Month: July 2014

Dealing With Debt; The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

    Finance Tips

Best debt management plan

Debt affects the majority of American households. American consumers owe an estimated $11.13 trillion in debt, and the numbers continue to rise. According to a CBS news report, American debt rises by a whopping %75 million dollars each hour. In fact, the average American household carries $117,951 in debt according to Statistic Brain. However, credit cards account for just 5.5% of total household debt. However, all debt is not created equal. It’s estimated that nearly 41% of Americans in the workforce are currently paying off medical debt. College degrees also come with a hefty price tag, as the average college graduate owes an estimated $31,509 in student loan debt. There are, however, tools and resources such as debt management services and other debt solutions than can help with debt and therefore allow you to move forward.

Dealing with debt can seem overwhelming at times, and you may be wondering where to get financial advice. Debt management services can offer you the best financial advice in addition to debt counselling to suite your specific financial needs. Debt management services specialize in finding solutions based on your unique situation, as programs vary depending on the type of debt you have. Research companies that offer flexible debt management services, and that can also offer financial planning advice, especially financial advice for college students if that applies to you. It’s important to remember that just as there was a way getting into debt, there is also a way out.

Good refereneces: www.thedebtmanagementgroup.com

Buying Real Estate Companies

    Finance Tips

Douglast e. fleit

Buying commercial real estate includes commercial real estate companies such as warehouses, multifamily housing, medical centers, hotels, malls, industrial property, office buildings, retail stores, farm land, and garages. These types of companies can offer a profit for the buyer depending on how much they are investing when buying commercial real estate. The term commercial property, which is also called an investment or income property, refers to land or buildings that are intended to make a profit, either from rental income or capital gain. Buying commercial real estate falls under this categories. When buying commercial real estate, a few companies stands out for focusing on commercial real estate assets.

One of these companies that is a fully integrated private real estate investment company is American Real Estate Partners. They are guided by a simple philosophy: “Identify opportunity, manage risk, and create value.” American Real Estate Partners focus mainly on commercial real estate assets and real estate financial instruments that are in the major markets of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. American Real Estate Partners act more as principal than an advisor or capital allocator.

American Real Estate Partners has made significant investment in making one of the most experienced senior management teams in the industry of buying commercial real estate. They are unique in their investment platform because of the depth of experience and talent of the management team. Due to the leasing-centric nature of what American Real Estate Partners do, leads to outsized growth in the net operating income of assets. Unfortunately, an estimated $160 billion of commercial properties in the United States are in default, bankruptcy, or foreclosure, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York real estate research firm.

Four Important Services a Certified Financial Planner Can Provide

    Finance Tips

Marin asset management

Certified investment advisors and financial planners are no longer exclusive to millionaires — these days, everyone can benefit from working with a financial advisor. Currently, about 25% of Americans have a financial advisor to help them optimize their money management.

If you already have a financial advisor, you probably just work with him or her on savings or working toward debt repayment. However, there are actually a vast number of different services that a certified financial planner can provide — and by taking advantage of them, your finances will be significantly better-off.

Take a look at these four examples of services that your certified financial planner can provide:

1. Tax planning: Tax season can make anyone want to pull their hair out. Luckily, your financial adviser is a great resource for you as you fill out your tax forms. Financial advisers can fill out your paperwork quickly and correctly, saving you from the risk of hefty fines if you were to fill it out on your own and make a mistake.

2. Wealth transfer: If you want your funds to be more tax-efficient, you should consider planning for wealth transfer with the help of your certified financial advisor. Wealth transfer technically happens after you pass away, but it’s never too early to have a plan set for when that happens.

3. Help with retirement saving: If you haven’t started saving up for your retirement yet, now is the right time to do it. As federal resources for retirees continue to dwindle, the need for Americans to have saved up enough to live a comfortable retirement grows significantly. And here’s a scary thought: only 37% of Americans have figured out how much money they will need for their retirement!

4. Asset protection: If you are considering filing for bankruptcy or are in overwhelming debt, it’s important to seek help from a certified financial advisor to help protect your assets from bank repossession or liquidation. Otherwise, you could find yourself without a house, a car and even more. Check out this site for more.

Four Great Places to Sell Your Gold Coins or Jewelry

    Finance Tips

Places that buy gold

Learning how to sell gold jewelry and coins that you may own is essentially a two-step process. First, you need to learn about the process of selling gold — from calculating your gold’s value to knowing the selling process. Next, you have to choose which buyer you want to sell to by learning how to weed out buyers that are less than reputable.

Not sure where you should sell your gold? Just read the list below.

Here are the four best places that buy gold that you should sell your gold to:

1. Jewelry stores: Jewelry stores might be the best place to sell gold because their main source of profit doesn’t come from selling gold for melt purposes. Because of this, you can be confident that you’ll get a significantly higher payout for your old gold jewelry than if you sold it to any other gold buyer.

2. Antique traders: If you’re looking to sell gold coins rather than jewelry, an antique shop is your best bet. Because many gold coins have significant historical value, you can earn more selling them based on this rather than their melt value.

3. Better Business Bureau-approved gold buyers: The BBB’s website is probably the best resource you’ll have for choosing a place to sell your gold. There, people who have sold their gold can give reviews of gold buyers and complain about unreputable buyers. If you notice a buyer has a large percentage of negative reviews and complaints, sell your gold elsewhere.

4. Online gold buyers: Many people recommend that you sell your gold to an online buyer because they tend to offer more money in return for your gold. However, as said before, it’s extremely important to make sure you sell your gold to websites that have a positive rating on the BBB website, with few customer complaints. Otherwise, you run the risk of never seeing a check in return for your gold. Check out this site for more.

It Has Never Been Easier to Make Profitable Investments

    Finance Tips

Brian katz

Did you know that the term “commercial real estate” refers to any property that is used strictly for business purposes? Fortunately, because commercial real estate generates cash inflow, you have the option of investing in these properties. However, before jumping the gun and investing in commercial real estate yourself, you must consider your options carefully and make intelligent, calculated decisions. Luckily, you can invest in real estate investment trusts, or REITs, which are companies that will guide you through the investment process.

– How to invest in REITs. In order to choose this sensible option, you must find the best REITs available. American Real Estate Partners, for example, is a REIT headed by Brian L Katz, and it is committed to helping investors manage cash inflows, outflows, and investment risks. Brian L Katz and the American Real Estate Partners team currently finance and maintain $1.8 billion worth of industrial and residential assets, which makes this REIT one of the most proficient options available. Fortunately, when you work together with a REIT, you are provided with the guidance and advice needed to make intelligent investments.

– Why invest in REITs? Commercial property has the potential to be highly profitable. This is because apartment complexes, office buildings, malls, hotels, and retail stores are all common forms of commercial real estate, and these types of properties typically have steady cash inflow. This means that as long as the tenants pay their rent and other resident fees each month, your investment will grow. However, these investments are only profitable when you choose the right real estate to invest in, so it is crucial to seek help from REITs.

Commercial real estate investments can generate large returns when you invest properly. That is why you must seek help from a REIT, such as Brian L Katz and the American Real Estate Partners team. By doing so, your investment will become more profitable.

Three Tips for Avoiding Payroll Scam Companies

    Finance Tips

Benefits administration outsourcing

There are plenty of reasons a company might choose to outsource their payroll services. The IRS, for example, reports that about 40% of businesses make payroll errors, and these errors end up costing these companies an average of over $800 in fines annually. Many of these errors are entirely due to managing the payroll manually, rather than as an automated service.

Outsourcing also allows employers to work on the important tasks of making business decisions and managing a company, rather than wasting hours every week crunching numbers.

While there are many advantages to outsourcing to a payroll service company, as Business News Daily points out, companies need to remember to be on the lookout for scam operations. What, exactly, is an indicator that a payroll software company is less than legitimate? Here are three things companies should look out for.

Make Sure the Company is Trustworthy

According to Michael Raanan, a former IRS officer, not all payroll processing companies are made equal. Less than legitimate companies will “take the payroll tax from their customers’ account, and then fail to turn the funds over to the IRS and other taxing authorities,” Raanan explains. “This results in tax, penalties and interest due for the business.” However, he says that small businesses can work to avoid this risk by looking for a company that is bonded, insured, and one that provides a way for the business to monitor payment delivery.

Does the Company Operate in a Timely Manner?

Donne DeGagne works with cloud-based HR services, and she says that one thing small business owners need to double-check is that, in addition to being reputable, the payroll companies they are hiring submit taxes in a timely manner. If this doesn’t happen, there can be hefty penalties to pay — and the payroll company isn’t going to be liable, the small businesses will be.

A Good Company Should Have a Corresponding Reputation

If your intended payroll company is serving dozens or hundreds of other clients, then they shouldn’t be an internet “ghost.” In other words, it should be fairly easy to Google and see what their reputation is among other small businesses. Has their collective experience been overall positive? Familiarize yourself with existing criticism before moving forward.

Do you have tips for finding legitimate payroll processing companies? Let us know in the comments. Read more articles like this.

Ditch the Desk and Start Your Small Business Now

    Finance Tips

Building business credit

Maybe you’ve spent your whole life sitting behind a desk at work. Maybe you’re tired of your boss who seems to be Satan in the flesh who verbally abuses you and belittles you at every turn. Or maybe you’re just sick of the regular nine to five that has dictated the way you’ve lived your life for the last thirty years. And all you ever wanted was to open up a little specialty store selling clothes and accessories for small dogs and cats. Now is the time to do it. You can leave that desk, bad chair, and impending carpal tunnel syndrome behind and finally open your own business. One of the most important steps is finding the start up loans for small businesses available to you.
The economic climate of the last few years hasn’t necessarily been very welcoming to new businesses, especially businesses that are small and privately owned, but these days they are in better shape than they were before. Small businesses even make up the bulk of the businesses in America today — a surprising 90% of them. These small businesses are also responsible for more than half of the country’s sales. You and your small business can get a piece of that retail pie. All you have to do is find the small business funding you need, which is easier than it has been in the past. Small business funding may seem hard to come by, but this isn’t the case. New business funding increased almost two billion dollars in a single year, so you should start exploring the small business funding options out there. Become your own boss. Open that small pet apparel store. Now is the time to do it. Find out more here.

One Business, Two Countries — How Businesses Operating Under Two Systems Struggle With Payroll

    Finance Tips

Processing payroll

For business owners that operate a business in both the U.S. and Canada, navigating the payroll processing systems in both countries is tricky enough. But this can become even more complicated as other HR and employee management issues start appearing; for small businesses especially, even the smallest paperwork mistakes can be extremely costly.

Many business owners don’t think about the other HR issues surrounding payroll processing, and what first seemed to be a simple task can quickly become an impossible mountain to scale. A recent article published by newswire.ca discusses the new guidelines released by the Canadian Human Rights Commission — guidelines that specifically focus on health issues for Canadian employees. This guide discussed notable statistics, including that the average number of work days taken off for personal reasons was approximately 9.1 in 2010, and that disability accounts for anywhere between 4% to 12% of Canadian payroll costs.

Why Do Business Owners Need to Pay Attention to These Statistics?

For businesses that are based in the U.S. but employ Canadian citizens, it is imperative that corporate management understands restrictions and regulations imposed by Canadian legislation for employing Canadian workers. Knowing how HR regulations differ in both countries, and also how American payroll regulations differ from Canadian payroll regulations, are two imperative parts of running a business between the two countries.

Keeping track of all these differences can quickly become a full-time job, and take time and energy away from managers and owners who should be focusing on the primary core of their business. Many businesses — especially small and independent businesses — find that an easy solution is to outsource payroll tasks to a company that specifically provides payroll services. These companies can be invaluable for business owners because they not only take care of the entire payroll processing task, but they also often provide HR guidance and help owners navigate sensitive employment tasks, such as changes in employee healthcare requirements.

So when should a business owner think about outsourcing payroll? Somewhere around the time when he or she begins spending more time working on employee payroll and not having enough time and energy to focus on the core of the business. Learn more.

The Top Five Ways an Investment Advisor Can Help You

    Finance Tips

San rafael wealth management

Investing is one of the best ways an individual can grow his or her funds and save up for the future. And at a time when it’s more important than ever to build a stable retirement savings fund, there’s no reason not to try your hand at building an investment portfolio.

The best part about investing? Anyone can do it! Currently, about 52% of Americans have invested in the stock market.

But if you are new to the world of investing, it’s essential to make sure you have the best advice possible before you begin your investing endeavors — and hiring a licensed investment advisor is the best way to do this.

Here are the top five ways in which a certified investment advisor can help you optimize your finances:

1. Personalized investment recommendations: There’s never a one-size-fits-all solution for investing, which is why working with an investment advisor is such a great idea. Your advisor will look at your income, lifestyle, goals and more to determine which investments are best for you.

2. Ability to predict turbulent economic periods: Investment advisors are always looking at economic trends — and as a result, are able to predict periods of economic decline and pass this knowledge on to you. Your money will be safe from economic crashes when you work with an investment advisor who knows when it’s time to pull out from your investments.

3. Access to the best investment opportunities: The best investment advisors advise you on investing according to their own investment habits. This means you’ll be able to invest in the same companies and causes your investment advisor does, taking away any uncertainty or doubt about your investment choices.

4. Help with long-term financial goals: Whether you need help with this year’s tax planning or saving for a down payment on a home, an investment advisor will be able to help you set out goals you want to achieve and give you the strategies you need to reach them.

5. Motivation to keep investing and saving: Saving money is never fun — we’d all rather be spending our hard-earned money on the things we enjoy right now! Yet the reality is that this generation will have less access to federal retirement funds than any before it, and so we all need to be saving as much as we can for a healthy retirement. Finding an investment advisor will help you stay on track and motivated each month to keep investing and growing your savings. More research here.