L M Forbes' 50 years on Wall Street

Send us Fan Mail You don’t spend what your investments earn. You spend what’s left after the IRS takes its share. In this episode, I walk through the tax problem most investors never think about until April. I explain why waiting a few extra weeks to sell can save real money, how you can owe tax on a fund you never sold, and what to do with your losses. Then I get to retirement, where Social Security and required withdrawals can raise your tax bill in ways most people don’t expect. Tax rules ...

Send us Fan Mail Where do you put your retirement money: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), or something else? Most people get stuck on this and do nothing, which is the most expensive choice of all. In this episode, I explain why the order matters more than the account. I start with the one deal no investment can beat, the employer match, then walk through the Traditional versus Roth decision (it’s a tax bet), when an IRA beats your 401(k), and the accounts you may not know about, including ...

Send us Fan Mail Most people don’t retire poor because of the market. They retire poor because of a few small habits that never felt like mistakes at the time. In this episode, I go through five of them: the raise that disappears, the 401(k) cash-out when you change jobs, the permanent car payment, debt that follows you into retirement, and the open checkbook for grown children. I also share one simple rule that keeps all five from happening to you. Nobody offers a retirement loan, so it pays...

Send us Fan Mail The safest investment in America has a government guarantee, a pen on a chain, and an interest rate of one percent. I explain what that guarantee actually promises (your dollars, not what they can buy), why an account can go up while you get poorer, and why the fear of losing money in stocks is real but aimed at the wrong target. You don't have to get over your fear. You just have to match the money to the time. Money you need soon gets a boring, safe home. Money you won't to...

Send us Fan Mail You saved for forty years. You avoided the stinkers. You bought the index fund and left it alone. Then you retired, and the fear showed up anyway: "When will I run out of money?" In this episode, I explain why that fear hits hardest after the paychecks stop, even for people who did everything right. Nobody can tell you the date, but you can build a system that keeps you from being forced to sell in a bad market. I walk through how to give yourself a paycheck again, why a cash...