Wage Watch, NASDAQ 5000 and Sock Puppets

After the stronger than expected January employment report, economists and investors enter the new month anticipating another solid, though not quite as good February reading on jobs. The dual headwinds of bad weather and the West Coast port labor dispute likely kept job creation to 230,000, below the average monthly gain of 336,000 over the preceding three months. The retreat does not auger bad times, rather a return to more sustainable levels. While job creation is important, there will likely be more attention focused on hourly wages. After stagnating throughout the recovery, average hourly wages jumped by 0.5 percent in January, the best month over month increase since November 2008. With prices remaining low, wages do not need to rise too much to amount to a decent bump in a worker’s take-home. In the past 12 months ending January, real (after inflation) hourly wages were up 2.4 percent and that was before Wal-Mart and Target announced that each would increase their minimum pay to employees.

With regard to those much-ballyhooed increases, they are good news, but let’s take them for what they are: small increases in a sector that has the lowest hourly rate of pay. According to the most recent government data, the average hourly retail worker in a non-supervisory role earns $14.65, but that includes people who work at auto dealers and other outlets that pay more than traditional retailers. The average hourly pay is $9.93 for cashiers and low-level retail sales staff, according to Hay Group's survey of 140 retailers with annual sales of $500 million. The same goes for the food service industry, where wages increased at an annualized pace of 3 percent in the last half of 2014. Nonsupervisory food-service employees earned $11.11 an hour last year, compared to the national mean of $20.61.

What economists and employees are looking for in the upcoming jobs reports this year is a more broad-based wage increase that lifts American workers out of the recession/recovery doldrums. With the economy percolating at a decent pace, there is finally hope that those elusive gains should not be too far behind.

Beyond the jobs report, investors will be on NASDAQ 5000 watch. It has been 15 years since the NASDAQ composite first crossed the magical mark and last week, it came within 12 points, before slipping back. It will be historic to reclaim the level, but (here comes the buzz-kill alert) if you adjust for inflation (about 2.2 percent over the last 15 years), NASDAQ 5000 is actually NASDAQ 7000 (6,941 to be exact).

Of course the poster child for the dot-com boom and bust was Pets.com and its hysterical sock puppet. (Hat tip to CBS Producer Kim, who found this great montage!) The company was founded in 1998 and just one year later, the Pets.com mascot got its own balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day and then appeared in a Super Bowl spot in January 2000. Pets.com raised $82.5 million in an initial public offering in February, rose to a high of $14 and nine months later the company melted down and everyone’s favorite sock puppet went to doggy heaven.

MARKETS: It was a strong month for stocks, with the S&P 500 tallying its best monthly percentage gain since Oct 2011.

• DJIA: 18,132, down 0.04% on week, up 5.6% on month, up 1.7% YTD
• S&P 500: 2104, down 0.3% on week, up 5.5% on month, up 2.2% YTD
• NASDAQ: 4963 up 0.2% on week, up 7.1% on month, up 4.8% YTD
• Russell 2000: 1233, up 0.1% on week, up 5.8% on month, up 2.4% YTD
• 10-Year Treasury yield: 2.00% (from 2.14% a week ago)
• April Crude Oil: $49.76, down 2.1% on week, up 3.2% on month
• April Gold: $1,213.10, up 0.7% on week, down 5% on month
• AAA Nat'l avg for gallon of regular Gas: $2.40 (from $2.28 week ago, $3.45 a year ago)

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Mon 3/2:

8:30 Personal Income and Spending

9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index

10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index

10:00 Construction Spending

Tues 3/3:

Best Buy

Motor Vehicle Sales

Weds 3/4:

Abercrombie & Fitch

8:15 ADP Private Sector Jobs Report

10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index

2:00 Fed Beige Book

Thurs 3/5:

ECB outlines bond buying program

8:30 Productivity

10:00 Factory Orders

Fri 3/6:

Staples

8:30 February Employment Report

3:00 Consumer Credit

#208 Taxes, RMDs, Target Date Funds

As we say goodbye (and good riddance!) to February, there were lots of questions about tax preparation, Required Minimum Distributions and whether or not to use target date funds. Thanks so much to Peter, Mike and Lisa, all of who offered extra information for our listeners!

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Here was the CBS This Morning segment, where we celebrated America Saves Week and in case you missed it, President Obama dropped the F-Word last week!

Not that one, but he endorsed a Department of Labor proposal, which would require brokers to act in a customer’s best interest—the so-called FIDUCIARY duty—when working with retirement investors. We talk a lot about fiduciaries on the show, so we'll be keeping you posted on what happens next.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Obama Endorses Fiduciary Standard for Retirement Accounts

The White House wants to change the way brokers provide advice on retirement accounts. President Obama endorsed a Department of Labor proposal, which would require brokers to act in a customer’s best interest—the so-called FIDUCIARY duty—when working with retirement investors. The rule change is intended to crack down on “backdoor payments and hidden fees,” which cost retirement savers $8 - $17 billion a year, according to Jason Furman, chairman of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. As you might expect, the financial services industry is not happy about the potential shift. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association says "This proposal would lead to a number of negative consequences for individual investors."

I know what you're thinking: How could a rule that puts my interests first, be bad? Well, according to the SEC, the idea that the industry is plagued by conflicts of interest, "has nowhere been proven," and would effectively overhaul the entire regulatory regime, ignoring "eight decades of securities laws and regulations.  The real kicker, however, is that this is not a Commission rulemaking." This is a not-so-subtle shot at the Department of Labor, which in issuing this rule change, is stomping on SEC territory. Nothing like an inter-departmental catfight!

In fact, SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher thinks that it is "curious" that the DOL didn't consult with the SEC, especially given that the SEC maintains comprehensive oversight authority with respect to the investment advisers and broker-dealers who would be impacted by the change. Gallagher underscores that the DOL ignores SEC rules, which already address underlying conflicts of interest. But here's the nut of the problem, according to the SEC:  there is no evidence that the industry is plagued by conflicts of interest and the new rules could limit investor access to qualified investment advice and investment products.

The proposal will likely be put out for public comment for several months, so for those who need a refresher on investment professionals and their designations, here are some terms to consider:

Investment advisor: If the advisor is registered as an IA, he or she owes you a fiduciary duty, which is a fancy way of saying that she must put your needs first. Investment professionals who aren't fiduciaries are held to a lesser standard, called “suitability,” which means that anything they sell you has to be appropriate for you, though not necessarily in your best interest.

CFP® certification: The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) requires candidates to meet what it calls “the four Es”: Education (Education (through one of several approved methods, must demonstrate the ability to create, deliver and monitor a comprehensive financial plan, covering investment, insurance, estate, retirement, education and ethics), Examination (a 10-hour exam given over a day and a half), Experience (three years of full-time, relevant personal financial planning experience required) and Ethics (disclosure of any criminal, civil, governmental, or self-regulatory agency proceeding or inquiry). CFPs must adhere to the fiduciary standard.

CPA Personal Financial Specialist (PFS): The American Institute of CPAs® offers a separate financial planning designation. In addition to already being a licensed CPA, a CPA/PFS candidate must earn a minimum of 75 hours of personal financial planning education and have two years of full-time business or teaching experience (or 3,000 hours equivalent) in personal financial planning, all within the five year period preceding the date of the PFS application. They must also pass an approved Personal Financial Planner exam.

Membership in the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA): NAPFA professionals must be RIAs and must also have either the CFP or CPA-PFS designation. Additionally, NAPFA advisers are fee-only, which means that they do not accept commissions or any additional fees from outside sources for the recommendations they make. In addition to being fee-only, NAPFA advisers must provide information on their background, experience, education and credentials, and are required to submit a financial plan to a peer review. After acceptance into NAPFA, members must fulfill continuing education requirements.

If you are interested in finding a financial advisor, here are some resources:

• FPA Planner search
• Find a CFP 
• NAPFA Advisor

Janet Yellen's 7-Year Itch

Are Fed officials getting the seven-year itch? The central bankers have kept short-term interest rates (the federal funds rate) near zero since December 2008. Back then, the economy was reeling from the financial crisis and was one year into what would become the most severe recession since the Great Depression. Slashing interest rates and purchasing bonds were strategies meant to spur lending and stimulate the economy. Fast-forward seven years and the U.S. economy finally is firming -- growth is accelerating to about 3 percent annually and job creation has picked up. The improvement has allowed the Fed to conclude its bond-buying plan and would seem to indicate that ultra-low rates are no longer necessary. But in minutes from the last Fed policy meeting, officials are struggling to agree on the timing and pace of interest-rate increases, not to mention the best way to communicate their intentions to the public.

At issue is the core problem with normalizing monetary policy: waiting too long to increase rates could lead to inflation and/or could create financial asset bubbles, while moving too quickly could snuff out the recovery. With all of the uncertainty swirling, it is great timing that Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will testify before Congress this week on the outlook for the economy and monetary policy.

Fed officials and the rest of the investment community were relieved to learn that the Eurozone approved a four-month extension on Greece’s €240 billion ($273 billion) bailout plan, which was set to expire on February 28^th. The Greek government must submit details by Monday on the reform and budgetary measures it plans to take in order to seal the deal. There are some indications that European officials will be a bit more lenient on the terms going forward, but nothing is set in stone yet.

The extension sets up a looming summer deadline, because it will expire before a €7 billion ECB bond repayment is due. Additionally, there is the overarching concern that anything that occurs in the near-term is noise, because few believe that Greece’s debts, worth over 175 percent of GDP, will ever be repaid in full. That’s why there have been more calls for Greece to leave the euro zone -- the so-called “Grexit”.

A Grexit seems far less ominous today than it would have five years ago. But there would be losers, including euro zone countries, which own about 60 percent of Greece’s debt, the IMF, which holds about 10 percent and the ECB has 8 percent and private investors, who hold about 17 percent. And no doubt there would also be a negative market reaction. But with some time, there could be a more thoughtful way to manage the exit process and limit the systemic repercussions.

Finally, get ready for America Saves Week, an annual opportunity for organizations to promote good savings behavior and a chance for individuals to assess their own saving status. Only about half of Americans actually have a savings plan with specific goals, so clearly there’s a long way to go to get people on board with the celebration.

MARKETS: The temporary Greek deal was enough to push the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 to new records, while the NASDAQ inched within 1.9 percent of its all time high of 5,048 reached in March 2000.

• DJIA: 18,140, up 0.7% on week, up 1.8% YTD
• S&P 500: 2110, up 0.6% on week, up 2.5% YTD
• NASDAQ: 4,956 up 1.3% on week, up 4.6% YTD
• Russell 2000: 1231, up 2.2% on week, up 2.3% YTD
• 10-Year Treasury yield: 2.14% (from 2.02% a week ago)
• April Crude Oil: $50.34, down 4.6% on week
• April Gold: $1,204.90, down 1.8% on week
• AAA Nat'l avg for gallon of regular Gas: $2.25 (from $2.17 week ago, $3.39 a year ago)

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Mon 2/23:

8:30 Chicago Fed Nat'l Activity Index

10:00 Existing Home Sales

10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey

Tues 2/24:

Home Depot, Hewlett-Packard, Macy's

9:00 Case Shiller Home Price Index

10:00 Consumer Confidence

10:00 Janet Yellen testifies before Senate Banking Committee

Weds 2/25:

10:00 New Home Sales

10:00 Janet Yellen testifies before House Financial Services Committee

Thurs 2/26:

8:30 CPI

8:30 Durable Goods Orders

Fri 2/27:

8:30 Q4 GDP (2^nd estimate)

9:45 Chicago PMI

10:00 Consumer Sentiment

10:00 Pending Home Sales Index

#207 Zero Tax in Retirement

CFP and CPA Michael Goodman, President of Wealthstream Advisors, wants everyone to strive to pay ZERO taxes in retirement. He says that the ability to do "micro" Roth conversions and to utilize  IRA Charitable Rollovers, which allow taxpayers age 70 ½ or older to make tax-free charitable gifts of up to $100,000 per year directly from their Individual Retirement Accounts to eligible charities, including colleges, universities and independent schools, could help many minimize taxes during retirement.

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Michael's appearance was perfect for this show, because Neil, Don, Claudio, Peter, Richard and Warren all asked about retirement accounts. We also fielded questions about Required Minimum Distributions, so once again, here's the FINRA RMD calculator that I mentioned.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

#206 Valentine's Day with IRA Expert Ed Slott

Retirement guru Ed Slott returns to the program to offer great advice during the hectic tax prep season: ABC or Always Be Contributing (to retirement!) While he favors a Roth over a traditional IRA, he just wants you to put yourself first in order to navigate this YOYO (You're On Your Own) environment.

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Ed also provided analysis of President Obama's budget and its implications for owners of Roth IRA accounts; potential changes to contribution rules that could allow some taxpayers to make after-tax contributions (aka the "Mega-Backdoor-Roth"); and why we all need to be prepared for stealth tax increases in the future.

For more great information, check out Ed's website: IRAHelp.com.

Chuck from MD and his wife are planning to retire in a few years and wanted a strategy for downsizing; Marie asked about taking her Required Minimum Distribution -- here's the FINRA RMD calculator that I mentioned; and Charles asked whether he should sell a large position in a single stock.

"A Proud Grandmother" inquired about the best graduation gift and Remy is considering the best way to help out parents' in need.

Happy Valentine's Day! To celebrate, here a fun CBS This Morning segment: How to Talk to your Spouse about Money!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Attack Your Taxes: Deductions, Credits, IRAs

In a separate post, I outlined "What’s New for 2014 Tax Filing Season". Today, we return to tax basics, starting with tax credits, which provide a dollar-for dollar reduction of your income tax liability. Here are some of the most popular and widely available credits:

• The Child Tax Credit: Up to $1,000 for each qualifying child who was under the age of 17 at the end of 2014. This credit can be claimed in addition to the credit for child and dependent care expenses, but phases out for married couples earning over $110,000 ($75,000 for singles). (IRS Publication 972.)
• The Child and Dependent Care Credit: Available if you pay someone to care for your dependent that is under age 13, so that you can work or look for a job. The credit is 20 to 35 percent of your child-care expenses up to $6,000 -- the size of your credit depends on your income. (IRS Publication 503.)
• The Earned Income Tax Credit: A refundable credit for married couples with 2014 earned income under $52,427 and singles who made less than $46,997. The more children you have, the more money you receive. Your income and family size determine the amount of the credit, but the maximum credit is $6,143 this year. (IRS Publication 596.)
• The American Opportunity Tax Credit: A refundable tax credit for undergraduate college education expenses that was extended through December 2017. The credit modifies the Hope Credit for higher education expenses, making it available to a broader range of taxpayers, including many with higher incomes and those who owe no tax. The full maximum annual credit of $2,500 per student is available to individuals, whose modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is $80,000 or less, or $160,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return.
• Lifetime learning credit income limits: In order to claim a lifetime learning credit, your MAGI must be less than $63,000 ($127,000 MFJ).

Deductions: Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction rather than itemizing deductions. If your deductible expenses exceed the 2014 standard deduction limits of $6,200 for single and $12,400 MFJ, you should itemize and grab these write-offs:

• Miscellaneous deductions: Tax-preparation fees, job-hunting expenses, business car expenses, and professional dues are deductible if they total more than two percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI).
• Medical and dental expenses: You can deduct only the part of your medical and dental expenses that exceed 10 percent of your AGI or 7.5 percent if either you or your spouse is age 65 or older.
• Standard mileage rates: The rate for business use of your vehicle is 56 cents per mile. The rate for use of your vehicle to get medical care or move is increased to 23.5 cents per mile. The rate of 14 cents per mile for charitable use is unchanged.

Tax time also means scrambling to make contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). As a reminder, when you contribute to a traditional IRA, you will snag a tax deduction right now, but will pay tax on the money when you withdraw it during retirement. With a Roth, you are not entitled to a tax deduction today, but when you withdraw the money later, there is NO tax due.

For tax year 2014, your total contributions to all of your traditional and Roth IRAs cannot be more than: $5,500 ($6,500 if you’re age 50 or older), or your taxable compensation for the year, if your compensation was less than this dollar limit. One last note: If you're covered by a retirement plan at work, you may also be able to deduct contributions to an IRA, subject to income limits (single: $60,000-$70,000, MFJ $96,000-$116,000).

Tools/Info: The IRS provides free tax prep software (“Free File”) to taxpayers whose incomes are $60,000 or less; electronic e-filing is available to all taxpayers, regardless of income; and the IRS2Go mobile app or the Where’s My Refund? tools allow you to track refunds within 24 hours after the IRS has received an e-filed return or within four weeks after you have mailed a paper return.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (VITA/TCE): Low-and moderate-income taxpayers can get help for free by visiting one of the more than 12,000 community-based tax help sites staffed by more than 90,000 volunteers. To find the nearest site, use the VITA/TCE Site Locator.

Attack Your Taxes: What’s New for 2014 Filing

The 2014 tax filing season officially opened on January 20^th and by now, you should have received all of the documents necessary to attack your taxes. For the technophobes out there, the IRS has a reminder: filing electronically is the most accurate and fastest way to get a refund. The error rate for electronically filed returns is less than one percent, compared to 20 percent for paper returns. The IRS said that the average tax refund for past few years has been about $3,000 and like last year, the IRS expects to issue more than nine out of 10 refunds within 21 days. Because of IRS budget cuts, it will likely take an additional week or more to process paper returns, which means that the IRS will likely issue those refunds in seven weeks or more.

And another outcome of the smaller IRS staff: the agency is unlikely to answer even half the telephone calls it receives and taxpayers who miraculously manage to get through, are expected to wait on hold for 30 minutes on average and considerably longer at peak times. In other words, try to use IRS.gov.

Now, on to the changes for this filing season! This year’s return will include new questions to incorporate provisions of the Affordable Care Act (or ACA). According to the IRS, there are four basic categories when it comes to the ACA:

1. Covered with qualifying insurance (employer-provided coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, Cobra): The IRS has said that the majority of taxpayers - more than three out of four – will fall into this category. These people will simply check a box acknowledging coverage.
2. Qualifies for an exemption: Those who can not afford coverage, are not U.S. citizens, had a gap in coverage for less than three consecutive months, are a member of a recognized religious sect with objections to health insurance, are a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe are among those who qualify for exemptions. (Go here to review the full list of exemptions.) Eligible taxpayers need to complete the new IRS Form 8965.
3. Will make the Individual Shared Responsibility Payment: If you don’t have qualifying coverage and do not qualify for an exemption, you have to pay the greater of: $95 per uninsured adult in each household, capped at $285 per household or one percent of household income.
4. Will Claim Premium Tax Credit: If you received healthcare through the marketplace and qualified for atax credit, you should have received tax form 1095A by now, which contains details of your coverage and premium tax credit. If you don’t receive the form or misplace it, the federal and most state exchanges should make them available online. If you benefited from advance payments of the premium tax credit, you may see a different tax refund/liability than you were expecting. Use IRS Form 8962 to calculate the premium tax credit and reconcile the credit with any advance payments.

With ACA out of the way, the rest of your taxes should be a breeze, because most of the rest of the changes are inflation adjustments to various thresholds. That’s because at the end of 2014, Congress reauthorized more than 50 tax breaks (the so-called “extenders” or The Tax Increase Prevention Act), including:

• The deduction for state and local sales taxes: The option to deduct state and local sales taxes instead of deducting state and local income taxes could be beneficial those who live in no-income tax states. If you didn’t keep your sales-tax receipts, use the IRS’s sales tax deduction estimator
• Above-the-line deduction of up to $4,000 for higher education expenses
• $250 above-the-line deduction for teachers’ supplies
• The ability to exclude up to $2 million in discharge of residential mortgage indebtedness from gross income
• The deduction for mortgage insurance premiums
• Energy-efficient home improvements tax credit
• Tax-free distributions from an Individual Retirement Account for charitable purposes for taxpayers over 70 ½.

This is just the beginning – are we having fun yet? Stay tuned for another post, where I will review deductions, credits and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

Jan Jobs: A Good Start to 2015

The economy added 257,000 jobs in January, slightly ahead of expectations; and the previous two months were revised higher, producing an additional 147,000 positions than the government previously reported. The economy has created more than a million new jobs in the last three months alone. That's the strongest pace of job growth we've seen since 1997. The unemployment rate edged up to 5.7 percent, but did so for the right reason, as more people entered the labor force in search of work. Yes, the participation rate, which tallies the share of Americans who are employed or are actively seeking employment, is still low—just 62.9 percent.

Before the recession started in late 2007, 66 percent of the working age population either had a job or was looking for one. Economists estimate about half of the drop is attributed to baby boomers retiring and the other half is likely due to the severity of the recession. Let’s hope the small 0.2 percent increase is the beginning of a more positive trend.

Perhaps the best part of the report was the nascent sign that American workers could start to earn more money in 2015. Average hourly wages jumped by 0.5 percent in January, the best month over month increase since November 2008. The 12-month increase at 2.2 percent, which is close to a post-recession high. While the gain still lags the 3 to 3.5 percent raises that employees usually earn during recoveries, with inflation running low, even the small increase could help Americans feel more financial secure.

Of course economists are hopeful that with that with their new-found dough, Americans will go on a spending spree and spur additional economic growth. The data have been mixed on that front, though. Although consumer spending jumped by 4.3 percent in the final three months of last year, it looks like it slowed down in December. This caused some concern among analysts, who are worried that consumers were not willing to (gasp!) spend freely.

If I may don my CFP® cap for a moment, I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world if more Americans were inclined to save, especially after the painful lessons of the recession. The trade-off between the economic recovery suffering a bit at the expense of households strengthening their balance sheets would seem to be a good one over the long term. Time will tell whether or not people will return to the great American pastime of spending, but for now, wage increases should improve both consumers and the economy this year.

Meanwhile, there seemed to be a lot of hand wringing over gas prices (finally) rising last week. The Energy Information Administration's weekly survey showed the U.S. average regular retail gasoline price increased for the first time in 18 weeks. Wait, wasn’t the massive drop in oil and gas prices a sign that the global economy was headed into the abyss? Not so fast, according to Capital Economics, whose analysts say “The recent pick-up in oil prices has the potential to develop into a Goldilocks’ scenario: prices high enough to keep most oil producers in business, but low enough to provide a substantial boost to global economic activity.”

Finally, there were two stories about identity theft last week and we covered both of them on CBS This Morning: “Anthem Health Insurance Data Breach” and “TurboTax Halts and Resumes Filing of State Returns”. Check out this post to learn “How to Guard Against Identity Theft”

MARKETS:

• DJIA: 17,824, up 3.8% on week, up 0.01% YTD (biggest weekly % gain since Jan 2013)
• S&P 500: 2055, up 3% on week, down 0.2% YTD
• NASDAQ: 4,744 up 2.4% on week, up 0.2% YTD
• Russell 2000: 1205, up 3.4% on week, up 0.1% YTD
• 10-Year Treasury yield: 1.94% (from 1.68% a week ago; largest one-week increase since June 2013)
• March Crude Oil: $51.69, up 7.2% on week, biggest weekly % gain since Feb 2011
• February Gold: $1,234.60, down 3.5% on week
• AAA Nat'l average price for gallon of regular Gas: $2.17 (from $2.05 week ago, $3.27 a year ago)

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Mon 2/9:

Hasbro

Tues 2/10:

Coca-Cola

9:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index

10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

Weds 2/11:

AOL, Cheesecake Factory, Cisco, Panera, Pepsi, Time Warner

Thurs 2/12:

CBS, Kellogg, Kraft, Zynga

8:30 Weekly Jobless Claims

8:30 Retail Sales

10:00 Business Inventories

Fri 2/13:

8:30 Import/Export Prices

10:00 Consumer Sentiment

#205 Do You Need a Financial Advisor?

Not everyone needs to pay top-dollar for financial advice. Some may be better off paying for a plan, which they execute themselves. Others may want to use services like those offered by our guest Mitch Tuchman (ENCORE BROADCAST!), founder of MarketRiders.com and ReBalance-IRA.com.

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Ross is nearing retirement and thinks that he may need some help managing his $1.5 million nest egg. After interviewing a number of fiduciary advisors (these are the professionals who must put your interests first), he is having a hard time determining which one is best for him. The answer may surprise you.

Bryce and his wife are weighing different options for an upcoming renovation; Marty has an extra $10K (or so he thinks!) to invest; and Judy is wondering how to boost the income on her CD.

If you think that your personal data may have been accessed in the Anthem Health data breach, check out this post: Anthem Data Breach: How to Guard Against Identity Theft.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio