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Cheat Sheet Q & A-

Small business and the minimum wage:

Bottom Line:  I was asked by the Florida Director representing the NFIB to share this message with you.

"Small firms cannot pay a worker more than the value the worker brings to the firm.  Raising the minimum wage denies more low skilled workers the opportunity to get a job and receive ‘on the job’ training. It also denies workers seeking entry-level jobs employment, and puts them at an economic disadvantage. Raising the cost of labor raises the incentive for employers to find ways to use less labor.

"In short, raising the minimum wage would make hiring more expensive. Most small-business owners are still trying to climb out of a difficult economy and these types of costs and regulations imposed by government affect them disproportionately and hinder their ability to invest, expand and create jobs."

I don’t think I need to add much here.  Except to say that:

  1. The NFIB is right
  2. A minimum wage, which clearly indicates entry level work, was never designed to be a career.  That’s where the concept of the “living wage” for a family that the President cited falls apart
  3. If a minimum wage is kept intact in this country, it should be indexed to inflation so that we don’t end up in this fight every few years and the intent of the minimum wage, which is a cost of living argument is maintained

If you have a questions or topic you’d like me to address email me:  brianmudd@clearchannel.com

 

401k account review – what’s actually good performance for the past year?:

Bottom Line:  There is a report out of Fidelity today regarding the performance of the average 401k account for the past year.  The report showed generally good news.  Here are a couple of highlights:

  • Average 401k account grew by 12% over the past year
  • Average balance is $77,300

A 12% increase over the past year is certainly a positive but it raises (or I will) these questions:

  • Was that good relative performance (more on that in a moment)?
  • How much of that was simply your contributions and your company match?

I’ll answer those questions by first breaking out the performance of the major stock indexes over the past year (literally 2-15-12 to 2-14-13):

  • Dow up 9.3%
  • S&P 500 up 13.2%
  • Nasdaq up 9.7%

So the average person who is using equity investments in their 401k (likely mutual funds heavily invested in stocks) should have returned at least 10% on average from the stock market performance alone.  With an average balance increase of only 12% with an average balance of only $77,000 it tells me the following…:

  • Many people didn’t have effectively balanced portfolios to take advantage of the stock market returns
  • Many people aren’t fully taking advantage of the full company match
  • Many people still “set and forget” their accounts

This should serve as a reminder to look into your 401k account and see how you’ve been doing.  Too often as long as the number rises we look the other way.  If you’re invested in stock based investments in your 401k did you obtain at least 10% appreciation without the additional contributions?  If you didn’t you may not be invested in the best options available.

 

What does the housing recovery mean to job growth?:

Bottom Line:  A lot more going forward…  The housing recovery began in January 2012.  Over the past year the average monthly job gain directly related to the housing market has been 14,000.  What about the future? 


Goldman Sachs released its estimates for future housing related job growth and the answer is… over the near term they believe the number will increase to 25,000 and by the end of the year 30,000 per month. 

This clearly demonstrates Goldman’s view that the housing recovery will not only continue this year, but that it may actually continue to gain steam throughout 2013.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100457954

 

1st (known) functional body part has been printed:

Bottom Line:  We’re there already.  Where?  3D printing body parts.  It was only a matter of time and wow did we get there fast. 


The first know case was is a good news story.  A 5 year old boy, Liam, was born without fingers.  In this new age of 3D printing – he now does.  Liam has a robo hand that was created with a 3D printer.  If you’d like to see a picture of Liam and his hand click the click below.  This example is a good news story but you do wonder where this will go…  This technology can be wonderful and destructive.  Let’s hope good wins out. 

http://mashable.com/2013/02/13/robohand/

 

Have you vetted your mortgage broker?:

Bottom Line:  On Monday’s Cheat Sheet Q & A I addressed the question from a listener that had clearly been placed in the wrong mortgage product for her needs and desires.  Bankrate put out a story last night (below) that made me think about readdressing the mortgage broker situation.  It’s easy to be placed in the wrong mortgage products or pay more than needed in fee and / or interest rates when steered into the wrong products.  But why might this occur:

  • A lazy mortgage broker may steer you into the loan they think will be easiest to get approved rather than fighting for the best product on your behalf
  • A greedy mortgage broker might steer you into a product that will pay them the most to close
  • A greedy mortgage broker might get kick backs or incentives to steer loan to certain companies or people

I don’t mean to scare you.  Most are likely to be honest and trying to find you the best product but there are those in the industry that don’t have your best interest in mind and will take advantage of you given the opportunity.  So how do you vet?

  • Asking your mortgage broker for all available loan options you qualify for
  • Getting a 2nd opinion from another broker

Additionally I have two people I work with locally if you need a reference (and no I don’t benefit by sending them business) – just email me.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/protect-yourself-crooked-mortgage-broker-080028466.html

 

Florida to get money from Toyotarecall mess & you could too if your call was recalled: 

Bottom Line:  Toyota entered into a settlement with 29 states over the recall, acceleration gate stuff that occurred in 2009 & 2010.  Here are the important points:

  • Florida will get a little more than $1 million from Toyota over their handling of the recalls
  • There is a difference between “defective” autos and a standard recall – Toyota resold fixed the “defective” cars and resold them as Toyota Certified Cars – they’ll not be able to ever do that again, as it violates the Lemon law
  • Nationally $5 million is being allocated for the owners of those recalled vehicles (just the ones from that 2009 to 2010) period.  If you had a car recalled during that period – keep an eye on the mail box.  The check may be in the mail soon

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/02/14/toyota-recalls-attorney-general-settlement/1919883/