Yep, your investments are down and so are your spirits. Those looking for a silver lining may be talking about tax loss harvesting. What does that even mean? Warning, if your money is all in retirement accounts (IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, this concept doesn’t apply. Tax loss harvesting is only for accounts where capital…
Maybe inflation isn’t all bad. Social Security checks are going up 8.7%, you can buy a 1-year CD earning 4.5% interest, and (for those who aren’t spending every last time on more expensive groceries) we are seeing a big jump in retirement contribution limits for 2023. To summarize: 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans: Under age…
The IRS has done it again. Taken an already unfortunate new rule about inheriting IRAs and made it even worse. To recap, if you inherited IRA/Roth IRA/Workplace Retirement Account money from someone who died in 2020 or after, the SECURE Act states that you must take that money out of the account within 10…
Three not-fun things to do at the Thanksgiving table Talk about how you voted in the mid-term elections. Stare at the football game. The Festivus Airing of Grievances one month early. Three more fun Thanksgiving activities Thanksgiving Mad Libs! Print out for free here. Have everyone take Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies Quiz on their phone.…
To find it? Recently I read an article about the U.S. Will Registry. It’s a free website where you can upload either the will/trust documents themselves or just say where you have your estate plan stashed. And who is allowed to see it. This seems like a great idea just in case: Your will…
Our dollars are buying less, but we still want to create great family memories for the holidays. Here are some ideas for creating special times without running up credit card bills (also with higher rates than last year). Groceries/entertaining When hosting large family gatherings, ask guests to contribute sides and desserts. Speaking of side…
Pumpkins, pumpkin spice, pumpkin decorations…it’s October and pumpkins are pervasive. There is even a business book about pumpkins by Mike Michalowicz called The Pumpkin Plan. Since many of my readers are business owners or operate as such within a larger company, here are three quick ideas from this very popular book. To grow…
What is the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022? Is it just a lesson on being more careful when naming laws? Is it an inflation law, a climate law, or an insurance law? As with all laws, it’s complicated so here are three things you may find helpful in the new regulations. Drug costs for…
Let’s start off with a direct quote for how the October 2021 version of this blog started: “I guess it’s a good year in the stock market when the worst performing sectors (so far, as of writing this blog on September 13th) aren’t negative, just not up as high as the best performers. My sage…
The stock market hasn’t given us much to smile about this year. How about a little Halloween humor to lighten the mood? What kind of music do mummies listen to? Wrap music. How did the vampire marathon end? Neck and neck. What is a ghost’s least favorite candy? Life Savers. What do you call…
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