Is it Time to Start Saving for Retirement?

September 17, 2015 Finance Tips

When you first enter the workforce, retirement can seem very far away. Because of this, saving for retirement doesn’t get placed high on the priority list. The reality is, however, saving for retirement early on can lead to more wealth for you in the future when you need it.

Did you know that about 41% of people ages 18 to 29 admit that they have never even thought about retirement planning (according to a recent survey)? If you find that number surprising, consider this, as well: Out of those who are nearing retirement age, one in five say they have no money saved. With an eye to the future and some good financial planning, you don’t have to be like so many Americans who struggle after retirement due to a decrease in personal wealth.

So, how do you get started?

If you are employed and have a reliable source of income and you’ve begun paying off any debts such as student loans or car loans, you’re off to a great start. Many find that sitting down and speaking with trained financial advisors or financial planners is a great way to get a plan in place. According to a recent survey, 44% of the people surveyed reported using a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) or a 403(b). Depending on your household income, amount of debt, and size of your family, a qualified financial advisor can steer you in the right direction and help you find a retirement plan that is perfect for you.

If you’re fortunate enough to have an employer-sponsered retirement plan offered at your job, take advantage of it! This is a great way to get the ball rolling and it is a great opportunity to make contributions to your retirement plan before taxes. Many employers will even match your contributions, so you have even more of an incentive to contribute.

How much should you contribute?

While this is different for every individual, it is recommended that you put away 10%-15% of your income for retirement if you are starting to save when you’re young (in your 20s). If you can afford to save more, by all means, go for it!

Remember, you never know what the future may bring, but you can lessen your anxiety and feel confident if you prepare for it. Saving for retirement is a great way to ensure your will have wealth in your future not only for yourself, but for your family, too. And, you’re never to young to start!

4 Common Ways of Funding a Small Business

September 14, 2015 Finance Tips

Just how are small business owners able to fund their own businesses in such a shaky economy? The truth is, it isn’t always easy to find financial stability, considering the cost of employee wages, equipment, software, rent, traveling, and a variety of other expenses.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to go about finding working capital loans for small businesses and other types of small business lending opportunities:

Traditional banks: This option has long been considered the best option by many funding experts, but these days, more small businesses are realizing that this options might not be the best one. There are certainly plenty of options for small business loans at a bank, but it could take a long time for a line of credit to be processed.
Credit unions: These are non-profit member-owned institutions that function very much like banks, but they generally provide a little better rates and terms on small business loans. If you aren’t already a member of a credit union, you’ll have to pay a small membership fee and live within the geographical region of the credit union in order to take out a loan.
Government loans: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers many different types of small business loans, especially microloans for businesses that just need some quick cash after a disaster strikes. These loans are fairly good options, but be aware that your business might not qualify.
Online private lenders: These institutions are quickly becoming a top choice recommended by many funding experts, because they carefully consider the same requirements as banks consider but they tend to offer better repayment schedules and interest rates.

So which lending option is the best choice for your small business?

Stock Information Takes Some Research To Find

September 5, 2015 Finance Tips

Following the stock market is not always an easy thing to do. If you are someone who is interested in investing, there are a great number of players to keep track of. There are also a great number of factors that determine which publicly traded companies will be a good bet in the long run and not simply just a flash in the pan. Making money in the stock market long term is an endeavor into which it is foolish to enter on your own. Finding the right investment opportunities takes some help and good advice.

Stocks are a global enterprise, and figuring out the system can be frustrating and even overwhelming. Of all the global stocks in 2012, the largest market by far was the United States with about 34% of stocks. Japan was the next largest with about 6% followed by Great Britain with about 6% as well. In the U.S. alone, there are over 9,000 publicly traded securities.

Stock research subscriptions can give you the help you might be seeking. Finding stock market research tools, for example, can help you on your way to some much-desired stability in your portfolio. Long-term funds are often more stable, typically yielding about 75 to 80% return and are 40% less volatile. For 75 years, from 1926 to 2001, small cap stocks in the United States have given a return on average of 12.27%. This is consistent, but obviously less profitable.

The key to finding stock research subscriptions and good overall stock research is to find a place that shares your particular investment philosophy. You’re looking for information that will give you the kind of outcome you desire, so tapping into the advice and counsel of someone who shares you’re opinions about how to get there can be a very smart move in the trading game.

Investing in microcap stocks, for example, may require advice from more informed professionals because you might not be able to get all of the information you need to make the kind of informed decisions you need to make. Microcap stocks are stocks in companies in the United States that have a market capitalization of about $50 million to $300 million. These companies have fewer resources to make information available to the public than larger companies. They’re also less like to be published and talked about than their much bigger counterparts. Microcap investing can bring in a steady return, but make take more work to get there.

When it comes to stock research subscriptions, there are many ways in which you can garner the information you need. There are newsletters, which come out at different times, depending on who is putting it together. You can subscribe to magazines designed to produce research. Of course online information may be the easiest way to get the most relevant information as quickly as possible.

When you take just a few minutes to do some research, you’ll likely find that an enormous amount of stock information can be found online. If you prefer having things in one place, you’re also likely to find stock research subscriptions that can bring you a great understanding of what to do with your stock investments in U.S. microcap equities and even in foreign opportunities such as the China stock market.

Buy Your Stake in a Profitable Company With the Help of an IPO Service

September 4, 2015 Finance Tips

Every company holds a certain amount of stock that can be divided between investors and high ranking officials. The more stock one holds, the larger share of the company’s value they will be entitled to. At certain points in a company’s run they may provide initial public offerings (IPO), a trend that began to surface during the booming stock market of the 1990’s, to sell more assets for multiple reasons:

Growth

Younger companies who are vying for a stronger position in their marketplace may choose to begin an IPO, offering anywhere from 10 to 15% of the company on average, in order to use the capital gained from the sales for expansion. However, even with smaller businesses gaining a lot of attention for cheaper and available shares, the information involved in the transactions can be staggering to comprehend; which is where ipo services can help. Prime brokerage firms can separate the information into accessible reports to moderate the purchase of stock.

Public Trading

If a company becomes large enough, they may choose to take IPOs to the next step and become publicly traded. In most cases regular stock exchanges sell shares while the company’s founders or management are still in total control of the business. Publicly traded companies on the other hand have offered a much larger portion of their company to the public. When these exchanges take place, they represent a piece of the company with which the owner is entitled to their share of assets and profits.

Benefits

Each form of IPO have their advantages for both holders and for management, which an ipo service can layout into clean categories. Private traders are not required to answer to stockholders over functions of the company, while their public counter parts must disclose operations to all invested parties. However, public companies can continuously tap into the stock market to gain capital whenever they deem necessary. Public traded entities must stick to private funding which still has the ability to gain capital but does not have as much freedom to expand.

With the enormous amounts of money that flow through the stock market at any given time, the financial information involved includes copious amounts of paperwork. In order to help understand these transactions, prime brokers can offer ipo services that divide this information into reports which outline how the process operates. 2015 is projected to be the best year for IPOs since back in 2000, so don’t miss out and allow professionals to ensure your money is making it to the right places for the best investments.
See this link for more.

An Efficient Currency Sorter Machine Saves Time, Prevents Errors

August 25, 2015 Finance Tips

What do you think your customers use their jar of loose change for? Once they cash in their coins, are they using that amount as their limit when they find a slot machine in Ontario? Are they letting their children use it for spending money on their summer visit to Canada’s Wonderland?

Whether your banking clients are using their cashed in coins to entertain themselves or their children, or whether they are socking those coins away into savings, as a financial institute you are only thinking about two things when that large bag of coins comes to your teller window: speed and accuracy. The most current and accurate currency sorter machine can give your retail cash management location both speed and accuracy.

If you are a business other than a financial institution, it is just as important that you have a fast, efficient and safe way to process currency. An electronic coin sorter and counter, as well as a fraud-fighter counterfeit machine, purchased from a reliable company can ease the process and improve security by providing well trained support personnel. Making your currency sorter machine purchases from a company that also provides account managers, project managers, highly-trained field service representatives, repair technicians, and logistics experts ensure you always have the support you need when it comes to your cheque, cash and coin processing.

Fully electronic counters, machines that are able to count batches of notes or of coins without having to process them individually, were first introduced in Great Britain in the early 1980s. Fast forward 30 years and cash counting machines now allow a business to maintain 100% assured accuracy for cash transactions. Since the earliest use of a currency sorter machine, the goal has always been efficiency and accuracy. Another major reason that businesses and companies use money counters, obviously, is the amount of time it saves them. Without a bill and coin sorter and counting device, counting notes by hand is time consuming and is usually completed two or three times to make sure the numbers are correct to compensate for any human error.

Whether you are a small business owner in a northern remote part of Canada, or are a small banking institution in Winnipeg, it is important for you to be able to process both coin and paper currency quickly and accurately. Making the decision to purchase a counterfeit bill detector machine and commercial coin counting machines from a company that also provides fast and quality service is key to your success. Your time is important, so yo need technicians with quick local response time that can be tailored to your needs and work within your schedule to get your equipment up and running quickly and accurately.

3 of the Dumbest Things You Can Do When You Win the Lottery

August 25, 2015 Finance Tips

There are smart things you can do after you win the lottery, and there are dumb things you can do.

For example, if you wanted to do something smart after you won the lottery, you would either take your lottery lump sum payout, put it in an account, and let it collect interest for years. Another smart thing you could do is to accept your winnings as a lottery annuity settlement, and collect your lottery payments over the next few decades. You could use this annuity to support yourself as you pursue your passion, such as painting, or writing.

Unfortunately, though, people tend to make dumber decisions with their money. Here are just a few entertaining, but unfortunate examples.

Failing to Read the Fine Print. – Tonda Lynn, a former Waffle House waitress, was not a very nice person. She and her colleagues at the eatery said they’d split the winnings of whatever they won from the lotto tickets the patrons sometimes gave them. When Lynn one, the only thing she split was her job. Since it was only a verbal agreement, it didn’t hold up in court when her former friend sued her. However, being paranoid, she put her winnings in a corporation, and made her family 51% stakeholders. This made her eligible to pay a gift tax of $1,119,347.90 for her $10 million winnings.

Letting the Money Burn a Hole in Her Pocket. – When Suzanne Mullins won the lottery, she took her winnings as an annuity. However, the yearly payments weren’t enough to quench her shopping wants. She used her future lottery payments as collateral for a $200,000 loan, and found herself in debt. She then sold her annuity, but didn’t pay back the debt. Consequently, the loan company slapped her with a lawsuit, and won $154 million.

Doubling Down on Your Luck. – The fact that Evelyn Adams was luck was obvious. Not only did she somehow win the lottery, she won it twice, and all in the span of just two years. However, luck runs out, as she quickly found out. Wanting to ride out her lucky streak, she went to Atlantic City… and gambled her $5.4 million away. Today, she lives in a trailer park.

If you win the lottery, don’t do like these folks did. Make smart choices with your money.

If you have any questions, feel free to share in the comments.

Outsource Your Company’s HR Activities With a Professional Employer Organization

August 25, 2015 Finance Tips

Many shepayrolledge.com/blog/bid/372089/Where-to-Find-Professional-Employer-Organizations-PEOs-in-Canada” Title=”Find more information regarding Choosing a peo in canada”>mall companies rely on Professional Employer Organization (PEO) as a liaison between the company’s employees and management. PEOs are identified as a co-employer, and can solve internal issues in a company such as human resource functions, payroll management, filing taxes, and providing employees with benefits. Businesses of all kinds can benefit from PEO services, but many business owners don’t know what kind of advantages they can get from hiring a PEO for their business.

PEOs are known as co-employers, which means that they share the employer responsibilities of a company. When a business enters into a PEO contract, the employees of the company become employers of the PEO. Once the PEO has enough contracts, they pool the small businesses together in order to get better prices on benefits such as health insurance, unemployment, and workers compensation.

PEOs provide your employees with access to premium, Fortune 500 benefit packages. PEO companies will also take on HR responsibilities and payroll activities, saving your company time to focus on business. This includes conducting interviews, preparing employee policy, and the creation of an employee handbook.

Professional Employer Organizations offer complete HR business management services, along with other complicated services that many business owners have difficulty handling on their own. Despite the obvious benefits, there are a few Professional Employer Organization disadvantages. Some organizations choose to opt out of a PEO in order to remain control of their benefit plans, and other risks. Hiring a PEO can also blur the line of employer responsibilities when a mistake is made. When choosing whether or not to outsource your HR responsibilities, you must makes sure you do extensive research before choosing the right option for the needs of your company.

3 Reasons for Defendants to Choose Structured Settlement Annuity

August 21, 2015 Finance Tips

A Structured Settlement Annuity (SSA) is a tax-free, annual payment of money usually resulting from a lawsuit or insurance claim. Every settlement is different and structured to accommodate the specific needs of the individuals involved in said case. While people usually view these in the context of the plaintiff (those receiving payments), there are structured settlement annuity benefits to the defendants as well. Here are three reasons it could very well be in the best interest of both parties to come to an annuity settlement.

1.) Success Rate: Perhaps un-success rate would be more accurate. The plaintiff is victorious in the majority of cases that go to trial (over 90%). For that reason most people on the defense side elect to try and settle outside of court (80-92% of cases by some estimates). Obviously you will be losing in the sense that you’ll have to pay something, but the total amount will often times be much less than if you leave it up to a judge/jury to award damages. Even if the plaintiff wants a lump sum most will be open to the idea because there are plenty of businesses that they can get cash for settlements almost immediately.

2.) Reduce Cost: Lawsuits can be expensive. On average, employees that win a case against an employer will receive $150,000. Besides the outright cost of the payout though there are court fees, lawyer costs, and other expenses associated with going to trial. In the end it is usually a more cost-effective option to cut your losses from the jump and negotiate a fair Structured Settlement Annuity.

3.) Insurance: Perhaps the most important reason to consider an SSA is the insurance implications. Depending on the situation and your provider they will sometimes cover the annuity payments for you. Obviously this will have an affect on your rates and premiums, but it will save you from having to come up with the finances on your own, or having to borrow from a bank at high interest rates.

Overall a Structured Settlement Annuity can be beneficial to all parties involved. It should be one of the first options you look for if you’re caught on the wrong end of something like a personal injury lawsuit because of the above mentioned reasons, as well as others left out.

Are Structured Settlements Working Out For You? Here’s Another Way To Get Things Going

August 14, 2015 Finance Tips

Life is a series of ups and downs, so when things start plummeting, it’s your responsibility to take action and make a change. Don’t hesitate, waiting around for things to get better; do what you have to do to make things better.
Some might say this kind of direct ambition is easier to claim than it is to apply, but that doesn’t have to be the case with you. Seek professional guidance by setting up a consultation with a financial expert and see what kind of options you have to get money now…

For example, let’s say you’re down and out because you suffered an accident. Even if you file a lawsuit, while you wait for the judge’s decision, you’ll have plenty of expenses to tend to. Markedly, even if you manage to win the lawsuit, your everyday cost of living won’t just go away.

At this point, what are you going to do?

Even if you win the lawsuit, it’s more than likely that you’ll be paid with a structured settlement. By and large, one good thing about a structured settlement is that it can save you 25 to 35% in federal and state taxes; usually, interest income is subject to tax, but that’s based on your tax bracket. Nonetheless, a structured settlement won’t allow you full access to your designated funds.

For those who don’t know, a structured settlement is when you are rewarded money, which is the settlement, but the money is distributed in arbitrary, structured increments, depending on what the judge decides. Accordingly, about 80 to 92% of cases settle outright; however, for those processed by trial, over 90% are won by the person who pursued the suit.

Understandably, with a structured settlement, it can be frustrating to have funds that are legally yours, but they’re also legally inaccessible. However, what if there was a loophole to access these funds?

Luckily for you, there is! You can consult with a finance company and discuss getting cash for structured settlement funds. The obvious plus of you getting cash for structured settlement funds is that your money will be immediately available. Naturally, once you have access to your funds, then you can pay off whatever life expenses are pending.

If you’re looking into getting cash for structured settlement funds, there are services ready to help you sell your structured settlements to help you get settlement cash now, you just have to find them!

After you receive the cash for your structured settlement, financial freedom will be yours…

Why wait?

3 Common Reasons for Selling Your Annuity

August 12, 2015 Finance Tips

Every case is different, but there is a good chance that you need cash now if you are looking into selling your annuity. The motivation for making this decision can vary from person to person, but there’s never a shortage of reasons for people to need settlement cash now more than they may need it in the future.

If you’re considering selling your annuity, you probably have a good reason to do so. Here are three common reasons that people take advantage of this opportunity, and the benefits of receiving huge lump sums of your well-deserved money:

You lost your job.

Your mortgage payments have gone up.

annuity

You need a vacation.

Talk to a professional and figure out how to make your annuity work for you, instead of the other way around. It’s your money and your future, and you should decide what happens to it.