4 Ways to Find Insurance Plans That Work for You After Your Retirement

Now that you're approaching your retirement, you find yourself making many plans for your financial future regarding Social Security and other areas. 

However, you should not forget to take a closer look at insurance plans as well. By doing so, you can protect not only your health, but also your home, family, and many other important aspects of your life. 

If you are now looking for insurance plans that will work for you after you retire, here are four things to consider.

Travel Insurance

Considered the number one goal of most retirees, traveling the nation and perhaps the world may be one of your highest priorities. If it is, consider investing in travel insurance. 

Along with providing coverage for any medical or emergency treatment you may need while traveling, it will also cover cancellations, delays, and other circumstances.

Lifetime Annuity

While you will hopefully receive a Social Security check each month after you retire, chances are it won't begin to meet your expenses. To make sure you don't run out of money, you may want to purchase a lifetime annuity. 

Able to be bought from an insurance broker, it allows you to pay a certain premium in exchange for getting a predetermined amount of guaranteed income for the rest of your life.

Combination Life Insurance

If you want to have both traditional life insurance coverage and also have the security of long-term care insurance, it might be a good idea to invest in what is called a combination life insurance policy. 

Though generally more expensive than traditional life insurance policies, they usually provide many benefits that may become important as you age. Since most seniors spend well over $100,000 on long-term care after retirement, keep this option in mind when speaking to your insurance agent.

Supplemental Medicare Insurance

As you know, Medicare does not pay all of your medical expenses. Since you will still need to pay 20% of your medical expenses after Medicare pays its share, this can add up to thousands of dollars very quickly. 

If you want to avoid this problem after you retire, it is best to purchase a supplemental Medicare insurance policy from your insurance company. 

While this can reduce your costs to almost nothing, it can be very confusing figuring out which policy is best for you, which is why you should turn to an experienced insurance professional you can trust.

By choosing to be proactive prior to your retirement and getting these and other types of insurance in place, you can make your golden years more enjoyable than you ever imagined.

Facing Bankruptcy? Here Are 4 Things You Have to Know

You may know a few, basic facts about bankruptcy, but there are numerous myths that everyone tends to believe. Know about the rules and risks of filing for Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy along with the exceptions. 

Here are four of the most important facts to know.

Your Credit Is Safe

A bankruptcy remains on your credit report for 10 years and then can be discharged. After this period ends, you have the ability to obtain a new loan, home, car, or other large investment. 

This means that lenders are willing to work with you again. With some patience and proper planning, you can obtain new credit sooner than you think.

You Don't Have to Give Up Everything

Filing for bankruptcy does not mean having to give up your money or assets. You still keep hold of your property, vehicles, and personal belongings. 

If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, keep all of your possessions and claim exemptions that you need for your daily essentials. The reality is that many people's belongings are old or damaged and have little to no value. 

Creditors are not likely to go after your old possessions; however, they may still go after your vehicles and other expensive valuables.

Some Debts Are Not Forgiven

Filing for Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy relieves some but not all debts. The debts that you cannot have discharged must be paid for yourself, such as taxes, child support, and student loans. 

These rules are set in place to force people to take greater responsibility for their actions. On the other hand, you can discharge credit card bills, medical bills, and personal loans. Contact a bankruptcy lawyer to learn more about the debts and discharges in your state.

Bankruptcy Is Not a Bad Idea

When people think of bankruptcy, they tend to only think of the negative consequences that come later. For many individuals and business owners, filing for bankruptcy is one of the best financial decisions they'll ever make. 

It helps them to start over financially and reduce their monthly repayments. This option is not recommended for every debtor, so it's important to review your decision with a bankruptcy attorney.

Every year, debtors file for bankruptcy to relieve their debts without knowing what they're getting into. Some people don't file at all, worried that their credit and reputation will be ruined forever. 

Some borrowers think that the process is easy and all of their debts will be forgiven. It's important to separate fact from fiction as you consider the debt relief option of bankruptcy.

How to Keep All Your Long-Term Investments Protected

When investing your hard-earned money, you likely have yourself a pat on the back for doing something responsible. After all, people have long screamed from the rooftops that it’s better to invest your money than to spend it all on frivolous purchases. 

Unfortunately, this responsible decision can start to look like a major mistake if you end up losing money instead of making more. Certain investment strategies are inherently risky, making serious losses a real possibility. 

In order to avoid such a devastating outcome, you should consider taking steps to make your investments safer. Here are four moves to consider.

Pursue Diversification

The market is an unpredictable environment, and you never know which stream or river will be the next to become poisoned. That’s why it makes sense to make a wide variety of investments so you’re never too dependent on the health of anyone quadrant of the ecosystem. 

You should never invest all your savings in just a handful of stocks. Instead, consider spreading your money around into various sectors and industries.

Invest in Non-Correlating Assets

Certain changes in conditions will affect large blocks of companies in similar ways. A change in regulations, for example, could hurt tech companies while giving traditional news publishers a boost. 

You should study these types of market forces and invest in companies who stand to have opposite reactions to major changes. That way, you’ll never see your entire portfolio wiped out by a single development.

Buy Bonds Rather Than Stocks

While stocks are among the most lucrative investments, they’re also among the riskiest. The market usually trends upward, but it’s volatile and subject to collapse. 

Bonds are much safer investments because they’re guaranteed by the government. You won’t earn too much in interest, but your money will be better protected if you move it from stocks to bonds.

Hire Experts to Rework Your Investment Portfolio

While you can learn a lot about investments by doing your own research online, you’ll never have the full understanding that true experts enjoy. 

To really protect your investments, you should consider hiring professionals who specialize in asset management. They’ll know exactly where to put your money to keep it safe.

You want your investments to increase your wealth, not wipe it out entirely. That’s why you need to go the extra mile to keep your investments safe. All the measures above should help keep you on secure financial footing.

Loans and Lending: How to Get Financing for Your New Home

As the housing market gets tighter, traditional lenders may not have enough flexibility to offer you the money you need in the timeframe you need. Thankfully, there are many private borrowers and FHA alternatives that you can use to fund your house.

New or Existing?

Are you building new or buying an existing home? If you’re buying an existing home that needs some work, you may be able to get short-term lending for the initial purchase, make the repairs to bring the house up to what you need, and then qualify for a traditional mortgage. 

It’s important to be aware that the terms on short term lending can be a bit more expensive than a traditional mortgage. However, you can get the money much more quickly and those dollars will be easier to get approved than a traditional mortgage.

Get Pre-Approved

If you’re working with a realtor, get your documentation together so you can get preapproved for a mortgage with a mortgage broker and have a working idea of the dollars you can qualify for. 

Most of these pre-approvals are what is known as a “soft pull” or a loan approval that doesn’t impact your credit. While talking to the mortgage broker, be prepared to ask about first-time buyer options or down payment loans. There are programs available in some regions that allow you to

• Borrow enough to meet the down payment requirement
• Make payments for a set period of time, both the down payment loan and the mortgage
• Get the remainder of the down payment loan forgiven

Functionally, the down payment loan becomes a grant once you’ve been in the house for a particular number of months or years.

Credit Rating

For those that are planning to build, be very careful with your spending and payment habits once you’re preapproved. You want your credit rating to be as high as it was at the time of preapproval, and higher is even better. 

If you’re building, you may need to re-qualify for the loan in the event of construction delays.

It’s been a very uncertain couple of years and the housing market is very tight. If you find a neighborhood and a home that suits you well, you may have to make a couple of different applications to get fully funded for your region. Keep going so you have dollars in place when you’re ready to shop.