Author Archives: Naomi Wolowitz

With the recent trip by House speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, China has responded by conducting military drills after threating severe consequences if she were to do so. In this episode, the relatable finance guys provide some background on the China-Taiwan relations, some implications should conflict escalate further, and how this can be factored into […]

The IRS recently issued guidance extending the deadline for retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to adopt amendments reflecting legislation passed into law in 2019 and 2020. The previous deadline for calendar year plans has been postponed from December 31, 2022, to December 31, 2025. The additional time is good news for sponsors and […]

In July 2022, the Federal Reserve Bank enacted its fourth interest rate hike for the year and its second consecutive 0.75 percentage point increase in an attempt to rein in record-high inflation without triggering a prolonged recession. While additional rate increases are expected in the Fall, the benchmark federal funds rate, which began the year […]

In this episode, the relatable finance guys discuss personal inflation rates and how our consumption decisions may be more or less affected than broad inflation numbers. They also discuss how these decisions affect market cycles and prices.

Since Congress first passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) in 2019, it has been working on a secondary package of regulations to further expand taxpayers’ access to workplace retirement plans and improve their financial security during their golden years. The proposed regulations, commonly referred to as Secure Act 2.0, […]

In this episode, the relatable finance guys look at prior bear markets and clues on when the current market may start to move. Things such as the magnitude of the decline, the duration, and the time it takes for the market to recover can help one make better investment decisions.

In this episode the Relatable Finance guys discuss the fixed income markets and how the recent jump in interest rates have affected performance. They also go into how this is different than the past 40 years and the key factors that affect fixed income returns.

The Relatable Finance guys talk about the rising prices in the real estate market and how the added cost of recent interest rate increases affects your ability to purchase a home. They also discuss some less obvious housing costs along with some benefits of having a mortgage.

Looking back over the past two decades of the subprime mortgage crisis and the COVID pandemic, we are reminded that good times do not last forever. In each of these circumstances, we learned that the best way to protect yourself during hard times is to plan and prepare for a potential downturn while the economy […]

Markets have been volatile in recent weeks for a variety of reasons. In this episode, the Relatable Finance guys dig into the causes behind the current market volatility, and what may be in store going forward.