Woods Financial Blog
The Nature of Risk
When you invest money, you are putting it at risk — all investments can lose money. The key is to gauge your risk, and to not put more money at…
The Financial Stress Toll (of Late)
In a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, more than 80% of American adults said they were feeling increased financial stress due to: Higher inflation (87%) Ongoing supply chain…
Market Volatility: Taken in Perspective
But remember, this is the situation for which you built a long-term asset allocation strategy. If you haven’t developed such a strategy yet, we are happy to help you do…
The War on Oil Prices
As with any major global conflict, we learn things. The pandemic taught the U.S. the importance of reshoring manufacturing jobs, so we aren’t beholden to other nations, like China, for…
The Value of Multiple Retirement Income Streams
Retirement planning was historically a little easier. For instance, the average life expectancy in 1950 was 68 years old.1Â If you retired at age 62, your retirement plan might need only…
Windfall Imaginings
Have you ever thought about what you would do if a windfall dropped in your lap? It’s not that unusual. After all: The U.S. is experiencing the greatest wealth transfer…
How the Russia-Ukraine Conflict Could Affect Americans
When Putin invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, President Biden announced sanctions targeting Russian banks, the country’s sovereign debt and Russian oligarchs, warning that Russia would pay an even steeper…
Are We Back to Normal Yet?
It’s been two years since COVID-19 hit U.S. shores, but are we anywhere near pre-pandemic normal yet? It doesn’t look like it. The stock market, while volatile, recovered nicely from…
What We Worry About
Retirement Planning A recent survey found that about 50% of couples do not agree on how much money they should have saved by retirement.¹ However, new research shows that couples…
An Update on Municipal Bonds
Municipal bonds are popular among retirees and near-retirees as they seek to reduce market risk and position assets for a lower tax bill. One way to diversify across this sector…
Market Jitters
In mid-to-late January, investors experienced one of those common but utterly nerve-wracking pullbacks in the stock market. An accumulation of factors — inflationary pressure, potential adjustments to monetary policy, geopolitical…
How Could Inflation Affect Your Retirement?
In recent months, Procter & Gamble has raised prices for its Tide, Gain, Downy and Bounce product portfolio. It recently announced that this spring, consumers also will start paying more…
Retirement Plans for Self-Employed People
As America’s work environment continues to evolve, one thing that has become evident is that — in many cases — the work-from-home (WFH) model has proved to be effective and…
The Fed Changes the ‘FAIT’ of Economic RecoveryÂ
In the summer of 2020, the Federal Reserve announced its new approach to monetary policy on inflation. The Fed previously used a 2% inflation target. If inflation rates fluctuated above…
Millennials Step Up
In 2019, the millennial generation (born from 1981 to 1996) surpassed the number of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) in the United States. Today, one in four people…