Retirement Tools and Affording Impulse Purchases

分组1: Federal Reserve Interest Rate Cuts - The Federal Reserve cut the target for the Fed funds rate by 0.25% and indicated the possibility of two more cuts this year and another in 2026 [1] - The prime rate, which is typically three percentage points above the Fed funds rate, is expected to react quickly to these cuts, impacting loans and credit [1] - The Fed is balancing the need to support the job market while managing rising inflation [1] 分组2: Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) - REITs, celebrating their 65th anniversary, offer investors a way to buy shares in companies that own diversified portfolios of income-producing real estate [2] - The yield on the Vanguard real estate ETF is currently 3.8%, significantly higher than the S&P 500's yield of 1.2% [2] - Historically, equity REITs have returned an average of 11% per year since 1972, comparable to the S&P 500, but they provide diversification benefits due to differing performance patterns [2][3] 分组3: Retirement Calculators - A study in 2018 found that many retirement calculators are inaccurate, which can mislead users about their retirement readiness [9] - A high-quality retirement calculator should allow for year-by-year cash flow visualization and customization of inputs such as account types and life expectancy [12][14] - Tools like CalcXML and ProjectionLab are recommended for their features, including cash flow analysis and Monte Carlo simulations for better accuracy in retirement planning [15][19]