People who know me know I’m not a very violent guy.
I’ve never been in a fist fight in my entire life, I very seldom ever yell (except when the St. Louis Cardinals would blow a four run lead in the bottom of the ninth), and I cover my face with a pillow when there’s a confrontation on the TV (go ahead and laugh…my wife does, too).
In short, my personality type is one that is constantly smiling, and can be easily labeled as “Joe Cool”.
But, like any human being, there are some occurrences that get me really fired up. One of the biggest things that gets me fired up? Financial advisors that lie, steal, and cheat. [.....]
The million $5 billion dollar question of the week,
“How do I buy shares of Facebook’s IPO?”
I’ve literally have had a dozen people ask me how they can get in on the action. Ironically, none of the questions came from Facebook (random thought).
For those that want to know how to buy Facebook IPO, this video is for you:
Spoiler alert: The answer is probably not what you want to hear.
It might seem to be too good to be true. A credit card company will pay for a round trip flight for you? What’s the catch? (Yes, there is a very small catch. We’ll get to that in just a second.) But the bottom line is you actually can get a free flight on Southwest Airlines after you first use your Chase Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card.
For the travel buffs (or business travelers) out there, this is a great travel rewards card.
How Does the Bonus Flight Points Work?
After you apply for the credit card and activate your account, you will qualify for the bonus points after your first purchase on the card. After that first swipe you’ll get 25,000 points applied to your account which is enough to claim two one-way flights that would normally cost you $208 each way. Those two flights will eat up 24,960 of those bonus points.
It’s really that simple.
But a free flight isn’t the only reward you will get. There are other great perks, too.
The holiday season is already behind us but that doesn’t mean you still can’t give the perfect gift.
In the financial world, the term gift has a whole new meaning as it pertains to estate planning. Many investors look to “gift” a portion of their estate to prevent having to pay a hefty estate tax down the road.
If you want the bottom line about the gifting tax here it is: If you make gifts to friends or family that is large enough, there is the possibility that you may owe the federal government some tax money.
Of course, you probably want more information about the current regulations of the federal gift tax. Keep reading and I’ll share a few of the major points for 2012 and beyond. Sorry if this isn’t as exciting as the Nutcracker.
First, and perhaps foremost for some, is the fact that you, as the giver, are not going to be taxed (unless you exceed the gift tax exemption). It is the recipients who will have to pay taxes. For taxes to figure into the equation at all, you will have to have given away in excess of $1 million in cash or other assets over the course of your life.
Plus, if you have a spouse they have their own separate exemption for the same amount. What this means is that most people will never have worry about the federal gift tax at all. (Currently $139,ooo up from $136,000 for 2011 tax year) [.....]
Potato, potahto. Tomato, tomahto. Fee Only Vs. Fee Based. The same difference, right?
Not quite.
If you’ve ever interviewed or hired a financial advisor, chances are you you have no idea how you are paying them. Advisors can get paid way in many different ways.
Mainstream media loves the “fee only” advisor. No conflict of interest, no commissions, certainty of what you are paying.
But then you have the “fee-based” advisor. The fee-based advisor earns a fee, but then can also earn a commission. Say what? Yes, it’s all together confusing and that’s why I attempt to explain it here:
Each day my inbox gets flooded with hundreds of emails.
Offer this, buy this, accept my guest post this. Ugh!
I’ve been working more diligently to check my email only a few times per day, but there’s one email in particular that I’m glad that I noticed.
About a year or so ago, I signed up for a free service called Credit Sesame. Credit Sesame is an online site that specializes in informing their customers of their credit score changes or any possibilities that they can maybe save money on refinancing a home or any of their debt.
Since it was free, I thought what the heck, I’ll try it out. Once you sign up, they occasionally email you when they feel that there is an opportunity that you can benefit from.
Please note, their emails are very infrequent, so don’t worry about getting flooded with hundreds of offers.
Who doesn’t like the idea of getting cash back on your normal every day spending?
No special miles that need to be redeemed on the 15 non-blackout dates on the airline. No special branded points that can only be used in a special credit card company online “mall”.
Just straight cash back — essentially a pure discount on your spending — in categories that you use every single month. That sounds like a win to me.
If it sound like winning to you, go ahead and apply now for the American Express Blue Cash credit card.
Are you currently struggling to keep up with your credit card minimum payments? Are you paying interest in the 14.99% to 24.99% (or higher) range?
You need to pay attention.
Did you know you can get a 0% loan for 12 months?
Imagine what dropping your interest rate down to 0% could do for your financial situation. That $5,000 balance that you’ve been chipping away at for months with no progress could be wiped out in 12 months if you really put your mind to it.
Don’t believe me? Let’s do some easy math. [.....]
It’s one of those things that you think will never happen to you.
To walk into the kitchen and find the love of your life lying lifeless on the floor; dead on the cold kitchen tile.
It’s been over three years since I heard this story. A fresh widow sitting in my office clenching the box of tissues that I offered her, sharing her sad story with me.
She had been married to her husband for over twenty years. They had two wonderful kids and loved spending each day with each other.
The Family Man
The husband was a hard worker. He loved his family and gave each day his all. He had no preexisting conditions. As a doctor himself, he was very conscious of his health and took care of himself.
Stories like this happen more often than we want to believe. You see it in the news, you see it in blogs, you even hear about it on Oprah. [.....]
