🎁 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.

🥵 sizzling hot stock market

Good morning Reader! The CAPE Index is a number some investors look at to help understand if the S&P 500 is overvalued. With consumer spending down and the market at all time highs (thanks to AI!), you might be curious what the number is ... it's 40.64. Is the market overvalued? Maybe. Can it stay overvalued and get even more overvalued? Yes. Don't try to time the market but stay informed. It may be a good time to do something responsible like rebalance your portfolio. If your allocations are...

3 days ago • 2 min read

🤢 Cyclospora, daylight savings, and cookie stealing

Good morning Reader! A few general purpose news items to share with you this week: This cyclospora thing is nuts. It's been going on for weeks, there are thousands of cases across 34 states, and we still don't know the root cause other than it's fresh produce. Michigan thinks it might be lettuce or salad greens. All advice says cook your food and avoid fresh produce (for now). We also might be saying bye to changing our clocks. The House of Representatives approved a bill to make daylight...

9 days ago • 3 min read

🤖 interested in more AI & finance content?

Good morning Reader! Question: I've been experimenting with AI (specifically LLMs like Claude and ChatGPT) to analyze my finances. Is that something you'd like me to write more about? If so, what would you want to learn? We're seeing interest rates creep up a few basis points over the last week or so. 12-month CDs that used to be 4.10% APY and now are in the 4.15% or 4.20% range. 🔒 If you use Vanguard, they recently added a way to stop unauthorized ACATS transfers (previously you had to call...

16 days ago • 2 min read