Is it better to reinvest dividends on stocks and take cash payouts on mutual funds/bonds?

That all depends on timing.. Each asset type has periods where it goes up in value, and down in value. The idea is to rotate your money between assets to be in the ones that are rising in value, and avoid (or short) the ones that are declining in value. And there are tools that make this fairly simple to do, but most people are completely unfamiliar with them, and unwilling to put in some effort to try to find out about them.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.