|
|
|
African Americans: A Look in the Mirror, Part 2
“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” James 1:23-24 The black community...
Creatively Speaking
Recently a friend was talking to me about her first experience in a store where you can paint your own pottery. She was excited and animated while talking about this experience, and explained how she wanted to be there everyday during lunch to...
Love's Most Overlooked Expression
I'll be the first to admit how totally clueless about women's needs, love and relationships most of us men can be. Sometimes women believe that we're just insensitive pigs, but the truth often is, we're just clueless about what she's talking about....
Self Esteem
Self Esteem, how does one find it, low self esteem, how
does one get it?
Esteem: (definition according to Websters Dictionary) to value,
appraise, estimate, to have great regard for; value highly;
favorable opinion, high regard…
To have...
Wedding Budgeting Tips
Your wedding dress:
Start shopping right away. You won't feel rushed or pressured into buying something, and you'll be able to shop smart.
Simple plain dresses are usually less expensive then the ones with lace, pearls/beads etc..
You...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Honey I can’t afford the kids
Sex has a lot to answer for … babies usually … which then with time and much financial investment grow up to be beautiful mutations of their parents. Yet as the family absorbs more money as it grows, the need for financial planning and protection becomes more important. So, where do you start and how do you move your finances forward?
First of all there are “The Considerations”:
* If surplus funds become available, could these be invested? If so, will you choose a medium or long term investment?
* Will you need an emergency fund?
* Will you need to save for short-term events such as Christmas, holidays and birthdays?
* Are you ready to save for a pension? Do you need to include your partner in a pension plan?
* How much financial planning do you want to do your children? For example, is private education an option or priority and do you want to start saving for university fees?
* How much borrowing will you need to do for buying a home and is it worth considering a mortgage payment protection plan?
* Is life insurance or life assurance worth considering as security for your partner and family?
* Do you need income protection insurance?
* Are all of your belongings and possessions adequately covered by household insurance?
Then there are “The Resources”:
* Have you taken advantage of all the family finance government initiatives involved? These include Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits, Child Trust Funds (CTFs) and the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme. Directgov is an excellent resource for information on public services (http://www.direct.gov.uk/Homepage/fs/en )
* Do you have the best possible deal on your finances? This includes your credit card, any secured or unsecured loans, your mortgage, remortgage and insurance. If you’re not sure, it’s not difficult to do some investigative homework. Moneyfacts ( http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk ) and Moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk ) are two popular sites for consumer research on financial products. If you live in the US, the website
Lowermybills may prove helpful (http://www.lowermybills.com/ ).
And that’s just when the kids are still young. Once they’re well established at school, you may wish to still evaluate the emergency fund, medical insurance and protecting your income against illness. The risks may change as the family develops so don’t think that financial planning is a one-off event. Keep these issues in mind as your funds change.
As you get older you may wish to consider writing your will and inheritance planning, planning for long-term care, protecting your capital, continuing your income should anything happen to your partner and even indulging your grandchildren. There are a variety of publications from companies such as Which? that can help you tackle what may seem like impossibly complicated tasks.
If you’re aware that one of the above issues needs to be tackled, don’t neglect the gut feeling. Ask around for financial advice, but be aware that you need to be the decision maker, so gather as much information as you can and then make an informed decision. If the advice is conflicting, accept that financial success may always be based a little on luck and risk, though nothing excuses thorough research and planning. Read the papers, surf the web and ask around: the information is accessible!
Resources:
http://www.moneynet.co.uk/ (Moneynet)
http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/ (Moneyfacts)
http://www.switchwithwhich.co.uk/ (Switchwithwhich)
http://www.direct.gov.uk/Homepage/fs/en (Direct Gov)
About the Author
About Rachel:
Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla: http://www.cashzilla.co.uk
Cashzilla is a personalfinanosaurus.
“Rachel” means sheep in Hebrew: “little lamb” or “one with purity”.
Cashzilla means financially savvy with great fiery ferocity.
|
|
|
|
|
| Kiplinger.com - Timely, Trusted Personal Finance Advice, Financial ... |
| Investing, personal finance, calculators and financial advice. |
| www.kiplinger.com |
|
| Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine - Your Guide to Making Money ... |
| Subscibe to Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine to help you manage your finances. Achieve your financial goals and objectives with help from our ... |
| www.kiplinger.com |
|
| Personal finance advice, news - CNNMoney |
| News & advice on retirement planning, college saving, taxes, mortgages, autos, real estate, investing and more from CNNMoney.com. |
| money.cnn.com |
|
| Business, financial, personal finance news - CNNMoney |
| Combines practical personal finance advice, calculators and investing tips with business news, stock quotes, and financial market coverage from the editors ... |
| money.cnn.com |
|
| Personal Finance, Personal Finances, and Financial Advice - Forbes.com |
| Personal Finance - Get financial advice and information from Forbes.com. |
| www.forbes.com |
|
| SmartMoney.com — Investing, Saving and Personal Finance |
| SmartMoney has daily stock and mutual fund recommendations, hourly market updates, personal finance investing research tools and advice, ... |
| www.smartmoney.com |
|
| Personal Finance Home (Personal Finance: Personal Finance ... |
| Links to articles covering a range of topics where monetary planning is or should be involved. |
| www.smartmoney.com |
|
| Personal Finance - Front Page |
| Read the details in Personal Finance this Saturday. Also in this weekend's edition:; You should take financial services companies' marketing material with a ... |
| www.persfin.co.za |
|
| Get stock quotes, market news, rates, and more - Netscape Money ... |
| Market News. • Market News. • News Search. Financial Planning. • Finance Calculators. • Saving for College. • Personal Finance ... |
| money.netscape.cnn.com |
|
| globeandmail.com: Personal Finance |
| Personal Finance. Home · National · British Columbia · Prairies · Ontario · Quebec · Atlantic · Politics · World · Americas · Europe · Asia-Pacific ... |
| www.theglobeandmail.com |
|
| Personal Finance - MSNBC.com |
| Answer Desk: Submit your question about personal finance or the world of business ... Personal Finance. • Learn more about RSS ... |
| www.msnbc.msn.com |
|
| Personal Finance Newsletter |
| 7600 Leesburg Pike, West Building Suite 300 • Falls Church, VA 22043 703-394-4931 (ph) • 703-905-8100 (fax) • personalfinance@kci-com.com ... |
| www.pfnewsletter.com |
|
| Personal Finance Advice - Personal Finance Management - Personal ... |
| Tips and stories for managing your personal finances. |
| www.marketwatch.com |
|
| CNBC.com: Personal Finance |
| Investing home page features investment tools like stock quotes, charts, a portfolio manager and much more. Plus market news and financial commentary from ... |
| moneycentral.msn.com |
|
| Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Business: Personal ... |
| Knowing retirement, health plans can help avert disaster · At one firm, financial crisis crushed 401(k)s, insurance · Personal finance news briefs ... |
| www.dallasnews.com |
|
| Morningstar: Personal Finance |
| Sharpen your personal finance and investing skills with Morningstar. Access articles covering stocks, mutual funds, bonds, retirement, 401(k)s and 529 plans ... |
| www.morningstar.com |
|
| Fool.com: Personal Finance |
| Personal Finance - The Motley Fool exists to educate, amuse, and enrich the individual investor; to prove to you that the best person to manage your money ... |
| www.fool.com |
|
| Fool.com: Investing, Stock Research, and Personal Finance |
| Expert advice on picking stocks, investing for retirement, and dealing with life's major personal finance decisions. |
| www.fool.com |
|
| Telegraph | Money |
| Market news from the Telegraph newspaper online. Includes money product finders. |
| www.telegraph.co.uk |
|
| Compare Prices and Read Reviews on Personal Finance at Epinions.com |
| Epinions has the best comparison shopping information on Personal Finance. Compare prices from across the web and read reviews from other consumers on ... |
| www.epinions.com |
|
|