 Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Richard Green  |
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| Article Title :: Students Investing in Their Future Need to Manage Their Finances Today |
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| With the A-level results coming out, the long wait for UK school leavers hoping to go to university will soon be over. All the hard work that has been put into achieving the grades required will now pay off and the fun and freedom that is student life can begin. This may have been the case in the past, but the notion that university life is socially and financially responsibility free is now lamentably outdated. These days, if you want to study beyond the age of 18, learning becomes very expensive.According to the National Union of Students (NUS) the typical cost of living expenses at a university outside London are around £8,600 a year for the essentials of food, rent, fuel, bo (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Stefan Everaet |
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| Article Title :: How to Choose Wisely a Credit Card |
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| So, you've made the decision to apply for a credit card. It's an important step for any consumer. Whether this is your first application in an effort to establish your credit, an addition to your existing credit card portfolio, or a plan to re-establish unsatisfactory credit, it is critical to research and fully understand the plans associated with various types of credit cards.Before beginning the research process, consider and decide how you will use your new credit card. Will you be using the card for everyday purchases, or will you be taking an exotic vacation? Do you plan to pay the balance in full each month, or do you prefer to make monthly payments? Since APRs (annual perce (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Dina Harbour |
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| Article Title :: Budgeting Before Buying |
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| With interest rates being at an all-time low, I can understand the urgency for people wanting to purchase a home. But I caution the first-time home buyer to learn how to budget their money before buying a new home.I happen to live in a state with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. I was so shock to learn that many people loose their homes within the first couple of years. I wondered why so soon. Sure the economy is not the best and people are getting laid-off and having hardships, but some people are simply not prepared for the unforeseen problems and expenses that comes with owning their first home.When I received a call from a friend telling me about (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Matthew Clement |
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| Article Title :: Is There A Retirement Crisis? |
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| When people speak about the increasing age expectancies, they generally do so with positive connotation. This author agrees—there’s nothing wrong with living longer, especially if we can sustain our quality of life at each period throughout our lifespan. The problem, then, is not that we are living longer—it’s that we are not planning for it.When our social security system first began making payments in 1940, the average length of collection was 8 years. The present average collection period is 18 years. Furthermore, in the 1950s, there were more than 10 workers for each retiree. Within the next decade, that ratio will drop to 2:1, which will be mathematically unsustainable (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Matthew Clement |
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| Article Title :: Do You Know What Tomorrow Will Bring? |
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| I’ve been sharing the following idea with people for a few years now, and realized recently that I had never written specifically about it. So here it is:“I cannot predict the future.”That may seem simple enough, and it’s certainly accurate, yet for many advisors, this edict is completely disregarded. How many times have you heard someone say, “I know,” when what they really meant was, “I guess?” In stating that I cannot predict the future, my intention is not to appear pessimistic. On the contrary, I agree with what Roosevelt had to say about the issue; "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." I therefore believe that we c (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Matthew Clement |
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| Article Title :: Live Green; Save Green! |
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| Have you seen the recent article on a new “green” residential high rise in Battery Park? It’s called The Solaire. For a look at the hopeful future of architectural efficiency, check out the myriad of cost saving and environmentally-friendly features of the building:http://www.batteryparkcity.org/concept/greenThe article got me thinking of ways to help you personally benefit from being environmentally-friendly, without having to re-locate! I’ve come up with two areas worth consideration.(1) Tax Credit for the Purchase of a Hybrid VehicleNew owners may write off $2,000 of the purchase price of the following models:Ford Escape Hybrid (‘05)
Hon (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Dale Clifton |
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| Article Title :: Reduce College Debt with Scholarships |
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| Six Scholarship judges were sitting around an oval
table. Forms were piled into 50 boxes. Each one
had the name of a state. I looked at the boxes and
wondered why some of them were overflowing and
others had just a few. This was the first round of
judging. By the time the contest was over almost
16,000 applications would be examined. Some of the
comments were really critical, "Why did this
person bother to send in an application? It’s so
sloppy." "This person put the wrong address on
the envelope, even though the correct one is at
the top of the application." One had a cassette
tape inside. We played it and it was a country
song. The applicant was a good musician.That was twelve (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Simon Markham |
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| Article Title :: What Happens if You Die Without Making a Will |
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| If you die without making a Will in the UK, the state will decide who gets what and how much, so those who you would want to benefit may get far less than you hoped.Your estate (your property and all belongings) are frozen and become subject to the law of intestacy. You are said to have died 'intestate', meaning everything you own will be valued, tax paid at 40% if worth more than £275,000 (as at August 2005) and then shared out to your surviving spouse or relatives or given to the state if you don't have any.The problem with this is that neither you or your family will have any say in the matter if you didn't make a Will. The beneficiaries and the share the (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Matthew Keegan |
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| Article Title :: Vesting and Your 401(k) |
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| Do you have a 401(k) retirement account? Are you vested yet? Before you move on to your next job, it is critical for you to find out if you are fully vested in your retirement account before you make the move. If you are not, you could lose hundreds if not thousands of dollars in employer contributions.Vesting refers simply to the non-forfeitable percentage of your account’s assets. In other words, whatever you contribute to your 401(k) plan is always yours to keep including any rollover money.If your employer contributes to your plan, a vesting schedule for the employer’s contribution is part of the plan. This schedule ties in a non-forfeitable percentage to the employe (read full article) |
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| Category :: Personal Finance Articles |
Author :: Matthew Keegan |
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| Article Title :: Should You Borrow From Your 401(k) Account? |
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| If you have a 401(k) account, it can be very tempting to borrow from your account especially when your balance is very high and a loan could easily pay off existing debt, fund a home purchase, or pay for college tuition. Before you make the decision to borrow money, there are several things you must keep in mind to avoid risking your funds.Borrowing from a 401(k) can seem like a risk free loan, especially since you repay yourself with interest. However, there are costs involved that are not readily apparent to the borrower who elects to take out a loan:1. On the borrowed funds, you lose all tax-favored investment returns. In other words, you are effectively charged extra int (read full article) |
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