Move recent market
profits to less volatile space?
S&P 500 index up
18.89% YTD Friday causes more anxiety. Some advisors forecast doom and some say
it is a new bull. What can we do? My smart readers have taken their excess
profits to their balanced fund that contains 62% bonds (Vanguard
Wellesley Income Fund). They still maintain their portfolios consisting
mostly of the “Ten Best Vanguard” funds. Most have changed the original 10%
allocation to overweight the Wellesley Income fund as they have progressed in
retirement. Since they don’t know how long they will need their nest egg for
income, they continue to hold their chosen allocations. They rely on taking
equal amounts from each fund to fulfill their RMD obligations. However, to
cover a large expense (new used car) they sell each fund equally. They may take
the funds from their Roth IRA in order to control their annual income tax bill.
Diversification helps them weather the storms. Also most hold individual
securities in their brokerage accounts.
2022 Returns Vanguard Fund
Long-term Return Longevity
-19.8% 500 Index 10.8%
since 1976
24.0% Energy 9.4% since 1984
-26.4% Extended
Market 10.0%
since 1987
-0.8% Health 15.7%
since 1984
-30.1% International
Growth 10.2%
since 1981
-14.9% PRIMECAP 13.4%
since 1984
-9.5% Small Cap Index 10.6% since 1960
-8.8%
-2.9%
-12.9%
-10.2% Average 11.1%
* *Average Annual Returns as of
https://www.amazon.com/What-your-RMD-much-spend-ebook/dp/B07D17RFZ6
How much do Gen Xers
(born 1965-1980) need to save for retirement?
This is the age
group who question me the most on this important issue since I have had the
experience of investing and living on a nest egg for over 10 years. Consider
how inflation reduces our buying power each and every year. Stamps are now 66c
instead of 37
cents in 2003. In other words, a nest egg of $1 million today will only buy
about $600,000 of goods in 20 years and only $300,000 in 40 years. Instead of
receiving $3,333 a month for life from the million dollars starting today, you
would receive only $2,000 a month for life from the inflation-diminished nest
egg value. So, to overcome inflation over a lifetime, Gen X folks must use the
higher return of stocks to reach $1.6 million in 35 years. To reach this goal,
Gen X must invest about 66% more per month for 35 years to get a comfortable
nest-egg income in retirement. Many present day retirees who were used to
employer-sponsored pensions were caught unaware of the power of inflation to
wipe out their long-term savings/investing dollars. Since 1998, Gen X could use
a tax-FREE account to enlarge their eggs by 25-32%.
Go Tax-FREE: https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Afford-Retirement-FEE-FREE/dp/1517738253
Save your first
$1000 in one quick move
You can increase
your savings this year with one change. Most of the folks I talk to have come
to the conclusion that they are paying too much for the financial services they
use. Because their firm deducts their fees, charges and costs in smaller
amounts sometimes not even showing up on their statements, they don’t really
know the total for the year. They have had the experience of being misled into
positions that were NOT favorable even after being assured by the sales person
the move was beneficial to them. After several of these seemingly bad moves
after being told the opposite, these folks have looked and found a better
alternative. They discovered that they can call on a knowledgeable and unbiased
licensed professional for a less expensive consultation on their money challenges.
Since these advisors work on a salary, NOT commission, basis they are less
likely to be steered into a mistake. Since they pay less for the same services, they
keep more. Most were ahead by at least a $1,000 the first year. Since then
some told me they have saved over $25,000 because they are not paying an
advisor based on their total holdings. They laugh and admit their old
advisor did nothing to increase their overall portfolio some years. They
paid all the costs no matter what happened—win or lose money. Lower-cost
advisory firms offer more value and so, save you money.
Simple as that: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957
Is selling your life
insurance right for you?
The industry calls
this a “life-settlement” transaction. The buyer becomes the beneficiary of your
policy. The new owner keeps making the premium payments until you die. The
buyer is betting that you die before they pay you more than they paid for the
policy benefit. Policyholders with terminal illnesses receive significantly
higher offers. Some brokers offer instant estimates. You need to be old
enough or sick enough for investors to be willing to take on the risk of buying
your policy. You must be 65 years or older to qualify. Many states require
owners to be terminally ill with a life expectancy of less than two years or
chronically ill and unable to perform at least two “activities of daily living”
such as bathing, eating, dressing or going to the bathroom on their own. This
sort of sale is usually referred to as a viatical settlement rather than a life
settlement. The average policy face value in life settlements was $1.24
million in 2018. You might need long-term care but don’t have another way
to pay for it, such as a long-term care insurance policy. Your reason for
creating a legacy may have changed. You may just need the cash and the premiums
have become a drag on your lifestyle. If you stop paying the premiums, you may get
nothing—the insurer may keep your premiums. An overwhelming majority of
policies that are sold are universal life insurance policies. Licensed
brokers do the comparison shopping for you—an auction—so they get a
commission. These companies do NOT know what is best for you so learn the
pro/con factors. You can cut out the broker and sell directly. See https://www.lisa.org/af_memberDirectory.asp.
Before you commit, get 3 offers.
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Insurance-Need-Save-right/dp/1480002178
Why retirees have
less income in retirement
More than half of us
retire earlier than expected, a new study finds. This reduces our SS benefits
by 25% or more during our whole retirement. Further, we must use up our other
funds before we would want. Funds have no chance to grow by saving/investing
since we are forced to use them earlier than might be expected. the most
significant factors influencing individuals’ expected and actual retirement
decisions are health status, wealth level, age, marital status changes,
mortality expectations, education levels, disability and major illness
diagnosis. Other factors like economic downturn, labor misalignments, industry
turmoil, and retirement expectations may cause retirement on and off again
decisions. Factors associated with higher
retirement ages include a change of marital status, lower mortality expectations
and higher education levels. More than 44% of the respondents retire before age
62. “Only 16% retired at the age they expected.” Most surprising is that people
actually retire well before Medicare eligibility age of 65. Health insurance
coverage becomes another drain on their nest eggs. Adequate planning is
required to maintain future income expectations.
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Plan-Live-Age-100/dp/1548180793
Is an Equity Defined
Protection ETF right for you?
These buffer ETFs or
‘defined-outcome funds’, have been around since 2018. Buffer funds offer
buffered exposure to stocks by limiting investors’ downside risk while also
capping upside potential. Some ETF buffers track S&P 500 returns up to a
capped percentage over a two-year period. Some
will promise to protect against 100% of stock losses. Of course, the
trade-off is the 1% costs and the limit to potential gains. The risk and reward
has been limited since many buyers are looking at annuities to do the same. The
marketing ‘hook’ of 100% protection is a powerful concept but the owners of
these funds have no idea how the newest products will fair in the future. Thus
with anything new you are entrusting your money to no guaranteed outcome.
Know what your money
can do: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/downside.asp
Do stocks outpace
bonds over the long run?
Many investors and
paid product providers have been convinced from studies of certain time periods
that stocks beat bonds in terms of real total returns. Thus your 401k and other
fund choices have long advised a 60/40 portfolio set up. But in some studies (The Death of the Risk Premium, for
instance,) it show this is a false dogma used to drive sales. Because there are
periods of outsize gains, investors continue to be attracted to more ‘sexy’
fast moving stocks. Most of us never looked at the real outcomes over time. We
have not learned that “ordinary
long-term Treasury bonds have outpaced the broad stock market.” “None of
this analysis is contingent on any assumption that market P/E ratios or
dividend yields should return to historical levels. If there is not a positive
risk premium, then actuarial return assumptions are likely to be too optimistic.”
The implications of “no positive risk premium” for the industry is
overwhelming. So the wise investors should be keeping their portfolio at 50/50
since there is no advantage in stocks. Likewise this study finds that
“mainstream bonds are supposed to reduce our risk and provide useful
diversification” and they don’t. It is another false dogma. Perhaps a low-cost
balanced fund like Vanguard
Wellesley Income Fund is the right place to be for all of our lives. It has
provided 9.23% since 1970 with 61% higher-quality bonds from almost every
sector of the economy.
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Mutual-Funds-retirement/dp/1481114026
?**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************?
Like 1776, this
period is a test
of democracy—We
rejected an "American
fascist" once
The
Path to Dictatorship: 2010-2030
Parallels of this era in the past
may hint at our future: democracy breaks apart legally
Billionaires
paid $881 million for votes in 2022
midterm elections
Nov 2020 Wealthy
discredit election process
Jan
6 2021 Direct
govt overthrow failed: guns
& bombs ready
Trump
engaged in a "criminal
conspiracy" to stop Biden
“I
don’t f—ing care that they have weapons”
Trump was “detached
from reality”
Trump
used mafia-style intimidation on the defenseless
Trump still terrorizing
election woman
Parscale: “a
sitting president asking for civil war.”
Trump:
“Just
say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me”
GOP fascism: “RINO
hunt armed; no bagging limit” J6
comm threat
January
6, 2021 “A
date which will live in infamy”
Trump’s Supremes END
personal rights & state
laws except for weapons
WMDs
Fascism: GOP
to stop women leaving state for abortion
It’s
not a court. It’s a junta: Two Americas
Trump: President
Biden is 'enemy of the state'
Christian
Nationalist Party (CNP) replaces
GOP
Apr 9 Illustrated
Anne Frank book removed by Florida school
Apr 21 Trump: “I
am your justice”
May 9 Trump
guilty of sexual abuse
Jun 8 Trump
indicted by the United States of America
Violation
of the Espionage Act
Conspiracy to obstruct
justice
Making false
statements
Jul Trump indicted by the
Violation of the Electoral
Count Act
Conspiracy to defraud the
Witness tampering
Conspiracy against rights
Jan 2025 Dictator
pardons himself: his Supremes agree
How Govt wastes our money:
IRS ‘Cracks Down’
175 Millionaire Tax Cheats: that story is old: yields
less than costs
NASA
expensive rocket to return to moon makes no sense: we
already did it 54 years ago
Trump
got his own-appointed judge for espionage trial: will he ever face
fair justice?
Trump tries to breeze-by
all his trial dates so prez above law: MAGA supports dictator
Trump feared NRA so
much he
let NRA veto any action on Parkland massacre
Military emails with
sensitive info sent to
New ER costs: 500,000
Texans have lost
Medicaid coverage since COVID-era: use ER
U.S.
blacklists spyware companies: security threats: foreign gov to target
Americans
SCAMS/SPINS:
We are now using
loans to buy food: ‘buy
now, pay later’ to finance high grocery prices
FTC Bans ‘Extended
Vehicle Warranty’ scam
Real estate broker’s
lies to sell: confessions
of a broker
Scam: airline
phones are going to scammer after your money: very ingenious
Chuck Roberts FL 8 investor
claims $23.5 million unsuitable
trades structured notes
James Tri
Truong CA nondisclosure
3 previous felony charges
Scam: looks like a letter from the “IRS”
alerting you to a refund: check irs.gov/refunds
Snap Finance caught
deceiving consumers, obscuring terms, making false threats.
Mark Grenon and sons
charged
conspiring defraud US and deliver misbranded drugs
Eliyahu “Eli”
Weinstein others charged defrauding
150 investors of $35 million Ponzi
Supreme’s code of
conduct been stalled for years: Supremes
create the law so above it.
Supreme Thomas
helped GOP superdonor Crow deduct $ millions from taxes: yacht trick
Teixeira who leaked
secret docs wants
“freedom till trial like Trump in similar case” haha
We dread killings
but we do nothing: deadliest 6 months of mass killings since 2006
5
shot MD drive-by after funeral, shooter left
1
killed 2 injured ND gunman killed in crash dispute
4
killed GA small town: shooter killed 2 police hurt
Injecting
human-made, sun-blocking aerosols into the stratosphere to alter
rainfall?
Scam: Fulvic
Essentials “dirt” may have lead and arsenic: pyramid
scheme
Social media is rotting our personal relationships, our humanity and our
sense of self
GOP supports coal,
gas, oil producers for contributions so to plant
1 Trillion trees offset
GOP
money for DeSantis going to Dem Kennedy who supports racist ideology
DeSantis, others
sued over alleged ‘election police’ voter
intimidation
GOP
hates “Woke” people: you’re
‘woke’ if you reject the stupid stuff some preach
Trump: indictments
are "a
great badge of courage" ‘any publicity is good publicity’ $$$
GOP: Trump’s gov
overthrow OK: McCarthy reversed “Trump
bears responsibility”
Will
Trump ever pay Jean Carroll for sexual abuse judgment $5 million? Any
bets?
Michigan
AG charges 16 ‘fake electors’ in 2020 scheme
Title Lenders Trap
Low-income Americans in Debt
Fidelity plan users
had data stolen by hacker from vendor firm
Now
the recession is off; last month it was on
for 2024: stock market sizzles @ 18.8%
Jobs
Work-From-Home
Jobs That eventually Pay $100,000: work your way up
Some
employers help you pay student loans
New
AI assistants “agents” or “copilots” to perform complex personal/work
tasks
Chip maker specialist
in 2 new plants: on job training
Who owns your account now?
Social
Security rules for divorced spouses
IRS Issues New 2023 RMD
Relief for IRA Beneficiaries
Some used car prices
have dropped 30% from 1 year ago: slide continues
Staples offers FREE recycling
of electronics at stores nationwide every day.
FedNow, money
transfers/bill payments: more secure, at dozens of banks/institutions
CD, DVD
bought and sold for cash
Dental
work for less if you do the research
Miracles:
Month of 100-plus-degree
days break records: few
worker protections
880
fires burning throughout Canadian territory: 580 are “out of control”
Miracle if oil, gas,
coal execs
will give up bonuses to save our world, planet
Hundreds
of golden retrievers gather in Scotland
Scientists find that
metals
have a natural ability to heal themselves
‘Hero’
fisher saves girl from drowning in
Teenage brothers
build and launch model
boats to circumnavigate Antarctica
Simple
Test Predicts What Kindergartners Will Earn as Adults: inattention!
Doctors in the
Northeast launch abortion
pill pipeline into states with bans
New prostate cancer pill
for advanced cases gives men new hope of survival
@
Our Universe is Mind-Blowing
Light is both
a particle and a wave depending on how we look at the light.
I
don’t think that there is any such thing as a position or a velocity of a
particle.
Everything (galaxies
to stones) in universe made of subatomic
energy ‘vibrations’
A subatomic ‘particle’
is the smallest possible vibration (quantum) of a quantum field.
Mass–energy
equivalence: E=mc^2. At the smallest
level; Everything is moving
Energy into matter: scientists
converted light energy directly into matter in one step
In place of atomic
lattice, light
waves used to create an optical lattice with same geometry
Physics Nobel Prize:
“entanglement” 2
particles share info instantly at a distance
Quantum
mechanics violates local realism: two objects behave as single system at
distance
“It may be that gravity and quantum mechanics are
exactly the same thing,” Leonard Susskind
Gravity
might induce the collapse of quantum vibrations into 1 quantum state—our
world
Strange state
of physics that allows energy
to flow frictionlessly through a material.
Bending light from
extreme gravity reveals largest black hole
so far
Curved
SpaceTime: heavy masses and simultaneously quantum effects become visible
There is no TIME at this
level because of force fields come and go in all directions.
Universe expanding: events
may not come together like they did before: created our time.
Our planetary
system: rarest
system: only 1% of all systems with same number of planets
Stars fueled by the self-annihilation
of dark matter might have been spotted for the first time by JWST
Inside protons,
neutrons, it
is the fields of the virtual particles that creates its mass.
Gold
made from neutron stars: collisions produce more neutrons:79 protons,118
neutrons
The proton
is so complicated science still finds new energy entities/forces every
year.
“Empty space is a
boiling, bubbling brew of virtual
particles that pop in and out of existence in a time scale so short that you
can’t even measure them.” Space expanding.
The electricity we use comes
from the field around the wire not from electron itself.
Scientists
build 'baby' wormhole as sci-fi moves closer to fact: inside quantum
computer
starts-with-a-bang/universe-expansion-not-accelerating/
Physicists knew black
holes eventually disappear particle by particle. Now they think everything
else does, too
Astronomers
discover raw
materials for life are present all across the Universe: methyl cation
@
We can apply for
Medicare online: https://blog.ssa.gov/apply-for-medicare-online
We can apply for Social Security
online: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/
We can apply for
health care online: https://www.healthcare.gov/
IAN
973.746.2014
http://www.theinsidersguides.com/
Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/ No AI used in these comments
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