Insider Guide

June, 2024

If you or someone you know is about to retire, you can sign up for our Fall Retire by Design workshop series! It starts on Thursday, Aug. 8, from 6:30-7:30 PM @ our Goodwin Investment Advisory office. It will be an engaging and interactive experience. We will have limited seating, so consider reserving your spot by signing up now. Please feel free to forward this to anyone you know who might benefit from this workshop series, which will include not only designing your retirement plan with purpose and meaning but also learning about key retirement topics such as Medicare and even creating a legacy will.

Internally, we call ourselves BTOP (Best Team On the Planet), and it’s fantastic to see our culture recognized externally too! We are proud that Workleap recognized GIA as a 2024 Employee Experience Leader. We use their system to help us measure our overall employee experience health. We have been using this program for over 5 years.

Reminders

We’ve changed the global navigation on our website

To access gMoney and the Fidelity tool, you would previously click on “accounts”. We have changed the title to “client corner.”

Is it time to do a mid-year financial review?

We encourage you to consider reviewing your financial goals and progress. Do you need to change anything or start doing something to help you reach your goals?
When was the last time you updated your net worth?
Please contact your advisor if you want advice or need to adjust your investments or contribution plan.
If it is helpful, you can download our free money conversations guide below to guide your mid-year financial conversation.

Summer Budget

Your Summer budget might differ from the rest of the year. How will you save money while still going on your planned vacations?

Don’t forget to turn your thermostat down when you leave for vacation.
Make sure all your windows are closed tightly to save on electricity.
Now that it’s warm and there is more daylight, what outdoor projects have you wanted to complete? Doing things yourself can save you money and be a learning experience as well.
Plan free outdoor activities, such as hikes, fishing, and picnics, or attend free local events.
The blog below provides some more ways to save money in Summer.

money conversations guide

save money in Summer blog

The Market

Our recent Market Update, sent Wednesday, May 29, addressed market perception versus reality. If you are not receiving the market update, please check your spam folder for the subject “Market Brief.” If you still are not receiving this weekly email, please contact jbilly@goodwininvestment.com with the email address you like us to use.

Perception versus reality

A recent Harris poll, conducted on behalf of The Guardian newspaper, found that there is some confusion about the state of the American economy and U.S. stock market performance. A significant proportion of the Americans who participated think the economy and the stock market are in rough shape. Here are a few of the misperceptions uncovered by the poll:

Misperception No. 1: The United States is in a recession, according to 56 percent of poll respondents.

Reality: The U.S. is not in a recession. The economy has been expanding, not shrinking. Here are the statistics for recent U.S. economic growth (after adjusting for inflation):

2020: – 3.5 percent (pandemic year)
2021: + 5.8 percent
2022 + 1.9 percent
2023 + 2.5 percent
2024: + 1.6 percent (first quarter 2024)

Misperception No. 2: The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index is down for the year, according to 49 percent of poll respondents.

Reality: The S&P 500 was up 11.2 percent, year to date, through the end of last week. In 2024, the Index has charted 24 all-time highs, reported Jan-Patrick Barnert, Alexandra Semenova, Geoffrey Morgan and Michael Msika of Bloomberg.

Misperception No. 3: Inflation has been rising, according to 72 percent of poll respondents.

Reality: Inflation has been trending lower. In April, inflation was 3.4 percent over the previous 12 months. While that rate is higher than the Fed’s target rate, it is far lower than inflation in June 2022 when it peaked at 9.1 percent.

The confusion may be related to the fact that prices remain higher than they once were. There was some positive news on that front, last week. Several major retailers announced they are lowering prices on groceries and other items, reported Jaclyn Peiser of The Washington Post.

Misperception No. 4: U.S. unemployment is near a 50-year high, according to 49 percent of poll respondents.

Reality: Unemployment is near a 50-year low. The average U.S. unemployment rate from 1947 through 2023 was 5.7 percent. In recent years, the unemployment rate has been:

2020: 8.1 percent (Pandemic year)
2021: 5.3 percent
2022: 3.6 percent
2023: 3.6 percent
2024: 3.9 percent (April 2024, year over year)

Do you ever ask, “What Documents Should I Keep?” or “Can I Delete This File?”

‌Here is a helpful checklist, What Documents Do I Need To Keep On File? to help guide you on what’s worth keeping and what belongs in the shredder.

In this checklist, FpPathfinder covers a number of documents that you might need to consider keeping in case you encounter any number of issues, including:

Various tax documents, including past tax returns and documents related to specific transactions, such as annual gifts made to children, relatives, or others.
Healthcare records, including those relating to Medicare eligibility, substantiating medical deductions on prior tax returns and confirming any contributions to and distributions from a health savings account (HSA).
Various legal documents, including proof of citizenship or military service, estate planning instruments (e.g., Will, Trust, and Powers of Attorney), and records surrounding your marriage or divorce.

checklist of documents to keep on file

Check out one of our newest episodes from The Money PIG Podcast hosted by Reid Trego. In this episode, Reid welcomes CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional Justin Pitcock to discuss, “Should I convert my IRA to a Roth?” They discuss the benefits of Roth conversions, focusing on potential high RMDs in retirement, tax-free growth, and managing Social Security income taxation. Strategic management of these accounts can optimize tax implications during retirement, including legacy planning with charitable contributions and maximizing inheritances through Roth IRA conversions.

Listen to the podcast

Nourish to Flourish

By Tara Bruce

Reading to nourish your imagination and mind. For this issue, I wanted to include a Summer book reading list based on recommendations from our team:

Die with Zero by Bill Perkins
We recently read this book as a staff and discussed it each week during our Monday staff meeting. The book’s content shifted some of our perspectives on retirement and how to enjoy our personal wealth sooner rather than later. It generated terrific conversation and was overall a well-liked book by our team and a book we highly recommend.

Kimberly Klock
A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon
Once Night Falls by Roland Merullo
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
Flowers for Algernon – by Daniel Keyes
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Soul Shift: The Weary Human’s Guide to Getting Unstuck and Reclaiming Your Path to Joy by Rachel Macy Stafford

Christy Trego
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Tara Bruce
The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD.
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D
Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul by John Philip Newell
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab