What Is Your Money Doing?

The IRA SEP – Structured for Success

LinkVine-Articles — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 03:17:36 +0000

The IRA SEP can be established at any timeduring the tax year up until the due date of the employer’s tax return. The management expenses are low, and for the self-employed person there are usually no administrative costs at all. One requirement of the IRA SEP is that all employees must receive equal benefits. Many employers select a large mutual fund company to handle the employee’s IRA SEP. This allows the employees to make investment choices for their individual plans, and frees the employer from needing to make those decisions. The plan functions in the same way as a pension plan but on a simpler scale and with no filing necessary . The IRA SEP can also be rolled over into other kinds of IRAs if employment changes, so it is very portable. It’s an excellent choice for the small company wanting to offer a pension plan, but lacking the resources to establish a conventional type of plan. The IRA SEP is easy to understand and simple to administer . It was structured to benefit the self-employed and small company owners, and is also a popular choice for LLCs, partnerships, S and C Corporations, and sole proprietorships. Contribution limits are generous in the IRA SEP, and are generally 100% tax deductible. Investment earnings in the plan grow tax-deferred. Withdrawals can begin as early as age 59 ½ years old, although earlier distribution incurrs a 10% IRS penalty as well as income taxes on the distribution. The distributions must start no later than age 70 ½ years of age. An IRA SEP is a good alternative for owners of a small business who would like to help employees get ready for retirement, but are unable to provide a more conventional retirement plan. Since contributions can be up to 25% of the employee’s compensation, there is an opportunity to rapidly grow a retirement nest egg with the IRA SEP.

All-Hours Prospecting with the Free Foreclosure Listing

LinkVine-Articles — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:38:15 +0000

If you are a real estate investor or own a property investment company, you have probably considered themany opportunities available in today’s market for purchasing foreclosed homes. To save your time and resources, think about incorporating a free foreclosure listing to find possibilities on homes in your region and price range. There are numerous recently launched websites that offer free foreclosure listing services. Some might require you to sign up , but often they offer a short trial period where you can explore the listings and decide on their value to you prior to signing on to a fee-based agreement. Find a free foreclosure listing that updates consistantly and also spot-check for accuracy. Some services list by geographic region so you are able to pinpoint upcoming foreclosures in your immediate area . Others list by home cost , allowing you to choose upcoming foreclosures by their value . Both formats have pros and cons . If you are looking for a vacation home, maybe you will choose to search by location. If the potential investment is topped out at a specific price point, you may choose to do the research based onvalue range. A number of these free foreclosure listing websites will also provide an opinion on the properties for sale. This could be particularly helpful to novice investors. The real estate investor will find that the free foreclosure listing is another time-saving tool and handily available online. Check the websites out and take advantage of the chance to deal for a foreclosed home below market value. Foreclosed property offers a rare chance for the smart real estate investor to identify and offer on an undervalued property. Using the free foreclosure listing can give you the early advantage in identifying possible properties to add to your portfolio. Because of what it is – a free foreclosure listing - there is really no reason for you to hesitate to try it out. The cost is right, and it could open an entirely fresh investment scenario for your real estate investing business.

Planning On Hiring A Financial Advisor?

LinkVine-Articles — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:20:24 +0000

When the time comes for you to talk with a financial professional, you should approach the conversation as you would an interview. In order for a financial professional to be able to calculate a proper investing strategy for you, they will ask certain questions such as your current financial situation and your goals and future plans. To ensure the professional that you are talking with is capable of overseeing your finances, you should have a few questions of your own to ask. There isn’t any rule stating you have to follow through with your first financial advisor choice. You can rest easy knowing you have more control over your financial advisor than anyone has over the stock market. Keeping that in mind, don’t hesitate to interview each advisor completely. You want to feel confident with your choice no differently than if you were car shopping. You test each model until you find the one that fits you. It’s not that different when interviewing advisors. Check to be sure their qualifications, personality and goals are compatible with your own. There is some information that a financial advisor will need to obtain from you in order to appropriately assist you in your financial endeavors. They will need to know what your plans are for the future. You might have very detailed plans, such as an upcoming car purchase that you are planning within a year or two. Or you might be thinking of a more general plan that includes traveling during your retirement years. Whatever the case may be, you have made the effort and sacrifices to ensure that your family is able to live in the manner that you live, and having a clear picture of what you want your future to be like, financially, and sharing that information with your financial advisor, will allow your advisor to help you maintain your accustomed lifestyle. Go in armed with questions you want to ask. Encourage the professional you’re interviewing to answer thoroughly. Take notes as they answer so that when you get home and are trying to evaluate and select, you can remember what was said. If you’re not sure what to ask, consider using some of these questions.

- What services do you offer?

- Please tell me about your qualifications and licenses that you have?

- What approach would you employ when planning my financial future?

- Are there other services I receive after the initial plan?

- Can you share some information with me about what your general client profile looks like, and how your advice and planning has impacted their finances?

- Explain your fee schedule to me.

The answers that the prospective financial advisors give to these questions, will allow you to make an informed decision about which advisor will most effectively help you achieve your financial goals. Although you will want to ensure that you choose an advisor who is highly qualified and experienced to meet your needs, and whose ideas closely correlate with yours, you should be aware that the cost for the services that you receive, will increase, as the complexity and number of services the financial advisor provides increases.

Now Try : Sydney Financial Advisors

It’s Not Too Late to Open a Roth IRA

LinkVine-Articles — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:46:21 +0000

If you are serious about having a solid retirement future, there is no time to waste in planning and starting . It’s time to open a Roth IRA. Why a Roth? The tax-advantaged Roth might be the biggest opportunity to rapidly build savings for your retirement years. Find out if you are qualified within the income limits to open a Roth IRA, then make your custodial selection . Different custodians provide a variety of investments for the Roth. In a self directed Roth, you’ll make the investment decisions and you’ll want options with stability and growth potential. With the volatility of the stock market, you should be considering alternatives that will maintain their value, such as real estate and precious metals. When you select a custodian, be sure they are experienced and have expertise with these types of investments. Contributions to a Roth are not tax deductible, but one big benefit is that the investments will grow in a tax-free environment and you pay no taxes when it’s time you start taking withdrawals from your account. At age 59 ½ and with the account seasoned for five years, you are allowed to take the tax free distributions , or if you choose to , you can continue contributing to the account without the forced withdrawal time attached to other IRAs that require distributions to stat at age 70 ½. You can leave the investments in your Roth to grow and remain as a legacy for your heirs. Why open a Roth IRA? With a weakening economy and huge deficits, it is apparent taxes will be on the rise . Paying taxes on your contributions now means when higher tax rates are imposed in the future , your retirement dollars are protected and you will not pay taxes again on them when you start taking the payments at retirement. It’s a good bet that a Roth account will save you money in the future, and the self directed account will be an important tool as you get ready . Open a Roth IRA and start saving!

Credit Repair Services – 5 Great Pointers

LinkVine-Articles — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:39:57 +0000

When you look for quality credit repair services, what is the primary thing you search for? Most people would probably answer, “the fastest way to improve my credit score.” But this is exactly the wrong approach – one that will lead to choosing a less than optimum credit repair agency and lots of times, one that avails of illegal means to raise your score.

Are you wondering why this is? Let’s take a look at it.

When you’re looking to get your credit fixed “fast”, you are leaving yourself open to corrupt credit repair services that are hoping to take advantage of people whose primary focus is getting their credit fixed quickly.Allow me to introduce you to five foolproof tips that will ensure you get the best credit repair services, while protecting yourself from dishonest credit repair services.

Tip No 1 – reputable credit repair firms never advocate quick-fix methods to improve your credit. The fact is, a trustworthy credit repair company will be very forthcoming about what credit repair services you can expect. These services will be spelled out in a contract. Be sure to insist on having a contract; and if a contract is not forthcoming, you can be sure that the company is out to rip you off.

Tip No 2 – All legitimate credit repair companies will explain your rights and provide you with guidance in respect to the credit repair services you can do for yourself. Things such as obtaining your free annual credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus, monitoring the entries in your report, disputing wrong entries, good financial management and so on, are those issues you can handle by yourself.

The company will explained to you what you can handle on your own, and what is better left to their expertise. The worth of the services they offer you can be well judged from such preliminary interactions.

Tip No 3 – No reputable credit repair agency will ever suggest that you bend or break the law. There will be agencies that advertise “new” credit reports, removal of every negative entry, increase of a poor credit score overnight and so on.

Don’t even consider believing such promises until you have visited the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website and read what it says about repairing your credit score and report. This will show you that the credit repair services offered by companies such as these are fraudulent and even illegal in some cases.

Tip No 4 – All reputable credit repair agencies offer, among their services, high-quality counseling at no additional cost. As explained earlier, a reputable credit repair company will always be ready to handhold you along the path to financial self-sufficiency. They will be ready to offer you the best of credit repair services and at the same time show you what you can handle on your own. If you find that the agency discourages you from learning about credit repair, contacting a credit bureau, and/or leads you to believe you can do nothing by your own efforts, then they are clearly fraudulent.

Tip no 5 – I am leaving the best tip for last, because this is what will remain in your mind long after you finish reading. Look into those organizations with which your company of choice is affiliated. For instance, many leading companies of this industry adhere to the code of ethics outlined by the ECRA (Ethical Credit Repair Alliance), which ensures that you – the customer – get the best possible credit repair services. Check out and ensure that your chosen agency is part of an ethical and nationally recognized regulatory body.