Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Recent Financial Planning & Management Articles

How to Save Money with Credit Card Debt

Posted March 20, 2011 by Hasic M

Credit card debt is a burden that billions of people worldwide have to bare. Most people cannot seem to pinpoint exactly how they ended up in credit card debt, but most realize that it has something to do with how they spend their money.

Many individuals are careless and fail to pay attention to their spending. When you own a credit card, the urge to spend is prominent because the money is sitting right there. Unfortunately, credit cards draw interest, making it almost impossible to get out of debt.

Get on a Budget – Budget spending is a highly-effective way to reward yourself at the end of the week and still have money to put away for bills. Calculate how much you own in credit card debt first and then decide if you’re able to purchase extra items at the end of the week. If not, it’s best to move onto the next step.

Open a Savings Account – Your savings account can serve as a reminder and motivation to help you put away all of your leftover money. One might ask, “what leftover money”? The truth is that if you’re a big spender, there is always going to be something that you think you need. It’s best to simply forget about purchasing anymore luxury items until you’ve paid off your debt. Put all of your “chunk change” and excess money not spent on regular living costs into a savings and work toward paying off your credit card debt.

Read More »

Posted in Credit Card Management, Debt, Saving Money | No Comments »

Saving for Retirement

Posted March 15, 2011 by Bernz

There are a lot of numbers that come into play when one starts to think about retirement, and a very important number is how much does one need to save.  As a general rule it is good to assume that you will need roughly 70% of your yearly salary from when you are working in order to live comfortably in retirement.  This is a very conservative estimate though, and depending on what your goals are during retirement – travel, charity work, additional education – you may need to save more than 70%, in some cases substantially more.  It is good to take the time to write down some of the things you would like to accomplish during retirement, so that you can have them in mind when you decide on how much to save.

Taking a good look at your current expenses can be an excellent indicator of what kind of finances you will need during retirement.  Also keep in mind that while certain expenses that you have now will disappear when you retire, they are likely to be offset by new expenses, usually rising health care costs as you grow older.

Read More »

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

When Can I Retire?

Posted March 10, 2011 by Bernz

Retirement, and more importantly having enough income to retire comfortably, is an issue that looms large on the minds of many employees.  A good place to start in trying to navigate the changing waters of retirement is to determine how much income you will need in order to retire the way you want.  Once you have a pretty good idea of  what that amount is, you need to consider the income that will be coming in in the form of pensions, Social Security, and other sources.  Once you have all those numbers you can compare and see if your current financial status will allow you to have the kind of retirement you desire.  There are a variety of retirement calculators available online that can help you to get a general picture of your retirement.  What if you note that there are areas for improvement, what should you do then?

One option that most people do not like to hear, but that may be necessary, is delaying the age when you retire.  Traditionally the average employee retires around 65, but in many industries and with the current financial climate, this may not be a viable option.  Not only does retiring later reduce the number of withdrawals you will have to make, it also increases the amount you can afford to take out yearly to cover your expenses.

Read More »

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

Do I Still Need a 401k?

Posted February 13, 2011 by Bernz

After hearing about the severe financial hit many people have taken with the recent financial turn, and with stories of people losing all their investment in their 401k many people wonder if a 401k is still a sound financial instrument.  From the start let’s point out what a 401k is, an investment strategy designed to help you supplement your income during retirement.  A 401k is not guaranteed, just as stocks are not guaranteed, but this in and of itself does not mean that a 401k is really a risky place to invest your money.

The presumed tax benefits of a 401k are one of the major reasons why people continue to invest at least part of their money in a qualified retirement account.  The amount that you divert into the 401k is not taxed, and over the course of the 30 years or so that a 401k is designed to hold your money you can accrue a relatively large savings on your income tax.

Read More »

Posted in 401k, Investing Strategies, Retirement Planning | No Comments »

An Introduction to Investing in the Stock Market

Posted February 6, 2011 by Bernz

The economy is very different from what it was a decade ago, and all signs point to the fact that the economy will never be exactly the same.  In a perfect world the stock market would be predictable;  specific market conditions would correspond to specific results.  The stock market is nowhere near perfect though, and as a result a thorough understanding of how market conditions effects profit margins is very beneficial.  Global competition in the marketplace has introduced a whole new level of complexity to the process of investing, and items that were sure fire investments in the past no longer have that status.

Investing in the stock market at its core is a numbers game, but to be truly successful in the market it requires an understanding of the motivations behind why companies make certain financial moves.  There is a fine line between insider trading and being well-informed about a trade prospect.  The well-informed investor knows how to spread assets over a variety of different investments; diversifying is essential to saying competitive in the stop market.

Read More »

Posted in Investing Basics, Investing Strategies, Stock Market Investing, Stock Watch | 1 Comment »