OK, my December RAGE Gauge is in, and risk continues to run high. Before we get into the reading, let’s go over a few items that are on my mind. The days of drawing down 4% of your portfolio per year have sailed on, especially while interest rates are nailed to the floor. Instead, a more reasonable draw today is in the 3% range, and even that is up for debate. Try to keep your draw rate as low as possible now, so you’re not forced to reduce it later because of a market correction. Consider where we are in the current environment with stocks. It’s a risky time for retirees and … [Read more...]
How to Find Your Retirement Life Forever Home
The best advice you can get when it comes to finding Your Retirement Life forever home, is to spend time in the area you think you’ll like. Take our cabin in New Hampshire, for example. I knew the area like the back of my hand having spent a season as a ski instructor after Babson and then going up on weekends after my parents bought a house there. Over time it became obvious to me that we, as a family, were going to be spending a lot more time in New Hampshire and it felt right. That wouldn’t have happened over a weekend. It took years. From Beth DeCarbo in the WSJ: To Rick Brown and … [Read more...]
ROBINHOOD HACK: Millions of “Users'” Data Compromised
Why would you expose yourself to this? The Hood has a lot of heart saying the matter’s resolved after a million accounts are compromised. Peter Rudegeair and Robert McMillan report for The Wall Street Journal on the recent hack of Robinhood Markets, to the tune of five million users' data breached, writing: Robinhood Markets Inc. HOOD +0.26% said Monday that an intruder gained access to its systems last week and made off with the personal information of millions of its users. The trading app said in a blog post that the incident took place on Wednesday evening and that the breach has since … [Read more...]
AMERICAN DEBT CRISIS: Don’t Hold Back Your Life With Debt
Your survival depends on you doing the right things at the right time. Getting out of debt is one of my most important recommendations as US household debt climbs to a new record. Americans are in more debt now than they've ever been. Anneken Tappe reports for CNN Business: American households are carrying record amounts of debt as home and auto prices surge, Covid infections continue to fall and people get out their credit cards again. Between July and September, US household debt climbed to a new record of $15.24 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday. It was an … [Read more...]
GAME ON! Lessons from Street Hockey on Baker Lane
When I was a kid, I grew up on a dead-end lane, Baker Lane, but it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. The street hockey games were epic. I remember playing with the bigger kids when they’d have games at one end of the Lane or with my friends at the other end in front of my house. It’d get heated at times, especially when the bigger kids would get into wrestling fights after a play rolling around in a neighbor’s front yard. A little scary to see when you’re little. Why am I writing this to you? Well, I read an article yesterday about how millennials are taking the task of investing into their own … [Read more...]
30-YEAR HIGH: Inflation Hammers American Family Budgets
American families need no reminder that prices are going up, fast. They can see it every time they go to the grocery store, pump gas, pay the rent, or see the doctor. The latest measure of consumer price inflation has just been released, and it came in at a three-decade high of 6.2%. The speed of price increases being felt by Americans under the Biden administration is hurting families. The Wall Street Journal reports: Federal Reserve officials are closely watching inflation measures to gauge whether the recent jump in prices will be temporary or lasting. One such factor is consumer … [Read more...]
The 10 Worst States for Taxpayers if Build Back Better Passes
Just how much of each dollar you earn should the government be allowed to take from you? The modern income tax signed by Woodrow Wilson had the highest income-earners paying a statutory 7% on the income they earned over $500,000. At the time, some states did collect income taxes as well, but nothing like today. If Joe Biden's Build Back Better bill passes, high-income earners will be leveled with high tax rates on income. At the federal level alone over half, 51.4%, of every dollar earned by high-income earners will be redistributed by the government via income taxation alone. If you live … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Come Monday You Went to Work
Happy Monday. Who’s got your back in times like these when everyone’s making money, money, money? Let’s not forget when the music stops, not everyone’s going to have a chair. Like a broken record, there are always more investors than you’d expect who will be pushed to the floor. Happens every time. “It won’t happen to me,” is a common refrain. When I think about how hard most of you have worked to create what you have, I know come Monday, you got up and went to work. And the next week, same thing. Rinse, wash, repeat. That’s a lot of years and a lot of hours. Imagine having to do that all … [Read more...]
HIGHER FEES: The Big Players Are Pushing ESG Investing
Happy Friday. What a week. Can’t help but feel excited for America because, as one client puts it, “Americans have been awoken by the woke.” Here’s what’s on your mind. The race for governor in New Jersey isn’t over. This one’s another stinker as votes seem to appear out of nowhere in the dead of night. News flash to Murphy: NJ’s oppressive taxes keep “residents” in Florida for six months and a day, not NJ. They’ve already decided that calling you their governor is bad for business. Let’s go DeSantis. Looking to get away? Zillow has got a house for you. All of a sudden, the “high … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy: Simple Prepping for Winter Storms
You know how I feel about technology or algorithms taking over your portfolio. I’m sticking with the four-year-olds. Keep it simple. Sure, Your Survival Guy likes technology, but if I have to get stuff done fast, I write it down on some good ‘ole fashion paper. It’s mobile, it doesn’t need to be charged, and it doesn’t chirp at me when I’m trying to concentrate. Now then, Your Survival Guy has some experience with technological disasters. Take, for example, my most recent one, where there was black smoke rising from my boat. Turns out, a lightning strike hit the VHF antenna that ended up … [Read more...]
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