2011 Predictions!

I love to read the newspaper and magazines this time of year, they always recount what has happened over the last twelve months and they predict what is to come in the upcoming year!  Will it be feast or famine, will we have peace or war, Will the weather be good or bad?  So many questions to ask and answer, and in the end it is just a guess by the author.  If they are right, they can build credibility in their next prediction, if wrong no one will remember by the end of the next year and they will still be able to try again.

I don't have a crystal ball and I can't know for sure what will happen with the weather or war but I have a couple of ideas about what we will see in 2011.  I imagine that Oprah will continue to make money even though much of the world is not.  I foresee that wives will write out lists for their husbands to do and husbands will try to figure out how to keep  from doing everything on those lists.  The sun will rise and set each day, babies will be born and old friends will pass away.  In other words the cycle of life will continue without regard to the financial health of Greece, the EU or even the United States. 

We will have good days and bad days and all we have to do is enjoy the good and weather the bad.  The last year has been a great one for me.  I've enjoyed my business life and seen some success, I've enjoyed my family and I feel like I made a difference through my church, business and family.  In the end that is the measure of a good year for me, did I make a difference?  

Thanks to everyone that made a difference in my life and who allowed me the honor of making a small difference in their lives. 

God Bless you all and a very Happy New Year!

What Christmas is all about - Read ... Pray ... Help!!!

Have you ever wanted a chance to really show the meaning of Christmas?  Yesterday I received an email from Emmanuel Mustapha, he is a former Muslim who after his conversation to Christianity became a Baptist Minister and who is doing great things in Africa right now, both as a christian spreading the word and as a humanitarian helping those in need.  His wife Felicia is in desperate need of cancer treatment.  A hospital in the States will do the treatments for about half price but the remaining funds must be in place to get things rolling.

First I ask that you go to the facebook page we set up, read the details ... then I would ask you to pray ... finally, if you are able I ask that you sent a few dollars to the church that is spearheading this effort.  I know Emmanuel (Muss to his US friends) personally and I know that this is a real situation and that your donation, and prayers will make a real difference.  I would encourage you to call the church (the number is on the facebook page) and ask about the details if you have questions.  I would also encourage you to sent Muss a message of support on his facebook page.

Now, please after you view the facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Felicia-Mustapha-Breast-Cancer-Fund/114971868572349 ) ... click like and then suggest it to your friends!

Thanks for reading.

Merry Christmas

Help! My retirement is Shrinking!

With the continuous losses in the stock market many folks have put their money in secure vehicles like CDs but now CD rates are below inflation which means that their money will not buy as much next year as it does this year and the interest they are earning on the CD is too little to even keep pace with the ever growing costs.  In short they are losing money everyday that they own a CD with interest rates below the current inflation rate.

In 2010 the average inflation rate has been 1.7% while the average interest rate on 1 year CDs is .49% up to 1.5% on 5 year CDs, neither of which will keep your money from shrinking in value.  Think of it this way if you had $1000 in a CD making .49% you would make you $4.90 (minus $1.23 in taxes) during this year and your $1003.67 will buy you the same in the next year as $986.61 this year.  Yep even with the gains you lost money because it buys less this year than it did last year.  So what do you do with  your nest egg so it is safe and still protect it from lost value due to inflation?

I like the way fixed annuities look for this ... they offer substantially higher rates than CD's (Farm Bureau's are at a guaranteed 3% and some even offer a bonus of 2% on the first year) and they grow tax deferred (so you will get second year interest on 100% of the interest you earned in the first year).  Using that same example your $1000 in a fixed annuity would earn $30 (taxes are deferred) and that $1030 will buy you the same amount in the next year as $1012.49 so you still have the same (or at least a little more) buying power that you started with.

This may not be the strategy for everyone but for those wanting to preserve their nest egg it is a much better option than losing their purchasing power every year until they have lost all that they worked for through their whole lives.

Take a look at fixed annuities to see if they make sense for your retirement plan, I think you will find that they can be an important part of your overall plan.

Hot Pepper Fudge!

Every year I make fudge for my family, but it's not the fudge that most folks remember from their youth.  My Christmas fudge gives you a little more flavor than that plain old stuff that they sell in the candy store!

Some people love it and some hate it but if you are a chili head, nothing is better than hot pepper fudge.  I've listed the recipe below, feel free to add more peppers or to change the type of pepper you use.

I hope you enjoy this ... Merry Christmas Everyone!



HOT PEPPER FUDGE

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 12-oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 7-oz. jar Marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy saucepan; bring to full rolling bail, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Using a candy thermometer make sure the temperature reaches 234 degrees. 

Remove from heat, stir in chocolate till melted, add marshmallow creme, hot pepper and vanilla.

Beat till blended. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Let cool and cut into 1-inch squares.

Enjoy!

J

Can you really name your own price on auto insurance?

So the lady in the strange white room says "tell us what you want to pay, and we'll design a policy to fit."  Wow, does that sound crazy to anyone else?  Can I really just tell the insurance company want I want to pay and they'll give me the coverage I need to fit that price?  Well then sign me up and I'll pay $1 a year!

Of course this idea is just a sales gimmick that is kind of dangerous.  Young people with little experience will hear that message and think that it is true.  They'll call in and name their own price and end up with the state minimum (which is no where near enough) coverage.

Liability covers the other driver if you cause an accident or it is deemed to be your responsibility.  So if you slide through a red light on icy roads this winter and hit another driver causing them bodily injury, it is your liability insurance that will cover their injuries.  If you don't have enough to cover their injuries they can sue you for the rest.  The average cost for just for a broken leg is over $8,000 if it were serious enough to have to be air-evaced to a bigger hospital the bill for the chopper ride could be $15,000 to $20,000 with out the original ER visit or the bill from the hospital that you are being flown to. 

So the point is ... you need liability limits of at least 100,000 per person for bodily injury, and that is what I would consider the bare minimum.  You need to let your insurance agent know what your assets are and you income so they can provide you with the best advice about how much liability to have on your vehicles. 

Oh and NO ... you can't name your own price, that's just silly!

The Perfect gift!

I'm always looking for the perfect gift and with 5 women in my family it isn't easy.  Is it in style?  Will it fit right?  Is it the right color?  Did her best friend just get one like it?  The wrong answer to any of these questions will render the gift a failure and probably doom it to be re-gifted to a lower level friend in the very near future. 

So, what can you get that your daughters, granddaughters and wife will love?  Well they may not love it now but a life insurance policy on a young woman will greatly help her in the future.  If you secure a whole life policy for them while they are young you are making sure that they will have life insurance at a reasonable price for their whole lives.  That's not something that you think about until the insurance guy tells you that because of your age we have to charge you a bucket load of premium for a small policy. 

Fact is that the younger you are the cheaper it is to insure your life and once you own the policy it doesn't matter what your health is as you age.  That policy will be there when you need it most.  I know a lot of supposed experts are saying that you should never buy whole life insurance (they say buy term and invest the difference) but when you can get a $50,000 policy for $16 - $20 a month on a young person and lock in that price for the rest of their lives why won't you?  You're not going to invest the $6 or so that you'll save with a term policy and the term policy will increase in cost throughout their lives.

There are a lot of reasons to buy a whole life policy for the young people in your life but the most important is that you will assure them of affordable coverage for all their lives!  This is just the right size, the right color, it's always in style and it will give them and their family benefits for decades to come.  No, it's not the prettiest or flashiest but you buy them that stuff all year long, for Christmas get them something that they will thank you for on their 40th birthday!

Good luck Shopping!