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Financial Readiness: How Prepared Are You?

24 Aug

Home is where most people feel safe and comfortable. But sometimes say, when a hurricane, flood, tornado, wildfire, or other disaster strikes its safest to pack up and go to another location.

When it comes to preparing for situations like weather emergencies, financial readiness is as important as a flashlight with fully charged batteries. Leaving your home can be stressful, but knowing that your financial documents are up-to-date, in one place, and portable can make a big difference at a tense time.

Here are some tips for financial readiness in case of an emergency:

Conduct a household inventory. Make a list of your possessions and document it with photos or a video. This could help if you are filing insurance claims. Keep one copy of your inventory in your home on a shelf in a lockable, fireproof file box; keep another in a safe deposit box or another secure location.

Buy a lockable, fireproof file box. Place important documents in the box; keep the box in a secure, accessible location on a shelf in your home so that you can grab it and go if the need arises. Among the contents:

– your household inventory

– a list of emergency contacts, including family members who live outside your area

– copies of current prescriptions

– health insurance cards or information

– policy numbers for auto, flood, renters, or homeowners insurance, and a list of telephone numbers of your insurance companies

– copies of other important financial and family records or notes about where they are including deeds, titles, wills, birth and marriage certificates, passports, and relevant employee benefit and retirement documents. Except for wills, keep originals in a safe deposit box or some other location. If you have a will, ask your attorney to keep the original document.

– a list of phone numbers or email addresses of your creditors, financial institutions, landlords, and utility companies (sewer, water, gas, electric, telephone, cable)

– a list of bank, loan, credit card, mortgage, lease, debit and ATM, and investment account numbers

Social Security cards

– backups of financial data you keep on your computer

– an extra set of keys for your house and car

– the key to your safe deposit box

– a small amount of cash or travelers checks. ATMs or financial institutions may be closed.

– Consider renting a safe deposit box for storage of important documents. Original documents to store in a safe deposit box might include:

– deeds, titles, and other ownership records for your home, autos, RVs, or boats

– credit, lease, and other financial and payment agreements

– birth certificates, naturalization papers, and Social Security cards

– marriage license/divorce papers and child custody papers

– passports and military papers (if you need these regularly, you could place the originals in your fireproof box and a copy in your safe deposit box)

– appraisals of expensive jewelry and heirlooms

– certificates for stocks, bonds, and other investments and retirement accounts trust agreements

– living wills, powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney insurance policies

– home improvement records

– household inventory documentation

– a copy of your will

Choose an out-of-town contact. Ask an out-of-town friend or relative to be the point of contact for your family, and make sure everyone in your family has the information.

After some emergencies, it can be easier to make a long distance call than a local one.

Update all your information. Review the contents of your household inventory, your fireproof box, safe deposit box, and the information for your out-of-town contact at least once a year.

 
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Financial Mistakes To Learn From

17 Aug

In this day and age, there really shouldn’t be any reason to make certain financial mistakes. Do a search of the internet and you will find that there are thousands of articles out there that warn you of the pitfalls of certain choices. Advice for living a financially stable life is everywhere. What are you waiting for?

Here are the most common mistakes that I’ve seen people make. I’ve even made a few of them myself. These are the financial mistakes that you can learn from. You’ve probably made a few of them yourself, they are very common.

Mistake #1: Using that little plastic card to get what you want.

We’ll just start off with the number one mistake out there. This is probably the most common mistake in the country. Almost every person in the US today has a credit card. It is almost like a right of passage when you turn eighteen. There are even people out there that aren’t eighteen yet that have them.

Credit card debt is the fastest way to ruin your finances. It is easy to acquire and difficult to pay off. The minimum balance doesn’t pay off enough of your outstanding balance to help you very much. You will be paying on your balances for decades. Even a $500 balance can take you over a decade to pay off if you simply make the minimum payment.

Add in the interest rate, which rarely goes down. If you miss a payment, you will really be paying the bank. Thirty percent interest is common on a credit card once a payment has been missed. And you only have to miss that payment by a day — which can happen in the mail or processing if you don’t plan ahead well enough.

Mistake #2: Buying more home than you can afford.

With the real estate market in the state it is today, many people are regretting their housing decisions. Adjustable rate mortgages are acceptable loan products for some people. But only if they can afford the maximum rate that the loan can hit if interest rates go up. Too many people only consider that introductory rate. They stretch and purchase as much as they can afford. Then, when rates go up and their rate adjusts, they can’t afford the payment. Add that to a slowing housing market, and you may have a foreclosure on your hands.

If you are going to buy a home, make sure that you purchase what you can afford. Take out a fixed-rate mortgage so that you know what your payments will be. If rates go drastically down in the next couple of years, you can always refinance. If rates go up, you are protected. Try to aim for a 15-year mortgage over a 30-year. It will save you hundreds of thousands in interest. But if you can’t do it, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is an acceptable loan choice for the purchase of a home.

Mistake #3: Not controlling your money.

Too many people live paycheck to paycheck. They have no savings. They have no retirement plan. They have nothing to back them up in the case of an emergency. They have no control over their money.

You have to take control of your finances if you want to retire someday. You have to learn how to budget, save, invest and spend. All it takes is a little time. And once you get in the habit, you will notice that your life has more control. You should say where your money goes, not lenders or creditors or anyone else.

Mistake #4: Not saving for retirement.

There are more seniors in the work place now than there were twenty years ago. And even more than there were fifty years ago. If you want to retire with enough money to live comfortably, you have to start putting something back today. Start an IRA. Contribute to your employer’s 401(k) plan. Figure out how much you need to invest and find a way to do it. This is your future. You don’t want to reach sixty and realize that you can’t afford to stop working. There is no guarantee that you will be able to draw social security or other forms of assistance then. What if you become ill and have to retire? What if you get hurt? Prepare for the future. Start saving for retirement today.

 
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Financial Education Can Pay Dividends for Youth

10 Aug

According to statistics from the National Council on Economic Education, only seven states require high school students to take a personal finance course while eight others require courses with personal finance content.

This was from a 2004 survey that also showed only nine states test personal finance knowledge. These numbers are beginning to change as the state of Missouri joins the fray and will require one-half unit of credit in personal finance instruction for graduation in 2010.

A 2004 national survey by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy measured 12th graders’ knowledge of basic personal finance. On average, students who participated in the survey answered correctly only 52.3 percent of the questions – an “F” in most high school classrooms.

Financial illiteracy isn’t a problem limited to students. Half of U.S. adults received a failing grade for their knowledge of basic economic concepts, according to the NCEE.

But there is hope in education. The National Endowment for Financial Education has confirmed that as few as 10 hours of classroom instruction can improve spending and saving habits.

Because financial literacy is fundamental to personal success and a benefit to society, American Century provides support for financial education.

In cooperation with a premier education consultant, the investment manager developed Tips for Kids and Tips for Life, curricula for use in the classroom. To date, these programs have been used by more than 3,000 educators in all 50 states. The free programs are delivered via the Internet to educators and are presented to education conferences to help users implement the programs in their schools.

American Century’s efforts to improve financial literacy extend beyond the Tips for Kids and Tips for Life programs. Free educational materials and tools are available on its Web site. And the information presented in American Century founder James E. Stowers’ “Yes You Can…” book series is designed to share the personal experiences and ideas that helped him become successful.

Educating today’s students on basic financial principles will pay dividends in the future because they are tomorrow’s social, political and economic leaders.

 
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Financial Aid Award Letters 101

03 Aug

You have been accepted to college. Now, how are you going to pay for it?

For college-bound students and families, this is the moment of truth when they find out the amount of money being offered by a specific college. Each school will offer different award packages, which can include a combination of grants, scholarships, work study or student loans. Students and families should carefully read all of the information contained in the award letters and clearly understand the letters’ terms and conditions. Equally important, try not to panic if the amount of money awarded is not enough to cover college expenses.

“The financial aid award package is not the end of the road by any means,” says Martha Holler, spokesperson for Sallie Mae, the nation’s No. 1 paying-for-college company. “Never simply settle for a school based on cost alone. With roughly $143 billion in financial aid awarded last year, financial assistance is out there for students to attend their dream school.”

In addition to thoroughly reading each award letter received, students and families should ask themselves the following:

• What are the enrollment requirements for grants and scholarships?

• Are the awards for one year or all four years?

• Is the required GPA to maintain the awards realistic?

• If student employment is part of the financial aid package, what types of jobs are available and what rate of pay is typical?

“Above all, it is important for students to compare their award packages on an apples-to-apples basis,” says Holler. “While one letter may total a higher amount, it may be more heavily weighted with loans and not free money, like grants and scholarships.”

Holler adds that while most colleges rarely negotiate or match another school’s award package, they should be alerted if a family’s financial circumstances have changed. In that case, families should contact the financial office as quickly as possible for a reassessment.

 
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Final Walk-Through – The Value of Your Contract

27 Jul

A walk-through is an important step in a real estate transaction. To get the most out of it, make sure you understand the terms of the purchase contract.

Check Things the Contract Specifies

When you signed the contact to purchase your new home, certain elements and characteristics were specified. If the home does not match those elements on the walk-through, the contract will give you leveraging position. Consider the following:

If theres a hole in the wallboard caused by the leg of a table going through it when the seller was moving out, the house is not in substantially the same condition as when you wrote the contract and the wallboard was intact.

If you fill up that lovely, large Jacuzzi tub and the jets wont work, there is a problem with the working systems of the home. If you start the dishwasher, and it leaks before the cycle is finished, that appliance is not in normal working order. If all the surface burners on the stove wont light (if gas) or heat to red hot (if electric), ditto. If the heat or air conditioning wont come on, we have another problem with the working systems.

Allow yourself enough time to really pay attention and check on things. Usually an hour to an hour and a half is enough. Dont have a chip on your shoulder. Do be a good business person and systematically check.

If your contract calls for something you cant easily judge and it requires a third party to do it (such as the HVAC service mentioned above), you can request a copy of a paid bill at settlement. This is usually sufficient indication that the work has been done, and you know whom to call if there is a problem.

What If You Find a Problem?

Settlement may, or may not, be delayed if a problem is discovered. If its small and something you can easily fix, you may just want to ignore it. If it is something expensive and extensive, you probably dont want to ignore it. Many approaches are possible, but my inclination would be to go to the settlement table anyway and request that enough money be set aside in an escrow account held by a third party (not the buyer or the seller) to fix the problem. Id pad the amount a little to be sure theres enough. Those funds could then be used to complete the needed work and then the balance released to the seller.

If the seller is not willing to accept the idea of funds in escrow, Id request a delay of settlement until the work has been completed. The terms of such a delay need to be spelled out in an addendum to your contract.

Setting out to use walk-through to change the terms of a contract is not fair. However, if a walk-through shows that the terms of your contract have not been met, you need to figure out how to get things back on track and are behaving appropriately when you do so.

Most walk-throughs go smoothly. Lets hope yours is one of the smooth ones.

 
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Fantasy Income

20 Jul

As Einstein said, everything in life is relative, and ones income is no exception. While the vast majority of the world lives with an income that is below poverty level (eating only one small meal a day), there are others who make up the jet set and fly first class across the planet to share dinner with a friend. Who is happiest? Hard to say, for income ultimately has little to do with happiness. Its all relative.

The income of many corporate executives boggles the mind. Newspapers refer to these salaries as breathtaking, mind-numbing, eye-popping, and scandalous. While it takes courage and dedication to be the top person in todays major corporations, shareholders still have a hard time grasping that the CEO is worth $10 million a year before benefits. No one really knows if these corporate officers are really happy or not.

School teachers have dreams of sharing and shaping the future of the young generations. They put in as many hours as the CEOs, and in todays world struggle along with kids against drug and alcohol use, the violence and abnormal sex presented by TV, disintegrated family lives, a multitude of languages, and poverty life-styles. The daunting challenge of a teachers work environment would destroy anyone not truly dedicated to teaching. Income counts to a teacher, but it does not control the final choice to teach. Almost every-body agrees that teachers are way underpaid. Their satisfaction comes from nurturing the future the best they can under the circumstances, not from their income. Doctors and dentists have the amazing distinction of not blinking an eye at charging a poor person an entire years income for healing or fixing them. True, the doctors do have medical school bills and technical equipment to pay for. However, the poor person can experience more pain from the dentist describing the new yacht he bought then he does from having his tooth drilled. When they go home at night, who is happiest? Theres no way to tell. Money doesnt buy happiness, its only a tool.

Although the grass on the other side of the fence always looks greener, following ones own dreams of creativity and service, and loving your fellow humans just the way they are, remains the most exciting, happiest way to live ones life. Making decisions based on income alone leads down a pathway of defeat. Loving the income you have right now magnetically can attract more, and the loving adds the happiness.

 
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Excellent Cure for Extravagance, and Especially for Mistaken Economy.

13 Jul

When you find that you have no surplus at the end of the year, and yet have a good income, I advise you to take a few sheets of paper and form them into a book and mark down every item of expenditure. Post it every day or week in two columns, one headed necessaries or even comforts, and the other headed luxuries, and you will find that the latter column will be double, treble, and frequently ten times greater than the former.

The real comforts of life cost but a small portion of what most of us can earn. It is the eyes of others and not our own eyes which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself l should not care for fine clothes or furniture. In America many persons like to repeat we are all free and equal, but it is a great mistake in more senses than one.
That we are born free and equal is a glorious truth in one sense, yet we are not all born equally rich, and we never shall be.

One may say; there is a man who has an income of fifty thousand dollars per annum, while I have but one thousand dollars; I knew that fellow when he was poor like myself; now he is rich and thinks he is better than I am; I will show him that I am as good as he is; I will go and buy a horse and buggy; no, I cannot do that, but I will go and hire one and ride this afternoon on the same road that he does, and thus prove to him that I am as good as he is.

My friend, you need not take that trouble; you can easily prove that you are as good as he is; you have only to behave as well as he does; but you cannot make anybody believe that you are rich as he is. Besides, if you put on these airs, add waste your time and spend your money, your poor wife will be obliged to scrub her fingers off at home, and buy her tea two ounces at a time, and everything else in proportion, in order that you may keep up appearances, and, after all, deceive nobody. On the other hand, Mrs. Smith may say that her next-door neighbor married Johnson for his money, and everybody says so. She has a nice one-thousand dollar camels hair shawl, and she will make Smith get her an imitation one, and she will sit in a pew right next to her neighbor in church, in order to prove that she is her equal.

My good woman, you will not get ahead in the world, if your vanity and envy thus take the lead. In this country, where we believe the majority ought to rule, we ignore that principle in regard to fashion, and let a handful of people, calling themselves the aristocracy, run up a false standard of perfection, and in endeavoring to rise to that standard, we constantly keep ourselves poor; all the time digging away for the sake of outside appearances. How much wiser to be a law unto ourselves and say, we will regulate our out-go by our income, and lay up something for a rainy day. People ought to be as sensible on the subject of money-getting as on any other subject. Like causes produces like effects. You cannot accumulate a fortune by taking the road that leads to poverty. It needs no prophet to tell us that those who live fully up to their means, without any thought of a reverse in this life, can never attain a pecuniary independence.

 
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Emini Futures S&P 500 And NASDAQ 100 : Basic Trading

06 Jul

Emini Futures S&P 500 And NASDAQ 100 : Basic Trading Info

What are Index Futures?
Future contracts originate from commodity trading. A future contract is an obligation to buy/sell a certain quantity of commodity at a specific date for a specific price determined at the outset of the contract. Future contracts are frequently used for hedging risks and also for speculation.

For example, with the recent hike in oil prices, an airline company which uses a lot of fuel might want to hedge it’s exposure to oil prices through the purchase of oil futures. If the price of oil is $60 now and is expected to go up to $70 within 3 months, the airline would hedge its exposure by purchasing the 3 month future contracts so long as the agreed price is less than $70.

Oil prices now $60
Expected oil price in 3 mth’s time (by airline) $70
Price of 3 mth oil contract (by oil producer) $68
Actual price 3 mths later $65

Let’s assume the airline can find an oil producer willing to sell oil 3 month later for $68, the company would enter a futures agreement with this oil producer for delivery of a certain quantity of oil in 3 month’s time. If the price of oil falls to $65, the airline still has to purchase at the agreed price of $68. But what propelled the airline to enter the futures contract in the first place is its expectations of future oil prices going up to $70 in 3 months and buying at a price below $70 (3 months later) seemed reasonable to the company.

Index futures are cash settled, there is no physical delivery of commodity as in the case of wheat, corn, etc. Although index futures can also be held for the long term, the time span we are concentrating on is a day. We are using the index futures as a vehicle for speculation and not for hedging as in the case of the airline company.

What is the Emini S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100?
NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500 index futures is listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and trades on the Globex electronic system. CME acts as the counter party for each trade, hence if you short futures, CME will be taking the long position and vice versa.

NASDAQ 100 Emini contracts is actually one fifth the size of their larger counterparts, the NASDAQ 100 index futures. Each point of the index will represent $20 and the minimum fluctuation ( tick size ) is 0.5 points which is equivalent to $10.

S&P 500 Emini contracts is actually one fifth the size of their larger counterparts, the S&P 500 index futures. Each point of the index will represent $50 and the minimum fluctuation ( tick size ) is 0.25 points which is equivalent to $12.50.

Globex opens from 16:30(EST) on weekdays and 18:00(EST) on Sundays and public holidays. The closing time is 16:15(EST) on all days. However, there will be a scheduled maintenance of Globex from 17:30 till 18:00 (Monday through Thursday, nightly). I know the timings can be quite complicated, however as day traders, we are mostly concerned with trading when the market is opened as we have to capitalize on the higher liquidity available. I do not recommend entering trades after market hours, due to low volume which leads to slippage. The time span you have to concentrate on is really the market opening hours from 9:30 till 16:15 (EST).

More information regarding the contract specification of the Emini can be found on CME’s website.

symbols for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 Emini index futures. Both the NQ and ES emini contracts have expiry months in March, June, September and December which are denoted by the letters “H”, “M”, “U”, “Z” respectively. Hence NQ05Z will represent the NASDAQ 100 emini contract with expiry month in December 2005. Similarly, ES06H will be the symbol for an S&P 500 emini contract with expiry month in March 2006.

March H
June M
September U
December Z

 
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Emergency Pay Day Advances – Help When You Need It

29 Jun

Emergency Pay Day Advances – Help When You Need It

A lot has been said about pay day advances in the past few years. Most think of it as a boon-helping you get through the maze of bills and exigencies that crop up at the most inconvenient hours imaginable. Yet others bad mouth it and consider it another debt trap. Well, no matter what your personal opinion about advance payday loans, they have been around for quite some time. It is rather obvious that any service arises out of a need. If the payday services have been around this long, surely, they can’t be all bad, can they? For one thing, they are absolutely legal. For another, they have proved useful to quite a few in times of need, which is why they have survived the critics in the first place.

According to certain studies, many emergency payday advance customers use pay day advances regularly, and in fact, disagree with the government limiting the number of times a consumer can obtain payday advances!

In any case, one one thing is for sure– no matter how well you plan, there are times when emergencies of a financial nature crop up that you just cannot ignore. Credit card bills, for example. Overlook that due credit card amount once, and it comes back looking like a huge green monster, thanks to the big, scary thing they call ‘compound interest’! So would you rather avail of that really convenient, easy to procure advance payday loan? Or would you rather pay the compound interest and let your credit history suffer? The answer is quite obvious.

Want a clean credit history? Payday Loan can help

For those don’t know yet, there are three major credit bureaus in the U.S., namely, Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian, who are the ‘big brothers’ in the credit realm and keep a track of all your credit history. So, whenever you default, it shows up in their records. Consequently, anyone who takes his financial health seriously, would not like to have a bad credit history or a poor loan score. Since ‘previous credit performance’ forms a chunk of your credit score (around 35%), pay day advances can be crucial in helping you keep your credit score looking good.

Of course, one needs to remember that pay day advances are meant to be very short consumer loans, not a way of life! They make a lot of sense if you take in account, the entire picture, and use them only to tide over short term emergencies. The advantages a payday loan can offer can have more long term advantages you can imagine!

 
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