Creating ‘ watch’ list a good way to learn about stocks
Motley Fool
Q: How should I go about creating and using a stock watch list? — M.S., Warren, Ohio
A: Jot down the names of companies that seem like promising investments. You can set up an online watch list or “portfolio” full of stocks of interest at sites such as finance.yahoo.com, morningstar.com or marketwatch.com. You might pretend that you bought one or more shares of each stock at the price at which you noticed the company.
Meanwhile, research and follow the companies on your list and get to know them well. When you’re ready to buy, you’ll be familiar with a bunch of companies and will have a sense of which are strongest, growing most briskly and priced attractively.
Monitoring your list also will help you notice when a company of interest falls in price significantly, presenting a possibly great buying opportunity. When that happens, do further research to make sure any problems it’s facing seem temporary and not protracted.
Fool’s School
You might be saving for retirement and assuming you’ll be fine, but there’s a certain cost that many people underestimate or don’t include in their retirement planning: health care.
According to new data from the Nationwide Retirement Institute, health care costs are keeping roughly a quarter of current retirees from living the lives they expected. Furthermore, 80 percent said that health problems sneaked up on them sooner than anticipated.
Of course, there’s no getting around the need to pay for health care in retirement, but you can do your part to ease the burden by knowing your costs in advance, buying the right insurance and saving for future bills.
According to HealthView Services, a provider of medical cost-projection software, the average man who is now 65 will spend $189,687 on health care in retirement, while the average 65-yearold woman will spend more (because women tend to live longer) — $214,565.
Worse, those averages don’t even account for long-term care, which is something that 70 percent of those 65 or older are likely to need. According to Genworth Financial’s 2017 Cost of Care Survey, the average assistedliving facility in the country costs $3,750 per month, or $45,000 a year. The average nursing home, meanwhile, costs $235 per day, or $85,775 per year, and that’s just for a semi-private room.
What should you do, given all that? Aim to save aggressively for retirement, investing your money effectively. Consider taking advantage of tax-advantaged accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s, too. Learn more about Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans to see which probably will keep your health-care spending as low as possible in retirement.
My Dumbest Investment
My dumbest investment was a company out of Bainbridge Island, Washington, many years ago. It seemed to be a successful high-tech health business, aiming to combine fitness and health services under one roof. I toured the facilities, met staff and was impressed. I invested $10,000 in the company, but it turned out to be a scam. — S.O., online
The Fool responds: It’s easy to get excited about fascinating and promising businesses you run across, but you should aim to dig into them deeply before investing — even more so when they’re small and/or young. Look into the history and track record of management. Look into their books to see whether they’re turning their great ideas into profits. Look into current and possible future competitors, and weigh all risks facing the company. Name that company
I trace my roots to 1906 and a family who bought the Batesville Casket Co. and started a hospital furniture company. I’ve grown over the years, in part by acquiring other businesses. Today, with a market value recently near $3 billion, I focus on two areas: I design and produce engineered industrial equipment, and I’m also a top North American death-care company. My businesses include Red Valve flow-control products, ABEL pumps, Coperion industrial equipment, Rotex screeners and TerraSource Global, which has the brands Pennsylvania Crusher, Gundlach Equipment and Jeffrey Rader. My ticker symbol is very friendly. Who am I?
Last week’s answer
I trace my roots back 200 years, to the 1818 opening of my first haberdashery in New York City. I introduced the innovation of ready-made suits in 1849, button-down polo shirts in 1896 and a pink shirt for women in 1949. I made a uniform for Teddy Roosevelt and a coat for Abraham Lincoln. I boast more than 280 stores in the U.S. and more than 700 internationally. Who am I? (Answer: Brooks Brothers)