Over 50% Plan to Work in Retirement

A CNBC article reports that Working During Retirement May Be "The New Normal" according to a Barclay's survey. About 60 percent of respondents expect being involved in paid work of some kind for their entire life. Although some plan to work for financial reasons, many plan to work because it is an important part of their life. In some cases, retirees found time spent in post retirement activities was different than they had expected. Most telling was that for some, the interest in working during retirement increased after retirement.

For reference, the survey was done among 2000 people from 20 countries with more than $1.5 million in investable assets.

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 © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Childhood Milestones

It is fun watching our daughter learn and make progress. She has achieved several milestones in 2010.

Starting kindergarten. Our daughter is now attending "real" school on a full day basis. She has been looking forward to starting kindergarten for quite a while. After two months, she still enjoys school.

Scoring her first goal. In her fourth season of soccer, our daughter scored her first goal. She was very excited and we celebrated by going out for lunch afterwards. In the last game of the season, she made two more shots that barely missed by hitting the post.

Reading smoothly. I am amazed at how much our daughter's reading skills have developed in only two months of kindergarten. She recognizes many simple words and enjoys trying to spell new words. I was surprised today when she read and asked about a specific entry on my calendar.

Learning math. Our daughter considers math "boring," which makes me cringe since I consider math a fundamental skill. However, she seems to be learning basics of addition and subtraction. I still hope that she will like math enough to do well at personal finance :-)

Potentially, her next milestone will be riding a bike without training wheels. We started over the summer with a little progress. Lately, she has expressed more interest in learning which means we may be trying more frequently.

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

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

Copyright © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Getting Late Charges Forgiven

Occasionally, we miss a payment due date due to misplacing a bill or not receiving one in the mail. However, rather than remit the late payment fees, I usually call customer service and request forgiveness. We have an excellent record of paying all our bills on time, so we usually get the late charges removed.

Here's an example of the conversation I have with a customer representative (CR):

Me: Hi, this is ____________ and I'm calling about my bill which I haven't paid. My apologies for being late. I didn't receive (or I misplaced) the bill this month which is the reason we didn't pay it. As you can see, we always pay our bills on time.

CR: Thank you for calling and letting us know about the late payment. Yes, I'm looking at your records and I can see you make timely payments.

Me: Since this our first time missing a payment, can you take off the late charge this time?

CR: Yes, that would be no problem to remove the late charge. I've credited the amount to your account.

Me: Thank you. I appreciate your help.

There has only been one instance where the CR would not forgive the late charges. I called on the day a credit card bill was due and explained we had just found the misplaced bill. I told the CR that we would send payment immediately and asked if he would take off the late charge. He responded that any payment received after the close of business that day would incur a late charge which could not be forgiven. However, he mentioned that payment could be direct debited on the same day from our account using their the payment option on their website; and by doing so, we could avoid late charges. We followed the directions and they received the payment before the end of day.

My request to forgive late charges is usually honored because our payment history is very good. So far, we haven't been late more than once for any of our accounts over the past seven years. If we had multiple late bill payments, I expect that a CR would be unable to take off any late charges.

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 © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Timeless Articles from the Archives #11

It's been over four years since I started My Wealth Builder. As I think about topics to write , I often remember, "I've written about that before," and decide to find a new topic. However, since many principles of personal finance are timeless, I want to include them in a recent post on My Wealth Builder. Therefore, I have started a series called "Timeless Articles from the Archives" that will highlight posts from the same week in 2006-2009.

For the week in 2007, I wrote about how Five Stages of Retirement which shared results from a study. I have clearly moved the the Reorientation stage. The answer to Is Frugal Living The New Trend? turned out to be "YES!" One of our frugal decisions was If I Won't Use It Frequently, I Don't Buy It. I also posted our insights from being a single income family in Being at Home With our Daughter - A Great Choice for Us. Finally, I shared the fourth of the financial freedom series in Our Journey To Financial Freedom #4 - Lifestyle and Spending Choices .

For the week in 2008, I posted Choose Better over More which shared a approach to buying that I read on another blog. After reading an MSNBC.com article, I decided to share my perspective and experience on Money Mistakes with Children. I also noted how the recession exposed Retirement Financial Strategies that Didn't Pass a Bear Market Test. Finally, I reported that people were once again recognizing risk in Return to Investment Normalcy.

For the week in 2009, I posted The Benefit of not Including Bonuses in our Budget which described how this approach helped us live below our means and retire in our forties.

To me, the content of these posts are still relevant today and were worth reading again.

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

This is not financial, retirement, lifestyle, parenting or saving advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Links To Carnivals From October 19 to October 25, 2010

Here are the links to the Carnivals in which My Wealth Builder participated from October 19 to October 25, 2010:

The Wealth Builder Carnival #11

Carnival of Financial Planning #162

Baby Boomers Blog Carnival #62

For some interesting articles from the blogosphere, check out these Carnivals and give the hosts some recognition for their hard work.

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 © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

The Wealth Builder Carnival #12

Welcome to twelfth 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, I have listed the posts with brief summaries by the authors and organized them into seven categories: Earning, Investing, Insuring and Protecting, Living Frugally, Retiring, Saving and Taxes.

And now onto the Carnival:

Earning

Make Money Buying and Reselling Things You Know About! - "A great suggestion for earning some extra money."

Get off Your A** and Follow Through with your Business Idea - "There are too many people out there with fantastic ideas that don't do a thing with them - this is their wake up call!"

Insuring and Protecting

That's gross! Why home insurance won't pay for disgusting problems - "Rats, mold, bed bugs? Here's why home insurance won't pay, and some exceptions to the rules."

Investing

12 Stocks Sending A Strong Message With Higher Dividends - "One of the many reasons I like dividend stocks is because they provide continuous feedback. As time passes, dividend investors see their income grow steadily. You don’t have to wait five to ten years to determine if the strategy is working. Each dividend and dividend increase provides reassurance that the strategy is working."

Types of Annuities: Annuity Definitions - "What are the differences between the various types of annuities? Which ones are useful, and which ones are a raw deal?"

How To Teach Your Kids The Concept Of Investing - "How do you get your kids interested with personal finance so they can grow up with a better foundation for how to handle money?"

Worst. Trade. EVER! … - "CNBC has been running a great segment on the Worst Trade Ever for industry leaders like Warren Buffett and Bill Gross. Hence, Darwin has shared his horrendous investments from his 20s; share yours as well."

Balancing Risk Versus Reward Through Asset Allocation with Terry Vaughan Of Hottinger Asset Management Canada - "Whether you’re paying someone to actively manage your portfolio or if you’re managing it yourself, what you need to figure out is the amount of risk you can tolerate and then based on your level of risk tolerance, create a portfolio with an optimal mix of asset classes that will maximize returns and minimize risk."

Tax FREE Money Market Mutual Funds! - "Most astute investors are aware of municipal mutual funds also known as MUNIs. These funds invest in term debts issued by various state and local governments. In general dividends and gains from muni funds are exempt from federal as well as state taxes ..."

Your Mutual Fund Investment Portfolio: How Many Funds Should You Own? - "Do you own too many mutual funds?"

Living Frugally

New Car Buying Myths - "Get the best deal, NOT the best price on a new car. Understand the hidden myths."

Retiring

FINANCIAL SATISFACTION; Now and Later - "Learn to maintain an attitude of 'plenty' and your WEALTH will multiply. Your focus and attitude are directly related to your wealth."

Saving

How Much to Save - THE NUMBER - "How much should one save from every paycheck? Our number was 20%."

Taxes

5 Steps To Getting A Tax Rebate - "Are you due a tax rebate? Our guide will help you claim your tax refund."

New IRS Rules for Investors - "As if investing isn't already tough enough..."


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 © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Buying Stocks After the Mid-Term Elections

On September 1, 2010, I mentioned that our plan was to significantly increase our investments in the stock market in anticipation of a continued recovery. While this continues to be our plan, I've decided hold off making any large equity purchases until after the November 2, 2010 midterm elections. I think there is a reasonable possibility that the market may correct after the elections results for the following reasons:

A Republican win is already priced into the market. The rally since July 2010 has been very strong reflecting a believe that the midterm elections will eliminate the current Democratic majority in at least the House of Representatives. Historically, the market results have been good with a Democratic President and a Republican controlled Congress.

The elections results may disappoint the market. The latest polls show many of the races are tightening meaning Republicans may take fewer seats than originally anticipated during the summer. If the Democrats maintain a majority in both houses of Congress, a market sell off may occur.

I've positioned our portfolios to take advantage of possible market decline or a continued market advance. First, I've sold parts of positions into this rally, taking some profits and holding the remaining shares in case the market rallies. Second, I've sold some covered calls against my company stock which will provide a cushion if the stock declines or allow profits to be taken if the stock advances. Finally, I've set aside 1/2 of the cash in our managed retirement accounts to be invested whether the market declines or advances.

Psychologically, I feel better taking this hedging approach. While I may miss out on some gains, I will also mitigate any signficant decline that may happen after the elections results.

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 © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Pension Funds Reducing Stock Market Exposure

It seems everybody is looking for the safety non-equity investments, including institutional pension managers. Pension Funds Flee Stocks in Search of Less-Risky Bets (subscription my be required) from The Wall Street Journal reports how many pension managers are reducing their stock exposure from 60-70% to 30 to 45% of their pension funds.

Here's what I think this phenomenon means:

Total stock market returns will be lower. There will be less demand for stocks, meaning lower total price for the stock market. We definitely won't be seeing the double digit returns of the nineties in the near term.

Stock picking will become more important. While the total market returns may be down, there will still be individual stocks which significantly beat the market. Finding companies which maintain a competitive advantage through innovation, business model or scale will be even more important.

Pension plans will reduce benefits or be eliminated. With lower returns, companies won't be able to guarantee current benefits without significantly increasing contributions. The alternative is to reduce benefits or move to a defined contribution plan. I believe many public sector pension plans will need to be modified, especially since tax increases will not be a popular solution.

Being a bit of a contrarian leads me to think that this may also be a good time to invest more in equities:-)

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 © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Timeless Articles from the Archives #10

It's been over four years since I started My Wealth Builder. As I think about topics to write , I often remember, "I've written about that before," and decide to find a new topic. However, since many principles of personal finance are timeless, I want to include them in a recent post on My Wealth Builder. Therefore, I have started a series called "Timeless Articles from the Archives" that will highlight posts from the same week in 2006-2009.

For the week in 2006, I shared my thoughts on how I thinking about Using a Financial Advisor. I also wrote Personal Finance 101 - Are You a Saver or Borrower? which helped me define my situation.

For the week in 2007, I wrote about how A Few Benefits of Retiring Young which described some benefits I experienced. I also posted Becoming Wealthy Is Contagious on how associations can help build wealth. In Sometimes What Seems Easy Is Really Hard To Do , I shared the challenge of using good personal finance principles. I wrote about retirement savings for our daughter in Roth or Traditional IRA For Our Children? Finally, I shared the third of the financial freedom series in Our Journey To Financial Freedom #3 - Making The Most Of My Job .

For the week in 2008, I wrote Passive Income is not Effort Free which discussed a common misperception about passive income.

For the week in 2009, I posted Eat Out for Less - Off Peak Dinner Deals which describes how choosing specific times to eat out can save money.

To me, the content of these posts are still relevant today and were worth reading again.

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

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

Copyright © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Links To Carnivals From October 12 to October 18, 2010

Here are the links to the Carnivals in which My Wealth Builder participated from October 12 to October 18, 2010:

The Wealth Builder Carnival #10

Festival of Frugality #251

Carnival of Financial Planning #161

Carnival of Money Stories #76

For some interesting articles from the blogosphere, check out these Carnivals and give the hosts some recognition for their hard work.

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 © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC