Apex Money Posts

The Best Time to Sell Your Stocks [A Wealth of Common Sense] – “A reader asks:

My RMD is 100% S&P 500. Do you have any strategies on taking distributions from the RMD? Should I take 1/12th of the RMD each month? Wait until the end of the year and take it all out hoping the value will increase over the year? Redeem during traditionally strong stock market months? What are your thoughts on this?

This is a good question because there are plenty of strategies for when to buy stocks, but people rarely discuss when or how to sell.”

Did you say 59%?

What Percentage of Americans Have a Retirement Savings Account? [Gallup] – “Ownership varies most by household income, followed by education and age.

The rate jumps from 39% among adults aged 18 to 29 to 63% among those aged 30 to 49 and 70% among those aged 50 to 64. It remains high, at 62%, for those aged 65 and older.”

Eighty-three percent of adults with at least $100,000 in annual household income have a retirement savings plan, 55 percentage points higher than the rate among those in households earning less than $50,000 (28%).

Similarly, 81% of college graduates versus 39% of adults with no college education have a retirement savings plan.”

Read the whole thing because the gem is the very last line.

Well-rounded doesn’t cut. [Derek Sivers] – “Imagine the world’s attention as a big squishy pile of apathy — so thick you could cut it with a knife. To call attention to your music, you want to cut through that muck.

Only problem is, if you’re well-rounded, you can’t cut through anything. You need to be sharply defined, like a knife.”

I don’t see one either.

Is There a Tariff End Game? [Paul Krugman] – “So I’m not convinced that the worst is over. In fact, I’m not convinced even though the U.S. Court of International Trade has pronounced Trump’s invocation of IEEPA, the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, to impose tariffs without Congressional approval illegal. (A colleague of mine used to return student papers with the comment YHTMAAAIYP — “you have too many acronyms and abbreviations in your paper.”)”

Paul Krugman digs into the numbers and there are a lot of good insights in this piece, including: “You might think that we have so few steelworkers because we import it all, but we actually only import 27 percent of consumption, with the other 73 percent produced domestically. The point instead is that steel production is highly capital-intensive and just doesn’t employ many people — so steel tariffs can’t possibly create enough jobs to replace those lost elsewhere in manufacturing.”

Financial Steps to Prepare for Cognitive Decline [Savant Wealth Management] – “Life’s path often meanders through unexpected landscapes. Amid the many transformations we encounter, grappling with diminished cognitive abilities can be a formidable challenge. Through deliberate planning, we can chart a course that not only upholds our values and choices but also equips us to navigate the evolving terrain of our mental faculties.

Within the realm of financial planning, a fundamental principle emerges: remain optimistic while preparing for the worst-case scenario. Here, we present pragmatic measures to mitigate the impact of potential cognitive decline on one’s financial capacity:”

I love the idea of a Loser’s Game and a Winner’s Game – a Loser’s Game is often decided by the mistakes each players make. In a Winner’s Game, which is often played at a much higher level, it is decided by the amazing plays made by each player. A Winner’s Game must be won whereas to win a Loser’s Game, you must avoid mistakes.

Investing is very much a Loser’s game – you don’t need ten-baggers, you just need to not lose your shirt on an IPO or hot stock tip!

Here are more mistakes to avoid:

20 IRA Mistakes to Avoid [Morningstar] – “Opening an IRA is a pretty straightforward matter: Pick a brokerage or mutual fund company, fill out some forms, and fund the account. Yet, there are plenty of places where investors can stub their toes in the process. They can make the wrong types of IRA contributions (Roth or traditional) or select suboptimal investments to put inside the tax-sheltered wrapper. And don’t forget about the tax code, which delineates the ins and outs of withdrawals, required minimum distributions, conversions, and rollovers. Rules as Byzantine as these provide investors with plenty of opportunities to make poor decisions that can end up costing them money.”

Randomness is around us… and mathematicians are trying to predict them.

Enjoy this short fun video on math and randomness here (it’s ~3 minutes):

I’ve seen “no buy challenges” before, it’s where you don’t buy anything except the essentials.

I always feel like these types of challenges are gimmicks because you can just wait. You’re deferring spending rather than changing anything… or do I have it all wrong?

Trying the No-Buy Challenge for 30 Days Actually Made My Life Less Boring [CNET] – “I had my doubts about the no-buy challenge. I’d been seeing it all over social media, but as a personal finance editor, I wasn’t sure it could teach me anything new about managing my money. Still, prices are insane and a recession is looming, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.”

The Hardest Day to Invest is Always Today [Capital Allocators] – “One of my earliest manager meetings was with Jeremy Grantham in 1992. He made a compelling case that the bull market of the 1980s had run its course. Around the same time, I learned about Warren Buffett and considered buying Berkshire Hathaway stock. At $12,000 per share, BRK.A was beyond my means.

I assumed I was too late – the easy money had already been made. But in hindsight, I was standing at the starting line of one of history’s greatest bull markets.”

Lessons from the Roman Empire about the danger of luxury [Big Think] – “The Roman army was one of the most militarily effective and successful forces the world has ever known. On open land, their legions were pretty much unbeatable. But the Roman Empire was not built on the back of military genius and short, stabbing swords alone. The legions might have beaten a people, but they did not subdue them. It was the love of luxury and easy living that did that.”

Reminds me of my favorite Tyler Durden quote – “We work jobs we hate, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.”