Archive for the ‘Financial Help’ Category

Are you weighed down by debt and mortgage and overdue payments? Are you going through your own personal financial crisis? Are you looking to achieve financial freedom? You’re not alone. Many of us, especially the working class, are seeking that road to financial freedom so we won’t have to worry about our financial needs for the future. There are just so many things to consider – emergency funds, children’s college funds, retirement funds – that sometimes you can’t help but dread the thought of that next due payment. The truth is, anyone can achieve financial freedom; all it takes is careful financial planning. Analyzing and controlling your daily expenses can help you build up your daily wealth and help you get on the road to financial freedom. This article will show you how you can get started.

First of all, if you’re a user of credit cards, pay off your credit card debt. Sure, credit cards might seem handy since you don’t have to carry a lot of cash unnecessarily, but the extraordinarily high interest rates on credit cards can lead to credit card debts that can cancel out even the greatest investor’s gains. The biggest problem with credit cards is that it encourages impulse buying, and most people end up buying things that they don’t necessarily need. A lot of people lose track of their expenses and end up accumulating more payables than they can afford to pay off. Buying on credit will not help in your efforts to achieving long term financial freedom, because realistically speaking, as long as you have a credit card, you’re in continuous debt.

After you’ve paid off your credit card debt, cancel your credit cards and stop using them. If you lack the discipline to resist the “grab-and-swipe” temptation, it’s the best thing for you. If you don’t have it, you won’t be tempted. But if you absolutely must have the convenience of “cashless” payment, consider a debit card instead. Debit cards should instill in you the discipline of prudent spending, because with debit cards you’re spending what you have in your bank account rather than spending on credit. For most people I know, the fear of seeing a shrinking bank account balance with every expenditure is enough to stave off any other temptation to buy on impulse. They think twice about swiping for that new gold bracelet they might like but don’t really need. Debit cards can help you control your finances if used prudently.

Prudent spending can help you save quite a bit of money in the long run. Another savings method you should consider is taking some percentage of your salary and depositing the sum into your savings account. Most people who do this typically take 30% from their salaries, and consider the sum in such accounts as untouchable or “for emergencies only”. Again it takes quite a bit of discipline to ensure that you won’t be tempted to spend that particular sum, especially after you’ve spent the remaining 70% of your paycheck. If you use a debit card, it’s wise to set up two separate accounts, one for your debit card, and one for your “fixed” savings.

Building up your daily wealth is really as simple as being prudent with your spending. The keyword here is save, save, save. Do not be a slave to debt. Keep track of your finances by using personal financial planning software to key in your cash inflow and outflow so you’re aware of your financial position as you go along. If you’re not comfortable with the numbers, make adjustments; see which expenses you can reduce or do away with completely, etc. Control your buying impulse. Instill in yourself the discipline to buy what you really need, not what you want or desire. I’m sure that if you can do all of this, you will be well on your way to financial freedom.

Jamie B. McIntyre
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/build-up-your-daily-wealth-to-achieve-financial-freedom-599186.html

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I want to find a financial professional (that is not a bank trying to sell loans and such and that is not consumer credit counseling) who can help review where we’ve been, help us see where we are, and help us with a financial boot camp to help us get to where we need to be. I don’t know if an Accountant or Financial Planner or Financial Adviser is the right person…We have money issues, and need some outside help, it’s clear that we can’t get out of this cycle ourselves.

First see if any friends, family or coworkers in your area would personally recommend someone based on experience. As you mentioned it’s probably best to stay away from a commission based advisor (insurance, bank, broker) and try to find someone who is fee based. They would be motivated to help make your savings/investments grow over time and not just be trying to sell you a product. Try to find a good CFP in your area, they are required to go through quite a bit of training and ongoing education to maintain their certification. I included a link for your reference.

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I want to make a fairly substantial financial investment, but want to do it in a "smart" way. I want to go with the best choice, for me , that I can possibly find and want to make sure that I make a "safe" choice. There are so many "financial counsellors" out there now that I'm a little scared. I want a "top rated" one in all aspects & need some advice on how to go about finding the right one and weighing all my odds before I make this big switch. I currently have it invested with a private counsellor, but am not happy with the situation I'm in right now.
I'm paying substantial fees for the work his company does, & I'm not very satisfied in general. There is no "binding" agreement with them & the way I understand it I'm free to choose another company at any time.

In case it makes any difference, I am a widow & don't have a very knowledgable background in financial investing.

Hi mom, fancy seeing you here. I'm just joking of course, but you sound just like my mom except she still is not fed up enough with her current advisor to move on. I plead and plead – one more year of lousy returns and maybe she'll take this step.

Anyhow, unfortunately I don't know of any rating agency for financial advisors, and there are so many small ones it would be hard to create a comprehensive one, but I can give you some things to think about.

First off (just my personal opinion here – there are exceptions to this), for my money stay away from anyone associated with a bank or other financial institution, and for that matter stay away from anyone who invests your money themselves (unless you really don't want to do this part yourself). A good financial advisor should sit down with you, talk in length about your financial situation, and then give all sorts of very specific advice, but its a clear conflict of interest for them to invest the money or even get a fee for investing the money (or be associated with a specific financial institution and therefore be under pressure to reccommend the products of that institution).

Also, I'd advise a smaller firm as your advisor (maybe a one-man operation) but there are some fly-by-night operations, and even a few outright thieves (another reason to handle your money yourself) so be careful.

So, get all the advice you can from them, but then go open an account yourself, and invest the money yourself (and depending on your situation, you may want to be real conservative, just conservative mutual funds and bonds – but the financial advisor should give you specific advice on this).

As to how to find a good one, here is an article on questions to ask (uk article but most of the stuff applies to the US):

http://www.learnmoney.co.uk/advice/advice-01.html

Also here is the link to the "Nat'l Association of Financial Planners". Within this website is a sample list of questions to ask, and a section where you can find advisors near you (you gotta enter your address info but you can check that you don't want them notified about you). Unfortunately this only returns financial advisors who are members of this association (duh) and even lousy advisors who are members of the association will show up – but at the very least they are members of this association which is worth something.

http://www.napfa.com/

Anyhow, do web searches on stuff like "find a financial advisor" and you'll get many other links. Only a few may have useful info, but think of it like a treasure hunt (maybe thats a very appropriate analogy).

Best of luck.

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I am 64 and own my own small business. How do I find someone who is paid by the hour and has a deep and broad understanding of estate planning, when to start taking Social Security, etc, etc. I have heard that most "financial advisors" make money by selling insurance policies. I have nothing against insurancy policies but I want someone whose income is dependent on his real skills. Is there such a thing as a National Certified Financial Advisor association?

You may find some freelance financial advisors at website like http://www.getafreelnacer.com/ .

Katy and Kodi explain how to find Financial Aid help quickly and easily online.

Duration : 0:7:25

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Im getting ready to enter college this fall and I know I have a long time to go before im ready and knowledgable to open my own business but I would like to start planning and know the prerequisites now. I'm interested in starting a business in financial planning and I wanted to know if anyone could help me and tell me what things will I have to learn to become a financial planner, what should I study, and what major would be the best to take in college.

A financial planner, or financial asset manager is knowledgeable in:

1. Developing a stocks and securities portfolio,
2. Insurance, annuities, and banking products
3. And real estate investments.

A CFP is licensed in each field, and meets experience, education, and ethics requirements.

Accounting is a good major, tax law, business, economics, and estate planning. Also it might be possible to take CFP Board-Registered Programs at your school.

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I've heard it said that our current mess was caused by deregulation of the financial industry. But I can't seem to find the actual laws or acts that count as "deregulation". The only one that is even remotely applicable is the clarification that credit default swaps were not regulated by the CFTC. But that was simply a clarification rather than anything new. So can anyone tell me SPECIFICALLY which laws and acts of deregulation caused these problems? And how?

The repeal of Glass-Steagal act in 1999.
It essentially allowed depository institutions to move into securities activities that are far more risky.
The CFTC and the Community Reinvestment Act were also major contributors.
The Community Reinvestment Act in essence forced lenders to make mortgages to 'less than fully qualified' individuals.

Couple all of this with the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at artificially low levels was a catastrophe in the waiting.

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My fiancé will be starting school this Septemeber; we are not sure how financial aid works and how you become eligible to recieve a grant. What is the process and how long does it take? What information should we not put? He still lives at home with his parents but will be moving to go to school.(if that helps) Which parent should he use since they are not married? We already filled out the application online but we don’t know what exactly to put in there so he can be eligible for a grant. Any information would be greatly appreciated. This is very new to us and we have no clue how it works. Thanks!

Most schools have you feel out a FAFSA which is a free application through the government that basically takes all tax info and basicially is mailed to the college saying how much you can afford and then from there, your school decides the financial aid package. it varies person to person too. so have your fiance go to fafsa.gov and fill it out if his schools requires it (look online in the financial aid section of the school's website and it should help you.) and feel free to email me if you have any questions, i've filled out so many of them…

This year (freshman) all of my tuition is getting payed by government financial aid. However, I need money for other things like housing and credit cards. Will a student loan affect next year's financial aid even if all of the money were spent? What kind of student loan would be better to get, private or federal?

If all your tuition is getting paid then you really don't need a student loan. Taking out a loan to pay for credit cards is not really a good idea because you just going to have to pay it off later with interest.

If you decide to get one anyways, Federal loans charge a lower interest rate than private loans. I believe it's 6.54% and is capped at 8%.

Many people today are looking for help with their annuities. The biggest challenge seems to be that most of the help is biased. What exactly do I mean? I mean that there is always a vested interest for the person who is helping you with your annuities. They are out to sell you something so you don’t know if they are doing it for your best interest or for theirs.

For instance, let’s say you were looking for a fixed annuity. If you work with an agent who has a bias towards variable annuities or gets paid more for selling variable annuities, you may end up with something that doesn’t fit your needs. Also, if you end up with a banker or financial advisor who does not do a good job at addressing your financial needs and concerns, you may end up with the investment of the day instead of the investment that’s right for you. And by the time you realize it, it may be too late.

So how do you get help with your annuity? First and foremost you must help yourself. What is really good is to take inventory of where you are currently and where you want to be. Look at your current investments and your goals. Take a snapshot of your financial situation. This may sound elementary but most people don’t do it. But the key is to do it before you seek help from an outside source.

Look, the reason is simple. The more you know going in, the better the chance that you will get what you want. Doing your financial homework is a critical piece of getting the right help. A good financial advisor will ask you to help him understand you so you can help him to help you. This is crucial to your financial future. Getting help with your annuity or your investments means helping yourself first.

The most important aspect of this comes at the time you need to make a financial decision about your annuities or your investments. If you know what you want, you will be able to figure out what you don’t want. For example, if you want safety of principal and the advisor offers you a variable annuity, you can easily say no because you know that won’t fit your goals. Also, the opposite is true. If you don’t know what you want, you may know what you don’t want and that may be a good place to start.

The bottom line is annuity and investment help begins with yourself. Understand your financial situation, your time frames, your needs for liquidity, and your goals. The specific investments and annuities you will use to accomplish your goals will come second. The more you help yourself, the more likely it is you will end up with the right annuity. Good luck and remember…

Ignorance is not bliss…

Tony Bahu
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/annuity-help-how-to-get-good-help-497155.html