The U.S. Healthcare System Is A Mess

The U.S. Healthcare System Is A Mess

The New York Times (NYT) just published an article titled “Hospitals and Insurers Didn’t Want You to See These Prices.” That article is the stimulus for this blog. Have you ever remodeled a bathroom? Imagine walking into a plumbing fixtures store only to discover that none of the items have their prices posted. Instead you…
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You Can’t Have Rights Without Responsibilities

The U.S. is currently facing another surge in COVID cases, hospitalizations, and even deaths. Sadly, this is occurring while the country is awash in vaccines that have shown remarkable efficacy. I’m concerned that the proliferation of this virus could have a highly deleterious effect on our economy and our investment portfolios, not to mention our…
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Dealing With Sudden Wealth

A young tech employee recently wrote an article in New York Magazine about her experience becoming a multi-millionaire after her company went public (see https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/04/confessions-overnight-tech-millionaire.html.) Not surprisingly it involved equal measures of anxiety and jubilation as she movingly described how both large and small aspects of her life have uncontrollably changed. Psychologist & author Stephen…
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Predicting Earnings Growth Isn’t Enough

If company earnings were the most important factor associated with company stock returns, shouldn’t the S&P 500 average annual index performance have reflected the average annual earnings growth of the companies that it comprises? According to Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management, over the past 80 years corporate earnings have increased by about 6% annually…
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Be Careful Treating Your Hobby As A Business

Do you have a hobby that actually makes you some money? Crafting and selling jewelry or pottery for example? Or blogging about travel? Perhaps you help friends breed dogs. Did you know that hobby income is taxable (it should be reported on Form 1040 Schedule 1)? And before 2018 any expenses associated with a hobby…
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How To Increase Your Tax-Free Savings

Probably most everyone is familiar with a company 401(k) retirement savings plan. Employees age 50 or older can defer up to $26,000 of their salary in 2021. The employer can additionally add contributions based on a matching formula or some percentage of company profits. In the majority of plans today employees can even choose to…
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