Money Matters

Sixty percent or more of American families have 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plans. If you're under the age of 50, you can invest up to $16,500 in tax sheltered dollars each year in your retirement fund (and your employer can put in even more). If you're 50 or older, you can invest $22,000. But how many of us know how to manage these investments? You need to have a plan and stick to it. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells you how to do it.

LinkedIn's IPO seemed like a flashback to the heyday of the 1990's. The company's stock doubled in value on its first day of trading. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein thinks this will be a good year for IPOs. At least three locally based companies are preparing to go public, and more may be waiting in the wings.

Shareholders often get excited when their companies announce share buyback programs. If a company reduces shares in the marketplace, an investor’s share of the company goes up. So that's good, right? Usually, it is, but sometimes it can be a sign that the company is in trouble.

Gas prices are topping $4/gallon. Oil is over $100 a barrel. Gold and silver are at record highs. Food is more expensive. Does all this mean inflation is about to pounce on us? On this week's Money Matters, KPLU financial commentator Greg Heberlein says things may look discouraging, but there's no need to worry about runaway inflation.

Should you pull out of the stock market?

Standard & Poor's downgraded its credit outlook for the United States this week; gas prices are rising; Europe is facing serious debt problems and Japan continues to struggle with its nuclear crisis. There's an awful lot to worry about these days.

But financial commentator Greg Heberlein reminds us that Wall Street climbs a wall of worry, and says you should stay in the market and look for buying opportunities.

How to pay for your children’s college tuition can be complicated. Washington state's Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program has been very popular, with about 130,000 families taking advantage of it. But there have been concerns about the long term financial viability of the program, and the legislature is considering changes. For those not already in the program, what the state agrees to cover may be less than what it pays for current enrollees. In light of this uncertainty, financial commentator Greg Heberlein thinks it’s a good time to point out the alternatives.

A couple of weeks ago, financial commentator Greg Heberlein said it was time for a stock market correction. Sure enough, we've seen the market drop, spurred on by events in the Middle East and the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan.

Is it time to buy back in? One never knows for sure, but on this week's Money Matters, Greg tells me what to watch for.

Are you losing sleep over your pension fund?

Public and private pension funds are under a lot of stress due to the Great Recession. The Washington Post's Peter Whoriskey recently reported state and local pensions may be underfunded by $1.5 trillion more than previously thought. NPR has reported the states are facing a $3 trillion pension shortfall.

But financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells KPLU's Dave Meyer the situation may not be as bad as it looks.Greg says there's cause for concern, but he's optimistic.