Don’t Rush to Pay off Your Student Loan – make a plan first

Posted on June 12, 2015 by steven

This may surprise you: you should worry more about saving for retirement than paying off your student loan. Yes, there are many bloggers testifying to how they paid off their loans, and many trying to tell you that you need to too. The frequency of such posts does not mean that they are right, or that they have factored in all that you need to for a “best use of cash flow over time” plan. In fact, paying off student loans that have relatively low interest rather than investing will be a costly mistake.

Compare student loan payoff blog posts to the many advisors who encourage paying off your mortgage. The urgency to retire your mortgage belongs to the Silent Generation, who survived the Great Depression and are risk adverse. Paying off a mortgage is usually not the way to maximize your net worth. (Watch for a post on “rent vs. buy” discussing investing and use of mortgage debt.) Furthermore, tying up so much capital in a house lacks for diversification and liquidity – you cannot sell your daughter’s room to cover tuition when she goes off to college.

How do you decide what loan to pay off when? Start with this rule:

Whenever the interest rate on debt is less than the annualized return on investments, only pay the minimum on the loans

because the investments will grow faster than using the same cash to pay off debts

The term “annualized” returns is key here, as one good year is not a good measure, nor is a recent bad year; you want the 5 or better 10 year average return.

Next, when applying this general rule to yourself, be sure to use after-tax values. You can deduct home mortgage interest in most cases, a portion of student loans in some cases, and credit card debt in almost no cases, while you can deduct your investment in your retirement plan and what you invest grows tax-free until withdrawn. Roth IRAs do not give you a deduction now, but do grow tax free and withdrawals are tax-free.

Here is a quick example: say your retirement plan is all in ETFs, so it grows at about 7% per year over time, say you have a student loan with an interest rate of 3%, because you consolidated all your undergrad loans, and it has a minimum payment of $500 per month, and say you have $1,000 per month for which you want to devise the best plan. Apply no more than the required minimum to student loan and invest all the rest, maxing out your 401(k) or 403(b) plan first, and then investing in a Roth IRA next. In 10 years, you will be so much better off than the person who used the full $1,000 to pay her student loan. What if you had a loan with an interest rate of 8%? Tough call. However, because the loan is compounding over time at a higher rate, that persuades me to apply more to the loan, provided that doing so did not give up an employer match on a 401(k) plan.

These examples are overly simple, I realize. Many of you face the quandary of student loan vs. retirement funding vs. rent or buy a home and more. I am working on that …. (Watch for a post on integrating decisions on buying a home, paying off student loans, investing for retirement and all the other issues you are likely to face.)

Scam alert: your secrets are not safe with the IRS

Posted on June 12, 2015 by steven

The IRS recently announced that the tax information of 104,000 filers was stolen by hackers and used to file false returns. The same thieves attempted to steal tax data from an additional 100,000 filers, but were unsuccessful.

The unauthorized access of records occurred between February and May of 2015, when hackers used the IRS’s “Get a Transcript” web tool to access filers’ tax return transcripts. The hackers had previously obtained social security numbers of these 200,000 filers from other sources. The IRS pointed out that their servers were not hacked, but their online service allowed resourceful thieves to access filers’ information.

This breach is especially alarming because IRS Transcripts contain sensitive information about filers. Specifically, they include much of the information reported to the IRS on 1040 and the supporting forms, such as W-2s. The stolen information was then used to file 36,500 fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds. As many as 13,000 of those phony returns were accepted by the IRS, for a total of $39 million in refunds paid.

The IRS acted after discovering the breach by closing down the “Get a Transcript” tool for individual filers. Filers may still request their transcripts, but must do so by mailing in a completed form 4506. The IRS has not indicated when it will provide the online service again.

Their next step was to notify all 200,000 victims, informing them that their social security numbers and possibly other personal data was stolen. For those 104,000 whose tax information was stolen, the IRS is offering credit monitoring services. These victims will receive instructions to sign up for the credit monitoring note: these outreach letters will not request any personal identification information from taxpayers). In addition, the IRS will continue to monitor those tax accounts.

As always, victims may apply for identity protection numbers to prevent the filing of future returns using their information. Additionally, the IRS plans to strengthen its authentication procedures.

The hackers were able to answer many of the “out of wallet” security questions by using information that can be easily found on credit reports and social media sites like Facebook. As a result, the IRS will use questions that are more difficult to answer.

The IRS plans to employ a more proactive approach to prevent future breaches by partnering with private tax software companies, payroll companies and state agencies to share data on uncovered scams. Congress may act as well and may move up the date that W-2 forms must be filed with the government to January 31. This change would make it more difficult for scammers to e-file fake 1040s.

If you were affected by this breach, you will receive a notice in the mail from the IRS. If you do not receive a notice, we still recommend you access your free credit reports annually and stay vigilant about keeping your sensitive data protected.

Steve Jobs said: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” – so how does that help your career path?

Posted on May 20, 2015 by steven

Michael Simmons recalled the impact of Steve Jobs last January in Top predictor of career success 2015.

Simmons then says: “We think we understand what caused his success. We don’t. We dismiss usable principles of success by labeling them as personality quirks. What’s often missed is the paradoxical interplay of two of his seemingly opposite qualities; maniacal focus and insatiable curiosity. These weren’t just two random strengths. They may have been his most important as they helped lead to everything else … Jobs’ curiosity fueled his passion and provided him with access to unique insights, skills, values, and world-class people who complemented his own skill set. Jobs’ focus brought those to bear in the world of personal electronics.”

In the post, he quotes Steve Jobs form 1995: “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something.”

How does any of this relate to you and your career? Simmons reports from his 2013 interview of an expert on networks that a key indicator is being in “open networks.” He then indicates how that is beneficial:

• More accurate view of the world. It provides them with the ability to pull information from diverse clusters so errors cancel themselves out. Research by Philip Tetlock shows that people with open networks are better forecasters than people with closed networks.

• Ability to control the timing of information sharing. While they may not be the first to hear information, they can be the first to introduce information to another cluster. As a result, they can leverage the first move advantage.

• Ability to serve as a translator / connector between groups. They can create value by serving as an intermediary and connecting two people or organizations who can help each other who wouldn’t normally run into each other.

• More breakthrough ideas. Brian Uzzi, professor of leadership and organizational change at the Kellogg School of Management, performed a landmark study where he delved into the tens of millions of academic studies throughout history. He compared their results by the number of citations (links from other research papers) they received and the other papers they referenced. A fascinating pattern emerged. The top performing studies had references that were 90% conventional and 10% atypical (i.e., pulling from other fields). This rule has held constant over time and across fields. People with open networks are more easily able to create atypical combinations.

Here is a quote that I find interesting (and can relate to):

This is challenging in that it can lead to feeling like an outsider as a result of being misunderstood and under-appreciated because few people understand why you think the way you do. It is also challenging, because it requires assimilating different and conflicting perspectives into one worldview.

And this really does ultimately get back to Steve Jobs, who said “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” If you have not read, or better yet, watched this, find time to do so: The 2005 Stanford commencement address Jobs – “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”

Michael Simmons is a bestselling author and the co-founder of Empact, a global entrepreneurship education organization that has held 500+ entrepreneurship events including Summits at the White House, US Chamber of Commerce, and United Nations.

What we are reading – for laughs, for serious thought and discussion, and just because

Posted on May 20, 2015 by steven

She’s right: This is the Fourth Grader who Asked Obama to put a Woman on the $20 Bill, from BuzzFeed News

Technology: Musk Plots Energy Storage fix Where Utility Industry Failed, from Bloomberg

Humor: Cookie Monster, Life Coach – on YouTube

Health: A 2-Minute Walk May Counter the Harms of Sitting – Even a few minutes per hour of moving instead of remaining in a chair might substantially reduce the risk of premature death.

Language: 20 Common Phrases Even the Smartest People Misuse, from The Muse

Comedy: Penn Jillette’s Big Dumb American Crush on Howard Johnson’s, from Eater

How to Be Emotionally Intelligent – What makes a leader? Knowledge, smarts and vision, but also the ability to identify and monitor emotions and manage relationships. From the NY Times

Comedy: The Man Who Makes the World’s Funniest People Even Funnier. As comedies become increasingly improvisational, they need an editor like Brent White to sew them together. From the NY Times- Quote: “Sometimes you just create a joke out of nothing.”

How Music Hijacks Our Perception of Time, from Nautilus – Quote: “The Royal Automobile Club deemed Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyrie the most dangerous music to listen to while driving.”

What Is Your Purpose? We need to forge new ways to seriously discuss the deepest questions in life with modern tools. This is a start. From the NY Times

What we are reading this month – hope you find something interesting about which you did not know (which will make for an interesting discussion when you tell others)

Posted on May 20, 2015 by steven

Exploring Why Some People Get Fitter Than Others: A new study in rats adds to a growing body of data about how and why bodies respond so differently to exercise.

The Brain’s Empathy Gap – Can mapping neural pathways help us make friends with our enemies? Quote: “Here, as in Ireland, otherwise-reasonable people could not bring themselves to consider the opposing side’s perspective, and as a result could not muster compassion for their suffering.”

The Best and Worst Fonts to Use on Your Résumé.

A Racy Silicon Valley Lawsuit, and More Subtle Questions About Sex Discrimination. Women can find themselves caught in a double standard at work, needing to promote themselves and yet not appear too pushy. As David Streitfeld, who is covering the trial for The New York Times, wrote, men at the venture firm essentially told Ms. Pao: “Speak up — but don’t talk too much. Light up the room — but don’t overshadow others. Be confident and critical — but not cocky or negative.”

Conan O’Brien’s history-making Cuba mission: ‘Make them laugh’ – LA Times.

Lake Michigan is So Clear Right Now its Shipwrecks Are Visible From the Air | Smart News | Smithsonian.

Karen, an App That Knows You All Too Well – An interactive app from the British art group Blast Theory is part story, part game and leaves its users feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

What Part of ‘No, Totally’ Don’t You Understand? (how “no” means “yes”)

Formula 1 aerodynamics will make grocery stores more efficient.

Start-Up Blends Old-Fashioned Matchmaking and Algorithms. Like most start-up founders, Ms. Kay and Ms. Tessler saw a problem in a market they knew well, one that wasn’t caused by a lack of technology, but by too much. The problem was cost-effective dating and the market was love. After starting a group dating company, the founders shifted course with the help of user feedback.

Charm Offensive. Millennials Are Horrible at Being Charming Online – Slate.com

Allan Turing and the Apple. Some have said that the Apple logo is a tribute to Alan Turning, as he took a bite of an Apple when he committed suicide.