Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Personal Financial Advice - A Few Words Of Caution




Everyone wants to have a financially secure future but for many that may just seem like a dream that they might not achieve. To ensure that you do have a secure financial future you need someone that can give you some unbiased, educated personal financial advice. When you are looking to hire a financial advisor to help you with your finances you will want someone that is qualified, trustworthy and someone that you like.





You can ask friends, co-workers or family members if they use a financial advisor and could possibly recommend one. It is always good to try an advisor that has been recommended as you know that if your friends or family use an advisor then they can tell you if they are good at their job and if they are trustworthy.





You can also as your bank or local credit union as they may have advisors on their own staff and if they don’t they may be able to recommend one. If your bank has financial advisors on their staff then they may try to sell you their own products so you do need to be careful that those products or services actually suit your needs. You need to find out as much as you can about any product or service that they recommend so that you have a good understanding of how you can benefit from it. If you don’t think it is beneficial to you then you might need to go elsewhere for financial advice.





A good financial advisor will be able to help you grow your current assets and also protect those assets. When looking for an advisor, don't just rush in and hire the first one that you see, it is a good idea to visit a few advisors and 'interview' them. A financial advisor is working for you after all so you have every right to ask as many questions as you need to ask to feel comfortable hiring them. You also want to find out that they are actually qualified to do the job you are hiring them for.





When you are asking questions, you should ask them whether they are an independent or a tied advisor. An independent advisor works for a number of different companies and has a much larger range of products or services to offer you. When they go over your financial situation with you and get an understanding of your current needs, then they can find the best product or service that will suit you.





Just be careful as some independent advisors will recommend the products or services that will give them the highest commission rather than the one that is best suited to you. To avoid this just ask questions so you can get a good understanding of the product and whether it will benefit you or not.





A tied advisor works for a single company and as such can only sell products or services offered by that company. The disadvantage of a tied advisor is that the range of products and services they have to offer is much smaller and also they may recommend their own products or services when there might be a better option for you elsewhere. But because they are tied to that company they cannot recommend the other options to you.





So both independent and tied financial advisors have pros and cons and with either one you need to have some knowledge so you know that you are getting the best deal. Find out as much as you can about any service or product that they recommend and have a good think about it before making a decision.





Now is the time to start taking care of your money and thinking about the future. Seeking personal financial advice can help you to set financial goals and work toward achieving those goals so you can have a secure financial future for you and your family.


Saturday, 26 November 2011

Personal Financial Advice








Want some personal financial advice? Get you finances under control so you can live a better life and finally see the future in a decent light. Too many people only react to the things that happen in their lives, very few are proactive. Reacting to the things that happen to you only means that things will keep happening to you, you will never make yourself a success by reacting.





By being proactive, you can see the obstacles before they become obstacles. You can nip the bad things that come along in the bud before they become worse things. Being proactive and setting a budget you can live with and getting yourself out of debt can help decrease the stress life brings with it and help lower your blood pressure as well.





My personal financial advice to you includes setting up goals and mapping out a way to get them accomplished. One by one you should start at the smallest and work toward the biggest. When one gets gone then put that money toward the next smallest all up until you get to the biggest and then they will all be gone and you will wonder what the heck you were waiting for.





There is no better feeling in the world than getting yourself out of debt and knowing that you will never owe anyone any more money, ever. I know what this feels like because I have done it. My husband and I were about $25,000 in debt and with diligence and perseverance I did just what I have outlined for you.





I put most of the money toward the smallest bill, all while keeping up the minimum payments on the other bills, too. I paid one off and then put that payment toward the next smallest bill. On and on until the last payment of the last bill was right there in my fingertips and when I sent that payment off and knew for a fact I had done it I stood in the middle of the kitchen and did my version of the happy dance.





No matter where you are in your financial life you should still remember to put some money away in savings. This should be your emergency fund and it should equal at least 3 months salary. This way if something happens to you or your spouse and you can not continue to work then at least you have some to fall back on. Three months is the minimum amount. I know of one person I am acquainted with who needs to have surgery and is trying to save up at least six months living expenses. I wish him well.





One way to achieve this emergency fund is to put all your money into a high-interest savings account where you accrue quite a bit of interest on the balance. Do not ever touch this amount until you really need it. Use it for whatever emergency situation comes up but always, always, always replenish what was used. This is very important personal financial advice for you to take into consideration.