Seller's Remorse

My strategy of selling into the  mid 2012 - 2013 rally has been profitable, but has led to a bit of seller's remorse. Of the 20 stocks that I have sold, only 6 are at or below the price at which I sold.   The remaining 14 are higher than the selling price, although 2-3 of the higher stocks were briefly lower than the selling price.

In addition, my spouse's strategy of keeping the College 529 Plan investments when I decided to go to cash in mid 2011 has paid off.  Her account is now 15% higher despite being 10% lower than my account after the 2011 selloff.

At this point, I still believe the rally is unsustainable in the long term.  So I will accept the downside of additional seller's remorse and continue to use the rally to take profits.

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 © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Guide to State Taxes for Retirees

Kiplinger.com has an interactive visual graphic  that details the tax situation for retirees by state. Although I have not checked every state,   I thought this graphic would be a useful reference to share. I did check my home state and the information was accurate.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Eating As Much I Want Again

When I was a child, I could eat as much as I want of whatever I wanted.  I was very active in sports, playing at least 2.5 hours a day on average during the school year.   I did gain some weight between sports and during summers, but I quickly lost the pounds after starting the next sport.

The eating and weight situation changed after college, when my sports activities were reduced.   I started gaining weight, needed to watch the amount I ate, and only lost or maintained weight when I did significant activities, e.g. a marathon.  It was a constant battle.

Then I had a major lifestyle change which included following the diet from  Dr. Ornish's book Program for Reversing Heart Disease.  I am not allowed to eat animal products except for egg whites and non-fat milk products.   In addition, I follow the rules on no added oils, no nuts and seeds, and no caffeine.  I have chosen no alcohol for now, even though the diet allows a single serving.  The types of foods are restricted, but the amounts are not.  So I eat as much as I want.

The toughest thing about this diet is preparation.  Because 90% is prepared from scratch with fresh vegetables, a lot of time is invested in shopping for and cooking food in the diet.   Also, I find that I need to eat about every 2 hours in order to not feel the effects of hunger.

I've been on this diet for a little over three months.  During that time, I have lost about 15% of my weight without really trying to lose weight.  In fact, I have been consciously trying to eat enough to avoid losing any more weight, which is now just a little above my weight in eighth grade.

Disclosure:  No compensation was received for this post.  If  Program for Reversing Heart Disease is purchased through the above Amazon.com link, I may receive compensation as an Amazon affiliate member.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Why I Always Buy Title Insurance

To date, I have purchased title insurance for both houses we owned.   I am now considering buying title insurance on land that I will inherit from my parents.  In my state, the cost of title insurance was about $300 per $100,000 of coverage.

Here's why I buy title insurance:

1. Inexpensive.   At $300 per $100,000, the insurance is very cheap.  Legal costs to address a title issue can easily exceed $1000.
2. Peace of mind.  Knowing that I have titled insurance gives me worry free ownership.  If there is an ownership issue, it will be fixed.

My understanding is that title insurance can be purchased anytime there is a transfer of title, to ensure the title is free and clear.  So my plan is to buy title insurance for the inherited land.

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

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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

The Wealth Builder Carnival #119

Welcome to the one hundred nineteenth 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

Jon Rhodes presents Napoleon Hill - The Secrets of How To Think Rich posted at HypnoBusters, saying, "This article illustrates the great Napoleon Hill who closely and personally followed hundreds of geniuses for more than 20 years. These geniuses included people like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. He observed them, interviewed them, and boiled down this information and found the traits that you can acquire to become successful and rich. This is a fascinating source of wisdom straight from a fountain of success."

Theresa Torres presents How to Use Social Media to Build Trust with Your Clients posted at WSI Simply Social, saying, "Building trust takes time. Follow these steps so you can maximize the use of social media to increase client interaction and brand awareness."

Insuring and Protecting

Super Saver presents A Simple Explanation of Call and Put Options posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "Think calls = discount coupons and puts = insurance."

Investing

Dividends4Life presents 6 Dividend Stocks Building Superior Long-Term Returns posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, "Investing in Dividend Stocks is a long-term strategy. Frequent buying and selling of dividend stocks can significantly increase your expenses and taxes, thus lowering your returns. A growing dividend is a strong indication of a company's increasing intrinsic value. Great companies that increase dividends tend to have rising share prices over time. Holding only first-rate businesses protects your dividend streams and helps ensure you’ll also get steady price appreciation..."

John Schmoll presents Is it Time to Get Out of the Stock Market? posted at Frugal Rules, saying, "There has been a lot of talk lately about the stock market with its “historic” highs and what investors should do. This is a great time to remember to stick to your investment plan and not give in to fear"

Living Frugally

Sheri presents 10 Ways To Stretch a Dollar So Your Money Doesn’t Stress You posted at Sheri Otto, saying, "Find ways to stretch a dollar do your money goes further."

Retiring

Jason Hull presents How Bad is Bad? The Magnitude of Failure in Retirement Planning Scenarios posted at Hull Financial Planning, saying, "Financial Planners like to give you a percentage of time that your retirement plan will end up without running out of money. Is this the right approach?"

Saving

Bryan presents Best Ways To Save Money posted at Gajizmo, saying, "Saving money isn't easy. There is really only so much you can cut from your budget, but knowing how to save money and finding creative ways to meet your financial goals can make all the difference between a fully-funded retirement and living on social security. Here are in-depth methods of reviewing your spending and finding savings."

Taxes

Kurt presents Forgiven Mortgage Debt Taxable? posted at Money Counselor, saying, "Generally the IRS considers forgiven debt to be taxable income. But don't panic. Broad exclusions apply to cancelled or forgiven mortgage debt."

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

Locking in Profits and Looking for Bargains

"Bull markets climb a wall of worry." ~ Wall Street adage 

The stock market continues to melt up despite U.S. deficit/debt issues, European sovereign debt crises, and a weak/fragile global economy.  There seems to be a lot to worry about :-)

I'm still not comfortable putting a large proportion of our retirement or investment accounts into equities.  However, I believe it may be worth adding some more funds in select areas.  Here's my strategy investing in the stock market over the next few months.

Reduce

Dividend stocks.  I've been selling our conservative dividend paying stocks which have had a nice upward run in the past 3-4 months.   The stocks have continued to rise, but I expect there will be an opportunity to buy back at a lower price during a correction.

Energy stocks.  I inherited a high proportion of energy stocks from my parents in the last year.  These stocks also have had a nice upward run over the last 3-4 months.  Also, our accounts are significantly overweight energy, both due to the amount of shares and price increase.  Although I expect energy stocks to be continue to be strong in 2013, I'd like to reduce our exposure in the area to reduce risk.

Company stock.  My company stock has risen over 30% from it mid 2012 52 week low.  I don't expect the stock to continue its outstanding run in 2013. So I'm selling all the stock option with expiration dates through the end of 2014.   I will also look at possible ways to hedge the options that expire after 2014 against a downturn in the market or the stock.

Increase

Financials.  Banks have become stronger with better loan portfolios and higher reserves.  When interest rise, I expect the banks to be extremely profitable. 

Biotechs.  Even with health care reform, I expect that biotechs that develop important drugs will be very profitable.  The challenge is that whether a biotech will succeed or not is never clear in the early stages.  So it is important ot diversify across a number biotechs, which allow the winners to exceed the losers.

Beaten down stocks.  Assuming the bull market continues into late 2014, I expect that beat down stocks in retail, technology and commodities will rebound.  So I am buying small quantities of a number of beaten down stocks.

At this point,  I'm doing my own personal rotation of stocks, to lock in some profits and to buy stocks with future potential.  Our net amount invested will go up.  However, we will still be keeping a significant amount in cash to cover living expenses for the next 3-5 years.

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 © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Super Duper Snow Storm

Boy, that groundhog was wrong in 2013.   We're right in the path of the major snow storm that is making its way across the U.S. over the next couple days.  Our projected snow fall is 5-10 inches and our area has been  under a winter storm warning since Saturday that will last until Monday afternoon.

This is the latest I remember Spring weather coming to this area.

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

A Wealth Effect Bubble

In the past twenty years, we've had a dotcom bubble, a stock market bubble, a housing bubble and a bond bubble.   One thing I've learned: low interest rates lead to bubbles.  I've been pondering about what the next bubble will be.  My speculation is that we are in the midst of a "wealth effect" bubble.

People seem to feel wealthier nowadays, with the higher stock market and increasing home prices.  401K investments are higher, investments in one's company stock is higher, and equity in personal residences is increasing.  The Fed has done what it intended to do.

I estimate that the wealth effect bubble will exist for about 1-2 more years as the stock market and housing prices continue to rise.  However, at some point, the Fed will need to reverse its easy money, low interest policy.  At that time, there is a risk for the bubble to pop and reverse the wealth effect gains.

Thus, I continue to be cautious about putting additional funds in investments, since there is still a large risk for a major decline when interest rates start rising.

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 © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Telling My Employer What I Really Think

My seasonal part time employer has an employee survey every year.  In past years, I have been mostly constructive and politically correct.  This year, I'm going to be much more direct with a more critical tone.  I want the company to know why I am no longer satisfied with employment.

When I first joined, I thought my job would be the perfect retirement job: flexible hours, low involvement by corporate, low bureaucracy and a collegial office.  Pay was not one of my criteria, so I didn't mind that the pay was low since there were other perks.  I though the company had an excellent hiring model to get qualified seasonal part time employees to want to work at relatively low compensation.

However, with each succeeding year, the company negatively impacted the factors of my perfect retirement job.  Corporate became more involved, the bureaucracy increased, more committed hours were requested, and perks were reduced.  This year, there was a significant turnover at my office, which eliminated the previous collegial atmosphere.   

While I think the company believes it is making the right changes for the long term, I don't believe it has properly assessed the potential short term impact of a highly dissatisfied seasonal employee base. In addition, I don't believe the company values the seasonal part time employees as much as it should.  As a result, a number of good seasonal employees may choose to leave and not to continue in the job, creating a shortage of workers to interface clients.

Despite claims of full anonymity, I expect that the answers are some what trackable to me, which doesn't matter to me :-)
For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday for a new segment.


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

Copyright © 2013 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Daughter's First Big "Purchase"

One of my bonding activities with our eight year old daughter is to go to a local amusement facility, play the games and win tickets for prizes.  We've been doing this for several years.  Our daughter usually spend her tickets on relatively small prizes: candy, Pokeman cards, and coin banks, for example.   About a year ago, she decided to start saving her tickets for a big prize.

Yesterday, she traded in the saved tickets to "purchase" an IPod shuffle.  She was very excited and I was very proud of her.  She had forgone instant gratification and saved up for a much bigger prize.

Of course, I realize the cost to play the games was around four times the actual cost of the IPod shuffle.  However, the time spent and the fun we had has been priceless.  In addition, I think she learned about saving for big purchases.  Perhaps, a poor economic decision, but a great parent/child bonding experience.

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