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All 10 of the S&P 500’s stock sectors finished 2013 in positive territory. Stocks most closely tied to economic growth fared best in 2013, while those typically regarded as the safest bets logged the year’s smallest gains.
Source: WSJ
The collective cost of items featured in the “The Twelve Days of Christmas” rose 7.7% over last year, according to PNC Financial, to $27,393.
For 30 years PNC has compiled the Christmas Price Index. Since the index was first compiled in 1983, year-over-year inflation increases have averaged 2.9%.
For this year, the price to hire nine ladies dancing rose the most, 20%, while 10 lords a-leaping jumped 10%.
Here’s a breakdown of the cost of the twelve gifts:
Note: The drummers, dancing ladies, leaping lords, piping pipers are rented, not bought.
Source: PNC
Pitfall? Get it? I couldn’t resist.
Ben Carlson has a great piece on how avoiding the crippling mistakes of investing will greatly improve your results.
Here is Carlson’s list of the biggest mistakes to avoid:
For the ultimate backstop, Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal has a piece of advice most investors would be wise to follow:
Approximately 99% of the time, the single most important thing investors should do is absolutely nothing.
Be safe out there!
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been rated the top value in U.S. public higher education for the 13th straight year by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.
Kiplinger’s rates universities on quality and cost including metrics around admission rates, retention rates, graduate rates, sticker price, financial aid and graduation debt level.
UNC is the only school that meets 100% of students’ demonstrated financial need. UNC students graduate with an average debt of less than $17,000, far below the national average of $29,400 according to Kiplinger’s.
Other UNC system school that made Kiplinger’s top 100 include:
Source: Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Charlotte Observer
Dana Anspach at MarketWatch recently wrote about 8 financially devastating mistakes (aka “Code Reds”) that must be avoided:
1. Believe in a stock
The company you work for is doing well. You understand the potential of the business. You should own a lot of company stock. After all, it shows your level of commitment, right?
WRONG! CODE RED!
You can lock in lifestyle by taking risk off the table. If trusted advisers are telling you to reduce risk, listen. You can’t take your “belief” in your company stock to the bank. Owning a lot of company stock doesn’t demonstrate a commitment to your company; it demonstrates a lack of commitment to your own personal financial planning.
2. Get reeled into real estate
Rental real estate is a good way to build wealth with someone else’s money, isn’t it? I mean, that’s what the infomercials say.
WRONG! CODE RED!
Investing in real estate is a profession in and of itself. With real estate prices on the rise again, don’t get reeled in with the lure of easy passive income. It isn’t as easy as it looks.
3. Follow a Tip
An opportunity to double your money is an investment opportunity worth pursuing. It could change your life, right?
WRONG! CODE RED!
Tips are great for your waiter or waitress. But where you family’s future is concerned, avoid the tips, and stick with a disciplined and diversified approach.
4. Change lanes — every year
Smart investors watch the market and frequently move money into the latest high performing investment, right?
WRONG! CODE RED!
You’ve probably noticed if you constantly changes lanes on a backed up highway, always trying to inch ahead, you usually end up farther behind. Driving this way isn’t effective; investing this way isn’t effective either. Pick a disciplined strategy and stick to it. Jumping from investment to investment is only going to slow you down.
5. Play the currency cards
Experts can deliver higher returns, right? Find someone who knows how to trade, and you’ll be set.
WRONG! CODE RED!
If experts could generate such high returns, why would they need your business? Don’t play the currency cards, the expert cards, or fall for any kind of outlandish promises. I’ve yet to see one of these programs work the way it was marketed.
6. Follow your ego
Better investments are available to those with more money, right? If you get the opportunity to participate in something exclusive, it is likely to deliver better returns.
WRONG! CODE RED!
If someone appeals to your ego, walk away. When it comes to investing, the only thing I’ve seen egos do is help someone lose money.
7. Follow their ego
You can trust prestigious people in your community. That’s why you should do business with them, right?
WRONG! CODE RED!
Checks and balances are good in government and in investing. One way to make sure checks and balances are in place is to work with an investment adviser that uses a third party custodian. The third party custodian sends account statements directly to you. The investment adviser can make changes in your account, but the transactions are reported to you directly by the custodian, who isn’t and should not be affiliated with the investment adviser.
8. Leverage up
Borrowing at low interest rates and investing in high growth assets is an excellent way to accumulate wealth, isn’t it?
WRONG! CODE RED!
Think twice before borrowing to invest. It causes ruin more often than it causes riches.
Visit MarketWatch to read Anspach’s full article.
This year’s turkey dinner won’t cost you any more than last year’s. The average cost of a classic Thanksgiving Dinner for 10 people is $49.04 according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s survey. That’s a 44-cent or 0.9% price decrease from last year.
The bird soaks up the lion’s share of the budget at 44% of the meal’s cost. The 16-pound turkey came in at $21.76 this year or $1.36 per pound. The biggest year-over-year change on a percentage basis were the sweet potatos whose cost increased 6.7%. Green peas contributed the biggest percentage drop at -7.2%.
The average cost of a turkey dinner has hovered around $49 since 2011. The relative price stability of the turkey index mirrors the government’s Consumer Price Index for food eaten at home which increased only 1% compared to last year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Click on the image for a high resolution version. Data source: AFBF
Source: AFBF
‘Tis the season for giving, but how do you know if you’re contributing to a reputable organization that will make the best use of your donation?
Charity Navigator (charitynavitagor.org) features a rating system of 1 to 4 stars for dozens of charitable organizations. This non-profit provides key guidance on where it’s best to give and how these charities utilize the money that you give them.
A four-star charity has the following characteristics:
The best way to donate is to give directly to the charity through their website.
The worst is donating to “cold calls” from a telemarketing firm. The middleman typically keeps 80% to 90% of your contribution and shamefully little actually reaches those in need. Also, avoid appeals delivered via social media because you don’t know who is behind them.
Sources:
Charity Navigator
NPR
Multiple years of strong stock market performance coupled with disciplined savings has propelled 401(k) accounts to a record high.
According to Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest 401(k) provider, the average 401(k) balance reached $84,000 during the third quarter of 2013, up 11% from $75,900 the previous year. This is overall average is based on 12.6 million accounts.
401(k) savers that have been actively contributing to their accounts over the past 10 years saw their average balance grow $223,100, up 19.6% during the 12 months that ended in June.
Fidelity also reported that fewer 401(k) participants are relying on “do-it-yourself” investing and instead are moving toward managed accounts and target-date funds. Managed accounts provide individualized investment advice.
The federal government has relaxed rules governing flexible spending accounts or FSAs. Starting in 2014, consumers may be allowed to roll over as much $500 in unused funds each year.
A flexible spending account is a great way to save money with healthcare-related expenses by using pre-tax money. However, one of the drawbacks up until now has been the “use-it-or-lose-it” nature of these accounts. At the beginning of each year you must estimate your eligible medical expenses and set aside that amount in your FSA account. Prior to the new rules, you would lose any funds remaining in your FSA account at the end of the year, though often there is a grace period to use those down.
Under the new FSA rules your employer can choose to offer you the option of up to a $500 rollover of unused funds OR a two and a half month grace period, but not both.
The federal government announced Wednesday that the social security benefits for almost 63 million retirees and disabled people will increase by 1.5% next year.
This will be one of the smallest annual increases since automatic cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) began in 1975. The sluggish U.S economic recovery has kept inflation in check and limited businesses’ ability to raise prices of goods and services.
Social Security pays retired workers an average of $1,272 a month. A 1.5% raise comes to about $19.
