Peace of Mind

Imagine having peace of mind. How does that make you feel? What image or thought enters your mind? I think for many people, it’s a feeling of abundance, of having enough of what you need and then some. Perhaps most importantly, in this state of consciousness, money worries are non-existent and you feel financially secure. So how do you get here?

Financial Independence (FI)

There’s a new flurry of Your Money or Your Life readers discovering or in some cases rediscovering this amazing jewel of a book. This is great news on many levels and I’m grateful to be hearing from many of you. From the recent calls and emails I’ve received, what’s most on your mind seems to be how to achieve financial independence (FI) early rather than later in life. This is a huge boomer trend by the way-early semi-retirement- and one I feel that’s still operating below the radar screen of mainstream media, but I’m sure, not for long.

Budget vs. Cash Flow Planning

Now that the dust has settled from the Great Recession and people are finding the courage to look at their investment statements once again, a new reality is setting in for many people as well as many new questions.  How do I retire with enough financial security so I don’t have to worry about money and how long will it take to rebuild my nest egg?

Look Before You Leap

As stock markets around the world, including ours, continue to rise, investors that pulled their money out of the market last year are beginning to get restless. It’s reported there’s between $3-5 trillion dollars in cash sitting on the sidelines. If you’re someone preparing to invest in the market again, be mindful of the following:

Credit Score-Update

As many of you know, I spent three years working at Fair, Isaac, home of the FICO credit score. Fortunately, I still have some good sources that work there. Here’s the latest news on some changes that are coming our way in terms of how your score is calculated.

Attracting Abundance into Your Life

I was back on the East Coast for a couple of weeks. The humidity was on full display. Who needs a sauna when you have 90% humidity? But allow me to digress.

On the plane ride back to the West Coast, I sat with a woman that was very social. Once she discovered I was a financial planner, she had a lot to talk about. What was really interesting about our conversation was her description of how she manages her personal finances. As she said, money scares her. She gets sick to her stomach every time she has to deal with it or make a decision about what to do with it. She is 72, recently widowed. She was married for 52 years to her soul mate-her words. Gulp! I’m the sentimental type so she sensed I was about to feel sorry for her, or cry, or both, and she wanted no part of that.

Global Economic Indicators

 

 

 

Small Print: This is purely for educational purposes and does not constitute a recommendation to buy. As always, do your own research before making any decisions. The results below are year to date.

 

Global Stock Markets as of June 10, 2009. Percentage increase since 12/31/08 and market index. Data from The Economist.

 

Russia                  77.5%         1,218                    

Brazil                    70.5%       53,410

Indonesia             69.2%          2,108

India                     65.3%       15,466

Chile                     53.4%       15,406

 

Vanguard best performing stock mutual funds year to date:

Precious Metals and Mining        43.76%

Capital Value                                      41.29%

Emerging Markets                             39.73%

Capital Opportunity                         21.54%

Energy Fund                                       26.61%

 

Precious Metals as of June 15, 2009-from Kitco.com

                                Bid                          Ask

Gold                      928                         929

Silver                    14.02                     14.07

Platinum              1205                       1215

Palladium              241                         247

 

Interest rates being offered on 10 year Government Bonds as of 6/10-data from The New York Times.

China                     3.40%

France                   3.99%

Japan                    1.53%

Germany               3.67%

India                      7.35%

Britain                   3.91%

Russia                   10.24%

Hungary                10.15% 

Brazil                     6.16%

Greece                  5.51%

 

 Bon chance!

How to Put a Security Freeze on Your Credit

 

If you live in California, you now have the right to put a “security freeze” on your credit file. A security freeze means that your file cannot be shared with potential creditors. A security freeze can help prevent identity theft. Most businesses will not open credit accounts without first checking a consumer’s credit history. If your credit files are frozen, even someone who has your name and Social Security number would probably not be able to get credit in your name. This easy to follow ‘how to’ link includes sample letters specific to California residents as well as toll free numbers to all three credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union.
View credit freeze information for CA.
Click here for information outside of California.

Financial Wellness

It’s hard to predict what the economy will look like two, five or ten years from now. It’s even harder to predict what the stock and bond markets will look like down the road. So with all that uncertainty, it’s better to focus on what you do have control over vs. what you have zero control over.

Abundance of Investment Choices

You may have noticed the vast amount of new products being churned out by Wall Street lately.  Now I’m all in favor of more options, yet the amount of new “products” being introduced to investors on a daily basis is staggering. Besides regular old fashioned mutual funds, stocks and bonds, we now have a slew of ETF’s, ETN’s,  ishares, global ETF’s, brand new sector funds, and the list goes on. The marketing departments of these large investment houses are well aware that investors like the shiny new objects in the window and as such are catering to our need for buying something new and exciting. Index funds, diversifying your portfolio is so 2008 they’ll tell you, come over here and play the new game…