1. Q1 Performance Grid
Nasdaq Dorsey Wright
2. More Presidential Election Year Stats
The Hartford
Presidential Election Years Have Been Good for Investors (hartfordfunds.com)
3. European Profits Seeing Upgrades
Dave Lutz Jones Trading European stocks just marked their best quarter in a year as traders remained optimistic about the economy and that interest rates would come down soon. The spotlight is turning to corporate earnings to drive the next leg of the rally in the region’s shares. Analysts expect profits to rebound 4% in 2024 after slumping last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
4. Silver Following Gold Break-Out
SLV moves above Dec 2023 levels.
5. Gold Miners Have Been Lagging Gold but Technicals Changing
GDX Gold Miners breaking above 2023 levels
GDXJ Junior Miners Same Story.
6. Treasury Bonds Correlation to Stocks
Morningstar
https://www.morningstar.com/portfolios/which-bonds-provide-biggest-diversification-benefit
7. GDP Per Person …Poland Leads Despite Russia on Doorstep
8. Americans are Eating Out More than Ever
Ben Carlson
https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2024/03/are-we-living-in-the-roaring-20s/
9. Median Home Prices See Sharp Slowdown
10. 8 Things I Managed to Get Right When I Retired
Psychology Today Meg Selig
What did that path look like? Here is a rough account of my retirement journey:
1. I had enough money. I was fortunate to build my retirement on a solid financial foundation. I say “fortunate” because I was not money-savvy during most of my early life. Just by luck, my various jobs in education and counseling were all part of the same healthy public school retirement system. When I was ready to retire after over 32 years in education, a traditional pension was waiting for me. Thanks to my union, the National Education Association (NEA), I was able to escape the burden of money worries that contribute to anxiety and depression among retirees and workers alike.
2. I had a sense of purpose. While I loved my last, longest, and best job as a counselor at our local community college, I had an intense desire to write a book on successful habit change. I already was teaching a short personal development course inspired by the loss of a wonderful aunt who had died from lung cancer because she couldn’t stop smoking cigarettes.
I figured it was now or never for my writing ambitions. But would it work out? Freelance writing is a chancy business. I’m not a risk-taker nor particularly entrepreneurial. What would I do with myself if I had no job or meaningful preoccupation? I sensed that, for me, a sense of purpose would be essential to a happy retirement. (As it turns out, many retirees feel the same way.)
3. I retired gradually. To hedge my bets, I decided to continue to work part-time at the college after retirement. I checked with my supervisor; luckily, he was happy that I could still be a resource for the counseling department even after I took the retirement plunge. I would be able to teach short courses part-time, plus I could help out during registration. I worked part-time for about four years while I labored on the book that would become Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success. Nowadays, retiring gradually is often dubbed a “phased retirement.” A Yahoo! Finance article predicts that phased retirements will be the wave of the future; if so, I was just slightly ahead of my time.
4. I stayed in touch with my work friends. I still meet regularly with my beloved colleagues from the college. And “beloved” is not too strong a word to describe how I feel about my fellow and sister workers. Two colleagues and I have had monthly lunches together for at least 10 years. My wonderful supervisor of over 20 years throws a yearly holiday party that I would not miss for the world. Here, I reconnect with lovely people, catch up, and reminisce.
5. I had a little bit of luck—OK, a lot of luck. With the help of another colleague, I succeeded in finding a publisher for my book. The cream in the coffee was that the publisher linked me to the blogging opportunity here at Psychology Today, a creative outlet that I’ve enjoyed for 14 years and counting. At that point, I retired from part-time work at the college and became a full-time author.
6. I created a helpful structure for my days. Some people nearing retirement probably have a rosy picture of sleeping late and then doing whatever they want whenever they want. More power to them. But oddly enough, research indicates that a predictable and pleasant daily structure is linked with both happiness and mental health. My weekday schedule was built around my goals of health, purpose, pleasure, and relationships. For the curious, it usually includes breakfast, 20-30 minutes of exercise, business details and email, lunch with friends or with the New York Times crossword puzzle, writing, watching Jeopardy, dinner, reading, or TV.
7. I am grateful to have a solid support system of family and friends. I have a supportive partner who loves to cook. He cooks dinner! Think of the time I save. Although my family lives elsewhere, we speak frequently and visit regularly. I Zoom with my granddaughter once a week. I have regular lunches or coffees with close friends.
8. I make room for volunteer work, fun, and mini-adventures. While our interest in big travel has waned as we’ve aged, we still enjoy one-tank trips to various spots near home and are dedicated in-town tourists.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/202403/8-steps-toward-a-happy-retirement