Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of June 9, 2011

I hope you enjoy these short summaries of three of the most interesting and thought-provoking items that have crossed my desk this week…

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Brave new world of financial planning?

Can a new blood test tell you how long you’ll live?  And if you knew how long you would live, would you change your financial life?

A blood test showing how fast people are aging will go on sale over the counter in Britain later this year.  It measures the length of your “telomeres,” structures at the tips of your chromosomes.  Scientists now believe these are the most accurate measure of how quickly you’re aging.

Financial planners say the test could add more science to their practice.1

As one financial planner noted…

From a financial point of view, it would be great information to have.  But from a psychological standpoint – that’s a hard question.  I don’t think I would want to know.  I think it would make me depressed.”

How would you feel about knowing when you’re likely to die?  And how would your financial decisions change as a result?

Tell us in the comments box below…

New Research:  Most Americans in deep financial hole

The financial status of American households may be even darker than we thought, according to a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.2

Some of the highlights (or should we say “lowlights”) include:

[Read more…] “Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of June 9, 2011”

Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of June 3, 2011

roundup

Here are summaries of four of the most interesting and thought-provoking items that have crossed my desk this week…

roundup

Forbes Magazine Shocker:  Why your 401(k) isn’t what it’s cracked up to be!

A stunning article appeared in this week’s Forbes.1 Here are a few of the revelations you absolutely must know about, if you participate in a 401(k):

  • 71% of 401(k) investors believe – wrongly – they pay nothing to participate in their plan, according to a recent survey
  • On average, participants in small plans (which includes 90% of all employees) pay 1.9% in fees annually!
  • Even paying fees of just 1.5% could wipe out one-third of your nest-egg
  • In spite of all the noise about “fixing” the 401(k) through new disclosure rules that will be going into effect, they “could cause some 401(k) services to get even more costly.”

 

Why you need an 8-10% annual return just to break even in your 401(k)…

It’s all documented in this 401(k) exposé I co-wrote with Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Dean Rotbart. You owe it to yourself to have the facts!

[Read more…] “Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of June 3, 2011”