Summary from Carlos García’s (Finhabits) Live Stream — Thursday, January 22
This article summarizes ideas shared by Carlos García in an educational live stream for Finhabits. These are his personal opinions. This is not personalized financial advice. Investing involves risk and the value of your investment can go up or down.
Just over a year into Trump’s second presidency, many investors are asking the same question: what does all this mean for my money in 2026? And it’s not a minor concern. 2025 was a year of headlines that sometimes sounded contradictory, and in financial markets that usually translates into uncertainty and volatility.
A recent example occurred at Davos (World Economic Forum). In a matter of hours, markets went from caution to optimism following announcements and messages about Greenland and tariff threats that were later “softened” or withdrawn. Reuters reported a positive Wall Street close following reports linked to Greenland and reduced tensions over tariffs. AP also described a stock rally following comments and backtracking on tariffs associated with Greenland. This type of sequence is familiar to many investors: headline → reaction → adjustment → new headline.
This was the central theme of Carlos García’s live stream, founder and CEO of Finhabits, broadcast on Thursday, January 22. His main message can be summarized as follows: when headlines don’t stop and create doubts, a practical strategy is to focus on financial habits that provide clarity and consistency, rather than trying to guess the market.
Carlos put it this way: “There’s a lot of noise in the news… you have to filter the noise and understand very well what’s important.” And he connected it to an idea he repeated throughout the live stream: “Your portfolio doesn’t have political thoughts… you control your portfolio.”
Note: The original live stream was conducted in Spanish. Below is a summary of the key points Carlos covered, organized into five areas, with data for context.
1) Cost of Living: Some Things Are Going Down… But Budgets Remain Tight
Carlos began with day-to-day life: groceries, rent, and utilities. He reminded the audience that many families continue to feel pressure because, although inflation has decreased from the post-pandemic peak, that doesn’t mean prices return to previous levels.
In the live stream, he explained it this way: “The fact that inflation has been reduced doesn’t mean that everything… will become cheaper. It simply means that costs will continue to rise, but they won’t continue to rise as fast.”
The data fits that framework: the CPI (Consumer Price Index) showed inflation of 2.7% in the 12 months ending in December 2025 (BLS). That’s lower than the peak of 9.1% in June 2022 (BLS), but it’s still inflation: prices continue to rise, just at a slower rate.
Carlos also mentioned everyday examples to illustrate the “up/down” pattern: higher food costs vs. lower gas prices. His practical conclusion was clear: if the cost of living is squeezing you, it’s worth reviewing expenses, planning, and automating, rather than depending on headlines.
2) The Stock Market in 2025: Drops Along the Way and a Year-End Rally
In the second area, Carlos discussed market performance. He mentioned that the year ended up (referring to the S&P 500) and reminded the audience of an important detail: within the year there were drops and rebounds.
In the live stream, he noted that there was a drop during March/April associated with tariff noise and then a rebound. Beyond the specific causes, the point was about market behavior: “The stock market behaves over the long term… it tends to trend upward. Day to day, month to month, there’s a lot of variation.”
To put the “number of the year” in context, public data shows that the S&P 500 had a 2025 annual return close to +16% (S&P Dow Jones Indices reports approximately +16.39% price return and +17.88% total return).
Carlos added a general comparison: although it was a good year, it shouldn’t be used as a basis to “predict” 2026. His focus was on insisting that no one can anticipate the market with precision, and that it’s normal to see weeks of gains and weeks of losses.
3) Not Everyone Benefited: The 62% of Adults Who Invest in the Stock Market
This point shifted the angle from “the stock market went up” to “who participates in that gain?”
Carlos cited that approximately 62% of adults in the United States have investments in the market. That figure matches Gallup, which in 2025 reports 62% of Americans who own stocks, either directly or indirectly (for example, through a 401(k) or IRA).
The implication is direct: if a significant portion of the population doesn’t invest, the market can have a good year and yet many families won’t feel it in their finances.
4) Rates, Mortgages, and Housing: The Friction Continues
Carlos dedicated a segment to housing because, for many families, buying a home continues to be one of the most difficult decisions in this environment.
In the live stream, he mentioned mortgages in the 6.5%–7% range and that, although they might drop somewhat, they won’t necessarily return to levels like 2020–2021, when many rates were close to 3%. Current data supports that they remain elevated: Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.09% as of January 22, 2026.
His conclusion was prudent: he didn’t say it was impossible, but that it’s worth being strategic. He also reminded the audience that in the United States, wealth is usually built through more than one path (housing, liquid investments like stocks, or business), and that when housing becomes more expensive due to high rates, having a disciplined investment plan becomes even more relevant.
5) Employment: Slower Growth
The fifth area was employment. Carlos said that 2025 felt slow in hiring and that 2026 could continue with a similar dynamic.
BLS data fits that reading: the December 2025 report showed +50,000 jobs and unemployment of 4.4%, and the annual summary indicates that 2025 added 584,000 jobs (monthly average of 49,000), a slowdown compared to recent periods.
For those looking for work or a career change, this may mean a more competitive environment.
What Carlos Recommends for 2026 (Without Promising “What Will Happen”)
Carlos insisted on not turning analysis into prediction. He said it with humor: “I’m not a wizard, I don’t have a magic grandmother.” From there, he landed three actionable ideas for investing in an uncertain environment:
1) Put Your Money to Work Above Inflation
When answering questions about “safe” investments, Carlos said that saving money can feel stable, but with inflation, if money doesn’t grow, it loses purchasing power. With inflation at 2.7% (Dec 2025), the idea is easy to visualize: if your return doesn’t compensate, you buy less over time.
2) ETFs / Index Funds as a Strategy to Mitigate Risk
Carlos recommended diversification, especially with low-cost index funds, to avoid betting on “the news of the moment.” The idea is to build a diversified basket that holds up over time.
3) The Best Time to Start Is Today (And Start Little by Little)
Carlos repeated: “Today is the best day to start investing… start little by little.” The emphasis wasn’t on “doing it perfectly,” but on doing it consistently.
A Tax Reminder: IRA 2025 Before April 15, 2026
In the final part of the live stream, Carlos mentioned something very specific: if you didn’t maximize your IRA 2025, you can still contribute and assign that contribution to 2025 until the tax deadline. Vanguard explains it explicitly: even if you request an extension to file, the IRA contribution for 2025 must be made before April 15, 2026.
There’s also IRS support on the limits:
- 2025: $7,000 (or $8,000 if 50+).
- 2026: $7,500 (or $8,600 if 50+).
Closing: Fewer Headlines, More System
With Davos, tariffs, inflation, rates, and employment, it’s normal for the news noise to feel constant. The live stream’s closing returned to the central idea: the financial plan cannot depend on guessing headlines.
“You control your portfolio.”
And controlling it, in practice, looks like this: automate, diversify, invest for the long term, reduce expensive debt, build an emergency fund, and make decisions with a system.
How Finhabits can help you: Start with the 12-Week Challenge to turn good intentions into real financial habits, step by step.
If your focus is retirement: Open or contribute to your IRA before April 15, 2026 and take advantage of the tax benefits for the 2025 tax year.
Inside the app: Carlos mentioned the value of having structure and continuous guidance, including Emma, the financial planner who helps maintain clarity and consistency in your decisions.
Disclaimer
This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to offer investment, legal, or tax advice. The opinions of Carlos García are personal. All images and figures are for illustrative purposes. The investment advisory service is offered by Finhabits Advisors LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Past performance does not guarantee future results or returns. All investments involve risk and can result in the loss of capital. Securities are offered by Apex Clearing Corporation, member of FINRA and SIPC. Securities in your APEX account are protected up to $500,000 which includes a $250,000 limit on cash. See SIPC.org for more details.
Projections are for educational and illustrative purposes only. They are based on the assumptions indicated and may change if those assumptions change. They do not predict or reflect the actual performance of any Finhabits portfolio, and do not consider economic, market, or personal factors that may affect the actual results of an investment.
© Finhabits, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sources
- Reuters — Wall Street y Davos / Groenlandia
- AP — Mercado rebota tras comentarios sobre tarifas ligadas a Groenlandia
- Gallup – What percentage of Americans Own Stock?
- IRS.gov – Limit contributions
- Freddie Mac – Mortgage Rates
- BLS.gov — Employment Situation Summary
- BLS.gov — Consumer Price Index Summary, December 2025 (2.7% YoY)
- BLS.gov — Consumer prices up 9.1 percent over the year ended June 2022 (historic peak)
