🎁 you can harvest investment GAINS too

Published over 1 year ago • 1 min read

Good morning Reader,

As I write this, Bitcoin is at $87,923, up almost 44% in six months.

Yet I still own almost no bitcoin. (I have a smidge on Coinbase from who knows where)

I'm not anti-bitcoin. I think it's cool technology albeit a tragic consumer of natural resources. I'm just anti-speculation. I also don't like how rabid bitcoin fans identify so strongly with their investments.

I don't need it in my life and so I haven't devoted the time and attention to learn it enough.

For those bitcoin aficionados, kudos to you! I've missed more bull runs than I've participated in and I'm OK with that. 😂

(View this email as a webpage)

🧑‍🌾 You can harvest capital gains

Everyone talks about harvesting capital losses but after the market went up up up this year, you may be sitting on some capital gains you'd like to realize.

If you are in a lower tax bracket (perhaps the 0% one), you could employ what's known as capital gains harvesting too.

👉 What is capital gains harvesting?

🚀 Can Rocket Money Help Your Budget?

When Mint closed down earlier this year, a lot of budgeting tools scrambled to fill the void.

One of them, Rocket Money, looked to fit a specific role in your toolkit - to help you manage, negotiate, and cancel subscriptions.

They offer a lot more than that but the big difference between them and other budgeting tools is their subscription management services.

We did a comprehensive review:

👉 Is Rocket Money Right For You?

🗺️ Why Economists Hate Tariffs

Tariffs have been in the news a lot because Trump wants to bring them back. Most people do not understand how tariffs work (the company importing the goods pays the tariffs, not the producer) and fewer understand the downstream effects (even the positive ones).

This 8-minute Wall Street Journal video does a great job explaining it, with real-life examples from Trump's first term:

👉 Why Economists Hate Donald Trump's Tariff Plan

What did you think of today's email?
✅ I Loved It! 🟨 It Was Okay ❌ Not My Favorite

Take care!

Jim

PS. Did you know that the S&P 500 has hit 50 all-time highs in 2024? It broke 5,000 in February and then 6,000 this month. Incredible! Stay invested folks!

(see our archive of previous emails)

You signed up for this newsletter via wallethacks.com

We respect you and your attention. If you no longer wish to get emails from us, you can unsubscribe and we will still be friends.

If you like sending gifts, we like getting them here - P.O Box 323, Fulton, MD 20759

Read more from Hi, I'm Jim Wang and I share my strategies and tactics for managing your money and enjoying more out of life.

🏠 ChatGPT appealed my property taxes

Good morning Reader! You should watch this explanation of the Yen Carry trade and how its unwinding impacts our economy and your personal finances. As a long term investor, I am not adjusting my allocations or making any other significant changes. I will, however, make sure that my actual allocations match my targets. I believe in remaining informed, even if it doesn't affect my actions, because then I won't be surprised when something happens. The market is dominated so heavily by news...

6 days ago • 3 min read

💵 Spring clean your money

Good morning Reader! Last week, a reader (Hi Gloria!) ask why I never list Vanguard's Cash Plus account in the interest rate roundup below. Here's my answer: I don't list the Vanguard Cash Plus Account because the yield is only 3.35% APY (that includes a 0.25% boost that they will remove on 4/30/26), which makes it lag behind most other banks. It's just not competitive. I love Vanguard though, I have most of our investments there, but the Cash Plus account isn't that great. Vanguard's Money...

13 days ago • 2 min read

📘 How full is your passport?

Good morning Reader! Two days ago, our schools closed early because there was a big storm coming through with threat of tornados. Understandably, they didn't want school buses out there shuttling kids while warnings were in effect. The storm ended up not being nearly as bad and some clamored to Facebook to complain about the forecast... which I found mind-boggling. It's like paying for car insurance and then complaining you never got into an accident. Prepare for the worst, hope for the...

20 days ago • 2 min read