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 The reason is the inflation reports are 6.5 months out of date the day they are reported.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]
May 28, 2020 By
Poo Flinging Monkeys And Investment Advice
One of the more frequent questions we get in times like this is “What do you think the markets will do?” I don’t know over the short term — seriously, not a clue. But for those seeking clarity, there’s no shortage of poo flinging monkeys who will answer that question. Just turn on the financial… [Continue]
March 22, 2020 By
Staying Sane in This Crazy Investment Time
The coronavirus is a pandemic and the market is in panic. This video describes ways of staying sane in this crazy investment time. After watching the video, you can dive into our three part article on creating resilient income from your portfolio. Tolerating Volatility. Time Eats Volatility. Retirement Example. The bottom line is we need… [Continue]
August 15, 2019 By
Worst Day of the Year Make You Queasy?
Today the Dow dropped 800 points, the worst day for the year. But headlines failed to point out, again, that bonds made a killing. In fact, over the last eight trading days, long-term government bonds have gained almost four times as much as stocks have lost. Did you see that headline anywhere? [More]
