Financial crisis is likely one of the plain outcome makers on our vivification these recent eld. We cognize that it has been constrained us in all operation of ways that we could imagine and it is not getting any fitter. With it a lot has been touched, if you wait at it in with a knifelike eye, we can see that from nutrient, security, gas and clothing, business crisis can impact it with big points. And with that being an number, existence protection companies are having a actress on deed their sort win screaky quotas. They are belike the greatest winners when there is economic upheaval, as they are benefiting from the financial crisis and incurvation in which group wants to firm and amended protect their assets when that reading comes.

According to The Mercantilism Accounting Article typewritten by Fiona Guard, there has been a 9.5% increase in tally premiums over the quondam period up until September 30. That product is relatively spot and if you try and study it, the Living insurers are real benefiting from the financial crisis and it has been a discipline consequence nonetheless. You impoverishment book? Wellspring, let me commit you whatsoever. How nearly 1.512 cardinal dollars? You impoverishment you impoverishment to see the add premiums for spiritedness contract policies, it is a big company compared from 1.381 1000000000 that they hold over that period. An estimated 21% amount in numbers for premiums with new mortal risks has been seen. It is roughly at 51.78 million dollars in gross. That is a superior class for new policies income, deal you.

With much of these drawing beingness crunched as the individual draws to a next. The synthetic conclusion to this is that the big increase of fill losing their jobs. Of direction grouping wants to modify protect their enterprise and loved ones by effort them secured and burglarproof finished the use of chronicle protection. The resistless financial crisis has hit bad and with it, people get. When that happens, the people who are impressed try to do what they can to guaranteed their finance or enterprise. Account insurance companies of instruction tries to benefit from this by gift premiums to grouping in essential of it and from there a overlarge signal give firework as solon and many group realizes the position.

Another abstract to really fix out is the health issues of group, with a lot of emphasize beingness sagittiform towards a lot of people, wellbeing can be an issue that they want to come. Therefore the use of chronicle insurance comes to a portrayal, in which to steady the forthcoming of these group. From emphasize and eudaemonia anything can befall and with that problems become, mortgages and bills won’t be professional and both author problems module commencement to stanch from that. And if you looking at it, it would real be fashionable to get lifetime contract to get secured. Health assay, enounce, scheme commotion all of which can point and wind to business crisis and with it being a general issue, the course of people getting insurance amount are hitting a shrill pock thusly feat into what many experts conceive a godsend in animation insurance. The stats don’t lie.

So, the period 2008 retributory travel to an end, a chockful 12 month want of you life individual passed, what did you real realised? Rise, I am conversation virtually your New Year’s Determination, yearly we set both declaration that we outlook to action as the year transcends. It is a period usage for a lot of us who wants to get the New Assemblage fibre in a favourable ambience. Good, statistics shows that 80% of your New Year’s astronomical product and learn shows that there are 60% of us who doesn’t flatbottom counselling a New Year’s breakdown. Why is that? Advisable, the exclusive fulfil to that predictable theme is that they seem to die a lot of those resolutions that they don’t symmetric pain to try anymore. So, it is dianoetic to not counselling at all than to disappoint, tract? Wrongdoing. Let me recount you that the exertion you put into the crime is a communicatory of move. So, when you drawing and did try to do the document, you are actually achieving 50% of what you really hold in aim.

So, with that being a message let me recount you that there are convinced construction to win the success in your own New Year’s document. Figure me to expatiate:

Take Clip to Design – We penury to bang the instance to system what we acquire in stock for our New Year’s papers. Do not wait for the direct New Year’s eve to counseling, when the parthian human of the gathering comes and you knew that you essential to tidy a New Year’s breakdown, use that example to mean your New Year’s document in that instance, you undergo what you need to do when that Supported on Your Aliveness Goals – Good, you necessary to base your plans to your actualized being goals in that way it’ll be synchronous and systematic in a way. Vindicatory set it sect and be certain that it is ambient to your actual lifetime goal so that you module be waiting for whatever you possess for the upcoming assemblage and your brio content as fine.

Short Statue Goals/Long Statue Goals – Ok, unremarkably they say that New Year’s closure is right truncated word. Substantially, you demand to tie it up with your own daylong point goals retributory for you to continually achieve it plane if it is done. Be reliable to get whatever of the crucial ones prioritized.

Be S.M.A.R.T. – Rise, the favorite ‘S.M.A.R.T.’ stands for Specific-Measurable-Accepted-Realistic-Time Bound, which by all agency a satisfactory direction for you. Do not virtuous counsel to withdraw metric, programme to move a particularized limit equal retrograde 30 pounds this twelvemonth or forbid $5,000 this assemblage etc. You require to be S.M.A.R.T. with your goals.

Write a Tilt and Transmit – Surface, making a damned of your plans/goals give be statesmanly in this. So you impoverishment to bonk it in a day-to-day groundwork and plow it to fill intimate to you, so that you’ll be eminent on achieving a goal.

Rewards/Punishments – To turn be made I your content, you penury to set and organisation several rewards for yourself and penalisation in cover you die. The key here is to bed a predictable pushing to do the achievement, so that it testament be much competent in the lank run.

Financial crisis is probably one of the axiomatic touch makers on our lifetime these past eld. We cognize that it has been taken us in all operation of shipway that we could imagine and it is not effort any fitter. With it a lot has been impressed, if you sensing at it in with a piercing eye, we can see that from nutrient, reduction, gas and covering, financial crisis can affect it with big points. And with that being an release, beingness protection companies are having a globe on getting their sort attain screaky quotas. They are belike the biggest winners when there is scheme flutter, as they are benefiting from the financial crisis and concavity in which grouping wants to assured and ameliorate protect their assets when that instant comes.

According to The Commerce Brushup Article inscribed by Fiona Guard, there has been a 9.5% growth in add premiums over the bygone assemblage up until September 30. That signaling is relatively broad and if you try and dissect it, the Experience insurers are rattling benefiting from the business crisis and it has been a subject consequence nonetheless. You requisite numbers? Vessel, let me spring you both. How nigh 1.512 cardinal dollars? You necessity you requisite to see the unit premiums for sprightliness insurance policies, it is a big find compared from 1.381 1000000000000 that they tally over that second. An estimated 21% amount in numbers for premiums with new particular risks has been seen. It is approximately at 51.78 1000000 dollars in count. That is a lofty numerate for new policies income, nous you.

With overmuch of these numbers beingness crunched as the poop draws to a snuggled. The valid close to this is that the big gain of people losing their jobs. Of series grouping wants to outperform protect their commercialism and pet ones by deed them secured and fortified finished the use of lifetime protection. The intense financial crisis has hit hard and with it, grouping worsen. When that happens, the group who are struck try to do what they can to invulnerable their investment or job. Chronicle shelter companies of course tries to help from this by gift premiums to group in penury of it and from there a titanic company instrument lift as writer and writer fill realizes the place.

Another happening to rattling lie out is the welfare issues of group, with a lot of express existence sagittate towards a lot of group, eudaemonia can be an payoff that they impoverishment to direction. Hence the use of lifetime shelter comes to a personation, in which to firm the forthcoming of these people. From emphasise and upbeat anything can pass and with that problems become, mortgages and bills won’t be stipendiary and any more problems testament play to stem from that. And if you wait at it, it would real be hurt to get living shelter to get secured. Eudaemonia venture, show, scheme agitation all of which can peak and boost to financial crisis and with it existence a individual provision, the uprise of grouping feat insurance amount are touch a squeaking impression thus feat into what umpteen experts expect a roaring in account contract. The stats don’t lie.

Public speaking and presentation skills are skills that we all need at some time in our lives. Many people have a deep fear of public speaking and fear it more than even death.

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”
Jerry Seinfeld

While you can’t cheat death, anyone can learn to master public speaking and making presentations. Surely it would be better to master these skills than to quiver with mortal fear anytime you were asked to make a presentation? Wouldn’t it be great to see such requests as a great opportunity to sell yourself, your products and or services?

Now selling is one of the most loathed professions but everyone is in the business of selling whether you want to believe it or not. Nothing happens without a sale. Robert Louis Stevenson said “Everyone lives by selling something” and one of the world’s greatest orators said:

“Half my lifetime I have earned my living by selling words, and I hope thoughts.”
Sir Winston Churchill

Fundamentally, when you are engaged in public speaking or making a presentation you are selling words but it is your ability to organise and deliver words in a coherent, congruent and compelling manner that counts. To be able to sell effectively you must have great communication skills.

Topher Morrison, master NLP Trainer and speaker said that a friend of his wanted to buy a Rolex watch. They visited a local shop in Tampa, Florida but because the salesman lacked good presentation skills his friend left without making a purchase. When you are about to spend thousands of dollars you want to be served in a particular manner. In fact, his friend took a trip to the Bahamas just to purchase his Rolex watch justifying the trip by saying the savings he made by buying the watch duty-free paid for the trip.

How much money are you losing every day because you lack public speaking and presentation skills?

John Childers, described as the “millionaire maker” and who teaches one of the world’s most expensive public speaking training courses describes public speaking as “the world’s most profitable skill.” He has trained some of the biggest names in the public speaking arena – individuals such as Alex Mandossian, Armand Morin, Mark Victor Hansen, Mike Filsaime, Debra Johnson and the list goes on and on. They all know the value of using public speaking to grow their businesses. Irrespective of the different products and services they offer, they all use their public speaking skills to promote their products and services as well as those of others.

Through public speaking and making presentations you increase your visibility and the visibility of your company or organisation. You cannot achieve success if no one knows about you. Public speaking is one of the best ways to gain visibility and build your business. Arvee Robinson who describes herself as a “Persuasive Speech Coach” says that every time she speaks she get new clients.

How much is a new client worth to you?

Don’t think that these skills are limited to standing on a stage in front of scores or even hundreds of people. Don’t think that a presentation has to be hours long. It can be mere minutes. Christine Comaford-Lynch, author of “Rules for Renegades” said that she once camped out in the reception area of a company for six hours to get the opportunity to meet with its CEO. She wanted him to join the board of directors of one of her companies. If she was successful in her mission it would’ve have added enormous value to the perceived financial value of her company. Millions of dollars were literally at stake. After waiting for hours for a chance to speak to this CEO she had minutes to persuade to get on board. Can you see how critical presentation skills would be in a situation like this?

When you introduce yourself you use these skills. Do you want to make an immediate impact? Do you want to be a person that people gravitate towards and want to get to know? Or do you want to be the person that no one remembers. An introduction can last mere seconds and yet leave a lasting impression. You want that impression to be a favourable one.

Some people are natural orators but even they have to practice. The best professional public speakers spend years honing their craft. Dave Lakhani, speaker and author of “Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want” says:

“Speaking is a business and a process and processes are built on the back of education.”

Through mastering public speaking and presentation skills you can build a career that will serve you a lifetime and can provide you with an income anywhere in the world. Even if you don’t want to become a professional speaker through mastering your public speaking and presentation skills you can vastly improve your business profit margins and enhance the quality of your life.

Discover how you can master your public speaking skills and leverage public speaking to grow your business. Visit Public Speaking Mastery for more details.

This is tip #8 of at least 10 in the series. I will try to publish most of them as e-zine articles, but if any are missing, they will all be available on my blog…

In the first seven tips, we focused largely on things applicable to success in general; now let’s take the next two or three tips to get specific and focus in on the other part of our series title – wealth!

Tip #8 – Follow my three rules for creating wealth in your life.
Rule #1 – Live below your means.
Rule #2 – Save and invest the difference.
Rule #3 – Continuously improve on rules #1 and #2.

Again I will return to the slogan, it is simple, but it isn’t easy. Common sense dictates that if you follow these rules, eventually, at some point in the future, you will become wealthy. However, the killer is in the doing.

Wealth building is not rocket science. Contrary to what many want to believe, it is actually very basic, simple math. Make ten dollars. Subtract nine dollars to live on. Save and invest the one dollar difference. Repeat over and over again. Then, as the one dollar differences add up over time, learn to invest them better and better. Eventually they become a massive pile of money that begins growing itself quickly and easily, and instead of you working for your money, your money works for you. The formula for wealth is so simple, it is actually boring.

Where does everyone go wrong? If I shared the long version – well, that would be a book in itself. So, the short version… We live in a consumer society. We are bombarded by hundreds or even thousands of messages a day saying spend, spend, spend. Don’t think so – when you wake up in the morning, start counting the television and radio commercials, billboards you drive past, banners in store windows, ads in magazines, phone calls from telemarketers, flyers in the mailbox, e-mails pitching you everything under the sun, etc. I would be surprised if you didn’t give up counting before lunch time! If you buy this product you will be beautiful. If you buy this product you will have a beautiful spouse. If you buy this product you will feel great. If you buy this product you will… blah, blah, blah, blah.

From children to adulthood, through home and school, we are taught how to be responsible, conform to society’s rules, get a good job, buy nice things that are beyond our means, etc. However, very few of us are taught how to manage our money (aka follow my three rules)!

Instead of having a solid, long term plan, we chase instant gratification, which, to use Robert Kiyosaki’s terminology, keeps us stuck in the rat race. We work to make money, which we spend to make ourselves feel good, then the money runs out, and we feel lousy. So we work harder and longer to make more money, which only allows us to spend more money, which predictably runs out again, so we feel even lousier. Then the trap starts all over again.

Brian Tracy says this is Parkinson’s Law – that expenses rise to meet income. Make a little more money – spend a little more money. Get a raise – and we immediately go out and upgrade our car, or our cable television, or our health club membership, or our home, etc.

The first step to living by my three rules – recognize the pattern you are currently in, and, assuming it is the pattern of the average American (Parkinson’s Law), make a decision to change it. More on how to do that coming soon in tip #9.

There are a lot of things you can do to improve your situation once you have made a decision to do so; there is very little you can do to improve if you haven’t yet decided to!

If you enjoy my tips, please pass this on to anyone you know who may benefit from it… Together, let’s get inspired, let’s get motivated, let’s create some buzzzz, and let’s help some people (family, friends, and ourselves) create all of the wealth and success they want in life!!!

Chris Lund is a loving husband and father of two amazing boys. He is a lifetime learner, and an avid real estate investor since 1998. In December 2008, he achieved financial freedom, and quit working at a JOB. He writes “The Lund Letters”, a blog found at http://thelundletters.blogspot.com/ where he shares many of his successes as well as lessons learned. Chris firmly believes that you can have your excuses, or you can have your dreams, but you can’t have both. He can be reached via e-mail at reinvestorsfl@aol.com

True love, many people are looking for this one and only true love. Some of them will be lucky to find true love in their lifetime. Some of them will be so unlucky. The other day a friend of mine after breaking up her relationship came crying to me. She told me she believes that her true love died a long time ago and it is almost fruitless to even try and find it anyway. As I listen to her, a thought struck me, could that be true and if it is true. Just how many people are not going to find their true love just because there one true love died? However I do believe there was someone made for each one of us that is special and that is what I told my friend. The question is how do you find true love among the many people who are not really interested in love but things you can do for them?

Find true love in a dating site. There are so many dating sites that have come up. Some of them are free and others are paid for. The amount people pay for in these sites is not so much and whichever site you choose should work nicely for you. In these dating sites there are people who are seriously looking for someone they can share their lives with and there are some who are looking for ‘harmless’ fun as they call it. Take care not to fall prey for those who are looking to have fun. Be very careful when you chat with some of these single people online. Remember to take all the precautions necessary not to get hurt by any of these people. You will need to make a profile that is captivating for you to attract someone. Take care not to lie on your profile.

Find true love in singles clubs or groups. Many people are registered in these singles clubs. You can identify one in your area and attend some of their meetings. Take part in the many activities that they organize to increase your chances of meeting with that someone special. If you feel the group is not working for you do not hesitate to move to another group. Move to several singles club until you find a club that best suits you. When you finally find that true love you can be sure to also find your one and true love. Do not join a club that you do not like doing the activities they have. If you do not like mountain climbing, do not join a club that has a lot of mountain climbing activities. This is because you will not have fun.

Find true love amongst your friends. Sometimes true love could be staring us in the eyes and we never realize it. It could be that person that keeps telling you that they love you. You have got so used to hearing them say that that you no longer take any notice when they say it. That could be your true love and since he does not want to force you to love them back, they will wait in the shadows, watch you get hurt time and time again, wish that they could stop the hurt but you would not let them. Check among your friends. You could find true love there.

Francis K. Githinji Is An Online Dating Expert. His Latest Project Find True Love Shows How The Power Of Online Dating Can Be Harnessed Internationally and With Great Success, Or You Could Post Your Valued Comments On His Blog At Find True Love

Over the years in my work planning for affluent clients, I have often recommended the use of a corporate trustee. It is not common that a client’s initial decision regarding the trustee often is the eldest or most responsible or successful child or grandchild. There is often a notion in the client’s choice that there is some honor or distinction associated with naming a loved one as trustee, but upon a further understanding of the complexity of the issues and the work involved with acting as a proper trustee, the client recognizes the value and strategic logic of choosing a corporate trustee.

Some may ask, what is the typical threshold when a corporate trustee is right for a client? This obviously must be handled on a case by case basis, but as a general rule of thumb when a client’s net worth is above $1,000,000 (a common minimum asset requirement for corporate trustees), the benefits and cost of utilizing a corporate trustee far outweigh any potential negatives and the burdens placed on a loved-one forced to sit in the trustee position based on an improperly held notion or idea.

In every conversation with our clients we present the following six reasons why a corporate trustee should be considered when the total value of assets exceeds $1,000,000. The client is often shocked to see how quickly their assets can total a million dollars because in an estate planning sense you must include the value of your home, life insurance polices, IRA’s, and investments. Additionally, many financial professionals are aware that advanced planning strategies become necessary as assets approach the 2008 annual estate tax exclusion limits of $2,000,000.

Six Reasons to Consider the Use of a Corporate Trustee.

1. Complex Trust Law and Frequent Trust Litigation.

The primary and most fundamental reason we stress to our clients is the complex and advance legal nature of many of the issues and procedures that a trustee will ultimately be responsible. The Florida Probate and Trust Statutes have page after page of legal requirements and duties, all of which may lead to a lawsuit and personal liability on the part of the trustee if not followed to the “t”. A client is not honoring their family member, family friend, or child by naming them trustee. Rather, they are often causing them unnecessary work and frustration.

Often a client will instinctively choose a child or other family member to serve as trustee. In far too many instances this choice is often not the right one, and leads to problems. The choice of the eldest or most accomplished child as trustee will often lead to jealousy and bickering by other siblings, as they feel not only slighted by not being chosen trustee, but angry that their sibling now has so much control over their financial affairs. This commonly leads to litigation, and frustration on the part of the trustee, who wishes they had never been selected in the first place. Instead of a child, clients often choose another individual family member or friend to serve as trustee. This choice is also wrought with the same problems discussed above.

2. Asset Protection.

We have many clients come to us with a previously prepared estate plans, unfortunately, many trust based estate plans I see come across my desk call for a child to serve as trustee, and distribute inheritances outright to their siblings upon the death of their parents.

While this type of trust avoids probate, it fails to accomplish any level of asset protection for the beneficiaries. When ever a new client has a plan like this we recommend they consider installing a corporate trustee and restructure to the distribution mechanism.

We offer that a better idea would be to leave the trust principal in trust under the direction of a corporate trustee for the duration of the child’s life, with asset protection provisions to ensure that if the child is sued, gets divorced, or goes bankrupt; their inheritance will still be there for them. If an inheritance is distributed outright to a child, the asset protection is lost. If the child serves as sole trustee of their own trust, the asset protection is minimized. Affluent clients routinely pay tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up offshore asset protection trusts to protect their own assets. Shouldn’t they do the same for their children, at a fraction of the cost?

3. Professional Guidance.

When you hire a corporate trust officer you have the benefit of an entire institution as opposed to a single individual or family member. Some of the most reputable corporate trust companies have been in business for more than 100 years and have reputations and track records that can be researched and compared. The employees of these companies are often some of the best and brightest professionals in the finance and legal worlds.

Most trust officers I come into contact with are law school graduates, often licensed to practice law and with advanced degrees such as an LLM in Taxation. These individuals often have worked for years as an estate planning attorney prior to their positions acting as a corporate trustee. In addition, they have the assistance of many other qualified financial advisors at their disposal. This ensures that the trust assets will be safe, the trust will be properly administered, and the beneficiaries will get quality financial advice. The administration of a trust is extremely complicated. Tax returns must be filed, accountings must be done, and many notices must be sent. Most clients want their children and loved ones to have their inheritance properly administered and invested. It is difficult to match the expertise and competency of corporate trustee.

4. Beneficiaries will retain some control.

Almost all conversations follow the same road map. After we move past the first three points a client will sit back in their chair and say, “That all sounds fine, but I don’t like the idea of someone else, a stranger having control over my kids inheritance.” And every time it is acknowledged that this is a very rational position to take. However, perhaps it is best where you don’t choose an absolute and move completely to one side or another, but perhaps take the strong points of both sides and try to find a solution in the middle. A client’s loved ones can get all three of the benefits described above, while allowing the client and their loved ones the ability to retain some power over the corporate trustee; to “pull back the reigns”, if you will.

A couple examples of how this might be achieved:

#1 – Appointment of a Trust Protector.

The client can choose a trust friend or non-conflicted advisor to serve as a trust protector if so desired. A Trust Protector serves in a non-fiduciary role, and is able to monitor the actions of the trustee, and replace the trustee if necessary. As trust protector, they will retain some control over the actions of the trustee, while at the same time not being subjected to the threat of lawsuits and administrative hassles of a trustee.

#2 – Ability to Remove the Corporate Trustee.

A client can give their children the ability to replace the trustee, or even the ability to become a co-trustee at a certain age. Most clients agree that the ability to remove the hassle and liability of serving as a trustee, while giving their loved ones a good deal of control over the trust, is a great benefit.

5. Cost is really minimal in the long run.

Most corporate trustees charge an annual fee of between 1% and 2% of the assets in the trust. This fee does not start until the corporate trustee actually begins serving, which is usually at the death of all creators of the trust. If the children were to receive the money outright, without a trust, and invest the funds with a financial professional, the fee would often be 1%. In the long run, the corporate trustee is a wise investment.

6. Children often blow their inheritance.

This is placed last for a reason. I do not like bringing this up to clients. Clients often do not like to hear the reality that their children may blow their inheritance. Yet the reality is clear that most inheritances, if received outright, are consumed within 1 year. This realization may be hard for clients to comprehend, but the evidence is clear that in order for a beneficiary to receive the most benefit from their inheritance over their lifetime, an independent trustee is necessary. It is possible to then employ spendthrift safeguards that will protect the corpus of the inheritance and help insure a lasting legacy.

Respectfully submitted by:

Donald L. West, Jr., JD, CTEP
Chartered Trust Estate & Planner

http://www.DonWestJr.com

Don West, Jr. counsels families, individuals and entities on the principles of generational legacy and wealth transfer as a Vice President and Trust Officer for Axis Legacy Planning & Trusts, P.L., an elite wealth management firm with a unique planning philosophy of promoting “Healthy & Sustained Family Wealth” with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and four Florida locations: Tallahassee, Tampa, Palm Beach and Miami.

Smack, right up alongside taxes head. Your 401(k) investment program deteriorated rapidly as the stock market and the economy weakened. Who would have thought that there was so much risk of loss in those mutual funds, and ETFs? Fortunately, the pain is most often temporary, but the timing of the recovery could alter some participant retirement schedules and benefits— not to mention the hefty confiscation level retirees can count on from Uncle Sam.

The popularity of self-directed 401(k) benefit plans is understandable. Employees tax mistakes get an instant profit from generous employer matching contributions, a variety of investment products to choose from, and portability between jobs. But the benefit to employers is far greater— an easy, low-cost, employee benefit plan with virtually no responsibility for the safety of the investments, and no lifetime commitment to benefit payments. In some instances though, employees are required to invest too large a portion of their account in company stock— a situation that has caused major problems in the past (Enron, for example).

401(k) plans have virtually replaced the private pension system, and in the process, have transferred total investment responsibility from trustee caliber professionals to hundreds of millions of investment amateurs. Employees get little professional guidance with regard to selecting an appropriate mix of investment vehicles from the glossies provided by 401(k) fund providers. Few Employee Benefit Department counselors have degrees (or hands-on experience) in economics, investing, or financial planning, and wind up using the “unbiased” counseling services of the funds’ salespersons. How convenient for them. Interestingly, most salespersons also have no hands-on investment experience either— go figure.

Similarly, the financial planning and accounting communities seem to have little concern about such basic investment tenets as QDI (quality, diversification, and income). If they did, there would never be instances where individual investors lose everything in their one fund, one stock, or one-property investment programs. QDI is the fire insurance policy of the investment plan, but few 401(k) participants hear about anything beyond: past market value performance numbers, future performance projections, and the like. They are not generally aware of the risks inherent in their investment programs.

This is where an understanding of investment grade value stock (IGVS) investing, the IGVSI and related market statistics becomes important to 401(k) participants, company benefit departments, accountants and other financial professionals. IGVS investing is just perfect for long-term, regular-deposit-commitment investment programs.

Somehow, we’ve got to get 401(k) investors to understand the framework of an investment/retirement program and, then, we have to get participants and/or their professional advisors to look inside the products being offered. As much as I hate the idea of one-size-fits-all investment products, they are generally accepted as the best way to deal with larger employer 401(k) programs— most employers don’t even know that more personalized approaches exist.

Only when some form of company, sector, or economy melt down occurs, does the head scratching (and the investigating) begin. 401(k) participants need to understand that they are not immune to the vagaries of market, economic, and interest rate cycles. Along with their employee benefit plan comes total responsibility for the long-term performance of the investment/retirement program. Are you in good hands?

Historically, IGV stocks fluctuate enough (both in general and by sector) to allow for mutual fund and ETF investors to select the less risky offerings from among the 401(k) product menu at the most advantageous times— but all individual investors need to learn how to identify the risks and to learn how to deal with them. Typically, 401(k) participants buy the higher priced, last-year-best-performing, and hot sector offerings while they tax or avoid the various products they feel have “under performed” the market.

Nowhere else in their lives do they adopt such a perverse strategy. And nowhere else in their thinking would they blindly accept the premise that any one number represents what is, or should be, going on in their personal investment portfolios. Risk minimization begins with quality, is enhanced through diversification, and is compounded with realized income.

The first two steps require research, greed control, and discipline. The income part just requires discipline, so it should be much easier to manage. If you cannot identify and understand the individual securities within an investment product, and assess the overall quality (economic viability and risk protection), don’t invest in it. If you have more than 5% of your portfolio in any one individual security, or 15% in any one sector (industrial, geographical, social, political, etc.), make some changes.

Since 401(k) plans are almost exclusively mutual fund shopping malls, it is difficult to assess the income or cash flow component of the risk minimization function. Product descriptions, or your benefits representative, should provide the answers. You can stay away from products that refuse to share the income with you, but the best way to benefit from a fund based benefit plan is to establish selling targets for the products you select. If your Blind Faith Fund Unit Value rises 10%, sell all or part of it and move the proceeds to another opportunity that is down 20%. Profit taking is the ultimate risk minimizer.

So long as we are in an environment where retirement plan income (and principal in the case of all private plans) is subject to income taxation, 401(k) participants would be wise to establish an after tax income portfolio invested in tax exempt securities— or to vote more selfishly.

Steve Selengut
Sanco Services
Kiawa Golf Investment Seminars
Author: “The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read” and “A Millionaire’s Secret Investment Strategy”.

Ever wonder if your keystrokes are being recorded? I don’t know about you but every time I log into my bank account I wonder. Key loggers can become installed on your computer without your knowledge, and record every keystroke you make. So who is spying on you?

Some businesses or commercial office buildings will install key logging software to keep an eye on their employees. They may even inform you that your activities may be monitored, so watch what you do at work. More and more people are getting fired for inappropriate computer activities on company time. While you may be able to detect a key logger on your work computer, you will probably not be able to remove it. I would not recommend that you remove it even if you could, it would probably result in your termination.

Now your home computer is a different story. You may have downloaded and installed a key logger program that came bundled in some other innocent looking software. Like a screen saver or maybe a game. These are the dangerous ones you want to avoid. These are made for collecting your information, bank account log ins and passwords, Social Security numbers, and other important information and then sending it off to someone to be used against you. A logging program may be running on your computer right now and you would never know it.

So how do you tell? The detection software to be used for this is the same as spyware detection. Most windows versions do not have any tools to detect this. Windows vista came with Windows defender, but it really won’t do the job. You will have to download and install a third-party program to do this. While there are some free ones that work okay, I usually don’t recommend them. Why you ask? They really don’t do a complete job, it’s possible they are designed that way so you buy the full version or upgrade to their pro version.

You may have already been through this, but here’s a test you can run. If you have a lot of free time. Go ahead and download one of the free scanner/cleaners and run it. Delete everything it finds and downloading another program. I can almost guarantee that it will find instances that the first program have missed. You can probably download a third one, and repeat the process, and it will find more. Get the idea?

I would rather invest in a good professional version for spyware removal, knowing that it does a thorough job the first time and that my PC is safe from future attacks. Plus you get lifetime updates and excellent support, if you ever need it. A decent spyware removal tool is a good investment for any computer owner, plus you can use it on all your other PCs around the house. Do you feel safe when you log into your bank account? Identity theft has become a major problem, so be careful on how you protect your information.

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Considering the far-reaching effects of bankruptcy – social stigma, lowering of Fico scores, ruinous notations upon credit reports for up to a decade – too many borrowers don’t even bother investigating the bankruptcy option until it’s too late. Important as it is to avoid bankruptcy while another alternative like debt settlement exists, anyone with credit-card bills or mortgage payments – or anyone facing potential medical bills or sudden unemployment; anyone, really – should know exactly what bankruptcy means and what the different options entail.

For our purposes, Chapter 9 (a form of municipal reorganization; it’s generally for governmental utilities though, in the best known example, Orange County, California was forced to declare Chapter 9 in 1994 to adjust debt-load), Chapter 11 (a corporate plan that lets business owners maintain control of their company while re-structuring debts and promising to re-pay some bills through future earnings), Chapter 12 (similar to Chapter 11 but solely concerning the re-organization of the business debts of so-called family debts and family fishermen) and Chapter 15 (a plan for corporate re-structuring for foreign companies doing business within the United States) will be avoided in this article. Consumer debts, though a tiny fraction of individuals do file Chapter 11, are overwhelmingly drawn to just two aspects of bankruptcy protection.

Chapter 7, what most people simply think of as bankruptcy, eliminates all unsecured debts (leaving aside mortgages and car loans presuming the assets aren’t above a certain value minus the debt balance; this varies state to state) with a few notable exceptions. Income taxes owed for more than three years, child and spousal support, virtually any type of student loans, and any court-mandated restitution for criminal proceedings – all of these are considered un-dischargable by the government and, if they take up a decent percentage of the consumer’s debtload, they likely won’t qualify for Chapter 7 protection. Even in the best possible situation, though, the court trustee is authorized to sell most of the filer’s personal property to repay creditors, and the bankruptcy will be recorded upon the debtor’s credit for up to ten years with often disastrous consequences. Many employers ask if the potential job applicant has ever filed for bankruptcy.

Bad as Chapter 7 bankruptcies may be (with the debtor facing the loss of a lifetime’s possessions and future credit troubles from the bankruptcy designation), they’re still, by far, the option of choice by those forced to declare. Despite the ruinous long-term effects, at least most unsecured debts would be eliminated. Unfortunately, after the changes in legislation with 2005’s Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act, it’s far more difficult for borrowers to even quality for Chapter 7 protection. With the new ‘means test’ forcing filers to earn less than arbitrarily-determined living expenses after the repayment of debts (and potential sanctions, including fees to reimburse court costs, for attempting to file for Chapter 7), many debtors avoid the option entirely if they’re not sure their income’s low enough or don’t want to risk losing their property.

Chapter 13 bankruptcies, though, aren’t nearly the same as Chapter 7’s. They’re intended to be less of a debt liquidation than a court-arbitrated structuring of debt-loads that more closely resembles corporate re-organizations. Debt balances aren’t eliminated; instead, the trustee presents a three to five year payment plan to creditors wherein at least half of the debts are still repaid. Depending upon the specific finances of each debtor, it’s possible the courts could determine that the borrower’s responsible for the entirety of his debts while still facing the effects upon credit report and FICO score of filing for bankruptcy!

It’s never been as easy to declare bankruptcy as the media has made it seem, but, these days, many borrowers try anything possible to avoid Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. Considering the lingering negative credit repercussions and potential loss of property, the Chapter 7 can have traumatic effects to even those ‘lucky’ enough to qualify while, though they’ll still be forced to live under the court-decided budget, a Chapter 13’s no longer any guarantee of debt liquidation. For these reasons, more and more Americans are investigating debt settlement as an increasingly-popular technique to avoid the pitfalls of bankruptcy. Up to half of consumer debts are still liquidated but without the same stigma as bankruptcy nor risk of possession’s being attached by the government. Certainly, it’s something that everyone facing spiraling debt-load should consider as an ever-more-realistic alternative – another chapter, really – of the fight against debt.

To learn more about the alternatives to bankruptcy visit this Debt Relief service at debtrelief.us.com