Investments Primer

An investment is anything you acquire for future income or other financial benefit. Investments increase by generating income (interest or dividends) and/or by growing (appreciating) in value.

It's important that you go into any investment in stocks, bonds, annuities, or mutual funds with a full understanding that you could lose some or all of your money in any one investment.

As you can see in the chart below, different kinds of investments generally provide different rates of return (as well as different risks—highest to lowest in the chart below). Note that average rates of return are not guaranteed; they only show what has happened historically.

Asset Class	Rate of Return*
Stocks of smaller companies	14%-16%
Common stocks	10%-13%
Long term corporate bonds	6.5%-8%
Long term US government bonds	5%-7.5%
Short term US Treasury bills	3.5%-5%

*Average rate of return since 1926, Ibbotson and Associates

When choosing an investment type (stocks, bonds, annuities, funds, etc.), start by figuring out how much risk you want to take. Yes, yes, obviously we all want low risk, but low risk generally means low returns, so in some cases it's worth the added risk to earn the added cash. Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine the amount of risk you should take:

1. Do you have a specific financial goal? An amount you need to accumulate over a given period? If not, ask yourself how much you'd like (realistically) to have in ten years, twenty years, forty years, etc. If you're hell-bent on becoming a millionaire (and good luck!), you might decide to opt for higher risk, higher return investments. Also, if you're saving for retirement and it's a ways away, you have more freedom to go with higher risk investments because you have longer to recoup your losses if things don't go your way.
   
   
2. When are you going to need money the most? In other words, how long can you leave your savings tied up in investments before you start needing to spend it? Are saving for your first house in a few years or are you planning on leaving your investments grow to support you in your retirement? Generally, the longer time horizon you have, the more risk you can tolerate because investments tend to have more even growth over long period of time.
   
   
3. How financial stable are you? Can you afford to lose some of your investment or will that leave you completely destitute? If you absolutely cannot take the chance of losing any of your money even if it means the chance of gaining more (yes, it's a gamble that way), choose lower risk investments.
   

Investors best protect themselves against risk by spreading their money among various investments, hoping that if one investment loses money, the other investments will more than make up for those losses. This strategy, called diversification, can be neatly summed up as, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Investors also protect themselves from the risk of investing all their money at the wrong time (think 1929--or recently) by following a consistent pattern of adding new money to their investments over long periods of time.


Monitoring Your Investments
Some people like to look at the stock quotations every day to see how their investments have done. That's probably too often. You may get too caught up in the ups and downs of the "trading" value of your investment, and sell when its value goes down temporarily--even though the performance of the company is still stellar. Remember, you're in for the long haul. Check monthly or quarterly instead.

Keep in mind, though, that it's not enough to simply check an investment's performance. You should compare that performance against an index of similar investments over the same period of time to see if you are getting the proper returns for the amount of risk that you are assuming. You should also compare the fees and commissions that you're paying to what other investment professionals charge. Look for a low expense ratio (below 1%).

Invest Wisely / Don't be stupid (adapted from SEC's "Invest Wisely")
Never:

• Send money to purchase an investment based simply on a telephone sales pitch.
• Make a check out to a sales representative personally.
• Send checks to an address different from the business address of the brokerage firm or a designated address listed in the prospectus.
  
• Allow your transaction confirmations and account statements to be delivered or mailed to your sales representative as a substitute for receiving them yourself. These documents are your official record of the date, time, amount, and price of each security purchased or sold. When you receive them you should verify that the information in these statements is correct and file them away safely.
• Trust anyone who tells you, "Invest quickly or you will miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity!"or otherwise puts pressure on you to make an investment quickly.
  

If your sales representative asks you to do any of these things, contact the branch manager or compliance officer of the brokerage firm.

Certain activities may indicate problems in the handling of your account and, possibly, violations of state and federal securities laws, such as:

• Recommendations from a sales representative based on "inside" or "confidential information," an "upcoming favorable research report," a "prospective merger or acquisition," or the announcement of a "dynamic new product."
• Representations of spectacular or specific profit, such as, "Your money will double in six months." Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
• "Guarantees" that you will not lose money on a particular securities transaction, or agreements by a sales representative to share in any losses in your account.
• An excessive number of transactions in your account. Such activity generates additional commissions for your sales representative, but may provide no better investment opportunities for you.
• A recommendation from your sales representative that you make a dramatic change in your investment strategy, such as moving from low risk investments to speculative securities, or concentrating your investments exclusively in a single product.
• Switching your investment in a mutual fund to a different fund with the same or similar investment objectives. Unless there is a legitimate investment purpose, a switch recommended by your sales representative may simply be an attempt to generate additional commissions for the sales representative.
• Pressure to trade the account in a manner that is inconsistent with your investment goals and the risk you want or can afford to take.
• Assurances from your sales representative that an error in your account is due solely to computer or clerical error. Insist that the branch manager or compliance officer promptly send you a written explanation. Verify that the problem has been corrected on your next account statement.

If You Have a Problem (adapted from SEC's "Invest Wisely")
If you have a problem with your sales representative or your account, promptly talk to the sales representative's manager or the firm's compliance officer. Confirm your complaint to the firm in writing. Keep written records of all conversations. Ask for written explanations.

If the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction, contact the appropriate regulators listed at the end of this document. Investor complaint information assists these regulators in identifying violations of the securities laws and prosecuting violators. However, none of these organizations is authorized to provide legal representation to individual investors or to get your money back for you.

Obtain information on using arbitration to resolve your dispute by contacting FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, or the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Each of these organizations operates a forum to resolve disputes between brokerage firms and their customers. You may also wish to consult an attorney knowledgeable about securities laws. Your local bar association can assist you in locating a securities attorney.

Securities Regulators to Contact:

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
Online Complaint Form

North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc.
Suite 710
10 G Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 737-0900
Web site

Each state has its own securities regulator. You can find your regulator at the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

For more specific information, click on one of the investment types in the menu on the left.

The ICI has a great set of educational resources for investors on their website, complete with charts, graphs, and worksheets to help you understand investing principles.


See also:
Stocks: What To Look For, How to Trade For Long-Term Gains

Bonds: The Basics

Funds: Mutual Funds, ETFs, Closed-end Funds, Hedge Funds, Oh My!

Annuities: What Are They? How Do They Work? And How Do I Find the Right One For Me?

Investing for Retirement: Retirement Accounts Overview

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A Macro Perspective: One way war keeps poor people poor

Image by Eleventh Earl of Mar via Flickr

I just watched a trailer for a documentary titled “Rethink Afghanistan,” produced by the Brave New Foundation. The documentary argues that the resurgence of the Afghanistan war will cost the U.S. $1 trillion. (Meanwhile we’ve already spent over $185 billion on it.)

I also just discovered that Obama plans to take another $17.75 from each of us to send more weapons to Israel.¹ So all this got me thinking: How much do all these ongoing conflicts cost me?

Well, there’s a great website from the National Priorities Project called COSTOFWAR.com where you can break down the monetary cost since 2001--to your community or to yourself--of the Iraq war or the Afghanistan war (or both wars together). How much has each war cost you, the entire state of Alabama, or your favorite Rhode Island town? You can check the site to find out. Best of all, watch the total cost to the U.S. tick ever higher!

Anyhow, I found that the total cost of Afghanistan and Iraq combined, per taxpayer since 2001, has been $6,349--or nearly $800 per taxpayer per year. And this is only set to increase. Add to that the other military costs like the aid to Israel mentioned above, and, well, that’s too much for a person like me.

I want a larger tax return. I want my money back. Don't you?

[1] See this article, from U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

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Tax Filing Update: IRS has just announced free filing by online fillable forms!

No income limitations, no hassle, quick returns without having to use tax software. Yes! This is now my new #1 option for tax filing.

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Thank you, new administration

In the first month of his presidency, Obama along with the Democrat-led Congress passed three major pieces of legislation, all aimed at protecting and helping segments of the American people that have been neglected by former administrations:

1. An expansion to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) that will enable states to provide for children whose families earn above the official poverty level but still not enough to afford private insurance. (Similar bills were vetoed multiple times by W. and it continues to be denounced by Congressional Republicans like Steve King of Iowa who claim that it will lead to the dreaded socialized medicine. Let’s hope they're right!)
   
   
2. A law lifting barriers, put in place by a 2007 Supreme Court case, to fighting unlawful sexual discrimination (including pay discrepancies between male and female employees) in the workplace.
   
   
3. The final version of the economic stimulus plan (passed without a single vote from a House Republican and only 3 from Senate Republicans), which allocates $787 billion of the U.S. budget for certain tax cuts, public works programs, and added funding for necessities such as health care and education.
   
   

Number three will probably be of special, immediate interest to those of you still in school. Here’s why:

• It increases the maximum Pell Grant, a federal need-based grant program for low-income undergraduate students, by $500, from $4,850 to $5,350 per year.
  
  
• It expands and increases the federal Hope Credit (discussed in "Tax Hacks Part 1: Give Yourself Some Credit") for 2009 and 2010 to up to $2,500 a year for four years of undergraduate tuition, instead of $1,800 a year for just the first two years. The credit will now be 40 percent refundable (see the above post for information on refundable and non-refundable tax credits) and cover textbooks. Also, it will phase out for individuals with AGIs between $80,000 and $90,000 and couples with AGIs between $160,000 and $180,000.
  
  
• It allows you to exempt (for 2009 and 2010) computer-related expenses under tax-advantaged college savings plans, like 529s.
  
  
• It provides an additional $200 million of funding for the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS).
  

Obviously, there’s lots of work to be done yet, but let’s all say thank you to the new administration for getting off to a good start (and to the Democrats for finally growing a pair).

Economical Tax Filing Options

So, you've collected all your paperwork, taken a deep breath, and are ready to do your 2008 income taxes. Where do you start? Here's a quick rundown of the most economical and practical filing options:

Mail-In Forms
The most obvious method, of course, is to skip down to your local library, grab the federal and state forms you need (or download them from the IRS website), gather your calculator and a pencil, and get down to business. This method probably takes the longest, but personally I think it's the best way (along with the e-file option below) since, in the process of researching which forms you'll need and reading through all the instructions, you'll learn a ton and possibly discover some savings that tax software might not alert you to.

IRS E-file
This is the quickest DIY option. It's the same as above, except you fill out the forms and submit them electronically. 37 states plus DC currently participate in the IRS's Federal/State E-file.

IRS Free File (online software, federal taxes only)
If your AGI is $56,000 or less, you can visit the IRS website, where you can choose from a variety of tax prep software to use for free via the IRS's Free File Alliance.

TurboTax Free Edition (online software)
TurboTax Free is a decent option for filing your federal taxes if you're in a hurry, don't care to learn how things work, and are eligible (and want to) file the 1040EZ (see MDT's recent post for more info on the EZ form). Filing your state taxes with TurboTax will cost you $25.95.

H&R Block TaxCut (online software)
TaxCut Free is pretty much the same deal as TurboTax Free (above), but they'll charge you $30 to file the state return.

TaxAct (online software)
The most economical and most functional free software I've found is TaxAct Free. They don't restrict federal filing to the simple forms, and while they do charge for state filing, at $13.95 it's significantly less than what the above two companies charge.

Get Someone Else to Do Them for You
If you're lazy (or concerned about screwing something up) and have money to throw around, you can of course hire an accountant to do your taxes for you. This is the least economical but certainly the easiest way to get your tax returns taken care of.

If you're concerned about screwing something up and don't have money to throw around, you might want to check out the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, which offers free help to people who are not able prepare their own tax returns and whose yearly income is less than $42,000.


Last of all, don't forget to sign up for the direct deposit option (if you're getting a refund) for quickest delivery.

A note on state taxes:
If you live in one of these states, you don't have to worry about filing state taxes since they don't impose state income tax.

Another Tip for Tax Season: EZ ≠ cool

For a few years at the beginning of tax season the IRS would mail me the federal 1040EZ form, and for lack of a known alternative I’d fill it out and send it back. And chances are if you’re relatively young and don’t make much money, then the IRS mails you a federal 1040EZ form to file your taxes as well.

The form’s titled EZ because using it to file is just that, easy--the 2008 form is barely half a page worth of accounting. Does the IRS think the cool abbreviation is right up young people’s alley? Who knows? But for young taxpayers--especially college students--who’d rather get tax season over with, with minimal thought, the quicker the better, the 1040EZ might be a little too easy.

Because if you’re using the EZ form by default, you might be overlooking some major tax adjustments, adjustments which could lower your gross income and possibly get you some decent cash.

Take for instance the Student Loan Interest Deduction. Every penny you paid in interest for a year on your student loans can be subtracted from your gross income. But you won’t find that tidbit on the 1040EZ form.

Take, for another example, the Tuition and Fees Adjustment. Every penny you spent on college tuition and college fees in one year can also be subtracted from your gross income, even if that tuition was covered by loans. Again, you’d be none the wiser if you were adhering to the 1040EZ form.¹

Try instead form 1040 or the 1040A. The 1040 is for you if you plan to “itemize your deductions,” as the IRS calls it. Use the 1040 only if your qualified expenses add up to more than the IRS’s standard deduction.² The 1040A, on the other hand, is for you if you don’t want to itemize deductions, i.e., if the IRS’s standard deduction is more money than all of your qualified expenses. And although the Student Loan Interest Deduction and the Tuition and Fees Adjustment I mentioned are certainly deductions from your income, the IRS lets you use them while still claiming the standard deduction, and you can do so with the 1040A. In other words, if you pay tuition or student loan fees, use the 1040A.

So if not paying more in taxes than you owe is worth it to you, and if the possibility of a refund is worth it to you, try researching the different tax forms that are out there. You aren’t required to use the form the IRS sends you, if the IRS sends you anything at all. Most forms can be found at the public library, and all can be found and downloaded online. Compare the 1040EZ to the 1040A and the 1040³. You might be surprised at what you find.


[1] Also see “Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits” in our January 30, 2009 post “Tax Hacks, Part 1: Give yourself some credit,” for more information on tax breaks for educational expenses.

[2] See the 2008 rates of standard deductions.

[3] For an overview of and instructions for all 1040 forms, see the IRS’s “1040 Central.”

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Tax Hacks, Part 3: Self-Employment Taxes

If you are self-employed, whether you have another job or not, you have to pay Self-Employment (SE) taxes by filing Schedule SE with your 1040. SE taxes include social security and Medicare tax, just like those paid by everyone else, but you're responsible for "withholding" them yourself. (For tax purposes, you are only self-employed if your net earnings (profit) from your self-employment are $400 or more per year.)

For the purposes of this post, we're going to focus on sole proprietorships, businesses owned and run by only one person. As a sole proprietor, you can choose to figure and set aside taxes for every "paycheck" or payment you receive for your services. These are your estimated taxes, and they must be paid quarterly. Yes, that's right. If you wait until the end of the year without making quarterly IRS payments, you could get slapped with a sizable tax penalty. If withholding tax from each "paycheck" isn't practical (e.g. you receive many small payments rather than lump sums), you can simply calculate your taxes on your quarterly earnings.

Sole proprietors also need to file Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, which is part of Form 1040. Alternatively, you can file Schedule C-EZ if all the following are true:

• your expenses are not greater than $5,000
• you have no employees
• you have no inventory
• you are not using depreciation or deducting the cost of your home

In order to be able to file taxes properly (and get the most $ back), a sole proprietor needs to keep immaculate records and hold onto them for at least four years. (The IRS has this thing called burden of proof. . . .)

New Ventures
If you're newly self-sufficient, i.e. have been self-employed for less than a whole tax year, you'll be operating on a short tax year the first time you file. You can find more info on short period tax returns and other topics relevant to new business owners on the IRS's page on Starting a Business.


More Resources:
Publications and Forms for the Self-Employed
Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center
Business or Hobby? Answer Has Implications for Deductions

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This Just In...California to Pay Debts with Monopoly Money

Ever wish you could pay all of your bills with IOUs? Apparently if you’re the State of California you can do just that. California Controller John Chiang announced last Friday that the state will be suspending payments due to a lack of funds and that if no money is available by March or April California will be sending IOUs in lieu of tax refunds, welfare checks, disability checks, aid for the needy and disabled, and student grants, among other payments.

So, if you live in California that sucks. If you live in one of the other 49, it might be a good idea to file your taxes sooner rather than later.

Source: LA Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget17-2009jan17,0,4472460.story

Tax Hacks, Part 2: More Credits

Qualified Retirement Savings Contribution Credit aka "Saver's Credit" (nonrefundable, a percentage of up to $2,000 in eligible contributions). To qualify for this one, you have to have been at least 18 years old on 12/31/08 and have an AGI (adjusted gross income) of less than $26,500 (again, assuming you're single). You also cannot have been a full-time student for five or more months of 2008.

Qualified contributions include those to an IRA (traditional or Roth), a 401(k) or 403(b), a 501(c)(18)(D), or a governmental 457, SEP, or SIMPLE. You may not include in this amount any "rollover" contributions.

The amount of your credit is computed by multiplying your total contributions by the percentage corresponding to your AGI. You can find this percentage on Form 8880, which you will need to fill out in order to claim this credit.


Limitations on Nonrefundable Personal Credits
All three of the credits we've covered thus far are types of nonrefundable "personal credits." For 2008, the limit of nonrefundable personal credits is your regular tax liability plus your AMT. This is good. It means that your nonrefundable personal credits can offset both your regular tax liability and your AMT (alternative minimum tax).


Earned Income Credit (refundable, max: $438)
Assuming you are single and have no children, the qualifications necessary to claim this credit are as follows:

1. You must be at least 25 years old.
2. Your total investment income must be less than $2,950.
3. Your AGI must be less than $12,880.

The EIC depends entirely on income. You can figure your EIC using the worksheet in the instructions for Forms 1040 or 1040A, whichever you are filing.

For more information about the EIC, see IRS publication 596.



Alternative Minimum Tax
What is this minimum tax business all about? Basically, the AMT laws exist so that high-income individuals don't get away with not paying their share of taxes even if they find a way to adjust their tax liability to next to nothing. Fortunately, AMT doesn't affect most of us because it only applies if your AMTI (see below) is above $42,500.

After you calculate your regular income tax liability, you should then calculate your tax liability under the AMT system; this amount is called your Tentative Minimum Tax (TMT). Your TMT is determined by a series of calculations (additions/subtractions of certain allowable exclusions, credits, etc.) upon your taxable income to find your Alternative Minimum Taxable Income (AMTI).

If you're concerned you may be subject to the AMT, the IRS has a handy AMT calculator that does all the calculations for you. (You need to have already filled out your 1040.)

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Tax Hacks, Part 1: Give yourself some credit

Before we get into the glory of tax credits, let's cover some basics.

Tax brackets are based on your taxable income only (we'll get to figuring exactly what that is later) and determine how much tax you should pay for that year (called tax liability). For obvious reasons, I'm only going to cover the bottom three brackets here. Also, unless otherwise stated, calculations and figures are for the independent, single, and non self-employed, though I will talk about self-employment tax in a later post.

For a taxable income of $7,825 or less the tax is 10%. So if your taxable income is $5,000, your tax liability is $500. This doesn't mean, of course, that you suddenly owe the federal government 500 bucks. All of these taxes (and likely more) have probably already been withheld from your paychecks. The reason we get those wonderful tax return checks is that we've overpaid, i.e. we've withheld more than our tax liability.

Moving on... for taxable incomes of $7,826-$31,850, the tax is $782.50 + 15% of the excess after $7,825. In other words, 15% of however much you make over the preceding tax bracket plus the assigned base amount. It works this same way going all the way up the tax ladder. For taxable incomes $31,851-$77,100 the tax is $4386.25 + 25% of the excess over $31,850. Say your taxable income from last year was $30,000. You're in what's called the 15% bracket, and your tax is $782.50 + .15 x (30,000-7,825). Remember your order of operations here, kids. That means the tax on your earned income is $4,108.75.

The point here is to reduce your taxable income so that you reduce your income tax. We do that with deductions, exemptions, and credits. And that's where today's hacks come in.

The standard deduction for singles is $5,350; everybody gets that. But there are additional deductions and credits galore. Seriously, there are whole books that do nothing but list possible deductions. I'm not going to go into itemizing in this post, perhaps in a later one; I'm just going to mention a few credits that are particular to people under 30 years old (or thereabouts).

But first, let's talk about the difference between deductions and credits. Deductions reduce your taxable income, but credits reduce your actual tax. For example, say you have $1,000 that you can deduct. Sticking with our original example, the tax you would save would be $150 ($1,000 x 15%) because you'd be reducing your taxable income by $1,000, thereby saving the 15% you would have been charged on it. However, say you have a $1,000 expenditure that qualifies for a 50% credit. You would directly save $500 ($1,000 x 50%). It's the percentage of the credit that's important. If the $1,000 was only eligible for a 10% credit, the deduction would save you more.

Now, credit can be either refundable or non-refundable, which refers to the ability of the credit to count past your tax liability--in other words, if the amount of the credit exceeded the amount of your tax liability, for you to actually get a check from Uncle Sam for the excess credit. For example, if your tax liability is $3,000, but you get a refundable credit for $3,500, you'd get $500 back from the fed. Sadly, the vast majority of credits are non-refundable.

1. Hope Credit (nonrefundable, up to $1,650 of tuition and mandatory fees actually paid in 2008, e.g. not including tuition covered by scholarship money, etc.). This one only applies to those of you who are freshman, sophomores, or juniors now and were enrolled at least half-time in 2008. You can only claim the Hope Credit for your first two years of undergrad.
   
   
2. Lifetime Learning Credit (nonrefundable, up to $2,000). Cannot be claimed in the same tax year as the Hope Credit. It's calculated as 20% of a maximum of $10,000 of tuition and mandatory fees actually paid in 2008. There's no limit to the number of years you can claim this, and you just have to be enrolled in at least one course (credit or noncredit, degree or non-degree, any level) at a qualifying college or university.
   
   Note: If you're eligible for the Hope credit but paid more than $8,250, you'll save more by claiming the Lifetime Learning credit instead.
   
   Both these credits are reduced if your adjusted gross income (a figure somewhere between your net income and your taxable income) is above $47,000. Nothing about taxes is simple; check the links for more details. To claim either of these credits, you will need Form 8863.
   
   
   
   
   Coming Up: Saver's Credit, Earned Income Credit, and more.
   

The future, at least for the blog, is bright.

Exciting and new stuff coming soon to an irreverent (and possibly irrelevant) little blog. This is what we got in store for the kiddies:

1. New content for TiredofBeingPoor.net is being added (almost) daily. There's loads of info there now.

2. Guest/co-blogger mdtrudeau (MDT for short--'cause I'm a lazy typist. See! I didn't even want to type "because." Of course, I know what you're thinking--that all this explaining of my lazy typist attitude is just making me type more and so the whole thing has backfired. Ok, fine. You're right. Whatevs.) ANYWAY what I was saying is that MDT has posted his first blog for TAiMH (there I go again...) and it rocks.

3. As most of the content (though it's a continuously evolving/growing site) is up at ToBP (I just can't stop. I'm on a roll.), I will be getting off my lazy blogger butt and getting down to some serious, you-ain't-seen-nothin'-like-this posting. That's right. Just you wait.

4. (Related to #3) It's nearing tax season. I just got my first state document, that's how I know. Hence, I feel as though I should devote some blog space to talking about filing taxes. Obviously I can't explain everything in detail because dudes go to school for that stuff, you know? But all the same, I'll do what I can.

5. (Related to #4!) In the early planning stages is a section on the main site all about taxes! Isn't that exciting, kids? Taxes! Everybody loves taxes, right? They're so fun and quick and easy to file! OK, I'd better stop or I'll soon be drowning in my own sarcasm.

6. Wondering where the actual money hacks are? Don't worry, they're on their way. Very soon, I promise.

7. I don't have anything else. Just thought 7 was a good number to end on.

Peace out! and thanks for reading!