Start with $10,000 and retire a millionaire The 7% solution: Let money and time work for you, no matter your age

By Jonathan Burton, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The millionaire next door could be you.

All it takes is money and time; it always does. But what this really means is you have to save money over time, and that’s where so many of us struggle.

Reaching age 65 with $1 million saved requires strong discipline and sustained effort. You need to recognize the importance of starting early and putting money away regularly. But even if you don’t have as much time, you still have options other than a last-ditch Hail Mary pass.

Turn retirement savings into income

More than six in 10 investors say they're worried about being able to turn their assets into retirement income. MarketWatch's Andrea Coombes talks with Fidelity's Chris McDermott about how people should think about this vexing issue.

It can be done — even if you start with just $10,000.

“Whether you’re 25 or 45 or even 55, you’ve got to start somewhere,” said Nathan Dungan, founder of financial education firm Share Save Spend.

Call it a 7% solution. Assume a 7% inflation-adjusted return from a portfolio of U.S. and international stocks, bonds and cash — not overly aggressive, but an expected return that requires taking some risk — and living well within your means.

“In order to save, you have to understand your spending,” said Eric Kies, a financial adviser with The Planning Center, an investment manager in Moline, Ill. “Build some awareness of where you are now, where do you want to be, and what are you willing to do to get there.”

Of course there will be bumps along the road — potholes, even, that challenge your resolve. The financial markets love to shake and stir individual investors; don’t give up, because it may be hard to get back in.
Read more: Look for support from recovery, stocks.

“It’s less about where the money is invested and more about your ability to be disciplined,” Dungan said. “Ask yourself, What is realistic? What can I achieve? The best savers don’t have magical thinking about money. They’re honest with themselves.”

25 years old: Starting out

Forty years is a long time. So long, in fact, that it’s easy to put off saving for the future. There are bills to deal with, college debt to pay, stuff to buy, vacations to take, a career to build.

Savings — sure, but who has money for that? Indeed, one of every three Americans between the ages of 18 and 33 have no personal savings, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. What’s more, 53% of this age group has zero in the way of retirement savings.

They’re missing out, big time. If a 25-year old with $10,000 invested $320 a month at a 7% annual compound rate of return until they turned 65, they would wind up with $1 million.

“There’s a reason why Albert Einstein called compounding the most powerful force in the universe,” said Jonathan Guyton, a principal at investment manager Cornerstone Wealth Advisors in Minneapolis.

Whether or not Einstein really said this, the math speaks for itself. At 7%, your money doubles every 10 years.

If saving a few hundred bucks a month seems daunting, rest assured it only gets worse. One way to make the job easier is to rely on your job — specifically investing in your company’s 401(k) plan and enjoy whatever contribution match your employer offers. Think of it as free money.

Don’t have a 401(k)? Open a Roth IRA if you qualify, and automatically deposit money into it from your bank account to get tax-free growth.

Read More...

Basic Tasks To Complete So You Really Can Make Money On The Internet

By Jeff Schuman
Are you doing your best to make money on the internet, but have not achieved this goal yet? Then you need to learn the essential tasks that you need to complete so you really can make your goal a reality.

There are many tasks that have to be done when you are trying to earn money on the internet, but the ones below are the most imperative for all business owners to accomplish.

1. Provide yourself with a home business education - You have to learn how to make money online if you really want to make this goal real for you. There are a number of ways you can use to learn how to build any business on the internet.

You want to use one or a combination of these ways over time to learn all of the information you can fit into your head. The more knowledge you gain, the more your income is going to grow.

2. Market each and every day - Online marketing is the only way you will be able to get people online to know about your business. It is important to begin marketing your business from day one and continue to market each and every day.

The more you are able to market, the bigger your traffic to your site is going to become and this means the more money you are going to make.

3. Never give up - Building a business of your own on the internet is never an easy task to do, but it can be done with time, hard work and determination. Too many business owners give up before giving their business a chance at growth.

Do not make this same mistake because this is the best way to ensure failure of your business.

4. Put in the hard work needed every day - No one wants to believe that building an internet business is going to require hard work, but the simple truth is that it does. Any person that puts in the hard work every day to build their business will start getting results and earning money.

The harder you work on your business each day, the more success you are going to get from it and this also means the more income you will be able to generate with it. If you are afraid of hard work, then a business from home is probably not your best way to make an income.

Any business owner that can do these basic tasks will make money on the internet. You just have to be patient, persistent and do not let anything stop you from making your dream real. Read More...

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Top 7 Tips to Lighten Up Your Speaking

By Bill Lampton, Ph.D.

Roger Ailes, Chairman of Fox News, gained prominence first as a speech coach for top executives and political leaders—with Ronald Reagan becoming his best-known client. To make his coaching tips available for the general public, Ailes wrote a book titled You Are the Message. One of his chapters gives this counsel: “Lighten Up, You’re Wearing Everybody Out.” He asserts: “There’s nothing more tedious than a person who takes himself too seriously.” Consider whether you need to lighten up when you speak to audiences. Think about these strategies.

1. Lighten Up Your Attitude About the Potential Consequences of the Speech Situation.

Make an accurate—concentrate on that word accurate—assessment of the “worst case scenario” that might happen if you gave a speech that either bored, confused, or offended your audience. In your private thoughts, you might predict:

losing your current job
not getting the promotion you wanted
failing to close a sale
suffering permanent embarrassment among your colleagues
losing all confidence in your ability to persuade a group
demolishing your reputation

Now think this through. How many times have you seen speakers endure reprisals like those? Name the speakers, the incidents, and the disastrous aftermath. What, you’re drawing a blank now? Probably so, because those dire repercussions happen quite rarely. For the most part, our constituents—even our clients—allow us a bad presentation occasionally without labeling us a failure. Usually, they will forget your rambling remarks quickly, as they move on to their own demanding responsibilities.

2. Lighten Up When You Enter the Group You’re Going to Address.

I’m sure you have seen speakers dart through the group, sit near the podium, and start flipping through their notes repeatedly. Often they will have a pen in hand, so they can underline or scribble their additions to their text or notes. By contrast, the lightened up scene would have the speaker mingling with the crowd, introducing herself, sharing available refreshments in moderation, asking people their opinion about the speech topic, and catching names to use informally during the speech.

3. Lighten Up Your Nonverbal Message.

Even while your host is introducing you, make eye contact with your audience—all sections of it. Throughout your presentation, smile regularly, indicating you are enjoying the occasion and your own material. Become mobile as well, walking away from the lectern to demonstrate that you are not tied to a script or a physical prop.

4. Lighten Up Your Language.

Stilted language makes you come across too formally. Substitute well-understood, commonplace words and phrases for those that seem obsolete, even mysterious:

Replace “penultimate” with “next to last”
Replace “fortuitous” with “lucky”
Replace “optimal” with “ideal”
Replace “peruse” with “read”
Replace “precise” with “summary”
Replace “surrogate” with “substitute”
Replace “eschew” with “avoid”

What novelist Stephen King said about writing applies to speaking also: “Language does not always have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes.”

5. Lighten Up Your Content.

Keep in mind that even though your audience might expect you to provide specific information, particularly at a board meeting or training session, you will keep them interested and involved through tasteful humor, folksy illustrations, biographical snippets about people they respect, relevant quotations, and your own personal experiences.

6. Lighten Up Your Length.

Let’s assume you give a weekly update in a departmental staff meeting, which usually has you speaking for twenty minutes. Next week, cut your presentation time to ten minutes by omitting nonessential matters. Try speaking in bullet points instead of lengthy paragraphs. Abbreviate your report for a few weeks in succession, and your colleagues will become more attentive. Although they may not comment about your shortened speeches, they will appreciate your respect for their already jammed schedules.

7. Lighten Up Your Vocal Style.

From your first sentence throughout the conclusion, imagine that you are just talking with a friend while the two of you share coffee and informal chit chat. With your friend, you wouldn't attempt to sound like a network broadcaster, a voice over artist, an actor or actress, or a famous speaker you admire. No, you would speak without artifice, and sound like the person your friend is accustomed to hearing. To learn from Roger Ailes again: "The best communicators I've ever known never changed their style of delivery from one situation to another. They're the same whether having an intimate conversation, or being interviewed on a TV or talk show."

Bill Lampton, Ph.D., "Speech Coach for Champions," helps clients speak with "poise, power, and persuasion," so they will generate "attention, agreement, and action." His top-tier client list includes Gillette, Duracell, Procter and Gamble, Ritz-Carlton Cancun, and Celebrity Cruises. Visit his Web site to sign up for his complimentary online newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/otlcgz. Call him: 678-316-4300 Visit his Facebook business page: http://bit.ly/k69F5C. Read More...

Investing in the Globe's Emerging Bright Spots

By:rachel_koning_beals

Although emerging markets have taken a dive lately, the long-term outlook for these fast-growing countries remains favorable for investors, especially as growth in much of the developed world stalls. Investors should consider folding high-growth global exposure into a balanced portfolio.



Declining prices of emerging market stocks have clearly spooked some investors. In one example, South Korea's leading index, the Kospi, suffered one-day losses in early September of 6 percent, a drop that hadn't been seen since the 2008 global credit crisis.
[See 50 Best Funds for the Everyday Investor.]
"Decelerating growth, high inflation, and the implementation of tightening policies in some emerging markets also resulted in investors' nervousness," said Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets, part of Franklin Templeton Investments, in an August research note.

Last year, U.S. mutual-fund investors pumped nearly $96 billion into emerging-market funds, according to EPFR Global. Through July of this year, U.S. investors had pulled $12 billion from the fund category.
As some investors rush the exits, those with a longer horizon may find the category's cheaper point of entry attractive. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is trading at around 10 times 2012 analyst estimates, compared with a historical average of 11.5.
[See 6 Numbers Investors Should Follow.]
But price isn't everything. First, there is a positive fundamental backdrop to investing in emerging markets. In Asia, for example, the deleveraging house-cleaning seen after the region's late-1990s financial meltdown has led to healthier government and corporate balance sheets today. Much of the region now has large surpluses and hefty fiscal reserves because many Asian countries have become greater producers of goods, less reliant on imports, and citizens are bigger savers than spenders. This improves the credit ratings of governments and companies.
Middle class emerges. Clearly, there are bullish reasons to consider investing in emerging markets as a sector. Or, in the case of the Alpine Emerging Markets Real Estate Equity Fund (symbol AEMEX), investors might consider a particular economic area believed to be ripe for growth: housing and commercial property development and sales. The fund, which gives some 35 percent of holdings to Brazil's real estate-linked stocks, is up 21.9 percent over one year.

"Real estate provides a dynamic way to participate in structural long-term growth," says Joel Wells, a co-manager for the fund, which combs 1,000-plus companies in 45 countries for investing opportunities. "Because developed-market consumption has been stimulus-driven, it is not sustainable. There is a growing emerging market consumer glut due to a younger population, as more enter the workforce, and because of lower debt, presenting a much more stable platform. In Indonesia, for example, 60 percent of the population is below age 30."
Make no mistake that the health of emerging economies is intertwined with the economic strength of the developed nations that snatch up their products. Areas that make cars and technology, like South Korea, Taiwan and China, in particular, would be hurt if the United States slides back into recession or lingers just above recessionary levels, as more economists are predicting.
[See 7 Problems That Could Derail the Global Recovery.]
Economic growth in the Group of Seven largest economies excluding Japan will grow at an annualized rate of less than 1 percent in the second half of 2011, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in early September, a downgrade from its previous view. The International Monetary Fund is predicting emerging market growth closer to 6 percent.
"Growth is turning out to be much slower than we thought three months ago, and the risk of hitting patches of negative growth going forward has gone up," OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan said during a presentation of the OECD's Interim Economic Assessment.
Global ripples. "Economic giants like China and India, with their increasing demand for commodities and natural resources, play a pivotal role for growth in the region. In Southeast Asia, countries like Thailand and Indonesia have seen very rapid growth in the last decade, and frontier markets like Vietnam and Laos, with their strong growth potential, are also very interesting to us," says Templeton's Mobius. "We are very interested in Indonesia, a large country with increasing per capita income. We have also seen a continuing evolution toward broader and deeper capital markets in Thailand."
[See 3 Reasons to Invest in the Frontier Markets.]

South Korea is dependent on foreign trade with established economies and growing emerging markets such as China; emerging-market partners buy 70 percent of Korea's exports.
"We see inflation, especially rising food prices, and higher interest rates as a few key risks to growth in Asia today," Mobius said. There are inflation risks in Brazil, China, and India, in particular, where prospects for higher interest rates to combat inflation remain. Brazil is expected to grow 4 percent this year. China's economy is advancing at a 9 percent clip, and India is growing at 7 percent.
But inflation, too, should be held back by slower global growth, says Wells. Important for investors is the fact that emerging-market central banks have some wiggle room with interest rates.
Here's a snapshot of U.S. News's top-ranked funds in the emerging markets category, beginning with the highest score. (See more on these funds and others here.)
DFA Emerging Markets Portfolio (DFEMX): up 0.6 percent year-to-date, up 19 percent over one year; 0.6 percent expense ratio; low risk rating within category; DFA also manages a top-ranked Emerging Markets Core Equity Fund (DFCEX) and an Emerging Markets Small Cap Portfolio (DEMSX).

Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund (ODMAX): down 2.8 percent year-to-date, up 16.7 percent over one year; 1.35 percent expense ratio; below-average risk rating within category.
Lazard Funds Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio (LZEMX): down 0.4 percent year-to-date, up 13.9 percent over one year; 1.14 percent expense ratio; average risk rating within category.
Virtus Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund (HEMZX): up 6.3 percent year-to-date, up 21.7 percent over one year; 1.66 percent expense ratio; low risk rating within category.
Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund (WAEMX): up 4.3 percent year-to-date, up 28.9 percent over one year; 2.06 percent expense ratio; high risk rating within category. Read More...

Obama Tells Gay Activists Opponents Want to Turn ‘Clock Back’

By Kate Andersen Brower

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama told the largest U.S. gay-rights group that the progress made on policies that have benefited the gay community still is threatened by opponents who want to “turn the clock back.”

With the presidential election 13 months away, Obama listed the measures taken since he’s been in office, including repeal of the prohibition against gays serving openly in the military, passage of a hate-crimes law, and policies that expand the rights of same-sex couples. The battle, he said, isn’t over.

“This is a contest of values, that’s what’s at stake here, this is a fundamental debate about who we are as a nation,” Obama said in his address to the Human Rights Campaign national dinner in Washington, delivering his second keynote address to the group.

Obama is seeking to revive enthusiasm among his core supporters before the 2012 elections amid concern about the economy and his struggle with Congress over how to trim the nation’s debt. The U.S. economy grew at a 1.3 percent pace in the second quarter and unemployment is forecast by the White House to average 9.1 percent this year.

Obama mixed a recitation of his records on gay rights with a pitch for the $447 billion package of tax cuts and spending he’s proposed to spur hiring and criticism of the Republicans in Congress and those vying for their party’s nomination to challenge him next year.

Republican Candidates

“We believe in a big America,” he said, that doesn’t let roads and schools crumble.

Without naming them directly, Obama criticized the nine Republican presidential candidates for remaining silent at a Sept. 22 debate when a question asked by a gay soldier from Iraq was booed by several members of the audience.

“We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders, one of whom could end up being the president of the United States, being silent when an American soldier is booed,” he said. “You want to be commander-in-chief you can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States even when it’s not politically convenient.”

About 3,000 people attended the dinner at the convention center in downtown Washington. Obama drew his biggest cheers from the crowd that he followed through on a promise he made to them two years ago to end the military policy on gays known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“No one has to live a lie to serve the country they love,” he said, drawing a standing ovation.

Jobs Plan

He appealed to them to support his jobs plan and put pressure on lawmakers to pass it.

“HRC you know how Congress works, I’m counting on you to have my back,” he said.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, made a similar pitch in introducing the president.

“No president has done more to improve the lives of LGBT people than President Obama,” Solmonese said. “President Barack Obama has stood with us, ladies and gentlemen, this is our moment to stand with him.”

John Aravosis, the founder of the AMERICAblog website and an Obama supporter in 2008 questioned whether Obama can again generate the interest and support that fueled his first presidential campaign.

“We know democratic constituencies across the board are less enthusiastic -- the president doesn’t really invest in long term political relationships,” Aravosis said. Still, he said he thinks the gay community may be more willing to give than other Democratic activists because of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t tell, which he said is “something real.”

“The question for people on the left is whether his move back to the base is a temporary arrangement,” he said.

--With assistance from Dena Levitz and David Lerman in Washington. Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Paul Tighe Read More...

Payrolls Probably Stagnated in September: U.S. Economy Preview

By Bob Willis

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gains in U.S. payrolls in September were probably too small to reduce joblessness and manufacturing almost stalled as concern mounted that the global recovery was losing momentum, economists said before reports this week.

Employment climbed by 50,000 workers after no change in August, according to the median forecast of 67 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Labor Department data Oct. 7. Factories grew at the slowest pace since July 2009, a survey of purchasing managers may show tomorrow.

The European debt crisis, political haggling in the U.S. and a plunge in stock prices have led to a drop in consumer and business confidence that may keep hurting spending and hiring. The risk that the world’s largest economy may fall back into a recession has prompted the Federal Reserve and President Barack Obama to announce further measures to spur the expansion.

“The first things employers tend to do when the outlook weakens is they stop hiring,” said Julia Coronado, chief economist for North America at BNP Paribas in New York. “A lot of indicators are suggesting further weakening in the labor market.”

The unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in September for a third month, according to the survey median.

Private payrolls, which exclude government jobs, rose 90,000 after a gain of 17,000 in the prior month, economists forecast the employment report will also show.

Verizon, Minnesota

While a labor dispute at Verizon Communications Inc. depressed employment in August, its resolution may have added about 45,000 workers back to payrolls last month, according to economists like John Herrmann at State Street Global Markets in Boston.

Conversely, the return of state government workers in Minnesota lifted the August payroll count by 23,000, a boost that wasn’t repeated last month.

The economy expanded at a 1.3 percent pace in the second quarter following a 0.4 percent gain in the first three months of the year, the weakest performance in two years, the Commerce Department reported last week. Consumer spending grew 0.7 percent, the least since the last three months of 2009.

Manufacturing, a stalwart of the expansion, barely grew last month, a report may show Oct. 3. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index fell to 50.3 from 50.6 in August, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between contraction and expansion.

Orders Stall

A Commerce Department report the following day may show factory orders were little changed in August after a 2.4 percent gain the prior month, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Services, which make up about 90 percent of the economy, probably also slowed last month, another report may show on Oct. 5. ISM’s non-manufacturing index fell to 52.8 from 53.3 in August, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The projected gain in total payrolls would bring the average from July through September to 45,000, down from 97,000 in the second quarter and 166,000 in the first three months of the year.

Sustained increases of around 200,000 a month are needed to bring unemployment down about a percentage point over a year, according to Eric Green, chief market economist at TD Securities Inc. in New York.

Through August, the economy had recovered about 1.9 million of the 8.75 million jobs lost as a result of the 18-month recession that ended in June 2009.

Fed’s View

“Economic growth remains slow,” Fed policy makers said Sept. 21 as they announced a plan to bring down longer-term lending rates. While officials said they “expect some pickup in the pace of recovery over coming quarters,” they anticipate “the unemployment rate will decline only gradually.”

Obama last month proposed a $447 billion jobs plan that economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast would help avoid a return to recession by maintaining growth and pushing down the unemployment rate next year.

Investors have turned more pessimistic. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index had its biggest quarterly drop from July through September since 2008.

Illinois and New York are among states that are bracing for job cuts to avoid partial government shutdowns. Illinois will have to lay off more than 1,900 state employees and close seven facilities to avoid a partial government shutdown next spring, Democratic Governor Pat Quinn said Sept. 9.

Citigroup Inc., the third-biggest U.S. bank, is among firms that have turned more cautious about hiring. It said last month it will limit hiring to only “critical” jobs as the economic slowdown continues and revenue slumps.

“We are currently only filling positions we believe are critical to the line of business or function,” Shannon Bell, a spokeswoman for the New York-based bank, said in an interview Sept. 15.

--With assistance from Chris Middleton in Washington. Editors: Carlos Torres, Vince Golle Read More...