Financial Literacy Articles

Dear Donna Financial Advice Column #1 By Donna Leern(I am not a certified financial planner but a financial coach and I cannot offer any investment advice by law.) Q1—What do I do if I’m having trouble with my public assistance/human resources/welfare/food stamps (SNAP-Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) worker/ decisions? A1—Although I don’t advise people to try to use public assistance as a relatively permanent financial solution, I realize that sometimes many peop

Home loans make it possible for you to meet your goal of owning a home even when you do not have lump sum you need to do so at present. But, as a potential housing loan borrower, it is essential that you pay attention to EMIs, the most important aspect of loans. Home loan EMIs can become the most expensive monthly expense on your budget and hence, sound financial planning can enable you to pay your EMIs and take care of other financial needs without putting a strain on your p

I expect many of you are hearing about the events in Europe and wondering what the big deal is. There were 2 major events that happened in Europe last week, the French and Greek elections. The socialist parties gained major victories which signaled the end of austerity measures. This spells the end of Sarkozy, one of Germany's last allies. Bailouts are highly unpopular in the German mindset and Merkel already took massive criticism for the earlier bailouts that didn't include social program reform. Now that Sarkozy has lost, Germany will be alone in the austerity fight.

For the audio SBG-Cast, click here: http://tinyurl.com/48yhwek We’ve all watched in shock the news reports of the tragedy in Arizona, and this causes us once again to dig deep into our souls to search for meaning. Why would someone do this?

Words are extremely powerful. We all know that Proverbs 18:21 states, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (NIV). Our mouth plays an important part in our potential to improve our financial situation. You have the power to change the course of your financial situation. The real question is, how are you using that power and are you willing to change the course of your life if the present use of your power is misguided? The

http://tinyurl.com/What-Happened-to-Public-School Welcome to this SBG Cast on the Intellectual Path. You know, I have so many discussions with people about the sad situation in our public schools. Children are performing below accepted standards, SAT scores are declining, moral values are all but non-existent, and the optimism that once ruled America is being replaced with a deep pessimism and worry about the future. What is the cause of the problems in our schools today?

For the full SBG Cast, Click Here: http://tinyurl.com/24f4goq Hi, I’m Steve Beaman and welcome to this SBG Cast on the Financial Path. My friends, for many years now I’ve been recommending that folks just like you hold a small percent of their net worth in actual gold or silver coins. With the myriad of issues now going on in Washington, in State Capitals, and even in cities, I want to revisit this and offer you solid logic behind the acquisition of gold for a percentage of your assets.

It’s tax time again, and many business owners were crying in their green beer just a few weeks ago. Unlike employees at conventional jobs, entrepreneurs are acutely aware of the amount of money that they contribute in taxes, because they’re responsible for the cost of making all the calculations, as well as forking over the money directly out of their own pockets. This year the Supreme Court handed down the controversial decision that corporations are people, with all the

How to Control Your Assets through an Effective Estate Plan What is estate planning? It is planning (setting out a series of steps beforehand to accomplish a particular objective) your estate (the titling, control, and eventual transfer of all of your stuff to others). Estate planning is done by working out how your affairs will be handled when and if certain events occur such as disability, incapacitation or death. This is done by working out a plan and implementing it through various legal documents and processes. 1) To begin, one must have an updated last will and testam

Car repairs, medical bills and cash shortfall are all common problems. Financial emergencies can happen to anyone; no matter how financially prepared you are, sadly life doesn't always go according to our plan. Those “unexpected/unplanned expenses” are the reason many financial experts suggest keeping a few months of expenses tucked away in a savings account or invest in an easily accessible venture. rnEven if you can’t think of a scenario where you would need financial

For the full SBG-Cast, click here: http://tinyurl.com/2d9jgu6 Turn off the TV! That was a common sound heard in the households of anyone over about 45 years old when they were young. The fact is, prior generations were quick to turn off what they called the “idiot box”. What’s changed and how is it affecting our nation?

For the SBG Cast, Click Here: http://tinyurl.com/24yeqhnrnr

Individuals who are already behind their car payments need to take some serious actions now. If they get far enough behind, their vehicles will be repossessed eventually. And, needless to say, car repossession record can be a fairly devastating one in a number of ways. It neither leaves you with a vehicle nor does it get you out of your debts. If a lender sells the car, borrower may still be expected to pay the difference between the amount for what the car has been sold and loan balance.

Everyone will face at least a few major life crises, and many of these issues have a severe and detrimental impact on personal finances. For example, a serious illness can result in a mountain of medical expenses. The unexpected loss of a job may lead to the repossession of your car and the foreclosure of your home. If you are not prepared to navigate through these and other critical situations, you may easily feel immense financial stress. This stress may be avoided if you t

There are many first timers who believe that calculating income tax is all about numbers and that the process involves only a few simple mathematical calculations after which the amount payable to the Income Tax Department of India can be derived. However, the truth could not be any more different as the process of finding the exact income tax amount is a lot more complicated than this. This fact however should not scare away Assessees, as there is ready help available from a

Those who need to repair poor credit; there is certainly one type of credit card that may be used as a tool for credit restoration. It’s not your normal credit card however it can be used for payment anywhere credit cards are accepted. What kind of plastic payment are we talking about? Prepaid credit cards or debit cards are growing in popularity on the market today. For individuals that cannot get approved for a regular credit card, a prepaid card is an excellent alternati

Click here for the SBG Cast: http://tinyurl.com/256kqcg 2011 looks to be a interesting year on all of the paths which will put even more stress on the Emotional Path. The Financial Markets, the Political World, and all the others will create a need in America to have strong emotional foundations. I’m Steve Beaman and welcome to this week’s emotional path.

The website Energy Star estimates that the average home spends approximately $2,200 on energy bills each year. Residential electricity use by consumer electronic products accounts for around 15 % of your household electrical usage. Even when you’re VCR or DVD player, computer or printers and scanners are turned off, power is needed to keep the added little features such as the clock displays, remote controls and battery re-chargers going. This bonus features could be costin

From the time we are born we’re told that making mistakes is bad. When we’re young, we’re scolded for misbehaving. When we get older and start taking exams we are punished for getting the wrong answers and given a bad grade. Our society views good grades as success and you get good grades by not making mistakes. The problem with this is that we learn by doing and when we’re punished for making mistakes we can’t grow. We become afraid to do for fear of making the mistakes which we’ve been conditioned against.

What is a debt consolidation loan? How can a debt consolidation loan remove your credit card debt? A Debt Consolidation loan is a personal loan that lets you consolidate all your debts into a single payment. For instance, if you have four credit cards, you may be able to eliminate your credit card debt by acquiring a debt consolidation loan to settle the credit cards, so that you only have one fee each month, instead of four. “Debt consolidation: Loosely defined, it's the a

The push is on being green in everything we do and use. Today I would like to talk about being frugal with our water use in our homes. Let’s start with the kitchen. If you have a dishwasher, you will not only save money on water but the electric bill as well if you only do a full load of dishes. If you are single, just rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, thus preventing unpleasant odors while you are waiting to fill the dishwasher to its maximum capacit

The Kentucky Department of Insurance has recommended Anthem’s Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan as the ‘benchmark’ for Kentucky health insurance companies under federal health care reforms.

Investment fraud is as old as the world itself. From the day we stopped trading livestock and produce and began using money as a means of exchange, dishonest people have been trying to cheat and swindle it away. Though it is an old problem, recently Bemie Madoff and now (allegedly) Allen Stanford have brought it back to our attention in a big way. As an investment professional as well as a consumer, it's an outrage that both inexperienced and savvy investors alike get taken a

Financial Stress and Hardship The American public is diffusely under financial stress and hardship. More and more people are finding difficulty paying for things they once considered necessities. Steaks for dinner are giving way to dishes of macaroni and cheese. People are skipping lunches out at work by opting for a sandwich from home. People are cutting back from fancy TV cable options, and going back to basic service. Cell phones are being kept longer with fewer customers

For the audio SBG-Cast, click here: http://tinyurl.com/4tktmvp We’ve all heard the talk about the need to once again raise the Federal Debt Limit or the United States will go into default on its debt. What does this really mean and will our politicians raise the limit?

In a world where access to the internet is a necessity for both businesses and households, it can be surprising how much of the web’s potential is ignored. Some of the best things the internet offers us are discounts on just about any resource we invest in it; specifically, the internet allows us to spend less money on what we need and for us to shave time on tackling our chores and responsibilities. Below is a small sample of ways in which you can spend less time and money

So the Christmas season is upon us and we are in the mood for giving but with these economic times how can we give to others without creating a financial burden for ourselves? It is so easy to get caught up in the season and go impulse buying. The following tips are sure to help curve your appetite. First and foremost you need to know what you can afford to spend in total without going into debt and creating a worse financial situation for yourself. Increasing your present de

Do you have a big trip coming up this summer? Are you excited about traveling but nervous about the effect your vacation will have on your bank account? It is possible to have a great trip without spending the entire time feeling anxious about your finances. Just keep these eight tips for traveling on a budget in mind as you start preparing for your upcoming vacation. Planning Your Trip 1. Start Early The sooner you start looking for flights and accommodations, the easier itâ

According to a recent estimate, a Kentucky couple retiring in 30 years may need almost $500,000 for to pay for medical costs in retirement. There are many medical costs to plan for in retirement, including long-term care and Medicare premiums. The best way to prepare for retirement is with a Health Savings Account (HSA) compatible with a health insurance Kentucky plan. HAS funds can pay for retirement health expenses tax-free. What is a HSA compatible Kentucky health insurance plan? A KY health insurance plan which meets the following conditions is considered HSA-compatible:

Now a days applying for loan has become significantly easy. Every different loan has it’s own unique identity of being convenient for the borrower. But nothing is as comfortable as getting quick cash from the comfort of your home. Door step loans are way to help people, who might get help up for some important cause in their home and being in need of some quick financial solution, cannot make their way to the lender. In this type of loan, an agent from the lender will come

Payment facilitation is the process by which one entity, a master merchant, processes or facilitates payments on behalf of a base of sub merchants. While becoming a payment facilitator appears an obvious choice for SaaS businesses, there are factors to consider with respect to pursuing aggregation or facilitation. Each business profile is different and distinctives around levels of maturity, client profile type and cash flow should all be weighed. Here are the five key components that make payment facilitation a viable option:

I find extremely interesting post asking following question on my wall in facebook. That's, "Why People Pay Taxes While they can Simply print money out of thin air?" This is very great point... Everyone, I am talking about everybody have to at the very least look at the reason why this is actually the case. I've already my form of the answer to this particular question. In this blog, Let me reveal my opinion / reply to this extremely important question. In order for peopl

There’s nothing better than owning your own home. Not only is there a sense of pride in owning real estate but if you take care of it, there are few returns that can match it over the long term. For most people, their primary residence will fall under this category. If you don’t own a home, now is a good time to lock in low interest rate mortgages. Find a way to buy something even if it’s a one bedroom condo. Real estate is one of the most consistent performers over time and will always be in demand.

Looking for long term personal finance? This article is for individuals who wish to borrow money over the longest possible period. It is intended as a brief introduction to four different types of loan – personal loans, secured loans, mortgages and payday loans. By outlining the pros and cons of each type of finance it should give the reader some guidance as to which is best for them. It should not be taken as professional advice, and is relevant mostly to the United Kingdo

Say for instance that you have followed the advice given at the end of IRS Payment Plan Options: Installment Agreements. You have taken stock of your bills and income, have taken the balance due, divided it by 60, came up the minimum required monthly payment and find that the IRS’ minimum payment is more like your “no can do” payment. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t despair. First, congratulate yourself on the fact that you were proactive and not reactive. Now t

Human beings are obsessed with stories. From the very beginning of our existence, we have used stories to explain the way of the world and make sense of the environment around us. Even as we sleep, our addiction to stories manifests themselves as dreams. In the book The Storytelling Animal, Jonathan Gosthaldt, gives this need for stories the name “Homo Fictus.” In this book, he lays out a compelling argument that humans are nothing more than primates trapped in Neverland. Our

Loan pricing plays a vital role in the lender's asset/liability management program with these decisions having a direct effect on credit risk and earnings. Lenders must price their loans appropriately, ensuring that all costs are covered, risk is accounted for and managed, and sufficient capitalization is available for the lender's long-term viability. In addition, the pricing must also consider competitor rates as well as meet the borrower's needs. Like other competitive products, pricing requires a delicate balance between meeting organizational and borrower needs.

Since 2011 health insurance has been drastically changing. One thing that will be changing in 2014 are the options for buying Ohio health insurance. The new option will be, “buying through an exchange”. Buying through an exchange is going to be an option for those buying coverage on their own or for small companies purchasing insurance for their employees.

Clearly, a key conce on the Physical Path is our ability to maintain our weight, or even lose it. I’ve written about various exercise regimes, but today, I want to look at a very basic concept; metabolism. What is this, and why does it matter so much? How can I measure my base metabolism rate and how can I improve it? Hi, I’m Steve Beaman and welcome to the Physical Path.

For many people when it comes to moving house or making a long road trip that means borrowing a car or van from a friend. Making a long journey in a small car is no fun. Those tiny seats start to feel pretty thin after an hour or two of driving. Moving to a new flat at the end of a tenancy agreement is always a pain, more so without a van to move all that stuff. But if a mate can help out with a loan of a vehicle then that's taken care of. Or is it? Well not quite. Anyone bor

If your credit card debts are getting out of control then maybe you have considered ways to reduce credit card debt. There are a variety of debt relief options which include credit card debt settlement, credit card debt consolidation, and for the really hard up, there is of course bankruptcy. However there is a third path which, although lesser known, is nevertheless an effective debt relief strategy for some credit card debtors, and that is do-it-yourself credit card debt re

The 9th Law of Stewardship Hi, I’m Steve Beaman and welcome to this SBG Cast. We’re continuing on our Spiritual Path in the study of the 33 laws of Stewardship. Today, we’re looking at the 9th law; The Law of Eager Willingness.

To listen to the SBG Cast, click here: http://tinyurl.com/24dpuvu Most of us, 67% of Americans that is, were happy that Washington passed the extension of the tax rates for another two years. But what impact does this really have? Hi, I’m Steve Beaman and welcome to this SBG Cast on the Financial Path!

You don't need to be a millionaire to save money on taxes. You only need to have the know-how. Were you aware your taxes have a direct impact on every aspect of your money, for instance, how much you have to invest, where you should invest it and how much you save.

Owning a home is really a matter of freedom of choice. Whatever your age may be, in the heart of every homeowner burns an intense desire to own their home free and clear. Even if you are a retiree carrying forward your mortgage into retirement, the choice is entirely yours, though it might give way to unnecessary anxiety. When folks are nearing the age of retirement, the homeowner equation shifts in a way that the pensioners focus on getting rid of the mortgage which definite

Growing individual wealth always has to begin having a program, and the simpler the strategy is, the much better your chances will be of following via and creating it happen. Too several people commence out motivated to make a alter in their financial life, and have a super ambitious and overly complicated plan. The difficulty with this approach is that when issues begin to get a bit hectic (and in life, they do), a complex strategy is just too tough to stick with. So here's

A CFD (Contract for Difference) is a financial instrument which represents the activity of an asset. The investment mirrored commonly tends to be an underlying exchange-traded budgetary market, i.e. a reveal on the stock exchange, or a.asset on a stocks exchange.A CFD is an agreement between sharers to exchange the variation in price from the point a certain the.contract is opened; to the point, the agreement is closed. The contrasts in these prices are simply cashing money settled.

Are you worried about running out of cash in retirement? You are not the only one. Nearly half of the US population is conce ed about running out of cash in their retirement. Retirees can face financial emergencies where they need money to handle their unexpected expenses. Online Payday loans can help you meet all your financial obligations. Social Security recipients still qualify for payday loans, which account for many of the borrowers who are retired or disabled. Sometim

The new school season is quickly approaching and now is the time to put into practice those good stewardship skills and goal setting practices learnt in the past. Shopping this time of year can be overwhelming so the best thing to do is make a plan. The old saying applies here just as much as it does anywhere else in life – if you aren’t making a plan, you are planning to fail. You work hard for money so spend it wisely using the following tips: 1. Get your children invol

10 Aspects of Your US Expat Taxes You Need to Understand as an American living abroad The United States is one of the few countries that taxes citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where that income is earned and where they live. Greenback Expat Tax Services is here to help you make sense of the complicated rules associated with US Expat Taxes. This article focuses on the key areas of your US Expat Taxes that you need to be aware of. We run a weekly series focus