FINANCIaL
FIELd NOTES
Knowing Your Personal P/E Ratio Can Bring Comfort in a Bear Market
This first half of the year was the worst for a balanced portfolio in decades, with both stocks AND bonds performing terribly. If there is any silver lining, it is that valuations have come down.
That might seem obvious if your investments are down, but that is not always the case. Sometimes, companies can start earning much less, so valuations stay high even in a down market. In this bear market, earnings expectations have held up reasonably well…
Retirees Are Not Spending Enough
Would you rather spend money on that vacation now or have your children spend that money when you’re gone? This is a question I ask might ask a client who is living well below their means.
I am coming across more individuals who are not spending nearly as much as they could. And now the data seems to support it…
The Hidden Taxes In Tax-Free States
Moving to an income tax-free state in retirement may not lead to the tremendous savings retirees expect. The question to ask yourself when considering a new location is “How is this government funding itself?”
Oftentimes, the answer in states like Texas is property taxes. For example, in several counties in Texas, the property tax rate is over 2%, whereas it might be .5% to 1% in states with income taxes…
When Should You Take Social Security?
I’ve written extensively in the past about the decision of when to take Social Security.
But recently I came across this beautiful decision tree on when to take Social Security that I had to share…
Using Direct Indexing to Maximize Charitable Giving
Direct Indexing is an investment strategy where the investor purchases the individual stocks of an index instead of the underlying index fund itself. You may be wondering why someone would go through the hassle of owning so many stocks when the cost of index funds is so low, and they can be purchased very easily. I tend to agree that in most situations, direct indexing is not the solution.
However, there are some situations where they can provide a tremendous benefit. One of those is for investors with non-retirement investments who donate to charity…
How Much Income Do You Need To Replace In Retirement?
A common rule of thumb is that retirees will spend on average 80% of their pre-retirement income. In practice, however, I have seen the “replacement rate” vary greatly from person to person.
For some, their work keeps them very busy, so the first few years of retirement are filled with long-awaited travel plans that lead them to spend more. For others, the simplicity of life allows them to eat more at home and travel less, which leads to a decrease in spending…