True Equity Wealth Management LLC

05/25/2023

The debt ceiling is making news again. Will Congress raise it? Will the U.S. make history by defaulting on our government debt?

If it seems like this a story you’ve heard before, that’s because it is. Over the past decade, there have been seven occasions where we’ve seen negotiations (or lack thereof) over the debt ceiling come uncomfortably close to Congress’s deadline to act.

With the window to act ranging from a few weeks to one day before the deadline expires, the drama has varied. We created a short primer on why we end up in this cycle and what it means for investors.

https://buff.ly/43ojkLq

04/06/2023

Avoiding volatility is a good strategy for maintaining the value of your retirement investments, but it has other benefits. While you may have felt more comfortable prior to retirement riding out a bear market, once you are retired, it can be very stressful to resist the temptation to liquidate investments when stock prices fall.

https://buff.ly/41bMpZD

04/05/2023

Tax planning for retirement is different from the strategies you deploy to minimize taxes while working. You’ll be using your investments for income, and the way they are taxed is different depending on the type of account you hold assets in.

In addition, at age 72, you’ll begin taking required minimum distributions from your tax-deferred accounts, and these amounts can quickly push you into higher tax brackets.

Does it matter? According to research done by Morningstar, tax planning can add up to 4% to retirement income.

https://buff.ly/3Gjl4wm

03/30/2023

Roth accounts have income limits for contributions while working, but you can roll over an existing tax-deferred 401(k) or IRA into a Roth IRA without limits. Once you pay the taxes, your investment in the Roth can grow tax-free, and there are no taxes on withdrawals.

And because you contribute with after-tax dollars, there are no RMDs. This doesn’t just provide flexibility in managing your income stream so you can avoid social security taxes and Medicare surcharges. It gives you control over your investment plan.

Roth accounts have income limits for contributions while working, but you can roll over an existing tax-deferred 401(k) or IRA into a Roth without limits. Once you pay the taxes, your investment in the Roth can grow tax-free, and there are no taxes on withdrawals.

03/29/2023

The first step in creating a balanced portfolio is to realize that the “balance” doesn’t refer to the investments contained in the portfolio – it refers to the goals, preferences and risk tolerances of the investor. Investing is about increasing the return on your money over time to potentially higher levels than can be obtained from a savings account, but the trade-off is increased risk.

https://buff.ly/3nAPV0M

03/17/2023

The recent bank failures and the as-yet-unknown impact on the banking sector, the overall market, and the broader economy are creating more volatility in the short term. Investing is a long-term game, and trying to time markets can result in missing the best days of the eventual recovery.

https://buff.ly/3yKJlY4

03/13/2023

The combination of high inflation, the Federal Reserve’s aggressive program of rate increases, and economic and geopolitical uncertainty has meant volatile markets and the vanishing of traditional sources of portfolio diversification.

Progress has been made, but as the new year unfolds, it will bring additional challenges, including a potential recession.

How will that affect financial plans and investment portfolios?

There are some things you can do to help your plan ride out more volatility and also keep things on track.

03/10/2023

Everyone likes a good sandwich – they can be delicious and convenient. But when you’re the filling, it’s a different story. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that more than 50% of adults in their 40s have both a parent over 65, and are raising a child under age 18, or have financially helped an older child in the past year.

You may not support your parent financially, but the time, worry, and care that an aging parent may need can take a toll and have a cost.

Add in trying to save for retirement, and you end up being spread way too thin. How can you survive this period and keep your goals on track? The key to success is to create balance.

https://buff.ly/3ZCzrU1

03/07/2023

If there’s an aphorism for February that you could embroider on a pillow, it would be, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”

Markets appear to have finally started taking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s warnings seriously and caught up to the rhetoric that the Fed has been consistently pushing out. Rates will be higher for longer, yields went up, bond prices fell, and equity markets finally acknowledged that the pivot was nowhere in sight.

https://buff.ly/3mBLfHx

03/03/2023

Quote of the day! Keep it simple...

02/14/2023

How Can You Retire Early?

Save and Invest Your Money. Rinse and Repeat!

The biggest factor in successfully retiring early will be your ability to save and invest a portion of your income over long periods of time.

Start as young as possible.

The biggest factor in your success will be your ability to save and invest a portion of your income over long periods of time.