Seven Misperceptions About Taxes

Seven Misperceptions About Taxes

Since tax payment season is just around the corner, I thought I’d share some common misperceptions about your federal taxes. Getting refunds is better than owing taxes. False. A refund is nothing more than a zero-interest loan you made to the government. It’s better to owe them money. But not too much. If you owe…
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The Ten Worst Days Ever In The Stock Market

We usually talk about stock market performance on a yearly basis. And last year’s -18% S&P 500 loss was nothing to write home about. But during bad years daily volatility can also spike. In 2022 the index’s worst day was September 13th when it fell -4.3%. How does that one-day loss stack up against the…
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Is There A Better Approach To Retirement?

As a financial planner I discuss retirement goals with virtually every client. Those that don’t plan to remain in their own homes typically talk about moving to a retirement community or an assisted living facility. Yet there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that segregating older people, particularly by age, may not only shorten their…
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Can Stocks Fall Two Years In A Row?

It’s common for conservative investors to become fearful after a year of awful performance in the stock market. Last year certainly qualifies; it was the seventh worst year for the S&P 500 since 1926. Could 2023 also turn out to be a bad year for stocks? Of course anything is possible. But two down years…
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Why 2022 Was The Worst Investment Year In History

The year 2022 will go down in my book as the worst year in history for the U.S. investment markets. Why do I assert that so strongly? It’s because of what happened to bonds. The S&P 500 lost -18.1%, making 2022 merely the seventh worst year since 1926. But that wasn’t the main story. The…
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Big Changes For Retirement Planning Under Secure Act 2.0

At the tail end of December President Biden signed into law the Secure Act 2.0 as part of the $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Its name represents an extension of the 2019 Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act that was the Federal government’s first major retirement-focused legislation since 2006. Secure…
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