Why the airplane graphic? Because when fiscal forces, including the US Federal Reserve, work to tame inflation, projected outcomes range from a “hard landing” to a “soft landing” for the economy.
Category: Uncategorized
Down to the Wire Tax Tips
Tax season is entering its final stretch — or “crunch time”. The IRS filing deadline for 2025 is just over a month away — Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Even if requesting an extension through October 15, 2026, an estimated payment must be made by April 15th to avoid penalties and interest for tax payments due when the return* is ultimately filed in October.
There are a handful of last minute actions that may still be taken for tax year 2025, if completed by April 15th (or September 15th and October 15th, where applicable). Continue reading “Down to the Wire Tax Tips”
Dow 50,000… What Next?? – Saturday Edition (Repost)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average pushing past 50,000 for the first time last Friday, February 6th deserves recognition. The DJIA average spent a few days above that record level and now hovers just below at 49,500. Where does the US stock market go from here?* Continue reading “Dow 50,000… What Next?? – Saturday Edition (Repost)”
Special Year-End Edition: Taxes & Trump Accounts
Happy New Year’s Eve,
In order to keep the last TGIF 2 Minutes of 2025 as efficient as possible, here are a few year-end notes based on most frequently asked questions in December. Continue reading “Special Year-End Edition: Taxes & Trump Accounts”
One New Year’s Resolution
It is that time of year when goals of every sort are made – for work, family, health and, yes, personal finances. Thinking about and writing down goals for each of these areas can be productive in itself. But then getting practical and boiling down a list of goals into a handful of things – or even JUST ONE THING – that a person resolves to make happen is critical.
Of course, this task is not easy, but hey, it is January 10th. Let’s give it a go.
Here is a goal that could be either a lifetime goal, or a one- or two-year goal that could make a lifetime of difference:
Focus on Saving in order to maintain Patience – in the event of the inevitable market decline. My nickname for this goal is FSP.
Next Level Crypto – 4Q 2024
A handful of today’s readers may be super-advanced Crypto intelligentsia, but for the majority this is not the case. For those striving to understand digital currency, cryptocurrency, blockchain, spending cryptocurrency… and the differences in the meaning of these terms, you have reached the “next level in the crypto journey”.
Although, the present of crypto and blockchain is far ahead of simply understanding these terms. In the interest of advancing knowledge closer to the present, let’s look at a couple of these concepts and the greater crypto and blockchain environment.
At most basic, digital currency refers to any currency that exists online, whereas cryptocurrency refers to currency held as a record on a blockchain database. The distinction is important because it can have significant tax implications.*
Interest Rates, The Fed & Market Highs
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.
Does A Portfolio Need Alternatives?
There are a number of ways to answer this question and the topic requires more than two minutes, so please look for follow-up and further information on the topic of alternative investments from TGIF 2 Minutes.
For starters, the key word in the question, “Does a portfolio need alternatives?” is need. And for reference, alternatives investments are often nicknamed “Alts” in conversations. Finally, “alternative investments” is a name mainly given by the financial services industry for:
- non-public investments
- private equity, private debt, and private real estate
- venture capital (VC)
- hedge funds
- and a whole host of other longer-term, less liquid and illiquid investments.
The Power of Human Capital
Continuing with the theme of “tax season time crunch” comes another 1-minute read. The in-depth 2-minute version of TGIF 2 Minutes will return soon.
Amidst tax season, questions can come to mind:
- WHY do we work so hard to pay so much in taxes?
- Why am I not on a beach somewhere getting “more” out of life?
- What is the “right” balance or timing around working now/spending later or spending now/working later, especially in light of all the taxes we pay?
There are too many answers to these simple yet complex questions. Given the 1-minute time frame of this Friday morning read, simplicity rules. Please consider the concept of human capital in order to apply a common aspect to all three questions above.
Return on Investment
As year-end nears, it may be an appropriate time, while evaluating portfolio performance, also to put in perspective portfolio returns that include the value added by having a financial adviser. This is not meant to be a self-serving topic! But rather spurred by an excellent article forwarded by a long-time client, highlighting:
- short-term portfolio decisions
- short-term & long-term portfolio performance
- overall long-term planning value resulting from each short-term choice.
Please allow me to expand on the article*.
An informed client wrote in to a “seeking advice” website that her adviser, for long-term risk management reasons, had sold a bunch of Nvidia (NVDA) stock which then appreciated by $50,000. The decision by the adviser was based on the client’s established, stated long-term goals and risk tolerance (desire for balanced risks) and with the client’s best interests in mind. The client overall trusts and likes the adviser and was wanting validation that it was “OK” to have sacrificed such a large gain in return for overall solid and holistic (read: big-picture analysis) financial planning.
