Retirement Watch Weekly
You Can Replace Bonds and Have Higher Income, Greater Safety
Bonds have been harming portfolios more than helping them since early 2020, and that’s likely to continue for a while. Investors are looking for alternatives to their fixed-income holdings. We started decreasing our holdings of traditional fixed-income investments in our Retirement Watch portfolios when the Fed began trying to end the extraor- dinary monetary policies […]
How to Report a QCD on Your Tax Return
To receive the benefits of a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from a traditional IRA, you must report it correctly on your income tax return. The IRA custodian will issue a Form 1099-R reporting the distribution. The form will show the total amount of distributions from the IRA during the year, both QCDs and any other […]
Plan Charitable Contributions from Your IRA for 2022
It is time to plan your qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs for 2022 if you haven’t already. Anyone who’s age 70½ or older, makes charitable contributions and has assets in a traditional IRA should use QCDs to make at least some of their charitable contributions. With a QCD, you’re converting a taxable distribution into […]
When to Use Estate Planning Software to Write the Plan Yourself
Technology makes many things easier and less expensive. A question many people face is whether to prepare their estate plans using do-it-yourself soft- ware or websites. Estate plan preparation software for individuals is nothing new. It has been around since the early days of the personal computer and went online as the internet boomed. Many […]
New Estate Planning Rule: Avoid an Electronic Mess
Few things these days do more to increase the cost of and delay the time it takes to administer an estate than leaving an electronic mess for the executor and heirs to clean up. Yet, that’s what numerous people do by not incorporating their digital assets and electronic lives in their estate plans. Many people […]
Bob’s Journal for 3/24/22
Market Recovery vs. Dead Cat Bounce The S&P 500 rose 6.15% in the week ending last Friday, March 18. Did that surge indicate the end of the market decline since last November’s peak? Or was it the proverbial dead cat bounce? For some perspective, I looked at the last two extended bear markets, one from […]
How To Minimize Your Taxes in the The Roth IRA Conversion Strategy
*Note: At the end of today’s story (Part 2 on how to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth with minimal tax burden), I highly recommend you take a moment to watch a new video I filmed alongside NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton. Meantime, here’s the follow-up to last week’s Retirement Watch Weekly. […]
Bob’s Journal for 3/17/22
The Surge in Energy Stocks It is hard to believe the numbers on the 2022 rally in energy stocks. Not long ago, you almost had to pay investors to hold energy stocks. All commodities, including energy commodities, were in long-term bear markets. In addition, governments globally were ramping up their campaigns to encourage businesses and […]
