Archive for the ‘Wealth Building’ Category

The Guaranteed Path to Peace and Tranquility

Monday, December 20th, 2010

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, “The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.” (more…)

Credit Card Email Scams

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Here’s How It Works:

For some reason there are a lot of people out there who would rather lie, cheat and steal, than to go out and earn an honest day’s living.  Because of that, credit card scams are on the rise, and one of the more prominent tools used to perpetrate the scam is email. In this case, the scammer will send you an email message (scam) that appears to be from your credit card company. (more…)

The Stages of the Property Tax Appeal Process

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

There are several steps for the property tax appeal process. The first step is to determine if you are receiving a higher assessment than what you believe the property could sell for in this period. If you feel the assessed value is high, you can then take the first step towards appealing the tax bill. If you do not succeed on the first level, you have two other levels to appeal to before taking the final step in a courtroom. (more…)

Ways to Afford Your Retirement Account Catch-Up Contributions

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Turning 50 might not be everyone’s idea of excitement, but when it comes to saving for retirement, 50 is when things start getting a lot more interesting.

That’s because people age 50 and over can make what are known as “catch-up” contributions to IRAs and most workplace-based retirement plans. These special contributions are in addition to regular contribution limits and allow individuals to maximize the amount of tax-advantaged retirement savings they can stash away.

The catch-up phenomenon has never been more important as American workers attempt to rebuild retirement savings devastated by recent market losses. Taxpayers 50 or older are permitted to make additional contributions beyond standard limits. For calendar year 2010, here are the standard contribution limits with their catch-up amount: (more…)

New Careers After Age 50

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Where The Jobs Are, How to Spruce Up Your Skills  and Ready Your Finances for the Change

During the recent recession, many have found themselves back in the job market after age 50 due to layoffs or changing demands at their employers. Yet as life expectancies lengthen, a late career change isn’t always a negative. It may be a welcome chance to renew, re-educate and restart a full life.

It’s possible that in the future, an over-50 career change might become a common event, maybe even a desired event in our society – which means it’s definitely worth planning for. (more…)

Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage or Invest?

Monday, February 1st, 2010

investOwning a home outright is a dream that many Americans share. Having a mortgage can be a huge burden, and paying it off may be the first item on your financial to-do list. But competing with the desire to own your home free and clear is your need to invest for retirement, your child’s college education, or some other goal. Putting extra cash toward one of these goals may mean sacrificing another. So how do you choose?

Evaluating the opportunity cost

Deciding between prepaying your mortgage and investing your extra cash isn’t easy, because each option has advantages and disadvantages. But you can start by weighing what you’ll gain financially by choosing one option against what you’ll give up. In economic terms, this is known as evaluating the opportunity cost. (more…)

Debt Reduction – The Hybrid Method

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

By Roger G. Best

We’ve already talked about the Snowball Method and the Avalanche Method of Debt Reduction.  They both have their advantages and disadvantages.  The Snowball Method works toward paying off debt and does so by playing into basic human emotion.  It pays off the smallest debt first, then moving on to the next smallest and so on, until all your debt has been retired.  This method tends to be very emotionally satisfying because you will be able to completely pay off the smaller debt very quickly, leaving you with a sense of satisfaction.  The disadvantage is that the Snowball Method doesn’t take into account the actual cost of the debt.  If those smaller debts that you have are also the lowest interest rate, you’ll end up paying a lot more in interest, making this method the more costly of the two approaches. (more…)

The Balancing Act: Retirement vs. College Savings

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

frank_bloggerEven as the economy begins its slow crawl back, college costs are continuing to rise – that means parents are continuing to fight a tough battle between funding college and funding their own retirements.

In October, the College Board reported that the average published price of tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year U.S. public colleges was $7,020 for the 2009-10 school year, up $429 or 6.5 percent higher than a year ago. After adjusting for inflation, the average net price paid for tuition and fees by public four-year college students overall is lower in 2009-10 than it was five years ago — but higher than it was last year. Private four-year colleges saw a smaller increase of 4.4 percent or $1,096, but for a much higher average annual tuition of $26,273 for the school year. (more…)

GETTING YOUR FINANCES READY FOR THE NEXT RAINY DAY – OR DECADE

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

It was Benjamin Franklin who once said, “The man who achieves makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all – doing nothing.” (more…)

How Your Personality Affects Your Financial Decision-Making

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

All investors are not created equal. That’s why financial planners start their first client meetings with a discussion of money attitudes, goals and risk tolerance – the driver at the root of all investment decisions. Some planners do this by general conversation, others by detailed surveys they ask their clients to fill out.

The survey route can be a more valuable tool because it forces clients to face their money issues, perhaps for the first time. Despite the difficulty in facing up to such key issues, individuals get a better idea of where their money strengths and weaknesses really lie.  Often, the real difficulties lie in how money is spent. (more…)