There are a bunch – almost too many to count – of important details that a valued financial adviser can obsess over, so clients do not have to. One of those details is the 2022 SECURE Act 2.0 which continues to unfold, in two short months starting on January 1, 2025.
A number of the changes affect rules around two items:
Changes to both will also have present and future tax consequences.
This week in a conversation with one of my favorite people, I discovered – or confirmed – something that was already obvious: the US Presidential election has nearly everyone on edge. There are varying degrees of “on edge” including,
Let’s start by saying that it is nearly impossible to rein in the amount of money your kids spend. The caveat is that the impossible can become possible IF a few “standards” can be set – the earlier in life the better.
What are “standards”? These are concepts that can be discussed with kids of all ages – or dictated, with discussed definitely preferable! The concepts can be educational for the immediate time frame, while perhaps also becoming life lessons.
Case in point: three years ago, a young person asked for my advice upon graduating from college at age 22. This person, now 25 years-old, made my entire year last week when she told me that (over three years) she has accumulated $54,200. The kicker is that this awesome young person lives in one of the more expensive cities in the USA, which means income taxes are being paid at Federal, State and City levels.
Decluttering can be a sensitive subject. But mostly, decluttering is a positive game changer – financially and in real life.
The reason decluttering in “real life” can be sensitive may be obvious to married couples who, together, have gone through their garage lately (grown men can cry over getting rid of old ski gear from the 1990s – story from a friend).
Barriers to decluttering include:
These factors prevent decluttering from happening.
At this time of year, it makes a ton of sense to focus on how best to maximize 401k accounts and which year-end tax considerations can be meaningful for tax year 2024. There is still plenty of time remaining in 2024 to make a difference.
Remember that Roth *401k* plans have slightly different income requirements than Roth IRA accounts:
Advice for higher earners who no longer qualify for Roth IRA accounts: make sure to utilize the Roth 401k to some extent, if your company offers a 401k plan with the Roth option. Also remember that Roth 401k contributions are made after-tax, whereas regular or traditional 401k contributions are made pre-tax.
Most kids (over the age of 20) of my friends and clients have cars, but a handful of the most resourceful ones do not. OR, by necessity and affordability of car insurance, certain kids – in discussions with parents – have made the smart decision to forego owning a car until a future date. This situation may continue to happen especially in families, even wealthier families, with multiple kids under the age of 25.
Car insurance is expensive and becoming more so. The number of uninsured drivers (why is that even legal?) ramps up the cost of car insurance for all – even drivers with impeccable driving records. In addition, lingering inflation is contributing to exorbitant increases in auto insurance premiums.
How did it feel in both 2015 and 2016 when for the entire month of January, the stock markets (the S&P 500) started the year DOWN 3.1% and down 5.1%, respectively? Isn’t January supposed to be an UP month? It did not feel great then and it doesn’t feel great at any time in the year.
The following is a worthwhile commentary and check list (from a 2014 edition of TGIF 2 Minutes) that can serve as a “gut check” for investing when markets experience months or longer periods of meaningful declines. Even if you have read these before, consider reviewing again for perspective and direction.
The Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, and the US Federal Reserve are between a rock and a hard place.
There is far too much that can be said on the topics of where interest rates should be and the timing of when interest rates will be adjusted (most likely lower in the near future). To sum it up: politics, political opinions and political pundits – not to mention political candidates of both parties – have now entered the picture, clouding the views of regular people on the street even smarter investors attuned to the finer points of stock and bond markets.
Continue reading “Interest Rate Changes Amidst Election Seasons”
It’s summer and it’s HOT. Today’s will be a short and sweet edition of TGIF 2 Minutes.
The title for today was almost simply, “Beyond the Magnificent”. But a quick note on the “Magnificent Seven“ is in order.
The seven companies are, of course, Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. This week – and the past several weeks – have seen volatility and shifts of short-term leadership in the stock markets from the Magnificent Seven growth companies to smaller and more value-oriented ones.
Today’s edition of TGIF 2 Minutes is worth a comparison to this past February’s archives – just 6 months ago – and was originally titled, “Interest Rates, The Fed & Gray Hair.” In today’s re-run, readers will learn that the US Federal Reserve lowering interest rates is not the only mechanism able to cause the stock market to go up. Sometimes markets go up due to other factors including momentum or continued consumer spending, as in the past 6 months.
Question asked in February 2024:
How soon might the US Fed lower rates and how fast might the markets keep going up or falter down?
A certain amount of gray hair (read: wisdom and experience) helps in understanding the current interest rate and US Federal Reserve environment. Why? Because economies do not move as fast as same-day or even same-month. And “gray hairs” know this.
