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, […]
Links
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 […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
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 […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
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 […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Review of 2009 Stats
Ed. Note: taking a breather from our normal business of posting retirement, tax and other personal financial planning topics to report on the blog itself and the statistics we’ve seen in this, the 6th year of publication for the blog. We’ll be back to our regular programming with the next entry. – jb Over the past year, this blog has undergone a few major changes… I upgraded the format to WordPress; then added the IRA Owner’s Manual, reorganizing all those IRA posts into a coherent manual; a summary, chapter by chapter, of the seminal book “The Richest Man In Babylon”; plus I started writing more – generally adding a new post every other day. Planned for 2010: more of all the yummy income tax, IRA, and other retirement-related and investment/financial planning articles that you’ve come to expect; likely a Social Security Owner’s Manual and a 401(k) Owner’s Manual (along the […]
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”.