Everyone who is not on vacation appears to be focused on the uncertainty created by the lack of a resolution to the most recent government funding crisis. I wish I could add some value with respect to the discussion of the “default” issue or, even better, predict what the final outcome will be. I can’t.
And of course my own views on the subject ultimately don’t matter much. In fact, they probably matter even less than the views of people we’re all watching on TV and reading in the press who are paid on the basis of how well they can attract and retain attention in the mainstream media.
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This time of year we are flooded with reminders, checklists, and predictions. Many are useful, but some are merely entertaining.
While there are many items related to your financial health that deserve attention at the beginning of the year, this might be a good time to order your annual free credit report.
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Here are several “big picture” retirement themes I expect to hear more of in the coming year. I’ll come back later in the month with a post on personal retirement tactics.
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For those of you who watch or have heard of the hit series “Mad Men,” you’ll know that the show provides an interesting story line, some fascinating characters, and great commentary on the social mores and gender differences of the late ’50s and early ’60s.
I’ve been watching lately with an eye toward the financial side of life in that era. There are no credit cards to speak of—Don Draper, the main character, peels off cold cash when he asks his secretary to buy Christmas presents for his children. This is pre-401(k)s and IRAs, and Don and his band of not-so-merry marketers left behind whatever pensions they had coming to them when they broke with their old advertising agency to go out on their own. There is little if any dialogue concerning personal investing at all.
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Do you have a tax refund coming? Some would say it means you over-withheld and should have paid less last year. Others look at it as a non-interest-bearing savings account. I’d look at it as an opportunity to improve your financial picture and prepare for the next inevitable downturn—whether it happens next week, next month, or five years from now.
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