Got a Settlement on Your Hands? We Got Answers

January 29, 2016 Finance Tips

When someone receives a settlement, they often have many questions. However, the court system typically does not do a great job of answering these questions and explaining your rights before accepting fixed payments. People want to know: can I sell my structured settlement? Do other people do that? What can I even do with the money to make it last?

These kinds of questions are not only important to know, but they are what a responsible receiver of a settlement asks. They are the step towards securing a financial future for yourself and being well-educations on your rights as a settlement recipient helps you do just that.

Before you receive an influx of cash for annuity now that can potentially change your life for the better, there are a few important details that you should know.

Here are 2 common questions people ask (and should know) about their structured settlements.

Am I able to sell my structured settlement for a lump sum?
Typically, it depends on where you live. In New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., there are no Structured Settlement Protection Acts, which means that residents in those states aren’t allowed to sell their structured settlements. However, if you live anywhere else in the country, you have the right to sell your structured settlement for a huge lump sum. Talk about fast cash!

What can I do with the money that I get from the lump sum I receive?
Honestly, this ball is entirely in your court. There’s absolutely no limit when it comes to how you spend your lump sum, and however you choose to spend it can impact your life tremendously. Did you know that almost 76% of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck? Additionally, the average credit card balance in the United States is almost $7,200. With the fast cash for settlements you receive, you can pay off any and all of your outstanding credit card bills and eliminate debt!

Regardless of what led to the settlement in the first place, settlement recipients are extremely fortunate. What will you do with your cash for annuity now? Let us know in the comments below.

What to Do With Your Structured Settlement Annuity

January 26, 2016 Finance Tips

If you are currently receiving a structured settlement annuity either because you won the lottery, a lawsuit or through a life insurance payout, you need to decide if you want to keep collecting the money monthly or if you would rather get cash for your settlement. There are a number of factors that go into making this decision regardless of whether you received $150,000 from an employer, are getting part of the over $3.5 billion paid out in medical malpractice suits in 2013, or you won $1 million in the lottery.

When you choose an immediate annuity, you can usually get your money is about a month. However, you have to choose the right one in order to offset the amount you will be charged in fees and taxes. For example, if you are under the age of 59 1/2, then your annuity will be charged 10% for early withdrawal. However, if you choose to wait to withdraw the funds, you must begin receiving payments by the time you are 70 1/2.

In addition, annual fees can be anywhere from 2% to 7% on top of the taxes that need to be paid. Taxes are usually between 25% and 35% depending upon your tax bracket, but cannot exceed 35% of the annual income, regardless of the amount of money made. This may be why almost 50% of lottery winners are still working and why nearly 70% of all lottery winners lose their money in five years or less, regardless if the amount of money they won was $500 million or $1 million. One of the best ways to determine what is right for you and your money is to use a special sell structured settlement calculator.

Once you sell your structured settlements, you are free to do whatever you want with the money. You can use it to get out of debt, buy a car or pay off your mortgage. However, if you do not want to spend the money from your structured settlement annuity all at once, there is another option. Another way to keep your structured settlement annuity safe is by turning into a deferred annuity rather than getting the money right away. While these are low risk, you do have to wait for 15 to 20- years in order to withdraw funds. However, the rate of return greatly exceeds other low-risk options. For example, if a 60-year-old man has a $100,000 deferred annuity and waits until he is 85 years old to collect, then he is guaranteed $4,000 a month in income.

What is the Best Way to Receive Lottery Winnings

January 19, 2016 Finance Tips

Winning the lottery is something that most people only dream of happening. Once it becomes reality many may think that all their money problems have disappeared, however that may not be the case. There are still important financial decisions to make once you realize that you have won the lottery.

Winners have the option of choosing how they would like to receive lottery winnings. There are usually two options, a cash lump sum or yearly annuity payments paid out over the course of many years. Three are pros and cons to both options making careful consideration of both options equally important.

Lump Sum Payment
Getting a lump sum payment can be a wise choice for those why are savvy investors or who are financially capable of handling such a large amount of money. Extravagant purchases can be made and large amounts of debt can be paid off by accepting a lump sum payment. On the other hand those who are not financially sound enough could find that they use all the money very quickly with very little to show for it. With the lump sum payment you get all the money at once, therefore when it is gone, it is gone.

Lottery Annuity

Those who choose to receive their lottery payments as an annuity over the course of years usually pay fewer taxes on their winnings. Annual payments cause these individuals to fall into a lower tax bracket that lowers their total taxes paid on their winnings. The term of the payment nets a larger payout amount in the end. These payments however are received annually. This means that there is not a large sum of cash for any financial emergencies or to help cover expenses. There will be another payment once the first payment runs out, however it will not be until a certain date. More than 40% of families in the US admit to spending more money than they earn making it easy to spend annuity payments quickly after getting them. This makes annuities a good choice, especially for those who are well disciplined in their spending habits.

Selling Your Lottery Annuity

The good news is that majority of people who opt for annuity payments to receive lottery winnings have the option to sell some or all of those payments for unexpected finances that might arise. Selling some of your payments allows you to get immediate cash yet still have annual payments later down the road. This provides the best of both worlds. Immediate cash for extravagant purchases, and a steady stream of cash to help meet certain financial responsibilities.

Surveys confirm that playing the lottery is currently the most practiced form of gambling in the United States. Winning the lottery could be the end of all your financial worries. The average adult in the United States owes approximately $3,761 in revolving debt. Spending your money wisely and choosing the best way to receive lottery winnings can be beneficial to reducing or eliminating your current debt and helping you lead a debt free life.

Handling Large Amounts of Cash? Invest in a Cash Recycling Machine

January 17, 2016 Finance Tips

Accuracy and security are perhaps the most important words to banks and businesses dealing with large volumes of cash. In order to account for human error, lengthy procedures are needed, and that takes time and decreases efficiency. A cash management accounting system can take the risk of human error out of the picture, speed up transactions, and allow employees to focus on customer service. Currency counting machines can do all of the tasks normally required of a teller such as counting stacks of bills or loose coins with 100% accuracy and in less time.
What Is A Cash Recycler?
A cash recycling machine can:

sort coins
sort bills
detect counterfeit bills
dispense coins
dispense bills
serve as a safe

How Do I Know If I Need A Cash Management Accounting System?
Any bank or business dealing with large volumes of cash would benefit from having a currency sorting machine. A bank teller must have a minimum amount of cash and coins in the drawer at all times. When more bills or coins are needed, a trip to the vault is required and a process of verifying takes place. Similarly, when the drawer is over the maximum, another vault trip is required. Because it serves as a secure safe, an electronic coin sorter and counter would eliminate these trips and verifications that take valuable time.
Counting bills by hand is time consuming and must be done 2 or 3 times to ensure accuracy. A cash counting machine performs the task with 100% accuracy the first time and at a fraction of the speed. The time saved can be used to improve customer relations. Tellers can answer banking questions or sell other services.
What About Counterfeit Bills?
Counterfeiting is one of the oldest crimes in history, and it takes a carefully trained eye and attention to detail to spot a fake. The cash recycler doubles as a counterfeit detector machine and can spot the fake immediately, saving the company both time and money.
What About Security?
In addition to the cash recycler machine serving as a secure safe, security is also improved by limiting the time cash is exposed. Because all the counting is done inside the machine, cash spends significantly less time at the teller’s window.
What About Reliability And Service Of The Machine?
Companies servicing these cash management accounting machines understand how vital they are to a business or bank. For this reason, a variety of support contracts are available. On-site service support generally includes phone support, parts, travel and labour required to repair and restore equipment to its optimum operating condition. Scheduled preventative maintenance visits are are also included in an on-site contract. Other types of contracts might include loaner replacement equipment available with quick turnaround to fill an immediate need.

Easy Settlement Payout Options

January 16, 2016 Finance Tips

Have you recently received a large settlement and not sure where to start or how to get your money? Do you want your money right away and all at once instead of waiting a long period of time and then getting payments in installments? If so, you should think about getting an annuity payout and you can start by getting a quote for your annuity payments.

What is an Annuity Payment?

An annuity payment is one of your best options to access your settlement cash fast. It is one of the fastest cash advances where you get a check for your settlement amount and can cash it right away for the full amount instead of having to wait for your money or have it disbursed to you in increments. There is nothing to payback, and once you have the money, you don’t have to worry about any other paperwork or issues that could come up, like with other disbursement processes.

65% of Americans prefer the lump sum payment to other payout methods because it gives them not only the money right away, but opportunity to advance their lives in so many different ways. By getting a quote for your annuity payments you can start to see some of the possibilities that you may have. Here are just some of the things getting a lump sum payout can do for you:

Pay off debt immediately. This can be auto debt, student loan debt, credit card debit, or any other kind of debt.
Buy a house. With the housing market back in tact, investing in a home is not only a smart decision, but can also be a great opportunity for your family.
Splurge on a trip and go see the world. With cruise costs at an average to low rate, airline tickets becoming more affordable, and hotel deals around every corner, you can go on an amazing trip and still have money left over.
Investing is always an option. You may have a large sum now, but if you invest it, in a few years it could be an even larger amount.
You can do a combination of all of the above; pay off some debt, invest in something, and still buy a luxury item for yourself.

Getting one lump sum will give your access to do all of those things. When you get your money over a period of time it does become harder to do any of those things all at once, or sooner rather than later. To get started, and to feel out your options, get a quote for your annuity payments now and see how much that one time fast and easy payout can change your life.

The Top Reasons To Invest in Commercial Real Estate

January 7, 2016 Finance Tips

Investing in commercial real estate can be a great choice for anyone who’s looking for a lucrative and interesting way to invest extra capital. Of course, there are always some risks involved, and these risks may lead to some hesitation among potential investors. If you’re still deciding whether or not the commercial real estate financing industry is right for you, here are a few positive results associated with commercial real estate investing:

The publicity of being a real estate developer and/or investor is one reason for many people to enter the industry. This publicity is all about building up your professional reputation; you can become a prominent member of your community and donate your time/money to worthy causes, while also furthering your professional reputation in other industries outside of commercial real estate.
Flexibility is one main reason why commercial property investments are often chosen over residential properties. Instead of managing dozens (or even hundreds) of tenants and having to be on call virtually 24 hours a day, as a commercial property owner, you only have to manage a handful of tenants and can keep fairly normal business hours. The flexibility and convenience is a huge benefit if you have a another career.
And of course, because you’re investing your money, you’ll also want to make sure that you’re actually seeing a return on your investment. With commercial properties, there’s a good chance that you’ll see a very impressive return on investment, especially if you continuously improve your properties and bring in successful tenants.

Best of all, you don’t have to be a real estate expert in order to reap the benefits of being an investor. Working with a real estate development company or commercial real estate investment company is a great way to get expert advice when you need it, while still managing and building up your own professional career! Find more.

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Month: January 2016