Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine back issues from October 2006:
Advice for the House Rich.(From the Editor)(Editorial)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: FRED W. FRAILEY The boom in home prices is over. No more bubble. People with expensive homes on the market, like my friends Larry and Linda, don't need to be told this. Their home in a pricey Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. (itself a pricey market), is listed at ...
Letters.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
Oct 01, 2006 ... A reader praises the beauty of his Caribbean getaway. Another demands to know how the bad guys got in. A Verizon spokesman gives the company's view of the recent pension freeze. And a reader says attaboy for including bear-market data. FANTASY ISLAND My wife was once ...
The Road Back to $2 Gas.(Ahead)(gasoline prices)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: ANNE KATES SMITH Motorists can expect a break at the pump soon, with gas prices dipping from an average of $2.95 a gallon to around $2.75 by year-end. Welcome, yes, but issues of supply and demand and geopolitical factors continue to conspire, hinting that we won't catch ...
www: Bankcard Rewards.(www.rewardsdb.com)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Sifting through credit-card rewards programs and rebate offers (or evaluating a new one) can be challenging. At www.rewardsdb.com, you'll find an ...
High-Stakes Gambling.(Ahead)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Internet gambling is big business. More than $12 billion will be wagered this year. And by 2010, revenue will hit $25 billion worldwide, with Americans accounting for about ...
Parking Spotter.(Ahead)(new parking service from XM Satellite Radio )(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: SEAN O'NEILL This fall, XM Satellite Radio road-tests a new service that will help you pinpoint a parking lot with empty spaces. Sensors at many Standard Parking facilities in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., transmit information about empty spaces to ...
On Tap for Stocks: A Strong 2007.(Ahead)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Sam Stovall has been the chief investment strategist for Standard & Poor's since 2001. Shouldn't stocks be doing better this year? Compared with last year, profits are much stronger than you and other analysts predicted. True, we did not think earnings growth would be ...
How to Get Advice for Your 401(k).(Ahead)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Keith Alquist, 56, is chief financial officer at American Pride Co-op, an agricultural business in Brighton, Colo. But even a CFO sometimes needs help making the most of his 401(k) investments. "When I turn 66, I'll have a 15-year-old," he says. "How can I retire and put him through ...
Gaming the MLS.(Ahead)(multiple listing services)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: PAT MERTZ ESSWEIN With home sales slowing, you would think that "time on the market"--the average number of days before a house gets a contract--would be lengthening. But some real estate agents, with the cooperation of sellers, are fudging this figure to lure buyers to ...
Tech Bellwether.(Ahead)(Cisco Systems's earnings)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Want to leap into the technology-stock revival? Try Cisco Systems (symbol CSCO). In August, Cisco surged 23%, to $21, from just above its two-year low. But you haven't missed the story. Analysts, cheered by a ...
Generosity for Less.(donor-advised fund)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: JANE B. CLARK With a donor-advised fund, you can donate cash, take a current-year tax deduction and have a say in how the money will be used. In July, Charles Schwab and Fidelity slashed fees for their funds by nearly one-half; they now charge 0.6% on accounts up to ...
What You Need to Know About Moving.
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Sean O'Neill 1. Don't throw darts at the Yellow Pages. There are better ways to find a reputable mover. Start by visiting the Web site of the American Moving and Storage Association (www.moving.org) and click on "Why You Should Use a Certified Mover." Next, vet several ...
The Price of Terrorism.(stock market remains stand still despite increase in economy)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: James K. Glassman What's wrong with the stock market? Over the past five years, the economy has been rising on an impressive upward trajectory. Corporate profits have doubled. Inflation has been tame. But the stock market is as flat as a pancake. No one ever ...
Surviving a Wilderness Trip, Financially.
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Jeffrey R. Kosnett Greg Friese and his wife, Amanda, have ambitious plans for 2010. The couple, who live in woodsy central Wisconsin, plan to buy a camper truck and take son Michael, who will then be 5, on a yearlong odyssey through the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The ...
Booyah! The Manic Universe of Jim Cramer.(Biography)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Byline: Andrew Feinberg Jim Cramer, who as the host of CNBC's Mad Money is the cable network's biggest star, is probably the first person in the history of television to wear a Little Orphan Annie wig and a football helmet simultaneously. Or to grill rubber bears and then eat ...
Reinventing the Index.(stock market index)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: David Landis As investors suffered during the bear market that began in 2000, Rob Arnott struggled to understand why anyone would call it a bear market in the first place. True, Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 25% from its March 2000 peak through the end of ...
Must-read Bloggers.
Oct 01, 2006 ... Byline: David Landis WEB | These pundits skewer the experts and offer great investment insights. By David Landis These days, anyone--and we mean anyone--can claim to be an expert. You simply launch a blog on the Internet and type away. Technorati, a blog search ...
Squeezing Out More Income.(Investing)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Andrew Tanzer You know the drill: The mutual fund companies court your investment dollars with glowing accounts of their performance. But when was the last time you saw a closed-end fund advertised? Chances are you haven't. That's a pity, because some of your ...
The Invisible Rich.(frugality)(Column)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Knight Kiplinger A while back I was leading a personal-finance seminar at a high school, and I posed this question to the teens: "When you see a man cruise by in his $65,000 BMW 550i, what do you assume about him?" The answer: "He's rich." And a man who drives by in a ...
We're All Market Timers Now.(Investing)(Column)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Andrew Feinberg The smartest amateur investors have come to recognize, as Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett concluded long ago, that it is impossible to time the market. Many of us have learned from humiliating personal experience that attempts to outfox the market can lead ...
Better Health for Drug Makers.(Investing)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Andrew Tanzer The pharmaceutical industry has looked wan and sickly in recent years. Gone are the halcyon days of the late 1990s, when the industry effortlessly expanded revenues by 10% to 15% a year and earnings at an even brisker clip. Loss of patent protection on many ...
The Kiplinger 25.(Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Enterprises Inc.)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Bill Miller's streak of beating the market 15 straight years is in grave jeopardy. His Legg Mason Value fund was down 7% year-to-date through mid August, trailing the S&P 500 by 12 percentage points. Value is not in the Kiplinger 25. But Legg Mason Opportunity, another Miller-run fund, is ....
Out of the Ordinary Real Estate Player.(Investing)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Thomas M. Anderson Now that the housing market appears to be in full retreat, investing in real estate funds seems as fashionable as wearing white after Labor Day. But the funds have performed surprisingly well this year, and now one of the best has reopened to new ...
Cashing In On Fidel's Finale.(Investing)(closed-end funds)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: KATY MARQUARDT When Fidel Castro meets his maker and when--and if--the communist regime falls, one fund will be ready: Herzfeld Caribbean Basin. Herzfeld invests in companies poised to benefit once the U.S. lifts its trade embargo with Cuba. Miami money ...
Rankings: Top-Performing Stock Mutual Funds--One Year.(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006 ... RANKINGS: Top-performing stock mutual funds--one year HOW TO USE THE TABLES: Diversified funds are categorized by the average market value of their holdings. Funds that invest in stocks of all sizes are included in the Midsize category. Investment Style describes the kinds of ...
American Express Replaces Rewards Program.(Your Money)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2006 ... JUST REWARDS: American Express drops its double-point rewards program for purchases at ...
Make Your Money Last Forever.
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mary Beth Franklin The oldest baby-boomers are nearing retirement's homestretch, yet many of them still don't know whether they are saving enough or how to convert those savings into a lifetime of income. If you're one of those 41 million boomers who are now 50 to 60 ...
The New Math of Paying for College.(college-savings accounts)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Jane Bennett Clark Like many parents, Eric Liebmann and Cathy Wilson once despaired of paying for college for their kids, Emma, 17, and Joe, 15. "When Emma was about 4, we met with a financial planner who told us we'd have to save $600 to $800 a month," says Wilson. "We ...
Giving with Strings Attached.(charities must be given carefully)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Thomas M. Anderson Adonation to your favorite charity is more than a gift or a tax break--it's an investment. Pick an inefficient charity and your contribution will be eaten by administrative costs and fund-raising expenses. You can attach strings to your gifts, but a ...
Your 401(k) Just Got Better.(Your Money)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mary Beth Franklin While much of the country tried to keep cool during a brutal August heat wave, Congress enjoyed a burst of energy and passed the most sweeping changes to 401(k) rules since these tax-deferred savings plans debuted 25 years ago. It's a good thing, too, ...
Open Season for Health Savings.(Your Money)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Byline: Thomas M . Anderson Sometimes open-enrollment season for health insurance seems like Christmas in reverse: Instead of a bonus, the packet from your boss tells you how much more you'll have to pay for coverage in the year ahead. Employers expect the ...
Your Energy Crisis Solved.
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Patricia Mertz Esswein Feeling pinched by utility bills? It's no wonder: Since 2001 home-energy costs have more than tripled, rising from an average of $600 annually to $1,900. There are plenty of ways to trim costs, starting with Jimmy Carter's advice from the ...
Earn an MBA in 3 Minutes.(master of business administration degree, interview tips)(Column)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Marty Nemko Many employees hold their breath when those oh-so-confident MBAs march in. Alas, the models, simulations and case studies that worked so well in graduate school rarely work as well in the real world. All the ideas I'm about to share are real-world-proven, in ...
Quicken Stays a Step Ahead.(Intuit Inc.'s product ahead of Microsoft Corp.'s product)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Jeff Bertolucci Less has become more in the battle for supremacy in personal-finance software. Intuit's Quicken and Microsoft's Money both have dozens of money-management tools, slick integration with banking sites for paying bills and tracking accounts, and a dazzling ...
Insurance You Don't Need.
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Kimberly Lankford Acouple of years ago, my wife and I were looking for a good way to add to our main retirement savings, start a college fund and get life insurance. We were steered in the direction of variable life-insurance policies. We are 27 and 28 years old, healthy ...
Credit Cards.(Your Money)
Oct 01, 2006 ... Byline: JOAN GOLDWASSER Spending for campus necessities--books, a laptop, dorm-room furnishings--can add up. One way to track expenses may be to use a student credit card. Sovereign Bank and Ohio Savings Bank offer no-fee student cards with low fixed rates. Although paying off ...
Space Lifts.(designing your home)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Patricia Mertz Esswein Your home may have a room that begs for a redo, but it's languished in limbo for lack of inspiration or cash. Help is here. We found four homeowners with four common problem rooms, paired each with a designer and set a strict budget for materials ...
Clear choice: Hi-def Radio.(high-definition digital radio)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: JEFF BERTOLUCCI Terrestrial broadcasters have a new weapon to keep listeners from defecting to satellite radio: high-definition digital radio. Now broadcast on close to 1,000 U.S. stations, HD Radio promises to bring CD-quality sound to FM and FM-like clarity to AM. ...
Who Needs Gas Engines?(hybrid vehicles in trend)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mark K. Solheim On the long list of troublemakers plaguing the world today, gasoline ranks high. It pollutes the air, warms the globe and makes us beholden to regimes on three continents. If nothing else about gasoline bothers you, the spiraling cost pinches budgets and ...
5 Things to Ask About Corkscrews.
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: AMY ESBENSHADE HEBERT 1. What's the secret to a good corkscrew? The "worm," or spiral, that goes into the cork is the key element. It should be a "hollow worm," says Elliott Mackey, of the Wine Appreciation Guide, which means it has an open center. Cheap corkscrews have ...
Can't Sell Your Home? Try My Desperate Measure.(use blogs)
Oct 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mark K. Solheim and Alan Weinkrantz Why did you start the blog? My house had been on the market for several months. I had priced it high for the San Antonio area, but I didn't want to back down. In a slowing market you have to be clever. Why were you selling? ...