SPC Weekender: When Paychecks Shrink but Budgets Don't

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In this weekend’s edition of Stock Picker’s Corner (SPC), we’ll explore how everyday financial pressure is reshaping the way Americans think about saving, spending, and investing.

But first, a message from this issue’s sponsor.

The Year the Budget Broke

For millions of Americans, 2025 feels like a year of financial strain with no relief in sight.

Groceries, rent, childcare, health insurance premiums, utility bills, student loan payments, and even basic auto maintenance are devouring a growing portion of paychecks, while wages stubbornly refuse to rise.

That’s reflected in new data from Statista Consumer Insights, where nearly half of U.S. adults (49.1%) surveyed say the cost of living is their biggest personal challenge, surpassing concerns about health, housing, and politics.

This is also during a time when stagflation fears are rising, thanks to stubborn inflation, slowing economic growth, and sluggish job data mixed with rising unemployment levels.

Just look at a few recent headlines:

For those already in the workforce, the outlook isn’t much brighter. According to “2025 Wage Reality Report” from the resume builder and career tool site Resume Now, 55% of the professionals surveyed believed their salary was lower than it should be.

What’s more sobering is that only 6% of those surveyed thought they could save for the future.

Those aren’t just statistics — they’re are a call to action.

A call to action in which, thanks to stubborn inflation, rising costs and stagnant wages, many are realizing they need to take control of their financial future in new ways.

Like developing a self-reliant playbook full of investments that take advantage of …

Scarcity: You can print dollars but not gold and silver. For silver in particular, we like its industrial demand that continues to grow. Gold’s “little brother” is critical in powering data centers through sensors, circuit boards, thermal management, and cooling systems. And thanks to silver’s exceptional electrical conductivity and anti-corrosive nature, it’s also an overlooked “ingredient” in quantum computing hardware. Quantum computing is expected to climb 1,700% from a $4 billion market in 2024 to a $72 billion market by 2035 . Silver will be along for the ride.

Necessity: Even during tough times, there are still staples people can’t go without. As inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 — the highest it’s been since 1981 — people of all income levels flocked to Walmart Inc. $WMT ( ▲ 0.9% )  because it had the pricing power to keep things like beans, pasta sauces, shampoo, and toothpaste much more affordable than at other retailers. Inflation levels cooled, but those higher-income customers who appreciated Walmart’s savings in 2022 are still shopping there today.

Moats: What companies operate in fields with high barriers to entry? What companies have an ecosystem that is expensive and time-consuming to leave? What companies have some of the most valuable patents and intellectual property? If you have the moat, the market comes to you.

Income: Power has shifted from the employee to the employer since the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, as those switching jobs are seeing the same wage growth increases as those staying at their jobs.

So if you need to stay where you are but feel you aren’t making enough to build your savings and investment accounts, start thinking about investing for income. Just make sure not to do it through options.

These are just a few examples and are just to serve as a jumping-off point for a framework for those seeking to be self-reliant investors.

Another resource is our Amazon offering: Wealth Builders/Wealth Killers: Keep Your Cool and Win in a Stock Market Meant to Break You.

It’s a blueprint for building (and keeping) wealth in today’s stock market minefield.

In it, you’ll learn the eight powerful Wealth Builder rules that include why most investors fail and how to avoid the Wealth Killer mindset …

How to harness the retail investor advantage most investors don’t know they have …

The strategies for finding the best stocks through powerful storylines …

Why playing the long game beats chasing quick wins …

And how to turn market downturns and mass panic into massive opportunities.

Less than two weeks since its release, it’s already climbing the Amazon charts and is in the top 100 for Stock Market Investing in the Kindle store.

You can grab your copy by clicking the image below.