6 Tips For Finding The Best Financial Plan For You in Retirement

Staying financially stable is definitely something that is not easy now a days. That is why it is essential for you to do all that you can to find a good financial plan. 

That way you can have a system that works for you to save money and stay on top of your finances. However, there are tons of different plans out there to choose from. How can you find the best plan for you? 

Here are just a few things to remember when it comes to searching for the best plan for you.

Your Age Matters

When you are young, your focus is typically on paying off educational loans and starting a rainy day fund. 

In mid-life, you are trying to build a diversified financial portfolio to save up for your retirement, because of that you will have to have difference financial plans at different ages. 

When you are nearing retirement age, your focus is on preserving what you have saved with low risk, reliable-yield investment strategies. So let your age lead you to a financial plan that works for your stage of life.

Consider What You Can Afford

Some financial plans are free to use as apps or online tools. Other financial plans may come with fees, such as making use of a professional planner's expertise. 

First, consider what you can afford based on what you plan to save monthly. If you can only save a little right now, give free financial planning tools greater priority.

Use Your Past Mistakes To Chart Your Future Success

The decision to adopt a financial plan is reason to celebrate. Don't let any past mistakes hold you back from the success you still have ahead of you. 

You can actually take what you've learned from your mistakes to look for specific safeguards that may keep you from making them again. 

For example, if you do better with an accountability partner, look for a financial plan that includes an online community where you can post your updates and celebrate others' successes as well.

Don't Let Poor Credit Hold You Back From Saving And Investing

Yes, it can take some time to recover when your credit rating has dipped below what you want it to be. But this doesn't mean you can't start saving and investing while you work to repair your credit. 

In the meantime, when you need a payday advance for saving, investing or emergencies, consider one that won't impact your credit. Life happens for everyone, but there are credit-friendly resources available to help you recover after the unexpected and get back to following your financial plan.

Strike A Balance Between Paying Down Debt, Investing And Saving

Your financial plan should support you and not the other way around. In other words, you should allocate some portion of your disposable income each month to paying down debt, some to saving for a rainy day and some to investing. 

In this way, you ensure your financial health for both the short and long term.

Take Full Advantage of Any Employer-Sponsored Financial Plans

If your employer allows you to contribute to a company-sponsored retirement fund, be sure to participate. 

This will allow you to sock away some money on a tax-deferred basis, which will also lower your annual tax income and thus, your tax bill. 

This is a win-win any way you look at it, and it also forms the basis of a solid financial plan you can continue until your retirement years.

These six tips can form a firm foundation to select a financial plan that can grow and change with you. Your chosen financial plan will give structure to your financial life and peace of mind in years to come.

Stress Relief and Debt Solutions – Tips for a Fulfilling Life in Retirement

Many professionals work for several hours each week and their stress at the workplace interferes with other aspects of their lives. 

Stress is an adverse effect of the pressure that individuals usually deal with at work. Combating and reducing this type of stress should be a goal for everyone because your peace of mind is important.

If you do not deal with stress effectively, it can have a negative impact on your health and wellbeing. Stress decreases productivity and leads to lack of fulfillment. 

Various positive changes in your life can help you gain relief from work stress. Implementing these changes will enable you to have a happier professional and personal life. 

Time Management

People are encouraged to begin their days as early as they can. This makes it possible for you to maximize on the amount of time you have. 

Starting your day earlier will give you more time to fulfill your obligations while minimizing the possibility of working late. When you begin your work early, you will be more productive and enhance your ability to achieve your goals.

Set Goals

• Goals are important because they give you something to aspire to. When you set goals, you gain a better sense of direction. 
• Set realistic goals that will not lead to the anxiety that unreasonable expectations are associated with. 
• People work in different ways but everyone should have clear goals. Use items such as organizers and calendars to make it easier for you to track your goals and become more organized. 

Breaks and Holidays

Sitting all day long at your desk increases stress and can lead to health problems such as back pain. Take an appropriate number of breaks during the day to relax and prevent eye or back strain. An occasional break helps to clear your mind and reinvigorate you.

Most organizations have a provision for time away from work. Use this time to go on a well deserved holiday and relieve any stress that you may have. Vacations are effective solutions for people who seek to be stress relief. 

Eliminating Debt

An important step towards debt relief is to work out your debts and determine the extent of your debt problem. 

The severity of a debt situation is based on factors such as the ability to cater for basic expenses and whether or not your debts exceed your income. Regardless of what your debt situation is, you need to make sure that you deal with it in a timely manner.

Additional Debt

Avoid taking out more loans that will increase your debts. Additional debt will make it harder for you to achieve your goal of financial freedom. After establishing your debt situation, you need to calculate the amount that you are able to pay every month.

Budget

A budget that constitutes your income and expenditure will enable you to work out the amount of money that is available to service the debts. 

Consider how you can cut down on your expenditure by saving more and eliminating expenses that you do not need. You also need to think about how you can increase your income.

Bio - Carl Field is a freelance editor and writer. He has worked in the industry for more than 5 years and covered a variety of topics. His free time is dedicated to charity work and voluntary services. To learn more about debt relief, go to the site.

Follow McDonald’s Business Model to Improve your Business’ Productivity

McDonald’s is one of the most popular food chains to rule the globe. It is, in fact, the largest food chain to sell fast foods like burgers, French fries and soft drinks. McDonald’s continues to satisfy the hunger of million customers on a regular basis. 

This is only a rough estimate; the figures may well be on the higher side. What’s the secret behind such a humongous business success? McDonald’s as an entity does not possess extraordinary skills or abilities. 

It is simply a fast food joint serving good, hygienic and tasty items. There are several similar competitors available, but they have never been able to achieve heights that McDonald’s has reached. 

Definitely, there are reasons that can be held responsible for the company’s constant success. 

Let’s take a look at some of the essential business policies being followed by McDonald’s:

Streamlining the process

There can be better fast food outlets and brands available. However, McDonald’s enjoys the highest popularity. This is because they have the entire business process perfectly streamlined to ensure best customer services. 

They have the fastest services, whether you opt for home delivery, counter purchase or take away. They have a highly streamlined process, right from cooking to putting the stuff together and preparing the dish, and serving to the clients. 

Being streamlined also makes it easier for them to attend more customers within the shortest time-span in comparison to other fast food joints.

Utilizing the concept of Upselling

This is an excellent business process that can reap great results, if handled intelligently. McDonald’s sales staff always have a tendency to boost the clients in including other available items with the ones they are ordering. 

Say, for example, if you are planning to order a cheese chicken burger, they will request you to add French fries and soft drinks to make the meal look fuller. They will also convince the clients with the money savings schemes, if the items are taken together. 

This is an intelligent policy to increase sales and productivity of every item, available with them. And the funny part is that such a policy works big time.

Discounts and limited period offers

McDonald’s also offers limited period food items to increase their demand. They have a tendency to suddenly introduce some special burger items at nominal rates. However, they keep the offer for a limited period. 

This is done intentionally to fetch more clients. They even offer McDonalds discount coupons to customers during the time of purchase. 

The coupons can be used for the next purchase, but it also comes with an expiry date. These are all promotional campaigns to keep up the sales. 

Repackaging the products is an art by itself that not everyone has the ability to carry out perfectly. Speaking about McDonalds, they are masters at repackaging their products in the most perfect way. 

This ability also helps them to take advantage of the different price levels. The concept of “Happy Meal” is the best example to complement this fact. For a few dollars extra, you are getting the good old hamburger with fries, drinks, chocolates and an additional toy. 

Now, isn’t it an attractive deal for the kids? In fact, there are several other meal options available from McDonalds that utilize the repackaging concept for better brand endorsement and high business productivity.

Author Bio: David Wicks is a blogger and e-marketer. He is a regular columnist for https://www.mcdelivery.co.in/. In this article, he has tried to figure out some crucial business policies that have proved to be highly fruitful for McDonald’s’ huge success. These principles can be utilized by anyone planning to be an entrepreneur or want to take up a franchise for some popular and renowned brand. 

Should You Let Your Insurance Lapse?

When you’re young and healthy, insurance of all kinds tends to be more affordable. Health insurance premiums are low, life insurance is a negligible expense, and additional add-ons can cost less than your monthly coffee budget.

As you age though, insurance rates tend to increase. Plans that guarantee life-long rates tend to start out at a higher cost, leading many young people to choose term plans that eventually expire. 

When these come to term, the chances of renewing depend on several factors. If you’ve had long term care insurance and never used it, it may be tempting to let it lapse. In fact, 25% of seniors let their long term care insurance lapse, despite entering the years where they’re likely to need it most. 

Below are some considerations you’ll want to make when deciding whether to renew your long term care insurance.

Upfront Cost

The most common reason to let insurance lapse is the monthly cost. After all, that is the only tangible effect that insurance has on your life until the moment comes that you finally need to use it. 

Be sure to price compare across several companies. If you have a term up for renewal, try to negotiate with your current provider. If you get a comparable quote from a competitor, your current provider is likely to cut you a deal to keep a customer.

Likelihood of Need

Long term care insurance often covers services like adult daycare, home health aides, and assisted living facilities. You can judge your potential need for these services by considering the following:

• Your current health and self-care capabilities
• Your family health history, particularly related to debilitating conditions related to aging
• Your family’s time and monetary resources. Are there relatives who can/will care for you?

Depending on your current and predicted future health, as well as the availability of familial caregivers, you may decide you aren’t likely to take advantage of long term care insurance. 

In this case though, you will still want to consider burial insurance and other life insurance policies that will limit the financial burden of your eventual passing on your loved ones.

Personal and Family Finances

If your life savings is small and your family is financially stable, there may be no reason to have long term care insurance. Conversely, if your fortune is large, it may be more financially savvy to just spend the money on care rather than get it covered. 

But if your wealth is between $200,000 and $2 million, you are in the spot where you have financial assets you may want to pass to family, and long term care could significantly impact that amount. 

This window is the magic spot where insurance can be extremely useful.

You’ll want to consider both your finances and the finances of family members who will bear the burden of your care. 

Talk with them about the best path forward for all. Do you want the security of future protection, or is the possibility of needing long term care one that you’d rather save the money from insurance premiums to address straight on when the time comes? 

There are pros and cons on both sides, and the right answer for you will largely depend on your personal situation and your preferences of where your money goes. 

Would you rather pay into a system that gives you security, but may not be utilized, or risk having to pay higher costs should the need for long term care arise?

Insurance can be a personal and frustrating topic to navigate. Talking with family and financial professionals who you trust can help you make the best decision for you and your family.

Jeriann’s interest in financial writing sprouted from her attempts to pay off her student loans. She was tired of seeing the same tips for saving money (cut your home line, reduce eating out). She now writes about her journey, financial and otherwise at her blog, dairyairhead.com