Morning Download 

Personal finance + economics + markets

Together with Babbel

Good morning investors! Fear appears to be driving the markets yet November is already the best month of the year.

Fun fact: November has been the strongest month for stocks since 1950, according to LPL Financial.

Today we cover:

• China to grow even more? 😊 

• Ethereum gets downgraded. 😢 

• How much to spend on groceries, 🍱 

Follow us on Twitter for more.

📊 Economy and News 

China gets a push as Asia continues to rule

Asia has proven to be one of the strongest markets as Europe continues to suffer with Germany 🇩🇪 and the UK 🇬🇧 said to be on the brink of a recession, and the US fights inflation.

The IMF on Tuesday raised its China 🇨🇳 growth forecast to 5.4% for 2023 due to better-than-expected third-quarter growth and Beijing’s recent policy announcements.

The group still expects growth to slow next year to 4.6% “amid continuing weakness in the property market and subdued external demand.”

Another Asian giant, India 🇮🇳 , is making waves and is now one of the fastest growing economies at 7.2%. Furthermore, South Asia is growing faster than all other emerging markets with an expected growth rate of 6% this year. However, there might be challenges next year if the Israel-Gaza war spills over to neighboring countries.

Global hits:

• Oil giant Saudi Aramco’s profit slides 23% in third quarter on lower crude prices, volumes.

• Epic Games goes to court to challenge Google’s app store practices.

• Banks face deposit delays with some customers still waiting to get paid.

📈 Stocks

S&P 500 4,384.97 (+0.43%)
DJIA 34,191.55 (+0.28%)
NASDAQ 15,327.73 (+1.14%)
BRENT CRUDE 81.60 (-4.20%)
* Prices as of Nov 8th, 12:20 AM UTC

S&P 500 on pace for best winning streak of 2023

November is proving to be a great month as the S&P 500 rose Tuesday for a seventh straight day. 🎊 

The S&P added 0.4%, rising for a seventh consecutive day for the first time since its eight-day win streak in November 2021. Almost all niches were high with technology leading probably due to yields pulling back.

Positive earnings pushed Datadog up 29%. Furthermore, Uber rose 3% even after third-quarter earnings fell short of expectations. All eyes are set on some major commentary from central bank speakers, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week.

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🔐 Crypto

Bitcoin $35,918 (+2.44%)
Ethereum $1,907 (+0.34%)
Total market cap $1.35T (+1.32%)
* Prices as of Nov 8th, 12:20 AM UTC

Time to ditch Ethereum?

Bitcoin might be on a great run but studies say that it is time to ditch Ethereum. ⚔️

According to a survey, cryptocurrency experts have lowered their predictions for Ethereum, over the next seven years.

How low? The panel predicted Ether will be worth $1,840 on average by the end of 2023, down from a prediction of $2,451 in July. The 2025 forecast fell to $5,824 from $5,845 previously, and the 2030 prediction declined to $14,411 versus $16,414 in the earlier survey.

Bitcoin, however, is getting higher price targets due to the noise surrounding Bitcoin ETFs.

💵 Personal Finance

How much should you spend on food?

Food is an important part of our budget. Most people spent 11.3 percent of their disposable personal income on food last year and the number is expected to increase this year due to rising inflation.

So, how much should you spend on food? According to the Consumer Price Index, the average cost of eating food at home rose 11.4% in 2022 versus 2021. Things have only worsened this year with the index climbing 3.7% from September 2022 to September 2023.

Things are bad globally. A Michelin-starred restaurant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is closing due to costs becoming too expensive – for both customers and the restaurant operators. 🔪 

See what the USDA tells

The USDA offers guidelines to help families set their monthly grocery budgets. Here’s what it suggests for a family of four: 🥦 

• Liberal budget: Expect to spend $365.20 a week or $1,582.90 a month.

• Moderate-cost plan: Expect to spend $302.80 a week or $1,311.50 a month.

• Low-cost plan: Expect to spend $243.80 a week or about $1,055.80 a month.

• Thrifty plan: Expect to spend $225.10 a week or $975.20 a month.

This can help you figure out how much to spend based on you and your family’s eating habits. These figures show that it is possible for a family of four to survive with less than $1,000 (groceries). However, each family is different and there are several factors that can impact your budget, including:

• The age of your children. Teenagers tend to eat more. A moderate budget for a teenage boy between ages 14 and 18 would be $87.90 in groceries a week for a moderate budget. For comparison’s sake, a child who is 9 to 11 years old, according to the USDA's moderate budget, would eat $76.30 in food every week.

• Men eat more than women, so if you have two boys then your budget may be higher. For example, the FDA says that it costs $70 a week to feed a teenage girl between the ages of 14 and 18, $17.90 less a week than for a teenage boy.

Any other ideas?

You can also use the 50/30/20 rule to budget for groceries. Here’s what it says:

• Spend 50% of your monthly after-tax income on needs, 30% on wants and 20% on savings and debt repayment.

Groceries are a necessity but some food items are a want. For example, rice is a necessity but sushi from your favorite restaurant isn’t. So, you will have to plan carefully.

Now, sticking to the 50/30/20 rule means breaking your salary (let’s say you make $3,000) according to the formula:

• $1,500 for needs

• $900 for wants

• $600 for savings and debt repayment

Now, the entire amount ($1,500) is not for groceries. How much to spend on groceries depends on factors such as your other needs. Let’s say you only have $300 left after spending on rent and utilities (other needs).

Now, $300 may not be enough to cover a month’s groceries. In this situation, you can take additional money from your “wants” budget while working to improve your financial situation.

If you are going out of budget then check this video for tips on how to save money on groceries:

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Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research and think for yourself.