Posts by Robert Pagliarini

Philippines Donate If you’ve seen any of the footage coming out of the Philippines, you know that Typhoon Haiyan has destroyed not just buildings, roads, and infrastructure, but lives. It is absolutely devastating. My non-profit, The Band of Brothers Foundation, has a school project in the Philippines on a little island that was ground zero…

Here are 6 things you need to know about Social Security in 2014. For clarity’s sake, here is a rundown of what is changing next year, and what isn’t. Social Security recipients are getting a raise – but not much of one. Next year, the average monthly Social Security payment will increase by $19 due…

SHUTDOWN DOESN’T DETER HIRING The Labor Department’s delayed October employment report showed the economy adding 204,000 new jobs last month. Analysts polled by Reuters had only expected a gain of 125,000. The unemployment rate actually rose to 7.3%, as those analysts had predicted. This was a nice Friday surprise for Wall Street, and it also…

The IRS has made minor adjustments to retirement plan contribution limits for 2014. As inflation has been tame in 2013, these COLAs aren’t dramatic; as a result, some retirement plans won’t see any next year. Here is a roundup of the changes for 2014. IRAs. Not much change here: the 2014 contribution limit is still…

At the end of October, the S&P 500 was up 24.39% in the past 12 months. What investor wouldn’t want gains like that? As uplifting as that market advance was for many, some baby boomers missed out on it. They were simply too afraid to get back into stocks – they couldn’t dispense with their…

Before retirement begins, gather what you need. Put as much documentation as you can in one place, for you and those you love. It could be a password-protected online vault; it could be a file cabinet; it could be a file folder. Regardless of what it is, by centralizing the location of important papers you…

Investors are looking everywhere for better yields – but how many of them look into Master Limited Partnerships? Many investors have never heard of MLPs. Others have, but assume they are complex and esoteric. In reality, investing in MLPs isn’t that mysterious. They trade on public exchanges, and today there are even MLP mutual funds…

AN ARGUMENT AGAINST TAPERING According to the Labor Department, the economy added 148,000 jobs in September. The jobless rate dipped to 7.2%, but job creation has averaged less than 150,000 for three straight months. (August job growth was revised up to 193,000, July job growth down to 89,000.) The University of Michigan’s final October consumer…

In January, will the federal government be shuttered again? At first thought, it seems inconceivable that Congress would want to go through another protracted fight like the one that shut things down for 16 days in October. That could occur, however, if a new budget panel doesn’t meet its deadline. Once more, the clock is…

Why reroute dividends back into your investments? Isn’t taking the income the preferred outcome when a dividend is produced? Retirees and pre-retirees are eager for dividend income in this era of historically low interest rates. Even so, the choice to buy more shares has merit for the long run. Reinvestment & compounding may have profoundly…