SOUNDS LIKE A TRILLION PER YEAR The national debt as of 9/30/18 (i.e., the end of fiscal year 2018) was $21.5 trillion, up $1.3 trillion in the last year, up $4.8 trillion in the last 5 years and finally up $11.5 trillion in the last 10 years. (Source: Treasury Department) WAY OFF In January 2008, the Congressional Budget Office released a 10-year forecast of our nation’s national debt. The debt projection made in 2008 for the end of fiscal year 2018 (i.e., 9/30/18) was $12.704 trillion. Our … [Read more...]

GET READY A 65 year old American male in 2018 is expected to live another 19.2 years (to 84.2 years old), an increase of 5 years in the last 40 years. A 65-year old American female in 2018 is expected to live another 21.6 years (to 86.6 years old), an increase of 3 years in the last 40 years. (Source: Social Security Administration) IT JUST DEPENDS Life expectancy at birth varies by as much as 20 years depending upon the country where you are born in the United States. (Source: Dwyer-Lindren … [Read more...]

OVERALL GAIN In spike of tumbling 20.5% on the single trading day of 10/19/18 (31 years ago this week), the S&P 500 gained +5.3% (total return) for the entire 1987 calendar year. The S&P 500 consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. It is a market value weighted index with each stock’s weight in the index proportionate to its value. (Source: BTN Research) JAPAN OUT, CHINA IN In 2008, China’s economy ($4.5 trillion) was smaller than … [Read more...]

BEST EVER If the current US business expansion lasts through July 2019, it will be the longest expansion in the history of the United States at 121 months in length. (Source: National Bureau of Economic Research) MORE THAN JUST WAGES For every $1 spent for wages and salaries in the private sector, employers spend an additional 44 cents on benefits. Average compensation is $23.78 per hour for while the cost of benefits average an additional $10.41 per hour. (Source: Bureau of Labor … [Read more...]

BLANK CHECK An estimated 44.4% of all US individual taxpayers will legally pay zero federal income tax for the tax year 2018 on their Tax Form 1040 that is due 4/15/19. (Source: Tax Policy Center) BONDS There is less outstanding municipal bond debt today ($3.8 trillion) than there was in 2010 ($4.0 trillion). Over the same time period, outstanding Treasury debt has increased +69% to $14.9 trillion. (Source: SIFMA) MORE OUT THAN IN The total cost of the Social Security program in 2018 … [Read more...]

NONE As of the end of 2017, 19% of Millennial's and 12% of Baby Boomers had no money (either pre-tax or post-tax) invested in the stock market. Millennial's were born between 1981-1997 and were ages 20-36 in 2017, while Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1964 and were ages 53-71 in 2017. (Source: Vanguard) BEAR AND BULL Over a painful 6-months from September 2008 through February 2009 (i.e., 9/01/08 to 2/28/09), the S&P 500 lost 41.8% (total return), including a drop of 16.8% in just the … [Read more...]

Join Wealth Distribution Strategies for an educational event on Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) Wednesday, November 7th, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. The evening will focus on what changes were made and how this will affect you and your taxes in 2018. Find out how our team can provide proactive strategies in the year ahead. Location: Sheraton Madison, 706 John Nolen Dr. Madison, WI 53713 Cookies & Coffee will be provided.* Contact Ashley or Desiree if you would like to … [Read more...]

EDUCATION The unemployment rate in July 2018 for Americans with at least a bachelor's degree was 2.2%. The unemployment rate in July 2018 for Americans who stopped their education after graduating high school was 4.0%. (Source: Department of Labor) WHAT WE SPEND National Health expenditures were $3.34 trillion in 2016, projected to grow to $5.70 trillion by the year 2026. 37% of the $3.34 trillion are Medicare and Medicaid expenditures. (Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid … [Read more...]

Registration is still open for the last class of the year! Join us for our Retirement Planning Today Workshop, a financial education course offered through the Dane County UW-Extension  for adults that are between the ages 50-70. Date: Wednesday, October 10th & 17th, 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Location: 5201 Fen Oak Dr. Madison, WI 53718 … [Read more...]

A SMALL NUMBER OF DAYS The total return of the S&P 500 stock index over the last 10 calendar years (2008-2017) is +126.0% (total return). The 10 best trading days during the 10 years (i.e., 10 days out of 2,518 trading days) produced an +97.9% gain. Thus, 10 trading days over the last 10 years were responsible for 78% of the index's total return i.e., less than 1/2 of 1% of the trading days drove 78% of the index's return. The S&P 500 consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, … [Read more...]

SIGNIFICANT 19% of the US population is currently receiving a monthly benefit payment from Social Security, i.e., 62 million beneficiaries out of 328 million Americans. (Source: Social Security) TOP ONE The top 1% of US taxpayers in tax year 2015 made at least $480,930 of adjusted gross income (AGI), received 21% of all AGI nationwide and paid 39% of all federal income tax. (Source: IRS) OVERSPEND During the first 7 months of 2018 (i.e., 01/01/18 to 07/31/18), the total outstanding debt of … [Read more...]

JUST THREE STOCKS 37% of the S&P 500's YTD performance of +6.5% (total return) through 7/31/18 was driven by just 3 tech stocks in the index. The S&P 500 consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. It is a market value weighted index with each stock's weight proportionate to its market value. (Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices) WE OWE NOTHING 3 out of every 8 homeowners (38%) in the USA own their home free-and-clear of any debt, i.e., … [Read more...]

MORE THAN SIXFOLD Foreigners have increased their holdings of US Treasury securities from $1 trillion in 2000 to more than $6.2 trillion in 2018. (source: St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank). NOT THE USA There are 10 countries in the world that currently maintain the top credit rating from each of the 3 major credit rating agencies, including Canada, Germany and Sweden. (source:Trading Economics).  BENEFITS More than 200 million vacation days were left on the table in 2017, and the lost value … [Read more...]

Americans paid over $104 billion in credit-card interest and fees in 2017, up 11% on the year and 35% over the last five years. (MarketWatch, July 28, 2018). More than 90% of login tries at online stores are from criminals, fewer than 10% from real customers. Hackers are also responsible for 60% of login traffic at banks and airlines. (Qz.com, July 18, 2018). There are roughly 157,000 people who have saved at least $1 million in their 401(k) with Fidelity and there are another 148,000 … [Read more...]

FEW STOCKS, LARGE IMPACT The 10 largest stocks in the S&P 500 made up 21% of the total stock market capitalization of the index as of 06/30/2018. Thus, 2% of the stocks in the index (i.e., 10 stocks out of 500) represent 21% of the total value of the index. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index. (source: S&P). … [Read more...]

Urban areas make up just 3.6% of the total land in the 48 contiguous states, but now 80% of Americans live in these areas- and the numbers continue to grow at a rapid rate. -Bloomberg, July 31, 2018 … [Read more...]

It's a Global Marketplace The companies in the S&P 500 received 43% of their 2016 sales from foreign customers. (Source: S&P Global Inc.)   What the World Buys from Us The top 3  American exports sold in 2017 to foreign buyers were aircrafts, gasoline (and other refined petroleum products), and motor vehicles.  (Source: Commerce Department) … [Read more...]