Russell Bailyn's Financial Planning Blog

Market Historian Predicts Dow Rally to 16,000

2006-12-20T14:10:00Z

An article in Registered Rep magazine in November tells the market forecast of Curtis Teberg, a portfolio manager based out of Minnesota. Teberg puts the Dow at 16,000 by December 31st, 2007, a 33% increase over its value on October 1st. Wow! I’d better start loading up on blue chip stocks...(read more)

Social Security: A Youthful Perspective

2006-11-30T04:44:00Z

I read a statistic in the Journal of Financial Planning last month which stated that 19% of today’s workers know with accuracy when they’ll be eligible for social security benefits.* This statistic is of particular concern to me after similar findings in a recent study I conducted to determine just how much (or how little) people ages 18-30 really know about social security...(read more)

The Truth Behind Fee-Structured Financial Planning

2006-11-13T21:22:00Z

I’m writing this post because of an e-mail response I got from my friend JLP over at allthingsfinancialblog.com . First, let me point out that JLP runs an excellent blog- one of my favorites. I sent him an e-mail recently because he has a section on his site which links to others financial planners, specifically those who write blogs...(read more)

Book Review: "The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read."

2006-11-01T04:22:00Z

I was recently sent Daniel Solin’s new book The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read for review. I enjoyed the book and it only took me a few hours to get through. The layout and presentation of material is excellent. In terms of the content, I have mixed feelings...(read more)

Solving the Social Security Problem in America

2006-10-25T19:20:00Z

Social Security is a federal program which provides retirement and disability income to workers through the collection of Social Security taxes. Every worker in the United States is responsible for paying these taxes during their working years and entitled to receiving benefit checks when they are eligible for retirement...(read more)

The Down and Dirty on Credit Cards

2006-10-20T20:30:00Z

Americans tend to have mixed feelings about credit cards. They appreciate having easy access to funds, but largely resent the tendency created by credit cards to overspend. Credit Card issuers pollute the problem by pushing the use of credit on consumers and tangling a web of fees and interest charges along the way...(read more)

The Difference Between Stocks and Bonds

2006-10-20T19:48:00Z

Many people don’t understand the differences between stocks and bonds. It occurred to me recently that even those who invest in these types of securities through either personal investment accounts or retirement plans can’t really articulate what the differences are...(read more)

Are you Ready to PIck your own Stocks?

2006-10-17T20:23:00Z

There comes a point in many investor’s lives when they decide to dabble in the stock market. I consider this to be a turning point in the life of an investor, a coming of age in which one graduates from a passive strategy and demands more control over their investments...(read more)

Book Review: The Little Book of Value Investing

2006-10-13T21:52:00Z

I've recently finished reading The Little Book of Value Investing by Christopher H. Browne. It was an excellent follow-up to The Little Book that Beats the Market ." For those who are unfamiliar with these books, they are part of a relatively new series from Wiley called "Little Book Big Profits...(read more)

Knowing What's "Real" in "Real Estate."

2006-10-06T15:31:00Z

Someone once asked me what the best financial investment is. While this is a fairly subjective question, I answered real estate, and I think many others would as well. Countless fortunes have been derived from land ownership and real estate investing including my very favorite example: In 1626, Peter Minuit bought Manhattan Island from the Dutch West Indians for $24...(read more)

The Designation Discussion

2006-09-30T15:25:00Z

Have you ever been confused by a designation printed on a business card? Perhaps it said “John Doe, XYZ.” Well, that’s excellent for Mr. Doe, and I don’t doubt he worked hard for those letters, but what exactly does that mean? What good is a designation which isn’t recognized by a majority of people? More importantly, how is a consumer to distinguish between prestigious designations and those which don’t necessarily represent better qualification for an area of study? For example, WMS and CFP are both financial planning designations...(read more)

Budgets: Does Anybody Really Stick to One?

2006-09-25T14:55:00Z

Having a handle on your budget is a building block for other good financial practices. If you can grasp the concept that sacrificing a few items today will allow you to buy more items later, you’ll have a better chance at affording the important things: houses, cars, vacations, educations, etc...(read more)

What is the Role of a Financial Advisor?

2006-09-19T14:28:00Z

The question of whether or not to work with a financial advisor is very personal. For some people, dealing with financial issues is unpleasant and requires a great degree of undesired discipline. For these people, the real question will be how to choose the right advisor, rather than whether or not to work with one...(read more)

The Difference Between 401k and 403b Plans

2006-09-13T17:52:00Z

I field a lot of questions regarding the various rules that govern 401k and 403b plans. Not only is it a confusing topic for the average investor, but the issue has been gaining in importance recently as these plans become more popular. The reason why they have similar names which often confuse people is that both reference the section of tax code which defines how they are organized...(read more)

Rollover Your 401k

2006-08-12T19:26:00Z

Pat yourself on the back if you’re leaving a job and have questions about your 401k. If you do, at some point you took the time to establish a 401k account at work. By doing so, a portion of your pay was directed into a tax-deferred vehicle which allowed you to accumulate funds, presumably for retirement...(read more)