Here’s one of the opening salvos, brought to you by the Affordable Care Act of 2010: the IRS has now issued guidance regarding changes to Flex-Spending plans (or Flex Spending Arrangements, FSAs), which has changed things for folks who use these plans – specifically the medical expense reimbursements. In the past, these plans have been eligible to reimburse the owner of the account for a myriad of medical expenses, not only physician expenses, prescription drugs, and other health care expenditures, but also over-the-counter medicines or drugs (not controlled by prescription). Beginning in 2011, due to the Affordable Care Act, over-the-counter drugs and medicines that are not ordered by prescription will no longer be eligible for reimbursement from a medical Flex-Spending plan. The change does not affect insulin, even if purchased without a prescription, or other health care expenses such as medical devices, eye glasses and contact lenses, co-pays and deductibles. […]
financial planning
What Does A Fidelity Target Date (Freedom) Fund Invest In?
Note from Jim: I’m on vacation this week – hope you enjoy the following post from my friend and colleague, Roger Wohlner, CFP® who writes at the blog Chicago Financial Planner. Roger operates his Fee-Only financial planning practice out of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Fidelity is one of the largest providers of 401(k) plans and like many fund company platforms it is common for their plan sponsor clients to offer several or all of Fidelity’s Target Date funds known as the Fidelity Freedom funds. These funds have target dates from 2005 every five years out to 2050 with an even shorter-term Retirement Income fund. The premise behind these and other Target Date funds is that a plan participant will choose a fund with a date close to when he or she might retire, invest their contributions and let the fund manager do the rest. The funds typically lighten up on equity […]
Independent’s Day
Okay, this has nothing to do with America’s celebration of independence from British rule… other than it’s a play on words and you know I can’t possibly resist. No, today’s post is about your own independence from the biases that are infused into advice you might receive from an advisor who is working for an insurance company, a brokerage, a bank, or a mutual fund company. The way you can achieve this independence is to work with an independent advisor – an advisor who operates as a fiduciary, providing advice that is solely in your own best interest. This is an important enough issue for me to direct you to other advisors’ websites – folks who technically are competitors to me – so that you can see what they have to say about this independence and the fiduciary duty of care that you, the consumer of financial services, deserve. So, […]
The Lost Decade and What it Means
By now you’ve likely heard plenty about the “lost decade” in the stock market: On January 3, 2000, the S&P 500 index closed the day at 1,455.22, and on May 28, 2010, the index closed at 1,089.41 – for a negative return on the nearly 10 1/2 years… I’m sure you’ve noticed in your investment statements. But what does this mean? There are plenty of folks out there (in the mass media) who will tell you that stock market investing is no longer a wise move… why, after all, if you’d had your money in a savings account you’d have done better! So does this mean it’s time to chuck all of your stock investments and switch everything to bonds? Of course not. Remember, it’s long term No matter who you are as an investor, if you expect to achieve any return above inflation, you have to include equities (stocks) […]
Financial Checkups – Have You Had Yours Lately?
Many of us are diligent about maintaining the “stuff” in our lives… we get regular oil changes in our cars (and have the tires rotated when we think of it), we try to make it to the dentist regularly, and we have the annual inspection of our furnace/air conditioner. But one aspect of our lives sometimes doesn’t get the attention that it really needs: our financial plans. For lots of folks, we’d almost rather spend time in the dentist chair than gather all of those statements together, along with our previous plans (if we have any), and do a thorough review of where we are, where we’re headed, and if we’re on track for our goals – retirement being the goal of foremost importance to most. Yes, we may have gone to a financial planner and talked over our financial situation, then implemented well… some of the recommendations. After that, […]
Economic Indicators – What’s Important to Watch?
You see them on the news, in the newspaper, on the internet. Not every day, but certainly it seems like a new one every week: Key Economic Indicators. There’s the CPI, GDP, and Unemployment. There’s also the Consumer Confidence Index and Leading Economic Index. What’s this all about? What do these numbers mean? And most importantly, which ones should we pay attention to? Below I’ve listed several of the more important economic indicators and what makes up the indicator, along with my commentary on what the indicator may tell us. If I’ve left out any of your favorites, let me know! Key Economic Indicators Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – this is the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, minus the value of imported goods and services. This broad measure of economic health shows the quarter-by-quarter growth or shrinkage of the US economic output. Comparisons are […]
The Healthcare Plan – A Review
I haven’t had time to delve very deeply into the new Healthcare plan that the President signed recently. Somehow the pile of tax returns keeps getting in the way… Never fear though, a colleague of mine, Curtis Smith, CFP®, of Sugarland, Texas, recently posted a couple of blog articles reviewing the major tenets of the plan, along with what we can expect over the remainder of this year, and for the next several years to come (unless things change). Curtis’s first article is called “Health Care Changes in America” – and you can view it by clicking on the article title. This is the overview for the average American. The second article is entitled “How Will Health Care Reform Affect Your Small Business” – and as the title indicates, it’s the small business viewpoint. These articles are an excellent, balanced review of the plan – I think you owe it […]
Where to Get Your Annual Credit Report
As a smart consumer, you have likely heard that it’s a good idea to get your credit report every year from all three services: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You’ve probably also seen the ever-present “Free Credit Report” commercials on the television (unless you TiVo everything and skip past the commercials!) – so you may be wondering: is that the place to go to get the credit reports? While the service in the commercials will likely provide you with the reports you need, since that service is a “for profit” venture, you’re also likely to get more than you bargained for along with your reports. There are a lot of add-ons that can mysteriously show up, like hidden fees, credit score monitoring, identity theft protection, etc., all of dubious benefit. The Real Answer The ONLY authorized source for requesting your credit reports from all three agencies FOR FREE, with no strings […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.