The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

So if you have $25,000 in your savings account , you're clearly in a much better place. If so, you might assume that you're in great shape with a $25,000 savings account balance. But in that case, you may want to take your remaining $4,000 and invest it in a brokerage account. That's pretty scary. You'd think that it would be.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 17, 2024

If interest rates drop, banks and credit unions will lower rates on their accounts, too. Personally, I'm keeping my money where it is in a high-yield savings account. Growth is my goal with investments, which is why I invest heavily in the stock market through a brokerage account. I have investments for that.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 28, 2024

Image source: Getty Images HSAs (health savings accounts) are the unsung hero of personal finances. These accounts allow people with qualifying high-deductible insurance plans to set aside $4,150 for single plans and $8,300 for families out of pre-tax dollars. Once you hit age 55, you can add another $1,000 per year. Here's why.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 15, 2024

But when it comes to building durable wealth in the stock market, I'm working with a really short list of strategies proven to deliver strong results over time. You don't have to find "the next big thing" before anybody else, and you don't have to take out a second mortgage to finance your stock-buying plans. Let me explain.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 20, 2024

If you're not sure where to invest in the stock market, you should consider holding an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in your portfolio. ETFs hold dozens, hundreds, and sometimes even thousands of stocks. Vanguard funds, in particular, are popular choices due to their low fees and solid stock selection.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

Image source: Getty Images Your trusty savings account is an important piece of your financial puzzle. Unfortunately, many of your fellow Americans are not so fortunate -- research from The Motley Fool Ascent found that just 45% of us can afford a $400 expense with the money in our checking or savings accounts.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 29, 2024

The stock market is having a good year despite headwinds from sticky inflation and high interest rates. Chipmaker Nvidia accounts for nearly one-fifth of the gains in the S&P 500, and the Magnificent Seven are collectively responsible for nearly 60% of the gains. Stocks could move higher. stock market.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 13, 2024

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the return of stock-split euphoria, and better-than-expected corporate earnings/economic data helped propel all three major stock indexes to multiple record-closing highs. But as history has repeatedly shown, the stock market doesn't move up in a straight line.

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The Motley Fool

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

In September, the Federal Reserve started a new rate-cutting cycle, something the stock market has seen only five other times in the last three decades. Policymakers reduce the benchmark rate to stimulate economic growth, which could logically translate into robust stock market returns. stock market indexes.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 30, 2024

The prospect of a sizable decline in stocks appears to be building, which could open up meaningful opportunities to buy stakes high-quality companies at a discount. While stock market plunges can be unnerving over short periods, they've historically paved the way for patient investors to buy amazing stocks at a discount.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 22, 2024

Falling interest rates are typically good for the stock market -- and I'll explain why in a moment -- but since a September rate cut is now widely expected, it's unlikely to have a substantial impact on the market. Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon , and Alphabet account for 20.4% of the entire value of the S&P 500 index.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

The stock index most often used to reference the U.S. large-cap stock market has climbed over 20% through 2024 as of this writing. But not every company has participated equally in the current market rally. Just a handful of the largest companies in the market have driven the vast majority of returns for the S&P 500.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 15, 2024

Anyone who looks at their 401(k) accounts or investment portfolios knows the stock market is sizzling hot. There have been stronger market performances in the past. What does history say the stock market will do in 2025? What does history say the stock market will do in 2025?

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The Motley Fool

JULY 21, 2024

Although all three indexes have increased in value over the long run -- which is what makes long-term investing such a fruitful strategy -- history also teaches us that stocks rarely move up in a straight line. With the S&P 500's Shiller P/E near 36, it looks to be only a matter of time before the stock market plunges.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 10, 2024

The company's business -- and branded credit cards -- might seem ubiquitous, but cash, check, and other forms of transactions it can eat up still account for a massive payment volume. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. The company recently estimated a $20 trillion opportunity.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 9, 2024

Since taking over as Berkshire's CEO in the mid-1960s, he's overseen a scorching-hot aggregate return in his company's Class A shares (BRK.A) When you run circles around the stock market's most-followed indexes, you tend to draw a lot of attention from the investing community. Image source: The Motley Fool.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024

If history is any guide, such a cut could foreshadow a big move in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) stock market index, but maybe not in the direction one would expect. He commented on the declining risk posed by inflation, but also the growing risk to the employment market. The Motley Fool recommends CME Group.

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The Motley Fool

NOVEMBER 3, 2024

And there's a great way you can invest to take advantage of the next leg up in the stock market. A big flashing warning sign for investors At big tech companies have outperformed, the market has become increasingly concentrated in just a few big winners. Image source: Getty Images. When will the trend reverse?

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 18, 2024

However, Supermicro stock fell 20% in a single session following its results after it missed Wall Street's earnings expectations on account of its narrowing margins. Supermicro management believes that its margins will return to the normal range by the end of fiscal 2025. billion from $7.1 billion in the previous year.

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The Motley Fool

JUNE 20, 2024

There are two key factors to reaching $1 million in savings: Invest in the stock market, and get started as soon as possible. Don't just save -- invest One of the simplest and most effective ways to supercharge your wealth is to invest in the stock market. Here's exactly how to get there. Image source: Getty Images.

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The Motley Fool

JUNE 27, 2024

Most of us are lucky enough to be able to save for retirement via an IRA account and/or a 401(k) account. IRAs are wonderful, with many benefits, but let's take a closer look at 401(k) accounts, because they may get you to millionairehood faster. These accounts are offered by employers. Image source: Getty Images.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 2, 2024

Saving tends to be low risk, but also generates relatively low returns. Putting money in savings accounts or CDs is important for any cash you might need in the next couple of years. It carries more risk, because markets can rise or fall and the returns are not predictable. That's where investing comes in. Even better?

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 14, 2024

Investing in the stock market right now may be both exciting and nerve-racking given how well it has been performing. VPU total return level, data by YCharts. There are 66 stocks in the fund, providing investors with some good diversification while still having decent positions in these stocks.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 18, 2024

credit card accounts delinquent by 90 days or more hit 10.9% US Credit Card Accounts Delinquent by 90 or More Days data by YCharts. Why a recession is bad news for the stock market To put it simply , when the U.S. economy sneezes, the stock market gets a cold. Granted , stock market volatility is unsettling.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 25, 2024

For investors who purchased CDs pre-pandemic and who would've been excited about any return on investment above around 2.00%, the yields CDs are offering today may seem pretty amazing. Here are the types of accounts you're better off depositing your hard-earned funds into compared with CDs. You can lose money in the stock market.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 27, 2024

Dividends are usually paid quarterly, and the money will go directly into your brokerage account. There's a lot of research and learning involved in picking your own stocks. And all stock market investments carry risk. There will be years when stock market investments fall or real estate performs badly.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

There are a few factors that make CDs a compelling investment: The APYs are often better than what you get in a high-yield savings account. Sure, it's a riskier choice than a CD, since the stock market can be volatile in the short term and your money won't be FDIC insured. CDs vs. S&P 500 ETFs: Which has better returns?

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The Motley Fool

JULY 21, 2024

If you're looking for a way to invest in the biggest tech companies currently powering the stock market higher, you've likely considered investing in the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ). The exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracks the Nasdaq-100 index , which consists of the 100 largest stocks listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 28, 2024

You don't need an MBA or to work 80 hours a week studying the markets. And in an ironic twist, the less competitive you are, the better you'll be able to stick with a strategy that can lead you to after-tax returns that beat 98% of professionally managed mutual funds. Image source: Getty Images. They can't both be right.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

In other words, Bitcoin would need to deliver returns of 30% a year, every year, for the next 21 years, to hit a price of $13 million. And during the period from 2011 to 2021, Bitcoin was the best-performing asset in the world, delivering annualized returns of 230%. But what about over the long haul? Remember 2022? You'd be wiped out.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 15, 2024

The strategy will produce after-tax returns better than about 98% of actively managed mutual funds over the long run. Here's why it's so hard to consistently beat the market average S&P Global publishes a report called the S&P Indexes Versus Active (SPIVA) Scorecard twice a year. Image source: Getty Images.

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The Motley Fool

JUNE 18, 2024

While 67% of Americans have a retirement account, only 34% believe their retirement savings is on track, according to recent Federal Reserve data gathered by The Motley Fool. Read more: unlock best-in-class perks with one of these brokerage accounts The average U.S. As you'd expect, it varies quite a bit by age.

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The Motley Fool

JUNE 28, 2024

Read more: unlock best-in-class perks with one of these brokerage accounts But what if you're not in a position to save 15% of your paycheck? Start early If you give yourself a long retirement savings window, you can get away with contributing less money to an individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k) each month. It's that simple.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 29, 2024

Now I've officially opened my first-ever retirement account. I spent more than a decade in a low-paying nonprofit career, and most of my jobs in that field didn't offer access to an employer-sponsored retirement account -- let alone matched contributions. I missed the boat on that, obviously. Not bad -- even for starting so late.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 28, 2024

stock market, recently hit a fresh all-time high. If you don't currently invest in an individual retirement account, or IRA, it might seem like a bad time to start. Isn't investing when the stock market is at an all-time high literally the exact opposite? Don't have an IRA yet?

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 29, 2024

The financial technology, or fintech, industry was one of the hardest hit parts of the stock market in the post-pandemic bear market, but there are still some excellent opportunities. million financial services products like bank accounts, investment accounts, and credit cards have been opened in that period.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Yes, the best CDs sometimes pay higher APYs than the best savings accounts. Most Americans only have a few thousand dollars in the bank (the typical American's bank account balance is $8,000), and therefore they likely don't have much cash for emergencies. Yes, the best CDs and savings accounts might soon have lower APYs as a result.

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