Faith Between Us

Archive for the ‘Financial Management’ Category

It doesn’t matter who you are or the size of your estate – if you have any kind of assets, and a spouse, children or favorite charity, you NEED to create an estate plan and update it OFTEN. Be sure to protect your estate and heirs from overpaying any kind of taxes. In the meantime, be sure you take every deduction available to you – more deductions mean more money for you and less money going to the IRS. While you must pay your taxes, you don’t need to pay them a penny more than you legally owe. And if you’re filing your return later than usually this year, exercise patience. Even though the IRS is running a bit behind, they eventually collects what’s “Theirs” – and that’s spelled, “t-h-e-I-R-S”?

And now for Matt’s weekly tip, tool or technique…
Let’s now learn from the estate planning mistakes of the rich and famous. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, we’re going to cover the 4 C’s that your spouse or significant other will really appreciate. No, we’re not talking about diamonds – we’re talking about the four C’s to ensuring your financial wishers are honored.

Child actor Gary Coleman passed away in 2009, after a divorce with his ex-wife Shannon Price. One Will named a friend as the beneficiary of his estate, and a handwritten addendum named Shannon Price as the beneficiary, however the couple had divorced since it was written. While the courts were deciding which Will was valid, two more estate planning documents surfaced that further complicated the estate and extended the probate process. The 1st C: Be sure you have only one COMPLETE estate plan that details who is to receive your assets, how much they are to receive and when they are to receive them.  Read more...

A shutdown of our federal Government was averted by Congress earlier this month, when they passed a two-week extension before voting on the 2011 fiscal year budget, yet again. This “continuing resolution” was passed just two days before the funding of government services was scheduled to come to a halt. Congress passed the extension, along with $4 billion dollars in CUTS to current federal spending, to buy themselves some extra time to develop a long-term solution, and hopefully decide on a budget to fund the government throughout the rest of the fiscal year. The new deadline to reach an agreement is this Friday, March 18th.

MetLife Mature Market Institute, in conjunction with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University, conducted a national study that indentified the “daunting dozen” challenges associated with obtaining security in retirement. They also compiled a list of the “best-case strategies” for planning and preparing for retirement success. The study concluded that planning for the “unexpected” is the KEY to financial security in retirement, and that “preemptive planners”, or those who are prepared for the unanticipated events in life, are the ones who are the MOST successful in retirement.

Lawmakers have still NOT agreed on the 2011 fiscal year budget, although we’re MORE than six months into the fiscal year. To compound this dilemma, the president has already sent lawmakers his 2012 fiscal year budget. This “continuing resolution,” as it’s called, or continuation of the 2010 budget, represents Congress’ inability to come to a majority agreement on a fiscal plan for the country. This is the FIRST time in modern U.S. history that a fiscal year has begun with NO federal spending authority in place.  Read more...

If you find yourself stuck in a holding position in owner-financed note, you will no doubt be wondering, “How can I sell my mortgage note? The fact is that your situation is very common, as more and more property owners who have taken the initiative in selling their property to help finance the customer when necessary. Banks are tightening lending requirements, making it difficult to purchase a new property buyers. However, although you can be flexible with regard to the owner financed out of the first to get your property sold, clinging to such attention is often not want to be able to vendors for a long time.

So, as you wonder, “How can I sell my mortgage note?” You should know that there are several options for you. Many note buyers are likely interested in purchasing your note, and therefore it should be taken to seek out buyers. The Internet is a great resource to help you find those customers, but you can also use some of his personal property, real estate and financial world, finding reliable professionals. Consider asking your real estate agent, title company and mortgage broker or banker some reputable companies’ offers.

It is important to know that each buyer to offer you a lump sum of money for your attention, as each will use different criteria to determine the value of the loan. For this reason, you want some time to shop around and get bids from different companies. You will probably have quite a large sum of money associated with your loan, and the last thing you want is not to get top dollar for your attention when you sell it.  Read more...

How many times have you heard anything in life promised to give you free money? My guess is that it’s been quite a lot. In today’s world, all looking for a hand, it is not uncommon for advertisers to use our thinking by using attention grabbing words like “free money.” It is true that the vast majority of these claims are usually ridiculous at best and criminal at worst. But there is one place where no money is not a lie or a marketing ploy. This place is located inside the RESP.

Registered education savings plans are a financial instrument, the government has setup a fund to help people in their children’s education. The government wants to help people realize their dreams and to send their children to universities. They also want to reward people save their money to support this goal together. The best way to reward people and encourage them to certain behavior to give them free money. This is exactly what the government is doing. They give free money RESP form and attach the Canadian Education Savings Grant.

Tuition fee costs are going down in the near future, they are actually increasing every year, everywhere you look. You will not only take care of the costs of study, but the cost of living as well. Depending on the city in which you are sending your child, it can cost anywhere from $ 8,000 – for the eight-month $ 15,000. Starting early can you ensure that you child’s education is taken care of.  Read more...

Money was originally designed to enable a person to gain power over the exchange, nor was he trying to gain the manufacture everything ourselves. Of course, this enabled the average person can enjoy other goods and services that only the rich can enjoy. During his work he can not only provide their basic needs, but he can now enjoy a higher standard of living. Thus, it is necessary to provide basic family needs to earn money and it is important that it is necessary to improve the standard of living that makes people want to do more and more he wants.

It can be argued that almost every problem that man (mankind) are or may be resolved or reduced to money. Money is the best education, best health care, best dental care, the best cars, eat the best food, best leave to go … and the list goes on.

Irrefutable evidence, but the importance of money are staggering statistics, the poverty in the world. According to World Bank statistics on nearly 1.4 billion people live on less than $ 1.25 per day, 1 billion children live in poverty, 640 million live without adequate shelter, 270 million have no access to health care, and nearly a billion people entered the 21 – century unable to read a book or sign their names. These facts are mind boggling.  Read more...