Money·2 min read

What Impeachment Could Mean for Your Wallet

October 9, 2019

ICYMI, the gov's been investigating whether President Trump should be impeached. But trying – and maybe even removing – a sitting prez decides a lot more than who gets to decorate the East Wing. Here’s what impeachment could mean for your wallet.Your investments could feel the heat. There are lots of opinions — including Trump’s — about what the ‘I’ word could mean for investors. Historically, it’s been kind of a mixed bag. The S&P 500 (an index of 500 big US company stocks) dropped it low after Richard Nixon peaced out. But it shot up in the months after the House impeached Bill Clinton. There’s no magic formula to know what stocks will do next. And there are usually a lot of reasons why your investments are having a good or bad day. But we do know the market hates drama. And impeachment proceedings are basically soap operas on CSPAN.You may need a price check. When power shifts, policies can, too. If an impeachment ends in a new head of state, they may have a different stance on things like healthcare, taxes, education, and trade. Even if they belong to the same party. All of that could make a difference at the register or in your paycheck...for better or for worse.theSkimm: It’s a long — and complicated — process to say bye, bye, bye (bye bye) to the country’s CEO. But if it happens, impeachment could throw a lot of things for a loop. Including your money. Some good news: if you’re investing for the long term (think: retirement), hang in there. The stock market has picked itself back up after every major fall in history. And continued to go up from there.

Subscribe to Skimm Money

Your source for the biggest financial headlines and trends, and how they affect your wallet.

fbtwitteremail