Last week’s answer

I was born a century ago, when a fellow whose first and middle names were James Cash founded the Golden Rule Store in 1902 in a Wyoming mining town. I got my current name in 1913. I opened more than 1,000 stores in the 1920s and spread into suburbs after World War II. Today my business is divided between my 1,049 department stores throughout the United States, my 2,686 Eckerd drugstores, and my online and catalog operations. I’m one of America’s largest retailers, employing more than 200,000 people, and am the country’s largest general merchandise catalog seller. Who am I? (Answer: J.C. Penney)

Know the answer? Send it to us with Foolish Trivia on the top and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a nifty prize! The address is Motley Fool, Box 19529, Alexandria, Va. 22320-0529. Send questions for Ask the Fool, Dumbest (or Smartest) Investments (up to 100 words), and your Trivia entries to Fool@fool.com.

Telecoms ring with debt

Standard & Poor’s pointed out recently that telecom and cable firms have amassed about $206 billion in debt, roughly $20 billion of which will come due through 2005. The strongest players — most notably the regional Bells — issued much of the debt and will likely have no problem refinancing their obligations.

Not so for the weakest players. S&P describes the likelihood of payment from firms such as Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) and Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR), which owe more than $6 billion and $1 billion, respectively, maturing by 2005, as “worrisome to highly doubtful.”

Telecom has suffered greatly these past several years. Demand for products and services vanished just as firms completed extensive network upgrades financed by massive debt. The saddest part of this saga is that fraud seems to have taken a heavier toll on the firms that played fairly as they struggled to keep up with the phantom growth of their unscrupulous competitors. Those same competitors are now emerging from bankruptcy debt-free.

Cheats such as WorldCom (now emerging from bankruptcy) are in a better position to compete than before. Worse, their defaults have soured the credit markets on the industry, making it difficult for the honest firms to get funding.

With few options, the weakest players will scurry to renegotiate debt maturities or sell assets. More defaults and bankruptcies are likely. Be careful in this suffering sector — or just stay away.

Bothering with budgeting

Why should I bother with budgeting? — D.B., Charlotte, N.C.

Most of us would rather poke ourselves in the eye than sit down and plan a budget. Many would rather slam a door on their hand than actually live according to a budget. That’s just wrong thinking, though. We should budget with delight. We should even have trouble getting to sleep at night, as we eagerly anticipate tending to our budget in the morning.

Budgeting is a good thing — it permits you to optimize your spending. For at least one month (ideally three or more), carefully record all your money inflows and expenditures. Include everything from your paycheck and dividend income to highway tolls and library fines paid. Then add up each category and figure out exactly how much of your income you’re spending on various things.

You might learn that you’re spending a surprising amount on something you don’t care that much about. Tweak your habits a little, and you’ll end up with more to spend on things you care about more, such as entertainment or investing.

When a company announces a stock split, there’s a “date of record.” If you buy shares after that date but before the split, do you get the additional shares? — B.K., Reno Nev.

Yes, you still get them if you buy between the two dates.

The record date is mainly for accounting purposes and has no direct effect on the individual investor. The person who gets the benefit of the split shares is one who owns those shares on the day of the actual split, the pay date. As long as you’re holding the stock when it splits, you’ll get your due.

Plan your future with help

According to the 2002 Retirement Confidence Survey, only 32 percent of workers have tried to estimate, in detail, their financial needs for retirement. According to a 1999 report from the Securities and Exchange Commission: “Two out of three households in America — an estimated 65 million households — will probably fail to realize one or more of their major life goals because they’ve failed to develop a comprehensive financial plan.”

Depressing, eh?

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a part of these depressing statistics. Consider tapping the services of an experienced financial adviser to help you get your financial house in order. They’re not just for the rich.

A financial adviser can guide you through retirement planning, investing strategies, tax issues, dealing with employee stock options and more. This is valuable throughout your life, but especially when you near major life events, such as paying for college, retiring, buying a house, getting married, having a baby, or (yikes) being laid off.

When changing jobs, you need to consider how to deal with your retirement accounts. All of us should evaluate whether we have adequate disability insurance. Long-term care insurance is also well worth investigating. Financial advisers can help you determine whether you’re better off leasing or buying your next car, whether you should refinance your mortgage, how to avoid estate taxes, how to maximize your ability to care for elderly parents, and so on.

You can learn a lot about these topics on your own, in books, magazines, newspapers or online. But if you still have questions regarding how various rules apply to your situation, consider consulting a pro.

There are good and not-so-good financial advisers. Watch out for those who will put their financial self-interest before yours, perhaps trying to sell you products you don’t need, or skimming a percent off your assets without helping to increase your wealth.

To learn more about financial advisers, click over to www.cfp-board.org/cons_main.html and www.Fool.com/fa/finadvice.htm. Visit www.napfa.org to locate an adviser near you. Or check out The Motley Fool’s financial advisory service at http://paper.Fool.com.