This Week In Your Wallet: Education Vs. Advice
It may not be summer weather on the East Coast just yet — help me out here, Al Roker! But it is June. And for me, that means spending some time down at the Jersey Shore. In my bedroom is a Danish modern redwood and leather sling chair that my parents purchased sometime in the early-to-mid ’70s. It’s one of my favorite pieces of furniture (and also the place my dog, Teddy, often chooses to take his afternoon snooze — or his morning or evening snooze, for that matter. He’s 12. Snoozing has become a way of life.) But it’s this chair I thought of when I read the piece in yesterday’s Boston Globe about grown kids not wanting to absorb the family heirlooms into their slimmed-down decor. I get it. But chosen carefully, the occasional heirloom doesn’t just fit in — it makes for terrific conversation.
As for the rest, it might be worth more than you think: Last week, we talked about how the average household contains 300,000 items, and that comes at a cost — both emotional (84 percent of Americans worry their homes aren’t organized enough) and financial (instead of taking up space, your stuff could be making you money). Here are my tips from both a TODAY segment and a written post about exactly how to turn household clutter into serious cash.
There are emerging ways to sell your old stuff in a very targeted way, which can up the chances you’ll be successful at trading it for extra income. If you’re getting rid of unusual items (think vintage lunch boxes or Elvis platinum records), try Bonanza. If you’re aiming to sell local, you’ll want to try apps LetGo, OfferUp, Close5 or Facebook Marketplace. For old tech, like smartphones and other devices, visit Decluttr, USell, Gazelle, NextWorth or Swappa. And for clothes, consider The RealReal (for more luxury items) and ThredUp (more mainstream), plus Poshmark, which lets sellers set their own prices. The article also has tips for how to sell to get the best possible prices.
Education Vs. Advice
Later this week, parts of the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule are scheduled to take effect. These regulations, aimed to protect investors, means that starting June 9, financial advisors offering advice about retirement plans and insurance products will need to comply with the “impartial conduct standard.” In plain English, this means they are required to give advice in the client’s best interest, avoid saying misleading things and charge a reasonable price, reports CNBC. On January 1, 2018, more provisions (requiring certain written disclosures to clients) should be introduced.
So what can you do? Know who you’re talking to. Say you’re making a call to your 401(k) plan provider to talk about rolling over an IRA. Is the person on the other end of the phone a fiduciary who can provide you with advice? Ask them. (It’s a good question to ask even if this is not the precise scenario.) If you’ve been getting advice from a particular individual, take a moment to look them up on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck and on the SEC’s advisor page. Then, ask them how they’re paid for their services and where they keep your assets. If you don’t get a clear answer, ask again. And know this: If they are not a fiduciary, they will be able to provide you with fact-based information about your options, but they will not be able to guide you. You may need to see advice elsewhere if you’re looking for actual help.
Hostile Takeovers On The Rise
I’m not talking about the sort of takeovers you saw in late ’80s/early ’90s movies like The Secret Of My Success and Other People’s Money. Account takeover fraud (using stolen information to access someone else’s accounts and transfer money) was up 31 percent year over year in 2016, according to a Javelin Strategy & Research report cited by CNBC. The fraud cost over $2.3 billion in losses over the same year — a 61 percent increase.
How do you keep fraudsters out of your accounts? Consider turning on multi-factor authentication on your account websites, which will require not only a password, but also an email or texted code when logging in. Remember not to reuse financial account passwords on any other platforms, and make use of your financial institution’s alert system (like receiving a text every time a transaction is made over a certain amount, or every time an online purchase is made).
Summer Travel
Finally, if you’re planning on jetsetting anywhere this summer, Hopper has flight price data — projecting that fares will peak this month and begin to fall in July. This month, average domestic flight prices will likely hit $258 — up 5.2 percent from this time last year — and bottom out to $223 in October. To save, book as soon as you’re ready — don’t wait for a “magic day” — and try to buy more than 30 days before the flight, when prices will likely spike. Google Flights has a useful interface for comparing fares, and you can sign up for flight price alerts from deal websites like Scott’s Cheap Flights, The Flight Deal and HolidayPirates. For more flight savings tips, check out this piece on SavvyMoney.
Have a great week,
Jean
