Smart401K Blog

This post is part of Smart401k CEO Scott Hollsopple’s contribution to the U.S. News & World Report Smarter Investor blog series. To view the original article, click here. Original post date May 7, 2013

Congratulations to anyone who’s decided to enroll in a 401k plan! Putting money into your 401k at work is still the easiest — and many experts argue the best — way to save for retirement. But it takes some thought and action on your part in order to truly maximize the benefit.

In the Headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• US jobless claims climbed at the fastest pace in six months.
• Three Federal Reserve officials gave speeches calling for an end to the QE program.
• Housing starts fell more than expected in April.

The Week in Numbers 

The S&P 500 Index was able to log 4 winning days out of 5 this week and reaching all-time highs. The Index started the week off logging a fractional gain on Monday. On Tuesday, the Index charged higher, rising nearly 17 points to finish the day at 1650.34. The rally continued Wednesday as the S&P rose another 8 points, only to give most of those gains back on Thursday to close at 1650.47. The Index rose again Friday, adding nearly another 16 points to finish the week at 1666.12. For the week, the S&P 500 was up 1.98%. The index is up 4.29% in May and 16.82% in 2013.

Talk of retirement investing generally seems to revolve around 401k plans and IRA accounts. This is understandable, given the high number of American workers clocking into private sector jobs on a daily basis. However, while private companies employ a large portion of the population and may dominate the 401k world, the Federal Government is actually one of the country’s largest employers. Anyone working as a government employee or member of the military has likely heard of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which is essentially a 401k in disguise.

In the Headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Groupon shares surged as sales grew and losses shrank.
• While in Chicago Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is keeping an eye out for bubbles in the financial system, but he did not address the central bank's controversial asset purchasing program.
• Postal Service posted a $1.9 billion loss despite efficiency efforts
• Jobless claims fell to five-year lows

Philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “Control your emotion or it will control you.” He wasn’t necessarily thinking about investor behavior when he first uttered those words, but he may well have been. It’s easy to become emotional when it comes to investing. After all, you worked hard for the money you’ve invested, and your ability to eventually retire depends on how much that money grows. Your emotions can keep you from thinking clearly and cause you to make investment decisions that may be detrimental to your long-term goals.

To remove emotion from your decision-making process, set specific “rules” to follow as you invest. That’s the easy part. The difficult (and most important) part is to stick to those rules, and that requires discipline. Here are a few investing rules that can help keep you on track:

In the Headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it will continue buying $85 billion in bonds each month.
• The European Central Bank cut rates for the first time in 10 months on Thursday.
• Jobless claims fell to a five-year low.
• US payrolls rose more than expected as the jobless rate dropped to 7.5%.

The Week in Numbers 

Despite a bump in the road midweek, the S&P 500 was able to log another stellar week setting all-time highs. The Index started the week off well, adding over 11 points on Monday and nearly another 4 on Tuesday. However, those gains were almost all given back on Wednesday as the S&P closed at 1582.70. The roller coaster ride continued on Thursday as the Index regained its Wednesday losses and finishing 0.02 points higher than it had on Tuesday, ending the day at 1597.59. Friday’s jobs report ignited a rally on Friday as the S&P 500 finally broke through 1600, rising over 1% to finish the week at 1614.42. For the week, the S&P 500 was up 2.03%. 

This post is part of Smart401k CEO Scott Hollsopple’s contribution to the U.S. News & World Report Smarter Investor blog series. To view the original article, click here. Original post date April 23, 2013

A major element of the retirement planning process is calculating the amount of money you need to save in order to live the way you want to during retirement.

As you’re calculating your retirement savings goal, consider all of the potential expenses you may encounter after you retire. The more expenses you forget to include, the less reliable your planning will be. Here are five important yet often-overlooked retirement costs that you’ll want to consider.

In the Headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• US jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 339,000.
• GDP expanded at a reported 2.5% rate, lower than the estimated 3%.
• Hackers used the Associated Press Twitter account to send a false tweet about explosions at the White House, causing a sudden drop in the market.

The Week in Numbers 

The S&P 500 had a good week as it recovered from last week’s onslaught of negative news. The Index logged a win streak through Thursday, only to break the streak on Friday. On Monday, the S&P finished up over 7 points to finish at 1562.50. The Index pressed higher on Tuesday, gaining over 16 points to finish the day at 1578.78. Wednesday barely registered a change as the S&P 500 finished at 1578.79. On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed again, finishing at 1585.16. On Friday, the market fell early on disappointing a disappointing GDP report, but came off its lows to finish the week at 1582.24. For the week, the S&P 500 was up 1.74%. The index is now up 0.83% in April and is up 10.94% in 2013.

Every day it seems that some sort of economic survey, study or report is released indicating the current state and trajectory of the economy. For the most part, 2013 has shown relatively upbeat headlines and signs that the U.S. economy is on the mend – the major market indices have made up their losses from the financial crisis, the Dow and S&P 500 continue to set new all-time highs, the unemployment situation is improving (albeit slowly) and housing has begun to recover.

Yet, hidden in the barrage of good news is a recently released survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute revealing Americans’ lack of confidence in their ability to comfortably retire. In the survey’s 23-year history, there has never been a higher percentage (28%) of respondents stating that they have no confidence whatsoever in their ability to retire comfortably. Also troubling is the fact that only 13% said they were very confident they will have enough to retire and live a comfortable lifestyle. Just six years ago that number was more than twice that, at 27%.

In the Headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Disappointing growth numbers from China helped spark a commodities sell-off Monday.
• Gold had its worst two-day fall in 30 years. Commodities helped drag the stock market down on Monday.
• Two bombs were set off near the Boston Marathon finish line Monday afternoon, killing three and injuring more than 100.

The Week in Numbers 

The S&P 500 had a roller coaster week as investors looked for opportunities to sell winners. On Monday, the Index fell over 36 points on disappointing data from China, a commodities sell-off, and news of an attack in Boston. The S&P pressed higher on Tuesday, gaining over 22 points to finish the day at 1574.57. On Wednesday, the Index gave back Wednesday’s gains, falling over 22 points to end the day at 1552.36. On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell again, finishing at 1541.61. On Friday, the market rallied to finish up 13.64 points, closing the week at 1555.25. For the week, the S&P 500 was down 2.11%. The index is now down 0.88% in April and is up 9.05% in 2013.