Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Death of Equities? - Probably Not

"The world doesn't end often." - upbeat maxim shared in Barron's roundtable issue 1/16/2012

On August 13,  1979, Businessweek published the now infamous article, "The Death of Equities," which reported on the flight of individual investors from the stock market and how other types of investments were preferred over equities.  That article preceded the greatest ever bull market which began in 1982.  Recently, the Financial Times and The New York Times have both published articles about the flight of the individual investor from the stock market.

Like 1979, the stock market looks like a dangerous place to invest.   Personally, our retirement and taxable savings accounts are in cash, with the exception of my company stock and a small long short portfolio    I expect a significant drop in the market to happen.  (I originally thought the precipitous decline would happen in 2011, so I'm not predicting timing anymore :-)  However, after the next bear market, I expect it will be a great opportunity to get back into the stock market.

For our seven year old daughters UTMA account, I plan to make small purchases of dividend paying stocks as the market falls.   In our retirement accounts, I plan to start by reinvesting 10% of our cash after a 20% drop, and make subsequent purchase with each 10% drop.   By using this approach, I hope to buy at good prices and participate in (hopefully:-) the next big bull market.

For more on  Crossing Generations, check back every Thursday  for a new segment.


This is not financial or investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Want Positive Change? - Recognize Reality

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." ~ Leo Tolstoy

Positive change requires a good recognition of reality.  Once reality is understood, necessary changes to correct the situation can be made.   Here are two realities I've learned from early retirement during the great recession.:

  • Doing what I love doesn't pay much.  The youthful wisdom is to do what one loves and the money will come.   Unfortunately, this is a fantasy perpetuated by the higher education system to encourage students to attend post secondary education.  My reality is to work at jobs that have high pay and the money will come.  The best I 've been able to achieve doing what I love is 1/3 of my pre-retirement job.



  • Sustainable good investing is not easy.  Everyone is a great investor in a bull market.   It's during times like the past 10 years that the great investors standout for making money during these tough times.   The past 10 years have taught me that I'm not a great investor. 


  • Based on these realities, I'll need to rethink our income opportunities in retirement.    My fantasies of doing part time jobs I love and investing in the stock market to support retirement are definitely not realistic.  By the end of 2012, I will likely put a significant amount of our retirement savings back into a managed account with professional investors, which should help us maximize our return from stock investments.  in addition, I will cut back my part time retirement jobs significantly since the earnings are only a small percentage of our expenses.

    For more on The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Tuesday, May 29, 2012

    The Wealth Builder Carnival #78

    Welcome to the seventy-eighth edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival. The purpose of this carnival is to collect articles from the blogosphere on building, preserving and keeping enough wealth for a comfortable retirement. For reference, I have tried to keep the carnival content tightly focused on wealth building and did not include submissions that were off topic. For reading convenience, the posts are listed with a brief summary or comment by the submitter and organized into seven categories: Earning, Insuring and Protecting, Investing, Living Frugally, Retiring, Saving and Taxes.  Blog Carnival is having technical issues again, which may have reduced the number of submissions for this week.

    And now on to the Carnival:


    Earning


    Theresa Torres presents Summer Opportunities for Students posted at CreditDonkey.com Tips, saying, "The summer months presents many opportunities for students wanting to get ahead. Here are some ways they can take advantage of them."

    Jon Rhodes presents Should I Submit To Directories? posted at Affiliate Help!, saying, "This articled discusses whether submitting your web site or blog to directories will help them earn more."

    Kerin Gedge presents Kerinthian's: Pimp My Twenty Bucks - Part One posted at Kerinthian's, saying, "Here's a humoristic look at my approach to making some extra cash using online trading sites like eBay. Its part one in a series as I'll actually be trialling my method as I go..."


    Insuring and Protecting


    Matt Black presents How to Save Up To $600 a Year on Auto Insurance posted at First Car Insurance Quotes, saying, "Owning a car is something that we often take for granted. The convenience of driving to and from work, collecting kids from school and a trip to the mall is a part of everyday life and we tend to forget about car insurance. That is until the time comes for it to be renewed."


    Investing


    Dr. Dean presents Are You An Investing Scaredy Cat? posted at Dr. Dean's TheMillionaireNurse.com Blog, saying, "Risks and rewards in investing...Do you understand them? What makes people sell when they should buy?"

    Dividends4Life presents Pepsico, Inc. (PEP) Dividend Stock Analysis posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, "PepsiCo, Inc. is a major international producer of branded beverage and snack food products. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary."


    Living Frugally


    Super Saver presents Math Challenged Marketers posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "Surprise! Sometimes the price of the larger size is cheaper than the smaller size."

    Taxes


    John presents Are Austria & Luxembourg Hurting American Taxpayers? posted at Wallet Blog, saying, "As evidenced by the recession, personal finance and global finance have become increasingly inseparable. The policies of one country ultimately affect the economies of others, and therefore affect the personal finances of the individual citizens of those countries. So why would anyone approve of a policy that supports tax evasion, promotes criminal activity and adds to economic strain?"

    That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

    Technorati tags: , .  

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial, earning, insuring, investing, living, retiring, saving, tax, or wealth building advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Monday, May 28, 2012

    Long Short Portfolio Review

    Over the weekend, I did an evaluation of the long short portfolio.   Since May 2, 2012, the S&P has declined 6.0%.   During the same time, my long short portfolio has declined 2.3%, which seems good initially.   However, when I reviewed the portfolio change by long positions and short positions, I was disappointed.  The longs had fallen by 1.0% and the shorts  also had a negative return of 1.3% despite the overall market decline.  Two shorts have risen signficantly  in price during the market decline, which resulted in an overall negative return for the short positions. 

    I would have been better off just investing in stocks of strong, resilient companies versus also shorting companies I believed are doing poorly.  

    For now, I will continue my long short positions for at least another week.   If I continue to experience poor results from the short positions, I will close the positions and only continue working on the long side for the portfolio.
    For more on Strategies and Plans, check back every Monday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Sunday, May 27, 2012

    Thinking about Annuities

    I've never been interested in annuities before.  I've always believed that investing in the stock market was a better option.   Lately, I've been thinking that annuities do have a place in our wealth building plans: longevity insurance.  This would address the risk of outliving our assets should we have longer than average life expectancies.

    My plan is to sell our house when our daughter graduates from college, in about 15 years when I'm 70ish .  If we're lucky, home prices will appreciate about 5% per year giving us double the current market value.   The proceeds from the sale of our home can be invested in a second to die annuity that provides income for the rest of our lives.   That way, we will have some guaranteed income for life.

    Lately,  I've been exposed to more information on annuities.  Last month, a local financial planning group invited me to a seminar which included a discussion on annuities.  This week's cover story in Barron's is the "
    Top Fifty Annuities."  One thing I've learned is today's low interest environment makes it the least favorable time to initiate an annuity.  A better time is when interest rates are high(er).  That way the monthly payout will be higher for the same investment.

    Fortunately, we have at least 15 years before we will start an annuity.

    For more on  New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Saturday, May 26, 2012

    Math Challenged Marketers

    Today, I went to a major grocery chain to purchase a few staples that we needed.  We usually buy the small size mayonnaise since the larger size usually goes bad before we can finish it.  Makes sense.  We don't want to buy more a lower price per ounce and then waste half of it.  The end result is still that we pay more.

    So I go to the store expecting to buy the smaller size, which goes against my instinctive purchase habits.   However, when I get to the store I am surprised by the pricing.  The 16 ounce size of the branded mayonnaise is $4.69.   For comparison, I checked  the price of the large 32 ounce size.  The price was $4.48, $0.21 cheaper.   In addition, the 32 ounce size was on sale for $2.99.

    Given the unexpected price discrepancy, I decided to confirm the UPC bar codes to make sure I was matching the price to the right product.    They were a match, the smaller size was more expensive.  In addition, I had a $1.00 off coupon for sizes over 16.5 ounces to make the final price of the large size $1.99.

    32 ounce size - regular price $4.69, sale price $2.99, coupon price $1.99
    16 ounce size - regular price $4.88

    Personally, I don't understanding the pricing strategy.  When I lived in Japan, smaller was sometimes more expensive since people didn't have space for large quantities.  But I don't see the logic for the U.S., where most people can handle a 32 ounce jar of anything.  I guess I need an MBA in marketing to understand the reason for the pricing.

    Needless to say, I bought the l32 ounce size of the branded mayonnaise.   If we only use 16 ounces before it goes bad, so be it.

    For more on  Reflections and Musings, check back every Saturday for a new segment.


    This is not financial or grocery shopping advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Friday, May 25, 2012

    Attending Our Daughter's Class Event - Priceless

    I'm enjoying not working any part time retirement jobs at the moment.  Yesterday,  I found out our daughter had a class event to which parents are invited.  Briefly, I thought,  "no job, no meetings, no appointments and no commitments."  It was easy to decide to attend.

    I could get used to this :-) 

    For more on Reflections and Musings, check back every Friday for a new segment.


    This is not financial or retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Carnival of Financial Planning #238 - May 25, 2012

    Welcome to the May 25, 2012 Edition #238 of the Carnival of Financial Planning. My thanks to the editor of The Skilled Investor for having My Wealth Builder host this week.

    The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. It focuses on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

    This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

    Enjoy!

    Budgeting and Economics

    Sean presents Money Saving Workout Routines for a Fit Recession-ista posted at One Smart Dollar, saying, "Spending money for a gym membership can be expensive. Here are some great tips to keep yourself in shape and not break the budget.

    David presents Wired Wall Street Capital Markets posted at Wall Street History , saying, " Looking into the workings of modern securities markets is like looking under the hood of a Prius hybrid car. There are so many complex and obscure parts it’s hard to discern what’s going on. History repeats and informs in market technologies. From the days when front-running involved actual running to the “Victorian Internet era” brought on by telegraphy, we can learn a great deal from looking back at a simpler era."

    101 Centavos presents Travel Notes: Just Say Ahn-Nyeong Hah-Seh-Yo and Kon'nichi Wa posted at 101 Centavos, saying, "Just a couple words is all you need to know when traveling abroad. Hello and thank you and a big smile will open a lot of doors in the East, especially in a business setting, and most especially coming from Americans, renowned foreign-language ignoramuses."

    John presents Where's My Experian FICO Score? posted at Card Hub, saying, "In a world where knowing your credit score is now instrumental to handling your finances, why is it that Experian keeps you from that knowledge? It's a flawed system when the consumer is denied access to their own financial data."

    Financial Planning

    Don presents Money Rules When Spending Money posted at MoneySmartGuides, saying, "I was recently in Chicago for a charity event. The events were held at the hotel I was staying at so I ended up eating a handful of meals in the hotel."

    Suba presents The Three Musketeers: My Dad's Medical Team posted at Broke Professionals, saying, "Money is still my dad's focus, even when facing quadruple bypass and vascular surgeries within three months."

    Jeffrey presents Only 72: If You're Serious About Building an Online Business posted at Money Spruce, saying, "If you want to get right to the sale, click here to go to Only 72. I'm writing today about the Only 72 sale. It's 90 percent off over $1,000 in ebooks and guides for the entrepreneur - but only for 72 hours. Why I'm writing a post about it? Almost 2 years ago, I began searching for a different path in life."

    Walter presents Best Fixed Income Funds posted at Fixed Income Fund Investing, saying, "The bond investment fund market is no place for an individual investor to try to beat the market and get higher returns through attempts at clever fixed income investing. Even professional bond market money managers do not beat the bond market."

    Invest It Wisely presents Living to 100 and Beyond: How Will It Affect Your Retirement Plans? posted at Invest It Wisely, saying, "This is the first in a series of articles on living to 100 and beyond."

    Daisy presents Shopping Frugally posted at Add Vodka, saying, "I don't know about you, but if I'm about to buy an item that Ive had my eye on for awhile, I do a lot of research."

    TSI presents Professional fund manager performance. posted at Skilled Investor Blog , saying, " If investment mutual fund managers were truly skilled at beating the market, then you would expect mutual fund manager performance prowess to persist over time. Unfortunately, the evidence indicates that superior past professional performance among mutual fund managers tends not to persist. Past superior mutual fund performance is simply not a predictor of future superior mutual fund performance. "

    KT presents Easy Energy Saving Tips... posted at Personal Finance Journey, saying, "Energy costs seem to rise almost every day, and it can be hard to keep pace with them, especially if you find yourself on a tight budget. While it might be something that some people can just about cope with, for others, simply meeting the cost of their basic energy needs can be awfully difficult."

    Teacher Man presents RRSP vs RESP Accounts posted at Young And Thrifty, saying, "There are obviously numerous aspects of each person’s financial situation that will come into play when looking at whether a RRSP or an RESP contribution is right for them."

    JB presents Are Banks Really In It For You? posted at My University Money, saying, "Learn from my mistakes and never assume the banks are in it for you. They aren’t, in fact they make a killing off you so don’t make it easy on them whenever they try to push a product on you."

    Ted Jenkin presents Does Your 401(k) Offer An “In Service” Distribution? posted at Your Smart Money Moves, saying, " For Generation X clients, the majority of their retirement savings are in the company 401(k). While you do have a multitude of options of what you can do with your 401(k) if you leave your employer, often people feel like they are stuck if they stay with the same employer for a long period of time. This is especially true with larger companies as most of those plans offer a limited number of investment choices and several target retirement funds. I’m amazed that many people I sit down have never heard of whether their company offers an in service withdrawal or an in service distribution which can give them greater investment control of their 401(k) assets. Since we have had two major market meltdowns over the past 12 years, 401(k)’s offer limited power to help you risk mitigate against a market crash. This is why you need ask your employer today, do we offer an in service distribution?"

    Dave presents Active Alpha Returns posted at Wall Street Nerds , saying, " The Old Testament of indexing is Burton Malkiel’s classic A Random Walk Down Wall Street, first published in 1973 by W.W. Norton and now in its ninth edition. For typical individual investors, without special access to information, it offers what is likely the best financial advice they will ever get: It is hard to consistently beat the market, especially after fees. A passive strategy will do better in the long run. "

    Shannon McNay presents Credit Unions vs. Banks: Which Should You Choose? posted at ReadyForZero Blog, saying, "In the years since the infamous Lehman Brothers collapse and the ensuing financial crisis, scrutiny of banks has only grown worse. It’s enough to make some people want to go back to the old days of stuffing cash under their mattress! However, in order to protect your money it is important that you put it into a bank. The real question is, which banks should you trust? As resentment towards big banks simmers, people are flocking towards their local credit unions for their banking needs. How can you decide which is right for you? We break it down for you here!"

    PFP presents Investment Tax Management  posted at Pasadena Financial Planner , saying, " As you move your cash, bond, and stock financial assets into lower cost, more broadly diversified investment mutual funds and/or ETFs, you should also consider how to “locate” your investment asset allocation with respect to more optimal taxation."

    JP presents Starting to Exercise? Should Your Family Spend Money to Work Out? posted at My Family Finances, saying, "Starting to exercise? While I'd love to just say, go frugal, you don't need to spend money to be active, it's really not that simple. There are many good reasons to spend money working out.

    Income

    Div Guy presents What I Would Do With $10,000 posted at The Dividend Guy Blog, saying, "What would you do with extra money? I share my plans."

    Mike presents Is Losing Your Job The Best Thing That Could Happen to You? posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, "How losing your job could lead to even more income."

    Insurance and Risk

    Jeff Rose presents Should You Buy Mortgage Protection or Term Life Insurance? posted at Good Financial Cents, saying, "With so many different types of insurance you can purchase nowadays, it’s very easy to get insurance poor. Buying coverage on your home with mortgage life insurance teeters on the fence of being a bit too much."

    Larry presents Identity theft protection posted at Objective Financial Planner, saying, "As a threat to your financial security, you should take the potential for identity theft very seriously. Identity theft sometimes entails a loss of your money, but whether or not you lose money, it can take a very large amount of your time to rectify."

    Ashley presents How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? posted at Money Talks Coaching, saying, "Life insurance isn't sexy or fun but it is something you need to think about every few decades."

    Investing

    Van Beek presents How to Invest with Stock Options posted at Stock Trend Investing, saying, " Investing in stock options is slightly more complex than trading in basic stocks. The two fundamental methods of trading options are buying calls and puts. Buying a call means you are betting that a stock which underlies your option will rise above a certain price within a certain date, which is called the expiration date of the option. The converse applies when you buy a put. When you buy a call or a put, you also have the opportunity to buy or sell 100 shares of the stock that underlies each of the option contracts you had purchased. Here is the procedure to invest in stock options."

    Frank Pinter presents No Load Bond Funds posted at Cheapest Bond Funds, saying, "Investment research overwhelmingly shows that lower cost fixed income funds tend to yield higher bond investing returns."

    Pierre presents How To Buy Facebook posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, "We help you buy shares in Facebook."

    TRL presents The Number One Reason People Don't Invest in Real Estate posted at The Retired Landlord, saying, "Find out why people don't invest in real estate. It's not just a simple matter of weighing the risks and benefits."

    Larry presents Your investment risk tolerance posted at Independent Fee Only Financial Planner , saying, " Individual investors with different levels of investment risk tolerance for financial risks tend to be more satisfied with risk management strategies, which are better aligned with their financial risk and return profile."

    Kanwal presents Do You Think Investing is Too Difficult? posted at Simply Investing, saying, "There is a common misconception that people have regarding investing, especially investing in stocks and that is, investing is difficult. Most people believe that investing by themselves is too complicated therefore most folks leave it to the so called professionals."

    William presents Superior Mutual Fund Performance posted at No Load Funds , saying, " Screen out inferior mutual fund performance — but only after using other ETF and mutual fund selection criteria. Superior or even average mutual fund performance in the past simply does not predict similar fund performance in the future."

    Managing Debt

    Mike presents Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards posted at Rewards Cards USA, saying, "Paying credit card interest can hinder your efforts to become debt free. Here are some of the best balance transfer credit cards on the market."

    Boomer presents How To Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster posted at Boomer & Echo, saying, "When you pay off your mortgage faster, a big part of your household budget will become available to help you achieve your other financial goals."

    Kevin presents Do's and Don'ts with your Credit Card posted at Thousandaire, saying, "The concept behind credit cards is a simple one: charge now, pay later."

    John presents Debt to Income Ratio: Not Just for Banks posted at Married with Debt, saying, "What is a debt to income ratio? Is it only for banks? Find out how you can use it to determine how to get out of debt."

    Jason presents Broke, Desperate, and Being an Idiot posted at Work Save Live, saying, "I wanted to relive the past a bit more and talk about how my 'financial peace & debt free' journey originally got started."

    Real Estate

    Lance presents Rental Property - The Decision posted at Money Life & More, saying, "After we had seen the townhouse and determined how much everything would cost my parents, my girlfriend and I sat down in my living room and decided to talk it all out. The first question we asked was why did we want to own this rental property."

    Robert presents My Home Appraisal Was Wrong - Now I Have to Appeal posted at My Multiple Incomes, saying, "Last week, after a period of waiting, we got the appraisal back on the house we are looking to buy, and it ended up coming in a full $70,000 below our offer price, and well below fair market value to similar properties inside the same development. SO IRRITATING!!!!!"

    Philip presents How to Decide Where to Live posted at PT Money Personal Finance, saying, "We're in the process of closing on a new house. In this post I discuss how we decided where to live and factors one should consider when making the same decision."

    Retirement

    Debt Guru presents Does Over-Confidence Lead to Debt? posted at Debt Free Blog, saying, "Find out why over-confidence can easily lead to debt. To live debt free, you have to stay humble and diligent. Learn how you can do it."

    Corey presents Travel for Pennies: How Rethinking International Travel Can Save You Money posted at Steadfast Finances, saying, "Find out easy and practical steps to travel to great places without breaking the bank."

    Frank Knowles presents S and P 500 Funds posted at Large Cap Funds, saying, "The no load index fund strategy of the Schwab S & P 500 Index Fund tracks the S and P 500 stock index. This no load index fund was listed as one of the top 25 lowest cost index mutual funds in a research study."

    MMD presents Six Easy Steps to Figuring Out Your Retirement posted at MyMoneyDesign, saying, "When someone says you should save 10% for retirement, what does this actually mean? Will you hit your goals? How do you even know what your goals are? I’d like to offer you my advice for a simple and streamlined introductory approach to figuring out your retirement goals."

    Franklin presents Traditional IRA Versus Roth IRA  posted at Better Retirement Planning , saying, " Many taxpayers puzzle over whether to contribute to traditional versus Roth tax-advantaged retirement plans. For most people, contributions to traditional tax-advantaged plans will probably provide a higher net present value over their lifetimes."

    Nick presents Should I Convert My Retirement Plan into a Roth? posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, "Is a Roth conversion the right answer? Help me decide!"

    Savings

    Amanda L Grossman presents Is Your Frugality Invoked to Stretch Dollars or to Stockpile the Savings? posted at Frugal Confessions, saying, "There are two possible outcomes of frugality. One is to stretch your dollar so that you get a lot more in purchases."

    Jason presents Tips to Pick a 529 Plan for Your Child’s College Savings posted at One Money Design, saying, "A few tips to help you learn about 529 savings accounts and pick the best one for your child and situation."

    TSI presents Hard work determines wealth posted at The Skilled Investor , saying, " How much you earn, spend, budget, and save are by far the most dominant determinants of your long-term financial well-being. Self-control in your financial decision-making regarding budgeting and consumption is far more important than clever investing."

    Laura presents Wells Fargo Puts Free Checking on the Chopping Block…Again posted at NerdWallet, saying, " Check out NerdWallet’s recommendations for local credit unions in the states affected by the Wells Fargo fee hike. These free accounts have no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements, and many of them earn competitive interest too."

    Mike presents Why Cash Back Beats Travel Rewards posted at Rewards Cards Canada, saying, "A free vacation keeps many Canadians loyal to their travel rewards program, but for me, cash back is king. Here's why cash back beats travel rewards."

    Taxes

    Paul Tabbet presents Retirement Planning Worksheet Software posted at Tax Planning Software, saying, "Retirement planning software should automate the development of lifetime projections that incorporate tax laws and rules associated with tax-advantaged retirement investment incentive programs such as traditional IRA, Roth, 401k, 403b, SEP, Keogh, and other retirement plans."

    That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
    Technorati tags: , .

    For more on IdeasYou Can Use, check back on Tuesdays for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Thursday, May 24, 2012

    Senior Formula

    For our food supplements, there are mostly children and adult formula. Our seven year old daughter uses most of the children formula, although I will occasionally take one.   I usually use the adult formula.   Recently, I noticed a supplement which was a "senior formula."   Although level of active ingredients usually distinguishes the formula differences for children and adults, I haven't quite figured out what qualifies a formula to be designed for seniors.   In this case, it was higher potency due to having more of the active ingredient.   I've also seen cases where the composition is adjusted due to different needs when older.

    Until now, I've never considered myself a "senior."  However, since I'm 54, I guess I ought to start getting used to the term.   Especially since some senior discounts start at 55.

    For more on Crossing Generations, check back every Thursday for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Wednesday, May 23, 2012

    I Don't Understand

    The current economic situation has me baffled.   As I see it, a global economic decline is coming.  Yet, no one seems very worried.  I guess that people a lot smarter than me have a better understanding than I do.

    Here are some other things that I don't understand:
  • Success is not used as a model.    I want to laugh when failing EU countries are telling Germany what is needed to solve the EU crisis.   Seems like the failing countries ought to be listening to the successful country.  The failing countries have already proven they are ... well,  failures.  Personally, I'd rather get financial advice from a self-made millionaire (i.e. Germany) than an unemployed person, who is in foreclosure and has $100,000 of student loan debt (i.e. Greece).


  • Government is seen as all knowing solution. If that were true, economies run by Communists and dictators would be the top economies.   Government has an enabling role, but not a commanding role as some seem to believe.  I agree with Herman Cain's comment on government subsidies for green energy, "Government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers, because most of the time they pick the losers."


  • All news is good news.  Good news is good news.  Bad news and is good news.  No news is good news.  I guess good news means the economy is doing well.  Bad news means the Fed will do QE3, which is good news. No news means everything is OK.


  • For now, I'm not buying "this time it's different." I think the timeless of personal finance will prevail.

    For more on The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday  for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Tuesday, May 22, 2012

    The Wealth Builder Carnival is on Hold Again

    Blog Carnival, the site that helps manage carnivals, is having technical difficulties again.  The Wealth Builder Carnival will be on hold until Blog Carnival is fixed or I decide to use an alternate system to manage the carnival.

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday  for a new segment.

    This is not financial or carnival hosting advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Monday, May 21, 2012

    Going Both Ways - Bull and Bear

    Until the market trend is more stable, I plan to purchase long and sell short positions in our taxable trading accounts.  This allows me to purchase stocks of good companies while the market declines and offset further drops in price with the short positions.

    This approach has worked fairly well since I started on May 2, 2012 since the market has been falling during that time.  While the market has declined significantly, the long-short portfolio has decline much less.  However, in today's up market, the portfolio continued to fall as the gains the short positions were greater than gains in the long positions.  

    At this point, I will proceed with one of two options:
  • Close out short positions.  If the short positions continue to rally with the same strength as today, I will cover my shorts and just have long positions.   If the market has bottomed, then I will want to start increasing long position since most stocks benefit when the market rises.


  • Take more short positions. Today's rally could be a short term bounce, and the market decline may continue later in the week.  In this case, I will want to short more stocks to benefit from a future market decline.
  • Today, I didn't take any action.  For now, I want to wait a couple more days to decide which option to take.

    For more on Strategies and Plans Ideas, check back every Monday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Sunday, May 20, 2012

    Eating Like A Rabbit

    I'm going on my "rabbit" diet for a couple of reasons.  First, I have not yet sustainably achieved my 10% weight loss  and five servings of vegetable or fruit per day from my  2008 New Year's resolutions.  Although I have hit the target weight at least three times, I have invariably gained at least 2.5% back each time.  Also, I have not been able to sustain five servings of vegetables or fruit per day.   Second, I've decided to make a diligent attempt to lower my cholesterol and triglycerides through diet and not drugs.

    I know I can do it since I've done both before.   While we were living in Japan, using my "rabbit" diet, I was able to lose 24% of my weight and get both my cholesterol and triglycerides into acceptable ranges.  However, I was only able to maintain these levels for about a year since I returned to the U.S. soon afterwards.

    Here's what I'm doing
    • Salads - I'm eating one large and one medium salad per day.  The large salad is about 2-3 servings of vegetables and the medium salad is about 1-2 servings.  When I took a gourmet cooking class, I learned the secret to a good salad is to have lots of ingredients that are chopped finely and then tossed with a dressing.
    • Vegetables/Fruit - I'm eating at least 2-3 servings of other vegetables and fruits, mostly I've been preparing our daughter's lunch for the past month and that's what she mainly eats.
    • Breads -  I've cut back to 4 slices of sprouted grain breads or rice bread.  For a while, I cut breads completely from my diet, but I decided to add breads back when I cut back on meat.
    • Meat - I've cut way back on the red meat, perhaps only 4 servings per week instead of 2 servings per day.   I'm trying to move mainly to fish, specifically wild Atlantic salmon.  OK, I know that rabbits, except those in Monty Python movies, don't eat meat or fish. 
    The results so far have been good.   When I just cut out bread, I was able to reduce my triglycerides to an acceptable level.  However, there was no change to my cholesterol since I was still eating red meat.   Since starting the the other three parts of the diet, I've lost about 4% of my pre-retirement weight and am now have lost 11% versus the 10% target.

    I'm looking forward to my next doctor's visit in three months to see the impact on the cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

    For more on New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or health advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Saturday, May 19, 2012

    No Worries

      On May 2, 2012, I initiated a long-short portfolio in one of our taxable savings accounts.   Specifically, I have been buying stocks of quality companies and shorting stocks of companies with financial, business or competitive challenges.  On most days, the decline of the long short portfolio has been much less than than the market, even to the point of rising in a down market as it did yesterday.

    As the markets have declined, I've had none of my typical challenges as the stock market declines:  when to buy, went to sell, and second guessing almost every decision I make.  As a result, my anxiety level has been very low, to the point of being non existent.

    Also, the long-short portfolio enables me to not worry about the market response to a policy decision.  For reference, my predictions typically been wrong.   However, with a long-short portfolio, I believe my total investments will benefit not matter which way the market goes.

    For example, I no longer ponder the effects of President Obama's growth (a.k.a. more government spending)  initiative.  If it produces more inventions and successful businesses as Mr. Obama claims happened with prior government "investments," then my longs will do well and I can exit my shorts if needed.  If the growth (government spending) initiative has a negative impact on the economy, as I would expect, my shorts will decline resulting in a positive return and I can purchase more stocks for the eventual recovery.

    My new attitude to Mr. Market is "bring it on!"  :-)

    For more on Reflections and Musings, check back every Saturday  for a new segment.
    This is not financial or investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Friday, May 18, 2012

    Retired Again for the Summer

    Today, I completed my last job assignment and will be off the entire summer.   So I have no part time, seasonal or temporary jobs at the moment,    I won't be looking for any new jobs either. 

    At this point, I will make a decision as to whether to begin working again in September for one job and in December of the other job.   For now, I plan to be working both jobs for one more season.  However, I reserve the right to change my mind :-)

    We'll see how the summer goes.

    For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Wednesday, May 16, 2012

    Dividends Aren't Forever

    One of my goals is to build a portfolio of good dividend paying stocks to create a consistent stream of income.  Today's dividend cut announcement by J.C. Penney was a good reminder of this specific risk with all dividend paying stocks:  reduction or elimination of a dividend.  It was only 3-4 years ago that investors experiences large dividend cuts from previously consistently paying companies, such as J.P. Morgan, Ford, Fannie Mae, GE and many banks.  In addition, the value of these stocks declined significantly which concurrently reduced people's net worth.

    One way to improve the chances of picking a good dividend paying stock is to refer to the Dividend Aristocrats list, which shows companies that have raised their dividends for 25 consecutive years.  Of course,  past results doesn't guarantee future performance.   There can be stocks on this list for which the dividend may be at risk, e.g Pitney Bowes,  currently paying a 11% dividend, which is makes diversification a good idea even with high safety stocks.

    So far in May, I've added three of the stocks from the Dividend Aristocrats list to our trading account. At a 11% dividend, I may even consider adding a small position in Pitney Bowes, especially if it drops to $10.

    Disclosure:  At time of publication, I do not own Pitney Bowes.

    For more on  The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Tuesday, May 15, 2012

    The Wealth Builder Carnival #77

    Welcome to the seventy-seventh edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival. The purpose of this carnival is to collect articles from the blogosphere on building, preserving and keeping enough wealth for a comfortable retirement. For reference, I have tried to keep the carnival content tightly focused on wealth building and did not include submissions that were off topic. For reading convenience, the posts are listed with a brief summary or comment by the submitter and organized into seven categories: Earning, Insuring and Protecting, Investing, Living Frugally, Retiring, Saving and Taxes.  Blog Carnival is having technical issues again, which may have reduced the number of submissions for this week.

    And now on to the Carnival:


    Earning


    NONE


    Insuring and Protecting


    Dr Dean presents iPads And Tablets: Ten Ways To Keep ‘Em Safe While Traveling posted at Dr. Dean's TheMillionaireNurse.com Blog, saying, "iPad's size and weight make them great for traveling Read all about how to help keep yours from the black hole that is ' airline lost and found.'"

    Ellen Davidson presents Health Care Fraud posted at Small Group Health Insurance, saying, "Currently, the structure for health insurance is provided by the government and managed in the public sector. With the possibility of a new law requiring all citizens to have health insurance, it is important to understand the health care system and the different scams that are out there."


    Investing


    Super Saver presents Investing in Tough Times posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "Here are the steps we've taken to invest in a continued uncertain economy."


    Living Frugally


    Wealth Titan presents The effect debt has on your financial freedom posted at Wealth Titan, saying, "High interest debt to financial freedom is like kryptonite to Superman. Credit card, store accounts and personal loans don’t contribute towards financial independence."

    Isabell D. presents The Cost of Owning a Home posted at Homeowner Insurance Quote, saying, "The American Dream has always been associated with owning your own home. This article details the costs that some new homeowners overlook when they are considering, and/or buying a new home. It is a great resource for those on a budget and may be considering owning a home."

    Rebecca Black presents Eight Bad Habits That Lead to Financial Disaster posted at Free Credit Report Online, saying, "According to CNN, there are more than 150 million people — one out of every two people in the United States — in dire situations due to debt, and it seems that bad financial habits are becoming a more widespread problem. We spend more than we can afford, and it’s a vicious cycle. Fortunately, the cycle can be stopped if we can pinpoint and assess the causes for debt and uncalculated spending. Here are some bad habits to help avoid delving deeper into financial disaster."

    Nathan Richardson presents What is a Good Credit Score: 2011 Range, Credit Score Scale & Chart posted at Bank Ratings in 2012, saying,"A solid credit score can deeply affect your finances, learn how a good credit score can save you thousands."

    John presents Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows posted at Wallet Blog, saying,"To buy or not to buy…Wow, what a question! With mortgage rates at record lows, now may well be the right time to either purchase or refinance a home. Take a look at the how and why of low interest rates and decide for yourself."

    Retiring


    NONE


    Saving


    NONE


    Taxes


    NONE


    That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

    Technorati tags: , .  

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial, earning, insuring, investing, living, retiring, saving, tax, or wealth building advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Links to Carnivals from May 8 - 14, 2012

    Here are the links to the Carnivals in which My Wealth Builder participated from May 8 - 14, 2012:

    The Wealth Builder Carnival #76

    Baby Boomers Blog Carnival #141

    Carnival of Financial Planning #236

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or wealth building advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Monday, May 14, 2012

    Preparing for a Fast Correction

    In July 2011, I wrote in Expect a Buying Opportunity Soon:

    "After a 20% decline, I plan invest 10% of our retirement account back into stocks.  After that I will reinvest 15% for the next 10%.  Then I will reinvest 20% for each succeeding 10% drop.  So if the market drops 40%, we will be 45% back into the market.  Past 40%, I probably don't have the courage to continue to reinvest."

    Unfortunately, the Dow never reached 10,200, which was my target 20% decline, and I missed getting back into the market..  The Dow got as low as 10,362.30 and rallied back to 13,359.60 before declining again.  This time my target buy point is 10,688.  However, I'm not going to risk missing a fast correction again.  So I plan to make some small purchases of select stocks when the market corrects, even if the amount is only a few shares.  I can afford to do this because my broker has offered limited free trades for 6 months in return for adding funds to my current account.

    With no commission costs, I can afford buying 10 to 20 shares at time to hedge against either a fast correction or a further drop.

    For more on Strategies and Plans, check back every Monday  for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Sunday, May 13, 2012

    Diet or Drugs?

    As usual, my blood tests showed that I had high cholesterol and high triglycerides.  This is nothing new.  I've had about the same numbers since college when the tests were first started.  Back then, I had "normal" levels.  What has changed since then it the value for "high," which has decreased significantly since my college years.  My numbers haven't.

    As usual, my doctor offers me the option of a statin drug to reduce cholesterol and triglycerides.  Although I tried a statin drug once, I've decided to regularly turn down the option.  My approach is to modify my diet instead.

    Here are my reasons to choosing diet:


  • Symptoms may not be the cause.    While high cholesterol does correlate with frequency of heart attacks, people with low cholesterol do have heart attacks.  Also, I've seen several friends take statin drugs to lower cholesterol but do not change their lifestyle in terms of exercise and diet.  They continue to eat high fat diets, but now have low cholesterol readings.

  • Have done it before.  Ten years ago, I went on a mostly salad diet and reduced my cholesterol below the "high" levels.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to maintain the diet back then.

  • Drug aversion.  I prefer to not take prescription drugs or have surgery when less intrusive options are available.  Since I have demonstrated that I can reduce my cholesterol and triglycerides through diet, I will try to use diet again.  My challenge will be to create a sustainable diet.

  • I'm sure my doctor needs to offer a statin drug, but he knows that I won't use one.  So I've set up a quarterly physical with him to monitor my cholesterol and triglycerides.  This will give me incentive to stick to a diet plan.  By my second visit, I had already reduced my triglycerides by 33% with no change in cholesterol.  I have made some diet adjustments that I think will reduce my cholesterol.    I'll find out how successful the adjustments are at my next physical in three months.

    For more on  New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.


    This is not financial or health advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Saturday, May 12, 2012

    2012 Financial Project List

    When I unretired in 2011, I put a number of projects on hold.  Now that I am a week away from complete retirement again (zero jobs, including part time ones), I'm refocusing on financial projects that need attention in 2012.   Here is my short, but important list.
  • Complete 2011 tax returns.   I've completed a rough draft of the 2011 tax returns so that I could file for an extension.  We are getting a really big refund this year so it would be good to complete the return soon, before the federal government goes broke  :-)    Seriously, I am targeting to complete the return by mid June.  For reference, our refund will be equal to 2.5 times our monthly retirement expenses  


  • Complete distribution of my parents' estate.   My mom passed away in 2011, almost five years after my dad passed away.   My parents had put their assets into revocable living trusts, which I'm learning may make managing the estate a simpler process.   I hope to complete the process by September 2012.


  • Complete a low maintenance investment plan.  Since June 2011, I've kept most of our investable assets in cash and CDs.   In the next six months, I want to develop a low maintenance investment  plan that consists of an income portion, growth portion and speculative portion.  My initial thinking is to divide our investable assets in a 40-50% income portion, and 30-40% growth portion, and a 10-30% speculative portion.   Target completion is October 2012.


  • For more on  Reflections and Musings, check back every Saturday Sunday for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Wednesday, May 09, 2012

    Investing in Tough Times

    “If there's a single lesson that life teaches us, it's that wishing doesn't make it so. ” ― Lev Grossman, The Magicians
     
    Like many others, I long (wish)  for the bull market of 1982 to 2000.   Those were the golden years when all the indices advanced significantly and just about every investment had a gain.    Equities did well during those years do to higher economic certainty.  Most of our investment gains were achieved during this time period.

    However the reality is economic uncertainty is the norm and sustainable the stock market gains for inviduals are more difficult to achieve.   Here are the steps we've taken  to invest in a continued uncertain economy.

    • Be defensive.    At this point, I believe the downside risk of the market is high.  So we are mainly in cash.  Recently, I've purchased some defensive stocks and shorted stocks of companies that I expect to do poorly.  Doing so has provided some downside protection.  Despite the indices mostly falling since May 2, my long/short investment positions have gained 3-4%.
    • Buy proven recovery stocks.   Since the market decline of 08/09, some stocks have reached new all time highs, demonstrating the capability of their business to do well during poor economic times.  These stocks have also done well after the 2010 and 2011 corrections.   We will buy positions in some of these stocks when the market declines.
    • Increase dividend income.  With interest rates so low, it is difficult to get good returns from bonds and CDs.   One alternative we are using is good dividend paying stocks with 2-5% dividends.   I've started to purchase some as part of our defensive stocks and will purchase more when the market declines.
    Of course, there are never any guarantees.  However, I think I can sleep well at nights if I build a portfolio using these principles.

    For more on The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday for a new segment
    .
    This is not financial or investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Tuesday, May 08, 2012

    The Wealth Builder Carnival #76

    Welcome to the seventy-sixth edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival. The purpose of this carnival is to collect articles from the blogosphere on building, preserving and keeping enough wealth for a comfortable retirement. For reference, I have tried to keep the carnival content tightly focused on wealth building and did not include submissions that were off topic. For reading convenience, the posts are listed with a brief summary or comment by the submitter and organized into seven categories: Earning, Insuring and Protecting, Investing, Living Frugally, Retiring, Saving and Taxes.  This week all of the submissions were excellent and I enjoyed reading each one.

    And now on to the Carnival:


    Earning


    Stephen Kavita presents Ways Of Making Money From Home With Google Adsence posted at Start A Blog From Home Using WordPress On Hostgator, saying, "All these sounds so simple but there are some vital pointers you need to consider so as to be making money from home with google effectively. First and foremost, you need to choose a..."


    Writers Coin presents Do Resumes Still Matter? posted at The Writer's Coin, saying, "In order to make more money, you need to get a better job. But instead of focusing on your boring old resume, it's time to create a portfolio to stand out."


    Insuring and Protecting


    Mac Hildebrand presents Can you collect disability after retirement age? posted at Insurance Providers, saying, "The article discusses expectations for receiving social security after retirement."


    Investing


    Dividends4Life presents 6 Healthcare Dividend Stocks For A Healthy Portfolio posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, "In addition to death and taxes, we can add one more sure thing: Until death, our bodies will continue to age and need more attention. As I am approaching 50 this is becoming more of a reality to me. I take little comfort in knowing that there are millions of other people in the same situation. However, from an investing standpoint, it does provide an opportunity..."

    Super Saver presents Net Short posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "The value of short positions are now greater than the value of long positions in my trading account. If the market should decline this week, the value of the trading account will increase."


    Living Frugally


    Dr. Dean presents Cut College Costs by 40% posted at Dr. Dean's TheMillionaireNurse.com Blog, saying, "How can you save big money and still get your degree from that Big Name University? Let me show you."


    Liana presents Is the LivingSocial Credit Card Worth Getting? posted at CardHub.com, saying, "Discounts for already discounted goods and services? That's what the new Living Social Credit Card is offering. But, is this really a deal for the consumer? Let's take a look…"


    Theresa Torres presents 6 Tips for Smart Shopping at Warehouse Outlets posted at The Coupon King, saying, "Warehouse Outlets offers opportunities for shoppers to save on groceries and other items. Make sure to get the most out of this saving strategy by following these tips."


    Retiring


    Jason P. presents Your 401K Match May Not Really Be Free Money posted at One Money Design, saying, "Recent study shows why your 401K match may not be so free after all. Think twice about passing up any employer match!"


    Saving


    Laura Edgar presents NerdWallet’s Top Picks for Senior Checking posted at NerdWallet Blog - Credit Card Watch, saying, "Senior checking accounts usually offer free or discounted checks, and incentives for a higher average daily balance, like an increased interest rate."

    Raj presents The Basics of Money Management – Save, Invest and Repeat | eMoneyLog posted at eMoneyLog, saying, "The article covers the basics of money management – saving, investing and repeating the process. The emphasis is on repeating as many people save and invest initially but do not repeat and do not accumulate wealth."


    Taxes


    John presents Students with Summer Jobs Shouldn’t Forget the Tax Man posted at Wallet Blog, saying, "Students - Looking forward to that summer job? Avoid a nasty surprise in the spring. Don't forget to take taxes into consideration."

    Bill Smith presents Charitable Tax Deductions That May Surprise You posted at 2009 Tax, saying, "There are in fact many charitable tax deductions that may apply to you without you even realizing it."

    That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

    Technorati tags: , .  

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial, earning, insuring, investing, living, retiring, saving, tax, or wealth building advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Links to Carnivals from May 1 - 7, 2012

    Here are the links to the Carnivals in which My Wealth Builder participated from May 1 - 7, 2012:

    The Wealth Builder Carnival #75

    Baby Boomers Blog Carnival #140

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or wealth building advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Monday, May 07, 2012

    Patiently Waiting for Market Dips

    Although the expected market decline did not materialized today, I am still waiting for stock market dips to occur in order to build a portfolio of long stocks.   One option is to buy good dividend paying stocks that have also risen significantly in value since 2009 bottom.  My other option is to consider stocks that  are at all time highs which are significantly above 07/08 highs.  Both options have demonstrated the capability to succeed  despite tough economic conditions, which I expect to continue for a couple more years.

    In the meantime, I will continue to look for opportunities to short stocks of weak companies in anticipation of the (eventual) market decline.

    For more on Strategies and Plans, check back every Monday  for a new segment.

    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Sunday, May 06, 2012

    Net Short

    Last week, I shorted three additional stocks and took two long positions.  My taxable trading account is now net short (i.e. value of shorted stocks is greater than the value of long positions) with three long postions and five short positions. Being net short was a good thing as the short positions declined further than the long positions, giving my portfolio a gain for the week.

    The results of the Greek and French elections will likely cause the stock market to decline further this week.  If I've done a good job of choosing my shorts and longs, my portfolio should end up with a gain despite the market falling signficantly this week.

    For more on New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or investment advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Saturday, May 05, 2012

    Taxes are Going Up - Even for the 99%

    I attended a financial seminar this past week and the speaker stated emphatically that Federal income taxes will increase in 2013 for everyone.  His reasoning was simple:  1) the Bush tax cut extensions and the payroll tax holiday expire at the end of 2012; 2) Congress won't pass any tax cut laws before the 2012 elections; 3) no matter who is elected, President Obama will remain President through the end of 2012, and won't extend the Bush tax cuts since he wants to increase taxes for the "rich." 

    His points made sense to me.  So, I am going to plan on paying more taxes in 2013.

    For more on Reflections and Musings, check back every Saturday for a new segment.


    This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Friday, May 04, 2012

    Almost Back to Retirement

    This past week, I finished another job, which completed my transition of my role in a temporary full time assignment in 2011.  Now I only have one job left, which ends in two weeks. 

    Over the past four years, I learned there isn't a perfect retirement job, i.e. one with enough flexibility to enjoy all the benefits of retirement.    As a reader commented, work is work and retirement is retirement and the never the twain shall meet.  He was right and I was wrong.

    This summer, I will be fully retired again.  
    For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Tuesday, May 01, 2012

    The Wealth Builder Carnival #75

    Welcome to the seventy-fifth edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival. The purpose of this carnival is to collect articles from the blogosphere on building, preserving and keeping enough wealth for a comfortable retirement. For reference, I have tried to keep the carnival content tightly focused on wealth building and did not include submissions that were off topic. For reading convenience, the posts are listed with a brief summary or comment by the submitter and organized into seven categories: Earning, Insuring and Protecting, Investing, Living Frugally, Retiring, Saving and Taxes. Unfortunately, Blog Carnival was having some technical difficulties two weeks ago, which may have limited the number of submissions.

    And now on to the Carnival:


    Earning


    Theresa Torres presents 6 Tips for Starting Your Business While Working Full Time posted at n0elle.com | Communication and Business Thoughts for Creative Entrepreneurs, saying, "Starting your own small business while still working full time is not simple but is certainly possible as many entrepreneurs are doing. With hard work, a good plan, discipline, and by following these tips, you can be on your way to managing your own side business."

    Chase Dumont presents Bootstrap: Starting Your Business without Funding posted at Chase Dumont, Rainmaker, saying, "When you start a new business and bootstrap it yourself, it can be easy to run through your cash fast. In this post, learn why you want to make your money stretch, and why - even if you know what you're doing - money stretched over more time means better chances for you to succeed."


    Insuring and Protecting


    Jeff Rose, CFP presents Do I Need Life Insurance? posted at Life Insurance by Jeff, saying, "Have you asked yourself the question "Do I need life insurance?" Here are some reasons why you should."


    Investing


    Dividends4Life presents 11 Low-Debt, Higher-Yielding Dividend Stocks posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, "When investing in dividend growth stocks, the goal is to find and buy stocks that will continue to raise their dividends. To do so, the business must generate cash in excess of their operating needs. But too many times this is simply not enough. Many companies generate significant free cash flow, but often that cash is already spoken for in the form of debt obligations..."

    AJ presents Functional Financial Illiteracy posted at What Next, saying, "The language of investing perpetuates the gambling myth. A stock that does well is called a "winner," an investment recommendation is called a "hot tip" as if it were a horse running in the third race at the track. No wonder planning for the future is called the "retirement game.""

    Daniel Force presents System Trading: Suggested First Step for Beginners posted at What can I do about ___?, saying, "I show how an investor with some programming skills can improve on the permanent portfolio by including a small amount of trend following to their asset allocations."


    Living Frugally


    John presents It’s Their Fee Party, and Prepaid Card Issuers Will Charge If They Want To posted at Wallet Blog, saying, "With prepaid cards rapidly gaining ground on traditional checking accounts, how do you know which ones are the best and which are the worst? Confusion is the current name of the game when it comes to fee disclosure. Let's hope that changes - and soon!"

    Jonathan Milligan presents 3 Money Habits That Will Never Fail You posted at Simple Life Habits, saying, "There is a lot of financial advice that floats around the web. Yet, here are 3 simple truths about money that will never fail you."

    Laura Edgar presents Free Checking at Community Banks: NerdWallet’s Top Picks posted at NerdWallet Blog - Credit Card Watch, saying, "". As it turns out, community bank checking accounts are often way better than what big banks can offer you. Many community banks have always offered free checking, and an increasing number are adding interest and debit card perks to these accounts as well.""

    Steve Faber presents First Homebuying Tips – Know This to Buy Your First Home | Homes For Sale in Kent WA posted at Homes For Sale in Kent WA, saying, "A home is many people's largest asset, and their first real estate investment. In the past, it has been counted upon to deliver healthy appreciation, while providing essential shelter to you and yours. It may well do so again. Here is how not to get taken for a ride when you purchase your first home."

    Liana presents 2012 Small Business Credit Card Study posted at CardHub.com, saying, "Since more than 60% of small businesses use credit cards to invest in and finance their companies, it's good to know which credit card issuers are the most "small business friendly." Find out which of the major banks are looking out for entrepreneurs!"


    Saving


    Jason P. presents Saving for College: What is a 529 Plan? posted at One Money Design, saying, "Heard about 529 savings accounts but not sure how they work? If so, this article on the 529 education savings account plan will help you."


    Taxes


    Super Saver presents Filed an Extension to File posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "Form 4868 extends the tax filing date to October 15, 2012. However, form 4868 does not extend the date for paying taxes owed, which are still due on April 17, 2012."

    That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Wealth Builder Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

    Technorati tags: , .  

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial, earning, insuring, investing, living, retiring, saving, tax, or wealth building advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

    Links to Carnivals from April 24 - 30, 2012

    Here are the links to the Carnivals in which My Wealth Builder participated from April 24 - 30, 2012:

    The Wealth Builder Carnival #74

    Managing Your Personal Finances #3

    Baby Boomers Blog Carnival #139

    Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #31

    Carnival of Financial Planning #234

    For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

    This is not financial or wealth building advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

    Copyright © 2012 Achievement Catalyst, LLC