Cfjarlotte
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1997
8A
STRICTLY BUSINESS
Women
and
retirement
CHARLES ROSS
Your
Personal
Finance
If you’re a woman and you
think you should be saving more
towards retirement, you’re prob
ably right Believe it or not, you
will need more money for your
retirement than the average
man.
There are several reasons for
this inequity. On average,
women live longer than men,
and so have more retirement
years to pay for. Women often
have fewer retirement benefits,
since they tend to switch jobs
more frequently than men, and
Social Security benefits will
probably be smaller, too.
It’s important that you take
charge of your finances. First,
make disciplined saving and
smart investing your highest
priorities. Begin by figuring out
your current net worth. Find out
how much you will get annually
from Social Security and other
resources. Unless this total
equals 75 percent of your cur
rent income, it's time to get seri
ous about saving.
Making saving easier
When planning for a successful
retirement a rule of thumb in
setting your savings goal is to
try to put away about 15 percent
of your pretax salary. Finding
the money to squirrel away can
be challenging, but start in sim
ple ways. If you usually get a
refund from the IRS, adjust your
withholding and put the extra
money into a mutual fund. Bank
your raises and bonuses. Be sure
to look for ways to squeeze what
you're making now. Put a limit
on luxuries like dinners out.
Start out saving whatever
amoimt you can, even if it is only
small, just to establish the habit.
Then increase your deposits
when you can. Once you get your
savings plan in gear, make it
automatic by signing up for
automatic withdrawal from your
paycheck or checking account.
Tax-deferred savings plans
If your employer offers a 401K
plan, get into it 401K plans
allow you to tuck away up to 15
percent of your pretax income in
a tax-deferred account. Many
employers also contribute a
matching amoimt, typically 50
percent of your deposits up to six
percent of your salary. This not
only reduces your taxable
income, but your savings will
grow tax-deferred until you
begin withdrawals.
There is one thing to watch out
for: if you change jobs, don’t
derail your retirement savings
by cashing out your 401 K plan.
By doing that you would owe
taxes on the withdrawal if you
are under 59 1/2, plus a 10 per
cent penalty. Instead, leave the
money in the account if you can,
or roll it over into your new
employer’s plan or an IRA-
Check out your 401K plan. It
can turbocharge your savings.
Self-employed, no employer
Women who are self-employed,
own small businesses, or stay
home while their spouses work,
need to save for their retirement
like everybody else. There are
several options. Self-employed
women or women who employ
only a few people might consider
a simplified employee pension,
or SEP. This allows you to defer
taxes on 15 percent of your
earned income.
You can set up SEPs with
banks, brokerages, insurance or
mutual fund companies.
Another option for small busi
ness owners is a Keogh plan.
See RETIRE on page 9A
Investors differ along racial lines
Blacks less likely to go
high-risk than whites
By Herbert L White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
African Americans want top
returns on their investment but
are less willing than whites to
take the risks necessary to
make more money, according to
a poll for Money magazine.
The poll, whose results appear
in the March issue, reports that
Americans’ decisions on invest
ing often differ according to
race, due largely to different lev
els of investment experience as
well as life experience. The poll
was conducted in November and
December by Roper Starch
Worldwide and surveyed 974
adults nationwide about their
investing habits. Half of the
respondents were African
American; the other half white.
'The study’s margin of error was
4 percentage points. The poll,
commissioned by Chicago-based
Ariel Mutual Funds, found:
• African Americans aim for
higher returns than whites on
average, but investment choices
fall short. Blacks said they seek
an average of 14.7 percent
annual return, more than 3
points higher than the 11.2 per
cent anticipated by non-blacks.
But African Americans are less
likely than whites to have
investments such as stocks and
mutual funds, which are most
likely to achieve such returns.
• Black women are more like
ly to call the financial shots in
their households. Women are
the primary financial decision
makers for 21 percent of black
married couples, while wives
are in that role for only 10 per
cent of white couples.
• African Americans are more
likely to rely on financial advis
ers and less likely to listen to
friends or family members.
Fifty-four percent of black
respondents say they would
depend on a financial adviser or
planner when making savings
and investment decisions vs. 46
percent of whites. Thirty-one
percent of African Americans
are inclined to ask friends or
family for money advice, com
pared to 39 percent of whites.
The magazine also offers
advice on how African
Americans can increase wealth
despite a median net worth
($4,418) that is a tenth of whites
($45,740). To realize higher
PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III
Emmanuel Choice (left) and Malcolm Dowdy flank rapper Da Brat during a promotion at Urban Essentials. The shop, which opened
in 1995, sells upscale casual wear.
Urban wear goes upscale
By Kaia Zawadi
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Casual is cool at Urban
Essentials.
The Charlotte boutique,
located at 809 East Arrowood
Road, sells upscale casual
wear for everyday living.
Comfort is in, and customers
are willing to pay premium
prices to have it.
‘We focus on black designers
and selling their clothes,” said
Malcolm Dowdy, who co-owns
the store with Emmanuel
Choice. ‘TJrban Essentials pro
motes such clothing lines as
Maurice Malone, Karl Kani,
Phat Farm by Russell
Simmons. We have a full scale
of prices. Jeans range from
$40-$80, shirts $12-$100.”
Choice and Dowdy, who are
both in their 20s, started
Urban Essentials in 1995 and
are already planning to
expand into other cities. Men’s
fashion, which is traditionally
gender-exclusive, is not the
case for gear offered at the
store. Not only can women
wear everything in stock, but
the urban look also breaks cul
tural boundaries.
“Our clothes are unisex. A
woman can buy a shirt and a
pair of jeans and it will look
good on her,” Dowdy said. “Our
client base is growing. We
cater to all ages and ethnic
groups.”
New York natives Dowdy
and Choice have aggressively
marketed Urban Essentials,
with television, billboard, radio
and magazine ads as well as
street promotions. Two com
mercials display clothing rang
ing from Karl Kani to Wu-
Wear and rap artist Da Brat
made a guest appearance last
Saturday to sign autographs
and do a little shopping.
“Special guests is something
we try to do every once in a
while,” Dowdy said. “They add
to promoting the business.”
Other recording artists have
made special appearances at
the store, including Mona Lisa,
Dru Hill, Goodie Mob and
Redman. Some professional
athletes, including members of
the Carolina Panthers, drop in
from time to time to see the
new flavors offered.
Controlling their own eco
nomic destiny was the driving
force behind Choice and
Dowdy’s decision to open
Urban Essentials. Their dream
was to cater to the clothing
tastes of black males while
offering opportunities to other
African Americans to run a
business. '
“We offer job opportunities in
marketing, promotions and
sales,” Dowdy said. “Overall,
business is doing well. Plans
include expansion into kids
(clothing)' and footwear” as
well as women’s gear.
Renaissance Place
restaurant turns corner
at downtown location
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Ron Goodwin’s has operated restaurants in downtown Charlotte for
a decade, at Church and Trade, in CityFair and currently on 'Tryon
Street at Renaissance Place.
His efforts have not been without their troubles, but the opening of
the TransAmerica building a block away from his Renaissance Place
restaurant may be a boon to Goodwin’s fortunes.
With just one floor of the 25-plus story building open, Goodwin’s
already seeing an additional 70 people a day for lunch and the new
customers want him to serve breakfast, too.
“The key to success is staying the course,” Goodwin said. “We knew
that eventually downtown was going to be a successful area, and if I
didn’t make it downtown by staying the course, I would not have the
stamina to last anywhere in the city.”
The new customers have helped Goodwin, who also operates Affairs
to Remember catering service, complete his first four-month stretch of
profitable bottom lines.
“I have had some very, very loyal customers who have stuck with
me,” he said. “When the restaurant didn’t have but 30 people per day
FILE PHOTO
See GOODWIN on page 9A
Ron Goodwin’s Renaissance Place restaurant has put together its
first string of profitable months.
returns, the magazine suggests:
• Boosting ownership in
stocks and stock funds, starting
with investing through employ
ers’ professionally-managed
401(k) or 403(b) retirement sav
ings plan.
• If you want to hire a profes
sional planner, choose one who
understands your needs and
financial temperment. For refer
rals, call a trade group like the
International Association for
Financial Planning at (800) 945-
4237 or the National
Association of Personal
Financial Advisors at (800) 366-
2737.
Money
Management
How to
determine
tax status
By Amanda S. Danchi
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Most taxpayers don’t put
enough thought into determin
ing their filing status. That’s a
mistake that could cost you
extra money in taxes, cautions
the N.C. Association of CPAs.
Your filing status affects cer
tain filing requirements, such
as the amount of your standard
or itemized deductions, eligibil
ity to claim certain credits and
deductions, and your correct
tax liability. So, it’s important
to choose the most appropriate
filing status to suit your indi
vidual circumstances.
Married taxpayers
If you’re married, you and
your spouse may choose to file
either jointly or separately. In
most cases, a joint return will
result in a lower tax bill, but
there are a number of reasons
why you may want to file sepa
rate returns instead. For exam
ple, spouses who are no longer
living together may choose to
keep their financial affairs and
their tax bills separate for per
sonal reasons.
You might also seriously con
sider filing separately if you
have reason to question the
amount of income your spouse
is reporting or think he or she
may be overstating deductions.
When you file jointly, the IRS
can hold you personally liable
for the full amount due on the
return — even if it’s your
spouse’s activities that led to
underpayment. Although there
is an innocent spouse rule
which may limit your liabilities
in special cases, filing separate
returns is an easier way to
avoid problems. Filing sepa
rately also may make compara
ble incomes and one spouse has
high medical expenses, miscel
laneous itemized deductions, or
casualty losses. That's because
these deductions are subject to
an Adjusted Gross Income limi
tation - that is, only those
amounts exceeding certain per
centages of AGI are deductible.
When you file separate
returns, you reduce the AGI on
which the deduction is based
and, in turn, increase your
deduction. Medical expenses,
for example, are deductible
only to the extent that they
exceed 7.5 percent of AGI. So, if
you and your spouse file a joint
return with a combined income
of $100,000, only those medical
expenses that exceed $7,500
(75 percent of $100,000) are
deductible.
If however, you file separately
and your income is $40,000,
your medical itemized deduc
tions on a separate return, your
spouse must itemize as well.
He or she cannot claim the
standard deduction. Also, cer-
See HOW on page9A