TimothyMobley

We have all heard the statistics – 50% of marriages in the US end in divorce. It’s a shocking and a very discouraging statistic and one that has not changed much in the past three decades, according to recent data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Marriage counselors and divorce attorneys will confirm that most couples list financial issues as a significant cause for their failing marriage. Especially in difficult economic times as the present, arguments over money can really bring most couples to at least alienation, if not worse. And without a doubt, one of the worst offenders from the money troubles category is debt. It is stressful and overwhelming. But with the right approach, it can be managed. Forget the blame . It does not matter much whether you are working towards repaying debt that you have accumulated together as a married couple or debt that one of you brought into the marriage. Concentrating on the fact that one of you brought more debt to the

Should we save for college or should we save for retirement? Whether your little ones are in diapers or about to head off to college, if you are a parent you have probably asked yourself this question over and over. The hefty price tag of higher education seems to be increasing every year. According to the College Board, the average fees for four years at a private college is now more than $150,000 — including $38,589 for the 2012-13 school year. Even going to your state’s university, it costs close to half that total at an average of $17,131 a year. As a result most graduates have amassed significant amounts of student loan debt by the time they enter the workforce. You don’t want that for your children. You want to give them the best start in life, right?   After all, good parents are selfless and ready to sacrifice anything for the wellbeing of their babies. Most experts agree than when it comes to deciding between saving for college or retirement, just wanting the best

It has already been almost four years since the beginning of the Great Depression in 2008 and the economic reports do not seem to get more encouraging. Actually for a while we were feeling hopeful that a recovery is well on its way when towards the end of 2011 and into the first quarter of 2012 unemployment figures were lower, more jobs were added and home prices were slightly rising. The revival was however short-lived when in the second quarter of 2012 the growth rate of the economy slowed down again and the number of jobs added in June was only 80,000 after 77,000 added in May and 68,000 in June making the second quarter the worst in two years. It’s discouraging, to say the least and it feels like the US economy is moving in a slow zombie like state. With interest rates at all time lows, companies holding back on hiring and low consumer confidence, is all hope dead? Not quite. Experts expect things to pick up after the election. And until then there are ways to take ad

A significant part of my practice at the Baron Group is helping families get out of debt. Without a doubt, being debt-free is not only a requirement for financial freedom but also in most cases what is needed to be able to achieve financial goals and be able to retire. The unfortunate reality is that so many of us, even the most financially disciplined ones are forced at one time of our life or another to take on debt due to unforeseen circumstances, very often urgent, such as job loss, medical emergencies, funeral expenses etc. And once there is too much debt we all know what happens – higher interest rates which then make it difficult to repay, inability to take advantage of the current lower interest rates environment in order to refinance a home mortgage for example… and it really becomes a vicious circle that it is difficult to get out of. However, if getting out of debt is approached with a methodical plan which is followed diligently, then being debt-free could beco

My last blog post 7 Threats To Your Retirement When All You Have Is a 401(k) Plan generated a lot of interest! It was my most visited blog post to date and for that I thank all of you who follow my blog. I sincerely hope you find it useful. Still on the topic of 401(k) plans, you may or may not know that as of July 1, 2012   The Department of Labor, in an effort to improve transparency of 401(k) fees, has released a final rule which will: “ help America's workers manage and invest the money they contribute to their 401(k)-type pension plans. The rule will ensure: that workers in this type of plan are given, or have access to, the information they need to make informed decisions, including information about fees and expenses; the delivery of investment-related information in a format that enables workers to meaningfully compare the investment options under their pension plans; that plan fiduciaries use standard methodologies when calculating and disclosing expense and r

The great Social Security lie

Less than a week ago, US News posted an article in the Smarter Investor section titled 7 Threats To Your Retirement . While the article thoroughly discusses some of the threats to retirement, such as switching jobs, early retirement and lump sum distributions, which are indeed valid threats to the average American’s ability to retire comfortably, the author seems to focus more on the issues facing employees with defined benefit plans. The reality is that a large percentage of Americans these days are not going to enjoy the security of pensions when they retire as less and less employers offer defined benefit plans (i.e. traditional pensions) and more and more employers offer defined contributions plans(i.e. 401Ks) with a tiny match, if any… Therefore to me , the real issue to discuss is What are the 7 threats to your retirement when all you have is a 401K? A little bit of history can help us understand the current reality… In 1974 when The Employment Retirement Inc

7 threats to your retirement

Robert Reich (Why The Economy Can't Get Out of First Gear)

“When am I going to be able to retire?” is a question that is on the mind of many Americans, often keeping many of us up at night and giving many investors serious amounts of heartburn every time they look at the balance of   their 401K plans. The current economic environment coupled with the uncertain future solvency of Social Security in the US, is causing more and more of us to question when are we going to be able to retire, if at all. The vision of leisurely afternoons on the golf course is beginning to look like a chimera… The reality is not terribly encouraging. Just in the past decade we lived through the Great Recession, the global financial crisis, unemployment figures reaching double digits and we witnessed our houses lose value due to the burst of the real estate bubble. So what are we looking at – little, if any, equity in our homes; unpredictable value in our 401Ks and possibly some savings. The stock market is still below the levels reached in 2001 and we now

I am often asked the question:” How about market linked CDs? I would like to stay away from the equities market but somehow still benefit from any potential upside in securities while getting FDIC protection. Are equity linked CDs the right choice for me?” The most appropriate answer really is: “It depends...” Below, I will explain the advantages and disadvantages of market linked CDs and in which circumstances I usually recommend investing in market-linked CDs. Market-linked CDs (also referred to as market-indexed or equity-linked CDs) are certificates of deposit based on one or more asset classes such as securities or market indices. By purchasing a market-linked CD the investor participates in the growth of the underlying security or index while preserving the characteristics of a traditional CD, including protection against market decline. When a market linked CD is held to maturity its principal is protected and the investor receives interest based on the performance of the und

Timothy Mobley Managing Agent the Baron Group joined AmeriVets as Veterans’ Advocate Timothy Mobley introduces a life changing Veterans benefit that Veterans may be eligible to receive.  This is the Aid and Attendance Pension funded by Congress each year, according to Section 38 of The United States Code. This lifetime benefit is available for Veterans and their spouses aged 65 and above and is used to reimburse various Long Term Care Expenses. Tim Mobley said: “Unfortunately, most Veterans are not taking advantage of this benefit.  Nearly two million veterans or their widows are missing out on as much as $ 4.6 billion dollars a year in pensions from the US Government (only seven hundred million is currently being used annually)”.  This is because the Department of Veterans Affairs has had minimal success in promoting this program and also most Veterans have never heard of this benefit or don't know how to access it. Timothy Mobley and the Baron Group through its associa

The biggest driving force behind cheaper life insurance is simple; people are living longer.  With all the advancements in technology and medicine people have been experiencing longer life spans, thus longer life expectancy.  Life insurance companies are passing this new savings onto the consumer.  What they aren’t complaining about is some of the old policies that many consumers continue to keep in place and continue to pay.  They are profiting off of the consumers paying more than they   need to for life insurance. There was a huge change that took place in the life insurance industry recently.  This was driven by a new rule for calculating insurance costs that went into effect January 2009.  The Insurance Information Institute says that term life insurance premiums are now 50 percent lower than they were a decade ago.  What Happened In January 2009... The mortality tables changed.  Effective January 2009, all life insurance companies must use the Commissioners 2001 Standard Or