Options In Retirement

Many times, we are just looking to get to the finish line and be able to stop working. What we are not thinking about is finding a way to have enough money once we get there. That is what the biggest problem is with people who are contemplating retirement or continuing to work for many more years. They are faced with the problem of how I will live without my regular income. The problem is that they did not think about the future and now that it is here, they do not know what they will do. This is shy it is so important to be able to go and start some type of savings plan now. No matter how old you are, something is better than nothing.

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.

Catching Up On Your Losses

There are many of us who have lost quite a bit of our retirement funds based on what has been happening in the economy during recent times. What a lot of people do not realize is that there is still a chance to catch that back up even if you are in your 50’s this is because you should be able to put more money away as in many cases your kids will have grown up and you will have fewer expenses since many of your other regular payments will likely be paid off. You can then start funneling some of this money into your retirement savings in an effort to build it back up to where it needs to be so you can retire when you want.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some Steps For Setting Financial Goals

There are a few things you need to take into consideration when you are looking to create and set up your own financial goals. You need to take into consideration a number of different concepts and aspects when you are looking at what it is that you want to do. Here is what you need to do:
· Write and list your goals that you want to achieve financially such as college and new car.
· Break down all of the goals that you have listed into two categories. Those goals that are short term and those that are long term.
· Learn as much as you can about what you want to spend the money on. Make sure to know if prices are changing and how you will have the money to pay for what you want.
· Review what you are doing regularly. You will need to make sure that you have the money on hand to pay for your goals and to overcome the obstacles to reach them.

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.

Benefits Of A Roth IRA

There are a number of reasons to go with a Roth IRA as opposed to the other types of retirement accounts out there. One of the best is the fact that they are so flexible. You will not get the tax breaks you would on a typical retirement account, but you only pay the taxes once and that is when you put the money into that account. There is also the flexibility of being able to take money out of the account with no penalties. This means you can borrow the money you already paid taxes on if necessary for things such as buying a house. There are other benefits that you can have as well when you are considering which retirement plan to choose. Such as being able to take out all of the money at 59 ½ or the fact you decide how much you want to put in annually and do not need to commit to a certain amount out of every paycheck.

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.

Five Common Money Mistakes of College Students

Five Common Money Mistakes of College Students
There are a number of different mistakes that college students will make when they start to get into the realm of financial responsibility, here are some of them:
1. Credit card debt accumulated. Many times college students are the target of credit card companies and they do not know how to handle the debt or a means to pay for it.
2. Destroying their credit score. Because of credit cards and other loans, college students get in debt over their heads and have trouble making the payments necessary.
3. Improper budgeting can also be a huge money mistake by college students. Many times they do not realize the real cost of things and end up not having the money to pay or cover all of their needs.
4. Misuse of student loans. This can cause a huge problem for the future as you will have to pay that money back and if it was used to finance a trip as opposed to pay for school you will regret it.
5. Going to a college that costs too much. Many times the only thing the student looks at is the name on the school. This could cost much more than necessary for the same education at a much cheaper local school.

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.

Facts About A 401k Loan

There are many things you need to realize when you go to take a loan out from your 401k loan. The first of which is the fact that you will need to pay the loan back. This means that you will need to replace the money that you took out of the plan in the form of a payroll deduction. Not only will you need to pay the money back, which is yours to begin with, but you will also need to pay interest on the loan. This means you will need to pay back your own money and you will need to pay interest on it as well. Then there is the origination fee you will need to pay as well. This is the cost that comes out of the money you borrow for the 401k planner to create the loan. In most cases, it is $75 before you even get to see any of the money. So ask yourself if it is really worth taking out the loan before you really go and do 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.

The True Cost Of Credit

As appealing as it may sound to have a credit card to use and make purchases with, it can be a way to get yourself in debt much faster than you would have ever imagined. If you were to use the credit card and made a purchase that used up all of the limit say about $2500 you would have just put yourself in that much debt. In all likelihood, you used the card because you did not have the money on hand in the first place. However, you will get all excited because you will only need to pay $50 per month in order to be able to own the new item. But what you do not realize is that you are really only paying the interest you owe on the credit card and very little towards the principle, this means that it could take you up to 334 months at 18% interest to pay off the new item.

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.

Enticing Retirees To Georgia

In an attempt to draw well-off retirees to Georgia, Governor Perdue has increased the tax breaks that they would receive as residents of the state. There are new taxes on hospitals however, if you are over the age of 62, you are not subject to income tax on your social security income or any income you make up to $70,000 with this amount rising to $130,000 by 2016. However, Georgia is not the only state trying to attract the retirees.

There are seven states that do not have a state income tax, which retirees may find extremely appealing. They are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Other states only tax dividends and interest earned. Many other areas simply do not tax social security benefits at all. These are all things to consider when you are trying to figure out where is the best place to go when you do decide to retire. Contact your local Retirement Planner in North Carolina to review your comprehensive retirement options.

What Is Happening With Estate Taxes & Estate Planning?

As you may know, there is no estate tax in place for the year 2010. Estate planning attorneys are trying to determine what is likely to happen next year, to ensure that their clients can be caught up. Unless Congress makes some changes, the estate tax will be back again in 2011. This means that no more than $1 million of an individual's estate would be exempt from the estate tax. Last year's estate tax was $3.5 million exemption. Also keep in mind that the top estate tax rate moves up to 55 percent, which is up from the 45 percent it was sitting at last year.

What does this mean? Currently, if an individual dies in 2010, their estate is not subjected to estate taxes, but that does not mean there is no federal tax liability on inheritances. This has left many estate planners in a lurch. What is the right tax to pay this year?

If you do not have an estate plan in place, you could fall victim to this same turmoil. The only way to effectively minimize taxes is to so with an estate plan so consult a North Carolina estate planner today.

Joseph Leonard

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Joseph Leonard: "Senior industry financial consultant for Coastal Investment Advisors, Million Dollar Round Table member, nationally recognized speaker & author on money management."

What Type of Financial Investing Person Are You?

Have you taken the time to consider your financial goals in terms of investing? Financial investing has a lot to do with what is available, such as stocks and bonds. However, it also has a lot to do with the overall risks you are willing to take and the type of investor that you are. When you take a close look at financial management options available to you, it is important to consider what your goals are and what types of investments you are best suited for.

Some investors have very well defined investing methods. They know just what they are looking for and they see the decisions they need to make in black and white. On the other hand, some highly successful financial investors do not have a strategy that is set in stone. Some of the less successful investors would have a hard time making decisions because they are not sure where they are going or how they will get there.

Take some time to consider a few important elements of this. Learn what your options are and how you can define your goals better.

• Do you like to purchase stocks at a low price and then sell them quickly, even within a week or so, when the price has increased? If this is how you would define yourself, you are a trader rather than an investor. You likely do not spend a lot of time researching the stocks before you buy them but rather go the options that you have.
• Investors, on the other hand, spend a great deal of time learning as much as they can about the stocks they are likely to purchase. They also hold on to these stocks for at least a few months, if not longer, before they sell them at a higher price.

If you are an investor, then you can further clarify yourself as a value investor or a growth investor. If you are a value investor, this means that you are looking for a good deal in the market. You want to find a good company to invest with who just happens to have stock prices that are lower than what they normally are or what they are likely to be in the future. If you are this type of investor, then you will want to use a wide range of factors to help you determine if a stock is a good investment including the P/E ratio and book value.

If you are a growth investor, then you are looking for companies that are growing, with accelerated revenue and earnings. You look at things like the earnings growth ratio and the revenue growth rate when making a decision about which stock to invest in.

What difference does all of this make to you? If you define the type of investor you are, you can make financial management decisions that fit better into your goals. Financial investing is never an easy process, but it can be highly successful with clear goals.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

Don't forget to see Joseph Leonard in person during an upcoming financial management seminar!

How To: Research a Stock Purchase Before You Buy

I have previously written about doing your due diligence in researching stock purchases online and I wanted to dive in and provide a few additional points to consider when researching what stocks to pursue in this volatile market.

To make smart financial management decisions, you should research a potential stock purchase before you actually make one. The good news is that this is easy to do, in most cases, because companies provide you with all of the information you need in advance. Though you can go with a hunch or just following your instincts, it is helpful to have a bit of clear research behind any stock decision you make.

What do you look for? When it comes to smart financial investing in stocks, there are a variety of factors that you need to consider prior to purchasing any type of stock. Consider the following:

• Learn about the company’s history and its foundation. A company that has a good history of growth, smart financial decisions and good earnings is likely to be a safer choice. Of course, the company’ stock price will be higher for it, but it still may be a clearly beneficial choice.
• Learn the Price to Earnings Ratio, or the P/E Ratio. This is the most popular ratio to use to evaluate a stock. It will tell you how much investors like yourself are willing to pay for the company’s earnings. Look for this ratio to be between 10 and 30 for the most optimal purchases.
• Consider the company’s dividends. If the stock pays a dividend, this means that when the company has a profitable year, the company gives some of those profits to stockholders. Find out if the company’s stock pays this and how much it pays.
• Look at the company’s cash flow. You may know from your own budget that if your cash flow is positive, then you have money to pay your bills. You want to learn if the company has a positive cash flow as well as how much of a profit it is turning. Profit means that the stock is a good choice, of course, but you also want to look at how much cash flow the company has and if that excess cash is being invested wisely. This also indicates that the company is less likely to file for bankruptcy.

There are numerous other factors to consider through good financial investing. This includes how volatile the stock is (check its past performance) and the market capitalization or market cap. Further, many stock investors like to look at who is running the company, especially if it is a newer company or one with more risk involved. This way, they can learn if the management team has the resources and skills to deliver for them.

If you fail to take the time to research financial investing options like this, you could not only lose money on a bad decision but you may miss a great option available to you. It is always a good idea to verify any information that you obtain, too, to ensure your source is reputable and that the information you are counting on is accurate. By doing this research, you position yourself for long term success with financial management.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

Don't forget to see Joseph Leonard in person during an upcoming financial management seminar!

How To: Family Estate Planning Tips

We have been busy preaching the benefits of estate planning. Our last post focused on elderly estate planning and now we are bringing our tips full circle with overall family estate planning guidelines.

Estate planning is a part of financial management. There is no difference in making wise financial investing decisions, paying your monthly bills and planning for your estate. In fact, you can often tackle some of the most difficult decisions of your life now, while you are young with a family so that later, your goals can be achieved. There are many things to look at, but some of those mentioned below are most important for the family unit.

Plan for Your Children

Planning for the care and well-being of your children is very important. If something, happened to you, who would care for your children?

• List a guardian for your children.
• Put in place a trust fund for each of your children to pay for their care should something happen to you.
• Ensure any wishes you have are clearly defined in your will and in the trust fund requirements.

This is something you need to do if you have children under the age of 18, under the age of 21 and you want to put stipulations on their access to money, or for any disabled children of any age.

Focus on Life Insurance

Life insurance is critical when you have a family. Right now, you may have a mortgage to pay. You may have debt and higher financial responsibilities then you will later on. If something happened to you, could your family continue with the lifestyle that they are comfortable with? A life insurance policy can pay off your mortgage and debts and provide your family with the money they need to make ends meet for several years.

Reduce Your Taxes

By establishing the right type of estate plan, you can take control over your financial investing and overall financial management after you are gone. One of the things you can do is to set up trusts that will shelter your assets from estate taxes, which are levied on virtually everyone when they die. You can reduce the amount of money that your family pays to the probate courts.

Make End of Life Decisions

Do you want to your life to be sustained through machines? If you become ill with a life threatening disease, do you want intense and invasive procedures to be taken to extend your life? Do you  have specific wishes about the medical care you receive such as surgical procedures, religious beliefs or others? Do you want your organs to be donated? All of these decisions only you can make, but you cannot make them later. These are decisions you can make now and clearly put in your will.

If you have a family, you do not want to leave them with these financial management decisions. Rather, if you start planning now for your retirement years and beyond, you will find yourself in a position to achieve the goals you have and to help your family to cope in one of the most difficult times of their lives. Make these decisions now before you cannot make them.

This includes providing this information on your pension, your retirement accounts, your investments and your life insurance policies. Verify that those beneficiaries are accurate.

• Do you need to appoint guardianship for anyone? If you have a disabled or minor child, this should be listed in your documents.

When you take the time to make these formal decisions now, you ensure that your estate planning goals are in line. Take some time to consider all of your options before making these decisions. To ensure that your wishes are legally provide, simply work with an experienced estate planning attorney to handle them.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

Don't forget to see Joseph Leonard in person during an upcoming financial management seminar!

How To: Estate Planning for the Elderly

You have lived your life without a play, but one of the worst financial management decisions you can make is not having an estate plan in place. In many ways, this plan not only cares for you right now but it also gives you the power to make decisions after you are gone. For many, it is a critical step to take long before you are elderly but even if you are older, now is a great time to make some key decisions.

Decisions to Make Now

The following are some of the most important decisions you can make for yourself:

• Who is your durable power of attorney? This person ensures your wishes occur. They hold on to your will. They provide guidance for medical decisions if you cannot make them yourself. They also provide you with someone to rely on after you die to carry out your last wishes.
• Do you have a trust set up? Trusts can help your family to avoid at least some of the estate taxes they are likely to pay. Trusts also allow you to move property from yourself to others without having to worry about the legalities of doing so. Further, trusts can be in use to care for specific goals you have such as taking care of children, leaving money behind for young adults or even caring for your pet or favorite charity.
• Talk to your estate planning attorney, tax accountant or another professional to find out how you can minimize your taxes. Many times, there are instances when you can reduce the amount of tax paid to the government on your estate. It takes only a few minutes to make these decisions but it can make a big difference later.
• Do you have a formal will in place? Is that will updated to include any of the major life changes in your life? You will want to update your will often and you want to have several copies including one with an attorney, your durable power of attorney and another with your family.
• Do you have life insurance in place? While your estate may be tied up in probate for up to a year, your family may need money to pay for their needs throughout that time. A life insurance policy can provide this to your loved ones.
• Have you updated and assigned beneficiaries? This includes providing this information on your pension, your retirement accounts, your investments and your life insurance policies. Verify that those beneficiaries are accurate.
• Do you need to appoint guardianship for anyone? If you have a disabled or minor child, this should be listed in your documents.

When you take the time to make these formal decisions now, you ensure that your estate planning goals are in line. Take some time to consider all of your options before making these decisions. To ensure that your wishes are legally provide, simply work with an experienced estate planning attorney to handle them.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

Don't forget to see Joseph Leonard in person during an upcoming financial management seminar!

Top 10 Estate Planning Tips

Estate planning is one of the best decisions you can make for yourself, your property and for your family. Estate planning is simply the process of organizing your assets, bills and wishes so that when you die, everything is planned out. That way, your family does not have to handle the financial management of your estate without being able to know what your wishes are. Further, estate planning helps you to save money.

However, there are many factors that play a role in estate planning to think about. The following 10 tips can help you to make the right decisions about planning your estate.

      

1. Hire an attorney to do the legal work of establishing trusts and management wills for you. While you can do some of this yourself, it is critical to realize that without the proper wording, you are unlikely to have the results you want to have.
2. Monitor estate tax laws and tax laws in general that affect your estate. You will need to come back to your plans from time to time to make changes so that your goals are still met.
3.  Update your will and your estate documents anytime a major change occurs in your life whether that be getting married, divorced, having a child, adopting a child or buying new property.
4. Plan to avoid taxes. Through trusts and other methods, you can safely protect the property you have worked so hard to build from costly estate taxes. In fact, many people can avoid probate altogether.
5. Look over your estate plans each year, especially towards the end of the year. Have you made wise financial decisions and can you make changes now that would be helpful later, such as adding more to your IRA before the end of the year.
6.  Do invest in life insurance. The right type of life insurance is an easy way to provide your family with a near immediate payment that they can live off of while your estate is being probated. Purchase an affordable plan that pays your families expenses for a year, which is the length that probate can hold up your estate.
7. Do more than just take a video message. Did you know that a video message of your will is simply not enough? You need to have a formal document that outlines what your wishes are. Further, you can use the video to explain why you made the decisions you did.
8. Put in place an element in your estate plan for medical emergencies and long term care. You need to have a living will put in place and you should also appoint someone to make key decisions for you, based on your needs, when you cannot.
9. Care for your minor children and disabled children now. Any parent with a child under the age of 18 needs to have a will that outlines what should happen to the children should the parents die. It should also provide for their financial well being if possible.
10. Take the time to put a plan in place. As simple as this estate planning tip sounds, it is the most important piece of estate planning advice. You do have assets and wishes that should be heard.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

Don't forget to see Joseph Leonard in person during an upcoming financial management seminar!

Joseph Leonard Financial Seminar Schedule and Dates

Do you want to learn more about financial management?

Do you wish to increase your retirement savings?

Do you want to hear independent, unbiased information?

Are you ready to be successful with your investment strategy?

These in-person financial seminars will help you learn how to receive the most benefit for the time and money you invest. If you are involved in investing, regardless of your portfolio size; whether you use a portfolio manager, manage your investment personally or just wish to learn more about financial management - these seminars are for you.

Seminar Dates for 2010

• March 10th - Fayetteville, NC - Lone Star Steakhouse - 11:00am to 1:00pm
• March 11th - Southern Pines, NC - Vito's Ristorante & Pizzeria - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
• May 13th - Southport, NC - SJP Member Club - 6:00pm - 8:00pm

We'll keep you updated on additional seminars as they become available!

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

Understanding Mutual Funds Investing

Mutual funds are professionally managed, which makes them preferable to managing your own investments. These funds pool money from investors, usually a very large number of investors, and then invest it in stocks, bonds, money-market instruments, or securities of some kind or other. The mutual funds manager is the one who does the trading. Proceeds or losses are usually distributed to investors annually.

Mutual funds are a wise way to go in most investment situations. One advantage is that the costs are borne by all the shareholders. This makes cost-effective diversification possible. Also, a professional fund manager will use his/her expertise and dedicated time to do the research and make management decisions. Even so, a mutual fund that invests in stocks will be subject to the same ups and downs as the stock market.

You may be able to choose from several classes of shares in any mutual fund. The major difference is in the services the shareholder enjoys and the distribution arrangements that entail a range of fees and expenses. The differences are generally presented as the different costs involved in the various classes. If the shares are sold through brokers with a front-end load, the costs will reflect that. On the other hand, if the shares that are sold directly to the public with no load, the costs will also reflect that. It’s even likely that one class will be $10-million-minimum investors, generally only financial institutions. For all of these reasons, various classes will perform differently.

Front-end load or sales charge means the commission a broker will charge at the time that the mutual fund purchases shares. However, some funds have a back-end load, which means the sales charge is deferred. In other words, the investor pays no charge up front but will pay the charge out of proceeds when the shares are sold. A level-load fund is one whose sales charge is due if the shares are sold within a year of purchase.

Bond Funds

Eighteen percent of mutual fund assets are bond funds, including term funds (fixed time before they mature). Municipal bond funds tend to have lower returns; however, the tax advantages are significant and there is lower risk with these funds. At greater risk are high-yield bond funds. These are corporate bonds and will include high-yield or junk bonds.

Money-Market Funds

Twenty-six percent of mutual funds are in money markets. These carry the least risk, but the rate of return is lower. Money-market shares can be redeemed at any time; they are different from CDs in this.

Funds of Funds

It’s not uncommon for a mutual fund to invest in other mutual funds. In other words, these are funds made up of underlying funds. Actually, the investor could invest in these underlying funds if he so chose. The fees in these funds of funds are lower and the fees charged by the underlying funds are only disclosed in the fund’s annual report or prospectus. Both fund expenses and the underlying fund expenses impact the return, so this is important information.

A variation is a fund of funds is one that invests in another fund with the same manager, called an affiliated fund. The costs are typically lower when this is the case.

Hedge Funds

These are pooled mutual funds that have little regulation by the SEC. The adviser doesn’t have to follow or avoid any investment strategies. Also, no requirements are made regarding which investments may be purchased. These funds usually charge a management fee of 1% or more. Also, a performance fee of 20% of the fund’s profits is usually charged. Some hedge funds declare a period during which shares cannot be cashed in.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

How to: Research an Online Stock Purchase

There are many ways to go about financial investing. A number of well-known companies sell stock directly to individuals. If you’re making a direct stock purchase yourself, you’ll find that most companies will not charge you a commission or if they do, the commission charges will be much lower than if you’re buying through a broker. If you’re interested in financial investing in only a small number of shares and want to keep your costs as low as possible, this is a good way to go.

There are many things to know about a particular stock. Remember that in financial investing, when you buy a share, you are buying a share of ownership in this company.

Types of Stocks to Purchase

Blue Chip Stocks

These are the oldest companies that have been continuously profitable. They usually pay a dividend. Many of the thirty Dow stocks are blue chips. For financial investing, many of the lowest-risk stocks are in this group.

Growth Stocks 

These are expected to have the greatest yields for financial investing. They typically don’t pay dividends because they tend to reinvest their earnings. When they’re growing, they tend to be pricey. However, if they’ve had a setback, the price can go down—a lot. If you choose to buy these, be prepared for the roller-coaster.

No-Load Stocks

If you go to a company’s website, you can usually find out if it participates in no-load stocks. These are inexpensive for purposes financial investing; in fact, sometimes you can invest for no cost at all. On the company’s website you can learn how to invest directly.

Speculative Stocks

These are risky for financial investing. The likelihood that you might lose a lot of money is very high here and the likelihood that you’ll make a lot of money is low. Some of these are priced under $5 per share.

What to Look for When Evaluating Stock for Financial Investing

• Price-to-earnings ratio
• Earnings-per-share increase over the past year
• Earnings of the company
• Yearly increase in revenues and profits
• History of stock splits
• Dividends
• Debts
• Relative strength
• Business model
• Management
• Plans for the future
• News—past and present
• Price of share
• Price fluctuations
• Price over time
• Projections for five years (estimates, of course)
• Ranking in industry
• Number of broker recommendations

You can find this information in the following places:

• MsFinancialSavvy’s interactive charts, bookstore, and news.
• Online web portals; i.e., Yahoo, Google
• Hoover’s Online
• http://www.sec.gov/ (Edgar Online)
• Website for the company
• Annual Report for the company
• Financial newspapers

For purposes of financial investing, you will want to make a chart in order to keep track of the information you collect. It’s the diligent researcher who is most likely to make profitable investments in stocks. You will need to pay either short-term capital gains taxes or long-term capital gains taxes. However, the experts say your focus should be on profits and earnings, not taxes.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

How To: Financial Management Basics

Financial management covers a wide range of money topics such as budgeting, expenses, debt, saving, and retirement planning. Seeing how they go hand-in-hand can help you lay a solid financial foundation for yourself and your family.

Budget

Unfortunately, many families skip right over this step in the financial management process, and that’s a big mistake. We are faced most days with many decisions about what to do with the limited money we have in hand, and it’s difficult to remember everything. It’s better to create a budget and commit it to paper to avoid overspending, debt problems, or spending on things you don’t need.

With a budget, you can see clearly how much money you have, where it goes, and whether you have any left over. Besides, once you have this picture, you can begin to think about ways to optimize spending and cut out waste. Financial management at this level is how you get ahead, no matter what your income.

Getting out of Debt

When you begin to be realistic in your financial management, you’ll probably find that you have debt that will limit how much control you can bring to the process. Using credit wisely isn’t a bad thing, but you need to be sure that the debt you have is the good kind and not the bad kind.

The mortgage or debt that you take on to buy a home amounts to a lot of debt. However, this is usually good debt. In the first place, you must have a place to live for yourself and your family, so you either must rent or buy. If you buy, you can usually get a low interest rate, and you will be investing in an asset that will become more valuable in time in addition to giving your family the security of owning their own home.

However, if you go to the mall and have a shopping spree using a credit card with 22% interest and don’t pay it off right away—this is bad debt. Once your financial management plan kicks in, you will want to avoid this kind of unnecessary spending and the burden it puts on your ability to get ahead.

Pay more than the minimum each month. This is the first step to getting out of debt. The second one is to lower your interest rate. Talk to your credit card company first and see if you can negotiate interest. If not, you might want to look at other ways to lower the rate such as getting a bank loan and paying off all credit cards.

Saving for Retirement

With fewer companies offering pension plans and the uncertainty of Social Security, it’s important for you to be realistic about planning for retirement as a part of your financial management plan. Many feel that they don’t have enough left over to put aside any money for retirement.

Retirement savings as a part of your financial management plan is not an afterthought. It’s a priority. The IRS offers special tax-advantaged accounts such as employer 401(K) plans. Also, individual retirement accounts and special retirement accounts have been set up by IRA for the self-employed. Included in the benefits that come with these are tax deductions, tax credits, and tax-free earnings on retirement savings.

Even if you are just starting a family and just beginning to earn your own living, don’t fail to devote time to financial management. Or if you’re half-way through your earning years or even later, it’s not too late to do this. Having a financial management plan will pay off in ways you may not have dreamed.

Ask Joseph Leonard and Coastal Investment Advisors for additional personal finance advice or learn money management tips on financial management by downloading this free financial management guide.

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