Earning Money- The Old Fashioned Way

When I was younger, there was a commercial on TV where the actor would look seriously into the camera and say: we make money the old fashioned way, we earn it. He was speaking of a stockbrokerage company that successfully utilized that slogan for years. I mention this commercial because I believe we’re headed back to the old fashioned days, where a penny saved was a penny earned.

Playing Offense

As we approach 2010, it’s amazing and scary to think how close the world came to another Great Depression. For my money, that was too close for comfort. Although the global economic recovery is still fragile, at least we’re recovering.  With the New Year approaching, there are a new set of indicators to pay attention to. Top on that list is China. I’m not that concerned with China holding close to a trillion dollars in reserve, since selling dollars wholesale would certainly be mutually assured destruction for the U.S and China. What concerns me is U.S unemployment staying at high levels next year and the congress looking for scapegoats.

Bond Funds-continued

From my perspective as a financial planner, investors seem confused about bond funds and fixed income investing in general. As the stock market continues on its upward path, please don’t lose sight of how important it is to maintain an asset allocation to bonds or bond mutual funds. To help you make sense of all this, here’s another link to some outstanding info from Vanguard.

Remember as well, being financial empowered means increasing your financial intelligence. Here’s your homework: http://www.vanguard.com/jumppage/bond/

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. And my gratitude to all of you that take your precious time to read my posts, I sincerely appreciate it.

Bond Funds-what’s next?

According to the Investment Company Institute, investors poured $220 billion into bond funds during the first eight months of 2009, compared with just $27 billion in 2008.

What happens to bond funds when we start seeing interest rates rise or inflation rising? Vanguard has an excellent article that helps explain some of these possible scenarios. To learn more, click here:

Vanguard

Money and Marriage

The New York Times has a great article on money questions to discuss prior to getting married.  For those of you that are married but find it challenging to discuss the topic of money, there’s something here for you as well. Here’s the link to the article:

Money & Marriage

Blame it on Rio

OK-well it stinks that we lost the 2016 Olympics to Brazil, but at least from an investment perspective, there may be a silver lining here after all.

First some facts: Brazil’s leading stock market index (BVSP) is up year to date, in US dollars, up 114%. Compare that to the S&P 500 year to date-up 17%. That’s quite a notable difference. Second, just think about the amount of investment that’s certainly going to pour into Brazil now that they locked up the 2016 Olympics. And finally, the Brazilian economy is well positioned for global growth.

One of my favorite ways to play the Brazilian stock market is through ETF’s-specifically i-shares MSCI Brazil Index. (EWZ). This is not a recommendation to purchase this individual fund, as you need to do your own research and make sure you understand the risks and rewards fully of this fund before you invest. But get busy doing your research.

Women Hit Hardest by a Life Crisis

The financial and emotional implications of a life crisis affect women more than men, according to new research findings from AARP Financial Inc. The survey of 600 men and 600 women age 40-79 looked at four life crises; divorce, death of a spouse, long-term job loss, and serious illness or disability. In all four instances, women struggled more than men.

ROTH IRA conversion opportunity-2010

2010 may prove to be a great time for boomers to create a tax-free income stream for retirement, thanks to the opportunity to complete a ROTH conversion without income limits. 57% of high income boomers are not aware that income limitations on conversions will be eliminated in 2010.

To learn more about the benefits of ROTH IRA conversion, please call or email to schedule an appointment.

Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman- NYT Q & A

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winner, recently held a Q & A with his NYT readers. If you’re interested in reading the latest news about the global economy , especially the U.S economy, click on the link below and it will take you to his responses. I highly recommend taking the time to read it.

From everything he said in the Q & A, the most intriguing to me was the following:

“Q. What are the three most important factors to track (and over what time frame) to gauge if the economy has finally turned the corner. How critical are household wealth and consumer debt in influencing the above factors – are they lagging or predictive indicators?

A.  What I can tell you is what I’m watching. I’m watching unemployment insurance claims – I won’t feel that we’re over the worst until those drop well below 400,000 a week. (they’re still in the mid-5s) I’m watching the ISM surveys, looking for signs of strong (not marginal) growth. And I’m watching the monthly employment reports.

Wealth and debt are predictive factors, not indicators. And for what it’s worth, they’re predicting a long, hard slog.”

Paul Krugman Q & A

“One Year Later, Financial System May Be In Even Worse Shape”

That’s the title of the lead story on the Huffington Post website today-9/25/09.  I encourage you to watch the 5 minute interview with Inspector General of TARP-Neil Barofsky. It’s not good news, but it’s the truth. Kudo’s to the Huffington Post for their excellent investigative journalism-well done.

Click this link to watch the interview:

Neil  Barofsky-Tarp Inspector-9-09