People today are more responsible for their own retirement income security. Over the past 15 to 20 years there has been a shift in responsibility for long-term well-being away from institutions (employers, the government) to individuals. For example, in 1980, 70% of pension plans were defined contribution (DC, as opposed to defined benefit plans; DC plans shift more of the responsibility for the growth of retirement funds to the consumer); by 1997, 92% of plans were defined contribution (Conte 1998). In 1988, one-fourth (25%) of workers were covered primarily by DC plans; in 1998, over three-fifths (63%) were covered by such plans (Copeland 2002). (more…)

Successful financial plan must include or take into account the following condition:

- It is based on ‘hard’ facts, such as age, earnings, health, investments; and ‘soft’ data such as attitudes, beliefs and values.

- The plan must be a clearly written, logical document that uses language appropriate to the individual. (more…)

Why do so many people have money problems? The main reason is that they do not plan how they will use their money. You can avoid money problems by setting and achieve some clear personal financial goals in mind. (more…)

Economic factors across the country and around the world can affect personal finances. They play a role in day-to-day financial planning and decision making for most people. Economics is the study of the decisions that go into making, distributing, and using goods and services. The economy consists of the ways in which people make, distribute, and use their goods and services. To understand economics and the economy, you need to be aware of the market forces, financial institutions, global influences, and economic conditions that affect global as well as personal decisions. (more…)

Almost all of us are aware with credit scores and what it affect your personal financial planning. But not all are really know how FICO score is calculated. The first thing is to interpret FICO score is to realize that there are many FICO score factors to mark your final credit score. (more…)

One major key to controlling your debt—as you no doubt have heard before—is to stop paying interest on all loans. Revolving interest can be a money management killer.

Please take note that if you could not control your debt, your debt will control you. In current financial condition, debt is an all important element of your personal financial planning. (more…)

Current economic conditions also affect your personal financial decisions and how economic conditions can influence financial planning. There are three important economic conditions: 1. Consumer prices, 2. Consumer spending, 3. Interest rates

Consumer Prices (more…)

There are several factors that contribute to the annuity return of payment:
1. Rate of return gained by the fund
2. Distribution procedure of funds to beneficiaries (can raise or lower your monthly annuity return) (more…)

Emotional factors tend to assume the topmost rungs of your mind, if you are facing divorce proceedings with your spouse, don’t they? This is perfectly understandable, and other issues, especially those related to divorce-related financial planning generally recede to the background in such situations. Nevertheless, Planning out your finances during, and after, a divorce lawsuit, are of extreme importance, (more…)

How do you manage your money? Nowadays, it is important to make sure that the money you have is well-managed, especially since for some, expenditures have gone up while income seems to stay at a fixed rate. Below are some tips on how you can manage your hard-earned money. (more…)