While some stocks have responded to the 2024 bull market better than others, an abundance of stocks have followed this rising tide. There's no predicting how long this next bull market will last, although historically speaking, these periods tend to significantly outlast bear markets in average duration. If you're investing in top stocks for the long haul, what the market does in a few weeks, months, or even years won't deter you from building your portfolio in all market conditions. On that note, here are two fantastic growth stocks to consider putting cash into the next time you go shopping ..read more

Image source: Upsplash/The Motley Fool Budgeting is an important personal finance skill. Understanding how much money you can afford to spend each month and setting spending limits can help you avoid debt and keep you on track as you work to reach your financial goals. Budgeting is vital, especially for those who live non-traditional lifestyles, like digital nomads. Since many digital nomads continuously travel to new locations while working, having good budgeting skills is beneficial. If you're a digital nomad without this skill, you may be doing yourself a disservice. Here are a few downs ..read more

Their shoes are controversial, but Crocs' (NASDAQ: CROX) business has been nearly flawless. The company has been able to control costs and grow the bottom line, but investors haven't seemed to notice. In this video, Travis Hoium shows everything you need to know about Crocs stock. *Stock prices used were end-of-day prices of April 20, 2024. The video was published on April 24, 2024. Should you invest $1,000 in Crocs right now? Before you buy stock in Crocs, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy n ..read more

The way you invest for retirement obviously isn't the same way you want to invest during retirement. While you're working and accumulating wealth, you're willing and able to invest aggressively. Once the work-based income stops and you start living on your savings, however, you should shift to a more conservative approach. As a retiree, you'll also typically need your investments to begin generating at least some income. And if you can simplify the whole thing, so much the better. With that as the backdrop, here's a closer look at three index-based exchange-traded funds (or ETFs) that all curr ..read more

Dividend stocks can be an important pillar of a well-balanced, diversified investment strategy. Seeking passive income is a good way to supplement your portfolio while mitigating some of the volatility associated with owning individual stocks. While there are many companies that pay a dividend, a special group known as Dividend Kings may offer the best selection. Becoming a Dividend King is no easy feat. Indeed, the five companies explored below not only pay a dividend but have raised their payout every year for at least the last half-century. Let's explore the companies below and assess why n ..read more

If you bought $1,000 worth of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) shares five years ago, in mid-April, 2019, how much would that be worth today? The answer is: $1,863. That answer alone isn't sufficiently informative, though. Consider, for example, that it does not reflect the reinvestment of dividends. If you'd reinvested your Walmart dividends into additional shares of Walmart stock, you'd have ended up with $1,904, a little more. (Walmart's dividend recently yielded 1.4%. That's not huge, and it's not growing too quickly. Over the past five years, Walmart's dividend has increased at an average annual rate ..read more

Image source: Getty Images Many people like to save for retirement in a traditional IRA because it offers an immediate tax break in that your money goes in tax free. So if you put $3,000 into a traditional IRA, that's $3,000 of income the IRS won't tax you on that year. With a Roth IRA, you don't get that same immediate tax break, since your account is funded with after-tax dollars. However, Roth IRA investments grow tax free, and withdrawals are tax free as well. With a traditional IRA, your gains are tax deferred, but you pay taxes on them when you take withdrawals, which are a taxable so ..read more

Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) is coming off a strong year for its interactive content platform. Daily active users hit new highs, and revenue grew 30% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2023. However, there remains skepticism around the company's ability to sustain high growth and monetize the content on its free-to-use platform. But this could be a great buying opportunity, according to JPMorgan analyst Cory Carpenter. The analyst upgraded the stock from neutral to overweight and raised his price target from $41 to $48. That price target, usually an estimate of where the stock might trade in the n ..read more

It's hard to overstate Social Security's importance to today's seniors. More than one-third of workers rely upon its benefits to provide at least half their retirement income and more than 10% count upon it for 90% of their income. It's only natural, then, to want the largest checks possible. Benefit amounts vary by individual, but there are also bigger factors at play that influence how much certain age groups receive. Recent Social Security data shows that one group in particular receives more than the rest, and it reveals an interesting trend that could affect today's workers. Image source ..read more

The turbulent electric vehicle (EV) sector has provided a lot of up-and-down drama lately for investors, who should be very selective these days. But one they should select, at least according to one analyst, is next-generation battery maker QuantumScape (NYSE: QS). Here's a take on his latest take, if you will. Better battery needed QuantumScape is currently developing a higher-energy-density EV battery than the typical products used today, which in broad terms means one that can provide notably higher driving range per charge. The company's power packs haven't yet made it into the guts of an ..read more