Retirement Watch Weekly
Bob’s Journal for 8/3/22
How Inflation Distorts Data In times of elevated inflation, we need to be careful when examining economic and financial data. Inflation distorts a lot of numbers, including gross domestic product (GDP) and corporate earnings. It is important to look at the real changes after adjusting for inflation and also consider the time period involved and […]
Bob’s Journal for July 27, 2023
Producer Prices Near Deflationary Levels, Consumer Price Inflation Remains High Producer prices increases have slowed to almost 0% while consumer price increases remain high. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for June increased only 0.1% after declining 0.4% in May. Over 12 months, the PPI increased only 0.1%. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy, […]
Bob’s Journal for July 19, 2023
IRS Issues New Guidance on RMDs The IRS isn’t ready to issue final rules on the changes made to required minimum distributions (RMDs) under the SECURE Act and other recent legislation, but it issued new short-term guidance last week. RMDs were changed in significant ways the last few years. One major change is that the […]
6 IRA Moves to Take During 2023
The halfway point of 2023 has passed. This is a good time to plan how you’ll manage IRAs for the rest of the year. Don’t be like most people and scramble in November and December. Here are some key steps most people should consider. Donate via a QCD. A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is the […]
IRA Changes for 2023 and 2024 You Should Know
In my new Retirement Watch Spotlight Series, I’ll share my newest breakthrough strategies for protecting your assets and growing your portfolio, including how to prepare for the next market downturn. Click here now to learn more. […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/13/23
4 Reasons Index Funds Beat Most Actively-Managed Stock Funds A minority of actively managed stock mutual funds beat the indexes or index funds. That’s well-known. Most people say the difference is due to the higher fees and expenses of actively managed funds. Higher costs are a factor, of course, but it’s not the only reason […]
Facts to Know Before Taking the Social Security Lump Sum Cash Option
The Social Security Administration still is doing a disservice by coaxing applicants into taking the optional lump sum cash payment when they sign up. The beneficiaries more than pay for it over the long term. The lump sum option isn’t new. But many applicants don’t know about it until the SSA offers it to them […]
Bob’s Journal for July 6, 2023
Without AI, Stock Indexes are Down 2% This Year The S&P 500 Index is up 16.79% so far in 2023, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is up 39.14%. But those gains are because of a remarkably few stocks, and those stocks are closely connected to artificial intelligence (AI). The rest of the market isn’t doing […]
