97 ways to improve your life in 1997

By LIZ PULLIAM / The Orange County Register

The conventional wisdom, the tried-and-true, the accepted rules of thumb - you won't find a lot of that in this list of 97 ideas for a better '97.

What you will find are fresh thoughts from experts in a variety of fields, from investments to careers to organization. Some challenge the customary and the cliched; others offer insights that expand on traditional advice about earning, spending and saving. All invite you to take action now for a better new year.

YOUR RETIREMENT

If you're looking for advice on which mutual funds to buy or how to allocate your retirement fund, look elsewhere. Nolo Press' Ralph Warner reminds us in "Get a Life: You Don't Need $1 Million to Retire Well," that there's more to retirement than money:

1. Lose at least 10 pounds now to insure good health after age 65.

2. Form at least one new solid friendship to avoid later loneliness.

3. Invest in your family; improve strained relationships.

4. Develop a new interest; don't work so hard you forget how to be interested in new things.

5. Honor your eccentricities; successful retirees let their true selves show.

6. Clean up your diet, control your blood pressure and exercise, exercise, exercise; start good habits now for better health.

7. Volunteer for a cause to maintain a sense of vitality .

8. Develop and respect toughness. Coping with difficult problems earlier in life make you better equipped to deal with retirement.

9. Work less. Having lots of interests will be more important than being rich at age 80.

YOUR CAREER

If you're cruising, that means you're going downhill, said Debbie Buchanan, acting director of the University of California at Irvine Extension's Women's Opportunities Center. Manage your career as actively as you would any project:

10. Stay in touch with people who have firsthand knowledge of your accomplishments.

11. Update your resume every three months.

12. Know how to present yourself electronically and in person.

13. Find a mentor for individual help and attention.

14. Determine your next career objective as soon as your fulfill current goals.

15. Develop new skills and constantly update your old ones.

16. Use every opportunity to network, from professional organizations to lunch with your former boss.

YOUR HOME: BUYING

Conditions couldn't be much better for buyers, said Bob MacCulloch of Dynamic Marketing Resources.

17. If you're renting, now may be the time to buy while prices are near 10-year lows and interest rates are affordable.

18. Look for bargains in foreclosures and real estate owned by banks desperate to sell.

19. Put as little down as possible. If prices go up, you'll earn a good return using the lender's money; if prices drop, you have less at stake.

20. If you can't buy, lease with an option to buy. You don't have to purchase if prices drop but you can lock in a below-market price if homes appreciate.

21. Consider becoming a landlord. Tax breaks are available for people who have adjusted gross incomes of $100,000 or less.

YOUR HOME: SELLING

Still-sluggish home prices mean you shouldn't expect to recoup all or even most of the value of home improvements when you sell. But some projects add more value than others, said Tustin, Calif. appraiser David Hayward:

22. A new roof within the past year adds value, especially if it's clay tile or slate.

23. A new coat of exterior paint helps if well-applied.

24. Automatic sprinklers and landscaping boost home prices.

25. Reasonably sized room additions improve value if made with the proper permits.

26. Improvements made without permits WON'T add value, so do it right.

27. Upgrade kitchens with modern appliances and fixtures.

28. Hardwood or ceramic tile floors are better than carpet or vinyl.

29. Update bathrooms with tile floors and modern fixtures. Remove linoleum.

30. Modernize plumbing and electricity throughout the house.

31. Replace wall heating with a forced-air unit.

32. Replace the water heater.

33. Concrete driveways add more value than asphalt driveways.

34. Avoid pools, spas or saunas. They don't add much value and may be a selling drawback.

YOUR BUDGET

Garden Grove, Calif.'s Tracey McBride, author of the upcoming book "Frugal Luxuries," says watching your money doesn't have to be a burden:

35. Debt means servitude. Reduce or eliminate it with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

36. Look 10 years ahead at how your spending will or won't contribute to your long-term goals.

37. Eliminating a second (or third or fourth) car to reduce insurance, maintenance and fuel costs.

38. Teach yourself how to use your neglected appliances. Pressure cookers and crock pots can cut cooking time and make inexpensive at-home meals more appealing.

39. Make it a family affair. Discuss financial goals with your children.

40. Put together new outfits from clothing you already own and update with new accessories.

41. Try shopping at consignment establishments. January and February offer the widest selection because people tend to clean house after the holidays.

42. Remember the wise words of Thomas Jefferson: "Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap. It will be dear to you."

YOUR STUFF: BUYING

Getting good service while shopping takes a savvy consumer, said retail service consultant Michael Nicklin of The Nicklin Group in Beverly Hills, Calif.:

43. Raise your expectations. If you're giving them your hard-earned money, you deserve great service - all the time.

44. Be prepared to work for great service. Go out of your way to be nice from the beginning.

45. Make yourself known. Take away their anonymity by learning their name, and using it.

46. When someone isn't doing a good job, move on to someone who can.

47. Tell the service provider exactly what you want. The worst they can say is no.

48. Build a relationship through loyal customer or frequent shopper programs.

49. Always reward positive service with verbal thanks and a tip if appropriate.

50. Don't keep your dissatisfaction a secret. Speak up before you become angry.

51. Complain to the right person. Go straight to the top if you must.

52. Know the policies of the businesses you patronize, especially return policies.

53. Use your mouth. If you're happy or unhappy with a business, tell the world.

YOUR STUFF: ORGANIZING

January is the perfect time to get your home and your workplace organized, said Debbie Gilster of Huntington Beach, Calif.'s Organize and Computerize:

54. Set three major goals such as getting a clear picture of your finances, creating a collection procedure for your business or spending more time with your family.

55. Plan now how and when you will accomplish your goals.

56. Update your planner for the entire year with important dates such as trade shows, conferences, projects, birthdays and key family events. Include the major tasks needed to accomplish your three goals.

57. Plan your time off including vacations, long weekends and leaving early to watch your child's baseball game.

58. Create a simple paper-handling routine using files labeled To Pay, To Do, To File, and To Distribute. Don't forget to use the biggest bin of all, the wastebasket!

59. Cancel those magazines you never read and request that your name be removed from mailing and distribution lists.

60. Get your overall office better organized. Clean out drawers and give every item in your office a designated place.

61. Label storage areas and containers to aid items in finding their way home.

62. Automate the tracking of your finances using Quicken or similar software.

63. Automate or delegate some of your mundane processes or procedures. Your time is worth money; use it wisely.

YOUR INVESTMENTS: BONDS

A slower stock market could make 1997 the year for bonds, said Marilyn Cohen of Los Angeles' Envision Capital management.

64. Listen carefully to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He's still the one with his finger on the interest-rate trigger.

65. Watch the dollar like a hawk. If the dollar weakens dramatically, bond prices will decline; yields will increase and the stock market won't respond favorably.

66. Don't expect stock market returns from bonds; bonds are a different asset class and pay different returns.

67. Watch for new-fangled bonds backed by health-care receivables, royalties from rock stars, overdue child support payments. Let someone else buy them.

68. Never buy a bond because your broker says he bought the same bonds for Mom. At least demand a copy of Mom's confirmation slip.

69. Have realistic expectations. With the 30-year Treasury bond yielding less than 6.7 percent, you cannot expect to earn 10 percent returns easily.

70. Don't repeat the same bond mistakes you made in the past, such as buying bond issues you really didn't understand.

71. If you have $50,000 or more, stay away from bond funds and purchase a laddered portfolio of individual issues.

72. Read, read, read. Information is plentiful, so use it.

73. Do business with more than one broker. Often by shopping around for the best bonds you can increase your portfolio yield.

YOUR INVESTMENTS: STOCKS

The key to good performance in 1997 will be finding the bargains early, said Flora Burke of Smith Barney in Irvine:

74. Don't buy what you don't understand. Make sure you can explain a company's business and its competition to a 10-year-old before you buy its stock.

75. Yield will matter in slow-growth 1997 - pepper your portfolio with high-yielding stocks.

76. Check out the Dogs of the Dow - the old strategy of buying the 10 highest-yielding Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks still works.

77. Baby Bells got clobbered in 1996 because of deregulation concerns. Now they're cheap with prospective earnings growth of 8 to 12 percent vs. less than 5 percent for overall corporate profits.

78. Go global. Worldwide economic growth is expected to exceed 4 percent this year with emerging markets up 5.5 percent. By contrast, industrialized countries are likely to average growth of about 2 percent.

YOUR TAXES

Phil Gautschi of Newport Beach, Calif.'s Scott Bankhead & Co. offered these ideas for staying on top of the year's tax changes:

79. Contribute to a nonworking spouse's individual retirement plan. The limit moved up from $250 to $2,000.

80. Investigate the new "Simple Plans" that allow employers with 100 or fewer workers to establish a simplified 401-k or IRA plan.

81. Consider a medical savings plan if you're self-employed. These plans work like individual retirement accounts and allow you to put aside pretax money for medical bills.

82. Express your feelings about Texas Gov. George Bush's tax reform plan to you legislators.

83. Talk to your accountant now if you are subject to the alternative minimum tax. The lower rates could dramatically change your tax situation, since state taxes aren't deductible under AMT rules.

YOUR COLLEGE FUND

The needy and the not-so-needy can tap a number of sources for college money, said Donald Chou, a certified financial planner with San Juan Capistrano, Calif.'s Professional Financial Advisors Inc.:

84. Hit up the big boys for cash. Corporations such as Target, Toyota, Tylenol and Coca-Cola offer scholarships.

85. The most overlooked sources of college money are your employers, civic associations, banks, credit unions, churches and the college of your choice. Ask.

86. The best loan deals are a Perkins loan of $3,000 a year at about 5 percent interest and subsidized Stafford loans tied to the Treasury index with interest paid by the government while the student is still in school.

87. Find out if your federal loan will be sold to Sallie Mae (Student Loan Marketing Association). If it is, you can get a 2 percent interest rate reduction after you pay 48 monthly installments on time.

88. Life insurance cash values are another overlooked and cheap source of funds, with older whole life policies offering interest rates as low as 4 to 6 percent.

89. Home-equity loans (not available in Texas) and 401-k loans are other relatively cheap sources of cash.

YOUR COMPUTER: GREAT SITES

Most Web sites aren't worth a first look, let alone a return trip. But these are so useful you'll wonder how you got along without them:

90. The Lycos Road Map at http://www.proximus.com/lycos/index.html allows you to type in an address and receive a map of how to get there.

91. The U.S. Postal Service's ZIP code lookup service at: http://www.usps.gov/ncsc/lookups/ will keep you from being ZIPless.

92. Find old friends, employers and contacts at http://www.yahoo.com/search/people/, the Yahoo search engine's People Search page.

93. Check out: http://www.cardtrak.com, CardTrak's survey of the best credit card deals.

94. Set up and track your portfolio at http://investor.msn.com, the Microsoft Investor Portfolio Manager.

95. Companies are now required to file annual reports and other significant financial documents at http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm, the Securities and Exchange Commission's Edgar database.

96. Register with WhoWhere? Edgar at: http://edgar.whowhere.com and you'll be notified of any new filings for companies you select.

97. Finally, stop in regularly at: http://www.ideacafe.com, a forum for the self-employed, small-business owner and entrepreneur. The Idea Cafe offers great business ideas along with fun interviews of interesting folks.