How is the sharing economy working for workers? Think twice or 3 times before choosing to work as an independent contractor? What must be done? Watch a short video to find out. https://www.facebook.com/moveon/posts/10153124665965493
December 29, 2015
When to claim Social Security retirement?
Get free online help to decide the best time to collect your SS retirement benefits from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Planning for retirement—before you claim.The age you claim Social Security affects your lifetime income. We’ll help you think through this decision. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/retirement/before-you-claim/
Resolve to manage $ better in 2016
"You’ll find steps to get out from under debt, learn how to repair your credit and put yourself on a path to achieve your biggest financial resolutions. No matter what your financial goal is in 2016 -- whether you want to buy a house, establish a realistic budget or start putting money into a rainy-day fund -- the tools and information in this kit will help you start the new year on the right foot."
Check out: https://www.usa.gov/consumer
Watch a YouTube video: Year-End Financial Planning Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA-g8E52Mu0&feature=youtu.be
December 11, 2015
Consider Alternative Gifts for the Holidays
Most of us have more than we need in terms of gift items. Many gifts will be returned to the stores after the holidays. Gift cards are a poor idea because they restrict the recipient to one store and don't allow them to spend the money on paying rent or other pressing needs or savings a portion of the gift. It is especially important to teach children and teens to save some, give some, as well as spend some on themselves.
Instead consider "give, in honor of a friend or relative, an alternative gift of food, medicine, livestock or education. These gifts will be sent to areas with great needs around the world and here at home. When you purchase an alternative gift, you will receive beautiful gift cards with informational inserts describing your gift. Your gifts of peace and compassion will change the world! These alternative gifts are life-saving gifts of hope. They empower the poorest of the poor on our planet to sustain life and to build a future for subsequent generations. When people share with their world neighbors; a more peaceful, equitable global community can flourish. This year's Cache Valley Community Market, where you can enjoy fair trade shopping, learning about the projects, lunch, a bake sale, music, and purchasing your gifts will be held at: CACHE VALLEY MARKET, A Community Tradition.
Saturday, December12th, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
First Presbyterian Church 200 West Center Street, Logan, UT
Please join us for lunch
*If you would like more information please see http://www.altgifts.org/
Also shop at: Global Villages Gifts, 69 East 100 North, Logan, UT
Instead consider "give, in honor of a friend or relative, an alternative gift of food, medicine, livestock or education. These gifts will be sent to areas with great needs around the world and here at home. When you purchase an alternative gift, you will receive beautiful gift cards with informational inserts describing your gift. Your gifts of peace and compassion will change the world! These alternative gifts are life-saving gifts of hope. They empower the poorest of the poor on our planet to sustain life and to build a future for subsequent generations. When people share with their world neighbors; a more peaceful, equitable global community can flourish. This year's Cache Valley Community Market, where you can enjoy fair trade shopping, learning about the projects, lunch, a bake sale, music, and purchasing your gifts will be held at: CACHE VALLEY MARKET, A Community Tradition.
Saturday, December12th, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
First Presbyterian Church 200 West Center Street, Logan, UT
Please join us for lunch
*If you would like more information please see http://www.altgifts.org/
Also shop at: Global Villages Gifts, 69 East 100 North, Logan, UT
December 7, 2015
New Rules for Claiming Social Security Retirement Benefits
Since Congress changed the rules on SS claiming strategies in October 2015, married couples need to reanalyze their strategy for claiming retirement benefits. A concise summary is available at http://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/updates-based-bipartisan-budget-act-2015 This is one website where, for a modest fee ($40) you can determine the best claiming strategy. Another similar website is: http://www.socialsecuritysolutions.com/. It is well worth the modest expense to figure out the most beneficial strategy.
November 13, 2015
Now may be a good time to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth
One upside of the current stock market slump is that now may be a good time to convert part or all of a traditional IRA to Roth IRA.
Check out Bankrate.com's "Convert IRA to Roth calculator"
"In 1997, the Roth IRA was introduced. Since then, many people have converted all or a portion of their existing traditional IRAs to a Roth IRAs, where interest earned may be completely tax-free. Is this a good option? A conversion has advantages and disadvantages that should be carefully considered before a decision is made. This convert IRA to Roth calculator estimates the change in total net worth, at retirement, if you convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA."
Check out Bankrate.com's "Convert IRA to Roth calculator"
"In 1997, the Roth IRA was introduced. Since then, many people have converted all or a portion of their existing traditional IRAs to a Roth IRAs, where interest earned may be completely tax-free. Is this a good option? A conversion has advantages and disadvantages that should be carefully considered before a decision is made. This convert IRA to Roth calculator estimates the change in total net worth, at retirement, if you convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA."
Checking out on-line education programs
Much of the blame for skyrocketing student education debt can be attributed to for-profit colleges and online programs. It is essential to carefully check out programs before enrolling. A helpful resource is: AccreditedOnlineColleges.org (AoC.org). Use this website as the first step in checking our potential programs.
November 5, 2015
5 Fiancial Goals for Teens & Young Adults
Check out this post from Squared away and watch the 11 minute Ted Talk by Alexa von Tobel.
She proposed these five financial priorities (with minor alterations by Squared Away): http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/5-financial-goals-for-teens-young-adults/
She proposed these five financial priorities (with minor alterations by Squared Away): http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/5-financial-goals-for-teens-young-adults/
- Follow a budget.
- Have an emergency savings account.
- Strive to become debt-free. Pay credit cards in full.
- Negotiate your salary.
- Save for retirement to secure employer’s 401(k) match.
Investing Should Be Painful!
What??
Alan S. Roth write in the Nov. 2 issue of Financial Planning
"In the real world, risk correlates with reward.... Our minds, though, are often disconnected from reality, and we view risk and reward as disconnects."
"People base their judgments of an activity or a technology not only on what they think about it, but also on how they feel about it."
If their feelings toward an activity are favorable, they are moved toward judging the risks as low and the benefits as high; if their feelings toward it are unfavorable, they tend to judge the opposite — high risk, low benefit. Of course, the pattern isn’t logical, but it’s how humans think."
"In his 2011 book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel Economics Prize winner Daniel Kahneman discussed our two ways of thinking:
System 1: Rapidly, automaticly, frequently, emotionally, stereotypically, subconsciously.
System 2: Slowly, effortfully, infrequently, logically, calculatingly, consciously.
Essentially, system one is rooted in how we feel, while system two is, supposedly, rooted in logic. Two critical points, however, are that both systems reflect how we think, and that we typically don’t know which system we are thinking with. We assume we are always using logic when making decisions."
"System 1 feels more pleasure and pain. It views the stock market as high reward and low risk at the height of bubbles, and high risk and low reward at the bottom.
System 2 always considers stock investing to be risky, but leads to the conclusion that stocks are a better buy after a half-off sale than after the price has doubled. Our thoughts also assess the high probability that capitalism will survive. When stock prices reach an all-time high, System 2 knows there is a low probability that stocks will rise indefinitely without the arrival of a bear market."
"Research indicates that System 1 typically prevails in investing. Most data show investor returns typically lag fund returns due to poor market timing. Fund flow data reveal we buy more stock funds near the top price and sell more near the bottom."
"Behavioral finance readily explains how we can think we are being logical while doing illogical things...."
Read Roth's full discussion at:
http://www.financial-planning.com/news/portfolio/investing-should-be-painful-2694659-1.html?zkPrintable=1&nopagination=1
Alan S. Roth write in the Nov. 2 issue of Financial Planning
"In the real world, risk correlates with reward.... Our minds, though, are often disconnected from reality, and we view risk and reward as disconnects."
"People base their judgments of an activity or a technology not only on what they think about it, but also on how they feel about it."
If their feelings toward an activity are favorable, they are moved toward judging the risks as low and the benefits as high; if their feelings toward it are unfavorable, they tend to judge the opposite — high risk, low benefit. Of course, the pattern isn’t logical, but it’s how humans think."
"In his 2011 book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel Economics Prize winner Daniel Kahneman discussed our two ways of thinking:
System 1: Rapidly, automaticly, frequently, emotionally, stereotypically, subconsciously.
System 2: Slowly, effortfully, infrequently, logically, calculatingly, consciously.
Essentially, system one is rooted in how we feel, while system two is, supposedly, rooted in logic. Two critical points, however, are that both systems reflect how we think, and that we typically don’t know which system we are thinking with. We assume we are always using logic when making decisions."
"System 1 feels more pleasure and pain. It views the stock market as high reward and low risk at the height of bubbles, and high risk and low reward at the bottom.
System 2 always considers stock investing to be risky, but leads to the conclusion that stocks are a better buy after a half-off sale than after the price has doubled. Our thoughts also assess the high probability that capitalism will survive. When stock prices reach an all-time high, System 2 knows there is a low probability that stocks will rise indefinitely without the arrival of a bear market."
"Research indicates that System 1 typically prevails in investing. Most data show investor returns typically lag fund returns due to poor market timing. Fund flow data reveal we buy more stock funds near the top price and sell more near the bottom."
"Behavioral finance readily explains how we can think we are being logical while doing illogical things...."
Read Roth's full discussion at:
http://www.financial-planning.com/news/portfolio/investing-should-be-painful-2694659-1.html?zkPrintable=1&nopagination=1
October 21, 2015
Sick of Robo Calls?
Well, so am I! Even if you are registered with the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call Registry https://donotcall.gov/, you may still be getting calls. You can file a complaint at: https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx
- You may file a complaint if you received an unwanted call after your number was on the National Registry for 31 days.
- You may also file a complaint if you received a call that used a
recorded message instead of a live person (whether or not your number
was on the Registry).
Reminder: Even if your number is registered, some organizations may still call you, such as charities, political organizations, and telephone surveyors. For a full description of who may still call you, please consult our Consumer FAQs.
Debt collectors may also continue to call you whether your number is on the Registry or not.
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