Articles
401k Guarantees?
As my colleagues and I inform people about a pathway to personal wealth and retirement income that blows the socks off of “Wall Street” plans – we find more people coming to the defense of their 401k (or it’s close cousins – the IRA, 403b, 457, SIMPLE, and SEP). It’s...
House of Cards
There’s not a whole lot of disagreement that another bubble is going to burst soon. The only debate is what “soon” means. The catalyst that brings on the next round of financial calamity may turn out to be a close relative of the catalyst that brought on the last...
What Your Kids think about Money and Investing
Millennials (those between 13 and 32) aren’t investing. It’s not because they don’t have the money. It’s not because they don’t have a strong saving instinct (on the frugality scale – they’re closer to the Greatest Generation). And it’s not that they’re not saving....
The High Cost of Bank CDs
I recently built this chart for a series of speaking engagements I was asked to deliver. I used it to make a variety of different points – many of which I’ll share with you in the coming weeks. But for starters, I wanted to highlight some thoughts about investing fees...
Illusions of the 401k Kind
Chances are – you’ve looked at your 401k (or similar) statement lately and noticed that it has gone up in value. Congratulations! But on further inspection, is that growth a result of your wise investing decisions - or is something else going on? Before you conclude...
Another Reason Fees Matter
Okay – so I tend to rail on the cost of Wall Street fees and commissions. But I do so for two important reasons. First, it matters – a great deal. Second, most of us just don’t pay enough attention to fees. If we discovered termites eating away at our home, we...
The Other Danger in Risk (is that redundant?)
Most Wall Street types say retirees can safely draw about 4% of their account out each year as retirement income. So $1 million at retirement would mean about $40,000 a year in retirement income. They call it “the 4% rule” – although it’s really more a rule of...
The Power of Zero
David McKnight’s book – The Power of Zero, asks a very interesting question: “What tax bracket do you want to be in when you retire?” Most of would us never ask ourselves such a question because we don’t think we have much influence over it. But that thinking can...
Why are Home Prices So Slow to Recover?
I committed the cardinal sin of arguing with a client recently over what happened in the housing bubble of 2008. He owns a number of rental properties, and insists that greedy banks caused the mortgage collapse by writing bad loans. My take is a bit different – okay...
The Thing about Losing Money….
Let’s face it – we’re not sooth-sayers and neither are our financial advisors. So from time to time – a market or an investment is going to stick us with a loss. No big deal. Get back on the up elevator and it will soon be a distant memory. But the truth is, losses...
Enough of this “Rendering unto Caesar” stuff
Now that tax-season is in the rearview mirror, it may seem that you paid more than normal – or that your usually fat refund lost a little of its girth this year. Well taxes did go up - again. There are so many sneaky ways for our government to increase taxes …...
Tuition Free College, Anyone?
Here’s a novel idea for college bound students and their families that looks like it’s about to be tested for real in – of all places – Michigan. The idea is that students would be able to go to college tuition-free for the duration of their studies. In exchange, the...
60 Minutes: “The Stock Market is Rigged”
60 Minutes recent declaration that the stock market is rigged (based on Michael Lewis' new book Flash Boys) isn’t much of a revelation. My book - Rigged, Unlearning Mainstream Financial Propaganda and Building Your Personal Fortune - has been out for over a year and...
Easy Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
In my last article I shared a story about the importance of attention to your credit history. It impacts not just matters of credit, but it will also dictate the rates you pay for auto and homeowner’s insurance, and will be scrutinized by potential employers. Your...
What I Learned from my Daughter
As a supposed personal finance expert, I’ve seen my share of credit horror stories - that often takes years to repair. As my kids prepared for college a few years ago – they started getting credit card offers by the droves. I was very deliberate in advising them to...
Dog Chases Car. Dog Catches Car. Now What?
It seems to be a universal canine attribute that dogs just love to chase cars. But I wonder if the dog has ever considered what it would do if it were to catch the car? When we invest, our goal is to grow our money. But growing investments are a little like the dog...
142 Years of History Tells us: “Stop Losing Money”
I found a really cool calculator on the web the other day. I know what you’re thinking – a calculator can be cool? Indulge me for a moment. This calculator reveals what the S&P 500 returned over any period of years going as far back as 1871. And from then until...
Lessons from the Old West
When horse-drawn wagons journeyed their way up mountains in the old west, cowboys would put a “wheel-chock” behind the wagon wheels when they stopped to rest. Without brakes as we know them – that wheel chock - usually just a rock or a chunk of wood – could save a...
“No, I don’t, … Yes, you do”
More and more I find the Wall Streeters are brainwashing people into believing they’re paying no fees and commissions to invest. In fact, many of them debate the point vigorously! Here’s my open letter to two of them. · Dear Daughter: Company sponsored plans...
Price Check – Aisle 9
While everything around us gets more expensive, one thing is getting cheaper – life insurance. That’s because we’re living longer – which means insurance companies push their payment obligation farther into the future and collect premiums for a longer period of...
The Incredible – Shrinking 401k
Once upon a time, the good old “defined benefit” pension plan promised Ma and Pa a guaranteed lifetime retirement income. Employers put a portion of an employee’s salary into an account that would be invested over the years to cover the retirement income obligation....
The House Always Wins
Unless you’re in Seattle – this year’s Super Bowl didn’t leave us much to talk about football-wise. So let’s look at the Super Bowl from a Las Vegas perspective. When the Seattle/Denver opponents were decided, Vegas odds-makers issued a “line” at Seattle minus 2 –...
Are You at Risk of Becoming a Chronic “Under-Spender?”
Far more people have over-spending problems - than have under-spending problems - so you may be tempted to dismiss this article as completely irrelevant. But there’s a good chance that even if you’re an over-spender now - you’ll find yourself an under-spender in...
Zero Gravity Wealth
A recent NASA report shows that astronauts who spend 6 months in space grow by 3% - or about 2-inches. The reason? Gravity does not restrict the body’s natural inclination to grow. So what would happen if our money wasn’t subject to the gravitational pull of taxes,...
The Great Term Life Insurance Debate
Term - or permanent - that is the (insurance) question. “Experts” like Dave Ramsey say we should only own term life insurance. Build enough wealth, he says, and we won’t need life insurance after the kids are grown and gone. Let’s start here. If we’re financially...
How Much and For What?
It's March, 1981: I’m a college senior following my beloved Indiana Hoosiers to Philadelphia for the final four…without a ticket, of course. Seeing a group of cabbies selling tickets curbside, I approach. A guy who would make Leroy Brown look stunted and...
The Hierarchy of Money
How valuable is each dollar you receive? It depends how you receive that dollar. A dollar that is “gifted” to us is more valuable than a dollar of wages paid to us. Why? Because a dollar in wage must be taxed first, leaving us with less than a dollar. There’s a...
No More Wall Street – LIVE!
No More Wall Street Live is an ongoing series of Live web events hosted and conducted by Jay Beattey. Based on his best-selling book Rigged, Unlearning Mainstream Financial Propaganda and Building Your Personal Fortune, Jay will walk you through the wealth-building...
Dead End Jobs and Youth Unemployment
Full disclosure - I’m over 50 - so I have what some would consider a set of old fashioned values. I’m also the father of two recent college grads, and am concerned about the whole issue of youth underemployment, unemployment, and the inability of college grads to get...
The Whacky World of the ACA (Obamacare)
To summarize the chaos in the health insurance arena would take more column-inches than I devote to this space. But let me touch on two lesser known consequences of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) that - regardless of your politics - will have you shaking your...
