Many of us have run through retirement calculators. We punch in our current investment account balances, how much we'll save each year, what rate of return we expect, and it spits out a projected future value. That projection will be wrong. Even … [Read more...] about Why All Financial Planning Projections Are Wrong
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Quarterly Thoughts (3rd Quarter 2019)
The 3rd quarter is a wrap! How'd markets do? 3rd quarter 01/01/2019 - 09/30/2019 US Stocks 1.08% 19.90% Global Ex-US Stocks -1.58% 11.42% Total Bond Market 2.40% 8.60% First thought: Framing is everything You … [Read more...] about Quarterly Thoughts (3rd Quarter 2019)
The Stock Market Game
My junior year at Eastern Illinois University I took a course called "Financial Markets: Commodities, Derivatives, and Securities". Riveting stuff. Our professor, Dr. Crystal Lin, asked us to participate in an enhanced version of the "stock market … [Read more...] about The Stock Market Game
Is Small Cap Value Investing Dead?
When an investment strategy is declared as "dead" or "no longer working" there's a reasonable chance it is about to work again. Take for reference this article from CNBC posted in November of 2008, The Death of Buy and Hold. The article claims that … [Read more...] about Is Small Cap Value Investing Dead?
Peter Schiff
Peter Schiff is known for his doomsday predictions on the US economy, and being a permabull on the price of gold. Why is he famous? He predicted the housing market collapse and the ensuing deep recession we experienced 2007 - 2009. If you watch … [Read more...] about Peter Schiff
Scraping by on a $500k Income
An article on July 13th by Shawn Langlois of MarketWatch shares the story of a Reddit discussion where an anonymous man posted his household monthly budget, and how they are struggling to get by on a $500k annual household income. One more thing, … [Read more...] about Scraping by on a $500k Income
Quarterly Thoughts (2nd quarter 2019)
This is the first ever quarterly update from Meredith Wealth Planning. Assuming I stay in this position for about 30 more years, you can expect about 119 more of these. Much has transpired since I launched the firm in early March. I am proud to … [Read more...] about Quarterly Thoughts (2nd quarter 2019)
Overlooked Risks
This may surprise you, but a lot of clients have similar concerns when it comes to investing in markets. Here's a few that come up every now and then: -What if the Fed raises/cuts interest rates? -What if we go to war in the middle east … [Read more...] about Overlooked Risks
Should You Just Put Everything in the S&P 500?
It has been well documented that the S&P 500 index fund has outperformed the vast majority of actively managed funds historically. Having said that, it may not be a prudent strategy to own only the S&P 500. Imagine it is late 1999 and you … [Read more...] about Should You Just Put Everything in the S&P 500?
Tariffs and Your Portfolio
Foreign trade can be a win-win for everyone involved, and it often is. Tariffs can be a lose-lose for for everyone involved, and they often are. A major factor explaining our trade deficit with China is consumer demand. We Americans enjoy … [Read more...] about Tariffs and Your Portfolio