Investing is the commitment of money or capital to make a profit. That's an easy definition and many of us know it. So why are so few of us truly good at it? Because investing lessons are among the toughest we'll ever learn. When it comes to money, we can be tempted by greed, overenthusiasm and our own ignorance; mostly we learn our lessons through the mistakes we make. But it doesn't have to be this way. Before you consider a move into stocks, real estate, or another kind of … [Read more...]
Annuities-Are They Right For You?
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If you want to start a debate among financial professionals, just bring up the subject of annuities. It doesn't matter whether the parties involved have ever bought them or even investigated them. There are simply strong opinions about this investment option. So let's talk about what they are and how they work. What is an Annuity? An annuity is an investment contract between an investor and insurance company. The investor pays a lump sum in exchange for future periodic payments … [Read more...]
How a Planner Can Help You Plan for the Unexpected
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Shashin Shah, a finance professional based in Dallas, knows that the best thing a planner can do for a client is to foresee worst case scenarios and help clients put all the pieces in place in case those scenarios happen. Shashin Shah There are planners who help individuals put key documents together-wills, medical directives, insurance, and asset information and hold a copy in their office in case of emergency, Shah explains. "And there are other planners who make preparations and are … [Read more...]
Understanding Bonds and Government Securities
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Bonds turn individuals into moneylenders. How so? Corporations, governments, and nonprofit entities need to borrow to keep running. They would prefer to borrow from investors than from banks. Individuals and large institutions like the idea of an investment that pays them a guaranteed amount at a guaranteed time. It's a marriage made in heaven. Bonds are called "fixed-income" securities because the income stated on the bond won't vary, even if it's sold. No matter who owns the bond, they'll earn … [Read more...]
Understanding Mutual Funds
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Over the past 30 years, mutual funds have risen to prominence as individuals have taken on more responsibility for retirement saving and other investing goals. Mutual funds pool the money of people with similar investment goals. All mutual funds have a them preserving capital, increasing current income, maximizing long-term growth, or combining growth and income. There are other goals too-even socially conscious investing. Mutual funds are run by managers who spend their days examining … [Read more...]
How Real Estate Can Be Part Of A Lifetime Financial Plan
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Buying your first home or your fifth requires re-education every time you do it. Why? This is because markets and opportunities change. Nancy Flint-Budde, a "CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER" professional from Salem, New York, says, individuals have gotten quite an education in investing from 1999 to 2006. See what various markets have done. In 1999, everyone wanted to be in the stock market. By 2000, nobody wanted anything in bonds. And in 2005, the real estate market, which had been … [Read more...]
College Savings Plan
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Some big questions have recently been answered about 529 plans, not the least of which is the extension of their tax-free status by Congress. Uncertainty on these issues had slowed contributions to these once wildly popular plans. According to Boston-based Financial Research Cooperative, growth in the number of new accounts slowed to an average quarterly rate of 4 percent in 2005 from an average of 21 percent in 2002. 529 plans are complex to sort out without some sort of help, and it's … [Read more...]
Planning For Marriage Or Partnership
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If everyone who explored the institution of marriage explored their feelings about money first, the divorce rate in this country might not be so high. There's a very understandable reason money is so tough to talk about it's the toughest of all subjects. The ability to deal effectively with money is a reflection of so many things personal discipline and goals, family background, and past mistakes. It's often easier to discuss the unpleasant moments in one's relationship history than money … [Read more...]
Making Plans For Every Stage Of Family Life
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Getting married, having kids, going through a divorce, or death of a spouse. Each stage of family life has its own expensive realities. It makes sense to plan for the best in life as well as the worst, says Peggy Houser, a Denver based fee-only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional. While no family situation is exactly alike and planners may take different approaches to sorting through problems, Houser believes there is one central issue to preventing financial crises and making tough … [Read more...]
College Savings-Not Just for the Kids Anymore
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Saving for college will always be an issue for parents, but as people change careers, it's an issue for everyone. A planner can help you look ahead to what your child's education will cost and whether you'll need to upgrade your skills at some point. Tim Wyman, a Certified Financial Planner professional from Southfield, Michigan, stresses the importance of thinking about higher education as a family issue, not just something for the children. "If you look over the lifetime of any worker, … [Read more...]
Did Your Planner Teach You About Investing?
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Louis Barajas, a financial planner based in Santa Fe Springs, California, looks back at the 2001-2002 market year and sees diversification as the main benefit of an investment planning strategy. Louis Barajas "A properly diversified portfolio, in our case, was down only about 6 percent that year in a year where you saw a double-digit drop on most markets; explains Barajas, a planner who works with primarily middle-income clients in the Hispanic community. "What planners can do is get to … [Read more...]
