Wealth and Wisdom: Week of December 8, 2025
- Mike Brown
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
In the early days of our marriage, Tammy and I held our budget together by giving Christmas gifts we made by hand. It was a lot of work, but it got us through those first lean Christmases without taking on extra debt, and it turned out to be much more fun than we’d expected.
History seems to be repeating itself with today’s Generation Z – late teens and 20-somethings – who are noticeably tightening their belts a notch this holiday season as reported in the Wall Street Journal. They seem to be the exception, however, as the rest of us show no signs of slowing our spending this year. Perhaps these young folks are a lot smarter than we’ve been giving them credit for and can inspire the rest of us in the virtues of moderation.
Given that many of us failed to practice any moderation at all recently at the Thanksgiving dinner table, I’ll keep this week’s reads short and easily-digestible. Nibble on some of these last-minute financial reminders as we race on toward the end of 2025.
The rules for charitable giving are about to change in 2026 – and it might make sense to accelerate your contributions before the calendar changes. (Reading time: 3 minutes)
These four strategies – some of which you should consider before year-end – could help you lower the cost of staying healthy. (Reading time: 5 minutes)
Review this quick summary of the rules governing required minimum distributions – and check this off your 2025 to-do list. (Reading time: 4 minutes)
Whatever might have thrown you off this year, here are seven ways to get yourself back on track in the new year. (Reading time: 4 minutes)
America is growing older – bringing new opportunities and challenges our parents never faced. We just released a new podcast episode on this very subject. (Reading time: 4 minutes)
Who says retirement is something you do only once? (Reading time: 3 minutes)
Rather than waste our time with clickbait predictions – let’s see what history tells us about today’s elevated equity market. (Reading time: 2 minutes)
Here’s a nice, short primer on dividend-paying stocks – which explains in part why we find them so attractive. (Reading time: 4 minutes)
High price levels notwithstanding, when it comes to owning stocks for the long term the odds are firmly on your side. (Reading time: 5 minutes)
AI is powering a massive digital infrastructure buildout, with data centers being built at a record pace around the world. Nearly two of every five are located in the U.S. (Reading time: 2 minutes)
Words to the Wise
“Forecasting is difficult - especially into the future.”
– Mark Twain
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