You have the right to add a security freeze, more commonly called a credit freeze, to all of your credit reports for free. Doing so can limit access to your credit reports, which may help protect you from some types of credit fraud. There are several ways to freeze your credit at each of the three credit bureaus, but freezing your credit online might be the easiest option.
Cognitive biases can have a negative impact on an investor’s ability to make rational decisions, potentially derailing their investment goals. These mental shortcuts and distortions that we make affect how you perceive information and thus make decisions, often leading, unfortunately, to poor investment choices. Cognitive biases in investing can lead to overconfidence, misjudgments, and a reliance on emotion rather than logic. But if you can recognize and address these biases before they impact your investment portfolios, you can avoid common pitfalls and make better choices that enhance portfolio performance over time.
Many financial decisions are made in an uncertain environment. For example, people evaluate whether the expected benefits of saving for a rainy day may or may not outweigh the cost of reducing consumption today.
Borrowers struggling to repay loans compare the potential benefits of avoiding default, such as preserving a good credit score, to the costs of reducing spending today or getting a second job to avoid defaulting on their debt. Many middle-aged people evaluate whether insuring their long-term care is worthwhile at the expense of the insurance premiums each month.
In all these choices, people consider a trade-off involving an action that is costly today and has an uncertain effect on how future outcomes might look. Therefore, people's subjective perception of this trade-off is likely to influence their decisions.
Gold is glittering. Recently, the spot price was around $2,403 an ounce, up about 21% in the past 12 months. Some buyers are snapping up gold bars and coins, while others are investing in funds holding bullion.
For many reasons, today’s gold buyers could become tomorrow’s sellers, and—as this column often warns—the time to learn about taxes on an investment is before buying, not after. Being aware of the tax rules on gold sales could help avoid costly mistakes.
With tax season coming to an end, this is a good time to dust off your tax planning strategies and create an action plan for the year. Indeed, we have said many times that tax planning should be a year-round sport, and not consigned to December or the fourth quarter. In addition, many clients may be sharing their tax returns with you upon completion, so providing feedback and leveraging tax planning ideas is also appropriate. With that in mind, let’s review six key tax planning strategies for every investor.
