This Week’s Takeaways:
- The 4% rule for retirement has been updated to 4.7% by its original creator in a new book.
- People taking the standard deduction next year can deduct charitable contributions up to $2,000 depending on filing status as part of the new tax bill.
- If you itemize your deductions, there is a new threshold donations must clear before they can be deducted and that is .5% of a taxpayer’s AGI.
- International sales exposure for S&P companies and a depreciating dollar are two main factors why the U.S. stock market seems to be outpacing the economy this year.
- Fewer people are reading and when they are reading it’s for less time.
- Investors are better off creating a personal investment benchmark tied to their goals than measuring against a specific index like the S&P 500.
- Plus my latest book recommendation and Things to Do This Weekend in Boston.
The 4% rule is now the 4.7% rule. That matters for your retirement. by USA Today
Th 4% rule’s creator is out with a new book – A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More – which shares his update on the 4% rule. Due to more sophisticated research incorporating additional asset classes to invest in, it’s now the 4.7% rule. As a reminder, that is a 4.7% withdrawal in year one that is adjusted upwards for inflation from there versus withdrawing 4.7% of the portfolio per year, and Bengen considers it a worst-case scenario withdrawal rate that won’t fail.
Big Changes Are Coming to Charitable Giving. How to Get Maximum Savings. by Barron’s
Starting next year, those who take the standard deduction can deduct charitable donations of up to $1,000 or $2,000, depending on their filing status. (Note: This applies to donations made directly to charities, not to donor advised funds.) For itemizers, the law imposes a new threshold that donations must clear before they can be deducted: Only gifts that exceed 0.5% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income qualify. So, if your income is $200,000, you can only deduct donations above $1,000.
The stock market and the economy are diverging ???? by TKer
International sales exposure for S&P companies and a depreciating dollar are two main factors why the U.S. stock market seems to be outpacing the economy this year.
The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey by iScience
I get asked a lot for career advice and help with career development, so here’s something as clear as it gets. Don’t be part of the 84% in this study who are reported to not read anything for pleasure.
Running your own race by OptimistiCallie
Outperforming the S&P 500 could be important to you as an investor, but it also may have nothing to do with achieving your long-term financial goals. And trying to do it when you don’t need to can lead to avoidable investment mistakes.
Book Recommendation
Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett
Ken Follett’s magnificent historical epic begins as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.
