Dow Breaking New Records, Part 2
July 31, 2007
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the Dow breaking new records when the Dow broke 14,000 for the first time. Last week, the Dow broke records of a different kind as the market dropped 585 points.
So, should you be doing anything different, given last week’s brutul drop? Nope…
As I tell clients all the time, what the market does on a day to day basis means very little, when you are investing for long term goals.
Here’s a great article I found on CNN’s Money site, that explains why "a triple digit change in the Dow means… almost nothing".
New – Mom’s Money Podcast
July 30, 2007
Kelly McCausey, along with hosts Carrie Lauth, Tishia Lee, Jennifer Gniadecki, and Sarah Zeldman, have started a weekly Internet radio show and podcast called Mom’s Money.
On this show, the five moms share about their experiences, good and bad, with money.
This week’s show, join Kelly as she takes a trip down memory lane and shares how her childhood memories formed the way she thinks about money.
http://momsmoney.com/blog/moms-money-7/
How to Get an Employer Identification Number
July 29, 2007
Lately, I’ve had several clients contact me to say that they had to pay a fee for their Employer Identification Number (EIN).
This was perplexing to me, since applying for an EIN has always been free.
So, I did some research, and discovered that if you do a web search for EIN, you may be taken to a company website that charges a fee (average seems to be $150-200) to apply for an EIN.
Will Having a Roth IRA Hurt My Child’s Financial Aid?
July 26, 2007
I frequently recommend that parents use Roth IRAs to help save for their children’s college education.
If the child has earned income, they could open their own Roth IRA; if they don’t have earned income, then the parents could use their own Roth IRAs to help save for college (assuming they qualify to contribute to a Roth).
But, can opening a Roth IRA hurt your child’s chances for financial aid?
"No", says Janet Bodnar of Kiplinger.com. "Opening a Roth for your child probably won’t hurt his chances for financial aid. The federal formula for calculating how much a family can pay doesn’t assess retirement accounts — and that goes for your child’s account as well as your own."
Everything You Need to Know About Budgeting
July 25, 2007
Pop quiz: How much money did you spend last month and on what? Sure, most of us have a rough idea how much we paid for the basics, such as utilities, groceries, rent or mortgage. But do you know how much you spent — down to the penny — on little things, such as coffee, dining out, movies or drinks after work? Have you ever taken the time to keep a running tally of everything you shelled out cash for or charged to a credit card in a week, month or even a year?
Another 30 Day Blogging Challenge
July 24, 2007
Summer time is here, and I don’t know about you, but I get distracted easily by thoughts of a bike ride, a long walk in the park, or just sitting out on the deck reading a book. Unfortunately, my blog (and other non-essential business activities) gets less and less attention during the summer.
To help keep our blogs in shape this summer, Crystal at Happy Mommy Thougths has set up a challenge to post each day for the next 30 days. The following fellow bloggers are taking part in this 30 day blog challenge:
Getting Your Free Annual Credit Report
July 23, 2007
I ask all of my clients to request their annual free credit report to make sure that there aren’t any errors on their credit report, or worse, that they haven’t become a fraud or identity theft victim.
The website to obtain your free annual credit report is www.annualcreditreport.com.
I recently saw an article in the Kansas City Star that addresses common questions or problems that people have when requesting their credit report.
Click here for tips on getting your free annual credit report.
Why You Need Bond Funds
July 22, 2007
With the stock market doing so well, you might be wondering…
1. Why aren’t my bond funds performing well? or
2. Why do I need bond funds in my portfolio?
The main purpose of bond funds (or bonds) is to provide diversification for your portfolio. Diversification reduces the risk that your portfolio will lose money in a market downturn.
Bond funds typically go down when the stock market is performing well, and up when the stock market takes a turn down. So when your stocks and stock funds are performing well, it’s normal for your bond funds to have a small or even a negative return.
Getting out of debt: how to stay motivated
July 18, 2007
Getting out of debt is a goal that many Americans would like to achieve. But, like many New Year’s resolutions, this goal is often abandoned shortly after the goal is set. Why is that?
One reason is that getting out of debt often takes a long time, so there are no immediate rewards for paying off debt. This leads to a lack of motivation to meet this goal. After all, it’s hard to keep with a debt management plan when you may not see the benefits for several years.
Dow Continues to Break New Records
July 17, 2007
The Dow Jones has broken records four days in a row now. Today it closed just below 14,000, setting yet another record.
What does this mean to you and your portfolio?
It means it’s time to rebalance your portfolio! It’s more important than ever to rebalance your portfolio when the market sets new records every day.
Rebalancing is putting your portfolio back to it’s original asset mix, by selling your winners and buying the losers. If you don’t rebalance your portfolio when the stock market is doing well, you take more risk in your portfolio because your stock allocation grows to a larger percentage of your portfolio.
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