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Highlights of the January 2007 Issue of
MONEY
[Full stories also available online at www.CNNMoney.com ]
COVER STORY: Are You On Track? by Amanda Gengler, Josh Hyatt and Penelope Wang, page 68 You’ve got big goals, and you’re working hard to reach them. Yet there’s that little voice inside your head that wonders… are you on track? This month, MONEY will show you how you stack up against your peers and explain how to meet your biggest financial goals. Here’s what it takes to: • Be a millionaire • Launch your own business • Retire early • Send your kid to Harvard… or whatever his dream school is • Own your own dream home The 35 Most Outrageous Fees (and how to avoid them), by Carolyn Bigda, Kate Nugent, Donna Rosato and Cybele Weisser, page 81 Are you fed up with fees? Of course you are. Everywhere you turn, it seems, you spot some fee that annoys or enrages you. The sign of a fee that’s a pest, or even an outrage, is unreasonableness. Like when you suddenly have to pay for something that was always free. Or a fee that’s twice what competitors charge or one that’s buried in fine print. Or a charge that exists for no reason other than to keep you from doing what you want, like taking your business elsewhere. For tips on how to avoid, reduce or finesse 35 of the most irritating, exasperating, tear-your-hair-out fees in personal finance, read on. Amazing Travel Secrets, by Donna Rosato, page 90 Fly through security lines! Upgrade for free! Yes, you too can travel like a superhero! MONEY’s travel expert, Donna Roasto explains how to: • Speed through the airport • Score a room in a sold-out hotel • Upgrade your room without paying more • Get the most for your miles • Get a first-class seat for a coach price • Upgrade your rental car for free • Play the bumping game Kick the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Habit, by Josh Hyatt, page 35 Why is it that no matter how much you earn, you can’t make ends meet? About two-thirds of families need their next paycheck to meet their living expenses, according to a recent survey by the American Payroll Association. While many claim to be clueless about where all their money is going, it’s often easy enough for an objective observer to figure out. After all, easy credit makes blowing bucks at the mall (or anywhere else) painless—at least until you find yourself mired in high-interest debt. And once your lifestyle has been lifted, it becomes utterly unthinkable to live without satellite radio, TiVo, iTunes and Netflix. And is any suburban clan complete without a monstrous SUV in the driveway? (It can’t fit in the garage.) If you’re determined to stop living for every payday and start saving, MONEY offers five strategies that should help. Bonus Pointers, by Carolyn Bigda, page 24 What to do with that extra boost in your paycheck. After taking a touch off the top for fun money, put the rest to work. Allocate your dough according to the list below: 1. Bolster your emergency fund 2. Pay down high-interest debt 3. Invest for retirement DO IT NOW: Get Funded for College, by Barbara Bedway, page 43 College applications may be out the door, but your work isn’t done. Financial aid season starts Jan. 1. Follow these steps to make sure you collect all that you deserve. New Year, Same Old Promises, by Asa Fitch, page 25 This time, keep those money-related resolutions past Groundhog Day. An estimated 77 million adults in the U.S. say they’re likely to make financial resolutions this year. Yet, according to the results of a recent MONEY/ICR poll, only about one in four who’ve made such promises in the past have fully kept their word. And let’s face it, even that’s probably optimistic. So why is it so hard to stay on track? Alas, it seems that we’re wired to devalue long-term rewards when they involve immediate costs. There are tricks to making resolutions stick, behaviorists say. The most important: Downplay the up-front costs by making the goal realistic, routine and socially binding. MONEY offers these three steps: Make A Plan, Automate It, Have Someone Hold You To It. Tip of the Month: The Best College Savings Plan Is Getting Better, by Penelope Wang, page 23 The cost of a college education may be rising scary fast, but the act of saving for it is finally getting cheaper. Competition has broken out among providers of 529s—the tax-advantaged plans for funding college costs—and that can only be good for you. Study this formula for finding an A+ plan: Take another look at your state’s options; Check out the competition. Your Adult Kids Are Back. Now What?, by Jean Chatzky, page 32 Two of three grads return home today. Skip the you-got-it-good jokes and get set for a new stage of parenting. The balancing act between teaching your kids independence and keeping them safe isn’t easy. Do you let them climb to the top of the jungle gym? Are they old enough to venture into town to see a movie? What’s a reasonable curfew for a teenager—with a car? According to the parenting gurus whose books line my shelves, that’s supposed to be it. Once college commences, your job is pretty much done. But boomerang kids are now so common that social scientists have dubbed the phenomenon “adultolescence,” a period following college that can last five or more years. More than 65% of graduates are moving back home, compared with 53% just five years ago. And while the difficult stages of childhood may have had lasting emotional impact, this one has financial ramifications galore for you—about $5,000 a year, on average, in assistance—and your kid. Your challenge is to help her weather this period and come out the other side standing on her own two financial feet. Allow Me to Introduce Myself (Properly), by Sam Grobart, page 40 Being the new player on the team is tough, but you can make an easier entrance with these four steps. Making a first impression is tricky business, and overdoing it, even with the best of intentions, is a classic mistake. You have a critical window of opportunity when you start a new position; botch it and you can wind up paying (in loss of effectiveness, resentful co-workers and no lunch buddies) for months, maybe years. That’s why you have to follow these four rules from Day One: Tone Down the Star Quality; Don’t Be Mr. Personality; Get the Inside Scoop; Give ‘Em Something to Talk About. Hey Kids, Can We Talk…About Retirement?, by Walter Updegrave, page 48 Looking for a way to make a big difference in the financial lives of your young adult children? Help them get a head start on retirement. They can sure use a hand. Surveys by Hewitt Associates and others show that fewer than half of people in their twenties contribute to their 401(k). And almost 40% of those who do aren’t even socking away enough to get the full company match. That’s worrisome because even more than you, your kids will find that their ability to retire comfortably depends largely on the girth of their 401(k). Fortunately, a little parental guidance goes a long way, provided that you broach the subject in the right way. PLUS: START Is Your Life Too Risky? Jacob Hacker says we face too much financial uncertainty today. He’d like to fix that. PLAN How to Wrangle a Refund You want to return an item, but don’t have a receipt. What to do? Savings and Credit Online Banking Gets a Safety Check. HOME It’s Easy Being Green The eco-friendly house (and renovation) has gone mainstream. But is it really worth the cost? INVEST Time to See the World in a New Way International funds can do a lot for you, but it’s easy to head off in the wrong direction. Hint: Look beyond the biggest stocks in the biggest markets. Why the “January Effect” Is Just So Much Slush Small stocks do indeed heat up in the year’s first month, but you can’t actually profit from it. Pay Attention to Stocks That Get No Respect Depressed by the weak real estate market, Lowe’s and especially Home Depot look like long-term bargains. SPEND Field Test: Picks and Pans Whether you’re a chef or a dabbler, the right cookware set can keep things from boiling over. MONEY is available in digital format. To access this version go to http://digital.money.com # # # For further information please contact: Erin Clinton
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