Is Financial Planning Expensive?

Nowadays, financial planning has become a very important factor when you want to achieve any financial goal. No matter whether it is a short-term or long-term goal, financial planning enables people to meet their financial goals by planning. It does so by taking savings and allowing them to invest in several financial instruments. You should know that investors don't have enough resources that will allow them to get deep financial knowledge so that the securities can be analyzed. Besides, they don't have enough time to analyze securities. 

So, what you can do is consult a financial advisor. The advisors generally charge fees for their advisory services. Therefore, it is essential to have a deep knowledge regarding financial advisor fees. Now, dig into the article to know whether financial planning is expensive or not.

Who is a Financial Advisor?

Financial advisors are those specialists who usually offer financial advice to investors so that they can achieve their goals in life. Hence, they need to conduct financial preparation, a process that allows the people to achieve the target via proper financial management.

They can have different types of goals like purchasing a home, investing money for child education, estate or retirement planning. The major role of an advisor is to make customers feel relaxed and give them some confidence. The advisors must keep up with the current events of business. Besides, they need to offer the customers impartial advice.

What Is The Cost of a Financial Advisor?

The service type you want, the portfolio size, and the compensation structure are the factors that need to be considered while determining the cost of a financial advisor. However, you will not find any standard cost that is applicable to financial advisors. A few advisors charge depending on the credentials and certifications. For instance, a financial coach can charge less than a CFP or certified financial planner.

Try to find such an advisor who can fulfil your requirements, such as making a suitable financial plan at a budget-friendly price range. But it never indicates that you need to choose the cheapest advisor. However, if you want, you can go with ones who charge higher fees and can provide an in-depth and detailed look at your finances.

You should ask the advisor about their fee structure, how to give their payments, what is included in their price range, before settling on an advisor.

How Are Financial Advisors Paid?

You should know that all advisors aren't paid in the same way. However, the payment structures depend on a few factors, including flat fees, commissions, or percentage of assets.

Fee-only:

This type of advisor can earn money when you give them payment for their services, and the fees may be hourly or flat. However, they can take the charges as a percentage of assets they are managing for you. But there are advantages when you work with this kind of advisor, i.e., the advisors are fiduciaries. In this case, you should know that a financial advisor who is working under fiduciary duty is needed by law for putting the best interest of the clients above their own. When you hire advisors, they may recommend some financial plans and products. Advisors should recommend such plans to the clients that suit their clients best instead of pushing them by those plans which can allow the advisors to earn them a commission.

Commissions:

There are some advisors working on commission. They earn money through sales commissions from third parties. But there are a few advisors who advertise themselves that they are "free" advisors. It indicates that they are not charging any money for their advice. But the money is earned actually through the commission.

Therefore, if you are going with a commission-based financial advisor, it's vital to proceed with cautions. Remember that these kinds of advisors are not fiduciary like the fee-only type. These advisors are salespeople with whom you should consult mainly for insurance brokerages & investment. They will not recommend their clients the best product as per the customers' needs.

But you should know that all commission-based financial advisors are not reliable. A few products are sold under a commission model, like life insurance. So, you must remember that they aren't held to the same care level as fee-only financial advisors.

Percentage of Assets:

Advisors can also charge their payments based on a percentage of the assets which they are managing. The average percentage is around 1% per year. For Robo-advisors, the charge is near about 0.25% to 0.5%. You will get more benefits if you have a large amount of assets as they need to pay less percentage rates compared to those who have a small amount of assets.

Should You Use a Robo-advisor?

These automated software platforms help to simplify investing. You can get these services at a much lower cost than in-person advisors. If you are going to use the robo-advisor due to the reasonable fees, you need to remember these have caveats.

These programs help to manage the money. But these software programs will not tailor a financial plan that is specific to the requirements of the clients. If someone is going to use this platform, he Or she will be asked several questions such as the present state of the finances, overall risk tolerance of the client, their financial goal, and so on. Based on the answer of the questions, the platform will give a pre-made portfolio.

There are a few robo-advisors that give an option that allows the users to add personalized financial services. But it charges extra fees for that.

How to Find a Financial Advisor:

When you start working with a financial advisor, it may happen that you have no idea from where you should start your search. Several professional financial planning associations give free databases. Here, we are going to mention a few professional financial planning association names. Let's check it.

• NAPFA (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors) 
• Garrett Planning Network 
• XY Planning Network ACP (Alliance of Comprehensive Planners)
• Ensure that you understand the services, the fees, and the costs charged by the financial advisor, before you settle on a particular advisor.

The bottom line:

Sometimes, you may find that hiring a financial advisor is an unnecessary expense. But you should remember that they can save money in the long run. Therefore, when you hire a financial advisor, before you sign, ensure that the advisors have transparent fees. You should generally go with such an advisor whose fee is less compared to the amount of money they save for you. You can verify any financial advisor via the government website before you sign documents or hand over the money. Is Financial Planning Expensive? What Is the Average Cost of a Financial Advisor? Is this question bothering you? Then you should know that In the year 2021, as per the Research of an Advisory HQ News Corp, the average fee of a financial advisor was 1.02% of AUM annually for a $1 million account.

Five Mistakes Mutual Fund Investors Should Avoid In This Market

Spare Cash – Equity Schemes – Long-Term Prospects

Several investors of mutual fund, particularly the new ones tend to be apprehensive since the market seems to be suspended around past pea. Discussions of expensive valuating, liquidity driven rally etc. tend to make them anxious with regard to their investments. Several of them have been probing with their advisors of mutual fund regarding their investments.

 As per the advisors, they have been cautioning their clients from engaging in certain errors which they state could occur in a risking market such as the prevailing one. When the market is said to be on an upsurge, several investors of mutual fund seem to get excited and if in a position to do so, would not hesitate to put their money in equity mutual funds particularly in the group that tends to offer the highest returns.

However, this could rebound greatly. It is advisable to stick to ones goals and allocation. If one tends to have allocated money to equity schemes for long-term financial goals, they should stick to it. It is not necessary to change your investment plan because the stock market has been crushed. You could invest spare cash in equity schemes which tend to have long-term prospects. You could also make planned allocation when the need for big correction arises.

Reversal Trends – Investor Panic

However, one should refrain from making huge changes to their original investment plan and go heavy on equity schemes. One need not get apprehensive when there is excitement in the stock market. Some of the investors seem to get anxious when there are talks regarding the performance of the market.

Even the smallest indication of reversal trend in the market tends to make these investors to panic from the market which is not the appropriate attitude for investment. If one intends to invest with a long prospect, they tend to go through several phases in the market scenario which cannot be avoided. One needs to be firm and stick to one’s financial plan.

The treat to Fed rate cut is expensive valuations, imminent correction and liquidity-driven rally. Market is never short of talking points and experts enjoy discussing every frayed topic. But an investor of mutual fund does not have to be perturbed by all this topics provided by experts. Most of the issues are relevant to clients only who tend to build position daily in order to en-cash on these types of news.

Essential Information Forming Knowledgeable Opinion

Most of these earth shattering events seem like minor problems when they are considered after a long period of time. Buying and selling should never been undertaken in an impulsive manner. Several of the investors tend to make it a habit of indulging in it immediately after an event or news breaks out and believes that it would change the luck of their investments.

These types of errors should be refrained. One needs to step back, consider the topic and get into discussion with your advisor, friends or colleagues with those who could be familiar with these sorts of issues. One should not involve in anything till you have all the essential information in forming a knowledgeable opinion.

Buying and holding is the only strategy which tends to work though it could also be a boring one for some and a segment of the market is always on the lookout for some fancy ideas which could be helpful. At times it tends to get difficult to resist from betting on the theme since it could be widely hyped as being the magic formula in multiplying money and one should refrain for the same.

Dollar retreats from 14-year highs, investors unpack Fed minutes

 
As the value of dollar fell against euro and yen the investors became cautious regarding increase in bets on greenback without any hints with respect to the economy of U.S. and the hike in rate of interest. The very first day of trading in 2017 for several investors was full of expectations as they met with U.S. manufacturing data which was way different from the previous days. Since, the depreciation of dollar was the highest till date.

The Federal Open Market Committee that met in December, had warned everyone of the risk of increase in inflation after President Donald Trump’s proposal of fiscal influence standards that would shift dollar and will push up euro to $1.0499, which is its highest value declared. But as the investors changed their ways, euro started tracing profits to some extent.

Joe Manimbo, a senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington has intended that this decrease in the value of dollar in comparison to euro and yen have led to mixed reactions as in a way it sounds optimistic in terms of the economy, and on the other way it suggests a demoralized power of dollar.

Research have shown that the last time the value of euro increased by 0.6 percent at $1.0465. The current data shows that such a quick increase in the value of euro in December was unexpected and the surveys prove that due to this the growth in business have reached new heights in more than five years.

The dollar was last seen to be down by 0.2 percent against yen at 117.51 after an overnight hike of 118.17 yen. After Trump was elected as the President dollar has increased against many currencies with an expectation that administration under him will push up inflation, leading the Federal Reserve to follow up through a hike in rate of interest.

The Mexican peso was found to be striking the lowest level against the greenback, it fell more than 2 percent to 21.62 pesos per dollar with an intention that Trump’s policy might allow the protectionist U.S. trade policy to become a reality.

The Chinese yuan was increased to 6.8707, which was its highest value recorded against dollar since 6th December. As a result China went into both onshore and offshore markets to increase the depreciating yuan for the second time. China was also found to set the onshore middle point rate much lower than the market actually expected from it which lead many investors leaving the ground, who were intending more upcoming weaknesses in the currency, positioning in the negative direction, this was propagated by Greg Anderson, who is the global head of foreign exchange strategy at BMO capital Markets.

Thus, we can relate that how the marketing strategies as well as the position of investors are subjected to change with fluctuating value of currencies that on a longer run effects the entire economy of the country both positively and negatively.

Bank of England Warns Property is a Key Risk to Economy

Bank of England Cautions – Commercial Property Main Key to Economy

The Bank of England has cautioned that commercial property would be the main key to the economy after the Brexit vote. The main concern is that the market from warehouses to office space to retail parks with regards to commercial property is deep distress. Foreign investors, who have purchased commercial property, have made around 45% of all commercial property bought and sold since 2009. The inflow of money to UK seemed to slow down, even before the Brexit vote and dropped by 50% during the first quarter of 2016.

A warning had been given by The Financial Policy Committee that `valuations in some sections of the market, particularly the prime London market had become stretched’. The Financial Stability Report of the Bank points that the real estate investment trust share prices had dropped severely and cautioned about the risk of `future marked adjustment in commercial real estate prices’. According to the translation from Bank of England, there is a risk that commercial property prices may crash.

Considerable amount of most of the valuable prime London commercial property is said to be in the City where some of the foreign investors like banks and investment manager have a

ssisted in financing a powerful and constant session of construction, which have been symbolised by iconic buildings with nicknames like the Gherkin, the Cheese-grater or the Walkie Talkie

Inflows of Foreign Investment in British Companies – Slowed Down

Since 1980, the UK had earned abroad, extremely less selling goods and services than it had spent on imports thus developing a current account deficit. Roughly there was more money going out than coming in. For years it was compensated by attracting money to the UK in two ways.

The first way was that foreign investors had been willing to buy shares in UK companies and lending money to their government. The second was, the foreign companies had been ready in investing directly for instance, constructing new buildings in the City of London or in investing in business such as Jaguar Land Rover in order to turn it into success.

The report of the FPC had stated that all inflows of foreign investment in British companies had slowed down in the approach to the referendum.

Investors’ Belief – Risk in Investing in UK Companies

Investors are now of the belief that they will be taking a risk in investing in UK companies, that are reproduced in share prices, the biggest two-day slip in the value of sterling in more than forty years.There have been some reassuring words in the report. The banks for instance have been stress examined against scenario where the commercial property drops by 30% and residential by 35% with severe recession.Banks tend to have high quality liquid assets of £600bn like shares in top companies, government cash and bonds.

They could endure losses which were double as those undergone in the 2008 crisis without falling short of money. With that security, the Bank of England ruled on that the banks did not need to build up £150bn as a `counter-cyclical capital buffer’. The counter-cyclical buffer is just cash that is kept aside in good times so that it can be made available when the down-swing occurs

US dollar wallows near 4-week lows as Janet Yellen sounds cautious note

Dollar Flanked, Close to Four-Weeks Lows

After the remark of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen failed to toss a lifebuoy to the recently plunging greenback, the dollar flanked up though still reeled close to four weeks lows against a basket of currencies on Tuesday. The index of the dollar that tracks U.S. currency against a basket of six main rivals pushed up 0.1% to 94.017, though it stayed within sight of its overnight low of 93.745, the weakest level since May 11.

However Yellen had remained comparatively enthusiastic regarding the overall U.S. economic outlook, stating that the Fed would hike the interest rate, she provided no fresh clues about timing, calling the last month’s U.S. jobs data as `disappointing’. Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong, had commented that `she was positive though compared to her speech of May 27, when she had said a move would have been suitable `in the coming months’, she had not been specific regarding the timing’. The dollar seemed to be under pressure since the Friday reports of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls had indicated the slowest job growth in more than five years in May, suppressing prospects for a near-term U.S. interest rate rise.

Recent Currency Market `Orderly’

The U.S. interest rate futures implicated traders had all but priced out any chance the Fed would raise rates at its policy meeting next week, even before Yellen had spoken. The dollar had upturned its previous losses against the yen and rose 0.2% to 107.81 yen pulling away from the previous session’s low of 106.35, its weakest in a month.

It stayed wary of levels above 109 yen, where it remained as recently on Friday. The Japanese Finance Minister, Taro Aso, earlier on Tuesday informed reporters that he would desist from commenting on the possible response of Japan on the currency market if the yen was to rise further. He also declined to comment on the remarks of U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew over the weekend which described the recent currency market movement as `orderly’ as an indication of caution towards the currency intervention.

Recent Unstable Sterling Marked Hard Rebound

The euro had pushed up 0.1% to $1.1360, reversing toward the earlier sessions’ almost one-month high of $1.1393. The recent unstable sterling marked a hard rebound after dipping more than 1% to three week lows in the earlier session, resulting in several polls ahead of the June 23 poll preferred the chance of British voters choosing to leave the European Union.

However the two polls in Tuesday’s newspaper portrayed Britons narrowly preferred staying the EU, when compared to the surveys released earlier. The pound had added 0.7% to $1.4524 after moving a one-week high of $1.4664 and on Monday had followed a low of $1.4352, its deepest all-time low since May 16. The Australian dollar had risen 0.6% to $0.7413 to one-month high after Reserve Bank of Australia had held policy stable as anticipated. It stated that its decision had been steady with maintainable growth. According to a Reuter’s poll, the central bank is broadly likely to hold rates at record low of 1.75% after its cut in May, with 49 of 52 economist’s surveyed sightingthe RBA standing pat.

Hard times on Wall Street as pay cuts, layoffs loom

Wall Street Pay – Trending Low

Latest report from compensation consultant Johnson Associates indicates that Wall Street pay tends to be trending lower this year as frail first quarter earnings, strong business environment and regulatory restraints will cause in slashes in almost all the trade’s lines of business. Managing director of Johnson Associates, Alan Johnson stated that this is the first time since the financial crisis that they have seen everyone trend down. The report is established on the results from the first three months of the year and hence the viewpoint could alter, according to Johnson.

But he did note that is a psychological change amidst the clients of his firm.Financial companies believe that the environment could be harder ahead; marked by more opposition, low interest rates for extended and extra regulation. Johnson has stated that there seems to be a lengthy list of things and that their clients have put them together saying that it is just going to become harder. According to report, in the financial industry, incentive pay will drop between 5% and 20% this year and the exemption to it will be in retail as well as commercial banking where the pay would be flat to around 5%.

Year Ahead Fair Amount of More Job Cuts

Johnson had mentioned that this area moves more with the cost of living and that the sector has been performing well. On the other hand, pay in investment bank would weaken between 10% and 20% though compensation in sales and trading is said to drop 5% to 20%, as per report and it is not only investment bankers perceived in taking a pay cut, since hedge fund compensation is projected to decline by 5 – 15%.

The pay for asset managers is seen off at 5% to 10% owing to weak inflows together with lower to flat appreciation in assets under the category of management. Together with pay being cut, payrolls would also be trimmed according to Johnson. He further added that it is quieter than in the past, though it seems to occur as one speaks. This year and ahead there will be a fair amount of more job cuts.

Global Mergers/Acquisitions – Volume Plunge 20%

Most of the financial companies are persistently reducing head count in places inclusive of London and New York since the cities tend to be too expensive, deciding to cut on jobs or move the workers to lower-cost centres. According to financial services data firm Dealogic, global investment banking businesses seemed to suffer the slowest first quarter since 2009.

The almost$750 billion in global mergers as well as acquisitions signified a volume plunge of 20% year over year, as per Dealogic report recently. The analysts stated that banking revenue was affected by a combination of slow start to the years’ M&A, weak high-yield debt issuance together with lingering weakness in the trading operations of banks. Making matter worse was the trading desk revenue which had been shrinking at several top banks.

Morgan Stanley had revealed plans of reducing head count in its fixed income, currency as well as commodities trading operation as a measure of a broader plan of streamlining operations and generating savings. But the stock of the bank had recovered from early February lows, and the shares are yet down by about 20% on the year. No comments have been provided by representatives of Morgan Stanley.

BHS Collapse - Pension all you Need to Know

Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Defined Benefit – DB Scheme

Employees provided with financial security when they tend to retire seem to bea useful aim for liable company.Several of Britain’s biggest firms have set up defined benefit – DB pension schemes over the years, which tend to reward the staff based on how much they seem to earn and how long they work. There are around 12 million active members in Britain during the heyday of the DB pension in the 1960s and 70s and it was clear that companies could not afford to support so many people in this way for decades after they had finished working and the long period of strong stock markets had concealed the worst of the problem in the 1980s.

Towards 2007, there were only 2,240 open DB schemes with an addition of 6,250 still paying out though closed to new members. This relates to more than 38,000 less generous defined contribution schemes. As for companies which are left with the gold-plated pensioners, even if they tend to have adequate funds to pay them, the long-term liabilities could be bigger than the business. The RSA insurance firm is just one FTSE 100 firm where its pension fund is many times larger than its own £5bn value of the market.

Pension Fund of Company Has a Deficit of £157m

When a company tends to get ruined, the first thought should be for the workers who will not only lose their jobs but their retirement income could also be at risk. Often a trouble company tends to have pension deficit and so it is the case with BHS, a respected British retailer that has been overtaken by changes in fashion. The present workforce at BHS of about 11,000 is dwarfed by the 20,000 people qualified to claim a pension.

The scheme has resources of over £400m though its deficit between its resources and disabilities is over £200m. It is estimated that the pension fund of the company has a deficit of £157m. Though the company had been struggling financially for some time, it has gone into administration which is a process wherein a company is controlled by a licenced professional who tends to run it in a way protecting creditors as well as the company directors. Presently administrators Duff and Phelps have been running BHS as going concern and if it does not discover new owners, it could begin the process of realising its assets to cope up with its debts.

Possible Buyers Apprehensive

As of March 31, 2015, the company is said to have £435m of pension assets which indicates the scheme was less than 50% subsidized. It is assumed that Sports Direct had held talks regarding buying some of the 164 stores of BHS together with a number of other retail chains who have expressed interest in purchasing part of the company or its estate. However possible buyers are apprehensive by the £571m pension deficit of the firm.

The Pension Protection Fund which was set up in 2005 tends to use an annual levy charge to all companies with DB schemes in order to support the one whose corporate sponsor tends to fail. The PPF has 220,000 current as well as prospective pensioners on record and intends to be self-funding by 2030. Rescue of BHS’s pension is set to be among the top ten largest deals though comfortably within the financial abilities of the lifeboat.

Tax and Encryption Rows Cast Shadow on UK Tech Boom

Tax/Encryption Commotion between Tech Giants/Government

Digital minister Ed Vaizey MP has stated that tax and encryption commotions between tech giants and government need not dominate the growing tech industry of UK. Vaizey had debated that critics in tech had not appreciated the intention of the bill, on the same day when critics on the Joint Select Committee had reported that the extension of digital surveillance powers of the government had to be fundamentally reconsidered.

He had informed WIRED that he `wanted it to be in partnership between the government and tech and often there is a binary approach. If one talks about the security services requirements, in a digital age, to be safe, you will be riding roughshod over protected principles in tech’. UK tech is a central part of the economy informed Vaizey emphasising that the latest Tech Nation survey which showed in digital was faster by 32% when compared to the rest of the economy.

Tech giants including Apple and Google said that the Investigatory Power Bill seemed to outlaw end-to-end encryption utilised by messaging services inclusive ofWhatApp and iMessage. Other critics have informed that the bill is `sloppily’ written and comprises of areas of considered vagueness

Digital Industries – Annual UK Turnover of £161 Billion

In response, Vaizey had repeated the assertion of the government that the Prime Minister David Cameron had not wanted to ban’ encryption but maintain powers over its use as well as the companies which tend to employ it. Vaizey had mentioned that they had the same debate on adult content and saw nothing wrong, viewingit as the role of a politician.

He would not let kids to read hard-core pornography when it is printed and that they need to do something to ensure that they don’t stumble across this on the web and should work together. He feels that they have made progress on that and hopes to have the same debate with regards to security. As the debates tend to carry on, the industry continues to grow. As per the annual Tech Nation report, formed by the government-funded Tech City UK industry group, together with the revolution charity Nest and GrowthIntel, digital industries tend to have an annual UK turnover of £161 billion

Digital Jobs Created in Unexpected Areas

Tech seems to be growing across the UK, not just in London; with the turnover growth for instance higher in Southampton than London as per Tech Nation. The details of the report as in 2015 had highlighted continued issues beyond the South East on England with infrastructure, access to funding as well as availability of expertise.

Chief executive of Nesta, Geoff Mulgan had mentioned in a report that it showed a number of digital jobs created in unexpected areas. He had also mentioned that the government had to do more in supporting the growth of tech in health, new industries like the Internet of Things as well as the ability of the UK in the development, retaining high value companies to work on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

He further added that `for all those though there is a challenge over the question of whether government is really using its policy power, purchasing power sufficiently, policy plays a big role in FinTech’ He is of the belief that several people in government would acknowledge that there is not the same equivalent alignment yet.

Nine of the World’s Biggest Banks Form Blockchain Partnership

Banks in Partnership to Form Blockchain

According to reports, nine of the world’s biggest banks which include Goldman Sachs as well as Barclays have come together with New York based financial tech firm R3 in order to develop a structure in utilising blockchain technology in the market.

For the first time banks have now joined forces to work on a shared way in which the technology that helpsbitcoin a Web based cryptocurency couldbe utilised in finance. Interest in blockchain has increased in the past few years and has already attracted major investments from many important banks which would be saving them money by making their operation quicker, efficient and more translucent.

The latest project which is the outcome of over a year’s worth of consultations with the R3, the banks as well as other members of the financial industry, would be led by R3 CEO David Rutter, earlier CEO of electronic trading at ICAP Electronic Trading which is one of the world’s largest interdealer brokers.

Rutter had informed Reuters recently that they had several round tables to consider in depth what the possible implications of the blockchain would be and what it could probably do in order to save money and time as well as to create an improved paradigm for the world of Wall Street and finance.

Function as Huge Decentralized Ledger

Some of those who have signed up for the initiative are J P Morgan, UBS, State Street, Royal Bank of Scotland, BBVA and Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Credit Suisse.

Blockchain tends to function as a huge decentralized ledger of all bitcoin transaction made which has been verified and shared through a global network of computers.

Hence it tends to be effectively tamper-proof. A team from Bank of England have been dedicated to it calling it a `key technological innovation’. Data that can be safeguarded by using the technology is not limited to bitcoin transactions.

Two parties could utilise it for the exchange of any other information quickly as well as without the need of a third party to verify the same. Rutter has mentioned that the earlier focus would be to approve on underlying architecture, however it had not been certain whether it would be supported by bitcoin’s blockchain or another one like one which is being built by Ethereum, offering additional features than the initial bitcoin technology.

Technologies - Transform Financial Transactions

He further added that once the same is agreed on, the first use of the technology could be the issuance of commercial paper on the blockchain.

He is of the belief that these technologies would probably be post-trade and the savings would be in the settlement side, in post-trade in issuance though not in exchange trading of OTC trading, in the near future. He also mentioned that R3 will soon be announcing a few more banks that would be joining the banks.

 Hu Liang, Senior Vice President as well as the head of emerging technologies at State Street, had mentioned in a statement that these new technologies could transform how financial transactions are recorded, reconciled as well as reported, with all additional security, lower error rates and significant cost reductions.

How to Stop a Foreclosure with a Short Sale

When you take out a home loan, you agree to make regular payments over 10 years or longer until you pay off both the original loan and the interest the lender charged on that loan. If you experience a medical problem, lose your job or go through other lifestyle changes, you may find that you can no longer pay off your mortgage. This gives the lender the right to foreclose on your home. Before a foreclosure ruins your credit, find out how you can recover with a short sale.

What is a Short Sale?

Many homeowners turn to companies like Realty ONE Group because they aren't sure what a short sale is or if a short sale is right for them. A short sale is essentially an agreement between you and your lender that allows you to sell your home before the lender forecloses on the property. You may have several months or up to one year to find a buyer for your home. Lenders often prefer going through a short sale than foreclosing on a home because it gives the bank more money.

Benefits of a Short Sale

Though a short sale will still appear on your credit report, many find that it impacts them less than a foreclosure does. A foreclosure will remain on your credit report for up to 10 years, which will make it difficult for you to obtain another home loan or any other type of loan. Depending on the agreement you work out with your lender, you may have the chance to walk away free and clear too. Some banks will agree to accept a set amount to pay off your total mortgage. As long as you sell your home for that amount, you won't owe the bank any additional money.

Before Putting Your House on the Market

Before you decide to go the short sale route and put your home on the market, you need to get some help from professionals like Kuba Jewgieniew and others. Those professionals can help you with everything from making arrangements with your bank to finding a qualified buyer and closing on the house. Professionals can also help you determine if you qualify for special programs like the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program. These special programs can help you sell your home quickly without damaging your credit report or score.

Does the Euro Have A Future

Debt Crisis – Important Failings in Design of Eurozone

Debt crisis in Europe had indicated the important failings in the design of Eurozone and predictions stating that the growth would be returning have not done much to inspire confidence according to Emma Alberici. Top economists and politicians besides Former Chancellors Alistair Darling, Nigel Lawson and Norman Lamont convey that the Eurozone cannot survive in its current form.

 During the interviews and articles for The Independent today, they were questioned on their short-term as well as long term prediction for the future of the euro. Though several are of the opinion that the Eurozone could be surviving the current Greek debt crisis particularly, if the political will invest in preventing disorderly default, none are confident that it would stay on.

They are of the belief that the new European Fiscal Compact that has been agreed in principle recently is unmanageable since it would take key financial powers from the national government as well as their electorates. Several of the economists and the politicians have disapproved the rush to strictness imposed on Italy and Greece recommending that it would be counter-productive by depressing growth and competitive imbalances among Eurozone members would be difficult to overcome. They had recommended that the ultimate consequence of the crisis would be quite a smaller Eurozone with Germany at the centre and countries like Greece, Italy, Ireland and Portugal on the external.

ECB Dropped Official Interest

As per Budget Papers `recent policy action in Europe has meant that some of the worst crisis risks have abated since the end of 2012 and global conditions are expected to gradually improve’. It is now over a year since Mario Draghi, European Central Bank President, had been credited with saving Europe by informing financial markets that he would do `whatever it would take’, to save the euro, which scarcely counts as `policy action’ and Mario’s subsequent move are still to yield any apparent success.

ECB had dropped official interests to 0.5 percent for the Eurozone and the Central Bank also had indicated that it was `technically ready’, to cut the deposit rate from the prevailing zero percent to negative territory. It would need the ECB to charge banks for safeguarding the money which would make it smart for the banks to extend credit to household as well as businesses instead of holding their money in Frankfurt, which is at the ECB headquarters.

Lower interest rate do not boost growth as they did early since people in Europe and Australia tend to be extra cautious when it comes to borrowing. With unemployment in the Eurozone, having a record of 12.1 percent, smaller numbers of people tend to have the capacity of repaying the loans they may have.

Severity – An Anti-Growth Approach 

All over Europe, severity has been considered as an anti-growth approach though no reliable alternative has come up to bring back life in the 17 countries that tend to share a currency. Vice president of the European Commission responsible for the euro, Olli Rehn, sounded the only strong note of optimism and predicted that the currency would emerge stronger from the crisis.

He stated that they would be undertaking nothing less than an economic reformation of Europe and step by step, they would be creating financial stability and the conditions for sustainable growth and job creation. However Mr Darling commented that he does not thing anyone could realistically say the Eurozone would survive with its present membership and the longer the inaction goes on, the greater the chance that one or more countries would be forced out.

Eurozone not About to Collapse but Survive …..?

Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College, Danny Blanchflower, commented that `the fundamental problem which has not been addressed is that there is no growth plan for Greece and even if a new loan is given to them, they will have no means of paying it back. The markets seem to have been priced in an orderly default.

The problem lies in a disorderly default which means default and exit for Greece. There seems to be moments to play out at the final hour though two and a half years down, he has little confidence that there would be an orderly way out’.Professor of Economics, New York University, Nouriel Roubini states his opinion that `the Eurozone is a slow motion train wreck.

 Not only Greece, other countries too are bankrupt. There is a 50% probability that over the next three to five years, the Eurozone will break up. Not all the members are able to stay. Greece and probably Portugal may exit the Eurozone, Greece within the next 12 months while Portugal would take a while longer.

According to Jim O’Neil, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Former head of global economic research at the bank states that `the reality is that too many countries joined the euro in the first place and ultimately without dramatic change, they can’t probably survive. According to some the Eurozone is not about to collapse but whether it could be constant over the long term is not known.

Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit

DCPCU – Protect Security of Card Payment

The function of UK Cards Association is to protect the security of card payments system with focus on tackling organised criminal activity. In order to accomplish this, the UK Cards Association, funds a specialist policing team known as the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit – DCPCU to identify organised payments fraud. The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit, a special police unit comprises of police officers who have been appointed from the City of London Police as well as the Metropolitan Police Services who operate together with industry fraud investigators.

Their focus lies in identifying and targeting the organised criminal gangs which are responsible in attacking the payment industry. The Unit was established in April 2002 and is fully sponsored by the card and retail banking industries which was created due to the rising growth in payment card crime during 1999 and 2001. From the time of its establishment, the banking industry has been put in an investment of around £4 million per year for the operation of the Unit.

Experts have attributed to the growing incidents of organised crime in the area and the lack of dedicated police investigatory. The main purpose of the DCPCU is to identify, check and seek appropriate prosecution of offenders who have been responsible for organised cheque and payment card crimes.

Organised Criminal Gangs - Targeted

It is headed by a Detective Chief Inspector who brings together the officers as well as civilian staff from the City of London Police and Metropolitan Police forces. Moreover, expertise and payments industry knowledge is also given by industry secondees. Though it is a London based unit, investigations are nationwidewhere the organised criminal gangs responsible for payment related fraud are targeted. Some of its achievement since its formation is –

• Achievement of £450 million in the form of saving from reduce fraud activity equating to £800,000 weekly
• Recovery of around 700,000 counterfeit card
• Recovery of 346,000 compromised card numbers
• Secured 346 convictions on matters related to fraud, which is an average of more than one successful prosecution per fortnight over the past decade.

Areas of Priority 

The impact on a wider perspective is the link to organised and serious crimes. The Unit’s investigation has established that a significant proportion of fraud has been committed by these criminal gangs, having strong links to other kinds of serious crimes, which also includes people, drugs, and trafficking as well as violent crimes. The Unit has also been responsible in providing key fraud prevention messages to the people such as with the help of television and radio work as well as through direct meeting with groups that represent consumers who could be at high risk. The Unit’s priority areas are:

• Project Sandpiper – The Unit secured European Commission funding in 2013 which was funded by UK Cards Association and PFF in order to finance the project focused in tackling Romanian criminality that affected the UK payment industry. This involved connecting with the UK payments industry as well as law enforcement individuals in Romania in tackling its organised criminal groups.
• Staff Insider – Work with banks that sponsored to reduce harm caused by dishonest staff and targeting organised criminal groups.
• Social Engineering – Telephone – To locate criminal groups responsible in fast rising fraud cases who are aiming vulnerable individuals as well as businesses causing great harm to the UK payment industry.

Complication and Implication of Virtual Water- II

Fresh Water – Concern on Global Food Security

For several parts of the world, fresh water has become a scarcity and over exploited natural resource has now given rise to concern on global food security as well as damage to fresh water ecosystems. Situation seems to increase with the FAO making its estimate that the food production should be double by 2050 and hence food chains should be more efficient with regards to the usage of consumptive water. For geographically and small well defined Australian mango industry, with an average annual production of 44,692 ton of marketable fresh fruit, was 2298.1 kg−1 of average virtual water content, which is a sum of green, blue as well as grey water, at the orchard gate.

Due to wastage however, in the distribution as well as the consumption level of product life cycle, the virtual water average content of 1 kg of Australian grown fresh mango used by Australian household was 52181. This figure compared to an Australian equivalent water footprint of 2171 k−1is the volume of the usage of water in Australia with equivalent capabilities in contributing to water scarcity. Nationally, the distribution and consumption waste in food chain of Australian grown fresh mango to the consumers, indicate an annual waste of 26.7 Gl of green water with 16.6. Gl of blue water

Intervention in Reducing Food Chain Waste – Great Impact on Fresh Water 

These discoveries indicate that the intervention in reducing food chain waste would probably have a great or even a greater impact on freshwater resource available like other water use efficiency measures in food production and agriculture. Analyses of evolution and the structure of trade in virtual water had shown that a number of trade connections together with volume of virtual water trade had doubled for the past few decades. Developed countries have been drawing on the rest of the world to ease the pressure on domestic water resources.

Three studies have been done though it fills three important gaps in the research on global virtual water trade, the first being that in previous studies, virtual water volumes were put together from countries which were envisaging various degrees of water scarcity which was incorporated into assessments of virtual water flows. Secondly some previous studies assessing virtual water networks in terms of immediate water was used for food production though refrained from indirect virtual water used in the supply chains underlying all traded goods.

Global Virtual Water Network Structure

In the analysis, the use of input-output analysis included indirect virtual water, noting the existing conflicting views on whether trade in virtual water could lead to overall savings in global water resources. A re-visit to the Hechscher-Ohlin Theorem was done in the context of direct and indirect virtual water, to determine if international trade could be seen as feasible demand management tool in reducing the water scarcity. It was found that the global virtual water network structure changes significantly on adjusting for the purpose of scarcity.

Besides, the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem can be validated when indirect virtual water is appraised. Water once seen as an infinite resource is in fact, a finite resource. Moreover, fresh water is an important resource to plants, animals, human and all living things on the planet Earth. Geographic zone of abundance and scarcity is due to unequal global distribution of fresh water and global climatic changes tend to redistribute precipitation away from geographic locations which has sufficient or excess supply to cope up with the population.

Virtual Water

Virtual Water Trade – Embedded/Embodied Water 

Virtual water is defined as the total volume water which is needed in order to produce and process. Virtual water trade also known as trade in embodied or embedded water is related to hidden flow of water in case other commodities or food tend to get traded in different places.

On an average it takes around1,600 cubic meters of water to produce ` metric tonne of wheat and the accurate volume could depend on more or less on the climate as well as agricultural conditions. According to Hoekstra and Chapagain they have defined virtual content of product – a commodity, service or good, as `volume of freshwater which is utilised to create a product, measured at the place it was actually produced’ and relates to the sum on the utilisation of the water in the various stages of the production chain.

According to John Anthony Allan, Professor from King’s College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies had introduced the concept of virtual water in order to support his views that countries in the Middle East could save their scarce supply of water by relying on import of food.

He received an award of the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize, for his contribution. He states that `the water is considered to be virtual due to the fact that once the wheat is grown, the real water used to grow it is no longer actually contained in the wheat and the concept of virtual water helps in realizing how much water could be needed to produce different goods and services’.

Some Deficiencies in Concept of Virtual Water

He further states that in `arid and semi-arid locations, the value of the virtual water of good or service could be useful in determining the best use of the available scarce water.’ However there are some deficiencies in the concept of virtual water which means that there is a significant danger on depending on these measures in order to guide policy conclusions.

As per Australia’s National Water Commission it is considered that the measurement of virtual water has less practical value in the making of decision with regards to the best allocation of scarce water resources.

Recently the concept of virtual water trade has been gaining weightage in the scientific and the political arguments with the notion of its concept being ambiguous and changes have been moving between a descriptive, analytical concept and a political induced strategy.

From the point of view of an analytical concept, virtual water trade relates to an instrument which enables the identification as well as the assessment of policy choice not only in the scientific but also in the political discourse.

Concept Analytically helps Global/Local/Regional Level

From the point of politically induced strategy, the query is whether virtual water trade could be used in a sustainable way, or whether implementation could be managed in an economic, social or in an ecological manner and which countries would have a meaningful option of the concept offered.

In the framework of latest developments from supply oriented to demand oriented management of water resources, new field of governance has opened up which facilitates a differentiation as well as balancing of different perspective, interest and basic condition.

The concept analytically helps in distinguishing between global, local and regional level, together with their linkages. Which means that water resource problem needs to be solved.

How to Save Hundreds of Dollars with Tax Credits

Awareness of Tax Credit

Being unaware of tax credit is like losing on a pay check and sad to say, several individuals are not aware of it. Each dollar of credit is equal to a dollar in tax savings, for instance in a federal income tax bracket of 28% and getting a buck’s worth of additional write-off could save one with 28 cents. Individuals tend to miss out on tax credits mainly due to the fact that they seem to be in a hurry when the dreaded tax filing deadline is near. Credits tend to fall through these cracks since they panic resulting in making complicated calculation or filling out additional forms. Setting aside more time on your return could help you to net several hundred dollars or could be more. For example –

Foreign Tax Credit - If a person has worked in a foreign country or would be having substantial income outside U.S, they must be well aware about the foreign tax credit which is intended to save you from being taxed by the two different countries on the same income. If the person tends to invest in some international mutual funds they could collect credit due to the fact that it is likely you paid foreign taxes the previous year – knowingly or not. A closer look at the statement on the fund summary of the previous year will provide you with some calculations in order to know the exact amount of foreign taxes which should show up on Forms 1099-DIV and 1099-INT. Presuming that the foreign taxes are from these sources totalling to or less than $300, one can claim the credit on Form 1040, Line 48 and have around $600 of foreign taxes and continue to follow the easy procedure if filed jointly. In other cases, one could file Form 1116 to claim your credit, though it could be a bit nasty.

Dependent Care Credit - When a person is paid to take care of an under-age child of 13 while the parents are out at work, one could be eligible for the dependent care credit where the credit percentage could range from 20% to 35% based on qualifying expenses and depending on adjusted gross income – AGI. Maximum credit possible for a child could range from $600 to $1,050 and for two or more the range would be $1,200 to $2,100. One should also be eligible if expenses were incurred in taking care of any other dependent that could be physically or mentally incapable of taking care of themselves, a disabled person. For high income taxpayers, the credits have not been phased out though lower dollar limits mentioned could be applicable. Form 2441 – Child and Dependent Care Expenses could be filled and credits claimed on Form 1040, Line 49 on furnishing the name as well as the Social Security number of the care provider failing which the IRS would disallow the credit with recomputed tax and would either reduce the claimed refund or sent a bill for the difference.

Moreover the Form 2441 also informs the IRS if one owes the Nanny Tax if they have an in-home care provider. One needs to be careful in taking credit if they have also contributed to a pre-tax dependent care flexible spending account – FSA the previous year through their employer. The pre-tax FSA is usually a process since it could reduce the taxable salary cutting federal as well as state income taxes together with Social Security and Medicare taxes as well. The tax saving rate could exceed the 20% effective tax savings rate which could apply to several people claiming the dependent care credit.

Elderly/disabled Credit – is applicable to individuals who have reached the age of 65 at the end of a particular year or one who has retired on permanent and total disability. Strict income limits are applicable and the credit is not available to most of them. Credits could be claimed on Form 1040, Line 54.

Adoption Credit - is when an underage of 18 years in adopted, you could qualify for a 2014 tax credit up to $13,190 for the adoption expenses and if married, a joint return to qualify could be filed. Phase-out rule, for 2014 could cause the credit to vaporize between AGI of $197,880 and $237,880. On qualifying for the same, credit could be claimed by furnishing details on Form 8839 – Qualified Adoption Expenses, with one’s 1040 with the credit amount on Line 54.

Credit for Overpaid Social Security Taxes – is where there has been more than one employer in 2014 and the earnings have crossed over $117,000 with combined salary, one has withheld too much Social Security tax. Recovery of the excess can be done by reporting the overpaid amount on Form 1040 Line 72 which is treated as a tax repayment and the effect on the tax bill is that of a credit.

NIIT Tech Nets Dip By 9.2% in Third Quarter

NIIT Technologies is one of the mid-tier IT services firm which had recently reported 9.2% decline in its net profit which now stands at Rs. 48.2 crores at the completion its third quarter. Comparing it with the third quarter of the last year, its revenue shows a minimal increase of just 1.4% with at Rs. 595.3 crore while it posted net profit of 53.1 crore last year for same quarter. The third quarter of each year is seen as a least productive and rather weak quarter by financial analysts.

Company Grows By Just 1% on Sequential Basis

On the sequential basis NIIT net profits had registered a growth by 20.02% which a result of improvement in the operating margins, higher incomes and lower depreciation rates during the months of July-September 2014. NIIT Technologies CEO and Joint MD, Arvind Thakur, had stated that NIIT had seen its operating margins improve by 15 basis points sequentially to 14.5% as a result of productivity initiatives in the third quarter. In the constant currency NIIT grew by one percent sequentially during the last quarter.

The company’s had even seen a dent in its operating margins because of the specific engagement in the beginning of the year which even explains the decline in net profit at the year-end. Regarding the overall demand of the NIIT IT services, Thakur had opined that the company had seen a robust growth in the United States but it weakness factor continues in the Euro Zone while excitement factor remains high in India.

NIIT Expand Its Revenue Generation

NIIT has seen healthy growth and expansion of revenues in Asia Pacific (APAC) and India. Most the revenue being generated this quarter is being pointed towards the execution of large orders which were secured by the company earlier this year. Now company’s revenue share had increased to 21 percent in this particular region. Whereas the Americans had contributed by 44% to the revenue while the Europe, Middle East and Africa counted for the 35 of the company’s revenue.

During this quarter NIIT had secured $109 million worth of new orders. Around 55% of new business was secured in the US. NIIT Technologies had even added five new customers during the third quarter out of which two are in US and one each coming from India, APAC and EMEA.

NIIT Supposed To Have Strong and Stable Last Quarter

The decline in the oil prices globally is helping to the cause of the NIIT as travel constitutes the largest chunk of the company’s revenue. The higher other income is accounted by the revaluation of assets and liabilities. NIIT is holding up strong regardless of the current volatility in the currency as due to gains from the dollars but incurring losses from the Euro and GBP.

However NIIT had frozen its hiring procedures and suffered a decline of 229 people in the workforce which is being attributed to the natural attrition rate of 15%. NIIT would begin hiring again from the current quarter in order to boost its workforce.

Gold Prices Ends Fluctuations As The Market Consolidates

Gold prices finally find a steady ground after the Friday US trading. The continued safe-haven demand and a lower U.S. Dollar index are limiting the selling pressure in gold which is a good sign. February Comex gold was last up by $1 at $122.20 an ounce while Spot gold was last down by $1.40 at $1226.50. March Silver last traded up by $0.048 at $17.155 an ounce. Both gold and silver near term technical had shown a considerable improvement this week.

Falling Price of Crude Oil

Market is still focused on the falling price of crude oil. January Nymex crude had hit another five year low $58.80 a barrel. International Energy Agency has released a report which predicted that the world demand for the crude would reduce in 2015. The consumers are cheering the falling of the gasoline prices at the pump while the traders and investors are greeting the decline with anxiety. World Stock markets are also not faring well either and they are under selling while the U.S. stock indexes are also seems to be lower in the pre-market trading on early Friday. The sell off trend in the world equities has benefitted safe assets mainly gold and U.S. Treasuries this week.

Other Markets Also Reels Under Pressure

The Bank Of Russia has once again intervened in the currency market to strengthen its ruble which had hit another record low against the U.S. dollar. The ruble is astonishingly down by 44% against the U.S. dollar this year. European Union also shows below the market expectation figures which are a cause of worry. EU industrial production rose by just 0.1% in October and was up by meagre 0.7% on year-on-year basis.
Among the Asian market China showed a stronger than expected bank loan activity in the month of November. On other hand Japanese Yen is suffering from selling pressure and volatile trading this week. Japan is soon to go through important elections from this Sunday.

Traders and investors are eagerly looking ahead for the next week when Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet to discuss about U.S. monetary policy.

Gold Seems To Settle After Huge Fluctuations

February gold futures are showing sideways consolidation after large gains in Tuesday trading which is not unusual. The gold bulls are almost reaching out for price breakout objective to register a growth against the solid technical resistance and they had successfully ended the week at high of $1239.00. Bears’ next near-term downside price breakout objective is closing prices below solid technical support at $1,200.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $1,228.90 and then at Thursday’s high of $1,233.40. First support is seen at the overnight low of $1,218.00 and then at $1,210.00.
This Wednesday the March silver futures hit its six week high. The Silver bulls’ next upside breakout objective is closing the prices above the solid technical resistance at the high of $17.825 an ounce while silvers ended their week low at $16.165. The First resistance was seen at the week high of $17.355 and next at $17.50. The next support could be seen at Thursday’s low of $16.945 and at 16.81.

Black Money Outflow From India Increases Nine-Fold

The Inside Story

There has been a nine-fold increase in the black money outflow from India to foreign countries. Whereas in 2003 it was $10 billion, in 2012 it elevated up to $94.7 billion. In the 10-year period of 2003-2012, India, replacing Malaysia, has been ranked the fourth largest black money exporter after China, Russia and Mexico. The outflow of the Indian black money has been on a constant upward trajectory, so much so that Mexico was replaced by India as the third largest illicit money exporter in 2012.

Increase of Black Money Outflow over the Years

A latest report released by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a research and advocacy group based in Washington, called ‘Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries’ states that India sent only $10.17 billion of illicit money to foreign countries in 2003. It increased in 2004 to $19.41 billion, and in 2005 to over $20 billion. The increment trend followed in 2006, with a substantial rise in outflow of black money from India to foreign nations. In 2006 the outflow was $28 billion. 2007 and 2008 was no different, with black money outflow increment to $34.6 billion and $47.1 billion respectively. 2009, however, was a big surprise. The Indian black money outflow saw a sudden dip, when the GFI quoted that the outflow had decreased to $29 billion.

However, just in the next year the outflow of illicit money saw a sharp rise. The Indian black money outflow for 2010 was $70 billion, more than double. It further increased in 2011 to $86 billion, according to the GFI. The report was authored by the chief economist of GFI, Dev Kar, and Joseph Spanjers, junior economist.

Black Money Outflow is Greater than Remittances

It is also very shameful and depressing to note that the amount of black money being outflowed from India to the foreign countries is much larger compared to the hard-earned and labored money being remitted to India by the expatriate Indians (NRIs). In 2014, the expected remittances of India are $71 billion, According to a latest report published by the World Bank. It is also interesting to note the turn-around that has taken place over the years. In 2003, the remittances that India received were $16.39 billion against a $10.17 billion outflow of black money.In India, the black money issue has always been a matter of serious political debate. It was more of a political debate during the last general elections. The new government had then committed to tackle this ever-increasing menace. However, no official figures, regarding the overall size and amount of black money stashed by Indians within India or abroad, have been released by the government or any other authority.

Other Developing Economies’ Status

The top five illicit capital exporters over the last ten years, according to the GFI are: China, Russia, Mexico, India and Malaysia.In 2012, the total outflow of illicit money from the developing counties was $991.2 billion. It was markedly greater than the combined total of the net development assistance and the direct foreign investment these developing economies received that year.

Investment options for $10,000 to get maximum ROI

There are different ways to get hands on money, it can be your pay for the extra work done at the office, you might inherit some money or you might have been saving that money for a long time. Irrespective of the medium of receiving the money, once you have the money in the hand, you want to use this money wisely. With the extra cash in pocket the best action will be to invest the money and get the money to work for you. The following steps can be used for wisely investing the extra cash.

1. The first step will be to ensure that you don’t have any outstanding debts or money pending to be paid as it can certainly change the complete outlook of the investment.

2. There are traditional means of investment like Index Funds, Mutual funds, bonds and stocks. These are always the best path towards your journey of investment. Through this your fund doesn't store at one place, but gets involved in different businesses and industries. There are different types of funds available in the market, which doesn’t require too much money at the startup level. Although stocks and bonds have risks associated with them, it is important that an individual checks on the possible risks before investing in them. There are retirement accounts like Roth IRAs and 401Ks which are tax deferred and also helps in multiplication of your money. These accounts ensure that you get extra income on every penny and dollar that you are going to invest.

3. Apart from the traditional market ideas, some of the non traditional ones include upgrading your educational level. Acquiring a higher degree or even a professional certificate can do wonders at the job. Not only you will get good opportunities in the market, promotions in the workplace become very easy.

4. One of the best and the trusted means of non traditional investment is real estate. One can easily build their equity through $10000. You have to contact a bank and then you can pay this $10000 towards the mortgage of the home you have been dreaming to live in. On the flip side, you are looking to sell out your current home, then this $10000 will help in making your outdated home to modern one. You might spend this amount for modification, but once the house is sold, you will get more in return.

5. One can also invest the $10000 to own a rental property nearly 5 times mores and you can rent it out another person probably for more amount. One needs to understand that even though buying rental property has benefits, but you are not sure about the future installments, then you might want to rethink your decision.

6. Last but not the least, even though the amount might sound, less to others, but $10000 is a really good amount to start your own business. One just need to get the correct understanding of the type of business and service that will ensure good returns.

Are You Monetarily Ready For Your Retirement?

It is important to remember that once you are reaching the retirement stage, you should manage your income goals through your current portfolio and make your money last for as long as possible. There are many tactics that can help in securing your future in terms of finance and some of them are given below

1.One should make sure that they create a balance between their debts and the savings


2. People can contact authorities to check any means of retirement pension so they can adjust their expenses according to that. This way you will be able to invest your savings into funds, bonds and other methods of increasing the amount.


3. Another means will be to invest in insurance policies which will complement your social security and other 401 (k) saving plans. There are investors will be ready to take your lump sum amount and give you directions for investing the money in the right way.

Why money is so important in retirement?
 
Today, everything is depending on money, if you want to go to the supermarket; you need money, if you want medical care; you need money. When you reach the age of retirement, it is important that you have saved money aside for this time. Retirement is not a phase, but it will extend for a very long time and you will face many situations wherein you might get a question in your mind- “Have I saved enough”?

Before you can develop any strategy for your retirement, there are some important rules that play a very important role.

Understand what will be your monetary requirements:
 
Industry and financial experts that they a person should save at least 80% of their current income towards their retirement. But is this really possible? There are people who end up spending more than what they earn and instead of saving they end up in debts. On the other side, there are people who spend less than what they earn and they will be able to save way more than what will be required for retirements. The best thing to do will be to keep a track of the yearly expenses.

Amend your future needs:
 
When it comes to retirement, nothing goes as planned. It is vital to consider every side of finance. There will be expenses in every part of the life, expenses will keep on getting added every day and there will be expenses that will no longer burden you. Expenses related to your commuting, work and mortgage will no longer be an issue, but travelling, medical care, supporting family members and home care will become an added cost to your retirement funds.

Understand the future expenses and income:
 
Once you know an approximate amount that will be required in the future, planning towards it, is important. There are various sources of income like pensions, social security, investments, income through renting your home, etc.,. The general rule of thumb is to multiply 25 with the income you get every year to understand a retirement income.

Life never goes as thought, it is vital to consider unexpected expenses and events while calculating finance after retirement.