If you don’t have time to fly to Vegas, there’s always options trading.
NO. 13: FACED with an unknown future, we should diversify our investments, buy insurance, keep some cash—and accept that, in retrospect, these precautions will often seem unnecessary.
CALCULATE YOUR monthly nonmortgage debt payments as a percentage of your pretax monthly income. We’re talking here about car payments, student loans and minimum credit card payments. Aim to keep these payments to less than 10% of monthly income, though that can be a tough target to hit if you’re a new college graduate with student loans.
NO. 44: GOOD companies can be bad stocks. Why? Investors bid up the share prices of widely admired, fast-growing companies—but the stocks often falter when the companies fall short of investors' lofty expectations. Meanwhile, investors shun troubled, slower-growing companies, so even so-so corporate performance can result in strong market returns.
NO. 19: WE GET great pleasure from anticipation. The best part of any event—vacation, buying a car, the family reunion—is often the period beforehand. As we look forward to such events, we can daydream about how much fun we’ll have. Want to get the most out of anticipation? Ponder purchases far in advance—and consider all manner of possibilities.
NO. 13: FACED with an unknown future, we should diversify our investments, buy insurance, keep some cash—and accept that, in retrospect, these precautions will often seem unnecessary.
WHEN I WAS IN THE workforce, it was easy to give to charity. Now that I’m semi-retired, it seems like more of a struggle—for four reasons:
Because I’m no longer employed fulltime, I can’t donate through payroll deduction, which used to make giving simple and automatic.
Leaving fulltime employment often results in reduced or uncertain income, and sometimes both. Today, I find it harder to know how much I can afford to give.
Retirement heightens thoughts of leaving a legacy to children and other heirs.
As someone who has never done a QCD, this article by CPA Mike Piper (www.OpenSocialSecurity.com, Bogleheads speaker, etc.) was very helpful. Anyone with experience on making QCDs, IRS inquiries about QCDs, etc., have any wisdom or personal experience to add to this?
I’M NOT ONE TO DIVE into the mysteries of the tax code in an effort to avoid paying Uncle Sam. But I’ve lately stumbled onto something that many others are already well-versed in and which has been around since 2006: qualified charitable distributions.
If I make a contribution from my traditional IRA directly to a charity, the withdrawal is excluded from the taxable income reported by my wife and me and, indeed, it counts toward my required minimum distribution.
Another great link from Mike Piper’s Oblivious Investor newsletter is this interview on the Bogleheads Podcast:
https://bogleheads.podbean.com/e/episode-82-jonathan-clements-jason-zweig-and-christine-benz-are-special-guests-on-this-podcast-host-rick-ferri/
Want to help a young person get started on a lifetime of investing? Hear all about the Jonathan Clements Getting Going on Savings Initiative on this podcast hosted by Rick Ferri. My fellow guests on the podcast were Morningstar’s Christine Benz and The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Zweig. Please give a listen—and please consider donating. One way to donate: Buy copies of The Best of Jonathan Clements, a collection of my Wall Street Journal columns.
Connie and I just had our annual financial meeting- how best to give money away.
Every since I discovered QCDs – you know what that is, right, I enjoy avoiding taxes on a RMD.
As long as I have to take the money out of my IRA, I like putting it to good use – tax-free if possible.
Where does it go? A chunk goes to church and several religious organizations- Connie’s call.
We give to a food pantry on Cape Cod and one local.
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