Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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You might not think that 70 ½ represents any particular milestone. But when you do reach this age, you will have to make some decisions that affect an important aspect of your life — your retirement income. Here’s the background: Once you turn 70 ½, you will need to start taking withdrawals from your 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan and from your traditional IRA (but not your Roth IRA). Actually, you will need to begin these withdrawals — known as “required minimum distributions” (RMDs) — by April 1 of the following yea...
Next week, we observe the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has inspired millions of people to take action to improve the environment. But the lessons of environmentalism can also be applied to other areas of life — such as investing. Specifically, as an investor, you may well want to follow the “three Rs”: reduce, reuse and recycle. Let’s see how these environmental themes can be applied to your investment habits: • Reduce — Many of us probably own more things than we really need. In fact, if all the oth...
For the past few years, the stock market has moved up fairly steadily, with no major “corrections.” But thus far in 2015, we’ve already seen periods of volatility — enough, in fact, to make some investors jittery. Nervous investors may be more prone to make decisions based on short-term market movements — so how can you stay calm? First of all, when evaluating your investment decisions, stay focused on those factors that have historically driven stock prices. The U.S. economy is growing at a reasonably good pace, and corporate earnings...
It’s unfortunate but true: The elderly population is targeted for financial abuse or exploitation. In fact, by some estimates, this type of targeted abuse results in billions of dollars in losses each year. If you have elderly parents, what signs should you watch for to determine their vulnerability? And what can you do to help protect your parents from being victimized? In regard to the first question — signs of vulnerability — the most important thing to watch for is your parents’ mental state. As you know, many people go through their e...
We’ve just about arrived at spring, the time when many people spruce up their homes, yards and other parts of their surroundings. This year, why not extend that practice a little further and give your financial and investment environment a good “spring cleaning”? Here are a few suggestions for doing just that: • Reduce duplication. If you’ve ever worked to “de-clutter” your home, you may have discovered a lot of extraneous items. Did you really need three blenders? Did you have more remote control devices than you did televisions?...
The world of today is vastly different from the one that existed in, say, 1974. Innovations such as the Internet, smartphones, tablets, Facebook, Twitter and so on have made our lives more enjoyable, efficient and productive in many ways, and have vastly improved our access to the world’s knowledge. Yet when it comes to one important area of our lives — investing for the future — many of us may actually face more challenges today than we might have in the past. At least two main factors are responsible for this apparent regression. First...
If the Federal Reserve (Fed) raises short-term interest rates this year, as many financial professionals predict, what will it mean to you? As a consumer, you might experience the “ripple” effects if long-term interest rates eventually follow suit, affecting mortgages and other loans. But as an investor, you might quickly feel the impact of a move by the Fed — especially if you own bonds. In fact, the value of your existing bonds might drop noticeably if interest rates were to rise. That’s because no one will give you full price for your lo...
On March 8, we observe International Women’s Day. On this occasion, thousands of events across the world will honor the cultural, political and social achievements of women. Of course, in many countries, women still face significant economic challenges. And even here in the United States, women encounter more obstacles than men in the pursuit of financial security, particularly in seeking a comfortable retirement lifestyle. So if you are a woman — regardless of your marital status — you will need to be aware of these challenges and take steps...
Your Social Security benefits can be an important part of your retirement income strategy. But when should you start taking these payments? You can begin accepting Social Security as early as 62, but your monthly checks will be much smaller than if you wait until your “full retirement age,” which will likely be between 66 or 67. And these monthly payments will get even bigger if you wait until age 70, at which point they “max out.” So, should you take your Social Security as early as possible and hope that the smaller monthly payments will be...
Valentine’s Day is almost here. And while it’s certainly fun to give and receive chocolates and roses, why not go a little deeper this year? Specifically, if you are married, consider using this commemoration of love as a starting point for taking care of your spouse in the future — even if you’re not part of it. Actually, both you and your spouse could designate Valentine’s Day as the beginning of your joint efforts to provide financial security for the surviving spouse when one of you is gone. Your strategy should involve at least these three...
Many factors will affect your results as an investor — and some of these factors are beyond your control, such as interest-rate movements or the eurozone debt crisis or the sales results of the companies in which you invest. However, as you work toward your financial goals, you will find that you actually have control over three of the most important drivers of investment success: time, money and return. Let’s look at these three elements: • Time — Time can be a big asset — if you use it wisely. However, many young people, just starting...
We’ve just begun the new year, but the next academic year is still months away. Nonetheless, if you have a child who will be attending college in the fall, it’s not too soon to start thinking about what might be a vital component of paying for his or her higher education: financial aid. Specifically, to help ensure that your child doesn’t miss out on federal and state student grants, work-study and loans for the 2015-2016 school year, you’ll want to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. (You can sta...
If you’re an investor, you probably had a pretty good year in 2014. But what’s in store for 2015? It’s essentially impossible to make precise predictions about the performance of the financial markets — but it is possible to identify those economic conditions and market forces that may help shape outcomes in the investment world for 2015. By paying close attention to these conditions and forces, you can gain some valuable insights as to what investment moves might make sense for you. Here are a few of these moves: Consider adding stocks....
If you are interested in saving for retirement, here’s some good news: For 2015, the IRS has raised the maximum contribution limits for 401(k) plans from $17,500 to $18,000. And if you’re 50 or older, you can put in an extra $6,000, up from $5,500 in 2014. These same limits also apply to 403(b) plans, for employees of public schools and nonprofit organizations, and to 457(b) plans, for employees of state and local governments and other governmental agencies, such as park boards and water districts. So, in other words, a lot of workers have got...
Now that 2015 is upon us, you may be thinking about making some New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps you’ll decide to take up a musical instrument, or hit the gym more often, or even learn a new language. All these are worthy goals, of course — but you could also gain some key benefits by working to achieve some financial resolutions. Here are a few to consider: Fill “gaps” in your investment portfolio. From time to time, you — or possibly your financial advisor, if you work with one — might identify “gaps” in your investment portfolio. For ex...
During the holiday season, you no doubt have a lot going on in your life — work functions, gatherings with friends and neighbors, tracking down the elusive “perfect gift,” etc. But you may find it valuable to add one more event to your calendar: a family meeting to discuss those financial preparations that affect you and your loved ones. Of course, the scope of your meeting will depend on your age and the age of your children, and on whether you have elderly parents. So, let’s look at one family meeting scenario that would work under two dif...
Like everyone else, you have financial goals. To help achieve these goals, you may need to invest — and when you invest, you’ll need to take on some risk. But the more you understand this risk, and the better you are at managing it, the greater your potential for staying invested for the long term. To begin with, then, take a look at these terms: • Risk tolerance — Your risk tolerance is essentially your comfort level with taking risk. For example, if you have a high tolerance for risk, you may be comfortable investing aggressively. Convers...
Warren Buffet, the “Oracle from Omaha,” is considered one of the most successful investors in history. Yet while the investment world may seem complex, Mr. Buffet’s advice is actually pretty simple. Here are a few Buffet quotes, along with some suggestions on putting them to use: “Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.” Essentially, this means you should look for good investment vehicles whose price may have dropped. A “bear” market tends to drag down many stocks — even those wi... Full story
As 2014 draws to a close, you may want to look back on the progress you’ve made this past year in various areas of your life — and that certainly includes progress toward your financial goals. At the same time, you may want to make some end-of-year moves that can close out 2014 on a positive note while paving the way for a productive 2015. Here are a few such moves to consider: • Boost your retirement plan contributions. This actually isn’t an “end-of-year” move because you have until April 15, 2015, to contribute to your Roth or Traditional...
It’s almost Thanksgiving, a holiday that once celebrated the harvest season. Although many of us today may not be directly connected to agriculture, we still gather on Thanksgiving with our loved ones to share whatever “bounty” we may have. But this practice doesn’t have to begin and end with food. Why not incorporate the spirit of sharing into your overall financial strategy? Here are a few suggestions for doing just that: • Make financial gifts. You could give shares of stock to your loved ones, or perhaps give them money to help fund their I...
Americans are pretty generous — in fact, 83% of us donated money to charitable organizations last year, according to a Gallup survey. And now that we’re entering the holiday season, charitable giving well may be on your mind. Your key motivation for making charitable gifts, of course, is to help those organizations whose work is meaningful to you. However, by supporting these groups, you can also make life less “taxing” for yourself. Specifically, by making charitable contributions, you may be able to receive some valuable tax breaks. To clai...
All investors probably wish they had gotten in on the “ground floor” of Apple or Microsoft or any other big success story. And, in fact, you can indeed “be there from the beginning” by taking part in a company’s initial public offering (IPO). However, the ground floor of many IPOs may be shakier than you’d think — and might not provide you with the solid footing you need to invest wisely. Of course, not all IPOs are the same. Many large, profitable companies, seeking to raise capital, have gone public in recent years through IPOs. However...
November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month – a month dedicated to educating the public about the need to prepare for the potentially devastating costs of long-term care. And the more you know about these expenses, the better prepared you will be to deal with them. To begin with, just how expensive is long-term care? Consider this: The average cost for a private room in a nursing home is more than $87,000 per year, according to the 2014 Cost of Care Survey produced by Genworth, a financial-services company. And the average cost of an assisted l...
Whether you have young children or not, you’re probably well aware that Halloween is almost here. However, despite the plethora of skeletons and ghosts you might see floating around this week, you probably don’t have much to fear (except, possibly, running out of candy). But in real life, some things genuinely are frightening — such as “scary” investment moves. Of course, investing, by its very nature, is not a risk-free endeavor. Ideally, though, these risks are also accompanied by the possibility of reward. Nonetheless, some investmen...
Fierce opposition has met the slightest steps forward in humankind’s war upon any of the several viruses that inflict us. Fear of the unknown, religious persuasions, and lack of knowledge of the scientific method have each contributed to that opposition. For example, in Boston in 1721, another smallpox epidemic broke out. Cotton Mather, the pastor at the old North Church, had learned of inoculation as a means to prevent the disease, but he could convince only a single one of Boston’s several doctors, Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, to try the pro...
