DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR CPI IS?
The federal government announced in mid-January that consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose 3.3 percent in 2004—the highest increase since 2000. But do you know what your personal inflation rate was for 2004? Or why it’s important to gauge how much it rose? Or what you can do about it?
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Financing Alternatives For Small Businesses
Whether starting up a small business or expanding an existing company, you almost certainly will need financing. But which option or combination of financing options: personal savings, friends and family, commercial or government loans, outside investors? Which options will most likely be available to you and what are their pros and cons?
Before choosing financing options, however, determine how much money you’ll need. That entails developing a good business plan, which benefits not only you but will be de rigueur for most financing arrangements. Books, Web sources, software, and classes are available on how to write a good plan.
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WHAT IS THE REAL REASON YOU SHOULD INVEST?
Most people think they know the answer to the question of why should they invest. Yet many all too often invest for the wrong reasons—and that can lead to financial difficulties.
Most investors assume that the goal of investing is to simply earn the highest return possible without losing money. If they’re investing in common stocks, they assume they should earn at least 10 to 11 percent every year because that’s roughly the long-term average for stocks. But often they’re not satisfied unless they exceed that by earning 20 or 30 percent or, heck, doubling the return on their investment.
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WILL YOUR FUTURE SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS
Your future Social Security payments might be smaller than expected—more than $300 a month smaller in some cases—and you might not even realize it.
Are you entitled to receive pension benefits from a job in which you pay no Social Security taxes, such as work for the federal government under the Civil Service Retirement System, your state government, or for an employer in another country? Yet you’ve also worked part-time or gone into a second career where you paid Social Security taxes and will some day be eligible for benefits? Then those Social Security benefits (including disability benefits) might be smaller than you anticipate because of what’s called the Windfall Elimination Provision. [JFP submission in the Social Security benefits computer file. Says nine percent]
