A Financial Early “Christmas Eve Carol” [Parts 1 and 2]

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Rick Kahler MS CFP®

http://www.KahlerFinancial.com

Rick Kahler MS CFPFor me, the Christmas season doesn’t seem complete without Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. I’ve long been captivated by the transformation of the cold-hearted and calculating Mr. Scrooge, the seemingly inherent goodness of Bob Cratchit, and the haunting visits of the Ghosts of Christmas.

As a student of Dickens’s fable, I’ve been amazed at the wisdom and universal truths contained in that seemingly simple story. I have discovered that Mr. Scrooge isn’t merely the villain he’s often made out to be, nor is Cratchit the straightforward hero.

It’s not uncommon for the average American to have a stressful, even adversarial relationship with money, especially since half of Americans have no savings or investments and live month to month. Stress over money is especially exacerbated during the Christmas season each year. Many Americans borrow heavily on credit cards for gifts and end up stressing for months afterward trying to pay the bill.

Financial Transformations

How ironic that what Dickens unveils in the short A Christmas Carol is a powerful process for financial transformation (or any desired transformation). Dickens gives us a four-step process that anyone can employ to change destructive financial behaviors.

A few years ago I co-authored a book, The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge that highlights the subtle wisdom of Dickens’s story as it pertains to transforming one’s behavior around finances. The story became the heart of a successful model employed by financial planners and therapists to help transform a person’s relationship with money.

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The Story

The first big event in the story is the visit to Scrooge by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge takes to heart Marley’s warning to change his ways, thereby becoming willing to consider changing. Psychologists would call this an intervention.

The first and most important step toward transformation needs to be a personal realization that something is amiss with your behavior and it’s you who wants to contemplate changing, as opposed to someone else insisting you ought to or should change. Meaningful and sustainable change comes only from within, not without. Blaming personal financial problems on family, employers, the wealthy, or the government just keeps a person stuck in delusion.

What is the key to developing an internal desire to change? Addiction recovery programs call this “hitting bottom.” I describe it as reaching a state of openness to accept the facts and circumstances as they are, not as you wish they were. It is becoming convinced that change is crucial and that you are passionately ready to take action to change.

On that Christmas Eve, inexplicably, Scrooge was finally ready consider the message his old friend Marley had tried to deliver to him on many Christmas Eves previously.

In the book Changing for Good, psychologist James O. Prochaska and his co-authors describe this as moving from the stage of pre-contemplation to contemplation. Scrooge was willing to consider that his firmly entrenched world view might be skewed and to consider seeing the facts for what they were, not as he assumed they were.

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We may not be misers like Scrooge, but when it comes to our beliefs around money, we have as many delusions as he did. A few of the more popular of these beliefs, or money scripts, are: “More money is the answer,” “The stock market is a gamble,” “I work hard so I deserve to spend money,” and, “If I work hard I will make money.”

Assessment

Becoming willing to consider change is half the battle to free ourselves from destructive financial behavior based on these delusions. But it is only half. Next time we will look at three additional steps to transformation.

Part 2: A Financial “Christmas Carol” [Part 2]

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IRS: Gift and Estate Tax Exempt Limits Increased

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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Annual Gift Tax Exclusion Increased

Currently, you can give any number of people up to $17,000 each in a single year without taxation. For 2024, this will be increased to $18,000. For married couples, $36,000 will be available to be given to beneficiaries, tax-free, beginning next year.

Lifetime Gift Tax Exemption

Additionally, the IRS has announced that the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption will increase to $13.61 million in 2024. If a gift exceeds the annual limit ($17,000 this year, $18,000 in 2024), that does not automatically prompt a gift tax. The difference is simply taken from the person’s lifetime exemption limit and no taxes are owed.

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DAILY UPDATE: Happy “Festivus” with Drug Delays as the Stock Market Win Streak Continues

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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Festivus is a secular holiday on December 23rd as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas Season. Originally created by author Daniel O’Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 Seinfeld episode which O’Keefe’s son, Dan,co-wrote.

The non-commercial holiday’s celebration includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the “airing of grievances” and “feats of strength”, and the labeling of easily explainable events as “Festivus miracles”. The TV episode refers to it as “a Festivus for the rest of us”.

It has been described both as a parody holiday festival and as a form of playful consumer resistance. Journalist Allen Salkin describes it as “the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering”.

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(Bloomberg) — Drug-makers are slow-walking products to market to get around President Joe Biden’s plan to lower medication prices.

Companies from Roche Holding AG to biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. are among those delaying or evaluating therapies in light of the government’s new ability to negotiate for lower prices. Firms that normally try to sell drugs as soon as possible are suspending clinical trials and shifting timelines, while patient groups are demanding change. 

Here is where the major benchmarks ended:

Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:

  • The S&P 500 index was up 7.88 points (0.2%) at 4,754.63, up 0.8% for the week; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 18.38 points at 37,385.97, up 0.2% for the week; the NASDAQ Composite® (COMP) was up 29.11 points (0.2%) at 14,992.97, up 1.2% for the week.
  • The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was up about 1 basis point at 3.901%.
  • The CBOEe® Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.62 at 13.03.

Small-cap stocks continued a strong finish to the year. The Russell 2000® Index (RUT) rose 0.8% Friday to end at its highest level since April 2022 and rose 2.5% for the week, the small-cap benchmark’s sixth consecutive weekly gain. Regional banks and utilities were also among the strongest performers. In other markets, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) extended its recent slide and dropped to its weakest level since late July, reflecting ideas an outlook for lower interest rates may prompt investors to seek higher returns elsewhere.

Finally, with just four trading days left in 2023, the S&P 500 and other major equity benchmarks are poised to turn in a strong year that may more than make up for 2022’s losses. Through Friday, the S&P 500 was up nearly 24% for the year, after tumbling 19.4% in 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite were up 13% and 43%, respectively, after losing 8.8% and 33% in 2022.

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Tips to Cruise Safely into the Holidays & New Year 2024

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Follow these 5 Tips to be sure you cruise safely into the new year!

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

I am not an auto mechanic but I did cover the local hospital ER for more than a decade.

So, here are some holiday driving tips and pearls for Christmas, Holiday motoring safety and the New Year 2024.

1. Get a Pre-holiday Vehicle Check-up

A general pre-holiday vehicle check-up at your dealership can reduce your risk of having problems on the road. You’ll want to pay close attention to your vehicle’s tire pressure. Temperature fluctuations can affect pressure and a little destabilization can create unsafe driving conditions. Be sure to check yours and when you need to add air to those tires.

2. Raise ‘Em High – to Not Drinking and Driving

Sounds obvious but it bears repeating. Whether it’s at the company Christmas party, New Year’s Eve or just catching up with friends for a festive drink, drinking and driving is just not worth it. Designate a driver or enjoy a mock-tail instead.

3. Slow the Rein-Deer Down and Pay Attention

Not only are drivers distracted today by all their electronic devices, pedestrians are too. Be aware and pay attention to everyone. Speed is another one of the leading causes of car accidents (plus sudden acceleration is a major gas guzzler). Yes, rushing around can make you feel like you can make up some time on the road. But we promise you that your friends and family would rather have you arrive safely even if you are 10 minutes late.

4. Buckle Up

Another pretty obvious tip…but, you don’t want to wrinkle your new party dress! That dress is not going to impress the Emergency Room Doctor! According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2015, seat belts saved an estimated 13,941 lives among passenger vehicle occupants age 5 and older. An estimated 266 lives of children under age 5 were saved by their use of restraints and an estimated 2,573 lives were saved by frontal air bags. You definitely want to be part of that statistic in the event of an accident.

5. Rest Up Before Your Trip

Be sure to stay alert and be well rested before heading out. Late night holiday gatherings or long trips to visit family can lead to drowsiness. Sharing the driving responsibilities can help. You can stretch and walk around to help wake your body up. Be sure to take additional breaks as needed. If you are feeling tired and fatigued, pull over to get coffee, water and a snack.

Assessment

Remember GOMER = Get Out of My Emergency Room

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