©koya979 – stock.adobe.com An eyes-wide-open look at the current stock market If you have been investing for a few decades, you can’t help but dive into some data when you notice that the technology sector of the S&P 500 is performing better than nearly everything else. After all, that was the case in the late
Retirement
null Getty Think we’re stuck with pathetic dividends and sluggish growth in 2020? I get it. Many folks I talk to see the coming year this way. Some are even selling stocks, in a doomed effort to “lock in” gains. The problem? What the heck do you do next? Sitting in cash means watching helplessly
As you enter the home stretch of your career, you may be paying professionals large sums for retirement guidance. Maybe you don’t have to do that. This 7-part series on wealth will give you the tools to make a lot more financial decisions on your own. #1: Put It All In One Fund This cheap
John Buckingham, chief investment officer at AFAM Capital and editor of The Prudent Speculator, portfolio manager Jason Clark and senior research analyst Chris Quigley are industry-leading value investors. In MoneyShow’s Top Picks 2020 report, they highlight their favorite ideas for the coming year. John Buckingham, The Prudent Speculator Last year, we chose Citigroup (C), Target
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Healthy aging stories always inspire me, especially about older athletes. This one was a jaw-dropper, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. As reported by CNN and New York affiliate WHAM, a man broke into the house of 82 year old Willie Murphy, first trying to fool her
Getty More than 7,000 media workers lost their jobs in 2019, pushing many of the laid-off reporters and editors into the unstable world of freelance journalism. Building a freelance career comes with some freedom, but with a lot of complexity. Although you may not always think of freelancing in these terms, becoming a freelancer means
Getty With household American debt now at roughly $14 trillion dollars, it’s no surprise many Americans are struggling to manage their debt and establish positive financial habits. Mortgage debt is by far the largest source of American debt, sitting at $9.83 of the $14.12 trillion. Following mortgages is student loan debt, which hit $1.5 trillion in
Couple celebrating with sparklers at the beach Getty If you’ve been holding the Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund (RQI)—a fund I wrote about a lot in 2019—you’ve done very well indeed. RQI has dominated, with its market-price return surging 51.9%, including gains and dividends, since the start of 2019. So today we’re going
Job seekers wait in line for a job fair June 4, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson) Getty Images Right now I am attending meetings hosted by the American Economic Association in San Diego, a conference that is basically Mecca for academic economists. Disturbingly, there are a lot of sessions on whether we
By Leslie Hunter-Gadsden, Next Avenue Contributor Getty If you’re thinking about running a part-time business in retirement, researching and even starting it while you’re still working full-time is a smart move. “It’s great to see if there is a market for your business while not depending on it for an income,” said Phillip Phan, a
CHICAGO – MARCH 16: A Chicago Police boat patrols the Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois on March … [+] 16, 2019. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images) Getty Images Here are some excerpts of interest from a May 26, 1965 Chicago Tribune story, “Police, Fire Pensions Tabled”: “Three important police and firemen’s pension bills appeared defeated
Happy smiling young golden retriever dog under light gray plaid. Pet warms under a blanket in cold … [+] winter weather. Pets friendly and care concept. Getty The New Year is here, which means it’s once again time to revisit a contrarian (and income) investing tradition: The “Dogs of the Dow.” This simple yet famous
It should be easy — stop working and go play. But it’s not. We live in a work-driven culture, and so work is in our DNA and retirement is antithetical to who we are. Social scientists have come up with three theoretical models that together explain why retirees experience emotional upheaval in making the transition,
Getty Think you can just sign up for a 401(k) and forget about it? Think again. With only 13% of private sector employees with access to a defined benefit pension, more of the heavy lifting towards securing a sound retirement is falling on the shoulders of American employees themselves. The most widely used but perhaps
Getty Thinking of retiring abroad in 2020? Have you seen these headlines in recent months? “Death Toll in Chile Protests Since October Rises to 27,” “Nicaragua Has a Simple Message for Protesters: Don’t,” “Thousands Flee to Shore as Australia Fires Turn Skies Blood Red,” “Hong Kong Protesters Return to Streets as New Year Begins,” “Strike
Getty It’s a new decade and that means new beginnings. For many, that means New Year’s resolutions regarding their personal finances. While resolutions might differ from person to person, they all address the same issue – the need for financial stability and prosperity. Yet for many in their forties, the search for financial stability can be elusive. In
By Megy Karydes, Next Avenue Contributor Getty When making New Year’s resolutions, some people choose to set an intention or goal and some choose a particular word to help them stay focused. Others, like Chicagoans Tracy Marks-Seglin, founder of Strategic Words Communications, and her urban planner husband Dave, think about what they want less (and
Getty The SECURE Act, I lamented in December, had bipartisan support but languished in the Senate until it was finally passed as a part of a massive budget bill. And it will not surprise readers to know that I am not jumping on the bandwagon of “the SECURE Act will change everything” because I’m irritated
Financial queue (Photo by Dominic Lipinski) PA Images via Getty Images To live off a portfolio, you need yield. But you can get into terrible trouble reaching for it. These days the average payout on stocks and bonds is a meager 2%, and it’s hard for a retiree to survive on that. I’ll show you
So, the ball dropped in Times Square, we all witnessed Anderson Cooper giggling, and now it’s time to make your New Year’s resolutions. Resolved – go to the gym every day, lose weight, and of course make estate planning New Year’s resolutions. Following is a list of various planning points that you may want to