|
|
 Personal Money Planning'se-Newsletter for March 27, 2010 (to look at past issues, click here) |
|
Click Through To Our Web Site
|
|
Send This Newsletter To A Friend 
|
|
Get Your Own Subscription 
|
|
Internet Humor (author unknown)
Three sisters ages 92, 94 and 96 live in a house together. One night the 96 year old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other sisters, "Was I getting in or out of the bath?"
T he 94 year old yells back, "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She starts up the stairs and pauses "Was I going up the stairs or down?"
The 92 year old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says, "I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood."
She then yells, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."
_______________________________________
Herman's car phone rang. When he answered, he heard his wife' urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Interstate 77. Please be careful!"
"Hell," said Herman, "It's not just one car. It's hundreds of them!"
| |
|
Disclosure |
|
|
|
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.
| |
|
A few thoughts on the Healthcare Bill
America's economy will be destroyed by the government's "fix" of the healthcare system.
America's economy would have been destroyed if not for the government's fix of the healthcare system.
More than likely you have one of those two opinions. At least all my vocal friends seem to have one of those two opinions. Then again, they may not be my friends anymore as they tend to get a bit peeved at me when I disagree with them. And yes, I disagree with both sides of this argument.
In polls, both sides claim that I agree with them. Those liking the government plan point to me as believing, like I do, that the current system is messed up and needs to be fixed. Those hating the government plan point to me as believing, like I do, that the proposed plan is not the fix I was looking for.
Either way, America's economy will not be destroyed because of our healthcare system-not now or in the future. Health care does not make or break an economy. Look at the socialized medicine countries (Europe and Canada) and you see a mix of strong and weak. Same goes with the Asian countries. Some have strong economies, some have weak ones. The average Chinese has very little business, insurance, or government-based medical care, yet the country seems to be doing just fine anyway.
No, America's economy is not being meaningfully weakened by our healthcare woes, nor will it maintain its dominance no matter the type of fix imposed. America's economy is being weakened every day simply because we are spending more than we make. The fix to that is simple. And I guarantee you won't like it. It will take me a few months to get started on this, but I'll try to make some sense as to where we are economically, how we got here, and how we can fix things. These will be in the form of articles in the paper that I'll repeat here.
In the meantime, if you ever want to chat, let me know.
Gary Silverman, CFP |
| gary's Sunday newspaper column |
Sunday Newspaper Articles You May Have Missed |
From the last few issues of the Wichita Falls Times Record News
Investing Part 11- Hitting Singles
Success in investing is about many small gains over several seasons, not the sporadic out of the ballpark home runs.
Investing Part 12- Keep Emotions in Check
Investing with your mind, and not with your heart, will prepare you for the long journey.
|
| gary's other newspaper column |
Biz-to-Biz Newspaper Feature You May Have Missed |
From the latest Biz-to-Biz section of the Wichita Falls Times Record News
CEO Pay
How much is too much, and who should decide?
|
| Tax Articles |
Tax Information From The IRS |
Ignorance is no excuse
Oops! Errors to Avoid at Tax Time
Errors made on tax returns may delay the processing of your tax return, which in turn, may cause your refund to arrive later. Here are nine common errors the IRS wants you to avoid to help guarantee your refund arrives on time.
- Incorrect or missing Social Security Numbers When entering SSNs for anyone listed on your tax return, be sure to enter them exactly as they appear on the Social Security cards.
- Incorrect or misspelling of dependent's last name When entering a dependent's last name on your tax return, ensure they are entered exactly as they appear on their Social Security card.
- Filing status errors Make sure you choose the correct filing status for your situation. There are five filing statuses: Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child. See Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information to determine the filing status that best fits your needs.
- Math errors When preparing paper returns, review all math for accuracy. Remember, when you file electronically, the software takes care of the math for you!
- Computation errors Take your time. Many taxpayers make mistakes when figuring their taxable income, withholding and estimated tax payments, Earned Income Tax Credit, Standard Deduction for age 65 or over or blind, the taxable amount of Social Security benefits, and the Child and Dependent Care Credit.
- Incorrect bank account numbers for Direct Deposit If you are due a refund and requested direct deposit, be sure to review the routing and account numbers for your financial institution.
- Forgetting to sign and date the return An unsigned tax return is like an unsigned check - it is invalid.
- Incorrect Adjusted Gross Income information Taxpayers filing electronically must sign the return electronically using a Personal Identification Number. To verify their identity, taxpayers will be prompted to enter their AGI from their originally filed 2008 federal income tax return or their prior year PIN if they used one to file electronically last year. Taxpayers should not use an AGI amount from an amended return, Form 1040X, or a math error correction made by IRS.
- Claiming the Making Work Pay Tax Credit Taxpayers with earned income should claim the Making Work Pay Tax Credit by attaching a Schedule M, Making Work Pay and Government Retiree Credits to their 2009 Form 1040 or 1040 A. Taxpayers who file Form 1040-EZ will use the worksheet for Line 8 on the back of the 1040-EZ to figure their Making Work Pay Tax Credit. The credit is worth up to $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples filing jointly. Many people who worked during 2009 are slowing down the processing of their tax return by not properly claiming this credit.
|
| Business
Articles |
Small Business Matters |
Is Incorporation Right for Your Business?
If you are a new business owner, separate the myths and rumors from facts before blindly filing your articles of incorporation. Do some research before rushing into a decision.
This article from Business.Gov has some points to consider:
http://community2.business.gov/t5/Small-Business-Matters/Is-Incorporation-Right-for-Your-Business-A-Primer-for-Small/ba-p/16704?cm_mmc=GovDelivery-_-031010-_-weekly-_-community |
|
Special for Veterans and Military |
Savings Opportunity |
For Active and Retired Military:
The military branches of FSNB bank at Sheppard AFB, Fort Sill, Parris Island, Twenynine Palms, and Dover AFB have a Smart Savers program available. It pays 4% APY for the first $25,000 (after that-- $25,001- $50,000: .75% and above 50,000: 1%).
Requirements:
- Active or Retired Military
- Start a FSNB checking account (min. $5 to start)
- Set up Direct Deposit into that checking account
- A monthly, automatic withdrawal-- minimum $25 a month-- from that checking to your savings account
For more information, go into the BX or other military affiliated branch of FSNB. |
| from gary's facebook page |
Stuff you may have missed on Facebook |
 Gary has a Facebook page where he regularly sends out links and notes during the week. This section repeats those that are still pertinent to our readers. Even if you are one of his Facebook "friends" you could have missed one or more of these, so you may want to peruse through them, just to make sure.
Forecasting Recovery
Dan Fuss is one of the leading bond fund managers. They tend to be depressing souls when looking into the future. In this article, Dan is surprisingly upbeat (relatively speaking).
Making the grade
This article highlights six tests that a financial planner should pass-- and Gary qualifies on all counts. He disagrees with #3, however: Ph.Ds in economics are about the LAST people you want to help set your financial goals, and CFAs are better stock pickers than planners. A CFP (Certified Financial Planner) is a much better choice to help your family decide how to plan for retirement and other financial goals.
Attention to detail is important
...especially when cancelling health coverage of the recently departed. Here's a fascinating article about a woman who discovered she had been declared deceased.
|
|
|
parting thoughts
Haiti and Christianity
While watching Fareed Zakaria GPS (Global Public Square) on CNN recently, a discussion with three authors with experience in and expertise on Haiti discussed the troubles there. This went well beyond the disaster of the recent earthquake and looked at other problems in the country. Many good points were made, but one stood out to me: the 'problem' of groups providing aid.
Some in the panel felt that Christian aid groups were prejudiced against the African traditional religions practiced by many there; that right wing Christians want to go down to Haiti to combat the devil (which was described as one of the great religions of the world); and that if the purpose of an aid group to Haiti is religious or educational that's not what they should be doing there.
While there are many shades of gray between them, fundamentally there are sides to the way Christians view charitable endeavors. On one side, the evangelicals see charity as a natural outpouring of their love for God which cannot be separated from their goal of evangelism. So while they don't run around saying "convert or starve" they will somewhere in the process actively share or passively offer to share the gospel of Christ to those they are helping. On the other side are non-evangelical Christians who believe that God would have them be the Good Samaritan, aiding others as they have needs. No active evangelism takes place. This isn't to mean that they hide their faith; rather, they will not share unless asked, and some will even shy away from even that level of proselytizing.
[For the purposes of this article, I'll define 'evangelical' as those Christians who believe they have a duty to share their faith to others by proselytizing. (Bias warning: I consider myself an evangelical.)]Compared to the thoughts from Zakaria's show, this means that evangelicals are the bad kind of aid workers and non-evangelicals are good.
Of course, when Pat Robertson, an evangelical, said that the quake may have been a "blessing in disguise" (because it got rid of a lot of substandard buildings, and was a part of the curse the Haitians brought to themselves by way of the "pact to the Devil" they made to gain freedom from French slave masters) did nothing to help the world see evangelical Christians as a kind and loving people. Nor did a bunch of missionaries who ended up in jail over charges they were illegally taking children out of the country for adoption. To many, if one evangelical says it or one missionary does it, then every evangelical believes it. (In psychology, that's called overgeneralization.)
While there is much to debate in this, there are two messages that I have to Christians (the rest of you can eavesdrop):
Dear fellow evangelicals: Non-Christians think you are either completely wrong or not exclusively right. Do not take particular offense to this as you think the same of them. Continue to share your faith, but be extra careful not to feed into the stereotypes they see us as. And don't rely on good motives...many a disservice to the Lord has been done by people with what to them seemed like good motives. Look at many early (and some modern) missionaries who not only shared the gospel, but also felt that converts needed to dress, talk, sing, and worship just like people from the west. In other words, are you an evangelist for Christ or for western culture?
To my non-evangelical friends: To believe that Christ is the salvation for your sins and not share it...what kind of charity is that? To give a person a fish feeds him for a day, to teach him how to fish feeds him for a lifetime. But what about after this lifetime? |
|
That's all, for now.
Gary
Gary Silverman, CFP
Personal Money Planning
| |
|
|
|
|
©2008 Personal Money Planning. All rights are reserved by Personal Money Planning and content may not be reproduced, disseminated, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior written permission of Personal Money Planning unless specifically noted. (Permission is not difficult to obtain.) The one exception is for downloading and printing information this newsletter for general education by the original recipient. |
|
|
|
|
|
