FINANCIaL
FIELd NOTES
18 States Where It’s Cheaper to Build a Home Than Buy
With soaring interest rates over the past year and very little movement in home prices, buying a home has become much more expensive. I can’t imagine how difficult this environment is, especially for first-time home buyers, who are seeing the cost of owning the same home essentially double in just a few years.
Because of these dynamics, many buyers are turning toward building in parts of the country where it is cheaper than buying an existing home…
Confirming Evidence Everywhere You Look
Earlier this month I was reading a quarterly market update from a financial institution that was citing leading economic indicators that were all pointing to a looming recession and likely market decline in the near future.
Later that same day, I came across a chart from a market strategist at a large financial institution that cited the fact that since 1950 when we reach a 52-week high after more than a year without one, the market has been positive 1 year later every time…
Is Social Security Running Out? 2023 Edition
Will there be anything left when I retire? Will my benefits get cut? These are some of the most frequent questions I get when it comes to someone’s retirement plan. And the media loves to talk about the Social Security problems.
Fortunately, there is data to answer these questions. Every year the Board of Trustees for Social Security reviews the financial status of the trust fund that pays out Social Security benefits. Recently, the board released its 2022 report, and below is my summary…
Getting A 91% Charitable Tax Benefit In Virginia – Neighborhood Assistance Program
If you live in Virginia and are searching for charitable organizations to give to, you may want to consider the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP).
According to their website, “In return for [your] contributions...individuals may receive tax credits equal to 65 percent of the donation that may be applied against their state income tax liability.” That’s right - a 65% dollar-for-dollar credit on your Virginia taxes!
Why Avoiding Stock Market Collapses Is So Difficult
There are significant costs to poorly timing the market. However, this does not stop many investors from trying since there can be significant benefits to getting it right.
There are lots of data points around why it’s so difficult, but I think the most underestimated reason is that even if we can identify the potential triggers of a market collapse, we often don’t know how or when they will be resolved…
The Evidence for a Value Tilt
As an investor, you are likely familiar with the concept of owning a balanced portfolio. However, one strategy that has been well-documented over time to outperform a perfectly balanced portfolio is a “value tilt.”
A value tilt approach to investing is a strategy that involves overweighting companies with a lower price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio than the overall market. The rationale behind this strategy is that these undervalued stocks have the potential to deliver higher returns in the long run as the market corrects its mispricing…