Thursday, September
9 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday, September
9 2010
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
| |||||||||||||||
|
Announcing a new acquisition!!
|
What's New at Forte for the year 2009 August 2009 - Getting Your Finances Ready for the Next Rainy Day - or Decade By Forte News Department It was Benjamin Franklin who once said, “The man who
achieves makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all -
doing nothing.” As the nation continues to work its way out of
recession and investors begin to take stock of what looks like a lost decade in
their portfolios, it might make sense to execute some simple ideas now that
will give better preparation for possible tough times in the future. After all, disaster can’t be predicted, but
it can be blunted by preparation. Here
are a few ideas to implement as the economy recovers. Start
with expert advice: A fresh financial start should begin with some
solid, up-to-the-minute advice. Consider making a trip to talk over your
current finances and retirement picture – no matter what state they’re in –
with your tax advisor and a financial advisor such as a Certified Financial
Planner™ professional. Many people feel
they’ve made mistakes that they’ll never be able to repair with their money,
and the only way that might be certain is if they don’t properly assess what
they’ve done and should do in the future. Getting trained, experienced advice
is one way to change that. Pay
down your debt: There was once a time when mortgage debt was
referred to as “good debt,” but even that perception has changed for many
families in recent years. While
mortgage debt has tax advantages, the relatively recent tendency for homeowners
to look at their property as a piggy bank looks headed for permanent change.
And with new credit card lending rules on the horizon, Americans’ relationship
with plastic is bound for big changes as well. Resolve to get a better handle
on existing debt and above all things, resolve to pay it off in sensible
fashion, attacking the highest-rate and less tax-advantaged balances first. Reevaluate
your career plan: It’s true that many Americans will have to work
longer than they planned to assure a healthy retirement given the events of the
last decade. But you shouldn’t stop
there in making that assessment. As the country comes out of this economic
slump, you should also be considering whether your current career meets your
personal as well as your financial needs. A chance to earn extra money would
certainly be great, but if you’re unhappy doing what you’re doing or you see
your industry going nowhere, then it might be time to retrain or research a
change. Get
serious about an emergency fund: If you
suddenly lost your home, your job, or were disabled with limited health or
disability benefits, how would you afford a hotel, transportation or medical
bills? How would you pay for all that? Credit cards? Okay, but how would you
pay off those cards? An emergency fund needs to be three to six months worth of
cash at a minimum kept in an easily accessible place—not as accessible as a
mattress, but not in a stock fund or some other investment that might fluctuate
in value and then be tough to access for a week or more. You need to treat that
cash as money that isn’t there unless a disaster occurs. And try to open it with a high enough
balance so you’ll keep it from being eaten away by any account maintenance
fees. Write down a list of things that
are potential emergencies and sign it as a personal contract with yourself.
That agreement should state that you will not touch the funds except in case of
some of the following: ·
Loss of employment; ·
Medical bills that exceed your insurance payments
(if you have insurance); ·
Emergency home or car repairs in excess of insurance
that are required to make the home livable or the car drivable. Insure
yourself properly: Insurance exists to prevent financial devastation.
You owe it to yourself to buy whatever coverage you can afford for risks that
affect you directly. Not everyone needs life insurance or particular forms of
liability insurance, for example. But most of us need help knowing what
coverage to buy, and that’s where the help of a financial adviser might come in
handy—there is no one-size-fits all insurance solution. It’s a good time to
evaluate whether your coverage in any of the following types of insurance is
adequate: ·
Health insurance ·
Life insurance ·
Home or rental insurance ·
Disability insurance ·
Auto insurance ·
Liability insurance related to a particular business
or work activity. Create
a worst possible scenario: It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do,
but based on your own personal circumstances, what would be the biggest
potential risks you might face financially? Some examples: ·
If there was hereditary evidence cancer or heart
disease among your closest relatives, how would you pay for treatment if your
insurance didn’t fully cover the costs? ·
If you live in a flood plain, do you have adequate
federal flood insurance? ·
If your company has been losing money for the last
year, how likely is it you might be laid off? ·
Will you need additional training or education to
stay in your job going forward? ·
If you were disabled, how would you make up your
lost salary? August 2009 — This column is produced
by the Financial Planning Association, the membership organization for the
financial planning community, and is provided by David W. Henion, CPA, a local
member of FPA. | ||||||||||||||
|
Copyright
© Forte´ Capital LLC. Do not duplicate
or redistribute the content of this website. |
||||||||