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Do you have a financial plan? Better yet, do you have a financial plan that you trust? Believe it or not, the proper financial plan can and probably will save you a lot of money month after month. Those who don’t have a plan find themselves in trouble at some point in time. You can easily avoid this by being prepared for everything at all times.

Your financial plan does not have to be a long, complex document full of figures. Instead, it can include a basic outline of your budget as well as any goals you have for your money. With the proper financial plan you can save money by cutting expenses. To go along with this, you will also find your savings accounts growing because of the way you are treating and spending (or not spending) your money.

When you have a financial plan you will feel as if your money situation is in good shape. And remember, you don’t need to be rich to have a plan. Even if you earn minimum wage you can still devise a plan that will help you follow your budget, make the right decisions, and reach all your goals.

Getting good advice on how to plan for your financial future is vital, but finding a financial planner who you can trust and who will take the time to figure out what is best for you and your particular circumstances is a tricky business. At the very least, consider some of these tips for finding a financial planner before you sign up to anything:

• Get some recommendations for good financial planners from your friends, family and your accountant. This is infinitely better than just searching through the Yellow Pages but if you don’t have anyone in your area to ask, then get online to see if there is a forum giving some unbiased recommendations.
• Think about what your financial needs are - for example, are you mostly interested in creating a retirement portfolio - and try to find a financial planner who is more specialized in your area of need.
• Meet with two or three at least - an introductory meeting should be free - so you can find someone you feel more comfortable with.
• Ask about how they get paid - whether it’s by commission, flat fees or fees based on your assets you invest through them - so that you can make more informed decisions about the investments they recommend, and so you don’t get any nasty surprises later.

The new year is upon us, and this means it is time to start planning for the next 12 months. Do you have any financial goals for the new year? If you are behind in this area you need to catch up at once. Believe it or not, financial planning for the new year is not as hard or as time consuming as some so-called experts will want you to believe. Yes, you need to take time to ensure that you are setting realistic goals and making the right moves. But at the same time this does not have to take several weeks of headaches and mess-ups.

The way you plan your finances for the new year is up to you. For instance, some people will want to save more money this year. Others will want to pay down their debt. Some will want to do both. It is up to you to decide on your financial goals for the next 12 months. They can be whatever you want as long as they will benefit you in the long run.

Don’t overlook the power of having a financial plan for 2009. A solid plan, coupled with goals, are what you need to succeed.

Relying on two incomes is much easier than relying on one; there is no doubt about this. And while some couples voluntarily cut out one income others are forced into this. If you are in the latter group what are you going to do to make ends meet? With the unemployment rate increasing more and more families are being forced to live on one income. While this is never easy there are some tips you can follow: (more…)

Is your financial situation stressing you out? This is a feeling that you may be sharing with millions of other Americans. The economy is bad, the stock market is on the same page, and the real estate market is on a downturn. How can’t you be worried about your finances? Fortunately, no matter how bad your situation has become you can fix it. (more…)

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So you meet with your new financial planner, they give you a bunch of suggestions on how to invest your life savings and provide for your retirement and then leave you with a bamboozling pile of paperwork to sign. Is everything okay?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. An astute investor reported a bad experience recently when his new financial planner promised the investment plan costs would include just a 1.35% fee per annum for the financial planning consultancy. But when the investor took the paperwork home, he found a bunch of other fees listed, such as fees for entering particular funds, that the financial planner hadn’t mentioned. The investor didn’t sign.

This example goes to show that it pays to shop around for a financial planner that you feel comfortable with. The experts recommend you choose a financial planner who’s not only someone you like, but whose investing philosophy makes sense to you. Above all, don’t sign anything in a first meeting, and as tempting as it seems, don’t sign a pile of paperwork without taking it home to have a look at it. Be especially suspicious if your financial planner is pitching “no fees” packages to you, because if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

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Sometimes it’s hard to learn without making your own mistakes, but this great list of 10 things that will put in you in the poor house should help you avoid at least some of your own disasters. Some of the highlights of big financial mistakes you can make include:

• Spending more than you have - it sounds obvious, but many people do this. If you don’t have it, don’t spend it.
• Investing in some kind of scheme that promises to make you rich quickly - if it was so easy, everybody would be doing it. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Working only the minimum amount - nobody ever became financially well-off by slacking off. If you’re lazy about working then it’s likely you’ll either slip into poverty or float just above it.
• Not making a financial plan for yourself and your family - if you don’t know where you’re going financially, chances are you’ll get nowhere.
• Wasting money on unnecessary things - before you spend, stop and think if the item you’re going to buy will really (truly) make your life better or not.
• Not being prepared for surprises - if you don’t have an emergency fund and don’t have the right kind of insurances at the right levels, then an emergency could cause you serious financial damage.

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Many of us dream of quitting the day job and living a life of luxury doing whatever we want all day. Or at least working less. It’s not impossible, and here a few tips to help you on the path to being independently wealthy:

• Find extra income sources - for example, by doing freelancing or consulting work in addition to your day job. Yes, this sounds like working more - but it’s a transitional thing, both making you more money and opening up possibilities for part-time work in the future.
• Find passive income sources - having an investment properly with rental income, earning money from advertising on your websites or getting royalties are all forms of passive income - you don’t have to do anything more to continue getting income coming in.
• Invest often but smart - diversify your investments, get advice from the best people, and regularly save more money to invest.
• Track where your money goes - as well as developing and following a budget, keep a written record of where the money really goes so you can adjust your spending and/or your budget accordingly.
• Stay married - really! Getting divorced stops many people from becoming independently wealthy so it’s worth investing time and energy in keeping your marriage together, if it’s for the best.

photo credit: James Cridland
Starting a new job is an excellent time to look into setting your finances up better. An interesting article from Mint gives a long list of tips for new employees who want to do something about managing their finances from the word go. The tips include:

• Get your pay check paid by direct deposit rather than a check in the hand - it’s less tempting to spend it. (In most countries outside the United States, getting paid by check is impossible - bank deposits are the only way).
• Arrange for direct payments from your salary into a savings or investment account - pay yourself before you pay others!
• With a new income amount, it’s a great time to draw up a personal budget and find good strategies to help you stick to it.
• Use part of the new income to build up an emergency fund.
• Make sure you get sufficient health coverage from your new employer, or set up your own if the employer doesn’t offer any.
• Learn more about tax deductions and tax liability so that you can maximise how much money you get to take home each month by knowing what should be withheld.
• Use the regular income to regularly service your debt and try to reduce it as much as possible.
• Set up the right kind of retirement savings accounts. If you have a 401K that your employer will match, contribute the maximum amount possible.

photo credit: ralphbijker

Women are facing a financial problem. They generally earn less and start saving later, but they live longer than men: so how will they have enough money to fund their retirement? (more…)