Im Too Young, Im Too Old, Im Almost Old Enough,

09 March 2010

Im Too Young, Im Too Old, Im Almost Old Enough, Should I Have A Retirement Plan?

Yes retirement planning is important for all of us. This is not an easy subject for any of us to talk about, but, we must discuss it sooner rather later!

We want to be able to enjoy our golden years comfortably without having to worry about our finances. Planning your retirement is a crucial key to making this happen.

So, what do I need to do to plan for my retirement? You can start by asking and answering some or all of these questions: How long will it be before I retire? Do I have money already saved for retirement and if so, will it be enough for me to retire on? How much money should I put away for my retirement? How should I invest my money in order to achieve the amount of money I want to retire on? How much money will I need to live on to maintain my present and future lifestyle?

All of these retirement planning questions are important for you to think about in order to have solid retirement planning. Once you have answers to these questions, then proceed to start your retirement savings now!

What are some of the areas I can invest my money in for retirement? Stocks, bonds, certificate of deposits, mutual funds, 401K, IRA, Roth IRA, annuities and many other miscellaneous investment vehicles.

Where can I expect to withdraw money for my retirement? Social Security, savings, pension plans, and your investments from 401K plans, certificate of deposits and other investments.

How much money will I need for retirement? It is estimated that you will need approximately 60-80% of your current income at the time of your retirement. This will allow you to live the lifestyle you are accustomed to having by the time you retire.

When should I start saving for retirement? Now! It’s never too early or late to start saving for your retirement. The sooner you start the more money you will have for your golden years to live on.

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Choosing the Best Reward Credit Cards For You

23 February 2010

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With so many reward credit cards to choose from, how can you pick the best one for you? Here are some questions which you can ask yourself before deciding on which reward credit card you’ll be getting for yourself:

What type of reward do you really want? Rewards credit card may offer travel rewards, gas rewards, and cash back rewards. Which type of reward really suits your lifestyle? Make sure that the reward program you’ll choose is something that you can really benefit from.

Does it have an annual fee? Some reward credit cards charge for a high annual fee to continue your membership in the rewards program. If this is the case, does the annual fee off set the rewards you earn for the whole year? For example, if you need to spend $100 or more for the annual fee just to get a $50 reward points, then that’s not much of a benefit. However, there are many reward credit cards today that offer a free annual or a low annual fee plus the chance to earn unlimited reward points which truly make a great deal.

Does the credit card have a fixed rate or a variable rate? Most reward credit cards have a fixed APR or 0% APR as introductory offer. However, when the introductory period ends, a variable APR applies. Bear in mind that this means your interest rate will be based upon the Prime Rate so there is a risk that when the Prime Rate increases, your APR can also be incredibly high. Also, remember that credit cards have a minimum cap which means even if the Prime Rate falls dramatically, your interest will not go below the minimum cap.

How much will it take before you get a reward? Study carefully the point system that applies on the credit card reward program that you choose. You need to be especially aware about the exact conditions when it comes to earning and redeeming rewards even before you sign up the card.

Does the one point per dollar spent policy apply on general purchases or does it only apply to purchases you’ve made from selected stores? If so, then you might want to consider if the affiliate shop you need to purchase from is a store that offers reasonable prices. If you need to buy from an expensive shop every time just to collect points, then you might only be spending more than what you can afford.

Is if there is a limit on the number of points you can earn? Some credit cards give generous points for their cardholders but only for a limited time period. Afterwards, you may be restricted to earning just a few points in your account.

Is there also an expiration period for collecting rewards? Will the rewards be forfeited if not redeemed after a certain time period? Be sure that the credit card you choose will give you enough time for collecting and earning points, especially if it’s a travel rewards card. Otherwise, you might end up collecting points in vain just because you didn’t earn enough points in time. Better yet, choose the rewards credit card that lets you save as much point as you can for an unlimited period.

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Choosing the Best Cash Back Credit Cards for You

03 February 2010

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If you have decided that a cash back credit card is the right choice for you, then the next step is to choose the one that fits your needs the best. Therefore, you need to take a few things into consideration when trying to choose the best cash back credit cards.

Lifestyle

The first thing you need to take into consideration when looking for a cash back credit card is your lifestyle. Not all cash back credit cards are the same and, as such, not all of them will suit you well. For example, some cash back credit cards only supply you with rewards for purchases made at specific stores or on specific items. Therefore, these cards will not do you a whole lot of good if you never make purchases at these stores or on these items. Make sure to choose a cash back credit card that provides rewards for something you already purchase regularly. Never change your spending habits based on a cash back credit card. Instead, find one that conforms to you and your lifestyle.

In addition to having different ways for allowing you to accumulate cash back rewards, there are different ways for you to receive the reward as well. Some will cut you a check automatically once you have earned a certain amount of money, while others will expect you to monitor your own rewards and to request your cash back reward. Yet others will automatically apply your reward toward your credit card balance or will invest your money in certain savings programs.

Once again, you need to assess your lifestyle to determine which option is best for you. A cash back credit card that invests you cash rewards into a college savings plan, for example, is not best for you if you do not have children or someone else to help through college. Similarly, if you know that you do not have the time or inclination to monitor your own rewards program and to request your cash back, then be sure to select a cash back credit card that issues checks automatically.

Spending Habits

When choosing a cash back credit card, you also need to assess your own spending habits and find a card that compliments your habits the best. If you tend to leave a balance on your credit card from time to time, then you want to find a cash back credit card with a low interest rate. Otherwise, you might end up spending more in finance charges than you receive from the cash back program.

You also need to pay attention to limits and restrictions the cash back credit card might have. Some have a maximum on the amount of cash back rewards you can spend. This could cause you to lose out on money that you could get with other cash back credit cards. For example, if a credit card only supplies cash back rewards for the first $10,000 you spend per year, but you typically spend $15,000 per year on your credit card, then you are losing out on $5,000 that could be earning you money. Therefore, you want to be sure to apply for a cash back credit card that provides rewards for at least up to $15,000 worth of purchases.

Additional Benefits

In addition to providing you with cash rewards, cash back credit cards also come with a number of other benefits. The benefits provided by these cards, however, are not the same from card to card. For example, some cash back credit cards might provide you with extended warranty protection and purchase protection while others may not. Some might also provide emergency roadside service, fraud protection, travel insurance, and auto rental insurance. If any of these benefits are important to you, you need to take them into consideration when choosing the cash back credit card that is best for you.

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Have you Properly Planned your Retirement?

29 January 2010

Gone are the days of the past when people went from years of labor only to go home and live a rather stale and stagnate lifestyle until reaching death. Today’s retirees are more active than ever. Unfortunately, those activities take money and unless you’re planning to sit at home and wait for death you should be making plans to take care of all those things you wish you had done earlier in life once you retire.

While you are planning for your financial retirement you should also take the time to make plans for what you will do once you retire. Do you need to join a travel club now in order to have an established membership when the time comes to actually enjoy the benefits of belonging? How about that book of the month club? Many of these clubs are great to join while you have the extra ‘disposable’ income that goes along with working and having a career. You can take the time now to build up your library. Even if you read the books now, chances are that by the time you retire you’ll enjoy the ability to read them again.

If you are retiring today you will want to make plans to go parasailing, take cruises, ride horses, and maybe learn to golf and/or knit. You do not want to spend your golden years sitting at home waiting for the inevitable end. You want to leave this world laughing about all the fun and good times you’ve had. The stereotypes associated with retirees are changing quickly as the world evolves and people are living longer than ever before.

When you plan your funds you also might want to take the time to have a few daydreams about the places you will go and save a page or two to write about those dreams and sharing them with your partner in life. You should also take time to find out what he or she hopes to do, where he or she hopes to go, and the things that he or she would like to see when making plans for your retirement. After all, you have shared your lives together it only makes sense that you will share the best years of your lives with one another.

There is no better input to get when it comes to your retirement than the input of your life partner. You should also take things in stages and not try to do and see everything in the first months or year of your retirement. The novelty of not going into the office each and every day will wear off quite soon. You will then find that you can only mow your lawn so many times a day without actually doing more harm than good to your grass. You’ll know every leave of every flower in your garden, and you will know the inside and outside of every book on your shelves. Don’t become a victim of boredom in your retirement as that brings on spending sprees. Find a hobby that doesn’t require a considerable investment and you will help prolong the limited funds you will have at retirement and save them for the more important things on your list of “things to do before you die”.

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Can You Really Make An Income Working Online?

22 January 2010

Consider this if you want to have a home business and you want to make money. We all need money to live, so since you have to work anyway then you might as well be working from home and doing something that you enjoy. Believe me when I say that Ive been on both sides of the fence. Having money and not having money. Having it is much more fun.

Its getting much harder to live on minimum wage and most people arent happy with the lifestyle that minimum wage affords them. I think we would agree that having a home business and making a lot of money is like having toast with jam.. Although either of these things tastes good alone, having them together means one compliments the otherthe crme de la crme!

The benefits of running a home business online are immeasurable. Theres no commute, you dont have to go out and brave the weather and you can even go to work, as they say, in your pajamas. Youre there when the kids get home from school, you have no more daycare issues or you can let the dog out whenever Imagine the simplicity of being able to de-stress your life and enjoy all the perks of working from home.

So we can see why having an online business is the dream of a lot of people. They can work from home and they can live their lives. But can they make money?

Yes, definitely, the same way that a person can make money starting a business offline. You see, theres no magical answer when it comes to whether or not an online business can make money . Some dosome dont. It really depends on the person working the business. An online business is simply a business.

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Get A Jump On Retirement

17 January 2010

Everyone works their whole life to pay bills, go on vacation, provide for their kids, and much more. Most people dream of the day when they can retire. It is interesting to me how few people actually work as hard at planning their retirement as they do each and every day they show up for work.

With a few smart decisions everyone can retire early if they want, provided they do not have any unforeseen medical issues, unemployment, or live through a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Those things will obviously put a wrench in anybodys financial plans for the future but with the proper planning even those events cant stop you from achieving your goals. Just imagine how bad your future would look if you didnt plan properly?

The first, and most important, decision you have to make when planning your future is the one to live within your means. Many people in this country feel the need to keep up with the Jones. Their friend or neighbor gets a nice new car so they go out and do the same. How do you know if that person you are trying to keep up with isnt buried in a pile of debt?

People max out their credit cards, keep no money in a savings account, let alone the six month emergency fund all financial professionals recommend, and keep on spending. They borrow money against their homes and spend it. I hope to help at least a few people learn the benefits of changing their lifestyle so they can live comfortably when they retire. I hate hearing about elderly people that need to chose between eating and buying medicine. Hopefully I can help prevent that from happening to a few people.

I recently began a business as an independent insurance agent/financial professional, with the goal of making a difference in peoples lives. I worked for too long under the control of a major corporation, allowing them to tell me what I had to do, whether it was good for the customer or not. Deciding I had to sleep at night I finally stood up to the company and voiced my opinion when I didnt believe in one of their policies. The company was Liberty Mutual Insurance and they wanted to begin turning away bad customers for auto insurance in Massachusetts, where it is illegal to turn customers away,. Massachusetts is a take-all state. (Id be happy to share additional details if you want to hear them. Feel free to contact me at the email in my signature below)

Needless to say, I was fired for poor performance and I decided I would not let this happen to me again. People work hard for their money and I want to help them get the most bang for their buck as opposed to hurting them. Keep an eye out for a series of articles on the following topics:

-Pay Yourself First
-Shred the Credit Cards
-How to Make Insurance Work for You
-Increase Your Earning Potential

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Free Retirement Planning Program-can You Find A Good Program For

15 January 2010

Free Retirement Planning Program-can You Find A Good Program For Free?

Is a free retirement planning program worth your time and effort? Quite simply, many people want to know this, because they don’t even have the time or energy to plan their retirement for themselves. Also, they may not have the knowledge necessary to make the right investing decisions.

Usually, the options available to you will be either to hire a financial planning advisor, which will cost a pretty penny, or to plan it out yourself. A free retirement planning program can be a great alternative to these choices, because it will provide you some important tips and your retirement planning process.

However, keep in mind that most of these free retirement planning programs are simply an introduction to the retirement planning process. They will not give you enough information to help you really have map out your retirement planning yourself, at least to the extent you will need.

For instance, you may already ready know the kind of lifestyle you want to live in your retirement years to, and you might already know how much money that will cost you. However, the most important step is finding the right investment vehicle to help you get there. Generally, a free retirement planning program will not help you with this vital step.

For this, you will generally need to hire a financial planning advisor to help you find the right investment vehicle for you. Now, you may have to pay some money for this process, but it will be well worth it in the long run.

Also, you certainly might want to consider learning about investing yourself and making your own investing decision. Not only would this be the cheaper option, as you wouldnt have to hire somebody to tell you what to invest in, but it is the far more lucrative way to go financially.

Very simply, whenever you can spot good investment opportunities on your own, you have the chance to become wealthy. There is virtually no financially well off person today who doesnt have the ability to spot a good investment opportunity on their own; without good financial knowledge, you can never hope to have as much money as you otherwise would.

The best way to go about doing this would be to simply read books about successful financial investors and wealthy people, and find out what theyve done to achieve their wealth. Whether it be starting a business, investing in the stock market or investing in real estate, simply finding somebody whos already done it and modeling their success is a very powerful way to become financially independent. This is by far the quickest way, because you can avoid a lot of the mistakes that those you are modeling made when they were first learning the tools of the trade.

You would not want to entrust your retirement plans to a free retirement planning program, particularly since they are merely to give you a general overview of the retirement planning process. Follow these important steps and you will achieve the retirement planning you want, quickly and easily.

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Baby Boomers Secure Your Future With An Online Income

27 December 2009

Hi fellow baby boomers – Are you too busy earning a living to make any money? Are you like most baby boomers frightened about your future? If the answer to this is YES – read on. Chances are you are up against hard times – I was in the same position as you are now. It’s not your fault. Life happens too quick and all of a sudden here we are after spending all our lives spending, the reality hits. How are we going to continue living the lifestyle we all have come to enjoy so much? Like myself, very few of us planned our financial future. We meant to but we were too busy working for a living …..it has all happened so fast. If you want to stop worrying about just “getting by ” and are ready to do something about it, I can help you

Marketing on the web is a relatively new form of business – that means all the people who started in this business knew as little as we do right now, yet they all made millions from it. In fact it is still the fastest growing segment of new millionaires in the world today. I knew nothing about it but dreamed of making money on the net from home and being in control of my own destiny. Instead of sitting around dreaming I decided to do something about it. I spoke to a very great friend of mine (also a baby boomer) who suggested I look to the experts on the web themselves. He told me to go to his favourite ebook superstore and do some research. There are many opportunities out there – finding the right one for you is the trick. We baby boomers have something the young gurus do not have and that is life experience itself. The years on this planet have taught us something that other people want. I thought I could use all my past negatives – health problems and money woes into guides to help other people. Still I had to find an expert who could set me off in the right direction.

If you know in your heart you deserve a better life than you have right now then keep on reading!!! As I said we already possess something web users are lining up and paying top dollars for. All I had to do was find an expert who could point me in the right direction and show me how it all worked. This lead me back to the ebook superstore to research . I found an ebook on there that gave me all the answers. The writer was the 2007 Internet Marketer of the Year and gave a 1005% guarantee or money back. Why is this writer giving away all his secrets? He says he doesn’t want to give up the gold to people who don’t do anything with it. He believes boomers have follow-through, and anyone who has been an active member of society 43 years or more will possess the key ingredients to online marketing success. It doesn’t cost him business to show you his tactics….. The Internet is a very vast marketplace where demand will outweigh supply for a very long time.

What are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate!! I did it because I had this dream of being financially free! You all will have your own reasons. It has worked for me and it is so lovely everyday to check my computer when I wake and see my back account rising. I am no genius just another baby boomer like you who has gone and had a go and IT WORKS!! More information on this subject can be found on my website http://www.gr8riches.com/boomers or you can contact me at sharon@gr8riches.com Good luck!

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Do You Have Enough Hobbies To Ensure An Enjoyable Retirement?

24 December 2009

Do You Have Enough Hobbies To Ensure An Enjoyable Retirement?

Even if youve been saving your money since you were in grade school, that may not be enough to have an enjoyable retirement. Of course having enough money put away is the number one factor as to whether or not youll maintain your desired lifestyle once you stop working. But dont overlook the small stuff. Does sitting in front of the TV sound like a fulfilling way to live, day in and day out? Youll need something engaging to do with your free time and remember you will probably have more free time than youve ever had in your adult life. Having several interesting hobbies is a great way to get the most out of your retirement.

You probably started thinking about your retirement savings a long time ago. Well you should start thinking about how you plan on spending your time too. A satisfying hobby or a way to spend you time really is required for your happiness. Perhaps youve decided to spend more time with your family and just enjoy life. Thats all well and good but youll need something more.

Choosing a fun hobby is easy. Most hobbies are fun, thats why theyre hobbies. And Im sure almost everyone has something that they like to do. Whether its gardening, playing tennis, building ships in a bottle or collecting stamps, Im sure theres something out there that youd like to do. Finding a fun hobby shouldnt be a problem for most people. Its the next two criteria that may cause some problems for you.

Money always seem to be an issue. If youve found something that you enjoy doing but cant afford to do it, then youre out of luck. How often to you hear people say that if they won the lottery then would retire and spend their time traveling the world? Traveling would be how everyone spent their retirement if it was free. Going on a few vacations a year will probably fit into even the most conservative budget. But even if you add some visits to see the grandkids or other relatives youll probably still have about 40 weeks left in your year that youll need something else to do. Gardening can be a relatively in-expensive hobby. Buying seeds are pretty cheap and will provide you with days worth of tasks to take grow them from seedlings to mature plants. You can even put some food on the table if you plant a vegetable garden.

Lastly youll need to think about your health. If you suffer from arthritis, then I dont recommend spending your days doing something that will aggravate it. Lets look at our previous hobby examples and see if they make the grade. Gardening can require some physical labor. Whether youre turning the soil or bending over to pull weeds youll need a strong back to get the job done. Collecting stamps or other collecting hobbies would be okay even if you require a sedentary lifestyle.

Many people spend their adult life saving their money for retirement. This is a great way to secure your future but its only a first step. Give some thought to how you plan on spending your free time during your retirement. With some interesting hobbies, youre retirement can be more fulfilling that you ever planned.

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Credit Cards and Retirement

17 December 2009

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Going into retirement is one of the best things in your life. This is the time when you get to relax and enjoy a slower pace of life in peace. However, being able to sustain a lifestyle that is comparable to the one that you had before retirement requires some sound planning. This means that you should either own income generating assets, a large 401 (k) payout or a huge pile of cash that will let you live off interests for the rest of your days.

Another aspect of retirement involves the issue of debt. Being retired also means that you need to be more risk averse. This stems from the fact that you may no longer have the ability to generate income to cover for huge debt or losses. Similarly, high interest credit cards with rolled over balances are often sources of snowballing debt.

With this, you should try to pay off your outstanding credit card debt before you go into retirement. You could try out balance transfers and transfer some of your credit card debt into credit cards that charge lower or 0% APR for an introductory period. This way, you avoid paying for interests while you pay off your credit card balances.

Another method to convert your high interest debt into lower interest debt is through a debt consolidation loan. This way, all your credit card debt will be paid off by your debt consolidation loan. Ultimately, you will just need to repay the debt consolidation loan without having to worry about multiple credit card repayments.

The two methods shown above will only help you reduce the snowballing effect of your credit card debt. However, you will still have to pay off your debt over a period of time. Therefore, the best approach is not to have credit card debt at all. This can be accomplished easily if you set some ground rules for yourself.

First, limit yourself to just two credit cards for emergency use. Pay off any outstanding credit card debt from the other cards and cut them up. Make it a point to not use more than 40% of your credit limit. Overusing your credit card can result to high interest charges and escalating debt. Its also wise to pay off entire credit card balances without rolling over any amount to the following month. All these good habits in managing credit card debt will definitely help you with your finances through your retirement age.

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