Welcome to Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others.
- 401k Increase: The IRS increased the 2022 annual contribution limit for 401ks, 403bs, and most 457s to $20,500. An increase of $1,000. The catch-up amount of an additional $6,500 (total now $27,000 annually) remains unchanged. Contributions to IRAs will remain limited to $6,000. (Source: IRS)
- Musk Busy on Twitter: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been busy on twitter lately. He set up a poll asking his followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock, quickly followed up by a tweet confirming he would abide by the results of the yes/no poll. Though he would likely need to sell shares to generate cash for an upcoming tax bill anyway. A couples weeks earlier, Musk tweeted to the director of the World Food Programme if he could explain how $6 billion can help solve world hunger, he would sell Tesla stock immediately. (Source: Twitter)
- Inflation Data: After another month of price increases due to inflation, the Labor Department report shows in the 12 months through the end of October, the Consumer Price Index [CPI] increased 6.2%. The largest year-over-year increase since late 1990. The CPI is the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods. (Source: Reuters/Investopedia)
- John Deere: Over 10,000 members of the United Auto Workers union remain on strike after rejecting the companies supposed final contract offer. The rejected agreement included a 10% raise immediately, two 5% raises within the next 6 years, and a return of cost of living adjustments, among other items. The union workers initially went on strike at midnight on October 14th for, “the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules.” John Deere union members worked throughout the entire pandemic after being deemed essential workers and now would like to be compensated as essential workers. (Source: UAW/CNN)
Every 1 Minute of the Day in 2021
There are around 5 billion internet users around the globe. Here’s what happens every minute on the internet, thanks to all 5 billion of us.
Thought of the Month
Eliud Kipchoge is considered the greatest marathoner of the modern era, some consider him the greatest marathoner of all time. He holds the official marathon world record time with a blazing 2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds. For perspective, this is a 4:39 per mile pace. Kipchoge won the gold medal in the last two Olympic marathons and also holds the unofficial marathon world record time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, 40 seconds (4:34/mile).
I recently watched Breaking2, a 2017 documentary covering the project taken on by Nike to try and break the two-hour barrier for the marathon. The race took place at Monza, the Formula 1 racetrack in Italy nicknamed the Temple of Speed. During the documentary, Kipchoge took time to talk through his training and said,
“You cannot train alone and expect to run a fast time. There is a formula: 100% of me is nothing compared to 1% of the whole team.”
This quote and idea can provide meaning in most facets of life, whether you run or not. It makes me think about family, about working at PDS, about the sports teams I’ve been a part of. You can do it alone, but you can probably do it better with others working together and communicating.
Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment, strategy, or product or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this newsletter, will be suitable for your individual situation, or prove successful. This material is distributed by PDS Planning, Inc. and is for information purposes only. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon sources PDS Planning believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy. It is provided with the understanding that no fiduciary relationship exists because of this report. Opinions expressed in this report are not necessarily the opinions of PDS Planning and are subject to change without notice. PDS Planning assumes no liability for the interpretation or use of this report. Consultation with a qualified investment advisor is recommended prior to executing any investment strategy. No portion of this publication should be construed as legal or accounting advice. If you are a client of PDS Planning, please remember to contact PDS Planning, Inc., in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives. All rights reserved.