Every week I find a few great articles I feel are especially valuable. Following are this week’s best. I hope you find them as useful as I did.
This week’s favorites include three reasons not to worry about the bear market, twenty signs you are destined to become a millionaire, how to know when it’s time to stop, six ways to spend unused 529 college funds, and what is a safe withdrawal rate in retirement.
Happy reading!
Those who have their money in the stock market are happy when the market goes up. However, when it dips, as it does frequently, the panic in the air is palpable. It seems everyone forgets the last time the market dipped, and the time before that, and the fact that every time the market has dipped the market has recovered. I Pick Up Pennies helps us out with Three Reasons Not to Worry About the Bear Market. Stop stressing about the dips in the market when they happen and start enjoying the fact you are buying stocks on sale right now. And for Heaven’s sake, stop looking at the value of your accounts every day. If you are following a good long term investment plan, you will not be making any changes when the market changes, so stop looking.
One can easily look at the way one lives their life and handles their money to know the likelihood of them becoming a millionaire. When you see the blossoms in the trees, it is a given that spring is coming. But what are the signs of a future millionaire, and how many of those signs do you see in your life? Entrepreneur shares with us Twenty Signs You’re Destined to Become a Millionaire. I looked through the list and meet 17 of the 20 signs. The more signs you meet, the more likely you will reach millionaire status. Do you think all of these signs are true? Are there any you think should be added?
How often do we need to make a decision to stop searching and act? Stop making edits on the paper and publish it, stop searching for a spouse and marry your current significant other, stop waiting for the “right time” to buy a rental property and buy one, stop searching for your first job and take one, or stop shopping for the ideal couch and take the one you liked seven stores ago? American Scientist shares with us an answer with The Mathematics of Optimal Stopping. Seems there is a mathematical way to tell when the right one is in hand.
What should we do if we have a bunch of money in a 529 college savings plan and our child decides not to go to college? Or they went to college but didn’t use all the money in the 529 plan? Some of us are holding back on putting money in these plans for fear of overfunding them and getting penalized for doing so. Saving for College helps us out with an article on Six Ways to Spend Unused 529 Funds. Have you opened or contributed to a 529 fund? We made a deposit into our grandson’s 529 plan. It feels really good to know we are a part of helping him start his career debt free, even if we might not be alive when he uses the money. If he doesn’t use it, I’m sure my son who opened the account will find a good use for the money.
I am constantly asked by those about to retire if they have enough money saved to retire. And will that money last the rest of their lives. There are two things needed to answer those questions: First, what are the required expenses you must meet during retirement, and second, how much money can safely be removed from your retirement funds each year. The second question can be answered using the 4% rule. White Coat Investor Shares with us an article written by The Physician on FIRE describing how the 4% rule relates to safe withdrawal rates. I have personally been removing about 4% of my retirement funds since I retired using the government rule 72(t) to take the money without penalty before reaching age 59.5. Despite removing money every year, the account has grown. Accounts go up during a rising market and down during a falling market, but if you stick to the 4% rule, you money will likely last your entire life.
I hope you enjoy these articles as much as I did. I look forward to updating you again next week with a few more articles I find especially interesting. If you read an especially good article, send me the link so I can share it with others.
