Today is November 1 and I’m working on my plan for 2026 which includes making some moves right now. On the heels of getting a new job offer, I am already planning on dumping most of my pay from November to end of year into a 401k.
Because I got laid off end of May, I only made 5 months worth of 401k contributions so I have some room to dump more money into a 401k and offset some taxes.
I am still waiting on my deferred compensation check which should be coming some time this month. It’s a nice chunk of cash that will blow my taxes sky high but what else can I do? I am trying to find out if I can defer some of my comp at my new employer but so far I haven’t received enough information other than references to the possibility of deferring comp.
Our family normally takes a vacation at the end of the year but with the government shutdown creating a mess at airports, the economy faltering, and starting a new job, we probably won’t be going anywhere so that mean extra funds this year in the bank .
So what to do with all this extra cash?
The honest answer is I don’t know. I had been rolling T-bills but those rates are dropping now. I have been buying municipal bonds for tax free interest but there is a growing movement against the legality of many of these bonds and there is a risk that they go bust if that movement gets any traction.
A recent post by LazyManAndMoney points out that most of the S&P returns are now being driven by AI companies and that’s not a good thing. The only way I’m investing in stocks right now is through net credit collars and covered calls.
So bonds, stocks, and real estate are all questionable now. That leaves precious metals and I’ve dipped my toe into that area with GLD.
My fear is banks start defaulting or worse, brokerage firms or insurance firms start going under and we’re back to the 2008 financial crisis all over again.