Credit

Money Affairs: Marvin Parker shares how he went from a 547 creditscore to over 800

No Comments

I realize this is the best time in the country if you want to purchase a home or a car – but only if your credit score is high enough.

Unfortunately due to complicated rules and regulations set by creditors, only those families who work for the credit companies really know the secrets to fixing and raising their credit score.

A new project is, however, looking to change that. This new project hopes to help disadvantaged communities see their credit scores in a higher tier than ever before.

Using information gained by the government, the Advance Credit Treaty(A.C.T.) aims to get credit companies to inform the public about what needs to happen to raise their credit score at no cost.

According to recent news, the plan is to use the A.C.T. project which will have some money set aside for Lexington Law firm to give a 1 time free credit consultation and explain the rules and regulations to help families fix their credit scores. The cost to the disadvantaged family: nothing.

In total, the Advance Credit Treaty(A.C.T.) has totted up to an impressive Multi-Million Dollar program.

By putting at least 30% of this money back into the free credit consultation, this project aims to kill two birds with one stone – saving families money, while also using some of the raised money to help in lowering legal fees to those people who need to fight unfair claims such as inaccurate information, late payments, unauthorized inquiries and pulling credit information for homes, cars, etc.  (Just to name a few).

This is the country’s first dedicated credit repair program for disadvantaged families. They want to help over 31,000 homes by the end of this year.

A.C.T. has also put forth some of it’s funds to make calling in as easy as possible, they’re hoping if they can get the word out it will be worth paying Lexington Law firm the amount of money required to have their call floor open from 8:00 AM – 11:30 PM (EST)

Anyone who has bad credit is qualified to call or fill out the form below to get the free credit consultation. If you’d prefer to call you can at  855-255-0116

A.C.T. predicts that it could raise families’s Credit Scores, which they hope could then help lower interest rates on other essentials such as homes and cars. This initiative ends with the year of 2017, so if you have bad credit, you might want to jump on board soon.

 

 






See If You Qualify For Credit Repair!

We protect your information.
*By selecting “Yes” and clicking “See if I Qualify” I agree by electronic signature to: (1) be contacted by Lexington Law Firm about credit repair or credit repair marketing by a live agent, artificial or prerecorded voice, and SMS text at my residential or cellular number, dialed manually or by autodialer, and by email (consent to be contacted is not a condition to purchase services); and (2) the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

 

Savings

77% Of Americans Don’t Know How To Withdraw Their Retirement Savings

No Comments

(Advisor News)

American adults lack an understanding of how to turn their hard earned savings into a steady stream of income when they retire. A10 year comparison shows that while more Americans are estimating a safe withdrawal, with 23 percent of respondents thinking they can withdraw less than five percent of their retirement savings annually (up from 10 percent a decade back) – at least four in five Americans remain at risk.

A unique 10 year comparison survey, conducted before and after the Great Recession finds Americans still lack awareness when it comes to ways to avoid running out of money in retirement. The 2016 survey, released today and conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, reveals that 77 percent of Americans over the age of 40 do not know how much of their retirement savings they can safely spend each year without running the risk of outliving their assets. In 2006, 90 percent of Americans did not know a safe withdrawal rate.

According to the survey, more than half of Americans over the age of 40 (58 percent) surveyed overestimated this safe withdrawal rate, which many experts benchmark at four percent annually for the typical retiree. A surprising 19 percent of respondents admit they do not know how much to withdraw without running out of money in retirement. At greatest risk are the more than three in 10 (31 percent) of all respondents who believe they can spend 10 percent or more of their savings each year. At that rate, based on historic investment returns, retirees risk running out of money in about 11 years or less – while studies show most of them will live significantly longer than that.

“There is a tremendous risk lurking in retirement – after years of doing your best to save, there is a risk of mismanaging that nest egg in retirement and running out of money,” said Dylan Huang, Head of Retirement Solutions at New York Life. “Turning your savings into income for yourself in retirement is not easy, but the first step is knowing that anything above five percent is way too high.”

Mr. Huang added, “Having a strategy to safely manage your savings to provide income for your entire retirement is more critical now than even 10 years ago. In 2006, with a favorable interest rate environment, retirees could potentially withdraw more than five percent from their nest egg and never run out of money. In the current interest rate environment, withdrawing even five percent is risky for many retirees. The likelihood they will run out of money is great. The good news is that Americans have become more informed on this point, with roughly 20 percent getting it right.”

National Retirement Planning Week – April 11 through April 15 – gives Americans good reason to evaluate how they are doing when it comes to saving for retirement. It also provides an opportunity to work with a trusted financial professional to develop a plan for how they’ll get income in retirement.

“Indicating an increased interest in ways to generate income, 58 percent of Americans are interested in learning about how to turn their savings into retirement income for life, up from 25 percent 10 years ago,” continued Mr. Huang. “Even further, 64 percent of pre-retirees are interested in learning about how to create their own pension-like income in retirement. Without the peace of mind that pension income provided to previous generations, pre-retirees are the first generation that needs to turn their savings into adequate income in retirement on their own. It is a positive finding that they are open to finding out how to do that.”

Taxes

The Procrastinator’s Guide to Filing Your Taxes at the Last Minute

No Comments

(http://twocents.lifehacker.com/)

Maybe you’re busy; maybe you’re just lazy. If you still haven’t filed your taxes, we’re not here to judge. We’re here to help. We’ll start with the good news: you have three extra days to file. The 15th is a holiday in D.C., so this year’s deadline is Monday, April 18th. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get everything together on time.

What Happens If Your Taxes are Late

Procrastinators, beware: filing late could mean you fork over quite a bit of cash. If you owe the IRS money, there’s a penalty for filing late and a penalty for paying late. TurboTax sums them up:

A late filing penalty applies if you owe taxes and didn’t file your return or extension by April 18, 2016.

This penalty also applies if you owe taxes, filed an extension, but don’t file your return by October 17, 2016.
The late filing penalty is 5% of the additional taxes owed amount for every month (or fraction thereof) your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
If you file more than 60 days after the due date, the minimum penalty is $135 or 100% of your unpaid tax, whichever is smaller.
Tip: The late filing penalty can be 10 times higher than the late payment penalty. If you can’t pay your tax bill and didn’t file an extension, at least file your return as soon as possible! You can always amend it later.
A late payment penalty applies if you didn’t pay additional taxes owed by April 18, 2016, whether you filed an extension or not.

The late payment penalty is 0.5% (1/2 of 1 percent) of the additional tax owed amount for every month (or fraction thereof) the owed tax remains unpaid, up to a maximum of 25%.
For any month(s) in which both the late-payment and late-filing penalties apply, the 0.5% late-payment penalty is waived.
The IRS offers a full list of all of their late filing penalties, but the gist of it is: if you owe them money this year and you don’t pay by April 18th, they’ll charge you.

On the other hand, if they owe you a refund, the IRS really doesn’t care when you file. In fact, you have three years to file and still get your money. After that, your forfeit your refund and it becomes property of the U.S. Treasury. In fact, the IRS recently announced they have $1 billion in unclaimed refunds, so if you haven’t filed in the past three years, you might want to get on it. However, the bottom line is: there’s no penalty for filing late if the IRS owes you money. (The only penalty is knowing you overpaid your taxes, but that’s on you).

Step 1: Decide Whether or Not to File an Extension

Yes, the IRS will give you more time to file, but there’s a huge caveat: you still have to pay your taxes on Tax Day, even if you’re granted an extension. If you don’t, you’re on the hook for that late payment penalty. Generally, an extension is only a good idea if you have a lot of paperwork to go through and not much time to get your taxes done correctly. You’ll get six more months to file without being penalized.

Is It a Bad Idea to Get an Extension on My Taxes?

You can file for an extension online with IRS Form 4868 at Free File or you can download it from the IRS website. You have to submit your request by the tax deadline, and once you do, the form will walk you through the process of paying any taxes you owe. (You can estimate how much you owe with the help of a Profit and Loss form from the IRS. This calculator will give you a rough estimate, too.)

Don’t try to get one over on the IRS, either. If you owe $7,000 and you “estimate” that you owe a hundred bucks, the IRS can disallow your extension and charge you a fee for filing late. For that reason, it’s probably best to err on the side of overpaying. Of course, if you underestimate, you’ll also have to pay the full amount when you actually file. The IRS says you have to pay at least 90% of the taxes you owe by the deadline.

Again, if you expect to get a refund, you don’t have much to worry about. If you’re getting money back, the IRS doesn’t care when you file, so you don’t need an extension. You should be 100% sure you’re getting a refund, though, or else you’ll rack up a huge tax bill.

Most states accept your federal extension, meaning you don’t have to file a separate one for your state taxes. However, look up the specific rules for your state here, because they may vary.

Step 2: Figure Out How You’ll Pay

If you have the cash on hand to pay your taxes on the 18th, you’ll submit it when you file your taxes (or your extension) on the 18th. If you don’t have the money to pay, you have a few options.

A payment extension: With IRS Form 1127, you can apply for an extension of payment for up to 12 months if you qualify due to financial hardship. You’ll still have to pay interest, but the late payment penalty will be waived. The IRS details all the rules here.
A Temporary Delay in Collections: With this option, the IRS agrees to postpone your bill if you have financial difficulty. You can apply using a Collection Information Statement (Form 433-F, Form 433-A or Form 433-B). You’ll have to provide proof of your financial status, and you’ll still have to pay interest and late payment penalties.
An Offer in Compromise: In some rare cases, the IRS will settle with you for a smaller amount. It’s called an Offer in Compromise. However, there’s a hefty processing fee ($186) for even applying and you’ll also have to fork over a bunch of paperwork, which can be overwhelming if you’re already short on time. The IRS has a pre-qualifier tool, though, so it may be worth seeing if this an option.

A short-term payment plan: You can set up a payment plan with the IRS here. With a short-term payment plan, you have 120 days to pay. They won’t charge you a fee for this, but you will pay interest and a late payment penalties. Since you’re on a payoff plan, though, the penalties and interest you owe are reduced.
A monthly payment plan or installments: If you need more than 120 days, you can set up a repayment agreement with the IRS, and that comes with processing fees. If you pay monthly, they’ll charge you a fee of $52 to debit your account ($43 for low-income taxpayers). If you have a standard agreement or payroll deduction plan, you’re charged $105. You still have to pay interest and penalties, too.
The IRS details their payment options in full here. With some options, the application process is immediate if you apply online, but you’ll want to check the details to be sure. If your application is rejected and it’s past the tax deadline, your penalties and interest will start accruing.

The IRS also offers some payment relief for military members and residents in areas affected by disaster in 2015.

Step 3: Decide Whether to Find a Pro or DIY

If you have a standard, full-time job, and you earn less than $62,000 per year, your taxes should be fairly straightforward. You can use the IRS Free File option and submit your return online. Of course, you can file a paper return, too. The IRS tells you where to file and which form you need here.

Maybe you’re self-employed, though, and you need help with your deductions. Or maybe you’re a freelancer and you have a whole mess of 1099s to go through. Or maybe you have a handful of investment accounts and more paperwork than you know what to deal with. If you’re not sure where to start with your taxes, it’s probably worth paying a professional to help you figure it out, especially now that you’re on a time crunch.

If you’re going to put your taxes in the hands of a professional, make sure to choose carefully, because ultimately, you’re on the hook for any mistakes. The IRS has a new tax preparer directory to help you find one.

Of course, there’s the tried-and-true in between option of filing with the help of tax software. Again, depending on your tax filing needs, you might pay a hundred bucks or so to file, despite their “absolute zero” pricing. Consumerist explains:

You might have seen ads for TurboTax’s “absolute zero” pricing, but most taxpayers aren’t eligible for that program. Only people who would normally file 1040A or 1040EZ forms would pay $0, and those are workers who have a payroll job and don’t own a business, have a mortgage, or have any dependents.
They also tend to raise their prices as you get closer to the deadline. To give you an idea of what pricing looks like, I’m a self-employed freelancer who usually procrastinates filing taxes. I pay about $150 to file with TurboTax every year. Next year it may just be worth handing over all my paperwork to a professional.

Step 4: Organize Your Tax Documents

If you decide to go at it yourself, set aside a few hours to get it done. Then, get ready to power through it. Here’s how to streamline the process.

Gather Your Documents and Forms

You’ll need your W-2s, 1099s, receipts and so on. Once you have everything you need, organize your paperwork into three piles:

Income: Your 1099s and W2s would go here. These include reported earnings for the year, whether it’s through your job, savings account interest, dividends, etc.

Expenses and Deductions: The Motley Fool explains, “Here you’ll keep mortgage statements, investment-related expenses, medical bills, child care costs, and non-reimbursable/employment-related gas, food, and lodging receipts.” In short, keep receipts and statements for all of the deductions you’ll take at tax time.

Investments: This is where you’ll keep track of all of your investment statements, dividend notices, purchase receipts and any other investment-related paperwork you might need in April. You can further divide this folder into taxable, deductible/tax-deferred, and nondeductible investments
Once you have everything organized, the process will be much easier, because you can focus on each pile for each section of your taxes.

Step 5: Dig Into Your Taxes and Submit Your Return

Doing your taxes seems complicated, but it basically comes down to reporting your income and taking advantage of benefits. Reporting your income is relatively easy, but you want to make sure you get all of your deductions, exemptions, and credits. Your tax software or preparer should walk you through this process. If you itemize your deductions, here are some commonly overlooked deductions you don’t want to miss:

Make sure to claim all of your credits, too. There’s the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Education Credit, and the Saver’s Credit.

Again, if you’re using a professional or a software that walks you through the process, you should have no problem making sure you get all of your credits, exemptions, and deductions.

If you’re filing a paper return without the help of a preparer, you’ll have to mail in your return. You can look up where to mail it here. Most post offices also offer extended hours for mailing returns on Tax Day, and GOBankingRates lists those extended hours by state.

Taxes are a pain, and when you’ve put them off, they become even harrier as you rush to squeeze them into your schedule by the deadline. It helps to know your options, then set aside a couple of hours for powering through them, and these steps should help you streamline the process.

Credit

7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

No Comments

(Bankrate)

Need to boost your credit score?

Unfortunately, a credit score isn’t like a race car, where you can rev the engine and almost instantly feel the result.

Credit scores are more like your driving record: They take into account years of past behavior, not just your present actions.

In addition to making the right moves, you also have to be consistent. A few easy steps can push your score in the right direction.

Here are seven simple ways to improve your credit score.

1. Watch those credit card balances:

One of the major factors in your credit score is how much revolving credit you have versus how much you’re actually using. The smaller that percentage is, the better it is for your credit rating.

The optimum: 30 percent or lower.

To boost your score, “pay down your balances, and keep those balances low,” says Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union.

What you might not know: Even if you pay balances in full every month, you still could have a higher utilization ratio than you’d expect. That’s because some issuers use the balance on your statement as the one reported to the bureau. Even if you’re paying balances in full every month, your credit score will still consider your monthly balances.

One strategy: See if the credit card issuer will accept multiple payments throughout the month.

2. Eliminate ‘nuisance balances’:

“A good way to improve your score is to eliminate nuisance balances,” says John Ulzheimer, a nationally recognized credit expert formerly of FICO and Equifax. Those are the small balances you have on a number of credit cards.

The reason this strategy can help your score: One of the items your score considers is just how many of your cards have balances, says Ulzheimer.

So, charging $50 on one card and $30 on another, instead of using the same card (preferably one with a good interest rate), can hurt your score, he says.

The solution to improve your credit score: Gather up all those credit cards on which you have small balances and pay them off, Ulzheimer says. Then select one or two go-to cards that you can use for everything.

“That way, you’re not polluting your credit report with a lot of balances,” he says.

3. Leave (good) old debt on your report:

Some people erroneously believe that old debt on their credit report is bad, says Ulzheimer. The minute they get their home or car paid off, they’re on the phone trying to get it removed from their credit report, he says.

Negative items are bad for your score, and most of them will disappear from your report after seven years. However, “arguing to get old accounts off your credit report just because they’re paid is a bad idea,” he says.

Good debt — debt that you’ve handled well and paid as agreed — is good for your credit. The longer your history of good debt is, the better it is for your score.

One of the ways to improve your credit score: Leave old debt and good accounts on as long as possible, says Ulzheimer. This is also a good reason not to close old accounts where you’ve had a solid repayment record.

Trying to get rid of old good debt is “like making straight A’s in high school and trying to expunge the record 20 years later,” Ulzheimer says. “You never want that stuff to come off your history.”

4. Use your calendar:

If you’re shopping for a home, car or student loan, it pays to do your rate shopping within a short time span.

Every time you apply for credit, it can cause a small dip in your score that lasts a year. That’s because if someone is making multiple applications for credit, it usually means he or she wants to use more credit.

However, with three kinds of loans — mortgage, auto and more recently, student loans — scoring formulas allow for the fact that you’ll make multiple applications but take out only one loan.

The FICO score, a score commonly used by lenders, ignores any such inquiries made in the 30 days prior to scoring. If it finds some that are older than 30 days, it will count those made within a typical shopping period as just one inquiry.

The length of that shopping period depends on the credit score used.

If lenders are using the newest forms of scoring software, then you have 45 days, says Ulzheimer. With older forms, you need to keep it to 14 days.

Older forms of the software won’t count multiple student loan inquiries as one, no matter how close together you make applications, he says.

“The takeaway is don’t dillydally,” Ulzheimer says.

5. Always pay bills on time:

If you’re planning a big purchase (like a home or a car), you might be scrambling to assemble one big chunk of cash.

While you’re juggling bills, you don’t want to start sending bills late. Even if you’re sitting on a pile of savings, a drop in your score could scuttle that dream deal.

One of the biggest ingredients in a good credit score is simply month after month of plain-vanilla, on-time payments.

“Credit scores are determined by what’s in your credit report,” says Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for Consumer Action. If you’re bad about paying your bills — or paying them on time — it damages your credit and hurts your score, she says.

That can even extend to items that aren’t normally associated with credit reporting, such as library books, she says. That’s because even if the original “creditor,” such as the library, doesn’t report to the bureaus, they may eventually call in a collections agency for an unpaid bill. That agency could very well list the item on your credit report.

Saving money for a big purchase is smart. Just don’t slight the regular bills — or pay them late — to do it.

6. Don’t hint at risk:

Sometimes one of the best ways to improve your credit score is to not do something that could sink it.

Two of the biggies are missing payments and suddenly paying less (or charging more) than you normally do, says Dave Jones, retired president of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.

Other changes that could scare your card issuer but not necessarily dent your credit score: taking out cash advances or even using your cards at businesses that could indicate current or future money stress, such as a pawnshop or a divorce attorney, he says.

“You just don’t want to do anything that would indicate risk,” says Jones.

7. Don’t obsess:

You should be laser-focused on your score when you know you’ll soon need credit. In the interim, take care of your bills and use credit responsibly. Your score will reflect these smart spending behaviors.

Are you getting ready to make a big purchase, such as a home or car? At least a few months in advance, spring for a copy of your credit scores, Sherry says.

While the score you can buy may not be the exact same one your lender uses, it will grade you on many of the same criteria and give you a good indication of how well you’re managing your credit, she says. It will provide you with specific ways to improve your credit score — in the form of several codes or factors that kept your score from being higher.

If you are denied credit (or don’t qualify for the lender’s best rate), the lender has to show you the credit score it used, thanks to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Another smart move: Regularly keep up with your credit report, says Sherry.

You’re entitled to one of each of your three credit bureau reports (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) for free every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Smart consumer tip: Stagger them, Sherry says. Send for one every four months, and you can monitor your credit for free.

Savings

Simple Savings

No Comments

(Practical Money Skills)

Savings can help you achieve any financial goal. Whether it’s a comfortable retirement, a down payment for a house, or a new car or stereo, you can get there by setting money aside. And best of all, you can have what you want without getting bogged down in debt.

Yet if you’re like most people, you don’t save as much as you’d like to. Or you don’t save at all. Americans spend more than we earn. Consider that the national personal savings rate has dipped to the lowest point since the Great Depression. Today’s high energy, home and food prices may make saving seem less possible than ever.

But the time is now. And with a little forethought and effort, saving money is not only possible, it’s easy.

Make Saving a Priority
You’ll be more likely to save money if you make it a priority. Sit down and figure out what you’d like to save money for – retirement, a house, car, college, dream vacation –and how much it will cost. Then make your plan:

-Set a timeline for when you’d like to reach your goal.
-Set a schedule by dividing the total goal amount by the number of weeks, months or pay periods between now and your goal date.
-Be vigilant by treating your savings contribution just like any other must-pay expense, such as rent or groceries.
-Find Money to Save
While it may seem difficult sometimes just to make ends meet, chances are you have extra money you didn’t even know about. Here are some ways to find it:

Keep track of everything you spend for a week. You might be surprised what you’re buying, and what you can do without.
Make purchases with cash. This can help you stick to a budget and avoid impulse purchases. Simply decide ahead of time how much you want to spend and then set aside that amount in cash before you go shopping.
Lower your bills. Many creditors will give borrowers a lower interest rate if they’re asked. Also, conserving electricity and gas can make a big difference.
Rank your nonessential expenses. Keep the ones you like the best and cut the items on the bottom of the list.
Pack a lunch. Or cook more dinners at home. Eating out at restaurants can eat up a lot of money that could be saved.

Pay Yourself First
You’re probably inclined to pay everyone else first – whether it’s your landlord or your grocer or the electric company. But it’s vital to start paying yourself first by saving money. Once you’ve made a contribution to your financial longevity and well-being, then you can divide up your money to cover everything else. Don’t worry. You’ll more than likely have plenty left over to cover everything you need.

In fact, most banks make this easier. You can have them automatically transfer funds from your checking account to your savings account, money market, mutual fund and other accounts. You might also check with your employer. Companies will often deduct savings from paychecks if asked.

Investments

The Best Ways to Invest $5,000

No Comments

(US News)

You’ve padded your emergency fund, paid off your debt and saved up a few thousand dollars – $5,000 to be exact – that you’re ready to invest. But is it best to put it in a mutual fund, certificate of deposit, index fund or exchange-traded fund?

“If you’re asking what’s the best way to invest $5,000, it’s kind of like asking what should I have for dinner tonight? Well, it depends,” says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst of Bankrate. “What do you like? What don’t you like? Do you have any allergies? What are you in the mood for? The same thing [applies] here.”

Before you get to specifics, such as how much risk you can stomach or what to choose off the menu of investments, start with the basics.

“The first question you need to ask yourself is, ‘When do I need to spend that money?’” says Manisha Thakor, founder and CEO of MoneyZen Wealth Management. “My rule of thumb is investing is something you do for the long run, which I would define as a minimum of five years and ideally 10-plus years. Once you are sure it’s long-term money, now you’re ready to really get into the nuts and bolts.”

To help you delve into those nuts and bolts, we asked financial experts for advice on the best way to invest your $5,000. They suggested options for both the short and long term, if you’re hoping to grow that money for retirement decades down the road.

Short term
Online savings account. The best place for money you need in a moment’s notice is an online savings account, McBride says. Even though interest rates for online savings accounts are low – hovering around 1 percent – they “pay the best returns relative to the savings account offers among all the financial institutions,” he says. The returns currently compare to those of CDs, but without the early withdrawal penalties.

CDs and money market accounts. If your time horizon is less than five years, Thakor recommends putting the money in a CD with a maturity date that matches your goal. This option may be ideal if you have a low risk tolerance, since CDs are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. up to $250,000 per depositor. The downside? You can’t touch those dollars for a predetermined time without paying a penalty.

Alternatively, money market accounts, which are also insured by the FDIC, earn slightly less interest than CDs, but you can withdraw the money at any point. Just keep in mind that interest rates are generally inversely correlated with access to your money. As Thakor puts it: “If you want unlimited access to your money, you’ll get slightly lower rates. If you don’t mind tying it up for a defined period of time, which is what you do with a CD, then you can get a slightly higher rate.”

Given their low yields, CDs and money market accounts are better for shorter-term investments, since they don’t always keep up with the cost of inflation. “Even though on paper it might look like you’re protecting your principal and [your] deposit is growing a little bit in value, you’re actually losing ground because the purchasing power is not holding,” says Paul Granucci, a financial solutions advisor with Merrill Edge.

Long term
Actively managed mutual funds. Investors with a longer time horizon can afford to take on more risk for a greater return by putting their money in the stock market. Mutual funds offer an easy way for investors to gain exposure to a broad range of stocks. If picking stocks makes you nervous, fear not. With actively managed funds, a fund manager makes all the decisions for you, including what sectors of the economy to invest in and which companies are undervalued or poised for growth. But beware: Mutual funds come with fees. The average actively managed stock fund charges an annual fee of 1.26 percent, according to fund tracker Morningstar, and Thakor advises against buying mutual funds with an expense ratio of more than 1 percent.

If you do go the actively managed route, Granucci recommends a globally balanced mutual fund, which is diversified in stocks, bonds and cash and contains domestic and international investments.

Index funds. “If the goal is to try to achieve a lot of diversification and build a portfolio that you can more or less kind of set and forget, it’s hard to beat index funds,” says Christine Benz, director of personal finance for Morningstar.

With index funds, you don’t have the opportunity to beat the market, but you can keep up with the market, “which is not a bad place to be given that most active fund managers do not outperform their benchmarks over long periods of time,” Benz adds.

Thakor points out that index funds are the healthiest option on the menu – without organic food prices. “Index funds are the financial equivalent of a superfood like chia seeds or kale,” she says. “Depending on what type you pick … you can get exposure to literally thousands of stock and bond issues at a very nominal fee.” The average expense ratio for stock index funds is 0.75 percent, according to Morningstar.

ETFs. Mutual funds and ETFs are very similar. “When you buy one share of an ETF or one share of a mutual fund, you’re buying a small piece of a lot of different investments that make up that fund,” Granucci explains. “The difference is how they are managed.”

There’s no active management with ETFs, so if you’re thinking about investing in a handful, be prepared to rebalance your portfolio at least once a year (mutual fund portfolios should be rebalanced, too). Advantages include costs that are a lot lower than those of mutual funds (Morningstar reports ETFs have an average annual fee of 0.57 percent) and no minimum investment requirements. While mutual funds may demand initial investments of $1,000 or $3,000, ETFs – which are traded on exchanges and fluctuate in price during the day – cost only their current trading price, like stocks.

ETFs offer exposure to asset classes ranging from bonds to domestic and international stocks, and even alternative investments like commodities. “Instead of trying to do one fund that’s going to do it all, you might need to find three or four ETFs that are going to fill all the different buckets that you want to hit,” Granucci says.

Before diving in. You might be ready to put that $5,000 to work, but before you settle on one of the above investments, McBride points out three places where your money would be better spent:

1. Paying down high-interest debt.
2. Saving for retirement in a tax-advantaged account, such as a 401(k) or individual retirement account.
3. Starting an emergency savings fund that covers six months of living expenses.

“For the vast majority of Americans, tackling those three priorities is going to more than chew up that $5,000,” he says.
And there’s a reason why paying debt is at the top of the list: You’ll get a higher risk-free rate of return by paying down credit card debt than you will investing in financial securities. As McBride says, “Paying off a 15 percent credit card balance is like earning 15 percent risk-free.”

But let’s assume you’ve paid off your debt, contribute to a 401(k) or IRA and have enough savings for a rainy day. Now you’re ready to sit down at the table. The experts might have different tastes, but they all agree on one thing: You have to know what you’re ordering.

In other words, if you don’t understand what you’re investing in, you might make some mistakes.

“The power of investing comes from compounded returns and time, and if you don’t understand what you’re doing and you’re afraid to ask questions, when the inevitable hiccup comes in the market,” Thakor says, “you will be more likely to change your course.”

Savings

Taxes: Bill #3261 Is Being Revised.

No Comments

Are you on the hunt for a virtual job, or hoping to earn extra money from home? You might need to pay attention to the latest bill that is being revised.

Some of the most affected jobs can be found below:

Here’s the full list of companies to watch for remote and telecommuting jobs in 2016:

1. Teletech

2. Convergys

3. Sutherland Global Services

4. Amazon

5. Kelly Services

6. Kaplan

7. First Data

8. IBM

9. SAP

10. Westat

11. UnitedHealth Group

12. Dell

13. Working Solutions

14. Intuit

15. US-Reports

16. Xerox

17. PAREXEL

18. Aetna

19. Humana

20. VMware

21. Salesforce

22. American Express

23. HD Supply

24. Forest Laboratories

25. ADP

26. K12 Inc.

27. CyberCoders

28. U.S. Department of Transportation

29. Connections Academy

30. World Travel Holdings

31. About.com

32. Apple

33. U.S. Department of the Interior

34. Aon

35. Western Governors University

36. U.S. Department of Agriculture

37. Anthem, Inc.

38. Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc.

39. Overland Solutions, Inc.

40. Appen

41. Covance

42. McKesson Corporation

43. Teradata Corporation

44. CACI International

45. Citizens Financial Group

46. Red Hat

47. Adobe Systems

48. Broadspire

49. Walden University

50. EMC

51. Infor

52. BCD Travel

53. Healthfirst

54. LanguageLine Solutions

55. Dell SecureWorks

56. Grand Canyon University

57. Precyse Solutions

58. Real Staffing

59. University of Maryland University College

60. Symantec

61. AutoTrader.com

62. Sodexo

63. SuccessFactors

64. Hartford Financial Services Group

65. Autodesk

66. American Heart Association

67. Nielsen

68. Ecolab

69. Erie Insurance Group

70. General Electric – GE

71. Edmentum

72. Polycom

73. Amerigroup

74. Health Net

75. ChamnessOnline

76. Kronos Incorporated

77. Teleflex

78. CVS Caremark

79. Thomson Reuters

80. GEISWriters.com

81. Canonical

82. Achieve Test Prep

83. Onyx Pharmaceuticals

84. Teach For America

85. Leidos

86. Unisys

87. BMC Software

88. Hanover Insurance Group

89. Perficient Inc.

90. Yoh

91. Computer Sciences Corporation – CSC

92. Pitney Bowes

93. 3M

94. Nationwide Insurance

95. New Teacher Project

96. MedAssets

97. CenturyLink Technology Solutions

98. CIGNA

99. FlexProfessionals, LLC

100. Magellan Health Services

 

Savings

NonProfits Need To Raise Money

No Comments

Why NonProfits need to raise money and why you shouldn’t help.

As kids, we’re taught that you never know unless you try, but this Tennessee woman took things to the extreme and tried super hard to win the Powerball, even though the whole thing’s based on luck and she had a better chance of being killed by a rogue vending machine than winning.

With nothing but hope and her faulty judgement, Cinnamon Nicole allegedly spent her entire life savings buying up all the Powerball tickets she could afford. But the Cordova resident ended up a broke loser when none of her lucky numbers matched Wednesday’s $1.6 billion Powerball numbers.

So what’s a penniless woman to do when she’s still all filled with hope but not a hint of common sense? Create a GoFundMe page, get donations and “spend another fortune trying to hit it big again.” That’s what Nicole did before GoFundMe decided they weren’t going to stand idly by while she makes a mockery of the crowdfunding site and shut her Powerball Reimbursement page down.

Here’s the gut-wrenching message that raised the woman $800 before getting deleted.

Please help me and my family as we have exhausted all of our funds. We spent all of our money on lottery tickets (expecting to win the 1.5 billion) and are now in dire need of cash. With your small donation of at least $1.00, a like and one share, I’m certain that we will be able to pick ourselves up from the trenches of this lost and spend another fortune trying to hit it big again! PLEASE, won’t you help a family in need. DONATE NOW.

Just another ridiculous GoFundMe page to add to the record.

Savings

Earning Statements

No Comments

We’ve heard some pretty crazy idea’s on savings and earnings, however, our latest interview with a kid in their 20’s blew us away.

What surprised us even more we did a survey and found most kids right no have the same thoughts.

 

Zach Speckard shares his thoughts on savings:

I don’t have any savings, but I also don’t have any wants.

I don’t know about you, but I like to enjoy my life. I like to go out to eat, buy clothes I don’t “need” and spend money with friends on memorable nights out.

This goes back to a piece of advice a very successful friend gave me: “Don’t save money. Make more money,” he nonchalantly stated, pushing me into a taxi.

Unlike most things people tell me, this advice did not go in one ear and out the other; it stayed with me and changed the way I look at everything from my career to my savings.

Before this piece of advice, I was frantic. I was always doubting and always feeling guilty. I lived in the most exciting city in the world (also the most expensive) and had yet to experience it.

I was trying to save, which meant trying not to eat. I wasn’t going out with friends, had yet to go to a club and had never seen the inside of a taxi.

I couldn’t enjoy my life because I was too busy worrying about my bank statement. I was too busy watching my savings instead of savoring my youth.

Why did I feel so guilty about spending money on myself and my life?

When did our 20s start to feel like our 40s? When did we get weighed down with the same pressure and stresses as a woman with four kids and a second mortgage?

We don’t have kids. We’ll be renting for the foreseeable future, and we have no problem eating McDonald’s when we’re skint.

I’ve recently figured it out: This pressure, this third-party stress, is ingrained within us. It’s this looming doom our parents carved into our unconscious, only to come out anytime we make an impulse purchase or have to spend the night without Netflix.

But like most things our parents have ingrained in us, we must consciously work to push it out. Because while they may have the best intentions, they don’t always have the best insight.

They want us to save because it provides us with a safety net, but that’s exactly why we shouldn’t. Their need for us to have a safety net is just a giant metaphor for the difference between our parent’s generation and ours.

They were getting married at 20 while we’re just getting our first apartments. They were saving for kids while we still want to be kids. We’re on different schedules, different paths and totally different savings plans.

We’re taking our time growing up, refusing to be shackled by mortgages and diapers. We’re not trying to live with safety nets; we’re trying to live on the edge.

When you’re too worried about your bank statement, you’re not making your own

When you live your life around your retirement fund, you may as well retire now. You can’t make a mark on the world if you’re too cheap to live in it.

Refusing to give yourself the luxury of enjoying your money negates the whole point of making it.

When you’re saving for yourself, you’re refusing to bet on yourself

People who are saving in their 20s are people who don’t set their sights high. They’ve already dropped out of the game and settled for the minor leagues.

Your 20s are not the time to save; they’re the time to gamble. $200 a month isn’t going to make the dent that a $60,000 pay raise will after spending all those nights out networking.

When you have something to bank on, you have nothing to reach for

When you have nothing to lose, you have everything to gain.

You’d be surprised at how cautious people get with just a few thousand in the bank. This isn’t the time to safeguard — it’s the time to bet all your chips and hope to make it big.

When you live your life by numbers, you strip yourself of poetry

What memorable experience does money in the bank give you? How well-rounded can people become sitting at home, watching their limited funds gain interest?

Life is to be lived, not watched from the inside of your rent-controlled apartment.

When you die, you can’t take your money with you

When you’re acutely aware of your mortality, it makes spending money that much easier. Those who don’t plan for the future aren’t planning for their death.

When you deprive yourself, you don’t learn how to TREAT YOUR SELF

It’s good to be cautious and plan for unexpected events. It’s also good, however, to learn how to release and destress. Everything works out, and if you’re smart, able and had a job once, you’ll have one again.

Don’t waste your youth worrying about expenses when you should be worrying about experiences.

When you care about your 401k, your life is just “k”

When you’re 40, you’re not going to look back on your 20s and be grateful for the few thousand you saved. You’re going to be full of regret.

You’ll regret the experiences you didn’t take, the people you didn’t meet and the fun you didn’t have because you were too worried about a future that came and went.

 

 

Although all of his “justifications” for not saving money sounds good, it is exactly the type of thinking that is leading this country to the largest number of people ready to retire and are not ready for it. Check back later and we’ll let you know how everything has changed.

Savings

Donations And Responses

No Comments

Usually we suggest to everyone that it is smart to donate some money to charities for the tax right offs. However, this story gives another perspective to why donating is always worth it.

When 7 year old Jack Swanson heard that the Islamic Center of Pflugerville in Texas had been vandalised, he decided to donate all of his savings – $20 dollars – to the mosque.

Vandals had torn pages of the Qur’an, covered it in faeces and left it outside the entrance of the mosque.

Jack’s mother told ABC News that her son had counted all of his pennies that he had been saving up and exchanged them to a $20 note to give to the mosque.

Faisal Na’eem a member of the Mosque’s management told ABC News that members of the Mosque were delighted by Jack’s generosity and that it had brought him hope,

“Jack’s 20 dollars are worth twenty million dollars to us because it’s the thought that counts…This gives me hope… it’s not one versus the other. Our kids are going to grow up together… If we have more kind-hearted kids like (Jack) in the world, I have hope for our future.”

But the story doesn’t end there. When the local Muslim community learned of Jack’s generosity, they decided to surprise him with a gift.

They sent him an Apple iPad which he had been saving up for and sent a message with it saying,

“Dear Jack,
You had saved $20 in your piggybank for an Apple iPad. But then a local Islamic mosque was vandalized. So you donated your $20 to this local Texas mosque instead. Because of your amazing generosity & kind heart…Please enjoy this Apple iPad with our sincere thanks

Love
The American Muslim Community :)”

1 2 3 … 6