A10 Saturday, February 28, 2015
■ The Voice ■ www.mcdonoughvoice.com
Business QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? Contact us at jsmith@mcdonoughvoice.com or (309) 833-2114
DAVE RAMSEY
Ramsey: ‘Everyone needs a little pocket money’ off little steam. Just make it part of your regular monthly budget, and stick to the amount. Little things like this will help keep your total money makeover moving in the right direction without wearing you out!
DEAR DAVE,
Should you budget for mad money, or just carrying-around cash, when you’re trying to get out of debt? Aurora DEAR AURORA,
What really matters is the amount of mad money you allow yourself to have. Everyone needs a little pocket money. It’s probably not going to throw you off too much if you put $10 or $20 in there. But $100 or $200? That’s a bit much when you’re scrimping, saving and supposedly working hard to get out of debt. Think of it as a safety
Dave
DAVE RAMSEY valve, Aurora. Everyone needs a break and a little fun now and then. Whether it’s grabbing lunch out, or going to a movie once in a while, you need to relax and let
It’s a better idea to pre-plan DEAR DAVE,
My wife passed away last year, and she was just 43 years old. I paid cash for the funeral and all the arrangements. Now I’m getting solicitations from
Purdum Gray Ingledue Beck, Inc., noticed as a Gem agency MACOMB – The IMT Group announced its list of 2015 Gem agencies, distinguishing Purdum Gray Ingledue Beck Inc. as one of the qualifying recipient, according to a news release. The "leading provider of personal and commercial insurance products," IMT Group is proud to recognize Purdum Gray
Ingledue Beck Inc. as one of the highest performing IMT and Wadena Insurance agencies in its six state territory – Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Of the approximately 900 IMT Group agencies eligible for consideration, only 63 of the top performing agencies received the Gem distinc-
tion this year, the release stated. Every year, The IMT Group awards the Gem distinction to only those agencies that "demonstrate outstanding performance in the areas of rank, growth, loss ratio and profitability." You may find more information on The IMT Group by visiting www.imtins.com.
the funeral home, wanting me to prepay my own funeral. I’m 45 years old. Is this a good idea?
do. Sometimes, people are so emotional during times like these that they make bad decisions. So pre-planning and making Dave selections ahead of time is a great idea. DEAR DAVE, But it’s never a good God bless you and your idea to prepay for this family. I’m so sorry you kind of thing, and here’s have to go through this, why. but I’m glad to hear you If you live to an average were in good enough age, for what you’d preshape financially to hanpay today at age 45, you dle the burden. could invest the amount, That means you were be self-insured for that both very wise with your kind of thing, and in all money. likelihood have a ton of My advice is to premoney sitting there when plan, but don’t prepay. As your time comes. you discovered, having to Events like this make make important decisions you realize the need for in the midst of that kind proper planning, but of grief is a hard thing to don’t ever prepay them.
Dow 18,132.70 Nasdaq 4,963.53 S&P 500 2,104.50
q q q
NAME Ameren Corp Amer Water Works Apple Inc Berkshire Hath B CVS Health Corp Caseys Gen Store Caterpillar Inc Chevron Corp CocaCola Co Comcast Corp A Cummins Inc Deere Co Disney
18,280
Close: 18,132.70 Change: -81.72 (-0.4%)
18,060 17,840
18,500
-81.72 -0.45%
10 DAYS
18,000 17,500
-24.36 -0.49%
17,000 16,500
-6.24 -0.30%
16,000
S
O
N
D
J
F
Local Stocks Div
Yld
PE
Last
Chg
%YTD
NAME
Div
Yld
PE
Last
Chg
%YTD
1.64 1.24 1.88 ... 1.40f .80 2.80 4.28 1.32f 1.00f 3.12 2.40 1.15f
3.9 2.3 1.5 ... 1.3 .9 3.4 4.0 3.0 1.7 2.2 2.6 1.1
18 23 17 17 26 24 14 11 27 19 16 11 23
42.41 54.08 128.46 147.41 103.87 87.75 82.90 106.68 43.30 59.38 142.23 90.60 104.08
-.12 +.44 -1.96 -.93 -.30 -1.74 -.90 -.38 +.84 +.23 ... -.58 -.48
-8.1 +1.5 +16.4 -1.8 +7.8 -2.8 -9.4 -4.9 +2.6 +2.4 -1.3 +2.4 +10.5
Gen Electric .92 Google Inc A ... JPMorgan Chase & Co1.60 Johnson & Johnson 2.80 McDonalds Corp 3.40 Merck & Co 1.80 Microsoft Corp 1.24 Monsanto Co 1.78 PepsiCo 2.62 Verizon Comm 2.20 WalMart Strs 1.96f Walgreen Boots A l l i 1.35
3.5 ... 2.6 2.7 3.4 3.1 2.8 1.5 2.6 4.4 2.3 1.6
17 27 12 18 20 14 18 24 23 21 17 39
25.99 562.63 61.28 102.51 98.90 58.54 43.85 120.43 98.98 49.45 83.93 83.08
+.10 +3.34 -.30 -.29 -.61 -.42 -.21 +.46 -.09 +.08 +.13 +1.43
+2.8 +6.0 -1.4 -2.0 +5.5 +3.1 -5.6 +.8 +4.7 +5.7 -2.3 +9.0
Mutual Funds FUND
NAV
American Funds CapIncBuA 61.35 CpWldGrIA 48.11 EurPacGrA 49.81 FnInvA 53.91 G r t h A m A 44.50 IncAmerA 22.15 InvCoAmA 38.11 NewEconA 38.32 NewPerspA 38.14 WA M u t I n v A 41.74 Fidelity Magellan 96.03 Fidelity Select HealtCar 236.44
Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-yr +1.1 +2.4 +2.5 +4.6 +4.3 +1.7 +3.0 +2.1 +4.0 +3.1
+9.0/A +10.1/A +7.0/B +11.2/C +1.9/C +8.1/C +12.7/D +14.6/C +10.4/D +14.8/D +9.6/B +12.0/A +13.6/C +14.3/C +4.3/E +16.2/B +7.1/B +12.4/B +13.1/B +15.6/A
+5.0 +14.8/B +13.8/E +3.7 +23.8/B +27.5/B
FUND
NAV
Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-yr
FUND
Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-yr
NAV
Fidelity Spartan 500IdxInv 74.71 +4.0 +15.7/A +16.1/A
INVESCO
FrankTemp-Franklin BalA 11.97 +2.6 +9.0/B +10.8/B GrowthA 77.91 +4.7 +16.9/A +15.3/C IncomeA 2.45 +2.9 +4.1/C +10.1/A RisDvA 52.73 +3.0 +11.2/D +14.8/C StrIncA 10.08 +1.2 +1.8/D +6.0/C
EqIncomeA 10.46 +2.3
+8.7/B +11.3/B
IntlGrA
33.63 +2.5
+4.6/A +9.1/B
BondA
14.21
+.5
+5.3/C +6.5/C
GlTotRtA
16.82 +1.6
+4.5/B +8.7/B
ValueA
35.63 +3.7 +13.0/B +14.7/B
FrankTemp-Mutual DiscovA 34.08 +3.6 FrankTemp-Templeton GlBondA 12.48 -.5 GrowthA 24.49 +2.9
+8.6/A +10.8/C
ComstockA 25.78 +3.4 +10.3/D +15.1/B
MFS
Vanguard 500Adml
+3.3/B +5.4/A -.8/E +11.0/C
194.77 +4.0 +15.8/A +16.1/A
Wndsr
21.92 +4.1 +12.1/C +15.6/A
WndsrII
37.93 +3.7 +12.5/C +14.4/B
Commodities FUTURES (Exch.)
Last
Prev. %Chg
Cattle (CME - per lb.) Coffee (ICE - per lb.) Corn (CBOT - per bushel) Cotton (ICE - per lb.)
1.58 1.37 3.85 0.65
1.61 1.37 3.80 0.65
-1.94 +0.15 +1.18 -0.68
%YTD -4.7 -17.9 -3.2 +7.4
FUTURES (Exch.)
Last
Lumber (CME - per 1,000 bd. ft.)297.20 Orange Juice (ICE - per lb.) 1.22 Soybeans (CBOT - per bushel) 10.31 Wheat (CBOT - per bushel) 5.18
Prev. %Chg 295.50 1.21 10.24 5.03
+0.58 +0.12 +0.66 +2.83
%YTD -10.2 -13.2 +1.1 -12.3
Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored five New York Times best-selling books, including “Smart Money Smart Kids.” “The Dave Ramsey Show” is heard by more than 8.5 million listeners each week on more than 550 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the Web at daveramsey.com.
Bruce advises over will testaments his attention at all. However, it's necessary to do the filing in the sequence I provided. Good luck.
DEAR BRUCE,
My husband and I have a 15-year-old will that was done in Michigan before we moved to Florida, and the home that is in the will has been sold. We now own a home in Florida. Does this go to probate if something should happen to us? Do we need to redo the will, and about what does it cost to have this done? Also, we have a living will.
DEAR B.S.,
Dow Jones industrials
Dave
SMART MONEY
BRUCE WILLIAMS
B.S.
Money & Markets
Lots of people in the funeral industry don’t like me for this stance, but that’s just because they make lots of money on prepayment plans.
The living will simply explains what you want to be done in a medical emergency. For example, if you need to have extensive things done in order to keep you alive. A living will has nothing to do with a regular will and testament. The question is, should you have a new will drawn up? After 15 years and because you have a new house in Florida, it would seem to me that redoing the will should be considered. It's an inexpensive proposition, somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 to $300. DEAR BRUCE,
I got a phone call from the IRS about two years ago, informing me that my ex-spouse was applying for Social Security based upon a portion of my income. I was assured that it would not affect my Social Security benefits in any way. I thought that you might want to share this with your readers before too many people in the same situation are outraged by the idea that it might affect their benefits.
based upon your earnings. As a practical matter, people are outraged by the idea that doing this could affect their benefits, but that is not true, and there is no reason to be outraged. DEAR BRUCE,
My ex-husband of 12 years caused me to go into bankruptcy and lose two homes and most of my retirement. He had moral issues, could never keep a job, and left me to finish raising our children. He has remarried and now done the same thing to his new wife. Is there a way for me to draw on his Social Security? I am 63 years old and still work. He is 60 and probably not working since he couldn't hold down a job. He owes me over $80,000, but I will never see this money. What would you suggest? I will be working at least until I'm 66, and hopefully longer. B.M. DEAR B.M.,
All the things you mentioned are important to you, but have absolutely no bearing on claiming any benefits you may have because of your H.K. marriage. The only thing that is important is that DEAR H.K., the marriage lasted over I get many questions 10 years. with the same concern First you will apply for you've expressed. People Social Security without are afraid that if an exspouse is applying for So- any mention of him. After that is accomplished, cial Security benefits, their own benefits will be you can then apply to the Social Security Adminisreduced in some way. It tration with the informawill not happen. If you and an ex-spouse tion of his earnings. If you are entitled to more had been married for Social Security, so be it. over 10 years, your ex may then apply to have a You don't have to consult with him, and I don't see portion of his or her Soany reason to bring it to cial Security benefits
Dear Bruce, My husband and I have been married for six years. When we wed, he moved into my house, and we rented out the house he shared with his late wife. I'd expect that whatever assets a spouse has should go to his wife in the event he precedes her in death, but his daughter seems to feel that his house should come to her because he shared it with her mother. My husband is 20 years older than me, not that this makes any difference. It is more than likely that he will predecease me. Who will this house go to? By the way, my husband will not make a will. G.G. DEAR G. G.,
In the event that your husband doesn't make a will, at least one-third of all that he leaves behind will come to you and possibly more. That's just the way the law is. As to whether the house should come to you or not, it is simply a matter of the way you and your husband feel. But if he won't have a will, then how is he going to transfer it to you? It seems to me that you can come to an arrangement in which the house will come to you, and wouldn't be sold unless some extenuating circumstance applies. Then you, in turn, can leave the house to his daughter. This could turn ugly and needs to be worked out now. Include a will for each of you.
Send questions to bruce@brucewilliams.co m. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided. The Bruce Williams Radio Show can now be heard 24/7 via iTunes and at www.taeradio.com. It is also available at www.brucewilliams.com.