«

Thoughts on the Lexus Christmas ad

February 2nd, 2012 . Posted in budget help | Comments Off

 

What I like about it:

The American Dream.  Snowed in playing Rock Band.  They’re perfect!   His hair is perfect.   Her teeth are perfect.   Enjoy the fruits of your labor, mythical ice family.

I’m not being sarcastic about this:  Sure we all have a tiny bit of “wealth envy” when someone else has more than us — and there’s always someone with more.  But I don’t begrudge anybody the right to buy their spouse a car as a gift.

I also like the fact that the ad is effective.   Most people hate the ad, but still Lexus sells a lot of cars in December.

What I don’t like about it:

Spending pressure!   All the families that think “Oh great, now I have to buy my spouse a luxury car for Christmas?”   (Confession: my gut reaction to the ad was this.)

I’m anti-consumerist.   I live “The Millionaire Next Door“.  I drive a Chevy.   Of course I dislike the commercialization of Christmas.

As a financial planner, I know a few families who could benefit from some budget discipline at Christmas.

My Conclusion:

If the ad works for Lexus, fine with me.   But if you’re my client, we better do a Christmas budget before you blow your savings on that gift.

Here’s my attempt at humor about the ad:

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only financial planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

10 conversations to have with your spouse before you retire

January 10th, 2012 . Posted in life planning, retirement planning | Comments Off

The 10 Must-Have Conversations

  1. If, When and How to Retire
  2. Let’s Talk About Money
  3. Changing Roles and Identities
  4. Time Together, Time Apart
  5. Intimacy and Sexuality
  6. Relationships With Family
  7. Health and Wellness
  8. Choosing Where and How to Live
  9. Social Life, Friends and Community
  10. Purpose, Meaning and Giving Back

I got this from “The Couple’s Retirement Puzzle” a book by Taylor and Mintzer.

Makes sense to me.   I try to make sure my clients have had these conversations.   Which reminds me of another book I am thrilled to recommend “Difficult Conversations” How To Discuss What Matters Most.   There is nobody who cannot benefit from this book.

Call me if you want to discuss either of these topics.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only financial planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

How does your employer’s 401(k) rank?

November 30th, 2011 . Posted in investments, retirement planning | Comments Off

Do you lack confidence in your 401(k)?    Why not find out where it stands compared to other 401(k)’s?

It’s better to know where your 401(k) ranks than it is to contribute without confidence, or worse, under-save for retirement.

I can evaluate its quality and tell you where it ranks in

  • generosity of the company match
  • quality of the investment fund choices you’re given
  • what costs you’re being charged (both hidden and disclosed) which every year skim off your nest egg

Give me a call and I’ll do the work for free, just to get a chance to know you, tell you about my services, and maybe someday you can mention me to your friend who needs an advisor.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

You’ll save more for retirement if you see a computer-aged pic of yourself

November 11th, 2011 . Posted in investments, life planning, retirement planning | Comments Off

Researchers used “computer aging” on pictures of test subjects to make them appear age 65.   When they showed the test subjects those images, the subjects were more inclined to raise their savings rate.    Research results.

Want to try it for yourself?  http://morph.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Transformer/

Does it make you want to save  more for retirement?

Call me if you’re not sure you’re saving enough.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

 

P.S.  Here’s the aged version of me.   Uh oh, the older I get the better I look!

Why won’t employers tell you how much your 401(k) is skimming off your contributions?

October 28th, 2011 . Posted in investments, retirement planning | Comments Off

Because they don’t have to.

Laws keep getting made and then not implemented to require plain talk from your 401(k) sponsors to answer how much money is your plan skimming from your funds each year.

Ask your plan administrator.   Try!   If you have a good employer, you’ll get a straight answer.

An evasive answer will be 10 Megabytes of annual reports.   A straight answer will be a single sheet that spells out how much each fund option in your 401(k) charges you in

  • 12-b-1 fees (kickbacks from the fund to the custodian)
  • marketing fees
  • management fees
  • “paperwork” fees

A good financial planner can help you find out these fees.  Sometimes it’s not easy.   But it’s important to know whether your 401(k) is worthwhile to invest in.   Sometimes an IRA or Roth would be less costly.

Or you can wait for the law to finally take effect.   This article says you’ll get better disclosures by next summer.   I’m not holding my breath.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

Is your art collection insured?

September 29th, 2011 . Posted in insurance, investments | Comments Off

Most of my clients don’t invest in art, but it’s surprising how many art investors I have met who don’t insure their collection.    Here’s a statistic: 38% of collectors do not have all of their valuables insured, says a new survey by ACE Private Risk Services.  (Link)

If you are in the Atlanta area and need help finding the right insurer or the right emergency plan or storage facility, give me a call and I’ll be happy to meet with you and help figure out your best strategy.

Note: I’m a fee only planner which means I get no commissions, so I’m not pushing insurance for my own gain.   It’s to protect your assets.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

Impact Investing vs Socially Responsible Investing

September 12th, 2011 . Posted in investments, life planning | Comments Off

“Socially responsible investing (SRI) tries to change or reward the practices of publicly traded corporations, impact investing affects society on a neighborhood or micro-level by helping families, strengthening small businesses or building housing.”   — Justin Conway

Translation: SRI is the hope your publicly traded corporation behaves ethically or the way you want.   Impact investing directly funds projects for a specific societal result and a profit.   SRI is larger pools, impact investing is smaller and more focused.

Examples of projects:  charter schools, sustainable food and agriculture, health care, community-based energy, small and micro enterprises, housing, climate change, and green technologies.

Call me if you want to discuss how you and your family can place part of your portfolio in audited and financially accountable impact investments.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

Asset allocation basics

August 11th, 2011 . Posted in investments | Comments Off

The following chart depicts annual returns for 7 different mixes of stocks and bonds.    With an all-bond portfolio, you can expect to have a losing year one year out of eight.    With an all-stock portfolio, you will have a losing year one year out of four.

So what’s the difference between a 6.2% return and an 8.2% return?   With an investment of $100K over 20 years, you’ll end up with $150,000 more if you choose 50% bonds instead of the 100% bonds mix.   ($333K vs. $483K.  Call me if you want to review the math.)

high-level-stock-bond-asset-allocation-returns-85-yrs

I use these expected returns and these risk statistics to help my clients decide what asset mix is right for them.   If you can stick with an asset mix and not panic on market downturns, you will get these returns in the long run.

This basic asset mix decision is a far bigger determinant of your portfolio behavior than any amount of stock picking or guessing which fund is going to be a winner next year.   Once you get this mix right, it’s a matter of finding the most efficient (tax, trading costs, management fees) way of implementing your mix.

All the rest of the portfolio work (overseas vs. domestic?   Large cap vs. small? etc.)  is minor in comparison.

Give me a call if you want help determining your investment horizon, risk profile, asset mix, and best way to implement.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

Are the Roth assets you converted in 2010 now worth less?

August 8th, 2011 . Posted in investments, Taxes | Comments Off

If you did an IRA-to-Roth conversion in 2010 and now those assets are worth less because of the market slide, you can pay tax on a lower amount if you recharacterize them back into your IRA and then redo the Roth conversion on the new lower value in 2011.

You can only do this if you filed your Form 1040 or your extension request on time (by April 18, 2011) for tax year 2010.

Don’t recharacterize yet.   You’ve got til October 17.   If your converted assets pop back up, it won’t be worth it to recharacterize.    If they are down in early October, give me a call so we can get the amended 2010 done and set up a new conversion for your 2011 taxes.    (Detail:  You have to wait a month between recharacterization and the new conversion.)

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

A vineyard? Seriously?

July 11th, 2011 . Posted in life planning, retirement planning | Comments Off

This Schwab TV commercial really gets my attention.

“absolutely.I mean these financial services companies are talking about retirement like it’s some kind of dream.It’s either this magic number I’m supposed to reach or it’s beach homes or starting a vineyard.Come on!

Just help me figure this out in a practical let’s make this happen kind of way.A vineyard?Give me a break.” (Click here for video)

A vineyard? Seriously?

A vineyard? Seriously?

What I like about it:

Schwab makes fun of Fidelity’s “magic number”.  Plans need more flexibility and more detail than just a number.    Really, does anyone know what healthcare costs or inflation will be in retirement?

Schwab is also saying they can provide retirement planning for regular people, not the upper income folks who can afford beach homes and vineyards.Retirement planning in the $1600 range.(LINK)Does it cover the CFP practice standards and include a tax review, estate plan, will, medical power of attorney, full insurance review, and in-depth cash flow projections?I bet I cover more detail than Schwab and a more individualized plan.

What I don’t like about it:

What’s wrong with dreaming a bit about retirement?

Lots of dreams can become a reality.We can’t all get mansions on the beach, but there are plenty of beach homes at almost every price range.You might not be able to buy a commercial vineyard with a horse stable so you can ride your estate, but there are ways to make a smaller version of that dream come true.

Don’t let Schwab put you in a box.It’s your retirement.

Mike Dayoub is a fee-only planner in Alpharetta/Milton. 770 361-3139 website

« Older Entries