the retail price. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more now. If you register for the October retreat or purchase an all-access pass by June 30, 2025, you will also receive a 50-minute private coaching session (value $400). Here are a few more important blogs on purportedly “safe” income-producing strategies. Should You Have a Managed Portfolio? Paper Losses. Why are So Many "Safe" Investments Losing Money? Bottom Line In my private coaching practice, I am seeing a lot of conservative investors who are told they are earning income without the broker-salesman revealing that their rate of return is under 2% or may be negative when you factor in all the paper losses and the fees. It is very important that we know the basics of investing, and to read the fine print rather than having blind faith in whatever we are being told. Stocks are high. Real estate is high. Bonds and other fixed-income assets can be risky and illiquid. (Even some banks with Ivy League analysts have failed). The economy is expected to slow down this year, which could make things more challenging. So now is a great time to know exactly what we own and why, and to fix the roof while the sun is still shining. Register now to join us at our online Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 where you'll learn how to protect your wealth, save thousands annually in your budget and how to hedge in a volatile Debt World. If you'd like a life-changing adventure of a lifetime, be our guest at a royal manor house in Cornwall, England, March 12-19, 2027. (With just eight rooms available, this exclusive, private, bucket-list adventure sells out a year in advance!) Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] to learn more. The 2025 Restormel Retreat was a magical and royal experience. Click to learn more. Receive the best price and a complimentary 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400) when you register for the Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 by June 30, 2025. Request testimonials at [email protected]. You can also view some on the flyer page of the retreat. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and crypto), * Evaluate stocks, * Avoid capital gains and financial predators, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Receive the best price and a 50-minute private coaching session with Natalie Pace when you register by June 30, 2025. Visit NataliePace.com to learn more. Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] for pricing, additional information and to register.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 2027. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. Register now to receive the best price, the best room and eight private, prosperity coaching sessions. There are only 8 rooms available. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two. Considering the perks, you're receiving a 65% discount to learn the life math that we all should have received in high school, and the room is free! Email [email protected] to learn more. The best rooms at the 2025 retreat were sold out in 2024! Yes, it's a great idea to register and start transforming our lives now!  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money (6th edition) and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Gold, Silver & Crypto Soar. Stocks Offer 5%. Debt Balloons. Some Foreigners are Selling U.S. Treasuries. Get Safe & Hot in 1 Easy Plan. Home Prices Soften. Is Your City Next? Tesla Vision vs. Waymo LiDAR and Air Taxis. Are Any of Them Safe? Archer Aviation is Chosen to be the Exclusive Air Taxi Service for the 2028 L.A. Olympics. Company of the Year? USA Downgraded. Is U.S. Reserve Currency Status Threatened? Utilities: In the Eye of the Natural Disaster Storms. Aging Mom Doesn't Want to Discuss Dilapidated House. Investors Ask Natalie. Sell in May? Tesla, Tariffs, Chinese Competition and Price Wars. Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day April 22nd. Will the Correction Become a Bear Market? 21st Century Recessions Look More Like Depressions. Will Oil Prices Sink or Soar? Executives are Uncertain. Health Savings Accounts. Save Thousands. Get a Tax Credit. Provide for Tomorrow's Healthcare Needs. Restormel Manor House 2025. A Truly Royal and Magical Adventure. 9 Ways to Cut Your Tax Bill in Half and Save Thousands Annually. Berkshire Hathaway. Should I Just Invest in Warren Buffett? Should I Have a Money Manager? The Cleanest Cities in the World. Can Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Gaza Become Edens? Rebuilding Gaza. American Companies Will Benefit. Top Dividend/Income Strategies for 2025. 2025 Crystal Ball: Who Will be the Superstars of Wall Street? Gold & Crypto IRAs and the Risk of Fraud and Losses. 10 Rules of Successful Investing. Quantum Computing. Paper Losses. Another Warning About Long-Term Bonds! 2025 Investor IQ Test. 2025 Investor IQ Test Answers. Apple iPhone Sales Plunge in China. Indonesia: Rich in Nickel with Ambitions of Becoming an EV Battery Hub. RoboTaxis. AI. The Magnificent 7. Charitable Giving. Nonprofits that are Worthy of Supporting. Why Are So Many Safe Investments Losing Money? A Bargain-Priced AI Company. Canadian, Australian and U.S. Banks. Are Any of Them Safe? Ireland. Rich in Technology, Biotechnology and Agribusiness. Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly-traded companies, funds or projects mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect an age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan, which has been designed strategically, with the assistance of financial professionals who are familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge, patience and diversified strategy. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument.  Gold and Silver Soar. Stocks are Flat. Debt Balloons. Some Foreigners Abandon U.S. Treasuries. Gold and silver have been super performers this year with gains of 27% and 22%, respectively. By comparison, the S&P 500 is barely above where it started the year, at 6,025, with gains of just 2.7%. What’s behind the strength in precious metals and the subdued performance in stocks? Why are some countries dumping their U.S. treasuries? Should we be concerned? Should we join the precious metal or crypto party? Crypto is performing at half the speed of gold and silver this year, at 11.2% gains year to date.  Gold (pink), silver (green) and stock (blue) performance year to date (June 23, 2025). MSN.com. (c) Microsoft. Used with permission. So which countries abandoned U.S. treasuries and why? Which countries own more than they did in 2018? Who’s buying all that extra gold? Should you join them? How do you know if you own U.S. treasuries, perhaps in your pension plan, money market fund, or retirement account? All this and more in the blog below. Here are the topics we will cover. Gold and Silver The Top Holders of Gold Crypto The Top Holders of U.S. Treasuries Who is Selling U.S. Treasuries? Debt in the U.S. Soars (Far Higher Than $36.2 Trillion) Spending Bill Projected to Make Debt Worse The U.S. is Currently Using Extraordinary Means to Pay Bills Your Best Move And here is more information on each point. Gold and Silver Gold is trading very close to its all-time high of $3,510 an ounce. Analysts are saying it could soar to $4000/ounce over the next year. Gold bugs have been saying for two decades it’ll blow past that to above $5000/ounce. One thing for sure, as the world gets increasingly concerned about:
More individuals and countries may be interested in increasing their gold, silver and perhaps even crypto holdings. While gold is trading close to its all-time high, silver is still rather subdued from its $48.70/ounce price in 2011. Will silver rally and break through that barrier? While we can profit by simply owning an ETF that invests in gold and silver, we could also look at some gold or silver miners. Many are trading close to an all-time high, so consider dollar-cost averaging into your hot slice. For those of you who are interested in taking on more risk for a potentially higher reward (Vegas money), I was particularly interested in First Majestic Silver. The company saw revenue jump by 130% in the most recent quarter. They’ve also established First Mint, a 100% owned minting facility, and are selling coins directly to consumers. I’m expecting to buy a few shares after this blog is published. Remember that investing in individual companies isn’t right for everybody and if you do choose to do this, you must do a lot of babysitting and analysis before any buy or sell decision, with the exit strategy always in mind anytime you buy. Email [email protected] if you’d like an updated Stock Report Card. Be careful about anyone who attempts to hard sell us into placing all our eggs in the gold, silver or crypto basket. The fraudsters run rampant and profit on our fear. Learn more in my Safe Haven IRA blog. (Click to access.) The Top Holders of Gold Below I’ve listed the top holders of gold. The countries highlighted in blue have increased their holdings since January of this year, and include China, India, Turkey, Poland, and Taiwan. Investors have also poured into ETFs over the past few months. According to the World Gold Council, the U.S. is the top holder of gold, by far.  Source: The World Gold Council. Gold.org. Three BRICS nations increased their gold holdings – namely China, India and South Africa. Brazil held steady at 129.7 tons, while Russia sold a little bit of gold. While these nations are certainly interested in breaking the dominance of the U.S. dollar, and are making small gains toward that goal, they still have quite a long way to go. Check out my Reserve Currency blog. (Click to access.) Crypto Bitcoin is close to its all-time high of $111,999. The second most widely traded crypto, Ethereum, is still down by half from its all-time high of $4,606/coin, set on November 3, 2021. There are many important things to consider about crypto. • Crypto winters are very severe. Investors can lose 70% or more and take more than a year to recover. It can be devastating to watch your million dollars sink to just $300,000. If you’ve borrowed against it, you’re in trouble. • It’s important to use our hot slice and pie chart system with crypto (and any hot liquid investment) to help us to capture gains, add more at a very low price in Crypto Winters, and stay on the right side of the trade. You can learn more about how our pie chart investing system works, in my book The ABCs of Money 6th edition or at our online Financial Freedom Retreat. • If you are capturing crypto gains and you do not have your Bitcoin or Ethereum investments in ETFs within a tax protective retirement account, you are getting hit hard with capital gains taxes. There are now Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which we can purchase in a self-managed tax-protected retirement account. These relatively new products have only been available for a couple of years. Remember that who you purchase your fund from counts. Choose publicly traded, multi-billion dollar corporations with high credit quality. iShares is owned by Blackrock, an AA- rated publicly traded company. If you just purchase any ETF, it might be from I Just Started My ETF This Year.com. How well funded or trustworthy is the company and its executives? • If the historical trend of halving events holds true, the next Crypto Winter could happen as soon as summer 2026. Read my 2024 Investment of the Year blog for additional information. The Top Holders of U.S. Treasuries Foreigners own about a third of the U.S. public debt. Japan, the United Kingdom and China were the largest holders of U.S. treasuries, as of April 2025. As you can see in the chart below, Japan, Europe and Taiwan all increased their treasury holdings since 2018.   Who is Selling U.S. Treasuries? While China is still one of the largest holders of U.S. public debt, the country has reduced its holdings by -35.78% since June 2018. Brazil’s holdings are down by -29.36%, while Saudi Arabia’s holdings of U.S. treasuries dropped by -18.86%. Russia dumped most of their U.S. treasuries in June 2018 (under President Trump’s 1st term), going from $165 billion to $15 billion. (Click to read our report on that.) However, India (one of the BRICS nations) increased their holdings by 64.54%. Debt in the U.S. Soars (Far Higher Than $36.2 Trillion) Debt is skyrocketing in the United States. It was bad before the pandemic, and since then has really gotten out of hand. We hear a lot about the $36.2 trillion in US public debt, which is staggering. What we don’t hear as much about is the total U.S. debt and loans, which is an eye-popping $103 trillion.  As a result of concerns over the debt, we are seeing strength in gold, silver and bitcoin right now. I’ve talked about those assets above and encourage Main Street investors to consider these emotional assets as a hot slice or two of an age-appropriate, properly diversified strategy that gets rebalanced 1-3 times a year – in order to capture gains and keep on the right side of the trade. (We’ve had these as part of our sample hots, alongside breakthrough technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and other hot industries, for quite a few years now.) You might have more exposure to U.S. debt than you might know. If you have paper losses in your retirement account or managed wealth plan, it’s time to know exactly what you own and why, how high your exposure is to risky debt, and how to get a comparable, yield in safer fixed income assets without those paper losses. We spend one full day on What’s Safe at our Financial Freedom Retreat, or you can consider getting an unbiased 2nd opinion through my private coaching program. Email [email protected] to learn more. Spending Bill Projected to Make Debt Worse The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act is projected to increase the U.S. deficits by $2.8 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This has the Republican party divided, as hardliners push for more budget cuts. If the Republican party unites, the bill could pass, and be signed into law before Independence Day, which is what the White House wants. The U.S. is Currently Using Extraordinary Means to Pay Bills On May 9, 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sent a letter to the Speaker of the House and other Congressional leaders urging them to raise the Debt Limit by mid-July. The Treasury Department is currently using extraordinary means to pay bills, having hit the previously set Debt Ceiling. The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act would increase the Debt Limit by $4 trillion. Your Best Move Stocks are high, as are home prices. If you own either, then you might feel rich. If you don’t, you’re probably being strangled by the cost of basic needs and struggling to find a solution. Waiting for politicians and regulators to fix things can be frustrating. If we come together as a family, we can learn how to keep our wealth and stop making everyone else rich, including the tax man, the bank or landlord, the health insurance company and medical/pharmaceutical industry, the gas station, the utility company and more. We teach many remedies that are gamechangers in an expensive Debt World. You can read about them in my books and blogs, or learn and implement them at my retreats, masterclasses and private coaching. Email [email protected] for testimonials, to do your due diligence into our time-proven 21st Century budgeting and investing strategies. Bottom Line Most managed financial plans do what the market does. If you’re a conservative investor, you might be suffering from paper losses, while taking a wild ride on Wall Street for no reward. If you’re into gold, silver or crypto, you might be sitting pretty and thinking that the party will last forever. (Gold, silver and crypto are all volatile assets, with a history of soaring and plunging.) A well-balanced plan that gives us heat and protection is easier than you might realize, which is why we call it the life math that we all should have received in high school. Now is the time to know exactly what we own and why, rather than having blind faith that someone else is protecting our future for us. Wisdom is the cure. Register now to join us at our online Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 where you'll learn how to protect your wealth, save thousands annually in your budget and how to hedge in a volatile Debt World. If you'd like a life-changing adventure of a lifetime, be our guest at a royal manor house in Cornwall, England, March 12-19, 2027. (With just eight rooms available, this exclusive, private, bucket-list adventure sells out a year in advance!) Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] to learn more. The 2025 Restormel Retreat was a magical and royal experience. Click to learn more. Receive the best price and a complimentary 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400) when you register for the Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 by June 30, 2025. Request testimonials at [email protected]. You can also view some on the flyer page of the retreat. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and crypto), * Evaluate stocks, * Avoid capital gains and financial predators, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Receive the best price and a 50-minute private coaching session with Natalie Pace when you register by June 30, 2025. Visit NataliePace.com to learn more. Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] for pricing, additional information and to register.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 2027. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. Register now to receive the best price, the best room and eight private, prosperity coaching sessions. There are only 8 rooms available. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two. Considering the perks, you're receiving a 65% discount to learn the life math that we all should have received in high school, and the room is free! Email [email protected] to learn more. The best rooms at the 2025 retreat were sold out in 2024! Yes, it's a great idea to register and start transforming our lives now!  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money (6th edition) and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Get Safe & Hot in 1 Easy Plan. Home Prices Soften. Is Your City Next? Tesla Vision vs. Waymo LiDAR and Air Taxis. Are Any of Them Safe? Archer Aviation is Chosen to be the Exclusive Air Taxi Service for the 2028 L.A. Olympics. Company of the Year? USA Downgraded. Is U.S. Reserve Currency Status Threatened? Utilities: In the Eye of the Natural Disaster Storms. Aging Mom Doesn't Want to Discuss Dilapidated House. Investors Ask Natalie. Sell in May? Tesla, Tariffs, Chinese Competition and Price Wars. Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day April 22nd. Will the Correction Become a Bear Market? 21st Century Recessions Look More Like Depressions. Will Oil Prices Sink or Soar? Executives are Uncertain. Health Savings Accounts. Save Thousands. Get a Tax Credit. Provide for Tomorrow's Healthcare Needs. Restormel Manor House 2025. A Truly Royal and Magical Adventure. 9 Ways to Cut Your Tax Bill in Half and Save Thousands Annually. Berkshire Hathaway. Should I Just Invest in Warren Buffett? Should I Have a Money Manager? The Cleanest Cities in the World. Can Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Gaza Become Edens? Rebuilding Gaza. American Companies Will Benefit. Top Dividend/Income Strategies for 2025. 2025 Crystal Ball: Who Will be the Superstars of Wall Street? Gold & Crypto IRAs and the Risk of Fraud and Losses. 10 Rules of Successful Investing. Quantum Computing. Paper Losses. Another Warning About Long-Term Bonds! 2025 Investor IQ Test. 2025 Investor IQ Test Answers. Apple iPhone Sales Plunge in China. Indonesia: Rich in Nickel with Ambitions of Becoming an EV Battery Hub. RoboTaxis. AI. The Magnificent 7. Charitable Giving. Nonprofits that are Worthy of Supporting. Why Are So Many Safe Investments Losing Money? A Bargain-Priced AI Company. Canadian, Australian and U.S. Banks. Are Any of Them Safe? Ireland. Rich in Technology, Biotechnology and Agribusiness. Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly-traded companies, funds or projects mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect an age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan, which has been designed strategically, with the assistance of financial professionals who are familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge, patience and diversified strategy. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument.  Get Safe & Hot with One Easy Plan. I love hosting our Financial Freedom Retreats and meeting with my private coaching clients because it helps me to understand the kind of pressure most of us are under to purchase certain kinds of investment products. Whether it is an advertisement on social media or YouTube, a warning that the dollar is going to be worthless, a call from our broker-salesman, or just peer pressure from friends and relatives, whatever advice is being given makes the investment strategy sound super sexy and smart. We might even be told we’re dumb not to do it. And if we’re told that we must do it within a week or lose out on the opportunity, well that’s just a giant red flag. (Did you know that buyer’s remorse is high among recent home buyers – especially those who felt pressure?) At the same time, when we walk down the street and see all the boarded-up buildings or hear our friends and neighbors complain about the high cost of living, we start feeling a little less assured of everything. Investing is really the only path to financial freedom, as you can see in the Saving vs. Investing chart below. Owning your own home is also something that can create wealth, as homeowners are 10-40 times wealthier than renters (depending upon whether you use the mean or median average).  However, buying high before stocks drop or real estate prices plunge can be a sure path to financial ruin. Rather than betting, hoping or praying that everything keeps going up (getting more expensive), is there a way to protect our wealth, while also enjoying rallies and bull markets? What about investing in AI, robotaxis, cybersecurity, gold or hip replacements? How do you get the formula right? Is it going to be super difficult, time-consuming, or require a lot of expensive education? Yes, we can have it all. There is a time-proven, easy strategy that earned gains in the Dot Com and Great Recessions and outperformed the bull markets in between. We can lean into the companies of tomorrow and underweight debt-laden, slow or no growth last-century companies. We can earn gains in the hottest industries, including the Magnificent 7, AI, crypto (or not), earn income and protect our wealth. The solution is literally as easy as knowing what an age-appropriate properly diversified plan looks like and what is safe at a time when over half of the S&P500 is at or near junk bond status. Here are the topics will cover in this blog. Target Date Retirement Funds AI, Air Taxis, Robotaxis, Quantum Computing and Other Breakthrough Technology Vegas Money Value Funds Paper Losses and Bonds Headlines and Peer Pressure And here is more information on each topic. Target Date Retirement Funds Target date retirement funds are severely underperforming the market and are more at risk of losses than most of us might realize. Look at the chart below where you can see that the S&P 500 has almost doubled over the last five years, whereas this 2025 target date retirement fund performed at about 1.5% annualized. Bonds have been offering above 4% since 2023, so the fund is underperforming the asset classes.  Chart by MSN.com. (c) Microsoft. Used with permission. You might also notice that when stocks plunged in April 2025 and in 2022 (-19.44%), so did the fund. However, one of the other problems with the fund is that it includes everything, including junk bonds (very risky and not really appropriate for someone who is retiring). Diversification into separate funds, rather than having one giant amoeba which is designed to buy and hold, is important so that we can see and capture gains, rather than riding the Wall Street rollercoaster. Diversifying into size/style, hots and safety requires only 10 funds, which is easy to self-manage or to work with a broker-salesman.  Archer Aviation is the official air taxi of the 2028 L.A. Olympics. AI, Air Taxis, Robotaxis, Quantum Computing and Other Breakthrough Technology If you’re interested in any of these hot industries, or even cryptocurrency, there is a way to add performance to our portfolio safely. Some of them must be considered Vegas money, which we’ll discuss next. However, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence are things that we’re already using. The companies that are leading the innovation in these hot industries are worth trillions of dollars, and are more commonly referred to as the Magnificent 7. The truth is: if you didn’t have the Magnificent 7 over the last couple of years, your returns were half that of the S&P500. (The Dow Jones Industrial Average performed at half of the S&P500, as just one example.) Many “conservative” investors missed this performance because they didn’t have large cap growth in their wealth plan. If you added a hot slice of breakthrough technology, your portfolio was on fire in 2023 and 2024.  Chart by MSN.com. (c) Microsoft. Used with permission. At the same time, because the Magnificent 7 companies are very popular, they are often overvalued. When Wall Street retreats, they tend to plunge further and faster than other stocks. This occurred in April of this year, when the general market hit a -20% bottom, but did not close there so it wasn’t an official bear market. It also occurred in 2022, when stocks dropped -19.44%. Tesla dropped -67% in 2022 as did bitcoin. Nvidia lost half. Cathie Woods ARK Innovation Fund was another big loser that year, at -67%.  Vegas Money Our wealth plan should be an age-appropriate, properly diversified strategy that we rebalance once twice or three times a year. Designating ETFs of AI, crypto, electric vehicles, medical devices, or another industry that we think is going to perform well, into one of our hot slices helps us to capture gains at the high during our regular rebalancing sessions. I like to put my hot slices in my Roth IRA. Peter Thiel does, too. ProPublica reported that he has $5 billion in his Roth IRA. So, what is the difference between your wealth plan (money while you sleep) and Vegas money? If you are certain that you want to invest in an individual company or a young industry, like quantum computing, or even air taxis, at this point, it must be with your Vegas money. (Click on the blue-highlighted words to learn more about each industry.) There are no funds (provided by creditworthy legacy fund companies) for these emerging disruptive industries. If you just try to pick the one you think will be the next Nvidia, you’ll need to do a tremendous amount of research (not just reading an analyst or guru’s recommendation, which might turn out to be a paid for promotion). Investing in individual stocks is like a 100-piece puzzle. It’s a lot more complicated than most people realize. And when it is early stage in a high cash burn industry, such as air Taxis and quantum computing, not only do you have to be worried about whether that company will win the competition, but also that they will have enough cash to get them through the end zone. (Many companies have already gone belly-up in both industries.) Individual stocks require a great deal of research and babysitting. That is not money while you sleep. So, if you wish to invest in an early-stage industry or an individual company, it’s not really part of your nest egg. It is better thought of as Vegas money – something we might win with or lose. We also need to have a capture gains plan or exit strategy and might consider taking profits early and often. Buy low and sell high is a Wall Street aphorism for a reason, especially with stocks on such a rollercoaster. Investing in individual companies is like playing tennis with Serena Williams. We’re on the court trying to beat whales and hedge funds who have a significant advantage in resources, skills and experience over us. Value Funds Value funds are supposed to include companies that are on sale. However, is anything really a great deal when stocks are at an all-time high? Today, price earnings ratios are almost as high as they were before the Dot Com Recession, when stocks dropped -78% in the NASDAQ Composite Index. Prices are higher than they were in the Great Depression. You know from the history books what happened there.  CAPE ratio is a tool developed by Prof. Robert Shiller (Nobel Prize winning economist) at Yale.edu. We are underweighting U.S. value funds in our sample pie charts and substituting countries that have lower debt and industry diversification that we’re just not getting in our U.S. funds. Our large value replacement country has a higher credit rating, lower debt, and typically pays a higher yield than the US value funds. Paper Losses and Bonds We’re starting to see warnings about private equity and debt from Moody‘s and other rating agencies. In my private coaching, I’m seeing high net worth individuals who are sold into qualified investor products that are far riskier than their conservative appetite, invest in junk, and tie up their money with very little recourse to extricate it. Many times, the minute the product is purchased, there are paper losses. A saying from Will Rogers comes to mind. “I’m more concerned with the return of my money than the return on my money.” What are paper losses? Your investment is worth less than you paid for it. You’ve lost some of your principal investment. When you buy something that nobody else wants, and then decide that maybe you didn’t want it in the first place, you’ll find that those people who didn’t want it will only take it off your hands if you sell it to them at a big discount. The salesman of the big banks who talk their clients into purchasing these products will say, “These are only paper losses. Just hold it to term.” But have you bothered to look at the term? I am seeing high net worth individuals who are sold into junk bonds with an 85-year term. They lost 25% or more of their principal the minute the investment was purchased. Those same clients are then told about the amount of income that they are earning, while the brokerage statement itself will show that if you factor in the paper losses and expenses, the income is almost completely wiped out (or can be negative). If you are hearing any of these things, now is the time to consider receiving an unbiased second opinion from me in my private coaching program. It’s unbiased because I don’t sell financial products and I have no incentive to point you in any direction that benefits me at your loss. There is an easy way to earn 4% without any paper losses. It is a little tricky in today’s world. That is why we spend one full day on this topic at our Financial Freedom Retreat. FYI, we’re in the Free Gift and Early Bird pricing period. When you register for the retreat by June 30, 2025, you receive the lowest price and one complimentary, 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400), which can go toward your unbiased 2nd opinion. Email [email protected] to learn more and register now. Headlines and Peer Pressure When we wait for headlines we’re almost always late. When everyone is telling us we should buy something, quite often we’re just buying high. In stocks that could mean putting ourselves at risk of serious losses, and in real estate that could mean a decade of hell. When no one wants to purchase anything, or can’t because they lost too much in the recession, that’s the area of most opportunity, when in fact, we should consider buying. No one‘s going to be telling us to buy something at the low. Instead, they’ll tell us we’re in an Apocalypse and will never escape it. Added to all that, if we are one of those people who did buy high, and didn’t properly protect ourselves, we have no money to take advantage of the opportunities that abound. Bottom Line When stocks and real estate are near all-time highs, as they are today, the informed investor is going to be making sure they protect and keep their wealth. It’s not jumping all in or all out. Market timing doesn’t work. However, market complacency or a Buy & Hope strategy can be even more deadly. Investors who are new to the game might be having so much fun at the party that they forget that getting home safely is a key part of the positive experience. We want to be sober at the top of the market, and brave enough to invest when opportunities arise. Fortunately, adopting our time-proven, age-appropriate, properly diversified plan that just needs to be rebalanced 1-3 times a year, could mean we earn gains in the next recession (as Nilo did during the Great Recession). This plan, with the hots and the capture gains rebalancing system, outperforms the bull markets in between as well. I encourage you, while stocks and real estate are both near all-time highs, to fix the roof while the sun is still shining. Adopt this plan now. It’s human nature to wait until something is broken to fix it. When it comes to our money, waiting until we lose half or more of our wealth can be a heartbreaking way to learn that there is a better plan that could’ve saved the day before the losses. It took the NASDAQ Composite Index 15 years to crawl back to even after the Dot Com losses. Some investors are still reeling from the 2008 Great Recession. Wisdom and time-proven wealth strategies are the cure. Register now to join us at our online Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 where you'll learn how to protect your wealth, save thousands annually in your budget and how to hedge in a volatile Debt World. If you'd like a life-changing adventure of a lifetime, be our guest at a royal manor house in Cornwall, England, March 12-19, 2027. (With just eight rooms available, this exclusive, private, bucket-list adventure sells out a year in advance!) Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] to learn more. The 2025 Restormel Retreat was a magical and royal experience. Click to learn more. Receive the best price and a complimentary 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400) when you register for the Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 by June 30, 2025. Request testimonials at [email protected]. You can also view some on the flyer page of the retreat. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and crypto), * Evaluate stocks, * Avoid capital gains and financial predators, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Receive the best price and a 50-minute private coaching session with Natalie Pace when you register by June 30, 2025. Visit NataliePace.com to learn more. Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] for pricing, additional information and to register.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 2027. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. Register now to receive the best price, the best room and eight private, prosperity coaching sessions. There are only 8 rooms available. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two. Considering the perks, you're receiving a 65% discount to learn the life math that we all should have received in high school, and the room is free! Email [email protected] to learn more. The best rooms at the 2025 retreat were sold out in 2024! Yes, it's a great idea to register and start transforming our lives now!  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money (6th edition) and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Home Prices Soften. Is Your City Next? Tesla Vision vs. Waymo LiDAR and Air Taxis. Are Any of Them Safe? Archer Aviation is Chosen to be the Exclusive Air Taxi Service for the 2028 L.A. Olympics. Company of the Year? USA Downgraded. Is U.S. Reserve Currency Status Threatened? Utilities: In the Eye of the Natural Disaster Storms. Aging Mom Doesn't Want to Discuss Dilapidated House. Investors Ask Natalie. Sell in May? Tesla, Tariffs, Chinese Competition and Price Wars. Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day April 22nd. Will the Correction Become a Bear Market? 21st Century Recessions Look More Like Depressions. Will Oil Prices Sink or Soar? Executives are Uncertain. Health Savings Accounts. Save Thousands. Get a Tax Credit. Provide for Tomorrow's Healthcare Needs. Restormel Manor House 2025. A Truly Royal and Magical Adventure. 9 Ways to Cut Your Tax Bill in Half and Save Thousands Annually. Berkshire Hathaway. Should I Just Invest in Warren Buffett? Should I Have a Money Manager? The Cleanest Cities in the World. Can Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Gaza Become Edens? Rebuilding Gaza. American Companies Will Benefit. Top Dividend/Income Strategies for 2025. 2025 Crystal Ball: Who Will be the Superstars of Wall Street? Gold & Crypto IRAs and the Risk of Fraud and Losses. 10 Rules of Successful Investing. Quantum Computing. Paper Losses. Another Warning About Long-Term Bonds! 2025 Investor IQ Test. 2025 Investor IQ Test Answers. Apple iPhone Sales Plunge in China. Indonesia: Rich in Nickel with Ambitions of Becoming an EV Battery Hub. RoboTaxis. AI. The Magnificent 7. Charitable Giving. Nonprofits that are Worthy of Supporting. Why Are So Many Safe Investments Losing Money? A Bargain-Priced AI Company. Canadian, Australian and U.S. Banks. Are Any of Them Safe? Ireland. Rich in Technology, Biotechnology and Agribusiness. Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly-traded companies, funds or projects mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect an age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan, which has been designed strategically, with the assistance of financial professionals who are familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge, patience and diversified strategy. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument.  Get housing solutions now in our Real Estate Master Class on June 14, 2025 (online). Email [email protected]. Home Prices Soften in Florida, Texas, Utah and Colorado. Is Your City Next? Vero Beach and Punta Gorda, Florida, Duluth, Minnesota, Boulder, Colorado, Logan and St. George, UT, and Sherman and Abilene, TX saw home prices weaken by -4.6-8.2% in the 1st quarter of 2025. What is causing home prices to fall in these regions? Is it contagious? It should be noted that the weakening in prices is not making these homes affordable. Unaffordability is still a crisis. However, what it is doing is freaking out anybody who purchased a home recently, especially in these areas, and particularly if they only put 5% down and don’t have any equity built-up. Rather than worry, let’s dive into the details to see if the downturns are harbingers of things to come, or if there are other factors that will keep prices rising. Here are the topics we will cover in this blog. Areas Where Housing Prices Are Starting to Retreat Why Are Some Markets Falling While Others Are Popping? The Affordability Crisis Will Prices Ever Correct? Housing REITs Malls and Office Buildings Mortgage Lenders And here is more information on each topic. Areas Where Housing Prices Are Starting to Retreat Here are the top 10 areas where we are starting to see prices soften (source: National Association of Realtors Q1 2025 Metro Home Prices Report).  Even though there has been a slight downturn in the cities listed above, the general trend is still upward for most regions and cities. See the top cities that are increasing in sales price below.  Source: National Association of Realtors Q1 2025 Metro Home Prices Report. Despite the price gains listed above, Attomdata’s report of June 12, 2025, identified California and New Jersey as states that were most at risk of price declines. According to their report, “The data shows that 23 of the 50 most at-risk markets were in California (14) and New Jersey (9). Risk was determined by affordability, proportion of seriously underwater mortgages, foreclosures, and unemployment rates.” Why Are Some Markets Falling While Others Are Popping? According to Nadia Evangelou, the senior economist and director of real estate research of the National Association of Realtors, “Most of the metro areas seeing home-price softening are in states that experienced a strong increase in housing supply – like Florida, Texas and Utah. In these states, housing inventory is now higher than pre-pandemic levels. The additional housing supply has helped moderate price gains.” The demand for housing remains strong, not just from Millennials and Gen Z, but also from interstate and international migration. According to Ms. Evangelou’s blog, Texas led the trend of Americans moving to another state, with 85,267 net domestic movers, while Utah saw almost a seven-fold increase in 2024 from 2023. (That Census Data report doesn’t include 2025 data.) However, the most notable trend was international migration, which accounted for 2.8 million additional people in the U.S. in 2024 – 84% of the population growth (3.3 million). One of the reasons that home prices are increasing has a lot to do with the low supply of available homes for sale. Normally, there comes a point when elders will downsize, or those with starter homes will buy something bigger. However, most people who have owned their home for more than five years have a very low fixed mortgage interest rate. They know that if they sell, they will pay more in price and in interest for less than what they already have. So, people are hanging on, even when they might really need to make a move. For instance, have you noticed a lot of unkept lawns in a particular neighborhood where there are not any for sale signs? A lot of the homeowners that are really strapped are hanging on and trying to cut corners in other ways. The Affordability Crisis According to AttomData, in pretty much all of the United States, it would require 32% or more of the average income in the area to be able to purchase a home. That is above what most people would qualify for even if they did have a pretty good FICO score. It’s also unsustainable, particularly given the cost of transportation, health insurance, healthcare food, and other basic needs. Unaffordability has a lot to do with another statistic – buyer’s remorse. According to a survey by Clever Real Estate, 73% of first-time buyers had regrets about their recent purchase, 30% felt “in over their heads financially since purchasing their home,” while almost a quarter of those surveyed (23%) said their overall financial situation had gotten worse since the purchase. What could fix the affordability crisis? Will Prices Ever Correct? A recession typically causes prices to fall (both stocks and real estate). If homeowners got out over their skis and are burning through money to keep a place, that becomes nearly impossible when they lose a job or if their wealth plunges in a Bear Market. Will student loan debt take Millennials out of the market, now that defaults are being reported? The percentage of Millennials buying a new home has dropped from 38% to 29%. (Gen Z is still a much slower percentage of buyers.) Today, demand is still outpacing supply. However, we want to be forward-thinking, particularly with real estate, which is a long-term commitment. Recently, many distressed homeowners were able to hang onto their home through loan mods – another factor keeping supply constrained. During the process, whatever was unpaid, along with fees, was tacked onto the total, leaving many homeowners severely underwater on their loan (25% or more owed than the value). 2.8% of homeowners (2.38 million) fall into this category – up from 2.5% in the 4th quarter of 2024. Delinquencies on mortgage debt are near historic lows, at just 1.22%. Foreclosures have started to increase, particularly in New York City, Chicago, IL, Houston, TX, Los Angeles, CA and Miami, FL, but are still very low (source: Attomdata). With so many hanging on for dear life and so many ways to do it, it’s hard to know what’s going to fix the affordability crisis. (Banks and policymakers learned a lesson from the Great Recession in that you don’t want everyone to lose their homes back at the same time.) That is why we need to come together as a family (chosen family counts, too) to solve this crisis for ourselves, while the politicians delay delay delay, kicking the can down the road with ever more financial engineering instruments that are designed to keep prices from plunging. Join us this Saturday for our annual Real Estate Masterclass. There are solutions for unaffordable housing. However, they are not found in the mainstream media or in the financial noise that we hear all day long about how terrible things are. Check out the flyer on the homepage at NataliePace.com. Email [email protected] to learn more and register now.  Housing REITs While apartment building REITs are doing well, home builders are getting hit with a contraction in their revenue. In addition to high prices and fewer buyers, builders have a large amount of debt that they have been carrying since the Great Recession, when many of them were hanging on by a thread. Email [email protected] if you would like our updated housing REITs stock report cards, including builders such as KB Home and Toll Brothers. Malls and Office Buildings Malls and office buildings continue to experience very high vacancy rates which exacerbates their low margins or net losses and exorbitant debt loads. Macerich had to give Santa Monica Place (a mall) back to the lender in 2024. Community banks that loan to commercial real estate REITs in areas of high vacancies, including New York Community Bank (now called Flagstar Financial), are experiencing challenges. This is one of the reasons why we are underweighting financials in our small and mid cap funds in our sample pie charts. If you would like to learn more about our time-proven diversified strategy for managing your wealth plan, including your company-sponsored 401(k), join us at our next Financial Freedom Retreat online. If you register by June 30, you’ll get the best price and a complimentary 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400). Mortgage Lenders Mortgage lenders are suffering from the same fate as builders. Fewer people are qualifying for mortgages, so their year-over-year revenue is contracting. Many mortgage lenders went belly-up or were bailed out in the Great Recession. The survivors are carrying very high debt loads. This is another reason to underweight financials. Large lenders, including banks, insurance companies and pension providers, are also exposed to commercial real estate and illiquid long-term loans, increasing the risk of holding bank or insurance investments or products that are not FDIC-insured. Although structurally significant banks and insurance companies are likely to be bailed it if they get into distress (ala 2008), Main Street investors typically lose all of their stock investment and a big portion of their bond principal. For this reason, we are also underweighting US financials in large cap value funds. There are some interesting options in other countries for these value fund replacements. Some of the funds even offer better credit quality, along with a better income and yield. Bottom Line Housing is a crisis in the United States right now, particularly for anybody under the age of 45. However, there are always solutions. Many of them are just not found in the mainstream media. That is why I am encouraging you to join us this Saturday for our Real Estate Masterclass. Whether you:
wisdom is the cure. Ensuring that we do not join the millions of homeowners who have buyer’s remorse, an underwater mortgage, are property rich but cash poor, or buy a money pit that breaks us, requires more than just hiring a realtor or following a guru and shopping on the MLS. Getting the equation right is tricky today. However, a solid plan that incorporates innovative options and resources could bring home ownership, and all of the positive things that building equity brings to us. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to register now. This Saturday on June 14, 2025, attend our online Real Estate Master Class. You'll discover the 10-point checklist for home buyers and sellers, as well as some overlooked areas of opportunity. Register now to join us at our online Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 where you'll learn how to protect your wealth, save thousands annually in your budget and how to hedge in a volatile Debt World. If you'd like a life-changing adventure of a lifetime, be our guest at a royal manor house in Cornwall, England, March 12-19, 2027. (With just eight rooms available, this exclusive, private, bucket-list adventure sells out a year in advance!) Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] to learn more. The 2025 Restormel Retreat was a magical and royal experience. Click to learn more. Receive the best price and a complimentary 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400) when you register for the Financial Freedom Retreat Oct. 11-13 2025 by June 30, 2025. Request testimonials at [email protected]. You can also view some on the flyer page of the retreat. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and crypto), * Evaluate stocks, * Avoid capital gains and financial predators, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Visit NataliePace.com to learn more. Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] for pricing, additional information and to register.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 2027. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. Register now to receive the best price, the best room and eight private, prosperity coaching sessions. There are only 8 rooms available. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two. Considering the perks, you're receiving a 70% discount to learn the life math that we all should have received in high school, and the room is free! Email [email protected] to learn more. The best rooms at the 2025 retreat were sold out in 2024! Yes, it's a great idea to register and start transforming our lives now!  Photo: Natalie Pace with her son on Good Morning America discussing housing solutions. Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money (6th edition) and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Tesla Vision vs. Waymo LiDAR and Air Taxis. Are Any of Them Safe? Archer Aviation is Chosen to be the Exclusive Air Taxi Service for the 2028 L.A. Olympics. Company of the Year? USA Downgraded. Is U.S. Reserve Currency Status Threatened? Utilities: In the Eye of the Natural Disaster Storms. Aging Mom Doesn't Want to Discuss Dilapidated House. Investors Ask Natalie. Sell in May? Tesla, Tariffs, Chinese Competition and Price Wars. Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day April 22nd. Will the Correction Become a Bear Market? 21st Century Recessions Look More Like Depressions. Will Oil Prices Sink or Soar? Executives are Uncertain. Health Savings Accounts. Save Thousands. Get a Tax Credit. Provide for Tomorrow's Healthcare Needs. Restormel Manor House 2025. A Truly Royal and Magical Adventure. 9 Ways to Cut Your Tax Bill in Half and Save Thousands Annually. Berkshire Hathaway. Should I Just Invest in Warren Buffett? Should I Have a Money Manager? The Cleanest Cities in the World. Can Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Gaza Become Edens? Rebuilding Gaza. American Companies Will Benefit. Top Dividend/Income Strategies for 2025. 2025 Crystal Ball: Who Will be the Superstars of Wall Street? Gold & Crypto IRAs and the Risk of Fraud and Losses. 10 Rules of Successful Investing. Quantum Computing. Paper Losses. Another Warning About Long-Term Bonds! 2025 Investor IQ Test. 2025 Investor IQ Test Answers. Apple iPhone Sales Plunge in China. Indonesia: Rich in Nickel with Ambitions of Becoming an EV Battery Hub. RoboTaxis. AI. The Magnificent 7. Charitable Giving. Nonprofits that are Worthy of Supporting. Why Are So Many Safe Investments Losing Money? A Bargain-Priced AI Company. Canadian, Australian and U.S. Banks. Are Any of Them Safe? Ireland. Rich in Technology, Biotechnology and Agribusiness. Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly-traded companies, funds or projects mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect an age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan, which has been designed strategically, with the assistance of financial professionals who are familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge, patience and diversified strategy. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. |
AuthorNatalie Pace is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project and the author of The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, The ABCs of Money, The ABCs of Money for College, The Gratitude Game and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is. She is a repeat guest & speaker on national news shows and stages. She has been ranked the No. 1 stock picker, above over 830 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency, and has been saving homes and nest eggs since 1999. Archives
March 2026
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