Retirement planning firm

Capital Management Strategies is an independent retirement planning firm that offers financial, retirement, tax and estate planning products and services. ...

The Greco Planning Group is an estate and retirement planning firm providing highly focused, personalized service and bringing extensive and diverse ...

Several years ago, Cliff began investing in stocks and bonds. He made his selections on the basis of articles he read describing good investment opportunities. Some have worked well for Cliff, but others have not. Cliff has never taken the time to evaluate his portfolio performance, but he feels it isn't very good. Cliff currently has about $90,000 invested. He has been dating a woman lately and hopes to marry her in three years, at which time he will need $20,000 for marriage expenses and a honeymoon. Cliff's only other objective is to accumulate funds for retirement, but he does not have a specific dollar target for this goal. Cliff feels that he has a moderate risk-tolerance level. 1. Explain some disadvantages of Cliff's current investment approach. 2. Construct a portfolio for Cliff, limiting your selections to 5 mutual funds (assume that he sells his current stock and bond holdings). Make sure your plan indicates specific dollar amounts for each portfolio component. Make sure your plan also explains your selections for each portfolio component. Visit an investment firm that deals in mutual funds, such as, Vanguard.com, AmericanCentury.com, Fidelity.com, etc. and select 5 mutual funds that will diversify Cliff’s portfolio. Record the fund name, ticker symbol, 5 year average annual returns (can use 3 year if 5 year is unavailable), the amount to be invested in each fund, and the amount returned in 3 years using the 5 years average annual return for the wedding. 3. Explain how Cliff should periodically rebalance his portfolio, indicating how frequently rebalancing should be done.

Ford and GM are publicly traded companies and their stock is subject to impact average Americans and their retirement plans. I don't agree with a bail out, but I see why they are at the table begging. I can't believe no Senator or Representative in either of these trips to Washington asked Chrysler why they were there also. They are a private firm held by a private company that has plenty of money. If they need money shouldn't they just ask the parent company for it? Are we really going to give a few billion dollars to a hand full of guys that already have a few billion dollars in the bank?

Hello everyone, I'm Mike - I'm 20 years old. I am setting up a personal budget worksheet but need some help with itemizing my savings to be a reasonable amount. I currently bring in $34,155 a year gross -- and $2,469.25 a month NET. My current monthly expenses are shown below and I need some help filling in the blanks... Thanks Rent - $750/month Water - $30/month Light - $60/month Food - $200/month Directv - $80/month Renters Ins. - $30/month Clothes - $100/month I have $1,219.25 at the end of each month left over after general expenses -- you will see I don't have cell phone, telephone, car insurance, and fuel.. that's one benefit, company vehicle etc etc. General Savings - $XXX.XX/month House Savings - $XXX.XX/month (plan to buy a house in 5 years.. thinking $375-$500) IRA/401k/Retirement - $XXX.XX/month (I do plan to retire and pass my business down some day :) ) Savings for school - $XXX.XX/month (Since high school graduation I have been focusing on the growth of my company, but taking classes that are pertinent to my business, obtaining all certifications, licenses, attending many training seminars, studying to become a state certified horticulturist etc etc. since there is not a school locally for a horticulture degree, I have researched and found a very well known school's curriculum and I have purchased the books off of amazon.com for a very good price, so I have been studying that for the knowledge..... my plan is in approximately a year to pursue a degree in business on top of working...ughh) Vacation - $XXX.XX (thinking $100??) Now ofcourse I expect in 2-3 years to be bringing in approximately 40-50k a year and can then be a lot more flexible with spending, but I am a firm believer in starting early especially with saving.

Accounting Not everyone knows what career choice they would like when they are young. I on the other hand, am pretty sure I know. I want to be an accountant. To many people, this job may be the most tedious ever, but to me it is interesting. There are a lot of jobs out there that are target to help a certain group of people. Accounting is not just targeted at one group, but is capable of helping the entire world. Planning ahead is very important to me. I grew up in house where both of my parents were not very successful. My dad went into the army after he finished high school. My mom did not finish high school and is now taking care of old ladies. They tell me and my siblings to go to college so we can get a good job, settle into a house and then make a family. As I was growing up my interests became different all the time, I finally realized that through everything I have always been good at math and it is quite interesting to me, and accounting fits my interests so it is the perfect job for me. Body paragraph 1 I believe that accounting as a good career choice for me because the basic qualifictations that are required to be an accountant I have. Such as doing basic math like, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and possibly division. To do this job I should also have a good memory, which I have. The reason I would need a good memory is because I need to remember what accounts increase on the debit side, and what accounts decrease on the credit side. I also need to be able to take full responsibility of everything I do. Why? Well because in accounting there are certain steps that I have to take in order to reach the end and If I do not do them in the order they belong then others are going to have a difficult time doing their job. I am learning in my accounting class that in accounting I have to start from the beginning and work till the end. body paragraph 2 In order to be an accountant I need to get atleast a bachelor’s degree either in accounting or a related field such as: a certified public accountant, a system accountant, or a tax accountant. Some jobs may require a master’s degree in business administration. Having the certification or license to be an accountant will certainly give you and advantage for obtaining a job. body paragraph 3 body paragraph 4 Body paragraph 5 Accountants have a wide range in salaries because of the size of firms, the location of the firms, and the level of education. If you have up to one year in experience you are able to make any where from $28,250 to $45,000. With one to three years you can make 33,000 to 52,000, senior accountants make anywhere between 40,750 to 69,750. Financial managers are one of the top employees of accounting and they can make anywhere from 48,000 to 90,000 dollars. Finally the top employees of accounting firms make any where from 64,750 to 200,750. Getting my bachelors degree in accounting will start me off with 43,269 a year, and If I were to get my masters degree I could start with 46,251 which is a good start. The benefits that come with this job are amazing, I would most likely get paid vacation, sick leave, health insurance, profit sharing, and retirement plans. If you have any special skiils you can make double or triple the top salary range. body paragraph 6 body paragraph 7 body paragraph 8 conclusion Body paragraph 4 Many of the activities done in accounting firms all across the world probably do most of the same tasks. In the accounting class I am taking right now we are learning exactly what real accountants do. I think that the job is quite simple but many think it is tough. The basics are keeping track of businesses money, writing check, and making sure that everything adds up correctly. It could be really simple or it could be really tough depending on if I am capable of remembering what accounts do what and being able to know how to add and subtract. I would also need to know how to take full responsibility for the things I do, because if I do something wrong my colleagues could be penalized for it. With being an accountant comes the responsibility of making sure that the nation’s firms are being run correctly, making sure that the public records are accurate and kept that way, and that taxes are paid on time. This is a really tough job because a lot of people during this t Body paragraph 4 Many of the activities done in accounting firms all across the world probably do most of the same tasks. In the accounting class I am taking right now we are learning exactly what real accountants do. I think that the job is quite simple but many think it is tough. The basics are keeping track of businesses money, writing check, and making sure that everything adds up correctly. It could be really simple or it could be really tough depending on if I am capable of remembering what accounts do what and being able to know how to add and subtract. I would also need to know how to take full

I have a job interview tomorrow for an internship and I have been reading over this a lot in the past couple of days, I still don't think that I could explain what they do if asked in an interview. Could someone please explain this in terms that a non business major can grasp: "We are a progressive, team- oriented legal/pension consulting firm of 30+ employees. We concentrate in the design and administration of qualified retirement plans for closely held businesses. We are a tax law consulting firm that designs, administers and consults on qualified retirement plans. The firm works with business owners, accountants and investment advisors who want to maximize plan contributions for owners, family members and select employees.We have developed an IRS-approved plan that goes far beyond the traditional 401(k) contribution. The plan is adaptable to business changes and meets all government non-discrimination requirements."

So a little more than a year ago, my mom left my dad. I am 25 now and haven't lived at home since I was 18 when I moved away to university. I moved to Sweden for a year and it was right before I left, my mom decided to she should let me know her plans before I went. It didn't really bother me none. I stayed in touch, webcam, email, phone when we could (time difference) with both my mom and dad. My dad seemed to take it hard, as he still loves my mom. My mom is busy working and hiking which she loves and we talk about finance and her retirement stuff etc... (my area of expertise) and my dad we talk about hockey and my photography (side passion). My dad, who was raised Jewish and wasn't really ever into it (loves Christmas). We were raised with both Christianity and Judaism. My dad has become "born again" and has really taken to Christianity and God etc... I consider myself non-religious and stand pretty firm. I accept my dad for the path he has taken, there are many worse ways to deal with divorce. He does like talking about God with me, and I take it for what it is. Hell, I even stood in a line for an hour to get a book signed for him by this guy Joel Olsteen? never heard of him til that moment. Oh, I have since moved back from Sweden to New York City. I am originally from San Francisco Bay Area, so still haven't seen my parents since the divorce. Ok, so talking with my sister who is away at College, we were talking about her coming to visit this Spring and the conversation led to our Dad and Mom. We hadn't really talked about it before, but she just vented on me about how she blocked both parents from IM because our Dad doesn't want to hear about her boys and she can't stand listening to his "God talk". She blocked our mom because she can't stand to listen how she feels guilty for breaking up the family or ruining my sister, me, and brothers lives, even though my sister constantly reiterates that she is not ruining anyones life. Personally, I did not know my mom felt that way, nor did I really think my dad's religiousness was a big deal, regardless of my own belief. Like I said there are worse ways to go. He talks about how he met a woman at Church, and he doesn't watch any television anymore, etc...and I think that's good. So if you are still reading this because you love to help people (smiles)....I guess, for my own faults, I never realized how this could be effecting my sister. She is the youngest, but still was already out of the house down in school when parents decided to divorce, so I suppose I never gave it much thought...we're all grown. I want her and my dad and mom to have a good relationship, I said I could talk to dad about easing up on the religious stuff, but she told me to not do anything. What is everyones thoughts. Thanks for your time and appreciation.

Building Customs An Arkansas boy had moved away and made his fortune. When he retired, he returned home to spend the rest of his years hunting and fishing and build his retirement home. For the job he hired a local carpenter. The retiree explained, “I’ve got the plans right here, you can read a blueprint, can’t you?” “Oh, I can read a blueprint,” said the carpenter, unrolling the plans. “And I can see a BIG mistake already. You can’t build this house like this!” “I certainly can,” replied the retiree. “These plans were drawn by the best architectural firm in New York. I want to you follow them exactly or I’ll find myself another contractor.” “Your funeral,” the carpenter shrugged, “but I’m warning you right off - the bathroom is going to end up inside..”. === More You Might Be a Redneck if… Your Momma has ever stomped into the house and announced, “The feud is on!” The antenna on your truck is a danger to low flying airplanes. Your Mother has been involved in a fist fight w/the high school prinicipal. You’ve ever barbecued Spam on the grill. Your Brother-in-law is your Uncle. None of your shirts quite cover your stomach, and it’s not because you are Britney. You consider “Outdoor Life” deep reading. Your mother keeps a spit cup on the ironing board. Your favorite Christmas present was a painting of Elvis on black velvet. Your school fight song was “Dueling Banjos.”

Recently, my wife, who has some mental health issues I've been helping her with for 8 years, decided she needed a month apart to work on her mental health. At the time, I loved her unconditionally and with all of my heart. I figured, sure... why not? It couldn't hurt. Well, after 3 days apart, she stopped taking my calls. She accused me of lying, stealing, etc... (I don't do these things and she knows this) She took me off our joint retirement account and drained the account out and put it into her own personal account she opened to keep the funds from me. We have had shared money since we were dating so many years ago. She vanished for several days. She even went to our storage and tried cleaning out all the valuables she could carry. Next, I get an email saying "I consulted with a lawyer and I want a divorce." That was last week. I got her into counseling (by some miracle) and this week, she wants to be back together. She seems pretty firm in it and I do believe her, but there are now problems. She's broken my trust by trying to leave me with nothing, financially. She tried to leave me with nothing and was planning this big move for over a month, behind my back. I loved this woman unconditionally and would have done anything for her. She's my world, my everything. I want to make my marriage work, but I'm really having problems because I don't feel I can trust her after she did all that stuff to me. Because I don't feel I can trust her, some of my love for her has gone away. Can anyone help me make sense of this situation? Should I keep trying? Am I setting myself up for another big disaster by trusting her after she was so cruel to me? What would you do? (Keeping in mind I've been with my wife for 8 years and would really like to honor my commitment to her and continue to have what was, until 2 weeks ago, a very VERY close and happy marriage) Thanks! Thanks for the advice so far... More about the mental health: She had an unknown mental health / depression disorder when we first met. She was on Celexa. Later, after she went off it, she was diagnosed bipolar. However... during the last visit to the counselors just a week or so ago, they insisted she's NOT bipolar and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (she had a very bad childhood). So... it's hard for me to separate out the mental health issues from the real her this time. Bipolar would explain a lot of what happened a couple weeks ago. PTSD? Maybe... not sure if that would explain it. Anyway, thanks again for all the advice. I hope there is a lot more of it coming. I'm really stuck here and having a hard time understanding how *I* feel right now, never mind how she feels. I'm lost.

Cliff Swatner is single, 33, and owns a condominium in New York City worth $250,000. Cliff is an attorney and doing well financially. His income last year exceeded $90,000, and he has sufficient liquid assets to supplement his condominium and other tangible assets. Several years ago, Cliff began investing in stocks and bonds. He made his selections on the basis of articles he read describing good investment opportunities. Some have worked well for Cliff, but others have not. Cliff has never taken the time to evaluate his portfolio performance, but he feels it isn't very good. Cliff currently has about $90,000 invested. He has been dating a woman lately and hopes to marry her in three years, at which time he will need $20,000 for marriage expenses and a honeymoon. Cliff's only other objective is to accumulate funds for retirement, but he does not have a specific dollar target for this goal. Cliff feels that he has a moderate risk-tolerance level. 1. Explain some disadvantages of Cliff's current investment approach. 2. Construct a portfolio for Cliff, limiting your selections to 5 mutual funds (assume that he sells his current stock and bond holdings). Make sure your plan indicates specific dollar amounts for each portfolio component. Make sure your plan also explains your selections for each portfolio component. Visit an investment firm that deals in mutual funds, such as, Vanguard.com, AmericanCentury.com, Fidelity.com, etc. and select 5 mutual funds that will diversify Cliff’s portfolio. Record the fund name, ticker symbol, 5 year average annual returns (can use 3 year if 5 year is unavailable), the amount to be invested in each fund, and the amount returned in 3 years using the 5 years average annual return for the wedding. 3. Explain how Cliff should periodically rebalance his portfolio, indicating how frequently re balancing should be done. This is what I have so far but i need help with choosing the 5 mutual funds Can anyone help me out? Some disadvantages of Cliff's current investment approach are that he has not kept track of his investments. Having made the investments Cliff should have kept track of them. He should hold on to the investments that are doing well and sell the ones that are not. Investing without any specific targets or goals, doesn’t help when he is trying to accumulate funds for retirement. Different investments have different risk and should be kept in mind while investing. He has no dollar amount as a target, while investing it is important to have the dollar amount that he wishes to acquire. Based on these and the expected returns, a monthly allotment can be made. Without the target, it is difficult to put aside any amount of money. His portfolio should if possible be a diversified portfolio so that the instability in returns is reduced. This means that he should include some low risk securities such as Treasury Bills. Advantages of Mutual Funds: Professional Management - The primary advantage of mutual funds (at least theoretically) is the professional management of your money. Investors purchase funds because they do not have the time or the expertise to manage their own portfolio. A mutual fund is a relatively inexpensive way for a small investor to get a full-time manager to make and monitor investments. Diversification - By owning shares in a mutual fund instead of owning individual stocks or bonds, your risk is spread out. The idea behind diversification is to invest in a large number of assets so that a loss in any particular investment is minimized by gains in others. In other words, the more stocks and bonds you own, the less any one of them can hurt you. Large mutual funds typically own hundreds of different stocks in many different industries. It wouldn't be possible for an investor to build this kind of a portfolio with a small amount of money. Economies of Scale - Because a mutual fund buys and sells large amounts of securities at a time, its transaction costs are lower than you as an individual would pay. Liquidity - Just like an individual stock, a mutual fund allows you to request that your shares be converted into cash at any time. Simplicity - Buying a mutual fund is easy. Cliff can invest the $90,000 as follows: Asset HoldingsAmountProportion Growth stocks$27,00030% International stocks$18,00020% High quality bonds$22,50025% Zero coupon bonds$13,50015% 3 to 5-year CDs$ 9,00010% Total$90,000100% Rebalancing the portfolio means moving from risky assets to safer assets as you time passes. The logic behind that is that an investor would not like to lose capital as he grows older, since the sources of income would be limited. As people approach retirement, they tend to become more risk averse. Their investment strategy also tends to emphasize capital preservation. This increased conservatism is a very normal response. However, this shift in risk tolerance requires tha

A few years ago I went through a bad time, job change, etc... After I got back on my feet, I settled with all my creditors to stop all the harassing phone calls, etc.. One of the creditors sent me a statement to settle my debt and I paid it. I have the paper and canceled check originals. 6 months later I get a letter from the creditor asking for a larger sum or else. They hire a collection lawyer firm to come after me and when I present the proof, the agengy apologises and kicks it back to the creditor. They state that the settlement amount the creditor sent me was TYPO, but since it was their mistake, they must live with it.A few months later, they actually sell off the debt to another company who again I have to fax the proof to and the original creditor is forced to buy back the debt. Several months later, the original creditor sends me a letter saying they have the debt and are going to start charging interest on the debt? They are refusing to give up or take this off my credit as settled. I live check to check and do not have money for a lawyer. I am still paying on a loan I took out to settle the debt from my retirement plan. What can I do to stop this as it is nothing more than pure harassment from a creditor who refuses to accept their mistake.

Ben currently works at the money management firm of Dewey and Louis. His annual salary at the firm is $50,000 per year, and his salary is expected to increase at 3% per year until retirement. He is currently 28 years old and expects to work for 35 more years. His current job includes a fully paid health insurance plan, and his current average tax rate is 26%. Ben has a savings account with enough money to cover the entire cost of his MBA program. The Ritter College of Business at Wilton University is one of the top MBA programs in the country. The MBA degree requires two years of full-time enrollment at the university. The annual tuition is $60,000, payable at the beginning of each school year. Books and other supplies are estimated to cost $2,500 per year. Ben expects that after graduation from Wilton, he will receive a job offer for about $95,000 per year with a $15,000 signing bonus. The salary at this job will increase at 4% per year. Because of the higher salary, his average income tax rate will increase to 31%. What initial salary would Ben need to receive to make him indifferent between attending Wilton University and staying in his current position? How would I set this up. I don't even know where to start with this problem?

Dinner with Obama Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor. I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner. The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry." "I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty.. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp. "And his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the President. I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don't want to seem unkind. My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite. "Eric's children are also quite hungry." With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room. "And their grandmother can't stand for long." I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President. "Their grandfather doesn't like the cold." I wanted to shout - that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled.. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him. "Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a subprime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do." My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops. "By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business. I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Eric's and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars." I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his crème Brule. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us. What had I done wrong? As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands. "You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said. Wake up, America !

Does anyone know (in the UK) whether there's a lower age limit on moving into a retirement / residential care home? More importantly, would it be possible to move into one on a permanent basis even if one was otherwise mentally, medically and physically healthy (assuming, of course, that one had the means to pay for it!). FYI (1) I am many years off retiring yet; just considering what might possibly happen or what I might plan for in the distant future, (2), I have no wish to live independently following retirement, but at this point would prefer to sell up and move into a residential home to draw a firm line under my working life, (3) I personally would find all the necessary restrictions on lifestyle that would come with living in a retirement home (communal living, minimal personal possessions, limited freedoms, etc.) to be highly attractive in return for liberation from the grind, stresses and financial worries of day-to-day life, and (4) Accepting of course that this would be a one-way move, and that I might live for a long time thereafter, I would intend to keep mentally and physically fit for as long as possible, say by doing voluntary work within the confines of the home.

Dinner with Obama........... Once upon a time I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor. I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner. The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry." "I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp. "And his brother, Eric, is very thirsty." said the President. I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I withheld my comments and decided to play along. I don't want to seem unkind. My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite. "Eric's children are also quite hungry." With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room. And their grandmother can't stand for long." I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President. "Their grandfather doesn't like the cold." I wanted to shout, “that was my coat!” But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him. "Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a subprime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do." My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak , and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops. "By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business. I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Erics and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars." I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his crème Brule. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us. What had I done wrong? As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands. "You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said. WAKE UP AMERICA !!!

He is clearly a fascist and fascists hate communism. Obammy compared himself to FDR “I would put these first four months up against any prior administration since FDR," Obama said. "We didn't ask for the challenges that we face, but we don't shrink from them either." “ When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose: Yes we can.” Obama Presidential Victory Speech FDR was regarded by the father of Fascism, Mussolini, as a great example of his movement “President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal was directly influenced by fascist economic policies. Mussolini praised the New Deal as “boldly . . . interventionist in the field of economics,” and Roosevelt complimented Mussolini for his “honest purpose of restoring Italy” and acknowledged that he kept “in fairly close touch with that admirable Italian gentleman.” Also, Hugh Johnson, head of the National Recovery Administration, was known to carry a copy of Raffaello Viglione’s pro-Mussolini book, The Corporate State, with him, presented a copy to Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, and, on retirement, paid tribute to the Italian dictator.” This is fascism: “Under fascism, the state, through official CARTELS, controlled all aspects of manufacturing, commerce, finance, and agriculture. Planning boards set product lines, production levels, prices, wages, working conditions, and the size of firms. Licensing was ubiquitous; no economic activity could be undertaken without government permission. Levels of consumption were dictated by the state, and “excess” incomes had to be surrendered as taxes or “loans.”” Auto industry, Energy industry, health etc. “The citizen in the Fascist State is no longer a selfish individual who has the anti-social right of rebelling against any law of the Collectivity. The Fascist State with its corporative conception puts men and their possibilities into productive work and interprets for them the duties they have to fulfill.” Benito Mussolini “This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.” Barack Obama STOP CALLING HIM A COMMUNIST! HEIL OBAMMY. how_would. Fail. Nazism is a form of fascism characterized by extreme nationalism and racism.

Once upon a time I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I’ve broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor. I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner. The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry." "I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp. "And his brother, Eric, is very thirsty." said the President. I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I withheld my comments and decided to play along. I don't want to seem unkind. My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite. "Eric's children are also quite hungry." With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room. "And their grandmother can't stand for long." I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for20my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President. "Their grandfather doesn't like the cold." I wanted to shout, “That was my coat!” But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him. "Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a subprime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do." My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak , and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops. "By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business. I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Eric’s and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars." I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his crème Brule. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us. What had I done wrong? As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands. "You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said. WAKE UP AMERICA !!!

Cliff Swatner is single, 33, and owns a condominium in New York City worth $250,000. Cliff is an attorney and doing well financially. His income last year exceeded $90,000, and he has sufficient liquid assets to supplement his condominium and other tangible assets. Several years ago, Cliff began investing in stocks and bonds. He made his selections on the basis of articles he read describing good investment opportunities. Some have worked well for Cliff, but others have not. Cliff has never taken the time to evaluate his portfolio performance, but he feels it isn't very good. Cliff currently has about $90,000 invested. He has been dating a woman lately and hopes to marry her in three years, at which time he will need $20,000 for marriage expenses and a honeymoon. Cliff's only other objective is to accumulate funds for retirement, but he does not have a specific dollar target for this goal. Cliff feels that he has a moderate risk-tolerance level. 1) Explain some disadvantages of Cliff's current investment approach? 2) Construct a portfolio for Cliff, limiting your selections to 5 mutual funds (assume that he sells his current stock and bond holdings). Make sure your plan indicates specific dollar amounts for each portfolio component. Make sure your plan also explains your selections for each portfolio component. Visit an investment firm that deals in mutual funds, such as, Vanguard.com, AmericanCentury.com, Fidelity.com, etc. and select 5 mutual funds that will diversify Cliff’s portfolio. Record the fund name, ticker symbol, 5 year average annual returns (can use 3 year if 5 year is unavailable), the amount to be invested in each fund, and the amount returned in 3 years using the 5 years average annual return for the wedding? 3) Explain how Cliff should periodically rebalance his portfolio, indicating how frequently rebalancing should be done. SHOW ALL WORK FOR EACH ASSIGNMENT AND EXPLAIN EACH STEP CAREFULLY.

A Parable Dinner with Obama, a parable Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor. I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner. The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry." "I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp. "And his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the President. I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don't want to seem unkind. My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite. "Eric's children are also quite hungry." With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room. "And their grandmother can't stand for long." I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President. "Their grandfather doesn't like the cold." I wanted to shout- that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him. "Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a subprime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do." My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops. "By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business. I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Erics and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars." I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his creme brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us. What had I done wrong? As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands. "You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said hey will ..copy and paste doesnt take much of my time ..it just saw it in the newspaper and figured it might be liked by others .. and also will ..i almost wish i was living in my parents basement instead of hating the idea that i will be taxed higher so that some crack addicted hood rat will spend my money to try and stay healthy didnt say it was word for word true but it is a baseline trickle down economy at work

any one out of this 3? 1.Write a memo to your employees advising them of a free seminar given by a noted financial on retirement planning. 2.Write a memo to your boss informing him/her that one of your major clients is taking its business to a different accounting firm. 3.Write a memo to your employees explainging why, on a certain date, the co-payment for prescription drugs will increase from $ 5 - $ 10 per item. 4.Write a memo to an account manager who has been charging personal expenses to the company charge card, stating the company policy and explaining that the firm takes the card away from any employees who misuse it.

The problem is, we've all been invited to dinner!! Dinner with Obama, a parable: Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor. I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner. The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry." "I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp. 0A "And his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the President. I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don't want to seem unkind. My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite. "Eric's children are also quite hungry." With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room. "And their grandmother can't stand for long." I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President. "Their grandfather doesn't like the cold." I wanted to shout - that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been=2 0thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him. "Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a sub-prime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do." My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops. "By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business. I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Eric's and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars." I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his crème brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us. What had I done wrong? As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands. "You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said. Ken, I really didn't read anything hateful in this message. Mark M; Little men have little minds, I'm surprised you could spell idiot.

After reading this parable, I couldn't help but feeling as though I could totally identify with this man. How do you feel about it? What do you think? > Dinner with Obama, a parable > > Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner > with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor. > > I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner. > > The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen. > > "Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry." > > "I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp. > > "And his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the President. > > I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don't want to seem unkind. > > My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite. > > "Eric's children are also quite hungry." With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room. > > "And their grandmother can't stand for long." > > I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously, I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President. > > Their grandfather doesn't like the cold." > > I wanted to shout that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him. > > "Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a sub prime mortgage and they need the house more than you. > > > My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops. > > "By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business. I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Erics and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars." > > I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his Creme Brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us. > > What had I done wrong? > > As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands. > > "You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said.

I've never been given a title at my job. I work for a small corporation and I'd like to think of a job title that fits, usually when people ask what my job title is I just say "accounting". My duties: -Job Costing: everything I enter in the computer is generally assigned to a job. -Accounts Payable: post bills, pay bills, deal with collectors -Accounts Receiveable: I normally don't create the invoices (the sales administrator does), but I e-mail customers about payment, post payments. -Payroll: enter timesheets. process payroll with quickbooks assisted payroll. -Bank Reconcillations: several bank accounts and credit cards -Health Benefits: Administer medical & dental benefits for employees -Retirement Plan: Administer company 401k (I setup this up in May) -Workers Comp, Auto, & Liability Insur: submit claims, send over copies of drivers licenses, etc. -Notary: became notary for company -Phone: I am a backup for the lady at the front desk. If she doesn't pick up the line right away I answer. -Inventory: Enter batch tickets into the computer to convert raw materials into finished goods. -Licensing: research state licenses and apply where they are needed. Even went and took a contractors licensing test for one of the states when no one else was available to go. Filing- I do all the filing Reports- I run all the accounting reports Other- plenty of other things I can't think of right now! I do NOT do: -Income tax: we have a CPA firm that does -Depreciation: CPA does but I will probably be taking this over soon. So help me out, is there a job title that fits what I do for the company? Also... Help with legal issues, like putting a lien on a building of a non-paying customer. I have an associates in accounting.

During the campaign, Obama said, “I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” The last 5 words of his statement "NOT ANY OF YOUR TAXES." Yet I have seen an tax increase on Tobacco (over 85% of tobacco users make less then $250k) Tax increase on energy (dont 99% of all Americans use energy of some sort?) Proposed tax increase on Sugars and Sweeteners (I am sure 99% of Americans use these on a daily basis) Proposed Tax Increase on Capitol Gains (401k's ... There are retirements for those who make less then $250K) Tax after tax, after tax .... Does it stop. When? Am I going to get an interperatation on what he "really meant to say" or can we blame Bush for raising these taxes somehow? So Jared.... Its a Compromise? Not a LIE or a TRUTH? There IS NO MIDDLE GROUND!! If its NOT TRUE its a LIE, no COMPROMISE. And the cigareete tax only effects those who CHOOSE to smoke? So when he raises income tax, its no big deal... cause it will only effect those who CHOOSE TO WORK? How blind are you? Coleen, how in the dark and blinded by Obama are you? Obama inacted the Cigarette tax on May 1st .... 400% increase on tax. Who are 401K's made for? 401K's are FOR the middle class, as a form of retirement. They are NOT put there for those making more then $250k a year. Do you blindly follow him, or just dont educate yourself about anything?

1. Which one of the following best exemplifies the principal-agent problem in the employer-employee relationship? A) A worker takes 20 minute coffee-breaks although the employer allots only 15 minutes for this purpose. B) A worker is on the job 50 hours per week although only 40 hours are required for promotion. C) A worker opts for early retirement in response to the firm's incentive plan. D) A worker's productivity is independent of the wage paid. -------------------------- 2. Which of the following will NOT cause a shift in the demand for resource X? (a) a decline in the price of resource X (b) an increase in the price of the product resource X is producing (c) a decrease in the price of substitute resource Y (d) an increase in the productivity of resource X ------------------------------ 3. Over the long run, real earnings per worker can increase only at about the same rate as the economy’s rate of growth of: (a) total output (b) stock of capital (c) output per worker (d) international trade (e) moon worshipers --------------------------------------- 4. The concept of investment in human capital indicates that: (a) union workers are better educated and more productive than nonunion workers (b) expenditures on education can be explained in essentially the same way as expenditures on machinery and equipment (c) worker productivity correlates negatively with annual earnings (d) the level of education is unrelated to the level of one’s income ----------------------------------------- 5. Using income as the tax base, which of the following is a regressive tax? (a) the Federal inheritance tax (b) lottery (c)the corporate income tax (d)the personal income tax ------------------------------------------- 6. If the demand for a product is perfectly inelastic, the incidence of an excise tax will be (a) entirely on the buyer (b) mostly on the buyer (c) entirely on the seller (d) mostly on the seller -------------------------------------------

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Last summer, Phil Packer was told he would probably never walk again. On Saturday, he plans to finish the London Marathon.He'll be the last one done. For everyone else, the race ended 13 days earlier. Packer has been walking on crutches for two miles a day, the most his doctor will allow, to raise money for charity. His goal: £1 million ($1.5 million) for Help for Heroes, a British non-profit supporting wounded veterans. Packer, whose full title is Army Maj. Phil Packer, Adjutant General's Corps, Royal Military Police, has been a beneficiary of the military-focused charity. On Thursday, an Army band, red-coated and bearskin-hatted, played in his honor as he reached the Tower of London, 12 days into his walk. The marathon is only part of his project, he says. In February, he rowed the English Channel, and next month, he plans to climb El Capitan, one of America's iconic mountaineering sites. It's a 3,000-foot vertical rock formation in California. "I don't want to be helped. I want to help other people. Not that I'm not grateful, but ... you know," he says, an apologetic smile forming as he makes his way up the north bank of the Thames River, along the marathon course. "I really want to be able to help people." It is perhaps not a thought that would occur to everyone in Packer's shoes.The 36-year-old was wounded in the aftermath of a rocket attack on his base in Basra, Iraq, in February 2008. A vehicle rolled down a sand bank, striking Packer "head on" and dragging him under it, he says. "There was no one in it," he says.He steps off a curb onto the street: Right crutch, right leg, left crutch, left leg."It was just one of those things," he says. "These things happen." Packer's lower spinal cord was injured, leaving him with no feeling or motor control in his legs, and no bladder or bowel control. "In hospital, I was told it was unlikely I would ever walk again," he remembers.That he is on his feet, walking the London Marathon under his own power, he attributes to "fantastic medical support" from Britain's Ministry of Defense and National Health Service."I gotta see how it goes," he says. "Take every improvement as it comes." Under London's steel-gray sky, drivers honk their horns in support as Packer walks by. Construction workers stop and dig into their pockets to throw change into collection buckets carried by Royal MPs walking with Packer. And staff at the law firm of SJ Berwin line the road to cheer for him as he approaches. With two days left in his marathon, Packer has raised about £560,000 (about $840,000), he says. "I desperately need people to support me," he says.Prince Charles is among those who have expressed support. "You are, if I may say so, a credit to the Royal Military Police and to the British Army as a whole," the heir to the British throne writes in a letter posted on Packer's Web site, www.philpacker.com.Packer is still a serving soldier and intends to remain one, he says. "I've still got a career in the armed forces," he says. "I'm going to go back to it." He has 16 years of service under his belt, including time as an enlisted man before he went to officer training school, and is, he notes with a rueful laugh, 20 years from retirement. He's been asked to be an ambassador for Prince Charles' charity, the Prince's Trust, which focuses on helping young people, in addition to his life in what he calls "the disability community."All that is making him wonder if he is spreading himself too thin. "If you're going to channel your energy, you've got to have a plan," he says.But he is not daunted. "I know people with disabilities far worse than mine who are achieving amazing things."

I think 401k plans started in the early 80's, so nobody was taking money out of the plan. Money kept coming in and CEO's were getting paid more and more for outrages profits they were reporting. Fast forward almost 30 years later and people that have been investing in 401k's for the last 15 20 or 30 are getting ready to retire and their money is being frozen or completely gone..seems like millions of Americans trusted 401k companies with their hard earned money and have been completely backstabbed by these greedy investement firms. I do not know of anyone who has retired and is living care-free from their 401k retirement plan. So if no one is gettig a steady paycheck from their retirement plant, what the hell happened to all tha money? and why doesn't the federal government guarantee 401K investments??? any inside info will help, specially from inside inverstors that know all the inside loops and angles....

I'll be graduating college in May and be taking a job with an insurance firm. I'm well aware that this is prime time to start investing for retirement but I'm looking for some how-to help. My employer has a 401k plan that I need not contribute too and will still receive 15% of my base salary in contributions annually. I'd like to also personally contribute to my retirement plan but I do not want to be bound by their 401k earnings. Is it possible to open a second 401k in my name? If so, I would also like to manage it myself. I have an account with TD ameritrade and a do a bit of day-trading. Can you day-trade with 401k contributions? How and what firms would you recommend to do this with?

I'm a sophomore in high school, and I want an outside opinion of my chances of getting into a good film school. The three schools I'm most interested in are NYU, USC, and UCLA, although I am flexible on my selection, just so long as the school is near a real "film scene" in America. I've made all A's in high school so far, except for one B (all honors classes, and three planned AP's within the next two years), and though I have neither extracurricular activities nor sports, I have been volunteering at my local community theatre since January of last year. I will probably begin to develop a film portfolio this summer. Also, financial aid. My father is retired from the Navy, and now, excluding his retirement check and disability benefits, our family's income is around $12,000 a year. But that is bound to change when he finds a job as a teacher (anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000; we don't know). A problem of mine is that I don't have a very good idea of how financial aid works. How much tuition would it pay for for a person in my situation? Again, I just want an answer from someone who knows something about this, because, despite a lot of research, I still don't have a firm grasp of how this works. Thanks!

What was supposed to be a legal lynching of AIG boss Edward Liddy over the firm's bonus plan turned into a humiliating defeat for the lynch mob. Liddy came off as a smart straight shooter, a man who gave up retirement for $1 a year to rescue AIG so it wouldn't bring down the financial system. He also proved himself a cut above those who aimed to make cheap headlines at his expense. I'd pay to see him question Congress on its role in the economic mess. Most important, he revealed the dirty little secret that much of Washington knew and approved of AIG's promises to pay retention bonuses to members of its financial products unit. That revelation came early in Liddy's testimony and punctured the hot air balloon. Liddy's matter-of-fact claim directly implicates the Federal Reserve, which he called the "gatekeeper" for the 80% of AIG owned by the taxpayers. He also said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner knew of the bonus plan nearly two weeks before it became public. Why would anyone with half a brain want the government to run health care and other things. They can't run what they have now. Come on folks, stop the stupid.

I want to buy a certain stock woth some of my 401k.It will still be my retirement investment but from what I understand if I withdraw it & purchase goodsor services (stock) I will have to pay tax on it unless I go through a investment firm's 401k savings plan.Why cant I just invest it myself in that picticular stock? I hope i've not rambled on too much & cloudied the sky.Thanks----Recently I just pulled out of the stock market with my finacial group & put some in bank IRAs& & some with a fixed annunity I would like to put some in a stock that I think is doing well--how can I do that w/o paying a early withdrawal tax on it? Whew!!!

THE EVOLUTION OF MATHEMATICS TRAINING OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS Teaching Math in 1950: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit? Teaching Math in 1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price or $80. What is his profit? Teaching Math in 1970: A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. Make 100 dots representing the elements of the set "M". The set "C", the cost of production contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as a subset of set "M" and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set "P" for profits? Teaching Math in 1980: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. Her cost of production is $80 and her profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20. Teaching Math in 1990: By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down the trees? There are no wrong answers. Teaching Math in 1996: By laying off 40% of its loggers, a company improves its stock price from $80 to $100. How much capital gain per share does the CEO make by exercising his stock options at $80? Assume capital gains are no longer taxed, because this encourages investment. Teaching Math in 1997: A company outsources all of its loggers. The firm saves on benefits, and when demand for its product is down, the logging work force can easily be cut back. The average logger employed by the company earned $50,000, had three weeks vacation, a nice retirement plan and medical insurance. The contracted logger charges $50 an hour. Was outsourcing a good move? Teaching Math in 1998: A laid-off logger with four kids at home and a ridiculous alimony from his first failed marriage comes into the logging company corporate offices and goes postal, mowing down 16 executives and a couple of secretaries, and gets lucky when he nails a politician on the premises collecting his kickback. Was outsourcing the loggers a good move for the company? Teaching Math in 1999: A laid-off logger serving time in Folsom for blowing away several people is being trained as a COBOL programmer in order to work on Y2K projects. What is the probability that the automatic cell doors will open on their own as of 00:01, 01/01/00? too lengthy to read??sorry!!

Dear Senator / Congressman How well has Mary Shapiro run the ship at FINRA? Today’s Wall Street Journal front page article discusses this. But after reviewing this, I don’t believe that CHANGE will be in the cards for the investing public. During in past decade, where did all the trouble in the financial world come from? Was it from Main Street or was it Wall Street? (Enron's electricity manipulators are now the oil market manipulators. Supply and demand forces do not drive oil up $25 in one day!) Have the scandals come from the regional or community banks, credit unions, independent broker-dealers or independent planning firms? No, it came from the BIG FIRMS on Wall Street's with their Non-transparent, Unregulated Credit Default Swaps and other undecipherable schemes. It was assisted by the abolishing of protection policies like the "Uptick Rule". So speculators could short company stocks into the ground in just a couple of days. Criminal Con-man, Bernard Madoff ran a brokerage firm that was under FINRA oversight and an insider; once the head of the NYSE. The SEC admittedly knew about it in 1998 but turned a blind eye. It could have stopped then at 1 billion but, was allowed to grow into a 50 billion dollar ponzi scheme. Please stop appointing the gangsters as policemen and, stop allowing them to regulate their own criminal activity. Maybe the regulators should eat their own cooking. If the higher ranks of the SEC and FINRA were sold equity indexed annuities, life insurance promoted as retirement savings, annuities with 16 year surrender periods, tax shelters found to be abusive, complex mortgage securities that they couldn’t understand or securities firm recommends but trash privately, MAYBE they would change their tune. I see, with this appointment of Mary Shapiro, the continuation of supporting the system that has put us in the economic position we are in today and the further erosion of consumer protection. DO YOUR JOB, NEW SENATOR!!! Start protecting the little man on main street, the majority of your constituency! FIX IT!!! I must cite Jeff Bogue’s article, Jeff is an independent, fee-only financial planner with his firm, Bogue Asset Management, LLC as a reference for my letter. I sent this to my senator and congressman. Please write something to them. Let them know how you feel. Copy / paste mine if you agree and are to busy to write your own.

Will they invest in ways that are more or less productive in stimulating the economy? How might such a tax affect their consumer spending? Do you think most of them will end up paying the full tax increase? I work in the tax-exempt bond business and high net worth investors have been tranferring funds into muni bonds at unprecedented rates since August. My business has been approached by four different law firms offering to set up C corporations to shelter income in post-employment health benefits, private school tuition benefits for children and specialized management corporations to bipass full employee participation in 401(k) plans to increase the retirement contribution to the maximum of $46,000. I would also expect to see Section 529 college saving plans to grow in popularity since you can deposit $250,000 per child into an account and have all earnings be tax free if they are spent on education or other qualified costs. Has anyone else noticed the uptick in tax shelter marketing since October? Rush, I actually thought my last question was a little worse. Stephen, it cannot be otherwise. Capital seeks the highest after tax return adjusted for risk tolerance. When the tax rate is zero, it seeks the highest return which creates the maximum growth to GDP. As the tax rates grow, alternative tax preferred investments that would otherwise not produce the highest return become more attractive on an after tax basis. It is almost a universal truth that aas tax rates grow, capital diminishes it abilitity to contribute to GDP growth. Moiko, I assume you do not make enough money to bother with the lawbreaking and moral and ethical lapses that the wealthy routinely engage in as part of their tax planning?

Britons have worst state pension in EUBy SEAN POULTER Last updated at 22:08 12 November 2007 ( Daily Mail ) Millions of Britons are being condemned to poverty in old age by the worst state pension in the EU, a study shows. The basic state pension of £90 a week is equivalent to just 16 per cent of the average wage, it found. This figure rises to 30 per cent once pension payments related to earnings are taken into account. But this is still only half the EU average of 60 per cent, the financial firm Aon Consulting said. Its study concluded: "The inadequacy of the state system is beyond question." Charities including Help the Aged warn the problem has been made worse because the state pension has failed to keep pace with increases in the cost of essentials such as heating, water, and council tax. A recent study found a quarter of pensioners are having to cut back on basics to survive. Until recently many British workers could rely on private pensions such as final salary schemes. However, many of the most generous schemes have been replaced by deals requiring higher monthly payments in return for a smaller pension. In addition, the study said a "spate" of banking scandals and crises had damaged confidence in the private pension system. As a result, Britons are not investing in private pensions on the scale needed to make up for the state system's failings. The average age of retirement in Britain - 62.6 - is also above the EU average of 61. Some 57 per cent of Britons aged between 55 and 64 are in paid employment. Aon found the value of Britain's state pension for a single person is 30.8 per cent of the average wage. This figure is 32.5 per cent in Ireland, 39.9 per cent in Germany and 51.2 per cent in France. The most generous state pension is offered by Greece, where the figure is 95.7 per cent. Aon said Britain's ageing population is reliant on young immigrants to boost the number of workers, generating taxes to fund pensions. But it stressed this was not a longterm solution to the pensions crisis. The firm's chief actuary, Donald Duval, said: "Migrant workers have helped boost the pension pot in the UK to mitigate against its demomeal-graphic problems but this is not a sustainable measure. It is a smokescreen hiding deeper issues facing the pension system. "More needs to be done to restore confidence in private schemes so as to drive an increased level of contributions. People cannot afford to rely on the state pension, which remains the lowest in Europe. "The 2005 Turner Report on the future of pensions concluded that the ageing population left the UK with four choices: lower pensions, higher retirement ages, higher member contributions or higher taxes. "Assuming that the first is unacceptable, some combination of the latter three needs to be encouraged." A spokesman for Help the Aged said: "Pensioners are resorting to strategies such as buying cut-price food that is nearly out of date. "Increasingly the poorest pensioners are turning to friends and family to help them out. "Debt agencies are also reporting an increase in the number of older people who have borrowed money they can't repay. "Simple things like going out for a meal or inviting people to your home become impossible. Holidays are completely out of the question, while people have to cut back on hobbies and social events." The Government plans to restore a link between rises in earnings and rises in the basic pension by 2012. However, this will be part of a package that will also raise the retirement age from 65 in 2024 to 68 by 2050. Read more... One million pensioners eating less to pay heating bills The Government should ignore some of the money pensioners receive from private schemes to encourage more Britons to save towards their retirement, a report suggests. The Pensions Policy Institute said many are afraid to invest in private schemes because they would lose means-tested state benefits. The research charity suggested the Government should therefore disregard the first £12 a week someone receives from a private pension when calculating their state benefits. This would allow someone to have a pension fund worth £6,000 before it affected their means-tested benefits.

Here is a summary of the major new ideas in the four areas of Obama’s plan: 1. JOB CREATION: A New American Jobs Tax Credit. Obama is calling for a temporary tax credit for firms that create new jobs in the United States over the next two years. 2. RELIEF TO FAMILIES: Penalty-Free Withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009. Obama is calling for new legislation to allow families to withdraw 15% of their retirement savings – up to a maximum of $10,000 – without facing a tax-penalty this year (including retroactively) and next year. 3. RELIEF TO HOMEOWNERS: 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners that are acting in good faith. Financial institutions that participate in the Treasury’s financial rescue plan should be required to adhere to a homeowners code of conduct, including a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for any homeowners living in their homes that are making good faith efforts pay their mortgages. 4. RESPONDING TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: A Lending Facility to Address the Credit Crisis for States and Localities. Obama is calling on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to work to establish a facility to lend to state and municipal governments, similar to the steps the Fed recently took to provide liquidity to the commercial paper market. http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081013/pl_politico/14523;_ylt=AhwB1p.FCbzEA1brvwo7lHth24cA What do you think of Obama's plan?

My IRA has been bleeding money for about a year and a half. IMHO - My so-called fund "manager", whose name I won't use but sounds like "C. More Rice" (which is what my family is going to be doing if this economy doesn't pick up), has been totally useless. I've called several times in the past several months, and when I ask the question as to "what should I do?", I get nothing but dead silence on the phone, followed by the programmed "stay-the-sourse" rhetoric. Well, I got this same rhetoric yesterday, and just lost another $4K today. I am looking to switch investment/IRA fund managers that can offer more personal service (somebody who is going to look out for me), but have been having trouble finding a website which ranks fund managers by customer satisfaction, what to look for in a firm that can help me with retirement planning, etc. Any suggestions? I am in the Pittsburgh, PA area. Thanks in advance.

McGwire Company’s pension fund projects that most of its employees will take advantage of an early retirement program the company plans to offer in five years. Anticipating the need to fund these pensions, the firm bought zero coupon U.S. Treasury Trust Certificates maturing in five years. When these instruments were originally issued, they were 12% coupon, 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds. The stripped Treasuries are currently priced to yield 10%. Their total maturity value is $6,000,000. What is their total cost (price) to McGwire today? $553,776 $5,142,600 $3,404,561 $4,042,040 $3,725,528 Again I chose 5,412,600 but am not certain if I was thinking along the correct lines. I have already gotten my final grade for the class but would like to be able to process this type of issue if it ever comes up in reality. Thanks again everyone.

Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay. * Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans. * Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000: Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This proposal will eliminate income taxes for 7 million seniors and provide these seniors with an average savings of $1,400 each year. Under the Obama plan, 27 million American seniors will also not need to file an income tax return. * Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans: Obama will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees. Trade Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security. * Fight for Fair Trade: Obama will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports. * Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement: Obama believes that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. Obama will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers. * Improve Transition Assistance: To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama would update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by extending it to service industries, creating flexible education accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs. * End Tax Breaks for Companies that Send Jobs Overseas: Barack Obama believes that companies should not get billions of dollars in tax deductions for moving their operations overseas. Obama will also fight to ensure that public contracts are awarded to companies that are committed to American workers. * Reward Companies that Support American Workers: Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 with Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to reward companies that create good jobs with good benefits for American workers. The legislation would provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America if it has ever been in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/#tax-relief

I just volunteered for an involuntary retirement plan. Under the plan I get 13 months pay as a lump sum. This combined with a good bonus, and 4 months of pension give me roughly 2 years pay in 2008. I'll be paying 100k fed tax, all at 33% rate. Next year with my pension I'll be at half pay and 15% marginal rate. Too bad we can't income average anymore. I'm pretty sure I will do a "donor advised fund" at Vanguard to "prepay" the next 20 years or so of charitable giving, but this won't put too much of a dent in the 100k fed tax. I want to explore using section 179 to buy equipment and then lease it out for an income stream. Seems like it should be possible. I don't want to actively manage the equipment, although I can exert some effort if required for IRS. Are there firms set up to handle a deal like this? Or, do I need to do whole deal myself and find a customer? Also, do I have to actively manage the business that uses the equipment? Thanks.

I live in Phila. PA, & I have a debt of $7300 in delinquent CC Bills owed to a credit union who charged the acct. off to a debt collection law firm who filed a judgment which took me to court in 6/2006 resulting in me setting up a payment plan for $50/month for the debt, which was all I could currenty afford. This year, I lost my job back in 2/08, and missed a few payments with the collection agency, I started a new job in 5/08, but was about 3months behind in payment & it had slipped my mind to notify the collection agency of my hardship, which resulted in me receiving a new judgement against me, which included a writ of execution, & attempt to garnish or levy my bank acct. I filed a claim for exemption for the funds in my acct. which is a lump sum of roughly $4,500, ($2,700 of that is a retirement reimbursement check, the rest wages) I have a scheduled court date to plead my case, and I am currently BROKE. help me!! I have roughly $20,000 of total debt. Is bankruptcy an option?

the problem is the u.s.government ! they have been protecting the oil companies because they get alot of lobbyists that donate or give them money. also president bush and cheney own and have investments in oil wells so it would not be beneficial to them or the oil companies. the smartest country was Brazil that learned from the 70's oil crisis. as we laughed at them for investing time and money into there infrastructure to grow sugar cane to convert to ethanol. now they are oil independent and will not suffer from market price volatility. we could buy the sugar cane or ethanol from them but of course we have put a tariff on there ethanol making it not attractive to import the reason to protect our farmers which in turn have caused foods to become more expensive. the problem with this country u.s.a. is the people have never been able to organize large enough protests like they do in other countries to demand immediate changes. and as far as the u.s. energy department they have had no real plan to do anything about it because they are sleeping with the oil companies they have no energy policy. Ford and GM also fell asleep and only produced gas guzzling large suv ;s and trucks they are in financial crisis and they want the u.s taxpayers to bail them out. i say no ! there is technology available to make cars and trucks get better gas maileage but the automakers prefer to sell $4000.00 navigational systems instead of making the vehicles more efficient since that would cost them more money. we deserve what has happened because we allowed it. the politicians make more than enough money to buy there gas or i should say the american tax payers pay for there gas and for the u.s. government also. we should tax the oil companies like the u.k did any profits above $60.00 u.s. per barrel of oil will pay a penalty tax to be used for investing in other alternative fuels and to reduce pump prices. exxon paid there c.e.o $350 million dollars salary and retirement package . now do you see the problems ? another problem is the oil companies and stock brokerage firms manipulatig prices. amoco says they had to shut down an oil field that caused prices to go up then ole lorer from morgan stanley said oil prices will reach $150.00 a barrel by july 4th that caused oil to skyrocket by an extra $ 12.00 per barrel in one day. that guy should be shot they should not be able to comment on prices and influence the oil market which they invested in that should be illegal. opec is just laughing at us making alot of money. so lets do something about it and tell our congressman and senators enough is enough. we also need to stop buying so much products from china as this has made there country grow and consume more gas. we should invest in our hemisphere and not theres. energy companies should be allowed to make a profit but what they are making is breaking all of us and should be stopped or regulated of course there lobbyists will pay money so no legislation is passed against them. in 2007 the oil companies made more than $ 123 billion dollars in profit. please reply and let your views be known.

I want to start saving for a down payment for a house. I want to start investing in a retirement plan. I have no savings at all. I currently make about 3K each month after taxes (I work at a firm that pays less than competitive wages with no benefits, but I get great experience - I probably will change jobs next year for higher pay). Rent is 800/month (I live in LA). I have excellent credit (score is 770), but I owe 55K in federal consolidated student loans. I also owe my mom 130K (I pay the home equity line directly) that was used to pay off my private student loans. I don't have any significant credit card debt. My mom, understandably, would like me to pay off her home equity loan first. While I do want to, the sheer amount is discouraging. I pay about 600/month in interest alone. Ideas? I want a plan with milestones. I kinda wanted to be able to buy a small house in the next 5 years. My debt is so overwhelming that I almost disregard it as being permanent and unchangeable. My mom used her home equity line to pay off my private student loans. She can deduct the interest on her taxes, and I can take advantage of the lower fixed interest rates. When I can, I have made extra payments towards the principal. Moving home is not an option, as I live about 8 hours away since jobs are more scarce there. I expect that next year, if I changed jobs, I could probably make about 70-80K/year (which is the competitive wage for my position). Still discouraged. If I focus on paying off that loan first, and then start saving for a down payment and retirement, I'll have to wait at least 20+ years . 20% for a down payment would be the amount of the loan itself here in CA, which would probably be just as long. That is a long time to go without any savings or investments or retirement plan.

Health care is one of the issues that both candidates plan to improve. Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to lower cost and have affordable health care insurance by providing tax credit for all people based on their income. This plan will insure individuals not to pay more than the limited percentage of their income even though if people become ill or loose their job health care insurance won’t be lost. However, business will have a choice of either offer coverage or make contribution to public, depending on firm size and average wages. While small business will be provided tax credit if they provide health care to their workers to help pay their cost. On the other hand John Mc Cain plans to provide health care affordability to American families by fostering competition and innovation. It will provide individuals’ $2,500 tax credit or $5,000 to families to increase incentives for insurance coverage. Health care insurance will be portable form job to job and will automatically bridge the time between retirement and medicate eligibility.

I am 24 years old and I am going to begin contributing into a Roth 401K retirement plan. I'll start with 10%. Please review the funds that my company offers and advise what would be the wisest investments at this time in my life. I assume that most of you will suggest going aggresive early on and I agree. Thanks in advance for the responses, and please answer only if you have some real experience because I'm trying to learn from you guys. Short-Term Fixed Income Stable Value Government Inflation-Protected Bond Core Bond Intermediate Bond High Yield Bond Large Cap Value Index Large Cap Value Growth and Income S&P 500 Index Large Cap Growth Index Mid Cap Value Mid Cap Growth Small Cap Index Small Cap Core Small Cap Blend Intl. Large Cap Value Intl. Large Cap Index Intl. Large Cap Core Intl. Small Cap Firm Common Stock or you can just choose 1 of these: Moderately Conservative Portfolio Moderately Aggressive Portfolio Aggressive Portfolio Thanks for all the responses so far! Just a few more details. I'm an Operations Analyst in the management development program at JPMorgan Chase. The firm does provide matching contributions so I will be taking advantage of that. Should I only contribute the maximum amount that they will match or is it ok to contribute more? Also, my rationale behind taking the Roth is this... I figure taxes will rise in the future so I would rather pay them now while they're lower so I can keep more money down the road. Also, the firm just sent me some books to look through so I can do my homework on the different funds that they offer. Thanks again for all the responses. I'm the first in my family to go to college and get a good job so I didn't have a lot of people to ask for advice. I really appreciate everybody's advice!

my wife and i are wanting to invest a small amount of money over a long period of time but not sure where to start or in which market we should start any advice would be great since i dont actually know anyone who trade or invests outside of a normal retirement plan

My husband and I just bought a house, have a minimal amount of credit card debt, college loans, want to have a nice retirement fund, go on vacations...all that good stuff people want to do in their later years. Can anyone recommend a good financial advising firm (we live in Eugene Oregon) that can help us get a plan together to both pay off our debt and to save money for rainy days and sunny days alike?

He plans to retire in 6 years after working 30 years for the same private company. He does have a pension and an annuity. Recently his company gave him the option to invest a large amount of money on his own (through an investment firm) and he can cash out the money at retirement or receive payments. They still say he has a pension and not a 401K. Is this investment money his annuity or his pension? Or is it something completely different--an IRA? And what should he do with this large sum of money? Help!

I have been working for four years and have changed jobs a lot of times because I want to move up fast; therefore, I've never put money in 401k. I only have Roth IRA with a brokerage firm and always contribute the max each year. My longest job was only two years. I'm still planning to move around. How should I plan for my retirement?

HI, i'm 19 and trying to find some information so at the end of the summer i can open some kind of retirement plan. I have researched ira's, roth ira's, mutual funds, stocks, bond, etc...now I just want to know what would be the best way to approach this as a young adult with limited funds( couple thousand). Also ive looked into different places such as schwab and Scottrade, any opinon on a good firm would also be helpful. Also i guess i should have added, i am a college student and my source of income are my summer internships.The money im earning, i want to invest it because other wise ill blow it on stupid stuff when i go back to college.

outside of my work, Traditional IRA is only 4000$, i want to put more into retirement savings.