How Do Government Shutdowns Affect The Stock Market?

How Do Government Shutdowns Affect The Stock Market?

It seems that federal government shutdowns are becoming more frequent. Perhaps it’s a consequence of the decline of the collaborative process in a nation that’s becoming increasingly polarized politically. Whatever the reason, investors undoubtedly would like to know how the current shutdown might affect their portfolios. I wish I had the answer. But we can…
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The Latest Thinking On Retirement Withdrawal Rates

In 1994 Bill Bengen, an obscure financial planner in southern California, came up with a simple guideline his clients could use for determining a safe (minimum) withdrawal rate in retirement. Based on historical data, he calculated that an individual starting retirement should be able to spend up to 4% of their investment assets for a…
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Skipping College? A 529 Plan Can Still Help

If you’re a parent of a teenager in their sophomore or junior year in high school, you’ve probably discussed with them your hope that they will be going to college. While it’s true that jobs requiring a college degree do tend to pay more than those that don’t, not everyone has the wherewithal to become…
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Remember Meme Stocks? Where Are They Now?

The year 2021 might be remembered as the year of the incautious investor. Non-fungible tokens (NFT) and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC) were all the rage, bitcoin ETFs were on the verge of breaking out, and everyone was buzzing about the unexpected price surges of GameStop and AMC Theaters, the two so-called meme stocks. In…
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The Two Most Effective Ways To Avoid Being Hacked

It’s virtually impossible to go about our daily lives these days without doing things online in some fashion. Buying stuff, connecting with others, making travel plans; these are just a few of the many activities that the Internet has made both ubiquitous, simple, and quick. But with convenience comes risk. The downside is that if…
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You’re Only As Wealthy As You Feel

There’s an old song by the Jefferson Airplane that goes “You’re only [as] pretty as you feel.” Perhaps the same can be said about wealth. So much so that brokerage firm Charles Schwab commissions an annual study of 2,200 Americans regarding their beliefs about their wealth. There are some interesting findings from the recently released…
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