In this video, we discuss three tax hazards in retirement and a way to address them. We also discuss useful items from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Secure Act 2.0 of 2022.
January 1, 2023 By
Why Inflation Reports are 6.5 Months Out of Date
The news has been all abuzz about inflation. But as is typical with news, the reports may be misleading. The reason is the inflation reports are 6.5 months out of date the day they are reported. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the November 2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) one-year inflation rate dropped to… [Continue]
August 16, 2022 By
Should Debt Be Paid Down?
Clients frequently ask if their debt should be paid down. Generally, we recommend avoiding debt other than a reasonable mortgage, especially as retirement approaches. In some cases, however, debt can be innocuous or even helpful. This chart summarizes the logical process for deciding to pay off debt. The steps are described below Cash Flow Risk… [Continue]
July 7, 2022 By
How Long Are Bear Markets?
When the market is down, our mantra is time eats volatility. We are very confident in the maxim because of the mathematics of volatility, but it’s important to understand how much time. S&P 500 Bear Markets To answer this question, we examine the monthly total returns of the S&P 500 since June 1927 through May… [Continue]
February 1, 2022 By
Preparing for Market Storms
The financial weather seems to be turning nasty and market storms are on the horizon. Inflation is blazing and the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates. In January the ETF SPY (S&P 500 index) lost 9.2%, but then regained some back. Can anything be done to protect your portfolio? Well, yes, but perhaps… [Continue]
March 16, 2021 By
Two Critical Investment Lessons from 2020
Lesson 1 from 2020: The Power of Diversification The first investment lesson from 2020 is diversification. Everyone knows that it is important to diversify in order to stabilize your portfolio. In more technical speak, this means holding some assets that tend to zig when other holdings zag To accomplish this, many investors hold long-term bonds.… [Continue]
