The author of today’s article calls it “one of the more underutilized strategies for taxable investment accounts”. That strategy? Tax-loss harvesting, whereby poor performers are sold at a loss in order to offset that year’s capital gains – and lessen one’s tax burden. The author proceeds to identify areas that may offer the best opportunities to exploit the tax-loss harvesting…
How do you compare to the average American when it comes to your household income (and household debt), charitable giving, 401(k) balance, personal savings rate, and other key financial metrics? Today’s article outlines “10 Financial Statistics of the Average American” – including the aforementioned five – so that you can find out. To see where you are financially average, above…
They correctly forecasted last decade’s financial crisis and its devastating effects on many Americans – and now they are getting nervous about another meltdown when the current bull market ends. Today’s article goes to three market skeptics – including Yale economist Robert Shiller, who warned of a “catastrophic collapse of the housing and stock markets” three years before the ’08…
If you’re close to retirement you can thank them for helping to give the return on your retirement savings a boost. But if your retirement is still a ways off, the author of today’s article warns that “you’re going to have a devil of a time getting a decent return on your retirement savings” because of them. The “them” in…
When it comes to all the interconnected pieces of successful retirement planning (taxes, Social Security, health care, etcetera), the author of today’s article points out that, ultimately, everything goes back to one fundamental question: How much money do I need to retire? Unfortunately, when it comes to answering this question, there are a number of misconceptions that people are prone…
Half of retirees don’t need to worry about it at all. Others will have no way of avoiding it. And more and more retirees will fall victim to it in the coming years. It’s the ‘tax torpedo’, which the author of today’s article explains is “a name given to the unexpected way that Social Security can get taxed, depending on…
The three stocks highlighted in today’s article offer above-average dividend yields (and the potential for years of continued dividend growth) as well as strong prospects for long-term returns, as each of the companies in question is a leader in its respective industry. As a result, the authors believe these three stocks are ideal picks for helping to build a retirement…
“Is there a hybrid solution that can give you some of the lifetime income of an annuity, while offering the inflation protection and principal availability of an investment portfolio?” This is the question that the author of today’s article poses before examining one possible option in that regard: managed-payout funds. After delving into the managed-payout funds (and related investment products)…
A new report from the Government Accountability Office details the serious retirement challenges that Americans are facing, and – in an effort to ward off (or at least mitigate the damage from) an impending retirement crisis in the country, is urging lawmakers in Congress to form an independent commission to study – and come up with solutions to – these…
The Trump tax reform plan has gotten a lot of attention (both positive and negative) of late. One aspect of the plan that has not gotten much notice, however, is a provision that the author of today’s article notes “would mark a landmark shift in the way that the government handles a key issue” – and this shift could ultimately…