Contrary to a popular belief not all financial advisors are created equal.  The sad thing is that in the recession of 2008 most people lost 30%-50% of their retirement because most retirement investment advisors had no idea that the crash was coming.  After it happened you know what they then told us.  ‘You need to keep putting money into your retirement because now prices are low and it will come back.”

For me this was the last straw.  After my financial advisor told me that I pulled all my money out and knew I could find someone that would make me money during recessions instead of sitting there and making excuses for their lack of knowledge or accountability for loosing my money.  For me a safe investment is one that never loses money. Read the rest of this entry

Does it really make sense to spend the best years of your life working so hard so your golden years can be left for retirement?  Does it really make sense to put life off?  I don’t think so and I don’t think most people do either.

I believe that is the mold of our society.  Work for 30-40 years and then retire.  Senior financial planning and retiring after 60 was a good model for people in the early and mid 1900’s who were coming off the farm and working their entire lives.  However, in today’s information age it is no longer necessary there are some very easy ways to save money to make early retirement a possibility for you.

Most people have a good work ethic.  You might as well apply that work ethic to retiring early and throw senior retirement planning out the window.  It works because people believe in it and plan it.  If you make a plan to retire early and work that plan it will work also.  Read the rest of this entry

For most American households when you ask them what they invest their money in the reply is usually the same or very similar.  Most people have safe long term investments that will have steady growth around 7%-12% over the long term.  These types of investments are meant for people that plan on working for someone for the next 20-40 years and by the time they retire they will have a steady heap of money and if they are lucky they can keep their current lifestyle and have a ton of free time in their lives.

These investments usually include 401k’s, IRA’s, and Mutual Funds. These are usually the long term investments of the middle class.  What many of these people end up with is a million or so in their retirement plan and they are set.  Congrats, you retired a millionaire.  You deserve a pat on the back…..or a kick in the forehead.

What people overlook and let themselves be sold by the typical financial advisor is that in 30 years that million in the bank will be worth $300,000 of today’s money.  I don’t know about you but retiring on $300,000 sounds pretty miserable.  This is why people have to downsize when they retire.  401k’s, Basic IRA’s and Mutual Funds are investments for dummies….or the ignorant.

When you understand the basics of the economy you will see that when one asset class goes up the other goes down.  This means that there are great times to be in stocks and also horrible times to be in stocks…like 2008.  Those that were in commodities in 2008 made a nice little profit and when the time comes again they will move their money again.  Long term investments are meant to be moved.  If they stay in the same place you will ultimately loose and be in an investment for dummies.

If you are new to the whole stock market world, then it is important that you research and learn more about the science. Although it isn’t a new thing, stock market develops more and more new strategies and schools of thought that make your stock market experience more fruitful.

What is great about the stock market is the fact that there is no absolute guarantee of good stock investments. There is always a risk involved; something that would blindside you and even those professionals who have been in the mix for years. Indeed, this is a field with an excitement you can’t see anywhere else.

Stock market investors usually spend a lot of time researching about the particular companies they want to invest on. If you want to pursue this venture, then you should probably do the same. To help you out, there are online references or stock market tips that will teach you the ins and outs of the stock market. Read the rest of this entry

Many factors are taken into planning when deciding which retirement plan is best for a person. How old someone is, income level, beneficiaries, current state income tax, and other factors contribute to the decision. Listed below are advantages and disadvantages to owning a Roth IRA retirement plan, and the basic Roth IRA rules.

A Roth IRA is a retirement fund that is taxed as money is placed into the account, thus the amount withdrawn is tax free given certain requirements are met. The requirements include that the fund be at least five years old currently, and that the owner of the plan is 59.5 for growth above principal to be taken out penalty free. Traditional IRA plans are tax free as money is placed into the account, and the funds withdrawn are taxed as regular income.

The advantages to owning a Roth IRA include, assets in a Roth IRA can be passed to heirs unlike social security. Converting to a Roth IRA from a traditional IRA is simple, also the funds transferred from the traditional plan can be withdrawn from the Roth IRA tax free. The only stipulation is that the five year seasoning time must have passed on the transferred funds.

Estates large enough to be taxed as estate taxes can be reduced by a Roth IRA. This is because tax dollars have already been subtracted, thus a traditional IRA is valued at a pre-tax level for estate tax reasons.

One of the major disadvantages to having a Roth IRA instead of a traditional IRA is the tax benefits may never be realized. The reason for this is because in a Roth IRA an owner is taxed as the money is payed into the account and not taxed as money is withdrawn. But if an owner does not live to start withdrawing funds, or does not take out the full extent of funds, the full amount of benefit is not realized.

Granted if an owner dies whether or not all the funds are withdrawn may not matter, but then again why be taxed on incoming money when one may not live to see it taken out. Technically the matter is a personal decision, but the benefits of being taxed up front may not be realized and thus is a disadvantage of a Roth IRA.

Most people look forward to retiring someday. Even if you love your job, you probably don’t picture yourself doing it at age 75. Then there are the people that hate their job, whether they make tons of money or next to nothing. They wish they could retire early. For everyone who wants to retire, early or later, you need to have something to support yourself in retirement.

You shouldn’t plan to depend entirely on social security. Those who do today often struggle to get by. Some people have a pension where they will continue to earn a percentage of what they were making before they retired. The longer they worked for that particular company, the larger the percentage. However, even a pension might not be enough for everyone, especially if they want to live very comfortably traveling and doing other expensive things. This is why you should invest for retirement, so you can do the things you have to do and the things you want to do. Read the rest of this entry

How to buy stocks for beginners is a common question asked these days. Many people ask this question and many people have formulated answers for them. You’ll find lots of them on stocks for dummies sites. There is just so much that have been written about it that you will hardly know which information to take as the truth and what you can discard as nonsense.

I’ve listed three essential tips below that should help to get you started. You might be expecting tips that may work magic for you at the start of your stock exchange business but if I had these I wouldn’t share them with anyone! I can’t promise to make you rich. But I can, at least, offer you some three useful tips that may be very important for your start in this business. Read the rest of this entry

When considering a new field to invest in, research is key.  Consider, for example, the up and coming alternative energy sector.  Why would I invest in alternative energy mutual funds?  Would they be a good fit for my portfolio?  Lets explore the different advantages and disadvantages of investing in alternative energy.

Alternative energy involves energy sources other than fossil fuels.  Fossil fuels will run out one day, so the development and implementation of an alternative energy solution is vital for future energy consumption.  Alternative energy sources include solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power, and biofuels.  These options also have the advantage of being renewable.  They are also a lot cleaner when compared to fossil fuels.  Implementing these energy sources on a wider scale could one day completely replace the need and dependence on fossil fuels. Read the rest of this entry

If you are looking for a way to make some money then you might want to strongly consider buying investment property. This is something that many people are starting to make a move towards this trend and they are benefiting from it in large ways. If you are considering going this route you will want to make sure that you continue reading this article.

First of all, you need to realize that purchasing a home that is set up like a duplex can be a wonderful way for you to make some extra money each and every month and it provides financial help for you and your family. That is especially true if you are renting this property to someone that is actually making the payments on time. While this can be a good way to make money, you need to realize that you will often be responsible for any damages and things that may need to be fixed from time to time as well. So, in the end, it can be a way for you to lose money as well. Read the rest of this entry

Recently a kit or the system to educate debtor has been designed  by John Cummuta, about ways to start changing the debt into wealth using debt relief solutions. The title is so appealing to people that there is extensive inquiry about the kit. The kit is inclusive of educational materials that includes one on one sessions and guidance from many professionals on the methods to use in turning debt in to wealth.

John boldly claims that it is either the poverty or riches that people attract and there is no middle ground. John Cummuta transforming debt into wealth is a compact system that includes manual, kit, easy to start solutions and educational sessions. In the discs some of the points that John includes are :
How to get off the debts?  The steps to adopt for credit card and mortgage elimination

Strategies to build wealth

With easy to follow instructions, John Cummuta provides debt relief solutions regarding how to transform debt into wealth. There are methods that help end debt including maxed out credit cards and mortgage debts. The author claims that it is very much possible and the task can be accomplished within 5-7 years. And he is speaking the truth. Read the rest of this entry

Getting lower payments for your credit card bills is not impossible. Many cardholders are burdened every month because of the interest rates being charge by credit card companies.

Thus, they are not able to free themselves from their debts. Every month they only pay the minimum, but the amount they are charged because of interest is so high that it just accumulates and accumulates. If you want to solve this problem, here are several things that you can do:

Set a meeting with your creditors

Arranging for a meeting with your creditors will help you in explaining to them why you need to be given a chance to have lower credit card payments. Contrary to popular belief, credit card companies will not go after you and send you to jail provided that you will cooperate with them. Read the rest of this entry

There are many strategies for debt reduction that work. A lot of people think the only option is bankruptcy, but this is not the case. Here are two of the most important steps you can take:

#1) Know your situation

This is the most critical step you. It is not enough to know you have “a lot of debt.” Instead, you want exact figures. Therefore, determine your obligations, along with the amount of income and expenses.

In particular, knowing your expenses is important. This is because it will help you figure out how to reduce them by eliminating unnecessary things. Common examples of expenses you can do without are magazine subscriptions, eating out frequently, website memberships, etc.

Chances are, if you thoroughly analyze your situation, you likely will be shocked at how many unnecessary costs there are. Knowing this is the first step to eliminating them. Be ruthless, and get rid of anything and everything that you can. Read the rest of this entry

When most people are young they tend to put all their energy into planning their career. They go to school, work hard but forget to plan for their retirement.

It’s an easy oversight because when you are in you late teens early twenties who’s thinking about being 60 years old and retired, right?  The truth is that planning for retirement takes a lot of planning, as much as your career. However, if you are close to that age already, or are perhaps in your last year, here are some retirement tips to keep in mind.

KEEP INVESTING

Our economy will always fluctuate and so you want to make sure that your money will last as long as you are a live.  This means continuing to invest.  Just as you did when you were younger, investing in a 401k and ensuring you rollover your money when you leave a company, you need to invest now for later.  The investments will be different such as purchasing a rental property so that you can earn income as well as write it off. Read the rest of this entry

Investment lots can be difficult, it is not always easy to decide when and where to buy.  One things is for certain that land is an essential part of any economy and like an part of an economy the demand for it may diminish or rise dependent on various factors.

When looking to purchase a lot it may be wise to consider the past market for land and for the area you would like to invest in.  Many times land becomes available in remote locations for a cheap price.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but may have difficult obstacles to overcome.  Suppose that land is purchased in a remote location for a good price, in order to resell or develop this land the demand must rise above the current demand.  However if this area though remote has potential for growth in the long run this investment may pay off in a big way. Read the rest of this entry

Ok. Let’s be honest here.  You can automate your 401k contributions to save you time and perhaps stress; but, money may be stretching it a bit. Although, participation in your 401k plan will surely save you money ~ in the long run ~ primarily because the contributions you make to your account are pre-tax.

What that means for you is that those contributions are not included in your W-2 and you do not have to pay current income taxes on that money. You will however have to pay taxes, ultimately, when you take the money from the account. The Internal Revenue Service has a long memory. Hopefully you will not have to think about that until you retire.

Now, before you set up the account, you will need to spend some time with a document from your Human Resources Department. It is called the Summary Plan Description. It may seem a little daunting but do not despair. It is here that your 401k options will be spelled out in more detail than you probably want. Read the rest of this entry

If you go shopping for the best money market rates, you will be shocked at what you find. Anyone who is used to and expects to get rates of 2% to 3% or higher will be very disappointed to learn that they can’t even get 1% right now.

Interest rates have been at historically low levels for several years now and the bad part is that there is nothing on the horizon that is indicating things will get better. The economy is in a real slump and the current administration doesn’t have a clue what to do about it.

Lowering interest rates is thought to be a help to the economy because it should increase borrowing and then spending. However, things have not gone as planned and the economy continues to go down despite the low rates. Right now people are just not doing much with their money other than hold onto it. Read the rest of this entry

With the economy in the US faltering and nest eggs dwindling it’s no wonder that more retirees are looking at options abroad. Many are turning their attention to Central America given its lower cost of living, close proximity and good airline links back the the US.

It just takes a few hours to reach capital cities in Central America from the main US hubs. In order to provide retirees an introduction to what awaits down south we’ve identified out 4 ‘retirement hot spots’ that we think are worth a closer look.

1) First up is Placencia in Belize. Often overshadowed by the glitzy Ambergris Caye, Placencia is coming of age. Following a massive road upgrade program you can now drive all the way to Placencia from Belize City (the capital of Belize) without hitting a pothole. And there’s a new international airport under construction at the north of the Peninsula. Best of all Placencia real estate prices are still low when compared to more mature Caribbean destinations. Read the rest of this entry

There are many reasons everyone should have an IRA.  They range from providing an income during retirement, to leaving an inheritance to grandchildren.  But with all the different investment options out there today, how does a person choose what to put into the IRA?

To begin with, an IRA is an Individual Retirement Account.  In a traditional IRA, the deposits go in before tax is paid, they then grow tax free, and finally the IRA owner is taxed when the money is taken out of the IRA.  These are not short-term investments however.

If the money is withdrawn before age 59.5, it will be assessed a 10% tax penalty (there are some ways to get around the penalty, but they are very specific).  The IRA itself is not an investment, it is simply a shell account that investments are added to. Read the rest of this entry

What is a SEP IRA? It is a simplified employee pension individual retirement account.  There are two main differences between a SEP IRA and a Traditional IRA both dealing with contributions.

The contribution limit for a SEP IRA is quite a bit higher than that of Traditional IRAs.  In 2010 the contribution limit was $49,000.  All withdrawal qualifications apply like in most other IRAs such as being at least 59 ½ otherwise you are susceptible to a 10% early withdrawal tax fee.

The other main difference between the two is the contributions can be variable depending upon the net income of the business.  This plan is particularly favorable to new business owners who need to use all funds to invest back into the business. Read the rest of this entry

Many penny stock brokers assume that the risk of investing is lower just because it is easier to enter the market to purchase regularly traded stock.  The truth is investing in penny stocks is often quite risky, and if you don’t know what you are doing you can get yourself in a lot of trouble.

You should know when penny stock brokers are investing in stock they are buying stock that sell for less than $5.00 per share.  This type of stock is generally offered by small businesses or start up companies who might need to sell stock to get some money flowing in or have not yet proved they are worth more money at this time. Read the rest of this entry