Women Over 50 - 5 Tips For Financial Independence

By Greg N Reed

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Financial independence is the goal of most people especially as we approach retirement. Once we can see that turning 65 is just around the corner, thoughts of financial independence seem to become more frequent. Unfortunately some of these thoughts are more than that. They are mild forms of panic attacks especially if the retirement nest egg isn't looking great.

While these concerns affect all people, women over 50, especially those who are single, becoming financially independent is important for their survival, if they are desiring a comfortable retirement. And why shouldn't they be.

Working for most of your life, retirement should be a reward for your hard work. But if the coffers are a bit empty, what can you do to fill them so that your senior years are not on struggle street.

For women over 50, here's 5 tips to help you create financial independence:

1. Create More Income
   Yes it is easier to create wealth by having more income or a higher paying job. But for women over 50 it is sometimes harder to move into a higher paying job based on age and or qualifications. You could look to undertake a higher education course at Uni or TAFE but again you might face the age issue. Perhaps a partime job or home based business could provide some extra cash.


2. Invest Your Surplus
   There are many courses and associations to assist women over 50 to learn how to invest their surplus income to provide for a better retirement. Look for such associations in your local area and start taking an interest in the share market, cash management funds and real estate. With time this surplus correctly invested will compound to build you a nice nest egg.


3. Money Is Taxing
   Make sure you have a good accountant or tax advisor to give you good advice on the best investments offering the best tax advantages. While women over 50 need extra income to invest, it is also important to cut your expenses especially by paying lower taxes.


4. Get More Out Of Your Time
   Having more time is a dream of most people. But there is only 24 hours in a day. How do you maximise your time especially with earning money. You engage the power of leverage. If you get a partime job over and above you main job' you will create more income. But you are still exchanging your time for money. And there is only one of you. What if you could 'employ' a team of people whereby you could earn a percentage of their income. As well as leveraging people you can also leverage time - more specifically time zones. Why not have your team not only where you reside but also in different states and countries. So when you are asleep, your team members in another country are working and you're earning as well. Home based businesses can offer such an opportunity.


5. It Takes Two To Tango
   Going solo in life does have some advantages. But it can also have it's limitations. And creating wealth or extra money can be one of those limitations. Women over 50 and men for that matter seem to do better in all facets of life if they have a loving, supporting partner or spouse. Doing things together including making money is more enjoyable when you're not on your own. If you have someone special in your life, why not make it more permanent and create a wonderful life together; especially in retirement.

Women over 50 shouldn't have a sub par retirement. There are ways to ensure this doesn't happen. The good thing is that there is time for women over 50 to have financial independence.

Greg Reed has a FREE 10 Day Email Bootcamp. Most People Want To Make More Money, Pay Less Tax And Have More Time Freedom. Spend 3 Minutes A Day To Find Out How. Grab This FREE 10 Day Email Bootcamp now FREE 10 Day Email Bootcamp Visithttp://www.whoisgregreed.com

When in Cebu City, please visit http://gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. 

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with

your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. (053)555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

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

Things To Be Careful About While Investing

By Angela Stephan Heasley

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Mutual funds are certainly ways that you can grow your money. But everything has a flip side, and so does a mutual fund. There are some things that you want to keep an eye out for, just to make sure that the problem doesn't snowball into something you can no longer control. One such thing is your own savings and investment. Generally, once you get your pay, you do your best to ration it out to fulfill all your needs. The problem here is that you may not believe your mutual funds need to before some of the things on your list. The answer here is simply to make your payment an automatic one. Make your payments to the mutual funds companies every month automatic, so that you don't really consider whether or not to lay aside that amount for the month. It's already been done in the time you would've spent deciding.

You might also want to keep an eye on your investments. Everyday sighting doesn't help. It'll only depress you. But if you were to look at your investments on a monthly basis, you could see a change. Whether for positive or negative, this change will mean that you don't have to put out your money to be spent on little or nil returns. To avoid losses, you want to diversify. This way even if one of your investments fails because the sector fails another investment in another sector likely stops you from having to drown in losses. While you're investing, watch out for fees that jump out at you from seemingly nowhere. Watch out for things like sales load, or other kinds of management fees that you might have to be burdened with. If these go up, it means that you have less money for yourself, because you're using most of your money to maintain the fund company.

At the end of the day, you have to remember that mutual funds are a risky business. They aren't insured, and no matter how much you diversify your investments, there are chances that you could lose your money. Another thing you want to prepare yourself for is the inevitability that somewhere along the line, you will lose your money. There is no guarantee whatsoever that you must or will receive money when you receive in the market. Many times, the funds perform well below what they should and end up showing poorly on the balance sheet as well. This just goes to show that fund managers aren't omniscient; they will make mistakes at some point. Don't be shocked by it.

Different mutual funds companies offer you various types of mutual fund investment options.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. 

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. 555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

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

The Basics of Investing in Mutual Funds

By Angela Stephan Heasley

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No doubt you've got some plans for your future. Even if you don't, you're likely aware that you'll need some money for the future to meet your growing needs. But your needs aren't going to be met with the interest you get on savings accounts or your fixed deposits. So what do you do? You could try investing in mutual funds instead. There are various kinds that you could look up and pick the ones which are most likely to serve your own needs. The one thing you need to keep in mind is that you'll have to understand your mutual fund investments - and you can't do this if you don't know anything about what the company does. If you don't know squat about a company's product, then you don't want to invest in it. This is because you don't know whether the company's product is strong, is likely to survive competition and so on. For starters, it's best to stick to things you know best.

Once you've narrowed down the companies and the products you can identify and know enough about, you can move to the next step: comparing the pricing. You want to look at how the company has performed, yes. But you should also look at how friendly the company is to share-holders and how well priced the shares are so that you can buy them. Even when you're looking at a company's past performance - don't invest because you see the profit is good. You're not looking at the profit but checking the volatility of the fund when you do this research. If you've noticed very high fluctuations, you might want to not invest, or at least invest very little in it - it is certainly a risky venture. Look at the fund ranking when you're researching, but take the ranking with a handful of salt - if the person managing the fund has changed then it is likely the results will as well.

You want to opt for diversified funds as much as possible. Don't invest in multiple companies in the same sector - that isn't what qualifies as 'diversified'. The whole idea is to invest in entirely different sectors. This is because if a single sector goes into troubled waters, another sector which performs well is likely to make sure you don't drown. At the end of the day, you just need to do your research well and look for a competent fund manager to handle your investments. But make sure that you also keep an eye on them and that you ask questions when you don't understand something.

Among many mutual fund options you may invest in diversified funds to complete your financial goal.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.

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

7 Reasons Your Neighbors Have More Money Than You

by VINCENT KING · 178 COMMENTS

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You look out the window of your home each night after dinner, staring across the street at your neighbors. You long for the cars they drive, their weekly manicured lawns, and even the vacations they seem to take several times a year.

You’re not alone.

I often look out my window, too, staring at the gorgeous homes and cars wondering how they manage to pay for them. After all, we live in the same neighborhood, our kids go to the same schools, and their salaries aren’t that much more than ours.

There are several reasons our can neighbors afford so many of the things we would love to have, but could never fathom splurging on:

1. Perception is Everything

Your perception may be skewed. You see fancy cars in the driveway, and the trim lawns you can almost feel between your toes. You watch work crews going in and out of the awesome remodeling projects happening inside. Yet, none of that means your neighbors are wealthier than you are. Just because you see them as more affluent, doesn’t mean they are.

You are only able to see above the surface of their spending, meaning you have no idea what’s happening down below.

2. Allocation is Essential

While you choose to consistently save money for your kids’ education, and retirement later in life, they are spending what they believe are excess funds on their cars and homes. They might be making the shallow choice to spend their money on what people can see, while you are spending your money on the life you want to live, both today and tomorrow. You choose to pay for peace of mind.

It’s how your neighbors allocate their income that makes them seem richer than they are.

3. Perks Matter

While Your neighbors’ salaries might be slightly more than yours, it isn’t enough to justify the massive leap in spending. However, fringe benefits can greatly widen the gap. Perks such as cars, phones, laptops, and more can give the recipient an amazing leg up when it comes to freeing money for other pleasures.

4. Luxuries of the Mature

As families mature, houses get paid off and savings grow. Even if your children do go to the same school, their children are older, and they have a few years on you as well. Those could be years spent paying on their house and putting money in the bank. Imagine how much more freedom you would have without also having to manage your monthly mortgage.

5. Their Lives Might be Plastic

Your neighbors might be disciples, worshiping the power of the plastic. While you are smart enough to understand the headaches of undisciplined credit, your neighbors might be living carelessly, buying short-term luxury today in exchange for a meager tomorrow.

6. They Know Where to Find Deals

I consider myself a connoisseur when it comes to finding great deals on groceries and kids clothing. Perhaps your neighbors also know something about finding deals on the things they need, freeing up more money for things they want.

7. They Pay for Their Immediate Wants First

Your neighbors could also have more money than you do because they prioritize differently, and pay from their savings for projects and luxuries that they want done.

While my neighbors may or may not make have more money than me, I don’t let it influence the way that I live. I spend money in the way that’s most important for me and my family, both for a better, more comfortable today, and for a brighter tomorrow.

As “The Millionaire Next Door” and “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” point out, those that spend on things like homes, cars, and clothes are spending on material items and living on “rented” lifestyles. Instead of building assets, these people are living on liabilities and that can be a dangerous mindset. You don’t have to live like a king today, if it means you’re going to live like a pauper tomorrow.

It doesn’t matter what the Jones’ are doing. Not now, or ever. Save where you can. spend where you need, and live a life you want.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.

Before you invest, protect your downside

By Efren Ll. Cruz

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Question: I have already developed the habit of saving and, in the process, brought down my debts to a more manageable level. I think I am ready to invest my savings. Is there anything I should consider before plunking my hard-earned money in investments?—30-year-old yuppie

Answer: The essence of personal finance revolves around four management pillars. These are cash, debt, risk and wealth management, or CD-RW. I know what you are thinking. The connotation with CD-RW is old technology.  But with personal finance, it is old technology that works.

First, using a familiar acronym for the numerous pillars of personal finance makes for easy recall.

Second, and more importantly, personal finance has to be practiced in the particular order of the acronym. You should not borrow (debt management) if you still have not mastered your cash flow (cash management), particularly budgeting. Writing down the allocation of your income on a piece of paper is not complete budgeting. It is the application of such allocation and the review of performance that makes budgeting complete.

If you were to borrow before mastering your cash flow, you may find yourself defaulting on your loans. What’s worse, you may end up in the negative database of financial institutions, which would make your name pop up as a credit risk every time you attempt to borrow money, even if you have a certificate of full payment on a past due debt. I am told it is difficult, if not impossible to get your name out of the negative database.

You should also not attempt to buy life insurance (risk management) if you still have a mountain of debts to pay. Between incurring penalty charges and losing life insurance coverage due to a lapsed policy, the tendency would be just to lose the policy coverage. This is because there is no immediately perceived loss with a policy lapsing versus incurring the interest and penalty charges on debt. Also, collection agencies will not allow you to easily forget past due obligations with their persistent tactics.

Before you try to enhance your income through investing (wealth management), either in financial securities or a business, you should protect your downside.

Investing is never guaranteed. As a fund manager for quite a long time, I have seen many types of investing, all of which bear risk. The higher the potential return, the higher the risk. That is why before you undertake the risks attendant to wealth management you should first protect your downside.

The downside is the prospect of leaving your family with very little in case of your untimely demise. Focusing on wealth management with all of its risks can accelerate the deterioration of your mind and body, and increase the prospect of your early departure from this world. The best way to protect your family from this is to get life insurance.

Buying life insurance need not be complicated. In the country’s first free personal finance mobile app named Ya!man, both Jatis Imagineering (Jatis) and the Personal Finance Advisers Philippines Corp. (PFA) espoused a simple formula in computing a life insurance coverage.

Just multiply your family’s expected annual living expenses when you are gone by the number of years you think they will be dependent on the money you will leave them (or the length of time before they will be able to fend for themselves). Add the product to the expenses your family will likely incur upon your death (last hospitalization, estate taxes, debt liquidation, funeral services). Deduct from the sum any existing life insurance coverage and assets that can be liquidated upon your demise.  The balance is the amount you will need to get in terms of life insurance coverage.

Ya!man does not only provide a tool for computing needed life insurance coverage. It also provides tools for the other three pillars of personal finance: cash, debt and wealth management. Each calculation comes with a brief analysis and the facility to consult with a personal finance expert (for free).

Currently, Ya!man is available for cell phones using the Symbian 40 operating system and higher and can be downloaded from www.personalfinance.ph. Very soon, Jatis and PFA will also be launching the Android and iOS versions.

If you want a deeper understanding of life insurance as well as more knowledge on effective CD-RW management come and attend the EnRich© CD-RW personal finance training scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. You may also want to persuade your employer to integrate personal finance training into your company’s employee benefits by inviting your company’s employee relations manager to sample the EnRich©CD-RW personal finance training as well. There are limited free seats allocated for HR practitioners. Visit www.personalfinance.ph, e-mail info@personalfinance.ph or call 2161541 / 3593094 for more details.

Remember that it is in the order of CD-RW that you should practice personal finance.

When in Cebu City, please visit also gregmelep.com for your retirement and real estate needs.

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with its own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. Nos. (032)555-8464/09164422611/09173378637

(Efren Ll. Cruz is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines, personal finance coach, seasoned investment adviser and bestselling author. Questions about the article may be sent by SMS to 0917-5050709 or e-mailed to efren@personalfinance.ph. To learn more about the RFP program, visit www.rfp.ph or e-mail info@rfp.ph.)