July 28, 2010

Cash ISA

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Juggling may be entertaining, but the average person may not have the concentration to keep the balls in the air. Yet half of Americans in their prime savings years juggle their retirement money in three or more accounts, according to Fidelity Investments estimates.

Whether they are 401(k)s from previous jobs or forgotten IRAs, these multiple accounts can burden investors with several statements and potentially more account fees. Most importantly, scattered accounts may make it more difficult to keep a diversified investing strategy on track.

“It’s natural to think that multiple accounts may automatically diversify a portfolio, but that’s not necessarily true,” says Cynthia Egan of Fidelity. “In fact, managing a mix of stocks, bonds and cash across numerous accounts can be confusing and may make it harder to detect risks to your portfolio.”

For example, some investors unknowingly hold the same security in several accounts, which could result in a big hit to the portfolio if that stock price falls. Identifying how much is “too much” is simple with one view of all your retirement money.

Merging multiple accounts into a single Rollover IRA can make it easier to manage your savings, allowing you to easily review your holdings and quickly make adjustments. Here are three more tips to help simplify your portfolio:

1. Find them all. Even if you have to spread your statements across the kitchen table, identify all of your accounts that can be consolidated, including forgotten IRAs and old 401(k)s.

2. Mix it up. We’ve all heard that while diversification doesn’t ensure a profit or guarantee against loss, an age-appropriate mix of stocks, bonds and cash is the key to potentially better long-term performance. Make it easy with a lifecycle fund that is automatically rebalanced by a professional as your target retirement date approaches.

3. Keep it moving. Just like your regular trip to the dentist for a preventive checkup, be sure to review your portfolio annually to make sure your overall retirement strategy stays on track.

Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you manage your retirement savings. At the end of the day, however, consolidating retirement accounts into a single IRA account can help you more easily evaluate your retirement assets, develop a more thoughtful retirement strategy and monitor your investments to build your portfolio – making it easier to keep your eye on the retirement ball.

Credit card debt is one of the leading cause for needing to file for bankruptcy or take out mortgage loans on your home or other drastic measures. Studies indicate that credit card debt is slowly making a consumers financial situation bad or worse than ever before, and can also cause psychological depression and contribute to lower GPA’s and increased substance abuse among college students. Credit card debt can build up quickly, especially if you have more than one card and a habit of charging everything.

Interest

The interest is the money paid on a balance to a lender by the borrower, which is to be paid every month, if you roll over your balance from month to month. Interest doesn’t usually go down on its own, and when only minimum payments are made your balance can grow to un-manageable amounts. If you are late on a payment your interest rates can increase to 35 percent, making it very hard to pay off balances. With interest rates still on the rise, there’s no better time to take a good close look at your finances.

Payment

Debt, especially credit card debt can accumulate very fast and many people soon find themselves barely able to even make the minimum payments. Remember if you are late on only one payment, your rate could increase drastically. If you are not good at remembering payments, it’s wise to set up direct debits to pay your credit card bills. It’s always best to control your spending and try to pay more than the required minimum payment whenever possible.

The main problem with credit cards is that they make it very easy for you to spend money. The most important step take to reduce credit card debt is to not use your credit card for every little thing, use cash whenever possible. Studies show credit card debt is higher for males than female debtors, and even higher for joint accounts. The problem with carrying credit card debt is that the interest on the card will typically accrue much quicker when you only make minimum payments.

For the past five years my sole source of income has been profits made from trading on the forex market. Over that time period, many people, perhaps somewhat envious of my ability to earn money from home without having to report to a boss, have asked me what it takes to trade for a living. How can one arrive at a point where one feels confident enough to leave ones regular employment, strike off on ones own with no guarantee of a regular paycheck, and put what might conceivably be ones entire savings up to that point at risk in the markets?

While I unfortunately cant actually give you confidence in your ability to make it on your own, nor the stomach to risk your hard earned savings, I can tell you the practical steps that I took to get where I am today. These steps do not include the obvious learn of the existence of the forex market, as presumably you already know something about forex trading, or you wouldnt be reading this article.
Furthermore, while these steps have been applicable to trading the forex market in my case, one could easily apply the same principles to becoming a professional trader in the equities markets, derivative markets, etc.

Step 1) Start saving your money. To trade professionally you need a bankroll, and one that is large enough to withstand the ups and downs that are a natural part of trading. For me, this was easy. I had been putting money aside ever since I started working. Those like me that have been raised to understand and appreciate the value of saving, will accomplish this quite naturally. However, if you are a habitual spender and are accustomed to living paycheck to paycheck without putting anything extra aside, be prepared to expend some serious effort curbing your habits and learning to save instead of spend. How much money will you need? Unfortunately I cant answer that specifically because it will depend on the trading strategy that you use, the amount of leverage you
plan on trading with, and the amount of money that you need to take out in profits. You should count on having a bare minimum though, of a full six months salary saved up before beginning full time trading. One years salary would be still better. Keep in mind that the larger your bankroll, the more money you can earn without risking an unnecessarily large percentage of your bankroll.

Step 2) Get an education. You cant start trading before you know something about the market you are trading in. This education does not have to be formal (as in University classes), and you do not have to understand economic forces as well as Alan Greenspan prior to getting started. You should, however, have a basic understanding of why the market that you are trading in exists, how buying and selling on that market works, and the strategy that you are going to employ to take your profits out of the market. There are a lot of totally free resources on the internet that are worth your time to read (and there are a lot of opinions and ideas that are NOT worth your time, but reading some of those that are not worthwhile is part of the process of developing
discernment about what is and is not a good resource).
There are also some inexpensive trading courses on the internet that are useful. Part of the education process is coming up with a trading strategy that you are comfortable with, as well as a money management strategy to ensure the long term viability of the trading strategy. There are many good trading strategies out there, but regardless of which one you choose, you must understand that the traders that are successful cut their losses early and let their winning trades run. This can be somewhat more difficult than it sounds, but is really the key to making money trading.

Step 3) Sign up for a demo trading account and start practicing while you are not at your regular job (or, if you have free time and internet access at your job, WHILE you are at your regular job). We list some good forex brokers at forex-rates, so if you are planning to trade currencies, be sure and sign up for a demo account with one of the listed brokers. In order to get a real feel for the trading strategy that you have chosen, you will have to do a lot of practice, so take your time with this step. Dont start trading with real money until you have an actual
history of successful demo trading

Step 4) If you are making money trading on paper and are comfortable with your trading strategy, go ahead and get started trading for real on a part time basis. Dont include all of your savings as part of your trading bankroll yet. Start slowly and gain a comfort level. As your confidence builds, move money from your savings to increase the size of your bankroll.

Step 5) When you can estimate that your average gains from real trading (from step 4) are at a level where, if you were to trade full time using your current bankroll, you would be making profits that slightly exceed your current employment salary, you are ready to quit your job and trade full time. Remember, you want your trading profits to exceed your present salary. This will give you the opportunity to maintain your current financial level, but at the same time continue to increase your trading bankroll, which will enable you to earn more and more money as the size of your available funds grows larger.

It is important to have patience with yourself at each of the steps mentioned. Maintain emotional equanimity and understand that fear and greed are a traders most dangerous nemesis. If you can keep these emotions under control and maintain the discipline established while following these steps, you can look forward to making it as a professional trader.

It is that time in life that we all look forward to. It is time to sit and relax and no longer have to worry about catching the bus or missing lunch just to beat the deadline. It is that point in our lives that the challenges of a planned working schedule is modified into a more relaxing pace, away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday struggle to work.

It is the day of retirement.

Basically, retirement systems refer to the methods or processes, in which the employees can begin use of their retirement benefits depending on the nature of their job and the amount of their take home pay.

In the United States, the retirement system may vary from one state to another state. However, every retirement system functions and operates just the same.

The retirement system is categorically divided into four different retirement systems. These are the Judges Retirement System, State Employees, School Employees, and the State Police Employees Retirement Systems. Every category has it own system and each of them ha its functions as well as restrictions.

To know more about the four retirement systems, here are some facts that are very helpful to those who need it.

1. Judges Retirement System

This type of retirement system refers to the retirement benefits entitled to judges. The rules and regulations stipulated within the provisions of Judges Retirement System are in conformity with the services rendered by the judges to their work.

2. State Employees Retirement System

This particular retirement system aims to provide those who have rendered adequate services to the state, thus, they are entitled to special privileges that are only applicable to state employees.

These retirement benefits are exclusive for people in the state government.

3. School Employees Retirement System

Any benefits that are entitled to teacher and educators are those that fall under the School Employees System. Benefits and profits are gained during the retirement.

4. State Police Employees Retirement System

This retirement system refers to the system that is responsible in organizing the appropriate services and benefits that are entitled for people who have sufficiently tendered services as a police officer until such time that the concerned person has already reached retirement stage.

Boiled down, retirement systems are specially made to make life more meaningful when people are already on their retirement age.

If you feel as though you keep making the same mistakes when it comes to money, there’s good news.

By making a few small, practical changes in your behavior, you can often correct financial mistakes and make some positive changes that are likely to last. Here are four examples.

• Eliminate emotional spending: Before you head off to the mall, take a minute to note what you are feeling. In a recent study by moneycentral.msn.com, people who had just watched a sad movie clip were willing to spend more than those who had just watched other types of movies.

Remember, if you are feeling sad or frustrated, there are ways other than shopping to make yourself feel better.

• Pay off credit card debt as soon as possible: Take a long look at how much you are paying to borrow money from your creditors. Think about consolidating debt with a single loan that has a lower interest rate that’s fixed.

• Start planning for retirement now: If you are not saving money for retirement, you should be. A recent study in USA Today showed that currently, 53 percent of people in the workforce have no pension and 32 percent have nothing set aside for retirement. If you’re planning on relying just on Social Security, you probably should think again. The current average payout is just $955, or $11,460 annually-and could be even less, depending on your work history. You should consider working with a financial professional and completing a personalized financial profile. This can help determine how much you need to start saving in order to reach your financial goals, such as retirement, education savings for your children and other goals.

• Prepare for the unexpected: Don’t use the “it could never happen to me” excuse when dealing with something as critical as your family’s financial future. Sudden accidents or unexpected critical health problems happen every day to those who least expect it. If you are the breadwinner of a young family, according to the experts at Kiplinger’s, life insurance protection of eight to 12 times your annual income is recommended. Most experts agree that the most affordable form of insurance is term insurance. According to Kiplinger’s, “Dollar for dollar, term life insurance gives you the most protection for your money. Period.”

July 16, 2010

Cash ISA

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Frugal living requires skills and ways of looking at things that help you take advantage of the money-saving opportunities in life. The truly frugal person makes these into habits. Six of these habits are outlined below. These are techniques that can be learned in a matter of a day or two, and made into new habits a few weeks. Then they will save money for you for the rest of your life.

1. Frugal living requires a knowledge of values. How can you get a great deal on a car if you don’t know what a great deal is. Get in the habit of educating yourself on prices, especially before you’re ready to buy anything that costs a lot. It takes a few hours of looking at listings for sale, for example, to know what homes are selling for in an area, but this is knowledge that can save you thousands.

2. Learn from other people. Most of us know someone who always gets the best deal on cars, boats, homes, or even groceries. Why not ask him or her how they do it! One person will tell you that the cheapest coffee in town is $3 per cup, while another will say 50 cents. Ask the latter about coffee shops. People near you are living a good life on half of what you make. Investigate that. See how others do things, and you’ll know your options.

3. Frugal living means always looking for alternatives. You might have just as much fun taking a discount trip to Mexico as you would going to Jamaica. Maybe you happen to enjoy pizza more than fine French dining. If so, why not skip the expensive restaurant and call Dominoes. This isn’t about sacrificing, but about getting even more of what you really enjoy by paying less for cheaper alternatives that work just as well.

4. Pay cash. What happens when everything you buy costs an additional 20% because of the interest you pay over the years? You can’t buy as much! Everything is cheaper when paid for in cash instead of credit. If you want that new patio set, divide the price by the number of weeks you can wait to get it. Set aside that much each week, and buy it for cash when you have the money. Not only do you save on interest, but you’ll often get a better price when you pay cash.

5. Learn to do the math. Did you really save $400 on that car if it costs you $500 more in gas each year? Did you know that some stores are cashing in on shopper’s assumptions that larger is cheaper? It’s true. That gallon of pickles might actually cost more than four quart jars. Make it a habit to do the math if you want to save money.

6. Tell people what you need. Mention it in conversations. Many people get free or cheap things, just because they talk. For example, a neighbor wanted to upgrade her living room debt, and was thrilled that I would take her three-month-old couch off her hands for $30. I sure am glad that I mentioned I was looking for one. You need to make this little trick a part of your frugal living habits.

Many people think appraisals and assessments are the same thing or at least that they should be for the same amount. The truth is they can vary greatly. Lets look at each of them.

Appraisals

An appraisal is an estimate of market value. An appraiser can use many methods for coming up with this estimate. For income producing property, the appraiser may capitalize the value of the income stream. (It would take x dollars of capital invested at a y rate of return to produce an income equal to the rental income generated by this property.) For other properties, an appraiser may use replacement value. (It would cost x dollars to build this structure if it were being built today.)

Appraisers usually use comparable sales when evaluating the market value of a home. They look at nearby properties with similar characteristics, which have sold in the recent past to see at what price they sold. They typically give the most weight to the property they deem to be most like the property they are appraising.

Buyers and sellers generally encounter appraisals when the buyers lender has an appraiser make an evaluation of the market value of the property being sold. The lender wants to be sure of the value of the collateral for the loan. An interesting feature that comes into play in this situation is that one indication of value is at what price two unrelated parties will agree to buy and sell the same property. In other words, what is the contract price the seller and buyer of this property agreed on (if they are not relatives).

Assessments

An assessment is the value your local government puts on your property for the purpose of taxing it. How this value is derived varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some communities say the value is the same as market value. Some say the value is a percentage of market value. Some appear to actually do what they say they do, and some do not.

I was once a partner in an investment property that we were offering for sale at the time the county re-assessed it. Imagine my annoyance when the assessment came in at one hundred and forty percent of the offer price. We werent dummies. The partners were real estate professionals. I appealed the re-assessment, but my appeal was turned down. I offered to sell the property at the assessed price to the appraiser the county had hired to handle the appeals when he was telling me why he could not reduce our assessment. He did not take me up on my offer. Our property sold at the listed price months later. We had paid six months taxes on the property at a higher than market value.

On another occasion I helped some elderly people sell a farm theyd lived in all their adult lives. The farm sold for a price a great deal higher than the value at which it had been assessed.

I believe the two examples are fairly typical. Many jurisdictions will puff up assessments for businesses and investors and low ball assessments for people who have lived in their homes for a long time. Sometimes there are formulas for doing this. Land use is one such concept, i.e., the property is taxed at its value as a farm and the fact that it is ripe for dense residential and commercial development is ignored or deferred. Sometimes there are no formulas. It is just done.

For these reasons, it is usually not a good idea to put too much credence in the assessed value of a property when you are trying to figure out market value. They may be the same. They may be vastly different.

Financial success isn’t a hard task to master. It simply takes dedication, hard work and a little old fashioned commitment.

But it also takes a little knowledge. Too many consumers are ignoring what are financial truths. They run up large amounts of debt just to appear successful to those around them. They surround themselves with things that only make them feel better for a minute.

They ignore the fact that a debt-free and well managed financial life is a wonderful way to eliminate stress, which is all too common in today’s world.

What do you need to do to become financially successful?

First, you need to spend less than you earn. Sounds easy, but it really isn’t. It is easier to spend less than it is to earn more. You simply have to cut your costs. You have to stop charging on your credit cards and you have to stop shopping. Look closely at where your money is going. Look at what you already have around you. Get all those projects completed before you buy things for a new project.

You have to have a budget and stick with it. Budgets don’t tell you how to spend your money, they tell you how to save your money. You can easily see where your money is going. You can identify areas that you can cut back on. Then, you can set spending goals. A budget is a great way to challenge yourself. There is nothing better than saving more money than you thought you could. Surprise yourself with a budget that works.

From your budget, you should be able to find the money to start paying off that credit card debt. If you are severely in debt, you may need to get a second job and sell some things to get a head start. Stop using those cards and start paying them off. They are draining the life out of your finances on a daily basis.

You should be contributing to a retirement plan. Research your options and take advantage of them. Don’t wait until tomorrow, it will be too late. Start now. When you pay off your debt, put that money to your retirement as well. Who knows — you may be able to retire early.

Once you have your debt paid off you should have a savings plan. There are goals that you can set for your savings. You may want new furniture or to go on a vacation. You should also save at least three to six months of money to cover your monthly expenses in the case of an emergency. This will cushion your budget from any repairs, emergencies, illnesses or job losses that may happen.

Financial success isn’t difficult. It is simply a habit that you have to nurture and maintain. Take the time to sit down and get started. Work on it until it becomes second nature. The more you work on it, the better you will become at it.

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