This episode is part of our series of retirement planning headlines and what they may or may not mean for your upcoming retirement. Our little roundup of things we’ve read over the last couple of weeks that are out there in the media.

Watch it on YouTube HERE

Today we are reviewing some of the headlines from December and January highlighting some of the better things we’ve seen out there for consumer financial planning. If you listen here, you don’t have to read all of these articles, we do it for you and provide the highlights!

Here are the articles:

6 Questions New Donors Should Ask Themselves About Charitable Giving

• How to learn about Charities
  
  • Charity Navigator
    
  • Candid
    
  • Local Community Foundation
    
  
  
• How to give
  
  • Time, talent, and treasures
    
  
  
• Taxes
  
  • 501c3
    
  • Up to 60% of AGI if you itemize
    
  • Doner advised funds, batching QCDs
    
  
  

How Much Do We Give to Charities Now That We’re Retired?

• Part of a series that follows newly retired Wall Street Journal Bureau chief Stephen Yoder and his wife Karen
  
• An insightful first-hand account of the decisions they are making and obstacles they face as new retirees
  

What’s Your Why?

• Madeline Hume, CFA writing for Morningstar
  
• A CFA reflects on how / why she became a Chartered Financial Analyst
  
• About figuring out the “why” of market movements, but also her “why” in terms of what she’s doing
  
• Interesting stuff about formative experiences with money
  
  • Money scripts – insights into how we consider and act, the stories we tell ourselves
    
  
  

Your 401(k) Is Up. Don’t Let It Go to Your Head

• “Don’t let your self-worth balloon along with your net worth”
  
• The overconfidence that comes with big gains causes people to make mistakes (just like they do with big losses)
  

What’s Changing for Retirement in 2024?

• Higher tax thresholds
  
• No RMD for Roth 401k, so may not be as important to roll those over
  

How Much House Can I Afford?

• This great piece explains how to figure out a housing budget
  
• Ratios for affordable payments
  
  • 28% – DTI before mortgage
    
  • 36% – DTI with mortgage
    
  
  
• 3 x salary method
  
  • Doesn’t take into account existing debt, so do both ways
    
  
  
• Interest rates and how they affect what you can afford
  

How Retirement Spending Works in the Real World

• Retirees naturally reduce their spending over time
  
• Which would you prefer:
  
  • Hold back early in retirement worrying about what you’ll need
    
  • Balanced spending may not be entirely sustainable, but in your late 70’s we’re having a difficult conversation about cutting some costs because you’ve done a bunch of cool stuff and now need to be a bit more careful (noting that you’ll likely not want to do more stuff at that point anyway?)
    
  
  

Retirement Planning Is More Than Financial Planning

• Finances are crucial, but when you only consider finances, it becomes a hub around which your life revolves. Instead, focus on building your life around being the best version of yourself.
  
• Money is a tool, not the end all be all of retirement planning
  
• The mathematical approach isn’t always the best
  

Gov. Whitmer Launches “MI Vehicle Rebate” Plan to Lower Vehicle Prices, Boost Sales in Michigan

• $2,500 on a new battery electric or hybrid vehicle manufactured in a facility where the workers are represented by an automotive union.
  
• $2,000 on a new battery electric or hybrid vehicle.
  
• $1,500 on a new internal combustion vehicle in a facility where the workers are represented by an automotive union.
  
• $1,000 on all other new internal combustion vehicles.
  
  • The rebate will continue until Michiganders realize all savings in the $25 million program.
    
  
  

Here are the links Nick mentions for tax incentives for an electric car purchase:

• Tax Credit Information
  
• Plug-in Hybrid Options
  

Don’t get fooled again: 3 ways investors are tricked, and 6 ways to protect yourself

• It’s easy to get fooled when it comes to investments
  
  • Fooled by history/facts
    
    • Timeframes and how statistics are presented
      
    • For instance, what do terms like long-term mean? Are you speaking the same language?
      
    
    
  • Fooled by ourselves
    
    • We often only hear what we want to hear
      
    • Fill in gaps in knowledge with what we hope
      
    
    
  • Fooled by Marketing
    
    • We hear about an investment based on its recent performance after it has moved up
      
    • Mutual fund statistics only show the survivors
      
    • Performance usually leaves out sales charges/commissions
      
    
    
  
  
• What to do:
  
  • Stick to investing basics
    
  • Dollar-cost average into a diversified portfolio
    
  • Don’t worry about short-term performance
    
  
  

Well, there you have it. The good articles we found in December and early January. If you have an article you want us to take a look at, feel free to shoot it over to us at info @srbadvisors .com.

Gather around and follow the Kitchen Table Finance podcast to learn about money and simple ways you can invest right now. You can find more practical advice at srbadvisors.com and contact the team for personal planning by emailing info@srbadvisors .com.