November 2024 Best of the Web

This month we’ll start with current events. First, we’ll get some perspective on markets getting frothy on the heels of the election and then examine a sad story from the FinTech world.

However, most of what matters in personal finance is timeless. So we’ll focus the majority of our attention there. Resources provide timeless insights on stepping away from your career. We’ll also explore whether you are setting the wrong financial goals.

Retirement calculators can be important when tracking progress toward your goals. I have exciting news on two of our favorites. 

Finally, TIPS ladders have recently become a popular topic. I close with a resource that explores the pros and cons of implementing this strategy.

Happy Thanksgiving and have a great month!

Feeling Bullish?

Since the election the stock market has been soaring. The price of Bitcoin is up nearly 50% in the past month and may exceed $100,000 by the time this post is published.

Ben Carlson wrote The Wall of Worry is Dead. He provides interesting insights into investor psychology that make this short read worth your time. However, if you only take one thing from this article, I hope it is this quote. 

“Timing the market is notoriously difficult but it’s probably not a bad time to rebalance and ensure you have an asset allocation in place you feel comfortable with during both bull and bear markets.”

Tech and Finance

Hugh Son reports on a fintech company’s bankruptcy and how customers lost their savings. He writes ‘I have no money’: thousands of Americans see their savings vanish in Synapse fintech crisis.

Wesley Grant reports in Payments Journal Synapse Failure Could Force Reset of Banking-as-a-Service Model. 

One quote stood out to me. “Many tech providers ascribe to the ‘move fast and break things’ ethos, where speed and innovation are prioritized over risk management and compliance.”

It’s important to find the balance between not blaming victims who lost their savings, or at least have lost access to them for months as this mess gets sorted out, and finding lessons we can learn from this fiasco.

The big lesson in my eyes is to keep your “safe money” safe. Earlier this year I covered options to Get Higher Returns on Your Cash. Be very careful using alternative platforms to store your cash!

Saying Good Bye

John Rekenthaler has been a regular in these “Best of” posts. He recently announced his retirement from Morningstar writing Farewell, for Now. In his farewell article, he shares an important lesson learned over his nearly four decades about the power of investing in stocks.

Jonathan Clements writes Before You Quit, sharing 5 important things to ponder before leaving your career.

Working Towards the Wrong Goals?

Mike Piper shares that he hears a lot of “financial goals that are neither personally meaningful nor even useful for actual financial planning” and describes how to create better goals. Good (And Not So Good) Financial Planning Goals.

Christine Benz shares an opinion that I agree with. Trying to minimize your retirement withdrawal rate is generally not a great goal. She writes We Need to Talk About Your Retirement ‘Spending’.

Retirement Calculator News

A retirement calculator can be helpful to see if you are on track to meet your goals and appreciate the impacts different decisions and actions can have on your financial outcomes. We partner with two of the best retirement calculators. This month I have exciting news to share about each.

Boldin (formerly NewRetirement) PlannerPlus is offering a special deal of 20% off this week (through 11/30), bringing the price down to just $96.

Pralana Gold was traditionally only available as an Excel-based program. They recently released a new Pralana Online version.

Dave will be reviewing the Boldin calculator and I’ll be reviewing Pralana Online in upcoming posts to give you a closer look at each.

Pros and Cons of TIPS Ladders

TIPS ladders have been a popular topic over the past couple of years. Rob Berger recently released this excellent video that lays out the pros and cons of this strategy. If you have questions about whether this strategy makes sense for you, I recommend checking it out.

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[Chris Mamula used principles of traditional retirement planning, combined with creative lifestyle design, to retire from a career as a physical therapist at age 41. After poor experiences with the financial industry early in his professional life, he educated himself on investing and tax planning. After achieving financial independence, Chris began writing about wealth building, DIY investing, financial planning, early retirement, and lifestyle design at Can I Retire Yet? He is also the primary author of the book Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence. Chris also does financial planning with individuals and couples at Abundo Wealth, a low-cost, advice-only financial planning firm with the mission of making quality financial advice available to populations for whom it was previously inaccessible. Chris has been featured on MarketWatch, Morningstar, U.S. News & World Report, and Business Insider. He has spoken at events including the Bogleheads and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants annual conferences. Blog inquiries can be sent to chris@caniretireyet.com. Financial planning inquiries can be sent to chris@abundowealth.com]

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