CNBC Million Dollar Challenge Answers 5/2/07

Here are the daily bonus buck trivia question answers for those of you playing the CNBC million dollar challenge.

Q: Blockbuster sold its UK video game retailer, Game Station, for how much?
A: 150 million

Q: The Royal Bank of Australia has decided to keep interest rates on hold at what percent?
A: 6.25%

Should Spouses Combine Finances?

I think I have posted before that I'm getting married soon. Since read recently that money is the number one conflict in most marriages. In preparation for my wedding I have been reading up on whether spouses should combine their finances.

My fiancee and I have similar spending habits and stay on the same page about most things, so I assume we will end up combining things to keep everything consistent and easier. It looks like it is getting more common for couples to keep everything or most everything separate. According to MSNBC, about 1/3 of women now have a brokerage account of their own separate from their husbands.

I've compiled a list of pros and cons that I think my fiancee and I should consider when talking it over.

Pros:

• All about the "we": Of course this can also cause fights in a relationship, but staying on the same page and working toward the same financial goals can be rewarding. Even if there are occasional bumps. If you're working together the finger pointing can be kept to a minimum.
  

• It's easier: As a matter of efficiency, I think it is easier to combine your accounts. There should be at least a few things that become more efficient when you get married. You only rent one place instead of two, can sometimes get away with one car, and I don't want to deal with two brokers who don't think I have enough invested with them to take time out of their day to manage my investments.
  
  
• Consolidate for better returns: If you combine your funds into a few accounts you might be able to reduce fees by having higher balances, get better returns, have better service from your broker. Some brokers have accounts with $2,500 or $3,000 balances which can be met sooner if you combine funds. There are also a lot of companies that have sliding scales that have rates that are higher as balances increase.

Cons:

• Probate Problems: If your spouse dies (depending on what state/jurisdiction you live in) any accounts may be frozen in their name. It's really important that you have some money in your name to pay a month or two of expenses if tragedy strikes. Probate is a painfully slow procedure. A good attorney can minimize problems, but it won't be immediate more than likely.
  

• You Credit History: When one partner handles all the financial issues things can go smoothly, but then again if you ever separate or your partner dies - you won't have much of a credit history. If you do combine finances you should at the least keep a credit card or two in your name to keep your credit healthy.
  
  
• A Jealously Issue: Some people look at keeping finances separate as a lack of trust. While this can be the case for people who think their spouse is a poor money manager, it isn't always the case.
  
  

Whatever you decide talk things through. What works for other people doesn't for others. The Simple Dollar has tips for talking to your spouse about combining finances. Another possible solution would be to direct deposit the vast majority of your paycheck into a joint account with a small fraction to a separate personal account for each spouse. This way you stay on the same page, but each have some freedom to save, invest or spend your share as you please.

Links
Separate Accounts Save Love Life @ Guardian Unlimited
The Color of Money (realplayer) @ NPR
Marriage till Debt Do Us Part @ USAToday
Q&A Couple Finance @ LongRelationships

Free Joost Invite No Strings Attached

*** UPDATE 5/2/07: I now have 900+ invites as of 9:00AM this morning so request away ***

I recently began toying with Joost. If you aren't familiar with the service you aren't alone. Joost is an IPTV service (think VoIP but for TV). Basically you can watch TV over your computer for free. The service is ad based and actually has a lot better picture quality than you would expect. The only potential downsides are 1) you need a broadband connection 2) there isn't a tremendous amount of content out there right now on the service 3) you need an invite to use the service.

Well, I have ONE invites available. For those of you who have yet to receive one and want to try it out here's your chance. Make a post in the comments and make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you and send you the invite.

America's Hottest Jobs

A new list of the top 50 hottest jobs has been circulating on the web lately, below are the top 50 (of jobs that make more than the U.S. median and are growing faster than average). Of course none of these lists are perfect. There are typically three reasons these lists are problematic
a) job demand varies tremendously depending on geography,
b) the lists has some general job titles like "lawyer" or "financial analyst" that can run the gamut from entry level workers making 30k to people on the top end making millions and everything in between,
c) "hot" occupations change faster than the lists can keep up with - so like everything they are outdated as soon as they are published. Take a look and see if your occupation is "hot."

1. Registered nurses: $52,330

2. Postsecondary teachers: $51,800

3. General and operations managers: $77,420

4. Elementary school teachers, except special education: $43,160

5. Accountants and auditors: $50,770

6. Business operation specialists, all other: $53,460

7. Computer software engineers, applications: $74,980

8. Maintenance and repair workers, general: $30,710

9. Carpenters: $34,900

10. Computer systems analysts: $66,460

11. Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education: $45,650

12. Computer software engineers, systems software: $79,740

13. Physicians and surgeons: $145,600

14. Network systems and data communications analysts: $60,600

15. Automotive service technicians and mechanics: $32,450

16. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses: $33,970

17. Management analysts: $63,450

18. Computer support specialists: $40,430

19. Lawyers: $94,930

20. Network and computer systems administrators: $58,190

21. Police and sheriff's patrol officers: $45,210

22. Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education: $43,670

23. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters: $41,290

24. Financial managers: $81,880

25. Computer and information systems managers: $92,570

26. Sales representatives, services, all other: $47,000

27. Fire fighters: $38,330

28. Dental hygienists: $58,350

29. Paralegals and legal assistants: $39,130

30. Sales managers: $84,220

31. Chief executives: $140,350

32. Self-enrichment education teachers: $30,880

33. Physical therapists: $60,180

34. Pharmacists: $84,900

35. Medical and health services managers: $67,430

36. Sales representatives, wholesale, manufacturing, techn, scientific: $58,580

37. Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists: $41,190

38. Property, real estate, and community association managers: $39,980

39. Child, family, and school social workers: $34,820

40. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers: $36,260

41. Real estate sales agents: $35,670

42. Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school: $43,570

43. Legal secretaries: $36,720

44. Training and development specialists: $44,570

45. First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers: $29,510

46. Administrative services managers: $60,290

47. Public relations specialists: $43,830

48. Radiologic technologists and technicians: $43,350

49. Sales and related workers, all other: $31,380

50. Personal financial advisors: $62,700

The list was compiled based on stats from Bureau of Labor Statistics and published by MSN and Career Builder. You can check out the full article over at MSN.

List:
MSN Careers - American's Top 50 Jobs

Crash Course In Personal Finance: The Basics

I recently was reading an article over at The Blueprint For Financial Prosperity that lists 10 basic personal finance concepts everyone should know. I think it is a great list. I will list the first 10 here and add a couple of my own. Of course I encourage you to check out the whole list here.

1. Spend less than you earn.
2. Thinking about money sucks, but it can be easy.
3. You don't have to follow the crowd.
4. Retirement savings order: 401k with match, Roth, 401k, everything else.
5. Avoid debt unless it is for a house, car, or education.
6. Showing off either breeds either jealousy or annoyance.
7. Scrap the latte factor.
8. If it's too good to be true, it is.
9. Life is about enjoyment, not money.
10. Always act morally, ethically, truthfully, and legally.

I generally like everything on the list (although as many comments said on the blog, I too am not into taking on much debt for a car purchase). Here is what I would add aside from modifying #5 slightly.

• Make a will and health care power of attorney:
• It doesn't matter how much you dislike attorneys, these documents save your family lots of hassle and potentially money in the long run. Your state may even have fill in the blank forms you can do yourself.

• Save young & retire early
• Compounding is a wonderful thing
  
  
• Pay debts in this order:
  
• credit cards, other high interest short term debt (payday loans etc), financing company loans (i.e. cars), private student loans, mortgages & federal student loans.
  
  
• Owning a home is not always better than renting
• A large portion of the time it is, but if you are taking on more mortgage than you can afford or will only be in the home a short time the transaction costs will eat up your equity.
  
  
• Keep your paperwork in order
• If you have some sort of filing system or at least can keep tabs on your bills, statements, and other important paper you will be in much better shape.

Link
Blueprint For Financial Prosperity - Basic Personal Finance Concepts