Queercents

This is the second installment of a series of articles designed for the small business owner who may be contemplating the plethora of business retirement plans available.

I like simplicity.  I especially like it when I can help my clients in a simple way so that the decision they make is simple, the product I offer them is simple to understand and simple to explain and the benefits are many for both the employer and employee.

Ladies and Gentlemen: I give you the SIMPLE IRA. 

Yes, SIMPLE is an acronym for Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers.  A SIMPLE IRA provides employers and their employees with a simplified way to contribute toward retirement. It reduces taxes and, at the same time, attracts and retains quality employees. And compared to other types of retirement plans,
SIMPLE IRA plans offer lower start-up and annual costs … they are just simpler to operate. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the first part of a series of articles intended to help readers understand a business owner’s options to the common 401(k), a plan that is often very expensive and time consuming to administer for small-businesses.

Once upon a time, there was a lonely retirement account for small business owners called 401(k). It had cousins like the Keogh and the SEP, but far too few knew of his kin. Most had some idea about 401(k), but many didn’t realize much about its features, benefits and restrictions. 401(k) is a retirement account for business owners and their loyal workers, regardless of how many workers there were.

You see, 401(k) was born and raised in a time (back in the 70s) when we Americans were still under the illusion that our government was this benevolent crew of honest and intelligent businessmen (sorry, ladies, but men did make up almost all of congress back then) who would take care of us when we’re old. In a way, maybe they were thinking long term-as they probably noticed how there was nothing Social Security could do to help all of us out in the long-term, so presto! 401(k) – a “one-size-fits-all” retirement vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »

While we’re taking a break during the holidays, follow along each day as our contributors provide a recap of their best posts from 2007. Thanks for reading and being a continued supporter of Queercents. Enjoy!

Most Commented:
The Gay Libertarian

Ultimate Tip:
Timing the Market is a Bad Move

Recurring Themes:
Do I really need a financial advisor?

Personal Favorite:
Getting Back to the Financial Basics

Read the rest of this entry »

Two weeks ago, Nina wrote an article titled: HIV and Surviving Retirement. I was especially intrigued by this one as it touched upon two extreme epidemics nobody likes to talk about these days (retirement and HIV). I remember seeing Madonna on MTV along with several other stars of the eighties warning us about the risks of HIV when it was known to affect and infect all sexualities. Nowadays, we hardly see even a push for more education on HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Furthermore, most of us don’t want to touch the topic of retirement for fear that we might actually come to grips that Uncle Sam probably won’t give us what he promised and we’ll have to fend for ourselves.

Outta Sight, Outta Mind

It’s like we Americans are living in a dream world when it comes to the long-term. Could it be due to the fact that we provide ourselves with too much of a safety net? Do we live under a blanket of ignorance so thick that sooner or later it suffocates our every free breath? Do we feel there is a parachute available to pad our landing as we break our legs on reality?

I am unclear as to the answers, but the questions could be asked of both epidemics. I refer to both retirement and HIV as epidemics because both are slowly eroding at the freedoms of all Americans. Without an adequate retirement plan – one that is carried out – there is no freedom to enjoy life unless it is at the expense of something or someone. With HIV, there is no freedom to obtain the proper life or health insurance. In fact, HIV carries the same uncertainties as an inadequate retirement plan because with neither can one tell how long the situation will continue. Read the rest of this entry »

Why a Mutual Fund Makes More Cents

When I first started my career back during the turn of the millennium, I was a little concerned. I asked myself (in fact, I prayed about it) whether or not I was capable of managing others’ money including, but not limited to, retirement accounts, college savings plans and insurance – life, long-term care, and disability. Wow! That’s a lot to be responsible for and is quite often stressful when I examine how much trust my clients have put in me. If it weren’t for some great training, a good support staff and some serious passion on my part to do my part and take part in the party of financial planning, I could have easily watched my tenure expire years ago.

But the glue that holds the financial relationship between me and my clientele is not necessarily the service that most advisors, including me, tout (although service is fundamental). It isn’t the crafty marketing campaigns big firms take so much pride in (although that does build a strong brand name). What I find most every investor believing, but rarely ever expressing, is that the performance of one’s investments is the primary reason for the investment.

Now many of us want to feel good about our investment. By “feel good” I mean that we don’t want our money going to a business or a cause in which we disagree. But we still want to make money, which is why financial advisors try to find the best performing Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) that is in accordance with their client’s investor profile. Several other investors want to push a movement such as the refusal to invest in oil stocks to protest the war. This could still be seen as an SRI, but with a more specific intention. But the reason anyone really considers an investment in the first place – actually making the decision to invest – is to make money. Read the rest of this entry »

The Golden Rule:

It appears to me (and I hope I am not alone in this) that many members of our community are playing the wrong game, fighting the wrong war and losing the current battle. We tend to play by the very rules from the very entity that tends to withhold the very freedom that we tend to desire very much without tending to give it very much thought.

I write of the community of which I am part but from which I feel ostracized. I write about the entity I despise but all-too-often accept. I write about the very freedom that not only my/our community desires, but is the desire of all humanity.

Why is it that we are –more often than not – portrayed by pop-culture as the flamboyant queen or the man-hating butch? Why do some who even fit that description get offended by the inquiry? Why do I fall into the same trap of trying to act more flamboyant – or even extra-butch – just for the sake of fitting the stereotype? Why do I feel I will get more people responding to this column with argument and less with agreement? Read the rest of this entry »

Please Give

In 1999, Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates was worth a record $90 Billion. Yes, that’s with a B. That same year, the world’s second richest man, Warren Buffett, was worth a measly $40 Billion. By the end of the year, due to the market decline, Gates’ net worth declined $35 Billion while Buffett’s shrunk $6 Billion, leaving his net worth at $34 Billion. When I read this, knowing what I know about the two men (and considering they are good friends), I imagined a conversation that probably never occurred. It went something like this:

>

Buffett: Hello?

Gates: Hi, Warren?

Buffett: Yes

Gates: Hey, it’s Bill, how are you?

Buffettt: Ok, I guess.

Gates: Hey, I just wanted to let you know, that last year, I lost more than you’re worth, and I’m still the richest man in the world! Hahahahahahahaha!

>

Now, even after the world’s richest man saw his net worth plummet to an unthinkable $55 Billion, he still had it in him to create the largest private endowment fund ever. The greatest philanthropist of our time has donated to such admirable charities as helping stagnant technology in southern states like Alabama to helping immunize children in Africa. Meanwhile, his influence has inspired others – like Buffett – to donate billions as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Why I’m a Libertarian

Ok, so I’m a Libertarian. And suffice it to say I am proud of that fact. I don’t jump on bandwagons too easily nor do I ever, EVER vote for the “lesser of two evils.” Doing that just gets more evil. The comment that pierces through my eardrums like fingernails on a chalkboard is “a third-party will never win, so why would you vote for them?”

You know, some people have said there will never be a female president, or an African American elected to congress and many others say that gays and lesbians will never be able to get married.

Never?

In Oregon, where I was born, raised and currently live, we are known for our “liberal” stance on the issues. By and large, we tend to lean more left than right. This has gotten us in serious debt with a public employee retirement system in shambles, some of the heaviest tax burden in the country, (even though we are one of the only states in the nation without a sales tax), nearly the highest minimum wage which has “coincidentally” resulted in close to the highest unemployment in the US and yet with our fiscal irresponsibility for which both parties can share the blame, we still resoundingly voted in a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

As a side note, saying a woman cannot marry a woman or a man cannot marry a man has nothing to do with orientation, it is simply sexual discrimination, for the only reason one cannot marry another is due solely to their gender. That should be our argument!

A waterfall has to start with a drop of rain!

Why are people still of the notion that they cannot simultaneously have fiscal responsibility and social liberty. The government doesn’t know how to spend money because they don’t work for it, they simply demand we give it to them or we go to jail. Furthermore, we should all be able to do what we want with our lives so long as we don’t harm others directly (this includes what you want to put in your body or what you want to do with your body). Read the rest of this entry »

Stay Put (in the Market)!

Recently, many of my clients have asked me if they should get out of the market due to the increased volatility over the past few weeks. Interest rates go up, interest rates go down. Stocks go up, stocks go down. My resounding answer to the question of whether or not to abandon ship during the crazy tide is…

Don’t get off this roller coaster ride!

Many of us have a tendency to get a wild bug up their “you-know-what” and mess up when things show sign of change. All too often, we get into the market when things are good – in other words we “buy high” – and we tend to get cold feet and jump out of the market when things are bad (sell low). I am no fortune teller, and I cannot predict exactly what will happen or when (if I could, I probably wouldn’t be writing this from my condo in Sherwood, Oregon – more like off the coast of Tahiti), but I can tell you that the best strategy I have learned in my almost 8 year tenure as a licensed financial advisor is to get involved, stay involved and stick to a strategy. Now, 8 years is not that long and certainly doesn’t span too many business cycles (although I was “fortunate” enough to learn from the market crash, post-9/11), but it does give me some credibility in the area of diversification and asset allocation.

I even came up with a rap that I would like to share with you. Think of the beat in the tune of Young MC’s “Busta Move.” Read the rest of this entry »

Today, I will keep it simple, hoping to inspire you to make an exceptional impact on the size of your savings abilities.

The first concept I will discuss is based on a movie I saw recently, called “The Secret.” This book-turned-movie has been a huge success due to its relatively simple concept of the law of attraction and that which you focus your mind on most tends to develop most in your life. Don’t expect an Oscar-caliber film here, but the basis is not only metaphorical to this column (Keeping it Simple) it deals with a spiritual element that, in my belief, if subscribed to, you will be rewarded for knowing the Secret.

Allow me to explain. Read the rest of this entry »