For October, the S&P 500 touched its year-end price target of 4,200 and closed at 4,193. 

It’s still up 8.7% YTD with gains coming from 7-8 tech stocks following the AI trend. Economic conditions are still tight. Credit card and mortgage delinquencies are rising. Where we end the year is anyone’s guess. 

Planning Opportunity: Put any cash on the sidelines to work in a high-yield money market fund, treasury bond, or in equities. You’re missing out on a 4%+ annual return. 

Open Enrollment

For my W-2 folks, open enrollment is right around the corner. Schedule time for us to review any new benefit offerings or to fine tune your strategy for 2024.

For my entrepreneurs, open enrollment on the marketplace started today and ends December 15. Schedule time for us to review your current coverage to see if it still fits your needs.

Planning Opportunity: The High-Deductible HealthPlan with a Health Savings Account. This is the ONLY triple tax-advantaged plan. The funds go in pre-tax, grow tax-deferred, and come out tax-free.

BONUS: You can invest the HSA cash in the stock market to turbocharge its growth. In addition, you can use it to pay for health care costs when you retire. For those of you who are concerned about the growing cost of healthcare, I strongly encourage you to consider maxing out a Health Savings Account.

The key is that you don’t want to deplete the HSA to $0 at the end of the year like a Flexible Savings Account (FSA). Therefore, you need to be comfortable with paying for certain medical expenses out-of-pocket today. This is a mental shift for most people and can take some time for you to adjust, but it’s well worth it in the long run.