Dear Garden State Trust: I was planning on retiring later this year, but I’m having second thoughts. My 401(k) has gone down in value, just when the cost of living is going up at rates I haven’t seen since I entered the work force after college. What do you think? —Reconsidering the Retirement Date Dear…
Year: 2022
Incentive Trusts
An incentive trust is a trust that includes provisions requiring beneficiaries to meet certain conditions before the trustee can distribute funds. This means that the funds can only be accessed in specific situations or for specific needs. Some incentive trusts give the trustee the authority to spread distributions out so the beneficiary doesn’t receive them…
Warren Buffett On Inflation Response
Dear Garden State Trust: The recent record inflation is frightening. What stocks should I be buying to protect my portfolio? —Worried Investor Dear Worried: As it happens, a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder posed that exact question to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at this year’s shareholder meeting, held in Omaha on April 30. She observed that…
Should I Retire To the Sea?
As retirement approaches, we may wonder about downsizing our living space, or even moving to a new area entirely. The perfect retirement has many elements, and is more than just having enough money to make work an option instead of a requirement. One of the hardest things is realizing that you are the leader of…
Cryptocurrency Taxes
Dear Garden State Trust: Last year I bought ten Ethereum coins for $2,000 each. I was planning to trade them for an NFT (a non-fungible token), an art investment that has become popular lately. My coins are now worth about $3,500 each, and I’ve found the NFT that I want. Do I have to worry…
Another Roth IRA Advantage
The traditional IRA and the Roth IRA both will grow without income taxes reducing returns. The difference is that contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax deductible (depending upon income), and all distributions during retirement are taxable as ordinary income, while contributions to a Roth IRA are not deductible, but withdrawals are potentially free…
Crisis Investing
Dear Garden State Trust: What portfolio management steps should I take on account of the new war in Europe? —Unsettled Investor Dear Unsettled: First, depending upon what you own, an impact will be made on your portfolio by the actions taken by multinational companies, many of whom already have cut their ties with Russia. So…