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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If you work for a medium-to-large company, you may now be entering the “open enrollment” period — that time of year when you get to make changes to your employee benefits. Your benefit package can be a big piece of your overall financial picture, so you’ll want to make the right moves — especially in regard to your employer-sponsored retirement plan. Take a close look at your 401(k) or similar plan, such as a 403(b), if you work for a school or a nonprofit group, or a 457(b), if you work for a state or local government. And keep these pos...
As an investor, you may find that the elements of your portfolio that seem to draw most of your attention are stocks and bonds. After all, these investment vehicles, and others derived from them, provide you with potential growth and income opportunities — which is why you invest in the first place. Yet, you also may find significant value in a more humble financial asset: cash. In fact, you might be surprised at the various ways in which the cash, and cash equivalents, in your portfolio can help you complete your financial picture. One way to...
The kids are back at school and summer vacations are now just fading memories, so it must be autumn. But the seasons don’t just move on the calendar — they also change in your life. And, speaking of changes, you’ll have to make many of them as you move through the years — and that includes changes to your investment portfolio. But how will you know when it’s time to take action? Just as Mother Nature sends out “signals” to indicate a change in seasons — blooming flowers, falling leaves, warmer or colder temperatures, longer or shorter days, e...
As an investor, you’re well aware that, over the short term, the financial markets always move up and down. During your working years, you may feel that you have time to overcome this volatility. And you’d be basing these feelings on actual evidence: the longer the investment period, the greater the tendency of the markets to “smooth out” their performance. But what happens when you retire? Won’t you be more susceptible to market movements? You may not be as vulnerable as you might think. In the first place, given our growing awareness...
It probably doesn’t happen as much as you’d like, but from time to time, you have some extra disposable income. When this happens, how should you use the funds? Assuming you have adequate emergency savings — typically, three to six months’ worth of living expenses — should you pay off debts, or fund your IRA or another investment account? There’s no one “correct” answer — and the priority of these options may change, depending on your financial goals. However, your first step may be to consider what type of debt you’re thinking of paying...
Are you ready for this? September is National Preparedness Month. Sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Preparedness Month seeks to educate Americans on preparing for natural disasters and other types of emergencies. But you’ll also need to prepare for unexpected events in many other areas of your life — particularly those events related to the financial security of you and your family. Here are some of the most important of these events, along with possible preparations for them: • Unanticipated early retir...
On Sept. 8, we observe National Grandparents Day. If you have grandchildren, they will hopefully mark this occasion by sending a card, making a call or, best of all, paying a visit. But however your grandchildren express their feelings for you, you undoubtedly have a very big place in your heart for them. In fact, you may well be planning on including your grandchildren in your estate plan. If that’s the case, you’ll want to do the best you can to preserve the size of your estate — without sacrificing the ability to enjoy life during your...
It’s just about Back-to-School time again. If you have young children, you might be hustling them to the store for backpacks and binders. But if you fast-forward a few years, you can envision driving your kids a little farther — to their college dorms. And when that day comes, you’ll want to be financially prepared. So you’ll want to avoid making costly mistakes when preparing for, and paying, those big bills. Here are some of the most common of these errors: • Not saving enough — Only half of all families with children under 18 save any mo...
On Sept. 1, we observe Labor Day — a celebration of the American worker. Of course, you work hard at your own job, but, when you think of it, every worthwhile endeavor in life requires significant effort — and that’s certainly the case with investing. The harder you work at it, the more likely you are to make progress toward your goals. So as you think about investing, consider the following areas in which you will need to apply yourself: • Work to identify your goals. It’s important that you know just why you’re investing. Do you want to sen...
If you’re a baby boomer, you’re at the point in life where, if you haven’t actually entered retirement, you’re at least approaching the outskirts. But if you’re like many of your fellow boomers, you may be experiencing more than a little trepidation over your financial prospects as a retiree. That’s why it’s so important for you to determine what steps to take to help improve your chances of enjoying a comfortable retirement. Just how worried are baby boomers about their future? Consider these numbers: Seventy-two percent of non-retired b...
Unless you keep close track of obscure holidays and observances, you probably didn’t know that August is “What Will Be Your Legacy? Month.” Still, you might want to use this particular month as a useful reminder to take action on what could be one of your most important financial goals: leaving a meaningful legacy. A legacy isn’t simply a document or a bunch of numbers — it’s what you will be remembered for, and what you have left behind that will be remembered. It’s essentially your chance to contribute positively to the future, whether that...
If you want to send your children or grandchildren to college, retire comfortably and achieve other important life goals, you will have to invest — it’s that simple. But the process of investing can sometimes seem anything but simple. What can you do to gain confidence that you are making the right investment moves? The answer may depend on how involved you want to be with your investment decisions. Initially, you might think that you would like to be totally “hands on.” After all, how you save and invest your money is unquestionably a highly p...
If you think back to your math classes in high school or college, you may remember that many of the problems involved the use of variables. Changing these variables around in any fashion would change the outcome of the problem. Similar situations occur in life all the time. To illustrate: If you look at the need to manage your retirement income so that you can’t outlive it as a “problem” to be solved, you will need to adjust some variables to arrive at the solution you seek. That’s why it’s so important you be aware of the key variables...
Baseball’s best players gathered in Minneapolis this week to participate in the All-Star Game. If you’re a fan or even a “weekend athlete,” you can admire these players for their abilities, even if you — like the vast majority of humanity — can’t hope to duplicate them. But if you’re an investor, you may be able to learn some practical lessons from the All Stars. So let’s look at a few common All Star traits to see how they might apply to investors: • Consistency — All Stars typically don’t just have a few good weeks or months — they tend to b...
Everyone needs to be aware of the financial resources they will have available in retirement. But if you’re a woman, you must be particularly diligent, for a variety of reasons. And that means you’ll need to know just what to expect from Social Security. Why should you, as a woman, pay extra attention to Social Security? For one thing, women often take time off from their careers to care for children and older parents, so they may accumulate less money in employer-sponsored retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans. And women still live several...
It’s almost the Fourth of July, the day when we celebrate our independence as a nation and the many liberties we enjoy as individuals. Still, we have to keep working to earn some freedoms — such as financial freedom. But by making the right moves, you may eventually enjoy your own Financial Independence Day. Here are a few such moves to consider: • Set free your vision. Your first step in moving toward financial independence is to establish a vision of what this freedom might look like. Ask yourself some key questions: When do I want to retir...
Here’s an interesting statistic: Over the past three decades, the centenarian population in the United States has grown about 66%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a good chance of living to 100 — but the possibility may not be as remote as it once was. In any case, if you do plan to retire in your mid-60s, and you are in good health, you may well have two, or even three, decades ahead of you. To enjoy this time to the fullest — and to help prevent the possibility of outliving your fi...
Summer is almost here — which means it’s officially vacation season. You may be looking forward to “getting away from it all,” but, as you know, vacations actually require a fair amount of planning. And it might surprise you to learn that some of the efforts required for successful vacations can impart some valuable lessons in other areas of your life — such as investing. Here are some vacation-related moves that you may want to transfer to the investment and financial arenas: • Secure your home. If you’re going on vacation for a week or so, y...
Are you thinking of investing in municipal bonds? If so, you may have good reason, particularly if you are in one of the higher tax brackets. After all, municipal bond interest payments typically are exempt from federal income taxes, and possibly state and local income taxes, too — although some “munis” are subject to the alternative minimum tax. However, since not all municipal bonds are the same, you’ll want to know the differences — especially in terms of risk. Municipal bonds, like corporate bonds, essentially face two types of risk: intere...
June is a popular month for weddings. If you’re getting married this month, you no doubt have many exciting details to discuss with your spouse-to-be. But after you get back from the honeymoon, you’ll want to have another discussion — about your finances. It might not sound glamorous, but couples who quickly “get on the same page” regarding their financial situation are actually taking a step that can help them immensely as they build their lives together. As you start talking about your finances, be sure to cover these areas: • Separate or...
In many areas of your life, you’re probably aware that it’s useful to keep emotions out of your decision-making — and that’s certainly the case with investing. However, it can be difficult to keep your feelings from influencing your investment decisions. But you may find it easier to invest with your head, rather than your heart, if you know a little something about two different cycles: the market cycle and your emotional cycle. Let’s start with the market cycle. If you’ve been investing for a while, you’re aware (probably highly aware)...
Like many people, you might not particularly enjoy thinking about your estate plans, but such planning is necessary to make sure your assets go where you want them to go. And it’s just as important to regularly review your plans with your tax, legal and financial professionals in case any changes are needed. For instance, some of your wishes expressed in your will may be overridden by beneficiary designations you filled out years ago. If these designations become outdated, your assets could be passed to those you didn’t intend. You might be...
Another school year is drawing to a close. If you have young children, you might be planning for their summer activities. But you also might want to look even farther into the future — to the day when your kids say “goodbye” to their local schools and “hello” to their college dormitories. When that day arrives, will you be financially prepared to pay for the high costs of higher education? Consider this: For the 2013–2014 academic year, the average cost (tuition, fees, room and board) was $18,391 for an in-state student at a four-year public co...
A few days ago, we observed May Day, a celebration of spring. And, after a long and hard winter in many parts of the country, most of us are ready for sunshine, warmer temperatures and the hopefulness that spring always symbolizes. But as winter gives way to spring, we are also reminded that our lives have “seasons,” too — and it pays to be prepared for all of them. So, as you move into the “retirement season,” you’ll need to prepare for several possible challenges, including the following: Outliving your resources — The idea of outliving one...
You didn’t see it on your calendar, but Tax Freedom Day fell on April 21 this year. So, why not mark the occasion by beginning to look for ways to become a “tax-smart” investor? Tax Freedom Day, calculated annually by the Tax Foundation, is the day on which Americans have earned enough money to pay this year’s federal, state and local taxes. Of course, Tax Freedom Day is something of a fiction, because most people pay their taxes throughout the year, via their paychecks. Furthermore, as famed Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes,...
