If retirement seems like something that keeps creeping up on you but that you haven’t really focused on preparing for yet, it might be time to start thinking about when you’ll know that you’re ready to retire and how to begin preparing for that time.

To help you see how you can get started with this line of thinking, here are three ways to make sure you’re financially ready for retirement.

Reduce Your Debt As Much As Possible

When you retire, the last thing you want to be spending your money on is debt payments that could have been taken care of while you were still working. With this in mind, you should work now to pay off as much of your debt as you possibly can.

While you might have some debt when you retire, like a mortgage payment, if you’re someone who has a lot of credit card debt, this is one of the first things that you should address. Not only will paying down credit card debt give you more freedom with your money now and when you retire, but if you’re able to work on controlling your spending now, you will likely have less financial stress when you retire as well.

Crunch The Numbers On Your Financial Accounts

In order to retire comfortably, you’ll have to ensure that you have the money you need available to you even when you’re not earning a paycheck anymore. But to know when you’ve reached this point with your finances, you’ll have to do some crunching of the numbers in your financial accounts.

While you’ll likely be able to get Social Security benefits when you retire, most people can’t hope to live off of this amount of money. Because of this, you also need to have savings or other earned income that you can pull from each month. The actual amount that you’ll need to have to live comfortably will vary based on a lot of different things. So to figure out just how much you’ll need and how you can start working toward this goal now, consider meeting with a retirement planner sooner rather than later.

Have A Plan For When Bigger Expenses Pop Up

Although most people don’t like to think about the unfortunate things that could happen as they get higher up in years, these types of things are vital to think about and plan for as you near retirement. From increases in medical costs to moving into an assisted living facility, having these contingencies as part of your financial retirement plan will make your life and the lives of those who love you much easier if and when these financial burdens become necessary.

If you’re wanting to get yourself more prepared for your upcoming retirement, whether it’s in 5 or 25 years, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you with this.

 

Personal loans are a saviour in dire times or help you extinguish an emergency or meet your personal needs too. However, to avail of a personal loan, you need to check your personal loan eligibility. A personal loan eligibility is a list of criteria you need to meet to avail a personal loan.

A personal loan is a type of unsecured loan, so there is no requirement for you to hold any of your assets as a collateral, or there is no restriction on what you can spend the money on. You can get a loan amount of about Rs. 10 lakhs via financial institutions, and the rate of interest is very flexible along with the tenure that stretches for about 5 years in order to provide you with a good opportunity to repay the loan in a stress-free manner. The higher your salary is, the higher amount you can avail for a personal loan.

In order to be eligible, you need to meet the following 5 criteria:

1. Employment status: If you want your personal loan eligibility to be affirmative, then you need to be employed for more than 6 months and have an employment history of more than 3 months in your current organisation. This personal loan eligibility factor determines your stability. A self-employed individual or a business owner is not eligible for a personal loan.
2. Salary criteria: If you reside in a tier 1 city, then you need to make more than Rs. 20,000 per month to meet this personal loan eligibility criterion. If you reside in a tier 2 city, then you need to make more than Rs. 15,000 per month to meet this personal loan eligibility criterion.
3. Credit score: Credit score, usually CIBIL score, is used in India. A credit score represents your ability to pay off the personal loans you take. Suppose you are an individual with a CIBIL score of more than 750. In that case, you definitely meet the personal loan eligibility criteria and are in a position to get better loan deals in the future too.
4. Age criteria: You need to be of age 25 and above in order to apply for a personal loan. The upper age limit for the same is 45 years of age. This age limit, especially the lower limit, determines your level of maturity and allows the banks & financial institutions to take the risk with you when it comes to providing you the loans that you need.
5. Disposable income & EMI as a proportion of your income: The personal loan eligibility criteria heavily depend on your income. It should fall within a range of 30 to 40% of your net monthly income. It should not be more than that. The EMI you would be paying on the borrowed personal loan should not be more than 65% of your income. Otherwise, it can create an issue about smooth repayment in times of other crises.

 

Whether you’re nearing retirement age or are just now settling down, having a will that outlines what you want to be done with your money and belongings when you die is always a good idea. However, with something as big as a will, it’s important that you take the time to really consider the decisions you’re making and what will really be best for the people you love when you’re no longer around.

To help you in figuring all of this out, here are three things to consider before finalizing your will.

Decide If You Want A Will Or A Trust

The very first thing you’ll want to decide when thinking about how to handle things after your death is if you want a will or a trust.

If you choose to create a will, that document will have to go through probate court after your death. Additionally, wills can be contested in court, which can make the legal process much longer and complicated. But with a trust, especially a living trust, you can make changes to the document and have things spelled out for your loved ones even before you pass away. So depending on how you want things to go with your family or those you’re leaving your possessions to, you might want to choose one route over the other.

Who To Name As The Executor

Once you’ve figured out if you want a will or a trust, or both, you then need to decide who you want to be in charge of taking care of things for you regarding this documentation after you die.

When choosing the person or people you want to serve as your executor, try to pick someone that you know is trustworthy and will go through with everything that you’ve outlined in the document. Also, because going through these processes can be complicated and time consuming, you’ll also want to choose someone who can be organized and handle the responsibility that this will place on their shoulders.

Plans For Your Children

If you’re a parent with children who aren’t adults yet, one of the main points of your will or trust will be setting out who you’d like to be the guardian of your children.

Making this decision will be very important for you, for your children, and for those who you have caring for your children. You’ll want to consider things like who has the capacity to care for your kids, who will raise them with your wishes in mind, how much disruption there will be to their lives, and more.

If you’re in the process of finalizing your will or your trust, make sure you consider the factors mentioned above so that you have all your bases covered in these documents.

 

Have you ever wanted to trade an asset that would provide you with a diversified portfolio during uncertain times? If the answer is yes, then an exchange-traded fund is the right instrument for you. An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a security that provides you with exposure to different assets. As of 2020, there were more than 7,600 ETFs traded globally. Investing with these types of assets can give you access to both passively managed ETFs and actively managed ETFs. You can also design different trading strategies using ETFs that can be used in uncertain times.

What is an ETFs

An ETF is a financial instrument that is traded on an exchange hence the name exchange-traded fund. The asset can hold various tradable instruments, including stocks, bonds, commodities, and indices. If you want exposure to the different stock sectors, such as the financial and energy sectors, you can purchase an ETF. For example, the Energy Select Sector Fund ETF holds various stocks that have exposure to the energy markets. Some of the shares held by the ETF include large-cap integrated energy companies like Exxon Mobile, as well as oil services companies like Schlumberger. The fund also owns oil and gas producers like Williams Companies.

When Were ETFs Introduced?

The first exchange-traded fund was traded more than 30-years ago in 1990. The first U.S. ETF was introduced in 1993 and tracked the movements of the S&P 500 index. The SPY (S&P 500 SPDR) became very popular and is still one of the most actively traded ETFs.

What are the Benefits of ETFs

There are several benefits of using ETFs to diversify your portfolio. ETFs differ from mutual funds in that you can buy and sell and exchange-traded funds throughout the trading session. If the price of the underlying assets is not cooperating with your investment strategy, you can stop out of an ETF instead of waiting for the end of the trading session to close out with a loss.

ETFs are generally tax-friendly investments. Mutual funds generally issue capital gain payouts to investors at the end of every calendar year due to redemptions. ETFs minimize capital gains by performing a like-kind exchange of stock which reduces the tax burden. As opposed to mutual funds, there are usually no investment minimums. ETFs are a lower-cost alternative. While the average mutual fund has a fee of 1%, most ETFs have an expense ratio between 0.3 and 0.95%.

How Can You Use ETFs

When you invest with ETFs is provides a type of exposure that is different. You can use the ETF to gain exposure to an underlying instrument or use it to hedge the direction you have in your portfolio. You can also use ETFs to pair trade the market taking a neutral market position.

Here are some examples.

Say you are a portfolio manager that concentrates on technology stocks. Before an adverse move, you might consider selling an ETF that focuses on the technology sector, like the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK). The investment moves in tandem with the price of several public trading stocks in the technology sector. The goal for the portfolio manager would be to offset some of the losses that might occur with gains in a short position of the XLK.

Another way you might consider using an ETF is to trade one that holds products that are unavailable using stocks. For example, if you want to trade the oil price, an ETF only has oil futures. The same can be said for gasoline or corn, or silver.

Additionally, you might decide that you want to take a market-neutral position and use ETFs to offset the risks. Market neutral risk is a risk where you are not exposed to the market’s general direction but instead speculate on the outperformance of one asset relative to another. These trades are often called pair trades. An example would be taking a long position in financial stocks because you think interest rates will move higher but offsetting that risk with a short-position in utilities. Your stockbroker or your CFD broker offers these types of trades.

The Bottom Line

The upshot is that ETFs are a diverse financial instrument that offers several different ways to create exposure to the capital markets. Recall, an ETF is an exchange-traded fund that has stock-like features. The most important is that you can enter and exit intra-day, differing from mutual funds.

ETFs can provide you with a security that tracks the movements of a group of stocks or a single commodity. There are also sector ETFs which help you take advantage of owning a diversified group of stocks. You can use an ETF to hedge your exposure by selling it short. You can also take a market-neutral position where you are long one ETF and short another ETF. Your ability to purchase defensive stock ETF as well as use ETF to generate market-neutral trades is why ETF can be used as a safe-haven asset in uncertain times.

 

Every parent dreams of providing the best future for their child. This task has become quite intimidating due to the rise in inflation and a lifestyle change. Most essential items associated with your daily life have continued to evolve more expensively over the years, like fuel cost, food, clothing, pulses, and vegetables.

The rise of inflation will make it hard for our children to manage their basic needs effortlessly. However, you can secure their future by smarty investing your money as saving for child plan.

Investing in a savings plan will make a massive difference in your child’s life. You can beat the rising cost of inflation with the right investment planning. Right from standard education to marriage, your savings can help your child achieve their dreams. The importance of savings in your children’s life is enormous. The money you save gives them protection against unforeseen demands and enables them to live an adult lifestyle hassle-free.

Saving for child is like building financial protection that will provide a long term, risk-averse solution to meet the inflated future cost of education, marriage, and other goals without damaging the overall financial position you aim to achieve.

Are you still confused about whether you should start saving for child or not? If yes, then read the reasons for investing in saving plans that we have mentioned below.

Reasons For Using a Saving Plan to Secure your Child’s Future

Cushion Against Fund Flow Disruptions

Before saving for child, it is advisable to create a cushion of protection for yourself to navigate any unexpected financial requirements. In case of your demise or a drop in income, your child’s future is protected by such a saving plan. He can pursue his studies without facing any financial difficulties. Depending on your financial budget and lifestyle, choose the saving plan.

• Inculcating the habit of savings

Another significant reason to start saving for child at an early stage is that it inculcates a habit of savings. Savings is an art that requires commitment and discipline. Committing to the child plan motivates you to get into the habits of regular savings.

3. Focused on a single purpose

There are plenty of investment plans out there in the market. Child plans are specially designed to cater to the future needs of the children. These plans ensure the growth of the funds and cover the general and educational needs of your child. You can also customize these plans as per your child’s needs.

4. Easy Planning For a Well-Diversified Portfolio

Saving for child eases the stress of planning for the child’s future. So, if you want to make your life or your child’s life comfortable, then start saving for him.

5. Tax Benefits of Child Plans

Child plans offer tax concession and benefit both- the invested funds and tax benefits received, to reduce the financial stress that comes from investing in them.

The Right Time To Start Saving For Your Child

Time is your greatest ally, the earlier you invest, the sooner the returns you get on the invested money. Even if you save a small amount, it will accumulate into a large sum over time. The return you get can either be utilized or reinvested into other plans. So, saving for child is the wisest thing you can do for your child.

If you’re in need of a way to jump start your financial savings plan, the frugal February challenge may be just the ticket. Although the origins are a bit unknown, frugal February has been steadily gaining notoriety over the last few years. As it’s the shortest month, with expensive holidays in the recent past, the frugal February challenge is meant to be a month spent not spending. Focusing on ways to recoup money, kickstart savings and become financially resourceful for the entire month. There aren’t specific tasks you need to follow, so here are a few ideas to make your frugal February a savings success.

Track Expenses

Tracking expenses is a somewhat straightforward process that any financial planner Orlando will recommend. If you haven’t tracked your spending before, use February to keep a close eye on where you’re spending your money and be sure to monitor both your credit and cash expenditures. Many people don’t realize just how much money they spend on things like groceries, or restaurants. Take this time to analyze how you spend your money and continue to monitor your habits in the months to follow as well.

Audit Bills

What are your monthly bills and can they be lowered? Yes you need insurance, but when was the last time you checked your rate and coverage? Shop around and see if you can lower your bill, or find another company with a lower price. This also goes for entertainment. These days we all have multiple entertainment packages, during frugal February is the best time to look at what services you actually use, what services are worth spending money on and what you can cancel to save some dough.

Reduce Energy

Cutting back on your energy usage is good for the environment and better for your wallet and reducing electric and gas costs can be easily accomplished. By making sure lights are off in the rooms that aren’t being used, you can really reduce your electric bill. If you’re able to change your bulbs to efficient LEDs, you’ll find even more savings. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that by lowering your thermostat by 1 degree, you save 1% on your energy bill. Imagine the savings if you lower it 3 or 4 degrees.

Frugal February is a challenge meant to motivate you to tighten up and better understand your spending habits. It will enable you to save, strategize, and create positive financial headway early the year.

One of the great attractions of online casinos is the different types of bonuses they offer. Stay up to date on the various bonuses that you can expect from online games so that you can take advantage of the bonuses that benefit you the most.

The most common form of online casino bonus is an equivalent deposit bonus where you are required to deposit your money. Then, you have the option of receiving a little more from your online casino to increase your funds. There are special rules and payment standards when playing with an online casino bonus. However, it is worth it if your chances of winning increase when you still have bets.

Online casino bonuses granted to new players are often referred to as welcome bonuses. Three types of online casino welcome bonuses are common in the industry. The first is a deposit bonus. Once the player has made the first deposit, the casino will offer a reasonable amount as an online casino bonus. This is offered as a percentage of the player’s deposit, subject to a maximum amount.

The second type of welcome bonus is the no deposit bonus. In this case, the player does not have to make a deposit, but receives the bonus in advance. The purpose of this bonus is to give players the opportunity to play games without risking cash. The no deposit bonus is much smaller than the deposit bonus.

The third type of welcome bonus is not granted in cash, but as a series of free spins in a popular slot game. Players can keep their bonus winnings if necessary. There are many online casinos and poker rooms that pop up every day.

Once a person chooses an online casino, they need to choose the right online casino that has high quality standards, a high level of trust and excellent service for the players. You should improve your game by offering free money casinos. Online casinos are open all day and anytime, no matter how long you want to play.

There are various terms and conditions for online casino bonuses that players should read carefully. Failure to comply with the terms may result in loss of bonuses. The most important are the wagering requirements. They indicate how often the deposit must be used before the profit can be paid out. They also indicate the games in which these bets are played and the period in which these bets are made.

All online casino bonuses are subject to the so-called wagering requirement and are hidden in the small print of the general terms and conditions. If you are a bonus enthusiast, the wagering requirement is much more important than the bonus amount before you can withdraw “free” money due to the often-strict restrictions that are placed on you.

As more and more casinos offered cash prizes, a different type of customer appeared. A customer whose sole interest was the bonus itself and whose goal was to receive the bonus as soon as possible and then leave it. As a result, online casinos have adjusted their wagering requirements before authorising payment of the bonus. The wagering requirement is a total amount that you can bet on to withdraw the bonus.

If you’re one of those people that doesn’t like math, then it can feel like torture to try to figure out your finances. You have to figure out how to get from point A to point B with a bunch of numbers that don’t make sense individually, so how can you possibly have them make sense as a whole? If you find that you need to crunch numbers and you are uncomfortable with this process, there are steps that you can do to help yourself out.

Start with the basics. First, you need to make a budget for yourself to see what those numbers are. Second, you can find an app to install on your mobile devices or your desktop that can help you organize. Another way that you can get help crunching financial numbers is if you talk to specialists or lawyers, especially when it comes to things like taxes. In the end, to avoid different types of economic frustration, try to move in the direction of organization using small, manageable steps.

Make a Budget for Yourself

One of the first things that you should do to reduce your anxiety about financial numbers is to create a budget for yourself. If you want to start small, you can create a budget just for your groceries. Then, you can move up to a household budget. And from there, start putting in numbers to build a life budget.

Find an App To Help You Organize

Once you have this budget set up, the next step you should do is find an app to help you organize all of your finances. You can install fantastic budgeting apps on your phone or your desktop, and a lot of them are entirely free. Once you have a central account set up, it’s possible to get a real-time Birdseye view of your finances at any point, and you can use the trends in search factors to help you understand where your money is coming from and where it is going to.

Talk To Specialists and Lawyers

Especially when tax season is around, you may want to contact a tax lawyer to help you work with your numbers. If you own a business, contacting a professional is even more critical, because you don’t want to make any mistakes that would jeopardize your personal or business finances.

Get Better Using Small Steps

A lot of the frustration that comes with working with numbers is the fact that people try to do too much all at the same time. If you take simple steps to help organize your finances one at a time, you’ll find that you do a much better job of staying organized, understanding what you’re doing, and being able to maintain this sense of fiscal responsibility.

 

For just over 5 years now my good friend Tatiana Regan has been making a living online and has managed to forge a very nice lifestyle for herself. To be completely honest whilst the rest of us went off to start our careers after college Tatiana Regan was convinced that she wouldn’t join the rat race and so she started to explore ways ind hick she could make money on the internet. Tatiana struggled in the early years which I imagine is very normal but now she makes a very good living indeed. I want to talk to you about some of the ways that she makes her money online, if you want this lifestyle then perhaps you could do the same.

Online Surveys

Probably the most boring of her jobs but nonetheless one which has always paid is online surveys and Tatiana Regan has been filling them out since she very first started to try and make money online. Basically these surveys are paid for big businesses and governments in order to further understand their demographic. The surveys are put online by third party websites who will pay you a small amount for each survey completed. Tatiana never got rich from this of course but it always brought in enough money to keep things ticking over.

Writing

After trying for a long time to get stable clients Tatiana was able to gradually get clients who offered her writing gigs, a great way in which she was able to make money. Tatiana was writing for all kinds of clients across the internet, usually writing content for websites and online magazines. She found much of this work on freelance site Upwork and she used that platform to find clients who she could work with long term. The writing side of the business was how Tatiana was able to earn enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle and it also gave her the freedom to then launch her own business. For anyone who wants to carve out a living online, writing content is the very best place to start.

Drop Shipping

On the face of it drop shipping sounds too good to be true but as I have seen with Tatiana, it is a very real and very profitable way of running a business. Tatiana sells tech gadgets online and she has a beautiful website from which she sells the goods. The difference with most businesses however is that Tatiana never touches the goods, never sees the goods and never speaks with the clients. The reason for this is that once the order is processed it is handled by another company who deal with all of the shipping and customer service. Tatiana sells products for a higher price than she pays to this 3rd party and that is how she now makes her money. It sounds very simple in reality.

There are many ways in which you can make money online, you just need to give it a try like Tatiana did.