Quarter in Charts – Q4 2023
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Quarter in Charts – Q4 2023

Happy Adjacent I recently learned the term “Happy Adjacent” when I stumbled on a YouTube series from Mythical Kitchen called “Last Meals.” The episodes center on Chef Josh Scherer asking famous people (some more famous than others) what they would eat for their last meal on Earth. Josh then recreates the meal, and they sit…

How’s That Third Scoop of Ice Cream?
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How’s That Third Scoop of Ice Cream?

There’s a fancy economics term for this: “diminishing marginal utility.” Textbooks use far too much paper trying to explain it when really they should just talk about ice cream. The idea is that the first scoop of ice cream tastes great. The second scoop of ice cream tastes a little less great than the first. And the third scoop of ice cream might make your stomach hurt.

How to Calculate and Maximize Your Social Security Benefit
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How to Calculate and Maximize Your Social Security Benefit

The current maximum monthly benefit from social security is $4,555/mo or $54,660/yr. If you purchase this much cash flow as an annuity in the public market, it would be worth $1.3 – $1.5 million. Because of this considerable value, it is worth understanding how to maximize both your monthly benefit/expected lifetime benefit, and how this…

Quarter In Charts – Q1 2023
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Quarter In Charts – Q1 2023

Kids Today Have It Too Easy As a dad of teenagers, it’s my duty to occasionally put on the “grumpy old man” act and talk about how kids today have it too easy. I say things like, “You know when I was a boy…” followed by a misremembered anecdote of my days working at the…

$500 Billion Student Loan Forgiveness Update ($10k/$20k, New IDR Plan, 0% Interest Ending)
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$500 Billion Student Loan Forgiveness Update ($10k/$20k, New IDR Plan, 0% Interest Ending)

Student loan forgiveness has been floating around congress and the headlines for the past few decades. Until 2020, it seemed like empty promises, but since Covid-19, the student loan forgiveness train has started gaining traction. It began with pausing student loan payments and granting 0% interest rates for the past 30 months, which has saved borrowers billions of dollars on its own. And now, the Biden Administration is pushing to forgive $10,000 to $20,000 of student loans.

Quarter in Charts – Q3 2022
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Quarter in Charts – Q3 2022

Over the last few weeks, I kept the kids up far past their bedtimes to witness Aaron Judge break the American League single-season home run record. While we had to sit through a whole lot of walks, we eventually got to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event that we’ll tell some grandkids about. Sadly, this year, investors have also witnessed an investment market for the record books. Through the charts below (and a recounting of my real-world experience with our 15-year-old new driver) we’ll examine the year so far, talk through viewing investments through the “windshield” of a financial plan, and see how investors have typically fared better than average coming out of historic times like these. 

I Bonds Are Paying 9.62%, What’s The Catch? (Updated)
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I Bonds Are Paying 9.62%, What’s The Catch? (Updated)

(Note: At the time of publication, July 2022, I Bonds were paying an annualized rate of 9.62%. Since then, interest rates and inflation have changed, causing the combined I Bond rate to adjust down to 6.89% as of February 2023. You can find the current combined interest rate here.) The US Government introduced Series I…

SPWM Adds Associate Financial Planner, Jordan Johnson
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SPWM Adds Associate Financial Planner, Jordan Johnson

Smith Partners Wealth Management is delighted to announce the addition of Jordan Johnson to our team as an Associate Financial Planner and Operations Specialist. Jordan brings her 3+ years of experience as an Associate Financial Planner for a Fiduciary Fee-Only firm in College Station, Texas. Jordan will be based in Texas and will support our…