05 Feb 2013

Tight-Wad Tuesday’s ~ What a surprise!

I was trying to think of some cheery way to start off a personal financial post for this Tight-Wad Tuesdays but my cold put up a wall of accessing warm-n-fuzzy land.

But THEN I got a little gift in the (e)mail from an new,blogger that made my day, Gull at The Magfiqueway. Check out the surprise: http://themagfiqueway.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/reader-appreciation-award-i-feel-blessed/ . She ‘smiles’ through her writing, is very likeable, open to everyone and a bit of a fashionista. OK, a BIG fashionista! Drop by and say Hello.

I’ve enjoyed this blogging world from meeting many new and interesting people. I’ve said this before. But it really tickles me when I can connect with someone from around the world; someone from a far-eign land, maybe different culture, different life yet we can still find things to make each other smile. Too cool! The world is a smaller place now and filled with great, interesting people that one ought to know, like you; and Ms. Gull! Thanks WordPress.

So did you guess what the $219,000 stood for? I was afraid it was too ambiguous but then outta nowhere Kelly (One Fit Momma), up in Canada, nabbed it. I mean she defined the answer word for word. It turns out she spent some time in the financial industry too, illustrating again that there is way more to a book then just the cover. Great job Kelly!

So, yes $291,000 is what you and your spouse will need just to eat in your retirement. 2 people x 3 meals a day x 20 years x 365 days / year x $5.00 / meal. Just to eat? What about other things in your retirement like utilities, medical, along with the things you’ve earned the right to do like travel and spoil those cute grand kids? How much will that take over time? And at tomorrow’s costs?

So does this make you think a little bit? Do you have a plan? Are you ready to make a plan?

The good news is that younger readers have lots of time to prepare. If you are close to my age, you better have a plan in place.

How do you want to live your golden years?

Have you ever thought about this? On a budget or a lifestyle that you worked hard to earn? And people are living longer every year!

The good news is I am here to offer some suggestions to help you get started. It’s what I do, er, did. You can thank me later. There are several, easy, almost painless ways to build wealth for your style of living. It is up to you to commit to them.

But wait!

People say, I’m scared; I don’t know anything about investing, I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake; I don’t know where to start, I don’t have any money to get started. I’m not that smart.

If you know that $10 in sales is better than $7 you are equipped to do this. If you can divide $1.56 into $43.80 you have the technical know how to make a fortune (Dividend Yield). I think, if you are smart enough to write a coherent blog and disciplined enough to do it on a regular basis you will be fine. If you know how to do a little research online and have confidence in yourself you can do great things!

Simple plans to build for a comfy retirement nest egg:

401k’s: simply this is free money. If you have one at work, enroll and put at least the % of your wages that your employer will match. FREE MONEY. Make a good salary or live below your means? Put another % or two in. Over time this can be your best ally for a jet set retirement. But, a 401K (free money), by itself, is not all the answer. $219,000? Travel? Grand kids? You’ll need more!

Here and here are a couple of posts that discuss how your 401K can perform like the Dream Team. If you have funds in a 401K you want them to perform like LeBron, not Randy Moss. If you have 15 minutes you can have yourself an All-Star team in your 401K

Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRiPS): Simple, slow, painless, investing on auto pilot, where you don’t need a lot of $$ to get started and dividends build up over time and snowball into a great sums of money along with a comfy quarterly dividend in retirement.

DRIPS, I believe, are the easiest way to accumulate wealth. Again, the younger the better. We have several plans we are in now, so I am not just preaching. I have gone over them in detail in previous Tight Wad Tuesday posts here and here and ending up here. Any questions, I am here to help!

Regular contributions to an IRA at your bank or other financial institution. The key here is low cost investing and fees. If you have to pay more than 1.5% commission you are paying too much. DRIPS are far better at low cost investing.
Join an Investment Club: Invest with your friends! Google investment clubs in your area where people like yourself get together and learn about stocks and investing. Club’s often invest a little bit of money to get their feet wet but you can take those experiences, plus leverage everyone else’s research in the club, to make very qualified decisions on your own.

You can invest a little bit of money with the club but put your new found knowledge to work for you at home. Investment clubs can be fun, you don’t necessarily need to be a nerd to join one. Don’t look at me! Simply joining others interested in being smart with their money and watching it grew a little (a lot). I ran an investment club in the 90’s with the likes of Air Force pilots, grad students and future Senators! We do look kinda nerdy, don’t we?

Does any of this make sense? Would you like to learn more?

Investing doesn’t have to be complicated with pyramid schemes or selling futures. Simple investing strategies include ‘Follow the Leader(s) (i.e. Wal-Mart, Apple), Dogs of the Dow or Value investing, and Dividend Investing where your risk and returns are minimized by regular quarterly dividends. These are easy steps that make sense, easy to research and follow. And whether you prefer to do some research on line or with the help of an investment club these strategies can work for you. I have a few links in my TWT header to get you started.

The catch? First you have to know what kind of investor you are?

Does investing make you lose sleep at night or do you feel confident in your good choices? What is your timetable before you need to access your savings? As you get older you typically move from an aggressive to somewhat conservative stance, not wishing to lose the empire that you built. Understanding what kind of risk you are willing to accept should be a place to start.

If you are interested, next Tuesday I will offer an Investor Risk survey used by Charles Schwab associates to map out what kind of investor you are. A short few, simple questions will reveal what type of Warren Buffett you are deep down inside.

It’s your life. You are educated, have the initiative, and the good research skills to be good at this.

Don’t you deserve some $15.00 meals in your retirement, instead of $5.00 meals? Don’t you deserve to travel to see all those other great places and meet interesting people, like Gull and Kelly, from around the world when you finally have the time?

I think you deserve it. You just have to start somewhere / sometime.

Congratulations again Kelly and thanks to Gull for a wonderful Tuesday surprise!

Posted in Tight-Wad Tuesdays and tagged 401k, drips, how much for dinner? One Fit Momma, I wanna be rich, I wanna die with lots of money, investment club, IRAs, life's short, mutual funds, retirement, The Magfiqueway

03 Feb 2013

11 Comments

TWT’s: Pop Quiz

A Blonde is watching the news with her husband when the newscaster says
‘Two Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident.’

The blonde starts crying to her husband, sobbing ‘That’s horrible!!! So
many men dying that way!’

Confused, he says, ‘Yes dear, it is sad, but they were skydiving, and
there is always that risk involved.’

After a few minutes, the blonde, still sobbing, says, ‘How many is a
Brazilian? It sounds like a really big number.’

I wanted to use that old Hooters joke to lead into this quick question. See, I was cleaning out some more closets this weekend and ran across this old forgotten number:

$219,000

I wanted to ask everybody if they know what this number represents but, I know without any context, that question would be lunacy. So let me give you a hint:

2 x 3 x 20 x 365 x 5

Their is a clue in there somewhere but to give you a bit more context let me tell you this is the number I used in the beginning of my Financial Advisor presentations when I met potential new clients. It represents a significant number in your financial future.

Phew! Practically giving it away there.

Now, anyone that can guess the meaning or the significance of that number I will do a guest post for. ~Sorry, we are squirreling our nuts for the big move so no big cash prizes.

I will field some answers tonight and tomorrow and give you my answer(s) on a Tight Wad Tuesday post on, er, Tuesday.

Go (insert team name)!!!

Good Luck!

Oh, and it involves your retirement…

Posted in Tight-Wad Tuesdays and tagged eggs in one basket, fool school, retirement, thats a really big number.

01 Feb 2013

6 Comments

Along the lines of FRIDAY FUNNIES… Here is a funny list of one liners from one of my all-time favorite comedians, Red Skelton. Maybe some of you are old enough to remember him and his routines. He could be funny without being vulgar and curse. Go figure?

Merci to Ms. Dolly for finding these, listing them, and letting me borrow them. She has a big warm blog but lots of room for more visitors and followers. Check it out and have a laugh this Friday!

1.

Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a

little beverage, good food and companionship.

She goes on Tuesdays, I go on Fridays.

2.
We also sleep in separate beds.

Hers is in California, and mine is in Texas.

3.

I take my wife everywhere,

but she keeps finding her way back.

4.
I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary.

“Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time!” she said.

So I suggested the kitchen.

5.

We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.

6.
She has an electric blender, electric

toaster and electric bread maker.

She said “There are too many gadgets, and no place

to sit down!” So I bought her an electric chair.

7.

My wife told me the car wasn’t running well

because there was water in the carburetor.

I asked where the car was. She told me, “In the lake.”

8.

She got a mud pack and looked great for two days.

Then the mud fell off.

9.
She ran after the garbage truck, yelling, “Am I too late

for the garbage?” The driver said, “No, jump in!”.

10.
Remember: Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.

11.
I married Miss Right. I just didn’t know her

first name was ‘Always’.

12.

I haven’t spoken to my wife in 18 months.

I don’t like to interrupt her.

13.
The last fight was my fault though.

My wife asked, “What’s on the TV?”

I said, “Dust!”.

allaboutlemon-All Around, In, And Out Of My Own Universe

RED SKELTON’S RECIPE:

For those of you old enough to remember Red Skelton, I think you will enjoy today’s Manic Monday. For those of you not old enough you will see what you missed. Either way, his humor was always clean and he was a great entertainer. A re-run of great ‘one liner’s’ from the man who was known for his clean humor. I hope you get a chuckle or two reading them once more.

RED SKELTON’S RECIPE

FOR THE PERFECT MARRIAGE

Red Skelton 1913-1997

Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a

little beverage, good food and companionship.

She goes on Tuesdays, I go on Fridays.

2.
We also sleep in separate beds.

Hers is in California, and mine is in Texas.

I take my wife everywhere,

but she keeps finding her way back.

4.
I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary.

“Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time!” she said.

View original post 272 more words

Posted in Archives and tagged funny, good stuff, humor, humour, Red skelton

30 Jan 2013

24 Comments

On the bus to the Super Bowl

I am running a contest here in 3D.

The first 5 readers who can tell me who played in last year’s Super Bowl will win a bag of Candy Canes and other left over Christmas and Halloween treats. OK?

Actually, I would have a hard time remembering who played. I can think of one team but not both. But in trying to make some plans for this year’s Big Game I remembered one of my favorite posts from last year, where Dylan was not going to lose… the attention of her Dad to some stinking football game.

So while you are trying to think of last year’s teams why don’t you grab a seat On The Bus To The Super Bowl:

Did you have a good time watching the Super Bowl? Do you have any good feasts or scrumptious snacks? I got my honey-do list done just in time to ‘score’ my favorite wings at the ‘What’s Your Blue’s name’ place, Sticky Fingers.

I settled down in front of the TV to see what transpires between the Patriots and Giants (Opps! the Contest is now over) and resolved to have a good time. My two little girls had their own agendas however.

Game On!

One perched on one side of my foot stool and one leaned across the other. Both wanted their share of MY wings. I told Mom, “I didn’t order enough!”. But Skylar was content to gnaw on the left over wings and Dylan made due with some BBQ’y pieces I tore off. Both were fighting for more of Daddy’s attention. And both were gonna lose this one night. I easily brushed them aside and out of my view of the TV as the game started. Not tonight girls!

Shortly after the game started however it was Skylar’s bedtime. Mommy scooped her up, read her a story and tucked her away. Now it was just down to Dylan, mano a mano, so to speak, to compete with my watching the great football finale. Once again I under estimated her!

As my wing dinner disappeared Dylan rethought her strategy. Seeing that my attention was firmly set on the TV, sitting on top of the mantle over our fireplace, she got on board. On the bus….

She says, “Daddy, I’m getting on the bus and you are the bus driver! Where are we going? Good idea?” I didn’t fall for it at first but she insisted. “Daddy, where do you wanna go? I’m ready. You’re the bus driver. I’m in my seat.”

Riding in the back of the bus

You see, she had gathered her toy drum and sat it on the brick ledge in front of the fire place. She put her kiddie chair in front, suggesting another seat on the bus for mommy. She sat back there with her little suitcase, sans pants, yet wearing dress up shoes. She was a force to be reckoned with! When she starts talking in her made up, yet serious conversations, it just draws you in.

I had to just stall her until her bedtime in 45 minutes. “Do you have everything,” I asked, hoping to have her chase something down and out of my view.

“Yep”, she follows, “You are the bus driver. And I am riding on your bus. Where do you wanna go?”

“Well you better have everything because I am not coming back this way”, remembering how we left her stuffed rabbit toy in Philadelphia on our last trip. “Everybody buckled in?”

“Yes I am daddy, I mean bus driver. Where are we going?”

“Charleston. Are you buckled in? Do you have everything?” Finally digesting her current outfit I said, “Hey! You can’t travel on my bus without any pants on. You have to be wearing pants to be on my bus!”. ~ I got her now!

She runs over to the chair where mommy had her folded baby laundry and pulls up the first pair of pants laying on top, then runs back to her spot at the back of the bus, conveniently during a commercial.

I said, “Come back here young lady. I don’t know if that outfit is going to fly on this bus!” Seeing something funny is happening here, I told her, “I am going to have to get a picture of you to see if you can wear this outfit on my bus and turn it into my supervisor.” So I took her picture and then she ran back to her seat.

“Are we ready to go now bus driver”, she happily asks as she sees she is winning. “I’m ready. Where are we going to?”

“Charleston”, I told her. “Do you have everything? We’re not coming back this way. Are you buckled in?”

“Ahhhhh, bus driver? Can we stop back at the hotel? I think I left ‘rabbit’ back there. Then we can pick him up. Good idea?”

Well…..Good idea?

“No, pretty little rider in the back seat. We are headed to Charleston. Now, do you have everything? Are you buckled in? We’re not coming back ths way!”

Grabbing a DVD case I spied lying on the floor I picked it up and offered it as the in ‘bus trip’ movie. Dylan smiled, but missing the ball with my cleverness she said, “but you are looking at the TV. I don’t have one. How can I watch the movie? But I am ready to go bus driver”, she sad with a grin.

Just then one of the elaborate Super Bowl commercials came on. In the background was the song, “Wild Thing”, with the chant “Wild Thing”. With the ‘wings’ apparently kicking in, I offered up my extent of dancing, some head shaking and lip synching (sad, I know) to the song, while I sat on the sofa. Jumping on my enthusiasm to the song, my 4 year old jumps up out of her bus seat and starts ~~shaking~~ dancing like it was the ‘Funky Cold Medina. Where does she get this I thought? Luckily she enjoyed the song and attention long enough that I had time to catch a picture even with this slow digital camera.

Wild thing….you make my heart sing…

You couldn’t help but smile. Even mommy, looking up from her book, had to smile. My ‘pretty little bus passenger’ then hopped back in her seat and told me, “I’m ready to go daddy, I mean bus driver. Where are we going?”
I looked up for the score, seeing the end of the first quarter. It was ‘Dylan 14 – Super Bowl 3‘. She was going to go into her bedroom for night-night and win again. I don’t mind. Its not like I let her win, given what’s on the TV. But she still won. She’s a pretty smart girl. Maybe Gisele should model her for a while.

Posted in Archives and tagged bus, Dylan, Skylar, sticky fingers, super bowl

30 Jan 2013

OUR LIFE IN 3D

I am running a contest here in 3D.

The first 5 readers who can tell me who played in last year’s Super Bowl will win a bag of Candy Canes and other left over Christmas and Halloween treats. OK?

So while you are trying to think of last year’s teams why don’t you grab a seat OnThe Bus To The Super Bowl:

Did you have a good time watching the Super Bowl? Do you have any good feasts or scrumptious snacks? I got my honey-do list done just in time…

View original post 980 more words

Posted in Archives | Leave a comment