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It has become fashionable to show US debt in per capita terms by reporting how much of it is owed by every man, woman, and child. You can go cross-eyed viewing all the variations at this debt clock. Visual Capitalist has a great infographic showing per capita debt for each country around the globe (check it out below). While I do think it’s useful to quantify the debt in bite-size chunks like that so we can actually get our minds around it, it can be misleading and create unwarranted fear that you’re somehow on the hook. You technically don’t owe any of the US public debt.

Call me the Grinch looking down on Whoville, but I've yet to meet anyone who lives for the crowds, traffic congestion, and general stress of "Black Friday." Not only do we get to have all that fun, we also get to spend all kinds of money we don't even have! Check out this cool infographic from the Visual Capitalist illustrating the holiday surge in US consumer debt and spending.

Forget worries about the election, this graph perfectly illustrates what ought to be keeping the typical buy-and-hold investor up at night. Central bank monetary policy on steroids has again goosed asset prices to the land of unicorns and rainbows. This is precisely why I continue to take a defensive (tactical) approach to managing client portfolios. Reasonable investment returns can be sought when assets can once again be bought at more reasonable levels. In the current environment, most investors (and the financial industry) are just picking up nickels in front of a steam roller.

This chart by Doug Short really tells the story of the huge increase from 2000-2016 in workers over age 50 as a percentage of the US labor force. Note especially the upward trajectory of the age 65-69, 70-74, and 75+ groups. What makes this even more impressive is it's happening during a time when the nation's overall labor force participation rate has been declining.

Question and background: We're retired and will be selling our house this year. How should we invest the proceeds from the sale? My wife and I will be 62 this year, we have been retired 7 years, our current portfolio is $1.3 million. 70% equities, 30% bonds, most have been owned 25 plus years. We don't buy/sell much and have been living off dividends and income. We have no debt and have sold our main residence and will be moving to our winter home. We will have $500,000 from the sale to invest this fall. I hesitate to buy equities at the top of the market and feel we are equity heavy for our age and status of retired. We would like to be able to take out a minimum of 3% and would like 5% annually of the additional investment. We have no plans of adjusting the original portfolio. What would you recommend?