December 2024 Best of the Web

I hope all of you are having a great holiday season and getting an opportunity to recharge as we head into a new year. I have some great resources to help you start on the right foot.

The US stock market had another stellar year. We’ll start with some ideas on what that means moving forward.

We’ll address financial planning topics including spending in retirement, managing required minimum distributions, Roth conversions, understanding and navigating the US healthcare system, and mitigating the risk of divorce.

Happy new year!

Another Strong Year for the Stock Market

The US stock market had another strong year. The US total market is up about 25% for the year as we enter the last few days of trading. This has many investors feeling euphoric…and worried…and sometimes both at the same time. So let’s start there.

Ben Carlson shows how US Markets Are Swallowing the Rest of the World.

The downside of the US stock market’s ongoing bull run is that many investors are afraid to invest just ahead of the next crash. Carlson also has some wise advice writing Investing In Stocks at All-Time Highs.

Despite the ongoing dominance of large -cap growth stocks, there is a growing advocacy for small-cap value stocks. Karsten Jeske questions the wisdom of this. He writes Small-Cap Value Stocks: Diversification or Di-WORSE-fication?

Words of Wisdom

Jonathan Clements has been a steadying voice in his writing on the stock market for decades. Now he is Sharing Lessons learned along the way.

Harry Sit writes Retirees, a Rich Life Does Not Require Spending More Money.

The US Healthcare System

The US healthcare system has been in the news over the past month. Unfortunately, a lot of the conversation has centered around partisan post-election politics and ugly rhetoric following the murder of a healthcare CEO.

While not directly actionable to any individual, I am sharing the following conversation because it elevates the level of discourse and sheds light on the healthcare system all Americans will have to navigate. Peter Attia interviews Saum Sutaria: Choices, Costs, and Challenges in US Healthcare.

Tax Planning

In general, people hate paying taxes. Unfortunately, this often drives irrational behaviors that are not in your best interest.

Jim Dahle addresses this, writing How to Think About the ‘Other RMD Problem.’

Mike Piper did a Roth Conversion Deep Dive at this year’s Bogleheads Conference. (Full video below.)

This talk was one of the best as I highlighted in my review of the conference. You can watch all of the sessions from the 2024 Bogleheads Conference for free at this link.

Lessons From EconoMe

The other conference I attended in 2024 was EconoMe, where I spoke last March. I went in with little knowledge of the other speakers. I was frankly blown away.

All of the main stage talks from EconoMe 2024 are also now posted on YouTube. I recommend checking them out and starting with this talk from divorce attorney Aaron Thomas. It was informative while simultaneously surprisingly fun and entertaining: Lessons from 1,000 Divorces.

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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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