Whenever we dream of retirement, we dream of having leisurely walks on the beach and leading a comfortable life post-retirement. However, in order to attain those dreams we have to realize that financial planning is part and parcel of retirement. You will not be able to live comfortably after retirement if you do not take the necessary steps now.

Various studies have shown that nearly 95 percent of Americans will not have enough money when they retire. The studies further proved that most Americans will not be financially independent when they reach the retirement age of 65. In other words, people like you and me would be broke when we retire and will not be able to live our lives the way we had envisaged. We would still have to work after retirement in order to survive and that is not how life after retirement should be. Unfortunately this is the hard fact that is happening even as you read this article.

There are many online sites available that have tools to help you determine your retirement needs. However, just calculating how much money you need for retirement will not suffice unless you have a financial plan.

Every person should start his or her financial planning at a young age. If you start young, your money and your funds will grow as you keep investing. You will be able to accumulate a significant investment portfolio which would be large enough to fund your lifestyle after retirement. If you start your financial planning at a young age, your principle and interest will compound in comparison to starting late where the compounding effect will not make a big difference to your investment portfolio.

1. Begin investing immediately

Procrastination is the number one enemy of investing. An early start in investing can make an enormous difference as the investor will be able to truly reap the rewards of compounding over a longer period of time.

2. Invest for the long-term

Do not be influenced by short term market fluctuations. These are inevitable. Over the longer term, investments increase in value.

3. Appetite for risk

Your appetite for risk determines the type of investor you could be. The younger you are, the more aggressive you can be in your investment strategy. You could undertake a greater amount of risk. It also depends upon your personality profile.

4. Invest in stocks

Amongst all investment vehicles, stocks have provided the highest return over the long term. Stock investing requires patience and discipline. Stock prices are influenced by short term market fluctuations which may make them volatile. However, over the long term the market recognizes the underlying value of a stock and prices it accordingly.

5. Evaluate your current financial situation

Understanding your current financial situation will help you to sort your finances. This will require you to assess your net worth which the results of the value of the assets that you own less the amount you owe to others.
Never invest in anything that you do not understand. Keep aside easy accessible funds equivalent to three to four months of expenses for emergencies. If you are burdened with high interest debt, free yourself from debt before you begin investing. Use budgeting as a tool to control your expenses and for providing you with sufficient funds for investing.

6. Use a financial advisor

If you do not have the time or the inclination, consider using the services of an independent financial advisor. They are certified professionals having in-depth knowledge of various investment vehicles. However, remain involved to some extent to ensure that your money is being invested wisely.

Many people experience bad credit in their lifetime. Bad credit can be the result of unemployment, having a medical condition, a serious injury, or becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud. If you have bad credit, you still are eligible for many mortgage products. Here are some tips on bad credit mortgage lending.

There are many mortgage products that you can apply for even if you have bad credit. Some of them include a first time mortgage, second mortgage, debt consolidation loans, and refinancing your existing mortgage. Bad credit won’t put you in the best situation for a mortgage but it will absolutely not stop you from receiving lending.

Bad credit usually makes an individual or couple a higher risk due to their past history of either defaulting on a payment, having trouble paying a loan, or being late in paying a loan. While you may pay a higher interest rate and go through a stricter approval process, you can still qualify for high quality lending products.

Most couples or individuals with bad credit will usually receive a higher interest rate. Higher interests rates vary on specific situations, but it can vary from 5% higher to 50% higher depending. If you have bad credit, you may need to put more money down, if you are buying a loan. Again the amount varies by situation and lender. Most lenders also require stricter policies with a bad credit recipient, so you might need to show proof of certain documents or put down a larger amount of collateral to cover any lending you might borrow against.

The good news is that there are plenty of mortgage and lending companies that understand that not all people have perfect credit records and are willing to work with even the highest risk individuals and couples. If you have bad credit, look into the many mortgage lenders that can help you out by offering mortgage products to you, no matter what your credit rating.

If you need a small amount of cash for a short term, a payday loan in Georgia is just the thing for you. The other day, one of my friends banged her car into her garage door in the dark somehow, and managed to rip it off! Apparently, it was an automatic door that did not quite go all the way up, as it should have done! Anyways, now she doesn’t want to make a claim for it, because if she does that, she will not only lose her “no claim bonus”, but her rates would also go up. Therefore, she has to pay for it out of her own pocket. But with the holidays just around the corner, she’s already on a tight budget. This is the kind of situation, when you might want to use an online Georgia payday loan.

But Loans Take Months To Get Approved!

Not a no fax payday cash loan in Georgia! You can apply for a no fax cash advance loan, get approved for it, and get the money wired to your bank account, all within a few hours! And you don’t even need to step out of your home for it! You can do all this online, on your computer, with just a few clicks of your mouse!

A cash advance loan can be availed over the internet, by filling an online application form with your personal information such as name, address, phone number, Social Security number, your employment details and bank account information. If you have all this information on hand when you sit down to fill up the form, it takes hardly 5-10 minutes to complete the application for a payday loan in Georgia.

How Do They Approve My Application?

Once you apply for a no fax payday cash loan, you will get a response to your query, generally within a few minutes. And once they are satisfied that you have provided all the information required and that you are over 18 years of age, with a regular job and a current bank account, they will mail you an approval for your loan within an hour. The payday loan money is transferred to your bank account within a day generally.

The relative ease of acquiring a no fax cash loan has caused them to become a multibillion dollar industry in the recent years. Hence, the State has had to come up with stringent laws and procedures for the lenders, in order to safeguard the interests of the borrowers. Taking a payday loan in Georgia is therefore relatively safer now.

You are a person who has been looking forward to your retirement years with great relish. You have dreamt of the days you will be spending with your grandchildren, playing golf or just relaxing doing your gardening or other hobby that you never quite had the time for.

Unfortunately, now you are looking at having to postpone your retirement. Your 401(k) has lost more than 30 percent of its value. Your bank has been bought by some out of state company and you are wondering if you are going to have to get another job just to make ends meet.

There are ways that you can still retire in comfort and not have to worry about what the outcome will be. Here are a few suggestions:

IF you are planning on retirement in the next five years or less, make sure that you SAVE as much cash as possible. You will need to have a cushion of six to twelve months income for an emergency fund, because you will not have the same level of income as when you were working. Do not take vacations to exotic places before you retire. You will have plenty of time for that after you leave the workforce. Right now, you need to save as much cash as possible.

Ask for a raise or work as much overtime as possible. This will not only add to your savings, but if you work for a company with a defined benefit plan or for civil service (OPERS, STRS) your 5 highest years compensation is used to calculate your monthly benefit for retirement. So the more you make now, the more you will get when you retire.

Avoid or delay making purchases on credit. You need to lower your debt load as much as possible prior to retirement. The less debt you have, the more you will be able to be comfortable during retirement. Lower debt ratios will enable to you have fewer worries in retirement because you will not have great portions of your fixed income going to pay debt.

Along the same lines, pay off as much of your consumer debt as possible. Avoid carrying high credit card debt into your retirement years, and avoid making purchases using credit cards unless you pay off the balance every month so you avoid getting finance charges.

You will need to change your asset allocation if you have been heavily invested in stocks. Your portfolio should be more balanced toward income producing streams and less interested in growth. Losses that you have incurred in the past 24 months are not likely to be recouped in time for you to be back in balance, particularly since we don’t know what is going to happen in the markets.

The main emphasis should be on preservation of capital at this point, to assure in the words of Will Rogers, “…the return OF my money rather than the return ON my money.”

By taking these practical steps, you will be doing a great deal to assure that your retirement will be as comfortable as possible without feeling squeezed by the economy.

Every investor has his or her own strategy, style and risk tolerance. Obviously no one investment will be appropriate for everyone. Have you ever considered that certain investments may be more or less suitable for your portfolio based on your age? Below is an overview to help you identify investment opportunities according to your stage in life.

Risk

When we talk about investments and consider the age factor, it all boils down to risk. We’ve all heard the old cliche about greater risk bringing greater rewards. On the other hand, it can also result in greater loss. So as we define which types of investments are appropriate at each stage of the human life cycle, we do it within the framework of risk level involved.

Ages 18-35

Ah, to be young! Early-life investors have one tremendous weapon against the downside of risk – time. People in this age group can and should invest is speculative stocks and other high-risk (and possibly high-reward) investment. The reasoning is that if the high-risk stocks result in loss, the investor has plenty of time in which to make up for that loss.

Ages 36 – 55

As an investor enters the early-midlife stage, he or she must start building a strong portfolio base. In order to do so, a widely recommended strategy is to start adding more growth-oriented stocks to your mix of speculative investments. The percentage of growth stocks to risky stocks will depend greatly on the individual’s comfort with risk as well as his or her investment history and experience.

Ages 56 – 65

The later midlife stage naturally produces greater risk intolerance. This age group of investors should be focused on growth and income investment opportunities more than high-risk speculative stocks. The strategy here is to protect and grow a solid portfolio. Investors who have done well in the past and are comfortable with risk may still choose to engage in speculative opportunities, especially if they have keen instincts.

Ages 65 and Up

Investment opportunities that are most appropriate for this age group include income driven stocks and safe investments that will generate interest that the individual can live off. Most people spend a lifetime building up a nest egg. Though retirement is seen by many as the time to finally enjoy the rewards of a lifetime of investment, it is also important to secure some regular, ongoing income by way of interest and/or dividends.

Diversification

No matter what age group you fall into, you must know that the only way to grow a portfolio while minimizing risk and volatility is to diversify. Spreading your assets among various different types of investments will balance your portfolio and minimize downside. Some of the asset classes you should include are stocks, bonds and short-term investments. You should also aim to diversify your investments within each asset class. By doing so, you minimize risk further because you are less likely to take a big hit when a single investment performs poorly.

We all want low risk and high returns and the investment we will show you below gives you just that and is a great alternative investment to say mutual funds that offer mediocre returns and high risk.

This investment can achieve triple digit returns, is easy to understand, has low risk and is affordable. Let’s look at it.

Consider this fact:

It’s well known that properties that are not yet built increase in value by the time the construction is complete.

So, you buy as building commences and can sell when completed. Let’s look at an example that’s realistic and a place where it can be achieved.

Say you put down 20% on a property of $200,000 with a realtor – contractor, that’s $40,000. Now it takes 2 years to build and in that time the property increases by 20% per annum you have $300,000 in value or $100,000 profit on the property.

Now this is being done by people and is not only a high return but also a low risk investment.

We will show you why its low risk investment if done in the right area.

Let’s take Costa Rica as an example. It’s a favorite of American investors and buying is at record levels and the profits have been great for years.

For example, a property purchased for 30,000 near the popular town of Jaco just 15 years ago is worth in excess of $750,000 today and this growth has shown minimal downside in the period.

Why?

Because beach front property is cheap and up to 70% less than in the US and all Americans want affordable beach front property and they cant get it in the US.

So there looking just a 3 hour direct flight south to Costa Rica, its stable beautiful and has a great lifestyle.

With demand high buying pre construction property and making big profits with low risk is very popular.

How to do it

There are plenty of developments to choose from and you can do the investment easily and watch this low risk investment produce high returns.

It’s all about risk – reward

Where else can you get such high returns with low risk in an investment you can understand?
Not many if any.

So if you want low risk and high return take a look at buying property pre construction and selling out at completion.

You can then leave high risk low performing investments like mutual funds behind and get better returns with low risk – It’s a great way to build wealth longer term.

After retirement, homeowners may be looking for ways to pay for all of their expenses. This is becoming more difficult in our current economy due to certain decreasing government benefits and unexpected pitfalls. Homeowners may be less prepared for retirement than they expected.

The Center for Retirement Research discovered that more than 60% of households are not prepared for retirement when it comes to their finances. Their research found that if older homeowners do not use the available equity in their homes, they are 10% more likely to be at risk for being financially unprepared. A reverse mortgage loan could be the answer homeowners are looking for because it can supplement their current incomes and allow them to live the lifestyles they had prior to retirement.

How This Type of Financing Works

Reverse mortgage loans are designed to give homeowners financial security and independence after retirement. This type of financing is unique because homeowners do not have to make any monthly mortgage payments. This is one less payment homeowners are responsible for and it allows them to put their money toward other required expenses or pleasure. As long as the homeowner lives in the home and meets the loan requirements, he or she will not have to make any payments on the loan.

If a homeowner has sufficient equity in his or her home, which is determined by an appraisal, that equity can be converted into cash. There are no restrictions on how the money is used, but often homeowners use the money to supplement their incomes. The amount of money a homeowner can receive depends on the value of the home, current interest rates, and his or her age. The homeowner can choose to receive the money in a a line of credit, monthly payments, a lump sum or a customized option that combines some of the options listed above.

In most cases, with this loan the homeowner will not owe more than the value of the home once he or she no longer occupies the residence. The loan will be repaid using the proceeds from the sale of the home. But, in the rare occasion when the loan balance exceeds the value of the home, and the homeowner’s heirs wish to retain ownership of the home, they will have to pay off the full balance of the loan.

Eligibility and Requirements for this Loan

To be eligible for this type of financing, the homeowner must be at least 62 years old and financing his or her primary residence. In order to meet the requirements of the loan, a homeowner must stay up to date on homeowner’s insurance, property taxes and home repairs. If any of these is not kept current, the homeowner will be required to pay back the loan in full.

All homeowners wishing to finance their homes with this loan will be required to attend reverse mortgage loan counseling before they can apply. The purpose of this counseling is to properly educate borrowers about this type of loan to determine if it is the best financing option for their situation. The counselor should inform the borrowers about all the costs associated with the loan and should be able to answer any questions borrowers may have.

Consider This Loan when Financing your Home!

This type of financing is not right for everyone, so it is important to understand the loan requirements and outcome. This loan will reduce the amount of equity in a home and will cause the homeowner to accumulate debt over time. But for many homeowners, the loan benefits far outweigh the cons, making these home loans the best solution for their financial needs. Retirement is a time to be enjoyed, and no one wants to be financially unprepared. Homeowners can use reverse mortgage loans to supplement their incomes and to live the lives they desire post-retirement.

In this article we’re going to talk about funeral expenses and how to get a handle on them so they don’t eat you alive.

There is an old joke that goes “the only thing certain in life is death and taxes.” Obviously whoever made that remark never got to meet a rich man with more tax loopholes than the United States has illegal immigrants. But one thing in life is certain and that’s death. And with that certain death are the certain expenses that come with it.

Over the years funeral expenses have skyrocketed to the point where the average family literally can’t afford to die. Well, there is a way to get a handle on your funeral expenses and that is the focus of this article.

You may or may not know this but there are over 20,000 funeral homes in the United States accounting for over $25 billion in revenue annually. That money doesn’t come from cheap funerals. It comes from expenses that are insane when you think about the actual service being provided.

There are actually three corporations that dominate the industry; SCI, Stewart and the Loewen Group. These three giants account for about 15% of the total funeral business in the United States. The reason you probably haven’t heard of them is because when they buy up a funeral home they usually keep the old funeral home’s name in order to give the impression of a small family owned business. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. And because they have basically taken hold of the industry, they can charge whatever they like for funeral services. How much?

Let’s take a metal casket. If you take the cost of a metal casket, materials and labor, the casket actually only costs about $450 to $700 to make. This same casket is sold to families for about $3,000. That’s well over a 400% markup. If any other industry tried to get away with this they’d be shut down.

But the insane costs don’t stop there. A hearse that costs about $25 an hour to rent will be billed at a rate of about $200 per hour. Flowers that cost about $25 are sold for about $150. The clergy will charge you a couple of hundred bucks for his services. Then there’s the burial itself. Opening the grave costs money as does lowering the body into the ground. By the time you’re done a simple no frills funeral can cost you close to $10,000. The actual physical cost of the services provided to you are maybe $2,000.

What is a poor family to do?

The best way to get a handle on expenses is to actually get as little from the funeral home as you can. For example, there is no law that says you have to get a casket from the funeral home. Try going to a wholesaler or online. You can get a very good deal on caskets and save hundreds of dollars.

The same with the flowers and hearse. Go to an outside florist for your flower arrangements and to a private rent a car company for your hearse and limos. Most likely you will end up saving lots of money there too.

As for the cemetery expenses, there isn’t much you can do about that. But by saving money in other areas your $10,000 funeral can be knocked down to $8,000 or even $7,000. The disadvantage is that you’re going to have to do a lot of work on your own that the funeral home would have normally done for you. But if saving money is your first priority then this is the way to go.

Let’s not be afraid of the Internal Revenue Service. I know that most people are deathly afraid of an audit but I have to tell you, in most cases this fear is unjustified. My personal belief is that there is no longer such thing as the random audit. The IRS must develop audit programs designed to check on tax compliance issues of a certain nature. Does your income tax return fit one of these IRS audit issues? Will filing an extension eliminate the chance of having your income tax return selected for audit? Read on my friends, let the truth be known.

If you use a tax preparation service like H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt, don’t let them sell you the audit insurance package. You just won’t have any audit issues. Each year, the IRS identifies areas of compliance concerns and focuses on selecting a sample of these returns for review. Once upon a time, there was an audit program designed to check on those taxpayers running businesses (as sole proprietorships) at losses. If a taxpayer had W-2 income from another source and was running a business he owned at a loss, he did become prime target for an audit. Please keep in mind my friends, just because you are audited doesn’t mean you are doomed to pay huge tax bills with interest and penalties. They are just making a compliance check and reviewing your specific set of facts and circumstances. I had a client that was subject to this audit program I mention (which is why I am familiar with it) and had a favorable outcome.

My client worked as an employee receiving a W-2 from his employer. In addition, he had a sideline business doing art work on T-shirts. The year in question had his business losing $5,000 on form schedule C (sole proprietorship return). This is what attracted the IRS’ attention. In previous years, my client made money in his home-based part-time business and paid not only income tax, but paid self-employment taxes. The audit was really just a quick visit to the local office of IRS to resolve the issue. The result was no change. Home -based business need not be afraid as I would ask you to review the hobby activity rules. If one runs a business and has income for a 3 out of a 5 year period, the burden of proof falls to IRS to demonstrate that the business is not seeking profit. If this 3 out of 5 year test is not met, the burden falls to the taxpayer to demonstrate that the business is seeking profit. There is a 2 out of 7 year test for those engaged in businesses involving horses. There are plenty of ways to convince IRS that there is a profit seeking motive even if there has been no income for an extended period of time. In the early years, a taxpayer can file for 5213 with their returns asking IRS to hold off any audit activity regarding businesses until the five year period (seven for horses) is exhausted. I have never prepared one of these forms and would likely not advise anyone to do so. Just no the form is available.

S corporations owners are at risk of being audited these days. The IRS has determined that 57% of all corporate income tax returns filed are S corporations (see my article “Attention All You S Corporation Owners”). Others of us will likely slip into anonymous income tax status. As far as filing extensions is concerned, at best they will delay an audit that is inevitable due to the fact that the return meets an IRS audit program. I speak from experience on this issue as I felt that a client of mine had an audit issue. I put the return on extension, and the return was audited anyway, just a year later.

Rest easy my friends. It is not likely that you will get selected for an audit. If you do have a return with one of these audit sensitive issues, just make sure you mind your p’s and q’s and everything will be alright in the end.