Wealth and Wisdom: Week of March 11, 2024

The stage is now set for the 2024 general election – which gives nervous investors 34 more weeks to fret, brood, grumble, obsess, argue, and agonize about who will be running the country a year from now. This is a critically important election – as all of them are – and along with your right to vote comes the right to let politics make you absolutely crazy.

But I’ll let you in on a little secret that is based on more than two centuries of historical evidence:

The markets don’t care who wins. The economy doesn’t care who wins. Your investments, in the long run, don’t care whether your guy or the one you loathe is elected to the White House, and whether his or the other party controls the legislature. American businesses as a whole will continue to find ways to adapt, innovate, succeed, and lead the world forward. And to whatever extent they succeed – and in the long run they always have – will eventually be reflected in the prices of their respective shares, and in the collective performance of the market itself.

So get excited about politics if you choose to. Get involved. Indulge your passions and vote your conscience. Elections do have consequences, and there is much at stake this time around. But don’t make the mistake of letting your political beliefs dictate your investment strategy. In the long run, the market will take care of itself – if we are smart enough to let it.

Is this market rally broader than we think?

This seasoned investor says the recent strength in U.S. stocks goes well beyond just the so-called “Magnificent 7” stocks. (Reading time: 3 minutes)

‘DINKs’ may be hurting the economy

Double-Income-No-Kids millennials are causing the national birthrate to drop – which could eventually lead to much lower economic growth. (Reading time: 4 minutes)

Living beyond our means

The U.S. government is on an unprecedented spending spree – and here’s where most of it is going. (Reading time: 3 minutes)

A taxpayer’s lament

How much more productive would Americans be if they didn’t have to spend more than $100 billion a year getting someone to figure out their taxes? (Reading time: 3 minutes)

Your forgetfulness is costing you big

The average consumer spends $219 a month on subscriptions – whether we remember to use them or not. (Reading time: 8 minutes)

What is your Social Security break-even age?

Here’s how to calculate when you’ll come out ahead after delaying your Social Security retirement benefits. (Reading time: 6 minutes)

An unpopular point of view on RMDs

This retirement expert believes we would be better off if required minimum distributions started earlier instead of later. (Reading time: 3 minutes)

Preparing for the ‘survivor’s penalty’ when a spouse dies

Surviving spouses – typically women – often wind up paying higher taxes. But with planning, it’s possible to soften the financial blow. (Reading time: 3 minutes)

How 'backdoor' Roth IRAs work

There are legitimate strategies to contribute to a Roth IRA – even if you earn too much money to go through the front door. (Reading time: 4 minutes)

If things are so good, why do we feel so bad?

An enlightening essay when you have some time – on the seven reasons we give bad news more attention than it deserves. (Reading time: 16 minutes)

Words to the Wise

“The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.”

– Benjamin Graham

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