Two Stay-at-Home Parents and Work Ethic

I grew up in a single income family with one stay-at-home parent.   My spouse also had the same situation for part of her childhood, with her mom returning to work when the children were older.   Our daughter started with one stay-at-home parent and moved to two stay-at-home parents when I took early retirement in 2007.

While I think two stay-at-home parents has some advantages, I do worry a little about my daughter knowing the situation is not the norm.  I have explained to her that most families have one working parent and some families have two working parents.  I also have explained to her that it will be important for her to work and have a career as an adult.

 Both my spouse and I have done part time seasonal jobs while retired.  So our daughter has seen both of us work, although not continuously in full time jobs.  (I was working full time until our daughter was three years old, but I doubt she remembers much of my time in that job.)  I've also started giving my daughter small "jobs" in which I pay her for tasks outside her normal chores.

At this point, my plan is to be not working any wage jobs in 2014.   So it will be important for us to continue developing a good work ethic for our daughter.
For more on  Crossing Generations, check back every  Thursday for a new segment.

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Credit Card Used Fraudently

This week, I received a call from the fraud division of our credit card company inquiring if we had made a purchase over weekend.  I was a little shocked to get the call, since we are careful about protecting our credit card info.   I didn't make the purchase.  My spouse wasn't available so I couldn't check with her.  So I asked if I could call back.   The representative gave me a toll free number to call back.

After I hung up, I wondered if the call was really from a scammer who was phishing for information since they asked me for my birthdate.  However, when I checked the call back number it was for the fraud division of the credit card company.   So I called the number, which asked me about a different transaction.  I decided to ask to speak to someone.

After getting my information, the customer service rep (CSR) asked about the same transaction again, which confirmed the first call was legitimate.   I tried the log onto our account, but was denied access.  The CSR reauthorized access to the account and I saw four transactions over the weekend which I was sure we didn't make.

I was informed that our card was going to be cancelled immediately and a new account would be opened for us.  We were to destroy our current cards and wait for the new cards to arrive.

Overall, I was impressed that the credit card company caught the fraudulent use so quickly, within a couple days.  We wouldn't have identified the issue until our next statement, which was a couple weeks away.  Once the credit card company resolves the issue, I will be interested if there are any steps we can take to avoid the issue in the future.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

The Wealth Builder Carnival #127

Welcome to the one hundred twenty-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.

And now on to the Carnival.

Earning

Theresa Torres presents 6 Interviewing Tips for Project Managers posted at Project Management Tips || Project Management, Collaboration and Knowledge Management Blog, saying, "If you're looking for a project management job, here are some tips to help you stand out and pass those tricky interview questions with flying colors."

Insuring and Protecting

R.J. Weiss presents Auto Insurance for Teenage Drivers: 7 Costly Insurance Mistakes Parents with Teen Drivers Make posted at The Insurance Protection Blog, saying, "Auto insurance mistakes parents make with teen drivers, that cost time and money."

Investing

Bill Smith presents An Overview Of The Apple Inc, Quarterly Earnings - FastSwings.com posted at FastSwings, saying, "Apple Inc. released its quarterly earnings statement on April 23, 2013. In simple terms, the company beat one expectation but fell short on another."

Dividends4Life presents 7 Dividend Stocks Sending More Cash To Shareholders posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, "We all are looking for the perfect dividend stock. In an Utopian world, the perfect dividend stock would be one that is both high-yield and provide a high dividend growth rate. Its share price would appreciate ratable with its increasing dividend. All of this would be driven by increasing earnings and cash flow..."

Medhat Youssef presents Think Making Money Trading Forex is Hard? posted at Work Online From Home Free, saying, "Building your wealth by investing in the Forex market can be achieved. But the tricky part is to maintain the smart mindset when investing and not let the majority of losers drag you down along. This post is about how you can successfully make a smart Forex investment with only brain effort."

Jason Hull presents Why Paying Assets Under Management Fees is Like Getting a Car Loan From A Used Car Dealer posted at Hull Financial Planning, saying, "Paying 1% a year to an "investment manager" to manage your money? You're probably making a mistake which will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Living Frugally

Shaun Rosenberg presents Why Living With Less Can Mean More Freedom posted at Shaun Rosenberg, saying, "Learning to live with less is an important skill to learn if you want to boost your savings and lower your stress level. This article talks about some of the reasons why you would want to lower your material wants and start living a more frugal life."

John Schmoll presents Ways to Save on Gourmet Coffee at Home posted at Frugal Rules, saying, "If you consider yourself a coffee snob it can be a pricey think to drink. However, if you’re not opposed to brewing it at home you can save a good chunk of money and end up with a cup of coffee better than what you will at your local Starbucks."

Sydney Bell presents 10 of the Best iPhone Apps for Price Comparisons posted at Longhorn Leads, LLC, saying, "The savings are out there, but with so much competition for your patronage, it’s hard to know when you’re actually getting the lowest prices. Knowing how to find discounts, deals and coupons will ensure that your cash is well spent."

Bryan presents Credit Score Range – What Is A Good Credit Score? posted at Gajizmo, saying, "This article discusses many aspects of credit scores, including why it's important, how it is calculated, the credit score scale, what different scores mean, how to improve your history, etc."

Saving

Super Saver presents Millennials are Savers posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "Millennials are getting off to a good start on saving."


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: the wealth builder carnival, blog carnival.

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 © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Buying on Smaller Dips

I've been waiting for a 20% correction since July 2011.  In May 2012, I decided to trickle in funds earlier to avoid missing a "fast correction."  As a result, I did put some investments in managed funds in November 2012 and February 2013.  Now I'm considering adding funds with as little as a 2% pull back.

Here's my reasoning:

No commission costs.  I plan to purchase commission free ETFs.  So I can minimize my downside risk by making small purchases.  For a 2% market decline, I can add 1% of my cash to equities.  That way I can take advantage of a further decline, e.g. add another 1% with the subsequent 2% decline. 

Economy is in an stable upward trend.  The economy continues to heal, despite political stalemate, government scandals and lurking EU sovereign debt issues.  A cautiously slow economic recovery has been good for stocks.

Market is advancing.  The market my go the whole year without a 5% correction, as it did in 1995.
Waiting for a 5% correction may have a high lost opportunity cost.

At this point, I am still trying to sell two large positions into the rally, to reduce my specific stock risk.  In addition to commission free ETFs, I may also use the rest of my commission free trades to buy select biotech and select bank stocks.

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 © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

No Longer Naked

On Friday, May 17, 2013, the naked call I sold on my company stock expired worthless.  So I pocketed a small profit for selling the call.  Normally, I only sell covered calls.   However, I had already sold a covered call when my company stock suddenly advanced significantly.  I decided to take a chance and sell an uncovered (naked) call since I didn't think the stock would go much higher.   Actually, the stock did advance four cents past the strike price before pulling back about 7%.

The risk with a naked call is theoretically unlimited losses if the stock should rise significantly.  I say "theoretically" since no stock I've ever owned has shot up over 70% in a short time.  Still, I was sweating a little this week, since my company stock advanced within 2.5% of the strike price on Wednesday.

However, the price of my company stock stopped advancing after Wednesday and I ended profiting from a the small premium when selling the call.   So even with a couple days of anxiety, the trade worked out as planned.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Outraged but not Accountable

This week's events with IRS targeting has confirmed my belief there is no accountability at the top.   Note the difference from the private sector.  When JP Morgan Chase had significant losses due the "whale" trader, the CEO and Chairman, Jamie Dimon, was called before Congress and held accountable to for the issue.  Over the last few days, I've listened to President Obama claim outrage, unacceptable behavior, and  dismay, but never accountability.  President Obama claims he had no knowledge until the press reported the issue.

However, it shouldn't take any unbiased investigator long to figure out where the idea to target politically conservative groups came from.  With the current capability to track and trace electronic communications, the originator of the of the directive can be found. That's why Mr. Obama should be accountable and use a special independent counsel to investigate the issue.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

What I've Learned from my Retirement Jobs

It's been a little over 5-1/2 years since I took early retirement.  During that time, I've worked at eight different jobs in hopes of finding the perfect retirement job.   Here's what I've learned from the experience.

No perfect retirement job.  Perhaps, the perfect retirement job is the equivalent of a modern day Holy Grail, which an never be attained.  Some were close, but none met all my criteria.  My proposal to create the perfect retirement job was turned down by my organization.

No longer a corporate mindset.  I am no longer interested in conforming to corporate direction if I do not personally agree.  Also, I only give respect to those managers worthy of receiving it, which only happened a couple times in my retirement jobs.

Need meaningful personal learning. An must have element of my retirement jobs is that I get significant personal development from the experience.  Once the personal learning stops, I am no longer interested in the job.

Finallly, a "job that I love" is only possible for the short term, maybe 2-3 years.  So I'm glad I chose  a  27 year career in a job that utilized my strengths and paid well during my working years.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Millennials are Savers

Unlike Boomers, Millennials Appear to Be Super Savers reports that Millennials are saving earlier than their parents for retirement.  According to the report,  the average savings for mass-affluent ($50,000 to $250,000 in assets) Millennials (ages 18-34) is $55,000. The experience of growing up through two major bear markets and two major recessions makes this group more aware of not saving.

Many Millennials start investing at 22 (versus 35 for Baby Boomers) and over 70% participate in their companies' 401K plans.  In addition, less than half plan to rely on public programs for retirement.

Based on this report, it appears that Millennials are actively taking charge of their retirement future, which is good since companies and the government can no longer guarantee a comfortable retirement.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Commission Free ETF Investing

Fidelity, Vanguard, E*Trade, TD Ameritrade and Schwab offer commission free ETF investing for their customers. The number, ETF company, and ETF sector vary by brokerage firm, but include many of the popular ETFs. Companies Add to Lineups of 'Free' ETFs by The Wall Street Journal does an excellent summary of the ETF offerings and the trading restrictions for each brokerage.

I plan to use commission free ETFs as a cost effective way to create a diversified portfolio, using primarily broad market index ETFs.   Here's how commission free ETFs will minimize my cost and expenses.

No trading costs.  I can periodically purchase small lots and incur no additional costs above the ETF expense ratios.  This will enable me to make small initial investments and dollar cost average without trading costs reducing my returns.

Low expense ratios.   The commission free ETFs include companies that offer the lowest expense ratios for index ETFs, as low as .04%.  That would be only $4 of expenses per $10,000 invested on an annual basis.

Low expenses mean higher investment returns. Therefore, I'm going make commission free ETFs a significant part of the investment portfolios in our retirement accounts.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

The Wealth Builder Carnival #126

Welcome to the one hundred twenty-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.

And now on to the Carnival.

Earning

Ben presents The Game posted at More Sales Appointments, saying, "Sales 2.0"

Theresa Torres presents 7 Signs that Freelancing is Right for You posted at MakeMoneyInLife.com, saying, "Freelancing may not be as easy as you or others think but if you are not afraid of hard work and if you possess or are willing to work on the following traits, then you may consider entering the world of freelancing."

Bryan presents Reasons To Change Jobs posted at Gajizmo, saying, "The best ways to improve your future financial security are to increase your earned income through a career or home business, invest wisely, and limit your spending. This article advises readers on when it may be time to change jobs, make that jump, and get that promotion or raise."

Insuring and Protecting

Jon and Krista Maroni presents What to do When a Friend Tries to Sell You Life Insurance posted at Responsible and Generous Living in Early Adulthood, saying, "How to navigate the awkward and inevitable insurance salesmen, particularly those you know, sent out to recruit family and friends into buying through their insurance company. Tips on what type of life insurance is beneficial and which plans you'll be pushed toward."

Investing

Dividends4Life presents PepsiCo, IBM and 7 Other Dividend Stocks Raising Their Payouts posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, "When you purchase individual stocks, risk is inherent. Sometimes bad things happen to good stocks. Eventually, every investor will hold a stock that falls out of favor and endures a double-digit decline. Understanding this from the onset makes it easier to deal with. To minimize the risk of significant declines, your core portfolio should focus on blue-chip dividend growth stocks..."

Martin Poldma presents How to Create a Billion Dollar Business posted at Success and Personal Development Blog, saying, "I would like to submit my latest post on how billion dollar companies are created and how anyone could really do it, if they have a successful business in which they keep investing their wealth."

Living Frugally

John Schmoll presents 5 Great Ways to Save Money When Buying a New Car posted at Frugal Rules, saying, "Buying a new or a new to you car can be a stressful time as you need to figure out how much you can afford as well as negotiating with the dealer. With a little homework, comparison shopping and outside the box thinking you can generally save a nice little sum of money on your car purchase."

Retiring

Jason Hull presents Are We Taking the Wrong Retirement Risks? posted at Hull Financial Planning, saying, "According to one economist, '(A new Congressional rule) proves that pensions are pretty much dead.'"

Super Saver presents The Death of Pensions posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "This article examines how we should be using mental accounting to allocate our investments in our retirement portfolio."


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: the wealth builder carnival, blog carnival.

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 © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC