Today we talk about how pensions might hurt you {even if you don’t have one}, television viewing options beyond bunny ears and cable, how to keep your investing sanity with rebalancing, and saving money on car expenses. The Real Risk of Pensions-It May Impact You Think that the risk of pensions doesn’t apply to you?... The post #8-Risk of Pensions, Cord Cutting, Bonds, and Saving on Car Expenses appeared first on Young and Oldish Money.
The risk of pensions is real, even if you think you're immune. Find out ways to cut the TV cord. Invest smarter with bonds. Save cash on vehicle costs with apps + hacks. Bonus stuff + show notes at Youngandoldishmoney.com.
Today we talk about how pensions might hurt you {even if you don’t have one}, television viewing options beyond bunny ears and cable, how to keep your investing sanity with rebalancing, and saving money on car expenses.
Think that the risk of pensions doesn’t apply to you? Think again.
Pensions don’t only apply to your parents and grandparents. Even if your company isn’t offering you a pension, you may experience the risk of pensions. There are a variety of ways that a company’s pension problems may become your problems.
Pension plan managers may not be that great. When you think of a pension plan administrator, you may be thinking of a very talented money manager. Unfortunately, there’s a huge problem for pensions nation-wide; pension fund advisors may not have put enough money into their plans.
If a company experiences underfunded pension liabilities you may be impacted.
How does this impact you?
Even if you don’t have a pension, if Mom and Dad counted on a pension, that doesn’t come through, you may be on the hook to help support them during their retirement.
If you have a pension, you probably don’t have as much additional retirement savings as those without pensions. Thus, a real risk of pensions is when your comany’s underfunded plan cuts your retirement benefits, leaving you with less money than expected for retirement.
Even if your company isn’t currently offering you a pension and they have a legacy plan, you could be hurt. When there’s not enough in the coffers to pay for current pension liabilities, there may not be enough left over to reward your excellent performance with a raise.
If you’re investing in a company with liabilities to former workers then the risk of pensions might impact the company’s stock price, dividend and subsequently your potential return on that investment.
The risk of pensions may be affecting your pockets…….
“The Real Risk of Pension Plans: They Give Retirees False Security“, Bloomberg.com, Allison Schrager.
Dish Network has a new service for $20 per month called Sling TV, which gives you basic cable for a rock bottom price.Sling TV (not to be confused with Sling Box) includes a nice menu of Disney, Food Channel, TBS, HGTV, TNT, ESPN and more. Before you get too excited, the network channels aren’t included with this service.
For a full range of television, you have to get basic cable with Dish’s Sling TV, then you need another service to get the networks, and if you want any additional channels you need another service.
If this sounds like a lot of work to save money on entertainment costs, you’re right. Those consumers who want just want a “single service” for all their TV still need to stick with cable.
What about a la carte cable options? Cable offers various packages, but you need to subscribe to a pre-determined offering. Cable’s not big on a la carte channels.
The Sling TV could be configured as part of an a la carte scenario. But you, the consumer must put it together from various providers on your own.
Listen and learn more about Bobby’s hack to get premium channels. Is this something that would work for you?
“Dish’s New Sling TV Service Could Free You From Cable“, Bloomberg.com, Joshua Brustein
“While no one can predict the future, stocks and bonds in the U.S. are very richly valued, suggesting that future long-run rates of return will be lower than in the past. Stocks are selling at about 27 times their cyclically adjusted earnings per share (the so-called CAPE multiple), and these valuations have only been higher during the late 1920s and at the height of the dot-com bubble in 2000.” ~”A 2015 Rebalancing Act for Investors”, WSJ.com, Burton Malkiel
Last December, 2014, Malkiel warned investors of a cardinal rule-to reduce investment risk you need to “rebalance”. When one component of your portfolio has grown proportionately larger than intended, due to the outperformance of one sector, then you need to sell some of the gainer and asset class and buy more of the underperformer.
Specifically, stocks have been on a tear for several years, as bond returns lagged. Had you heeded Malkiel’s advice last December and rebalanced, you would have suffered less during the August, 2015 market crash.
For those who don’t understand the ins and outs of bonds, this episode will enlighten you. We riff on bonds and rebalancing  your investments so that you can boost your returns and reduce risk. Learn about what a bond is – and bonds place in your investing portfolio.
Why you don’t want all stocks was recently demonstrated as markets plunged during the beginning and middle of August, 2015. Investment portfolios’ tempered with a healthy dose of bonds fared much better than those heavily weighted toward stock investments.
Malkiel offered a clever twist on bond investing. This was a new one for me. Tune in to find out what he suggested.
Most of us drive. Even with the falling price of gas, owning a car is expensive. We talk about actionable tips to cut down your vehicle expenses. This simple tip is easily overlooked; keep your engine tuned and your tires inflated to the proper pressure to get more miles from each tank of gas.
Bobby waxes on about his favorite car maintenance and more app: A Car app – lets you keep track of mileage, fill ups, and maintenance minders.
Gasbuddy.com helps you shop around for lowest gas prices.
Barb discloses how she gets “free” gas.
Tune in to find out about Bobby’s speeding ticket and how using cruise control has cut down his gas cost.
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(Featured image courtesy of avlxyz on Flickr.  Used under Creative Commons licensing.)
The post #8-Risk of Pensions, Cord Cutting, Bonds, and Saving on Car Expenses appeared first on Young and Oldish Money.