Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Recent Financial Planning & Management Articles

Training your Kids to be Financially Savvy

Posted May 12, 2011 by Bernz

Teaching children about money may not be something that you think you can do if you are not a financial genius. But don’t worry because given the fact that you are an adult means that you already know more than they do about many different things including money. Children love to learn, especially very young children. If you have children you have probably already noticed that they want to absorb as much knowledge as they can about every topic possible.

This is good news for both parents and teachers because it makes teaching them easier. What you do have to remember when you teach them important life skills like how to manage money is to make it fun. If learning is not fun, it will be more difficult for the children to pay attention and they will soon forget what you just said to them about saving up their pennies instead of spending them.

A great way to make sure that you have their attention is to use something to represent money that they will pay attention to, like their favorite candy or something similar. Another idea for parents to use to teach their children about money is to buy them a piggy bank. There are these great piggy banks that are specifically designed for children to teach them about financial responsibility. The banks are shaped like pigs, but have four separate slots so that the child can divide their money up equally.

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Improving Financial Literacy

Posted May 10, 2011 by Bernz

Many people feel that learning how to deal with personal finance is an overwhelming task that they would prefer to avoid. Perhaps that is why so many people end up farther in debt than they ever thought possible. Those without the proper financial education may find it difficult to manage their money and in some situations they may not know where to turn for help when it becomes too much to handle on their own. Thankfully, there are many resources available to teach those who have never learned how to stay out of debt or save the money they earn.

By doing research and finding out the best steps to take when you are struggling with money, you may find out that it is possible to manage your income without an education in finance. It is important, however, to remember that it is easier to stay debt free than it is to dig yourself out of debt. Educating children and young people about how to use their money wisely is the best way to go to make sure that the cycle of bad financial decisions does not continue.

One of the biggest reasons that adults make bad financial decisions is that they are not taught how to deal with their money either as a child from their parents or as a young person in school. If you have children and you want to make sure that they understand the value of a dollar but are not sure where to start, make sure that you take time to teach them about credit cards. So many people, adults and kids alike have a misconception that credit cards are free money. While as adults we know that we have to pay back the money, it can still seem like someone is giving us some extra cash to spend.

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Estate Planning – When and Why it’s Needed

Posted April 17, 2011 by Bernz

It is very important for everyone, not just those with a lot of money to plan out what they want to happen with their estate once they are gone. Though many people do not like to talk about death, it is a necessary part of life and everyone should make the time to write out an estate plan. While many people think that a will is the only part of the plan that they need, you will also want to think about power of attorney as well as a living will.

No matter how small your assets are, if you do not have a will in place when you pass away, you could be leaving a legal mess for your loved ones. Not only will they have to sort out your possessions, but they will probably have some unexpected expenses that could end up costing them a lot of money. Even if you know that you need to make a plan for your estate, you may not know where or when to start.

Well, the answer to the when question is easy. You should definitely start working on putting together a will as soon as possible. If you have a home or any other large assets then it is even more important that you make creating a will a priority. But an even better reason than because you have property is if you have children. Life can get pretty complicated if Aunt Nancy and Grandma Mary both think that you would have wanted them to become the guardians of the kids because there was no will to tell them otherwise.

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Is Your Identity Safe with your Tax Preparer?

Posted April 7, 2011 by Bernz

When you stop to think about it, having someone else prepare you a tax record is a really huge exercise in trust. In one moment we provide the individual with enough information to completely ruin our futures. They have our complete name, birthday, social security number, and all of our financial information. This is more than enough information to take our identity and live high of the hog for several months.

The problem is that we cannot afford to get so obsessed about preserving our identity that we do not have someone help with our taxes. Not filing properly can lead to a whole different nightmare where you have to deal with the IRS. It is not necessarily a worse nightmare than identity theft, just a little different.

The best way to make sure that your identity stays safe and that you taxes are properly filed is by making sure that you are using a company that is legit. In this day and age, you do not want to be using the person in the mall who claims to understand taxes and will give a reduced rate. If you have a regular accountant who handles your expenses, you should have them handle your taxes. If the only time you need financial assistance is during tax time, than you should make sure that you are using a company with a solid reputation.

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Retire Happy: Keys to Reaching that Goal

Posted March 28, 2011 by Bernz

Every one who is working looks forward to the goal of one day retiring with enough money set aside so that they can truly enjoy themselves during retirement.  If this is your goal then you need to determine now the kind of funds you need to have on hand to enjoy your dreams during retirement.  Some people convince themselves that they cannot see the world or build their dream home when they retire, but this is really short-sighted and with careful planning you can reach those and a number of other goals.

One big key is to start saving now.  Ideally a person should begin saving in their 20′s in order to have enough personal savings set aside by the time that they retire to live comfortably.  The more you can save the better, and looking for ways to reduce your spending while you are younger to save more for the future can really pay off in the long run.  Setting aside 10 percent of every check in a savings account with a fairly aggressive compound interest rate, and then leaving the money alone, a very important key to financial success, can result in a very impressive nest egg when retirement rolls around.

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Posted in Financial Goals, Retirement Planning, Saving Money | No Comments »