Obama’s Cabinet

Who’s in it, and where they come from.

Let’s take a look at who is in the new presidential cabinet, position by position – along with a couple of financially important choices outside the cabinet.
Secretary of State: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Confirmed 94-2 in the Senate. Former junior U.S. Senator from New York (2001-2008), former [...]

THE NEED FOR POWER OF ATTORNEY

With more Americans living into fragility, POAs and
other advanced directives are becoming more important.

The point of the POA. A Power of Attorney is a legal instrument that delegates an individual’s legal authority to another person. If an individual is incapacitated or mentally incompetent, the POA assigns a trusted party to make decisions on [...]

MONEY and HAPPINESS

Do they go hand in hand?
 
Does money actually buy a degree of happiness? In this recessionary holiday season, it is worth thinking about the effect money has on our lives. What role does money play in our happiness? Is that role overrated?
Most psychologists and sociologists will tell you that our happiness comes largely from [...]

GM, Chrysler get $17.4 BILLION

Both automakers must meet demanding terms.
 
A loan at last. On December 19, President Bush announced that $17.4 billion in TARP funds would be loaned to General Motors and Chrysler in December and February. The two companies will receive a total of $13.4 billion in bridge loans this month; an additional $4 billion could be borrowed [...]

ARE YOU STILL PRACTICING PATIENCE?

2008 is just one (bad) year in stock market history.
Before it ends, you can still make moves to improve financially.

A time for perseverance. This is the type of financial climate that separates disciplined investors from impatient ones. Barring an amazing Santa Claus rally, 2008 will end up as the worst year for [...]

FED SETS KEY INTEREST RATE NEAR ZERO

A historic decision comes at an important time.

Rates have never been this low. That’s not a cliché from a mortgage commercial. That’s reality in Washington D.C., where the Federal Reserve brought the federal funds rate down to a target zone of between 0% and 0.25% on December 16.1
The cut was greater than expected [...]

IN-SERVICE 401(k) WITHDRAWALS/INCOME PLANNING

An option you can use to develop your retirement income plan while you work.

Can you withdraw money from your 401(k) while you are still employed? Not everyone should; not everyone can. However, if you can, it may mean that you can effectively implement part of your retirement income plan before you retire.
If your [...]

WILL MANDATORY IRA WITHDRAWALS BE DEFERRED IN 2009?

If President Bush signs the bill Congress just passed, yes.

Imagine not having to take your RMD next year. On December 11, H.R. 7327 was approved by Congress – and if President Bush signs it into law, it will temporarily suspend Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) for IRAs and 401(k) and 403(b) plans.1 H.R. 7327 [...]

AN INVESTOR’S BEST FRIENDS

Meet diversification, patience and consistency.

Any investor would do well to call on three friends during the course of his or her financial life: diversification, patience and consistency. Regardless of how the markets perform, they should be a part of your investment philosophy.

Diversification. The saying “don’t put all your eggs in [...]

PARTNERSHIP PLANS FOR LONG TERM CARE

Many states are assisting their residents to buy LTC insurance.

A helping hand for a pressing need. With the baby boom generation maturing, numerous studies and articles have pointed out the rising need for long term care. Some state governments have directly responded to it.
Now, many states have created partnership programs to encourage their [...]