finance tips: What are the 10 things you should ask a financial planner? - 03/15/11 12:35 PM
When interviewing a potential financial planner it is alright to be a little tough (remember these people are handling your money and investments).
Retirement expert Roger Wohlner shares the top ten things you should be asking when hiring a potential financial planner:
1. Will my assets be held at an independent third-party custodian?Will I receive account statements directly from them?
2. Do you have experience working with clients whose situation and advice needs are similar to ours?
3. How do you communicate with your clients?
4. How are you compensated? Do you receive any compensation based on … (2 comments)
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finance tips: How To Get A Mortgage Now - 01/10/11 03:56 PM
What do mortgage lenders look for when they scrutinize your finances? It all boils down to financial stability and making sure you’re a good credit risk. But how exactly do lenders get a snapshot of your finances?On your application, you’ll be asked to disclose personal finance information that will help the lender decide whether your finances are stable or precarious at that moment in time. From your employment status to your cash reserves to your credit score, there are numerous pieces of the puzzle that will help paint of picture of your financial situation. If you're trying to buy a home in … (0 comments)
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finance tips: Emergency Essentials: Preparing Your Paperwork and Personal Information for an Emergency - 11/11/10 09:43 AM
We want to focus on family, festivities, and fun during the holidays, but, unfortunately, accidents don’t always take a holiday.If you've done the hard part (setting up retirement accounts and various insurance policies to protect your home, your business, your life, and your health), the easier stuff begins. Equifax blogger and insuranec expert Linda Rey reminds us that it is critical that you have easy access to your important documents in the event of an accident, an illness, or even death. They are the difference between financial hardship and recovery and relief. Here are her tips for preparing your personal documents … (0 comments)
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finance tips: Tax Consequences of Unemployment - 09/01/10 11:41 AM
Tax Consequences of Unemployment by Equifax Personal Finance Blog Tax Expert Eva Rosenberg If you are among the 10 percent of the population who is unemployed, you may qualify to apply for benefits.
Unemployment insurance benefits provide some money, but rarely enough to cover your rent or mortgage. And there’s a catch. Since the stipend is so small, people don’t realize unemployment insurance benefits are subject to income taxes.Unemployment income is taxed for IRS purposes—at your highest tax rate, which could be anywhere from 0 percent to 35 percent, depending on your other income during the same year. Be sure … (3 comments)
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finance tips: Why Timing the Stock Market Never Works - 08/24/10 12:23 PM
Wouldn't it be great if you knew when the markets were going to take off or tank?
Armed with that knowledge, you'd have no trouble achieving your investment goals. You'd just buy if the markets were going up and sell if they were going down.Here's the problem with that scenario:Market direction is driven by tomorrow's news. No one knows tomorrow's news. If we did, we would have predicted the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the precipitous decline in the price of BP's stock.
The impossibility of predicting the unknowable does not stop the financial media and self-styled … (1 comments)
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finance tips: Good Debt vs. Bad Debt - 07/06/10 11:27 AM
Check out this helpful information about credit from one of my fellow bloggers on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
Have you ever heard someone talk about "good debt" versus "bad debt"? Those terms can be a little misleading, but the kinds of debt you have and how you manage your finances can reflect positively-or negatively-on your credit report.
Your credit report contains a story about what kind of debt you've taken on and how you've paid it back. You might think of the $20 you borrowed from a coworker to pay for lunch as a debt, and it is, … (3 comments)
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finance tips: What is a Fraud Alert and How Does it Affect Your Credit? - 06/21/10 11:34 AM
It can happen to anybody, but you never really think it will happen to you.
A few weeks ago, I was on a business trip in Washington D.C. when my luggage was stolen out of the back of a cab. I had to deal with the massive headache of getting new clothes and toiletries, but I also had to worry about possible identity theft and fraud.
My wallet and credit cards were with me in my purse, but I had stuck a bank statement and a credit card bill in my suitcase at the last minute, planning to pay my … (0 comments)
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finance tips: Big Fat Financial Lies: Great Financial Advice Costs $$$$$ - 02/23/10 04:15 PM
Some financial advisors charge a lot for their advice. But how much work are they really doing for the money you’re paying?
Most good financial advisors will give you a free initial consultation. They’ll get all of your information (which could be a 6-page questionnaire or longer, if they do it right) and then you’ll sit and talk about money.
It's not to say you shouldn’t work with an advisor or that the advisor isn’t worth the money you’re paying. But the idea that you pay for what you get – so the more you pay the higher your returns – … (0 comments)
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finance tips: RightSizing Your Finances in 2010 - 01/28/10 05:54 PM
During the 1990s and 2000s, people worked on the assumption that bigger was better. But was it?
Now people have to deal with the consequences of their spending habits and borrowing demands. Rightsizing is looking at your budget, your finances, your home, and your family and deciding what is right for you. You may need to cut back on expenses, luxuries, and discretionary spending but figure out what is important to you.
Rightsizing your finances is hardly anyone’s idea of a best way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. And it certainly doesn’t seem like the thing you’d want to do … (2 comments)
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finance tips: Top Three Financial Resolutions for the New Year - 12/26/09 12:17 PM
Make a New Year's Resolution to clean up your personal finances. Stick to a budget, live within your means, and put away savings every month. Below are the top three financial new year's resolutions. Make 2010 the year to stick to your financial new year's resolutions.
Do your personal finances need a tweak this year?
After two years of recession and an unemployment rate that topped 10 percent in 2009, it seems as though a little personal finance rebuilding might be in order.
But as we recover (slowly!) from the worst economy in decades, it’s a great opportunity to rethink … (2 comments)
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finance tips: How Long Should You Keep Tax Records? - 12/23/09 12:58 PM
How long are you required to keep your tax records? The IRS only requires you to hold onto your tax records for seven years. But a lender might want more. Find out what they are looking for, or consider working with another lender.
Even the IRS doesn't require you to keep your tax returns more than 7 years - except if they suspect you of fraud. That's a long way to go back in time and I'm not sure I understand why a lender would want to see write-offs that are that old. (If any lenders reading this column have … (1 comments)
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finance tips: Getting Financial Help On A Budget - 12/02/09 02:50 PM
Q: My husband is a teacher and I am a stay at home mom to our 3 sons. We are pretty much winging it when it comes to making decisions regarding our finances and could really use some advice in getting a better game plan for our future. Our budget is very limited though and we just can't afford to see a financial planner. What can we do to get some help?
If you have budgeting questions, you can set up a free budget counseling session with Credability.com, which is a network comprised of the top consumer credit counseling services … (10 comments)
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finance tips: Today's Laugh: New Financial Terms - 02/12/09 02:10 PM
My mother sent this to me this morning. I don't know where it comes from, or who authored it. But, it's a sad (though funny) commentary on the current economic madness that surrounds us. If anyone knows the authorship, please let me know so we can give credit where credit is due.
New Financial TermsCEO: Chief Embezzlement OfficerCFO: Corporate Fraud OfficerBULL MARKET: A random market movement causing investors to mistake themselves for financial geniuses.BEAR MARKET: a 6-to-18-month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.VALUE INVESTING: The art of buying low … (1 comments)
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finance tips: Real Estate Market Tips to Improve the Housing Market - 11/13/08 11:04 PM
My mailbox has been filled with letters from readers who wonder if now that the Presidential election is over, the real estate market will reset itself.
"Can we expect the next four years to bring us a better real estate market? Will my house go back up in value?" one reader wrote.
Eventually, the real estate market will hit bottom and turn around. Perhaps it has already hit bottom (one can only hope) and now we are waiting for the "bumpy bottom," as Alex Perriello, president and CEO of the Realogy Franchise Group put it at the launch of its newest … (0 comments)
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