Investments 2009: What's In Your Wallet?
Kiplinger.Com Boost Your Social Security Benefits These strategies will help you make the most of your benefits. By Susan B. Garland, Editor, Kiplinger's Retirement ReportOctober 22, 2009 EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in the August 2009 issue of Kiplinger's Retirement Report. Excerpts: There is no perfect time to apply for Social Security. You can claim early and take a smaller monthly payment for a longer period of time. Or you can claim later, collecting a larger benefit that is based on a shorter life expectancy. Your decision depends on many things beyond your need for the money: whether you're married, your spouse's earnings compared with yours, how much you have saved and your health. Your goal is to maximize your Social Security benefits, but not all beneficiaries understand how to make the most of this guaranteed source of inflation-adjusted income. Over the years, Kiplinger's Retirement Report has written about little-known strategies to stretch government benefits. Those stories have been among our biggest source of reader inquiries, so we're returning to the topic. Full article Susan B. Garland Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com More Trouble For Housing: Foreclosures Job losses and declining prices, though moderating, are still contributing to mortgage defaults and delinquencies. By Jerome Idaszak, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter October 16, 2009 Excerpts: The rising tide of foreclosures spells trouble for the FHA, the Federal Housing Administration. Despite the agency’s insistence that a taxpayer-funded bailout isn’t in the cards, Uncle Sam’s housing insurance fund likely will need a $50-billion infusion next year to cover losses incurred when some borrowers it has insured default on their mortgages. What’s more, the foreclosure flood will dampen the housing recovery. Sales of foreclosed homes likely will reach 1.9 million in 2010, up from about 1.7 million this year. That compares with a typical tally of about 500,000 foreclosures per year before 2007 when the housing bubble burst. One reason for the coming increase: Mortgage companies have been holding off, as they have struggled to determine which borrowers qualify for federally backed mortgage modifications. But by year-end, the uncertainty should abate as lenders realize that relatively few borrowers will qualify for help. Full aricle Jerome Idaszak Kiplinger Kiplinger.Com BANKING 3 Ways to Avoid Overdraft Fees http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2009/09/overdraft-fees.html If you've ever bounced a check, read this. By Joan Goldwasser, Senior Reporter, Kiplinger's Personal FinanceSeptember 25, 2009 Excerpts: In the galaxy of annoying fees, overdraft charges are among the most irritating-and hardest to avoid. A study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found that three-fourths of banks automatically enrolled customers in overdraft programs and then charged as much as $38 each time they goofed. All told, overdraft fees provided $37 billion in revenue to banks in 2008, according to economic-research firm Moebs Services. The Federal Reserve Board has been considering regulating overdraft protection for several years and expects to publish new rules by the end of the year. The regulations will require that banks either ask your permission to enroll you in an overdraft program or let you opt out. And bills before Congress would require not only that banks get permission to enroll you, but also that they provide clear disclosure of all fees and charges (including the annual percentage rate you pay when the bank covers a bounced check). Consumer outrage and the possibility of congressional action have propelled some of the megabanks to modify their overdraft policies and programs to make them more consumer-friendly. Bank of America, Chase, City National Bank, PNC, U.S. Bank, Wachovia and Wells Fargo recently announced changes, such as lowering their overdraft fee, waiving the fee if you overdraw your account by $5 or $10 or less, and limiting the number of times you can be charged an overdraft fee in a single day. Full article Joan Goldwasser Kiplinger.Com Save at the Settlement Table 4 Keys To A Low Cost Settlement If you're buying a house or refinancing a mortgage, don't pay more than you need to. By Pat Mertz Esswein, Associate Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, September 2009 Excerpts: Closing costs for a home average 3% of the purchase price -- and go as high as 6% in higher-tax areas. Plus, for most loans you must still come up with at least a 5% down payment. But you can use the following strategies to reduce the pain. 1. Have the seller pay closing costs. You can hit up the sellers for some or all of your closing costs. You even get a tax break for mortgage points the seller pays (each point is 1% of the loan amount). Be careful, though. If the sellers have already slashed their price to the bone, they may tell you to take a hike. If the sellers won't play ball and you don't have enough cash for closing -- but you can afford a larger mortgage -- it may make sense to bump up the price you pay for the home and have the sellers use the extra money to pay closing costs for you. Note that there are built-in limits to a seller's generosity: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae allow sellers to pick up closing costs worth 6% of the purchase price for loans with 10% or more down; the Federal Housing Administration allows up to 6%; and the Department of Veterans Affairs allows 4%. 2. Shop loan terms. The "no-cost" mortgage, which rolled most closing costs into your interest rate, has largely disappeared, and lenders have resurrected fees for everything, says Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. Charges vary dramatically, so it pays to shop and negotiate all the loan terms, not just the rate. Cecala says borrowers have regained muscle as the market has become more competitive. Full article Kiplinger.Com helps to entertainment and vacation freebies. Kiplinger.Com SPENDING WISELY Fabulous Freebies 2009 Your money's no good here. Check out these 30 valuable goods and services that don't cost a thing. By Erin Burt, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com August 2009 It's been said that the best things in life are free -- and we couldn't agree more. That's why we're back with our third annual list of our favorite freebies We looked for primo goods and services, no useless junk allowed. And boy, did we find 'em, from financial management and planning Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com STOCKS A Better Way to Get Your Fix The coffee habits of Americans are changing, but you can still profit. By Laura Cohn, Associate Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, August 2009 Excerpts: With consumers shunning Starbucks and its $4 Frappuccinos, firms that make brew-at-home coffee products are reporting strong sales and steady profits as the recession drags on. In particular, producers and distributors of premium coffee beans and coffee makers seem to be on a bit of a caffeine high. More than half of all adult Americans drink coffee, and more of them are starting their day with a shot of java at home. Some 80% of coffee drinkers now make coffee in their own kitchens, says the National Coffee Association. But instead of trading down to no-name brands, caffeine junkies are imbibing the good stuff without shelling out extra money to have someone else brew it. Oprah's pick. One beneficiary of current trends is Peet's Coffee & Tea (symbol PEET). Praised by none other than Oprah Winfrey, Peet's is growing rapidly. The number of grocery stores carrying its beans has doubled in the past four years, to more than 8,000. That's significant because Peet's derives more than two-thirds of its profits from its grocery, home-delivery and food-service sales. Peet's delivers freshly roasted beans directly to grocers. Its sales force pulls beans off the shelf when they get stale -- and makes sure the shelves stay fully stocked. Full article Laura Kohn Kiplinger.Com STOCK WATCH 6 Health-Care Stocks That Make Sense These companies should prosper, regardless of whether the health-care system is reformed. By Andrew Tanzer, Senior Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance July 8, 2009 Excerpts: A thick cloud of political uncertainty has been covering health-care stocks. At the core of the issue: Some reform of the health-care system seems likely, but will the high cost and record federal deficits keep President Obama from getting what he wants? Will some as yet unknown national health-care plan emerge to reengineer the current system? And the big question for investors: Given such uncertainty, does it make sense to invest in health-care stocks before the dust settles? After all, any reform will likely mean cuts in prices of drugs and other health-care products and services, which would squeeze corporate profits. Some smart buys exist, if you pick carefully. Many of the stocks are cheap, and some companies may actually benefit under any scenario. Also, global operators who generate half or more of their revenues from overseas aren't so affected by American health-care politics. Here are six health-care stocks that are reasonable values in this murky environment. Full article Andrew Tanzer Kiplinger.com Social Security Payments Could Shrink for Some By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance July 2, 2009 Excerpts: If there is no cost-of-living increase for Social Security benefits this year, could my Social Security payments actually decrease because of increasing Medicare premiums? Yes, there is a chance that your Social Security payments could shrink next year -- and it's a big issue. It looks like Social Security will not provide a cost-of-living adjustment to beneficiaries in 2010 (and the Congressional Budget Office projects that there may not be another Social Security cost-of-living increase until 2013). But health-care costs continue to rise, and Medicare Part B premiums -- which are designed to cover about 25% of the total costs of Part B -- are also expected to go up. Because Medicare Part B premiums are usually deducted from Social Security payments, some people will see those payments decrease next year. Full article Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Find Health Coverage Before Medicare Whether you retired early by choice or not, you do have options if you no longer have access to employer health insurance. By Susan B. Garland, Editor, Kiplinger's Retirement Report June 10, 2009 Excerpts: It's bad enough that your retirement savings are evaporating. But if you lost your job, retired early or are turning to self-employment, you'll need to budget for health coverage. And the tab could be hefty. Even retirees whose former employers continue to offer coverage until Medicare kicks in at age 65 can expect a bit of sticker shock. As health-care costs continue to rise, companies are reducing coverage or requiring retirees to pay more. Many employers are limiting costs by giving each retiree a fixed contribution to pay for medical care, says Ed Pudlowski, a principal with Ernst & Young. "The employer will tie the payment to age and service -- if you retire at age 55 after ten years you get X number of dollars," Pudlowski says. The money goes into a special account, which is used to reimburse retirees for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Full article Susan B. Garland Kipllinger.Com Kiplinger.Com STARTING OUT Four Financial Rookie Mistakes When striking out on your own, avoid these common money gaffes. By Erin Burt, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com June 25, 2009 Excerpts: When you're starting out, you may not make the smartest choices with your money because you simply don't know better. Wallowing in ignorance can be costly. But learning to manage your money well will pay dividends for the rest of your life. Wise up by avoiding these four common financial gaffes: 1. Procrastinating. Don't be a slacker. In school, there may have been extra credit to make up for laziness, but you'll get no such break in the real world. Stop the procrastination habit now. Putting off the task of learning to manage your money carries costly consequences.
Fail to start investing soon and you'll miss out on years of compound interest. (Get started!) Don't keep a budget and you could sacrifice control of your spending. (Get started!) Full article Erin Burt Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com COLLEGE Money for Grad School Before you commit to a pricey program, check out grants, fellowships and loans. By Jane Bennett Clark, Senior Associate Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, August 2009 Excerpts: When the going gets tough, the tough get going -- to graduate school, that is. In 2001, when the economy took its last tumble, applications to graduate-degree programs doubled and then doubled again in 2002 before starting to drop back in 2003, according to the Council of Graduate Schools. Preliminary data indicates that applications are up again at most schools as would-be students hope to wait out a rough job market. That strategy makes sense if the added credential puts you further along in your career or helps you change careers altogether. Still, at an average total cost of $28,375 a year for a master's degree at a public school and $38,665 at a private school (most master's programs take one to two years), grad school is an expensive way to buff up your resume. Before you commit to it, consider these ways to cover the bills. Shop the schools. Unlike undergraduate programs, which rely on the school's financial-aid office to dispense institutional grants to applicants, graduate programs give each department a pool of money to divvy up. To gauge your odds for bagging a fellowship (otherwise known as a grant) or tuition discount, contact each of the departments you are considering and ask how much money is available and how it is allocated. Full article Jane Bennett Clark Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com RETIREMENT Guaranteed Income for Life Stretch your retirement savings with an annuity. By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2009 Excerpts: Retirees who watched in horror as their account balances plunged along with the stock market now face a new challenge: how to generate enough income to pay their bills. A widely accepted rule of thumb suggests that if you hold initial withdrawals to 4% of your nest egg during the first year of retirement and increase that dollar amount by 3% in each of the following years to keep up with inflation, you won't run out of money over a 30-year retirement. Now even that strategy may not be cautious enough, and you may have to rethink your plans for retirement income. Depending on the extent of your losses, you may want to freeze your withdrawals at current levels, skipping the annual inflation adjustment until the market rebounds. Or, if you suffered significant losses of 30% or more, you may want to restart your 4% withdrawal schedule based on the new, lower balance. But that can take a big bite out of your income. Say you started with a $1-million retirement stash and had been withdrawing more than $40,000 a year. If your savings shriveled to $700,000, you'd now have to get by on just $28,000 a year. Full article Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Health Savings Account Rules for Retirees By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 18, 2009 Excerpts: My wife and I turn 65 this year and will sign up for Medicare. Will we still be able to use the money in our health savings account? You sure can. Even though you can't contribute to an HSA after you sign up for Medicare, you can keep the account and use the money tax-free for medical expenses. In fact, you can use the money in the HSA for anything after age 65, although you will owe taxes on any withdrawals you make for nonmedical expenses. There are plenty of medical expenses to which you can apply the money. For example, you can tap the account for Medicare deductibles and co-payments. You may also be able to use HSA money to cover premiums for Medicare parts A, B and D (prescription-drug coverage), and to pay Medicare Advantage plan premiums. You may also use HSA money to help pay qualified long-term-care premiums. However, you can't use HSA money tax-free to pay medigap premiums. For more information about health savings accounts, see Health Savings Account Answers. For more information about your health-insurance options after age 65, see Your Medicare Owner's Manual. Full article Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com CAREERS 6 Companies Hiring New Grads In our informal survey, we found employers that have entry-level jobs with decent pay and good benefits. By Jane Bennett Clark, Senior Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 17, 2009 Editor's Note: Tina E. Korbe contributed to the writing of this article. Excerpts: For the class of 2009, jumping into the job market is like diving into the swimming pool on the first hot day of summer: For a few seconds, you're exhilarated. But once you're in the water, you're just plain shocked. How cold is that water? Bone-chilling. Fewer than one in five graduating students who were seeking jobs had landed one by May, according to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) -- versus more than half of those graduating in 2007, the last comparable survey. Fewer employers are hiring students right out of school according to the study, and, what's even more discouraging, about half say they have no plans for hiring anytime soon. Result: Recent grads with no offers may have to broaden their search beyond their career path, at least temporarily, says Mimi Collins, of NACE. "They need to be flexible and open-minded." The good news is that grads who take that advice can find entry-level jobs with decent pay, good benefits and employee-friendly cultures at these six companies. Full article Jane Bennett Clark Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Funds That Profit From a Falling Dollar Long-term the greenback is headed down. Insulate your wealth against its decline with these funds. By Elizabeth Ody, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 18, 2009 Excerpts: Take it from Wayne Gretzky: In your portfolio, as in hockey, you want to skate to where the puck is going, not to where it's been. So even though the U.S. dollar has moved higher over the past year, you should follow the economic clues that point in the opposite direction: down. The hefty U.S. current-account deficit, which clocked in at $673 billion in 2008, tells much of the story. That figure represents the difference between what the U.S. pays to other countries for goods, services and income from investments, and what it receives from other countries. As Axel Merk, chief investment officer and president of Merk Investments, explains, the gap implies that foreign investors have to purchase more than $2 billion of dollar-denominated assets every day just to keep the dollar from falling. Foreigners gladly snapped up dollar-denominated assets, particularly Treasury bills and bonds, in late 2008 and early 2009, when financial Armageddon loomed. The dollar is, after all, still the world's reserve currency and considered highly safe. That flight to safety fueled a 25% rise in the value of the greenback against a basket of developed-market currencies over the year through March 5. Full article Elizabeth Ody Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com BANKS 7 Great Online Bank Deals With high-interest checking, low fees and reimbursements for ATM withdrawals, these financial institutions are gunning for your business. By Laura Cohn, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 17, 2009 Excerpts: If you're looking for a little extra return on your cash (and who isn't?), online banks are a good place to start. You can find checking accounts with 2% to 3% yields -- well above the average bank yield of 0.94% and way above what you get at Bank of America (0.01%) or Citibank (0.1%). Likewise, you can get a yield as high as 2.05% on your savings, a lot better than the bank average of 1.37%. Online banks tend to charge lower fees than money-center financial institutions, which are slamming consumers with higher monthly maintenance charges, not to mention ever-rising fees for overdrafts, balance transfers and overseas transactions. An online bank may also be a good choice if you travel a lot or tend to stray from your bank's ATM network. Most reimburse you for using another bank's ATMs, at least up to a certain dollar amount. Full article Laura Kohn Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com STOCK WATCH 5 Stocks Dad Will Love For Father's Day, consider shares of companies with good long-term prospects. By Ilana Polyak, Contributing Writer, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 16, 2009 Excerpts: Dads, you're probably expecting a tie or a set of power tools this Father's Day. If you have enough of those already (or even if you don't), we have a gift you'll really appreciate: Our picks for shares of stock in companies that cater to your tastes. Many dads, for example, like to fix things around the house, regardless of their skills -- or lack thereof. There's something about attacking a squeaky screen door that a father can't pass up. So perhaps Pop would enjoy some shares of Home Depot (symbol HD), which sees plenty of do-it-yourselfers wandering the aisles. Still, even the biggest home-improvement retailer is struggling through the housing slump. Compared with the same period a year ago, sales fell 9.7% during the company's first quarter, which ended May 3. "Anything related to housing is pretty beaten up," says Morningstar analyst Brady Lemos. Full article Ilana Polyak Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com SMART SAVING AND SPENDING Summer Travel Deals for Procrastinators Jun 15, 2009 Excerpts: If you plan to take a trip to the beach this summer but haven't booked a place to stay yet, you're in luck -- not only because rentals still are available but also because they're slashing prices. According to SmarterTravel.com, several cottages and condos have discounts up to 50% on weekly stays. If you have a favorite beach, check with rental companies to see if any vacation rental owners are offering a discount -- plenty are. My family and I recently stayed at a beachfront condo in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., that had $250 knocked off the weekly price. Full article Kips Tips Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger Recovery Index June 13, 2009 Excerpts: Identifying a turn in the economy is tricky business, especially when each day's news seems to bring conflicting information. To cut through the noise, we've identified six key economic indicators. All have posted some dramatic tumbles, but all are also showing signs that they may be bottoming, several are recovering, and interest rate spreads have recently returned to health. When at least three of the six indicators go fully positive -- with a check mark from us -- it's more than likely that the recession has ended. Full article Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Obama's Deficit Ball and Chain By Richard Sammon Excerpts: President Obama is vowing to get real about deficit reduction. He has to. The flood of red ink threatens to push up interest rates and short circuit a recovery. It will also undermine his domestic agenda and could drive away foreign investments. Even though Obama inherited much of the deficit from the Bush years, it will be his fiscal nemesis and it is turning into welcome ammunition for Republicans. It will be a Democratic Party ball and chain for years to come. The deficit will come in this year at $1.8 trillion or so, about 12% of GDP, and more than $1 trillion next year. Chalk it up largely to the recession and lower federal tax revenues, continued heavy war costs, the economic stimulus, various federal bailouts and expanded social safety net obligations in the recession. The national debt stands at a whopping 60% of annual GDP, up from 40% in 2007. It's clearly unsustainable, and doing nothing, or even a little, is courting a failure that will come at a crushing long term cost to American prosperity and progress. Pointing the finger of blame backward to earlier policies of former presidents doesn't work either... Full article Richard Sammon Kiplinger.Com Higher Rates Won’t Sink Home Sales Most of the increase in interest rates is behind us, though inflation fears still lurk.
By Jerome Idaszak, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter June 11, 2009 Deflation Danger Waning, But Not Gone Excerpts:
Long-term interest rates will continue to edge higher, spurred by hopes that an economic recovery is taking shape as well as fears that that recovery will fuel inflation. Bond buyers are already edgy over a federal budget deficit that will top 12% of gross domestic product, the highest percentage in 60 years. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond this week is just below 4%, up more than 1.5 percentage points since Jan. 1, with most of the increase coming in the past five weeks. The 10-year Treasury yield will stay between 3.5% and 4% for the rest of 2009, which will hurt mortgage refinancing activity. Refinancings had been on the rise until 30-year fixed rate mortgages jumped to 5.3% from 4.8% during the past two weeks in the aftermath of a jump in long-term Treasury yields. Full article Jerome Idaszak Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com A Tax Break for Sending the Kids to Camp By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 9, 2009 Does the cost of summer camp qualify for the child-care tax credit? Excerpts: It can. You can claim the dependent-care tax credit for the cost of day camp if your children are younger than 13 and you're sending them to camp so you can work or look for work (the cost of overnight camp doesn't count). You can also write off the cost of day care, preschool, before- or after-school care, a nanny or other baby sitter while you are working. If you're married, both you and your spouse must have earned income in 2009 to qualify. The size of the credit depends on the number of children and your income. You can count up to $3,000 in child-care expenses for one child or $6,000 for two or more children. The size of the credit gradually decreases as income increases. Families earning less than $15,000 can take a credit for up to 35% of those expenses; families earning more than $43,000 can deduct 20% of the eligible costs. So if you have two children and pay more than $6,000 for care, you can claim a $1,200 credit if you earn more than $43,000. This is a credit -- not a deduction -- so it lowers your tax bill dollar for dollar. To claim the credit, you'll need to file Form 2441 with your tax return (see the 2008 Form 2441 for the basic information; the 2009 form should be available in the fall). You'll need to know the care provider's employer identification number or Social Security number. For more details about which expenses qualify - especially if you work part-time or get child-care benefits through work - see IRS Publication 503 Child and Dependent Care Expenses and the instructions for Form 2441. Full article Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.Com Cash in on the Recovery A glimmer of hope for the economy translates into big gains for stocks. It's not too late to buy. By Andrew Tanzer, Senior Associate Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2009 Excerpts: The U.S. remains mired in what will likely enter the history books as the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression. But there are signs the cycle is turning. Prices for economically sensitive commodities, such as copper and oil, have bottomed. Credit markets are returning to life. Businesses have slashed inventories, which will eventually have to be restocked. Confidence among consumers and business executives is rebounding from extremely depressed levels. The rate of decline in housing prices appears to be slowing. The strongest hint of change may be coming from the stock market. From its March 9 close through May 8, Standard & Poor's 500-stock index soared 37%. Skeptics say the rousing rebound is nothing more than a bear-market rally. But it's hard to ignore an advance of such magnitude, especially when combined with solid indications that an economic bottom is at hand (for a look at some key signs, see How to Spot the Bottom). "A few months ago people worried about the survivability of the financial system," says William Greiner, chief investment officer of UMB Asset Management. "Now they focus on when the recession will end." After plunging 25% in the opening ten weeks of 2009, the market was flat for the year as of May 8. We still think there is a good chance that U.S. stocks will finish '09 with a gain of 5% to 8%, as we predicted in our January Outlook 2009 story. The Dow Jones industrial average, which closed at 8575 on May 8, could hit 9500 during 2009. That would be welcome relief from a harrowing 17-month-long bear market that pummeled stocks by 55%. Full article Andrew Tanzer Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Set Out on Your Own as a Consultant After decades in the workforce, you may have the knowledge and contacts to go it alone. By Rebecca M. Knight, Contributing Writer, Kiplinger's Retirement Report June 2, 2009 EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in the April 2009 issue of Kiplinger's Retirement Report. To subscribe, click here. Excerpts: Cynthia Currence always dreamed that she would one day retire early from her company and set out on her own as a consultant. Last January, when she lost her job as a marketing manager at the American Cancer Society during a corporate reorganization, the opportunity presented itself earlier than she had expected. One year later, Currence, 52, who lives in Atlanta, is a consultant with more than ten clients, including the Atlanta Falcons football team. "It's challenging, and it was scary at first," she says. "But it's a lot of fun." In the face of rising corporate layoffs and declining opportunities for salaried employment, a growing number of workers are becoming independent consultants. Recent retirees whose investments have been hit hard by the falling stock market are also taking consulting jobs in order to replenish their portfolios. Full article Rebecca M. Knight Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com STARTING OUT Guide to Apartment Dwelling Don't let your new place become a financial nightmare. Here are eight tips to help you get the most out of your rental -- and your money. By Erin Burt September 18, 2008 Excerpts: Finding an apartment that fits your budget is only half the battle. Renting comes with many financial challenges that aren't always obvious. For instance, your wallet could take a hit if you don't read the fine print of your lease, don't protect yourself against a deadbeat roommate or don't know how to deal with your landlord. Here are eight tips to help you get the most out of your rental -- and your money. 1. Search smart. Prices for life's expenses can vary widely from apartment to apartment. So pay attention to these costs when choosing a place to live. For instance, consider your commuting costs and parking fees. Utilities and services are another wild card. Does the landlord pay a portion of your utilities, such as water and garbage? Or will you be charged separately for everything? See Seven Sins of First-Time Renters for more. 2. Read -- and understand -- your lease. A lease is a legally binding contract between you and the landlord, spelling out each of your rights and the rules you must abide by while living in the space. Every lease will include some basic information, such as the length of the lease (say, six months or one year), the amount of rent due and the amount of the security deposit. Full article Erin Burt Kiplinger.Com KIPLINGER.COM SPENDING WISELY Wedding Bells on a Budget Haggle your way to a fabulous yet frugal affair. By Stacy Rapacon, Reporter From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, June 2009 June 6, 2009 Excerpts: A rotten economy is the poisoned apple in many fairy-tale weddings this year. Some 75% of brides-to-be are tightening their white satin belts, reports a recent survey conducted for retailer David's Bridal. Some couples are even delaying their nuptials, says Denise Fields, who co-wrote the book Bridal Bargains with her husband, Alan. The average cost of a wedding fell 24% last year, from $28,704 in 2007 to $21,814 in 2008, according to the Wedding Report, a research company that tracks the industry. In 2009, the average is expected to drop to $20,398. With the industry feeling the pinch, many vendors are offering discounts and incentives, says Fields. Knowing what competing businesses are charging will help you get a fair price. Plus, you can use the information as a bargaining chip. Name your own price. To capture some big savings for her Saturday-night event, June bride Jackie Ko challenged rival hotels to go head-to-head for her business. She and her groom, Greg Dillon, had their hearts set on one hotel in New Jersey, which originally quoted a whopping $275 per person. A nearby hotel came in at $215 a head. Ko let both venues know that she and Dillon were interested and asked for a $195-per-person rate. The hotels agreed but set different requirements for the minimum number of guests. Full article Stacy Rapacon Kiplinger.Com Best Cities: It's All About Jobs Stable employment and new career opportunities give these cities an edge. From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2009 Excerpts: What a difference a year makes. Last summer, the energy and finance sectors of the economy seemed to be thriving, and manufacturing was going strong. Today, many cities are relying on government programs, universities and stalwart industries, such as health care, to bolster employment in a weak economy. Those factors appeared frequently when we assembled candidates for our 2009 Best Cities list, which focuses on places that have stable employment plus the talent to create new, well-paying positions. A robust job market makes these cities safe havens during the recession and will give them a head start toward growth when the recovery takes off. When our numbers guru, Kevin Stolarick, evaluated U.S. cities for their growth potential, he looked not just at the overall number of jobs, but also at the quality of those positions and the ability of cities to hold on to them when the economy softens. (See our Methodology) Says Stolarick, who is research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity: "Although downturns are felt by everyone, our research has shown that the impact is less severe for those in the creative class -- people who are paid to think." Full article Kiplinger.Com 7 Ways Your Money Will Never Be the Same Don't expect the economy to "get back on track." It's a new track, folks, and here's how to navigate it. By Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 4, 2009 Excerpts: There's a whiff of economic recovery in the air, and investors have been feeling frisky as of late. Just another bout of irrational exuberance, you ask, to be followed by another bust? One thing that's certain, however, is that the Great Recession, the credit crisis and the past year's meltdown in financial markets will change how you handle your finances. In many ways, your money will never be the same.RELATED LINKS Lessons From the Meltdown 1. Investments: Less risk In the old days -- before 2008, that is -- an aggressive portfolio had 80% or more of its assets in stocks. No matter how well you're doing now or how well you or others think stocks will do in the years ahead, investors are so shell-shocked from their bear-market losses that it will be a long time before they will be confident enough to justify that high a proportion of stocks within their total portfolio. Full article Jeffrey R. Kossnet Kiplinger.Com KIPLINGER.COM KIPLINGER CLASSIC Eight Keys to Financial Security Pay yourself first. Protect your loved ones. Borrow sparingly. And don't go for the home run. Investments 2009 By Knight Kiplinger, Editor in Chief, Kiplinger publications December 2008 Author's note: Over many years of publishing Kiplinger's magazine, my colleagues and I have built up a deep institutional memory of personal-finance wisdom, and I'd like to share some of it with you. Investments 2009 The advice below first appeared in the 50th anniversary of the magazine in 1997, and, in a lightly revised form, again in 2002. I hope it helps you in today's difficult times. Full article Knight Kiplinger, Editor in Chief, Kiplinger publications SBA Stirring Up Loans for Small Companies A more aggressive Small Business Administration is making some headway in improving lending conditions for small businesses. By Jonathan N. Crawford, Researcher-Reporter, the Kiplinger letters June 2, 2009 Smaller banks will be a growing source of small business loans. More will participate in government loan guarantee programs as initiatives from the Obama administration take effect and market conditions begin to improve. The Small Business Administration (SBA) will add staff and other resources to streamline its loan operations and outreach to banks, trying to reverse a 50% slide in bank participation since 2001. Getting more banks to participate in SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan programs will give small firms more access to needed capital while conventional small business loans and credit cards are hard to obtain. Jonathan N. Crawford Kiplinger.Com STOCKS What General Motors' Bankruptcy Means to Investors Why the worthless stock may still be in play. Plus, what should bondholders expect? By Thomas M. Anderson, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance June 2, 2009 General Motors' bankruptcy filing is particularly devastating for stock investors. Excerpts: Unless the government intervenes, current shareholders in GM will be wiped out; the stock becomes worthless because shareholders have no claims on GM assets in bankruptcy court. The stock (symbol GM) was unchanged on June 1, closing at 75 cents. The unlikely steadiness in GM's stock price on the day of the bankruptcy announcement may be attributed to two known groups of investors: speculators, who bought shares expecting that the government would bail out not only the company but shareholders as well, and short sellers, who were betting that the stock's price would fall and covered their positions to lock in gains. Here are the next steps in the game plan: The New York Stock Exchange will delist GM shares on June 2. The shares will continue to trade over the counter on the pink sheets and the OTC Bulletin Board. Dow Jones plans to remove GM from the Dow Jones industrial average on June 8 (the company has been a component of the Dow continuously since 1925). Cisco Systems (CSCO), the telecommunications-equipment giant, will replace GM in the Dow industrials. Full article Thomas M. Anderson Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Six Money Mistakes of Newlyweds Whether you're planning a walk down the aisle this spring or you've already gotten hitched, watch out for these financial pitfalls that can strain even the strongest marriage. By Erin Burt, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com April 28, 2009 Four words no one wants to hear soon after his or her wedding day: "We made a mistake." Excerpts: I’m talking about financial choices -- not your choice of spouse. Unfortunately, many newlyweds set themselves up for failure soon after they say "I do." If you bring bad money habits to the marriage or fail to come up with a plan to merge your financial lives, you could potentially doom your relationship to money trouble -- and endless arguments. Not exactly "happily ever after." However, nothing says "I love you" like the desire to start your marriage on the right financial foot (roses, schmoses). Here are six common pitfalls that trip up new couples. Steer clear of these, and you'll decrease the money tension and increase the harmony in your new life together. Full article Erin Burt Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Want a New Car in a Few Years? Dig Deep New fuel efficiency standards and auto industry woes will drive price tags skyward. By Jim Ostroff, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter May 28, 2009 Government Control Will Mean Huge Change for Auto Industry Excerpts: One product price that's sure to climb sharply into the next decade: autos. With sales likely to remain in the tank at well below 16 million annually in coming years, the high volume, low margin sales model employed by carmakers will bite the dust. Instead, U.S.-based automakers and foreign car companies will slap much higher sticker prices on cars and trucks starting in 2011 or so, once the economy is in full swing again. Automakers will have little choice because the environmental and energy policies squeeze production of big SUVs and sedans plus pickup trucks, which accounted for the majority of new vehicle sales in most of this decade. Automakers won't flinch from passing along higher costs because they recognize their long-time business model is busted. They no longer can emulate the supermarket model that depends on high-volume sales to make up for razor-thin profits. Annual sales won't reach 16 million vehicles again for perhaps another five years and projections that auto companies would soon sell nearly 18 million now are dismissed as a pipe dream. Full article Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Kips Tips What to Expect of Summer Gas Prices Go To Kips Tips Kiplinger.Com It was hard to miss last weekend's gas prices. They rose just enough to bring back memories of last year's run up. But you can put your fears aside. In our most recent forecast, Jim Ostroff of the Kiplinger Letter follows trends in crude oil and gas prices through early fall. All you need to know is that gas prices won't creep too far above $2.50 gallon. Here's why: ". . . Expect more or less the same pattern for gasoline prices: First, up another 20¢ to about $2.50. Kilduff notes that in the current economic climate, motorists will cut back if prices get much above that level, acting as an automatic brake on further price hikes. Following the July 4 holiday weekend, prices should drift down until Labor Day. A brief uptick for end-of-summer road trips is probable. Then, prices will stabilize till November or December." 2009 BEST CITIES Best Cities: It's All About Jobs Stable employment and new career opportunities give these cities an edge. From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2009 What a difference a year makes. Last summer, the energy and finance sectors of the economy seemed to be thriving, and manufacturing was going strong. Today, many cities are relying on government programs, universities and stalwart industries, such as health care, to bolster employment in a weak economy. Those factors appeared frequently when we assembled candidates for our 2009 Best Cities list, which focuses on places that have stable employment plus the talent to create new, well-paying positions. A robust job market makes these cities safe havens during the recession and will give them a head start toward growth when the recovery takes off. When our numbers guru, Kevin Stolarick, evaluated U.S. cities for their growth potential, he looked not just at the overall number of jobs, but also at the quality of those positions and the ability of cities to hold on to them when the economy softens. (See our Methodology) Says Stolarick, who is research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity: "Although downturns are felt by everyone, our research has shown that the impact is less severe for those in the creative class -- people who are paid to think." Full article Kiplinger.Com Six Ways to Emerge Victorious from the Recession Companies offer lessons in how to do more than just make it through hard times, but also how to thrive in them. By Jon Frandsen, Senior Editor, Kiplinger.com May 27, 2009 Editor's Note: This is the second part of an article looking at the shape of the economy and how businesses are coping with it. Excerpts: It's a brutal reality in today's tough times: A business' first obligation during a recession is survival. But a company also must make choices that won't leave it crippled and unable to respond to pent-up demand when the economy starts to recover. Cutting costs is essential, but making the wrong cuts can be fatal. Make cuts that will affect customer service the least, advises Bill Dunkelberg, the chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). Labor accounts for about 80% of a business' costs, so staff reductions are inevitable for many companies, he notes. But look for those which preserve positive customer relations or those that can be made up through productivity gains and automation. Take aim at fixed costs -- or what seem like fixed costs. Everyone is in the same boat, so your suppliers and landlords may be willing to reduce their charges and rents. Less income is better than no income from lost sales or leaving property vacant. Shake the expense tree hard, and remember that a "no" is not always a "no." Contracts can be very difficult to change, but not impossible. "Our PR firm wouldn't negotiate, so we decided to do the job in-house and gave them the required 30-day notice. They came back to us two months later with a plan that costs a third less than what we had been paying," says Robert Haaverson, CEO of Imanami, a business software firm in Livermore, Calif. Full article Kiplinger.Com Jon Frandsen Savings Strategies for Military Families Tax-free combat pay can go into a Roth IRA and that money -- and all the earnings on it -- come out tax-free in retirement. Now that's a sweet deal. By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance February 23, 2009 Excerpts: Members of the military have special financial-planning needs. And, as a servicemember, you have access to many valuable investing programs that aren't available to the general public. You may qualify for a pension in your late thirties or forties, far earlier than any civilian, and could receive health benefits for life. But there's no "partial vesting." You won't get anything unless you stay in the military for 20 years, and, frankly, most people don't stick around that long. Even if you do qualify for a pension, it's doubtful that the payments will cover all your bills. You're usually entitled to 50% of your base salary if you retire at 20 years (and an extra 2.5% for every year you stay beyond 20 years). Plus, and this is a real sweetener, the amount is increased each year after you retire to keep up with inflation. But special pay and allowances (such as your housing allowance) don't count toward your pension calculation, so you could end up with much less than half of the income you're earning at the time you retire. Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.com Kiplinger.Com INVESTING FOR NON-EXPERTS Earn Up to 10% a Month on Your Investments (If You Like Risk) May 20, 2009 Excerpts: Think this sounds like a scam? It's not. Our senior investing editor Jeff Kosnett sifted through piles of historical and current data from bond funds, ETFs, trusts and stocks looking for the highest and most reliable dividend-paying sources. Then he configured three portfolios to suit investors with various risk levels. These investments are paid out monthly and are good for those who need more income now, versus 20 years from now. See what it takes to maximize your dividend income? Kosnett's High-Risk, High-Yield Plan for the Recession AftermathEstimated yield: 9.5% 1. Put 35% in energy trusts. Energy is still the leading category to hunt for high current income. The typical royalty trust or master limited partnership is priced to yield about 10%. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT), Enerplus, Penn West Energy Trust (PWE) and Provident Energy Trust (PVX). All are fairly diversified. Avoid trusts that sell only natural gas. Gas should be a good long-term investment, but there's a surplus of it now and its price will stay depressed longer than oil's price will. Full article Kips Tips Kiplinger.Com Things to Avoid When Trying to Cut Health Costs By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance May 21, 2009 Excerpts: Everyone's looking for ways to trim expenses now, and I've been getting a lot of questions from readers about strategies for reducing health-insurance costs. But I've also seen people make big mistakes in an attempt to save money. Avoid the following pitfalls, which can actually end up costing you more money. 1. Focusing too much on premiums. Switching to a lower-premium policy isn't always the best move. You need to look at out-of-pocket costs as well as premiums. A low-premium policy with high coinsurance charges for drugs you use or doctors you visit could cost you a lot more by the end of the year. For example, more plans are switching from co-payments (in which you pay a fixed dollar amount for doctor's visits and prescriptions) to coinsurance (in which you pay a percentage of the cost). Most plans have three or more pricing tiers for prescription drugs, charging the lowest amount for generics (such as $10 or 10%) and charging a higher cost share for preferred brand-name drugs, more for nonpreferred brand-name drugs, and even more ($75 or 25% is average) for specialty drugs. If you take expensive medications and the insurer charges a high coinsurance rate, you could pay a lot more money out of your pocket than you would with a higher-premium policy that requires smaller co-pays. Also, some plans charge a fixed-dollar co-pay for hospital stays, while others charge a percentage of the cost or have a separate hospital deductible, which can cost you a lot more. Full article Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Carmakers Sweeten the Deal Can you really return the car if you lose your job? By Jessica L. Anderson, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance April 8, 2009 Excerpts: Faced with sales so bad they're breaking records, automakers have pulled out all the stops on incentives. The average inducement was $3,169 per vehicle sold in March, up 30% compared with March 2008, according to Edmunds.com. But a few of automakers are finding novel ways to entice financially shell-shocked customers. Hyundai is tapping into the fear of job loss with its Assurance program. "We're all in this together, and we'll all get through it together," assures the voice-over for Hyundai's recent ads. Here's the deal: If you buy or lease a new Hyundai then lose your job in the following 12 months, Hyundai will let you return the car. They'll also forgive up to $7,500 in depreciation on the car, so in most cases you simply drop off the keys and walk away. The idea came from focus groups the carmaker worked with last fall, says Joel Ewanick, vice-president of marketing for Hyundai. "We could see the market changing, and people were significantly nervous about their income in 2009," he says. "This is not your garden-variety recession, and it seemed that no matter how great the deals were, what was going to hold people back from buying a car was this fear." Full article Jessica L. Anderson Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com SPENDING WISELY | BEST VALUES IN CARS, TECH, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT 5 Essential Summer Car-Care Tips Before hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend, make sure your ride is in good condition. By Jessica L. Anderson, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance May 20, 2009 Excerpts: The weak economy is still putting a damper on travel, but low gasoline prices are enticing people into their cars. According to AAA, 27 million people will take a road trip this Memorial Day weekend, up from 26.3 million last year. Last summer, travelers battled record-high gas prices -- a gallon of regular fuel cost $3.94, on average, on Memorial Day 2008. As Memorial Day 2009 approaches, the national average is $2.24 a gallon. If you drive 300 miles and your vehicle gets 25 miles per gallon, you'll spend about $20 less on fuel. Before you pack up the car, run through our checklist to make sure your ride is in good condition: Full article Jessica L. Anderson Kiplinger.Com Building a Future in Hard Times Kiplinger.Com How businesses can turn needed cutbacks into innovation, productivity and profit. By Jon Frandsen, Senior Editor, Kiplinger.com May 20, 2009 Excerpts: Just how bad is it? Think of it this way: What passes for good news these days is that the economy appears to be getting worse more slowly. But what is confounding businesses is not how awful the economy is -- after all, recessions are a part of the business cycle -- but how the economy may be changing and what those changes portend for years to come. The problem, of course, is the specter that this recession might be something much bigger than a typical cyclical downturn, and that is reinforced every time another corporation goes into Chapter 11 or disappears. To avoid using the "D" word, some economists have created new labels, calling the period a "reset" or referring to it as "the Great Recession," for example. But whatever you call it, the consumer is probably not coming back with a wide-open wallet and fistful of credit cards anytime soon. Americans are shell-shocked and frightened, in a way they haven't been since the 1930s. Household net worth has taken its deepest plunge since the Federal Reserve began keeping such records in 1952. Unemployment is at a 25-year high and headed higher. As a result, consumers are cutting debt and socking away cash at rates not seen in years. Kiplinger.Com Where to Find Top Yields From safe municipal bonds to risky closed-end bond funds, just about everything is on sale. By Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Senior Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, June 2009 Excerpts: It's been an excruciating year for income hogs, their favorite investments obliterated by the recession and the credit crunch. Since September, high-yielding standbys such as real estate investment trusts, master limited partnerships, business-development companies, and oil-and-gas royalty trusts have lost 50% or more. Junk bonds and emerging-markets debt have improved of late, but they've still sustained double-digit losses. From calamity, however, springs opportunity. Many income securities are now tantalizingly cheap. Moreover, issuers of high-yielding stocks and bonds are sure to benefit from reflation -- the stimulation of global economies through massive government spending and rock-bottom interest rates. Reflation, which implies higher inflation, will hurt low-yielding Treasury bonds, but it should boost the profits of energy producers, real estate operators and highly leveraged companies that need to raise prices to prosper. The bear market in most income investments has resulted in lower cash payouts, too. With virtually all segments of the real estate sector suffering, dozens of REITs have cut their distributions, and many are paying dividends mainly in stock. Energy trusts have trimmed their disbursements because of low prices for oil, natural gas and other products. Led by financials, hundreds of companies have cut or suspended dividends on their common stock this year. Full article Jeffrey R. Kosnett Kiplinger.Com ASK KIM What You Need to Know About the Thrift Savings Plan By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance May 14, 2009 Excerpts: I invested in my former employer's 401(k) plan for years, then lost my job. I now work for the federal government and have the opportunity to invest in the Thrift Savings Plan. How does this plan work, and can I roll my 401(k) money into it? The Thrift Savings Plan is a lot like a 401(k) for federal employees and members of the military, and many more people are likely to be introduced to it over the next year or so, as the federal government becomes a good source of new jobs in this economy. As with a 401(k), your contributions to the TSP lower your taxable income and grow tax-deferred until retirement. Many federal employees get an employer match (it generally depends on the retirement system you belong to), although most members of the military do not. The contribution limits are similar to those in a 401(k) -- you can contribute up to $16,500 to the Thrift Savings Plan in 2009, plus an extra $5,500 in catch-up contributions if you're 50 or older. (Members of the military who are deployed can contribute all of their tax-exempt combat-zone pay, as long as their total contributions for the year don't exceed $49,000). You'll generally have to pay a 10% penalty - as you would with a 401(k) -- if you leave your job before age 55 and withdraw the money (there is an exception for eligible military reservists called to duty for more than 179 days). Full article Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com PERSONAL FINANCE GUIDE FOR MILITARY FAMILIES To U.S. Military Personnel and Their Families The financial strategies, rules and resources for military families are often very different from those for civilians. February 2009 Knight A. Kiplinger, Editor in Chief, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and Kiplinger.com Steven J. Cole, President and CEO, Council of Better Business Bureaus Excerpts: We are pleased to present you with a personal-finance guide created especially for military families. While our troops carry out their difficult and dangerous missions, we know that they and their families are not immune to the financial turmoil that is impacting every household in America. Times are tough and it is harder than ever to make ends meet, let alone save money for future expenses such as college and retirement. That's where the Kiplinger-BBB Personal Finance Guide for Military Families comes in. On these pages you will find practical, easy-to-understand information about being financially prepared for deployment, buying a home, minimizing taxes, holding down insurance costs and avoiding financial schemes that too often target military families. This guide is a collaboration between two organizations that have been helping consumers -- including members of the military -- for a long time. When the Kiplinger Magazine (now called Kiplinger's Personal Finance) was launched in 1947, a driving motivation was to provide sound, unbiased personal-finance advice to military personnel returning to the workforce after World War II. Full article Knight A. Kiplinger, Stephen J. Cole Kiplinger.Com Simplify Your Life Streamline your finances, cut the clutter and free up time for things that matter. By Laura Cohn, Associate Editor Pat Mertz Esswein, Associate EditorCandice Lee Jones, ReporterElizabeth Ody, Associate Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, June 2009 Excerpts: Below you will find smart moves you can make to consolidate and simplify your investments, retirement plans, credit cards and more. SIMPLE INVESTING Among the tactics revealed in the full article on simple investing, you should consider: * Consolidating your assets in fewer accounts to cut down on paperwork and save money on fees. * Buying index funds, which replicate an index of stocks or bonds and will provide at least average returns. * Looking to target-date funds if you want only one investment because they handle asset allocation and rebalance automatically. MONEY TASKS MADE EASY Full article Kiplinger.Com CARS Great Deals on Used Cars Snap one up before demand pushes prices higher. By Jessica L. Anderson, Associate Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, June 2009 Excerpts: As the new-car industry slides deeper into misery, the used-car market is holding rock-steady. In fact, the forces that have sunk sales of new vehicles-tight credit and a shaky job outlook-have helped buoy used-car sales. At the same time, used-car dealers are flush with vehicles that they have to price low enough to undercut fire-sale prices on new cars. Ben and Wendy McCurdy of Farmington, Minn., near Minneapolis, found a 2008 Ford Taurus at the nearby Apple Valley dealership for just $18,000. That's a couple thousand dollars less than prices they found elsewhere-and way below the $27,000-plus they would have paid for a 2009 Taurus after a recent $4,000 rebate. Originally in the market for another Honda Accord to replace their 1997 trade-in, the McCurdys were swayed by the price on the fully loaded Taurus, the low mileage (just 10,000 miles on the odometer) and the "certified" designation. As a certified used vehicle, it was inspected by factory technicians and sold with an extended warranty. Plus, the original basic warranty for three years or 36,000 miles was still in effect. "We knew we wanted a recent-model used car so that it would have some warranty left and low mileage," says Wendy. "It could act like a new car and we could really get the value out of it." It didn't hurt that the car had leather seats and Microsoft's Sync technology for seamless cell-phone calls and MP3 playback. Where The Deals Are Don't spring for a late-model used car without first checking prices for the brand-new model. According to a recent Edmunds.com survey, many new cars are actually cheaper than the year-old model when you factor in low-rate financing. Full article Jessica L. Anderson Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com REAL ESTATE Great Homes at Deep Discounts Rock-bottom prices and mortgage rates are luring buyers back into the market. By Pat Mertz Esswein, Associate Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, May 2009 Excerpts: Home prices may not have hit bottom quite yet, but they are finally low enough to draw bargain hunters. The national median home price has fallen 26% since its peak in early 2006, according to Fiserv Lending Solutions, a home-price research firm. Sales are especially brisk where prices have dropped sharply and foreclosures are rampant-in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida-partly because foreclosures put pressure on traditional sellers to cut their prices, too. Nationwide, nearly half of all sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 were "distressed"-mainly foreclosures, but also sales by homeowners selling for less than they owe on their mortgage-according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Foreclosures will continue to rise with the jobless rate and the next wave of subprime-mortgage delinquencies, despite relief efforts by lenders and the Obama administration. And most experts don't expect home prices to start recovering until 2010; in fact, Fiserve forecasts that the median price will fall by another 14% in 2009. That, plus the dour economy, will keep many buyers at bay. Still, it's a good time to snag a bargain if you're confident in your job prospects and you don't plan to sell for at least five years. The NAR says homes haven't been this affordable since the 1970s: Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are hovering near 5%, and with so many homes for sale, you can be as picky as you like. If you're a first-time buyer and you close on a home before the end of November, you'll be eligible for an $8,000 tax credit, too. Full article Pat Mertz Esswein Kiplinger.Com HEALTH INSURANCE FOR NEW GRADS ASK KIM By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance May 11, 2009 Excerpts: My daughter is graduating from college this month, but she hasn't found a job that offers health insurance. Can she stay on my policy? It depends on where you live. In the past, children were generally dropped from their parents' health insurance when they turned 18 or 19, or when they graduated from college. But more than 20 states now require insurers to cover dependent children on their parents' policies until the kids are in their mid twenties -- and sometimes up to age 30 -- even after they've graduated. It's one way that the states hope to cut down on the large number of uninsured people in that age group. The new rules were designed to help in situations like your daughter's, and many other graduates will likely have similar experiences as they struggle to find a job with health benefits in this economy. To qualify for the extended coverage, adult children generally must be unmarried and live in the same state as their parents. But they usually don't have to live with their parents or even be considered dependents for tax purposes to qualify (the rules vary by state). For a list of each state's laws, see the National Conference of State Legislatures Web site. Full article Kimberly Lankford Kiplinger.Com STOCK WATCH KIPLINGER.COM Stocks to Buy Now for the Recovery Later Shares of these five companies should perform better than others when the economy starts to rebound. By Ilana Polyak, Contributing Writer, Kiplinger's Personal Finance April 30, 2009 Excerpts: Investors are looking for glimmers of hope that the recession is nearing its end and that an economic recovery might be afoot. It will probably be a while before that happens, as jobless claims continue to rise and home prices continue to fall. But when the economy finally does turn, some areas of the stock market will perform better than others. In the past, industrial sectors and small-company stocks roared out of the gate early. However, as Morningstar equity strategist Paul Larson notes, "There has been nothing typical about this recession." He thinks other types of companies might take the lead this time. With that in mind, we looked at five potential winners among early-recovery stocks. Need evidence that energy and economic activity are linked? Crude-oil prices are down 63% from their July 2008 peaks, and natural gas is off 66% since June, just as it became clear that the recession would be deeper and longer than had been forecast. Prices remain weak as people drive less and try to conserve energy at home. Full article Ilana Polyak Kiplinger.Com Over 50? These 8 Sites Can Get You Started on a New Career May 8, 2009 Excerpts: Thought you were done with work only to discover you're bored? Are you still working but ready to quit the job you've got? Then get another one. A new AARP study, released May 2009, reveals that 91% of workers over 50 who changed careers report high job satisfaction. Statistically, that's off the charts! What's it like to LOVE what you do? These readers we profiled share how they found their dream jobs and describe life with an encore career. See what you're missing. When it comes to choosing a second act seek what's fun, engaging and rewarding. You'll not only be making money, but enriching your life. And we've got eight web sites to get you started. Full article Kips Tips Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Annual Buying Guide The 2009 Cars: Deals Are Insane Turmoil in the industry could mean a terrific bargain for you. By Mark Solheim, Senior Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, March 2009 Excerpts: Auto sales in 2008 were the worst in 16 years, and this year could be even grimmer. Dealers desperate to move inventory off clogged lots are entertaining the lowest of low-ball offers. Add in generous cash rebates and low-interest financing -- at least, for the most creditworthy customers -- and screaming bargains abound. Incentives recently averaged $2,900 per vehicle, or 18% higher than a year ago,according to Edmunds.com. No surprise that carmakers were most generous with gas guzzlers: Incentives for luxury cars averaged $6,600 per vehicle; trucks were also a steal, with $5,400 givebacks. Even the most coveted cars are selling at fire-sale prices. When we asked CarBargains, the buying service of the nonprofit Consumers' Checkbook organization, to shop for our 11 Best New Cars, they found nine of them for less than invoice (the dealer cost). If you're in the market for new wheels, our annual buyer's guide gives you the tools to choose a vehicle and negotiate a fair price. We start by sorting the hundreds of 2009 models by price and category; then we rank them for performance, value, safety, roominess and our driving impressions. Full article Mark Solheim Kiplinger.Com KIPLINGER.COM Bright Spots Mask Dark Employment Outlook Unemployment will continue to rise toward 10% in 2010, even after recovery begins later this year. By Jerome Idaszak, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter May 8, 2009 Excerpts: Fewer job losses than expected in April and better-than-expected grades for the nation's 19 largest banks on the government designed stress tests are making the labor market outlook seem not so scary--at least for now. The unemployment rate rose to 8.9% in April from 8.5%, and 539,000 jobs were lost during April, the government reported May 8. Economists had been expecting losses of about 620,000. Job losses were revised up to 699,000 in March from an initial estimate of 663,000, the government said. "I guess less bad is good, but there's still a lot to worry about. We're looking at layoffs by Chrysler and GM that will begin in the next few weeks and last through the summer," said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia Corp. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional committee earlier this week, "We are likely to see further sizable job losses and increased unemployment in coming months." Full article Jerome Idaszak KIPLINGER.COM KIPLINGER.COM 10 Ways Moms Can Make the Most of Your Money Give your finances the same TLC you give to the rest of your family. By Janet Bodnar, Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance May 7, 2009 Excerpts: Recently I was a guest on a radio show about kids and money, and a number of adults called in to talk about their own family experiences as children. One woman had grown up with a father who had a gambling addiction. She credited her mother with holding the family together both financially and psychologically. Another caller confessed that he still loves to indulge his children -- now in their early twenties-with things his family couldn't afford when he was growing up. He depends on his wife to rein in the family purse strings. In fact, studies consistently show that by margins of 60% or more, women tend to be the ones who pay the family bills and balance the checkbook. So on Mother's Day it makes sense that Mom should give her own finances the same TLC she applies to the rest of the family. That's particularly true because the time mothers spend performing the ten most popular "Mom jobs" would add up to annual cash compensation of $122,732 for a stay-at-home mom and $76,184 for a working mom, according to Salary.com. And every woman needs money of her own to manage and control-especially because nearly all women will be on their own financially at some point in their lives. Full article Janet Bodnar Kiplinger.Com Kiplinger.Com Investments That Pay You Every Month These three portfolios should produce reliable yields of 5% to almost 10%. By Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance May 4, 2009 Excerpts: In the summer of 2008, I devised three portfolios composed entirely of investments that pay dividends or interest every month. These portfolios are ideal for people who need spending money, as opposed to those who invest in bonds, real estate investment trusts or other kinds of income-oriented vehicles for diversification. The yields on these portfolios ranged from 6% for a mix of moderate-risk bond funds and high-dividend stock funds to more than 10% for a riskier collection of energy royalty trusts, leveraged bank-loan funds and foreign-currency bond funds. For the most part, the dividends have held up -- the notable exceptions being the oil-and-gas pass-through investments and the bank stocks. But the principal has fallen far more than I imagined even remotely possible. By the time the stock market bottomed in March, share prices for a package of energy income trusts, bank-loan funds and REITs were, on average, half of what they were in mid 2008. If you had started the aggressive, high-income portfolio in June or July of 2008, you were probably down 30% or so on a total-return basis. Not surprisingly, the lowest-risk portfolio did considerably better, although it, too, was in the red. That package had one-fourth invested in energy and other high-wire stuff, one-fourth in a high-dividend, exchange-traded stock fund, and the rest in Vanguard Total Bond Market Index. The portfolio generated about 8% in income and lost about 20% of its market value -- lousy but, all things considered, tolerable. Full article Jeffrey R. Kosnett Kiplinger.Com KIPLINGER.COM SPENDING WISELY Similar Products, Different Prices Why buy an expensive brand-name item when you can buy a second-label twin for a lot less? By Louis Jones, Kiplinger's Personal Finance April 28, 2009 Full article Louis Jones KIPLINGER.COM Excerpts: We want to let you in on a secret: Lots of companies offer two versions of their products -- a pricey brand-name one and a bargain second-label twin. In some cases, such as pharmaceutical brand-name drugs and their generic equivalents, the products are practically the same -- and the savings big. Sometimes the products aren't exact replicas, but they're similar enough that forking over big bucks for the brand-name version may not be worth it. For example, automobile manufacturers share costs by building a single platform for a couple of vehicle brands. Then the companies differentiate the twins by giving them different interiors and standard components. Take the Toyota Matrix (which won Kiplinger's Best New Wagon award in 2009) and the Pontiac Vibe. The cars qualify as twins, according to Edmunds. The vehicles have been produced under a joint venture between the two companies.(GM just announced it will phase out its Pontiac brand in 2010.) For decades, premium winemakers have produced second-label wines that sell for less than their brand-name counterparts. These wines are essentially the same as their higher-end twins but might, for example, be made with grapes from younger vines. KIPLINGER.COM KIPS TIPS STRAIGHT TALK ON TAXES You Don't Have to Itemize to Take These Tax Breaks Feb 16, 2009 Tax Breaks for the Self-Employed By Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal FinanceFebruary 23, 2009 Mary Beth Franklin Kiplinger.Com For 1040 and 1040A filers who don't itemize, Senior Editor Mary Beth Franklin highlights breaks that reduce your taxable income her recent Tax Tip column. Among the breaks are alimony payments, teacher expenses and IRA contributions. See all her Tax Savings Without Itemizing. Plus, you can sign up to receive her tax tips through e-mail. You'll get one tax tip in your inbox every weekday through the end of February. Sign-up now and you'll also get year-end tax tips from the end of November through December. Kiplinger.Com Five Tips for Effective Internet Marketing Small businesses often have an edge over larger ones when it comes to the Internet. Here are five ways to take advantage of it. Worth Reading: The Quick Take from Kiplinger July 2008 Full article Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Putting up a nifty Web site, buying some search terms and waiting for the orders to roll in is not Internet marketing. It's slow commercial death, akin to thinking you'll eat regularly if you put a worm on a hook, drop a line into the lake and take a nap while waiting for a bite. Effective Internet marketing means knowing where the fish are and using a variety of ways to lure and land them. Take the example of a New England sign company cited by the marketing newsletter fuelNet Monthly. Every time it makes and installs a new hand-carved sign, the owner takes a photo and writes a brief article about it for the firm's Web site. But versions of the photos and stories also end up on its Flickr and Facebook pages and the sign maker writes a regular blog about his craft, his business and his customers. He provides RSS feeds and a regular e-mail newsletter. All of this is intended to create a community of customers and potential customers and to make it as easy as possible for anyone with an interest in buying a sign to find the company and learn more about it. And make no mistake, fuelNet says, there is clear evidence that consumers are using the Web to learn as much as they can about services and products and the companies behind them before making a purchase. "By using a well-coordinated combination of online marketing techniques, some of which are free, you can ensure your business pops up when potential buyers search for what you're selling," according to fuelNet. KIPLINGER.COM Six Retailers That Are Thriving Some are big enough, some are benefiting from their rivals' demise, and some offer must-have items. By Elizabeth Ody, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal FinanceFebruary 17, 2009 Full article Elizabeth Ody Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Suppose a nosy journalist snooped through your closet today. Naturally, she'd find the latest spring fashions -- pulled straight from the racks at Barneys and Neiman Marcus -- displayed on your hangers, right? If you're anything like most of us, probably not. Retail sales during the Christmas shopping season slipped 3% from the same period in 2007, and the National Retail Federation projects a 0.5% decline in sales for all of 2009. Linens 'n Things, Circuit City, KB Toys and Sharper Image are just a few of the household names that have already succumbed to the hostile climate. Stalwarts such as Home Depot and Macy's are laying off thousands of employees. But a small number of companies are quietly thriving. Some are big enough to offer the best deals on the essentials, some benefit from the demise of rivals, and others offer products too near to customers' hearts for them to forgo. Add these retail survivors to your shopping list for your next stock-buying spree. KIPLINGER.COM Reynolds Blue Chip Growth may not have what it takes to stay on top. By Elizabeth Ody, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal FinanceFebruary 16, 2009 Full article Elizabeth Ody KIPLINGER.COM Excerpts: In today's environment, you should be skeptical of stock funds landing at the tops of the charts with minimal or no losses. Why? Most got there by loading up on cash or Treasury bonds over the past year. When choosing funds, you shouldn't necessarily disqualify ones that employ market timing. But if you invest in such a fund, you'd better have a high degree of confidence that its manager can time the markets consistently well enough to make it worth your while. Most can't. For a case in point, look at Reynolds Blue Chip Growth (symbol RBCGX). For the past year through February 12 it ranks number one among funds that invest in large growing companies, with a 2.8% loss. On average, large-capitalization growth funds have tumbled 36% over that period. Reynolds shareholders can thank a timely move to a 100% cash position for insulating them from the market's plunge. Manager Fritz Reynolds says he began cashing out of stocks in October 2007 because of concerns about the housing market and the previous summer's stock-market gyrations. By the end of 2007, he had stashed more than 90% of the fund's assets in the green stuff, leaving just two stocks in the portfolio: Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG). He sold both in the first few weeks of 2008. TAXESThe 11 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions Plus four new breaks taxpayers likely will miss this year. By Kevin McCormally, Editorial Director, Kiplinger.com February 2009 Full article KEVIN MCCORMALLY KIPLINGER.COM Excerpts: Every year, the IRS dutifully reports the most common blunders taxpayers make on their returns. And every year, at or near the top of the "oops" list is forgetting to enter a Social Security number or making a mistake when entering those nine digits at the top of the tax form. Before you bemoan such stupidity of your fellow Americans, ask yourself a simple question: Is that the most common error? Or just the most easily noticed goof? Who knows how many people forgot -- or never knew about -- a deduction that could save them money? That's not the kind of thing government bean counters lose a lot of sleep over. Kiplinger.Com CARS: Annual Buying Guide The 2009 Cars: Deals Are Insane Turmoil in the industry could mean a terrific bargain for you. By Mark Solheim, Senior Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, March 2009 Full article Mark Solheim Excerpts: Auto sales in 2008 were the worst in 16 years, and this year could be even grimmer. Dealers desperate to move inventory off clogged lots are entertaining the lowest of low-ball offers. Add in generous cash rebates and low-interest financing -- at least, for the most creditworthy customers -- and screaming bargains abound. Incentives recently averaged $2,900 per vehicle, or 18% higher than a year ago,according to Edmunds.com. No surprise that carmakers were most generous with gas guzzlers: Incentives for luxury cars averaged $6,600 per vehicle; trucks were also a steal, with $5,400 givebacks. Even the most coveted cars are selling at fire-sale prices. When we asked CarBargains, the buying service of the nonprofit Consumers' Checkbook organization, to shop for our 11 Best New Cars, they found nine of them for less than invoice (the dealer cost). If you're in the market for new wheels, our annual buyer's guide gives you the tools to choose a vehicle and negotiate a fair price. We start by sorting the hundreds of 2009 models by price and category; then we rank them for performance, value, safety, roominess and our driving impressions. Kiplinger.Com PORTFOLIO DOCTOR You Can Do Better Than Break Even Don't let regrets over last year's mutual fund losses dictate your investment strategy. By Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Senior Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, March 2009 OUR READER WHO: Sandy St. John, 54 WHAT: Owner of microwave path-surveying business WHERE: Forney, Tex. SYMPTOM: Wants to recoup last year's losses, then return to safety of CDs. Full article Jeffrey R. Kosnett Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: If her one-woman business goes bust because of the recession, Sandy's investing mishaps will be just a footnote to her life story. For now, it looks as if the business will survive. Sandy, who responds to client emergencies in her own airplane, is more concerned about insurance costs and delays in getting paid than about losing customers. But those investment losses are irksome for someone like Sandy, who is single and the sole source of her long-term financial security. A year ago, Sandy moved $51,000 from a maturing certificate of deposit in her IRA to some Hartford mutual funds that are now worth only $30,000. Yields on CDs were pitiful at the time, but she now thinks that she and the broker she consulted should have anticipated the market crash. Sandy would like to wait for her funds to break even and then return to CDs. She also holds a few dividend-paying stocks, mainly in oil and gas, that are way down, too. She's leaving them alone. KIPLINGER.COM Congress Loads Up on Tax Cuts The House's version of the stimulus bill is loaded with tax breaks, but the Senate aims to go further. By Joan Pryde, Senior Tax Editor, the Kiplinger letters February 10, 2009 Congress Loads Up on Tax Cuts The House's version of the stimulus bill is loaded with tax breaks, but the Senate aims to go further. By Joan Pryde, Senior Tax Editor, the Kiplinger letters February 10, 2009 To get consumers spending, Congress will OK even more tax cuts. The $275 billion in breaks approved by the House in January as part of its economic stimulus package wasn't enough for senators, so they've added a few new easings to entice folks to buy houses, cars and so forth. When the dust settles, most of those add-ons will make it into the final bill that's supposed to land on President Obama's desk before end of February. Among the Senate's goodies: a juicier credit for buying a primary home. Under the Senate proposal, the current credit of $7,500 for first-time home buyers would be expanded to 10% of the purchase price, but no more than $15,000, and would not be limited to first-time home buyers. In addition to that, unlike the current credit, the new one would not be phased out for higher-income taxpayers. The new credit also would not have to be repaid to IRS over a 15-year period, as long as the purchaser didn't turn around and sell the house within two years. If you want to get a souped-up homebuyer's credit, don't jump the gun. The current credit, along with the repayment obligation and phase-out for upper-incomers, continues to apply until the stimulus bill is signed into law. Once it's in effect, taxpayers would have 12 months to buy a home before the credit expires. Another reason to wait: Because of the provision's $35-billion price tag, it's very possible that the break will be scaled down when the two chambers meet to hammer out a final version of the bill. Conferees could add any of several limitations: phasing out the break for high-incomers, limiting it to first-time homebuyers or reducing the maximum credit amount to $10,000. KIPLINGER.COM Top 10 Myths About Starting a Business Putting off your business idea because you think you need a fortune to get started? Think your talent is what will make it a success? Read this and think again. Worth Reading: The Quick Take from Kiplinger May 2008 Scott Shane Full article Scott Shane KIPLINGER.COM Excerpts: Few things are more exciting or more daunting than starting your own business. But before you do, think hard about why you are doing it. Because you want financial freedom? Because you're continually being told you have the talent to make a business fly? Then consider what's making you hesitate. You're not rich enough to finance it? You worry that you'd have to borrow or spend way too much money to get going? If those are the kinds of thoughts you are having as an entrepreneur in waiting, you're generally wrong -- and you're not alone. Case Western Reserve University business school professor and author Scott Shane says those beliefs are among the 10 biggest myths about starting your own business. For example, it takes a lot of money to finance a new business, right? "Not true," Shane writes. "The typical start-up only requires about $25,000 to get going." While that's good news, Shane has some sobering thoughts for those who may have some romantic notions about starting their own business. First, if you're looking to be your own boss, fine. But if you're expecting to get rich, well, don't count on it. Most entrepreneurs would make more money working for someone else. And 90% make less than their own employees. Kiplinger.Com ASK KIM Three Health Insurance Mistakes to Avoid By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance January 29, 2009 Full article Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: I just switched to a new health insurance plan through my employer, which took effect on January 1. It's the first time I've had a high-deductible plan and a health savings account. What do I need to know to make the most of this kind of health insurance? Switching to a high-deductible health plan account can save you a lot of money in premiums, and you get tax breaks for using a health savings account. But you also need to become a much smarter health-care consumer to make sure the insurer gives you credit for everything you deserve. Here are three mistakes to avoid when you have a high-deductible health insurance policy. 1. Not searching for the best health-care deals. People with low-deductible policies usually don't spend much time thinking about their health-care costs -- especially if the insurer picks up most of the tab. But when you have to pay for the first thousand dollars or so of medical expenses, it becomes much more important to find good deals. Kiplinger.Com BONDS Why You Should Love Bonds Think bonds are stodgy? Think again. Bonds are an integral part of your long-term path to wealth, so read and profit. By Elizabeth Ody, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal FinanceFebruary 2009 Full article Elizabeth Ody Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Perhaps you own a bond fund through your 401(k), or you keep a stack of old bond certificates your grandmother once gave you at the back of a closet. But how much have you ever really thought about bonds? In truth, bonds are an indispensable part of your long-term path to wealth and security. Treasury bonds, which are issued by the Federal government, have returned an annualized 5.5% over the long run, while bonds issued by corporations have returned an average of 5.9% per year. And in scary times, such as the present, bonds usually don't lose nearly as much as stocks. Sometimes, their prices even rise. Unlike stocks, which represent a slice of ownership in a company, bonds are IOUs. Their issuers promise to repay investors in full by a certain date and pay a fixed amount of interest along the way. Although bonds are usually issued in some nice round amount--$1,000 is common-they often trade at a discount or premium to that amount between the time of issuance and the maturity date. Kiplinger.Com KIPLINGER TAXOPEDIA The Kiplinger Taxopedia: What's Deductible? From property taxes to student-loan interest to child-care expenses, find all your 2008 tax deductions in our encyclopedias that have been crammed with the information you need to file your tax return ... and hold your tax bill to the legal minimum. By Kevin McCormally, Editorial Director, Kiplinger.comJanuary 2009 Full article Kevin Cormally Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Did you know you can write off college tuition costs? Or job-related moving expenses? And you don't even have to itemize to get these breaks. Did you know that students who go to school in seven states can earn tax credits for their parents that are twice as valuable as available to those whose children study in the other 43 states and the District of Columbia? The IRS tax law is packed with offers a multitude of ways to lower your tax bill. The key is knowing which deductions and credits are available -- then taking advantage of them. You're probably thinking you need to hire an accountant for that. Not so. Our tax encyclopedias make it easy to find out what is and isn't deductible. We cover all the major areas, from charitable contributions to medical expenses to retirement savings. Check out our easy-to-use guides to find out how you can cut your 2008 tax bill. Kiplinger.Com January 31, 2009 FREE RETIREMENT ADVICE Full article For Additional Q & A Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Rachel Sheedy: Today's live discussion has come to a close. You'll get another chance to ask questions during the second 2009 Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Day. Planners will be online and available by phone at 888-919-2345 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time on January 30. Phil: Is money that is in a 401k protected from a personal bankruptcy? Is money from a pension plan that I'm not drawing on yet also protected? I just got laid off and have no savings. I am age 55 but have 200k in a company held 401k that must be distributed in 90 days. Eve Kaplan: Hi Phil, retirement accounts such as 401k plans are protected. I believe a pension plan (a future asset) also is protected. Please consult with a professional (planner or CPA) about how to best handle your 401k assets that you say must be distributed. If there's any way to protect some of it (if you don't need all of it now) and retain the tax-deferred character, that would be great. Otherwise you'll be paying ordinary-income tax on all the gains in your 401k account. KIPLINGER.COM Career Trends for 2009 As layoffs soar, some industries are poised to add more jobs. By Marty Nemko, Contributing Columnist, Kiplinger.com January 29, 2009 Full article Marty Nemko Kiplinger.com Excerpts: Standard practice is to apologize for daring to make predictions. But my previous annual predictions haven't been too bad, so I'm eager to proceed again with (measured) confidence. If you're looking for a new job or career, I point to specific areas for likely job growth. If you're employed, knowing these trends will be valuable in your strategic planning for 2009 and beyond. 1. Government grows, private sector shrinks. President Obama and his appointees are united in their plans to increase the size of government, especially in mass transit, alternative energy, supervised economic rescues and regulation of financial markets, and education (Head Start, inner-city schools, community colleges). The growth will be in federal government; states and municipalities will have a harder time raising money. KIPLINGER.COM STOCK WATCH Where the Growth Is These five companies should generate profit gains this year. By Ilana Polyak, Contributing Writer, Kiplinger's Personal Finance January 26, 2009 Full article Ilana Polyak Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Earnings growth might seem like something from a bygone era, along the lines of Friendster or Uggs -- so 2007. But even in this severe recession, some companies are able to increase profits, albeit not at the levels they did a few years back. "The environment is so challenging that it's hard to find as many companies that can show double-digit growth," says Larry Puglia, manager of the T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth fund. "That makes the remaining companies that much more valuable." In that spirit, we set out to identify companies that are capable of generating profit gains this year. Below are five in five different sectors that fit the bill. For the first time in decades, Americans, especially young people, are reading more. That's good news for Amazon.com (symbol AMZN) because books (along with CDs and DVDs) remain its core business. But the online retailer is also generating revenue growth in the other goods it discounts, such as apparel and jewelry. Circuit City's decision to liquidate could boost Amazon's electronics sales as well, says Puglia. KIPLINGER.COM Time to Refinance? Fixed-rate mortgages are at record lows, but not everyone qualifies to reap the rewards. By Pat Mertz Esswein, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance January 26, 2009 Full article Pat Mertz Esswein Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Between the housing slump and the credit crunch, mortgage lenders last year were as underworked as the Maytag repairman. But now business has picked up nicely, thanks to rates that recently dipped to around 5% on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. If you currently have a loan with a rate higher than, say, 6% or an adjustable-rate mortgage ready to reset, this could be the time to refinance. Despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to thaw credit and nudge mortgage rates lower by cutting short-term lending rates, fixed mortgages stayed in the 6% to 6.5% range for much of 2008. But just before Thanksgiving, the Federal Reserve announced that it would purchase $100 billion of mortgages from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, and $500 billion of mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie Mae. That moved the markets to bid up bond prices, which lowered mortgage rates dramatically. In mid December, the Fed lowered rates again and announced plans to pump money into the system, including buying large quantities of mortgage-related bonds and longer-term Treasury bonds. By mid January, rates briefly fell below 5%. You know the basics. Now build on that foundation to secure your financial future. By Erin Burt, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com January 22, 2009 Welcome to your thirties. The past decade was all about life's changes and getting to know yourself -- and your finances (see 10 Financial Commandments for Your 20s). You know the basics for managing your money. Now it's time to build on that foundation and secure your financial future. Here are ten principles that should be carved in stone for every thirtysomething: 10 Financial Commandments for Your 30s 1. Pay off your nonmortgage debt. Your thirties bring financial responsibilities you may not have had in your twenties, such as a mortgage or a family. Nothing frees up cash to meet those obligations like getting rid of your debt. We hope you paid off your credit cards in your twenties (if you didn't, make it a top priority). Next, focus on getting rid of student loans and other nonmortgage debt, such as auto loans. Full article Erin Burt Kiplinger.Com By InvestorPlace Full article MSN.MONEY Excerpts: If you have been able to preserve cash since during this great bear market since it began in 2007, now is the time to do some serious shopping. Stock prices haven't been this low for a long time. Some of the biggest companies with the best-known brand names are trading for deep discounts. If you've considered buying best-of-breed companies, you will not find a better time. Oh, sure, prices could fall a bit more, but the downside appears to be minimal. The damage has already been done. And whatever happens, corporate titans are positioned best to withstand the storm. KIPLINGER.COM STARTING OUT 10 Financial Commandments for Your 20s Just starting out? Set yourself up for a lifetime of money success with these time-tested principles. By Erin Burt, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.comJanuary 8, 2009 When you're in your twenties, change is a way of life. You're choosing a career, paying your own bills, getting your own place to live and perhaps making decisions about marriage and family. The more things change, the more important a stable financial foundation becomes. We've listed ten principles that should be carved in stone for every twentysomething. No matter where you are on the pathway to independence, these time-tested guidelines will boost your odds of financial success. Full article Erin Burt KIPLINGER.COM Excerpts: 1. Plan ahead. To get where you want to go in life, you need goals and a plan to reach them. Having neither is like driving a car without a steering wheel -- with your eyes closed. Start by asking yourself what you want in your future. Think about the short term (five years or less), medium term (five to ten years) and long term (20-plus years). Now you're driving with your eyes open. Then take hold of the steering wheel to reach your goals. Budgeting is a great way to do this. It allows you to see where your money is going so you can make the necessary adjustments to get you where you want to go. Learn more about how to set up and use a budget. Investments 2. Live within your means. Can't afford something? Don't buy it. Sounds simple, but too many people have a heck of a time following this one and get in over their heads in debt. Borrow sparingly, and only for those things that have lasting value, such as a home or an education. (To learn more, see When is it Worth Going Into Debt?) Learn to keep spending in check while you're young and you'll save thousands of dollars over the years -- and save yourself a lot of stress, too. Kiplinger.Com INVESTING FOR NON-EXPERTS How to Estimate the Recession's End Jan 22, 2009 Full article Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Investments 2009 Confused over who to listen to when it comes to the state of our economic health? Well, we've got a time line that can shed some light on the matter -- and perhaps help convince many that we're almost there. What you see below is proof that 9 out of 10 recessions ended within six months after a stock market bottom (and the "tenth" wrapped up in another six months). Sure this one may turn out to be another exception, but Kiplinger's doesn't think so. Autumn 2008 (either October 10 or November 20 to be exact) marks the peak of panic-selling for the recession; the bottom was hit and tested. According to the numbers below, by June we should see turnaround. Take a look: Recession Timeline (U.S.) 1948 - 1949 (11 months)Market Bottom: June 1949Recession Ended: October 1949 1953 - 1954 (10 months)Market Bottom: September 1953Recession Ended: May 1954 KIPLINGER.COM Rock-Bottom Energy Prices Won't Last Demand will rise when recovery begins, pushing oil and gas prices higher. By Jim Ostroff, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter
January 21, 2009 Full article Jim Ostroff Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Gas pump prices are unlikely to be this cheap again for years to come. They will be heading higher by early March. But the increases will be modest with no repeat of 2008's eye-popping hikes from the year's first half that left many motorists outraged. Gasoline prices soared 40% to more than $4.11 for a gallon of regular unleaded on average nationwide in July and just shy of $5 a gallon in many metropolitan areas. We see gasoline prices bottoming out sometime in February at about $1.60 a gallon on average nationwide. Then as usage ticks up seasonally, they'll probably climb a few cents each week or so through Memorial Day weekend, cresting near $2 a gallon. Barring a massive oil supply disruption, gas prices should in fact average around $2 a gallon for the year. Investments 2009 That would be the lowest since 2004, when motorists paid $1.85 on average for the year. Last year's at-the-pump tab averaged a record $3.27 a gallon. The difference between last year and this one is the recession's impact, which will weigh heavily on oil prices, trimming prospects for big price hikes at the gas pump. "Nothing depresses energy prices more than a dismal employment outlook that curbs fuel usage, and the ongoing job loss numbers are mind boggling," says John Kilduff, a senior vice president with MFGlobal, a commodities trading firm. Real Estate. Really You might want to tiptoe back into this sector because some real estate companies with lots of cash will be big winners. By Steven Goldberg, Contributing Columnist, Kiplinger.com January 19, 2009 Full articles Steven Goldberg Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: It's the worst of times and the best of times for publicly traded real estate companies. The bad news is all too obvious. The economy is shrinking, retailers are shuttering their doors and companies of all types are tightening their belts. Meanwhile, billions of dollars in commercial real estate loans are coming due this year, and new loans are incredibly difficult to obtain -- and expensive for those who can get them. "There's barely any credit out there, and credit spreads have blown out to wide levels," says David Lee, manager of T. Rowe Price Real Estate (symbol TRREX). For many real estate companies, 2009 will be a year of struggling to survive. But for other companies -- those lucky enough or smart enough to have a lot of cash and low debt -- 2009 will be a year when they can start picking up distressed properties and companies at fire-sale prices. Kiplinger.COM TAXES The 11 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions Don't overpay your taxes because of a simple oversight. Here are the most common errors taxpayers make on their returns. By Kevin McCormally, Editorial Director, Kiplinger.com December 2008 Full Article Kiplinger.Com Excerpts: Every year, the IRS dutifully reports the most common blunders taxpayers make on their returns. And every year, at or near the top of the list, is forgetting to enter a Social Security number or making a mistake when entering the nine digits that identify us to IRS computers. Investments 2009 Before you bemoan such stupidity, ask yourself a simple question: Is that the most common error? Or just the most easily noticed goof? Who knows how many people forgot -- or never knew about -- a deduction that could save them money? That’s not the kind of thing over which government bean counters lose a lot of sleep. KIPLINGER RESOURCE BUSINESS CENTER Jim Ostroff January 15, 2009 Full article Jim Ostroff The Kiplinger Letter Excerpts: Investments 2009 There's plenty of action on the alternative energy front despite the considerable downdraft in most energy-related industries created by the severity of the recession. Here's a sampling of what will stir the pot for hydropower, solar power and ocean power over the next few years: Hydroelectric power is getting renewed life. Electricity produced by dams on rivers and streams will climb 50% over the next decade, to around 10% of all power and up to 20% by mid-century. It can cost less to replace old or shuttered hydro systems than to build wind turbines, for example. Plus new technologies ease concerns about the potential impact of dams on fish and wildlife. Projects revving up include five new facilities on Ohio River dams and upgrades in the Northwest. Hydro Green Energy will build the nation's first hydrokinetic power plant, capturing the energy of water that flows through an existing hydropower plant on the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minn., to squeeze even more electricity from the dam. KIPLINGER.COM INVESTING The New Rules for Investing Your Money A repeat of 2008, when almost everything tanked, is unlikely. It's still a good idea to spread your risk. By Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Senior Editor From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, January 2009 January 10, 2009 Full article By Jeffrey R. Kosnett KIPLINGER.COM Excerpts: The wisdom of investing in a smorgasbord of categories rests on the premise that something always works. U.S. stocks in a funk? Buy bonds and foreign stocks. The dollar is plunging? Offset it with income funds from countries with strengthening currencies. Worried about inflation? Add oil, gold and other commodities. This strategy, which is known as diversification, rescued many an investor during the 2000-02 bear market. Even during the free fall of major U.S. stock indexes -- which tilt toward large companies -- bonds, small-company "value" stocks and real estate investment trusts made money, enabling investors with well-blended portfolios to avoid catastrophic damage. Investments 2009 This time, though, it really has been different. Aside from Treasury bonds, other cash-like investments and bank accounts, there have been no shelters from the storm. From dividend-paying blue chips to speculative small-company stocks, from long-term municipal debt to high-yield junk bonds, from real estate to commodities, virtually everything tanked. Even gold, the prototypical safe haven, saw its value decline. The average precious-metals mutual fund crumpled 51% in 2008 through November 7. FORBES.COM Five Technologies Set to Change The Decade Josh Wolfe, 01.07.09, 06:40 PM EST Amazing, new technologies will be woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Here are five. image In Pictures: Five Breakthrough Technologies Full article John Wolfe Forbes.Com Excerpts: In the coming decade, we will see some amazing new technologies that will affect our lives to such an extent that we will wonder how we ever lived without them. Investments 2009 As transistors continue to shrink, nanoscale devices will be built into more objects on the path toward ubiquitous computing and might even be integrated into fabric, yielding "smart clothing" that continuously monitors our health. If scientists manage to build quantum computers, they will take information processing to a whole new level. As the Internet becomes more widespread and mobile, the real world and virtual worlds will become increasingly intertwined. As pharmaceutical companies struggle with competition from generics, biotech drugs will define the decade. And better batteries will finally allow for practical electric cars, while flexible digital displays might replace our daily newspapers. MSN Money 10 key trends for investors in '09 Knowing which sectors are hot -- and which are not -- should inform your stock-buying decisions and help you beat the market in the coming year. By Jim Jubak Investments 2009 Full article Jim Jubak MSN MONEY Excerpts: If you hope to make any serious money in 2009, you're going to have to beat the stock market. After netting out a grim first half of the year and a recovery in the last quarter, the major indexes will be lucky to show a 6% gain for the year. Investments 2009 That kind of number will be a huge disappointment for investors looking to recover from what Wall Street has begun to call the lost decade. Over the past 10 years, the returns from investing in a stock market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 ($INX), have been squat. No, make that negative squat. The overall stock market lost money in that period. Fortunately, you don't have to go to the ends of the earth to beat the index. I'm going to tell you about a strategy to do just that in this column. It's not complicated. You can do it at home. And it's been shown to work over the past 11-plus years. ### MSN Money 10 key trends for investors in '09 Knowing which sectors are hot -- and which are not -- should inform your stock-buying decisions and help you beat the market in the coming year. By Jim Jubak Full article Jim Jubak MSN MONEY Excerpts: If you hope to make any serious money in 2009, you're going to have to beat the stock market. After netting out a grim first half of the year and a recovery in the last quarter, the major indexes will be lucky to show a 6% gain for the year. Investments 2009 That kind of number will be a huge disappointment for investors looking to recover from what Wall Street has begun to call the lost decade. Over the past 10 years, the returns from investing in a stock market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 ($INX), have been squat. No, make that negative squat. The overall stock market lost money in that period. Fortunately, you don't have to go to the ends of the earth to beat the index. I'm going to tell you about a strategy to do just that in this column. It's not complicated. You can do it at home. And it's been shown to work over the past 11-plus years. ### Investments 2009 Key 1: Invest in yourself Your own earning power -- rooted in your education and job skills -- is the most valuable asset you'll ever own, and it can't be wiped out in a market crash. Investments 2009 Keep your earning power growing through continuous education, training and personal development. If you work in a field prone to periodic layoffs or falling earnings, think about a career change, especially if there's something else you've always dreamed of doing. Investments 2009 Consider this: A $30,000 pay hike can be viewed as an annual return on a capital investment, like earning a continuous yield of 6% on $500,000 of savings. You know how hard it is to save up $500,000. Maybe that $30,000 boost in salary is easier to achieve.
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