Hello and happy April!

Some things I'm seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling:

SEEING

Here's a chart that could provide some comfort to a distraught investor, pain to an undisciplined speculator, or nothing at all to someone disinterested in the behavior of the U.S. stock market:

When the market goes down, how often does it bounce back and what does that bounce look like on average after 1,3, and 5 years?

Past performance won't guarantee future results, yet this information is still useful.

HEARING

I heard Emily Rassam talk about her process for reviewing tax returns for clients. She uses a phenomenal tax planning software built specifically for financial planners to use with clients in service of navigating key tax planning questions.

This is a sample what the first page of tax report from this software looks like:

I really appreciate how Emily distinguishes "tax planning" from "preparing a tax return": Tax prep asks, "what happened?" and tax planning asks, "what should we do next?"

Tax planning software has really made it easier to navigate key tax planning questions with clients.

FEELING

I'm equal parts annoyed, frustrated, and sad about the proliferation and prevalence of sports betting. Scanning the findings of some recent sports betting addiction statistics really isn't helping.

These lines in particular stand out to me:

"Neuroscience research shows that a person’s brain does not fully develop until the mid-20s, which makes youth particularly vulnerable to problem gambling."

"Teenagers who gamble are up to four times more likely to develop a problem later in life than teens who don’t gamble, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health."

TASTING

I tasted a croffle for the first time ever from a relatively new cafe about 5 miles from home called Cafe K Streets.

The first visit was a family trip with our two sons (ages 4 and 1), and there was definitely a moment when we thought, "we probably shouldn't have brought our chaos into such a peaceful, cozy place..."

That thing was delicious though.

SMELLING

I've been getting whiffs of easiness that always crop up around tax time. Sometimes it's worth asking, "is it just the number on the bill, or is there also a lack of clarity around how that number came to be?"

Or maybe it's just coming from whatever is going on inside the Red Sox clubhouse...

There's not much I can do on that front though!

Until next time...

Thanks and be well!

Cody