In a world where events seem out of your control it is important to find decisions in your life that you can control. Examples would be wearing a mask, social distancing, washing your hands and being prudent in your behavior. Maintaining your discipline in regard to your behavior is a daily challenge. The initial shelter in place order at the beginning of the pandemic was easier than it is now. It was new and we...
Important Reminder! Once again, this is an important reminder! The deadline for filing taxes and contributing to your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is fast approaching. The July 15, 2020 deadline has been confirmed. No further extensions unless you elect for a tax filing extension to defer your filing to October 15. To echo last week’s newsletter, the extension to file does not extend your due date to pay your taxes due. Official tax due date...
Important deadline approaching The deadline for filing taxes and contributing to your individual retirement account (IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP IRAs) is upon us. The July 15, 2020 deadline has been confirmed. No further extensions, unless you request to extend your tax filing until October 15. Important to note that while you can postpone your tax filing date, the official tax payment deadline is still July 15th. Unpaid taxes beyond July 15 are subject to...
We were hoping for a slow week, so much for that! An upcoming date to pay attention to is the current tax filing deadline of July 15th, 2020. Individuals have until the tax deadline to: File their 2019 taxes (or file an extension to file in October) Make contributions to their individual IRA- either Roth or Traditional. Please reach out if you have questions or need guidance on the new tax deadline or making a...
I am learning to wait until later in the week to write the newsletter because whatever I write on Monday’s draft might be out of date by the time you receive it. Head spinning is the best way to describe how I feel. It can be exhausting. Yet there is an element of fascination in how the human spirit responds to stress. So much happening all at once. So many opportunities to get better in...
By comparison to previous weeks, not as much has happened this week and it’s a moment of respite for many, a chance to catch our breaths. Last Friday the new jobs report announced 2.6 million new jobs were created and the stock market rallied again. Protests for racial justice continue with hundreds of thousands of mostly young demonstrators making their feelings known all across the country. Protests were orderly and emotional during the day and...
We thought it couldn’t get worse, here we are with a trifecta of huge challenges. Pandemic, unemployment nearing record highs and now the murder of George Floyd sparking the largest civil rights movement of all time with demonstrations in all 50 states and protests igniting internationally. It makes me think back to my early career as a stock broker and the beginnings of my financial planning business. On tough days when it was hard to...
More activity and gradual reopening are happening. Take a look at the stock market over the past couple of weeks. If your barometer on the economy is the stock market, then the market’s near rebound indicates life will return to normal any day now. Cognitive dissonance rises to the top of my thinking. Stock market is good, however main street/unemployment is not good. The bond market indicates a view similar to main street’s concern about...
This is the week that marks the start of gradual reopening. The stock market seems to think the problem is solved most days. Every few days the stock market is reminding us of the economic problems in our midst; it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride. One noticeable change over time is that time seems to have been compressed. From one day to the next our heads are still spinning. The data says one...
Shelter in Place presses on, businesses reopening begins and life continues. I often lean on the “pebble in the pond” analogy to demonstrate the ripple effect of decisions and subsequent intended and unintended consequences. The financial planning world is punctuated by the cadence of calendar deadlines and event driven triggers alike. Normally, calendar deadlines include end-of-year due dates as they relate to income, deductions and retirement funding and ‘Tax Day’ deadlines for funding individual retirement...
This week many states are reopening slowly. It is an experiment that contradicts guidelines set by the Federal government and health experts like Drs. Fauci and Brix. Guidelines are just that; they can be ignored. Statewide, California is one of the states slowly lifting the strict rules that were implemented on March 16. These shelter in place measures were implemented even earlier in the SF Bay Area which appears to have helped thus far. The...
The rhythm of our lives has adapted to the “new normal”. Work at home, daily walks, the challenge to keep the refrigerator full, try new recipes, Zoom calls and staying connected to friends. I watch too much news and hope you don’t. My wife stays far from the news; she is much smarter. My excuse is that listening to the news is part of my work. Why? My hope is that it gives me perspective...
