Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
10 Things You Should Know About Your Financial Adviser
By CNBC
Choosing an adviser could be the most important financial decision you make in your lifetime. The adviser you choose may mean the difference between financial freedom or paying wasted fees and, in some cases, becoming a victim of fraud.
With so many candidates from which to choose, you need to learn some of the industry jargon, understand the options and define your needs - much like you would with any other professional service.
Here are 10 things the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as many financial planners, say you should know.
See this slideshow: 8 Ways to Avoid Financial Abuse
1. They're not all pros.
Anyone can call themselves a financial planner, but that doesn't mean they're an expert investment adviser. So look for experience and credentials.
Check out the person's background and designations at the SEC and FINRA websites. You probably want a certified financial planner, CFP, at the very least, someone who has passed rigorous standardized exams about managing personal finances.
[ More From CNBC: Teens - Mom and Dad Will Leave Me Enough to Retire ]
2. An investment adviser may not be a financial planner.
Most financial planners are also investment advisers, but not all of them. They may be able to recommend some or all of the range of products out there: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds. They may not, however, be able to assist you in other aspects of financial planning: insurance, taxes, retirement and estate planning.
Either is fine, depending upon your needs. Find out the professional's limitations, if any. If you're just starting out or are not a "do-it-yourselfer," a financial adviser who can offer you all types of services and products, as well as a comprehensive financial plan, may be the way to go.
To read the entire article from CNBC:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-know-financial-adviser-175750420.html
Ephesians 4:16 — From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Personal Finance News Saturday 9/8
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
8 Opportunities in Your Paycheck You May Be Missing
By Erik Carter | Forbes – Thu, Sep 6, 2012 6:17 PM EDT
When it comes to our paycheck, we tend to focus on the bottom line and think about how we’ll spend or save that money. But some of the most important decisions for our financial future are among the myriad of deductions above that line. Unfortunately, they’re often hastily determined in a flurry of paperwork when we first start a new job and are never revisited.
With summer coming to an end and open enrollment coming up for many employers, this is as good a time as any to take a closer look at your paycheck. In fact, the American Payroll Association decided to designate this week as National Payroll Week, which is a campaign to help American employees better understand their paychecks and their payroll-driven benefits. Let’s take a look at some of those deductions and how they can affect your financial well-being:
Tax Withholding
Estimated Payments: Having tax withheld from your paycheck allows you avoid penalties on not paying enough taxes throughout the year.
Pitfalls to Avoid: Having too much tax withheld means providing a no-interest loan to Uncle Sam. You can use the IRS’s withholding calculator, which will be available starting in mid-September, to estimate how many allowances to declare.
[More On Forbes: 10 Common Money Management Mistakes That You’re Probably Making]
Retirement Plans
Employer Match: If you’re fortunate enough to have an employer that matches part of your contributions, you’ll want to try to contribute at least enough to max the match. Otherwise you’re leaving free money on the table.
Tax Deferral: Pre-tax contributions allow you to defer the taxes until you withdraw the money from your plan. This has a couple of advantages. First of all, lowering your taxable income could make you eligible for additional credits and deductions. Second, you might be in a lower tax bracket in retirement if you’ll need less income than you make now. But even if you’re in the same tax bracket, you could still end up paying an overall lower rate in retirement since some of your income will be taxed at lower brackets. Finally, even if you pay the same tax rate, you’ll have the additional earnings on the money that would have gone to taxes each year.
Tax Free Growth: Some plans also allow Roth contributions, which can grow tax-free after 5 years and age 59 1/2. These can be particularly beneficial if you max out your contributions or expect to be paying a higher tax rate in retirement.
With summer coming to an end and open enrollment coming up for many employers, this is as good a time as any to take a closer look at your paycheck. In fact, the American Payroll Association decided to designate this week as National Payroll Week, which is a campaign to help American employees better understand their paychecks and their payroll-driven benefits. Let’s take a look at some of those deductions and how they can affect your financial well-being:
Tax Withholding
Estimated Payments: Having tax withheld from your paycheck allows you avoid penalties on not paying enough taxes throughout the year.
Pitfalls to Avoid: Having too much tax withheld means providing a no-interest loan to Uncle Sam. You can use the IRS’s withholding calculator, which will be available starting in mid-September, to estimate how many allowances to declare.
[More On Forbes: 10 Common Money Management Mistakes That You’re Probably Making]
Retirement Plans
Employer Match: If you’re fortunate enough to have an employer that matches part of your contributions, you’ll want to try to contribute at least enough to max the match. Otherwise you’re leaving free money on the table.
Tax Deferral: Pre-tax contributions allow you to defer the taxes until you withdraw the money from your plan. This has a couple of advantages. First of all, lowering your taxable income could make you eligible for additional credits and deductions. Second, you might be in a lower tax bracket in retirement if you’ll need less income than you make now. But even if you’re in the same tax bracket, you could still end up paying an overall lower rate in retirement since some of your income will be taxed at lower brackets. Finally, even if you pay the same tax rate, you’ll have the additional earnings on the money that would have gone to taxes each year.
Tax Free Growth: Some plans also allow Roth contributions, which can grow tax-free after 5 years and age 59 1/2. These can be particularly beneficial if you max out your contributions or expect to be paying a higher tax rate in retirement.
To read the entire article from Erik Carter | Forbes:
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think. -Dale Carnegie
Friday, September 7, 2012
Personal Finance News Friday 9/7
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
14 Terrible LinkedIn Mistakes You're Making
By Alyson Shontell | Business Insider – Thu, Sep 6, 2012 11:33 AM EDT
There are some things you just shouldn't do on LinkedIn.
Kim Brown is an assistant director for Syracuse University's Career Services department. She spends a good portion of her day looking over LinkedIn profiles for job seekers and students. She makes sure candidates are putting their best feet forward on LinkedIn.
Here are the most common mistakes Brown sees job seekers make on LinkedIn.
1. Your profile is full of typos
Brown says she's seen people spell a lot of things wrong on LinkedIn. She's seen typos in company names, job titles, and even in the user's name.
Unfortunately, LinkedIn doesn't have a built-in spell checker. But your Web browser might. Safari, Chrome, and Firefox underline misspellings in red. Bottom line, whatever you use: Be as careful on LinkedIn as you would be with a paper resume.
To read the entire article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/14-terrible-linkedin-mistakes-you-re-making.html?page=1
Nehemiah 8:10 — The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Personal Finance News Thursday 9/6
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the
Day:
True or False: Many Americans Don't Understand the Basics of Investing
By ANDREA COOMBES/The Wall Street Journal
It's the time of year when students nationwide head back to the classroom. Adults might want to hit the books, too.
When it comes to understanding basic concepts about investing, Americans come up woefully short.
Consider that while 67% of respondents to a 2009 survey rated their own overall financial knowledge as "high," only 53% answered this question correctly: "True or false: Buying a single company's stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund."
Only 6% got the answer wrong, choosing "True." But fully 40% said they didn't know the answer, and 1% declined to answer. The survey of about 28,000 U.S. respondents was by the Investor Education Foundation of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Finra, as the authority is commonly referred to, is a private, industry-funded agency that regulates financial-services firms.
Another question on Finra's survey: "If interest rates rise, what will typically happen to bond prices?" The possible answers were: rise, fall, stay the same, or there is no relationship.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444812704577605232303164416.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF14
True or False: Many Americans Don't Understand the Basics of Investing
By ANDREA COOMBES/The Wall Street Journal
It's the time of year when students nationwide head back to the classroom. Adults might want to hit the books, too.
When it comes to understanding basic concepts about investing, Americans come up woefully short.
Consider that while 67% of respondents to a 2009 survey rated their own overall financial knowledge as "high," only 53% answered this question correctly: "True or false: Buying a single company's stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund."
Only 6% got the answer wrong, choosing "True." But fully 40% said they didn't know the answer, and 1% declined to answer. The survey of about 28,000 U.S. respondents was by the Investor Education Foundation of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Finra, as the authority is commonly referred to, is a private, industry-funded agency that regulates financial-services firms.
Another question on Finra's survey: "If interest rates rise, what will typically happen to bond prices?" The possible answers were: rise, fall, stay the same, or there is no relationship.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444812704577605232303164416.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF14
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Personal Finance News Wednesday 9/5
Phil's
Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
What Is a 529 Expense? Take Our Test.
Not all college costs get the tax-free treatment. It pays to know the rules beforehand.
By ANNAMARIA ANDRIOTIS/The Wall Street Journal
Millions of parents invest in 529 plans to pay for their children's college educations. But when it comes time to pull the money out, be aware that not all the expenses Junior incurs on campus will qualify for the tax-free treatment that makes these state-sponsored college-savings plans so valuable.
Withdrawals from 529 plans are tax-free only if they are used to pay for so-called qualified higher-education expenses, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. These include tuition and other fees required by the university, as well as room and board for students enrolled at least half time. Course requirements such as books, calculators and software are included, as are services for special-needs students.
If a parent takes out money for anything that doesn't meet the "qualified expense" criteria, the earnings portion of that distribution will be taxed as ordinary income and could incur a 10% federal penalty.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444508504577593154186084524.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF14
Job 8:7 — Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will be your future.
What Is a 529 Expense? Take Our Test.
Not all college costs get the tax-free treatment. It pays to know the rules beforehand.
By ANNAMARIA ANDRIOTIS/The Wall Street Journal
Millions of parents invest in 529 plans to pay for their children's college educations. But when it comes time to pull the money out, be aware that not all the expenses Junior incurs on campus will qualify for the tax-free treatment that makes these state-sponsored college-savings plans so valuable.
Withdrawals from 529 plans are tax-free only if they are used to pay for so-called qualified higher-education expenses, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. These include tuition and other fees required by the university, as well as room and board for students enrolled at least half time. Course requirements such as books, calculators and software are included, as are services for special-needs students.
If a parent takes out money for anything that doesn't meet the "qualified expense" criteria, the earnings portion of that distribution will be taxed as ordinary income and could incur a 10% federal penalty.
To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444508504577593154186084524.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF14
Job 8:7 — Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will be your future.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Personal Finance News Tuesday 9/4
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
21 Ways Rich People Think Differently
By Mandi Woodruff | Business Insider – Tue, Sep 4, 2012 10:50 AM EDTWorld's richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the "jealous" middle class to task for "drinking, or smoking and socializing" rather than working to earn their own fortune.
What if she has a point?
Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think," spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.
It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality.
"[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have," he said. "And on the whole, most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money."
To read the entire article from Mandi Woodruff | Business Insider:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/21-ways-rich-people-think-differently.html
Matthew 7:7 — Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Personal Finance News Monday 9/3
Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
From Two Incomes, to One: How to Make Ends Meet
Published September 04, 2012
FOXBusiness
With unemployment sitting at 8.3%, former dual-income families are working to make ends meet with just one salary coming in a tough economic climate.
The shift to a smaller income stream tends to occur suddenly, and experts advise families adjust budgets and spending habits just as quickly to retain control of the financial household.
“As quickly as possible, really look at your budget and assess your new reality,” says Suzanna de Baca, vice president of wealth strategies at Ameriprise Financial. “Sitting down, doing the math, and putting it to paper is very important.”
Websites like mint.com or www.merrilledge.com
have tools to help you create a budget. For the pen and paper inclined, write your income in one column and expenses in the other. Compare the numbers and identify areas that can be cut out or reduced. Once you’ve identified your income and expenses, you’ll be better prepared for financial issues and can work to stay out of debt.Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/09/04/from-two-incomes-to-one-how-to-make-ends-meet/#ixzz25dHWUNN6
Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
The world is but a canvas to the imagination. -Henry David Thoreau
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