One well-known fact of economic life is that a dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received a year from now. Time and Money The relationship between time and money provides the foundation for virtually every financial decision you will make. Whether you are saving money for a future event or considering a loan to pay for a …
Selling Your Home
Once you have decided to try to sell your home, the next big decision you will face is whether you want to sell it yourself of go through a real estate broker. The broker usually charges 5% to 7% of the selling price for her services. However, realtors know the local market, can help you determine a reasonable selling price, …
Life Cycle Planning
Financial planning means something different to everyone. For some, it’s about getting by on their paycheck, for others it’s about watching the stock market each day. Unfortunately, very few of us feel prepared to meet our ongoing financial obligations and objectives. Worries about money have become one of the greatest anxieties of our day. Because our lives and goals are …
An Introduction To Budgeting
Budgeting is the systematic allocation of one’s limited resources (income) to a potentially unlimited number of needs and wants (expenses.) Budgeting your income, though oftentimes tedious and difficult to maintain, can help you better control how your income is being spent. Some form of budgeting is a necessity if you hope to meet long-term financial goals. One’s ability to control …
Use Of Living Trusts
A revocable living trust provides financial protection in the event you are no longer able to manage your financial affairs yourself. You can be trustee while you are healthy, but if you have a stroke or become otherwise incapacitated, your successor trustee would manage your assets in the trust. Using a Living Trust for Privacy Another benefit of revocable living …
Gift Giving Strategies
The federal government imposes a substantial tax on gifts of money or property above certain levels. Without such a tax someone with a sizable estate could give away a large portion of their property before death and escape death taxes altogether. For this reason, the gift tax acts more or less as a backstop to the estate tax. And yet, …
Charitable Remainder Trusts
A Charitable Remainder Trust normally is used as a strategy for converting highly appreciated assets into income producing assets, without income tax liability. The Charitable Remainder Trust is an irrevocable trust with both charitable and non-charitable beneficiaries. The donor transfers highly appreciated assets into the trust and retains an income interest. Upon expiration of the income interest, the remainder in the trust …
A Will That Meets Your Needs
A will is a legal document that transfers what you own to your beneficiaries upon your death. It also names an executor to carry out the terms of your will and a guardian for your minor children, if you have any. Your signature and those of two witnesses make your will authentic. Witnesses don’t have to know what the will …
A Living Will
You may recall that during the final weeks of his life, former President Richard Nixon refused “heroic measures” and received only palliative (comfort-easing) care at his home. Similarly, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis refused life-prolonging medical intervention before her death from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Former President Nixon and Mrs. Onassis both retained control over their final medical care through use …
Using Credit Cards Wisely
Credit cards were first introduced to the public just over 40 years ago, in 1959. With the introduction of credit cards, consumers were given new choices in how to pay for costly purchases that they had previously had to save for and pay in cash. Using credit cards allowed people to purchase goods without having sufficient funds immediately on hand, …