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Money Matters
63. IS NOW THE TIME TO BUY CYBERCURRENCY? By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
Retired - When the stock market goes down, many investors recognize an opportunity to invest at lower share prices. If you are an investor with some cash on hand, you could be buying shares for your long-term goals now, given that prices of many shares are down. If you are, in fact, a long-term investor, getting shares now, at lower prices is just smart. If you buy good quality shares, you are simply getting them “on sale”, at bargain prices. When you buy shares during a market decline, you need to wait before selling them, sometimes years. Careful, long-term investors are willing to wait, and it usually pays off. It is a proven, time-tested strategy. - More... 62. ARE YOU READY FOR A RECESSION? By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
Retired - Don’t be alarmed when you hear we may be heading into a recession. Instead, be ready. From my perspective, I see a good chance that the US and possibly Europe will go into recession before or by winter of 2022. If I am wrong, being prepared is still going to help you, so pay attention to the possibility and take some preventative measures now. Just in case. - More... 61. WHO ARE THE BETTER INVESTORS, MEN OR WOMEN? By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
Retired - As a long-time Certified Financial Planner® (recently retired), I have worked with a lot of clients, both male and female, which has given me the opportunity to observe in great detail a very private subject that often provokes lively discussions, to put it mildly. That subject is money, spending it and investing it in particular. If you are in a relationship as a couple, it should be discussed. If you are a single person, you can consider the information to the extent that it may impact how you invest, with the potential to help you to get better outcomes with your portfolio. - More... 60. KNOW THE CHANGES FOR YOUR 2021 TAX RETURN By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
Retired
- Some things have changed that will impact your 2021 income tax return. It is a good idea to become familiar with the changes so that you can gather the data you will need to file your 2021 income tax on time and correctly. So, with that in mind, here is a list of some of the most notable changes: - More... 59. INCREASE YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME AND OFFSET INFLATION By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
Retired - For most people, retirement means getting income from any/all retirement plans that have been accumulated during the working years. Some people get a pension, and sometimes that pension is adjusted annually for inflation. This is called “inflation proofing”. It results in annual increases that are designed to offset the increased costs of living, like groceries, utilities, gas, heating fuel, clothing, medications and travel, just to name a few of the routine expenses of life. Over time, inflation can do a lot of damage to the monthly income that a retiree has to depend on, so “inflation proofing” is not just a good idea, it is a necessity. - More... 58. QUIZ: HOW SKILLED ARE YOU AT MONEY – PART 2 By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
Retired - As promised, the answers to the questions posed are provided below. - More... 57. QUIZ: HOW SKILLED ARE YOU AT MONEY? By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
Retired
- Your skill at managing money relies largely on your brain’s ability to get information and make rational decisions. The problem, however, is that our brains are not rational. Instead, our brains are emotional, but do have the power to inform, which we assume makes us rational. That assumption is often false. It can and does get in the way of us actually making those rational decisions, especially about money, and this is how we get into trouble with money. - More... 56. HOW DO THE MEGA RICH AVOID PAYING INCOME TAX? By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™
- According to a media buzz going around currently (June 2021), some of the world’s richest people pay no income taxes. Is this true? Well, maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t. It may just be how the media, especially the notoriously wrong social media, sells readers on whatever “news” they are peddling. It may be entirely false, but it sure sells. - More... 55. BITCOIN EXPLAINED By MARY LYNNE DAHL , Certified Financial Planner ™ - Have you thought about investing in a cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or something similar? Enough people are doing this that it is now being used as an investment. I have done a previous column about cryptocurrencies (also called digital currencies) such as Bitcoin in prior issues of MONEY MATTERS, which I recommend that you read, but it has been long enough in the past that much has changed and now is a good time to revisit the subject, so here goes. - More.. 54. UNDERSTANDING INFLATION AND RISING PRICES By MARY LYNNE DAHL, Certified Financial Planner ™ - If you shop for food, buy gas for your vehicle, pay utility bills, medical bills and educational expenses for your child or yourself, you have no doubt noticed that the prices for these expenses have gone up. A lot, in many cases. This is due to inflation, the ongoing and silent thief that steals your hard-earned money continuously. If you are working and get raises periodically, you may not worry about this too much. But if you are retired, or out of work due to the pandemic, you probably are at least aware of inflation, since you do not have a rising wage to help offset the increase in prices of ordinary goods and services that you require. In addition, if inflation is rising faster than your income for any reason, the money that you do have just does not buy as much as it used to. So why is this? - More... 53. THE GREATER FOOL THEORY By MARY LYNNE DAHL, Certified Financial Planner ™ - In Europe during the 17th century, Holland was the world’s leading economy with the highest per capita income in the world and it operated a formal investment market, similar to our own modern stock market. Assets bought and sold in this market included tulips, among other things. Tulips were valued as fashionable and elegant flowers for wealthy homeowners. They were expensive, so the price of the bulbs rose dramatically as the demand for them grew. During the mid-1600s, tulips became the subject of so much price speculation that the rarest bulbs sold for as much as six times the annual salary of an average Dutchman. This speculation in tulip prices became known as the “tulip mania”. This term is often used to describe an economic bubble of any investment that is selling at prices that are far above the actual value of the asset itself. 52. HOW TO DIVERSIFY YOUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO By MARY LYNNE DAHL, Certified Financial Planner® - I imagine that you have heard the phrase “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. It doesn’t need much explanation, as it is just common sense. It reduces our risks, a major goal in any investment portfolio. No one wants to risk losing all of any investment just because they invested every dime in only one thing. However, some people forget about this common-sense key to investing. After more than 35 years as a Certified Financial Planner™ and investment advisor professional, I am pretty sure why this is so. - More... 51. PORTFOLIO REBALANCING AS A WINNING STRATEGY By Mary Lynne Dahl, Certified Financial Planner ™
- Investors who are more successful use tested and proven strategies to get better performance. One of those strategies, used by professional financial advisors as well as smart individuals, is called rebalancing. This strategy has long been shown to improve long term investment performance as well as reduce risk. It is related to the concept of diversification but is different in several ways. This article will explain the concept of rebalancing a portfolio. - More... 50. SMART INVESTING IN 2021 AND BEYOND By Mary Lynne Dahl, Certified Financial Planner™ - As 2020 comes to a close, many investors are thinking about investing for their own futures. This is an important priority, with or without elections, pandemics and global uncertainties. In fact, it is more important as a result of those things, so let’s talk about it. - More... 49. HOW TO DECIDE WHICH SHARES TO SELL FROM YOUR PORTFOLIO WHEN YOU NEED TO SELL SOME By Mary Lynne Dahl, Certified Financial Planner™ - At some point as an investor, you may need some cash from your investment portfolio. It may be for a major purchase or it might be that you need ongoing income. Regardless of the reason for needing the cash, you will face the question of how to decide which shares to sell to get the cash or income that you need. - More... 48. THE COVID -19 FINANCIAL PLAN By Mary Lynne Dahl, Certified Financial Planner™ - The impact of Covid 19 on our jobs, our ability to work and earn income, has shocked a lot of people who never imagined that a virus could be so destructive. - More... 47. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE STOCK MARKET NOW? WHAT DO I DO? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, Certified Financial Planner® - This week, as of February 29, 2020, we have seen a sharp decline in stock market prices, over 4,000 points, making this drop officially a “correction” of 14%. Foreign markets are in a sharp decline also, and there is a reason for this. - More.... 46. WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT; CONTRIBUTING TO A COLLEGE FUND OR 401-K? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - David and Jean Smith are typical working people. They are married with 2 kids. David is 35 and Jean is 34. She recently returned to work now that their youngest child has started first grade. They are seeking some answers to their questions that they now have as a result of Jean returning to paid work. - More... 45. RECENTLY DIVORCED AND ALONE: A FINANCIAL CASE STUDY By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - In my prior column, I began with “For married couples, becoming single again, whether from divorce or being widowed, is traumatic and creates many questions about money. This second case study looks at some of the most basic but critically important financial issues resulting from divorce, using real life people, under false names, to illustrate the issues, problems and solutions recommended in a typical case. - More... 44. SUDDENLY ALONE: A FINANCIAL CASE STUDY OF WIDOWHOOD - For married couples, becoming single again, whether from divorce or being widowed, is traumatic and creates many questions about money. This article will look at widowhood first, then divorce in a separate article and will examine the effects on your money from each event. The articles will be formatted as case studies, using real life people, under false names, to illustrate the issues, problems and solutions recommended in each case. - More... 43. IS THE MARKET DIFFERENT THIS TIME? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Is what is going on in financial markets different this time? Have we entered a new era? Has there been a paradigm shift? Is the old normal gone? Have the rules changed? Are things really different today? - More... 42. WHAT IF YOU OUTLIVE YOUR MONEY? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - According to surveys conducted during 2018, the most common financial worry among American adults is that they might outlive their money. Financial Advisor magazine’s survey, for example, is quoted as saying that 42.66% of retired clients report that they are worried about outliving their money. This is reflected in answers to survey questions that indicate a fear of not being able to generate enough income for retirement expenses, based largely on a realization that prices are rising faster than the incomes of the retirees. It appears that many people worry that they will actually spend all of their savings and invested dollars before they die, which is a pretty grim financial situation to face. In addition, many who do not expect to actually spend all of it, still fear the continued rise in prices of ordinary things, like food and medical care, which will gradually erode their incomes until some things are no longer affordable in retirement. - More... 41. FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF DEMENTIA By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Jeff was a construction supervisor for a company in Seattle. He was 53 years old, funny, good at his job, married for 15 years with 2 kids in junior high school. He spent most of his time outdoors, going from job site to job site, supervising and working on solutions to field problems. He earned a good living, was a family man, contributed to a company retirement plan and was an active outdoorsman in his spare time. - More... 40. YOUR TAX REFUND MAY GO AWAY, AND HERE’S WHY By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP®- Many people get income tax refunds annually. I do not believe that this is wise financial planning, but I recognize that it is a common method for lots of people who otherwise have trouble saving money. A refund is a loan to the government that pays no interest, so it is not a sound financial strategy, but people do it anyway, so that they can get a check from the IRS every year. Ok, I get it. They like getting a check. - More... 39. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THIS STOCK MARKET CORRECTION? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - The stock market has challenged a lot of people’s patience. Many people have had enough of the volatility and uncertainty of stock prices and have gotten out entirely. Many of these people will never get back in, and that is unfortunate. Although it is totally understandable that the market is frustrating and perhaps scary to some, getting out during a correction is absolutely the wrong thing to do. I will illustrate why shortly, so keep reading, please. - More... 38. THE RISKS OF BONDS IN THE CURRENT MARKET By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® - Investors who are recently retired on retiring soon, often have 60% - 70% or more of their money in bonds rather than in stocks, real estate or a mix of all three. They do this because bonds pay interest and retirees need income on which to live in retirement. - More... 37. STOCK OR BONDS? HOW DO YOU DECIDE? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - For years the accepted norm for investment of a portfolio was to allocate more to stocks and less to bonds at younger ages and then gradually reverse the percentages as one got older. Generally, a person in his/her twenties or thirties would be told to have 70% to 80% in stocks and 30% to 20% in bonds. The reason for this percentage mix was that stocks offer more potential for growth while bonds offer more potential for income. In addition, stocks were viewed as riskier than bonds. Usually, older investors seek income to replace earnings when they retire, so the gradual switch from stocks to bonds, targeting a mix of 30%-20% in stocks and 70% - 80% in bonds made sense for many people. - More... 36. HOW TO INVEST WHEN THE MARKET MAKES YOU NERVOUS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - The market is making some people nervous. Maybe it will crash, they say. Maybe the economy will turn down and go sour, they say. Maybe the bull market will end and we will be in a bear market, they say. Maybe the time to get out has come, they say. Maybe our planet will get whacked tomorrow by a giant asteroid that will destroy all life on earth, too. This kind of thinking is a waste of time and just fosters stress and anxiety. If this reflects your thinking, let’s ask the right questions and get some answers. - More... 35. INVESTING GLOBALLY: RISKS AND REWARDS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - A key to secure investing includes having a diversified portfolio that is specifically allocated to differing investment types and sectors of the economy, a truth often referred to as not “putting all of your eggs in one basket.” One of the ways to diversify is by country or geographic region instead of just in the US economy. You may think that investing in the stocks and bonds of another country is extremely risky and limit your investments to the US as a result, but if you do that, you are overlooking the fact that when compared with the EU, Asia and the rest of the world, the US market is no longer the biggest market on earth. Ignoring foreign markets does limit the choices and opportunities for investment, so many investors take this into consideration and want to invest globally, not just locally. - More... 34. 7 MAJOR FINANCIAL MISTAKES TO AVOID By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Nobody likes to make a big mistake of any kind, but especially if it has serious financial results. There are several really important financial mistakes that you can avoid if you know about them and decide in advance to avoid them. This list is will help you do just that. - More... 33. FINANCE 101 FOR WIDOWS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Financial problems are common at all ages, for both sexes and across all income groups of people. Widowhood is difficult for everybody, but for some women, it creates a major stumbling block over making necessary financial decisions she may not be qualified to make. This does not have to be that way, however. - More... 32. ARE ANNUITIES THE SOLUTION TO VOLATILE MARKETS? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Recently, I have been asked by quite a few people to explain annuities. - More... 31. ELDER FRAUD: IDENTIFYING IT, REFUSING IT AND REPORTING IT By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Unfortunately, fraud schemes that target our senior citizens are becoming very common. They represent a serious risk to a retired person, especially one who lives alone or has begun to suffer from any kind of mental or physical decline, which may ultimately be all of us. Therefore, this has the potential to threaten the security and well-being of everyone, so pay attention to the facts I will present in this column and take action if it is necessary to protect yourself, a loved one or a friend. - More... 30. CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - In case you were thinking it would be simple to sign up for Social Security benefits at retirement, think again. It is anything but simple, unfortunately. Getting the wrong benefits can cost you a lot of money, now or later. Here are some issues to understand before you sign up for Social Security. - More... 29. HOW TO TAKE THE FEAR AND PAIN OUT OF COLLEGE COSTS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Every fall parents of high school students all over the nation face the dreaded Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application. Currently applications are accepted from October 1 through June 30, 2018. The purpose of this application is to secure the best chance of getting financial aid for college and the early bird usually gets the worm...... More... 28. ARE YOU IN THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS OR NOT? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Do you consider yourself wealthy? Affluent? Poor? Or would middle class be more accurate? The majority of Americans, when asked, say that they believe they are middle class, which suggests that they think their degree of wealth, or lack of it, makes them middle class. The problem in getting an answer is whether you define your wealth by income or by net worth. And what is “wealth” anyway? It sounds like it refers to riches, but it does not. - More... 27. Is It Time to Get Out of the Market? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Well, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has again hit an all-time high, so the buzz that we are now hearing is that “now is the time to get out”. And, although it may be ok to take some profits, that does not mean that you have to get out entirely. No, indeed! Getting out, then back in at some time down the road, is the wrong way to go about this job of investing. You may disagree; quite a few people will disagree, in fact. However, they are wrong. - More... Thursday PM - June 15, 2017 26. MINIMIZING THE FINANCIAL COSTS OF DIVORCE By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Most people realize that a divorce can be costly, and sometimes messy. It doesn’t have to be, but it can be. You can reduce the costs, however, with some education about the whole process. - More... 25. PENNY STOCKS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Every once in a while I am asked about investing in penny stocks. What is a penny stock? It is a stock selling for less than $5 in a company that has a very small capitalization, meaning not much cash with which to operate the company. Generally, the reason I am asked about investing in penny stock is that someone has heard what I call a "story". The "story" is so enticing that some people cannot resist investing, because most of the time, the story being told is that this company is on the verge of something really big and you better invest in it now, before it gets discovered. While the definition of a penny stock is that it sells for less than $5, many penny stocks sell for under $1, which increases the lure to invest for many people. After all, with stock as cheap as this, you don't have much to lose, right? This is faulty logic; you risk losing whatever total you invest, regardless of the price per share. Just because the shares are cheap does not reduce the risk. In fact, it actually increases it. As an investor, you should be very aware of the risks and characteristics of penny stocks as investments. Why are they so risky? - More... 24. IS MARKET TIMING THE SECRET TO INVESTMENT SUCCESS? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Now that the U.S. stock market has topped the 21,000 point, there is a lot of speculation about the potential of it going even higher, or, conversely, dropping back down below the 21,000. - More... 23. INVESTING IN ANNUITIES – A GOOD IDEA OR NOT? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - A financial planner that I know recently mentioned to me that she had a new client who asked her to explain annuities. The planner had not recommended an annuity but the investor was interested and wondered why not, because he had seen a commercial on TV which he said claimed that you could not lose money and your return could only go up, not down, with a certain kind of annuity. The investor was attracted to that idea, of course. Who wouldn’t want an investment that could not lose money and which guaranteed a return that would only go up and never down? It sounded too god to be true, which should be a warning flag. Too often, it is not. - More... 22. HOW MUCH $ IS ENOUGH? TIPS ON GETTING THERE By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - I write a lot about retirement and investing. This is because they go hand in hand, and retirement is generally the biggest financial goal most people have while they are working. I hear people say over and over again that they want to retire early. However, I see the evidence in many cases where those people who do retire early hit the wall a few years later, often because the amount of income that they started out with is no longer enough to live on comfortably. When this happens, early retirement has turned out to be a bummer, not a joy. This can be avoided. - More... 21. EVALUATING AND SELECTING A FINANCIAL ADVISOR By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - I recently attended the wedding of a friend who asked a really good question, one that many other people are probably asking these days. We had been standing in a group at the reception, talking about retirement and money matters. During the conversation, two of those present mentioned that they were “financial advisors”. One was a stock broker at a big name firm in New York City. The other was a Certified Financial Planner ™ at an independent boutique firm in a small town. My friend listened to these advisors talk about money and investing and later took me aside and asked me to explain what it meant to say that one is a “financial advisor”. He mentioned that at age 42, he was interested in getting financial advice regarding his retirement plan at work but that he also had questions about refinancing his home, buying a vacation property and a business opportunity he was considering. He wanted to find someone to work with that he could trust to give him objective advice and he wanted to be able to invest his retirement plan money wisely. - More... 20. Living Well on Less By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® - I recently read a news story which said that the majority of Americans would not be able to write a $1,000 check for an emergency expense. It claimed that in a survey of over 6,000 middle income people in the US, most of them would have to use a credit card or borrow from friends/family in order to come up with $1,000 cash for an unexpected expense. If this is true, it is an indication that too many people spend every dollar they make, saving nothing, and this fact prompts this column. It is an indication also of the financial insecurity of those who do spend all of their income, and sometimes more, piling up a burden of debt. If this is your situation, you would be wise to stop spending and start saving, now. How do you do this? Well, maybe you can find some answers by trying what has worked for others. - More... 19. IMPORTANT NEW RULES THAT WILL AFFECT YOUR IRA AND 401-K By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - The US Federal government has changed some rules that have a very important impact on your IRA or 401-k retirement plan. The new rule, mandated by the US Department of Labor, changes the way you can get advice about your investments in your retirement plan and what you will pay for that advice and those investments. 18. DO THE RECENT CHANGES TO SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AFFECT YOU? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - The recent changes to Social Security will affect benefits for some people who were going to file soon but have not done so yet. If you are one of those people, you only have until April 29, 2016 to file for benefits that may not be available after that date. Social Security is complex, so many people are unaware that they may be eligible for benefits that are expiring soon. - More... 17. STOCK MARKET ROLLER COASTER RIDE: IS IT AN OPPORTUNITY OR A PROBLEM? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - If you are an investor, you probably have some financial goals. Security. Freedom. Wealth. Business ownership. Philanthropy. But when the market starts a roller coaster ride up and down, those goals are at risk. It is unsettling. You may experience anxiety and fear when you read or hear the media talking as if the world is coming to an end, the economy is in chaos, the markets are crashing and your hard-earned money is evaporating. Your instincts are to pull your money out of your investments and bury it in a coffee can in the yard. If this is the case, you have now encountered the greatest risk to your financial well-being……yourself. - More... 16. SURVIVING MAJOR STOCK MARKET CORRECTIONS: DO’S AND DON’T’S By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - As of this date (August 23, 2015), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is down more than 10% from its May 19 high of 18,312.39 and the other US exchanges are in similar basement territory. This is technically referred to as a “market correction” and it means that a lot of portfolios of ordinary people are down as well. Is this cause for alarm? What should a small investor do about it? - More... 15. TIPS FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT BENEFITS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - When I began writing this article on getting the most out of your Social Security, my goal was to simplify a subject that had seemed to be pretty confusing to a lot of people. My first thought in doing this was that it would be easy to parse out the retirement benefits and simply list them by category. Boy, was I wrong! - More.... 14. BITCOIN - IS IT THE NEW MONEY? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Anyone with a smartphone, IPad or even a computer game, knows almost intuitively that “the next big thing” is some sort of new technology. It may be a mobile device, a medical miracle, artificial intelligence or it may be a new form of money, known as “cyber currency”, which is already here and being used worldwide. This cyber currency is also known as “crypto currency”. - More... 13 .SHOULD YOU RETIRE EARLY? By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - I am often asked to help someone decide when to retire. The question revolves around an estimate of how much income will be available when the individual stops working for wages. For many people, this is new territory and can be pretty scary. I can see why, because many people are guessing at the numbers. And, guessing is risky! - More... 12. ARE YOU A BUDDING MILLIONAIRE? TAKE THIS QUIZ AND FIND OUT.By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® - What if you won $5 million in a lottery, after taxes, in a lump sum? Could you handle this much money all at once? Do you have visions of endless vacations, summer cottages on the ocean, new cars, quitting your job? Would you make good financial decisions regarding control of this much money? - More... 11. 10 STEPS TO A SECURE RETIREMENT By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® - Retiring, for most people, means to stop working for a wage. However, when you stop working, you stop getting a paycheck. So, then what? How will you pay the bills and preserve your lifestyle? This is the most important issue for anyone who is facing retirement. If you have not been saving and investing for this goal, you better wake up and get started now! - More... 10. MUTUAL FUNDS FOR INVESTMENT SUCCESS By MARY LYNNE DAHL, Certified Financial Planner™ - If you noticed that people who were invested in the stock market during 2013 did very well with their investments, you may have now decided to join them and become a serious market investor yourself in 2014. If so, congratulations! This is step one to investment success: getting started. The question is, where do you start and how do you do it wisely? - More... 09. OBAMACARE IN PLAIN ENGLISH By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® & Nancy Tietje, RHU-REBC - Soon, Americans will have to figure out if and how our new national health care law, known as “Obamacare”, will change their lives. This article is the first attempt to explain this new law, in plain language, and direct the reader to whatever he or she will need to do, if anything. - More... 8. INVESTING BASICS: STOCKS AND BONDS - Part #2: Stocks By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP® - Investing in stocks and bonds should be a long-term plan of accumulating financial assets that can help support you as you get older. Retirement is probably the biggest reason most people invest at all, so getting educated about how to invest in stocks and bonds is basic to accumulating those assets. - More... 7. INVESTING BASICS: STOCKS AND BONDS - Part #1: Bonds By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® - Investing in stocks and bonds should be a long-term plan of accumulating financial assets that can help support you as you get older. Retirement is probably the biggest reason most people invest at all, so getting educated about how to invest in stocks and bonds is basic to accumulating those assets. - More... 6. AFTER THE DIVORCE – SO, NOW WHAT By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® - The financial impact of divorce is generally not fully realized until after the divorce is final. Many of the money issues, such as the splitting of the pension and retirement funds, depend on the paperwork being correctly written and submitted to employers and retirement plan administrators as part of the final divorce documents. As a result, both parties do not actually give or receive their share of these marital assets until several months afterwards. In addition, if the house is being sold as a result of the settlement, that often takes place afterwards as well. And, when tax time rolls around, the previously married couple who filed a joint return in the past now finds themselves filing their federal tax return under significantly different rules. - More... 5. COMMON FINANCIAL MISTAKES IN DIVORCE By MARY LYNNE DAHL, CFP®- Divorce is costly! There are the emotional costs, the legal costs and the financial costs of splitting up the income, assets and debts. - More... 4. BABY BOOMERS WAKE-UP CALL By Mary Lynne Dahl, CFP® - Most baby boomers can recall the 70’s, when things were groovy and the world was full of good vibrations. It was a cool time and retirement seemed so far away that nobody worried about it much. But guess what…..that day has started to arrive for a thunderous army of those folks who were cool during the 70s and 80s, who are turning 65 between now and the year 2025. US Census records indicate that almost 76 million births were registered between 1946 and 1964. Estimates are that even with normal mortality rates, a boomer will reach age 65 every 8 seconds from now until the year 2029. - More.. 3. 10 Common-Sense Investing Guidelines - Successful investing requires a plan and should be based on reasonable goals and expectations. Unfortunately, many investors today are motivated only by fear and greed, neither of which is a good basis for successful investing. What does work, you ask? Here are 10 common-sense guidelines: - More... 2. Reaching Your Most Important Financial Goal: A Comfortable Retirement - How can you determine whether or not you will have a comfortable retirement? As practical as this question would seem to be, most people are not able to answer it clearly. This column offers an example that will illustrate the process of actually calculating the income that will provide that comfort, or not, depending on your situation. Knowing this information, in advance of retiring, is critical to reaching your financial goals, so read on and take note. - More... 1. The Road to Financial Success is Called “Financial Planning” - Do you want to achieve financial success? Is financial security an important goal for you? If so, you will need to do some financial planning in order to make it happen. Financial Planning is a term used to describe a process of setting financial goals, solving financial problems, making financial decisions and reaching those financial goals. For most people, it is a lifetime process that happens in stages. Most people who are financially successful do not achieve their success haphazardly; they work at it. They develop the discipline and patience to stick with a financial plan and a strategy that is reasonable, not pie-in-the-sky. Many make considerable sacrifices in the early years of the plan because they really, truly want to reach those goals. Those are the people who achieve financial success, on their own terms. - More...
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