Thursday, July 29, 2010

Insurance In Retirement

There is one thing that is almost guaranteed as you increase in age and get closer to retirement. That is the fact that you will need to go to the doctor more and you will begin to accumulate more medical expenses. One thing you need to look at in order to be able to fend off some of these expenses is to look at and consider if there is insurance available toy u through your employer after retirement. Consider all of the other options that are out there for you as well as you hit your golden years. Things such as government assistance as well as looking to see if you can pay for your insurance on your own while in retirement. Look into possibly having multiple carriers or supplemental insurance as well to help ease the burden as bills pile up. Try to see which of the plans will work the best for you.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

How To Increase Your Retirement Fund

There are numerous ways that you can use so you will be able to improve and increase the amount of money you will have in the end when you go to retire. One of the first things to look at is the dividends you will receive from current investments. This is because the financial tide is finally turning and more companies are paying dividends than they have in the recent past. Consider going smaller is another option. This means moving into a smaller home. Yes, many of us do not want to give up what we have but look it at from a money standpoint. Do you really need such a large house that you have to pay to heat and maintain or can you live and be happy in. It will make a large difference when you do retire and you are looking to live off of what you have and can increase your spending power with smaller bills for your home.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Monday, July 26, 2010

When To Start Saving For Retirement

The best answer to this question is right now if you have not already started. This is because you can never be too sure or safe in how much you have or will need to retire anymore. The best time to start or if possible is near age 25. That is of course if you are looking to be able to have a million in wait for when you retire. If you start here and you put away about $200 per month you will be able to realize this goal, especially if it is a matching 401k. You will need to increase the amount by $10 per month each year in order to continue on the level of growth you will need to reach for the million. At the age of 35 you should be at about $400 per month in contributions so you will be able to reach your goal and continue this on through retirement if at all possible.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Reasons for a Late Retirement Start

Every person in the world is good at coming up with excuses. However, no matter how many you can list the bottom line is what is the result. There are a number of things that people will say has led them to not being able to get ahead on retirement savings. However, it is all excuses. If you have too many regular expenses to put anything in savings then you need to adjust your budget. That means staying home for dinner and getting a cheaper car if you need to. I started too late. Then put more away than you think you should. It is that simple. To compensate for waiting, you will need to make more sacrifices now in order to be happy and comfortable later. I have kids. So do a lot of people. That does not mean you cannot plan for yourself. Consider how much you spend on things your children do not really need. Then look at where that money could go, if not in retirement, then a college fund.
Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Tips For Catching Up On Retirement Savings

If you are like most people, you feel as though you are behind in your attempts at retirement savings. The thing is you just do not know where to start to be able to catch up. Here are some tips you may or may not already know:• Save more now. This means you need to put aside every penny you can when you can. The more you have now the more you will have later.• Cut expenses. Look at how much you spend on coffee and lunch every day and see where you can cut back. Buy a coffee maker, or pack your lunch to save for your future.• Diversify your investments. This is a little more complex but can be a big help. It is the simple theory of not having all of your eggs in one basket. This way if one deal goes sour, you will still have the other items to lean on.
Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Eliminated Expenses

Hopefully, once you are entering the age of retirement you will be able to eliminate some of these expenses and will be able to live off of the money that you have put away for your retirement savings along the way. One of the biggest payments you can hopefully have gone at retirement or soon after is your mortgage. Once you have eliminated this, you could have a lot more flexibility in our income to be able to use and enjoy. Another thing you will no longer have to pay is for daycare. You will no longer need to contribute to your retirement savings at all either. This is because you are now retired and will start to use it as well. Another payment you can possibly eliminate will be a car payment as it too will be paid off and you can go and use that money for something else as well.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Start Saving

If there is one thing that it is never too early to start doing it is to plan for your retirement. This means that you should start looking at options to use right now as you are trying to get a career. Once you have an established career, you are going to want to start a retirement plan immediately. This is the only way you will actually be able to put aside enough money to live on for the rest of your life following the age of 65 if you do plan to truly retire. Because of all of the expenses and things that you do not know will come up the sooner you can start outing money away the better off you will be if you do hit a snag and are unable to put money aside for a period of time. This way you will be ahead of the game and will not have to go through all of the worries and stresses of not being able to retire.
Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Know When You Will Be Taxed

As there are a number of options and types of retirement plans that are available to you through your employer, bank or financial planner, you will need to make sure you know which will offer the most benefits in regards to tax breaks. You will need to look at and know when the taxing on these plans will occur. Sometimes the taxes will come out before the money is put into an account. There are some retirement plans in which the money will be taxed upon retirement and you withdraw it from the account. It is also dependant on the amount of money in the account as well as the way that the plan is organized for withdrawals and benefits to you as the account holder. Look into all of the options you have and discuss with our planner how it is that you will get the most benefit out of the plan you are going to use and why.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Planning For Your Future

There are a number of different options you can consider when trying to determine which retirement plan is going to be the one that is going to work best for you. One of the best things you can do is to talk to a financial planner. Then you will be able to go and see which of the many options out there will work the best for you. One thing you need to take into major consideration is the type of plane your employer is offering if any. This may limit your options and not allow you to be able to have the plan you really feel will work best for you. However, you do not need to go with your employer and can use your own retirement plan as set up by your financial planner. However, you may not get matching contributions if you go this route. Look at and compare all of the options to get what is best for you.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Rules For Asset Allocation

These are simple ideas to follow when you are allocating your money for retirement and investments. If the money you are investing is something you will want to be able to turn to cash quickly, you are going to want to keep it in a savings account or a money market, so it can be liquidated quickly. If the money you are investing you can do without for five to seven years, you should consider putting it into the stock market. Keep in mind this is a long term investment and should be viewed as such. Do not fret over small drops in price over the short term.
Depending on how long until you will need the money consider the use of treasuries or CD’s if you will not need the money for one to five years. One last thought is to always own stocks, yes there is risk involved, but there is also a large amount of reward to consider as well.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Updating Your Financial Plan

There are a number of things you need to take into consideration when you are looking at trying to determine what effects certain elements will have on your financial future. One factor would be the repealing of the estate tax. This occurred on January 1 of this year. This could have a huge impact on your financial future. There is the proposed elimination of fees by the SEC. this could allow you to do more investing while you are trying to determine and set your financial future. The changes made in college loan programs make it easier for you to save for your own financial future as opposed to trying to find money to pay for your child’s future.
Be aware of the inconsistencies in the investments made in the past few years. By doing this you will have a better idea of how your money is going and growing. Do not forget about inflation either as this will have a huge impact on your current plan and how you may need to update it.

Joseph Leonard is a registered Investment Advisor in North Carolina, author of The Retirement Vault and founder and CEO of the Financial Management Company in North Carolina, Coastal Financial Associates.