Helping pave the way towards financial freedom
Most investors are not aware that just seven companies have kept the S&P 500 Index afloat this year. Apple, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, Alphabet, and Tesla have driven the vast majority of gains. The concept of “market breadth” analyzes how stocks perform relative to one another in a given index, such as the S&P 500….
Nobody wants to make investment mistakes. And yet, we’re human; mistakes happen. Here’s how to minimize the ones that matter the most, and make the most of the ones that remain. Bad Decisions vs. Bad Outcomes First, let’s define what we’re talking about: Investment mistakes happen when you make bad decisions, regardless of whether the…
Stock buybacks—i.e., a company repurchasing shares of its own stock—have been targets for praise and criticism through the years. So, which are they: good or evil? We agree with The Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig, who once wrote: “Buybacks are neither bad nor good. They are simply a tool. Just as you can use…
Not too long ago I wrote about the types of scams that are out there (see that post here). I’ve gotten a lot of feedback about this topic, as well as some questions. So I wanted to share the following pointers as a sort-of reference guide. Here we go: Who Are They (the bad guys)?…
One year ago there was a craze about I-Bonds. Many people inquired about them, and many people bought them. Perhaps you were one? I wrote about I Bonds in May 2022, and wanted to do an update on them now that we are in May 2023. What’s Changed? Well, the inflation rate over the past few…
In past posts – or perhaps conversations – we’ve been known to take aim at the media. That’s because bad things tend to happen to your personal wealth if you read, watch, or listen to too much news—or if you read too much into the news you’re reading. It’s human nature to react to the…
In planning for retirement, one topic is often top of mind: What if Social Security goes bust? As we covered in a related 2022 post, When Should You Take Your Social Security, most of us have been paying into the program our entire working life. We’re counting on receiving some of that money back in…
DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TOO SMART TO BE SCAMMED? About 4 out of 5 people say yes. Most also believe they’re better than others at spotting scams. Yet, scams work—and they’re more prevalent and profitable than ever before. In fact, every 15 seconds, someone’s getting scammed. Each year, billions are lost. Seniors are big targets,…
Nothing like year-end government planning! The original SECURE Act was signed into law on December 20th, 2019. Its “sequel,” the SECURE 2.0 Act, was similarly enacted at year-end on December 29th, 2022. Both pieces of legislation seek to reform how Americans prepare for retirement while juggling current spending needs. But a hard truth remains: Employers…
To say the least, there’s been plenty of political, financial, and economic action this year—from rising interest rates, to elevated inflation, to ongoing market turmoil. How will all the excitement translate into annual performance in our investment portfolios? Markets often deliver their best returns just when we’re most discouraged. So, who knows! While we wait…