Happy Groundhog Day (and Candlemas for those taking note of the church calendar). Here is SMI's latest roundup of interesting articles on investing, personal finance, and stewardship.
Should you invest in stocks at all-time highs? (Nick Maggiulli, Of Dollars And Data). Mr. Maggiulli, as usual, runs the numbers.
What I learned when I stopped watching the stock market (Jason Zweig, Wall Street Journal). Lessons from a market sabbatical.
Banking turmoil fears return after New York Community Bancorp stock plunges 38% (Business Insider). NYCB suffered a fourth-quarter loss of $260 million, fueled by sour commercial real estate loans.
A few thoughts on spending money (Morgan Housel, Collaborative Fund blog). "Money is a tool you can use. But if you're not careful, it will use you."
Six of the best budgeting apps (Kiplinger). SMI recently looked at YNAB, Tiller, FaithFi, and EveryDollar, as well as Simplfi. This article includes Empower, PocketGuard, Honeydue, and Monarch.
Called to account (Jonathan Clements, Humble Dollar). "I don't want to overdo the Roth conversions...because there are good reasons to keep a decent sum in traditional retirement accounts."
Here's a way to delay some RMDs — and put off your tax bill (Wall Street Journal). "The IRS says that you do not have to take the RMD until you retire, and they do not define what 'retire' means."
Child tax credit could change — but 'don't wait on Congress' to file your taxes, IRS commissioner says (CNBC). Once again, Congress may be about to make retroactive tax changes. Related: If the new child tax credit passes, who gets the money? (WSJ)
The cheapest & best tax prep software for 2024: A comparison review (20SomethingFinance). The article offers a helpful table, plus a reminder that "free" tax prep often isn't free.
10 things you should know about estate planning (Kiplinger). Remember: If you don't have a plan, the government will decide what happens to what you leave behind.
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