Business

Everyone who owns a car knows that in order to keep it in good, running condition you have to do routine maintenance and wash it periodically. So what about your finances? Do you actively do annual maintenance on them?

For many people, their New Year’s Eve tradition is watching the ball drop in Times Square and making New Year’s resolutions. There is an interesting relationship between the ball and most new year’s resolutions – they both drop quickly!

2016 is fast approaching, and while it may sound cliché, it is time to consider what your financial resolutions are for the coming year. As an investment advisor, I have some suggestions to share with you.

Readers of my articles know that I am a huge fan of compound interest. With the holiday season already entrenched in retail stores and online, it seems that everyone wants to sell you something as a gift for your friends or family. But for most people, you’re not being given the opportunity to enjoy a worry-free retirement. So in the spirit of the holiday, give yourself the ultimate gift of a hassle-free retirement. Over time, those retirement accounts will yield interest and compound interest, amounting to sums that are larger than you might think.

October is the month in which goblins, ghosts, and other frightening things are thematic for all 31 days, closing the month with Halloween. As a retirement planner, I would like to share with clients and readers some financial myths that, if you are tricked into believing them, can haunt you for a long time.

If you are age 701/2 or over and own either a traditional IRA, 401(k) plan or other employment-based savings plan, you are usually required to withdraw a certain amount of money each year. These withdrawals are minimum required distributions (MRD), or what can also be referred to as required minimum distributions (RMD). For consistency purposes, I will refer to them as minimum required distribution (MRD). MRD is usually taxable income, so if you made after-tax contributions to these accounts, part of your minimum required distribution may be nontaxable.

Join Jeff Mitchell, publisher of New SV Media, Inc. (Morgan Hill Times, Gilroy Dispatch and Hollister Free Lance,) and Bobbi Jo Palmer, publisher of Out & About Magazine, for "Coffee with the Publishers" on three upcoming dates.

Walk into a bank or a typical stock brokerage firm and the only advice you may get is centered on purchasing the favorite stocks of the day. There are few—if any—questions asked about your present financial situation and financial future. This is how brokers earn a living: the more stocks you buy and sell, the higher the commission your broker earns. This business model is known in the industry as “suitable”.

GILROY—UNFI, the $6-billon natural foods distribution company opening soon in Gilroy, filled 140 positions during a three-day job fair, with most slots offered to Gilroy residents.

Everything is going digital. There are even companies that sell a suite of services called “robo-advisors” that offers subscribers a “low-cost, algorithm-derived, passive strategic asset allocation.” Service providers claim that using their technology platform, investors no longer need to use a financial advisor.