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Can Basic Math Skills Make You Rich?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 28, 2012 CommentI apparently owe a lot to my 9th grade math teacher. Every Friday, Mr. Smith would have the class play a game. He would write a series of numbers on the board, and the goal was to use basic math to make the first four numbers total the last one.
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Fiscal Cliff Worries? One Strategy to Put You in Control
Tweet Share on Facebook September 27, 2012 CommentIn a few short months the perfect storm will descend upon Washington D.C. that could very well send us back into a deep recession: The 2013 “fiscal cliff.”
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Are ETF Price Wars a Good Thing?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 26, 2012 CommentLast week Charles Schwab lowered the expense ratios on 15 of its ETFs to almost nothing. Investing in the Schwab Large Cap ETF (SCHX) now costs just 0.04 percent. Additionally, Schwab account holders who trade online can trade their ETFs commission free.
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How to Plan for a Long Life
Tweet Share on Facebook September 25, 2012 CommentLife expectancy for Americans today is about 78 years, but there are a number of factors that influence how long we live. Genetics, geography, lifestyle and wealth are among the most prominent influences on longevity. Doctors and human geographers can even make predictions about life expectancy within a given population.
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Will Health Care Hurt Boomers' Retirement?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 24, 2012 CommentThe numbers are staggering—10,000 baby boomers are entering retirement age every day and the pace will continue for the next 20 years, according to the Pew Research Center. The boomers are a powerful force representing over 75 million people, and as they enter their retirement years one of their primary financial concerns is how to pay for quality health care. Much of their anxiety is due to the rapid growth of health care expenses as compared to inflation. This has escalated the political debate on how to best fund, manage and deliver health care. Adding to the apprehension is the rising cost of employee benefits in general, having forced corporate America to drop defined-benefit retirement plans in favor of defined-contributions plans, elimination or dramatic reduction in retirement health care benefits, and increasing premiums. Bottom line: health care is extremely expensive, we are living longer, and 75 million baby boomers are starting to retire! There’s an obvious retirement income challenge and health care dilemma, and we should not expect Social Security and Medicare to cover it, because it won’t, and most Americans aren’t thinking about it or planning for it!
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The Fiscal Cliff That Wasn’t
Tweet Share on Facebook September 21, 2012 CommentWhat if there was a fiscal cliff and no one fell off of it?
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Will QE3 Equal Higher Commodity Prices?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 20, 2012 CommentIt was no surprise last week when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced yet another round of quantitative easing (QE3) to continually manipulate interest rates to an artificial low and to “help” stimulate the economy. As expected, this brave (but expensive and shortsighted approach) was applauded by the markets with a big rally. Now, everyone loves a good rising markets, but I can’t help but think of the saying, ”Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” What happens if you’re fooled three times? Have either of the first two rounds of quantitative easing actually worked to truly stimulate the economy? Or have they pushed us deeper into a pit of inescapable debt in order to falsely prop up the markets like a house of cards?
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Don't Ask How to Invest, Ask Why You Do
Tweet Share on Facebook September 20, 2012 CommentOver the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to be one of the “talking heads” that fill business television shows. My favorite question goes something like, “What’s the best investment you can make today.” My annoying response is that if today is your investment horizon, you’d better keep the money in your pocket, certainly no farther away than the nearest mattress. If the question is really about what you can do today to increase the probability that the money you now have will buy you more in the future than it can today, then the answer is a little more complicated. But that answer still won’t be a hot stock or a sexy alternative investment or a high-yielding bond. It’ll actually sound more like a college application essay.
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Rough Waters Ahead for Bond Funds?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 19, 2012 CommentAs you’re probably aware the Federal Reserve last week has indicated that they will continue their efforts to keep interest rates low. At some point, however, rates are likely to rise (that’s not a prediction of when, or how quickly). Rising interest rates are the enemy of fixed income investors, as interest rates and bond prices move inversely with each other.
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Protect Yourself from Old Age Economic Insecurity
Tweet Share on Facebook September 19, 2012 CommentIt is fairly well known that, on average, women outlive men. What isn’t as widely covered is that once the men pass, there is a significant economic gap, leaving surviving widows hanging on a financial precipice. A study of Census Bureau data shows that over 50 percent of women over 65 do not have sufficient financial resources to survive the deaths of their spouses.
There are some major causes for this financial insecurity:
