Saturday, May 14, 2011

We downsized from £60,000 to £16,000


The Stoddart family downsized from a comfortable £60,000-a-year life in Brighton to live in west Wales on £16,000 – and they still have to pay a mortgage. Here they tell how they did it

I was sitting in a business meeting a couple of years ago doing what normal people do in meetings at work. There was lots of "blah, blah, blah, financial targets" and "waffle, waffle, waffle, notes from the last meeting" when it dawned on me that, now in my mid-30s, I didn't want to "do business" any more. I didn't want to work in an office, in fact.

I started wondering what would happen if we were all thrown into a practically challenging situation, such as the middle of a jungle somewhere; how would we cope and, you know, survive? What good would PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat skills do then?

Look, I was a bit bored and my mind was wandering, it happens to us all. But the point was I'd had a growing, gnawing sense of frustration at my lack of practical abilities for a while. My young family and I were reliant on others in pretty much every area of our lives. If we wanted something we bought it, if something broke we'd replace it, or get someone in to fix it. I couldn't even change a plug, for goodness sake. Our lives in Brighton were comfortable but when we stopped and thought, which we increasingly did, deeply unsatisfying.

Cut to the present and my partner, Chris, 39, and our two young children, aged two and four, have traded in our tiny suburban-by-the-sea home, affectionately known among friends as "the hobbit house", for a 2.3 acre smallholding half an hour outside Cardigan in west Wales for virtually the same price – just short of £300,000. We have swapped well-paid and bustling city living to become the skint owners of a small and remote piece of land up a, sort of, hill, where the nearest pub is an hour's walk away.

Chris is working part time still in an office-based job and I am currently unwaged while writing a book about our often hapless efforts to become all-round useful for a change. We share childcare and smallholding duties, our few savings are long gone, and we still have a large mortgage commitment.

So how's it going? Well, the challenges this past year and a bit have been immense and at times we've felt lonely, frustrated, angry, confused and overwhelmed in equal measure. But throughout it we've been able to laugh at ourselves and our uselessness (if not always immediately) and "get on with it". From cooking off a single gas-ring camping stove for nearly a month to dealing with escaped pigs in the road and frozen water pipes, we've come through it hardier and stronger.

There have been days when it's rained so much the ground is so muddy you can barely wade through it and when the wind has been so cold the phrase "chilled to the bone" takes on real meaning. But there have been many moments of sheer joy and the children love it here, really love it. What child wouldn't relish being able to play in a field, feed pigs and collect chicken eggs, and then ride on tractors and diggers and the like. Who needs a day in a theme park when you have all that on your doorstep?

The fact the children are of pre-school age has made the move easier. We didn't have to worry about them having to start afresh at school – their first experience of it will be at the rather excellent new bilingual school just a five-minute drive away.

We hope our new practically minded, thrifty lifestyle, rich in so many ways, will give our boys a solid grounding and fill them with the confidence and strength of character necessary to find their own way in the world.

Our greatly reduced coffers have forced us to start to become the more practically minded people we have long craved to be. I emphasise "start": we have years of learning and "catching up" ahead of us. From trying to fix a blocked septic tank (thankfully not me that time) and coppicing wood, to repairing an old bike and giving the kitchen cupboards a lick of paint, we are giving things a go, rather than paying to get someone in. We have to.

Some things work, others don't, and we're lucky to have patient and helpful neighbours, one of whom has become a mentor in all things "handy" and "country practical". He knows how to do most things, and what he doesn't know he has a go at anyway, and this "can do" attitude is greatly inspiring. I think he finds our idealistic and, at times, ill-considered ideas amusing and we are becoming more and more able to help him in return – the fine art of bartering being very much alive in rural west Wales.

If you'd have told me a few years back we'd be living on just shy of £16,000 a year I'd have laughed. Let alone if you'd have told me that we'd have a hefty mortgage to pay out of this and our weekly food budget would be £50. We now spend less on food in a month than we'd have blown in a week in our old lifestyle. But we eat a healthier, more wide-ranging diet than ever before. We're growing some of our own vegetables and soft fruit and starting to rear our own meat, and buy high quality food staples in bulk – huge sacks of flour and rice and the like which save a lot of money and last many months. I enjoyed cooking before but now I love it, and have become adept at making all sorts of meals, cakes, breads, sauces and condiments afresh.

Things that once seemed essential no longer do. I used to buy a lot of clothes and was always tempted by email marketing. Yet since moving I've not bought anything, apart from wellies and a poncho – because this is Wales and there's a lot of rain and, oh god, the mud. I have boxes and boxes of clothes already, so there's nothing I really need.

The kids need new clothes as they grow, but our policy of essential items only seems to work. The shopping craving doesn't go away entirely but has subsided over time. Undoubtedly living rurally has helped. I can't just stroll into town, I have to drive an hour to the nearest half-decent shops.

Interestingly, by far the biggest challenge has been the reactions of friends and family from our old life to our changed circumstances. They have been great, travelling by coach, car and train to visit, but we can't just go for lunch, or pay to go on a boat to look at the dolphins in the nearby bay. That would be a week's food money gone in a few hours. We have got better at explaining to others, and I think most people "get it".

The truth is, our needs and wants have gradually reduced over the time we've been here and we are becoming much easier to please. When a bottle of wine is a luxury for just a few times a week, rather than a two-minute hop to the nearest shop because you've run out, it matters more. It's a treat rather than a given, and the same goes for so many other areas of our lives. The desire to get a cheeky takeaway subsides along with your bank account and since living like a peasant you've learned to cook really well, so the half hour drive to pick up food hardly seems worth it.

If you were to ask me why we have done this, I'd say because it felt like it would make us happy in a real sense – there is no farming or alternative living background in my family. My former high-earning lifestyle was me just trying to be normal, to earn enough to buy nice things and then to work some more to buy more because that's what we are supposed to do, right? But the truth is, it didn't do it for us any more. We had an increasing sense of there must be more to life than "this".

The closest Chris and I had come to farm animals before was a city petting farm. Our upbringing was more of the Findus crispy pancake and frozen mixed vegetables nature.

And before you ask, we're not hippies, although I like hippies. We're not doing any yoghurt weaving ... yoghurt making maybe. We just wanted a stab at a lifestyle that may have the potential to offer us and our children long-term fulfilment.

With the help of our generous neighbours we are learning fast, from how to kill, pluck and gut a turkey to driving a tractor. It is exceptionally hard work and it can feel a bit overwhelming. There are also so many ideas and projects that we can't wait to start; from making our own dairy and beer, to building an underground cold store. It's exciting and positively life affirming. Who knows how useful our continued new found skills might turn out to be in the future, whatever it holds?

We won't be living on less than £16,000 a year for ever. As I say, I've spent this past year writing a book about our often bumbling experiences and so have been unwaged during this time. But neither is this some middle-class experiment. Our real-life experiences have shaped our outlook forever and our needs and wants have simplified. Regardless of how my writing career takes off, and whether our finances lift, we are in this thrifty peasant living for the long term. It's our definition of normal now.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Research in Motion: The End is Near

Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) has too much to prove to the Street and the consensus is for the pain to continue for shareholders.



(theStockMasters.com | Frank Lara) We knew Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) had one last run left, that run has occurred and now its time to never look back. Think back to the Blackberry Ban when every other country was threatening to put an end to RIM in 2010. We told our readers to buy at that 52-week low. RIM shares then went on a tear and almost bucked above $70 in Feburary. Friday Research in Motion shares closed within 7.5% of its 12 month low.

Could the same game plan be executed once again? Will Research in Motion shares rise from the ashes and prove the Street wrong? Can lightning strike twice for investors?

The Masters aren't willing to go to bat for RIM this time, that ship has sailed.

Last time RIM hit a 52-week low we screamed "Buy". The company at that time had 41 million subscribers all over the planet, the blackberry bans were all hype, and the Street refused to buy the company's impressive guidance.

rimmHowever we knew a year ago that RIM was eventually going to lose the battle to Google's (GOOG) Andriod system, Apple's (AAPL) incredible iPhone, and even Microsoft's Windows Mobile 7 (MSFT). This time the comeback story is much more difficult to believe and the cold reality is starting to sink in.

Last Thursday, IDC reported a significant shift in smartphone sales for Q1 2011. The key takeway from the stats: Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) continue to own RIMM and Nokia (NOK) when it comes to smartphones. The rankings show Q4 2010 to Q1 2011 increases/decreases in global market share (SeekingAlpha.com | Rocco Pendola).

The numbers were the following:
Nokia: 28% to 24.3%
Apple: 16.1% to 18.7%
RIMM: 14.5% to 14%
Samsung (SSNLF.PK): 9.6% to 10.8%
HTC: 8.5% to 8.9%

Worse yet RIM's average selling price for its BlackBerry devices keeps falling. Too bad the company's stock price can't stop falling.

Research in Motion will continue to rake in revenue, but not at the margins that will enable its share price to become a growth stock. RIM will be lucky to ever hit $70 a share again. It could be possible on a long enough time frame or with a reverse stock merger. Then again, maybe RIM will just fade into the sunset or finally get bought out by Microsoft (MSFT). Regardless of the outcome, RIM as a profitable company is questionable at best.

Bottom line: RIM shareholders are in for a tough ride. The Masters are betting on a new 52-week low before RIM shares make any spark of a comeback.

What Attracted Berkshire to Lubrizol

Lubrizol's niche market, the critical function of its products, and focus on service lead to better pricing power and stickiness, says Sanibel Captiva Trust's Pat Dorsey.

Birthday Gift Alternative — How About Money?

Our little guy just turned 7 and his birthday party is coming up in a few days. In an effort to keep the proverbial mountain of gifts down to the size of a molehill this year, we are trying out what we call in our neck of the woods a “toonie party”.

Each guest has been given the option of bringing three 2-dollar coins (toonies) instead of a gift. From each participant, he will put one coin in his savings account, give one coin to the charity of his choice, and spend one coin on a birthday gift for himself. (Of course this could be modified to use any currency or denomination.)

It’s been tempting to try the “no gift” route especiallly because it feels a little tacky to ask for money. But I know that I feel uncomfortable showing up to a party without anything in hand and hope that this is a good option for most guests. As a bonus, we think this is a chance to highlight to our boy, those two other important things to do with money besides simply spending it: saving and giving.

For other gift alternatives check out previous posts An Alternative to the No Gift Birthday Party and Gifts for Kids that Don't Involve "Stuff".

65 Ways Retirees Can Cut Their Day-to-Day Expenses

If you're looking to save a few more dollars, these tips on cutting your grocery, utility, and personal-care bills, among others, are worth a look.

No matter your life stage, managing your household budget is all about priorities--and trade-offs.

One retiree I know wouldn't dream of skipping his opera outings, even though his season tickets cost an arm and a leg. To make up for his periodic musical splurges, he doesn't mind shopping at Aldi (in fact he seems to rather like it) and handling his own landscaping and lawn-mowing.
About the Author
Christine Benz is Morningstar's director of personal finance and author of 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances and the Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success. Follow Christine on Twitter: @christine_benz and on Facebook.
Contact Author | Meet other investing specialists

For another retiree, that might be an unacceptable trade-off: Listening to music on CDs at home is just fine, thank you very much, if it means she gets to keep her landscaper and buy organic.

Finding the right balance between sacrifices and necessary splurges is a work in progress: Through a process of trial and error, retirees can identify which expenditures fall into the "must-have" category and which ones they can do without in a pinch.

In last week's column, I discussed some ways that retirees can cut their housing-related costs in retirement. In this week's column, I'll discuss some ideas for cutting your day-to-day living expenses. Note that this isn't an inclusive list, and a tip that's right for one retiree might not be for another. (That's why some of these tips might seem to contradict one another.)

Please share your own ideas in the Comments section below the article. I'll tackle ways to cut your travel, leisure, and financial-services costs in retirement in upcoming articles.

Groceries/Staples
1. Go online or review sale fliers to see which grocery store has your favorite products on sale in a given week; just make sure that your savings cover any extra gas money when driving from place to place.

2. Buy frequently used items in bulk when they're on sale; freeze items you won't need soon.

3. Stock up during holiday season, when groceries often feature very low prices on basics like potatoes, onions, and baking supplies to get consumers in the door.

4. Resist the urge to overbuy perishables, even if they're on sale. The most expensive groceries are ones you don't use.

5. Make your own croutons, salad dressing, bread crumbs, granola, and pasta sauce. You can find good recipes for almost everything online.

6. Grow your own produce: Start small with high-cost, high-margin items like herbs and graduate to tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini.

7. Print out your own grocery coupons from sites like couponmom.com or your grocer's website.

8. If you live in a large urban center, shop at ethnic food stores, which may have good prices on basics as well as condiments that are often far more costly in an U.S.-style supermarket.

9. Packaged, processed food products are often discounted the most heavily, but don't skimp on healthful food like high-quality produce and dairy items. Investing in your own health and well-being will pay for itself many times over.

10. Brown-bag or bring leftovers for lunch rather than buying your lunch.

11. Stay home and cook rather than going out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

12. By a refillable water bottle and forgo purchased bottled water.

13. Buy wine in bulk: Most stores offer a 10% discount on as few as six bottles, even if they're not all the same type.

14. Cut back on alcohol and make nonalcoholic spritzers instead. (Cranberry juice and San Pellegrino, anyone?)

15. Make your own household cleaners. (Baking soda and vinegar have many cleaning uses, and are earth-friendly, to boot.) Again, good online recipes abound.

16. Shop discount warehouses such as Costco (COST) and Sam's Club, but only if you won't buy more than you need.

17. Investigate cash-back rebate cards such as Costco's American Express card and Sam's Club's Discovery.

18. Conduct an audit of your warehouse club usage. If you're only going a few times a year and you don't need many of the bulk items on offer, it may not be worth it to pay for the membership.

19. Investigate Amazon's (AMZN) "Subscribe and Save" service.

General Merchandise
20. Watch out for shipping costs when buying on the Internet; they can quickly erode any savings you realize versus buying the item locally.

21. When shopping for discretionary items, impose a cooling-off period. If you see something you want, wait a week. If you still want it a week later, then pull the trigger.

22. Offset splurges by forgoing other planned purchases.

23. If shopping online, try a virtual splurge. The process of putting the items you want into your shopping cart may provide a shopper's high, even if you don't end up forking over your credit card.

24. Refrain from storing your credit card information on an online retailer's website. Physically entering your information each time may cut down on impulse buys.

25. Look for online coupons on sites such as couponcabin.com. Typing a retailer's name into a search engine will also likely turn up a list of coupon codes for that firm.

26. Pay cash rather than using credit cards or checks. Having to hit the cash station and part with actual money can help discourage the desire to spend.

27. Minimize the amount of money you carry in your purse or wallet to help discourage spending on discretionary items such as coffee and magazines.

28. Have a garage (or basement) full of stuff you no longer need? Sell it on Craigslist or eBay (EBAY).

29. Need stuff? Shop for items you need at flea markets, Craigslist, or eBay. Gently used or vintage items can be more distinctive than new ones.

30. Create and stick to a budget, especially for gifts during the holiday season.

31. Bargain when purchasing bigger-ticket goods such as appliances; you may have additional leverage if you're purchasing more than one item.

Utilities/Telecommunications
32. Run appliances at off-peak hours when usage rates are lower.

33. Switch to CFL bulbs or dimmed lights (dimmed lights use less electricity, and may promote romance!).
About the Author
Christine Benz is Morningstar's director of personal finance and author of 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances and the Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success. Follow Christine on Twitter: @christine_benz and on Facebook.
Contact Author | Meet other investing specialists

34. Conduct an energy audit of your home (for example, check air leaks through window frames, door frames, and attics)

35. Turn down heat (or turn up your air-conditioning, depending on the season and the climate where you live). In colder climates, learn to love fleece and buy a warm comforter for your bed.

36. Switch from a premium cable package to a basic one or watch TV online via websites such as hulu.com.

37. If you like your current cable package but it's been getting more expensive, call your provider to see if you can take advantage of any discount packages available. If that fails, threatening to drop your package should get you results.

38. Head to your local library for DVD rentals; drop your Netflix (NFLX) subscription.

39. If you aren't using items (such as lamps, VCRs, a clock radio in guest bedroom, and so on), turn them off or unplug them.

40. Switch to energy-efficient appliances when it's time to replace (or even if it isn't).

41. Only do full loads of laundry.

42. Switch to a front-loading washing machine, which can accommodate larger loads than top-loaders.

43. Hang clothes, sheets, and towels out on the line to dry in the breeze.

44. Fill your dishwasher before running it rather than cleaning partial loads.

45. Drop your phone landline and use your cell phone exclusively instead. You'll be able to keep your long-held home phone number.

46. Conduct an audit of your cell-phone usage: Cut cell-phone minutes or switch providers.

47. Consider sharing cell-phone service with family members or friends; you can usually add additional lines for a small charge per month.

48. Cut your phone bill by using a Voice over Internet Protocol service such as Vonage (VG).

Gasoline/Auto
49. Couples: Switch to one car from two.

51. Switch to a more fuel-efficient vehicle. This can be a particularly good idea if you log a lot of miles on the road, but it might not be cost-effective if you don't drive as much.

52. If you don't log many miles, investigate a car-sharing service, such as Zipcar (ZIP), or rent a car rather than paying for maintenance and insurance for your own vehicle.

53. Bike or walk to your destinations rather than drive.

54. Use public transport; your community may offer senior discounts.

55. Wash your car at home rather than paying for car-washing services.

55. Check out websites like gasbuddy.com to find the lowest gasoline prices in your area.

Home Maintenance
56. Cut your own grass and tackle your own landscaping

58. Reduce your dependence on chemical-based lawn-maintenance services. Your grass might not be as perfect, but you'll have more money in your pocket and fewer chemicals on your lawn.

59. Drop your house-cleaning service or switch from once-weekly service to once every other week.

60. Tackle your own home improvements.

61. Swap services with other retired folks; for example, you'll cut grass in exchange for cooking.

Personal Care
62. Experiment with drugstore brands to replace expensive department-store cosmetics.

63. Do your own manicures and pedicures.

64. Stop buying dry-clean-only clothes; learn to iron instead.

65. Walk, bike, or work out at a community recreation center rather than paying gym fees.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Google's Spendthrift Ways Spook Investors

Google (GOOG, $530.70, -47.81) announced its Q1 results last night. The company grew its top line by 27% year over year, topping expectations, but a 54% increase in spending and a clear signal from co-founder and new CEO Larry Page that the expenses would keep, sent investors running for the exits.

Page made a brief appearance on the earnings call last night, expressing optimism about the company's future and saying that management changes Google announced earlier in the year were "all working very well, exactly as planned." Page, who has a reputation for being media averse, exited and left CFO Patrick Pichette and other executives to answer analyst queries.

The costs increases stemmed from the company's announcement at the end of last year that it would increase salaries across the board by 10% and ramp up hiring. It added about 1,900 new employees during the quarter. Google's management argues that is battling other Silicon Valley tech firms for talent and the increased salary scales and aggressive hiring practices are necessary for it to remain a leader in the online industry. Google had over 26,000 employees at quarter end.

"Look, we’re nothing but very, very excited about our reporting 27% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1. This 27% proves really the logic behind our strategy, not only to invest heavily in our core search business and ads, but also in our new emerging businesses like display, like mobile, like enterprise," Pichette told analysts.

"From an investment perspective, our Q1 results don’t only show our continued commitment to invest in hiring, in marketing, and in the other areas; but they also, as you can see through our expenses, they reflect for the first time the full impact of the compensation changes we announced in Q4, the 10% salary increase," he added. "Google is clearly benefiting from and is also fueling the unrelenting pace of the digital economy that’s around us. And it’s growth we believe will benefit both Google, but in fact, the entire ecosystem for a long time to come."

The company reported an adjusted profit of $8.08 per share, which fell short of $8.10 that analysts were projecting as a result of margin pressure from its increased spending.

As reported according to GAAP, Google's profit was $2.3 billion, or $7.04 per share, compared with $1.96 billion, or $6.06 per share, in Q1 2010.

Google's gross revenue grew by 27% year over year to $8.58 billion; revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs (TAC) of $2.04 billion equaled $6.54 billion and easily topped the $6.31 billion Street estimate. Gross revenue grew by 2% from a strong Q4 2010; adjusted for FX and its hedging activities, it was up 1.2%.

The company's adjusted EBITDA equaled $3.63 billion, but the EBITDA margin was cut by -350 basis points sequentially to 55.5% from 59.0% in Q4.

Breaking down the results, revenue from Google's owned and operated (O&O) sites grew 33% year over to $5.88 billion, equal to 69% of total revenue and up 32% from a year ago.

Google’s partner sites generated $2.43 billion in revenues through its AdSense programs, which was 28% of total revenues. It represented a 19% increase year over year.

Other revenue was down -10% year over year to $269 million. Google booked revenue from its Nexus One mobile phone in the year-ago quarter but it has since been discontinued.

On a geographic basis, revenue from outside of the U.S. totaled $4.57 billion, or 53% of total revenues, up from 52% in Q4 and equal to the year-earlier percentage. On a currency neutral basis, the results would have been reduced by -$23 million, the company said. Revenues from the United Kingdom grew by 15% to $969 million, or 11% of the total, down from 13% of the total last year. The disaster in Japan "somewhat negatively" impacted the international results, Pichette said.

Global aggregate paid clicks grew by 18% year over year and 4% sequentially, which Pichette said reflected the accelerated shift of offline advertising to online. Aggregate cost per click (CPC) growth was up 8% year over year and down -1% sequentially. FX had little impact on CPC growth, Pichette added.

TAC expense was 25% of total advertising revenue; other cost of revenue equaled $897 million, including stock-based compensation of $49 million.

Operating expenses totaled $2.8 billion, including approximately $383 million in stock-based compensation. The increase year over year in OpEx was primarily due to payroll, increased advertising, and promotional spend, and some other professional services.

Operating cash flow equaled $3.2 billion. Google spent $890 million in CapEx in Q1. The majority of CapEx was related to facilities expenses and data center operations. Google bought two buildings in Q1, one in Dublin and one in Paris.

Analysts were mixed in their reaction to the company's results. Citigroup cut its rating on Google to a "hold" from a "buy," calling the stock a "show me story."

Colin Gillis of BGC Partners called the stock "dead money until summer," and criticized Page's brief remarks on the call.

"Our opinion was the 370-word introduction that was delivered by the CEO that did not include any comments on how he wanted to shape the company was lackluster," Gillis wrote. He also rates the stock a "hold."

Other more bullish analysts -- the overwhelming majority of the 41 analysts who follow the company rate the stock a "buy" or "strong buy" -- were more willing to wait and see, though several adjusted their targets and/or EPS estimates. The following comment from Benchmark Capital was typical of the bulls' camp:

"Google managed costs well through the recession but began to ramp expenses earlier than most. This proved successful as 2010 top-line growth accelerated to 26% from 10% in 2009. Based on this track record, we give Google the benefit of the doubt that investments will pay off and scale over time. Google’s primary areas of investment offer rewarding profit margins," the firm wrote.

BMR Take: Leaving aside the debate over whether Google is spending wisely or recklessly for one moment, its core business actually performed very well. The fact that revenue from its O&O sites is growing faster than network revenue is a good trend for Google as will drive down TAC expense as a percentage of revenue. The top-line growth was clearly excellent; Google shows no sign of losing appreciable search market share.

Google investors clearly aren't pleased with the company's increased spending, but the company's management is equally unapologetic about it. Several speakers talked about the array of new products Google has launched over the last 18 months, pointing to the success of Android in particular and noting that YouTube has become a solid platform for advertisers.

The fear is that Page will let spending get out of control; we agree that his first appearance as a CEO on a conference call was hardly inspiring. Many people are media shy, but hopefully he'll get some coaching because a CEO that can't articulate a clear strategy is not going to inspire investor confidence even if he is a tech genius and a co-founder of the company.

Trading at about 11x the slightly revised 2012 EPS consensus of $39.66, minus its approximately $97 per share in net cash and investments, we think the stock looks undervalued, but agree that the shares are likely to be range bound until investors get a better handle on its long-term expenses and margins. We would put a target of around $735 on the stock, which is a 16x multiple of 2012 EPS excluding its net cash. We note as well that Google's stock has tended to trade lower in the summer when traffic declines and then picks up steam in the second half of the year. As such we think interested investors will be able to ease into the name over the next couple of months.

Monday, May 2, 2011

What Kids Should Know About Money At 9, 13, 18 and 23

Kids Financial Lessons

A child occasionally blowing a week's worth of allowance on ringtones or a month's worth on designer jeans may seem like a harmless rite of passage. If the child is really young, you might even think it's cute — and to be fair, such behavior may be both harmless and cute if parents use these kinds of moments as teaching opportunities.
But most parents aren't nearly vigilant enough with their financial guidance and most schools don't teach a thing about money at young ages. So bad habits develop early and may stay with kids for a lifetime. No one should be surprised to see these same children later on buying cars or houses they can't afford and amassing credit-card debt they can't pay off.
What young people don't know about money is sometimes shocking. In a recent national survey testing high school students about basic financial facts, only one in six understood that over the long run stocks should generate higher returns than savings bonds; only one in five understood that the interest paid on a savings account is taxable in most cases. The average score on this financial literacy test was an F — just 48%, which happens to be the worst result in a series of six such tests over the last 11 years.
Even when teachers were asked to test only their brightest students the average score barely budged — to a still-failing 57%. "Kids don't know enough about finance pretty much across the board," says Laura Levine, executive director of JumpStart Coalition, which promotes teen financial literacy. One big problem is that many parents aren't sure how to bring their kids along. Here's a snapshot of what your kids should know about money at four stages of life:


Nine years old

It's never too early to start teaching about money. Well, almost never. I'd skip bedtime readings of Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor while your darling is still in a crib. Financial osmosis doesn't work any more than round-the-clock Mozart will in quest of an infant genius. There are things you can do, though, and I'll get to them. First, some benchmarks: By age 3 or so a child should be identifying coins and by 5 he should know what those coins are worth. By 9, he should be able to make change, read price tags, understand a store's product return policy and know how to make money by selling lemonade or doing extra work. He should understand the difference between wants and needs and how saving will allow him to buy something better later on. He should be able to identify at least one charitable organization and give examples of common household assets like a car or bank account.
Advice: Young kids should receive a weekly allowance of about half their age (in dollars) and along with any birthday money be instructed to keep the money in three separate jars — 60% for immediate spending, 30% for one or two specific longer-term goals like a cell phone upgrade or iPod, and 10% for giving to charitable causes. Let him spend the money anyway he wants within those bounds. This will help teach the difference between short- and long-term goals and predispose him to giving as well. "I often talk to clients who are great savers," says Kelly Campbell, a financial planner at Campbell Wealth Management in Washington DC. "Inevitably it is because their parents started them off with a great savings lesson long ago."

Thirteen years old

Teens spend about $200 billion a year on toys, games, clothing, movies, live events, arcade games and electronics — all forms of immediate gratification that run counter to sound long-term money practices. Your 13-year-old is about to chart a course through this wasteland of spending and would benefit from having a grip on a few core concepts. By now, she should be well acquainted with saving and understand how impulse and peer pressure can set back her longer term goals. She should be able to research products, comparison shop, and make good decisions about what offers the most value. Your budding teen should also be skeptical about advertising claims and familiar with identity theft. She should know how to fill out a job application, be able to set up a personal spending budget, and understand the difference between stocks and bonds and mutual funds. Her three jars should be emptied; the money should be in a bank account with check-writing and ATM card privileges and she should know how to make deposits and withdrawals and track her balance.
Advice: Look for easy ways to teach money lessons. When you shop and pay by credit card explain to her (briefly, please) that the bill will come later — then show her the bill when it comes. While you're at it, show her the lines on your credit card statement for interest expense and late fees and explain why you do or do not have such expenses. Directly deposit a weekly allowance into her bank account and make sure she understands what that money is for — and do not bail her out if she spends too much and has to stay home on Saturday night for lack of cash. Increase her allowance for clothing expense, and let her make the decisions on what to buy. Introduce her to the stock market through low-cost programs like those at sharebuilder.com or mystockdirect.com — and challenge her to a stock-picking contest. "Kids learn best through games," says Lewis Mandell, a leading scholar in the financial education movement at the University of Washington Business School. "The lessons are immediate, fun and real." Kids who play stock market games tend to perform best in financial literacy tests, Mandell says.

Eighteen years old

Here come the college years and very likely your last chance to make any kind of real impression on your child's money habits. He will go off to school (or work) and navigate his finances from here on out pretty much on his own. By now, he should have a credit card in addition to an ATM card and understand all about late fees, interest expense, the importance of paying bills on time and the scourge of making only minimum monthly payments. Young adults are often appalled to learn that a $5,000 balance can take 20 years to pay off through minimum payments. Meanwhile, the card company will reward them with an ever greater credit limit if their payments are on time, and before they know it they have more debt than they can repay. "They shake their head and say, 'Hey, I didn't think I was doing anything wrong,'" notes JumpStart's Levine. Knowing about credit is most essential at this age, and that includes understanding what a credit score is and how to find it and why it's important. But he should also be able to do things like evaluate if financial information is objective and current and use an online calculator to research things like car loans and mortgages. He should understand that student loans must be repaid with interest and have some idea what career he'll be pursuing before loading up on student loans he may never be able to repay.
Advice: Studies show that the single best indicator of future success is a child's willingness to delay gratification. Never stop reinforcing saving for long-term goals and offer to match his long-term savings $1 for every $2 he puts away to mimic saving in a 401(k) plan. If you are still paying him an allowance, do it in bigger, less frequent chunks (monthly or quarterly) so that he has to create and live with a budget. Talk about where the money came from that is in his college fund and what sacrifices were made to put it there and carefully review with him his monthly credit card statements — before he's packed off for campus.


Twenty-three years old

By now your child is pretty much what she will be when it comes to financial know-how. She should understand career choices and how hers will determine her near- and possibly her long-term earnings potential, and understand the consequences of living beyond her means. She should know how to access her credit report, make corrections to it and what actions will boost her score. She'll be coming off of your insurance policies soon and should have an understanding of the various types of life and property policies she'll have to choose from. "Teens think they'll never get sick and live forever," says Levine. She should be able to estimate future annual returns from a stock and bond portfolio (6% to 10%) and inflation rates (2% to 4%). She should be keeping financial records; paying bills online and contributing to a 401(k) plan and know how to dispute a bill or charge. She should understand the advantages of owning versus renting and what types of loans and expenses are tax deductible. In short, she should be an adult.
Advice: The good news is that most college graduates either get this stuff now or soon will. A college education correlates highly with financial literacy, Mandell says. The bad news is that only 27% of the population graduates from a four-year college, which leaves a lot of folks in financial peril. So, yeah, get her through college if you can. Otherwise, the most important thing you can do for your child at this age is cut her off from financial support. That will force her to come to grips with issues she'll be dealing with long after you're gone. Besides, research shows that kids who get taken off their parents' dole in a timely fashion, on average, pull in 20% more lifetime earnings.

Dollar mixed after brief rally

NEW YORK -The dollar is retreating again after a brief rally following news of the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

The dollar has fallen against a group of six major currencies for the past eight trading days. Investors expect that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates super low and continue other stimulus efforts, while central banks overseas are raising interest rates. Higher rates tend to make currencies more attractive to investors seeking higher yields.

In morning trading Monday in New York, the euro is up to $1.4845 from $1.4839 late Friday. The dollar is giving back some of its overnight gains against the British pound and Japanese yen, but is higher against the two currencies than it was on Friday.

Spring Sellers Try House Swap Instead

Wendy Bauwens is no stranger to swapping. As a horse trainer, she has traded a harness for a new website and a riding lesson for a haircut. Today, however, she's lining up her biggest swap yet: her horse farm, Sunnyside Farms (pictured at left), located near Bozeman, Mont., for something closer to the ocean. A new place to call home in Hawaii or California are at the top of her list.

As spring selling season gets under way, some homeowners are opting for an unconventional route: house swapping. Even as the housing market defrosts this spring, sellers are on the lookout for creative ways to minimize their costs. Swapping offers several bottom-line benefits: there are few to no agents' fees, sellers can minimize their tax burden, and it's a way to leverage property that may be otherwise difficult to sell. On the downside, swappers face fewer choices and have to be prepared to finance the difference in property value if necessary.

Over the last few years, a handful of websites have sprung up to support swappers, including GoSwap.org, OnlineHouseTrading.com and DomuSwap.com. Craigslist operates a whole category for home trades. The small boom in swap and barter sites took hold at the height of the financial crisis two years ago and shows no sign of waning.


Swapping the Ocean for the Desert

Sergei Naumov, founder of GoSwap, says there are more than 30,000 listings on his website, most of which are concentrated in the southeastern states. Founded in 2006, the site started picking up steam in 2008 and traffic has yet to fall. He estimates the number of successful swaps to be in the thousands.

One of those success stories is Pam Farley, 58, who used GoSwap to trade her three-bedroom home in Osprey, Fla., for an adobe house near Santa Fe., NM. In late 2008, she and her husband were empty nesters, ready to move from their Florida home after 12 happy years. Their timing couldn't have been worse. The housing crisis was rippling across the state and qualified buyers were scarce. After sitting on their for-sale-by-owner listing for more than year, Farley decided to investigate a permanent house trade.





"I listed on several swap sites, and every day I had someone emailing me," she says. "We made adventures out of visiting the potential houses. We went to New England, Idaho, and Oregon. It was cool because we got to see interesting parts of country."

Farley, a painter, knew she wanted to move to the southwest to work on her craft and kept returning to a listing in New Mexico. Willingness try a new location is common among swappers, says Naumov. "A lot of the swappers tend to be older. They are not as bound by where they are, and their criteria is very open," he says. "Many people will consider a swap in any state."

Controlling the Process

Bauwens, who has a degree in marine biology, is also open to what the swap universe might send her way. Part of her desire to move away from her Montana farm, where she has lived for 10 years, is to pursue better job opportunities in marine science. Her other motivation is simply to change the scenery.

"I turned 40 last summer and I am in the mindset that life is too short to not be where you want to be," she says. "I am excited to move and wipe the slate clean."

With bartering as a way of life among horse trainers, Bauwens views her swap as a natural step. By advertising her farm as a swap on Craigslist rather than listing it as for sale, she avoids paying a 6-8% broker's commission and gets to keep the details of the transaction to herself.

"When you list on the MLS, people expect you to lower the prices," she says about her farm, which was appraised for around $350,000 several years ago. "Being in a small town, once it's listed, people start talking."

Making the Deal

After mutual visits to New Mexico and Florida, Farley and her home swapper quickly agreed on a deal. The next step, drawing up the offer-to-purchase contracts, was at the heart of the swap.

Even as the word "swap" conjures the days of yore, the deal is in fact two simultaneous sales. Ideally, both transactions close on the same day to prevent one owner from holding two mortgages or properties. For primary residences of equal value that are swapped, there is no taxable gain. If there is a difference in price, sellers can exclude capital gains up to $250,000 for a single taxpayer and $500,000 for married couples. Swappers of investment properties or businesses may defer taxes through section 1031 of the IRS code.

Farley's deal took several weeks and many drafts of the contracts faxed back and forth. After a wrinkle in securing financing, she was able to get a loan with a local bank in New Mexico and close on the swap in 30 days. "When we were done, it was fair and good," she says. "We protected each other."

As Bauwens sorts through the first trade offers that she has received for her farm, she feels a swap will help ensure the farm goes to another owner who will enjoy it as she has. She renovated the farm house a few years ago, complete with stained-glass windows and old barn wood, and acknowledges that it will be hard to move. "I feel strongly that if you put effort out there, something will happen," she says. "You have to create the good karma and the right thing will come along."

Farley's experience underscores the human connection to home buying and selling that swapping provides.

"Trading puts the power back in the people's hands," she says. "It makes it a real partnership between people possible. They are not stuck in their homes and they can move forward with their lives."

Checking Accounts Often Costly, Contain Hidden Risks, Study Finds

A new study reveals your checking account could be costing you a lot more than you think.

The study, from the Pew Health Group, called Hidden Risks: The Case for Safe and Transparent Checking Accounts, found that the average checking account in the U.S. has:

an $8.95 monthly fee,
an overdraft penalty fee of $35,
an overdraft transfer fee of $10,
and an extended overdraft penalty fee of $25 every seventh day the account is overdrawn.


According to estimates from Moebs Services, Americans will spend a record $38 billion in overdraft fees in 2011. "If overdraft were treated like a short-term loan with a repayment period of seven days, then the annual percentage rate, or APR, on the typical overdraft would be over 5,000 percent," the Pew study noted.

Pew based its overall findings on an analysis of 250 types of checking accounts offered by the country's top 10 banks.

In addition to its startling conclusions about high fees, Pew researchers also concluded that most checking accounts lack transparency and are overly complicated. For instance, the study found that the average checking account has 111 pages of disclosures for consumers to read through and interpret.

"Congress acted nearly two years ago and passed the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which protected credit card holders from practices deemed 'unfair' or 'deceptive'," Eleni Constantine, director of the Financial Security Portfolio at the Pew Health Group, said in a statement. "Now is the time for policy makers to further protect American families by ensuring that our checking accounts are safer, easier to use and more transparent."

Pew is the latest organization to decry the lack of transparency in checking accounts. Recently, the consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG also highlighted major problems with disclosure in the banking industry. After a six-month study of the practices at 392 banks and credit unions, as well as 12 online banks, PIRG concluded that fewer than 40% of those institutions comply with the federal Truth in Savings Act, which requires financial entities to provide prompt disclosure of bank fees and rates.

To combat the problems it cites in the banking industry, Pew's Hidden Risks report offered five recommendations, including:

Requiring banks to provide information about checking account terms, conditions and fees in a concise, easy-to-read format, similar to the Schumer Box used for credit cards;
Directing depository institutions to provide accountholders with clear, comprehensive pricing information for all available overdraft options;
Requiring that overdraft penalty fees be reasonable and proportional to the bank's costs in providing the overdraft loan;
Making depository institutions post deposits and withdrawals in a fully disclosed, objective and neutral manner; and
Urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to examine the prevalence of binding arbitration clauses, fee shifting provisions and "loss, costs and expenses" clauses in checking accounts, and assess whether such provisions prevent consumers from obtaining relief.

Whether policymakers act on these recommendations remains to be seen. In the meantime, your best protection as a consumer is to devote some serious time to reading and fully understanding the terms and conditions of your checking accounts.

If you encounter fees, charges or terms you don't like, it's worth trying to negotiate with your bank to reduce or eliminate those fees or terms. If the bank won't budge and you feel unfairly treated, you can always exercise your right to take your business elsewhere.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Sees Profit Tank 58%

Berkshire Hathaway's first-quarter profits fell 58 percent because of an estimated $1.7 billion in pretax insurance losses from major disasters in Japan, Australia and the U.S.

CEO Warren Buffett estimates that Berkshire will report $1.5 billion in net income, down from $3.6 billion the year before. He did not offer earnings per share figures.

Buffett offered a, earnings preview at Saturday's annual shareholders meeting. Berkshire's full earnings report is scheduled to be released Friday.

Buffett said the biggest factor in the earnings drop was losses related to the damage from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Australian floods and the New Zealand earthquake.

"We had probably the second-worst quarter for the insurance industry in terms of disasters around the globe," Buffett said.

Reinsurance companies, like Berkshire's General Re and National Indemnity, sell backup insurance to primary insurers so the industry can cover big losses.

Berkshire expects to record an $821 million underwriting loss in its insurance businesses during the quarter because of the catastrophes. That compares with a $226 million underwriting gain in last year's first quarter.

Berkshire's insurance businesses will still contribute $131 million to net income for the first quarter, because of investment gains. That's considerably less than a year ago when Berkshire's insurance businesses, which include auto and home insurer Geico, added $1.2 billion to net income.

Buffett said most of Berkshire's companies continue to improve gradually along with the overall economy - except for those tied to residential construction. Berkshire subsidiaries that are particularly sensitive to the housing market, such as Acme Brick, Shaw Carpet, and Johns Manville haven't improved significantly since the recession slammed the home-building industry.

Berkshire's railroad and utility division, which includes Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and MidAmerican Energy, posted a big jump in profits. That unit will add $908 million to Berkshire's net income in the quarter, up from $505 million last year.

Berkshire recorded an $82 million loss on investments and derivatives in the first quarter. In 2010, Berkshire posted a $1.4 billion gain.

The true value of the derivatives won't be clear for at least several years, because they don't mature until at least a decade from now on average. But Berkshire is required to estimate their value every time the company reports earnings. Buffett has told investors he believes the contracts will ultimately be profitable because the premiums are being invested.

Berkshire's operating earnings were $1.59 billion in the first quarter, down 28 percent from a year ago. Buffett has said Berkshire's operating earnings are a better measure of how the company is performing in any given period, because those figures exclude the value of derivatives and investment gains or losses.

Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. Its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half of the company's net income. It also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

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