Tableaux Wealth Insights
Guidance, views, and commentary to help you make better financial decisions.
Do You Believe in Momentum?
Momentum surrounds us—in our habits, in sports, and in markets. Sometimes it’s real, sometimes it may just be randomness wearing a convincing disguise. How you feel about momentum might be a key determinant of your investment personality.
Saving by Switching Your Medicare Part D Plan
It can pay to switch your Medicare Part D plan. These prescription drug plans offered by Medicare can change from year to year, sometimes dramatically. For some retirees, an annual review can mean saving hundreds of dollars in the coming year.
The Role of Bitcoin
In 2017, I wrote a skeptical article about Bitcoin. As a financial advisor focused on long-term planning, I questioned Bitcoin’s usefulness and worried about its volatility.
Eight years later, I still have reservations, but my thinking has evolved …
529 Plans: Unsung Heroes of Financial Planning
If you’ve thought that 529 Plans, also known as qualified tuition programs, are relevant only to parents and prospective college students, you are not alone. But you’ve been mistaken. The 529 Plan is an unsung hero of financial planning that deserves some attention and celebration …
Invest in Your Own Demise
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly progressing. Every new technology comes with warnings about jobs being lost, and yet we’ve always found a way to keep creating new jobs. AI has potential for job creation as well as disruption.
Market Commentary: More Growth—and Rising Inflation?
This month I’d like to update our outlook for inflation, the Federal Reserve, and GDP—and touch on an interesting theme within GDP’s components.
Then I’ll tie it all together and draw three conclusions…
Tableaux Wealth Closes on New, Larger Office Space
We’re pleased to announce that we have closed on our new office space at 80 Maple Avenue in Great Barrington. That’s on Route 41/23, just west of the rotary at Route 7 …
Why Mass. Residents Might Consider Trusts
Many Massachusetts residents—especially married couples, those who own a home, those with children from multiple relationships, and those with over $2 million in assets—could benefit from a more robust estate plan that includes trusts.
The Case for Gold
Gold is setting new all-time highs. While there has been ongoing uncertainty in the last several years, the impetus for gold’s recent increase may be more closely related to de-globalization and the shift away from the U.S. dollar …
Tableaux-ing Away the Pack
Gold is great, but silver isn’t bad either. Tableaux Wealth’s Josh Billings race team “Tableaux Your Mind” took second place in the corporate category at this year’s Josh …
Downsizing Difficulties and How to Plan for Them
Downsizing has become more difficult, with older folks increasingly “stuck” in larger homes. For some retirees, it may make sense to plan for the possibility of remaining in their current house.
Is the Stock Market Scary?
Financial pundits have warned that we may be approaching bubble territory, with recent gains in AI-focused stocks particularly worrisome. I get questions daily from investors concerned about whether the market is overheated. And I’d say that current stock prices are not unhinged.
Market Commentary: Positive Numbers
Two data points—S&P 500 earnings and a sub-component of labor market data—are telling us where the markets are going.
Giving a Lifeline to Charities—and a Tax Benefit to Yourself
With funding cuts and higher costs, charitable organizations face increasing financial strain. Many charities now face budget gaps that threaten core programs. But there’s a way that many retirees can help, while getting a tax benefit: the qualified charitable distribution, or QCD.
Join Us at the Josh
It’s less than a month away, and most of us at Tableaux Wealth are training, or thinking about starting to train, for the 48th annual Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon, happening on Sunday, September 14.
CRUT, CRAT, and CGA—Three Ways to Give and Receive
Estate planning trusts can be a confusing alphabet soup of abbreviations.
Here are three estate planning strategies that are especially helpful for those who want to donate to charity while bolstering their retirement income: the Charitable Remainder Unit Trust (CRUT), the Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT), and the Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA).
What Gives with the New Tax Bill? Changes for Charitable Giving
Big changes are coming to the tax treatment of charitable donations, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. And as is true any time there’s a significant change to the tax code, it behooves most of us to reexamine our planning strategies.
Here’s a summary of the changes.
The Trouble with CPI: How We Adapt to Imperfect Information
Cutbacks and suspensions of data collection at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics are giving economists concerns over the accuracy of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
This raises a very good question: How else can inflation be measured and monitored if traditional inflation reports are becoming less accurate?
What You Need to Know About the New Tax Bill
Whether you love it or hate it, the new tax bill is now the law of the land.
Headlines have focused on the bill’s permanent tax breaks for corporations and high earners—and its steep reductions in Medicaid. Regardless of these potentially hazardous components of the bill, several of its key provisions may be beneficial for middle-class households.
A Simple Tax-Savings Hack for Charitable Gifts
Sometimes a small, simple change on our end can make a huge difference for our clients. And that was definitely the case with this hack for making charitable contributions that get full tax benefits.