Getting a good start in life and becoming a financially educated, independent adult has never been more challenging than it is today. At FAS, we are often asked to sit down with our clients’ children or young new clients to give them pointers and guidance about how to achieve financial success and avoid common pitfalls as they embark on life as an adult.

Throughout the next few months, we’ll feature some of our most commonly shared advice for young people — those in the most important phase of their financial lives. We hope you’ll share these tips with anyone you feel might benefit.

We continue to experience what appears to be a post- election rally in the US markets. Some analysts view this as premature exuberance, while others ponder if this is the next phase of a historic bull market. Everyone likes to see the market go up, but realistically it is unlikely that any improved economic activities from the Trump administration would materialize until later this year and more fully in 2018. There are factors that support the economy growing outside of the Presidency. January saw nonfarm payrolls increasing by 227,000 jobs. We also see that this is the healthiest the manufacturing sector has looked in quite some time. However, uncertainties remain. On one side, the administration has been vocal about reducing corporate tax rates and providing regulatory relief. This could be highly beneficial to the manufacturing sector and may be the catalyst for more investment in this sector. But talk of trade wars is something that could be detrimental to the entire economy. Time will give us those answers.