Graduating from college can be an exciting and stressful time. Suddenly you need to find a job, replay loans and make solid financial decisions. Fortunately, you don’t need to be unprepared. Below are some budgeting basics to keep your spending under control, some suggestions on how to set financial goals and a list of the top 10 American cities for starting out.
I invest in dividend paying stocks in order to generate a sufficient income stream that will meet and exceed my expenses in retirement. “Retirement” to me is the point where my dividend income exceeds my annual expenses by 1.5 times, which means that I no longer have to work for money. In order to get there I am following several simple, but crucial, principles [which I would like to share with you]. Words: 830
Financial Repression is a form of wealth confiscation and redistribution that is in some ways as effective as taxation – but the government never directly calls it that. It never appears in the budget (directly), and while it is dependent on a comprehensive network of laws and regulations – none of those go through the legislature with a stated intention of creating Financial Repression. So while the economic net effects are similar to a huge and comprehensive set of investor taxes being used to pay down the national debt, the “taxes” are never a campaign issue because voters and investors don’t understand what is happening – they only feel the results. [In this article I lay out for you what is slowly developing and expected to escalate dramatically in the next few years.] Words: 5800
Americans spend more time planning their vacations than their retirement and this is the reason why 1 out 7 baby boomers are going bankrupt. With people living longer and spending as much as 30 years in retirement, if you want to maintain a moderate standard of living, it is essential to plan your retirement well in advance to secure your golden years.This article outlines 6 ways to do just that. Words: 665
A life insurance policy is intended to provide your family with a sizable amount of money should you meet an untimely death and, as such, can be said to be a something of a an ultimate bonanza – a pot of gold, if you will. Most people, however, think the only way to get money from a life insurance policy is to die but there is another way should your circumstances change and that is called a life settlement. In this article I provide you with some insider insights on how to go about negotiating the maximize payout on such a settlement. Words: 851
Imagine that you could pay for a service online without accruing a mountain of fees. Imagine being a retailer and having the ability to take your customer’s money – and keep all of it. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Well, now it’s not. Introducing Dwolla [- a better alternative to credit cards and Pay Pal for everyone involved, except the banks. Let me explain.] Words: 615
Constructing a portfolio for the retirement years requires one to focus on portfolio risk or uncertainty while not neglecting return. If the portfolio asset allocation plan is too conservative, the return will not meet lifestyle expectations. Inflation is again on the rise and this needs to be taken into consideration when putting together a retirement oriented portfolio. Below is a combination of index ETFs that project respectable returns while holding down portfolio volatility. Words: 455
Just as it’s smart to question the doctor suggesting test after test for you at a facility he or she owns, it’s important to know how your financial advisor’s pay structure creates incentives that may harm or help your portfolio in the long run. [Let's review the various ways there are for you to pay a financial advisor as well as the various ways a financial advisor can get compensated for how he/she "manages' your portfolio.] Words: 1576
There are two kinds of bad investment advisors: well-meaning advisors without the wherewithal to keep up with the science of the fast-evolving profession, and those whose main focus is not on managing their clients’ assets well, but on gathering assets under management in order to grow their own practices. How do you tell if you’re sitting across from either one of these types of bad advisors in an industry that lacks transparency? [Well, I have done just that with a list of 10 signs that you are working with a bad investment advisor.] Words: 1467
Objective and independent thinking is increasingly important to investing and trading success, particularly in the current and prospective economic and financial market times. How do you score yourself against the 15 ‘successful people traits’ outlined below? Words: 855
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