I have a confession. I suffer from a slight case of ADHD.
In addition to that, I am scatterbrained to the umpteenth degree.
From the outside looking in, many people perceive me as a successful individual.
I run a financial planning practice; I run multiple websites; I have a huge family.
Oftentimes, people wonder how I pull it off – and to be quite frank, sometimes… I have no idea!
I am always looking for ways to increase productivity, and today I wanted to share four methods that have dramatically increased my productivity by 7000%.
How did I arrive at that number? I have no clue. It just sounded really cool for the article title. So, maybe it’s not 7000%, but I assure you, it is a lot! [.....]
In these tough economic times, many recognize the importance of financial planning.
You want to ensure that your resources are directed to best effect, and that means creating a spending plan that works well for your situation, and helps you prepare for the future.
Good budgeting software can help you take charge of your finances.
Happily, a large number of free online budget tools exists. You can get help for nearly any budgetary need you have.
Here are some of the best free online budget tools that can help you chart a course to financial freedom: [.....]
Commonly I get asked what are the requirements to become a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and what I went through to achieve the designation.
Knowing that there are over 800,000 people that can be considered “financial advisors”, I knew that I had to differentiate myself. But it wasn’t about being different, it was also about having a deeper understanding and appreciation of the financial planning process.
I knew that becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) was the answer to enhance my career. I found it fitting to not only share my experience, but to have a few other CFP® professionals chime in with their experience’s, too. [.....]
When we were in the process of building our dream home, we pretty well expected to go over budget.
Knowing this we tried to cut expenses as much as we could. The one expense that we knew that we absolutely had to avoid was PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance).
Recently, I had a reader question also pertaining to PMI:
Joe A. wants to know:
I’ve had my mortgage for 2 years and want to get rid of my PMI. The lender told me that I must get a home appraisal to prove that I have at least 80% equity.
Well, I got the appraisal and then paid the loan down to 80% of my home’s value. But then the lender sent me a letter saying I need a loan-to-value that’s 75%!
Now I’m worried that I’ll pay the loan down to 75%, but they’ll just have another excuse not to remove my PMI. What should I do?
Before I tell you the best ways to get rid of PMI, let’s take a step back and make sure you know what it is. [.....]
Baby-boomers with retirement within their grasp were the biggest losers in the Great Recession.
Whether you had an Individual Retirement Account or a 401(k), chances are you saw anywhere from one-fifth to one-half of your investment savings wiped out.
In a world when even during good times people tend to largely underestimate the costs of retirement, this loss of retirement support has been devastating to most individuals who were expecting to use it in the near future. Few alternatives exist that do not involve staying on at your place of work for another decade.
One, however, may sound promising to anyone with a little bit of energy left: start a business. [.....]
When you’re at the point in your life where you are adding to your Roth IRA in order to help plan for a stable and enjoyable retirement, it makes sense to have all of the current information regarding the current IRS regulations concerning the Roth.
Plus, you want to have a grasp of the current IRA rules for a given year. At this point, people are looking forward to 2012.
In some cases, you might have taken the maximum contribution amount into your Roth for 2011 and you’re thinking about saving for next year’s contribution. Perhaps, you’ve got your eye on the tax season. No matter what, you want to know enough before you start making decisions about your IRA. Here’s a look at the Roth IRA rules for 2012. [.....]
With Occupy Wall-Street protests, college graduates moving back home, and complaint after complaint about college tuition, it seems like graduating college debt free is something of the past.
I’m here to let you know that it’s not only possible but highly attainable!
I don’t know what life situation you may be in right now but I want to share with you some steps that I took to achieve my goal of zero dollars in debt after college. Yes, blood and sweat was involved, but at the end of the day, it was so worth it to walk off with my diploma knowing that I worked for my education without the help of banks or government aid.
If you are like 40% of the population, you will file your tax return as soon as you possibly can in order to
A) get it over with and/or B) receive your refund more quickly.
More than thirty-eight million taxpayers in the United States file by the end of February.
However, if you are one of those lifelong procrastinators who always waits until the last minute… This is your year!
When are taxes due for 2011? Instead of Tax Day falling on the usual 15th day of April, this year your 2011 tax return will not be due until Tuesday, April 17th, 2012.
Due to a combination of interesting circumstances, we all get a three day extension to file our federal income tax returns. In the United States, the tax deadline can never fall on a Saturday or Sunday. If April 15th lands on a weekend, taxes will not be due until the following Monday. Tax Day can also not be on a federal holiday. [.....]
Have you ever wondered if what your investing in is the right thing for you? If you have you are asking about investment management.
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets used to meet specific investment goals for the benefit of the investor (Wikipedia).
How would an advisor invest your money?
Every person has their own unique set of needs and goals for their future. Saying this, the same old cookie cutter” approach will not work for everyone. With this in mind you need to take some time to figure out exactly what you are saving for. [.....]
