Monday, Oct. 7, 2013 | 8:53 a.m.
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Atlanta Bargain Hunter: Wes Moss
Wes Moss: 10 Provisions New Healthcare Plans Must Have and How Much They May Cost You
It’s heeere! After years of rancorous debate and endless analysis, the Affordable Care Act, also know as Obamacare, takes effect this week with implementation of the ‘Individual Mandate’ requiring most Americans to buy health insurance and the opening of exchanges designed to facilitate that rule. Here’s what you need to ...
Wes Moss: The Power of Saving Early
It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” As important and accurate as he is, I think I can improve on that bit of Founding Father wisdom by adding, “And a penny saved today is worth a lot more pennies than a penny saved tomorrow.” ...
Wes Moss: Syria and Prices at the Pump
If the US decides to launch a punitive strike against Syria for alleged use of chemical weapons there could be some collateral damage to a surprising target: Your wallet. The weapon? Gas prices. It’s been said that markets are driven by just two things: greed and fear. For several weeks ...
Wes Moss: An Ounce of Prevention
Remember the good old days of health care, eight or nine years ago? When you got sick, all you had to worry about was being sick. You went to the doctor or hospital, flashed your insurance policy, which was heavily subsidized by your employer; paid a modest deductible, and started ...
Wes Moss: The Importance of Corrections
After hitting record highs in early August, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 have begun to stumble. As I write this, the markets are off between 3 and 5 percent. Wall Street can call it a “correction” once we hit the 5 or 10 percent mark – there’s no exact ...
Wes Moss: Uber and the App Revolution
What was the first smartphone app you ever saw? For me it was the level. You know, the one that turned an iPhone into a carpenter’s level? I remember thinking it was really cool and sort of useful, but ultimately just a gimmick. In the five years since I first ...
Wes Moss: Jeff Bezos' lesson for investors
Jeff Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post Co. is this week’s top water cooler story among power brokers from Wall Street to Capitol Hill. Why would the founder of on-line retailer Amazon.com pay $250 million for a business that appears to be in near free-fall? On paper -- pun intended – ...
Wes Moss: When parents need physical (and financial) help
Money Matters, my Sunday radio show [which airs from 9 to 11 a.m. on 95.5 FM News Talk WSB] deals mostly with how to invest the money you already have. But what if you’re responsible for someone else’s financial wellbeing? Budgeting for yourself is one thing, but how do you budget for ...
Wes Moss: Smart Estate Planning - How not to end up like James Gandolfini
The recent death of Sopranos star James Gandolfini was heartbreaking. He was just 51 and left behind a wife, young children and a career that promised even more fame and fortune. I loved Gandolfini as an actor. I’m also impressed with him as an investor. Who doesn’t want to amass ...
Wes Moss: Is a new car within your reach?
I recently talked to a client, Julie, who is in her mid-twenties. She’s trying to figure out if she can afford a new car, given the student loan debt she’s paying off. I think her situation is relevant to many young people , so – with Julie’s permission – I’m sharing her questions and my answers... Q: Can I afford a new Camaro? Here’s my ...
Wes Moss: A twist on slow and steady investing
You know the old adage about slow and steady winning the race. In the stock market, it’s known as a buy and hold strategy. Investing for retirement is a marathon -- not a sprint. Let’s take a look at the veracity of that wisdom. To do that, we’ll need to ...
Wes Moss: What's up with interest rates?
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about how interest rates in the U.S. are starting to go up. At that time, we had gone from 1.6 percent to 2.1 percent, and I said that 32 percent rise was a big deal. Now, here we are a couple of weeks ...
Wes Moss: When Should You Lease vs Buy a Car?
I’ve got cars on the brain. For years, Audis have been a great fit for our family. My wife has an Audi Q7, which is a mid-sized SUV. We love the Q7 but we’ve outgrown it, so we are in the market for a new Family Truckster to haul around ...
Wes Moss: So long, low mortgage rates
“The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” That’s according to no less an authority than legendary economist John Kenneth Galbraith. It’s a funny line because it contains a kernel of truth. But some economic indicators are so reliable, and some patterns so established that they ...
Wes Moss: Relax and save with a staycation
Last week, CNBC reported that summer rentals in the Hamptons are going for $1 million. That’s $1 million just for the summer. For a rental. That’s almost $10,000 a day. And, no, utilities are not included. Imagine the A/C bills in August for these 14,000 to 18,000 square foot houses!! ...
Wes Moss: The impact of Obamacare
Everyone knows the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) is going to result in sweeping changes. But there’s lots of talk – and dissension – about what those changes will actually look like. I went searching for answers about how we will all be impacted by the massive changes slated ...
Wes Moss: 8 things we don't pay enough for
There are things we pay too much for like a mediocre dinner at a restaurant you don’t really like. We just had to replace a garbage disposal. With installation, it was more than $500. I’ll never get much enjoyment from using this deluxe garbage disposal, so no matter what I ...
Wes Moss: What does Dow 15,000 mean for you?
As a financial planner, I spend a lot of time looking at charts. I’ve got pie charts and bar graphs and Gantt charts -- every kind of chart you can imagine. But there’s one chart so indispensable I actually pay for it every year. It’s my Morningstar® Andex® chart -- ...
Wes Moss: Avoid excess fees on retirement funds
A recent episode of PBS’s Frontline that detailed the impact fees can have on retirement savings, has led to a lot of questions. The show, titled The Retirement Gamble, starts out with the usual grim statistics: Half of all Americans say they can’t afford to save for retirement, and one-third ...
Wes Moss: The housing bust still going strong in Atlanta
We keep hearing about a housing recovery, but apparently it’s happening elsewhere. As this recent AJC article reveals, a huge percentage of metro Atlanta homeowners are still underwater in their mortgages. According to the real estate website Zillow.com, of the worst 1 percent of underwater housing ZIP codes in the ...
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