Checks and Balances

The real estate market is still really in trouble, and Americans everywhere are taking note.    According to a recent survey by Trulia and RealtyTrac, more than half

of all U.S. adults, (54%), believe that housing recovery remains unlikely until year 2014 or later.  A recent surge in “double dips” of home prices has attributed to

the loss of this consumer confidence.  Prices have fallen by at least 33% in 20 major U.S. cities across the country in the last five years, down from their 2006 peek.

The decline has signaled the double dip, as prices are now lower than the previous post housing bubble bust low, set in April of 2009.
The average price of a home in the U.S. doubled from 2000 to 2006, and nearly tripled in some parts of the country.  Homeowners that purchased their homes toward the

end of this time period have seen their home values cut in half and many have very few options other than continuing to pay their mortgage, or let the bank foreclose

on their property.  Now, more than two years later, the demand for new homes remain weak and mortgages are becoming increasingly more difficult to qualify for, and the

backlog of foreclosures poised to hit the market soon, is all weighing down the marketplace.

Watch this week’s CBTV show to find out how these financial headlines may impact you, and learn how the drop in real estate values impacts your bottom line and how to

make the most of the home equity you do have in retirement.

The Medicare debate remains one of today’s hottest topics discussed in political circles and amongst both Americans who are currently paying for it and those who are

taking advantage of the benefits.  No matter which side you are on, the bottom line is that Medicare needs be reformed. But cutting these necessary benefits for

retirees creates more problems regarding how Americans 65 years of age and older would afford health insurance.

No matter what the federal government decides to do with this social insurance program, there will still be out of pocket costs for retirees in order to cover all

medical expenses. The average 65-year-old couple retiring in 2011 needs an average of $230,000 to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses during retirement.  It’s

anyone’s guess what this number could be if Medicare benefits are further reduced.  Are you prepared to cover those costs?

Careful retirement planning today will help put your mind at ease today and in the future when you really need these health care benefits.  Watch this week’s CBTV show

to find out how these financial headlines may impact you, and learn what you can do now to protect yourself from whatever the outcome of the Medicare debate brings us.
While the U.S. economy works to continue the recovery process, there have been some signs of improvement lately that offer some optimism.  Key corporate benefits, like

corporate matching of retirement savings plan contributions, are now making a comeback.  About 1 of every 5 employers decided to reduce or suspend their contributions

to 401(k) plans between 2008 and 2010, according to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Counsel of America.  Millions of Americans were impacted as a result of their employers

cutting costs during the height of the recession, and many lost the determination to continue investing in their own retirement future without the match plans.

With the economy headed in the right direction, more and more employers are investing in their employees again by helping them save for retirement. Retirement savings

plans need to be made a priority, especially when your employer is offering you FREE money! Watch this week’s CBTV show to find out how today’s financial headlines may

impact you, and learn how you can make the most of your 401(k) plan for retirement.

Taking out a loan under any circumstances obviously puts you into debt.  But pulling out money from your retirement savings through a 401(k) loan or hardship

withdrawal is the ultimate sacrifice because it can only hurt you in the long term.  But you can also cause some financial damage in the short term as well, in the

form of early withdraw penalties and taxes, so finding other ways to pay your monthly bills or expenses has never been more critical for many Americans.

In fact, one out of seven employees took out loans from their company 401(k) plans last year, according to a recent report by human resources firm Aon Hewitt.  As it

currently stands, approximately 30% of active 401(k) participants have outstanding loans on their accounts, the highest level in recent history.  No matter how you

break it down, choosing either a 401(k) loan or hardship withdrawal greatly reduces your retirement savings.

The good news is there are other options. Watch this week’s CBTV show to learn aboutwhat other choices you might have that could help solve your current financial

challenges without borrowing from your retirement nest egg!

Economists and consumers alike have revised their economic expectations for the rest of 2011.  The economy doesn’t seem to be bouncing back quite fast enough.  The

rate of unemployment is rising and major corporations, such as Cisco Systems, continue to announce layoffs of thousands of its employees.  The rate of inflation, as

measured through the Consumer Price Index (CPI), continues to hold at 3.6% for the second month in a row.  The rate has either held or increased every month since

November of last year.

What does this translate to? Lower consumer confidence. Both Reuters / University of Michigan and the Conference Board’s consumer confidence indexes fell in June, to

63.8 and 58.5 respectively.  This is attributed to falling wages and rising unemployment. Now, there is a growing fear that we may experience stagflation for the rest

of 2011.

To learn more about how unemployment and inflation impacts you, and to learn more about stagflation, watch this week’s CBTV show.  Discover how you can help yourself

financially in the second half of 2011 by saving money on many of your purchases, while also fueling the economy!

If you’ve hit the road recently, you realize that some of our highway infrastructure is in bad shape and desperately needs financial help.  In Washington, our elected

officials are debating, among other things, how much money should be spent on roads, highways and bridges across this country.  Regardless of what they decide, a new

“Highway Bill” must get passed before the latest extension on funding expires on September 30th or else construction projects will remain unfinished and workers will

become unemployed.

After the passage of the “Recovery Act” in 2009, several states focused on just short-term projects.  They had to submit a plan right away or could have lost their

funding from the stimulus package, so instead of planning for the long-term they really only focused on their short term needs. But now, these same states have much

bigger issues to deal with because they are running out of money.  Without federal funding, these bigger, longer-term projects are headed down a road to nowhere.  Only

a new transportation plan can save America’s highways.

Tune in this week to learn more about how America’s highways are cared for, and what a loss in federal funding means to you. Also, as we all know, life is full of

bumpy roads – find out how to protect yourself from some of life’s unexpected events in this week’s, “Financial Tip, Tool, or Technique” segment!
1) Opening:
Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Checks and Balances TV. I’m your host, Matthew J. Rettick, and I’m committed to giving YOU the TRUTH you need to

financially succeed.  Each week, we’ll review the news, check the facts and provide balanced insight and unbiased advice to help YOU make critical financial decisions.

So let’s get up, get energized and get going and see how today’s headlines impact your financial future.

 

 

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