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Contentment |
Perhaps, given these times of turmoil, it would be good to consider part of Paul's message to the Philippians, as found in chapter 4.
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
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Disclosure |
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This newsletter is produced by Gary Silverman, dba Personal Money Planning, a registered investment advisor located in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Information in this newsletter is believed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regards to the subject matter covered. However, the accuracy, timeliness, or applicability of the information is not guaranteed and is provided with the understanding that we are not rendering legal, accounting, tax, or other professional advice or services.
This publication should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Personal Money Planning's solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the Internet. Nor should links provided to other sites be construed as the recommendation of the services or products mentioned on those sites. If such services are required, the help of a competent professional should be sought.
Remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Therefore, you should not assume that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product made reference to (directly or indirectly) on this Website will be profitable or equal to indicated performance levels. Different types of investment involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment will either be suitable or profitable for your investment portfolio.
Historical performance results for investment indexes and categories generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results.
A copy of Personal Money Planning's current written disclosure statement discussing Personal Money Planning's business operations, services, and fees (known as an ADV Part II) is available from Personal Money Planning upon written request (and can be downloaded from our web site).
Personal Money Planning does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Personal Money Planning's web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.
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Did you miss something in 2005?
Unclaimed refunds totaling approximately $1.3 billion are awaiting over a million people who did not file a federal income tax return for 2005. And if you are one of those folks, you have no later than Wednesday, April 15, 2009, to get that old return in and claim your refund.
"People should not lose out on money that is rightfully theirs," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "People should check their records, especially if they had taxes withheld from their paychecks but were not required to file a tax return. They may be leaving money on the table, including valuable tax credits that can mean even more money in their pockets."
Some individuals may not have filed because they had too little income to require filing a tax return even though they had taxes withheld from their wages or made quarterly estimated payments.
And while there is no penalty assessed by the IRS for filing a late return qualifying for a refund, checks will be held if they have not filed tax returns for 2006 or 2007. In addition, the refund will be applied to any amounts still owed to the IRS and may be used to satisfy unpaid child support or past due federal debts such as student loans.
Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available on the Forms and Publications web page of IRS.gov or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). Taxpayers who need help also can call the toll-free IRS help line at 1-800-829-1040.
Gary
Gary Silverman, CFP
PS: Save the date!
On Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. OR Thursday, April 23, 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., I will be co-hosting a seminar on Estate Planning and Investment Management.
Dan Campbell will be spending time talking about wills, trusts, powers-of-attorney and all that kinda stuff. I'll be talking about the Four Sins of Managing Your Portfolio and how to protect yourself from them.
The seminar will be the same both days...just come to whichever time works best for you. Further details including cost (it's not free), and place will follow in later newsletters. |
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Retirement: Part Three |
This week we take your guesstimated retirement cash flow and figure out how much you need to have saved up in order to afford to retire.
It might be a pretty big number.
(This article was previously published in the Wichita Falls Times Record News.)
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Fleet Success |
For a fleet to succeed, two things need to happen. First, each ship needs to do its job well. A fast ship is no good if it runs into its sister and a well-targeted barrage needs to land on the correct target.
Second, the ways the ships do their jobs need to work well together. If all are carriers, what will protect and fuel them?
Likewise, a portfolio needs two things to succeed. First, each asset class must work well. While an asset class might perform poorly, the specific asset you choose needs to perform at least average within that class. Anything worse makes things, well, worse.
Second, the asset classes used must work in harmony. If you own only stocks, even if they are spread out across countries and capitalizations, you will not have an optimum mix. That mix can add 1-2% to your average returns.
Have you checked on your portfolio lately? Many have not. They've cringed at the losses they've sustained. But now is a perfect time to reassess your investments to make sure they are the types and the mix that will help you climb out of this hole. |
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parting thoughts
Instinct |
Whether due to evolution or God, we have many instincts built into us. One is the herd instinct where we tend to act as others around us do. The other is the assumption that recent trends will go on forever.
The herd instinct helps in that if everyone else is running away from something, maybe you better do that, too. The trend instinct tells us that if a tiger is charging toward us, she won't turn away but rather will go for our throats. You can see that both of these instincts can keep us alive in the wild. It wouldn't hurt in Manhattan either.
But both of these instincts combine to cause us to violate what should be the mantra of investing: "buy low, sell high." Everyone is running for the exits, so we run after them (herd). After all, the market is going down and I'm going to end up losing all of my money (trend).
If we could think instead of react we'd realize that there is a bottom out there somewhere, that the bad news will end, and that markets tend to look their worst right before they start trending back up. But thinking during extreme events is just not natural. That is why emergency responders train so much.
The economy, markets, and unemployment rates are not saber-toothed tigers that attack until we are dead. They are cyclical entities that turn once you've gotten used to where they've been going.
That's all for this week.
Gary
Gary Silverman, CFP
Personal Money Planning
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