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Financial Planning for Women http://www.usu.edu/fpw/ October 2006 Newsletter October is College of Engineering month for FPW! (See details below). October 11: Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate? A guide to passing on personal possessions. Presenter: Dr. Barbara Rowe, USU Extension program leader. Website: http://www.yellowpieplate.umn.edu/ FPW meets 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Family Life room 318 on the USU campus. Bring your lunch. The same program is repeated in the evening: 7-8:30 p.m. at the Family Life Center , 493 North 700 East, Logan (at bottom of Old Main Hill). FPW is free; no pre-registration required. Each month FPW will provide incentives for women affiliated with each of USU's seven colleges to attend FPW. Affiliation means you work for the college, graduated from, are a student in the college, or are spouse/partner of an affiliate. Everyone affiliated with the College of the Month will receive a “Paycheck Power Booster Calculator”and be entered into a drawing for a personal finance book or Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine subscription for attending FPW. Come and bring a friend or colleague. If you bring a first-time attendee you will receive your choice of a personal finance book or KPFM subscription. Upcoming FPW programs (mark your calendar): November 8: Getting off the Consumer Escalator. DVD featuring Juliet Schor , author of The Overspent American , followed by discussion. Refreshments provided. The Alternative Gift Market will be held at the Presbyterian Church in Logan on Saturday, November 18th. No December meeting. Spend time with the people you love rather than at the mall. If you have suggestions for topics please email: lown@cc.usu.edu Free financial advice by phone. Kiplinger's Jump Start Your Retirement Plan Day Friday Oct. 6. Call 888-919-2345 toll free, 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. MDT . Provided by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (fee-only planners). Zions Bank Smart Women, Smart Money Conference Registration is open for the Smart Women, Smart Money Conference in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, October 11th to be held at the Salt Palace . Please register at: http://www.zionsbank.com/womens_finance.jsp?cid=3557 We recommend using TRAX, as we cannot validate parking; and we do not have day-care facilities. We have a great line-up of speakers, including Today Show financial expert Jean Chatzky , and author Richard Paul Evans. We have updated break-out sessions, and there will again be many booths of interest, drawings for door prizes, and a free box lunch. Book of the month: The right way to hire financial help by Charles A. Jaffee is available at the USU library: HG179.5.J34 1998 AND at the Logan Library 332.6Jaf C.1. This is an excellent resource for hiring brokers, financial planners, lawyers, real estate agents, etc. It's Your Turn - CFP Board eNewsletter (September 2006) - Financial Information For Playing Life's Game “CAUTION - When Willpower Won't Take Action: Review your credit report. Federal law mandates that the 3 major credit bureaus provide consumers with a free annual credit report each year. The easiest way to obtain the info is on the web: http://www.annualcreditreport.com Order a report from one of the 3 major bureaus ( Experian , Trans union and Equifax) once every 4 months. Mark this on your calendar. Regular review of your credit report is the best strategy to catch identity theft early. FPW Advisory Board Thanks to the following women who serve on the FPW Advisory Board: Lola Bolton, Valerie Byrnes, Susan Haddock, Rae Ann Hart, Dena Larsen, Chris Lord, Norma Mann, & Visnja Taylor The role of the Advisory Board is to help determine program topics and to provide ideas on how to promote FPW. In the coming months the Advisory Board members will be introduced in alphabetical order. Christine Lord has been the Learning Disabilities Specialist for USU's Disability Resource Center since the fall of 1996. Prior to that, she was the Director of Government Relations for the National Center for Learning Disabilities as their Washington , D.C. lobbyist (1990-1996), the Director of Disability and Aging Policy for the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee in Washington , D.C. (1981-1990), and the Director of Constituent Services for Congressman Dan Marriot (1980-1981). While working at the U.S. Senate, she was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. After returning to Logan , Chris worked closely with our local elected officials. She was active in Logan District PTA work, where she served as Legislative Vice President for both the Logan Middle School and Logan High. She also represented the Logan Council PTA as a Health and Safety Commissioner, an Education and Family Life Commissioner, District Reflections Program Chair, and President of the Logan Council of PTA. She was recognized as the Logan High School Volunteer of the Year in 2003 for her work in getting the Hope For Tomorrow Program established. She is currently serving as the Legislative Chair for USU's Professional Employees Association. Christine owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. Jean Lown and the Financial Planning for Women Program. FPW helped on the road of recovering from the financial devastation of a long, expensive, and drawn out divorce. Websites of the month: Who gets grandma's yellow pie plate? http://www.yellowpieplate.umn.edu/ “66 Ways to Save Money” The third edition of this popular publication is available at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/66ways/ 6 Steps to 6 figure savings: Start building your wealth today. http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/cfaprime.pdf Your credit scores. http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/yourcreditscore.pdf Cutting through the confusion: Where to turn for help with your investments. http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/Cutting_through_the_Confusion_Brochure.pdf Utah investment fraud ( Deseret News, Sept. 28 ,2006 ). “Get- rich-quick schemes and investment scams are flourishing in Utah , while the numbers of criminal charges and convictions are dropping.” http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,650194287,00.html How Do I compare? 2005 American Housing Survey ( U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development). The median value of a new home (built in the last four years) was $236,864; monthly housing costs were $809. Personal Finance Humor: The Top Ten List of Reasons why You MIGHT Need to Budget! by Jane Chidester 10. If you think your checkbook register is a good place to play tic-tac-toe.9. If your cat mistakes the clutter of bills on your desktop for a litter box. 8. If your credit card debt & your blood pressure are both over 300. 7. If your idea of achieving your dreams is taking a nap. 6. If at the end of a telephone conversation your friend says "Bye now," and you unconsciously answer with "Pay later!" 5. If you carry enough credit cards to shingle the roof of a reasonably sized suburban dwelling. 4. If you think checkbook balancing is an unusual circus act performed by skilled acrobats of the Ukraine . 3. If your credit counselor is on speed dial. 2. If your local catalog order department is on speed dial. And the number one reason you might need to be on a budget: 1. If your annual spending is equal to Microsoft's Bill Gates' earnings! Send $ jokes or humor to: lown@cc.usu.edu A Tax Break for Low- and Moderate-Income Savers (from Vanguard website) “If you're a low- or moderate-income earner, you'll get a special incentive to save for retirement. If you fall within the law's income limits, you get a tax credit of up to $0.50 for each $1.00 up to the first $2,000 you contribute to your employer's plan or to an IRA. The credit applies only to the first $2,000 contributed, so the maximum tax credit is $1,000. That may not look like much, but look again. A married couple filing jointly, with income under $30,000, could save $2,000 to their plan at an out-of-pocket cost of only $700. The couple's 15% tax bracket means they would save $300 in taxes by deferring $2,000 and would receive the $1,000 credit. The table below shows the amount of tax credit that different taxpayer groups can receive, depending on their adjusted gross income.”
**This tax break was made permanent by the pension reform bill. When people who have stopped working should take social security retirement. By Albert Kinderman and William P. Jennings “A new generation of retirees will receive full Social Security retirement benefits at age 66. Those who have left the workforce have the choice of collecting benefits early. The paper considers the range of choices faced by decision-makers and offers an alternative approach to the financial planning question of when to begin taking Social Security benefits, identifying the incremental increases from waiting. With consideration of various dis -count rates, life expectancy, and the complexity of the Social Security rules, for many, but not all, waiting until age 66 will yield a larger present value of the stream of expected future benefits.” For details: Housing and Financial Counseling ( USU Family Life Center ) workshops: What to help your children learn to manage their money responsibly? The Good Life Workshop Schedule for 2006-2007 For info: Adrie J. Roberts Financial Planning for Women (FPW) is a monthly educational seminar that meets the second Wednesday of each month at two times: 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Family Life room 318 on the USU campus. Bring your lunch. The same program is repeated in the evening: 7-8:30 p.m. at the Family Life Center , 493 North 700 East, Logan (at bottom of Old Main Hill). The longer evening time slot allows for more discussion. Programs are free and registration is not required. Bring a friend! For further information: (435) 797-1569 ; lown@cc.usu.edu The USU Family Life Center , 797-7224, 493 N 700 East (bottom of Old Main Hill), provides financial counseling. This is the best source for basic money management and getting out of debt. They offer the PowerPay computer debt analysis. Counseling sessions cost $5 for first session with sliding scale charges based on family income and family size for subsequent counseling sessions. Thanks to the Certified Financial Planner Board Grant for financial support of FPW. |
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