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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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 If these designations become outdated, your assets could be passed to those you didn’t intend.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,...
Retirement can be an exciting, active time of your life. But if you’re going to get the full benefits from your retirement years — which could last two, or even three, decades — you’ll need to have a vision for what you want to do. And to transform this vision into reality, you’ll need to take a “holistic” approach — one that involves a financial strategy, clear communications with family members and an awareness of the challenges that may stand in your way. To articulate and achieve your vision, ask yourself a series of questions, such...
On April 22, we celebrate Earth Day — a day devoted to education and action on environmental issues. As a citizen of the world, you may have a keen interest in protecting your physical surroundings. And as someone trying to reach long-term financial goals, such as a comfortable retirement, you’re probably also interested in improving your investment environment. So here are a few suggestions: • Respond to environmental factors. Over the past few years, we’ve had a favorable investment climate, marked by low inflation, low interest rates a...
As you save and invest for retirement, what are your ultimate goals? Do you plan on traveling the world? Purchasing a vacation home? Pursuing your hobbies? People often think and plan for these costs. Yet, too often, many of us overlook what potentially could be a major expense during our retirement years: health care. By preparing for these costs, you can help yourself enjoy the retirement lifestyle you’ve envisioned. Many of us may ignore the impact of health care costs because we just assume Medicare will pay for everything. But that’s not...
If you’re one of the “millennials” — the generation that began in the early 1980s — you are still in the early stages of your career. Retirement must seem like a long way off — yet, it’s never too soon to start planning for it. At the same time, though, you may also have shorter-term goals. Can you make progress toward your near-term and long-term objectives at the same time? Yes, you can — but you’ll need to match your short- and long-term goals with the appropriate savings and investment vehicles. For example, one of your most important short...
If you’re like many travelers, you get a little nervous when your airplane goes through some turbulence. And if you’re like a lot of investors, you may get somewhat jumpy when the financial markets are volatile. Yet flight turbulence probably isn’t as scary as it seems, and the same may be true for market volatility — if you know how to respond. Let’s look at some positive responses to market movements: • Don’t overreact to turbulence. Turbulence happens on most flights, but passengers are well aware that they can’t “bail out” at 30,000 fe...
The days are getting longer and warmer — a sure indication of the arrival of spring. Another sign of the season may be the urge you get to do some spring cleaning. But you might not have realized that some of the same spring-cleaning techniques that can be used on your home can also apply to your investments and your overall financial strategy. Here are a few ideas to consider: • Get rid of “clutter.” As you do your spring cleaning, you may well find some clutter — a bunch of items you no longer need. As an investor, you might look at your p...
There’s nothing more important in the world to you than your family. However, your family-owned business probably helps support your family. So, when it comes to protecting both your family and your business, you need to carefully consider your moves. As you know, you face plenty of challenges to keep your business running smoothly — but it can be even more difficult to pass the family business on to your children or other relatives. In fact, according to the Small Business Administration, only 33% of family owned businesses survive the tra...
On March 8, we observe International Women’s Day, a celebration of women’s economic, political and social achievements. Yet women everywhere still face challenges — and here in the United States, one of their biggest challenges may be to gain the resources they need to enjoy a comfortable retirement. So, if you’re a woman, what steps should you take to make progress toward this goal? Your first move should be to recognize some of the potential barriers to attaining your financial freedom. First of all, a “wage gap” between women and men sti...
It’s a good thing to have some savings. When you put the money in a low-risk account, you can be pretty sure it will be readily available when you need it. Nonetheless, “saving” is not “investing” — and knowing the difference could pay off for you far into the future. Think about it this way: Saving is for today, while investing is for tomorrow. You need your savings to pay for your daily expenses, such as groceries, and your monthly bills — mortgage, utilities, and so on. In fact, you might even want your savings to include an emergency fun...
Valentine’s Day is almost here. This year, instead of sticking with flowers or chocolates for your valentine, why not give a gift with a future? Specifically, consider making a meaningful financial gift. However, a “meaningful” gift doesn’t gain its meaning from its size, but rather its impact. What types of financial gifts can have the greatest effect on the life of your loved one? Here are a few possibilities: Charitable gifts — Your valentine may well support the work of a variety of charitable organizations. Why not give to one of them,...
Even though it’s only February, college financial aid officers are already gathering documents, crunching numbers and otherwise working to determine grants for the school year that starts this coming fall. If you have children you plan on sending to college, how will your own savings and investments affect their chances of getting financial aid? The answer depends not only on how much money you have, but also where you keep it. Most colleges base their aid calculations on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which currently c...
If you’re a football fan (and probably even if you aren’t), you are aware that we’re closing in on the Super Bowl. This year’s event is unique in that it is the first Super Bowl held in an outdoor, cold-weather site — New Jersey, to be specific. However, the 2014 game shares many similarities to past Super Bowls in terms of what it took for the two teams to arrive at this point. And some of these same characteristics apply to successful investors. Here are a few of these shared traits: A good offense — Most Super Bowl teams are adept at mo...
You need to save and invest as much as possible to pay for the retirement lifestyle you’ve envisioned. But your retirement income also depends, to a certain degree, on how your retirement funds are taxed. And that’s why you may be interested in tax diversification. To understand the concept of tax diversification, you’ll need to be familiar with how two of the most important retirement-savings vehicles — an IRA and a 401(k) — are taxed. Essentially, these accounts can be classified as either “traditional” or “Roth.” When you invest in a tradi...
When you’re working to achieve your financial objectives, you will encounter obstacles. Some of these can be anticipated — for example, you won’t be able to invest as much as you want for retirement because you have to pay for your mortgage. Other challenges can’t be easily anticipated, but you can still plan for them — and you should. Obviously, the word “unexpected,” by definition, implies an unlimited number of possibilities. However, at different stages of your life, you may want to watch for some “expected” unexpected developments. For...
When you start out in your career, you’re probably not thinking much about retirement. At this point, your picture of a “retirement lifestyle” may be, at best, hazy, hidden as it is behind a veil of experiences you’ve yet to encounter. But as you move through the years, your view of retirement comes into clearer and closer focus — and this vision will have a big impact on your savings and investment strategies. Consequently, to create and implement those strategies effectively, you’ll need to define your retirement vision by identifying...
Every day of our lives, we make assumptions. We assume that the people we encounter regularly will behave in the manner to which we are accustomed. We assume that if we take care of our cars, they will get us to where we want to go. In fact, we need to make assumptions to bring order to our world. But in some parts of our life — such as investing — assumptions can prove dangerous. Of course, not all investment-related assumptions are bad. But here are a few that, at the least, may prove to be counter-productive: • “Real estate will always...
As an investor, you’ll eventually need to make all sorts of decisions — and some will be difficult. But there’s one choice you can make that can be relatively easy: reinvesting stock dividends. It’s simple to reinvest dividends — you just need to sign up for a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP). Once you do, you won’t receive dividends directly as cash; instead, your dividends will be directly reinvested in the underlying equity. Be aware, though, that you may incur a fee when reinvesting dividends. By doing some research, you can find compan...
At various times, many people may feel frustrated by the performance of their investments. For example, they expect growth, and they don’t get it — or they think the value of their investment won’t fluctuate much, but it does. However, some of this frustration might be alleviated if investors were more familiar with the nature of their investment vehicles. Specifically, it’s important to keep in mind the difference between long-term and short-term investments. What defines long-term and short-term investments? Long-term investments are those ve...
