If the parents are paying, a college education is priceless. If they aren’t, it’s an investment—and the return better outweigh the cost.
I VISUALIZED a retirement far different from the one I’ve experienced. Before I quit the workforce, I thought my retirement would be a carefree life where I could do what I want, when I want. I could work, travel, sleep all day. There would be few limits. Why? I had no money issues and few responsibilities.
Today, that seems like a dream. Since retiring, I realize my retirement is constantly changing. Unexpected events and expenses can derail the best-laid plans.
IT’S INTUITIVE that, the cheaper a stock is when you buy it, the greater the expected risk-adjusted return. Indeed, academic research has shown this to be true. Eugene Fama and Kenneth French demonstrated in a 1992 academic paper how, over the long term, so-called value stocks have delivered significantly higher returns than growth stocks.
Fama and French defined value stocks as those companies with a book value—the accounting difference between corporate assets and liabilities—that was high relative to their stock market value.
THE INSURANCE market for long-term-care coverage has had a checkered history—and yet there’s an increasing need for LTC insurance among aging baby boomers. My advice: Forget the original standalone insurance products and instead focus on the new hybrid policies.
What went wrong with the original standalone products? They proved to be underpriced. With policyholders living longer, insurers found themselves paying out more than anticipated. Policyholders also didn’t drop their policies as often as insurers expected—and the low lapse rate meant insurance companies had less chance to book profits while incurring no LTC expenses.
IT’S GRADUATION season. Entering the workforce? Here are five steps to help you jumpstart your financial life:
1. Manage your debt. If you’re like many graduates, you have student loans. Depending on how much you owe, you may be wondering how best to allocate your new paycheck. Should you direct every available dollar toward your loans or does it also make sense to begin saving? While everyone’s situation is unique, I have two suggestions.
AS I GROW OLDER, I find I become ever more deliberate in how I spend my time and money. How can I get maximum happiness from the dollars I have? How can I get the most from the years that remain? As I wrestle with these questions, six notions have come into much sharper focus:
1. Fewer hassles mean greater happiness. When I was in my 20s, I owned a series of clunkers that turned every trip into a nail-biter.
IF YOU’RE in a financial hole, is it prudent to keep digging?
There are 60 million Americans covered by Medicare, including 20 million who have opted for Medicare Advantage. These beneficiaries paid for their coverage through payroll taxes during their working years, and they currently pay with premiums and out-of-pocket cost sharing, as well as through taxes on Social Security benefits.
Still, this covers only a portion of total costs. In 2013, 38% of Medicare’s costs came from payroll taxes and 13% from Medicare premiums,
WHEN ASKED how their financial situation today compares to before the Great Recession, 43% said they were better off, 33% said about the same and 23% said they were worse off, according to a Bankrate survey.
NO. 55: THE BEST part of spending is often the anticipation, while the purchase itself usually disappoints. Buying a new car? Plan far ahead, so you enjoy a long period of eager anticipation.
NO. 78: INVESTORS often boost their annual tax bill—by gleefully selling their taxable account’s winners, while refusing to unload losers. But to trim taxes, you should do the opposite: Sell losers, so you have losses to offset realized capital gains and even ordinary income. Meanwhile, hang onto winners, thus deferring the capital-gains tax bill.
BUY THE BIG THREE. The market portfolio consists of four major sectors, roughly equal in size: U.S. stocks, U.S. bonds, foreign shares and foreign bonds. Arguably, foreign bonds are optional, offering modest yields but wild currency swings. The other three sectors, however, are crucial to a diversified portfolio. Do you have enough exposure to all three?
SHORT-TERMISM. To have a bright financial future, we need to save diligently and invest for the long haul. Yet often we think only of today, leading us to overspend and get caught up in short-term market swings. What to do? Wait a week before acting on major spending and investing decisions, while also visualizing how great it’ll be to achieve your long-term goals.
I VISUALIZED a retirement far different from the one I’ve experienced. Before I quit the workforce, I thought my retirement would be a carefree life where I could do what I want, when I want. I could work, travel, sleep all day. There would be few limits. Why? I had no money issues and few responsibilities.
Today, that seems like a dream. Since retiring, I realize my retirement is constantly changing. Unexpected events and expenses can derail the best-laid plans.
IT’S INTUITIVE that, the cheaper a stock is when you buy it, the greater the expected risk-adjusted return. Indeed, academic research has shown this to be true. Eugene Fama and Kenneth French demonstrated in a 1992 academic paper how, over the long term, so-called value stocks have delivered significantly higher returns than growth stocks.
Fama and French defined value stocks as those companies with a book value—the accounting difference between corporate assets and liabilities—that was high relative to their stock market value.
THE INSURANCE market for long-term-care coverage has had a checkered history—and yet there’s an increasing need for LTC insurance among aging baby boomers. My advice: Forget the original standalone insurance products and instead focus on the new hybrid policies.
What went wrong with the original standalone products? They proved to be underpriced. With policyholders living longer, insurers found themselves paying out more than anticipated. Policyholders also didn’t drop their policies as often as insurers expected—and the low lapse rate meant insurance companies had less chance to book profits while incurring no LTC expenses.
IT’S GRADUATION season. Entering the workforce? Here are five steps to help you jumpstart your financial life:
1. Manage your debt. If you’re like many graduates, you have student loans. Depending on how much you owe, you may be wondering how best to allocate your new paycheck. Should you direct every available dollar toward your loans or does it also make sense to begin saving? While everyone’s situation is unique, I have two suggestions.
AS I GROW OLDER, I find I become ever more deliberate in how I spend my time and money. How can I get maximum happiness from the dollars I have? How can I get the most from the years that remain? As I wrestle with these questions, six notions have come into much sharper focus:
1. Fewer hassles mean greater happiness. When I was in my 20s, I owned a series of clunkers that turned every trip into a nail-biter.
IF YOU’RE in a financial hole, is it prudent to keep digging?
There are 60 million Americans covered by Medicare, including 20 million who have opted for Medicare Advantage. These beneficiaries paid for their coverage through payroll taxes during their working years, and they currently pay with premiums and out-of-pocket cost sharing, as well as through taxes on Social Security benefits.
Still, this covers only a portion of total costs. In 2013, 38% of Medicare’s costs came from payroll taxes and 13% from Medicare premiums,
WHEN ASKED how their financial situation today compares to before the Great Recession, 43% said they were better off, 33% said about the same and 23% said they were worse off, according to a Bankrate survey.
NO. 55: THE BEST part of spending is often the anticipation, while the purchase itself usually disappoints. Buying a new car? Plan far ahead, so you enjoy a long period of eager anticipation.
BUY THE BIG THREE. The market portfolio consists of four major sectors, roughly equal in size: U.S. stocks, U.S. bonds, foreign shares and foreign bonds. Arguably, foreign bonds are optional, offering modest yields but wild currency swings. The other three sectors, however, are crucial to a diversified portfolio. Do you have enough exposure to all three?
NO. 78: INVESTORS often boost their annual tax bill—by gleefully selling their taxable account’s winners, while refusing to unload losers. But to trim taxes, you should do the opposite: Sell losers, so you have losses to offset realized capital gains and even ordinary income. Meanwhile, hang onto winners, thus deferring the capital-gains tax bill.
SHORT-TERMISM. To have a bright financial future, we need to save diligently and invest for the long haul. Yet often we think only of today, leading us to overspend and get caught up in short-term market swings. What to do? Wait a week before acting on major spending and investing decisions, while also visualizing how great it’ll be to achieve your long-term goals.