5 Ways To Deal With Co-Workers From Hell

 
Here I am offering 5 tips to make it a little easier to get along with that pain in the @$$ at work. Don't waste energy having a breakdown on account of someone you can't stand. 
 
Dealing with Co-Workers Tip #1: Be prepared for Conflict 

If you have some in the organization who is difficult be prepared for a potential situation. If you don't you may react with anger or some useless childish behavior that will only make the situation worse. 
 
It may help to practice a potential argument in your head to get ready for the situation. Listen to what your saying to see if it comes across as immature or foolish. Also remember to not be wishy-washy, uphold your morals and values. Don't be arrogant but be self-confident. And by all means don't letthe person get under your skin , be ready for cheap shots. 


Your job is already quite stressful with deadlines and difficult bosses. Not getting along with co-workers makes your job ten times more difficult. You have no choice but to try and get along or just change jobs. 


Dealing with Co-Workers Tip #2: Don't fuel the fire. 

If tempted to retaliate, don't. People who cause tension and confrontation also thrive on it. They feel powerful with an exchange of harsh words. Don't get sucked in, you'll only look like the bad guy. Instead react in the opposite way they expect, be nice to them. It drives irrational people crazy. You'll either become friendly with them or drive them away. 
 
Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers Tip #3: Lend a Helping Hand 

It may not work in all situations but difficult people may be just a troubled person or someone with poor social skills. They end up making enemies instead of friends because they have money problems or marriage problems at home. This makes them an actual miserable person to be around. They may not be justified in mistreating you, but at least you know why they act the way they do. 
 
Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers Tip#4: Get a Third Party Involved. 
 
No matter how hard you try you may just not be able to get through to the person. This is when you get a neutral party to help. They can listen to both sides and try to find common ground. 
 
Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers Tip#5: Move On 
 
You tried your best and nothing worked. You will reach a point where it's not going to be resolved. If one of you doesn't move on your going to have to suck it up or quit. If this treatment by the person effects your productivity it could he considered grounds for termination. But before all this occurs be careful in examining your own behavior and if your doing the right things. Most of all don't ignore the situation it will only get worse. 

How to: Get Rid of Credit Card Debt For Good

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When you finally realize your in deep credit card debt is the time you know you need to do something, but what? What has caused you to wake up. Was it the worry and sleepless nights thinking your going to lose it all. 
 
Most American family's are in credit card debt to the tune of between $2000 and $8000. Short of winning the lottery or declaring bankruptcy, there are no short cuts to paying off your debt. But there are some ways to systematically and effectively get rid of your credit card debt. 
 
Getting out of debt on your own is possible, but it will take a little work. Step one is to stop charging more debt. This may be the hardest part of the process if your short of money and unorganized. It's time to take control. 
 
Next you must access where you financially. How much do you owe and to whom do you owe it to. Might as well throw in there all your debts like Doctor bills and personal loans. Make a list with name of debtor, balance, interest rate and minimum payment. 
 
To do this right you must also create a budget of all your income and expenses. It's time to cut back for a while in life style. I'm talking about maybe it's time to find some things to cut out of your life, but only during the time of this war on debt. Things like cable TV, eating out and other things determined by you. Remember the more money you free up, the more there will be, that can go to pay off debt. The equation is that the more income that goes to debt, the sooner you will be done. You could look into taking on more hours at work or getting a part time job so you will have more money to throw at your debts. 

                             Here's Help On  "How to Set Up A Budget"

 
Now that your organized and have the cash ready , let's attack the first debt. Remember that list you made with debts listed on it, let's get it out and determine who we will attack first. Let's find the debt with smallest balance. We are going to pay that debts minimum and as much money we can scrape together and send it to that account. You have reduced spending on other things and we are going to use that money to put on this debt. While we're doing this we keep making the minimum payment on all our other cards, no extra to those cards. We are focusing on the smallest debt only. When we are done with the smallest debt, we then go to the next smallest and attack that one with all the money we can throw at it. 
 
There are two strategy we are using here. First the focusing on the smallest balance first with everything we have. Why do we focus on the smallest balance? What if I have a balance that has a higher interest rate? You ignore it and stay with the smallest balance because you need to have some wins in this process. With some wins you feel like continuing, because you will eventually lose interest in the long process. Some wins keeps you motivated. It's like going on a diet. If you don't lose some weight you'll give up and quit. 
 
The second strategy is after completing the first balance you take all the payment from the first card and throw it on the second card. Then continue this till you pay off all your cards. You must have an intensity when doing this. It's a hard task that takes hard work. You will lose faith during this process so between the budget and focus, you will get it done. 
 
For all this to be worth it you must not use credit cards again. It's to easy to go back into debt and after all your hard work it would be a tragedy. You will continue to budget and live on less than you make. Saving for future bills and creating an emergency account for the rainy day that is sure to come. 

Whats Best Separate or Joint Accounts?

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I have had a lot of discussions about if you should have a separate or joint accounts after your married. Now, when your not married, I agree that you should keep separate bank accounts. Also separate investment accounts and separate credit card accounts. You shouldn't buy any assets together like cars. Also do not cosign a note on any purchase. This is all sensible because you never know if your going to stay together. 
 
What's different after you are married? From a relational point of view it is better to combine finances. If your young and newly wed what do you have to lose. On the first marriage you are all fresh and innocent about life and so is your spouse. There is no reason not to. What about if this is your second marriage and you have some assets to protect. Maybe you have children and you want to make sure your assets pass to them. I think it's right to keep you accounts separate. 
 
What's the plus side of combining? There will be less accounts to manage. Investments will be combined and make them easier to coordinate and plan. There is a relational aspect because you will have to talk to each other about your accounts. The act of planning and coordinating budgets, investments and paying bills together absolutely will bring you closer. Separate accounts makes this not necessary. 
 
But keeping separate accounts also has it's pluses. You have an autonomy that's important in today's culture. In the high percentage of divorce and break-ups, you have one less thing to fight about. In my personal life I have found that keeping separate accounts reduce the disagreements a lot. I spend and save differently than my wife. Many arguments have been avoided by separate accounts. In case of death, we both have life insurance and our accounts will transfer to the other. With this plan everything runs a lot smoother, for my circumstances, it works for us. Of course there is total transparency, this important in our relationship. 
 
In my first marriage we had combined accounts. At that time that was the way it was done. It worked out great for each of us. We were young and things were great. But now a days you want to play it safe. 
 
Many personal finance gurus say it's better to combine everything in marriage. I disagree because it's more important to do what works best for your particular situation. Don't just follow someones advice, do what's best for your situation. 

Credit Card Companies Are Looking for Business

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I have noticed lately my mailbox has been a little fuller with advertising for credit cards. My old canceled credit card companies are sending me offers via Email. What's going on? Can someone tell Orchard Bank to leave me alone.
 
The new credit card rules are enforce now. Maybe their profits are going down a little and their looking for new business. Or maybe they really like me or they are looking to get back some old customers. Even my old friend CITI Bank sent me two new cards from my old accounts. They must like me again because last year they canceled all 4 of my cards. Now by magic two of my accounts have come back to life. I have even gotten new replacement cards from other card issuers, even though the card hasn't expired yet. I guess they want me to remember to use them. Somethings up, wonder what it is.

I saw over at NYTimes.com the reason why. A spokesman for Bank of America stated " We see deleveraging
 of the consumer" also adding that they see a more frugal consumer and a decreasing demand for credit. It seems we are losing our taste for the wonderful credit card. 

According to the BOA spokesman they are seeing a decline in loan balances of $37 billion dollars from a year earlier with $34 billion of that from the results of charge-offs. With a net decrease of $3 billion dollars in consumer debt balances. Whats the interest on $3 billion dollars. It's quite a bit of money they are losing because of us. With $34 billion in charge-offs  they are hurting a little bit.

Other credit card companies also are complaining that U.S. consumers are by and large deleveraging and are buying less and electing to use debit cards. The use of debit cards have increased greatly and really shot up at the beginning of the recession and is accelerating. I hope America has learned something from this recession and chooses to get out of debt.

The Recession Is Over, Really?

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It's reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research committee after considering numerous economic data and concluding that several key measures of economic activity, including total output and industrial production, pointed to June 2009 as the trough of the business cycle. 
I can understand that the analysts using their guidelines and mathematical algorithms have mathematically determined the recession is over. I have a problem with that. Economists have it all worked out to a science the measurements and data necessary to call these things.

According this has been the longest recession since 1945. The latest one is the twelfth recession since then. So maybe we can trust the economists. They have been studying this for sometime with plenty of data to back them up.

But out here in the real world we see no evidence of the end of the recession even though it ended more than one year ago. I see everyday people out of work and families suffering. In my business we have real estate inventory to sell but can't.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, claims that because of the stimulus, disaster has been avoided. Most economists claim things are getting better because their numbers tell them so. But out in the world times are still very tough. 

Sorry economists but you are wrong, but who am I do go against educated people who study this stuff everyday. I like to take the advice of the old warriors like Warren Buffet. I can't listen to desk jockeys who don't know squat about business.

In an interview of Warren Buffet He states:

"I think we're in a recession until real per capita GDP gets back to where it was before. That is not the way the National Bureau of Economic Research measures it. But I will tell you that to any - on common sense definition, the average American is below where he was before, or his family, in terms of real income, GDP. We're still in a recession. And we are not going to be out for a while, but we will get out of it."

The Oracle of Omaha is  right of course. Most Americans struggling to pay their bills feel the same way. Survey after survey shows people are worried as ever about their economic future. Members of the National Bureau of Economic Research(NBER), who officially define when recessions start and end, seem to hide in their ivory towers issuing statements that confuse most people who barely remember their Econ 101 classes in college.

Kids Need To Work

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One of our duties as good parents is to instill the work ethic in our kids. But how do we do that? In my house both mom and dad go to work everyday to their full time jobs. Teaching by example should be enough but in this world it doesn't even come close, junior is perfectly happy to see others do the work. 
 
Should there be a certain age for your child to look for work? I believe there is. Each family can determine if the child is physically and emotionally ready to go to a job. We found that around the time they got their driving permit was the perfect time. They were mature enough and were self motivated because they needed money for their own life. 
 
Also at this time they wanted to have their own cell phones. We were firm in stating they would be paying their own cell phone or they wouldn't have one. So the job was becoming more of a necessity in their minds. 
 
The amount of money they made was enough to pay the cell phone and give them some money in their pocket. We taught them to save for things they would need in the future. Now all this seems pretty straight forward but with kids there is always some way they mess up. But this exercise is a teaching experience and probably prone to disaster. 
 
Having a job when your young is good for you. Because it teachs many things. For starters, it teaches you to show up somewhere on time. To have an authority over you that's not your parent or teacher. Also that Work = Money. 
 
Now all of our children did not all respond the same, with this wonder plan of the parents. More than half of them learned to work. But some of them just never got on board with the plan. The disgruntled children had to be led kicking and screaming down the road to work. But in the long run it worked out for all. 
 
Everything about work is a lesson in life: 
 
1. Work=Money 
2. Being somewhere on time is a skill that will be used the rest of your life. 
3. You will always have an authority figure over you in some form or another. 
4. Self reliance is the only thing that will never let you down. 
5. Success only comes after many years of work. 
 
Parents devotion to teaching their children is a never ending job. But I'm seeing with the oldest one the fruit of all my teaching. Be prepared to see some bare much fruit and some to bare a little. 

Book Review: Morningstar's 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances

Christine Benz, who is the Director of Personal Finance over at Morningstar, has written a new book. Its called "Morningstar's 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances". It is a well written and practical book. The 30 minute part in the title describes how long it would to take to do the tasks she writes about in each chapter. The book is divided into 11 parts, each describing a different part of financial planning for your life. 

I find the book complete in helping a newcomer get on the road to financial organization. The chapters are laid out that you can come back to each at different times to answer question you may have at a later date. The helpful basic knowledge will help the average person to get the basic info on finances. For the average knowledgeable reader of financial books there are no new revelations. 

Even though the book states the tasks are doable in 30 minutes, I don't think they are. Only if you are already very organized. Yet if you were, you wouldn't need this book. 

There is a web site listed in the book that has worksheets and further articles. 

Here is a list of the chapters:

Part 1: Find Your Baseline

Identify where you stand, what your goals are, and how to get there.

Part 2: Get Organized

Create systems for bill paying, filing, and keeping track of it all.

Part 3: Find the Best Use of Your Money

Determine whether to pay down debt or invest, then decide where to put your money.

Part 4: Get Started in Investing

Establish emergency, short, and long-term plans, and select the right investment mix.

Part 5: Invest in Your Company Retirement Plan

Evaluate your retirement plan and choose the right type of 401(k).

Part 6: Invest in an IRA

Choose the best type of investments and conversion strategies for you.

Part 7: Invest for College

Find the right college-savings vehicle, 529 plan, or investments.

Part 8: Invest in Your Taxable Account

Identify the best investments and maximize tax efficiency.

Part 9: Invest During Retirement

Build an in-retirement portfolio and plan withdrawals.

Part 10: Monitor Your Investments

Check up on or rebalance your portfolio.

Part 11: Cover Your Bases on Estate Planning

Start your estate plan, handle beneficiary designations, and create a personal legacy.

As with all financial help books, this one is written to apply to the broad population. Its a very good start for a neophyte in financial literacy. Some readers will find that this info is enough for their money life. But, more complex situations call for professional assistance in a Financial Advisor. I believe with something as important as your money, its imperative to get a professionals advice, at least once.

Home Ownership Gets a Bum Rap.

Last week Time magazine has a front page article called "The Case Against Home Ownership". In this article the writer Barbara Kiviat takes to task the pitfalls and negatives of home ownership. Barbara Kiviat is a prolific writer currently at Time, Inc. She also wrote for "Mutual Funds Magazine" and previously for "The Arizona Republic". She earned a Masters in Journalism at Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism and a BA at John Hopkins University. 

In a through article she takes to task the idea of home ownership has been sold to us and it is harmful to our society. All throughout the last century starting in the early 1900's home ownership was pushed on the American population as part of a way to make society more functional. That it would bring economic and societal stability. But with it also brought the dark side of home ownership. 

The writer states,"The dark side which includes foreclosures and walkaways, neighborhoods plagued by abandoned properties and plummeting home values, a nation in which families have $6 trillion less in housing wealth than they did just three years ago. Indeed easy lending stimulated by a cult of home ownership may have triggered the financial crisis and led to the biggest bailout, that of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Housing remains a drag on the economy. Existing-home sales in July dropped 27% from the prior month, exacerbating fears of a double dip recession and accelerating the accompanying slide in stocks that that took the Dow Jones industrial average to a seven-week low. And all that is just the obvious tale of a housing bubble and what happened when it popped. The real story is deeper and darker still."

The writer uses words like "cult" in her description of the way all Americans dream of owning a home. It seems we have all been brainwashed by business and the government. Our love of having our own home and the pride that bestows is a result of a marketing scam. Owning property has been a staple of the American experience throughout our entire history. Our history is replete with examples of the American citizen trying to carve out his piece of this land. But to the writer of the article that dream is a con strewn on us. And we don't even know it.

The writer cites examples of how the government has been involved in this. Starting in the 1800's when land was being sold very cheap or given away so as to foster settlement of the new western states. In the 1900's government set up campaigns to foster home ownership. Even after the Great Depression President Roosevelt created the Federal Housing Authority and later Fannie Mae to get lending on home mortgages started again. We see the campaigns continuing through the Second World War. Even up till the present time when Bill Clinton and George Bush encouraged home purchasing through their administrations policy's and laws. 

I can see how the writer sees the immense help and financial assistance provided by government over the last two centuries as a negative. She seems to believe the government should not be involved in the societal development of home ownership in this country. The undue influence of the government, their legislation and work with private industry was not necessary or wanted according to her. Again I can't agree because I feel that we would have found our own way of buying homes without government help. The government made it easier when times were tough or when economy was slowing. 

Later in the article  the writer again states how we were brainwashed into thinking home ownership was a special need for us. Maybe she doesn't experience the deep human need to call ownership of a home and piece of ground an integral part of the our life experience. She also states the "lack of Mobility" the purchase of a home creates. The financial mistake of putting all of ones assets into one thing. She goes on to state how a mortgage is a millstone around our necks. 

With faint praise she does state there are a few pluses that are stated in the article. Owners of homes invest more time and money on upkeep. You can do your own repairs and also it affords you to indulge you gardening hobby. But there seem to be even more negatives of home ownership like detached homes, as opposed to apartments, use 49% more energy. Which leads to the increased use of oil. The brainwashed citizens are again manipulated to feel they have to move out of the cities because they dirty and crime ridden. But now are a very pleasant place to live. It's also unfair that home owners get tax breaks and renters do not. This is unfair.

I have really enjoyed reading this article because it is very well written. I must admit Barbara Kiviat is an excellent writer. She obviously is highly educated and skilled in her craft. Her point of view is unique to say the least and I will read more of her articles soon. Yet I find her conclusions all wrong. She is a product of the current culture idiom of blame everyone but yourself when you screw up. 

In the book there is a deep slant against home ownership. The arguments against it just don't hold water. Trying to blame the government for pushing the idea of home ownership is wrong. Most Americans given the choice to own or rent, would probably own. To blame the high cost of ownership to renting is ludicrous. Of course it costs more to own. Repairs, taxes, insurance, mortgages, etc. make it more expensive. Rent if you want to save money, but your home is not yours. It belongs to someone else. And that's the big difference. Its like the difference between marriage and dating. You have a bond between your house you own and yourself. As you do your spouse and you. 

Its sad to blame the government, the banks, lenders and all financial institutions for making those poor people sign up for those mortgages. I say it was the personal responsibility of the borrower to know if they were able to replay the money they borrowed. Ultimately, the owner is responsible for his actions and the resulting failure or success of their decision. Why not bring back personal responsibility and repercussions for our actions. 

Home ownership is part of the American Dream and human experience. Its in our DNA to crave our own hearth and home. And when you do, be sure your able to pay for it.

Is Ditching Your Mortgage An Option?

If you owe more on your mortgage than your house is worth you have an underwater mortgage. What options do you have? Do you give up paying the mortgage and leave the house to foreclosure. 
 
People look at this problem two ways. First, there are those that think it is unethical and shameful to walk away from an obligation. Secondly, those that think walking away is nothing compared to what the banks have done, making a profit on bad loans and those that gambled on mortgages. 
 
If we look at it from a strictly economic position. At what point are you so far under that there is no way you will ever be even in the foreseeable future. Not walking away would be the wrong thing to do. If your 50% underwater on a $400,000 home how is not walking away the right thing to do for you financial life. 
 
If you compare your mortgage payment to the rental payment for the same house, is the rental payment lower than the mortgage payment. If your mortgage payment is $2600 and the rental payment is $1600, what do you do? Then it would make sense to walk away because you would be saving $1000 month. Over ten years that would come to $120,000. If you did this the you would have this money and your credit report would have been cleared of the foreclosure years ago. If you did stay and paid your mortgage, you may have some equity or still may be underwater at the end of ten years. 
 
Some good news from Moody's Economy.com , 62% of major metropolitan areas will have their home values return to pre-recession levels by 2016 . But if that is inconceivable to you, some experts say it may take til 2030 or 2040 to return to those levels. 
 
Still the stigma of being foreclosed on is strong in some people. The discarding of an obligation so big is so negative to people they find it hard to chose that decision. Yet you could, after 7 years have a clean credit report by then and the stigma may have passed. You could purchase a house and start over. What ever choice is made, both options are gut wrenching. 

The ETF Price War

Image via WikipediaThe cost to invest in ETF's has dropped dramatically this year. From the high commission fees of previously years, to sometimes zero commission fees, today. The competition between brokerage houses has benefited the consumer. With the amount of money these companies make it's about time they give a break to the consumer. It really helps the beginning investor the most. Because they're the ones who need the most help in the beginning years of investing. 
 
My favorite investment company Vanguard has expanded it's ETF line-up with 20 new funds. The most known fund the Vanguard 500 Index Fund now has an ETF version. With an expense charge of only 0.06%. The lowest cost for any S&P 500 ETF. The new funds bring Vanguards ETF offerings to 66. 
 
This is a great thing for competition in the investing world. Charles Schwab cut expense ratios and removed trading commissions on all it's own ETFs. Fidelity has also waived fees on 25 iShares ETFs. In assets, State Street and iShares are first and second in assets. But Vanguard is third with $103 billion in assets, with a $14 billion increase in assets so far this year. 
 
All this competition is a great benefit to the consumer. Vanguards new ETFs include an international real estate fund, mini bond funds, and value and growth-style stock funds. 
 
This is something along time coming. It benefits new investors and old alike. The low expenses and ease of investing will only attract new investors and impact the brokerage houses bottom line for the better. As always for long-term investors, regular index mutual funds with low cost, remain an excellent option. 

College Loan Defaults Increasing

Image via WikipediaOver at Yahoo.com there's an interesting article about graduates not paying their student loans. Figures from the U. S. Department of Education shows 7 percent of borrowers of federal student loans defaulted within two years of graduation, up 6.7 percent from the previous year and 5.2 percent the year before that. 
 
Her we have the perfect storm of easy flowing money from the government. Coupled with the recession starting and the cutback in job hiring. These two factors really hurt the newly graduating students. 
 
Even before the recession was on the horizon student borrowing had doubled. Education Secretary Arne Duncan voiced his concern over excessive debt and useless degrees. The article goes on to argue not about the burden, all this debt has but, who's debt is worse public or private schools. 
 
Here we see the bureaucrat mentality. The common sense rules of excessive debt isn't even explored. Just who to point fingers at. We have 2 problems here. First a mindset of non-restrictive borrowing. No preset guidelines depending on the degree your seeking. For example, borrowing $100,000 for a job that only pays $35,000 per year. Secondly, why is the government so deep in the student loan business? I can see some intercession by the government for it being the source of last resort for people who can't borrow anywhere else. 
 
Even some private sector loans are guaranteed by the government. The government has a never ending supply of money to loan out. In this day of an ever expanding government. Do we have to address every need of the citizen. Maybe it's time for Uncle Sam to but out. 

8 Great Money Moves

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In today's economy confusion is the norm. So what's the right thing to do? Here are 10 positive suggestions of things to do with your money. 
 
1. Max out that 401(k) 
This is an easy one. Every dollar that you invest comes off your taxable income. Better yet if your company matches that's a 100% gain. 
 
2. Give up your vacation home. 
I know it's your favorite thing but it also is your most expensive financial burden. They cost big money to buy and we only use them only a few weekends a month. Don't forget the annual upkeep, maintenance, and taxes. 
 
3. Put $5000 into a IRA or Roth 
If you over 50 you can put $6000 and your spouse can do the same. A regular IRA cuts your taxable income and grows tax free, it's only taxable when you take it out. In a Roth, you contribute after-tax dollars, buy then it's tax free forever. 
 
4. Pay off your credit card debt. 
If your carrying a balance your paying high interest on somebody else's investment. Pocket that interest payment and stop helping credit card company's get rich. 
 
5. Fire your Banker. 
Most banks we use today have high fees. Dump them and find a nice local community bank that will look after your money for a lot less. 
 
6. Get your tax refund early. 
Make sure your withholding on your pay is correct so at tax time you don't get a big tax refund. Don't lend Uncle Sam your money interest free. 
 
7. Buy inflation-protected bonds. 
Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS are boring and won't make you rich, but they are guaranteed. The U.S. Government and the coupons and principle is adjusted for rising inflation. Make sure they are in a tax-sheltered account because they are susceptible to taxes. 
 
8. Play tough with your Insurance company. 
Whether it s you car,home or boat call up your agent and ask for a reduction or shop around for better prices. Also raising your deductible can also save you money 
 
Try these money move and start saving money. 

Your Investment Advisor Can Juggle, Too!

Image by jericl cat via FlickrOver at Schwab.com they have a new Investment Adviser survey. It has quite a few details of what your advisor has to go through. The job of your investment advisor is part guide and part handholder. Advising is a person to person business. You must establish trust and build a relationship. We are handing over our money, which is like our children. 
 
One survey reflects the difficulty in achieving a clients goal. The data shows back in July 2007 it was quite easy, only 27% thought it was a problem. It peaked at 84%, January 2009. This shows the good times when everything was fine and money was being made. But when the market tanked, I'm sure your advisor was on the phone all day trying to calm down their clients. 
 
The survey reflects the changing activities of clients. Clients have increased their activities in reducing expenses at home. Also, reducing their spending on discretionary items. Everyone is tightening their belts during these times. 
 
The chart demonstrating the reasons clients leave the advisor, states 62% leave because they have lost trust in the firm. 64% leave because they want more personal service. 33% leave because they have lost money. Which also leads to losing faith in the advisor. When the market pulls back your bottom line is not the only thing that suffers. Your advisor catches alot of the blame. 
 
When ask to pull out their crystal ball and asked for a prediction on which sectors would rise, they said the top 3 sectors to rise are Information Technology, Energy and Health Care. Also 20% of the adviser's revealed they had no view of the future. They are the smartest of the bunch. 
 
I have a healthy respect for financial adviser's, there consul and advice have helped me succeed in investing. It's always good to pay an independent advisor to get a recommendation and learn a little about your investments. It's like your yearly Doctor's visit. Do you take as good care of your money as your body? 

How To: Create A Budget

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As we go through life if we don't have a plan we make mistakes. Just like taking a road trip, if we don't have a 

map we could get lost. That's what a budget is, a financial map for our money.

Ben Franklin said,

"Buy failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

 Because we have a natural tendency to spend all we have, we all need a budget. It doesn't matter what age, stage of life, or if we're rich or poor. The most important part of the budget is it helps us coordinate our spending with our priorities. Here are three budgeting forms: Online Budget Form , Printable Budget Form and Spreadsheet Budget Forms.
 
Step 1 Start the budget by entering your income at the top. This will should include all income. Whether it's salary, pension, social security, investment income, or other. 
 
Step 2 
Now we go to the expense section. Here we list the fixed expenses first like the mortgage/rent, car loans, and home equity loans. Also your student loans and credit card payments. 
 
Step 3 
List the amounts that you are saving for. They could be college, emergency, vacation funds. Don't forget to enter your monthly amount for investing. 
 
Step 4 
Then comes the variable expenses. These would be your electricity, gas, telephone, water, household repairs, childcare, clothing, food and dining out. Also personal care(haircuts), medical/dental, and charities. 
 
As you adjust the numbers you will see how the changes affect your ability to save more or less. The chart will also have a section where you can add the actual numbers so you can compare and adjust for next month. Don't forget that this is not your first and last budget. This has to be done every month for it to help you organize and stay organized. 
 

John Maxwell says,

" a budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went" 

 
The goals of budgeting are you will see where your money is going. If you see where it's going your more able to adjust spending and plan better. 
 
Don't worry if your doing it all right at the beginning. It takes time to get it right. But with time you will get better and better. For the items that occur that are unforeseen, that you can't budget for, that's what the emergency fund is for.