Sunday, March 30, 2008

What's Your Cappuccino Factor?

You’ve got a secret. It may be a small 1 but it’s lurking there. It follows you around and you hardly even notice. How make I know? Because we all have got one. We all have got something that we hardly even believe about because it’s go a regular habit.

What is it for you? A Medio Latte to give you that boot start every morning? Or a Grande Skinny Cappuccino for that extra zing in the late afternoon? How about that White Person Cocoa and Raspberry Muffin that you just have got got to have at 11 o’clock? Or even a transcript of the up-to-the-minute famous person chitchat magazine, a barroom of cocoa or a battalion of cigarettes. If you can happen a small wont that you’d be willing to change for the interest of your financial hereafter then you’re away. Let’s phone call this your Cappuccino Factor.

How much make you pass each twenty-four hours on your Cappuccino Factor? Are it £3? Are it £5, £7, or even more? Whatever your figure is, it could do a huge difference to your financial lifestyle and your financial future. Try this small experiment. If you’re good at mathematics you can make this on paper otherwise you might need a calculator. Take the amount of your day-to-day Cappuccino Factor and multiply it by 6,214. This volition give you the amount you would salvage at a 10% interest rate over 10 old age if you stopped your Cappuccino Factor wont and invested it instead.

If you multiply your Cappuccino Factor by 23,034 then you’ll have got the amount you could salvage in 20 years. You will immediately see how much better off you would be by simply cutting out one or two of these unneeded luxuries.

If you could salvage £5 a twenty-four hours at 10% for 40 years, you’d have got £959,152. Imagine that, just under a million pounds. And believe about the fact that it only takes a couple of Cappuccinos a twenty-four hours and you’re cachexia that much money over the same period. That’s A whole batch of coffee. Enough to retire on.

Now I cognize that you’ll already have got a small spot of a challenge when you believe about cutting out your day-to-day treats. And you may initially begin to experience that you’ll be depriving yourself. Sometimes it makes experience a small spot uncomfortable to change, but if you begin with something small, like this, that you can manage then you pave the manner for making even bigger changes.

If you can set your head to something as small and simple as forgoing an expensive cup of java each twenty-four hours then you begin to interrupt 1 wont and construct another more than positive one. This directs a message to your encephalon that states “I’m ready, willing and able to change”. Then your subconscious head mind will quickly make up one's mind to assist you and you’ll happen your self-control and determination get to grow. All from this simple first act.

Do you really believe it will do you experience any less special? Volition it really do you experience any less loved? Volition you be any less important if you halt this 1 habit? Or have got got these things just go wonts that don’t even give you any existent pleasance any more.

Make a determination today to cut down on your Cappuccino Factor and start economy the money that you would have spent. Calculate how much you will salvage in a month, a twelvemonth or 10 old age and believe about what you could make with that extra money. Look for the best rate of interest you can get using one of the online comparisons on the internet or expression into the tax returns on managed funds. As you begin to salvage more than you’ll happen better set to put your money, after all it gets a batch more interesting when you’ve actually got money to invest.

It’s been shown that it takes 30 years to do a habit, so just begin now and see how fast your money gets to grow. Then you can begin edifice greater wonts on top of this one.


Friday, March 28, 2008

Do You Know What Tomorrow Will Bring?

I’ve been sharing the following thought with people for a few old age now, and realized recently that I had never written specifically about it. So here it is:

“I cannot foretell the future.”

That may look simple enough, and it’s certainly accurate, yet for many advisors, this edict is completely disregarded. How many modern times have got you heard person say, “I know,” when what they really meant was, “I guess?” In stating that I cannot foretell the future, my purpose is not to look pessimistic. On the contrary, I hold with what Franklin Roosevelt had to state about the issue; "The lone bounds to our realisation of tomorrow will be our uncertainties of today." I therefore believe that we can carry through just about anything. Nevertheless, believing anything is possible is far more than grounded in world than believing that I could know, with any precision, how everything will ultimately unfold. And so with that much clear, I would wish to share what I make not cognize about our corporate financial futures.

I make not cognize which section of the market will outperform all others during this year, or any year.

I make not cognize if this year’s equity market will be up, down, volatile, or stagnant.

I make not cognize what our tax system will look like in ten, twenty, or thirty years.

I make not cognize what the rate of rising prices will be, or what the rise in lodging will be, or college tuition, or gas, or bottled water.

I make not cognize if age anticipations will go on to increase or get to decrease.

I make not cognize how the United States will make in competition with the rapidly developing markets of other nations.

While it may look that I don’t cognize much, here’s what I do know:

I can presume, in a careful manner, certain long-term expectations. And if I am successful in helping my clients understand and appreciate those expectations, I would trust to maximise their full financial potential.

I am able (and willing) to react to change. Ask any advisor who’s been doing it for 50 old age what he believes about change, and he’s likely to state you his manner is the best way, always was, and always will be.

I believe there is a close-to-perfect approach to meeting the ends of each client, and I pass great effort, in every instance, to happen out what that is. Each individual, each family, each small business proprietor have their ain attributes, and I am ever-present to the impression of determination a common ground. I always attempt to compose about subjects that transcend finance. Money is allegorical—how you salvage and pass both your clip and your energy will often correlative with how you manage your finances. What I make not cognize about the hereafter therefore also transcends economics, and so I near everything with an unfastened mind. Bash you?

© 2005 Matthew S. Clement, All rights reserved


Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Money Matters: Strengthen Your Marriage by Putting Finances in Order

Did you know that 43% of all married couples argue over money issues, making it the major reason couples fight? If you and your spouse handle money differently, now is the time to talk, establish expectations, and draw up a financial plan.

Money is a very big part of a marriage. Having enough to spend, and to do the things each wants to do, is important to both parties. When couples are not able to do that, then other issues pop up in the relationship. When husband and wife are not on the same page as far as family finances go, other difficulties inevitably arise.

Effective communication often emerges as the most difficult obstacle to establishing goals and expectations, and developing a financial plan. Many of us have been taught during childhood that discussing money is somehow inappropriate. Couples must understand that it is not only appropriate but absolutely necessary to managing finances in a marriage. Just as finances must be planned in a business, they must also be planned in a marriage. You must communicate in spite of any difficulty.

For example, how do you get your spouse to understand that he or she will need to curb their spending habits so that you both can begin putting money away?

There s got to be a viable agreement, because most couples discover that a lack of money, a lack of spending control, or a lack of fall-back savings eventually causes other problems in a marriage. Little things grow into much bigger things. However, as emphasized by Daniel Smith a noted financial expert cited in The Marriage Medics, future arguments over finances can be avoided by simply communicating, creating an understanding of expectations, setting objectives and agreeing on a financial roadmap.

The Marriage Medics outlines the following financial plan of attack for couples of any age:

1. Stop living beyond your means.

2. Treat the household like a business.

3. Create an income-and-expense statement.

4. Create a balance sheet.

5. Create a budget.

6. Figure out how to pay down your debt. Agree on a plan of action in which you both share equally in cutbacks.

7. Find ways to cut expenses.

8. Go on a debt diet starting with the little stuff.

9. Have only one credit card for your entire family.

10. Celebrate when you pay off a debt.

There are many resources for help in creating family budgets and living within them. For instance, Jim Miller, a Registered Investment Advisor, author of Retire Dollar Smart, and the host of a financial advice radio show is an excellent source. Visit his web site at: www.retiredollarsmart.com. In sum, married couples have an important opportunity to plant the seeds for a healthy marriage by simply talking with each other, being realistic about expectations, and making that financial plan. Money matters!

Copyright 2005 Cynthia Cooper

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Monday, March 24, 2008

From Debt to Financial Freedom

The huge bulk of working people are in debt. The huge bulk of people who are now in debt are always struggling to happen better occupations with higher wage checks. As strange as it may sound the more than than than you believe about it the more you will come up to realise that the more money people do the deeper they get into debt. It almost looks that determination another occupation with better wage check is not the most effectual solution to get out of debt.

These same people are now so aweary that they are wishing to be out of debt forever, dreaming to never have got to worry about money, craving to be financially free.

As you know, jumping from being deep in debt to having financial freedom is not a small leaping at all. To attain existent freedom takes concrete planning and self-discipline inch taking orderly and progressive stairway from where you are now to where you desire to be.

Before your finances can actually soar up you need to get out of your deep hole of debt first. This should be your first goal. As soon as you are out of debt, you can easily ship your journeying to your financial freedom!

Track your day-to-day expenses

The purpose for doing this is to cognize exactly where your money travels everyday. Record every incoming and outgoing penny and measure every hebdomad how much money you spent on necessities and how much money you could have got saved. Was it really necessary to purchase those $200 place using your credit card? Could you have got bought something less expensive with the money you actually had in your wallet instead of using your credit card again?

By recording and evaluating your disbursals regularly you will come up to see that there actually are ways to reduce disbursals and salvage money! The more than than money you can salvage mundane the more money you will have got to pay off your debt completely.

Don’t rob Simon Peter to Pay Paul

Some people are so deep in debt that they don’t cognize what to do. It is common that at some point they would obtain cash advance on one visa to pay other credit card bills.

Do not travel through this sort of “rob Simon Peter to pay Paul” strategy! They usually don’t work. Most people are too easily tempted to additional usage the visa or the cash which was initially intended to pay other measures for shopping. Eventually, they weave up accumulating even more than than debt.

As you see there is no financial advantage for you in having more than one credit card. On the contrary, the “robbing Simon Peter to pay Paul” strategy would only do your debt worse.

Cut up your credit cards and maintain one card (if really necessary) for emergency ONLY.

Now that you are trying to get yourself out of debt and have got actually started saving money to pay it off, stick to your program and halt accumulating more than debt. This should be your adjacent goal.

One credit card can be very utile in lawsuit of emergency and having one credit card is usually still manageable. But if you are in debt with more than than one credit card, in improver to other sorts of debt like car loan, mortgage etc., there will be modern times when you experience that you are drowning in it.

Choose one credit card to maintain and cut up the rest. If you don’t trust yourself enough lock up the 1 card you have got in your drawer at home to do certain you never utilize it for shopping. Discipline yourself not to utilize it unless in an emergency. Remember: you desire to get out of debt, not collect it!

Plan Your Debt Elimination Process

The best ways to begin your debt elimination procedure is by first sitting down and making a program of attack.

Write down each debt that you have: Visa, MasterCard, Amex, car loan and so on. Now, make a listing of your debt, starting from the smallest sum balance to the biggest.

What you are going to do is concentrate on one debt for the adjacent few calendar months (or old age depending on how large your debt is) and start paying off all of them one by one. Focus on the smallest debt first. Write down the monthly minimum payment of the smallest debt you have got got and add the number up with a percentage of your nett income.

Let’s state the smallest debt you have is your Visa with the minimum payment of $148. The 5% of your nett income is $70. For the adjacent few calendar months (or years) you will be paying off your Visa with the minimum payment PLUS the 5% of your nett income, which is $218.

While you are focusing on your Visa, you should pay off the remainder of your debt according to each monthly minimum payment agreement. This should travel on until your Visa is paid off completely.

As soon as your Visa is paid off, you concentrate on the smallest debt. Like before, add up the minimum payment with 5% of your nett income. But this clip add the sum of money with the minimum payment of your Visa that is already paid off.

If your adjacent smallest debt is the MasterCard with minimum payment of $183, this should be added up with the 5% of your nett income AND the Visa minimum payment. The sum payment for your MasterCard would be $401. Now that your Visa is paid off you have got more than money to pay off the remainder of your debt faster.

Your adjacent debt should be paid with the money you used before to pay off your Visa and your MasterCard minimum payment. This procedure should be repeated on and on until all your debt is eliminated.

By doing this you will shorten the old age of your debt elimination process.

Manage Your Time and Money Wisely

Time and money is the most cherished resources everybody have to actually attain financial freedom. But yet, none of us are taught in schools to manage them wisely.

Now you are in the procedure of paying off your debt. If you manage your clip wisely to do more than money to salvage or assist to pay off your debt, you will not only rush up your debt elimination but retirement procedure and your financial freedom.

Devote some of your trim clip to reducing your disbursals and increasing your income. The sooner you go debt free the sooner you can salvage more than money and put to begin working on your early retirement procedure and attain financial freedom.

Everybody cognizes the disadvantages of being in a debt. But not many of us are aware of the advantages of being debt-free. By being debt-free you have got more than money to salvage and put to set up for your retirement. And this should be your adjacent goal. Use your clip wisely to make extra money and usage your extra money wisely to set up for your retirement and eventually your financial freedom.

Create Passive Voice Voice Income

Now you have got paid off your debt, taken up a side occupation and saved money for investing.

Your adjacent of import measure to financial freedom is creating inactive income.

Passive income is income which necessitates small or no work at all. Although it is possible to attain freedom just by saving, it will take decennaries to actually collect wealth. Some people never even do it there. By creating inactive income you will not just be able to rush up your debt elimination and retirement procedure but also your journeying to attain financial freedom.

The most powerful manner to make inactive income is by having your ain small business or home-based business. This type of business makes not necessitate a batch of capital.

Keep your business disbursals low and seek to set aside a percentage of your nett income for economy and another percentage for investment in your ain business. Note that for the adjacent 1-2 old age you will be experiencing negative cash flow from your new business. But maintain in head that if you persistently put your trim time, attempt and money in your business, you will have got all the quality clip you desire to pass with your household and friends, all the money you daydream of for you, your household and even your grandchildren and all the freedom to dwell your life abundantly.

To learn more than about financial freedom and how to accomplish it see http://www.financialfreedomawaits.com.


Friday, March 21, 2008

Child Millionaires

How would you like to make sure your kids will be millionaires when they retire?

A couple of years ago the UK Government introduced Stakeholder Pensions as a low cost retirement savings scheme for any one in the country. These were aimed at people with no job or no company scheme. The take up wasn’t great but the schemes remain.

One advantage of the Stakeholder Pension scheme is that anyone can open one and there is no age restriction. This means you can open one for your children.

The extra advantage is that any money that is put into the pension gets a tax rebate from the government.

This means that if you put £78 in the pension scheme, the pension company can claim back another £22 from the Inland Revenue because it’s assumed that tax was originally paid on the money invested. Over a year this would mean an extra 12 lots of £22 making a top up of £264 from the Government. You even get this if you are not a tax payer.

In any one year you can contribute up to £3,600 (including the rebate from the Inland Revenue) so unless you’re a higher rate tax payer that would be £2,808 a year (or £234 a month) with the Inland Revenue topping up the additional £792.

Now if you started putting this much into your son or daughter’s pension from birth until their 18th birthday, this is what it could turn into. If we use a growth rate of 8% (which is low compared to the long term historic rates of shares and property) then at 18 the pension fund would be worth £144,684. If that fund was just left to grow at 8% with no more money being put in, it would grow to £2,764,815 at age 55 and a staggering £6,136,895 at age 65.

If you put in £85 a month from birth to 18 then your son or daughter would have over £1 million in their pension fund at age 55 and even if you only put in just over £38 a month for those first 18 years the fund would grow to £1,000,000 by the time they reached 65.

It may not be much but it’s a start.

This article was bought to you by Financial Detox.
Take control of your finances today with Financial Detox
www.financialdetox.com


Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Cost of Green Eggs and Ham

Young readers know that March 4th is the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Many parents trip their tongues over Seuss stories like "Green Eggs and Ham". "Do you like green eggs and ham?/I do not like them, Sam-I-am./I do not like green eggs and ham".

Our son wields a wild spatula when making his April Fool's Day green eggs and ham. Sometimes his culinary skills warrant a cost per item analysis the same way the U.S. Department of Labor reports the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

CPI reports tell us what a "basket of goods and services" costs using a benchmark dating from 1982-1984 Importantly, the CPI becomes one of many components within inflation measurement models. The CPI "basket of goods" leaves out green eggs and ham, however, it includes breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals and snacks. CPI reports account for 7 or 8 categories of goods and services in the U.S. economy. If you recall Psychology 101, each category coincides with Abraham Maslow's basic or physiological "Hierarchy of Needs".

When the U.S. Bureau of Statistics announces the CPI (most countries have a similar index), Wall Street listens because price increases suggest inflation concerns. When prices inflate, wallets deflate making consumers shy about spending. As you may observe, consumer spending drives worldwide economic productivity; for example, our spending habits account for nearly two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity.

Although statistical patterns for Internet spending seem scant, the effect appears the same. Mall shoppers and Internet surfers open or close their wallets based on value and price. Inflated costs suggest decreasing value for products or services. Likewise, inflation pushes credit card interest rates higher, thereby adding another burden to the consumer.

Inflation decreases the value of the dollar also. Ask your grandparents what they could purchase with a dollar compared with what that same service or product costs them today. Their experience explains inflation with more colorful expression than the CPI.

Investors become unnerved by inflation as evidenced by Wall Street sell-offs when CPI numbers go up. When interest rates increase, the cost to borrow increases making it more difficult for corporations to borrow for expansion, earnings decrease and stock prices stagnate.

Inflation numbers since 1926 average about 3.1%. In 1980, inflation peaked at 14%. High interest rates attract investors to bank certificates of deposit. However, investors often overlook and misunderstand "real rates of return". If a bank certificate of deposit earns 5% annually and the inflation index reads 2.5%, then your "real rate of return" becomes 2.5% (5%-2.5%). When bank certificate of deposits paid 16% in 1980, the real rate of return provided a measly 2% (16% - 14%), and then U.S. investors paid tax on that 2%. If you choose bonds or certificates of deposit as investments, consider laddering your maturities (e.g. with $100,000 to invest have $10,000 come due every year for ten years).

Stock or equity securities out perform bonds and certificates of deposit with returns exceeding inflation numbers. However, when inflation increases, stocks go down in value initially. Stock investing seeks long term returns which average about 11% since 1926. Since inflation averages about 3.0% during the same time period, stocks provide an 8% real and reasonable rate of return. Stocks, including stock mutual funds, confront investors with greater short term risk while offering higher real rates of return over long term time periods. This risk reward trade off allows you to purchase your green eggs and ham during any economic cycle.

"I learned there are troubles of more than one kind./Some come from ahead and some from behind." - Dr. Seuss


Sunday, March 16, 2008

Types of Investment

The word 'investments' is one that most of us are familiar with hearing in financial context. For many of us, it may do us thing of large business and vasts sums of money of money, but there's much to the human race of investings than multi-million dollar deals.

Although it's true up that, at the top level, investings may run into many millions, it is possible for the average individual in the street to put smaller amounts of money and to put it wisely. If you've ever thought about trying to assist your money to grow, then maybe you've wondered what chances are available.

In truth, investings can cover a broad range of options. One of the most traditional types of investment is in the stock market. This have been viewed by some as being a hard type of investing to get into, but modern times are changing. The new range of online stockbrokers available mean value that it's now easy (and fairly inexpensive) to get involved in purchasing and merchandising shares. If you're interested in share dealing yourself, then you'd be wise to retrieve that there is a hazard involved ("shares may travel down in value, as well as up"). It's vital that you look into the country thoroughly before taking the plunge and you should see shares as a medium to long-term investment. If you put expecting to do a quick buck, then you're likely to be disappointed.

An option type of investment, which have go particularly popular in the UK, is that of property. Putting money into residential places and then taking a rental income is seen by many as a win-win situation. The largest downside to this type of investment is that you'll need a large capital sum of money to get with, or else you'll need to take out a sizeable loan. As with the stock market, property should be looked at as a long-term investment.

If you'd wish to cognize more than about investing opportunities, then there's lots of good, free information available online. The www.financefacts.co.uk web land site is one of many land sites that deals with personal finance.


Monday, March 03, 2008

The Magic Of Compound Interest

Christians are called to be good stewards of God’s resources. A steward can be described as someone who manages the resources of another. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who dwell therein”—Psalms 24:1 (The New English Bible). To effectively manage God’s financial resources, it helps to have some understanding of modern day financial concepts, strategies, and mathematical formulas. Compound interest is a great ally in catapulting you toward achieving your financial goals. Through an understanding of compound interest, God can pour out a blessing upon you, which you will not be able to measure! Albert Einstein once called compound interest “the world’s most impressive invention” and dubbed it the “eighth wonder of the world.” Compound interest means all the money you’ve invested earns interest and then the combined amount of the original investments plus your interest earns more interest. Compounding means interest added to interest. Compound interest does not produce linear growth like the pattern 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on; it produces geometric growth through compounding like the pattern 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so on. Usually, the more frequently your money compounds when earning interest, the better. For example, daily compounding is normally better than monthly compounding, which is better than quarterly compounding, which is better than yearly compounding.

A basic formula for compound interest is as follows:

FV = ID (1 + R)T, then FV – ID

Where:
FV = Future Value
ID = Initial Deposit
R = Rate (interest rate earned)
T = Time (number of years invested)

Assuming the following investment--$10,000 Initial Deposit, 6% interest Rate, 5-year Time period, the math would work as follows:

FV = $10,000.00 x (1 + 0.06)5

Formula results by year are as follows:

Year 1 $10,000. 00 x (1 + 0.06)1 = $10,600.00

Year 2 $10,600. 00 x (1 + 0.06)2 = $11,236.00

Year 3 $11,236. 00 x (1 + 0.06)3 = $11,910.16

Year 4 $11,910. 16 x (1 + 0.06)4 = $12,624.77

Year 5 $12,624. 77 x (1 + 0.06)5 = $13,382.26.

Then FV – ID = $13,382.26 - $10,000.00 = $3,382.26 (Total Interest Earned).

The effect of the individual parts of the formula in combination with each other produces synergistic results in the outcome that are greater than the sum of its parts individually. In other words, small increases in any of the components can have a dramatic incremental effect on the total compound interest earned.

Another useful tool in approximating the magic of compounding is the “Rule of 72.” Albert Einstein is credited with discovering the compound interest Rule of 72 and said, “It is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.” The Rule of 72 is a mathematical way of approximating the number of years it takes an investment to double in value. You estimate the number of years for an investment to double by dividing 72 by the annual rate of return. For example, if you expect to earn a 10% return on your $10,000 investment, then 72 divided by 10 = 7.2 years for your investment to double in value to $20,000. Conversely, if you expect your $10,000 investment to double in 7.2 years and you want to know the interest rate needed, you simply take 72 divided by 7.2 = 10% interest. You can even use it to compare stock market interest rate returns to other investments. For example, assume you are looking at lots with a real estate agent. The agent tells you the properties have doubled in value during the last 14 years. You could get a quick estimate of the increase per year in value by doing the following math: 72 divided by 14 = 5.14% per year.

There is one formula that is infinitely more important than even the “Rule of 72”:
“1” cross + “3” nails = “4” given.
Praise God!

Bill G. Page is the author of Making Money Work: A Christian Guide For Personal Finance. This book explains the “Rule of 72” and many other financial concepts. It includes a CD ROM so you can easily calculate compound interest and lots of other complicated financial formulas. The book can be ordered from www.MakingMoneyWork.us or you may request the book from your local Christian bookstore—available to retail stores through Spring Arbor and Appalachian Christian book distributors beginning in September 2005.

This article is adapted from Making Money Work: A Christian Guide For Personal Finance with permission of Willie Glenn Page, Inc. Copyright 2005.


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