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Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
Every year, a bunch of people release their forecasts on the new year. It starts around now and trickles in through January. Some are doing it to make a name for themselves. It’s the ultimate hype machine for anyone with some wild and crazy predictions. Continue Reading…
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Every year the market never fails to surprise us with big winners and losers. The S&P 500’s 22% rise was one winner, but it wasn’t the best and far from the worst. This is the third year for the best and worst market awards with the focus on finding this years best and worst performing investments across several categories.
I do this every year for three simple reasons. The first, its fun to see the winners and losers of the year and compare it to earlier years.
Second, we might actually learn something. Outliers exist inside of every market that offer greater rewards and risks than your typical index fund. Whether it fits your investment strategy or not, finding out why can be helpful if not educational.
Third, it stands as a reminder that every year is different. The old disclaimer about past performance is true. You only have to look back at last year’s awards to see that it doesn’t guarantee future results. That said, investments don’t stop being naughty or nice because the year is over either. And whatever you do, don’t blindly invest off this list before doing some research first. Continue Reading…
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Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
The unemployment rate came in today hitting the magic number “7”. That is 7%. The last time it’s been this low was 2008 and we all know what happened then. But the big question these days is what happens now? Continue Reading…
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Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
I ran across a recent commentary about why stock picking is back. It’s not too far-fetched, yes it is possible, and Warren Buffett isn’t the only one who does it. The people doing it aren’t the ones bragging about it. So your stock picking neighbor who only picks winners, probably isn’t one of them.
The author’s theory is nothing new. If everyone is investing the same way, it stands to reason their returns will eventually languish, and other investment styles will rise out of the opportunity. Continue Reading…
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Taxes are an unfortunate side effect of successful investing, but there are ways to avoid it. You can build a tax efficient investing strategy to help lower those taxes over time. More importantly, it will leave more money in your pocket to reinvest, compound, and grow.
A tax efficient investment strategy is nothing new. It’s been used by the wealthy since tax codes were enacted. It’s legal and you don’t need a high-priced CPA to put an effective strategy together. If you know the current tax rates, you are half way there. After that you just need to know how to use the tax code in your favor. In order to do that we need to start with the basics.
Taxes eat into your investment gains like any other costs. This puts a limit on how your money grows. But thanks to our overly complex tax system, you have ways to reduce, suspend, or eliminate them.
The basic tax efficient investing strategy should lower your tax liability based on your financial goals both now and in the future. When done right, it should maximize your after tax dollars, which is the ultimate goal. Continue Reading…
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Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
Bubbles are all the rage these days. So much so, that everyone is looking for one. It reminds me of Bigfoot. It’s out there somewhere (maybe), we just haven’t found it, yet.
NPR recently covered the opposing views of Fama and Shiller on bubbles and the ability to predict them. Fama believes bubbles are not predictable. And if someone can predict bubbles, that person somehow has information not available to the market. That, according to Fama, is impossible because an efficient market has all the information and is priced accordingly. Continue Reading…