THE SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACT
The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January 2025, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), restoring full Social Security benefits for public sector employees and their spouses. This repeal eliminates longstanding reductions in benefits for workers with government pensions and opens up new eligibility for spousal and survivor […]
The Sad Math of Losing Money
With the recent turmoil in the stock, bond, and real estate markets it is a good time to review one of the most important tenets of successful investing; minimizing your losses. The math of losses works in a funny way. If you lose 10% on your investment, a 10% gain does not make you even. […]
The Right Fit
I’m not one to pay buckets of money for custom tailored clothing. Just like many of you, I go to a store, pick out my general size and buy the nearest fitting clothes available. I would enjoy having my shoulders, waist, neck etc. measured to the quarter inch, then have my clothes fit perfectly, but […]
The Reverse Rollover: Turning Trapped Non-Deductible IRA Contributions into Tax-Free Roth Funds
For savvy investors and financial advisors, navigating the complexities of retirement planning often involves strategic maneuvers to optimize tax efficiency. Among these, the “Reverse Rollover” stands out as an exceptionally powerful, yet often underutilized, technique to convert non-deductible IRA contributions into a tax-free Roth IRA. If you’ve made after-tax contributions to a Traditional IRA and are now […]
The Problem With The Stock Market
Wow! Can you believe it? What in the world is going on now? No one understands this, it just makes no sense. Has the world gone mad? All of these sentences could be uttered every week if you have a conversation about the stock market. It never seems to change, there is always something nutty […]
The Perfect Time to Invest
There’s an old story in the investment industry that may be true or may be just a parable–but it certainly is appropriate to remember when the stock market is panicking. The story goes, a very smart advisor would tell each of the investors who opened an account with her the following: “Mr. and Mrs. Smith, […]
The Perfect Time to Invest
Is today the perfect time to invest in stocks for the long term? Maybe, history shows that the price of the permanent ups in the market is making it through the temporary downs. No matter what happens in China, we will still be drinking tea from Nestle’, driving cars made by GM on tires manufactured […]
The No Spend Weekend
Whether you live paycheck to paycheck, or are fortunate enough to enjoy some financial breathing room. Once a month, I challenge you to enjoy the “No Spend Weekend”. It might not sound feasible, but believe me, it can be done and is financially rewarding. Whether you go it alone or are married with or without […]
The Market Correction in Perspective
It has been a long time since we have seen the stock market exhibit this much volatility. Corrections are a normal and healthy part of investing. Corrections weed out the speculators and hot money. For a clearer view of what is happening, we offer a few charts with longer term views. <iframe class=”scribd_iframe_embed” title=”the […]
The Marathon
Financial freedom isn’t a matter of sprinting to the finish line at the end of the race. It’s more of a long, methodical strategy consisting of good habits, discipline, and determination. It takes years and years of consistent saving, investing, and oftentimes sacrifice. Just as you can’t expect to go from your couch to completing […]
