Financial Planning Articles

Finance » Financial Planning | By Michael Branson @ Thursday, 9th October 2008 @ 12:55 PM

Over the last 8 days, the Dow Jones Industrial Stocks have lost 13.6%, which is roughly 1,500 points. While this does not qualify as the largest drop in stock prices in history, it is hurting Americans who have money in the stock market and in pension and 401K plans. According to the Associated Press a top congressional budget analyst now says that pension plans have lost as much as $2 Trillion over the last 15 months. CNBC's analyst, Jim Cramer, was quoted on the Today show as sayi... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By James Steele @ Tuesday, 7th October 2008 @ 4:26 PM

You have several rollover options when deciding what to do with your IRA or 401k account. Make sure to think about your personal situation when reading through these options, so you can weigh what the best choice is for you. And keep in mind that more than one option may pertain to your retirement needs, especially when you consider those retirement needs in the future. The easiest thing to do is not act at all. Keep any and all accounts exactly where they are and do not give them a se... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By James Steele @ Monday, 6th October 2008 @ 4:33 PM

IRA vs 401k? This is the question you should be considering as you rollover your previous retirement accounts. Do you want to eventually have those funds invested in a new employers 401k or stay in one of your individual retirement accounts? As usual, the answer boils down to personal circumstances, but lets take look at some of the benefits of both. To start off with, we must specify that the individual retirement account option is a standard IRA, not a Roth. Since the retirement mon... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Douglas Michaels @ Sunday, 5th October 2008 @ 4:21 PM

God is not against His people having money. That is why He has provided the Keys to Financial Planning in His book. He has never been against it in spite of what you may have heard many preachers say. He is against money having them and ruling their lives. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these thi... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By James Steele @ Thursday, 2nd October 2008 @ 9:21 PM

Today we are going to talk about a 401k rollover to IRA Rollover account. This is simply moving the retirement money that you had with a previous employer to a personal retirement account that is flexible and will allow to have control over future investments. Normally, the 401k to IRA transition is made when leaving a job or retiring. The nice thing about this transition is that it can be done at any time. There is no one year minimum time requirement to stay in the 401k if you have l... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By John Carpenter Dealey @ Wednesday, 1st October 2008 @ 9:21 AM

The dictionary defines 'illiquid assets' as assets that are not easily and quickly converted into money. The dollar value of these hidden assets can be substantial. Have you given your 'Rarely Sold Assets' the attention, planning and priority they deserve? If so, congratulations - less than one percent of business owners in America have given this subject the priority it deserves. A large portion of today's family wealth can often be found concentrated ... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Amit Kheterpal @ Thursday, 25th September 2008 @ 5:28 PM

As is the wont with almost all of us we always put off decisions related to money for a later date especially when it comes to money. The most common theory is that we need money for current needs and we have no money to save. Let me try to explain this in a different manner. Each year you get a salary hike but even then we do not have enough money for saving because we expand our needs accordingly. If you get a bigger pay hike we go on and buy a big car or a big house or an expensive ca... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Ann Knapp @ Thursday, 25th September 2008 @ 5:01 PM

Choosing to partner with a bank to reach your financial goals is no decision to make lightly. Some stick with the same bank for years not because the bank offers competitive terms, but out of habit. Making an informed decision requires some research. After all, what may be at risk is the ability to reach one's monetary objectives as well as peace of mind. To begin, decide on bank service priorities. Do you need a savings account? Is the ability to invest through the bank important? ... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Amit Kheterpal @ Thursday, 25th September 2008 @ 4:53 PM

Money is almost everything we need to live and survive in this world. In our working life we get the money form working and we spend it merrily without worrying about the future when the money will not be flowing in every month rather it will be in a limited or no supply. Retirement is that future where you continue to live but in effect have no money coming in every month as a paycheck into your salary account. That said very few percentage of people generally keep tab on the nest egg t... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Amy Nutt @ Thursday, 18th September 2008 @ 9:44 PM

Saving for retirement is something that everyone needs to consider, as it is an important long-term goal. Every working person, no matter how old he or she is, will eventually reach retirement age. Once you person retires, they will no longer be earning the income that they were accustomed to receiving every pay period. In order to deal with that loss of income and still be able to pay bills, maintain their lifestyle, and survive in general, every working person needs to plan ahead. T... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Justin DeMerchant @ Wednesday, 17th September 2008 @ 8:47 PM

Planning for one's retirement is to think long term and to start early on. Preparing for it is a lifetime process of reducing all possible risks and obstacles that get in the way of that bright future. Many people have turned their eyes to and put their hopes on the stock market, which, ironically, thrives on uncertainty and speculations. But these uncertainties in the game of stock trading can be most profitable, when they are understood and capitalized to the investor's benefit. <... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Tony Bahu @ Tuesday, 16th September 2008 @ 1:32 AM

I used to sell annuities. I was intrigued by them and initially and the way they were introduced to me, they seemed like they could really help people. Until one day, it happened... This is the true story of how I was 'banned' from the annuity industry. I tell it not for any reason other than to let you know you may need to be aware. Aware of what? Aware of the fact that there may be some things you need to know. So upon really becoming interested in them, I decided ... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Tony Bahu @ Monday, 15th September 2008 @ 4:50 PM

Annuities are sold in a way to capitalize on your both your and your agent's fear and greed. There is actually a funny way of thinking about this. On one hand there is the fear that you will lose your money, then the fear that your agent won't make his big fat commission off of you, which is closely related to his greed of selling you the annuity over lower commission alternatives, which he plays off of your greed to earn a better rate of return than what the bank is paying ... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Tony Bahu @ Monday, 15th September 2008 @ 3:31 PM

We are now approaching close to 70 years following the first Great Depression in this wonderful country. It certainly has been quite a ride and there is no question that this country has prospered tremendously since then. And many people still believe that we are soon going to recover. However, I am not so sure it's going to be that quick. We are currently facing a breakdown of the credit system. It started with sub-prime mortgages but has recently spread to many other facets of ... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Chad Wiley @ Friday, 12th September 2008 @ 8:25 PM

I love to read about making money, and any type of book on personal finance. I also love to read about getting out of debt, and also building wealth. I believe in not using any credit cards at all, and paying off all your debts from smallest to largest. This is called the debt snowball, and once you get all of your debts except for the house you then invest your money in mutual funds and or real estate and build your wealth with the money you were paying to your debtors. I perso... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Obinna Heche @ Thursday, 11th September 2008 @ 6:22 PM

The American version of debt management seems to be buy now, pay later, or worry about it later. Instant gratification has replaced save for a rainy day as the watch word for Americans regarding their money. There is an old saying that When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. When you are taking control of your finances, that old saying applies. The sooner that you can get control, the financial hole that you have to climb out of will not be as deep. Most A... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Ann Marosy @ Wednesday, 10th September 2008 @ 5:39 PM

I can still remember my first lecture in Management Accounting. The lecturer was introducing us to the concept of budgeting and at the end he made a little joke, which went something like this: "If your budget has turned out exactly right, you have either had an amazing stroke of luck or got it wrong!" Of course, what he meant was: budgets are not meant to be accurate. They are there as a guide - an important, essential guide that should act as both a planning and control mechanism. <... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Ramapati Singhania @ Monday, 8th September 2008 @ 1:01 PM

When we talk about offshore financial companies, the term conjures up an image of huge, shadowy financial monoliths investing funds without any transparency. These types of companies also exist. e.g. many mutual funds and hedge funds whose investors prefer 'foreign country' investments. But ordinary investors like us too can form offshore investing companies of relatively smaller size to fulfill our more mundane everyday needs. Or we can invest, via our offshore banker, into off... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Gregory Smyth @ Monday, 8th September 2008 @ 12:57 AM

Sharia is Islamic law - the principles by which Muslim men and women live their lives. Islamic banking is a banking system that its consistent with Sharia, and the idea was formed in response to the obvious divergence of many Western banks with these ethical principles. Islamic banks have grown in both number and popularity worldwide since the first one opened its doors in Dubai in 1975. Now Hong Kong will soon have its first Islamic bank, operated by a Malaysian company known as Hong Leong Bank... more...

Finance » Financial Planning | By Steve Selengut @ Sunday, 7th September 2008 @ 8:39 PM

Your retirement income investment plan starts now, right now, no matter how old or well heeled you happen to be. Step One is to understand what a retirement plan is, and to identify the three large numbers you need to keep track of while you are developing your stash. With these three totals on your spreadsheet, it's much easier to develop long-range retirement income goals that make personal sense. A retirement plan is an income production plan. Guaranteed retirement income - projec... more...