Recent Posts / RSS Feed- The tax landscape will shift, making these three strategies wise moves for 2012
- Life Settlements Offer Alternative to Insurance Cash Value
- Farmland, agriculture commodities may outrun stocks or bonds
- Student loan overview — which is right for you?
- Long-term care costs … still expensive, but growing slower in some cases
- Expand investment opportunity with alternatives
- Natural gas: Good energy opportunity, maybe not a good investment opportunity
Author Archives: BH&J
The deleveraging divergence
Back in 2008 when it entered our vocabulary, The Economist called deleveraging “a fate worse than debt.” The process of reducing leverage — borrowed money — from personal, corporate and governmental finances is expected to take several years, if not … Continue reading
Posted in Financial planning
Tagged debt, deleverage, deleveraging, economy, Europe, leverage, savings
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Returns of diversified investment portfolios – the mirror effect
Modern Portfolio Theory suggests that diversified investment mixes over time should generate the lowest returns with more conservative allocations to stocks and the highest returns using higher allocations to stocks. Allocations with nearly equal weightings between stocks and bonds should … Continue reading
Savers double up without reward
An addendum to Gary’s News Tribune column from January 6. Cash equivalents may be zombie investments but investors still favor them. TrimTabs, a tracker of cash flows to bank and investment accounts released information January 13 demonstrating that Americans deposited … Continue reading
Posted in Financial planning
Tagged cash, investments, mutual funds, savings, zombie
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Get rid of paper money to fix the economy … ?
Could you operate your financial life without cash in your wallet? Some people already get by without cash, using credit or debit cards for most transactions or even swiping their iPhone to debit an electronic account. Matthew Yglesias, Slate’s business … Continue reading
Posted in Financial planning
Tagged cashless society, economy, paper money, recession, slate, yglesias
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U.S. pension plans underfunded by $450 billion
Imagine if you knew you owed a dollar to your friend but you didn’t have to pay it back for 10 years. Using the time value of money, you could assume an interest rate and then invest some amount (say … Continue reading
Posted in Financial planning, Retirement
Tagged defined benefit, pension, retirement, underfunded
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2012 tax changes and contribution limits
EMPLOYER RETIREMENT PLANS Participants in employer retirement plans such as 401ks and 403bs will be able to contribute an extra $500 as the limit moves up to $17,000 in 2012. Catch-up contributions, allowed above the $17,000 level for people over … Continue reading
Posted in Financial planning, Investments, Taxes
Tagged contribution limits, estate, Financial planning, gift, IRA, Social Security, Tacoma, taxes, wealth management
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The global debt web: Who owes who
The BBC has produced an info graphic about the global debt situation that presents the web of how much money is owed by each country to banks in other nations. We found this interactive graphic to be very helpful in … Continue reading
Greece, land of the gods and debt
With all the attention over the past year on Greece and its debt, it’s interesting that a Greek Goddess is now being used to explain a potential outcome for the European economy. Blackrock, in its 2012 Outlook, described its worst … Continue reading →