Expert Savings Advice

Nothing quite matches the convenience of business credit cards. When you are looking for a good alternative to cash, checks, and personal credit cards, it is probably a business credit card you want. With credit-when-you-need-it convenience, savings and discounts on purchases, and extremely helpful reporting facilities, business credit cards can be a good tool in your financial management tool kit.

You will find it easier to get a business credit card than to open a business line of credit. For this reason, business credit cards can do a lot to help you ease your cash requirements even as you are still gearing up with office supplies and equipment. It can never be repeated too often: use business credit cards with caution and afford it the same respect you would afford any other business line of credit!

The ability to borrow money, whether from a business line of credit or from business credit cards, is something that you need for your business. Like business credit cards, the line of credit is a revolving credit, and both charge interest only on the balances that are left outstanding. The credit limit on business credit cards may be lower than on lines of credit, but both do have a predetermined ceiling. There are however a few differences between these two forms of business credit:

Cost
Business credit cards generally have higher annual percentage rates and lower credit limits, than lines of credit. When it comes to cost-effectiveness therefore, the commercial lines of credit will beat business credit cards anytime.

However, if you manage business credit cards wisely, you can maximize the 21 to 25 days grace period or float on purchases. When the statement comes and you pay off the entire balance, you will actually avoid paying any interest. The crux of the matter is that you get a 25-day interest free loan! Not badand only from business credit cards.

Convenience
Business credit cards may lose on cost, but they are miles ahead when it comes to convenience. If your checking account is running low and you need to buy some supplies, you no longer have to call the bank to transfer funds from your credit line. You could easily charge the whole transaction to your business credit card, get out of the store and back to running your business. Business credit cards also offer you the convenience of easy bookkeeping and quick cost analysis.

Whats more, business credit cards are heavily loaded with perks like frequent flyer miles, purchase protection and warranty extensions, discounts and cash backs on hotel stays, car rentals, gas purchases, and more. These business credit card incentives can be valuable to a business, not only for the sake of convenience but also for the cost savings that you get.

Business credit cards and lines of credit are two financial tools that you can use together. Business credit cards are perfect for very short-term borrowings were talking 30 days at the most. You should pay off the bulk of the balance when it falls due, to save on interest. You may want to carry 20% of the balance forward to the next month to make your business credit card issuer happy, otherwise theyre never going to earn any interest income from your business credit card account.

Lines of credit are perfect for larger purchases, particularly those that would exceed your business credit card limit, as well as for reserve funds when cash flow becomes irregular over a period. Lines of credit help you to shore up your working capital, such as payroll, paying off merchant credit and payables, or settling the quarterly taxes.

Best Money Market Account

When you are looking for a good safe way to invest your money you should look into a money market account. They are a great way to maximize your savings potential without any risk. Many people don’t understand the way money market accounts work and therefore they don’t know how to choose the best money market account for their financial situation.

What is a Money Market Account?
A money market account is an account that works like both a checking and savings account. They offer you the ability to earn a much higher rate of interest then a standard savings account. This is because you only have the ability to withdraw money from your account six times a month, this is standard and every financial institution has the same rules. You can either write a check or a debit card to access your money.
What to Look for in a Money Market Account

One of the first things you should find out when searching for the best money market account is if the financial institution that you are going to use is FDIC insured. This is basically saying that the federal government is insuring your money, so if your bank, for whatever reason, goes out of business your money is not lost, you will get it back.
Another important factor is monthly maintenance fees that some financial institutions have. Many of them will waive all monthly fees if you keep a certain minimum balance each month and if you look around, especially on the internet, you can find many of them that have no fees and have require no minimum balance requirements. This is especially helpful if you are just beginning to start saving, the last thing you need is having your savings eaten up by fees.

Opening balances vary from institution to institution. Almost every money market account has a minimum opening requirement. However, they run the gamut, many require only $50 to open an account but as you get the better interest rates you will often have higher opening balance requirements, in fact several of them get up to the $5,000 mark.

Where to Find the Best Money Market Accounts
Until recently the only place to open a money market account was to go to a local bank. With the internet becoming so prevalent in society, lending institutions have begun to use it to recruit new customers. Some of the best money market accounts are available by internet. They don’t have the high expensive of having lots of buildings to maintain so they are able to offer higher interest rates.

The only real difference between using an internet bank and a local branch is how you make your deposit, you will make your deposit two ways you can have your employer do a direct deposit or you can mail them a deposit. It is recommended that when you mail your deposits you send them certified.

Having a money market account is one of the best ways to save your money with no risks like stocks or bonds. You keep your money liquid and earn a great interest rated so take some time and find the best money market account for you and your financial circumstances.
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Banking and savings customer service and reputation forefront in decision-making.

52% of us have moved our savings because we were unhappy with customer service, according to the latest moneyfacts.co.uk user polls. 42% of us have avoided a particular account provider due to a friends bad experience.

With bank account providers, 46% of us have moved current account because of bad customer service and 45% have avoided a certain bank because of a friends bad experience.

Accessing our banking and savings via the internet is becoming increasingly popular but still many of us prefer to pick up the phone or visit a branch. Our finances are something that we need to take seriously and can cause a lot of stress. This means when we want to discuss them or need help, we need to be treated fairly and receive a good service.

Banks are continually being slated in the press for unfair charges and for things such as going overdrawn. This, along with hearing about people close to us having had a bad experience, would be enough to put many of us off choosing a certain account provider. However important good service is to us, we should still be aware of interest rates being offered by different providers.

The average rate of interest paid on current accounts is 1% gross on a balance of 1. However, current account best buy charts on moneyfacts.co.uk show that rates of over 4% can be earned on these accounts. Banking facilities should also be looked at when choosing your current account. For instance, is it important to have a branch near to you? Do you want to use internet banking?

As well as these things, if you use an overdraft on your current account it is wise to compare rates of interest on these. Moneyfacts research of overdrafts shows that some providers are charging EARs (Effective Annual Rates) on authorised overdrafts of over 20% and for unauthorised overdrafts over 30%. Again, best buy charts on moneyfacts.co.uk show that better deals are available with rates on authorised overdrafts as low as 0% (introductory) and unauthorised at under 6%.

Rates on savings accounts also vary greatly. On no notice accounts at 1,000 the average rate of interest is around 2%. The savings best buys charts show that rates of over 4.5% can be found. Again, account facilities should be considered.

Critical illness insurance:

Critical illness insurance will cover you in the event of a serious illness such as cancer, coronary artery by-pass surgery, heart attack, kidney failure, major organ transplant, multiple sclerosis and stroke. Additional conditions covered by this insurance can include aorta graft surgery, benign brain tumour, blindness, coma, deafness, heart valve replacement or repair, loss of limbs, loss of speech, motor neurone disease, paralysis/paraplegia, Parkinsons disease, terminal illness and third degree burns. Not all insurance companies will necessarily cover all of these illnesses, whilst some insurance companies will cover more; it is always worth reading the terms and conditions before you sign anything.

Critical illness insurance policies typically offer a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the above illnesses and meet the conditions outlined in the policy contract. The lump sum is most often used to cover the remainder of the mortgage, although can be spent on home alterations or medical care etc.

Life insurance:

Life insurance is usually taken out if your family or partner is financially dependent on your income. Life insurance can also be purchased as life assurance and in this form, can offer a method of protection cover and savings. However, most people simply use it as a form of financial protection for their mortgage and therefore their family. There are three main types of life insurance: term insurance, whole life insurance and endowment insurance. More information can be found on these forms of life insurance on the Association of British Insurers website, listed in the resources section of this article.

Mortgage life insurance:

Mortgage life insurance is essentially the same as a decreasing (lump-sum) term life insurance policy and is designed to pay out a lump sum upon the death of the policy holder, should it occur during the term of the mortgage. The size of the lump sum will decrease over the term of the life insurance policy, in the line with the outstanding mortgage repayments. E.g. As you pay off your mortgage, the amount of cover will decrease as the need is less significant.

Mortgage protection:

Mortgage protection, also called mortgage payment protection, is a type of insurance that can help protect mortgage payments and associated household costs in the event of unemployment, illness or an accident. Through mortgage payment protection, you can insure your monthly mortgage payment, monthly life premiums and the monthly cost of your buildings and content insurance. Typical mortgage protection cover could include:

* Unemployment and disability insurance cover

* Accident or sickness

* Unemployment only insurance cover

* Disability only insurance cover

Loan payment protection:

Loan payment protection policies are designed to protect the repayments to any loans you may have taken out. They work on a similar basis to mortgage payment protection, but for a wider scope of borrowing. Premiums for loan payment may be greater than those for mortgage protection.

Income protection:

In the event of unemployment, sickness or an accident, income protection insurance offers a limited income. Do make sure you understand the terms of the policy however, as the income that you received through cover may be significantly less than the income you receive through employment.

Private medical insurance:

Private medical insurance is a policy which will provide financial cover for medical treatment in the event of an acute condition. According to the Association of British Insurers, the majority of insurers define an acute condition as a disease, illness or injury that is likely to respond quickly to treatment which aims to return you to the state of health you were in, immediately before suffering the disease, illness or injury, or which leads to your full recovery.

Private medical insurance provides reassurance for people who know that treatment is available promptly should they become ill or injured.

Resources:

http://www.abi.org.uk/ The Association of British Insurers

http://www.moneynet.co.uk/insurance/index.shtml Consumer Insurance Comparison Research

http://www.moneynet.co.uk/home-car-travel-insurance-guide/index.shtml Insurance Guide

What types of annuities are available?

There are basically two types of annuities fixed and variable.

A fixed annuity earns an assured interest rate in a definite period of time. If the period of times expires, there will be a new interest rate for the next period.

Variable annuities have more funding options than fixed annuities since their performance depends on the option of investment of the principal and return vary.

What is a tax-deferred annuity?

Tax-deferred annuity allows you to not pay taxes until after you make a withdrawal or until you start receiving an annuity. Having a tax-deferred annuity permits you to collect a bigger amount of money over an extended period of time.

What is the difference between a fixed and variable annuity?

Fixed annuities are investments from government securities and corporate bonds. They are offered a fixed or guaranteed rate usually over a period of one to ten years. So, when you receive payments, the monthly release of funds is set to a fixed amount and already guaranteed. This type of investment is preferred by investors who value safety and stability of their money and for those retirees who want their money to be protected against the possible instabilities of the stock market.

Variable annuities allow you to put your investment into a variety of securities like money market securities and interest accounts offering fixed rates. Stock market performance will decide the annuitys value and the return of your money that you have invested. Though there is a great risk because of unprecedented movement of stocks in the market, some still consider investing in a variable annuity because they are comfortable of fluctuations in the market and get rid of their investment in static position.

What are deferred and immediate annuities?

A deferred annuity is a pay-out plan offered to investors who are willing to receive payments at some later date, commonly at the retirement of the investor. This type of pay-out is advantageous for long-term retirement plans for the following reasons:

Deferred income taxes payment until withdrawal of the money
No limits on yearly annuity contributions
Death benefits are readily available. If the investor dies before he collects his annuity, the beneficiaries get the amount you have put in plus investments earnings.

In an immediate annuity, the investor automatically begins to receive lump sum pay-outs immediately upon investing your money. Payments start usually a month after you have invested into the annuity. This offers financial security in a sense that you will receive income payments for the rest of your life. Also, this annuity permits you to:

Add your pay-outs received in your current income
Pay taxes on the portion of the annuity payments that are considered to be earning

Immediate annuities can be fixed or variable. Fixed immediate annuity payments are attached to the amount that you have contributed, your age, and the existing interest rate at the time you have purchased the annuity. These said payments are already fixed. Variable immediate annuities vary according to the type of investments you purchased.

What is a tax-sheltered annuity?

Tax-sheltered annuity is a retirement savings program limited to public educational institution employees and members of non-profit organizations. Contributions to a tax-sheltered annuity are made by the employers of the participating employee. These are deducted from the participants income payments and sent to the insurance agency or mutual fund guardian elected by the participant.

What is a lifetime annuity?

A lifetime annuity is a type of immediate annuity wherein upon investing you automatically receive guaranteed income payments for the rest of your life. The income you will receive from the lifetime annuity plan will depend on the amount of money you will invest and the existing rates at the time you made the investment.

Journal Communications (JRN) is comprised of seven essentially separate businesses: The Milwaukee Sentinel, Community Newspapers, Television Stations, Radio Stations, Telecommunications, Printing Services, and Direct Marketing. The companys five reportable segments do not exactly match these seven businesses; however, I believe an investor should analyze JRN on the basis of these seven businesses and their constituent properties, rather than as a single going concern with five reportable business segments. Additional reasons for this belief will be outlined below. For now, it is sufficient to say that if Journal Communications were to divide into seven separate public companies, the combined market value of those companies would be substantially greater than JRNs current enterprise value. Simply put, the sum of the parts would be valued more highly than the whole.

Journal Communications has an enterprise value of just under $1 billion. Pre-tax owners earnings are probably around $125 million. So, JRN trades at eight times pre-tax owners earnings. Thats cheap.

Journals effective tax rate is 40%. That is an unusually high rate. Journals media properties would likely generate more after-tax income under different ownership. The difference would be material; but, for anyone other than a highly leveraged buyer, tax savings would not be a primary consideration. When evaluating Journal as a going concern, it is perfectly appropriate to treat the full 40% tax burden as a reality. These taxes reduce owners earnings by $50 million.

With after-tax owners earnings of $75 million and an enterprise value of $1 billion, Journals owners earnings yield is 7.5%. Remember, this is the after-tax yield. The pre-tax yield is 12.5%. When evaluating a company, its best to use the pre-tax yield for purposes of comparison. Last I checked, the 30 year Treasury bond was yielding 4.63%. So, looking at JRNs current earnings alone, the stock appears to offer a large margin of safety.

This is especially true if you consider the fact that earnings yields offer more protection against inflation than bond yields. They dont offer perfect protection. But, with stocks, there is at least the possibility that nominal cash flows will increase along with inflation. The cash flows generated by bonds are fixed in nominal terms, and therefore offer no protection against inflation.

When evaluating a long-term investment, such as a stock, I do not use a discount rate of less than 8%. This reduces JRNs margin of safety considerably. Instead of being the difference between 12.5% and 4.63%, Journals margin of safety is the difference between 12.5% and 8%. Is such a margin of safety sufficient? Maybe.

When evaluating a prospective investment, I first look at the risk of a catastrophic loss. What is the magnitude? And what is the probability? For my purposes, a catastrophic loss is defined as any permanent loss of principal. The risk that Ive overvalued a business is always greater than my risk of catastrophic loss, because I insist upon a margin of safety. A catastrophic loss is one that wipes out the entire margin of safety.

I can make a bad investment without suffering a catastrophic loss. For instance, most mutual funds are bad investments, because they underperform alternatives. However, mutual funds do not usually carry a high risk of catastrophic loss. In fact, they generally have a low risk of catastrophic loss, because they are highly correlated to the overall market.

Its easiest to understand this concept if you think of valuing companies as being a lot like writing insurance. Even if reality exceeds your expectations in nine out of every ten cases, a terrible misjudgment in the tenth case can cause you great harm. It isnt just how many mistake you make. Its also how big they are.

Some stocks, like Google (GOOG), trade at prices that allow for catastrophic losses of considerable magnitude. Other stocks, like Journal Communications, trade at prices that only allow for very small losses to principal. However, there is also the matter of probability. How likely is it that a Google shareholder will suffer a catastrophic loss? I dont know. Im not even willing to hazard a guess.

In the case of Journal Communications, I am willing to stick my neck out.

I believe an investment in JRN carries a very low risk to principal considerably less than, say, an investment in the S&P 500. Why? Because Journal Communications is trading at a very modest owners earnings multiple. But, that isnt the only reason. You shouldnt look at Journal solely from a going concern perspective. JRN mainly consists of readily saleable properties. The assets backing shares JRN are quite substantial:

Publishing

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukees only major daily and Sunday newspaper. The Sunday edition has the highest penetration rate (72%) of any Sunday newspaper in the top 50 U.S. markets. The daily edition has the third highest penetration rate (49%) of any daily newspaper in the top 50 U.S. markets. The paper has a daily circulation of 240,000 and a Sunday circulation of 425,000.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also operates three websites. JSOnline.com and OnWisconsin.com generate advertising revenue. PackerInsider.com is a subscription based website.

Over the last three years, both daily circulation and Sunday circulation have decreased by about 1% annually. Full run advertising linage has also fallen by a similar amount; however, after accounting for increases in part run advertising and preprint pieces, it appears there has been no real decrease in total advertising.

The Journal Sentinel generates approximately $230 million in revenue. Advertising accounts for 80% of the Journal Sentinels revenue (the other 20% is circulation revenue). Advertising revenue is somewhat cyclical, and may currently be above normal levels.

Its difficult to value the Journal Sentinel, because JRN places the Journal Sentinel and its community newspapers under one reportable segment. Even if the numbers for the Journal Sentinel were broken out, I would have still have some difficulty coming up with an exact figure, because Im not an expert on newspapers.

Having said that, I cant see how the Journal Sentinel could be worth less than $250 million or more than $500 million. If I had to put a dollar figure on the Journal Sentinel, it would probably be in the 250 $300 million range. Id like to think this is a conservative estimate, but I dont know enough about newspapers to be sure. JRNs failure to break out the numbers for the Journal Sentinel apart from the community newspapers complicates the issue. However, I am quite confident the Journal Sentinel is worth no less than $250 million.

Its even more difficult to value JRNs Journal Community Publishing Group. It consists of 43 community newspapers, 41 shoppers, and 9 niche publications (automotive, boating, etc.). The group generates about $100 million in revenue. I cant value this group apart from the Journal Sentinel, because of the aforementioned lack of disclosure (combining the group with the Journal Sentinel for reporting purposes), my inability to find enough public information on community newspaper businesses, and other such factors.

The best I can do is offer an educated guess as to the combined value of JRNs publishing business. My best guess is that, taken together, the Journal Sentinel and the community newspapers are probably worth somewhere between $300 million and $500 million.

Broadcasting

Journal Communications owns 38 radio stations. The most important of which are: WTMJ-AM Milwaukee, KMXZ-FM Tucson, KFDI-FM Wichita, and KTTS FM Springfield (MO). All four of these stations are number one in their market. JRNs radio stations generate about $80 million in revenue.

Journal Communications owns seven television stations. Almost all of these stations are ranked as one of the top three in their market. Three are NBC affiliates, three are ABC affiliates, and one is a Fox affiliate. JRN owns two stations in Milwaukee, two in Idaho, one in California, one in Michigan, and one in Nevada. Journals TV stations generate about $90 million in revenue.

Again, its too hard for me to value JRNs TV stations and radio stations separately. Taken together, I believe theyre worth somewhere between $250 and $450 million.

Telecommunications

JRN owns a 3,800 mile network in the Great Lakes region. Norlight Telecommunications generates about $150 million in revenue. Im very hesitant to make any attempts to value this division, because I dont understand the telecom business well enough. Having said that, I dont see how it could be worth much less than $350 million.

Miscellaneous

I dont like the printing services and direct marketing business at all. I have no idea how to value them. They do have revenues though; so, they are probably worth something to someone. Revenues from these two businesses exceed $100 million, but they are not very profitable.

Real Estate

JRN owns a surprising amount of unencumbered real estate. For the most part, such properties are closely tied to one of JRNs operating businesses. As long as JRN continues as a going concern, much of the real estate could not be sold. Just to give you some idea of the extent of these properties, it appears JRN owns a little less than two million square feet much of which is in or around Milwaukee. I can not accurately value such real estate. As I said, much of it is closely tied to operating activities. However, buildings in urban areas can sometimes be converted to other uses.

It hardly matters though. Journal Communications is likely to remain a going concern for some time, and as long as it does, it is unlikely to dispose of such assets.

Valuation

So, what is JRN worth? Its hard to say. The current enterprise value is around $1 billion, which is clearly too low. My most conservative estimates for the publishing, broadcasting, and telecom businesses alone add up to $900 million. I think those are very conservative estimates. Using more reasonable estimates, I can not arrive at a value of less than $1.25 billion for JRNs constituent parts. This is true whether I perform an intrinsic value analysis on the entire company, or apply some sort of earnings, sales, or EBITDA multiple to each business separately.

Journal Communications is probably worth somewhere between $1.25 billion and $2 billion. Im quite pessimistic about the newspaper business; therefore, I would lean towards the $1.25 billion figure (which assumes slightly declining revenues). Any sort of revenue growth would dramatically change the valuation. If such growth will occur, JRN is extremely undervalued at these levels. However, Im not sure there will be any growth at all.

Journal Communications voting structure will probably discourage the best course of action: breaking up the company. JRN should spin off the community newspapers, the TV stations, the radio stations, and the telecom business. The printing services and direct marketing businesses should also be disposed of in some way. These are really very different businesses. There are few good reasons for keeping them together, and many good reasons for separating them.

Newspapers, radio, and TV all face different challenges. They need different managers who have complete control over capital allocation and who are compensated based on the performance of their business, not on the performance of a hodge-podge of various media properties. Breaking JRN up will make it easier to manage and will make it easier for current owners to dispose of their shares at more favorable prices should they wish to.

If these businesses traded as five or six different public companies, it is very unlikely their combined market cap would be less than $1 billion. It may not even be necessary for them to be publicly traded. There might be buyers for such properties, if JRNs properties were separated into common sense collections.

But, none of this is likely to happen. Employees control JRN (they maintain control through the ownership of shares with disproportionate voting rights). No one interested in shaking things up will take a stake in this company, because he would be unable to impose his will. I cant imagine management ever embarking on such a sweeping venture without some prodding from the outside.

JRN has almost no downside. Sadly, it doesnt seem to have a lot of upside either. There is a real danger investors will see their returns wither away as the time it takes to realize the value in Journal Communications proves costly. Time is the enemy of the investor who buys this kind of business at this kind of price.

Objectively, I have to admit JRN is undervalued. But, Im not sure its grossly undervalued and I am sure there are better long term investments.

Banking has never been easier than it is today. Online banking allows you to access your bank at any time of day or night. You can even do this dressed in your underwear if you like. And if you choose to do it that way, its just as well there are no lines to wait in for online banks.

1. Probably the first thing to consider with online banking is the convenience. You can access your bank via the Internet at any time of day or night, even while lying in bed if you like.

2. Transaction performed online are generally much cheaper than those done over the counter at a bank branch. You can pay bills, transfer cash, check balances, and much more for much less.

3. Online savings accounts is something worth considering. The interest rates are usually higher and the fees are lower than traditional bricks and mortar bank branches.

4. Your computer has convenient ways to help you remember your login details. But dont use the remember my password option if your computer suggests it. Keep your bank login details very safe and very secret.

5. Most online banks will allow you change your password. This is a very good idea and something you should do regularly. Of course, you must also remember your new password each time it is changed.

6. Logging on to your online bank is easy and very convenient. But after you have completed your business, remember to log out of your online bank again. This is especially important if you access your bank from a library, at work, or in a cyber caf.

7. Enjoy your online banking, but beware of any email you receive asking you to verify your bank details by clicking a link. The site may look authentic, but it will probably be a fake. Respectable banks dont ask anyone to verify details by email.

It is becoming increasingly popular to use a mortgage in lieu of a low-interest savings account. Is this a good idea?

The latest version is a home-equity line of credit that is used to buy a home. It is marketed as a way to pay down your mortgage faster than the traditional mortgage. But it only works at this if you use it correctly. It could be both good and bad that you can use the funds from the account whenever you want to. All you have to do is write a check.

It is basically an adjustable-rate home-equity credit line that is based on the value of the property. You make interest-only payments for the first 10 years. The balance is then fully amortized over the next 20 years. You will pay both the interest and the principal at this time.

If you go ahead and own the home for ten years, you could be facing amazing monthly payments. Your monthly payment could more than double on you. Yet, there is no negative amortization on this loan program. The interest is capped for five years and high-credit score borrowers are currently looking at a cap of 8% over the starting rate. In today’s world, the maximum the interest rate could hit is in the 14% range. Yet, after five years, the cap could revert to either 21% of the state’s usury.

This plan could work well for the dedicated purchaser who puts all extra money and bonuses into the mortgage account as payment on the balance. The interest is then lowered and the loan is paid off much faster. Most borrowers must have a score of over 660 to be approved.

Many advisors suggest the use of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with interest-only payments for the first ten years instead. Yes, the payment will go up after the inital ten years, but the interest rate won’t. The concern against the equity-line to purchase is that borrowers would simply write checks without thinking about the addition to their mortgage balance. Plus, the interest rate is adjustable — always a risk.

If you are considering an alternative loan program for the purchase of your home it is important that you sit down and do all of the necessary math. For example, you should calculate how high the payment could go due to rising interest rates on an adjustable rate mortgage. You should be able to afford the worst. If you can’t, you probably should look to a less expensive home.

If you only plan on living in a home for three to five years, a loan in which the interest is fixed for five years is perfect for you. You get the lower rate, but you have to be sure that you are going to want to move in the time period. It still remains that the best long-term bet for a mortgage is the 15-year fixed rate mortgage. You pay less interest and build equity faster.

Other new trends to watch for in the marketplace include mortgages that can be automatically converted into reverse mortgages and longer fixed-rate term mortgages.

Too often we get caught up in our lives to worry about finances. The problem is that finances are in many cases why our lives are so hectic. This phenomenon is all too common. I say “we” because I face the very same difficulties – even though I am a financial advisor.

I like most people would like to live a life where someone else did the things around the house and at the office that I don’t want to do, I would like to be able to spend time at an emotionally meaningful and challenging profession, I would like to spend time with my wife and kids, and I would like some down time to do whatever I opt to do.

Given these financial goals I often wonder what I (and my clients) are doing to work towards those goals. I (and most of my clients) spend a lot of time around the house and office doing things I (we) don’t want to do. I find excuses for not hiring someone to do those things.

Instead of focusing my energies at work on things that are emotionally meaningful (such as stewarding money towards charitable causes) and challenging (such as structuring complex partnership agreements), I tend to spend my days pushing paperwork and setting up accounts. Yet, I have spent very little time thinking about how to remedy this situation. When I start thinking about these issues, I often make excuses (such as “if I want it done right, I have to do it myself”).

I spend a lot of hours in the office and even when I am at home I end up doing tasks that are away from my wife and children (such as mowing the lawn or repairing a leaky faucet). I could easily hire this type of work out, but somehow I always end up just doing it myself.

I have a lot of interests, such as coaching my son’s soccer team, reading classic literature (especially 18th century thrillers), and restoring old run down Volvos. Other than the coaching, I never seem to find time to do these things that I enjoy.

At this point you might be thinking, “so what does that have to do with finances?” The answer is that it has everything to do with finances. Each decision is predicated on either earning more money or spending less money. That is the rub. The dirty secret that is all too taboo in our society. Money, if used properly, can in fact make your life better.

In all of the financial advice I give my clients, one message remains the same: your money is your happiness. Secure your money and you will secure your life. Of course this advice means different things to different people. The “do-it-yourselfer” may read this to mean that they should be frugal and save every penny, to have a brighter tomorrow. The “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” kind of person might read it to mean that they should spend everything to have a brighter today.

Luckily they are both right. Each individual can and should examine what is important to them. They should set out (I mean by actually writing it down) a plan in light of what is important to them. They should take steps over time to fully implement that plan and they should review the plan periodically to ensure that they are still pursuing goals that are important to them. This is what I teach clients and this is what I try to implement in my own life.

I spend more time at home with my family and I hire rather than do some things myself. In short I force myself to do what is not what I would normally do. After exploring my (and my wife’s) goals, that was what was important to us. Having made a lot of progress towards these goals, I can tell you that my life is a thousand times better today than when I started. I fully expect it to be a thousand times greater in the future.

This is what true financial planning is all about. If you have not explored your goals, I urge you to do so now. If you haven’t met with a financial professional to discuss your goals, I urge you to do so today. Once you start making progress towards your goals, you will wonder why you didn’t do so sooner.

Little Steps Can Add Up To Big Savings At The Pump

Everyone is looking for ways to reduce “gas pains” from high fuel costs. There are some easy things you can do to put yourself on the road to gas economy.

• Light on the Pedal-Ease on the accelerator when you start from a red light. Your car will run leaner and won’t use as much gas. On the highway, run about five miles under the posted speed limit to save.

• Crank the A/C-It used to be true that not using the air-conditioning (A/C) in warmer months would save on fuel economy. That’s not true anymore. With the aerodynamics of today’s vehicles, by turning off the A/C the resistance created by the wind causes more drag on the vehicle when the windows are rolled down.

• Use the Right Fuel-Never use a higher octane gasoline than your engine needs. It’s like trying to put 16 ounces of fluid into a 12 ounce glass. Use the right octane and you can save about a dime or more per gallon at each fill-up.

• Keep Up the Pressure-Make sure you have the correct pressure in each of your tires. With too little air in the tires, the friction that it takes to roll the car is much greater, thus reducing fuel economy.

• Keep It Clean-Keep your engine clean of debris by changing its oil and fuel filter.

• Get It In Gear-Most modern transmissions are electronically operated by controllers. Transmission fluid that’s broken down may keep your car from going into its highest gear. Have the transmission fluid changed in the 36,000 to 50,000 mile range.

• Stir It Up-There are lots of different gadgets on the market that claim to increase fuel economy. In all of our testing, we have virtually found no improvement in anything, with one exception. It is a device called Tornado that’s put into the air intake, closest to the throttle plate, and stimulates the air to get it really turbulent. That causes a good fuel atomization within the engine itself that caused an increase in fuel economy in the applications we tested by an average of one to two miles per gallon.

With gas prices over $2 and approaching the $3 mark, if you can save one or two miles per gallon every time you fill up, that can translate to about $300 or $400 of savings per year under normal driving conditions. I think everybody’s interested in that.