Brewing a cup of coffee using Siri and Grok was one of my biggest “AI & tech victories” of the year. (Please read below for a handful of more sophisticated versions of AI use.) Dedicated TGIF 2 Minutes readers may recall back in July the story that could happen to anyone — of being a guest at someone’s home and encountering Continue reading “AI & Tech (I Tried) Using in 2025”
Tax Strategy & a Silver Lining to Losses
With the caveat that there are still 13 trading days remaining in the year, 2025 has been surprisingly — if not shockingly — a decent year for US and global equities. Especially in years with investment gains it can make sense to search for investment losses in taxable investment accounts. Taxable accounts are non-IRA and non-retirement accounts where realizing a capital loss can offset realized capital gains in the current year, OR– capital losses can be carried forward indefinitely to offset future capital gains. A small amount, or a maximum of $3,000, of realized capital losses can be used in a tax year to offset ordinary income. Continue reading “Tax Strategy & a Silver Lining to Losses”
Heavyweight Financial Decisions
Everyone experiences times when there are more decisions to be made and times when matters coast along with relatively less decision-making required. There are various types of “big decisions”, some of which are financial and others that fall in the category of life decisions. Certain of the heaviest decisions combine financial and life aspects. This last type requires research, thought and patience.
“Heavyweight decisions” range from:
Spooktacular Investing Times
It is Halloween, so with an intended pun it must be said: spooktacular times in markets and the economy continue.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is simultaneously spooky and spectacular. Nvidia, this week, reached a new milestone surpassing all other US companies with a $5 trillion market valuation. Nvidia’s market cap is now larger than the largest semiconductor companies AMD, Arm Holdings, ASML, Broadcom, Intel, Lam Research, Micron Technology, Qualcomm and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing combined.*
Recession or Head Fake?
With the Federal Reserve’s action this week in cutting interests rates by one quarter of one percent, the word “recession” is back in the news as a possibility. There must be literally nothing else financially speaking to talk about. In the meantime, check out two really good slides.
The first slide (above) outlines the vast difference of:
- when a recession really occurs in the economy
- when markets anticipate the recession and react
- versus when the government (the NBER, National Bureau of Economic Research) “declares” a recession.
Year-End Tax Planning 2025
The countdown to year-end will begin soon. With nearly four (4) months remaining in 2025, consider the following Year-End Tax Planning Checklist.* Several of these items, if addressed now, could make a meaningful difference come tax filing season AND add to savings.
- How are you doing on maxing out your 401k? Many people do not know they can temporarily increase their 401k contributions through December 31st to reach the $23,500 maximum contribution (higher max for those age 50, and even higher for those age 60-63).
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- Lots of 401k or 403b plans allow participants to contribute 25-30% of pay – or even 100% of pay (100% can be a temporary measure in order to max out for 2025).
- These 401k contributions can be tax-deductible, unless you are contributing to a Roth 401k. It is not too late!
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Concierge Medical Services
This will be a short TGIF 2 Minutes …on a topic that could take much, much, much longer and can be very, very, very expensive. The topic is healthcare and doctor selection and coverage.
The word, “selection”, is used for a reason. Selecting a Medical Doctor used to be fairly easy. Now, there are less Medical Doctors to go around, they are more expensive, and it seems all the best Medical Doctors have closed their practices. There is a myriad of reasons – beyond the scope of this discussion. Perhaps one of the reasons is outlined below under “concierge medical services”.
“Dog” Days of Late Summer
“Man’s or Woman’s Best Friend”. At a time when true friends have proven to be more valuable than ever, it seems getting a dog is something a good number of people and families do. Long-time dog lovers seem to agree that dogs can bring true happiness to unbearable situations. The saying, “if you want a friend, get a dog” has been around for years, even in the movies. “Dog benefits” range from personal joy to family togetherness…with a good deal of responsibility mixed in.
While a dog can turn out to become a true best friend, the “getting a dog” decision is a BIG one and not to be taken lightly. Considerations are several:
Shrinkflation & Jackson Hole
Today is a day that has become quietly (or not so quietly) famous in market and global economic circles. Today is the Friday of the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium held in the city of same name in Wyoming since 1978. The “summit” is organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and gathers central bankers, economists and policy makers from around the world. Friday at Jackson Hole has evolved to become an occasion when the US Federal Reserve Chairman serves up his or her keynote speech.
One key topic of the speech will be inflation: is inflation still around and how to contain it. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will probably not mention shrinkflation but he will mention inflation.
Knock, Knock (No Joke)
Compliments to one of my colleagues for highlighting this disturbing trend – under the heading, “this could never happen to me”:
Apparently, there is a new trend emerging in the ever-evolving landscape of fraud. In this case, fraudsters are showing up at victims’ homes or arranging in-person meetings with the aim of collecting physical cash, gold bars or other valuables. This in-person, “show up at the door” version of fraud is a significant shift from digital scams – where the victim’s financial and other assets and data are at risk – to a scenario in which the victims could end up in imminent danger of physical harm.
