As the federal reserve pushes up interest rates to get inflation under control, volatility in the stock market continues this year. How can anyone decide to invest amidst all this madness? Here are some things I do even when the market seems like it’s going haywire.
Top Ways to Lower Your Taxes
We’re more than half way through the year! Can you believe it? Tax return season is still a long way off, but families should always have taxes on the mind when making financial decisions.
I’d like to write a short post today reminding readers of some of the most fundamentally simple ways to save on taxes. Most Americans want to pay a bit less and the IRS has several practical ways allowing you to do so. Here are several that can make the biggest impact on your tax bill, and also benefit you and others in the future.
Social Security–It’s Worth Getting This One Right
There are some things in finance that, as long as you follow a few general rules of thumb, you’re going to be fine:
Save about 10% of your wages in a variety of stocks and bonds
Take 20 times your annual wage and buy that much term life insurance
Withdraw about 4% from your retirement account each year.
There is certainly room for more nuance in these rules, but they get you close to success.
Social Security is a different animal. There are general rules, but the potential benefit over a couple’s lifetime is so significant, that it’s worth knowing some particulars. I’d like to lay a few of these out in this post.