How To Make Sure That Your Retirement Plans Are Safe

Everyone wants to retire at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, you won't be able to retire unless you take steps now to create, fund and protect a variety of plans designed to allow you to retire in comfort. What can you do to make sure that your retirement plans are safe?

Monitor Your Accounts On A Regular Basis

It is a good idea to go over the status of your accounts at least once a quarter. You can make an appointment with your accountant or set aside an afternoon to ensure that your accounts are active and no suspicious activity can be detected. By constantly monitoring your accounts, you can see if anyone is taking money out of them without your knowledge or consent. If you do see something happening with your accounts that you did not authorize, contact your broker immediately to find out what is going on.

Know Your Time Horizon

If you are just starting out in the working world, you can afford to put your money in volatile accounts that are going to make a large overall return. However, you should put your money into conservative income accounts as you get closer to retirement. Although your returns each year will start to decline, you are more focused on not losing your entire investment as opposed to obtaining maximum growth.

Do Your Research Before Investing Any Of Your Money

It is important to read a prospectus before investing in a mutual fund to understand the tax implications of your investment as well as any expenses involved. Before choosing a broker, make sure that your broker has many years of experience in the field of financial management. If you don't take the time to find out how much you will be spending in fees as well as who is managing your money, you could see your accounts drained with no chance of getting your money back.

Always Retain Custodial Control Of Your Accounts

Under no circumstances should you cede control of your accounts to any third-party. Even if your children want to manage your money as you get older, you should refuse their requests. If you cede control of your accounts, you no longer know that your money is going to continue to work for you or be there for you when you retire.

Don't Give Out Account Information Over The Phone

Never give out account information to anyone over the phone. Regardless of who the caller says he or she is, you don't know for sure who you are talking to. If someone needs account information updated or verified, meet with your broker face-to-face to discuss the matter. If anyone asks for your social security information, you can refer that person to your social security attorney Indianapolis.

It is important that you keep your retirement accounts safe from anyone who may want to take your money. You cannot expect anyone else to keep your money safe for you when there may be $1 million or more in the account. By following some common sense rules, your retirement accounts will always stay protected.

The 5 Best Apps for Finding a New Home

House hunting is a long and difficult process, but it doesn't have to be if you're equipped with the right technology. With a smartphone and a helpful real estate app, you'll find your new home faster than you can circle the neighborhood in search of "For Sale" signs. With that in mind, here are the five best apps for finding a new home:

1. Trulia Real Estate (Free for Android and Apple devices)

Image via Google Play

The Trulia Real Estate app combines high-resolution indoor/outdoor photos, interactive maps, and adjustable listing filters to help you find the perfect home. It also has a convenient graphing feature that compares other home prices in the area. 

Not only that, the Trulia app provides users with GPS locations of recently sold homes, schools within the area, and a list of the nearest grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants in the neighborhood as well as real-time listing updates.

2. ZipRealty (Free for iPhone and Android)

Image via Google Play

With the ZipRealty Real Estate App, you can browse interactive listing maps, select houses of interest, and save all search results. As an added convenience, once you've found a house with curb appeal, the app provides one-touch access to local real estate agents. 

Another great feature of the ZipRealty app is it provides WalkScore results for every home you search. WalkScore rates the walk-ability of the neighborhood in relation to nearby restaurants, grocery stores, and other activities.

3. Houston Homes For Sale (Free for Android and iPhone)

Image via Google Play

The Houston Homes For Sale app provides accurate, up-to-date real estate information for the greater Houston area. So, when it comes to finding new homes in Houston, this app provides information on price, taxes, square footage, and estimated mortgages. 

In addition, the Houston Homes app makes emailing or texting listings to friends and family as easy as using the listing share feature. And, when you're ready for a walk through or have any questions, the "Call" feature instantly connects you to a Houston Home representative.

4. Homes.com Real Estate (Free for iPhone and iPad)

Image via Google Play

The Homes.com Real Estate app provides all the same great features as the other apps above, but it takes house hunting a step further with in-depth financial features. 

The app has a built-in mortgage calculator to help you decide whether your dream home is a reality. Likewise, Homes.com includes an instant credit check feature, loan pre-qualification applications, and monthly loan and interest payment information.

5. Rightmove (Free for Android)

Image via Google Play

Taking interactive house hunting to all new heights is the Rightmove app. This app not only incorporates Google's Street View as built-in feature, but when you do find that perfect home, you can share the listing with friends and family via Facebook and Twitter. 

Another great Rightmove feature is the floor plan view. With this feature you can get a feel for the home before you even walk through the front door by viewing full-screen, up to date floor plans as well as property lines. 

When it comes time to find the perfect home, a multitude of listings are only a search away with the apps above.

Sources: http://appcrawlr.com/app/search?topic=house+hunting&topicId=1

Author Bio:
Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including real estate and family.

Do You Need Life Insurance in Retirement?

When most people think of retirement they think of taking extended vacations to warm climates, lounging on the front porch with your grand-kids, and just flat out relaxing. What you might not realize is when you reach the retirement age, you are going to have a lot of things to think about when it comes to your health and finances. You want to make sure that everything is settled and ready as you age, which is possible. To make sure that there are not going to be any worries, you should invest in life insurance. As a senior, you know that you are getting up there in age. To make sure that you are not leaving anything behind and that your family will be able to cover all necessary expenses, you should have that money ready for them. This can give your family the chance to pay for the funeral and all other expenses after your death. 

Life Insurance in the Golden Years

At the retirement age, you might not consider it important or possible to get life insurance. Some people assume that life insurance for seniors is not worth the money, especially with the difficulties involved. The truth, however, is that life insurance seniors can get is actually very helpful. This gives you access to money and peace of mind, which you may not always have on your own. This will help your family to pay for all expenses after your death, allowing them to relax and grieve without stress. This is going to take a lot of pressure from your loved ones. If you are afraid that life insurance baby boomers can get is simply too difficult, do not worry. This does not have to be as hard as you might imagine, especially with the options available. You will be able to find something that matches your needs and that requires minimal effort. 

How to Make it Affordable

Beyond contrary belief, even in retirement getting life insurance can be affordable. Remember, you do not have to go for the most expensive or the longest. When you reach retirement, you may not be able to, want to, or need to get the biggest that you need. Short term is easier to get as a senior and a smaller amount would be better since you will not have as many expenses to be covered. This will give you the ability to have the money that you need and increase your chances of acceptance. If you have health issues that you think will prevent you from getting life insurance coverage, you still have other options. The most popular option is guaranteed issued life insurance. With this type of policy you can actually avoid the medical exam and get life insurance coverage simply by answering some basic questions. The "catch" with these type of policies is that the premium will be much more expensive that your typical term policy. 

Is Life Insurance in Your Future?

If you are still wondering if life insurance baby boomers can get is necessary, the answer is yes. Every person should invest in life insurance, especially with the high funeral costs and many bills left behind. If you want to be sure that your family is not going to be drowning in debt, you need to protect them. That is what life insurance does, and it does that incredibly well. You will be able to choose an amount and policy term so that it works for you and gives your family what is needed. For extra assistance, contact a professional right away. You need life insurance and you need more information about what you can get. Since life insurance seniors would qualify for is different from what someone younger would get, you should have all of the facts. This will help you to get the right one and to be fully protected. 

Jeff Rose is a certified financial planner and an Iraqi combat veteran. He runs the blogs GoodFinancialCents.com and LifeInsurancebyJeff.com.

5 Proven Tips to Making Money Online

The Internet offers a wealth of information for people who are hungry for knowledge. People who want to make money, however, can also find this virtual space a potential goldmine. But as with any goldmine, you must first dig your way through the hard, unpleasant ground to unravel the coveted treasure. Here are 5 tested and proven tips to make money online. 

1. Blogging - Are you described by your friends as a talker? Do you love sharing experiences and other valuable data to others? If you find this idea interesting, you'll find blogging better. Whereas bloggers do not get "Bill Gates" kind of rich, they can collect copious online content to generate steady monthly revenues from Google Adsense and the likes. 

Furthermore, a blog is a great way to promote your other products or services effectively. Make sure to update it though since an outdated blog site doesn't really entice web visitors.

2. Small Business - If you don't want to work for someone else or is tired of the daily commute, starting your small business is a good option. Look for a market niche that is not congested with competitors. Although it seems a good idea to join a market that is always busy because of the possible exposure and customer traffic, it is best to steer clear of these niches and focus on relatively nascent areas. 



Is there a product or service you think is needed and has yet to be discovered? If you have ideas, make the product or service and offer it online through a small business.

3. Affiliate Marketing - This pertains to the act of showing advertisements from companies like McDonald. Every time a person visits the company via your link, you get commission. Through affiliate marketing, there are PPC programs wherein search engines put advertisements on your website that are created to attract prospects.

4. Offer What You're Good At - There is nothing better than making money with something you want to do. Write articles, manage financial accounts, give expert advice, transcribe data, etc. Nowadays, outsourcing is a popular business practice, which lets employers downsize expenses while maintaining the acceptable level of standards.

5. Social Media Advertising - Facebook and Twitter aren't only good for connecting with friends. It is also a feasible money maker. To begin making money through social media advertising, register and sign in to the social media site of your choice. 

Click the Advertisers tab at the bottom of the page and begin creating your advertisements. The process is very simple mainly because the platform guides you step by step instructions.

6. Sell Items You Don't Need - If you have a scooter or a designer bag laying around and dusting away, you can sell the item online. eBay and Amazon are a few online markets that allow people to sell their items via the web. Preferably, you should have the original container and other contents when you resell it. This gives the buyer guarantee that the item is original and not a ripoff

Making money is never easy. But with these simple web-based solutions, you can make stable and predictable checks in the comforts of your home. Of course, it is up to you if you want to make the activity a short-term or long-term affair.

This is a guest post by Liz Nelson from WhiteFence.com. She is a freelance writer and blogger from Houston. Questions and comments can be sent to: liznelson17 @ gmail.com.

5 Great Ways Pinterest Can Improve Your Career

One of the key elements of building your own career is to start connecting with people, start advertising your skills and to make a good impression to others. The social media is one of the medium that is most commonly used for advertising. This advertising scheme using the social media network is not only exclusive for internet marketers but also to professional individuals as well. Using the social media can become a powerful tool that you can use in helping to boost your career and doing the same is not merely limited in advertising your career through text but through images as well. 

Pinterest makes it possible for any professional to improve their career by using its platform for advertising their work, more primarily their skills in designing and other visual portfolio. Pinterest is a social media network which unique feature is the virtual pin board that allows people to pin or post images which is an opportunity to promote the visual presentation of your brand, career or profession. If you aim to promote your career using Pinterest, here are 5 great ways to help you take the right directions. 

1. Showcase your specialty or professional industry

Using Pinterest is a great opportunity to show enticing images that will showcase your specialty or professional career. If you are a professional wedding organizer for instance, you can certainly post the images of the events to which you organized and pin them on your virtual board for everyone to see. If you are a chef, you can take a picture of your master recipes and make people start liking your mouth watering menus. Web designers can post the websites that they have designed while artists could also pin the photos of their masterpieces of artwork. Because photos are worth a thousand words, you can always showcase your brand and specialization that is within your profession in order to boost your career using Pinterest and make your specialty known to the public. 

2. Highlight your customers with due recognition

Pinterest (Photo credit: stevegarfield)

Pinterest can help boost your career when you try to recognize your customers in your Pinterest account. Try to recognize your loyal customers by pinning their photos, their website or anything related to them that will give due recognition for contracting your services. This way, you are building your customers’ loyalty and make them repeat buyers or customers in the future. Customers always like the feeling of being recognized, therefore you should exert effort to make them feel important and appreciated and they will likely patronize your services which is a step of building your career reputation. 

3. Use Pinterest to hunt for a job

You can use Pinterest to promote your portfolio and professional career in landing your dream job. By creating your own personal brand that will highlight your accomplishments and creations by showcasing them on your pin board. Choose the most appropriate videos, photos and articles to pin on your Pinterest pin board that will highlight your skills and talents. You can use this as a reference to support your professional career in order to land your dream job. If you are fortunate enough, someone may find your Pinterest profile very interesting and might offer you a job that fits your qualifications. 

4. Make your Pinterest board a good resource for similar career industry

 (Photo credit: colleengreene)

Users of Pinterest can pin images or re-pin the other user’s photos or pinned items on their own virtual pin board. You can start improving your career and allow it to gain a momentum by working out to make your own pin board a resource of information that is related to your line of profession. You can always be on search for related news and updates about your professional career and provide that valuable information to your own pin board for others to find and re-pin on their pin board as well. You gain more popularity for people who belong to the same work industry as yours and you can start building your own professional brand and career by becoming an authority about your specific career field. 

5. Connect with other Pinterest users who belong to a similar profession as yours

You need to stay connected with people who have the same profession as yours. The more people you can get to become your own network of friends, the more exposure your Pinterest profile gets. As you use your Pinterest account as an extension of your portfolio to showcase your skills and talents, the more people will likely start noticing you. It is essential to be able to connect with professionals who could give you tips on how to prosper in your career and who may be able to vouch for you with a good word of recommendation. Pinterest is a good place to start making friends with people who share the same interest as yours and to professionals who are already successful in similar career industry as yours.

About the Author:

The guest post is written by Mackenzie, finance and business writer and guest blogger for 4 years already. She is proficient at webdesign, internet marketing and guest blogging. She runs the website  Accountancy Services and she loves covering the articles on various blog sites.

5 Ways a Bad Credit Score Can Hurt Your Career Growth

Do you know how good your credit score is? According to Statistic Brain, only 35% of Americans checked their credit file at all last year, and the national average has plummeted to just 691. Despite that, 90% believe that they have a low or average level of debt - but does it really matter? 

Your credit score doesn't just decide if you can finance that new leather sofa, or if you'll get a good rate on your mortgage application. It can have a big impact on your everyday life, too, and having a bad credit score can even stop you being able to get promoted, or even get a job in the first place. So why does it matter, and what can you do about it?

You Can't Get A Job

According to Forbes, 6 in 10 employers now check the credit of their potential new hires. Failing the check can mean kissing goodbye to the job, even if you excelled at interview. Good credit shows the employer that you're a more responsible person. If your job will involved handling money, valuable items or locking up, it's even more likely to signal the end of the road. Financial gurus like Mark Weinberger are perfect to emulate when looking to get your finances on the right track. 

You Can't Get A Phone Contract

Most jobs will require you to be contactable, which means carrying a phone around with you. The best deals on handsets and air time are offered to contract customers who can afford bigger monthly payments: with poor credit, you are likely to be offered a higher rate, or be rejected completely. A pay-as-you-go phone can seem a good solution, but you are charged much more, so keep calls and texts to a minimum and make sure you've always got credit.

You Can't Get Insured

Whether it's getting to work in the morning or driving around as part of your job, chances are you'll need a vehicle. Not a problem if you can get a good finance deal, and some cheap insurance; but terrible if your credit is shot, or if the company can't insure you on a company car. If transport is essential, your only option is to join a car sharing scheme, or show your bosses that you've researched public transport and don't need to drive.

You Can't Move

Sometimes the best opportunities require sacrifice: including relocating. While the best companies will offer a relocation package and try to help you get on your feet, that's not normally an option unless you already work for the company, and they won't help with contracts. If your credit would stop you from renting or buying a new place, you may have to pass up the promotions and opportunities until its better. 

Solving The Problem

So what can you do if you find your credit score holding you back? Be honest. When you give permission for the check, mention any CCJs, DMPs or finance management. Offer an explanation if you have one, and show how you are trustworthy and reliable.If your credit history doesn't come as a surprise, you are much more likely to get the job.

Credit scores has a much larger impact on our lives than many people believe, so make sure that you aren't receiving the brunt of it for your past financial mistakes.