Here's the Money Roundup for a mid-October day. We hope you find these recent articles interesting and helpful.
Is it time to rebalance your portfolio? (Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense). "You don't need the stock market to knock it out of the park anymore to achieve a decent return in a balanced portfolio. Bonds are finally earning their keep."
Market risks (Adam Grossman, Humble Dollar). The future is unknowable, but you can tilt the odds in your favor.
The stock market ≠ the economy (Sam Ro, Tker). The stock market and the economy are intertwined, but don't confuse one with the other.
144 million standard deduction filers get a new charitable tax break (Kiplinger). The charitable-giving deduction has returned, even for non-itemizers. But there are restrictions.
2027 Social Security COLA is 3.6%: What You need to know (Kiplinger). "Earnings test" thresholds — for beneficiaries still in the workforce — are going up too.
The COLA wars are coming for Social Security (Brent Arends, MarketWatch via Morningstar). The annual cost-of-living adjustment "may soon be capped, curtailed, means-tested or scrapped altogether."
The federal government collected $5.4 Trillion. It still can't pay its bills. (Veronique de Rugy, Reason). For the fiscal year just ended, federal revenue rose by 3%. Spending rose by 6%. The biggest drivers? Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest.
I audited our family budget to save us $2,367 in the next year! Here's how to audit your budget. (Stephanie, Six Figures Under). You might be shelling out money for subscriptions and memberships you don't use anymore.
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