PiggyBankWritingPersonal Money Planning's

e-Newsletter for June 18, 2011

(to look at past issues, click here)

Also In This Issue
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Seminar Announcement
Your Money Column
The Economist
Parting Thoughts: Gary Steps Up to the Platform
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"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."

-  Earl Nightingale
  

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.

 
 Gary Silverman, CFP
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Social Security Not the Biggest Problem

 

Last time we talked a bit about the Social Security trust fund running out of money in 2036. Today let's cover the bigger problem: Medicare.


Another report in May stated that the Medicare trust fund, the one that supports Medicare Part A, is expected to empty in 2024. This is because benefits paid by the program will exceed collections every year from now on. That 2024 date is five years EARLIER than what was projected just one year ago.


Can we fix it?

We can, if three things happen:
1) We raise the combined employer/employee Medicare taxes from the current 2.9% to 3.69%, and
2) We don't add any more benefits into the program, and
3) Medical care cost escalations permanently slow down.


Frankly, I don't see any of these  occurring any time soon, let alone all three.
 

 

Gary Silverman, CFP

 

Please Join Us!

 

Free Upcoming Seminar

 

 Retirement Income Planning

Making Sure Your Money Lasts as Long as You Do!

 June 30 from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Courtyard by Marriott Wichita Falls

 3800 Tarry Street

(across from Walmart on Lawrence Rd, behind Jack in the Box)

 

How can you make sure you have the money you need for the entirety of your retirement without having to skimp in the later years?

 

Retirement Income Planning will show you:

 

       How a safety cushion is achieved and managed

       What part your guaranteed income streams (such as Social Security, Pensions and Annuities) will play in the mix

       The basics of asset allocation to help in your investment decisions-a primer for the future Investing Core Seminar which will take a more comprehensive look at the topic

 

Please RSVP by calling

940-692-6885, emailing [email protected], or filling out the online RSVP here. This will help us ensure we have enough of handouts and snacks for all.

 

 

gary's newspaper column Newspaper Articles You May Have Missed
From the Wichita Falls Times Record News
  
The Illusion of Affordable Housing
Easy credit for home ownership helped guide us into a financial crisis. Here are Gary's thoughts on how that happened.
http://personalmoneyplanning.com/ourviews.aspx?LinkId=109029&spid=93426
   
The Cost of Sanity
What price will we pay for economic sanity?

Article links from

The Economist

 
Digital Gold Rush?
There's an underlying digital revolution going on.  Apple's App Store now offers 300,000 apps, which are being installed at the rate of 20 million a day.  Like the earlier boom in tech stocks, this one is being fueled, in the early stages, by eager venture investors who see the potential and want to be the first dollars in on the action.  The Centre for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire estimates that $20 billion in angel investing took place in 2010.  American hedge funds, private-equity firms and some mutual funds are following in their footsteps.
http://www.economist.com/node/18680048
   
 
The New Tech Bubble?
This article was written before the LinkedIn initial public offering set off a buying frenzy which took the price up 171% on the first day of trading.  (The price settled back to just over $94 a share--more than 109% above the offering price, the following day.)  By that valuation, the Mountain View, CA, company is worth nearly $9 billion, more than the Harley Davidson motorcycle manufacturer and Moodys Corp., the rating agency.  Even before that, The Economist was asking: does anybody hear echoes of the Dot-Com bubble, when shares of Amazon.com were briefly trading at a valuation greater than the gross domestic product of Iceland?
The article tells us that secondary market trading in Facebook (which is not publicly listed) values it at roughly $76 billion, more than Boeing or Ford Motor Corp.  Microsoft recently purchased Skype, the internet calling and video service, for $8.5 billion, about ten times its sales last year and 400 times its operating income.  A photo-sharing social network called Color was recently said to be worth $100 million, although its service is as yet untested.



bottomparting thoughts
  

Gary Steps Up to the Platform

  

Two quick observations today:


In over 200 years of spending (up until 2008), the total U.S. deficit was $5.3 trillion. It is projected that the combined deficits of this year and the last two (2009-2011) will be about $4.4 trillion.
 

WE NEED TO CUT SPENDING!


Back in 1980, the average federal tax rate paid by Americans was 15.3%. What followed were some great economies and a fantastic stock market. In 2008 (the last year we have numbers for), the average was down to 12.2%.
 

WE CAN AFFORD TO RAISE TAXES!


My "tax and don't spend" platform won't win me any elections.
 

  
 
Gary Silverman caricature



 
Gary


Gary Silverman, CFP
Personal Money Planning 
 


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