“I care about our young people, and wish them great success, because they are our Hope for the Future, and some day, when my generation retires, they will have to pay us trillions of dollars in social security.”
Think for a moment about your biggest asset. What is it that adds the greatest dollar amount to your personal balance sheet? Got it? What did you come up with? Your home? A luxury car? Maybe your 401k? These are typically the largest assets on an individual’s balance sheet, but all pale in comparison to the greatest financial asset of all — your income.
A recent study published by the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology on New Year’s resolutions found that 45 percent of Americans usually make a New Year’s resolution followed by 17 percent who infrequently make New Year’s resolutions. Of those, only 8 percent are successful in achieving their stated resolution.
If you’re like most, you have grown tired of hearing about dangling off the Fiscal Cliff, hitting the Debt Ceiling and spending cuts vs. tax increases. The only thing more painful than watching lawmakers in Washington deal with money is wrestling with your own financial life. Here are six lessons learned from observing Washington that can benefit your life today.
If you’re like most, you have grown tired of hearing about dangling off the Fiscal Cliff, hitting the Debt Ceiling and spending cuts vs. tax increases. The only thing more painful than watching lawmakers in Washington deal with money is wrestling with your own financial life. Here are six lessons learned from observing Washington that can benefit your life today.
It’s a shame sometimes what the financial and insurance industry has done to tarnish its value. In a fairly recent survey, a number of people where asked to rank service professionals in order based on their influence in the process of making important decisions. As expected, a person’s physician was ranked number one followed up with Certified Public Accountant at the number two spot. Moving down the list, life insurance professional came in at No. 9 … one spot below car salesman. With all the news headlines reporting scandals and dysfunction in the financial world, it is no wonder that many people have lost faith in the integrity of the advice given by some financial professionals. None have felt this sting more than the life insurance agent. The world of life insurance has adjusted and changed tremendously over the last decade with little notice or media fanfare. In my experience, most successful financial plans include at some level the use of life insurance. I would also note that most unsuccessful plans include misuse or lack of life insurance. Let’s take a look at some basic concepts and uses for life insurance today.
I have spoken with many investors over the last few weeks regarding the presidential election and the potential impact the results could have on their life goals and investment portfolios. What was once unknown is now known. What before was unclear is now clear. One week after our national election we have a president and Congress that is effectively unchanged, a looming deadline to address the U.S. fiscal cliff, immense pressure to raise the National Debt Limit in early 2013 and world markets swimming in a sea of confusion and uncertainty.
The monster of Frankenstein is arguably the most recognized horror movie character of all-time. The work delivered by Boris Karloff has been recognized for decades by both professionals and pop-culture alike as both masterful and iconic. But did you know that Boris Karloff was not even recognized as the star of the original film? Not only was the character listed fourth on the Playbill, but the name of the now famous actor was not even listed, but rather displayed as “?” to create additional mystery. Real life monsters are not so different are they? We rarely recognize the horror we have created until it is too late, patching and weaving the monster, all the while, through unnoticed missteps and unbridled decisions. It’s Alive! It’s Alive! While movie monster making seems to happen overnight, real life Money Monsters are rarely created overnight. They are typically a combination of decisions or lack of decisions over a longer time span. Here are some strategic essentials that will protect you from creating the Great Money Monster.