Luke F. Delorme
Can You Expect Your Money to Double in 10 Years?
Sometimes when I do a back-of-the-napkin estimate about how much I’ll have saved in the future, I’ll use a handy formula known as the “rule of 72.” This rule says that if you divide 72 by your rate of return, the resulting number is roughly how many years it will take your money to double.
Social Security: Beat the Deadline on File-and-Suspend
As we covered at the end of last year, the rules for Social Security have recently changed. The new rules mean the strategy of filing and suspending your benefits will no longer be beneficial for married spouses. But there is a window for some people to be grandfathered in under the old rules. Now, we…
Target Date Funds: In Defense of Investing Simplicity
Target date funds are investment vehicles that have gained popularity with regular people but get mediocre marks from investment advisers. Offered by most fund families (Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, etc.), they are frequently included as an offering in 401(k) plans. According to Morningstar, investors had about $700 billion in target date funds at the…
January Market Turbulence: A Historical Perspective
Through Thursday, the S&P 500 Index was down about 8.6 percent during the month so far. To put this in perspective, the worst January in S&P 500 history was 2009. In January 2009, the market fell 8.6 percent. We’re on pace for a January stock market loss as bad as we’ve ever seen. What lessons…
Eight Market Predictions for 2016
Markets go up and down daily. For every buyer, there is a seller. But there is a broader historical point here. Even during periods of relative growth, there are negative stretches.
Best of 2015: What Congress Just Did to Social Security
Our best-read blog of 2015: Our Luke Delorme informed our readers about the changes that Congress made to Social Security as part of the budget deal with the president.
How Much Should You Hold in Emergency Savings?
Although saving for the long-term future is important, you should also consider holding some share of your money in cash and similar short-term investments (sometimes called cash equivalents) such as CDs, money market funds, and short-term treasuries.
You Can’t Invest What You Don’t Save
The most brilliant investment strategy in the world will not make up for a lack of putting money aside. How much you save versus how much you spend is the most important driver of whether you will succeed in having money for your future financial goals.
What Are Growth and Value Stocks?
When I started my first job with a 401(k) plan, I remember looking at the options and seeing these words in the fund names: Value and Growth. I had some investing experience, so I knew that I should diversify across asset classes. But it sure was tempting to pick those funds with the flashy names.…
A Zen Approach to Long-term Investing
There is one core tenet to my investment philosophy: Focus on important factors that you can control.
