How To Safely Manage Debt

How To Safely Manage Debt

After dropping below $800 million at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the total aggregate credit card balance in the U.S. soared to nearly one trillion dollars as of the end of March this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That’s a new record high and does not bode well for…
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This Time Really Is Different!

How many times have you heard the phrase “This Time Is Different?” In the context of investing it usually means something fundamental has changed in the way capital markets operate. The implied consequence is that you can no longer rely on the way things worked in the past to make investment decisions about the future.…
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More Evidence Stock Picking Doesn’t Work

When it comes to equity investing, the difference between luck and skill is primarily a matter of consistency. If you choose to invest in a fund or ETF designed to passively track some stock market index you are practically guaranteed to get market returns. Of course you need to make sure to utilize funds that…
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Four Reasons To Avoid A Roth Conversion

For those unfamiliar with the term, a Roth conversion involves moving money from a tax-deferred traditional IRA (IRA) to a tax-free Roth IRA (Roth). You’ll pay taxes on the amount transferred but from that point on the amount will grow tax-free for the rest of your life (and even for ten years of a subsequent…
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New Research On Social Security Claiming Strategies

I’ve written numerous articles over the years about strategies for maximizing your Social Security (SS) benefits. But the number one decision all retirees face is when to start taking payments. Which is better: to start as early as possible or to delay benefits for as long as you can? There will always be claimants who…
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Whose Fault Was The SVB Collapse?

Any disaster – be it a plane crash or a nuclear plant meltdown – is subsequently found to be caused by multiple failures. The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) demise is no different. Who is to blame and what does this mean for the safety of your money in your bank or brokerage account? Here’s my…
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