Happy May Day! May 1 is a forgotten holiday that has been celebrated for centuries. According to history.com, the Celts believed May 1 to be the single most important day of the year. The unique American tradition of May Basket Day quietly faded from popularity in the mid-1900s. May 1 was considered Labor Day in…
Yes, they have done it again. Last week the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-35 which waives Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for specific retirement account beneficiaries in 2024. If you are or will be at least age 73 by the end of 2024, you still must take your RMD this year. If you own…
Last week’s Consumer Price Index report for March made it very clear that money still drives markets. Much of the financial market enthusiasm that erupted just prior to Halloween hinges on the theory that the Federal Reserve will bring the cost of money down in 2024. Initially, traders thought it would be a mere six…
I must admit I was not all-in on Monday’s solar eclipse. I did not purchase eclipse eyewear. I did not create my own eclipse observation tool. In fact, I was in a client meeting during the eclipse instead of outside. One of the more ear-catching eclipse phrases that stuck in my brain during the eclipse…
The Baltimore bridge tragedy is a solemn reminder of how a confluence of unexpected events have unintended and almost unimaginable consequences. Humans have been using large ships for decades. Yes, their size has grown significantly over the last 20 years, but all of the operating principles for safely steering a vessel have been in place…
Zeroes frequently mark either the beginning or the end. Every interstate freeway starts at mile marker 0. Every golf scorecard begins with 0. The day you are born is your 0th birthday (at least in American culture). Every college basketball game ends with 0:00 on the clock. Most Major League Baseball teams’ first official game…
Hello. This is Rusty Peterson, partner and wealth consultant at IAG Wealth Partners. Scott has been kind enough to let me sit in for him as he takes a much-needed break in Arizona to be with family. I have been writing a monthly podcast that focuses on building your financial house either on sand or…
This past week marks 15 years since the stock market bottomed during the Global Financial Crisis. Time has certainly helped to erase some, if not most, of the trauma. Thinking back on it, I find it incredibly difficult to put into words the oppressive sense of pessimism that pressured perfectly rational people to make incredibly…
Writing roughly 45 blogs a year for the last 8.5 years sometimes leaves me a little empty on the idea front, and yesterday I was struggling mightily for a topic or theme that would be at least semi-interesting to write about this morning. I wrestled with this most of the day and by the time…
Every tax professional in the United States is now in the thick of tax season. They have in front of them a 45-day gauntlet of tireless tax analysis to complete their clients’ returns by April 15 (unless there is an imminent extension). They are under pressure. Their eyes may be blurry. Their caffeine dosage may…