3 things I’m thinking about this week…
1 – The Van Halen Maneuver. An 80s way to describe the (David Lee?) Roth IRA conversion (moving your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA). It’s in the news and some are considering it. Take a tax hit now in exchange for long-term tax-free growth for you and your heirs. Sounds easy, right?
Nope. A lot of pitfalls to consider that could bump you to a higher tax bracket and impact Medicare and Social Security. This Kiplinger article is a good recap…and as always with any tax specifics I recommend you consult with your CPA.
2. - Eisenhower Matrix. I’ve brought this up before but it’s time for a refresher. Inspired if not actually created by the former president – categorize what you are doing into one of these four buckets and act accordingly…if you want to become more effective.
3. - Retirement Values. The Wall Street Journal profiled 4 families living in retirement with $5 million of assets. Each of us has our own “number” greater or smaller than that, but these 3 themes emerged in the article:
Simplicity – a more complex retirement lifestyle doesn’t guarantee happiness. Get the basics nailed down without radical upscaling of your lifestyle (what’s called “moving the goalposts.” Acknowledge your success – when you reach a level where you can comfortably achieve your financial plan, it’s OK to spend money. Don’t go wild…but live a little – your plan can guide you. Pursue meaningful causes – example: a retired doctor continues to work on his terms, in one case serving to relieve the only surgeon in Los Alamos, NM.
…and one more thing
From the era when 3 networks dominated the world comes the story of Marion Stokes - obsessive taper! She recorded 71,000 tapes of television history from 1979 through 2012...recording up to 8 channels at once. In a Forrest Gump-like twist, her “hobby” was funded with investments in Apple stock. Her work is now being digitized and saved to the Internet Archive to help preserve a chunk of our past.
-Dave