How to "Profit" From Losing Investments

As the year comes to a close, lots of opportunities exist for families to make final decisions that can affect their finances and their taxes. These include Traditional or Roth IRA contributions, HSA contributions, year-end expenses for farmers, ranchers, and business owners, just to name a few.

Another lesser known year-end strategy is something called tax loss harvesting. This strategy helps investors take advantage of investment losses they may have experienced, but still keep their funds invested for the long-term.

Ways to Combat Inflation in Retirement

The financial shock of soaring inflation in 2022 caught everyone off guard. Within a matter of months, the price of rent, fuel, and countless consumer goods went through the roof. Having been in a period of relatively low, calm inflation for decades led us not to worry about this financial expense, until things went really wrong.

While inflation is now trending downward, inflation is historically always present, and there’s still a threat that unusually high inflation can rear its ugly head once again, especially given that most retirees expect to live another 20 to 30 years once they leave the workforce.

How the Social Security Earnings Test Works

For many families, the transition into retirement is more like a series of steps than a leap. Oftentimes, for example, Social Security is started even though an earner is still working. There are many reasons for this, including an interest in at least staying employed on a part-time basis, but needing Social Security to supplement their income.

In times like these, Social Security’s “earning test” may come into play. 

Don't Sit on Cash. Put It to Work!

What a difference a year makes. Last May I was encouraging readers to never make investment decisions on emotion and to stick to their plan. Sticking with it is hard to do when stock and bond values drop significantly, as they were last year. Borrowing rates were also starting to climb, inflation was soaring, and one-year US Treasury bills were only yielding about 2%. It felt like there was no safe place to turn.