For millions of baby boomers, the financial gap between today and a successful retirement is deep and wide. When confronted with this reality, many folks simply give up, lamenting that they will never be able to retire or will continue working until age 75. But it may not have to be that way, if you are willing to adopt radical strategies to accelerate your retirement plan and close that financial gap. Here are a few ideas to consider:
• 4 Social Security Changes Coming in 2011
• 10 Winter Wonderlands for Retirement
• 7 Tips for Baby Boomers Turning 65 in 2011
1. Work a second job. You need more income now so you can save more for retirement. If you are healthy and the nest is empty, fill some spare time with more work. I am friends with a couple who each work full-time in conventional 9-to-5 office jobs. One spouse also works evenings and weekends selling ladies shoes in a mall department store on commission. She makes more money from that part-time job than she does at her regular job.
2. Become a single car family. Most married couples are two car families, even if the kids are gone and one spouse is not working. Operating costs including gas, insurance, maintenance, and repairs and carrying costs such as depreciation, taxes, and interest for a car or SUV can easily average $6,000 to $10,000 per year and even more for luxury vehicles. (Check Edmunds.com or ConsumerReports.org for data for your vehicle.) Gas prices are on the rise. Getting rid of the second vehicle can save you thousands of dollars for retirement. Commute with others, take public transit, share a ride with your spouse, or ride a bike instead. It can be done with careful planning.
3. Push your kids off the payroll. Many boomers find it emotionally difficult to completely cut the ties that financially bind them to their children. It starts with college expenses that drag on as the kids fail to graduate on time or need help paying off student loans. It continues with supporting boomerang kids. I know folks who continue to pay their kids car insurance or cell phone bills, even after the offspring are gainfully employed. When your child-rearing days are done, love your children, but be politely and firmly selfish about your money. You will need it when you retire more than they will now.
4. Start a spending fast. Most of us eat too much. We also spend too much. We often combine those vices by eating out regularly. Look at your budget and see if that's you. If so, go on an extreme spending fast. Vow to go an entire month without restaurant food. Also, avoid the drive-through and skip the exotic $5.00 cups of coffee. Stash the money you don't spend in your retirement savings. Think about what it will buy when you really need it. The next month, start another spending fast, this time targeting your cell phone or cable bill.
Most people who read these suggestions will roll their eyes and vow not to take such radical actions in their own lives, even if their retirement hangs in the balance. My message in response is this: The pain of financial discipline will be far less than the pain of retirement regrets.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
2011 Finances
Don't tell Borders or Liz Claiborne that the retail business is getting healthy. Despite years of industry cache, both lose money, tout share prices in the single digits and just couldn't close down stores fast enough in 2010.
More from Forbes.com:
• In Pictures: Where You Might Not Shop in 2011
• Old Brands That Are Making a Comeback
• The Hottest New Tech of 2011
Chalk it up to fierce competition and customers' continued refusals to part with cash very easily, even as they loosen the purse strings a bit. Things are certainly less bleak. The latest results from the Commerce Department show that sales rose 6.6% for all retailers in 2010, the best year-over-year result since 1999. Wall Street has been responding. The S&P Retail Index is 23% higher than a year ago.
The downside: the sales increase came off a low base, thanks to the disaster of 2009, and the 0.6% rise in December sales over last year was less than expected. Customers are paying with cash, not credit cards, an indication that they're still watching money closely. And given all the stores that are still closing doors, it's clear that some of the excess capacity from the go-go years is still around. Ask an industry expert about the current state of retail, and the feeling is better, but not great.
[Click here to check current credit card offers, including rates and terms.]
"You can't tell me it's good," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a New York-based retail consultant and investment bank. "Given that Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News) is down for six straight quarters, that Target (NYSE: TGT - News) missed [profit expectations] by a mile, and that Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) had a major earnings miss, how well can retail be doing?"
Borders Group (NYSE: BGP - News), delaying payments to publishers and distributors as it struggles to refinance its debt, shut down approximately 200 of its Borders and Waldenbooks stores in 2010. With book readership declining in general and Amazon snagging a lot of the remaining business, things aren't easy for traditional booksellers. Rival Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS - News) recently completed the shutdown of its low-volume B. Dalton unit, once a staple of shopping malls across America. The last 50 B. Dalton stores were closed this past year.
[5 Items You Should Never Pay For]
Apparel sales are doing better these days, but that doesn't mean there's room for everyone. Not when so many players are out there competing for dollars that consumers are still parting with cautiously. TJ Maxx just shut down its A.J. Wright discount line, taking all 162 stores with it. Bebe Stores (Nasdaq: BEBE - News) closed its PH8 unit at a cost of 48 stores.
And Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ - News), struggling with losses selling through its outlet stores, shut them down altogether (87 in all) in favor of putting out their product through J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP - News) and QVC. "They really had no choice," says Davidowitz. "This at least gives them some cash flow for awhile."
Meantime, in case there was any doubt about the influence of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX - News) and iTunes on the entertainment front, movie and music sellers Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and Trans World Entertainment's (Nasdaq: TWMC - News) F.Y.E unit have all been high-tailing it out of many U.S. towns. Movie Gallery, which once boasted almost 5,000 stores, completed the liquidation of its remaining 2,400 units last summer.
More from Forbes.com:
• In Pictures: Where You Might Not Shop in 2011
• Old Brands That Are Making a Comeback
• The Hottest New Tech of 2011
Chalk it up to fierce competition and customers' continued refusals to part with cash very easily, even as they loosen the purse strings a bit. Things are certainly less bleak. The latest results from the Commerce Department show that sales rose 6.6% for all retailers in 2010, the best year-over-year result since 1999. Wall Street has been responding. The S&P Retail Index is 23% higher than a year ago.
The downside: the sales increase came off a low base, thanks to the disaster of 2009, and the 0.6% rise in December sales over last year was less than expected. Customers are paying with cash, not credit cards, an indication that they're still watching money closely. And given all the stores that are still closing doors, it's clear that some of the excess capacity from the go-go years is still around. Ask an industry expert about the current state of retail, and the feeling is better, but not great.
[Click here to check current credit card offers, including rates and terms.]
"You can't tell me it's good," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a New York-based retail consultant and investment bank. "Given that Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News) is down for six straight quarters, that Target (NYSE: TGT - News) missed [profit expectations] by a mile, and that Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) had a major earnings miss, how well can retail be doing?"
Borders Group (NYSE: BGP - News), delaying payments to publishers and distributors as it struggles to refinance its debt, shut down approximately 200 of its Borders and Waldenbooks stores in 2010. With book readership declining in general and Amazon snagging a lot of the remaining business, things aren't easy for traditional booksellers. Rival Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS - News) recently completed the shutdown of its low-volume B. Dalton unit, once a staple of shopping malls across America. The last 50 B. Dalton stores were closed this past year.
[5 Items You Should Never Pay For]
Apparel sales are doing better these days, but that doesn't mean there's room for everyone. Not when so many players are out there competing for dollars that consumers are still parting with cautiously. TJ Maxx just shut down its A.J. Wright discount line, taking all 162 stores with it. Bebe Stores (Nasdaq: BEBE - News) closed its PH8 unit at a cost of 48 stores.
And Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ - News), struggling with losses selling through its outlet stores, shut them down altogether (87 in all) in favor of putting out their product through J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP - News) and QVC. "They really had no choice," says Davidowitz. "This at least gives them some cash flow for awhile."
Meantime, in case there was any doubt about the influence of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX - News) and iTunes on the entertainment front, movie and music sellers Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and Trans World Entertainment's (Nasdaq: TWMC - News) F.Y.E unit have all been high-tailing it out of many U.S. towns. Movie Gallery, which once boasted almost 5,000 stores, completed the liquidation of its remaining 2,400 units last summer.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
New Zealand Dollar
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is widely expected to refrain from raising its key overnight lending rate in January as the economy continues to battle slow wage growth, weakness in the housing market, and a high unemployment rate. As market participants rule out a rate hike, comments subsequent to the rate announcement are likely to dictate price action.
Ahead of the release, traders are pricing in a zero percent chance that the RBNZ will raise its key overnight lending rate twenty five basis points, according to the Credit Suisse Overnight index swaps. Taking a look at the fundamental developments leading up to the rate decision, annualized consumer prices rose less than economists’ expectations in the fourth quarter. The report is concerning due to the fact that inflation is expected to pusher lower in the first quarter of 2011 as business and consumer demand scales back, while housing pressures remained weighed by slow house growth. Recently, house prices in the region fell an annualized 0.9 percent in December to mark the first decline since September 2009. It is also worth noting that credit card spending slid 1.4 percent during the last month of 2010as consumers remain cautious about spending, adding further concerns to New Zealand’s recovery.
All in all, as the economic recovery in New Zealand is slightly off track, I expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to refrain from raising its borrowing costs twenty five basis points later on today. Thus, comments trailing the rate decision will likely dictate price action and dovish commentary from the central bank will validate the bearish NZDUSD technical outlook.
Ahead of the release, traders are pricing in a zero percent chance that the RBNZ will raise its key overnight lending rate twenty five basis points, according to the Credit Suisse Overnight index swaps. Taking a look at the fundamental developments leading up to the rate decision, annualized consumer prices rose less than economists’ expectations in the fourth quarter. The report is concerning due to the fact that inflation is expected to pusher lower in the first quarter of 2011 as business and consumer demand scales back, while housing pressures remained weighed by slow house growth. Recently, house prices in the region fell an annualized 0.9 percent in December to mark the first decline since September 2009. It is also worth noting that credit card spending slid 1.4 percent during the last month of 2010as consumers remain cautious about spending, adding further concerns to New Zealand’s recovery.
All in all, as the economic recovery in New Zealand is slightly off track, I expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to refrain from raising its borrowing costs twenty five basis points later on today. Thus, comments trailing the rate decision will likely dictate price action and dovish commentary from the central bank will validate the bearish NZDUSD technical outlook.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Future Investments
About this Calculator
Calculate future value of investment accounts based on periodic, constant deposits, constant withdrawals, and a constant interest rate compounded daily. See the notes below.
Notes on Future Value Calculations:
1. Initial Account Balance
* Enter the current account balance or the amount you will deposit to start the investment account. When entering the account balance, enter the balance on the 1st day of next month. This calculator will have a start date on the first day of the month that follows today's month.
2. Annual Interest Rate
* Enter the Stated Rate. This calculator will compound interest daily. For example, an annual interest rate of 7% will be approximated as a daily rate of [ 0.07/365 days = 0.00019178 or 0.019178% ]. We round the daily rate to 3 decimal places so will use 0.019% in this case.
* Interest for this calculator is calculated at the end of each day so will include the net account amount after any deposits or withdrawals.
3. Monthly Withdrawals
* If you will be making monthly withdrawals from this account, enter it as a positive number, not a negative. Also, choose the day of the month that withdrawls will be made on. This calculator does not allow days of the month for 29, 30 or 31 since not all months will have these days.
4. Monthly Deposits
* If you will be making monthly deposits into this account, enter it here. Also, choose the day of the month that deposits will be made on. This calculator does not allow days of the month for 29, 30 or 31 since not all months will have these days.
5. Future Value at the End of X years
* Enter the number of years in the future you want to calculate the value of this account for.
* To simplify our calculations we start on the first day of the month that follows today's month.
Calculate future value of investment accounts based on periodic, constant deposits, constant withdrawals, and a constant interest rate compounded daily. See the notes below.
Notes on Future Value Calculations:
1. Initial Account Balance
* Enter the current account balance or the amount you will deposit to start the investment account. When entering the account balance, enter the balance on the 1st day of next month. This calculator will have a start date on the first day of the month that follows today's month.
2. Annual Interest Rate
* Enter the Stated Rate. This calculator will compound interest daily. For example, an annual interest rate of 7% will be approximated as a daily rate of [ 0.07/365 days = 0.00019178 or 0.019178% ]. We round the daily rate to 3 decimal places so will use 0.019% in this case.
* Interest for this calculator is calculated at the end of each day so will include the net account amount after any deposits or withdrawals.
3. Monthly Withdrawals
* If you will be making monthly withdrawals from this account, enter it as a positive number, not a negative. Also, choose the day of the month that withdrawls will be made on. This calculator does not allow days of the month for 29, 30 or 31 since not all months will have these days.
4. Monthly Deposits
* If you will be making monthly deposits into this account, enter it here. Also, choose the day of the month that deposits will be made on. This calculator does not allow days of the month for 29, 30 or 31 since not all months will have these days.
5. Future Value at the End of X years
* Enter the number of years in the future you want to calculate the value of this account for.
* To simplify our calculations we start on the first day of the month that follows today's month.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Get Life Insurance
Consumers feel they are faced with a double-edged sword as many claim they cannot afford life insurance.
But without financial protection in place they could face financial devastation if the worst happens, warned Louise Colley, head of protection marketing at Aviva.
Overall, the Aviva report painted a picture of UK families who are surviving but are in debt, apprehensive about additional costs and unwilling or unable to put aside money for the future.
The report showed that on average 61 per cent of families confessed they do not have basic life insurance, with 87 per cent saying they are without critical illness cover and 89 per cent do not have income protection. Just seven per cent of UK families felt completely financially protected.
Some 57 per cent were concerned about inflationary pressures on everyday living costs and 39 per cent said they were too financially stretched to take on any additional financial obligations.
Ms Colley said: ""Families need to think what would happen to the family if the worst happened? Many families have debts, such as a mortgage, so they need financial protection the most. But they are not taking action as they claim it's unaffordable.
"There will be far less impact on the family if something happens if they have life insurance in place. No one is immortal and people need to plan for this."
This week Aviva launched a national TV advertising campaign to highlight the importance of taking out life insurance.
Ms Colley said: "Aviva offers life insurance for as little as £5 a month and we have launched an advert promoting this.
"Life insurance is there to protect the family and people need to step back and realise this. People need to overcome their barriers to life insurance - it is not confusing and it is affordable."
But without financial protection in place they could face financial devastation if the worst happens, warned Louise Colley, head of protection marketing at Aviva.
Overall, the Aviva report painted a picture of UK families who are surviving but are in debt, apprehensive about additional costs and unwilling or unable to put aside money for the future.
The report showed that on average 61 per cent of families confessed they do not have basic life insurance, with 87 per cent saying they are without critical illness cover and 89 per cent do not have income protection. Just seven per cent of UK families felt completely financially protected.
Some 57 per cent were concerned about inflationary pressures on everyday living costs and 39 per cent said they were too financially stretched to take on any additional financial obligations.
Ms Colley said: ""Families need to think what would happen to the family if the worst happened? Many families have debts, such as a mortgage, so they need financial protection the most. But they are not taking action as they claim it's unaffordable.
"There will be far less impact on the family if something happens if they have life insurance in place. No one is immortal and people need to plan for this."
This week Aviva launched a national TV advertising campaign to highlight the importance of taking out life insurance.
Ms Colley said: "Aviva offers life insurance for as little as £5 a month and we have launched an advert promoting this.
"Life insurance is there to protect the family and people need to step back and realise this. People need to overcome their barriers to life insurance - it is not confusing and it is affordable."
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Forex Trading
Danske’s technical analysis:
Market is in a downtrend. Suggested strategy is to attempt long (buy) if price breaks 1.6201 with first profit target at 1.7235. Place the stops at 1.5530 or change trade direction if price breaks it. Profit target for this sell (short) entry is 1.5400.
Ino MarketClub’s Trend analysis:
Strong Down Trend (score -100)
Points to watch from my pivot-calculation are the 3rd resistance (1.6207) and 1st support (1.5533)
At the time I wrote this, gbp/usd price was ranging around 1.5770. My plan is to place long order if price breaks 1.6200. Anticipate-stops will be at 1.6100. I will place short order if price breaks 1.5530. Anticipate stops will be at 1.5630.
Please note that this is just a trading idea, I do not execute trade solely based on this. I write this in purpose to show you (especially novice traders) about how I make use of the free technical analysis data for my intraday trading.
Tags : gbp-usd, intraday trading, technical analysis, trend analysis
8
Daily Free Forex Signal 10-11-2008
Free Forex Signals
Today’s GBP/USD Forex Signal (10-11-2008)
Best time to place this order is at 05.00 GMT
buy @ 1.5745 ( Stop/Limit/Market Order)
Set Stop Loss @ -30pip
Set Profit Target @ 20 pip
Daily Pivot: 1.5705
Previous day’s HLC Price and today’s Support-Resistance Levels
Market is in a downtrend. Suggested strategy is to attempt long (buy) if price breaks 1.6201 with first profit target at 1.7235. Place the stops at 1.5530 or change trade direction if price breaks it. Profit target for this sell (short) entry is 1.5400.
Ino MarketClub’s Trend analysis:
Strong Down Trend (score -100)
Points to watch from my pivot-calculation are the 3rd resistance (1.6207) and 1st support (1.5533)
At the time I wrote this, gbp/usd price was ranging around 1.5770. My plan is to place long order if price breaks 1.6200. Anticipate-stops will be at 1.6100. I will place short order if price breaks 1.5530. Anticipate stops will be at 1.5630.
Please note that this is just a trading idea, I do not execute trade solely based on this. I write this in purpose to show you (especially novice traders) about how I make use of the free technical analysis data for my intraday trading.
Tags : gbp-usd, intraday trading, technical analysis, trend analysis
8
Daily Free Forex Signal 10-11-2008
Free Forex Signals
Today’s GBP/USD Forex Signal (10-11-2008)
Best time to place this order is at 05.00 GMT
buy @ 1.5745 ( Stop/Limit/Market Order)
Set Stop Loss @ -30pip
Set Profit Target @ 20 pip
Daily Pivot: 1.5705
Previous day’s HLC Price and today’s Support-Resistance Levels
Friday, January 21, 2011
Forex Guide
Forex Trading vs Stock Market
Two of the main differences between (and some would say advantages over) the forex market compared to the stock market are:
1. Trading hours. The forex market is open 24 hours a day. Trading is done over three continents, allowing a trader to trade continuously and to react immediately to events and new developments. The market opens on Sunday evening and closes Friday night.
2. Commissions. Electronic trading and competition have brought about a sizeable reduction in the bid-offer spread (the equivalent of commissions). The spread covers the risk of the market maker. The spread for the majors remain very low, but can increase as the liquidity of a specific currency drops. Despite recent reductions of commissions through online stock brokers, the Forex market is considered, by some, to have the lowest commissions relative to trade size when compared to other financial markets. This is also in part due to the 100:1 leverage offered by most trading houses. A client with a $10,000 deposit can leverage this to $1,000,000. Some electronic communication network brokerages have introduced a per trade commision alongside a narrow pip spread.
Many retail trading houses would suggest that the large size of the market makes it impossible for a speculator to affect the market. This is not quite the truth - the stakes are higher, larger quantities of money are involved, and the bigger banks spend a lot of time and effort trying to manipulate the market. Governments have been known to step in and affect prices.
Two of the main differences between (and some would say advantages over) the forex market compared to the stock market are:
1. Trading hours. The forex market is open 24 hours a day. Trading is done over three continents, allowing a trader to trade continuously and to react immediately to events and new developments. The market opens on Sunday evening and closes Friday night.
2. Commissions. Electronic trading and competition have brought about a sizeable reduction in the bid-offer spread (the equivalent of commissions). The spread covers the risk of the market maker. The spread for the majors remain very low, but can increase as the liquidity of a specific currency drops. Despite recent reductions of commissions through online stock brokers, the Forex market is considered, by some, to have the lowest commissions relative to trade size when compared to other financial markets. This is also in part due to the 100:1 leverage offered by most trading houses. A client with a $10,000 deposit can leverage this to $1,000,000. Some electronic communication network brokerages have introduced a per trade commision alongside a narrow pip spread.
Many retail trading houses would suggest that the large size of the market makes it impossible for a speculator to affect the market. This is not quite the truth - the stakes are higher, larger quantities of money are involved, and the bigger banks spend a lot of time and effort trying to manipulate the market. Governments have been known to step in and affect prices.
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