(NewsUSA) – Remember when it was sort of fun to talk about The Number? The Number refers to the amount of money you’d need to retire comfortably, and it was borrowed from the title of a 2006 book by former Esquire editor Lee Eisenberg. Everywhere you went in those comparatively giddy pre-crash days, it seemed, people were tossing around figures — $1 million, $5 million – and often acting like it’d be a cinch to get there if they just gave up one Grande Cafe Vanilla Frappuccino a week. Needless to say, times have changed since then. But unless you like your 1-in-175 million odds of winning Power Ball, the need to soak away as much money as possible – as fast as possible, in the case of aging Baby Boomers – has only become more imperative. “One of the best pieces of advice we give clients is to keep it simple,” says Elaine Smith, master tax advisor at H&R Block, the giant tax preparation firm (www.hrblock.com). How simple? Read on:* Make automatic contributions to 401(k)s. We now know what can happen if you let market fluctuations spook your use of this convenient savings vehicle. According to a study by Fidelity Investments of millions of their accounts, investors who dumped all their allocations in stocks between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009 (the market crash), and stayed out of stocks through last June 30, 2011 (a big upswing), saw an average increase in account balances of only 2 percent. That compares to an average 50 percent increase for those who rode things out with a continuous allocation strategy that included stocks.* Don’t squander your raise. Consulting firm Hay Group says the average raise last year was 2.8 percent. Say your salary’s $50,000. That’s a $1,400 increase, or $26.92 a week. If you put that money into an IRA, in 10 years it would’ve grown to $3,108, based on an 8 percent average annual return. “It’s all about delaying immediate rewards on things like your fifth pair of designer jeans,” says Smith. * Invest your tax refund. The average refund last year was $2,913. Even the interest rate on savings accounts beats the free loan you essentially gave the government. * Take advantage of new fee disclosures. A new law is set to require much more transparency in most 401(k) plans. But why wait? Financial websites let you compare fund expense ratios, and the difference between an actively managed mutual fund charging 1.75 percent and an index fund charging only 0.07 percent — especially if the former’s performance is sub-par — adds up.
Beyond ‘The Number’: Simple Ways to Save for Retirement
Economy Is Down, Demand for Outsourced Bookkeeping Is Up
Small businesses can have a tougher time hacking it out in the wilderness of a rocky economy. They face enough problems in a steady market, let alone the financial challenges posed by economic downturns. Outsourced bookkeepers are looking more attractive than ever.
Independent businesses must create a niche for themselves so customers develop a demand for their products or services. Oftentimes this requires high investments, promotional expenses and advertising. Dealing with this increased spending and debt can seem like a burden that many owners can’t handle alone. Yet, it shouldn’t be ignored.
Mega Tent Pole Movies Open Market for Small Studios
(NewsUSA) – The film industry is undergoing an overhaul that is creating excitement throughout. Video-on-demand (VOD) has changed the DVD game, and as a direct result, major studios are focusing exclusively on high-budget films like “Avatar” and “Transformers” to attract the masses. Now, these “tent pole” films are opening new doors for smaller studios.
As noted by animation specialist and studio executive Andy Hendrickson, tent pole movies rely on the viewer’s obsession with action-packed spectacle as opposed to adept storytelling. But where does that leave smaller-budget pictures?
“The industry is saturated with franchises like “Harry Potter” or “Twilight,” TV spin-offs like “Sex and the City,” not to mention sequels and remakes,” explains Peter Hoffman, CEO of Seven Arts Pictures. “However, this shift creates opportunities for smaller independent film studios, like Seven Arts.”
As is the case with several industries, massive changes can be attributed to the sweeping wave of digital technology. More people than ever are watching movies at home through new digital streams.
Big studios see tent pole movies as the strategic way to generate billions in revenues, but the demand for quality, smaller-budget films that focus on characters and plot development can be strong at the box office.
“The potential success of small-budget pictures is demonstrated by films like “The King’s Speech,” “Black Swan” and “The Kids Are All Right,” says Hoffman. “But it’s now solely up to independent studios, like Seven Arts, to produce plot-driven films that strive for merit in addition to box-office numbers.”
Tent pole films are the latest trend in Hollywood. And now, smaller film studios are seeing greater commercial success as a result.
To learn more about the changing film industry, visit www.7artspictures.com.
Top 5 Weird Junk Discoveries
(NewsUSA) – We live in a society where people buy and collect a lot of stuff. Letting go has almost become a cliché. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Founder and CEO Brian Scudamore says he’s always amazed by the odd junk people pay his company to pick up. Recently 1-800-GOT-JUNK? compiled a list of the strangest items, what they call “weird junk.” These items round out the Top 5:
5. Garage full of garden gnomes. This collection was found after some tenants had moved out of a house in Minnesota. Evidently, their extended garden gnome family didn’t make the cut.
“My initial reaction was that her teenage kids must have stolen every garden gnome in town,” said Anthony Stamson, member of the stunned cleanup crew.
4. Boxes of brand new electronic accessories. A product design office was closing in South Carolina, and they junked several truckloads full of brand new accessories for iPods, iPads, iPhones, as well as entire cappuccino machines, smart phones, HD projection TVs and more. The franchise was able to find new homes for most of the items through local charities.
3. A mortician’s closet. This oddity emerged from a California storage unit that had been abandoned — a closet used for storing dead bodies, as seen in a morgue.
“Once I realized what it was used for, I felt creeped out but also puzzled. Why was it in an abandoned storage container?” says Flo Murray, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise partner.
2. Taxidermy animals. Finding mounted animals isn’t too strange. However, an albino stuffed cobra? That’s a little odd. A stuffed baboon? Pretty unusual. A two-headed kitten fetus in a formaldehyde jar? Now things can’t get much weirder than that — especially hidden in a room in a San Francisco retirement home.
1. Frozen human stem cells. This is it, the winner of weird. The 1-800-GOT-JUNK? crew in Dallas was cleaning out the home of a family that was moving out of the country. The freezer was full of cuts of meat, which the homeowner told the truck team members they could share amongst them. Little did franchise partner Peggy Lamy realize when she froze the items that a green tea box amongst the bags contained human stem cells belonging to the family’s deceased father. The daughter phoned days later, emotional and panicked. “We made arrangements to meet them shortly after that to return the precious cells,” explains Lamy. “Strangely, the family did not turn up.” Whatever happened to the green tea box? Well it remains in the Lamy’s freezer as a great conversation piece.
For more junk-removal information, go to 1800gotjunk.com.
Maintaining Pets’ Healthy Gums Too Great to be Ignored
(NewsUSA) – Smelly doggie breath can be annoying. And dog owners will go to great lengths to eliminate or cover it up. But be aware — pet oral care goes beyond preventing bad doggie breath. Poor gum health allows nasty bacteria to make a beeline straight for a pet’s circulatory system, which can have harmful effects on vital organs.
Periodontal disease, the leading health condition affecting three-fourths of dogs and cats age three or older, is often the result of pet owners not regularly providing at-home oral care and veterinary assessments and treatments. Plaque on pets’ teeth forms as bacteria and food particles coat the teeth and develop a biofilm. If not cleaned off, plaque irritates the gum line and can cause gingivitis and harden on the tooth surface to cause tartar. With more accumulation, gingivitis may progress to periodontal disease. Diseased gums can act as a bacterial superhighway into the circulatory system of the pet and may ultimately adversely affect vital organs.
“Gum disease, which research tells us can affect more than just a pet’s mouth, is initiated by plaque accumulating on teeth and not being cleaned,” said Dr. Jan Bellows, veterinary dental specialist and incoming president of the American Veterinary Dental College. “The good news is every pet parent has the power to keep their pet’s teeth clean and gums healthy. It starts with daily at-home oral care with brushing or Veterinary Oral Health Council (www.vohc.org)-approved dental products. And each pet should have a veterinary oral exam at least annually with professional cleanings as advised.”
Pet owners will be thrilled to know that Greenies Brand recently introduced a canine dental chew that carries the Veterinary Oral Health Seal of Acceptance for reduction of plaque and tartar build-up and is clinically proven to help maintain healthier gums. These fifth-generation chews by Greenies use a highly palatable, natural recipe with added vitamins and minerals, are nutritionally complete and balanced and are available in veterinary clinics and pet specialty stores nationwide.
For more information, visit www.greenies.com.
Blinded Veterans Find Strength Through Wounded Warrior Program
(NewsUSA) – A lethal roadside bomb wounded Master Sergeant Jeffrey Mittman on July 7, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq. Though within 30 minutes of the attack Mittman was airlifted to a hospital in Baghdad, he sustained permanent bodily damage. When he awoke one month later at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he was blinded in his left eye, his right arm was badly damaged, and he had lost his nose, lips, and most of his teeth.
After the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, tales like Mittman’s have become increasingly more common. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq created more injuries resulting in blindness than any conflict since the Civil War. Advanced medical technologies have enabled more service personnel to survive serious injuries, which in prior wars would have resulted in fatalities.
Back at home, Mittman faced many roadblocks to rehabilitation. Today, as it was back then, 70 percent of working-age people who are blind cannot find jobs.
Mittman chose to become involved in a training program with National Industries for the Blind (NIB) through the Warrior in Transition Program; in this role he supports a critical mission of employment for people with disabilities. He recently received the prestigious “Oz Day” award, presented to a federal employee or member of the military who demonstrates exceptional service in promoting employment opportunities for people who are blind or severely disabled.
“I decided long ago — I can either own [my experiences] and learn from these experiences or I can let them own me. I chose the former,” said Mittman. “I am humbled and proud to receive this honor, and I am eager to continue to be an example to our wounded warriors and other individuals with disabilities, showing them what is possible.”
Through the Wounded Warrior Program at NIB, wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts can become informed about training, job placement and career opportunities within NIB and 90 associated nonprofit agencies across the country. NIB’s mission is to enhance the opportunities for economic and personal independence of persons who are blind, primarily through creating, sustaining, and improving employment.
For more information about the Wounded Warrior Program, visit www.nib.org.
Make the Right Moves With Your Start-Up Business
Maybe it’s something you’ve been dying to do for years. Or maybe – like so many others these days – the idea of starting your own business only suddenly became attractive after you’d either lost your job or felt about as secure as a politician caught sexting in the one you now have.
Whatever the reason, know that while your passion for your product or service may be your best secret weapon – “The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook” says it’s “often the difference that hooks customers, lands deals and attracts investors” – that alone won’t guarantee success.
iPhone App Helps Parents Stay One Step Ahead of Lice
(NewsUSA) – Taste matters when it comes to baby food.
Erin Jarvis was getting desperate. Her 7-month-old daughter Autumn simply wasn’t eating any store-bought food. Like so many moms and dads, Jarvis was worried her baby wasn’t getting the nutrition needed for proper growth. Then she tried Baby Gourmet, a new arrival to the U.S. market and available at Walmart.
“As soon as we tried Baby Gourmet, Autumn made a sound like ‘Mmm’ and ate the whole pouch in one sitting,” Jarvis says with a smile. “We’ve tried a lot of different brands, but this is the only one she now finishes every time.”
Baby Gourmet was created by a mom who, like so many others, was worried about her child’s well-being. “When Findlay wouldn’t eat, I was frantic that she wasn’t getting the nutrition she needed to be healthy,” says Jennifer Broe.
That duel concern over nutrition and taste is why she started making her own baby food and founded Baby Gourmet to help other mothers feed their children healthy, organic food.
With flavors like Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp, Vanilla Banana Berry Risotto and Sweet Potato Pie with organic cinnamon, Baby Gourmet offers taste, variety and nutrition.
Each package of Baby Gourmet passes strict nutritional and food safety guidelines and passes all USDA and organic requirements. But Baby Gourmet goes a step further — every recipe starts out in Broe’s own kitchen and ends with a personal taste test at the manufacturer.
Now, relieved moms everywhere are starting to express their personal joy. “My daughter is just over 1 year old and has refused absolutely all food for seven months. She tried the sweet potato pie today and ate the entire thing in two sittings. I was so happy,” Abby Ferris recently shared on Facebook.
Another mother, Kristen Ellison, also posted “I have a 12 1/2-month-old who has refused all solids until we tried the pear and garden greens. It literally brought tears because we have tried everything!”
Mothers interested in putting Baby Gourmet to the test can find nine choices at Walmart. Find stores near you, and learn more at www.babygourmet.com.
Is Water Becoming the Next Oil?
Water is an essential natural resource – and it’s only becoming more valuable. Now, water is becoming the next hot investment opportunity.
Despite 70 percent of the planet’s surface being covered by water, a mere 3 percent can be considered suitable drinking water. As pollution spreads and populations rise, fresh water supplies in highly populated areas are dwindling. Since 1950, the global population has nearly doubled, and water use has tripled.
“Much like oil, the growing demand for fresh drinking water is making it an increasingly valuable resource,” says Joel Sens, president of Seawright Holdings (www.swristock.com). “Water is the driving force behind life on this planet. As water use continues to climb, more regions find themselves facing a critical dilemma.”
Outsourced Accounting Key to Cutting Expenses
(NewsUSA) – In today’s market, many small businesses have to understaff just to stay competitive. But that doesn’t mean they have to be weighed down by the extra work load — outsourcing job duties, like accounting, can relieve pressures while keeping things running smoothly.
“Some business owners like to have their fingers in every project and monitor every responsibility, but this can result in scattered and less-productive work days,” said Maria Reich, a partner at On Call Accountants. “Some decisions should be carefully controlled, while others must be delegated elsewhere to improve small staff efficiency. Outsourcing significant duties, like financial reporting and bookkeeping, often saves more money than employing an in-house bookkeeper and spares owners the stress.”
Faulty records can halt orders and delay bank statements, and waste your tax preparer’s precious time. Tax preparers will eat through their hourly rate if they must re-check your books and correct sloppy errors. Organizing invoices and receipts before tax season makes it less intimidating.
If you’re nearing the end of your fiscal year, and you don’t even know how the company fared, it might be time to seek outside accounting help. Avoid the nail-biting scramble of rushing to know whether you lost money this year. Reliable profit trajectories benefit from marketing and advertising efforts. Keeping track of finances guarantees that changes can be made to boost profitability and customer satisfaction.
Owning a business is time-consuming and exhausting.
Owners and faithful employees must make time for friends and family, too. Outsourcing helps productivity and pleases loved ones and children who have been begging you for dinner dates or family time. Firms like On Call Accountants are valuable resources to provide precise bookkeeping and in-depth accounting.
If you’re still wary of outsourcing or trusting an outside entity, there are ways to build your comfort. Ask potential firms or companies for detailed qualifications. Don’t be afraid to be thorough; contact current and past clients as references.
To find more information on outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services, go to www.oncallaccountants.com.
