Newspaper Page Text
6A
March 10, 2005
Business
Ten tips for smart investors
By CONSTANCE WOODS
Financial Consultant
A good grasp of the
fundamentals is key to
avoiding mistakes while
investing for your future.
Take a look at some
Serving the
investment needs of
the community.
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§ 5
Constance L. Woods
Financial Planning Specialist
Financial Consultant
Investment Management Specialist
Retirement Plan Consultant
One Tenth Street. Suite 600
Augusta Ga 30901
(706) 823-8144
www fc. smithbarney. com/woods
THIS IS WHO WE ARE. THIS IS HOW WE EARN IT."
SMITH BARNEY
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essential thoughts on
investing that might help
prevent some classic
errors:
Live within your
means. Keep your
spending habits within
‘Financial Planning
‘Money Management
Estate Planning
'IRAs and Pension Plans
‘Government Securities
‘Tax-Free Bonds
‘Corporate Bonds
‘Stocks and Bonds
‘Mutual Funds
‘Annuities
AUGUSTA FOCUS
the limits of your
income and invest wisely
for the future.
Designate funds for
short-term and long
term use. Don’t invest
money you may need to
keep liquid, otherwise
you may be forced to sell
assets at an inopportune
time. lnvesting is a
long-term process. Real
money is made over
years, not months.
Determine your risk
tolerance. Once you
identify how comfort
able you are with taking
investment risks, you
can make informed deci
sions about your portfo
lio.
Nearly three million metal charms recalled because of lead poisoning
By ELIZABETH WOLFE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -
A New Jersey company is
recalling about 2.8 mil
lion metal charms sold
at Michaels Stores and
other arts and crafts
retailers because they
contain high levels of
lead, the government
said Thursday.
The recall was prompt
Set reasonable expecta
tions for return on your
investments. Earning 6
percent to 7 percent a
year is more realistic.
Diversify your hold
ings. Different assets,
markets and industries
do not rise and fall in
tandem. Keep vyour
portfolio balanced
among several types of
investments.
Invest in quality secu
rities. Solid companies
that have stood the test
of time tend to do well
during periods of market
strength, and to recover
more quickly after peri
ods of market weakness.
Never let a low share
ed by reports that a six
year-old girl from San
Jose, Calif., apparently
suffered lead poisoning
in December after plac
ing in her mouth a
charm she wore as a
necklace, the Consumer
Product Safety Commis
ston said.
The agency last month
set acceptable lead levels
for the millions of pieces
of children’s metal jewel
ry sold at dollar stores
and in vending
machines.
The recalled charms —
sold as decorations for
greeting cards and gift
bags but also used to
make necklaces and
bracelets — do not nec
essarily fall under the
new policy. But CPSC
spokeswoman Patty
Davis said the lead poi
soning incident was
enough to prompt the
company, Hirschberg
Schutz & Co. Inc. of
Income the IRS can’t touch
WSCHNEPPER
Money Tax Expert
(NAPSI)-Keeping the tax
man away from your
money may be easier than
you think. With a bit of
planning, you can cut your
tax bill:
Tax-free interest: Interest
carned on bonds issued by
a state, territory, munici
pality or any political sub
division is free from federal
taxes. If you're in the top
35 percent bracket, a five
percent tax-free rate is like
a taxable rate of 7.69 per
cent. At investingin
bonds.com you can com
pare taxable and rtax-free
yields. Some bonds may
also escape state and local
taxes.
Carpool receipts: Com
muting to work? Bring a
friend. If you form a car
pool, payments from pas
sengers for repairs, gas and
so on, are not included in
your income.
Sell your house: If your
house was your principal
residence for two of the last
five years, you can exclude
as much as $250,000 in
gain ($500,000 on a joint
return) when you sell it
price be your only rea
son to buy a particular
stock. The one or two
low-priced stocks that
soar in a given year are
the overwhelming excep
tions.
Allow dividends to
compound over time.
Dividend reinvestment
programs use a compa
ny’s dividends to pur
chase more shares of the
underlying stock. The
returns you earn from
stock dividends can add
up over the years.
learn 41l you cap
about the companies in
which you invest. Read
the annual reports and
earnings summaries you
Warren, N.J., to recall
the product.
Studies have found
that even small amounts
of lead ingested by chil
dren can cause neurolog
ical damage or behavior
and learning problems.
Opponents of CPSC'’s
lead policy on toy jewel
ry argue it falls short, in
part because it does not
require the industry to
test for lead.
“Until they have an
enforceable policy out
there, we're concerned
that kids are going to
continue to be exposed
to lead in jewelry, and
these chaotic recalls are
going to continue,” said
Charles Margulis, a
spokesman for the Cen
ter for Environmental
Health in Oakland,
Calif. The center has
sued more than a dozen
retailers for allegedly
failing to warn cus
tomers of lead in jewel
You don't have to reinvest
the money and you can
claim the exclusion every
two years.
Tax-free compensation:
When you're due for a
raise, ask your company for
nontaxable compensation.
Health and hospitalization
insurance premiums are
tax-free for you and your
firm.
Cover your life: Group
term life insurance cover
age of $50,000 or less paid
for by your company isn't
taxed to you. You pick the
beneficiary; your company
pays the premiums. Your
company deducts the
expense; you walk away
with additional tax-free
income.
Send yourself to school:
Get educated. The courses
don’t have to be job-relat
ed. Your company can pay,
and deduct, as much as
$5,250 per year in educa
tional assistance that comes
to you tax-free.
Get you there: Your com
pany can give you discount
fare cards, passes or tokens
to take public transporta
tion to work as long as it’s
worth under SIOO a
month, you get it tax-free.
should receive as a stock
holder. We can send
current company
research to you.
Develop a good source
of investment informa
tion and service. Be sure
that your investment
firm provides a compre
hensive range of services
and that your financial
consultant is familiar
with your individual sit
uation.
Constance Woods is a
Financial Consultant
with Smith Barney. For
more information, con
tact
Constance L. Woods at
(706) 823-8144 or con
stance. L. woods@smith
barney.com.
ry.
Rep. Henry Waxman,
D-Calil., last month
introduced legislation
that would ban lead in
all products for young
children.
The mostly silver-color
charms, made in China,
were sold in packages of
two to 12 pieces for $3
to $4 at Michaels Stores
from July 2002 to Feb
ruary 2005; at ReCollec
tions from October 2004
to February 2005; and at
Hancock Fabrics from
January 2004 to January
2005.
Connie Greene, a
spokeswoman for
Hirschberg Schutz, said
she could not say whether
the products had been test
ed before entering the mar
ket.
Consumers are urged to
take the charms from chil
dren and contact the com
pany at 800-873-5506 or
e - m a i |
charmsrecall(at)horizon
groupusa.com to receive
a refund.
If you drive and have to
pay for parking, your com
pany can provide free park
lng. up tOO a maximum
value of SIBO a month, to
you tax-free.
Flexible Spending
Accounts: Your company
makes deductible contribu
tions under a written plan,
you select between taxable
and nontaxable benefits.
To the extent you chose
nontaxable benefits, you
have no additional income.
nontaxable benefits may
include group life insur
ance, disability benefits,
dependent care and/or
accident and health bene
fits.
Any time you convert
taxable income into non
taxable income, you've
given yourself a raise.
Microsoft Money pro
vides access to helpful tips
and tax tools such as the
Tax Estimator, which
tracks all types of income
and expenses.
For more information,
s e ¢
www.microsoft.corn/mone
y/. Don't overpay taxes on
income protected by the
U.S. tax code.