Money Magazine, Ask the Expert: Benefits of a Roth 401(k) - Aug. 18, 2006. These insurance-investment combos sound good. But with their fees and other complications, you should proceed with caution. NEW YORK (Money) -- QUESTION: I'm single, in my 30s and I'm already maxing out my 401(k) and IRA account. My financial planner is recommending I purchase a variable universal life policy, the rationale being that I have exhausted all of my other tax-advantaged investment opportunities. I trust my adviser, but I don't understand whether a variable universal life policy is really a good deal. RESPONSE: I have no problem with using life insurance as a tool for protecting the financial security of one's family - specifically, to replace the income of a breadwinner who dies. I'm very skeptical, however, about pitches that portray life insurance as a souped-up tax-advantaged investment and retirement account. So at the very least I think you should proceed with extreme caution.
The pitch Voila! The catch So what, possibly, could be wrong with such a sunny scenario? Everything You Need To Know About Borrowing Against Your 401k 401k Calculator with 401K Contribution Limits For 2012/2013. If you’re faced with an unexpected financial situation or you suddenly need cash, one option may be to consider taking a loan from your 401(k).
And, you’re not alone. According to a study by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), nearly 20 per cent of all 401(k) participants had plan loans outstanding. However, you should think carefully before taking a loan out against your retirement savings. What are the loan limits? What are the advantages of borrowing against your 401k? And what should you be aware of? How does a 401k loan work? When you take a 401(k) loan, you specify the investment account(s) from which you want to borrow money. You lose any positive earnings that would have been produced by those investments for the period of the loan. 2 Things You Need To Know About a 401k Loan If you’re considering taking out a loan against your 401k, there are two things you should know. Firstly, there are limits to the amount you can borrow.
Advantages of borrowing against your 401k. Why Do Most Financial Seminars Fail? | Marketing content from WealthManagement.com. Seminars can be one of the most effective strategies for gathering assets. Sadly, many financial advisors abandon their seminar marketing efforts when results fail to live up to expectations.
When seminars disappoint, financial advisors are quick to blame anyone but themselves. The most common excuse: “My local area is seminared out.” This excuse, like countless others, is rarely the cause of the problem. Whenever one points a finger, there are three pointing back — to you, the broker. Reason One: Failure to understand simple marketing techniques. The point of a seminar is — duh — to initiate and establish multiple, mutually profitable long-term relationships. Reason Two: Failure to implement effective closing techniques.
Whatever the particular method, it must be a focused effort on one goal: to set appointments. Reason Three: Failure to put qualified prospects in the chairs. Reason Four: Failure to follow up correctly. Www.seminardirect.com/htdocs/pdf/The Top-10-Reasons-Financial-Seminars-Fail.pdf. AnnualCreditReport. Mortgage Rates Credit Cards Refinance Home CD Rates by Bankrate.com. Mutual Funds -- Costs -- Mutual Fund Loads. Investments: MyPlan Snapshot. This model calculator provides only a rough directional result that should not be acted upon or relied on. No record of this interaction or its results will be maintained. IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by the calculator regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results.
This calculator uses tables developed from Fidelity's Asset Liability Modeling Engine to estimate potential income growth of your indicated assets and contributions over the time frame specified. The market return data used to generate the illustration is intended to provide you with a general idea of how an asset mix you selected in the calculator has performed historically. For more information on the calculations, review our Methodology. Our analysis assumes a level of diversity within each asset class that may differ from that found in your portfolio. What college will cost in 18 years - education costs – MSN Money. By Stephanie Landsman, CNBC.com The latest projections could give even the wealthiest parents pause.
Experts and parents are looking for solutions. It's not just the nation heading for a fiscal cliff. Soaring education costs could end up rupturing your nest egg -- and bring your child to the brink of bankruptcy before he even gets his first job. Even the top 1% may get a panic attack from the latest projected tuition rates. Campus Consultants Founder and President Kal Chany figured out what college will likely cost by 2030 based on inflation rates. The findings? Seuk Kim, who works in public relations in the Washington, D.C., area and is in his 30s, knows what he's up against. "I am very concerned. He calculates he'd have to save about $3,300 per month if he sends his children to the University of Virginia located near his home. Kim adds, "The kids are the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, but they are one of the worst things that happened to my retirement plan . . . . Get into Proactive Prospecting Mode- Financial Advisor Makeover BLOG.
Posted by Connie Kadansky in Advisor Marketing , Prospecting on April 1st, 2011 | no responses Last week, I had a conversation with Les, a 25-year veteran CFP. He admitted that he’d struggled with Sales Call Reluctance for the first few years of his career. Because he kept taking action and doing his best to serve his clients well, Les slowly developed notoriety in his market and enjoyed a reputation as a trusted advisor.
In reviewing his goals for the next three to five years, Les finally allowed himself to admit that his clients were aging, their children had moved away, and he needed to get back into aggressive, proactive business-building mode in order to sustain and grow his business. He asked about the steps involved in getting into proactive prospecting mode because he was once again experiencing Sales Call Reluctance. Before reviewing the individual steps, a couple points must be highlighted. Awareness begins with answering some questions: What do you want?
Get into action. Are You Too Nice to Close the Deal?- Financial Advisor Makeover BLOG. Posted by Connie Kadansky in Advisor Marketing , Practice Management on January 2nd, 2010 | no responses Jon has been in sales for nearly 12 years. He has great customers, but he wants more! He knows what he needs to do: commit to prospect consistently, build better strategic alliances, and buckle down and close more sales. So what’s the problem? By analyzing his prospecting activity, Jon has come to the conclusion that he’s spending an inordinate amount of time volunteering and building relationships. But the activities haven’t added enough new clients to justify his time and financial expenditures. Jon isn’t the only salesperson who has difficulty transitioning from relationship-building to solid business-building. This type of call reluctance has been identified as “yielder” call reluctance. People pleasers don’t move forward unless someone gives them a crystal clear signal to proceed.
Perhaps these financial advisors: Feel that the prospect would be offended by sales efforts Dig deep. The Art of the Close. Best Personal Finance & Investing Advice. 8 experts recall their best personal finance advice. When you need advice, it's usually best to go to the experts. So Bankrate did, collecting the thoughts of eight personal finance gurus on increasing your wealth. In some cases, the experts had to learn the lesson themselves (usually after a few hard knocks). Many times, a sound example was offered by someone successful who was already living it. And in every case, the person who later became an expert recognized the wisdom for what it was -- and is still using it to build wealth. Learn what these successful people said they consider the best personal financial advice they ever received. Gary Belsky, co-author of "Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics": "Be afraid when people are greedy, and greedy when people are afraid.
Wayne W. The lesson "for me was, first, pay yourself," Dyer says. While in the Navy stationed in Guam, Dyer saved 90 percent of his pay over the last 18 months he was there. How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt - Getting Out of Debt Made Easy. Credit card debt is a major problem in this country. While not everyone has a credit card, those that do typically carry a balance. The interest rate on a credit card balance is usually between 10-30% APR. These high interest rates make it difficult for people to pay down their debt -- especially if only making the minimum payment. In fact, just making minimum payments can make even the smallest balance over a decade to pay off and thousands of dollars in finance charges.
It’s no wonder getting out of debt seems so hard. Fortunately, you can get out of debt. First, list each of your credit cards. Why This Works To understand why a relatively simple process works it’s important to understand how minimum payments work. With this system, your monthly payment is remaining constant regardless of your balance. Starting with the highest interest rate ensures you’re targeting the most costly credit up front to minimize the total amount of interest you pay. A Few More Tips. Financing Your Child's Education. As a parent of a young child, thoughts about them going off to college and how they will pay for it have probably crossed your mind. At the same time you’ve probably also thought that since they may have many years yet before college that it can be something to put off until later. Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth. Especially since even a modest undergraduate degree could end up costing over $100,000. Estimate How Much You’ll Need Taking the first step in saving for college is always the hardest.
First, you need to estimate how much that education will cost. Keep in mind that these are today’s prices. Think About Financial Aid The good news about higher education is there are programs out there to help with some costs. So, keep financial aid in mind when planning for how much you’ll need to save. Coming Up With the Money The hardest part is coming up with the money and putting it to work in the right place. Top Ten Financial Tips: Keys to Financial Success. Although making resolutions to improve your financial situation is a good thing to do at any time of year, many people find it easier at the beginning of a new year. Regardless of when you begin, the basics remain the same. Here are my top ten keys to getting ahead financially. 1. Get Paid What You're Worth and Spend Less Than You Earn It sounds simplistic, but many people struggle with this first basic rule.
No matter how much or how little you're paid, you'll never get ahead if you spend more than you earn. Related Resources: How to Get a Pay Raise101 Ways to Save Money SeriesChoosing the Best MortgageSave Money On Long Distance CallsSave Money on Your Next Car 2. One of my favorite subjects: budgeting. Budgeting 101: A Collection of Budgeting Articles 3. Credit card debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially. The High Cost of Using Credit Cards 4. If your employer has a 401(k) plan and you don't contribute to it, you're walking away from one of the best deals out there.