Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/22090
Monday, December 27, 2010 – Daily News – 3A Local Calendar To add an upcoming event in the Local Calendar, submit information well in advance to the Daily News, attention Calendar, P.O. Box 220, Red Bluff, 96080 or e-mail to clerk@redbluffdailynews.com. Include a contact name and telephone number. MONDAY,DECEMBER 27 Red Bluff Al-Anon, 6 p.m., Presbyterian Church, Jefferson and Hickory (additional meetings noon and 6 p.m. Wednesdays, 6 p.m.Fridays) Head Injury Recreational Entity, 10 a.m., St.Eliz- abeth Community Hospital, Coyne Center, Rusty, 529- 2059 Key to Life, 6 p.m., Family Resource Center, 220 Sycamore St. Suite 101, 528-8066 Line Dancing for Beginners, 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., 1500 South Jackson St., Free, 527-8177 Masterworks Chorale Rehearsal, 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m., Red Bluff Presbyterian Church, 838 Jefferson St., 527-4203 Red Bluff Community Band, 6:45-8:45 p.m., Pres- byterian Church, 838 Jefferson St. ,527-3486 Red Bluff Recreation Line Dance Practice, 9:15 to 10:30 a.m.,1500 S. Jackson St. , 527-8177 Salvation Army Writing Class, 9:30-11 a.m., 940 Walnut St., 527-8530 Sun Country Quilters Community Service Group, 9 a.m.to 3 p.m., Family Resource Center, 220 Sycamore St. Suite 101, 528-8066 Sun Country Quilters Guild Meeting, 7 p.m., Westside Room, Red Bluff Community and Senior Center, 1500 S. Jackson St. TeenScreen Mental Health Appointments, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free, by appointment only, Youth Empowerment Services, 1900 Walnut St., 527-8491, Ext. 3012 Corning Healthcare District, 6 p.m., district office building, 145 Solano St., conference room Narcotics Anonymous, and 7 p.m., 815 First St., 824-114 or 586-0245. Meetings daily through Satur- day, additional meeting noon Mondays Sewing group, 9 a.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 Spanish Adult Education, 5 p.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 Strategies for Success, Life Skill classes, 1:30 p.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 TUESDAY,DECEMBER 28 Red Bluff Alzheimer’s and dementia support group, 6 p.m., Lassen House, 705 Luther Road, 529-2900 International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, 6:45 P.M., Masonic Hall 822 Main St. 527-6715 Line Dancing for Beginners, 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., 1500 South Jackson St., $1, 527-8177 PAL Kickboxing, 6 p.m., 1450 Schwab St., 529- 8716 or 200-3950 Pinochle for Seniors, 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., 1500 So. Jackson St., Free, 527-8177 Playtime Pals Playgroup, 9:30 a.m., Family Resource Center, 220 Sycamore St. Suite 101, 528- 8066 Red Bluff Rotary, noon, Elks Lodge Take Off Pounds Sensibly — TOPS, 10 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 525 David Ave., 824-0556 or 529-1414 Tehama County Board of Supervisors, 10 a.m., board chamber, 727 Oak St. Tehama County Patriots,6 p.m., Trinity Landmark Missionary Church, 20920 Hampton Rhodes Drive Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1932, 7 p.m. Veterans Building, Oak St. Corning City Council, 7:30 p.m., City Hall, 794 Third St. Disabled American Vets, 7 p.m., Veterans Memorial Hall, 1620 Solano St. Jewelry beading class, 9:30 a.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824- 7670 Soccer training, 4-6 p.m., except for holidays and rain, Woodson School Soccer Field, 150 N Toomes, 824-7680 Spanish Adult Education, 1:30 p.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824- 7670 Gerber Tehama Cemetery District, 4 p.m., cemetery office, 7772 Woodland Ave. Los Molinos Free ESL Class, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Los Molinos Elementary, 7700 Stanford Ave., 384-7833 Lotto numbers SACRAMENTO (AP) — The winning num- bers drawn Saturday night in the California Lottery’s ‘‘SuperLotto Plus’’ game were: 01-20-25-41-42. Meganumber: 25. Everything you hear is wrong These days, financial advice is not hard to come by. Unfortu- nately, most of what you hear is not right. The infor- mation is skewed and the presentation overly dramat- ic because it comes from people who stand to benefit if you respond. The best thing you can do is to assume everything you hear is wrong. Then confirm or refute the information for yourself, relying on the wisdom of people and resources that you know you can trust. • Life insurance. You've heard that everyone needs life insurance - - even children. That is wrong. The purpose of life insurance is not to pay for burial. The purpose of life insurance is to replace your income for those who now depend on it and/or to pay for services -- for example, child care and housekeep- ing -- that your family would require in your absence. Do you need life insurance? Ask yourself this question: If my income or the services I perform for my family were to disappear suddenly, would anyone be left in dire financial straits? That is how to decide whether you need life insurance. Except in the case of sophisticated estate planning, life insurance should not be combined with investing or other financial activities. (Before I get a lot of angry mail from insurance sales- people, let me stress that I've heard all of your arguments. I am not easily dissuaded.) • Credit counseling. You've heard there are non- profit credit coun- seling companies that will help you pay your credit card debt in full for only 25 to 50 percent of the amount you owe. That is wrong. Though a reputable non- profit credit counseling organization can be a lifesaver for someone in the fast lane to bankrupt- cy court, credit counsel- ing is not a panacea. Credit counselors some- times can negotiate lower interest rates, but debt reduction? In your dreams. in deductible mortgage interest a year, that translates to a $280 reduction in your tax bill. If you pay off that mortgage, you lose the $280 tax relief. But guess what? You get to keep the $720, too! Who in his right mind would choose to pay $720 to get back $280? • A miserable life. Mary Hunt Most creditors who agree to lesser terms negotiated by a third party will report the debt as being paid late or unsatisfactorily. That could mean a seven-year black eye on your credit report. • Tax-deductible. You've heard that you should not pay off your home mortgage because the inter- est is tax-deductible. It is, but that reasoning is wrong. Deductibility is a consolation prize. It softens the blow on expenses that cannot be avoided. Example: If you are in the 28 percent tax bracket and pay $1,000 You've heard that if you live within your means, you never will have any- thing nice; you'll have to find your food in a trash bin, and your children will hate you. Everyday Cheapskate That is wrong. Add up your debts. See that num- ber? That's misery. Seeing those debts melt away to $0 is not. How much do you pay in debt payments each month? Just imagine if that money stayed in your bank account, not in your creditors'. Living well below your means is what leads to peace of mind, joy and abundance. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including her best-selling classic "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Tax cuts let you boost retirement savings You'll have more money in every paycheck next year as part of the year-end tax deal. Don't spend it! That was money that should have gone to Social Security, but every- one knows that's a fic- tion. So instead of spending that 2 percent windfall -- redirect it into your 401(k) or 403(b) plan at work - - or into an Individual Retirement Account. Let's see what that could turn into over the next 30 years of your work life. Social Security was scheduled to take a 7.65 percent bite out of income up to $106,800. But the actual Social Security percentage (without the Medicare tax) was 6.2 percent. Now, under the new tax bill, that will be reduced to only a 4.2 per- cent deduction for 2010. So with the help of the Tax Institute at H&R Block, let's see what could happen to the tax cut money if you invest it instead of spending it. Consider what happens to Susan, who has a salary of $65,000, and to Jessica, who has a salary of $125,000. Each is in line to see more money in her paycheck. The FICA "savings" will be $1,300 for Susan, and $2,136 for Jessica. (Remember, FICA stops at $106,800 -- so the "sav- ings" stops at that point.) That's how much more money they'll see in their paychecks this year. It's tempting to use that money in any number of ways. But wait. You're used to seeing that money deducted from your pay- check. Maybe you should redirect it to your retire- ment plan. K W I K K U T S Family Hair Salon $300 REGULAR HAIRCUT off with coupon Not good with other offers 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff • 529-3540 Reg. $13.95 Expires 12/31/10 Here's what happens if each woman invests the money in the company 40l(k) plan, where each gets a 50 percent match from her employer. That means more money is going to work for each of them. And let's say that the retirement account grows and compounds at the Ibbotson his- toric (75 year) aver- age rate of growth for large-company American stocks (with dividends reinvested) of 9.8 percent annually. Susan's FICA savings for this year could be worth $32,218 at retire- ment in 30 years! Jessica's FICA savings for this year would be worth $52,937 in 30 years. That's all possible because they exercised a little discipline right now -- and told the HR depart- ment to take the entire 2 percent FICA savings and redirect it to the retire- ment plan. By the way, if they did- n't have a company retire- ment plan with a 50 per- cent match, but instead opened an Individual Retirement Account, Susan's savings would be worth $21,479 -- and Jes- sica's account would be worth $35,292, even with- out the employer's match- ing contribution. That's still a significant amount of retirement savings. Hint: Fidelity will let you open an IRA in any of their funds with only $200 to start, if you agree to an automatic additional contribution of $200 every month. Call 800- FIDELITY to get started. And one more point, just so you see the possi- bilities. Gayle’s 50% to 80% Off Going out of Business Sale Final day December 29, 2010 649 Main Street Downtown Red Bluff Auxiliary A member of CHW St. Elizabeth Community Hospital JANUARY 15, 2011 Presented by the Auxiliary Volunteers of St. Elizabeth Community Hospital CRAB FEED 3rd Annual St. Elizabeth Community Hospital All proceeds benefit Chowder, Sourdough Bread, Salad, Dungeness Crab ~ ALL YOU CAN EAT ~ Dessert & Coffee What if Susan and Jes- sica became so hooked on saving that they continued making the same invest- ment every year for the next 30 years -- even though the FICA cut disap- peared next year? Susan puts away $1,300 every year and receives the emplo yer match. Jessica continues to put away $2,136 every year, and continues to receive match. Of course, cut is meant to be a stim- ulus for the economy. But it can also be a stimulus for your personal retire- ment plan. Terry the Savage The Savage the first years of contributions had a lot more time to grow than the later contributions as they near the 30-year mark until retirement. But com- pound growth is a very powerful factor. Truth on Money By the way, you remember what the initials FICA stand for? It's Federal Insurance Con- tributions Act. When they deduct FICA from your pay- check, you're making a "con- tribution" to a plan that is unlikely to give you much real return on your money if it all. So why not take the oppor- tunity to make a contribution to a true retirement plan -- an If Susan and Jessica each stick with their plan over 30 years, contribut- ing annually and earning the market's historic aver- age annual returns: Susan's account would be worth $339,130. Jessica's account would be worth $557,217. And to think it all start- ed with a 2 percent cut in FICA! Yes, I know the FICA investment in your future and the future of Ameri- ca's economy? That should give you a real return on investment. And that's The Savage Truth. Terry Savage is a registered investment adviser and is on the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. She can be reached at www.terrysavage.com. She is the author of the new book, "The New Savage Number: How Much Money Do You Really Need to Retire?" Oh Snap! The Daily News wants your photos: Cute kids, Adorable pets, Inspirational sights, Any shot you think readers would enjoy You might just see it in the Daily News Send pictures to editor@redbluffdailynews.com or drop off at 545 Diamond Ave. in Red Bluff. Include a caption. $40 per person TEHAMA DISTRICT FAIRGROUNDS, HOME ARTS BUILDING Doors open at 5pm dinner served at 6pm For tickets or info call (530) 824-6410 • (530) 736-1326 or email auxiliaryfundraiser@gmail.com 530.529.8002 redbluff.mercy.org 2550 Sister Mary Columba Dr., Red Bluff, CA 96080