Your Wealth Reserve: Is your 401k robbing you blind?

Survey: “I wish I had learned more about financials”

Many respondents wish they had taken the time to learn more about financial products. We are all very busy and don’t get a chance to learn more about making and keeping money. And yet, for many, the amount of money we have later makes a big difference in our lives. I was lucky. After working a few different jobs, including managing a small health bureau in NYC government, I managed a small operation in a Wall Street firm. I had a crash course in annuities, mutual funds, and insurance. I learned about the products brokers and advisors sell to the public. The most important lesson I learned was which products to buy and which to avoid. I have put that information into short reads that most folks can follow and succeed with. Unless you are wealthy and need special tax advice, I found that the simple products are best. You can understand them and pay much less than those products and services with all the fees, commissions and charges my industry uses to get rich. Pay less; keep more.

Take your discounts: https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X

Is Impact Investing right for you?

Social and environmental focus while you grow your portfolio sounds good. But most companies you may support are not pure plays. For example, Ben and Jerry’s was famous for its social and environmental concerns but it is owned by Unilever of UK which has a questionable environmental history. Labels such as socially responsible investing and impact investing are often used synonymously, alongside other terms like ethical investing and sustainable investing. They usually refer to a similar idea: Using your investing dollars to make a positive difference in the world. But my idea of “positive difference” and your idea can be different. For instance, some investors with particular religious ideas may invest in companies like Hobby Lobby since they have a strong religious mission. One of those missions is Museum of the Bible, a non-profit run by the Green family. Internal staff had warned that some items bought by the Museum had dubious provenance and were potentially looted from Iraq. Several shipments of the artifacts were seized by US customs agents in 2011, triggering a years-long struggle between Hobby Lobby and the federal government that culminated in a 2017 civil forfeiture. As a result of the case, Hobby Lobby agreed to return the artifacts and pay a fine. 3,800 items seized from Hobby Lobby were returned to Iraq in May 2018. In March 2020 the Hobby Lobby president agreed to return 11,500 items to Egypt and Iraq. It may be better to “invest” in your local charity (tax deduction improves your return) and leave your portfolio with “passive” investment guides.

Dream and plan: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957

Is a SPAC right for you?

This type of investment is in the news because Trump is using a Special Purpose Acquisition Company to raise funds for his promised media firm “Truth Social.” A SPAC is like a reverse IPO—managers raise funds from investors to speculate on some project in the future depending on the amounts they raise. A special purpose acquisition company, Digital World Acquisition Corp, had two hedge fund investments until it announced it was helping Trump, who was impeached after being accused of inciting the Jan. 6 attempted coup. At the announcement of the SPAC with Trump’s venture, its share price zoomed higher. SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, are created to raise capital from public equity markets and then use that cash to merge with a private company that has or will have an actual operating business. Thus the two hedge funds probably profited from the news by selling ahead of the actually work with Trump. As usual, most of us were not able to buy and sell at the right time to make a profit without prior information about this event. We are better off taking Buffett’s advice.

Follow Buffett’s advice: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592

Is a 401k loan a good deal?

Yes, but. 401k money is your money. It may seem like a no-brainer to borrow your own money in a pinch. However, this loan is probably the most expensive loan you will ever take. When you take money from your future nest egg, you are taking giving up one of the most valuable things you own. You can replace the money you take but NOT the time your money is using to grow. Example: $10,000 missing from stock market growth for 30 years can cost you $198,373. That is how much more you would have if you left the $10,000 in a market index fund earning the average 10% per year. Your $10,000 earns dividends and earnings on reinvested dividends. Sure you could tell yourself you will pay the $10,000 back in a year, but few borrowers actually do. Many plans require repayment within 5 years. If you fail to repay there is a penalty plus income taxes. If your employment ends with a loan outstanding, you may have an immediate repayment demand. However, with the pandemic job upheaval, taking the loan was seen a necessary and that loan may never get repaid. Many will just start over when they are employed again. The loss of the time in the market can never be made up.

You may have to work longer. https://www.amazon.com/Your-Plan-Live-Age-100/dp/1548180793

Is your 401k robbing you blind?

If you have been able to continue to contribute to your employer savings plan during this critical time, congratulations. If you have been able to contribute more than the plan’s default savings rate, Double Congratulations. During this bull market, many have been lucky to double their plan balance. A simple low-cost index mutual fund has risen over 16% a year in the last 5-10 years. Others have not done as well because they used the default investment option of their employer. Usually the other options come with higher expense ratios, and thus have not benefited employees as much. Some firms have been sued because the employer options have been poor or compromised. Of course, employees can contribute more in order to gain a higher employer matching amount. However, the low-cost investment option usually provides a higher retirement balance than a higher contribution amount. The BEST strategy would be to pay the least fund and plan fees with the highest employer match. This combo—least cost; maximum contribution; highest match—helps you reach your retirement number faster.

Avoid high fees: https://www.amazon.com/Robbing-You-Blind-401k-fees/dp/1493588966

How you can hurt your credit score and report

Car rental: If you use a debit card, a rental company may check your credit history. Confirm the reservation with your credit card to avoid the unnecessary credit inquiry. Then, settle the final bill with your debit card upon returning the vehicle. Cutting credit card: If you close a credit account, you may raise your credit utilization ratio—percentage of your total being used—which is bad for you. If you use $5,000 of your total credit of 15,000 and then cut one of your other $5,000 cards, your ratio is now 50% not 33%. 30% is better. Missed payment: if you miss a rent or car payment, your delinquency may be reported to the credit bureaus. Disputed bill: if you are not happy with a bill, the vendor can ding your credit for failure to pay on time. Breach a contract: refusing to pay a membership you don’t want gives the company reason to hurt your credit. Unexpected bill: you need to negotiate a payment plan instead of ignoring valid assessments. Apply too many times: each loan or card application is a red flag to creditors. Just because you can apply does not mean you should. Each car dealer will check your credit if you are shopping so shop online first. Use credit wisely so you always have it for emergencies.

https://www.amazon.com/Money-Scams-financial/dp/1505437962

Why do we need to subsidize the billionaires?

Walmart family members have billionaire legacies from the founder, Sam. And yet, we US taxpayers must subsidize them to earn more. Why? For many years, we have had to provide food stamps (SNAP) and other financial help (Medicaid) to their employees to give them a living wage. Walmart employees receive $ billions in US food subsidies. About 70% of the 21 million federal aid beneficiaries worked full time, a GAO report found. This means the Walton billionaires would have earned less if they paid a wage high enough so we taxpayers did not need to make up the difference. McDonald’s was among the top five employers of Medicaid enrollees in five of six states and SNAP recipients in eight of nine states. Other notable companies with a large number of employees on federal aid include Amazon, Kroger, Dollar General, and other service and retail giants. Many employees are paid about $10 per hour or $400 a week BEFORE taxes. The federal poverty level is $26,500 so many employees of the billionaire companies qualify for US subsidies. Many employers pay NO taxes to cover this federal aid. Many wealthy people have already reduced their tax bill with tricks. We subsidize the rich since they profit from paying less than a living wage to most of their employees.

Socialism, American style: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Socialism-Rich-little-people/dp/1535218584

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