Six Retirement Planning Myths Busted

Six Retirement Planning Myths Busted
Retirement planning myth articles might not be at the top
of your fun reading list but it will take you less than
three minutes to read this one and it could save you a lot
of financial pain later. Retirement planning is something
you want to get started on right now, whether you are 21 or
71. It's never too early and never too late. Here are a few
myths to bust to get you started.

Six Retirement Planning Myths

Myth #1. When I retire I won't need as much to live on.

Hogwash! How do you know what the cost of living is going
to be? Sure the kids are off on their own and the house
might be paid off but medical bills and cost of living are
unpredictable. You should be able to live on less but why
would you want to?

Myth #2. I'm a young pup and retirement is far, far away!

Get real dude, time flies when you're having fun and
burning mun. It's a lot easier to save a $30 a week at 35
than it is to save $240 a week at 55! That's about what
it's going to take to have $200k in the old nest egg at 65.
So, you can do it the easy way or the hard way. You decide
oh youthful one!

Myth #3. My adorable children will take care of me.

Whoa! Haven't you been watching TV? Your kids are more
likely to move back in with you than they are to take care
of you! Didn't you teach your kids about personal
responsibility and independence? Keep your kids in your
life but keep them out of your retirement planning.

Myth #4. Social security will save the day!

Yeah, that will be the day when pigs fly. Uncle Sam hasn't
figured out if there will even be any social security in
another decade or two. Counting on the government for a big
part of your retirement income makes for a weak retirement
strategy. You are better off counting on your own
discipline and resourcefulness. You can start drawing
social security at 62 but depending on your age, you might
be better off to consider that as a bonus than a sure thing.

Myth #5. I don't have enough money to save or invest for
retirement.

That might be true but then... maybe not. Take a hard look
at where your money is going. Have you maximized your
contributions to your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored
retirement plans? Have you considered leveraging your home
equity or other under-performing assets into safe and
secure investments? Have you scrutinized your spending
habits? Do you really need that satellite dish and 500
channels of mind numbing video? Do you really need the
newest and shiniest shoes and chicest Chevy's? Even if you
can only save a small amount each week, start now. Make it
automatic and consistent. You might never feel like it's
enough but that is no reason to not to start.

Myth #6. I can't afford a financial planner.

Many financial planners are compensated by the companies
they represent and therefore charge nothing to you unless
you do business with them. Others are fee based and charge
for their time. Find someone you trust and get references.
Take your time, go slow and do a little homework.
Retirement planning is all about the future but it needs to
start today.

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earn 7%, 8%, 9% or more at fixed rates, visit
http://www.GuaranteeMyMoney.com or call the retirement and
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888-777-3805 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm Pacific. Steve Dahl is a
freelance writer and marketing consultant in Carlsbad, Ca.
He can be reached through the website or blog
http://www.GuaranteeYourMoney.com .

Learn how to get a mortgage while in Bankruptcy

Learn how to get a mortgage while in Bankruptcy
You are probably thinking how in the world can I get a
mortgage while in Bankruptcy? Well guess what you can. In
this article I will teach you what to do. Two of the most
common bankruptcies among people are Chapter 13 and Chapter
7. Here are there attributes.

Chapter 13
Chapter 13 is where you set up payments with the court to a
trustee. This typically takes place over 5 years. You will
pay back a portion of what is owed to creditors. Chapter 13
stays on your credit report for 7 yrs.

Chapter 7
Chapter 7 is where you file bankruptcy through the courts,
and dissolve all debt. This particular bankruptcy is looked
at much more harshly with creditors and stays on your
credit report for 10yrs.

Bankruptcy is usually the last resort when it comes to
getting yourself out of a swamp of credit problems. I
personally believe most people don't want to file
bankruptcy but have no choice once they do. Usually
bankruptcy is stemmed from lots of debt. There is hope
though when it comes to buying a home. I will tell you real
quick, you cannot buy a home while in a Chapter 7. Banks
will not touch you with a ten foot pole, usually for 2 to 3
years. You can buy a home while in a Chapter 13, only if
your trustee gives you permission.

Requirements to get a Mortgage while in Chapter 13

1. Must have permission from Trustee
2. Must have a lender willing to finance you FHA
3. Must have a minimum 12 month payment history with
Bankruptcy.
4. Cannot have any late payments after bankruptcy is filed
5. Cannot have any collections after bankruptcy is filed.
6. Must have 3 alternate lines of credit.
A. Examples:
a. Letter from electric company stating you have been on
time with payment for last 12 months
b. Letter from Phone Company stating you have been on time
with payments for the last 12 months
c. Letter from any utility company stating you have been on
time with your payments for the last 12 months.

If you are in a chapter 13, and you meet all these
requirements you should be able to get financed FHA. The
first thing you need to do is pull a recent copy of you
free credit report, and make sure you have not had any
collections or slow pays on your credit report during
bankruptcy.

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http://www.my720fico.com . My720fico.com is one of the most
unique on-line resources for free credit score reports,
Internet identity theft software, secure credit cards, and
a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The
information within this website is written by professionals
that know about credit, and what determines ones credit
worthiness.

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How To Sell Real Estate To Seniors

How To Sell Real Estate To Seniors
Although it seems rather easy to set up a plan to sell real
estate to seniors, there are many things that you must
consider first. In fact, many of the things that you'll
read about here are not discussed often. Before you get
started, consider this.

Seniors are a very large and growing market. People live
longer today than they did in the past. They are also
healthier and do not end up in an assisted living facility
or nursing home as quickly as they used to.

Another thing about this market is they outgrow their
larger home as the kids grow up and leave. Larger homes can
be difficult to keep up and take care of. Large yards may
not even be what they want anymore. So you can see there is
a definite market here.

When you want to know how to sell real estate to seniors
you need to go online. The best way to sell them real
estate is to advertise specifically to them. There are real
estate sites online that are for seniors only.

http://www.echo-media.com/targetcat.asp?TargetType=Seniors

http://www.seniorsrealestate.com/sarec

So you want to make sure that you advertise your real
estate to these sites. The more sites you can get your home
listed on the more seniors will see it and possibly be
interested in your property. You can also visit other
places online that seniors hang out. Let them know what you
have and see who is interested.

http://www.aarp.org/

http://www.suddenlysenior.com/links.shtml

The next best way to sell real estate to seniors is to go
to your local real estate companies and talk to them about
who you are trying to sell to. They can give you ideas or
help you list your home for seniors only. They know what
their senior clients are looking for so they can be a big
help to you in selling your property to seniors. So take
advantage of their help.

Another way is to go to the places that seniors like to be.
Print out some fliers and talk to them about your real
estate. Let them know everything about it and answer any of
their questions. If someone acts more interested than
others then you want to spend time with the interested
party. Help them as much as you can and even offer to show
them the property when they have time.

Best of all, when you are informed in the way that how to
sell real estate to seniors works, you can make better
decisions on the best course of action to handle your own
situation in dealing with this market.

----------------------------------------------------
Jeff Schuman invites you to visit his Ideas Directory for
ideas on how to do almost anything. Whether you want ideas
on how to sell real estate to seniors or have a question on
something else you can find your answer here. To see for
yourself please click here now:===> http://www.Ideas-From.us

Unsecured Bad Credit Credit Cards: The Holy Grail of Bad Credit Finance

Unsecured Bad Credit Credit Cards: The Holy Grail of Bad Credit Finance
People who have had credit problems can tell you how hard
it can be to find unsecured bad credit credit cards. Sure,
there are advertisements everywhere promising them - but
half of them turn out to be scams or issue cards with
ridiculously-low credit limits and ridiculously-high fees.
Where are all of the good unsecured credit cards hiding?
Before you apply for any unsecured bad credit credit cards,
there are some things you need to know...

They Are Out There

The first thing you need to know is that there are indeed
some good unsecured bad credit credit cards out there. You
just need to know what to look for. If someone tells you
that you must pay hundreds of dollars for an unsecured card
just because your credit is tarnished, they're trying to
take you for a ride. Understand this -- you will likely
have to pay an annual fee and a higher interest rate, but
you do not have to pay an arm and a leg to get unsecured
credit.

How Much is Too Much?

As I said above, you are going to have to pay for an
unsecured credit card. Even people with great credit have
to pay for them. It's called finance charges. People with
poor credit tend to pay more for credit cards than people
with good credit. However, you should never pay more than
you have to. So what's "reasonable" as far as credit card
costs go?

Any credit card is going to charge you interest. That's
just the way it goes. With bad credit, you're looking at
anywhere from 10 percent interest to 30 percent interest
depending on the terms of the card. You're also probably
going to have to pay an annual fee. However, anything more
than $50 or $60 annually is too much. And if they want to
charge a processing fee and/or application fee on top of
the annual fee, run in the other direction. Which brings me
to my next point...

How Fees are Paid

While it's true that there are some good unsecured bad
credit credit cards out there, there are also bad ones and
then there are the ones that are completely fraudulent.
These "companies" will request that you pay your
application fee, processing fee and annual fee up front.
You send them the money, then they'll process your credit
card application. Nine times out of ten, no credit card
ever arrives.

A legitimate credit card company will put any annual fees
or processing fees on the card they issue you. They will
not require money up front. And if the company says they
need up-front money for an "application fee" let them know
that the industry has become competitive enough that you
can take your business elsewhere without having to pay any
application fee at all, even if you do have bad credit.

Bad things happen to good people. Don't let the credit card
companies make you feel as though you deserve abuse just
because you've had financial problems in the past. By
keeping the above things in mind you'll be able to find the
unsecured bad credit credit cards that are right for you.

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For more tips on bad credit credit cards, saving money and
avoiding getting taken, check out the bad credit credit
card section at CreditCardTipsEtc.com, a website that
specializes in providing credit card tips, advice and
resources.
http://www.creditcardtipsetc.com/bad_credit_credit_cards

Four Tips to Invest Young and Retire Young

Four Tips to Invest Young and Retire Young
Have fun and retire young is the mantra of many high school
and college students today. Unfortunately, only a minority
of them will be able live their dream life.

Social Security and pensions probably won't be around when
your teenager reaches retirement age. In the last ten years
we've experienced a large reduction in pension plans
offered to employees. Employers are replacing pension
plans with contributory retirement programs. Unfortunately,
according to a report of the National Association of State
Boards of Education, "most workers with access to these
contributory programs are not participating sufficiently to
allow them to retire in their sixties without suffering a
great decrease in their standard of living."

This may mean that everyone under age 30 will need to
self-fund their own retirement. In order to be financially
prepared, it is important they start investing young and
avoid financial pitfalls that plague many of their peers.
This requires they learn the basic financial education
skills so they are financially prepared.

To be financially prepared for retirements today's youth
will need to have over a million dollars to be fully
financially prepared for a self-funded retirement. After
calculating the long-term inflation rate, a young adult
today will need over a million dollars in order to retire
on an annual income of around $35,000 (today's dollars,
adjusted for inflation and salary increases). This is
assuming they live to be 90 years old. However, with the
improvements in medicine, many experts feel we will live
beyond that mark, so just planning to live to 90 may not be
enough. And $35,000 annual income per year is not a lot of
money to enjoy the golden years.

What's the answer? One answer may be a simple investment
of $100 per month starting at age 18. If that investment
earns a return similar to the S&P 500 average over the past
82 years, they would have over a million dollars many years
before they reach retirement age.

Have fun and retire young by following these simple steps.

1) Invest Young -There are powerful financial forces on
your side when you start investing young. One of the most
beneficial to young investors is compounding interest.

Compounding interest occurs when you invest money and earn
a return on what you invest. The amount your investment
returns then starts to earn you money. This forms a
snowball affect that will make your money grow bigger the
longer you are invested.

To break it down, you're making money off the interest your
investment already paid you. Then you continue to make
money off the interest that you made each year. That
means year after year your investments can grow at a faster
and faster pace.

2) Consistent, young, investment plan. Investing on a
consistent basis may allow you to generate long-term gains
over time. For most, simplicity equals consistency; and
consistency over time leads to financial security. Start
to follow a simple, consistent, investment plan now; then
as your investment knowledge grows you can add other forms
of potential higher-return investments.

3) Use investment vehicles that offer tax benefits -Roth
IRA may allow you to withdraw money at retirement tax-free.
Many people don't realize about 40% of your income goes to
pay taxes. So by choosing an investment vehicle like an
IRA may help to keep more money in your pocket.

4) Diversify your portfolio - Initially, the stock market
can be a great place to start investing young. As your
account size grows you could take some of that money and
move it into real estate or business ventures.

Diversification is important because is lowers risk. For
example, if you have 'all' your money invested in the stock
market when prices are declining then 'all' your money may
decline in value as well. Now if you diversify your
holdings and had a portion of your money invested in the
stock market, some in the real estate market and some in
businesses you might avoid a big loss.

The thought of funding one's own retirement makes some
people nervous but if people start young and stay
consistent, today's generation will be able to afford the
lifestyle they want now and through out their life.

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To find out more practical money tips go to
http://www.FreeBy30.com and watch the free video lessons.
Vince Shorb, the leading young adult financial literacy
expert, provides real world advice on how to be financially
free in his latest course 'Financially Free by 30'.