Helping you live the best life possible with the money you have!

October 2020

Dear Readers,

October is here! October is the tenth month of the year, NOT the eighth month of the year, despite its name (someone should really stab the guy who messed that one up). And October is my favorite month! Here are the reasons why:

• All of our extended tax returns get finished
• Halloween is a good excuse to buy way too many Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and "forget" to give them out to kids
• I just helped my neighbor press some fresh cider and it is delicious
• Pumpkin harvest time is here - our garden's final count was thirty-four pumpkins!

Above: "Moana with Pumpkin Harvest," Photography credit to Jane, 4 years old

Market Updates

The markets are plunking along, doing whatever they want to do. A reminder to everyone as the election approaches: if you think you can predict what the election will do to the stock market, you're probably wrong. Yes, even if you can guess which guy wins. 

If you absolutely want to gamble on election results, leave your retirement portfolio out of it and just bet $100 against your cousin Bill. It'll save you a lot of agonizing time spent watching stock tickers, and will also make Thanksgiving much more interesting. 

Non-Market Updates

One thing that the election could affect is tax law. While tax law is much more boring than the stock market - admit it, you didn't even think about clicking that link - it is much more likely to be affected significantly by a change of guard in Congress or the White House. 

Things that could change: the uppermost tax bracket rate, the QBI deduction, limits on other itemized deductions for high AGI (>$400k) earners. We'll be monitoring any of these potential changes as the end of the year approaches, to see if any are likely to be relevant to you. If we need to make changes to your tax plan as a result, we'll let you know!

Above: We got all kind of pumpkins - orange and pink, spooky and happy! 

Natural Bridges Blog Posts

You'll spend thousands on healthcare this year - can an HSA or HRA help?

According to a recent survey, medical expenses cost young adults $2,000 a year on average - and more than quadruple that by retirement. Should you consider using a HSA or HRA to help offset these costs?

Are You Rethinking Your Post-Pandemic Career?

Has working from home given you a new perspective on the work you do? Some of our clients are starting to think about how their careers will evolve after the pandemic, and many of them enjoy the flexibility of the work-from-home arrangement, to the point where they are considering becoming consultants, switching to part-time work, or even starting their own businesses.

Above: Testing out Halloween cupcake ideas. Figs are surprisingly horrifying. 

Natural Bridges Personal Updates

Anabel has been rereading one of her favorite books, Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. She has also gotten back to doing horseback riding - while the fires got very close, the stables where she rides were lucky enough to make it through unscathed.

Moana passed the CFP exam, woohoo! But she still has a couple of thousand hours of experience to go to before she gets the full certification. Anabel's CFP exam is in March, and Moana will be sitting for the Series 65 exam next year, so we're still going to be in study mode for a while... send donuts! 

Above: And Bean will be going as a disgruntled court jester.

As we head into fall, we're excited to do more with our clients in the realm of financial life planning. 

If you have any Big Hairy Audacious Goals that you want to accomplish in the next few years, let us know about them! We want to help you turn your dreams into reality*, and in order to do that, we need to know where you want to go.  

* Except those dreams which are illegal, treasonous, scientifically impossible, or which require inordinate amounts of physical exertion on our part.

Much love,

Moana and the Natural Bridges Team

P.S. The deadline for online registration to vote in California is October 19th, or you can register and vote the day of the election in person. Vote early, vote often! ;)