Search Results for: blog 401 k panic

Interview: John Hauserman on 401k Retirement Funds

Today I’m continuing my interview with John Hauserman of RetirementQuest.com. Yesterday we chatted about the money that was withdrawn from 401k plans when the economy took its tumble. You can read the full article here. John, you indicated that pulling money from our 401k accounts might have been action spurred by the emotions of the moment. Can you tell us a little more about this? Savvy long-term investors might have noticed something—history tells us very clearly that panic-driven dips generally turn out to be an unusually rewarding time to be buying stocks (assuming you have time to wait out the … Continue reading →

401(k) Panic

With the recent uncertainty in the economy, much of the market has been declining. As stocks slow, retirement plans can also slow their growth, even drop in value. The key with these longer-term funds is to not panic. Even with the lower stock market, it is not a time to sell out on stocks in long-range accounts. Selling is never good when a market is low, but buying is good. If you have some extra money, this would be an excellent time to add to your retirement accounts. If you have a tax return coming, putting some of it into … Continue reading →

Sick People Spend the Most on Health Care

There have been some conflicting studies in the news recently that talk about health care spending. It turns out that a small group of people, who are the least healthy, are the ones who spent the largest portion of the money that was spent on health care. These results seem to match up well with what common sense would tell you. Recently, the federal government released a report that said that the United States spent $2.6 trillion on health care in 2010. The report said that this number translated out to be around $8,400 spent per person on health care. … Continue reading →

Fitting Multiple Partner Fertility Into Your Family Tree

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Most genealogists have no problem understanding where to place their ancestors and relatives in a standard family tree template. Put in the name of an ancestor, connect that person to his or her spouse, and then connect the two parents to their children. It seems very simple. Things get more complex if you are adding relatives who have multiple partner fertility. Suddenly, a standard template isn’t going to work. A study done by Cassandra Dorius, who is a demographer at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research looked at multiple partner fertility. This technical sounding term simply means a … Continue reading →

Financial Tsunamis

We’ve all watched the news reports from Japan with sorrow and horror. The devastation is unbelievable, and it’s hard to imagine having to endure such tragedy. Our hearts go out to the victims and we pray for them to find comfort and peace as they seek to rebuild their lives and mourn the loss of loved ones. As we contemplate these things, it’s natural for our thoughts to turn to the ripple effects of the event on our world economy, and to wonder how this tragedy might affect us down the road. Obviously, we didn’t just see our town washed … Continue reading →

Marriage During the Great Depression

Yesterday I wrote about how I’m bracing my marriage for a depression. I also admitted that I’m afraid of what’s to come…but that I’m going to face that fear head on and find a way to make all this benefit my marriage. I’m still not entirely sure how I’m going to do that, but I figured knowledge is power so my best bet is to start off arming myself with some of that. Researching the Great Depression If only my grandparents were still alive. Both sets survived the Great Depression. They could advise me how they made it, maybe give … Continue reading →

Bracing My Marriage for a Depression

I hadn’t been too worried about all the economic doom and gloom swarming the news these days until a couple of weeks ago. My husband’s job is sort of dependent on investors being able to get credit to buy businesses. If people can’t get financing, that means there won’t be any deals and he’ll be out of work. Needless to say the number of banks going under, some of which have financed projects Wayne’s worked on in the past, alarmed me. But yesterday I grew even more concerned. Causes for Concern It started when Today interviewed Jim Cramer of Mad … Continue reading →

Want To Save Yourself $800?

Okay, how can I save $800, you ask? Actually, you can save even more than that by becoming familiar with financial markets, retirement planning and more. One comprehensive evaluation with a financial planner, where he or she will sit down and evaluate your retirement goal, typically costs $800 to $2000. Hey, why not learn some financial planning on your own and turn it into a side business! Then, not only will you save money, you can make a little money as well. How do you learn what to do in order to plan for your retirement appropriately? Do the research! … Continue reading →

What is the Dow?

The Dow Jones is such a part of every American’s vocabulary, but how many of us know exactly what it is? Most people know it is an indicator of our economy and that it has something to do with the stock market, which are both true. Let’s explore it even further than that. First, the Dow is not the only market indicator, but it is the most widely used by the average investor and the media. Other market averages commonly used are the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000. For an active investor, it is important to watch all three. … Continue reading →

When Adopted Kids Grow Up: Worst-Case Scenarios

My last blog spoke of research on adoptees’ adjustment. I mentioned David Kirschner’s book of worst-case case studies. It is a pain-filled and painful book of adoptees who became criminals. But adoptive parents need not panic. Kirschner makes no claim that most adoptees will be violent or that adoption is bad, or even that all adoptees will be maladjusted. He believes that looking for a pattern in the court cases he has worked on might illuminate things that don’t work to help adoptees. He believes that his experiences can not only help adoptees, parents and therapists to avoid horrible outcomes, … Continue reading →