Many Businesses Will Automatically Reduce Their Payroll Expense When They Have To Increase The Profit Line

Category: Finance, Financial Planning.

The report card for any business is its profit and loss statement and in order for the business to succeed, profit is determined by two categories, income and expenses. Some businesses make the mistake when they are reducing their expenses of eliminating costs in some of the wrong areas.

As all business owners know it is easier to adjust expenses than it is to increase income but for profits to show a significant rise, income should go up while expenses go down. Typically, one of the biggest items on any business expense sheet is payroll, often times making up 60 percent or more of the businesss expense line. This may be a short term solution but it can cause long term ramifications. Many businesses will automatically reduce their payroll expense when they have to increase the profit line. When a business has to layoff employees due to the lack of business, the employee suffers personally and the business suffers because the remaining employees have to pick up the slack. Businesses are advised that while it may provide the quickest reduction in expenses, cutting payroll should only be the last resort. Cutting an employees pay typically is never discussed, as this will not only ruin relations with that employee it can affect the morale of everyone else on staff.

There are going to be several line items in the controllable expanse account that can trim some debits off the account before sending people home. Even if you do not have the money to go out and buy energy saving light bulbs and appliances provided in the business, there are some ways to trim a few cents a day off the utility cost. Consider utility costs, as electricity and, for example natural gas prices have risen significantly over the past few years. If you have unused areas in your facility, only provide enough heat to protect anything in the room and then close it down. Maintaining your facility for the comfort of yourself, your employees and customers if applicable can help improve morale and the customer experience, but if you are closed at night, turn the thermostat down. Make sure all the lights are turned off in every unused room and keep watch for light bulb sizes that can drink electricity like water which are not necessary. If you can find it in your budget, buy and install a computer operated thermostat and set it to a lower temperature when no one will be in the building and turn it back up before opening the next day.

Use it when it is needed, but turn it off when it is not. Use the same common sense with the air conditioning. Your business rent is probably a fixed amount with little room for improvement, but utilities can save a little and office equipment and supplies can eat up cash that you might be able to use to avoid layoffs. Ordering from a catalog and having all your stuff delivered to the door may be convenient, but it is also going to be expensive.

Maybe You Are An Expert On" Green" Funds

Category: Finance, Financial Planning.

How are you marketing your financial business, when financial advisers are commodities? We all sell them for the same price.

We all sell the same products. We all offer our clients good service. So how do we get a prospect to choose us over someone else? We all have a good handle on how to help our clients best. How to Get Prospects to Choose You. All the way up to 2002, pomegranates were rarely eaten in the US.

Well, we can all take a great lesson from how billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick marketed over hundred acres of unwanted pomegranates. Less than one in 20 had ever bought a pomegranate, and most of those people use them for decorations instead of eating them. They had lots of a fruit that very few people wanted. So the Resnick s had a problem. So what did they do? Five years ago, they began selling their pomegranates as juice in unique double bulb bottles, at four dollars a bottle. They created a fantastic USP.

It was a smash hit! How? They took a fruit from utter obscurity to charging four dollars a bottle and have people buying it by the case. They simply did their homework. I don t know if you ve tasted it, but the stuff is awful. They framed the pomegranate juice as the healthiest drink available to the US public.

The Resnick s flooded the market with information about how healthy pomegranate juice was. You name it. It cures heart disease, ED and more. Pomegranate cured it. So what can you learn from this example? It became the new, must have" super food" . Go out and give advice that is the completely opposite of what everyone else is providing in your industry?

Unfortunately, that is probably not an option. Yes, if you can. The advice the financial industry gives, is generally very good advice. All fruits are good for you. But let s think about this for a second. You can find the" super food" characteristics in any type of fruit. So, here s what you should be doing now.

All the Resnicks did with pomegranate, was showcase pomegranate s particular attributes, versus trying to be the" me too" of fruits. How to Find Your Unique Selling Proposition. Maybe you are an expert on" green" funds. You need to find the thing that makes you better than your competitors. Maybe you re an expert on the stocks of companies run by women. Maybe you are an expert on the retirement plans of a large corporation in your city.

Maybe you understand the need for financial planning for families with special needs. Maybe you re an expert on Medicare part D. You may not require a whole heck of a lot more research than you ve already done. There s a high likelihood, you are already an expert on a particular topic. Sit down and figure out what it is that you know more about, than your competition. Write articles and submit them to targeted print and online publication. It doesn t matter what it is, just become an expert. 3 Ways to Become an Expert and Gain Instant Celebrity Status.

For submitting articles to the top websites, ezines and article directories, I recommend using PR Leads Article Marketing Experts. BroadcastYourArticles. com. They also have a great A to Z product that will teach you how to write articles at www. Issue press releases to your local paper, radio and TV stations. Make sure groups that may be interested in your expertise know that you and your expertise exists. You can also submit press releases online using services like PublicRelationsSoftware. com.

By being the expert on any issue, you tell your prospects that you are different from your competition. Your Next Steps. You give both your clients and prospects something to hold onto, a handhold that describes who you are as a financial planner. Take a hard look at your practice and ask yourself the question, "Why would someone work with me, versus my competitor? " If you don t have a very specific answer to this question, you are doomed to mediocrity. You re always going to be spending money on marketing. You are always going to be looking for your next client.

You re always going to be losing some of your clients to competitors. When you are an expert people seek you out, rather than you endlessly seeking them out. The only way off, the gerbil wheel is to become an expert. Don t you think, it s time to make yourself into an expert so you can lock- in your difference and bury your competition?

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However, If You Decide To Quit Your Policy, Your Cash Value Can Be Paid In Cash Or Paid Up Insurance - Finance and Financial Planning:

Whole life insurance, also known as cash value insurance is a basic and consistent type of permanent life insurance which remains in effect your entire life at a level premium. A portion of your premium goes into a reserve fund called cash value that builds up over the years your policy is in affect.

A Credit Card Interest Calculator Will Make This Step Easier - Michele Strandberg's Finance and Financial Planning blog:

Bad credit card debt can make your life miserable with worry and telephone calls from collectors.

There Are Two Negative Reactions To The Sudden Shift Of Lifestyle In Retirement

Category: Finance, Financial Planning.

Then when the kids get there and see that Mickey Mouse is a guy in a suit and that the rides are about the same as the local Six Flags, an inevitable let down and disappointment sets in. But sometimes even adults can be guilty of letting dreams and images of a golden time ahead get the best of us.

And that is no fun for the parents on the trip home when all of those expectations did not come to pass when the kids came face to face with reality which did not line up with their dreams and hopes. We often develop a mythology of how retirement will be when we get there and when that retired life actually starts, there are some real, down to earth adjustments that need to be made. There are two negative reactions to the sudden shift of lifestyle in retirement. So if you can know some of the hidden dangers of retirement in advance, it is so much better to go into retirement with your eyes open and have realistic expectations. They are loneliness and boredom. For men especially the feeling of boredom can also set in pretty fast when the challenge of the work world goes away.

Even if you are going to be home all the time, there is no question that once you stop going to an office or having regular responsibilities, you can often feel a sense of loss and grief because you miss the people, the regular human contact and the fun of being out and that can result in loneliness that can get pretty chronic. In a lot of cases, men live for their jobs and when that world goes away, there is a sense of disorientation and not knowing what to do with themselves that is disconcerting for the family and for the retired man himself. Both of these problems can be addressed by not letting your retirement life be to idle, at least not at first. You may have been looking forward to a less stressful life only to find that it was the stress that makes you tick and without it, you feel adrift in life with no direction or goals. You can fill your life up with volunteering, getting busy with family or by getting involved socially with other retired people. Both retired married partners can find ways to pitch in and it gets you out with people doing things that are worthwhile. One area of volunteering that can go a long way to replace the gratification of the work place is to work with habitat for humanity to help build homes for people who cannot afford a home any other way.

Give yourself time to get used to the idea of retirement and to the new lifestyle. Be aware that if you and your spouse are suddenly around each other every day and every hour of the day, that is going to create new stresses which can also qualify as a hidden danger of retirement. It should be a simpler lifestyle because your responsibilities are reduced and you have more time on your hands. By being aware that this is not the fault of either spouse but a natural reaction. There will be a natural down time when you first retire and treat the first month like vacation. The best response is just to get out and do things separately and create that natural space you are both used to more often.

But do not stay on vacation. It will be fun and exciting to see where it takes you and that is what retirement is all about. Let your ambition and zeal for life find new outlets.

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Once You See What You Want, You Can Even Buy It Over The Internet - James Geraghty about Finance and Financial Planning:

Throughout the ages, people of all races have desired, luxury, and searched for. The desire for luxury is entirely natural, and people have found hundreds of different ways to pursue it.

Like Traditional Mutual Funds, ETFs Contain Many Securities, Or Stocks And Bonds - Finance and Financial Planning Articles:

Mutual funds are a traditional component of most investors portfolios, but exchanged traded funds, have been gaining, or ETFs popularity over the past decade as well. The security, as well as the traditional aspect of mutual funds, and their stable reputation, still carry a, however wide appeal for many investors.

These Will Only Give Back A Small Amount Of Interest - Monique Lansford's Finance and Financial Planning blog:

Few families pass on actual knowledge about wealth building to their children.

Step 3: Check Your Insurance Needs

Category: Finance, Financial Planning.

With the beginning of a new year, it seems everywhere you turn you hear something about self- improvement. What about your finances?

There are plans for weight loss, quitting smoking, exercise regimens, going green and more. Even if you think your finances are in" good shape" , everyone could use a little" tune up" to make sure everything is running smoothly. There are some very simple steps you can take that can make a world of difference. And it s not as hard to do as you think. Step 1: Check your beneficiaries. all of them. Assets with beneficiaries include life insurance policies, retirement accounts and annuities.

A beneficiary is simply who will receive a given asset when you die. Even bank and brokerage accounts have a feature called P. D. or T. Many people forget who they listed as beneficiaries, and when they check, are often shocked to find ex- spouses, deceased relatives or estranged family members listed. D. , which stands for payable( or transfer) on death. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor and make sure your beneficiaries reflect your current wishes.

If you don t have any plan in place for distributing your assets at your death, by all means put one in place now. Step 2: Check your Living Trust and/ or Will. If you have a plan, make sure it s up to date. For instance, have you purchased a vehicle recently, or maybe a vacation home or time share? One of the biggest mistakes those with Living Trusts make is forgetting to keep all their assets in their trust. Made any new investments? Whether you have a Living Trust or a will, be sure there aren t changes you need to make.

If so, be sure they are registered under the name of your trust. Perhaps you have new grandchildren or there has been a divorce in the family. Powers of Attorney might not be up to date. Your designated executor might no longer be the one you desire. Step 3: Check your insurance needs. If you ve recently been blessed with children and/ or your once income- earning spouse is now home with the kids, you might need increased income replacement.

Our needs change through life and our insurance needs change along with it. On the other hand, if you re newly retired, you might not need as much life insurance as before. Liability coverage might need to increase. You might need more homeowner s insurance if you ve built an addition or have valuable belongings. Your auto insurance might have little uninsured motorist coverage. By raising your deductibles on your home, car and health insurance, you might be able to save some serious dollars.

Step 4: Check your insurance deductibles. And don t be afraid to shop around for better rates. Step 5: Tune up your company retirement plans. With the internet, getting insurance quotes is easier than ever. Are you putting all you can into your 401( k) , 403( b) , etc. ? You should also review and update your portfolio allocation. Are there any company- matching funds you aren t benefiting from?

Is it all in company stock? (Not a good idea! ) Are your funds allocated too conservatively or too aggressively? Step 6: Tune up investment portfolio. And don t forget to check out those beneficiaries while you re at it. The economic climate this year will probably be considerably different than last year. Depending on your needs and your tolerance level you may need to move more money to international or more money out of the markets and into fixed. That means that you may need to adjust how your portfolio is allocated.

Asset allocation isn t something that you want to set and forget. For instance, if you are recently widowed and your spouse handled the finances, maybe you want to enlist the help of one of your adult children. You may also want to consider who you need to share your financial and estate plans with. If you ve named someone as your successor trustee or your medical power of attorney, you might want to discuss your desires. And while our new weight- loss diets might be hard to maintain over time, these financial tune- up steps usually only need to be done once a year. These are by no means the only ways to tune up your finances, but doing even just one of them can make a positive impact.

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Brokerage Houses Generally Have Subprime And Private Equity Exposure, As Discussed Above - Finance and Financial Planning Articles:

The stock market is gyrating like a yoyo, and with each down stroke it s heading lower.

Be Careful With Your Money - Finance and Financial Planning:

Ten dollars is ten dollars. Not really.

Their Attorney Was A Generalist - Finance and Financial Planning Articles:

Ned almost lost the farm that had been in his family for 8 generations! Make sure you don t make the same mistake Ned did.

The Financial Statement Summarizes A Company S Assets

Category: Finance, Financial Planning.

Accounting has been defined as, by Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan William A Paton as having one basic function: "facilitating the administration of economic activity. And 2) communicating the results of this process to interested parties. " As an example, a company s accountants periodically measure the profit and loss for a month, a quarter or a fiscal year and publish these results in a statement of profit and loss that s called an income statement.

This function has two closely related phases: 1) measuring and arraying economic data. These statements include elements such as accounts receivable( what s owed to the company) and accounts payable( what the company owes) . This at the higher levels of accounting and in the organization. It can also get pretty complicated with subjects like retained earnings and accelerated depreciation. Much of accounting though, is also concerned with basic bookkeeping. Every bill paid, every dollar and, every dime owed cent spent and accumulated.

This is the process that records every transaction. But the owners of the company, which can be individual owners or millions of shareholders are most concerned with the summaries of these transactions, contained in the financial statement. A value of an asset is what it cost when it was first acquired. The financial statement summarizes a company s assets. The financial statement also records what the sources of the assets were. Profits are also an asset of the business. Some assets are in the form of loans that have to be paid back.

In what s called double- entry bookkeeping, the liabilities are also summarized. The management of these two elements is the essence of accounting. Obviously, a company wants to show a higher amount of assets to offset the liabilities and show a profit. There is a system for doing this. The result would be chaos! Not every company or individual can devise their own systems for accounting.

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The Way In Which Asset Allocation Dovetails With Ancient Wisdom Is That It Turns Our Focus Inward Rather Than Outward - Graciela Dino about Finance and Financial Planning:

Advances in investment theory have dovetailed nicely with ancient wisdom to present investors with a new and exciting paradigm for investing. Markowitz.

Do Not Rely On Brokers Words

Category: Finance, Financial Planning.

Forex trading broker is a person assisting you to trade in foreign currencies and accountable to give all relevant market information. Forex trading brokers are normally regulated by government.

It is not obligatory to have a forex broker, but in order to trade efficiently you will need one. Only a regulated broker will make sure reliability and flexibility of your trade. Some brokers in the present day ask for the a small percentage from your bid/ ask spread, those brokers do not have commission or fees system. These Forex brokers work on the commission or charge basis. An individual may be interested in executing their trade without the help of forex broker, but a normal trader with less market information, putting an effort to trade in online forex market is simple like chasing a grizzly bear with bisque spoon. These forex brokers are not centralized unlike other kinds of trading.

As the market is competitive, your chance of success will be low with our adequate broker. In fact you will come across thousands of broker that put their own currency spreads, margins and prices. It is 24 hour market and you might not be able to handle it alone. If you want to deal with online forex trading market, it is must to have a forex broker. Your forex broker will offer you 24 hour support. It is understood that choosing a forex broker is indispensable, but be careful while choosing one. It is simple- you may carry out trade at 4am in the morning, but that might be the time of good trading and he may support you simultaneously.

Do not be in a hurry, check out few options around. There are few factors to be considered when choosing forex broker and they are as followed: Consider broker only with the required qualification. It is good to have a demo account opened at first to confirm on the working of forex broker and foreign exchange market as well. Do not forget to check all his degrees well in advance. Choose forex broker that offers low spread trade, as broker charge their fee depends upon the spread so better to have broker with lower spread. In you are in United States then avoid not registered broker. Good to go with fixed spreads.

Broker must have up- to- date information on the market structure and should be willing to work with on the flexible timing. Ask the broker if he is willing to provide technical comments, and able to, financial calendar do market research. Must have complete knowledge about margin and spreads- go with some experienced person. So with low leverage you will have low risk in this market. Go with the brokers that offer lower leverages, it is the amount of bucks that he would lend you to trade forex. How much margin is he willing to offer you?

Check out the client history and evidence. Do a careful research of the broker, avoid if he is involved in any blacklist or other delegations. Have a complete talk on the commission system, better to have a written agreement. Your forex broker must know the rules and regulation of the government. Must have good reputation within the forex industry. Ask all the questions well in advance if you have any to avoid frauds. Best is to go with the references, check out with your office colleagues or friends and relative if they know some honest forex trading broker.

Do some of the paper work and research how your broker works in the running market. Do not rely on brokers words. Ask for the references where he has by now worked.

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One Spouse Cannot Make Financial Decisions For The Other Spouse - Dianna Pouncy's Finance and Financial Planning blog:

Are you a gambler?

Also, Your Joint Tenancy With Another Person May Prevent Your Children From Inheriting Such Joint Assets - Finance and Financial Planning:

If you are a woman, and have assets, are financially secure that you expect to pass on to people you love and care for, you must make a suitable estate plan.

This Is How You Can Find The Best Estate- Planning Attorney For Your Family - Finance and Financial Planning Articles:

Finding a good estate- planning attorney is vital for the success of your estate plan.

That Problem Was With Jim

Category: Finance, Financial Planning.

When people inherit money, they face unique challenges. On the financial side, the inheritor must learn how to preserve and grow his or her wealth.

These challenges generally come under two distinct categories: financial and emotional. On the emotional side, the inheritor must learn how to keep his or her life on track, deal with friends and family s reactions to the inheritance and manage with the impact of money on one s life. Jim grew up as an only child in a wealthy family. Inheriting money is often a mixed blessing, but with good support and consultation, inheritors can create a workable and balanced approach: being smart about the money while good care of themselves. On his father s side, the family had been landowners in California s Sacramento Valley for four generations. Jim s father was an influential attorney. The family had multiple real estate holdings throughout Northern California.

He represented wealthy, landed interests in his community. There was only one problem with this well laid plan for Jim s life. The expectations of Jim s family were that Jim would either go into law or business and take control of the family s holdings. That problem was with Jim. As a teenager, Jim discovered that he had a gift for music. His interests were not with the family business at all.

He started with the piano at age 12, and he never looked back. When he finished high school, Jim moved to Los Angeles, and began a career in music. He devoted himself to the piano, songwriting and to, to singing performing. Jim s dad was not happy with this turn of events. They fought about it frequently. Not only did he think his son s choice of career was trivial, he considered it a slap in the face that his oldest son would turn away from the family business. The rift between them only deepened when at age 25, Jim came out to his father and introduced his male partner to the family.

At age 25, Jim came into a large inheritance per the terms of the trust. The bulk of the family money was in a trust created by Jim s grandfather many years ago. At this point, Jim called on a consultant to help him deal with his relationship with his Dad. His goals for consultation were to: 1) Sort through his own feelings about his relationship with his father. 2) Work through a negative self- image and low self- esteem that had developed in relation to his Dad. 3) Work through his feelings about his inheritance and his new status as a" moneyed" person. 4) Invest his newly inherited money wisely. 5) Become better informed about how to deal with money. Jim asked that his father attend the consultation, so Jim came, but he declined to the consultant on his own. The consultation began with the psychological issues. Jim developed new insights and understandings about his Dad.

They worked on Jim s relationship with his dad. He came to understand some of the pressures his Dad was under and developed a more compassionate understanding of his Dad and his Dad s approach to money. Jim found that he had internalized a lot of his father s negativity about who he is in the world. The next step was working on Jim s relationship to himself. While the father considered music a frivolous pursuit, Jim learned how to deeply value his own commitment to music. Learning to separate his father s attitudes from how he sees himself helped Jim to feel more comfortable in his own skin. While his father was prejudiced and closed minded about Jim being gay, Jim learned to see himself in a healthy and positive light.

Having sorted through many of the relationship dynamics with his Dad, dealing with the money issues became much less loaded for Jim. While at first it had felt like a terrible weight and burden, he began to really think about how the money could support him in developing himself further and in living more authentically. He started with unpacking the meaning in his life of having this family money handed down to him. He decided to invest in himself by going back to school for a degree in music composition. Although this was rocky going for a time in the relationship, they sorted the financial issues in the relationship out in a way that felt good to both of them. He also sorted through some issues with his partner Dan, explaining to Dan that he was not going to support him financially even though he now had the means to do so. The next issue he dealt with in consultation was implementing a financial plan.

His financial planner helped him find a CPA who helped him reduce his taxes. Now that Jim was responsible for a large sum of money, he worked out an asset allocation with his financial advisor that was designed for both growth and income. He met with an estate- planning attorney who helped Jim deal with plans for his estate and leaving a bequest for Dan. He did this by taking the inheritance issues seriously, and tackling head on both the psychological and financial issues involved. Jim succeeded in using his inheritance to create a more balanced and rich life for himself. He now feels that the inheritance was more than just a financial gift, it also provided a catalyst to help him grow and develop himself in many ways.

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You May Still Be Subject To State Gift Taxes - Finance and Financial Planning Articles:

Doris from Minnesota is considering transferring her assets to her son so they won t be lost to Medicaid should she need assisted- living or nursing home care. One of the greatest financial risks seniors face is the rising cost of healthcare, including the cost of custodial care in an assisted- living facility or nursing home.

Communicate The Fund Raising Idea - Finance and Financial Planning:

In the next few minutes, you are going to learn the steps to implement a fund raising idea that can raise significant cash within a very short time frame.

Their Attorney Was A Generalist - Tara Mayne about Finance and Financial Planning:

Ned almost lost the farm that had been in his family for 8 generations! Make sure you don t make the same mistake Ned did.