How can a Life Insurance Policy be a good investment?

How can a Life Insurance Policy be a good investment?
With a lot of the news surrounding the economy and how bad
it is, I thought it might be a great time to discuss life
insurance and how it might be time to really consider it as
a way to diversify your portfolio.

A dear friend of mine forwarded a link to a discussion on
CNBC about how life insurance is a good investment. Now, I
have to admit, I have always known that a life policy with
a cash value option is a good product to have in your
portfolio. I was really happy to see someone who agreed
with me.

Here is the link:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=697206891

Whether the economy is good or bad, you cannot go wrong
with a life policy that allows you to save in a cash value
account. Why? Because your cash value savings is
tax-free! Yes, this is one of those very few places that
the government still allows us to save tax-free. With a
guaranteed interest rate of 2-4% on most of these life
policies, if you calculate in the fact that you are not
going to pay taxes on the GAINS, it's a win-win situation.

Why is tax-free savings a good thing? Here is an example of
how taxation works:

If you take a dollar and double it 20 times and minus the
tax, you will have about $28,466 left.

But, if you take that same dollar and double it 20 times,
without tax, you will have about $1,048,576!

This example should show you the power of saving tax-free.

Here is a great explanation of EIUL that I found on line:

Equity indexed universal life insurance offers a unique
combination of affordable life insurance with the ability
to accumulate cash values that grow with the upward
movement of a stock index without the normal downside risk
associated with the equities market. Combine the benefits
of upside cash value growth potential with the tax benefits
associated with life insurance and a minimum guaranteed
interest rate and you have an optimum vehicle for
accumulating cash.

The important part to understand is that you are
participating in the market, BUT you are not going to be
participating in the downside risk. What that means is you
will enjoy the gains, but if the market goes down, your
cash value does not go down in the slightest. You will
keep all your gains and not risk a dime.

I recommend that everyone should at least look into an EIUL
policy as a way to diversify your investment portfolio
without much risk. There are many things you need to know
about an EIUL policy, and your insurance agent can help you
determine if it is right for you. Some of these policies
can be expensive to purchase. There are also limits to how
much you can put in this account each year, but the good
news is, the amount you can save within the policy is
always more then the annual limit on an IRA. Also
remember, this is tax-free savings, not tax deferred.

----------------------------------------------------
I help women and heart-based business owners learn how to
get to the core of their inner and outer money blocks and
to bring about a successful joyful relationship with money
and finance.
Go to http://www.wealthharvest.com and sign up for my FREE
gifts, including a free e-course called 7 Steps To A
Successful Heart-Based Business.

Currency Exchange Concerns

Currency Exchange Concerns
One of the country's leading economists, and Investment
Editor of the Financial Times, John Authers says, "That the
chances of an acute recession have receded significantly..."

Plus to the advantage of our economy and unstable currency
is benefited by the chances of a recession in the US
falling. Although the market isn't stable, varying
prominent economists have all suggested there are
suggestions of a slight improvement. In previous times
leading up to a recession there has been different signals.
In 2000 the ISM has fallen to 41 and a decade previous to
39.2.

Such credit squeezes on the banking systems affect our
currency exchange rates; and therefore any subsequent
overseas spending.

In business, such a poor exchange rate means that exports
become so much more expensive. However individual clients
on a personal level will find that there are two downfalls,
either of which is when we exchange our money into other
currencies.

For those who travel there is an upside and a downside. For
those choosing to travel to Europe will find a downside as
their purchase of holiday spends into Euros will be
drastically reduced if compared to previous years. Those
traveling to the US will discover the upside and their
pound will get them more dollars.

The other downside is for those individuals choosing this
year to re-locate into Europe, more especially those
countries that have adopted the euro. Imagine for one
moment those with a £100,000... In July of 2007 they
would get around 142,000 Euros; today however they would
only get 122,000 euros. That's a difference of 20,000
Euros. That of course could be the difference between 2nd
or a third bedroom, or a finca and a small apartment.

Currency Brokers have seen an upsurge in business, in a
natural way, as people find a need to work harder in
getting the best out of their money. Our High Street Banks,
although they do change large amounts of currency, cannot
compete with the Currency Broker. Lower overheads and fewer
staff help to trim off their costs.

Currency Brokers charge less than 1% as opposed to the
hefty 3 to 4% charged by the banks. This may not sound much
until you consider exchanging £100,000; that would be
a nice 'shareholders meeting bubbly session' costing almost
£4,000, if you catch my humour.

It is a tough world out there and rather than spend our
hard earned cash we need to look after it. If you were
buying a £200,000 property in Spain, the commission a
bank would charge could be the most expensive part of
buying the house. A consideration worth giving some time
and thought to...

Mr. P. Booker Senior Currency Expert and Columnist

----------------------------------------------------
Currency Broker | Currency Help and Advice
http://www.pounds-to-euros.com

Surefire Ways To Boost Your Credit Scores

Surefire Ways To Boost Your Credit Scores
Even though the method that each credit reporting agency
uses to calculate your credit score is different, the way
you approach cleaning up your reports will be somewhat the
same. It's the sense of urgency you proceed with that will
determine just how fast you can raise each of your credit
scores.

Once you receive your credit reports from each of the three
major agency and know the areas of each that are affecting
your credit score the most you can create the plan of
attack you are going to use to clean these areas up and get
the best results possible in the least amount of time.

Using this particular method of repairing your credit
reports and improving all three of your credit scores will
make the next steps that you must take that much easier to
accomplish.

Once you have cleaned up your report and raised your scores
the first step you must take is to secure a small loan with
a local bank. Most times you will be able to do this with
just your signature. You will then begin making the
payments on that loan. Each payment will be made on time at
the very worst. Your goal is to make the payments early.
This will begin to create a positive payment history. It is
that history that will eventually give future lenders the
confidence to trust that you can make payments and will
make the paymenst as outlined.

Not only will this allow you to get better interest rates,
but will also allow you to secure better rates on your
insurance. The lower interest and insurance rates will
result in lower payments which in turn ensures you can
manage them and not miss any payments, thereby improving
your credit score even more. Remember, you want to make the
payments on time at the worst.

Repairing your credit score isn't quite as difficult as
most people think it is. Making sure the correct steps and
ensure that you don't have any hiccups along the way where
you miss payments or make your payments late.

While you should start your credit rebuilding plan with
this method, the momentum created with this method is going
to improve your score quickly. You also need to remember
that there are several other areas on your credit reports
that will affect your score and they all need to be
addressed at some stage if you are to achieve the highest
score possible.

----------------------------------------------------
Ron Barrett is the author of 15 Proven Credit Strategies;
How to Get the Credit That You Deserve, a detailed guide on
how to monitor, repair and maintain your personal credit
report and scores. You can find it at
http://www.provencreditstrategies.com . Ron provides
methods he personally used to clean up his credit reports
and raise his scores from the low 500's to upper 600's and
explains how you can easily do that too.

Selling Your Home: Should You Take the Help of an Agent?

Selling Your Home: Should You Take the Help of an Agent?
If you are about to sell your home you may be tempted to
"save the commission" by selling it yourself. It looks
simple enough to do, but if you consider all the
complexities of a real estate transaction you may find that
it is actually much better, safer and cost effective to get
a professional real estate representative to help you sell
your home.

I used the word "complexities" when talking about selling a
home. Let's take a look at what is involved and then it
will become clear why it is usually better to let an agent
sell your home rather than to stick a sign on your lawn and
do it yourself.

The first thing to consider is that it is time consuming to
sell your own home, and you have to ask yourself whether
you have the time, or if you do have the time, whether this
is the best use of your time. The general principle that
works here is that you should concentrate your time on what
you do well and whenever possible delegate responsibility
to skilled specialists.

So, ask yourself if you have time to study the area's real
estate market and make a marketing plan, and ask yourself
if you know what alterations on your home will raise the
value the most. If you don't have the time to do this and
don't have the knowledge, then it is clear that using an
agent would be a good option for you.

But let's take it further, do you have the required
expertise? A real estate transaction involves a lot of
money. Small details in contracts can make a difference.
Are you sure that you want go into this kind of transaction
all by yourself? A professional real estate representative
has the expertise that will allow you to sell your home
without incurring unforeseen risks.

Do you really have the skill to determine the proper
selling price for your home? If you are unrealistic you may
set the price too high and potential buyers will scared
away. If you set the price too low, you will lose money
that you could have had. Your loss can amount to thousands
of dollars; more than you would have paid the sales
representative. Real estate sales representatives sell
houses day in and day out and they know the market in your
locality. Sit down with a professional and take his or her
advice in coming up with an asking price that is both
realistic and advantageous for you.

When you are working out the proper selling price for your
home it will also be good to know what you can do to get
the highest price. Once again, a real estate representative
is the person who knows what home improvements will bring
the highest return. It may be just a few minor repairs that
will improve the saleability of your home, and experienced
sales representative will know what factors are most
important in the eyes of a potential buyer.

Once you have a proper selling price and have improved the
house you still have to attract the potential buyers. A
simple newspaper advertisement and a sign on your lawn may
not be enough to bring enough inquiries and visitors. This
is another area where a professional can be most helpful. A
sales representative can set up a marketing strategy that
will not only put your house in front of the eyes of many
home seekers, but it will be targeted to the ones that are
most likely to buy your particular home.

Selling a home can also be tedious because, a lot of people
come to your house, look around but are not serious about
buying. You can save yourself this kind of agony by letting
an agent screen potential home buyers, sending only the
serious prospects to your door.

Once the buyers start coming you also have to handle them
properly. Many of them will either be skilled negotiators
or will be coming with their own professionals to guide
them. Are you ready to negotiate the best deal all by
yourself or would you rather have your own professional
guiding you?

These are the kinds of considerations that you should make
before trying to sell your home on your own. I think that
if you weigh up all the factors that go into selling a home
you will find it wise to take the help of a professional
real estate sales representative.

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Hamed Mahmood Salehi is a Toronto Real Estate Broker. His
website http://www.FindYourHomeValue.ca/ offers great tips
for home buyers and sellers, free home evaluation, real
estate news and information about Toronto home values.