How to Retire with Tax-FREE Income: Avoid tax increases to reduce the debt
Your total return in 2012 could have been 15.3%.
Unfortunately, you will eventually have to pay tax on those earnings if they are in your retirement accounts. They could be tax-FREE.
Isn't it time you started using the tax laws to your benefit? Why not pay your fair share?
Warren Buffett pays only 17% total tax. Mitt Romney and John Kerry pay less than 15%.
I will show you how to set up your account in one hour: http://www.amazon.com/How-Retire-Tax-FREE-Income-increases/dp/1484156951/
Long-term care insurance premiums up for women
Genworth, the largest producer of long-term care policies, will start rolling out gender-based pricing next month for women who apply for coverage individually, and the company’s competitors are expected to follow suit. Genworth declined to specify the amount by which affected policies will rise; industry estimates put theincrease between 20% and 40%. Women live longer and thus have more claims than men. Industrywide, women represent 60% of long-term care insurance policyholders, and account for 70% to 80% of claims. Overall, premiums have risen between 30% and 50% over the past five years as the industry corrects for miscalculations that carriers made before the financial crisis.
Women need to understand the alternatives before paying more: http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-better-alternatives/dp/147006877X
Investment plans of academics do better than corporate plans
Retirement plans for academic faculties and staffs working at higher education institutions outperform the corporate sector due to lower costs, automatic enrollments, default contribution rates and plan changes in plan design, according to a new study.
Now you can use one of the best plans available for academics: http://www.amazon.com/The-New-American-Retirement-System/dp/1461030072
ObamaCare subsidies to middle class without insurance--qualify
The majority of tax subsidies to help Americans pay for health insurance starting in January will go to working families, according to a nationwide study to be released Thursday and obtained by USA TODAY. About 25.7 million people who fall between 138% and 400% of the poverty level — or below $46,000 for a single adult and $94,000 for a family of four — will be eligible for funds that will go directly to an insurance plan that they choose. According to the Congressional Budget Office, those subsidies will cost about $350 billion from 2010 to 2019, but taxes and savings built into the law will offset them. For more information about the exchanges, visit http://www.healthcare.gov/.
Are prepaid debit cards for you?
Many credit-weary people are picking this type of money today because general aversion to credit, lack of credit available due to stringent lending standards and lower demand due to a decline in the number of credit-eligible borrowers. Other folks baulk at the new bank fees to maintain a relationship. 89 percent of the checking accounts offered at the 12 largestU.S. institutions involve bank fees. Some like the ease of use: buy and load at any big retailer. BEWARE FEES: Shop around. Fees vary. Some banks are setting a fixed monthly fee. Activation fees can be waived if done online. ATM fees can be $3. Check this survey to match your needs:http://www.bankrate.com/finance/banking/best-prepaid-debit-cards.aspx
Many credit-weary people are picking this type of money today because general aversion to credit, lack of credit available due to stringent lending standards and lower demand due to a decline in the number of credit-eligible borrowers. Other folks baulk at the new bank fees to maintain a relationship. 89 percent of the checking accounts offered at the 12 largest
Are low-initial deposit annuities for you?
Insurers are hyping fee-laden low-minimum annuities to induce younger people to start making payments early. Using cool names like Guaranteed Future Income, Income Elite, Choice Index 10, and Deferred Income, insurers are salivating over consumer fears of market turmoil and the flight to guarantees. However, annuities lock away your money for 20 years or longer. Tax-deferral can be gained in an IRA. Both require taxes to be paid when tax rates may be higher. Tax-FREE Roth IRAs can be a better alternative. Despite government support for funding annuities inside employer pensions, this can be costly. You are supporting the insurer, the mutual fund complex, the plan administrator and the employer bookkeeping. All these middlemen need to eat so you may pay more than you earn on your contributions during these low-interest periods.
NJ, NY homeowner rates up
Rates are going up. Policy language is getting stricter. Some insurers are pulling back from the coast. But they’re not leaving the Garden State
Buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870
Women want more financial help but professionals “not responsive”
More than six in ten women (62%) said they have an interest in learning about financial planning, retirement planning and investing according to the 2013 Women, Money & Power Study* from Allianz Life, nearly double the amount (35%) who indicated interest in these topics during the original study conducted in 2006. However, despite innovations within the financial services industry, 70% of all women said they believe financial information is hard to understand, up significantly from the 44% who felt that way during the initial Women, Money & Power Study. Women are asking for clear and simple-to-understand financial information that is available on the Internet.
The vast majority of women surveyed noted they are more concerned about attaining a retirement lifestyle than gaining specific investment guidance. Members start here: http://www.amazon.com/Ensure-Your-Financial-Health-Wealth/dp/1466388293
Is a reverse mortgage right for you?
First, you need to qualify. To be eligible for a FHA HECM, the FHA requires that you be a homeowner 62 years of age or older, own your home outright, or have a low mortgage balance that can be paid off at closing with proceeds from the reverse loan, and you must live in the home. You are also required to receive consumer information free or at very low cost from a HECM counselor prior to obtaining the loan. You can find a HECM counselor online or by phoning (800) 569-4287.
The amount you may borrower will depend on your age (youngest borrower), Current interest rate, Lesser of appraised value or the HECM FHA mortgage limit of $625,500 or the sales price; and Initial Mortgage Insurance Premium--your choices are HECM Standard or HECM SAVER. In addition, the more valuable your home is, the older you are, and the lower the interest rate, the more you can borrow. If there is more than one borrower, the age of the youngest borrower is used to determine the amount you can borrow. For an estimate of HECM cash benefits, select the online calculator from the HECM Home Page. Many online reverse mortgage calculators can provide you with an estimate of the amount of funds you can borrow.
Less expensive home equity loans are alternative.
Rich get richer; everyone else got poorer
During the first two years of the nation’s economic recovery, the average net worth of households in the upper 7% of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28%, while the mean net worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%, according to a Pew Research Center
From 2009 to 2011, the mean wealth of the 8 million households in the more affluent group rose to an estimated $3,173,895 from an estimated $2,476,244, while the mean wealth of the 111 million households in the less affluent group fell to an estimated $133,817 from an estimated $139,896.
We need help to build wealth. Try: Your Investment Edge
Is your advisor trying to get rid of you?
Here are the signs:
Here are the signs:
When your advisor starts your financial review conversations by shifting the responsibility to the firm, he may say, “we’re not doing much for you” or “the cost of doing this is probably not appropriate for you.” He may try to transition you to some sort of platform outside—such as Schwab, Vanguard or Fidelity. Some advisors with long relationships find it difficult, so the ‘boss’ might take over the conversation. Remember, advisors are paid by commissions on sales or quarterly fees from your account. If your account is not producing at least $5,000 every year, you are not profitable. You will probably receive a nice follow-up letter after the conversation.
On the other hand, Vanguard may welcome you with a nice follow-up phone call. You can probably make good use of that $5,000! Advice from licensed advisors is free and you may just need confirmation of what you are already doing: http://www.amazon.com/101-Financial-Planners-Questions-Answers/dp/1469990563
Brokers stop Regulators from making it easy to find brokers’ records
FIRNRA withdrew a proposal that would have required brokers to post a link on their websites and social media to a database containing information about their disciplinary history. Finra proposed the rule as a way to increase investor usage of BrokerCheck. Finra spokeswoman Michelle Ong said the agency withdrew the rule due to feedback it received in 24 comment letters.
Investors will have to search on their own to check out bad brokers. Members avoid Wall Street and earn more: http://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Without-Wall-Street-Commissions/dp/1442168137
See if your advisor is robbing you blind
Great graduation gift idea
Get your graduate off to a great investment plan using our iTunes app:
SCAMS “Deficits don’t matter” GOP grandfather, Dick Cheney, 2002
Here we go again?
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley preach caution, even as their bankers return to pre-crisis deals.Recently, Citi has made big bucks pushing a type of bond deal that packages together risky loans and sells them off to investors as highly rated investments. In the first quarter of the year, the bank was the biggest underwriter of collateralized loan obligations. Citi is also back in subprime -- earlier this month, it was one of the lead bankers on a $1.1 billion bond deal backed by auto loans to borrowers with low credit scores. Wall Street firms have sold nearly $30 billion in CLOs this year, more than triple what they sold in the same period a year ago. These banks are still insured by us the taxpayers. More:http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/24/banks-risky-deals/
FL considers canceling tax breaks for financial firms
The Florida Senate is advancing plans this spring to eliminate a pair of decades-old tax breaks for banks and insurance companies. One measure would repeal a tax deduction for international banking, which critics say has become a gaping loophole that does nothing to encourage investment in Florida and primarily benefits big, multistate banks such as Citigroup and Bank of America. The other gives insurers $30 million extra for car registrations. Who knew?
American terrorists buy all their bombs from same store—no license required!
Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev walked into a New Hampshire fireworks store two months before his deadly attack and asked for the “biggest and loudest” kit — then got another set for free, the Daily News has learned. The company that sold Tamerlan the fireworks is the same one that sold Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad the firecrackers he used to build his failed car bomb. Tam bought the “lock and load” kit of 24 shells of gunpowder. Buy one get one FREE. Wow!
Should doctors/hospitals charge victims over $20,000 to amputate leg?
Are bombing victims really getting hit with the full price? If you have ever had a procedure, you know the insurer is billed many $ thousands and pays about $ 500 because they have a contract with the provider. Luckily, MA requires insurers to cover almost all expenses so residents have help but only the “medically necessary.” Out of state residents are out of luck. Will they sue bombers? Their families? Bomb sale store?
Insurers don’t cover all artificial limbs. One victim "got a call from the insurance company and the person on the other end said, 'How long are you going to need the prosthetic hands?' http://news.yahoo.com/boston-victims-face-huge-bills-donations-pour-174957328.html
TX gov wants to abolish all regulations in this country. Plants will explode and kill more people since this plant was just given violations but never complied. http://www.propublica.org/article/what-went-wrong-in-west-texas-and-where-were-the-regulators
IAN
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