First Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| Last quarter I aired some of my misgivings about the personal accounts proposal for Social Security system. My greatest concerns center around the potential for poor decisions, mischief and abuse. I expressed concern about the potential for government intrusion into the fundamental capital market decisions. These concerns remain, but I think they are outweighed by the potential benefits of private accounts.
Fourth Quarter 2004|Jim Williams| You are likely aware that there are changes coming to the Social Security system. In addition to the much discussed personal accounts, it is likely that benefits for future retirees (probably not current retirees) will be reduced a bit and deferred a bit. I guess that since I have been predicting this for several years, maybe I should take more credit for my abilities at prognostication. Hmmm.
Second Quarter 2004|Jim Williams| In his column dated July 18, 2004, Jonathan Clements, who writes “Getting Going” in the Personal Finance section of the Wall Street Journal, suggests starting a serious conversation about money with your kids. You may feel some trepidation about approaching the topic, since in our society, conversations about money carry roughly the same taboos as do conversations about sex. But the conversation about money may be every bit as important as a conversation about sex.
Second Quarter 2003|Jim Williams| A few weeks back, I met with my favorite Registered Dietician/Nutritionist for a personal nutrition assessment. Knowing that I am carrying a few (several?) pounds of fat around my middle, I expected to be exhorted to stop eating candy and junk food, and lose weight. However, I learned more importantly that I am deficient in lean body weight and the solution is to eat more than the minimum amount of protein. I find that I have to consume a lot of protein to reach my daily target, and doing that keeps me pretty full. Interestingly, by focusing on the positive: eat more protein rather than the negative: quit eating junk food, I effortlessly made some substantial changes in my personal nutrition. I think that what we do here at J. F. Williams Co., Inc. in financial advisory services is quite similar.
Third Quarter 2002|Jim Williams| Section 529 plans have become quite popular because they allow you to save for future college education costs while eliminating federal income taxes on qualified distributions. These plans have no income restrictions and contribution amounts are very generous. The beneficiary of a 529 plan can be anyone you wish, including the account owner, with no age limitations. Whether they’re a good idea depends upon your circumstances.