Financial Planners - Good Ones Earn Their Pay

Financial planners are more than just stock brokers - they are trained professionals who have a fiduciary duty to put their client's interests ahead of their own.

Unfortunately, a minority of financial planners have given the whole profession a bad name, mostly by recommending investment products based more on the commission that the planner receives than their appropriateness for individual clients.

The ease with which one can trade online and the abundance of free investment information available on the internet have caused some people to feel that they don't need financial planners, but while hiring a financial planner may not be the right move for every investor, a good financial planner can be worth far more than you ever pay him or her.

The key is finding the right financial planner.

What is a Financial Planner?

Typically, a financial planner (also sometimes known as a "financial advisor") is someone who is licensed to sell stocks and other securities (bonds, mutual funds, etc.), as well as insurance products. Some financial planners may even be able to give tax or legal advice.

One major distinction among financial planners is how they're paid. There are fee-based financial planners and commission-based financial planners. For high-net worth investors, fee-based planners are probably the best fit.

This is because you'll never have to worry about your planner steering you into an investment solely to line his pockets with a fat commission check - he is paid to give you advice, not based on what you actually buy or sell.

If your financial planner's advice doesn't pan out over the long run, you're unlikely to stay with him.

This doesn't mean that commission-based planners are all bad. Few financial planners are able to build a fee-based clientele directly out of college - they have to earn their stripes, as it is said.

The best commission-based planners usually graduate to fee-based advisory, but in doing so, they may be pressured by management to leave their lower net-worth clients behind. Truly professional financial planners will always do whatever they can to accommodate the needs of their existing clients, even if their assets are modest.

After all, financial planners, like doctors and lawyers, have a duty to those whom they serve, not to their employers. When you are the client of a financial planner, you are his or her real boss.

Evaluating Client Needs - The Foundation of Financial Planning

Perhaps the greatest benefit of hiring a professional planner is that he or she has experience evaluating the needs of various types of investors. It's sometimes hard for us to sit back and evaluate ourselves - and, of course, we may not know all of the investment products and tax strategies that a trained financial professional works with on a daily basis.

Financial planners can take a look at their clients' financial well-being, goals, and risk tolerance, in order to develop a truly comprehensive financial plan, that goes well beyond "buy, sell, or hold."

For starters, your financial planner may recommend a given asset allocation. Financial advisors tend to recommend that younger people have a greater percentage of their portfolios in equities (stocks), whereas older folks concentrate more on fixed-income securities (bonds).

The logic behind this is that young people can afford to take more risks - over the long term, the stock market generally outperforms the bond market. But for older people, what if the stock market crashes the day before they're set to retire?

They don't have the time for the market to "correct itself" that younger people do, so this is why financial planners generally recommend that people begin slowly moving out of stocks and into bonds as they age.

But this is just a simplified case. Perhaps your needs are a little out of the ordinary. Perhaps you haven't saved enough for retirement. A good planner will recognize this and recommend that you're aggressive with your investments, even in older age.

Maybe you're young, but you have an incredibly weak stomach. You like to play it by the book, and everything you read says you should be heavily in stocks, but a good financial planner will steer you toward big cap blue chips with a healthy dose of fixed-income, and your stomach will thank him for it.

The key is that experienced financial planners have seen other clients in similar situations, and yet they are able to zero in on your unique needs. This type of financial professional is worth every penny that you pay him, because he measures his success by your success.

Article Source:

ABC Article Directory William Smith the author provides much more financial information on many subjects as well as the secret to his success in the market along with 5 Free power stock picks emailed daily so grab your Free subscription on his website at Financial Planners (All

is Free)

Top 5 Benefits of Debt Settlement

If you have the finances to accomplish debt settlement, you can get out of debt quickly and permanently. As the name implies, debt settlement refers to an amicable agreement reached between yourself and a creditor for either one lump sum, or a structured payment plan, in order to achieve a discounted payoff on an account. Below are five reasons to consider this option for getting back on the road to financial freedom.

Say goodbye to your bills. With debt settlement, your bills are gone for good. In most instances, a settlement will result in the creditor closing your account. While this may seem difficult, especially if you have become reliant on your credit card(s), it will prevent you from using them again in the future and rebuilding a mountain of debt. Debt settlement you to wipe the debt away permanently.

have you ever been late with one or more bills, then you already know that creditors begin calling at 8 a.m. and are not legally required to stop calling until after 9 p.m. at night. Your phone will stop ringingDepending on how many bills you are behind with, your telephone may be ringing at all hours. This is not only unnerving to you and your family, but it gets even worse when the collections department makes you feel terrible about your situation. With debt settlement, the phone will stop ringing because you will no longer owe anything on a settled account.

Avoid legal action & bankruptcy. Depending on the amount of debt that you owe to a particular creditor and the severity of the delinquency, they may pursue a civil judgement against you in order to recover payment. Once a judgement is entered, the creditor can petition the court for permission to garnish your wages, attach to your bank account or other legal methods used to collect a debt. A debt settlement will prevent this from happening and will ease your mind about ever getting served with lawsuit papers. In addition, settling your debts will enable you to prevent the filing of bankruptcy, which is a stressful process and the worst blemish that you could have on your credit report. While a bankruptcy will remain on your credit file for up to 10 years, a debt settlement will expire after 7 years.

Improve your credit score. How can debt settlement improve your credit score? At first, it may not help that much. But compared to the alternative of continued late or missed payments, mounting debt related to late fees and penalty interest, a settlement will be much better for both you and your credit report. At the very least, debt settlement will show that you have attempted to repay your debt(s) and, at best, your credit score will improve as you slowly begin to rebuild your credit.

Eliminate your debt at a fraction of the balance. With debt settlement, you agree to pay the creditor one lump sum, or structured payments, to eliminate the debt altogether. In exchange, the creditor agrees to accept a fraction of the balance as full payment. Quite often, you can settle a debt for as little as 20% on the dollar, which means a $10,000.00 debt could potentially be settled for $2,000.00. If you were to continue making payments on that same account, combined with interest rates, you would likely end up spending $20,000-30,000 before finally reaching a zero balance. With debt settlement, you are not only saving the obvious difference between the balance and the settlement amount, but you may also be saving a considerable amount of money in interest.

Article Source: http://www.abcarticledirectory.com/

Financing A Home In NY - New York

Owning a New York home can be a lot of people's dream. New York is a bustling city which can possibly provide a wide range of opportunities for everyone. Even if you're a businessman or artist, you'll surely find something that could give you a good life in New York. Luckily, amidst the high cost of houses in New York, you'll be able to find a home financing scheme that would fit your budget.

A New York home and other real estate properties are relatively more expensive compared to homes in other states. The cost of living in New York will drive those middle income homeowners into the suburbs. To be able to get yourself a decent New York home, you'll need good income and a high credit score so you'll qualify for attractive home financing schemes.

But still, you shouldn't just jump right away to the enticing home financing deal the first financial institution you approached offers. For somebody who signs up for any home financing without prior knowledge of how the process works is like a soldier who doesn't know how to shoot using his own gun. Financing a home is not something that should be done impulsively. You need to think it over several times and weigh all possible solutions. Lack of preparation may just possibly lead to a repossession of your dream home and leave you without any other choice but to declare bankruptcy.

Homes are expensive purchases, especially those located in NY. They could be the most expensive property you can possibly buy in your entire lifetime. Your home financing decisions would not only affect your life now but also how you're going to live in the next thirty to fifty years or so.

In NY there are several agencies which offer home financing. Each of them have their own specializations. Even if you have the dollars to spend, you need to carefully choose your home financing agency, or else, you might find yourself paying more than what the house is really worth for. Of course, other things to consider are the agencies reliability and any hidden charges they could possibly include.

The price of NY homes vary largely, depending on their exact location and size. The first thing you should do is find one that fits your budget. Compare one home against other homes in the vicinity. You should also consider things such as accessibility. You wouldn't want to live too far away from your work, right?

Next, start looking for home financing agencies. You can ask your friends and coworkers to refer you to an agency which offered them a good deal. But your best option is to conduct the research manually yourself. Be aware of home financing advertisements in the daily newspaper. Financial institutions frequently advertise new and attractive home financing offers in the paper to lure more homeowners. You can also research on the internet for reliable home financing agencies which could provide your financing needs.

The New York state is a big city and their real estate business is always growing. You'll probably notice how these financing agencies are so competitive with each other. If you're patient enough, you should be able to find one that would offer you the best interest rate possible.

Applying for a home financing in NY is fast and convenient. Financial companies have drastically improved their process in the hopes of getting the biggest share of the market. With just one application, you can obtain quotes from numerous agencies. Even those online agencies can compete very well with the traditional ones in terms of giving you professional service and better home financing deals.

Usually, you'd get better chance of obtaining a good home financing scheme if you have been pre-approved for home financing. Getting pre-approved is also quick and easy. Even online agencies can pre-approve you for a home financing. Once you're pre-approved, you can just start applying for home financing. The most convenient way is to apply online. Within few hours, you'd probably receive a call from a representative of these agencies. Make sure that you get all relevant data about their offers so you can make wise comparisons.

These New York home financing agencies would want to offer you the best deal possible so you can realize your financial potential. Owning a New York home is a very good investment. NY homes continually appreciate their values, and with low interest rates, there's probably no better time than now to go ahead and buy yourself a new home.

For more information now go to: http://www.homefinancingalert.com

Get A Jump On Retirement

I am going to make a bold statement but it is a true statement nonetheless. If you ever plan to retire comfortably or at a reasonable age you cannot abuse credit cards. They are financial cancer.

I used to be buried in credit card debt. Part of it was sensible because it helped me purchase books and other things to get me through college, which I financed on my own. However, some of it was just stupidity. Once I decided to make a change in my thought process it only took me 2 years to get out of this debt and I wasn't making lots of money at the time either.

Let's take an example. The average credit card debt is almost $10,000 per household now. Let's say you have a $9000 credit card debt balance and the interest rate is 14.9 % which is low for most people. Depending on the company the minimum payment is probably in the neighborhood of $150/month. If you paid nothing but the minimum payment on that card, and never made another purchase, it would take you 111 months to pay this card off. Almost 10 YEARS to pay off a $9000 credit card debt? That is insanity. It would cost you roughly $16,600 to pay of $9000 in debt.

Let's take a look at the same balance with some different, and probably more common, factors involved. Take a $9000 balance and a 28% interest rate, which happens with just a couple late payments, and you pay the minimum payments only. Someone that only pays the minimum payments will take 1984 months to pay that $9000 balance off. I am not sure about you but I am not going to live 165 years to pay off my credit card debt.

Obviously it wouldn't take you that long to pay it off because your estate would cover it when you died but it speaks to the point of my article. How would you plan to retire comfortably, and certainly not early, if you have this debt as well as other debt hanging over your head?

What many people do not see is that the money you save by not forking it over to the billion dollar banks, that give you the credit cards, can be used much more wisely for you. At my worst I was paying $400 in interest on credit cards. Once I finally paid off my credit cards and stopped using them I found I was easily able to pay cash for the things I would typically put on credit cards. Not only that, I found when I was taking money out of my bank account I was much more careful on what the money was being spent on in the first place.

I decided at age 27 that I wanted to retire comfortably at age 50 and spend my free time with my kids (that I did not have yet) and grandkids. It was worth it to me to sacrifice at a younger age than it would be to deal with my mistakes at age 70. Who really wants to be bagging groceries, at the age of 70, for some high school kids running the register? I know I don't. Clearly, it could happen anyway because of illness or some other circumstance that wipes out my retirement savings but I have no control over those things. I do have control over stupidity though and I wanted to stop it at an early age.

What I am hoping you will take away from this article is how bad credit cards are for you. Credit card companies make billions in profit each year and it is for a reason. Many people feel the insurance companies are the same as credit card companies in that they like to "screw" people. The difference is, with an insurance company you are at least getting something back for all the money you give them, if you buy the right products of course.

Insurance companies are rich because they take the money you give them in premiums and invest it to make their money. In many cases insurance companies pay out more money on claims for auto and home than they actually take in for premiums. It is hit or miss if they make a profit on "earned premiums". (Sorry for the insurance jargon.)

You get no benefit from a credit card company accept for the ability to spend even more money you don't have. Credit cards should be use for emergency purposes only and if you adopt that outlook you will most likely be standing next to me on the golf course in 20 years.

Scott Bianchi is an independent insurance agent that specializes in protecting people's present financial situation while helping them prepare for a comfortable retirement. He runs a web site on personal finance He can be reached at sbianchi@charter.net.

Remortgage for People With Bad Credit Rating?

Well in a word, yes. Having bad credit history (sometimes referred to as an adverse credit history), or even just one financial mistake in the past, can often lead to closed doors from the regular high street lenders – but don’t let this stop you from looking around, as this need not be the final outcome.

There are mortgage lenders across the nation, each with a huge range of mortgage types on offer, that will happily consider lending money to people with all sorts of circumstances, from all sorts of different backgrounds. As there is much more choice available now for remortgages for people with bad credit history, it means that the rates are often very competitive. Gone are the days of extortionate interest rates just because you have found yourself in financial difficulty. You don’t have to pay out for having an adverse bad credit remortgage. There are now many lenders that are only too happy to lend money to people that have a bad credit rating (these lenders are generally known as sub-prime lenders).

Perhaps you overspent over Christmas, and have found that the bills are just mounting up and you have not been able to pay all the instalments that were due this month. This can so easily happen, especially at times like Christmas and Holidays. Sub-prime lenders realise that it can often be just temporary circumstances that have led you into the situation of having a bad credit history, and they are still quite happy to consider an application for a remortgage.

You may well find that you are struggling to obtain a remortgage for many reasons, perhaps you have no proof of income, or you have County Court Judgements (referred to often just as CCJ's), Defaults, or even a Repossession threat – all of these might mean you might not fit the strict ‘High Street mould’. Even if you do fit the mould, but want to see what else is on offer, or achieve that dream situation of reducing your monthly outgoings, clearing outstanding debts, and perhaps even having some surplus cash to spend, there are thousands of mortgage products available to suit your individual needs. You just need to know where to look for the right advisor.

Once you have established that your credit history is not quite up to scratch, or you know that your arrears are piling up with your existing mortgage, and action needs to be taken – you need to start looking around for an advisor to help you find a remortgage for people with a bad credit rating.

You will need to find someone who will work with you and find you the best possible deal they can. Luckily in this day and age this does not have to be a firm who is based in the same town as you – many people find the service and deals they are happy with by using companies found from searches made on the internet. Of course it could well be that you may prefer to work with a local company and if so, then have a look through the local telephone directories and see who is around. Do bear in mind though that a local company may well be expert in finding mortgages for people with no bad credit problems, but not so experienced with remortgages for people with bad credit. It is important to find a company that specialise in sourcing remortgages for people with bad credit, as they will be able to find you the lowest interest rates and the best deals to suit your personal circumstances. This is best done via a search on the internet, as you have access to a much wider pool of expertise to choose from.

There are experts in the field of obtaining remortgages for people with bad credit rating, and they will be able to find you a remortgage deal that suits you and your bad credit history, so you need not let the fact that your credit rating is not all it should be deter you for applying for a remortgage for people with bad credit rating.

Please feel free to use this article, but keep all links intact and working.

Cat has worked in the Mortgage Industry, specialising in Bad Credit Mortgages for some years now. For further information on Remortgages for People with Bad Credit Rating, and also information about other bad credit issues, please visit our UK site http://www.cantgetamortgage.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cat_Archer

Top 10 Ways To Cut Spending

Do you run out of money before you run out of month? Do you wonder where your money goes each month? Do you struggle to find money to invest for retirement, emergencies and other financial goals? Here are 10 tips to cut your spending and stretch your dollar to the max:

1. Consider dropping your home telephone line. Your cell phone is probably all you really need, and most likely it has free long distance. You could save $30 or more per month by dropping your "land line".

2. Cut back on trips to Starbucks or other premium coffee shops. Often called the "latte factor", spending several dollars per day on luxuries like premium coffee can really add up. For example, if you spend $4 for a cappuccino five times a week for 50 weeks out of the year (you're on vacation the other two weeks), you would spend $1,000 in a year. Try treating your trip to Starbucks as a treat instead of a habit. You'll save money and probably lose weight too!

3. Pay your mortgage payment bi-weekly instead of monthly. You'll pay less interest and pay off your mortgage faster.

4. Carry cash instead of credit cards. Psychologically it's harder to spend cash than it is to use the credit card. You'll spend less and save on interest charges.

5. Use the "envelope system" for groceries, dining out, entertainment, and other discretionary spending categories. This will help you track how much you spend in these categories as well as prioritizing your spending.

6. Raise the deductible on your homeowners and auto insurance policies. It's not wise to file claims for small losses anyway (insurance companies love to raise rates after you file a claim), so a higher deductible will save you money now and in the future.

7. Buy regular gas instead of premium. Most cars don't need premium gasoline. Also, take public transportation if it's available in your area. Take advantage of "park and ride" and carpooling options.

8. Plan your purchases to avoid impulse buying. Take a list with you to the grocery store and stick with it. Studies show that impulse buying can add $10-50 to your grocery bill - ouch!

9. Go to the library instead of the bookstore. If you're an avid reader, give yourself a book budget for books that you will want to keep, and go to the library for everything else.

10. Take a vacation at home. Check out all the local sites and happenings. You'll rediscover your hometown and save on travel and hotel costs.

These are just a handful of ways you can cut spending and stretch your dollars, but if you follow these tips you'll discover you have more money at the end of each month to apply to other financial goals, such as saving for college, retirement or just for a rainy day.

Kristine A McKinley, CPA, and Certified Financial Planner, is a fee-only financial planner.

Article Source: http://www.abcarticledirectory.com/

How To Retire Young And Escape A Mid-Life Crisis

We are generally brought up with the notion that we will got to school, get a career, get married, have some kids and pay off the mortgage. If everything goes well, we will then retire somewhere sunny playing bridge and golf everyday. Many people will also go through painful episodes of divorce and/or bankruptcy.

Most people do not even think of doing anything different with their lives, and it is not until they reach their 40s or 50s when they start to question how they have lived their life as they realize their life is halfway over. This is referred to as a mid-life crisis. People often start to feel bored with their lives, their jobs and the people in their lives. Feelings of regret of not achieving past goals and aspirations are not uncommon. Spending ten hours a day in a cubicle tied to a computer is not how your career advisor said your life would be like.

When we are young we are told over and over the benefits of getting a good education to help prepare for a successful career, but nothing is done to help us prepare for the realization that this pattern of life may not be so fantastic as what everyone makes it out to be. A divorce, job loss or business failure only needs to be thrown into the picture to truly upset the American Dream.

If the ideal of getting a good education, career and home with a white picket fence, is not for you what are the alternatives, and what do you need to get out of the rat race and escape from your cubicle walls? There are so many places in this world that offer a cheaper and better lifestyle than what you might be accustomed to. Latin America, Easern Europe and South East Asia are places where you can live for not only cheaper, but often live a more relaxed, healthy lifestyle.

Having enough money is probably one of the biggest factors which will determine whether you can change your life. There is the emotive factor of selling your possessions that may have once been important to both how you, yourself and other people judged your success. When it comes down it, how important is a big house, expensive car and the latest plasma television? Without knowning it, it can be these items that are holding you down.

Did you know that it is possible to live in Thailand for just US$500 a month? Sure this amount is only a basic lifestyle, a beach apartment and eating local food, but who would not trade working 40 hours a week, to this for a leisure-filled, stress free life.

$500 is only a minimum amount, but by downsizing and cashing in some of your assets, the dream of changing your life for the better, may not be so far from turning it into a reality.

If you chose to semi-retire when you are in your thirties or early forties, you could have the chance to really enjoy living while you still have good health. Volunteering, study, learning a foreign language, traveling, running a small business or getting regular exercise are some of the things you could enjoy.

If in your thirties, you decided to keep working until the usual retirement age of 60 or 65, how much more do you think you would be able to accomplish working a regular job? Would a bigger house, newer car really make your life more worthwhile living?

With the opportunities available to make money on the internet you can still continue to make money to build your nest egg. For some people, it is even possible to increase their wealth by working less, something not likely possible trying to work your way up the corporate ladder.

You can be fairly sure that your work colleagues will not understand what you are doing. The hardest thing about change, even if it is for a better lifestyle, is to be able remove yourself from what is the expected norms of society. Think now how you want to live your life, if you enjoy your job then that is fine, but don't wait until you have to start hearing stories about your partners or friends going through a mid-life crisis.

Mike writes for his blog:

Retire Young and Wealthy where he is already living his dream.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Henry