Financial Security For Dummies

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Understanding Financial Security 5      Chapter 1: Navigating the (Bumpy) Road to Financial Independence 7 Reaching for Financial Security 8 Defining what you value 8 Assessing where you are 10 Grasping financial lingo and trends 11 Trying not to avoid money 11 Making use of insurance: A necessary evil 12 Coping with Crises 13 Everyone faces challenges, obstacles, and setbacks 13 Common crisis 14 Making Decisions Based on Changing Circumstances 15 Chapter 2: Understanding Capitalism and Economic Downturns 17 Understanding Our Economic System 18 Capitalism strengths and criticism 18 History of growth and downturns 22 Touring Past Crises: What Happened and Why 25 Why pilot training has relevance for your tour 25 The Panic of 1907 26 The Great Depression 27 World War II 29 Arab oil embargo and Watergate/Nixon’s resignation 29 9/11 terrorist attacks and recession 30 2008 financial crisis 31 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic 32 Mistakes Made and Lessons to Carry With You 35 Chapter 3: Coping with Personal Crises 39 When a Crisis Comes Calling 40 Losing your job or a significant source of income 40 Facing a medical crisis 43 Caring for elderly parents unexpectedly 44 Splitting from your spouse 46 Coping with the death of a spouse 47 Dealing with a natural disaster 48 Success Plans for Personal Crises and Life Changes 49 Keeping your big picture in mind 50 Considering a comprehensive checklist 50 Part 2: Crisis Mode: Accessing Safety Nets and Emergency Measures 53 Chapter 4: Your Safety Nets 55 Taking Stock of Your Resources 55 Surveying your accessible money and spending options 56 Finding assistance from family 57 Ensuring adequate insurance coverage 58 Surveying Societal Safety Nets 59 Health insurance subsidies 59 Unemployment insurance benefits 63 Federal refundable tax credits 64 Help with housing 65 For more information on safety net programs 66 Chapter 5: Digging Out and Forging Ahead 67 Turning Your Eye toward Recovery 67 Knowing how long it will take to regain stable financial footing 68 Coping with frustration and moving on 69 Thinking (and Researching) Before Making Financial Moves 70 Wise financial actions to take 70 Boneheaded financial actions to avoid 70 Leaning on an Expert for Help 71 Knowing how experts can help 72 Being careful in a time of need 72 Finding financial advisors and planners 72 Being aware of budget counselors 75 Investing in investment managers 76 Looking into real estate agents 77 Making note of tax preparers and advisors 79 Dealing with insurance agents 80 Tuning in to attorneys 80 Minding Your Media Intake 80 Example 1: The COVID-19 pandemic 81 Example 2: The 2008 Financial Crisis 83 Example 3: Corporations not paying income taxes 85 Lessons learned and keys to remember 86 Part 3: Being a Smart Consumer of Economic Information 87 Chapter 6: So Many Numbers! Making Sense of Economic Reports 89 Keeping Economic Reports in Perspective 90 Reports are a (small) snapshot in time 90 Beware annualized numbers 91 Take a long-term view of the numbers 92 Sleuthing Through Economic Reports 93 Employment/jobs reports 93 Gross Domestic Product 95 Consumer confidence 96 Corporate profits 97 Consumer prices (also known as inflation) 99 The reports you can mostly ignore 100 Interpreting Media Coverage of Economic Data 102 Understanding the short-term and provocative focus 102 Keeping an eye out for biases 102 Example 1: The COVID-19 pandemic 103 Example 2: The 2008 financial crisis 105 Chapter 7: Says Who? Weighing “Experts’” Advice 109 Understanding Why Particular Pundits Get Attention 110 Important things to know about the “news” media 110 Getting media attention is a competitive business 112 Controversial points of view often attract 112 Political partisans can be hazardous to your wealth 114 Uncovering Gurus’ Agendas 118 Figuring out what they’re really selling 118 Checking out their qualifications and track records 119 Deciding Whether Hiring an Advisor is the Right Choice 120 Chapter 8: Following Financial Markets 121 Understanding Stocks and Bonds 122 Making Informed Investing Decisions 123 Connecting corporate profits to stock prices 124 Looking at financial market efficiency 125 Focusing on interest rates, inflation, and the Federal Reserve 126 Challenging Financial Markets During Changing Times 129 What really moves financial markets (in the short term) 130 Why market timing is so hard to do 131 Part 4: Keeping Your Personal Finance House in Order 133 Chapter 9: Getting on the Right Road with Spending and Saving 135 Getting a Handle on Your Spending 136 Differentiating necessities from luxuries 136 Reducing your expenditures 137 Setting and following a budget 143 Some final spending reminders 144 Saving: Necessary Rocket Fuel 145 Understanding compounded returns 146 Considering your short- and long-term personal and financial goals 146 Noting the power of tax-deferred retirement accounts 149 Upping Your Income 151 Lowering Your Tax Bill 152 Knowing your income tax rate 152 Using your income tax rate 153 Taxing issues regarding children 156 Making quarterly tax filing requirements 157 Ouch! Dealing with Major Medical Bills 158 Reviewing your billing statements for accuracy 158 Negotiating with providers or an insurance company 158 Chapter 10: Investing Wisely and Securely 161 Checking Out All the Places You Can Invest Your Money 161 Noting how investment types differ from one another 162 Understanding the major investments 164 Building wealth with stocks 165 Locating money through real estate 171 Turning to small business options 174 Searching for safe money investments 175 Cultivating Good Investing Habits 176 Understanding fees 177 Managing monitoring and trading your investments 178 Keeping your emotions from following market trends 180 Dealing with investment setbacks 181 Developing a Personal Investing Plan 182 Taxing situations 183 Assessing your current portfolio 183 Allocating those assets 185 Selecting the Best Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) 188 Investing in stock and bond funds 189 Minding the ABCs of ETFs 191 Seizing Investment Opportunities During Tough Times 191 Cashing in on reduced stock and real estate prices 192 Mustering the courage to buy when more people are selling 193 Chapter 11: Getting and Maintaining Proper Insurance 195 Being Prepared: A Quick Lesson on Insurance 196 Don’t sweat the small losses 196 Define a small loss 197 Insurance not to buy 198 Insurance worth purchasing 199 Protecting Your Health 199 Reviewing your current health insurance 200 Saving tax dollars with health savings accounts 201 Maximizing your personal health 202 Securing Your Income-Earning Ability 204 Long-term disability insurance 204 Life insurance 207 Insurance on Your Assets 209 Insuring your home 210 Auto insurance 213 Excess liability insurance 217 Will, Trusts, and Estate Planning 217 Starting with a will 217 Preparing other useful legal documents 218 Considering your preparation options 219 Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Fraud 219 Part 5: Prepping for Future Armageddon 223 Chapter 12: What Pundits Scare People About 225 Fearmongers Have Been Scaring Folks for Generations 226 Case study: Peter Schiff has been scaring investors for generations 227 Understanding what pundits are trying to sell you 231 Seeing why fearmongers’ predictions are often wrong 232 Surveying the Leading Worries Being Pitched Today 233 Excessive government debts 233 High inflation and worthless currencies 237 Anarchy and the breakdown of society 238 Chapter 13: Preparing Yourself for Unexpected Future Crises 241 What Possible Future Crises Should You Be Prepared For? 242 Dangers of excessive dependence upon technology and internet 243 Hazards of faster and inaccurate “news” flow 243 Spreading socialism 245 Climate change (also known as global warming) 245 Power grid failures and resource shortages 247 Solvency of Social Security 248 Preparing Financially and Otherwise for New Future Crises 249 Part 6: The Part of Tens 251 Chapter 14: Tens Ways to Improve Your Personal Safety 253 Combine Your Instincts with Proven Strategies 253 What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You 254 Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You 254 Err on the Side of Caution 255 There’s (Some) Safety in Numbers, But There May be a Weak Link 255 If It Looks Too Good to Be True, It Probably is 255 Don’t Assume “Lightning Never Strikes Twice” 256 Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover 257 Trust Your Instincts 257 Share Your Concerns with Someone You Trust 257 Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Address Over-Saving 259 Understanding the Over-Saver Mindset 259 Balancing Spending and Saving 261 Keeping Money Accumulation in Proper Perspective 261 Giving Yourself Permission to Spend More 262 Doing Some Retirement Analysis 262 Getting Smart about Investing Your Money 262 Going On a News Diet 262 Treating Yourself to Something Special 263 Buying More Gifts for the People You Love 263 Going Easy When It Comes to Everyday Expenses 263 Index 265