Wipe Out The Fear in South Bend

Feel like you are drowning in today's economy?
Inflation?
Shaky stock market?
Sinking dollar?
Unemployment?
Staggering debt?

Watching the news may seem like an ongoing care wreck - especially if you watch Glenn Beck, who always looks like he will suffer a breakdown right on camera - but as horrifying and overwhelming as the news is, you can't seem to pull yourself away.

We don't suffer from a lack of information - rather TOO MUCH information. Its all so confusing and you can feel like the rag doll being pulled apart from all directions.

How does all of this affect your ability to save for retirement? Is it possible to still have goals and dreams? Can you still retire with dignity?

Dan Rather was once quoted as saying "If all of the difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would not start out at all."

Nothing great was ever achieved without hardships along the way. As an advisor, my job is to help you resolve your fears. Let's wipe them out and provide some peace of mind.

This year, when I became an iindependent advisor and opened my own office, I've been learning that most people would rather "not lose anymore" than to win with their long term savings. To quote another great American, Will Rogers - "I'm more concerned with the return OF my money than the return ON my money."

With that in mind, my purpose has been to focus on helping people to find a vehicle that would "not lose" and still let you win. What if I could toss you a "Life Preserver" for your savings? Remember when you first learned to swim? Those kickboards or noodles came in handy, didn't they? You learned eventually that the water is your friend. Once you stopped fighting it, and let it help you, swimming became more fun, right?

Russell Pearlman recently wrote an article titled, "Problems? What Problems?" from the November 2009 issue of "Smart Money" magazine. His article focused on annuities, which have become much more popular with investors as a life preserver for long term savings.
"Don't tell that (regarding annuity cost) to baby boomers looking for retirement security at a time when their 401(k) plans are still hurting; they just keep buying annuities. Through the first six months of the year, total annuity sales were almost $127 billion, only a 3 percent drop from 2008." he writes.

Again, the message I get from my clients and others I meet is "We want SAFETY and Peace of Mind."

Can we get "Guaranteed" growth for our long term savings?
Will it be better than current CD rates?
Can we get "Guaranteed" income when I retire - also better than current CD rates?
Can we make sure the income never goes down?
And lasts for a lifetime - even if we live to 100 or beyond?
And when that lifetime does end, can we leave something for our family and loved ones?

In short - YES! Mr. Pearlman goes on to write "Are annuities for you? Experts say the peace of mind may be worth it."

Another of my favorite articles this year was written by Leslie Scism of the Wall Street Journal. "Long Derided, This Investment Now Looks Wise". "Because of such guarantees, many holders of variable annuities actually saw their accounts increase 6% or more in value last year, when the Standard & Poors 500 stock index dropped nearly 39%." Ms. Scism writes.

Contact me today to learn more about how to get a life preserver (or noodle if you prefer) for your savings. Treat yourself to some Peace of Mind!

You can contact me through my website, http://www.helpmy401k.us and follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/deanvoelker. I also host a weekly internet radio braodcast, "Improving Your Financial Health" at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach.

Cut The Fat in your 401(k)

Last week, we asked “Where’s the Beef?” Today, we ask “Where’s the Fat?”
Its very important to trim the ‘fat’ in your 401(k) plan – or fund expenses. Today on my Blog Talk Radio program, I had a listener ask about fund expenses. These can really affect your long term return on your retirement savings.

Expenses come from managing the mutual fund. The fund family charges a percentage of the assets invested to manage the fund – deciding what to buy, what to sell, and how much to buy or sell and when to do it. Less trading = lower expenses. Also the advisor on the plan may be paid from these expenses.

Knowing this, it would make sense to look for funds in your plan which have a lower expense rate. If its about 1%, that isn’t too bad, much more than that can negatively affect your returns over time.

To give you an example, I did some figuring on my financial calculator . Let’s look at a 22 year old college graduate, starting their 401(k) plan. Of course you would expect them to bump up their contributions over time, but lets say they put in $300/month with an 8% average return until age 66. They would have saved $1,340,048 in 44 years.

What if they were using a fund with expenses that were 1% more? In other words, the fund may have averaged 8%, but the real return was 7% due to higher expenses. With all the other factors being the same, we now have a total savings of $993,985, which is a difference of $346,063. OUCH! If you figure on taking 4%/year of the nest egg at retirement for income, that means we would need to live on less income -$13842 per year less. See where 1% can make a big difference?

So look carefully at your statement. Don’t just look at ‘performance’ but also fund expenses, which do affect long term performance. Have an advisor help you with this and also help you determine how much to save, so you can have the type of retirement you want.

You may contact me through my website at http://www.helpmy401k.us. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/deanvoelker. I also host a Weekly Internet Radio Broadcast “Improving Your Financial Health on Blog Talk Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach

Where's The Beef?

During the 1980’s there was a very popular commercial by Wendy’s. An elderly lady ordered a burger at a generic fast food counter. Upon seeing how puny and pathetic her tiny burger was, she grilled the sales clerk repeatedly - “Where’s the beef?” The commercial was a huge hit and “Where’s the beef?” was a well known catch phrase.

These days “Where’s the beef?” could easily be applied to the 401(k)s & IRAs of many people. In Daniel R. Solin’s book, “The Smartest 401(k) Book You’ll Ever Read”, he points out that “the typical twenty-something only invests 50.4% of his or her account in stock mutual funds.” You can’t keep up with inflation that way! Mr. Solin goes on to say that as we get older, that figure is also pretty timid. “The typical worker in their forties invests only 54.3% in stock funds.”

It doesn’t matter how old you are. Even people on the verge of retirement should be invested in stock mutual funds with a good part of their long term savings. After all, you could be retired for 20-30 years.

Stocks have been the only investment which has beaten inflation over the long term. And we NEED to prepare for inflation! Did you know that in 1989 (20 years ago), a loaf of bread costs an average of 0.67? And a postage stamp was just 0.25?

Mr. Solin also points out that “If you invested $1.00 in blue chip stocks in 1926, it would be worth $3077.33 today. That pencils out to a 10.42 average yearly return.”

Don’t be too fancy trying to pick the “right” fund. Look for mutual funds with long histories (10 years or longer) and low expenses. High management fees can really affect the return on your investment.

We will be looking at a few other ways to put some “Beef” back into your 401(k) in a future article.

You may contact me through my website at http://www.helpmy401k.us. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/deanvoelker. I also host a Weekly Internet Radio Broadcast "Improving Your Financial Health on Blog Talk Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach
　

Digging A Hole

Do People still invest in CDs anymore? (Don’t answer that.) I know that they are the “investment” of choice for a number of folks and for banks. Let’s be honest though – Rates are TERRIBLE!!

As of today, Oct. 2, 2009, according to bankrate.com, the best rate on a 12 month CD in the USA is 2.05 at India Bank. For a 3 Year CD, the best available rate is 2.97 at Flagstar Bank.

When I called banks in the area, I actually had to keep a straight face when Diana told me about their “Special Rate” of 1.5% on a 13 month CD – only for current customers, though. Woo-Hoo!!

CDs do appeal to those who want “safety”, which means the FDIC Guarantee. That means your money is guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (i.e. the U.S. Government) OK, I feel MUCH BETTER about THAT!!

About a year ago, as part of the new financial legislation, the FDIC raised its limit on the maximum amount guaranteed from $100,000 to $250,000. I’m not sure exactly how that helps Joe Lunchbucket, but there was quite a bit of fuss made about it last October.

Dave Ramsey has often referred to CDs as “Certificates of Depression” and with good reason. Did you know that for 11 of the past 20 years, CDs actually have a “Real Return” that is Less Than 1%? Once you consider inflation and taxes on the interest, it is really about the same as burying your savings in the backyard.

As a retiree, wouldn’t you like to get a better return on your savings? What if you could have your nestegg generate income for you of at least 5% of the principal – and have that income paid to you for the rest of your life?

Often when I meet with clients, I learn about their situation and their goals and suggest an appropriate solution which will help them with their long term savings. Clients normally can see the value, but may get hung up on time frames with CD money. A common response may be “That sounds great. I’ve got a CD due in a couple of months. Call me back then, and we will get back together. I can’t touch it until then.” (The Early Withdrawal Penalty looms overhead like the ‘Grim Reaper’.)

So, being a good guy (I don’t want to see anyone lose money.) I mark the date on my calendar and follow up with them as they asked me to. Except now the situation has changed. The CD was renewed. OR the due date was different from what they thought. OR the dog needs braces. OR….. Bottom Line - EVERYONE (most of all the client) LOSES.

Soooo, this being October, I called 3 leading banks in South Bend to see just how “scary” the Early Withdrawal Penalty is. At Wells Fargo , I was told that the penalty would be forfeiting 6 months of interest on a 16 month CD and 3 months of interest on a 12 month. First Source Bank had the best rate locally on a CD – 1.5% on a 13 month CD, which also came with a penalty of 6 months of interest for early withdrawal. National City Bank (soon to be PNC) told me that you could lose 1/2 of your interest for the remainder of your term or 3 months of interest, whichever is greater.

OK, lets do the math. Let’s say you have a CD of $10,000. You have about 3 months left on the term. Let’s give you the BEST rate (a whopping 1.5%) and the stiffest penalty for taking it out early (6 months interest). $10,000 x .015 x .5 (6 months is 1/2 of a year) = a loss of $75.

But what do you gain? There are only 2 types of money – liquid cash (you need it NOW) and investment savings (you need it LATER). What if you invested it into something that gave you an average return of 5% or more? $10,000 x .05 = $500 after 1 year. Last time I checked, $500 – $75 = a GAIN of $425. And I want the best for my clients. So let’s leave the “scariness” to the little ghouls and goblins on Halloween.

Remember to invest for the long term!

You can always contact me through my website, http://www.helpmy401k.us/. You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/deanvoelker My weekly Internet Radio Program is “Improving Your Financial Health” on Blog Talk Radio at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach

How To Find A Financial Advisor in South Bend

So the stock market has rebounded from its low point in March, 2009. As we are wrapping up the 3rd Quarter of this year, I have been reflecting on a few thoughts.

Although we have seen some market recovery, for many of us, 2009 has been more challenging than 2008.

* As I talk with people, I am sensing more uncertainty over the future of the economy and

their plans for retirement.

* Unemployment continues to stay at a high level. Some regions are higher than others

nationally. The Michiana area, with its long ties to the RV and automotive industry, has

experienced higher unemployment than other areas.

* Most recently, according to today’s South Bend Tribune we learned that the Braking

Division of Robert Bosch Corp. will be sold to Akebono Braking Industry of Tokyo, Japan. This

puts more strain on our area’s economy and could result in additional job losses.

* Many of those I have talked with are continuing to look for ways to pinch pennies, cut

corners and make their money last.

The one thing which hasn’t changed is that people still need to live their lives in dignity when they finally retire. And with people living longer than they used to, that takes Savings & Planning. Costs of living will continue to rise as well.

If you are living in the South Bend, IN area, how do you find someone who can help you develop the right strategy for you to reach your goals in these trying times? There are several qualities you should look for when shopping for an advisor, no matter where you live.

* Is he/she a Good Listener? Can you share your dreams & goals with them?

Do they make you feel important? Do they ask you questions such as “What is
important about your savings to you?” and “What would you like your retirement to be
like?” If all they do is tell you about the latest stock tip, or if they do all the talking, it
may be time to look elsewhere.

* Do they have a reasonable amount of experience?

Advisors can sometimes fall into 2 groups. You may not want an advisor that the ink on
their license has not yet dried. Most of us if asked would prefer an experienced advisor,
although you may want to find out if they are accepting new clients, or is there a
minimum amount to invest. There is a great website, http://www.financialadvisormatch.com/.
You can plug in the area you live in and it can give unbiased information on advisors in
that area. Also you can look up an advisor by name.

Another great website to learn information is http://www.linkedin.com/ which is a
professional networking site. This can give you great information about your
Advisor, much like an on-line resume.

* Does he/she have the “heart of a teacher”?

This is a comment often made by financial talk radio show host, Dave Ramsey.

Dave has grown in popularity because people are getting back to basics and
want common sense advice. Most people want investing concepts made simple.
Can your advisor help make this ‘fun’ to learn? Or do they talk in technical jargon?

* Does he/she talk about WHY Investing is so important for all of us?

Can they look at your budget with you and help you determine what type of income
you’ll need at retirement? By helping you know how much income you need (after
Social Security and any other sources of income), you should have a much better idea
for how much you need to be saving - AND put together a plan to do it!

* Will they offer to review your 401(k) and other statements for FREE?

Some advisors are “fee” based and charge by the session or by the hour for advice.
Others work on commission and are only paid when investments are made. For most of
us, this is the fairest method. There will always be times you have a question, and
advice should be free. Depending on how much you invest, you may also qualify for
volume discounts, also known as “breakpoints”.

* Is your advisor independent, or do they work with a larger firm?

This is really a matter of personal preference and there are pros & cons to each. Also
there are great advisors with either side. Many people prefer an established name brand
firm, while others enjoy the personal attention they may get from an independent.
In some ways, you could compare working with an advisor to eating at a restaurant.
There are large national chains, and also individually owned local restaurants which
have found their own niche.

There was a great article earlier this month (Sept 14, 2009)
“Schwab Says Independent Advisers Attract Brokerage Firm Assets”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aYTCv4DGu76Y
by Alexis Leondis of Bloomberg.com. The article shows the results of a survey done by
Charles Schwab about where clients are holding their assets. Ms. Leondis states,
“Almost 90% of the independent Registered Investment Advisors said that they gained
assets in the last 6 months and 45% of the assets came from so-called full-service
brokerage firms.”

Whether he/she works independently, or with a larger firm, your advisor can’t prevent
market declines. However, working with someone you are comfortable with should at
least help you to feel better about the future of your retirement.
Best wishes in your search!

Dean Voelker is an Independent Registered Investment Advisor in South Bend. He has
been licensed in Indiana and Michigan since 2003. You can follow Dean on Twitter, and also find his profile at Linked In and Financial Advisor Match. Dean also hosts a weekly Podcast program

on Blog Talk Radio, "Improving Your Financial Health". 　
　
　
　

Raising Arizona - More SOLUTIONS for College Costs

Last time we looked at some solutions for college savings such as a regular savings plan and also working part time during High School.

What if you do those things, but it still isn´t enough to cover college costs? Or perhaps you are getting started late in the game?

Here are some ways to help pay for college even if you haven't saved much. (Besides winning the lottery or robbing a bank.) The first way is actually pretty obvious - although families don´t utilize it as much as they should. Contact the Financial Aid department from your college and make sure you have applied for any and all scholarship money that you have a chance to qualify for. Don´t leave any "free" money on the table.

Going along with this scholarship idea, does Johnny (or Jill) play any sports? Recently, on my Blog Talk Radio program, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kCoach/2009/09/02/Improving-Your-Financial-Health
I visited with Charlie Adams, the Senior National Speaker for the National Collegiate Scouting Assocaiation of Chicago. Charlie helps many high school athletes get scholarships to play various sports in college. Normally when I think of athletic scholarships, I would think of football and basketball at large universities.

However, Charlie points out that there are plenty of scholarships given to students who are decent athletes and good students. Colleges offer a wide range of athletic opportunities such as golf, lacrosse, cross country, and rowing. In fact, Charlie´s son Jack earned a scholarship to Millsaps College in Mississippi for cross country.

Charlie also talks about a book, "Athletes Wanted" by Chris Krause. http://www.ncsasports.org/about-ncsa/about-chris-krause The book points out that employers have a growing need to ¨hire quality people for their companies. Recruiters love interviewing candidates who have played collegiate sports. They have learned the value of goal setting, teamwork, time management, and motivation. So if Johnny or Jill have some athletic skills, look into this as an option.

One thing to keep in mind - Johnny and Jill need to keep their grades up. To qualify for scholarships at smaller schools in sports, there is more of an emphasis on the "Student" part of student-athlete. You may contact Charlie Adams at www.stokethefirewithin.com.

What if your child doesn't play sports? Could they be entreprenuers? There are several examples of students who saw a need and figured out a way to fill the need and profit from it. They learn (on their own) valuable skills in sales, marketing, and business management. This would also set them apart from other candidates when its time to leave college and interview for work. Here is an article on "Teen Money Making Ideas". http://teenmoneymakingideas.com/how-college-students-can-make-money-in-the-summer-in-12-of-the-top-home-based-businesses/

If Johnny starts a business and it really takes off, he may find his career in the process. There was once a college student named Bill Gates who actually dropped out of Harvard to focus on his Microsoft business full time. (Of course the reason was that he felt he wasn´t learning anything new about computers.)

If you like this option, you may want to look at books about young men and women who have started successful businesses. A great website for information is http://www.quintcareers.com/college_entrepreneur_resources.html

"OK" you think. "But I´m not Bill Gates or Shaquille O´ Neal.What else can I do?"
There are other ways to learn entrprenuerial skills in organizations which are already established. Looking back on my college years, I had an opportunity to work with the Southwestern Company. www.southwestern.com. Southwestern has been around since 1855. They have a long history of helping college students to earn money for college. Students also learn some valuable lessons in the process - motivation, goal setting, business management, how to sell, and how to deal with all types of people.

Southwestern works with over 3000 students per year in the US and the UK, and the average First Year student earns $2733/mo during the summer months. Like many other opportunities, as a student gains experience, they may become more proficient.
http://www.southwesterninfo.com/FAQ.aspx Please contact Southwestern for more information.

If none of these really work for you, there is one more idea on paying for college, and its also a great one. Talk to a local recruiter about military service. For the student who hasn't yet figured out what they want from college or what they want to do in life (and at 18, who really has it figured out?), the military gives you time to figure things out. Military service also teaches skills such as teamwork, goal setting, perseverance, and time management. And they can help you to pay for school. http://www.military.com/money-for-school/tuition-assistance/army-tuition-assistance

I've met a number of people who have served for 4 years, then went to college with money from the government. As I mentioned in my last article, a 20 year old freshman has a good chance of being more mature than an 18 year old. Wouldn't you agree then that a 22 year old freshman with skills learned in the military would be even more mature and ready to learn? It certainly adds to a resume, and can lead to all types of career choices later.

I hope these have been helpful ideas. None of them involve taking out a loan, and if we can avoid that, we'd all be better off. You can contact me at my website, www.helpmy401k.us or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/deanvoelker. My Blog Talk Radio program airs weekly and the archives may be heard at www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach.

Raising Arizona (and Arizona State and Others) - SOLUTIONS

In my first part on this, we looked at the problem of rising college costs. I believe we are at a point where students must “do their homework” before taking out a college loan. You want to be sure that you will get a good return on your investment and be able to pay it back easily. Ideally, you’d like to NOT take a loan at all. College is now a “business” decision, not a right.

I wouldn’t be a good advisor to bring up a problem without mentioning some viable solutions. There are enough good ideas, that I will talk about a few now and a few more in my next piece. None of these are magic – but if you apply these common sense ideas you’ll be better off than doing nothing. So here are some ways to Make College More Affordable.

* Saving in a 529 or UTMA plan (regularly)

The key word here is “regularly”. You can set up either of these plans as soon as your baby is born. (And I highly recommend that!) Did you know that if you were to save $100/month for 18 years (216 months) at an average return of 8%, you’d have saved $46,865? And $200/month over the same period = $93,730.

The 2 plans are different, but the idea is the same. The 529 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/529_planallows for tax-free withdrawals for college related expenses. Here in Indiana, since 2007, you can also get a 20% tax credit on any contributions to a 529 plan. Put in $5000 and you get $1000 back in the spring. Also, money can be transferred between family members. If it isn’t used for college, you are simply taxed on the growth at withdrawal.

UTMA (U -T – M – A ….you ain’t got no alibi, its UTMA!) OK, so I should give up on ‘cheerleading’ – but I couldn’t resist. This is the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act. A parent or guardian acts as a “custodian” for an account in the child’s name. http://www.fairmark.com/custacct/regret1.htm until the child reaches age 21. At that time, the money is turned over to the child. This is also counted in the child’s assets when you go to apply for financial aid later.

One advantage that someone may see in the UTMA is that it doesn’t matter if the money is used for college or not – although there are no tax benefits. They have full control over the money.
Personally, I prefer the 529 plan (for the tax benefits) and have set one up for both of my daughters. Whichever plan you choose, (talk to your advisor) the most important thing is to save something regularly.

Another note here – a common question I get is whether families should contribute to retirement or college.If you must choose – retirement savings trump college. ‘Nuff said.

* Part Time Work

Wow, real genius stuff here, Dean! I told you this wouldn’t be ‘magic’. But think about this. I believe students should learn the value of a dollar – and appreciate the value of education. When I was in High School, I cleaned tables and washed dishes for a local family restaurant. Part of my pay went into my ‘college’ account.

Currently minimum wage for “flipping burgers” is $7.25/hour. What if Johnny flipped burgers for 3 years at Mc Donald’s and put $400/month into his college savings? In 3 years, Johnny would have saved $14,400. Between this idea and the last one, we’ve put a good dent into Johnny’s college costs, and haven’t even gotten to financial aid yet.

Not able to save as much as we’ve talked about? Getting started ‘late’ with savings? What about putting off college for a year or 2, to build up savings. There is no law that says YOU MUST enter college immediately after high school. (I checked). In fact, chances are very good that Johnny (or Jill) may be more mature at 20 and get more from their college experience, having spent some time in the ”real world”.

I’d much rather see Johnny (or Jill) wait a bit and not be burdened with debt after they graduate. If they do this, they must focus on the idea that college is still in the plan - flipping burgers is only temporary.

* Go to School, Live at Home

Being in the Chamber, I often attend networking events. Recently I had a chance to visit IUSB (Indiana University at South Bend). I was very impressed with the quality of the facilities and was very surprised to learn that their enrollment exceeds 7500 students. http://www.iusb.edu/about/ (You may have heard there is another school here in South Bend).

People are saving quite a bit by having Johnny and Jill live at home while going to college.Because IUSB is affiliated with Indiana University, many programs are similar. For those not living in this area, I would be willing to wager that you have a similar local university nearby.

In the next article I will continue to explore some other ideas which can help make college more affordable.

You can contact me at www.helpmy401k.us and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/deanvoelker.My weekly Blog Talk Radio program, “Improving Your Financial Health” is at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/401kcoach.