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Show BUSINESS The Salt Lake Tribune we SAVINGS GAME checks each month. And 19 per cent, or almost one infive, have no savings planat all The correct answer, picked by only 32 percent of Americans, is having clearly defined goals Financially, and in many other The deduction plan that deposits part gina and me more than having of your paycheck automatically in specificgoals. Back in 1973, it was saving $12,000 over the next five a Savings or investment account years as a downpayment onour first home By 1978, it was saving So I ama bit different. When it comes to money I mustbe, or they wouldn't be paying me to write this column. Financially speaking, it pays to bedifferent. | know because per sonal-finance writers get aninti mate, detailed view of how Amer: icans deal with money Hardly a week goes by that we don't get a personal-finance sur vey in the mail. Invariably the survey shows millions of Ameri cans lack the most basic knowl edge of how to handle their fi nances Among the most recent surveys to land on my desk is one commis. sioned by Microsoft Money'97, a personal-financesoftware. Microsoft hired Opinion Research Cor porationof Princeton, N.J., to in terview morethan 1,000 people across the country by telephone Thefinding that struck me the most is that more than two-thirds of Americans could not identify he most important factor for fi nancial succe: It is not the ability to pick good investments, chosen by 18 percent of the people interviewed. Or hav ing a high-paying By far the best deal around is job, picked by 13 percent, or low debt, favored mar it or not, was chosen by 5 percent by 29 percent. Andit is not rying well,’ which. believe retirement plan that gives you an immediate tax deduction on the education. In 1985, it was paying money taken out of your pay off the mortgage, a goal weac complished in November 1987 check and allows your money to retirement nest egg, always witha specific dollar figure and datein tap sooner, you can inquire about having part of your paycheck de. Thenit was to keep growing our mind Knowing what you want, when Of course, you need to make posited directly in a savings, mu emergency fund and another 18 survey, while 42 percent pay bills percent have only twoto four weeks of expenses tucked away first and then deal with whatever Among households with chil is left dren between the ages of 12 and 17, the numbers are morefright Worst yet, 17 percent of those surveyed don't budgetat all Without basic budgeting, ening. Morethanhalf, or 51 per and cent, keeping track of where your mon have either no emergency fund or only two to four weeks ey goes, there is no way you can living expenses saved meet your financial goals Georgina and | can tell you fromexperience that pencil and paperis all you needtokeeptrack ‘Thenthere is another FirstWave, an organization being formedto address the needs and life, having a job that gives per money to insure a comfortable fu ture Notice the word plined yourself to draw up and follow a budget on paper Otherwise you may just be although many boomers are should be evenhavea budgetcategory toac count forit There are more depressing said there are so many fin ment options what to do numbers: 56 percent of Ameri canssaid they donot havea fixed dollar amount or percentage set aside for savings from their pay or in their prime saving s. And 59 spending extra money and not “enough.” me, but financial security — hav ing enough gives methefree dom tobe true to myself Humberto Cruz lives in Coral Springs, Fla. Write him c/o Trib une MediaServices, 435 N. Mich Suite 1400, Chic Send e-mail messages to. HCruz5040(at)aol.com and invest that they aren't sure But is that a reason not to do anything? Just because thefinan cial-services industry keeps throwing more funds andinvest aeritt we $869 Ss Aare rarer Non Linear Systenis Sateie CY Pentium 133 Ay 5 AyD ee IMB PCISN GA MPEG Card Pentium 166 Rae gem ree CRs Pentium 200 $1299 1.08GIG EIDE Mode 4 HDD Pra oYree We Ce a ery aya CFT PE eae ee 230W Mini lower Case Digital ETar ete mie i) eaeeyt era he Re Tame Most Americans whoare ng for concerned about preg retirement contrituti are lured nto do into 401K plans d contributions into IRA Such fied Plans’ only give you tax-favored advantages duringthe contribution and accumulation of your retirement account about the most important phase --when you withdraw the marginal tax bracket. f they for deductible contributions to their IRAs, they would save $1400 a year in taxes on a total contribution of $4000 a year (gal DNLag Ey q Introducing Mountain America’s 18-Month Triple Option Term Deposit! our new Triple Option with you in mind n with as addto your u would like Make uli $500 w ed ginal i d: unexpected comes up and you u can withdraw That's g fo your termdepe 5 500 (minimum) an; the maturity dat you can make 2 one-time withdrawal for up to 50% ginal balance, with Now y f your nearest brai h TipesasaleTerm Nes Wi he term ANNUAL PERCENTAGE YIELD Code Words Discriminatory THE WAL STREET JOUKN Managers who use phrases like back to a lower you people” and “one of them can be accusedof creating a ra cially hostile environment, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Ap peals in Philadelphiasaid court, customer-service represen: tative Carol Aman sued Cort Fur Rental. saying black em were t don't touck and orkd. Subtle discriminatory refer ences can't be dismissed as “ra cially neutral acts of rudenes said. in the first “don't steal.” Ox he overhearda colleague complain, “You won't believe it. They hired another sit suck ruling by a federal appeals court The decision has prompted doz says her lawyer. Dap s lo revise their However, mostretirees will pay back every dollar to Uncle Sam that they saved in taxes inthe first 18-24 months of their retirement in fact, the average retired couple JI ibutior accumulatior Oneof the original IRA/ 401K tenets heldthat defernr Douglas R. Andrew. President Paramount Financial Services tax retirement was advantag yO ecause funds would taxed at a lower ral longer axiomatic. Yc able retire Nuch spendretirement in the higher bracket if you a a respectableretiemer ir tax rates will likely rise the future to cover budget deficit So why postpone the inevitable and compound the tax probi Have your and t it too? Thrc planning, a hon may safely utilize an equ retirement plan that may prov tax advantages du 3 the contribution and accumulatior 'S, but more importa Is there a way to cake proper ompliments of our unt F may enjoy tax-free incom the retirement years and transter any Femail lunds your heirs tax-free. This _| TIME! 72-8900. 1a) 3 MONTHS UNLIMITED bd | 2ase cen Sot 51, Agee... 44) j \ t Dore D oe a Crews (A) mororota Faas MOUNTAIN AMERICA CREDIT I hitp://www.minamerica.org phar mdvaeaierted vee SALT LAKE 1050 East 2100 SouTH ES || = SE www.sitrib.com 1300S. (OREM 2 ae ni e W. JORDAN 475 WEST 90TH SOUTH 486-3333 OREM/PROVO 221-4884 de ca The company says thereis no evidence to support the allega s during will pay 8-12 time their retirement years than the taxes they saved during their Sign up on the Standard User Pian From AirTouch Cellular and get 18-MONTH TERM DEPOSIT BASED ON 6.05% INTEREST RATE in the FOR A LIMITED TIME! no kidding he rales sh were fortunate enoughto both qualify INVEST ON YOUR Depa af of You May Be Getting Trapped Free Yourself Now! excess of $40,100 will be in a 36% by Quote Welcomed 486-8250 Open 7 Days OWN TERMS. of mi practice fraudulent Do You Have An IRA Or 401K? remaining funds to your hers? Has anyc onetold you The rest of the story? A Utah couplefiling 2 joint tax return with a taxable incomeir Wholesale lio aim a Lowest Pric, rd and ens of busin transfer any 256k Pipeline Burst Pomme inca 8MIBEDO RAM duct’ st the court igan Ave., IL 60611. money for retirement iicomeor (OeTiida praiser Ronald J. Searpa for In that I am not at al! different. Pow er and wealth are meaningless to Only 46 percent of boomers said they think they are saving enough. Just small majority. 54 percent, have an individual re tirement account or 401(k) plan puter, if that’s your only reason for getting it until you'vedisci Utah's Real Estate month revoked the license unproperly east eight ap application REALTOR DISCIPLINED ing out, being in control of your concerns of baby boomers But don’t spend onepenny on a computer program or a com i ed docu 32 to 50 Roper Starch Worldwide and commissioned by ly financial software will make the jobeasier vision rd deter survey of 1,201 Americans ages conducted by of your money, although obvious. een more than enough for us Andthat has helped us achieve the goals that 96 percent or more over the years have sonalsatisfaction, making enough of Americans have no personal follow a budget, according to the POLICING THE PROFESSIONALS time period. Solid, steady gains grow tax-deferred But for savings you may needto cording to the survey, 22 percent sure you are not overspending But only 37 percent of Americans ment products at doesn't mean we needto examine every one Georgina and| have been quite successful without ever owning or agonizing about any in ment that came close to matching the return of top-performing of the boomers in the survey said define the American dream: Be ing true to yourself and not sell tual-fund or brokerage account Or you may movethe moneythere once @ month fromyour checking account The result of not doing it? Ac you want it and how muchit is going to cost you, in order of im portance, is the essential first step. E5 1996 November 10 stocks or mutual funds for a the employer-sponsored 401(k another $15,000in the next eight years for our daughter's college MoneySuccess Depends on GoalSetting solve this problem is to sign up for a payroll areas, nothing has helped Geor HUMBERTO CRUZ easiest way to Sunday, FURNITURE COMPANY LAYTON saceae6 1060 NORTH Mam |
