Retirement
20 Second Advisor: SECURE 2.0
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which is wrapped into the larger bill, Securing a Strong Retirement Act, commonly called SECURE 2.0. The majority of the SECURE 2.0 provisions will become effective in 2024. Here are a few key takeaways from SECURE 2.0 that may affect you:
Read More20 Second Advisor: Learning Guitar and Investing
I am taking guitar lessons. It’s been a goal of mine for a while, and I realized I needed the face to face instruction and accountability to give myself the best chance of success. My instructor keeps telling me…”I’d rather you practice 15 minutes a day than ONLY 2 hours on Saturday!” This made me…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Age before beauty – how older investors can outperform higher return investments (hint: it’s time!).
I’m reading a book right now that talks about Warren Buffett. Some say he is a great investor. Others say that perhaps he has just been extremely lucky. Or perhaps he is just an old investor (he’s been investing for a long time!). I think Buffett has a good bit of all three: Investment skill,…
Read More20 Second Advisor: 2023 Retirement Contribution Limits
Here are the maximum amounts you can save into some common retirement plans in 2023. Go ahead and increase your contribution! Cheers to 2023 and let us know if we can help you plan for retirement or navigate which plan is best for you! If you like keeping up with this data (and a lot…
Read More20 Second Advisor: SMART goals = intentional life
It’s that time of year when we clean out the junk in our house, take stock of where we are, and maybe make a few goals and plans for the coming year! I love to plan, but I’ve learned that nothing happens by accident. The best way to move incrementally toward the life you envision…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Don’t let health insurance ruin your dreams!
Most people get health insurance through their employer. They are given a few options, and some of the costs are typically paid for by their employer. Most people don’t think too much about it. This all changes as people approach retirement or start thinking about starting a business! Suddenly, health insurance becomes this massive beast…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Catching a falling knife (or why you don’t want to sell out in this market).
I often tell people that timing the market is akin to trying to catch a falling knife. You might get lucky and grab the falling knife on the handle. Or you might get unlucky – grab the knife on the blade and end up in the hospital. In a nutshell, we know that the market…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Inflation could mean bigger SS benefits
If inflation remains hot, retirees may get a bigger bump to their Social Security benefits than previously estimated. Last week, the annual report from the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs projected a 3.8% increase in the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for beneficiaries’ monthly checks next year. But since the report data was gathered in mid-February,…
Read More20 Second Advisor: The Weight of Decades vs The Opinion of Weeks
Benjamin Graham – one of the fathers of value investing is credited with the following quote: In the short-run, the market is a voting machine – reflecting a voter-registration test that requires only money, not intelligence or emotional stability – but in the long-run, the market is a weighing machine. Benjamin Graham, as Quoted in…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Are negative years normal?
This past quarter has been a tough time to be in an investor. In the first quarter of 2022, all major asset classes had negative returns. See here for a recap of Q1 2022 returns. However, during the last 13 years (2009-2021), US stock returns have been pretty good – the S&P 500 had positive…
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