“Another year. Another 500 personal finance surveys? - Reuters Blogs” plus 1 more

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Another year. Another 500 personal finance surveys? - Reuters Blogs Posted: 04 Jan 2011 09:22 AM PST I have often said that I would be a rich woman if had $1,000 for every retirement survey that crossed my desk. When I began covering personal finance-related topics in 1995, surveys and polls were relatively rare. Now they sprout up like mushrooms after an August rainfall. And yet I have no idea how many of these research studies are churned out every year. I'd venture to say it is in the triple digits. Since last July, for example, I received approximately 50 surveys focusing on retirement-related issues. I know this to be true because I dumped them all into an Outlook folder. Thus, one of my new year's resolutions is to keep score of the personal finance research that floods my inbox. With the help of the Prism Money team, we will be tracking personal finance-related surveys in the coming year. Just to be clear, I don't want to discourage personal finance research. Polls, surveys and studies can be extremely helpful for reporters, providing the framework for trend stories. And they can be fascinating. The most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, for example, finds that 7 in 10 consumers have a financial resolution for 2011. My favorite detail: Indonesians, South Africans and Chinese are the keenest on resolutions, while respondents in Hungary, Japan and Germany are the least interested. (Having lived amid pessimistic Hungarians in the early 1990s, that doesn't surprise me.) Studies can be good for consumers, too. For example, the seminal OppenheimerFunds study on women and investing conducted in the 1990s is credited with putting the planning needs of women on the radar screen of the financial services industry. But another survey that shows baby boomers are worried about retirement security? Puhleeze! And there is the rub: while some surveys are valuable, many are not. "Done well — and with scrupulous attention to methodology, question bias and response size — a smart public opinion poll can play a critical role in identifying, calling attention to, and helping to understand an unrecognized or under-explored issue," says Rob Densen, CEO and founder of Tiller llc., a media strategy firm (which also pitches me plenty of thoughtful financial research). Full disclosure: Densen formerly served as director of corporate affairs at OppenheimerFunds. Some of my favorite market research on personal finance topics comes from Pew Research, GFK Roper and Mathew Greenwald. I'm also partial to research conducted by Towers Watson. So far in 2011, I've received just three paltry pitches for personal finance studies. One to be released later this month shows a shift in attitudes by younger investors. Another embargoed release looks at the financial sophistication of retail investors. And this poll from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling finds that decreasing debt was a top consumer financial resolution. Help us in our quest to survey the surveys in 2011. You can comment here on our blog, or tweet us via @Prism_Money. (If you are a media relations person, bad news: We will not write about each and every tome that is published, but we will monitor the body of personal finance research that is produced in 2011.) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

8 personal finance New Year’s resolutions - Forbes (blog) Posted: 03 Jan 2011 01:20 PM PST Image via Wikipedia Written by Melissa Hincha-Ownby Happy New Year! Whether your personal finances took a turn for the better or for the worse in 2010, there's no better time than the present to ensure that things look rosy in 2011. Take the time to research each of these personal finance categories and determine what you can do to improve them over the next 12 months. 1. Pay down debt If you have consumer debt, one of your first personal finance New Year's resolutions should be to pay down your debt this year. Challenge yourself to go beyond the minimum payments and focus on getting your accounts paid off as soon as possible. According to the credit card repayment calculator on the Federal Reserve website, if you have a $2,500 balance with a 9.9 percent interest rate and a $50 minimum payment, it will take you about 12 years to pay off the account. During the course of these 12 years, you'll pay $1,348 in interest. If you bump the payment up to $75 per month, you'll pay off the account in three years and only pay $436 in interest. 2. Beef up savings If you use your credit cards as an emergency fund, now may be the time to start setting aside a real emergency fund. I'm not talking about an "oh no, the economy is going to collapse" emergency fund but a "my transmission went out on my car" emergency fund. Financial experts recommend that you set aside cash to cover anywhere from three to 12 months or more of your expenses in an emergency fund, but you can decide for yourself how much you're comfortable with. Set a savings goal this year and keep track of your progress monthly. 3. Retirement planning No matter your age, you need to start thinking about retirement. Unfortunately, many Americans are lacking in the retirement savings department. According to a March 2010 report (PDF) issued by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, 27 percent of American workers had less than $1,000 in their retirement account and 54 percent had $25,000 or less set aside for retirement. If you're underprepared for retirement, 2011 is a great year to start. With the 2 percent payroll tax holiday this year, consider diverting 2 percent of your pay into your company's 401k and then vow to contribute more as you free up room in your budget. 4. Life insurance Although you may carry life insurance through your employer, you should consider an independent policy as well. Life insurance recommendations vary, but there are several tools out there to guide you, including Bankrate.com's life insurance calculator. 5. Will and estate planning Whether you have a wife and kids or you're a single person, setting up a will and an estate plan is a wise move. Resolve to meet with an estate attorney and an investment advisor to get your will in place and an estate plan laid out. Don't forget to include a health care proxy. 6. College savings If Americans' general savings and retirement savings are falling short, it's safe to bet that college savings are as well. If you're a parent, now is the time to start planning for how you'll pay for your child's college expenses. Student loans are a burden and if you are in a position to help your child avoid them, then don't skip this important personal financial planning step. 7. Compare prices on insurance I encourage everyone to compare their insurance prices with both their existing companies and competitors on an annual basis. If you have your auto and homeowner's policies through separate companies, look into combining them into one company so you can take advantage of the multi-line discount. This is also a good time to make sure that your coverage levels meet your current needs: did you buy a new piece of jewelry in 2010? If so, you may need to add a rider to your homeowner's policy to cover the new piece. 8. Educate yourself Although you may not be an investment adviser, an insurance agent or a financial guru, you need to take the time to educate yourself in all things personal finance. One of the easiest ways to do this is to simply read. Check out the popular personal finance websites to stay up-to-date on the latest news items and head to your library for new personal finance books. These are eight items that I'm working on in 2011, what are your personal finance New Year's resolutions? Melissa Hincha-Ownby blogs for the Mother Nature Network. More from the Mother Nature Network: This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

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