Is It Possible To Have A Retirement In Todays Economy…

If you find yourself asking “Is it possible to have a retirement in todays economy?” the good news is yes, it is. The ability to retire or not, or retire the way you really want to retire is less about the current condition of the economy and more about the state of your personal economy.

You see, many people who have taken care of their finances by saving plenty, keeping a close eye on their investments and living within their means, aren’t being harmed at all by the current state of the economy.

Is it possible to have a retirement in todays economy? Only if you are willing to do your part to make it happen. Of course, the earlier you start your retirement planning the easier it will be.

Not only will you have more time to save you will also have more time to rebound if your plans go astray.

A job loss or an illness can be all it takes to make it necessary for you to have to dig into your retirement savings just to keep afloat. So, the earlier you start the more time you will have to potentially regain this money you have been forced to use for your day to day expenses.

Obviously, I don’t know you or your personal situation so I can’t offer you exact advice in this short article. What I can do, however, is to offer you some broad guidelines that will usually apply to most people.

Also, this article may provide you with a good starting point on getting your financial affairs in order. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. If you choose to find a planner to help you get your finances, and your retirement planning, on track, make sure you choose carefully.

Not all planners are created equal. If you want to ensure you get the best possible advice for you (and who wouldn’t) you may want to stick with a RIA planner. These planners are part of a group that ensures that they have a fiduciary standard they have to live up to.

In other words, they are legally bound to only do the things that will help you, by law they must do everything in their power to provide you with the best possible advice.

Now, some of you may be thinking “but don’t all advisers work in my best interest?”, well, no, unfortunately that is not the way it works.

You see many so called financial advisers make their money on commissions. These commissions are only generated when you buy or sell a financial product. So, if you don’t buy or sell anything they don’t make any money.

What happens if the market is overheated and there really aren’t any stocks that you should be buying because buying at this time will mean you will overpay? Do you really think a commissioned sales person will tell you to hold off buying if they know that they won’t make any money? Unlikely.

2. Make sure you have at least some basic education on fiances. You have to be a partner in your investment and you can’t do that if you have no idea how it all works.

If you follow these steps you won’t ever have to wonder: “Is it possible to have a retirement in todays economy”. You will be set no matter what the economy does… and won’t that feel amazing!

Keeping Tabs On Your Credit Score…

There is no question that the current state of the economy could be better than it is. For that reason, it’s more important than ever to have your credit rating under control. If you think your score is too low, then you need to do something about it now. However, if you have tried to improve or correct your score in the past, you know it isn’t always the easy, quick or stress-free.

While a lot of people know they have a credit score, and some know exactly what their number is, what a lot of people don’t know is that there are three separate agencies that do credit reports. These companies are Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. To make things a little more more straightforward, each of these three agencies will often have different scores for you. The reason for this is that they don’t always collect the exact same information as not all creditors report to all three agencies.

As mentioned earlier, the economy is not in great shape and because of this lenders are setting higher standards before giving out loans. However, the better your credit score, the better your chance of getting a loan, and getting a loan with the best terms. Experian uses the Fair Issac scoring method, TransUnion uses what they call the Empirica score, and Equifax uses the Beacon score. So, when people talk about their credit score, they are referring to the number provided by one of these three companies. It is also possible to have a combined credit score which is the average of all three agency’s numbers. Regardless of the company, your credit score is nothing more than an attempt to objectively rank your creditworthiness.

As mentioned, part of the reason for the difference in each company’s score is that they don’t all get the exact same information. The chances of them having differing scores goes up as you have more creditors for them to get their information from (or not get it from). There is another aspect to the difference in scores, as well, and that is that they each have their own formula for calculating their scores. While this usually doesn’t make that much of a difference, it could have a negative impact if one of the three agencies has inaccurate information that lowers your score.

So, how do you get your credit score? There are a few basic ways, and it’s a good idea to do so before you get a loan so you know where you stand before going into it. If you want your Beacon score, then you can go to the Equifax website and pay to get it. You can follow the same basic process to get your report from the other credit reporting agencies, too. If you don’t want to pay to see your credit report, you can, by law, get a free report from all three agencies once a year at http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

Being able to actually see your full credit report from all three agencies gives you an opportunity to see if there are any mistakes or discrepancies on your report. If there are, you can send a correction to the agency. They will then place a note on your file, and update it if they can confirm that the information was inaccurate. Doing this puts the power of your financial future back where it belongs…in your hands.

How To Save Money In This Economy…

Managing your personal finances responsibly can seem difficult at times, but there are a few simple steps that you can take to make the process easier. Read this article to learn more about budgeting your money, so that you can pay off the necessary bills before purchasing other things that you want.

In order to manage your personal finances properly, it is crucial to establish and maintain a monthly budget. This budget should contain line items for everyday expenses and revenue streams. By analyzing where you spend most of your money, you will be better able to control your expenses and pay your bills on time.

Before you make an investment, take the time to meet with a financial planner and develop an investment policy statement. A good statement will help you avoid the pitfalls of investing, and will help you make investment choices that are right for you. If you’re educated about investing, you may be able to put together a statement on your own.

Use a card for small purchases each month such as groceries and gas and pay it off or pay off a majority of the balance each month. This will show creditors that you are capable of handling your card and being responsible with payments. Doing this on a regular basis will help to repair that bad credit score that you currently have.

A great way to avoid being overburdened by expenses that only come around once a year is to set aside a little money out of each paycheck. To do this, divide your yearly expenses by the number of paychecks you receive in a year. The next time the expense is due, you’ll be ready for it.

Always look for ways to save. Audit yourself and your bills about once every six months. Take a look at competing businesses for services you use, to see if you can get something for less. Compare the cost of food at different stores, and make sure you are getting the best interest rates on your credit cards and savings accounts.

To find real space in your personal finance, stop thinking about income and expenses at the same time. It is essential to track every penny of both, but if you pay attention to them simultaneously, all you end up doing is balancing your budget and not saving anything. Cap your expenses at 70% of your income and see the difference.

Diversify your investments using mutual funds. It’s difficult and expensive for a small investor to create a diversified portfolio using individual securities, but a no-load mutual fund can provide instant diversification at low cost. You can invest as little as $1000 in a fund that holds anywhere from 20 to several hundred securities, for an annual fee as low as 1%. Diversification helps to lower investment risk by reducing dependence on any one security to provide a favorable return.

As said in the beginning of the article, it’s very important to pay off necessary items, like your bills, before purchasing anything for fun, including dates or new movies. You can make the most of your money, if you budget and track how you are spending your income each month.

Stock Market Timeline…

The stock market timeline is more extended that most people realize. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany dates back as far as the 9th century.

Back in the 13th century, merchants and financiers traded government securities and other investments. Most major European cities followed this trend, selling debt-based securities to investors to assist their own economic growth.

However it wasn’t until 1602 with the Dutch East India Company released the first stocks in a privately owned company and listed them on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange that the stock market as we know it today was formed.

Many other company owners realized that selling shares in a company was a great way to expand and grow and the stock market came alive.

It wasn’t until 1792 that a group of New York stockbrokers formally created the New York Stock Exchange board in order to formalize the rules for trading stocks. They agreed to meet daily to trade stocks and bonds.

The New York Stock Exchange expanded dramatically to include investors outside of New York in 1844 when telegraph messages, send via Morse code, were successfully transmitted, enabling investors to send and receive stock market quotes. This eventually was replaced by the stock ticker in 1867.

During 1866 the first transatlantic communications cable was completed between New York and London. This allowed the stock markets from both countries to communicate instantly, however it wasn’t until 1878 that telephones were installed on the trading floor of the New York stock exchange.

The Wall Street Journal announced in 1896 the creation of the Dow Jones industrial stock average and by 1934 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was formed in order to regulate the stocks and bonds markets. The SEC helped to oversee the requirements for companies wanting to issue stock to the public. It also oversees the daily actions of market exchanges, ensuring compliance.

The NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation) began trading in 1971, which officially became the world’s first electronic stock market. It wasn’t until 1994 that the first stock trade was placed via the Internet.

Timeline of Infamous Stock Market Crashes

With such a long and diverse history, the stock market has weathered through many periods of economic downturn and investor panic and has seen some spectacular recoveries too. When you consider that stock market declines are not as unusual or rare as many investors seem to think, it helps to restore a little faith in the ability of stock markets to recover even after the worst possible crashes.

Back in 1637, the Dutch stock market collapsed with prices falling almost 90%.

In 1720 the London stock market crashed, leading the government to take control of all National Debt.

In 1869, two American investors attempted to corner the gold market, beginning a gold-price crash and set in motion the events of the first Black Friday on Wall Street.

By 1873 America’s most reputable stock brokerage company collapsed and began a panicked stock sell off. This led to 37 banks and two major brokerage houses collapsing.

In 1884, yet another large stock brokering company collapses, which instigated another panic. This panicked sell off led to the failure of 15 other major brokering companies.

By 1893 the stock market crashed again, throwing America into a deep economic Depression.

1903 saw the ‘Rich Man’s Panic’ crash, and the financial world spiraled into yet another panic as news of the troubles hounding a major New York bank were released and 1907 saw yet another period of sharp downturn in the markets.

The notorious 1929 Black Thursday, followed only four days later by Black Monday saw the largest one-day fall in prices in the US stock market’s history at that time. One day later, Black Tuesday saw prices fall even further. Stock market prices around the world declined in response, but the bottom of the market wasn’t reached until 1932.

The Black Monday one-day percentage fall in stock market pricing was overshadowed by the stock market crash in 1987, when the Dow Jones lost 22.61% during one day.

In 2008, the Dow Jones once again saw the largest one-day pricing decline in history, falling 777 points.

Is Free Financial Advice Worth Taking Notice Of…

There are many people around the world that are finding it tough financially. With the present state of the economy the stress of finances is enormous. Many people are looking for financial advice so that they can get back on track financially. You may be interested in this article if you are looking for free financial advice.

Have you ever heard the expression ‘you get what you pay for’? Well there is a lot of truth to that statement, but it isn’t necessary because advice is free that it’s bad, you can get paid advice that is bad too. Basically, with whatever advice you get, whether paid or free, you also need to use your own common sense and really think about the advice that you are given.

You will want to check the credentials of any financial adviser that you seek advice from, regardless of whether it’s free or paid advice. Although it is possible to have an advisor with good credentials give bad advice. You want an advisor that really looks at your personal situation and offers advice accordingly as advice that is good for one person may not be good for another.

It is advisable to talk to more than one financial advisor and then compare the different advice that you receive. You can get a number of different opinions and points of view and either combine some of the points or choose which advice will be suit your needs.

If you are looking for free financial advice then you can start by looking at the following places. Just be sure to keep the above points in mind when seeking help.

1. Your local bank or credit union is a good place to start looking for financial advice. Some may offer free advice and if not they may be able to recommend a good local organization.

You can also check your local paper, phone book or even at the local library for good financial advisors. Try asking around too, your friends and family may use a good financial planner themselves that they can recommend.

Some planners will help on a sliding scale and may be able to give you some help for no or little cost. It certainly doesn’t hurt to ask.

2. It is best to find an advisor that is local but if you can’t seem to find one locally then you can try online. If you do take financial advice online though you need to do so carefully as you just don’t know who you are dealing with on the internet. Some companies will advertise free advice but you will often find that once you begin to get involved they may begin to request fees for this and fees for that.

Or along with the advice they may also try to sell you their own products or services. When you look for financial advice online make sure you ask lots of questions and be careful about giving out personal information. Some companies may look like good financial advisors but they may be nothing more than someone trying to sell you something.

One piece of advice you should really take on board is to check with your local Better Business Bureau to see if a company has had any complaints filed against them before you get involved with the company. You can do this with both online and offline companies.

You need to remember that not everyone is honest and there are people out there that are just after your money. Always use common sense when looking for free financial advice and if you feel that something just doesn’t seem quite right then it probably isn’t, so just walk away and find someone else.

A Trading Plan: Your Pathway To Success…

When people start talking about getting into the stock market nowadays, there’s a lot of doom and gloom. That’s understandable considering the condition of the economy nowadays.It may seem foolhardy to get into that mess right now. However, there’s a way to get into trading that would help cut down on the risks involved. Trading plans are what successful professional traders use to minimize the chances of loss in their investments. I’ll be showing you how to make one in this article.

First of all, a trading plan is more than just instructions that you write for yourself. A good trading plan is like a second set of instincts for a trader, something definite that they can refer to than just their gut feeling. This is because trading plans ame made by traders so that they would take into account the trader’s personal behavior and personality. That’s why when creating a trading plan, a trader usually starts with a short period of self-reflection.

I know, it sounds, like some psychoanalytical mumbo-jumbo, but knowing oneself is the key to making a successful trading plan. A trader should know what he’s aiming for, what he can do, what he knows about the market, and how he would react to specific situations in the market. All of these go into making a trading plan.

Having definite goals is important. Realistic aims help you keep track of your progress and give a sense of success and confidence which are important in stock trading. Quite a few traders keep track of their goals by defining a set amount of time, usually a week or a month, and having a target profit margin they should aim for. Aiming for a particular target profit keeps a trader on his toes and also imparts a sense of achievement if he meets it.

Next, self-knowledge of a trade’s capabilities is also important in formulating a trading plan because it defines what stocks or markets he would be focusing himself on. You wouldn’t go into anything blind, would you? Well, that’s the same with traders. A trader usually focuses his trading plan on a particular market or commodity. Usually, the market is in a field that he has knowledge about or is interested in. This is because knowing about what you will be trading in is important. Changes in market conditions and the upcoming trends can be noticed by a person who is skilled in a field of study and these changes and trends can often mean the difference between becoming bankrupt or exceedingly profitable.

Finally, knowing your own personality is important. This can help shape your entry and exit strategies into the particular market that you are interested in. Entry strategies are defined by what price of stock and what time would you start buying into a market. Exit strategies are the reverse, essentially marking a point where you start selling shares whether for profit or loss. With the constantly shifting stock market, having clear and defined strategies that match your personality is important. A person who likes taking risks would aim for larger margins of change while a person who likes to play it safe would go with lower margins. Always try to be comfortable with the strategies you make, since you have to follow them.

It all sounds pretty simple making a trading plan, but it’s a whole lot of work.

Learning About The Stock Market…

If you are thinking of investing in stocks and shares learning about the stock market is essential. That’s not to say that you can’t invest without learning about the stock market but it will be a far riskier proposition. You don’t need to know every last detail about how the markets operate but knowing the basics will enable you to spot potential problems far more easily.

There are a number of different ways of learning about the stock market and you should choose one which is best suited to your own particular learning style. If for example you prefer to learn by watching you could invest in DVDs in preference to buying a book. One way which is becoming increasingly popular is to learn by attending seminars. These allow you to raise questions and get them answered by experts. Something that obviously just isn’t possible from reading books, watching DVDs or listening to audio CDs.

A number of brokerage houses put on regular training seminars for new investors. These will take you through the basics of learning the terminology of the stock market and also on to how to select stocks using various indicators. Some will even teach you how to spot trends and these can be as important for timing your exit from a position as getting into it in the first place.

Something that is very important to learn is how you feel about risk levels. This can be sometimes overlooked in the excitement of making your first investment but it can have a serious impact on your performance. If you are what is called “risk averse” you will probably be a nervous wreck if you put all your money into high risk shares. By learning to manage your risk levels you can ensure that you only select positions you will feel comfortable with over the medium to long term life of your portfolio.

Once you begin to get a good grasp of how the markets operate you can begin to make some investments of your own. However before you start to lay down your hard earned cash you might want to try paper trading. That is where you select a particular stock and decide how much you would like to invest into it but instead of placing an order with a stockbroker you simply record the transaction on paper. It’s a great way of really learning about the stock market.

What Caused The 1929 Crash Of Stock Market Prices…

The 1929 crash of stock market prices was unprecedented in modern times. Nothing had prepared investors, who had been living high on the hog throughout the Roaring Twenties, for the disaster that hit them at the end of October 1929. Crash of stock market prices can be expected from time to time as markets correct themselves following false highs but what happened that October began an economic downturn that lasted for years.

Starting on the Thursday October 24th, 1929 crash of stock market confidence became even worse on the following Monday and Tuesday. Starting with those three days of trading the market fell for a full month and began the Great Depression which took a little over 25 years for the United States to recover from. In fact it was November of 1954 before share prices reached the level they were at on that first day of the crash.

So what caused such an economic disaster? There are many different views on the cause as you would imagine but the general consensus of opinion is that there was a misplaced belief that high share prices could be sustained indefinitely. The Bull market which had lasted throughout the 1920s had even led one eminent economist, Irving Fisher, to state that “Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.”

It seemed at the time that everyone in the nation was obsessed with the stock market and share dealing became the “in thing” to do. Ordinary men and women who knew very little of the ways that stock markets operated began to buy stock to join in this speculative boom. Many people even borrowed money to allow them to buy even greater amounts in the belief that the good times were bound to continue. They ignored all the warnings and speculation drove prices ever upwards regardless of common sense.

Naturally any boom based on speculation is doomed once people sense that the market is overheating. The market reached its peak in early September of 29 and prices began falling sharply losing 17% of their value over the next month. Even then prices rallied fueled by hope more than reason, but as smarter investors decided to take their profits the final collapse began. The result of which was the 1929 crash of stock market confidence around the world and the start of the Great Depression.

Solar Power for Homes and its Benefits…

Modern technology can do a lot of great things. One is the use of solar power for homes. Did you know that you can enjoy many benefits from using solar power? Solar panels can now be created at home by simply following comprehensible do-it-yourself instructions. Building power systems is no longer very expensive these days and it’s also not as hard as you think.

With the increasing demand for solar powered homes, you can now find a wide range of DIY projects in the market. The reasons why many homeowners are now choosing solar power for their homes is because they want to help in the persistent global warming crisis and electric bills cost a lot these days.

The electricity supplied in modern homes usually comes from different power plants. These power plants use fossil fuels and so the electric charges are greatly dependent on the prices of natural gases and crude oil. Fossil fuels are also depleting. There is a high demand for electricity but the resources have decreased greatly. In this kind of situation, the electrical costs will still continue to increase. The solar power for homes is an excellent answer to the problem.

By using fossil fuels, the problem with global warming will become worse. Harmful gases are emitted by the fossil fuels to produce electricity. If you don’t want to contribute to the environmental problems any further, why not use solar power for your home now?

Several years ago, the solar cells were really expensive and inefficient. Back then the solar cells were quite inefficient since they can’t convert 100% of the rays of the sun into electricity. Most solar cells can convert only 10-25%. In the year 2003, a new product was introduced and it was called photovoltaic cell. The new cell can convert 36% of the rays into usable electricity. The cells were also affordable. The modern sunlight technology is now widely available and even ordinary homeowners can take advantage of it.

The solar power kits are available worldwide. You can purchase them in online stores or you can also shop around in local stores. If you’re unsure, it would be best to shop online. There you can find several reputable sellers and manufacturers of solar power kits.

The solar power kits provide step by step instructions on how to assemble the different materials. Hardware stores usually sell the different parts of the solar power system. If create your own solar power system, you will only spend about $200 and it already includes the guide. With such a small investment, you can already benefit from solar power for many years. You’re not only saving money but you’re also helping in saving the planet.

Renewable and clean energy sources are in great demand these days. The homes of the future are now possible in today’s modern world. You can start with small projects and work your way up. For instance, you can first work on the outdoor lighting first and if it proves to be beneficial, you can do another project.

Don’t cut off the existing electrical supply especially if this is your first time to do solar power projects. Just use it as a supplement so that you can lessen your electricity consumption. Start with your DIY solar power project and light your home using the sun’s energy.

Basics Of The Stock Market…

Many new investors jump into the stock market based on hearing the hype of how it’s possible to make great money investing this way. They may have heard of a friend who made a bundle with day trading or a colleague who has a hot stock tip and so they figure they’ll jump into the market too.

Before you begin investing, it’s important that you understand at least the basics of the stock market.

While investing in stocks can help you to build a great investment portfolio, if you’re not careful about your strategies, you could also find it can be a great way to lose a lot of money too.

There are two sections to the stock market. The primary market is where shares are created by companies and generally offered to the public via an IPO (Initial Public Offering). The secondary market is where established stocks are exchanged and traded among investors without the involvement of the company issuing the stocks.

When people think about investing on the stock market, they tend to be talking about the secondary market.

Basics of Stock Market Shares

Shares, or stocks, are individual pieces of ownership of much larger companies. When companies need to raise capital, then sell off little portions of the company so that investors may become partial owners of that company. Each time you buy a stock, it represents a share of ownership in a publicly listed company. You become a shareholder. As you increase the number of stocks you have in one particular company, you increase the percentage of ownership you have.

As a shareholder, you are entitled to your share of the company’s earnings. These are usually paid as dividends, although not all companies offer dividend payments. You’re also entitled to exercise any of the voting rights that might be attached to that stock, however you don’t have a say in the daily operational running of that business.

Basics of Stock Market Pricing

There are several factors that can affect the price of stocks and you might notice that the price of stocks changes every day. While the price can be partially dictated by supply and demand, there are also other factors that can affect the overall price too. Economic changes, unemployment or bad management in the company are all individual factors that can also affect the pricing.

The price you see listed on any particular stock is based on the perceived profitability of the company and not the value of the company. This means the stock can often be priced based on what investors believe the stocks are worth. The value of the company is called the market capitalization.

When you see on the news that the market rose or fell by a number of points, it’s important to understand that not every single stock listed on the exchange followed the same movements. The index you see reported is a representation of a number of stocks and presented as a single figure to give a general idea of the market movements as a whole.

However, there will always be individual companies that move contrarily to the main market sentiment. It’s this contrary movement that day traders watch for, trying to find the next stock pick that will rise in value and gain profits for them.

Basics of Stock Market Investing

There are several types of stock market investment strategies. Day trading is growing in popularity as a way to smaller investors to begin building capital. The basis behind day trading is to buy a stock in the early part of the trading day and hopefully sell it again at a profit before trading closes.

Long term investors tend to purchase many different stocks in a diversified range of companies in various sectors to spread their risk. These investors tend to hold stocks for longer periods of time, allowing the value of their stocks to appreciate. They also receive dividend payments, either in the form of a check or as a dividend reinvestment plan, where the company issues stocks to the value of the dividend payments to the shareholder to add to his portfolio.