How Much Will You Receive in Social Security Income?

Social Security is a key component of most people's retirement plan. Here's a quick estimate of the retirement benefits that you can expect -- under the current rules....

Percent of Salary Replaced by Social Security Retirement Benefits

Percent of Salary Replaced by Social Security

The Percentage of Your Salary Replaced by Social Security is Determined by Your Salary Level

The chart above (click to expand) shows the approximate percent of your salary that Social Security will replace if you retire at age 65. The actual calculation is complicated, and is based upon your lifetime earnings (see links in related materials below). For these estimates, I have assumed that you will earn your current salary, adjusted for inflation, for the remainder of your career.

Introduction to Windows 8 Charms: Search, Share, Start... Guest Post by "Techie Tim"

This is the second in a series, the first post is Windows 8: The Start Screen.

Windows 8: The Charms Banner

Two challenges have persisted through many iterations of the Windows operating system.  Windows needs to communicate important things for you to do quickly, easily and in language that is easily understood by non-computer professionals.  Also, a quick and easy method for these same computer users to tell Windows what they want it to do.  Additionally, with Windows 8, these challenges need to be addressed both for a touch-screen environment and a mouse-driven interface in a consistent manner.

The end result was a “Charms banner”.  To access this banner on a touch screen device, you simply put a finger in the upper or lower right-hand corner of the screen – then slide it toward the center of the screen.  In a non-touch environment, you’ll move your cursor to the upper or lower right-hand corner of the screen.  In either environment, when the black banner appears you will move to select the desired charm without moving from the banner.

Inflation Calculator: Convert Dollars from 19xx to Now

Convert Dollars From One Year to  Equivalent Dollars in Another Year
Calculate Inflation Rates Between Two Years

This calculator is especially useful for converting salaries and asset values.

The brown/tan cells are input fields. For example, enter the start and end years and immediately see the inflation rate between the two years. Enter a price and convert between the start year price and end year price (e.g., from 1900 to 2011 dollars -- or vice versa). Note: may not work in Chrome?

January 2013 Stock Market Performance

Dow Index Monthly Closes Through January, 2013

On the Cusp!

After a relatively flat fourth quarter (actually, it was slightly negative), the market exploded into the new year. The year started with a 308 point relief rally on January 2nd, celebrating the last-minute agreement that kept us from falling off the "fiscal cliff" -- at least for a while. From there, The Dow kept going until it established a new 5-year high close of 13954 on January 29th, right on the cusp of 14,000!