You may have seen that Charles Schwab has reduced its commissions to $0. But when you dig a little deeper you realize there’s a catch. As it turns out it’s free but Schwab gets to use your cash, lend it out, and pocket-the interest you could have made. “Schwab doesn’t use money-market funds or short-term Treasury funds, which could earn nearly 2% at recent rates,” explains Jason Zweig at the WSJ. “Instead, it shunts the cash into Charles Schwab Bank, which currently pays 0.55% on the money—and then turns around and lends it out at roughly 2%.” Clearly you can see Schwab isn’t working … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Check Out the New Corvette C8
Your Survival Guy had a chance to check out the new Corvette C8. Starting out at $59k this stunner is a game-changer. Jay Leno has the first look at the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - Jay Leno's Garage Jay Leno has turned his passion for cars into an investing strategy. See how he does it here. Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. … [Read more...]
How to Find the Best Place to Retire
If you are like many soon-to-be-retirees in America, you're looking forward to getting away from your cold, northern, probably-high-tax state and settling down in retirement in a southern locale with low taxes and warm winters. But, how can you know where you'll like it best in your Golden Years? I encourage you to do some A/B testing. Live short-term or spend a vacation in some of the places you'd potentially move to during retirement. Without actually staying there for a month or more, it can be hard to judge whether or not you'll be happy. There's another way to get a feel for new … [Read more...]
Best and Worst Tax States in 2019: A Quick List Retirees Need to See
In retirement, there's nothing that can affect your standard of living more than taxation. Property taxes, taxes on your investment income, and even sales taxes can make all the difference in your ability to pursue the retirement dreams you've been working toward for years. Each year Kiplinger releases a ranking of the best and worst states for taxation. Here they are: The Best States for Taxation in 2019 Wyoming Nevada Tennessee Florida Alaska Washington South Dakota North Dakota Arizona New Hampshire The Best State for Taxation in 2019 The best state for … [Read more...]
Welcome to the Hotel California of Investments
Welcome to the Hotel California of Investments: Indexed Annuities. With surrender fees as much as 10% per year lasting as long as 10 to 12-years, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!” Take caution: Because as money flows into indexed annuities remember that the big winners are certainly the insurance companies and the salesmen (who make 5 to 8 percent of the sale). Penelope Wang explains at Consumer Reports: Unlike regular annuities, which give a fixed payout, returns on indexed annuities rise and fall with the stock market. But these annuities don’t invest in … [Read more...]
Stocks Cap Their Best First Three Quarters in 22 Years
Despite the ongoing trade war and skirmishes in the Middle East, stocks posted their best three first three quarters since 1997. Gunjan Banerji writes in The Wall Street Journal: The S&P 500 is now sitting just 1.6% below July 26’s all-time high, but it has also risen a mere 2.2% from a year ago after a brutal selloff last fall—encapsulating the sideways trading pattern that has gripped markets since the beginning of 2018. The quarter ended on a relatively quiet note. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.5% to 2976.74 Monday, paced by Apple, which closed at its highest level this … [Read more...]
Low Cost of Living Isn’t Just for Retirees
You know how important location can be for retirees. Sunshine, access to services and entertainment, and proximity to family are all factors that can make a big difference in retirement. The most important of all though, is cost of living. Taxes, housing costs, and energy costs are especially important to those living on a fixed income. Your Retirement Life: How Do You Know Where to Live in Retirement? Maine’s Governor wants to Live in Florida, Here’s Why Where to Live to Save for Retirement. It’s Not Where You Think Where to Live to Make a Living? Try this Southern Gem Your … [Read more...]
Here’s Why Millennials Are Abandoning Big Cities
Big cities may get all the press but what we continue to see is a migration away from them and into the burbs. As Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox point out here in New Geography: When Amazon decided to locate its second headquarters in New York, it cited the supposed advantages of the city’s talent base. Now that progressive politicians have chased Amazon out of town, the tech booster chorus has been working overtime to prove that Gotham, and other big, dense, expensive cities, are destined to become “tech towns” anyway, because of their young, motivated labor pools. That argument may sound … [Read more...]
How to Run a Meeting like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos
Here’s an excellent rundown by Justin Bariso at Inc., on how to run a meeting like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos: Bad meetings: We've all experienced them. Whether it's poor planning, too much talking, or lack of preparation, bad meetings waste precious time and money. But Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos may have cracked the code for making meetings more productive. By means of his annual letter to shareholders, as well as a recent interview, Bezos gave some insight into what the Amazon meeting culture looks like. It all comes down to following three simple rules. "Two pizza" … [Read more...]
Here’s Why Sanders’ Tax Plan Could Usher in a Wave of Tax Avoidance
“Enough is enough,” Bernie Sanders said Tuesday. “We are going to take on the billionaire class, substantially reduce wealth inequality in America and stop our democracy from turning into a corrupt oligarchy.” Except there’s one small problem. The billionaire class he’s after would apply to married couples with a net worth of at least $32 million and individuals with $16 million. That’s not the billionaire class. Uncle Bernie’s tax would rise to 8% for married couples with assets of at least $10 billion. Believe me, if he thought being a billionaire was tough, try finding the … [Read more...]