Here’s our latest list of worthwhile reads on investing, personal finance, and stewardship.
With tax savings, some employers will boost 401(k) contributions (Wall Street Journal via Yahoo). The new tax law, which cuts the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, is one of several factors prompting companies to raise their 401(k) contributions.
Why you probably won’t have to pay the AMT again (CNN). Under the new law, the number of filers hit by the Alternative Minimum Tax likely will drop by more than 95%.
US 10-year Treasury yield touches highest since Trump win (Financial Times via Google). Rising yields are a sign of a strengthening economy, but "the key factor to watch is core inflation," says one bond portfolio manager. "It needs to move higher for yields to keep rising."
Beyond the Bitcoin bubble (New York Times Magazine). A fascinating long-form read that looks past the crypto-currency craze to the enduring (and likely positive) effects of blockchain technology.
5 tax software options for do-it-yourself filers (CNBC). TurboTax, TaxAct, and others have made the preparation-and-filing process much easier than it used to be. This article highlights the most popular options.
And from the bloggers and pundits...
Risky business (Mogan Housel, Collaborative Fund). We often fool ourselves about how much risk we’re taking because, says Housel, "risk hides in the familiar and screams loudly in the unknown."
About that 22% (Adam M. Grossman, Humble Dollar). The stock market (as measured by the S&P 500) gained 22% in 2017. Grossman lays out both a bull case and a bear case for what 2018 will bring.
The periodic table of commodity returns (Visual Capitalist). Surprisingly, the least volatile commodity represented on the 10-year table (which ranges from aluminum to zinc) is gold. The most volatile? Natural gas and coal.
Top 5 expenses that could go up in retirement (Physician on Fire). Here’s a companion piece to an article we linked to a few weeks ago re: lower expenses in retirement. The first one on the higher-expenses list is no surprise.
Why you should make saving for home repairs a priority (Bible Money Matters). One key to achieving and maintaining financial stability is to plan for the unexpected.
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