The Seaside Blog

Presidential elections in the United States are often regarded as pivotal moments that can shape the future of the country. With each election cycle, investors and retirees may find themselves concerned about the potential impact on their investments and retirement savings. However, it's essential to separate political noise from long-term investment strategies and make informed decisions based on historical data and market fundamentals.

No doubt, 2022 was a painful year in the stock market. From January through October, the S&P 500 was down 25%. It recovered slightly in the 4th quarter to end the year down about 20%. This was one of the worst years since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. The market reacted sharply to the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates at a rapid clip. Now that inflation seems to be easing, are we out of the woods yet?

One of your largest retirement expenses is your tax bill. But herein lies an opportunity. And that’s strategic Roth conversions during your retirement gap years. If executed correctly, this strategy can significantly reduce your tax bills over years or even decades. And that means increased odds of preserving your retirement savings for a longer period of time.

The odds of filling out the perfect bracket are pretty scarce - so are the odds of consistently selecting prime investments within the market. This can make the process of approaching March Madness, and investing, fairly daunting.

With inflation taking a toll on everyone, it’s hard to find anything good about it. We finally have a silver lining! The 2023 retirement plan contribution limits have been announced and they have all gone up dramatically, in large part because of the inflationary effect. For those of you who are still working, this is a good opportunity to take advantage of your opportunity to save more money towards retirement as well as your health savings accounts.

There are countless financial books out there that promise to make you a more intelligent investor, an expert budgeter, or a money guru. But which ones contain solid advice, and which ones should you pass over? There are so many options that it's hard to tell.