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 may have heard that it’s important to take the emotions out of investing. But is this true for all emotions? Certainly, some emotions can potentially harm your investment success. Consider fear. If the financial markets are going through a down period – which is actually a normal part of the investment landscape – you might be so afraid of sustaining losses that you sell even the investments that have good prospects and are suitable for your needs. Greed is another negative emotion. When the financial markets are rising, you might be so mo...
Here’s something to think about:You could spend two, or even three, decades in retirement. To meet your income needs for all those years, you’ll generally need a sizable amount of retirement assets. How will Social Security fit into the picture? For most people, Social Security won’t be enough to cover the cost of living in retirement. Nonetheless, Social Security benefits are still valuable, so you’ll want to do whatever you can to maximize them. Your first move is to determine when you should start taking Social Security. You can begin c...
Now that we’ve gained at least some space from the COVID-19 pandemic, summer travel is heating up. While you might be eager to hit the road, you won’t want your investments to take a vacation – you need them to work hard for you consistently. But how can you make this happen? Here are some ideas: • Know your destination. “If you don’t know where you want to go, then it doesn’t matter which path you take.” This bit of wisdom, paraphrased from the classic children’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, may be appropriate for, say, hikers ex...
If you’re a dad, you may be in line to get some nice gifts on Father’s Day. But your greatest gift may be your ability to help your children. One way of doing that is to get them started in the world of investing – and making a few investments on their behalf. Here are three possibilities: • 529 plan – If you invest in a 529 education savings plan, your earnings can grow federally tax-free, provided the money is used for qualified educational expenses. (Withdrawals not used for these expenses will generally incur taxes and penalties on invest...
June is Effective Communication Month. And it’s a good idea to recognize the importance of good communications, because it plays a role in almost every aspect of living – including your finances. You’ll want to clearly communicate your financial goals to your loved ones – and you’ll want to hear theirs, too. Let’s look at some of the communications you might have with family members: • Your spouse – You and your spouse may have different thoughts about a range of financial topics – how much to save, how much to spend, the level of debt wit...
If you have children or grandchildren, you may already be somewhat familiar with the 529 plan, a popular education savings vehicle. But you may not have kept up with some recent changes in the plan’s capabilities and in the educational environment in which the plan might be used. Let’s start with the learning environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities switched to online classes, or at least to a hybrid of in-person and online. And even before the pandemic, many schools offered remote classes, though obviously not to...
The COVID-19 pandemic may have unsettled many aspects of your life – including your financial situation. Even if your employment and earnings were not directly affected, you might have concerns about whether you’ve been making the right investment moves in such a stressful environment. The pandemic is, hopefully, just a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, but different events can rattle financial markets. And changes in your own life also can affect your plans. To prepare yourself for whatever tomorrow may hold, you may want to get some pro...
Is homeownership a goal of yours? It does offer some benefits, in addition to meeting your basic need for shelter. The equity you build in your home can be a valuable financial asset, and you may get to deduct your interest payments on your taxes. But if you’re a first-time home- buyer, what steps should you take? First, make sure the time is right for you in terms of your personal and financial situations. For example, are you fairly con- fident that your employment is stable and that your earnings won’t decline? Of course, external eve...
Mother’s Day has almost arrived. As an adult, you can fully appreciate all your mother has done for you, so, on this occasion, you may be happy to give Mom flowers, candy, jewelry or something similar. But Mother’s Day is here and then it’s gone. Is there a longer-term gift that can make a real difference in your mother’s life? Actually, there is – the gift of knowledge for her financial future. Specifically, there are two key areas in which you may be able to provide valuable help to your mother: long-term care and estate planning. But don’t...
What’s the biggest financial mistake you can make? Choosing the wrong investments? Waiting too long to save for retirement? Underestimating the costs of retirement? All these are reasonable answers, but the biggest mistake you might make is not looking at your financial pic- ture holistically – that is, not bringing into the picture all the elements of yourself. Let’s consider some of them: • Your views on helping your family – Your decisions about helping your family are clearly going to be a major part of your financial strategy – and this is...
On April 22, we observe Earth Day, an occasion that has inspired millions of people over the decades to take steps to clean up our world. Of course, your physical surroundings are important, but you also operate in other “ecosystems” – social, cultural and political. And you’ll need to consider your investment environment, too. How can you improve it? Here are a few suggestions: • Avoid “toxic” investment strategies. The dangers of pollution helped drive the creation of Earth Day. As an investor, you also need to watch out for “toxins” – partic...
You might contribute to your IRA for decades to help pay for your retirement. But if you don’t need all the money, you may want to leave what’s left to your children or grandchildren. However, if you want to ensure they get the most from this inheritance, you’ll need to do some planning. Here’s a little background: Up until a couple of years ago, when you left the proceeds of your IRA to your beneficiaries, they could choose to “stretch” required withdrawals over a long period, based on their life expectancies. These required withdrawals...
The COVID-19 pandemic may end up changing our lives in some significant ways. To cite one example, it’s likely we’ll see a lot more people continue to work remotely, now that they’ve seen the effectiveness of tools such as video-conferencing. Education, too, may be forever changed in some ways. Perhaps just as important, though, is how many people may now think more about the future – including how they invest.If you work with a financial professional, you may have connected with this individual over the past several months through a videoco...
If you’re planning to retire in just a few years, you may be getting excited about this next phase of your life. However, your ability to enjoy retirement fully will depend, at least partially, on the resources you can draw from your investment portfolio. So, while you still have time to act, ask yourself if you’re comfortable with your portfolio’s risk level. Your relationship with risk can change noticeably over time. When you started saving for retirement, you may have been willing to take on more investment risk, which translated into a rel...
If you own a small business, you typically don’t get a lot of recognition – so you may be pleased to learn that March 29 is National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day. You might not necessarily think of your business as a “Mom and Pop” operation, but it certainly contributes to the well-being of your family now, and possibly to that of future generations, too – if you make the right moves. Depending on the nature of your business, you may have spent the past several months more concerned about today than tomorrow, given the serious economic...
In just a few days, we will experience the vernal equinox – one of the two times in the year when the sun is exactly above the equator. Apart from this astronomical anomaly, though, the equinox is mostly known as the beginning of spring – a fresh beginning and the time to spruce things up. This year, as you tidy up your home and surroundings, why not also consider some financial spring cleaning? Here are a few ideas for getting your financial house in order: • “De-clutter” your portfolio Over the years, many of us tend to pick up duplicate item...
On March 8, we observe International Women’s Day, a celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Of course, women still tend to encounter more obstacles than men in the pursuit of financial security. Let’s consider a few of them. To begin with, women are still more likely to leave the workforce, at least temporarily, to raise children, resulting in lower contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s. And women are often the ones who become full-time caregivers of aging parents or oth...
On March 8, we observe International Women’s Day, a celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Of course, women still tend to encounter more obstacles than men in the pursuit of financial security. Let’s consider a few of them. To begin with, women are still more likely to leave the workforce, at least temporarily, to raise children, resulting in lower contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s. And women are often the ones who become full-time caregivers of aging parents or oth...
If you have a child or other family member who has special needs due to physical or mental conditions, you face a variety of challenges planning for their care, including financial ones. You may also have some well-meaning relatives who want to help, but who may not realize that their moves could actually result in some serious lifestyle and monetary problems for your loved one. Fortunately, by planning ahead, you can avoid these potential traps. As you probably already know, individuals with special needs are eligible for a variety of...
If you’re in a blended family, you’re already aware of the emotional and finan- cial issues involved in your daily life. But what about the future? When it’s time to do your estate planning – and it’s never too soon for that – you’ll need to be aware of the entanglements and complexities that can get in the way of your vision for leaving the legacy you desire. You can take comfort in knowing that you’re far from alone. More than half of married or cohabiting couples with at least one living parent, or parent-in-law, and at least one adult...
For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic may be putting a hold on dinner at the charming local bistro, but the spirit of Valentine’s Day cannot be extinguished. This year, perhaps more so than in the past, you may want to make your Valentine’s Day gifts even more meaningful. So, for example, what can you give your loved ones to help them along on the road to financial security? Here are a few possibilities: Contribute (indirectly) to an IRA Virtually anyone with earned income can contribute to an IRA, which offers tax benefits and an almost unl...
If you’ve been investing for many years and you’ve owned bonds, you’ve seen some pretty big changes on your financial statements. In 2000, the average yield on a 10-year U.S. Treasury security was about 6percent; in 2010, it had dropped to slightly over 3percent , and for most of 2020, it was less than 1percent . That’s an enormous difference, and it may lead you to this question: With yields so low on bonds, why should you even consider them? Of course, while the 10-year Treasury note is an important benchmark, it doesn’t represent the retur...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have been forced to work from home. But once we’ve moved past the virus, many workers may continue working from home. More than one-third of companies with employees who started working from home now think that remote work will stay more common post-pandemic, according to a Harvard Business School study. This shift to at-home work can affect people’s lives in many ways – and it may end up providing workers with some long-term financial advantages. If you’re one of those who will continue working remotel...
If you’re close to retirement, you’ll have several financial issues to consider. But you’ll want to pay attention to one of the most important of these issues: health care costs. How can you prepare yourself for these expenses? First, get an early start on estimating health care costs. More than two-thirds of those planning to retire in the next 10 years say they have no idea what their health and long-term care costs will be in retirement, according to the Edward Jones/Age Wave Four Pillars of the New Retirement study. And some people don’t...
When you begin investing, you’ll generally assess your comfort with risk, as your investment choices will be guided at least partially by your risk tolerance. But once you actually experience the ups and downs of the market, this tolerance could be tested. Risk tolerance may appear less bothersome in the abstract but seem quite different in reality. For example, you might initially think you wouldn’t be fazed by short-term market downturns, no matter how severe. However, when the financial markets really decline, as happened when the COVID-19 p...
