The cost of blown resolutions: $1,000

Not keeping your New Year's resolutions comes with a price -- about $1,000.

(Money Magazine)

Nearly 70% of people who failed to stick to their goals estimated that the lapse cost them more than $1,000, according to a recent survey by Vital Research, a corporate training firm. This figure includes lost promotions, health care costs, and other long-term expenses.

Could 2014 be the year you finally follow through? These five tips will improve your odds.

Get specific. Set one well-defined resolution and create a plan of attack. People give up on vague goals, says University of Scranton psychology professor John Norcross.

Try it: Vowing to simplify your finances, for example, is too broad. Instead, zero in on the most complex aspect of your financial life. Too many scattered accounts? Streamline by moving all your banking to one institution and transferring all your investment accounts to a single broker, says financial planner Cheryl Sherrard.

Related: 4 money resolutions to make now

Make it a habit. Stick with your resolution for three months and the new behavior will become part of your routine, says Norcross. At that point you have greater "ability to resist temptation," he says.

Try it: Create a ritual. Looking, say, to curb impulse buys? Before you spring for any nonessential item over $100, impose a 24-hour "cooling off" period. "Just walk away and think if you really need it," says financial planner Lauren G. Lindsay. Still seem splurge-worthy the next day? Go ahead.

Keep a log. A study from the University of Washington found that the more you monitor your progress as you go, the better you'll do at sticking to your goals.

Try it: To up your chances of a promotion at your next review, start a running list of your achievements now, says career coach Ford R. Myers. Volunteer for a high-level project (ideally one that adds to the bottom line), then record your progress as you work toward accomplishing it. Seeing yourself near the finish line will motivate you, and the list will help you make a case to your boss.

Be accountable to someone. Research from the Dominican University of California found that people who shared their goals with a friend were 33% more successful than those who didn't.

Related: Best new ways to save money

Try it: You're already maxing out your 401(k), but you keep putting off automating contributions to a taxable account. Tell "someone you want to please" that you're going to do it, says Hersh Shefrin, Santa Clara University finance professor. Then ask her to call you in a week to confirm that you followed through.

Put some money on the line. StickK.com, a site created by Yale economists, found that people who vowed to pay a sum of money if they missed their goal were successful 72% of the time, vs. 29% for those who didn't pledge any money.

Try it: Say you determine that you can put an extra $200 a month toward your mortgage this year. Hold yourself to the plan with StickK, which allows you to pick a goal -- here, paying off an additional $2,400 of your debt by 2015 -- and vow to shell out a set amount to a payee of your choice if you don't achieve it. Incentivize yourself by pledging the money to a nonprofit whose cause you don't support.

MONEY READERS' TOP FIVE FINANCIAL GOALS FOR 2014

1. Simplify my finances
2. Save more for retirement
3. Pay down debt
4. Donate more to charity
5. Create and stick to a budget

First Published: January 6, 2014: 6:14 PM ET

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How much should you hold in stocks?

(Money Magazine)

They now hold more than $500 billion in assets and are often the default option in 401(k)s. (Each fund has an expected retirement date in its name. For example, there's Fidelity Freedom 2025.) But there are countless theories about how much to hold in equities at any given age, and some fund managers even have more than one approach.

Here's a look at the thinking behind different equity "glidepaths" used by target dates or recommended by experts, and what you must know to choose one that suits you.

Typical target-date funds

The guiding principle: The three big players -- Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Vanguard (not shown in the table below) -- keep stocks at half or more of assets by retirement age. The idea is that most people need the growth of stocks to stretch their savings. But T. Rowe Price recently opened a series of less aggressive portfolios, suggesting even fund managers know their glidepaths feel too risky for some.

Related: Stocks, bonds? In 2014, think cash

How you'd use it: In 2008 the big funds for people retiring in 2010 all lost over 20%. If you can't tolerate a late-career loss like that but like the automation of target funds, buy one meant for someone older than you.

A wild idea

The guiding principle: In this counterintuitive approach, from planner Michael Kitces and American College professor Wade Pfau, you have low stock exposure at 65, then go back up. Pfau says this deals with "sequence" risk: a bear market early in retirement that leaves you with little money to invest by the time good returns come back.

How you'd use it: The real takeaway is to be cautious at retirement time. Avoid depleting your nest egg at that crucial moment, when you have the most years of retirement to fund, and you can reach for higher returns later.

A wilder idea

The guiding principle: Yale professors Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff suggest young people use margin loans or options to bet really big. With leverage, you'd as much as double your stock exposure, gaining or losing twice as much as the market.

How you'd use it: Most people won't have the stomach for this. But there's an insight: The reason young people can take risk, says Ayres, isn't just that they have time to ride out volatility. It's that the money they're betting is a small fraction of their lifetime earnings ahead. People close to retirement, by contrast, can't lean on future income if markets fall. This is one way to shift risk away from the retirement date.

A simple alternative

The guiding principle: If all this is a headache, here's relief: Robert Pozen, a former top executive at Fidelity, says a decent default for retirement plans is to "just hold one balanced fund." He says a fund with 60% stocks and 40% bonds will often provide a higher return, has fewer parts to keep an eye on, and can be cheap.

Related: Stocks: Where to make money in 2014

How you'd use it: Having 60% in stocks at retirement is a lot, but Pozen says by then you should have a customized plan, not a default glidepath. Unlike target funds, a balanced fund doesn't look more precise than it really is.

The "birthday rule"

The guiding principle: "Owning your age in bonds" was popularized by Vanguard founder Jack Bogle. (At 45, for example, you'd hold 45% of your assets in bonds and 55% in stocks.) It's similar to what target-date funds do, but you move out of stocks much more quickly.

How you'd use it: If you were 65 in 2008 and followed the birthday rule, you'd have lost less than 10%, so this approach is a better fit for conservative investors than most target-date funds. You'll have to rebalance funds annually yourself to follow the rule, but you also get to choose your investments.

How low to go?

Advisers recommend reducing your risk as you age. Here are six retirement saving strategies and the recommended allocations for stocks.

25	75%	90%	90%	84%	200%	60%
50	50%	84%	79%	54%	50%	60%
65	35%	56%	55%	36%	40%	60%
80	20%	30%	35%	48%	40%	60%

NOTE: Ages assume a retirement age of 65. SOURCES: T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Wade Pfau, Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff, Robert Pozen, Morningstar, Bloomberg

First Published: January 6, 2014: 6:18 PM ET

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Macau's gambling industry dwarfs Vegas

Foreign casino operators have rushed into Macau over the past decade.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

The Chinese territory reported gambling revenue of 360 billion patacas ($45 billion) for 2013, an increase of almost 20% over the previous year.

If that sounds like a lot of cash, it is. Las Vegas will be lucky to make $6.5 billion, or 15% of Macau's total. Atlantic City's haul is likely to be even lower.

The former Portuguese outpost has been gaining momentum for years, fueled by a loosening of regulations and a Chinese populace that is eager to gamble. When restrictions on foreign operators were lifted in 2002, new casinos opened in droves as international firms joined the rush.

Macau is the only location in China where gambling is legal, and millions of tourists flock to the territory each year. Rapid growth has attracted the biggest players in the industry, including Las Vegas Sands (LVS, Fortune 500) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN, Fortune 500).

The boom has reverberated across the Pearl River Delta. In Hong Kong, home to some very devoted gamblers, the government is scrambling to build a bridge to Macau that will cross some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Hong Kong gamblers currently rely on a fleet of ferries to reach the territory.

Related story: A new way to get to Macau -- Seaplane

Yet Macau, with a population just under 600,000, is not merely an imitation Vegas. Chinese gamblers favor games like baccarat over poker and blackjack. And Nevada still has the edge when it comes to entertainment, offering a greater variety of dining options and shows led by stars such as Britney Spears.

Despite its runaway success, Macau's boom has not been without cost.

The territory is almost entirely dependent on gambling. When the industry booms, tax revenue jumps and residents -- most of whom are employed in the business -- receive payouts from the government. As a result it's vulnerable to changes in policy and would suffer greatly if China repeated a 2008 clampdown on the number of mainland visitors.

Related story: Another mega-casino to be built in Macau

The city has also attracted unsavory elements often associated with the industry, including money launderers looking to evade limits on moving cash out of China.

Beijing limits the amount of money Chinese can take out of the country to $50,000 per year. For those looking to skirt the rules, Macau provides an attractive option.

By working with a junket operator -- which performs the basic functions of a tour company -- visitors use yuan to buy casino chips, but cash out their winnings in foreign currencies, including dollars. The money can then be moved abroad and used to make purchases in Europe and the United States.

Despite efforts to restrict this activity, the practice has attracted plenty of criticism, including from the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

First Published: January 6, 2014: 8:39 PM ET

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Millions see no benefit from soaring stock prices

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The country's wealthiest families typically have hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks. Yet middle- and lower-class households typically have relatively small investments — if they have anything at all — leaving most Americans with little skin in the stock market game.

In 2013, an annual Gallup survey found that stock ownership had reached a record low of 52%, down from 62% five years prior.

"Although the stock market is on a tear, creating new wealth for millions currently invested in it, nearly half of U.S. adults are on the sidelines," Gallup said on its website. "That may be particularly irksome to the middle-income and young middle-aged Americans who were previously invested."

Some non-investors may indirectly benefit from an up market. For example, a pension recipient may be less likely to face benefit cuts thanks to strong returns by a pension fund. And proponents of the so-called "wealth effect" say that a soaring stock market encourages wealthy consumers to spend more, which stimulates the economy.

But overall, the effects of the bull market have likely been minimal for non-investors.

"It just doesn't have an impact for the vast majority of people," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

Related: Many middle-class Americans plan to work until they die

Some consumers may be staying out of stocks because they fear another market crash. But in many cases, low- and middle-income Americans simply don't have any extra money to invest, she said.

More than 80% of households earning more than $75,000 a year are invested in stocks, compared to just 21% of households making less than $30,000 a year, according to the Gallup survey. Meanwhile, only 50% of those earning between $30,000 and $74,999 own stocks.

A 2013 Pew Research Center survey found that those with college degrees are significantly more likely to have money in the stock market (77%), compared to those with at most a high school diploma (25%).

Minorities are also less likely to invest: Only 17% of Hispanics and 28% of blacks have stock market investments, compared to 55% of white respondents, according to the Pew survey.

Related: The Myth of the American dream

And even of those Americans invested in the stock market, typical households have a very modest amount, said Richard Fry, a senior economist at the Pew Research Center.

In 2010, the median value of family stock investments was a mere $29,000, according to the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, the most recent available year for that survey. Meanwhile, the top 10% of families had a median investment value of roughly $268,000.

Those figures are likely up significantly thanks to the strong market returns of the past few years. Retirement savers of all incomes have seen balances more than double in the past five years, according to an exclusive analysis of 1.4 million accounts by Fidelity Investments.

Fidelity 401(k) participants earning less than $50,000 a year had an average account balance of nearly $115,000 at the end of September, up from $45,100 at the end of 2008, Fidelity said.

The wealthiest 401(k) savers (making $150,000 a year and up) had an average balance of more than $350,000 in September, up from $145,300 at the end of 2008.

Still, economists like Fry and Shierholz say that rising home prices and an improving job market have far greater effects on most Americans than a roaring stock market.

"For the typical American household, most of their nest egg is sitting in their home..." Fry said. "They like to build their nest egg, but their sense of well-being hinges on their income."

First Published: January 5, 2014: 10:18 AM ET

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New Corvette to come with built-in dashcam

The Stingray video display looks like something out of a video game.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

General Motors unveiled on Sunday a system that pulls together driving performance data with dashcam video -- giving drivers of its flashy Stingray sports car a way to record and share their experience behind the wheel.

The Performance Data Recorder will be available on the 2015 Corvette Stingray, the automaker said, calling it an "industry first."

"The fully integrated system enables users to record high-definition video, with telemetry overlays, of their driving experiences on and off the track," GM (GM, Fortune 500) said.

Related: Stingray one of the best cars of 2013

After parking, drivers can relive their route -- whether it was around a racing speedway or downtown for groceries.

The video can be queued up on a dashboard-mounted monitor or downloaded to a driver's computer. The display shows the video plus a speedometer, throttle display and gear indicator. Drivers who use it when racing on an established race course can also see a map of the track and their lap time.

GM said it envisioned racers using the footage to "analyze their laps in incredible detail." The average driver could share the footage on social media.

Related: Stingray named Automobile Magazine's "Automobile of the Year"

The system pulls together a video camera mounted on the dashboard, a GPS receiver and the car's computer. A 32 gigabyte card inserted near the glove box can hold about 13 hours of driving data, GM said. It was designed by the company that works with the Corvette Racing team.

GM has not said how much the system will cost.

Chevrolet said the 2015 Corvette Stingray would be available in the third quarter of 2014.

First Published: January 5, 2014: 12:40 PM ET

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Seattle mayor: $15 minimum wage for city workers

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Almost immediately after taking office last week, Mayor Ed Murray ordered his administration to develop plans to pay all city workers at least $15 per hour.

He set those gears in motion with an executive order and said he anticipates the wage increase will be implemented in less than four months.

About 600 of the 10,000 employees of the Seattle city government currently earn under $15, spokesman Jeff Reading said. None make less than $10.

Washington has one of the nation's highest state minimum wages. It increases annually with inflation and rose to $9.32 this year.

Related: Minimum wage increases in 13 states

Voters in the nearby community of SeaTac recently increased the minimum wage for many local workers to $15, although a judge ruled in late December the raise does not apply to workers at the largest employer there, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. That ruling has been appealed.

Murray, who took office Jan. 1, pledged to study the cost of increasing pay for government employees, as well as how it would be paid for. He cited a preliminary estimate that it would cost the city about $700,000.

The wage increase is expected to require negotiations with labor unions -- who may ALSO want to see increases for workers currently making $15 and above -- and the city council. It would not immediately apply to employees of non-profit agencies contracted by the city.

Related: Wage battleground emerges near the nation's capital

"I believe Seattle should be a model -- the city itself -- for the rest of the employers in this city and in this community," he told reporters.

Both Murray, a Democrat, and a socialist candidate for city council won their November elections with the $15 minimum wage prominently on their agendas.

In December, Murray appointed a panel to investigate the impacts of a $15 minimum wage citywide. It is due to report back in May.

The federal minimum wage has not increased since reaching $7.25 in 2009. But Democrats in Congress and President Obama have proposed increasing it to $10.10, though its prospects are uncertain in divided Washington. Meanwhile several cities and states -- from Maryland to California -- have gone ahead with their own increases.

First Published: January 5, 2014: 4:55 PM ET

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Bernanke: Recovery 'remains incomplete'

PHILADELPHIA (CNNMoney)

"The recovery clearly remains incomplete," he said, in what sounded like a swan song speech at the American Economic Association's annual meeting in Philadelphia, Friday.

Bernanke's term officially ends on January 31, at which point Fed Vice-Chair Janet Yellen is expected to take the helm. (The Senate is scheduled to vote on her confirmation Monday evening).

Among the unfinished business that concerns Bernanke: the unemployment rate at 7% "still is elevated," he said. Meanwhile, participation in the labor market has continued to decline, partly because workers remain discouraged about their job prospects.

As of December, only 63% of Americans over age 16 participated in the job market -- meaning they either had a job or looked for one. Before the recession, it was around 66%.

Related: Yellen: Fed has more to do

That said, Bernanke was willing to cautiously defend the success of his most controversial policy. The Fed has kept its key interest rate near zero since December 2008, but when that effort wasn't enough to jumpstart a recovery, the Fed started a three-part bond-buying spree, in an effort to lower longer-term interest rates as well.

That policy, known as quantitative easing, has more than quadrupled the size of the Fed's assets to over $4 trillion. Skeptics question both the impact (did it really help the job market much?) and the future risks (will pumping that much money into the economy eventually lead to rapid inflation?).

Speaking to those criticisms, Bernanke said, for the most part research backs up his view: The program "helped promote the recovery."

In December, the Fed decided to start gradually winding down that program. Whereas before, it had been buying $85 billion in bonds each month, the Fed will buy $75 billion this month. Over time, the central bank hopes to keep reducing the program, until it eventually gets down to zero.

Related: Fed finally tapers its stimulus

Bernanke said that decision reflected cumulative progress in the job market since the Fed started the $85-billion-a-month program in September 2012. Since then, the unemployment rate has fallen from 7.8% to 7%, and added about 2.7 million jobs.

Looking forward, Bernanke said he believes various headwinds to the economy are now starting to fade.

"The combination of financial healing, greater balance in the housing market, less fiscal restraint, and, of course, continued monetary policy accommodation bodes well for U.S. economic growth in coming quarters," he said.

But he was quick to add some caution: "Of course, if the experience of the past few years teaches us anything, it is that we should be cautious in our forecasts."

Bernanke is set to preside over one final Fed meeting, January 28-29, before Yellen's leadership transition is expected to take place.

First Published: January 3, 2014: 2:33 PM ET

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Michael Jordan's house on market for $16 million after failed auction

Jordan first put his 33,000-square-foot home near Chicago on sale in March 2012 for $29 million.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The house is on seven-plus acres in Highland Park, Ill., about 25 miles north of Chicago.

The former NBA star first put it on the market in March 2012 for $29 million. The price was cut to $21 million nearly a year ago and then failed to sell at auction last month, when nobody made even the $13 million minimum bid.

The house was built in 1995 and has nine bedrooms, 15 baths, a cigar room, and a garage big enough to hold 14 cars. There's a huge home gym.

Katherine Malkin, the listing agent, said the most awesome home feature is the regulation sized basketball court.

Related: See inside Jordan's house

"There's nobody -- man, woman or child -- who walks on the court who is not stunned by it," she said. "The lighting, the floor, everything is so beautiful."

With the court and finished lower level of the house included, the compound totals about 56,000 square feet.

Outdoors is a chipping range and putting green, tennis courts, a lily pond and a huge flagstone patio. The front entrance gate sports a giant number 23 -- not for the address but, of course, for Jordan's former number.

Related: American Dream homes: What you'll pay in 10 cities

Malkin has had the listing for about a year and said there has been lots of interest in it, but few prospects qualify as serious buyers. Would-be purchasers must have enough liquidity to pay cash for the house in full before they can put in offers.

Last year, Jordan bought a house in his native North Carolina, one close to the home court of the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA team of which he is now the majority owner.

Related: The $2 million home theater

The Illinois property is about three times larger than the new house and stands out in the neighborhood for its size and price.

"He was a very successful and sought-after personality and he built a compound to fit his lifestyle," said Malkin.

She said he has redone parts of the property over the years and it's in "perfect" condition. "Nobody kept a house better than he did," she said.

First Published: January 3, 2014: 12:37 PM ET

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BlackBerry sues Ryan Seacrest startup Typo

BlackBerry's lawsuit alleges that the keyboard from Typo, Ryan Seacrest's startup, infringes on its patents.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

BlackBerry (BBRY) has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Typo, a startup backed by "American Idol" host Seacrest that sells a $99 tactile keyboard which snaps on to Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPhones. Seacrest and marketing executive Laurence Hallier co-founded Typo.

The Typo Keyboard has been available for pre-order since the company debuted in December. The device is slated to come out later this month -- but not if BlackBerry can help it.

In a press release about the lawsuit, Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry's general counsel, called Typo "a blatant infringement against BlackBerry's iconic keyboard."

Related story: New BlackBerry CEO optimistic despite loss

Zipperstein didn't stop there.

"We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations," he added.

We're only three days into 2014, and the Seacrest/Typo lawsuit is already the second bit of news about BlackBerry and celebrities this year. BlackBerry announced on Thursday that it will part ways with Alicia Keys, who served as the company's "creative director" for just twelve months.

First Published: January 3, 2014: 3:08 PM ET

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Michael Jordan's house on market for $16 million after failed auction

Jordan first put his 33,000-square-foot home near Chicago on sale in March 2012 for $29 million.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The house is on seven-plus acres in Highland Park, Ill., about 25 miles north of Chicago.

The former NBA star first put it on the market in March 2012 for $29 million. The price was cut to $21 million nearly a year ago and then failed to sell at auction last month, when nobody made even the $13 million minimum bid.

The house was built in 1995 and has nine bedrooms, 15 baths, a cigar room, and a garage big enough to hold 14 cars. There's a huge home gym.

Katherine Malkin, the listing agent, said the most awesome home feature is the regulation sized basketball court.

Related: See inside Jordan's house

"There's nobody -- man, woman or child -- who walks on the court who is not stunned by it," she said. "The lighting, the floor, everything is so beautiful."

With the court and finished lower level of the house included, the compound totals about 56,000 square feet.

Outdoors is a chipping range and putting green, tennis courts, a lily pond and a huge flagstone patio. The front entrance gate sports a giant number 23 -- not for the address but, of course, for Jordan's former number.

Related: American Dream homes: What you'll pay in 10 cities

Malkin has had the listing for about a year and said there has been lots of interest in it, but few prospects qualify as serious buyers. Would-be purchasers must have enough liquidity to pay cash for the house in full before they can put in offers.

Last year, Jordan bought a house in his native North Carolina, one close to the home court of the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA team of which he is now the majority owner.

Related: The $2 million home theater

The Illinois property is about three times larger than the new house and stands out in the neighborhood for its size and price.

"He was a very successful and sought-after personality and he built a compound to fit his lifestyle," said Malkin.

She said he has redone parts of the property over the years and it's in "perfect" condition. "Nobody kept a house better than he did," she said.

First Published: January 3, 2014: 12:37 PM ET

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