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I ran across a BusinessWeek article today about retirement plans in 2008 from top 401(k) provider Fidelity Investments. It stated that although the average retirement account balance fell a whopping 27% to $50,200 last year, people actually contributed slightly more in 2008 than in 2007.

This quote also caught my eye:

Are investors making a lot of changes within their retirement accounts?
Some 60% of plans administered by Fidelity in 2008 utilized a lifecycle fund as a default investment option, that’s up from 38% in 2007. What happens in a time of short-term volatility is that investors in these funds are not switching. Only 1% lifecycle fund investors made a change compared to the overall average to 6.1%.

Makes sense overall. Investors in these types of funds want all-in-one simplicity. However, almost every company these days offer a lifecycle retirement fund. And most 401(k) investors can only invest in the one that happens to be in their plan. Check out this Money magazine example of the possible extremes out there for a mutual fund designed for a worker retiring in 2010:

On the aggressive side, the Oppenheimer Transition 2010 Fund (OTTAX) has 65% in stocks for someone on the verge of retirement, resulting in a 46% loss in 2008. On the conservative end, this AP article has an even better example – The DWS Target 2010 Fund (KRFAX) only has 18.1% in stocks and only had a 3.6% loss in 2008. The rest was in cash and bonds. (Of course, it also had a fat front-end load and is closed to new investors.)

That is some pretty stark contrast. Do you know what is inside your target-date fund? Dig up the ticker symbol, plug it into Morningstar, and scroll down to “asset allocation”.

What about the big boys like Vanguard?
Even the most highly-rated mutual fund companies don’t agree on the asset allocation for each time horizon. See how Vanguard, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price differ in their target-date retirement funds.

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A reader sent me a link to an article at the This Old House website. It’s all about saving some serious money by doing things yourself. A few things cost a little to do, others don’t cost anything but a little bit of your time. Surprisingly, we were already doing a few [...]

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If you are financial fanatic like myself, you may have already heard all about the 2009 budget.  This federal budget was meant to spur spending due to the tough economic times that we are going through.  And spend is what they did!  We now have our first deficit in 12 years, $34 billion worth, and [...]

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Several months ago my “check engine” light went on. I went to my local mechanic, who plugged in a code scanner and found my error. Since it didn’t re-appear after resetting, he said he could try to fix it ($$$) or I could just leave it and it might never come back on. He said he normally charges $50 just do do the diagnostic, but this time it’d be free. A week ago, it came back on, and of course I wasn’t eager to go through all this hassle again.

I decided to try and buy my own error code scanner. If you search for “OBDII”, “OBD II”, or “OBD 2″ code readers, these devices will plug into your 1996 or newer model year car and read the diagnostic code from your car computer. In addition, they can erase or reset the code so that you can see if it is an ongoing problem.

Luckily, while searching I ran across a post on Fatwallet that had this CodeKey OBD II code reader on clearance for $23.90. There are nicer scanners out there, but they usually start at $60+. From the CodeKey site:

Simply put, CodeKey™ is an easy to use device designed to unlock the mystery of why your vehicle’s Check Engine Light is on. The Check Engine Light can ignite for something as simple as a loose gas cap, or as serious as a fuel leak. A flashing Check Engine Light can be serious, and continued driving can cause permanent damage to the vehicle. Until now, you would need to rely on a mechanic to determine what problem caused the light to go on

When you know the source of the problem you can:
* Decide if you should go to the garage immediately.
* Determine if the problem is something you can fix yourself.
* Know what to expect when you bring your car to a garage.

Other options
If you go to a dealership and have them read this code, it’ll cost you $100 just for the “diagnostic check”. Some people report that your local Autozone may lend these out for free at the store. I have also read that some Jiffy Lubes let you use theirs if you pay for some service like a oil change. I’d call first.

The old-school method is to simply disconnect your car battery and wait for the computer to reset itself. But for cars newer than 1996, this site reports that wiping out the computer’s memory can affect the operation of the transmission, climate control system and other functions. You can also trigger your alarm system or anti-theft car radio into lock-down mode. However, you won’t know the actual cause of the problem.

In the end, at less than $25 I just bought the tool. Just avoiding the gas to/from the mechanic and having to arrange a carpool for pickup/dropoff would be worth it. And sure enough, after resetting the light it has not come back on again.

It turns out, buying this tool could be the start of a new side business. Check out this Craiglist ad where a guy will come over and reset your light for $25. Learn how to do common repairs, and there you go. I think I’ll pass, but don’t forget to deduct business mileage if you go this route!

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I’ve asked QCash, the young and retired millionaire, to write a book review on No Hype – The Straight Goods on Investing Your Money.  Here is a great summary that he came back with.  Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of the review!

Thanks to Million Dollar Journey for giving me the [...]

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