Here’s our linkfest for a midwinter Friday. Enjoy!
If you’re under 40 you should be hoping for another stock plunge, says pundit Josh Brown (Los Angeles Times). Brown is a young-but-wise investment writer we quote regularly. His Q-&-A with the L.A. Times is a good one.
Should I move my retirement savings out of the market? (CNN Money). Another piece about market fluctuations — this one is targeted to those over 65.
Social Security underpaid 82% of dually entitled widows and widowers (Investment News). As noted in our SMI newsletter cover story in September 2016, much of the confusion about Social Security comes from what the Social Security Administration "doesn’t say, or doesn’t say clearly enough." Sadly, a government report issued this week buttresses that statement.
Household debt jumps as 2017 marks the fifth consecutive year of positive annual growth since post-recession deleveraging (New York Fed). The biggest increase last year came in credit card debt.
Most students with large loan balances aren’t defaulting. They just aren’t reducing their debt (Brookings Institution). The percentage of student-loan borrowers with $50,000-plus balances is on the rise — and they now account for a majority America’s $1.4 trillion in outstanding student debt. Wow.
And from other websites and blogs...
Taking stock (Jonathan Clements, Humble Dollar). Don’t over-focus on the stock market. Instead, think about your overall financial picture.
Seth Klarman on risk management (Novel Investor). Klarman is one of America’s most successful investors, but he keeps a rather low profile. This piece contains a few good quotes from his highly regarded (and hard-to-find) 1991 book, Margin of Safety.
Building financial empathy (J.D. Roth, Get Rich Slowly). Do you tend to roll your eyes over stupid things people do with money? This is a good article to read and think about.
One year later: How we make it as a one-car family in the suburbs (Holly Johnson, The Simple Dollar). If you can work out the logistics, cutting back to one car can be a big money saver.
Why we began giving our age as a percentage (Bob Lotich, SeedTime). When Bob was 31, he sensed the Lord challenging him to give away 31% of his income. Now he’s 37, and the adventure continues.
Have a comment about downsizing to one car? Or about giving till it hurts? Or about any of the other articles above? Meet us in the comments section below!