Guest Post: Questions to ask before you commit your money

Questions to ask before you commit your money   “I’ve spent 25 years investigating over 450 financial products and vehicles,” Pamela says. “I can tell you that, though these products were sparkly and seductive on paper, 99.9% of them didn’t stand up to scrutiny.” To protect your family’s financial future, you need to get answers to at least a few basic questions before you (and your money) jump in:

1. What is this product’s true track record over the long run? “Get performance figures verified by a third party, not claims in sales literature from sales literature.”
2. What guarantees does this product or vehicle offer? “If the answer is ‘None,’ run for the hills – unless you’re a thrill-seeker who’s prepared to lose his or her shirt.”
3. What fees are involved? “Even seemingly nominal fees can eat up much of your account value. According to the Department of Labor, fees of only 1% will devour 28% of your nest egg over 35 years, assuming a 7% annual return. But most people are paying more than 1% in fees in their 401(k)s, IRAs, and so on. The key is not to underestimate the long-term impact of fees, and to make sure you are aware of all fees you’re being charged.”
4. Who is recommending this to you? “Does your advisor have some vested interest in getting you involved in certain financial products? (And if so, did she disclose it up front?) Even if you’re dealing with someone who is financially savvy, do they really know your particular needs and situation well enough to be advising you?”

“To protect yourself and your family, I urge you to do your own due diligence before jumping on the bandwagon of any financial vehicle or product,” Pamela says. She also recommends asking these overarching questions when considering any financial product or advice:

• Will this advice or vehicle give me peace of mind and let me sleep at night?
• Will it help me get where I want to go without taking unnecessary risk?
• Will it allow me to be in charge of my money?

Pamela shares a time-tested saving strategy that allows people to answer yes to those three all-important questions. This method, known as Bank On Yourself, provides guaranteed growth, pays taxes in advance, and gives people access to their savings without restrictions or penalties whenever they need it. Most importantly, it allows people to know exactly how much money they will have upon retirement and every step of the way. About the Author: Pamela Yellen is founder of Bank On Yourself, a financial investigator and the author of two New York Times best-selling books, including her latest, The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future. Pamela investigated more than 450 financial strategies seeking an alternative to the risk and volatility of stocks and other investments, which led her to a time-tested, predictable method of growing wealth now used by more than 500,000 Americans. For more information, visit www.BankOnYourself.com.






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Guest Post: 3 Tips To Help Women Prepare For Long-Term Health Care

3 Tips To Help Women Prepare

For Long-Term Health Care

Women spend much of their lives caring for others. As mothers and wives, they never seem to stop giving to their families and husbands.

So who will take care of mom if she needs long-term care? Or will she plan ahead for her long-term care?   

It’s important that she does. Women typically outlive men by an average of about five years. According to aarp.org, more than two-thirds of Americans 85 or older are women. And about 79 percent of 65-year-old women will need long-term care during their lifetime, according to a study by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute.

Women often become long-term caregivers for their husbands or other family members. And as statistics show, they are also more likely to become widowed before needing long-term care themselves. Her husband’s needs may have further drained assets, leaving the widow with less financial wherewithal to apply to her own care.

“Women too often don’t adequately plan ahead for LTC needs,” says Lisa Odoski, a financial professional focusing on women’s well-being and Vice President of the Fried Group, the parent company of TFG Wealth Management (www.tfgwealth.com).

“At the same time, research shows among unpaid care-givers in the U.S., two-thirds are women. They sacrifice a lot – sometimes their own careers or reducing their regular work hours.

“Women today have a greater risk of needing LTC services and of becoming unpaid caregivers. It’s an important time for them to develop an LTC strategy that helps preserve their total financial future.”

Odoski gives three tips to help women prepare for their long-term care:

• Educate yourself. Family financial planning used to be almost exclusively the men’s turf. Those days are long gone, and with many houses running on two incomes and women outliving men, women need to make planning for their distant future more of a priority. But an AARP survey showed 60 percent of women hadn’t considered how they would pay for long-term care. “They should start by consulting an investment expert and financial planner,” Odoski says. “They need to get up to speed on senior care costs, insurance and savings plans.”

• Know your retirement benefits and your spouse’s. Women should take advantage of their employer’s retirement plan and not delay in saving for their future, including the last years they may spend alone. It’s especially important, in the event of divorce or their spouse’s death, to know their spousal rights in regard to their spouse’s pension, Social Security or veteran’s benefits. “They don’t want to be in a position where most of their spouse’s benefits are going toward their own care,” Odoski says.

• Think long-term with your budget. Women should have specific goals and a plan to save toward them. The statistics say the goals should include a portion devoted to long-term care insurance, which covers a wide spectrum of products and services. “They should lay out all monthly and annual spending needs and crunch the numbers to determine what they’ll need in later years in order to maintain their familiar lifestyle,” Odoski says. “They need to look at all LTC options. Medicare and private insurance usually aren’t enough to cover long-term care anymore.”

“After decades of taking care of others,” Odoski says, “women more than ever need to know how to take care of themselves.”

About Lisa Odoski

Lisa Odoski is Vice President of the Fried Group, the parent company of TFG Wealth Management (www.tfgwealth.com). She is dedicated to helping women protect and preserve their lifestyle by developing life plans that promote physical, emotional and financial well being. She is a licensed professional and has augmented her expertise by becoming a certified Registered ParaplannerSM through the College for Financial Planning®.

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Press Release: Your November Financial To-Do List

Your November Financial To-Do List

5 timely ways to organize your life    

In just a few weeks, the holiday shopping season will officially start with sales during Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving—and Cyber Monday. It’s also the time of year when you’re likely to be more focused on traveling and social get-togethers.

Even so, there are important steps you can take this month to put you in better financial stead, from learning ways to save money while shopping to making a number of end-of-year moves.

Here’s what should be on your financial to-do list:

Save on Shopping

This month, you may be able to save money when shopping online by understanding how retailers adjust their prices. More retailers now use dynamic pricing strategies—they shift their prices as they monitor competitors’ pricing and customer demand. Some even use what they know about your shopping habits and location to set the prices they show you.

There are steps you can take that may help you pay less, such as letting items sit in your shopping cart until the retailer drops the price to get you to buy. Another idea: Input a friend’s or relative’s ZIP code, or enlist someone in another ZIP code to shop for you. Prices may be lower than in your area.

There are also a number of digital tools you can use to save money while shopping. They range from browser extensions such as Invisible Hand to gift cards that sell for less than face value at sites like Raise or CardCash.

Take Your Required Minimum Distributions

If you have money in a tax-deferred retirement account such as a traditional 401(k) or IRA, and you’re over age 70 ½, taking a required minimum distribution before the end of the year should be on your financial to-do list.

The amount that you must withdraw is based on the amount of money you have in such accounts and your life expectancy, according to the IRS. Note that you will also have to pay taxes on this income when you file in April.

Failing to take your required minimum distribution can be costly: You’ll owe the IRS a penalty that comes to half of the amount that should have been withdrawn. It’s a smart idea to get in touch with your financial adviser now to figure out how much money you need to withdraw.

If your money is in a Roth IRA, you won’t need to add this to your financial to-do list. Roth IRAs are not subject to minimum distributions. You are also not required to take a distribution from a 401(k) with an employer for which you currently work.

Plan Your Charitable Contributions

Giving money to important causes is in keeping with the spirit of the holidays, and doing so before year-end can give you an extra write-off at tax time. Before sending in money, run a check of the organization you plan to contribute to via sites like Charity Navigator and GuideStar. These watchdogs, as they are known, offer reviews from donors as well as data on how much of the contributions you make go directly to the cause. (For local or regional charities, check the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.) When you do give, be sure to save the receipt so that you have it at tax time.

Visit Your Doctor

If you still have money in a medical flexible-spending account at work, put this on your financial to-do list: Start spending it down. Although many companies now offer a grace period into next year, you’ll forfeit any money you haven’t spent once that period expires. Take the opportunity to make doctor’s appointments that you’ve been putting off, or to schedule a flu shot if you haven’t had one yet. November is the slowest month of the year for doctors, according to Zocdoc, a website that helps you to find a doctor and make medical appointments online. So you should be able to get a convenient appointment with a reasonable wait time.

Note: If your money is in a health spending account (an HSA rather than an FSA), the unused balance will roll over to next year.

Buy Items on Deep Discount

In addition to the savings you’ll get on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, November is a great time to get a discount on televisions and toys.

Research by Consumer Reports product experts, who track prices year-round, shows that November is an ideal time to get a good deal on coffee makers and refrigerators. The cooler weather means you may also be able to get a good deal on leftover bikes and gas grills, which retailers need to move out of their stores.

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Book Review: 10 Financial Mistakes You Should Avoid by Stephen S. K. Ng

10 Financial Mistakes You Should Avoid by Stephen S. K. Ng

We really wish this book had been written back when we were first embarking on our adult life. In his book, 10 Financial Mistakes You Should Avoid, Stephen S. K. Ng shares financial mistakes that are all too common.

The problem is reaching people while they are still  young enough to take maximum advantage of all the advice this author has to give.

Years ago, our income took a major blow when we found out that David was rapidly becoming legally blind.  His employer no longer wanted him because he would be too costly to accommodate. They had been seeking ways to get rid of him since it was a small company and he was too expensive to cover with the group insurance.

Had we had this book back then, and any disposable income at all, we could have lessened the impact.

Even better is that the author is a Christian and he is unashamed of that fact.  As we know, God wants His people to be frugal and plan ahead.  

We give 10 Financial Mistakes You Should Avoid by Stephen S. K. Ng all five stars.  We appreciate the sound financial advice given by a born-again Christian.

Perhaps reading this book will help you, or someone you love, avoid those common financial mistakes and help with an easier retirement.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

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Guest Post: Trick or Treat: How Much Does the Average American Spend on Halloween?

Trick or Treat: How Much Does the Average American Spend on Halloween?

By Mike Brown

Read original article here.

 

While each American's level of involvement may differ, most of us will be taking part in Halloween festivities, whether we like it or not.

For the youth, enthusiasm for Halloween begins in September when costume ideas start taking shape. Once it starts, the fun doesn't end until the candy-induced stomach ache kicks in roughly three hours after that last Twix.

While young adults may bypass the trick-or-treating, Halloween still offers a great excuse to dress-up, look silly, and have a night out on the town.

Adults, who are often less excited than children, play an integral role when it comes to Halloween. Without them, who would chaperon the trick-or-treaters, hand out candy, cover houses in spooky decorations, or design the outfits that win the school costume competitions?!?!

Like any other notable calendar day, Halloween will always have naysayers, but for the most part, it is seen as an enjoyable night that kicks off the holiday season. And according to a new LendEDU survey, Halloween is actually a day that will be forcing many to cough-up a decent-sized chunk of change.

Average American Will Spend $169.81 on Halloween in 2017

With Halloween just a few short weeks away, LendEDU sought to apply a price-tag to the holiday characterized by candy, costumes, and scary decorations.

​To do this, we asked 1,000 Americans ages 18 and up that were planning on celebrating Halloween in 2017 the following question: "How much do you expect to spend celebrating Halloween this year?"

After averaging together all 1,000 responses, we found that in 2017, the average American is expecting to spend $169.81 on Halloween.

$169.81

Average Halloween expenditure per person in 2017

It turns out that all of the fun brought on by Halloween comes at a price that may scare away a few people before the haunted houses even have a chance to. $169.81 for a few hours of spirited and spooky celebrations is nothing to sneeze at.

​So, what is making the cost of Halloween so unexpectedly high? After respondents entered in their total estimated expenditures, we then asked them to estimate how it will be proportioned between three standard Halloween expenses: candy, costumes, and decorations.

As depicted in the above infographic, costumes account for the most costly expense when it comes to Halloween. According to our data, costumes make up 41.7 percent of Halloween expenditures. When converted to dollars, this equates to $70.81. Depending on your levels of enthusiasm and spirit, costumes can become incredibly expensive. The more authentic the costume, the better the costume, and chances are a costume only becomes more costly as it becomes more impressive.

The second largest expense when it came to Halloween was candy, which accounted for 36.1 percent of the total money spent on the October holiday, or $61.30. Candy is to Halloween what presents are to Christmas; sweets make the spooky festivities what they are and excite all the young trick-or-treaters more so than anything else.

No one wants to be that one house in the neighborhood that is known for not giving out candy on Halloween, so everybody reaches into their pocket to buy some to handout to eager trick-or-treaters. Just don't be the house that leaves an unsupervised candy bowl on the front steps because your costly candy will disappear quicker than a ghost, and you will be left having to go out again to spend more cash on candy.

Finally, the last and least prevalent of all three Halloween expenses was decorations, which accounted for 22.2 percent of the $169.81 projected to be spent on Halloween this year. 22.2 percent would mean Americans spend $37.70 on decorations. Whereas most American's participate in handing out candy, and many have an active role in costume planning because of their kids, decorations are generally not as prevalent. There are still folks out there who truly embrace the festivities and transform their dwellings into haunted houses straight out of Transylvania, but for the most part, decorations seem to be the least of the Halloween-induced priorities.

Methodology

All data used in this report came from a poll commissioned by LendEDU and conducted online by online polling company Pollfish. In total, 1,000 Americans ages 18 and up were polled on a few questions related to Halloween. Respondents were screened to ensure they were planning on celebrating Halloween in 2017. Respondents were asked to enter in an exact dollar amount when they were answering how much money they were expecting to spend on Halloween-related expenses in 2017. After we collected 1,000 individual responses, we were able to average them together to get the average expenditure. Respondents were also asked to enter in an exact proportion for each of the three main Halloween expenses. These values were also averaged together. This poll was conducted over a two-day span from September 26th, 2017 to September 27th, 2017. All respondents were asked to answer each question truthfully and to the best of their ability.

Image Copyright © Dan Bergstrom

Read the original article on LendEDU.

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Guest Post: How Do You Handle Financial Fears And Make The Best Decisions For Your Life?

How Do You Handle Financial Fears And Make The Best Decisions For Your Life?

                                               

Everyone has fears when it comes to money:

                       

• The fear of not having enough to retire.
• Fear of making another bad financial choice.
• Fear of taking a risk like changing jobs/starting a business.
• The fear of choosing the right financial advisor after being burned in the past.

                       

The answer to dealing with your fears, says Al Zdenek (www.AlZdenek.com), author of the bestselling book Master Your Cash Flow: The Key To Grow And Retain Wealth, is starting to take actions that will allow you to live the life you want to live right now and through retirement.

                       

“There is a certain amount of cash flow, if you had it coming in right now and for the rest of your life – inflation adjusted – that would allow you to live the lifestyle you wanted now and forever,  and make you financially independent,” says Zdenek, CEO and founder of Traust Sollus Wealth Management. “Find out what that amount is and start making better choices.”

                       

Making the wrong choices can lead to you working harder and longer in life, and winding up with less wealth and cash flow.

                       

On the other hand, Zdenek says, making better choices around such things as your careers, your business, budget, income taxes, insurance, portfolio management and debt can create the lifestyle people yearn for now and for the rest of their lives.

                       

Zdenek can discuss how to make better financial decisions in everyday life to live better, with less stress and anxiety, while increasing their cash flow and wealth.

                       

About Al Zdenek

                       

Al Zdenek (www.AlZdenek.com) – author, speaker and wealth advisor – is the President, CEO and founder (1982) of Traust Sollus Wealth Management, a boutique wealth management firm dedicated to empowering people to live the life they wish now and in the future by consistently making the best financial decisions. His bestselling book, Master Your Cash Flow (Forbes Books) shows readers how to avoid making poor and disastrous financial decisions, finding additional cash flow from every-day decisions that, if saved, will build wealth sooner. Zdenek has been contracted by ForbesBooks to continue writing the Master Your Cash Flow series, with a new book entitled Master Your Cash Flow: The Key to Build a Valuable Business, to be released in March 2018.  The upcoming book will be for entrepreneurs, business owners, CEOs and anyone who wishes to run a successful business. 

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