• AFP January Webinar – With 2 key tax law changes in 2022, AFP will be hosting, 'The Best Tax Webinar Ever with Rob Mackey', next Friday, January 27th at noon via Zoom. Would you like to attend?  Let Erik know at [email protected]. Webinar links will only be sent next Friday morning to those who confirm their attendance ahead of time. If you know anyone who would like to attend or could benefit from this information, please pass along the webinar email to them.

• Construction Heads Up – At the end of January, Grandview Heights Schools will be demolishing the old middle school across the street from our building and making many other significant changes as well.

• TD Ameritrade 1099 Forms – TD Ameritrade 1099-R forms are now available for download at advisorclient.com. The Consolidated 1099 will be available on February 24th. If you have opted out of electronic statement delivery, expect these documents in your mailbox after the dates listed above.

Click below to read our January 2023 Blog edition.

Declutter Your Digital Life in the New Year

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DO GAINS FOLLOW LOSSES? – Since 1928, the S&P has traded higher in the year 

after a down year 70% of the time. In the year after an up year, the S&P has been higher 66% of the time. (source: Bespoke)  

WHERE THERE'S A WILL – Despite its importance in order to ensure the smooth settlement of one’s estate, a 2022 study found that two-thirds of Americans do not have a will. Of those with a high school diploma or less, only 26% have a will, but among even those with post-graduate degrees, only 54% have a will.(source: Caring.com)

THREE CHEERS FOR THE THIRD YEAR – Since 1928, the S&P 500’s average performance in the third year of a President’s four-year term has been a gain of 13.5% with gains 83% of the time. That’s more than twice the average performance of any of the three other years in the 4-year Presidential Election cycle. (source: Bespoke)

TRUCKS RUNNING ON EMPTY – According to the monthly Logistics Managers’ Index, Transportation Utilization fell into contraction territory in December for the first time since April 2020, while Transportation Prices fell the furthest into contraction territory in the six-year history of the survey.(source: Logistics Managers' Index)

The European Energy Crisis

When properly maintained, well-built cars can last an impressive amount of miles.

Consider this 2006 Honda Civic, which hit one million miles on its original engine and transmission. Amusingly, the car’s odometer maxes out at 999,999 miles.

While that case may be an extreme outlier, most modern cars are expected to last 200,000 miles before experiencing some significant failure. That’s roughly double the lifespan of cars from the 1960s and 1970s, which typically lasted about 100,000 miles.

In this infographic, we used data from iSeeCars to determine which cars are the most likely to reach⁠— or even surpass⁠—the 200,000 mile benchmark.

Click here to view the source.

How to Keep Your Retirement on Track When

Inflation is Up and the Market is Down

By Andrew Welsch

Source: Barron's

Retirees and investors on the cusp of retirement are under stress this year. Inflation has spiked to multidecade highs, stocks have tumbled, and bonds—a haven in normal times—have slumped. The traditional portfolio consisting of 60% stocks and 40% bonds has had one of its worst years in a century.

No wonder retirement investors are so gloomy. Americans say they need $1.25 million to retire comfortably, a 20% jump from 2021, according to a recent Northwestern Mutual poll. A mid-November Fidelity report finds the average 401(k) balance has fallen 23% this year to $97,200. Not surprisingly, a majority of high-net-worth investors now expect to work longer than they had originally planned, a Natixis survey finds.

“Retirees are feeling the pressure,” says Dave Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Center for Investor Insight. “Prices are going up, and the cost of living is a real factor.”

Click here to continue reading this article.

When is it Time to Retire?

Readers (and I) Want to Know

For anyone who's unsure about when to retire, says the columnist, think about retirement

as a privilege that shouldn't be wasted.

By Glenn Ruffenach

Source: The Wall Street Journal

How do you know when it’s time to retire? A great question. And one that I’m coming to grips with myself. But more on that in a moment.

There is, of course, no single, correct answer, especially when the idea of retirement itself has been turned on its head. Only a generation or two ago, most Americans entered later life in much the same way. You collected a gold watch between ages 62 and 65. You cashed your monthly pension checks (remember pensions?), spent a dozen years or so at play, and then waited for your final boarding pass.

Today, many people “retire”—and immediately take a part-time job, or throw themselves into volunteer work. Others embrace a new career entirely. Ask a person today in their mid-60s and older if they’re retired and, more often than not, the answer is: “Sort of.” That’s what I did when I “retired” from my full-time job at The Wall Street Journal. I immediately started writing this column, which meant I was, at best, sort of retired.

Click here to continue reading this article.

“The best is yet to come.”

- Frank Sinatra