Archive for November, 2008

How to choose a financial advisor

Posted November 4, 2008 by Bernz

A financial advisor, also known as financial planners or brokers have expertise in investing. Some financial advisors specialize in insurance, others 401K plans, and some financial planners have a broad background.

use_financial_advisor1Here are some tips on finding a financial advisor that’s well-suited for you.

First, I recommend you look for a fee-based financial advisor. These advisors charge you either an hourly rate or a flat fee. A commissioned-based financial advisor gets paid based upon what products she or he sells. So in spite of their very well placed intentions of giving you sound financial advice, commission-based financial advisors have to sell in order to get paid so they have a huge stake in you buying their product.

Look for a financial advisor the same way you would go about looking for a new dentist or veterinarian: ask around. Talk to your neighbors, co-workers, and friends, people in your alma mater or professional organizations you belong to.

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Posted in Retirement Planning | 3 Comments »

Don’t push the panic button (yet!)

Posted November 3, 2008 by Bernz

By Carrythebanner

Listen, I know all the news lately has you worried. We’re facing a global economic recession and that is very scary. But in spite of all the latest happenings, life should go on. So, in spite of the paper’s headline and what your co-workers are chatting about around the water cooler here are some tips that assure you panicking (just yet) is not the right move.

As I mentioned in my post, Bargain stocks, a good deal, one of the things you can do right now is to take care of new money coming in. This gives you an opportunity to put funds in those areas where contributions are low.

Another thing I strongly suggest is that you look at how your old money is invested and who it is invested with. Call your money manager and get help with this. What you’ll likely learn is that your money is safe but you’ll also learn about where your assets are and what you can do to make sure they are protected. Word of caution you’re stripping money from your retirement savings and future gains because compound interest wipes away that opportunity as does annual fees that are more than 3% a year.

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Posted in Financial Education | 2 Comments »

The Pension is Dead, Long Live the 401K!

Posted November 2, 2008 by Bernz

A Guide to Those Born Before 1980

As everyone knows, as more and more jobs get sent overseas fewer and fewer benefits are getting handed out to workers. What is even worse is that Social Security is in grave jeopardy. Neither of these two situations are going to resolve themselves any time soon. So the IRS in their has created tax-free vehicles for the purpose of long-term investment for retirement.

401k-signThe 401K is the simple tax code for it. If your employer has a matching offer make you take advantage of it fully. The old theory of always saving money becomes most important in the case of a 401K. These vehicles only work and are effective when you put money in them religiously, so keep that in mind. that 401K’s don’t have strict limits like IRA’s and you can contribute a large amount of your paycheck to them. 10% of your yearly income is very wise and at those rates by the age of 65 you will have plenty of money to retire on.

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Posted in 401k | No Comments »

Financial Goals, You Have Those Right?

Posted November 1, 2008 by Bernz

The media is really making a big deal about the stock market right now and how much money people are losing. However, those with clear set financial goals are not sweating at all or certainly a lot less.

At each stage of life we have different goals and different plans. These all usually involve money, so you have to balance these investments around your cash allocation, income, and your age. Setting your financial goals should involve two steps.

By Nadav Dov Boretzki

Step one: Where are we in life?

Are you going to stay where you are? Do you have any school plans? Are you married, single, engaged? Are you planning on buying a house? Sometimes it feels like we need a financial planner to aid us in figuring all this out, but in effect you need to gauge where you are going or where you want to be in the next 5-10 years. If you are going back to school, plan for more debt, if you are buying a house, then plan for large down payment, and so on and so on. Risk capital can be a great vehicle to achieving these goals.

Set your financial goals. It’s your money, use it to your advantage!

Step two: Time to distribute the money

So now its time to take your income deduct living expenses (see my article on a spending plan), and then use those savings to grow and achieve your financial goals. Using this plan, you can plan your large purchases and see how soon you can be in that new neighborhood, or in that new dream job that you have always wanted.

Posted in Financial Goals | 1 Comment »


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