Business Marketing & Finance Resources

Debt is a problem that plagues many people all over the world today. There are so many expenses that are easy to incur that getting out of debt may seem impossible. The good news is it doesn’t have to be impossible and in fact, is actually quite plausible if you just follow a few helpful tips.

Come up with a budget. The first way to get out of debt is to come up with a budget you will follow. You will want to start by planning an annual budget, then break it down into each individual month. The key is sticking to it. Because unplanned expenses will most certainly arise, it will be necessary to factor a specified amount of money just for this purpose.

Go through everything you owe. Now that you have a budget, it’s time to carefully look through your outstanding bills. This may seem like it should be the first step, but in order to figure out how much you will pay on each every month you first need to know how much you will have to spend.

Write down the amounts you owe on each. Make sure to note both the principle and interest due on each and know the minimum payments. This will help you decide how much above the minimum payments you can spend which will determine how quickly you are able to pay them all off.

Cut out the unnecessary expenses. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Similarly, if you can do without a particular service you usually pay for each month, rid yourself of this expense as well. This is a great way to begin eliminating bills.

Pay your bills on time. By doing this you will forego all the added expenses that include late fees and even reconnection notices.

When you have a little extra money to spend, put it toward your bills. The easiest way to pay off a credit card bill is to pay above the minimum required payment. This money will go toward the principle which is actually what helps you pay it off. Otherwise, you are stuck paying a lot in interest and interest alone. This makes it dificult to ever pay off and is what keeps you in debt far longer than is necessary.

Insurance rates are going up as always. And for many of us there comes a time when all the saving tips and suggestions start to matter a lot. Spending a larger part of your family budget on health coverage and receiving rate increase notices from the insurance provider each year isn’t quite pleasant, to say the least. So if you really want to cut your insurance costs, here are 10 practical tips on how to do it right.

- Raising the deductible is a must. A deductible is the amount of money you have to pay on your own before the insurance coverage kicks in. That is if you have $250 yearly deductible, all the services you receive below that amount should be paid out of your pocket, and when the amount is exceeded your coverage starts to apply. However, such a small deductible will cost you thousands of dollars in premiums. Raising your deductible to a higher level will instantly reduce your premiums. However, make sure to set the deductible to the amount your budget can afford. Say if you can’t spend $3000 on medical bills during the year, set to a smaller deductible.

- Having numerous policies will pay off. Quite a lot of smart insurance agents recommend their customers buying various policies and combining them, instead of buying one-for-all plans. For example, combining a basic health plan in conjunction with an additional critical illness or accidental policy will cost you less than if you were to include these types of additional coverage into your plan.

- Analyze your copay benefits. Sometimes the amount of copay benefits aren’t just worth the additional 25% of insurance premium you pay for them. See how often you go to a doctor each year, how much money you spend for each visit and adjust your copay and deductible respectively.

- If you have a moderate income in your household you may want to apply for a government insurance program. Many families with modest income have individual plans for grown ups and CHIPS coverage for their kids, which allows saving a lot of money on individual health insurance.

- Think about H.S.A (health savings account). This form of health insurance has become quite popular lately due to its lower premiums, additional saving options and tax advantages that ordinary insurance plans simply don’t offer.

- Start living a healthier life. Quit smoking and drinking, don’t do drugs, start exercising on a regular basis – make everything to improve your health condition, and your healthcare costs will decrease. And so will the insurance rates, if you do everything right.

- Increase your RX deductible. If raising the yearly deductible is something you don’t want to do, you may simply increase your RX deductible. With some plans you’ll keep your deductible low even if buying generics.

- Choose a plan that lets you resign of some services. For example, if you are a man or an older woman without children, you probably don’t need any maternity or childbirth coverage, so why paying for that? Choose a plan that lets you drop useless types of medical services you won’t need and you’ll save some money.

- In case your main job doesn’t offer group health insurance, you may want to apply for a part time job that does. Not only you will gain additional income but will also save money with a group insurance plan.

- Shop around for better rates. Always shop around before purchasing a plan, try getting at least 3 quotes from different providers for the same amount of coverage, and only then apply to the one that is most competitive.

Finding apartments for rent is no less challenging than buying a flat. In metro cities finding the right apartment for rent require good range of skill as one would have to have proficiency in searching and dealing with renting. In order to avoid troubles, many go for the simplest way by appointing a real estate agent. Agents work with licensed brokers to offer perfect solutions for their clients. But, if at all you are unwilling to spend such hefty sum of money on apartments, try the following tips on how to find apartments for rent.

Tips on How to Find Apartments for Rent

* Create a renter’s resume of yours where all details regarding your previous landlords, your employers, your salary, financial status in brief and such are given. This would convince your landlord on your authenticity.
* Look out for advertisements in newspaper classifieds, advertisement boards, register in property websites. Also, inform all your friends and associates that you are finding apartments for rent. This would help you to get in contact with renters very easily.
* Fix your budget. This would help you to shortlist your options. Try not to exceed a rent agreement of more than 30% of your total take away salary.
* In case you are single and looking out for a cheaper option, go for the sharing accommodation. In such case, meet the person with whom you would be sharing the flat. Many of his habits or quality of lifestyle might affect you as well. Habits like smoking, heavy drinking, loud music many not be acceptable. Hence, be well aware of such aspects before you move into the rented apartment.
* Before you actually move in, there are many other aspects as well that you should be careful about. Check whether your rented flat needs to be repaired or not. Ensure the locality is peaceful and has greenery around.
* Negotiate your deal keeping in mind the amenities you would be offered. Facilities like enclosed space for parking or a garage, storage room, laundry facilities, nearby swimming pool, tennis and gym would be an added advantage.

While negotiating the deal, make sure of reasonable quotes. Bidding for a considerably low price is definitely not the right approach for best deal. You are required to be realistic, yet make sure the sell price does not go up too much.

Having a secure, fulfilling retirement is a primary goal for most of us. At some point in the future we will no longer receive a “paycheck” from an employer and will instead rely on the income from assets we have accumulated and saved, plus income benefits from defined benefit pensions, Social Security benefits, distributions from retirement savings plans such as 401(k)s, deferred compensation, sale of our business and other investments. For most people, the overriding and often primary directive of financial planning is simply “retirement planning.” However, planning for retirement is not a particularly easy process.

The retirement planning process involves using a retirement planning calculator and creating a road map toward your retirement goal and developing a plan to achieve that goal. The plan generally considers post-retirement budgeting, savings, tax management, debt management, pre-retirement budgeting and a host of other inputs all geared toward ensuring a quality retirement. However, planning for retirement takes time and judgment, because it involves many unknown variables. Among the top variables that may determine when retirement is feasible are lifestyle/family goals, longevity, future income tax rates, portfolio returns, the effect of inflation on expenses and future investment returns.

Let’s review the basics of these variables as they relate to your retirement plan.

Lifestyle Goals

Would you like to travel? Own one home or two? What is your retirement vision? These questions and others like them are necessary to help create a budget for your specific retirement needs.

Longevity

Attempting to gauge how long we’re going to live in retirement is a task that’s becoming more and more difficult. Medical advances have led to increased life spans and continue to increase the mortality age. This is best illustrated by the Social Security system. In its original design, participants in Social Security were expected to live only a few years after they have begun receiving benefits. People live longer now, and life spans are increasing each year. We believe it is wise to project a retirement plan that assumes you’ll live to age 100.

Future Tax Rates

Since we can only spend our “aftertax” income, it is imperative that we consider what tax rates our retirement income will be subject to. However, as government bodies at all levels change with each election, so do virtually all tax laws, including property tax, sales tax, state income tax and the granddaddy of them all, the federal income tax. Taxes such as property and sales taxes should be adjusted to account for cost of living increases. One thing is certain – taxes will exist in retirement.

Investment Returns

How much you can withdraw from your “nest egg” each year is perhaps the most critical variable to retirement projections. Like the other retirement variables, the annual return on your nest egg will not be linear. As we know, the investments most suited for providing long-term income security into retirement are going to fluctuate. Financial markets can have long periods of up and down investment return cycles. We need continual income and that is the key. That’s why we work toward constructing portfolios that can provide lifetime income security for our clients. Many retirees get caught up in “short-termism” and use CDs, shortterm bonds and fixed annuities as core holdings in their retirement portfolio. But this investment strategy is very risky. While inflation causes things to cost more, deflation can keep interest rates low for many years, requiring the need for retirees to invade their principal savings to meet their budget needs.

At FIM Group, we balance the long-term asset volatility with the more stable fixed investments to construct our clients’ portfolios. Our goal is to allow clients to live on the income generated from their diversified portfolio with a goal of providing income that can increase over time. That way clients won’t need to invade principal. Simply put, we call it living on the eggs (investment returns), not the chicken (principal).

Inflation

Loss of purchasing power caused by rising prices must be included in any retirement plan. It is safe to say that one dollar will buy less in the future. As you progress into retirement, you should factor in giving yourself a raise periodically to offset cost of living increases.

Family Constraints

Will you need to provide for or care for your parents and/or children in retirement? If so, how much will you help them? In summary, we are realistic about retirement planning and take retirement seriously. While the future is unknown, we do know that life will go on, some businesses will grow and pay great dividends, interest rates will fluctuate, politicians will fiddle with taxes, and inflation and deflation will fight it out. One thing, however, is certain: we will retire someday.