Law Offices of Stephen Sutera, P.C.

11/20/2025

by: C. W. Longenecker��If you think you are beaten, you are.�If you think you dare not, you don't. �If you like to win but think you can't, �It's almost a cinch you won't. �If you think you'll lose, you're lost. �For out in the world we find�Success begins with a fellow's will. �It's all in the state of mind. �If you think you are out classed, you are. �You've got to think high to rise. �You've got to be sure of your-self before�You can ever win the prize. �Life's battles don't always go�To the stronger or faster (person)man. �But sooner or later, the (person) man who wins�Is the (person) man who thinks he/she can.

11/19/2025

11/18/2025

https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/social-security/im-68-and-health-issues-forced-me-to-retire-should-i-claim-social-security-or-use-my-savings-until-im-70.

We asked financial planning experts for advice.

11/17/2025

Markets Peak: ​Time to Get in or Out? By Jill Schlesinger
A friend recently contacted me asking whether I had time to review her investment accounts. She prefaced the meet-up with this note: “I'm waiting for the market to drop before putting my recent, big commission payment into the stock market.” This came within days of another message from a listener: “Should I do something with my 401(k) before the bottom falls out?” If only we knew when that was going to be!

I'm often asked to peek into portfolios when stock market indexes, gold, or crypto reach new highs or after gut-wrenching plunges. In both cases, I say, "I have no idea what is going to happen in the short term." Perhaps that’s due to the fact that I have been at this for almost 40 years, which would qualify me as a “seasoned investor.” In fact, a more apt metaphor from the cooking world is that I am a “tenderized investor,” one who has directly felt the heavy force of markets, which has broken down my misguided belief that I could accurately identify asset tops and bottoms.

Two pieces of research from the summer bolster my case. A Charles Schwab study asked: Does Market Timing Work? The answer was clear: “the best strategy for most of us is not to try to market-time at all.” The research examined five approaches to investing a lump sum of $2,000 annually over 20 years. There was: the perfect timer, who through dint of luck, invested at the low point of the year; the consistent investor who invested on the first trading day of the year, the monthly investor who divvied up the amount by 12; the bad timer, who invested at the top of the market every year; and the procrastinator who left his money in cash investments.

Not surprisingly, the person who could consistently invest at the bottom of each calendar year fared the best, but not by that much, about $700 per year over the 20 years. The worst was the investor “waiting for the bottom,” thus missing out on the stock market's growth. The takeaway from the report was clear: “It's nearly impossible to accurately identify market bottoms on a regular basis.” That leaves a rational, long-term investor with a tried-and-true game plan of determining “how much exposure to the stock market is appropriate for their goals and risk tolerance and then consider investing as soon as possible, regardless of the current level of the stock market.”

Separately, Fidelity’s inaugural State of the American Investor study reinforces the concept that a bull market can undermine what we know in our brains to be true: that we can somehow do better than the market. This analysis focused on “DIY investors,” or those who manage their own portfolios. “Despite nearly half of self-directed investors predicting the market will perform worse in the next 12 months, most (64%) believe their own portfolios will perform the same or better in the same time period.” So, two-thirds of these folks think that they can beat the market, based on their feelings!

As I have written in the past, when markets are rising, it’s easy to feel like a genius, but the seasoned (or tenderized) investors among us understand that while timing the market can be alluring, it requires two perfect decisions: when to get out and when to get back in. Because nobody knows what is going to happen in the short term, my consistent/boring advice is to create a financial plan that incorporates good and bad times, and an investment strategy that will see you through both. Remember that the key is not timing the market, but time in the market.

11/15/2025

For chocolate lovers:

A pastry chef works his chocolatier magic — live (Amaury Guichon | TED2025)

https://go.ted.com/s8yGc.

Get a taste of the chocolatier life from world-renowned pastry chef Amaury Guichon as he shares his story — and the secrets of his craft — with podcaster Latif Nasser. Learn what it takes to construct elaborate, lifelike (and delicious) sculptures from 100 percent confectionery ingredients as Gu...

11/13/2025

Future You
TED Radio Hour

Who will you be in 10 years? In 20 years? Envisioning how you will evolve is very hard. This hour, TED speakers share ideas on how to better plan for the future, while allowing for the unexpected. Original broadcast date: June 16, 2023 TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ted-radio-hour/id523121474?i=1000730935200

Podcast Episode · TED Radio Hour · 10/10/2025 · 50m

11/11/2025

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-new-irs-tax-bracket-changes-for-2026-3124737/.

The cat is out of the proverbial bag as the new IRS tax bracket changes for 2026 have been published. The IRS has released the 2026 income tax...