Financial Planning

Hi-rate online savings account allowing 3 owners?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:08:08 -0400

My mom just closed on her condo. She already has investments that she has (unfortunately) been selling for living expenses. Because of a generous unlimited LTC policy, the cost of living in her ALF is modest. The investment sales will cease and ...The post does not have replies yet. Start the discussion here

Are fund managers worth their salt?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:02:15 -0400

I notice most fund managers have fancy corporate titles or Ivy league degrees but have very little street smarts business experience. They typically have climbed to the top of the ladder of investment firms or have Phds, but almost none have any e...... The post has 1 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Where to invest my SEP?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:02:13 -0400

Thanks to all the fantastic replies , I went ahead and opened a SEP with Fidelity. Based on my business income I calculated I can invest 8k per year. I would like to put in something aggressive as my 401k is conservatively invested and I want to di...... The post has 4 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Early retirement

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:04:52 -0400

Id like to see comments on the issue of early retirement. First, consumers in their 50s and 60s spend more on healthcare than youngsters, so they will need a good insurance policy. Around here that costs around 1000/month. Ignoring taxes becau...... The post has 15 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Calculating rate of return from a stream of invest...

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:19:14 -0400

Hi, Suppose you are investing several times into a single stock, mutual fund, etc. What is the proper way of calculating the interest rate How would one annualize it What is the name for this calculation For example, at the beginning of the ye...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Estate account and FDIC

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:50:35 -0400

My wife very recently passed away and I am going to have to set up an estate account for a year or two. Not a large estate but definitely well over the FDIC 100k individual insurance limit. I dont recall anything on their web page directly addre...... The post has 4 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

upon death - what happens to your accounts

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:52:17 -0400

we were chatting with some extended family members, and was wondering about some death issues... So what happens when a person dies with respect to their accounts. Not related to taxes... but you can comment... more of avail & access. How d...... The post has 7 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Tax planning-questions

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:25:19 -0400

I have been researching my personal income taxes. What I had in 2007, what I will have in 2008, and some go forward issues. Some questions and comments 2007 AGI 103k taxable income 63k federal tax owed 8700 8.4 effective tax Ohio state tax owe...... The post has 15 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

What assumptions do you make about future tax rate...

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:45:49 -0400

I tried to answer this message twice, but without success. So Im going to try this third attempt by entering a fresh post, altering the subject slightly. I didnt give enough details. Here they are now, based upon my last tax return. Some n...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

What assumptions to make about future tax rates?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:04:44 -0400

Im facing a sticky problem. Ive been a good saver all my life, and as a result I have a great deal of money in traditional IRAs. Im age 75 and as a result taking out RMDs on these IRAs. These RMDs push my income (pension, dividends and soc...... The post has 9 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Professionally managed 401K?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:04:39 -0400

The company I work for has a typical 401k plan with about 1520 mutual funds to choose from, with various concentrations (growth, value, international, bonds, money market etc.). The selection is ok, but it could be better. The company that handles...... The post has 6 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Balance Sheet Strength

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:14:15 -0400

I am a new poster trying to understand security analysis. I decided to start out with ExxonMobil since it is a prime example of a blue chip. However, I am slightly confused. It has a huge number on its accounts payable line. Although I understan...... The post has 4 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Covered Call Strategy... makes sense?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:05:47 -0400

Hello all... I found this strategy on another BAC forum. The author claims it is a way to collect dividends and avoid downside risk. Seems too good to be true, Im sure Im missing something... any thoughts I simply copied and pasted it below. "S...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Inflation

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:58:16 -0400

My personal opinion is that well see inflation increasing, possibly to 1520 per year, going on for a few years. I do not really want to argue about it and want you to assume for a minute that it is true and think under this assumption. The qu...... The post has 66 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Scottrade Elite User's Summit - Has anyone gone?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:05:02 -0400

Im seriously thinking about going to the one in Chicago and was wondering if anyone has gone to any of the other ones they have had so far and what you thought of it It would be a 5 hour drive for me, so I want to be sure it would be helpful be...The post does not have replies yet. Start the discussion here

HSA

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:15:08 -0400

What is your thinking about not using money in an HSA for medical expenses if you can afford to pay from your other resources, to allow the HSA to build up. Assume a healthy, well off person, 50 years old, little medical expenses or needs. If ...... The post has 23 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:55:07 -0400

Im a first time poster who wants to learn the basics of stock analysis. How does a governmet bailout wipe out stockholders Are Fannie and Freddie really on thin ice financially Misc.invest.financialplan...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Financial Institutional Damage

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:16:00 -0400

We have clearly heard about how some of the financial institutions have been hit by the mortgage issues, but not much has been reported if Fidelity has suffered any damage. I would like to hear opinions on this. Maybe there is a mortgage arm of...... The post has 6 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

savings account

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:02:21 -0400

I also have a savings account. My bank has a offer that you sign up and use you debit card and they will transfer the change to your savings account and my bank transfers money every month to my savings I saved 6.40 already this month so far. ...... The post has 34 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Value of prepaying

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:57:23 -0400

I have an option to prepay my ISP bill. 419.40 for one year, versus 39.95 per month for 12 months. What is the best way to figure the advantage/disadvantage of prepaying ron Misc.invest.financialplan ...... The post has 10 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Am I overcontributing to retirement accounts?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:08:57 -0400

Thanks to a side business and being extremely frugal , I save around 510k/ month. So I have maxed out my 401k, Traditional IRA. Now my question is should I open a SEP account and invest 10k/ year This would bring my total contribution to retire...... The post has 14 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Minimum attorney fees for settling estates in PA

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:45:01 -0400

A relative of my wifes who is a Pennsylvania resident died last year. The executrix of the estate is the decedents sister. To be very clear, no lawyer or law firm was named as the executor of the estate. The executrix has reported to my wife tha...... The post has 17 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

FDIC Processing Speed

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:21:38 -0400

In case anyone is interested... I had one client that held brokered IndyMac CDs when the youknowwhat hit the fan. Because the CDs are brokered and held in street name, they were treated differently from the CDs actually purchased AT the bank. I do...The post does not have replies yet. Start the discussion here

Stock Dilution

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:46:59 -0400

Does anyone know if stock dilution (as we are hearing about in regard to Merrill Lynch) affects preferred shares as well as common shares Misc.invest.financialplan is a moderated newsgroup where Moderators s...... The post has 1 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Retirement Cash Out...How BIG a Hit ???

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:01:16 -0400

bHello.../b In addition to my 401K I have set up thru my employer...I have an Oppenheimer MidCap & a Roth IRA set up w/ PNC Investments. Several years ago, my broker (now retired) told me my contract stated I could cash out for a mere 1 h...... The post has 7 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

What banks are safe?

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:00:38 -0400

With the failure of two independent banks on Friday, I am concerned about an account that my mother in an independent bank. It is over the 100K FDIC limit. My plan is to split the account into two and move them to two "safe" banks. The question i...... The post has 12 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

shredding lots of old statements/docs

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:00:21 -0400

Ive got a couple of boxes of old brokerage statements going back to the 1980s. Id like to get rid of them all, and go paperless, since I use Quicken to monitor the accounts, and the paper PDF images are avail online if I need them. Anyway las...... The post has 9 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Marginal rate definition

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:00:31 -0400

In the current thread discussing Bill Ws adoption credit, a number of people are saying that he (and I) are incorrect to call his current situation a total 67 marginal rate. In an article I wrote some time ago, titled "Social Insecurity" at htt...... The post has 16 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Financials in a fixed income account

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:15:06 -0400

My fixed income account is comprised of between 25 and 30 financial issues (preferreds, bonds, a few funds). After taking a sizable hit, I asked my advisor if we werent overweight in that sector. He said that with an income producing account a ...... The post has 14 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Beneficiary IRA rolled over to 401(k) rollover

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:14:50 -0400

Im 68 years old and have a work related 401(k) rollover brokerage account. Id like to transfer my deceased spouses IRA to that account without penality. The account is with a different brokerage firm and I am the soul beneficiary. The account is...... The post has 12 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Is my marginal tax rate really 67.53%?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:18:42 -0400

My wife and I adopted a special needs child this year. According to what Ive read in the IRS literature, that entitles us to claim the entire adoption credit (11,650) even though we had no out of pocket expenses. However, the adoption credit is p...... The post has 13 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Article about CDARS and other alternatives

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:06:20 -0400

This popped up during my reading this morning: Today, with deposit insurance more critical than ever, a growing number of savers are turning to a network called Ce...The post does not have replies yet. Start the discussion here

uncertain about my Fidelity IRA and the economy

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:11:10 -0400

I have been somewhat nervous about the economy. I feel that if the Iraq war does not end soon, or that the US attacks Iran, the economy may get very bad. I also have watched some conspiracy stuff on how the federal reserve is actually controlled...... The post has 50 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Juicy RSS feeds for financial awareness?

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:09:42 -0400

RSS feeds can be a revolutionary way to maintain awareness of relevant news and articles in a fraction of the normal time and effort. Does anyone have favorite financially oriented feeds to share It breaks the normal paradigm, where normally you wa...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Hold Financial Preferreds?

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:09:34 -0400

Hi, First time poster with a question. I find myself holding a number of preferred financial stocks in my fixed income account. This account is now down close to 30. They are big companies and, according to my adviser, will come back. In the mea...... The post has 2 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Moderator vacations

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:45:02 -0400

Posters to this newsgroup may experience slow posting from July 25 August 2. This is one of those times each year that it pays to be on the "fast approval" list. For more on that list, see the weekly post "Posting to misc.invest.financialplan", ...The post does not have replies yet. Start the discussion here

savings bonds - EE vs I -

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:44:22 -0400

Happen to cash in some "mature 30yr" EE savings bonds from when I was a kid. The bank person mentioned that she still does some Iseries bonds. Went and looked..... wonder how these compare to other fixed income vehicles http://www.treasurydirect....... The post has 4 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

American Funds sales charges?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:52:23 -0400

My adviser recommended American Funds Growth Fund of America and EuroPacic Growth Fund along with several other American Fund Growth and Equity and Bond Funds for my 450K 401k turn over. The mix sounds good for my status as a 67 yo retired with ...... The post has 14 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

FDIC "Troubled Banks List" ?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:44:01 -0400

Hello, Loked in Google, but without any luck. Anyone know a link to someplace listing the "Troubled Bank List" of the FDIC Thanks, B. Misc.invest.financialplan is a moderated newsgroup where Moderators ...... The post has 2 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Partitioning $260K In A Bank Account To Get Under ...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:02:22 -0400

Hi, My fatherinlaw has 260K in his bank account. What is the best way of breaking it up into chunks less than the FDIC 100K insurance limit The sum is distributed among savings, checking, certificates. I dont know in what proportion. The b...... The post has 33 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Does the equity risk premium justify the risk?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:30:28 -0400

A survey of professional investors in the U.S. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfmabstractid959703 found that their average estimate of the equity risk premium (ERP) over 10year Treasury bonds was about 3.5 a year . Oneyear implied volatilit...... The post has 4 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Money Markets and the Current Financial Crisis

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:05:09 -0400

What would it take for me to start worrying about the money I put into our Fidelity Cash Reserve accounts What kind of financial crisis would it take to affect this account and money markets in general Im getting too old for this &. Tha...... The post has 2 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

can I put my IRA into something that is federally ...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:11:19 -0400

I have an IRA worth about with fidelity in Boston. Originally it was a 401k that I rolled into an IRA after being laid off. I want to know if it can be federally insured or if I want it to be federally insured, should I transfer it to a different b...... The post has 7 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Speculators

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:10:20 -0400

This may not and probably is not the correct group for this, but I hope the moderator will let it through for the group. In the current market situation, a lot of folks are attempting to blame "Speculators" for price fluctuations. In my feeble at...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

GMAC (and other banks) strength-

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:23:32 -0400

We have a MMA through GMAC. The continuing banking woes lead me to ask, is GMAC a strong bank to continue doing business with I realize regular accounts of federally insured up to 100K, but I certainly want to avoid drama is possible. How can co...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

good comment on freddie and fannie

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:25:09 -0400

Jim Bianco: So Fannie and Freddie can use their own securities as collateral at the Fed Can they create them for the specific purpose of using them as collateral at the Fed This is so circular Im getting dizzy (Imagine writing yourself a check f...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Indymac Bank

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:45:34 -0400

I have about 100k IRA in a CD that I put into Indymac this month, just prior to their going belly up. FDIC insures them, so I dont anticipate losing my bucks, but a couple of quick questions occur to me, if you folks would care to respond: 1. ...... The post has 3 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Deferred compensation plans

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:31:08 -0400

I have a performance bonus that is payed every July. This July it was approx. 49K I took 25 K in the company. It is a small company that I work for. We are looking into a defered compensation plan with our SEP Broker R. Baird Company. He says it migh...The post does not have replies yet. Start the discussion here

Would you track finances online?

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:14:13 -0400

Ive been reading rave review abt this service Wary abt giving my account info tho Anyone be ok with doing it http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2321082,00.asp Misc.invest.financialplan is a moderated ne...... The post has 8 replies so far. Read more and discuss here

Rental Car Collections & Credit Score

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:14:52 -0400

This is a long story so Im just going to hit the important points. Two months ago, I rented a car in Houston. A woman hit me. She was at fault and her insurnace company (Allstate) paid to repair the rental. I thought that was the end of the story...... The post has 16 replies so far. Read more and discuss here