Tools and Tips to Make Saving for Retirement Easy

With all of the recent changes in social security and government policy concerning retirement, many people are placing renewed importance in organizing themselves for their retirement to ensure that when ready, they can retire comfortably and with few financial worries. 

Saving for retirement during an economic crunch may seem particularly difficult, but there are many things you can do even now to safeguard your retirement. Consider using some of these tips to plan your retirement:

Understand your situation.

Every person has a unique set of circumstances that characterize their work and personal lives and that will necessarily affect their retirement plans. Before you attempt to draft a concrete retirement strategy, you must have a complete picture of your situation. 

Keep in mind that it is estimated that most people will need to have between seventy and ninety percent of their current, pre-tax salary available every year during retirement to maintain their accustomed standard of living. 

How many years do you have before you would like to retire? How much money will you need to sustain your lifestyle? Will you have any dependents to care for at this time? 

How will you cover medical costs and emergencies? Think about the whole picture before deciding on a plan of action for your retirement.

Know what options your employer can offer you.

Many employers offer their employees the options to participate in a 401(k) retirement plan whereby a portion of the worker’s earnings is automatically deducted from the paycheck to be placed in a separate retirement fund that is then matched in some capacity by the employer. 

These plans are a great saving tool, essentially providing you with free money from your employer that will increase your retirement savings and significantly affect the amount of interest you will earn on your investment. 




The longer you contribute to a 401(k) plan without touching the money, the higher the interest earned and the more money overall you save for your future. Some companies have their own types of retirement savings plans, all of which still use similar devices to increase your savings. 

If your employer does not currently offer any savings options, discuss the possibility with them. Because of the investment capacity of retirement plans for companies, beginning a retirement program is an attractive option for them as well. Work with your employer to find a solution that is beneficial to you both.

Make your own IRA.

An IRA is an Individual Retirement Account that anyone can create and place up to $5,000 in when under 50 and even more when older than 50. These accounts offer lucrative interest rates and many tax benefits to enrollees. There are two main types of IRAs you can open that affect the amount that is withdrawn every month and the tax benefits associated with the accounts - a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. 

The primary differences between these types involve the way the investment is taxed before, during, and after deposit and withdrawal, with Roth IRAs being somewhat more flexible than traditional IRAs. For more information on IRAs, see CNN Money.

Invest.

In addition to these retirement saving options, you should also look into common investment tools like stocks, bonds, and CDs. These options vary in the amount of risk and profit they offer investors and should be chosen based on these factors and the circumstances of the individual investor involved. 

Most of these options are for long term investment, meaning the money involved will be unavailable for years after the initial investment, and thus should only be used when you are sure you will not need this money any time soon. If you already own stocks, you can look into covered calls. What are covered calls? 

They are an option that allows you to capitalize on the value of your stocks continuously without selling ownership. You can then use this money to make further investments that can increase your overall investment portfolio.

Even if retirement may be decades away, creating a retirement plan now is the best way to ensure that you will be ready to comfortably retire when the time comes. Take advantage of your employer’s retirement plan options, open your own IRA, and invest in a variety of manners to create a strong retirement plan for yourself and your family. For more tips, see the US Department of Labor.

Take Charge of Your Money in Your 50s

Keep Reading to Learn More About Saving and Investing in Your 50s

Photo credits: FaceMePLS

If you want to avoid ending up on the streets begging for money, it's important to take your finances seriously when you're in your 50s. It would be best if you already have your finances under control at this age - not to mention a sizeable savings - but if you don't it's not too late to do something to protect your future. This can help you truly enjoy your golden years. 

Managing Your Money in Your 50s

Here are some specific tips and advice for anyone who is 50+ and is wondering about securing their future financially.

• Assets and Debts - The very first thing you need to do is make sure you have an accurate account of what you own as well as what you owe. Knowing this is the only way you're going to be able to decide what you need to do to specifically take charge of your money. 
• Save, Save, Save - You should be doing this your entire life, but if you're late to the party you need to get serious about saving as much money as you can. You can basically do this in two ways. You can increase your income in some way or you can cut down on your expenses. Some people find a combination of both is helpful. 
• Refinance - If you still have a mortgage on your home, it may be time to take a look at refinancing it if you can get better interest rates. Even a couple percentage points can make a huge difference in your monthly payments and how much you're able to save instead of paying interest. 
• Invest Wisely - In addition to saving in a normal savings account at the bank, it's a good idea to invest. However, you should do this wisely. Don't get greedy. If an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it's probably a scam. Just remember Bernie Madoff. People 50+ are getting close to retirement and may think about taking more investment risks, which isn't necessarily a good thing. 
• Cut Your Costs - This has already been mentioned, but you should also cut down on your expenses. Specifically, this can be as simple as not eating out as much or cutting down on the cable television costs by cancelling premium channels. Whatever you decide is right for you, do something to curb your spending a little so you can save even more. 

If you follow the advice above carefully, you're going to find that it's easier to take charge of your money situation when you're 50+ years old. Everyone's life is different, of course, but by your 50s you should be able to have all of your money problems figured out. If not, you should make financial independence and freedom a priority in your life before the situation gets out of hand.

Written by: Tammy Tantrunk likes the Synthetic Grass Warehouse because of all the different solutions they offer for artificial turf.

How to Safely Take No Interest Deals

You can afford many things now, such as tires, furniture, electronics and appliances. Purchase it now and never pay interest for 2 years straight. As it is the best deal, you will find it hard to miss the chance.

The Interesting Deal

We have all known about no interest deals and same as cash deals. Those things come in various sizes. You can obtain ninety days same as cash. Even better, how if you pay no interest for one year, two years or more? Such deals might be very alluring to most people. Particularly when you want certain items now. In the end, you will have much time for paying it off completely. Let’s hope so, since when you can’t it might cost you much time. And if you are not cautious you might find yourself paying additional fees that come out of nowhere.

Look before You Leap

Just like you should do with other financial product, it is good idea to spend your time to completely comprehend the credit terms in advance. It is essential to understand how it works. In order to avoid any unexpected occurrence and the difficulty of attempting to solve problems later.

Here are several questions to answer prior to deciding to take the deal: How long will you need to pay with no interest? Do you need to make payments in each month? How do you calculate them? Do you find any other fees related to the credit offer? What will happen in case you can’t pay it off on time or miss a payment? You be in a hurry to complete the process. However, it is better to take the additional step and understand the entire fine print. Otherwise, you might find yourself dealing with a service that you don't even need or want that costs you big cash every month.

Taking the Advantage

Actually, it is possible to take advantage from no interest deals. My first one was around ten years ago when I had to purchase the latest set of tires. The company were offering me a US $50 cash card and ninety days same as cash. I gladly took it. I obtained the free cash card and complete the payment as agreed. Finally I end up winning US $50 without paying a dime in fees/interest.

Perhaps an example of the most famous no interest deals is on the furniture. For instance, I discovered an offer in the internet for “No Interest Till Feb 2017.” When I contacted them, I found out the following things. Offer is applicable to purchases of US $2,000 and more. Its monthly payments are distributed evenly across its term of the agreement. 

It means, you would take the total amount of cash and then divide it by how many months till the promotion ends. In case you miss a payment, automatically interest kicks in. The interest rate actually is 23.99 percent and it resets to the whole balance from the starting point. It means you can purchase a home full of furniture with no need to pay any interest till Feb 2017.

Understanding Online Share Trading

Trading stocks on a computer (Photo credit: ota_photos)

Is there a secret to online share trading? The tools and techniques you use for offline trading are very similar when you trade online. The knowledge and experience comes through when you learn about your market. After many years you learn to develop systems, patience, and to see the world’s markets a lot more clearly.

Continue to learn

If you want to be a good online share trader you must spend time learning your market. Investing the time to learn your market is imperative if you want to be successful with online share trading. With this knowledge you will be able to adapt to any market situation like the Australian share market, or other markets that have their own individual behavior. 

Build a System for Online Share Trading

In any system you need to plan for expected and for the unexpected situations. Build your system and use it when you are trading online. There will be times when your system doesn’t work. But it’s best to stick with it and ride the tide till it’s over. No system works every time. When your system fails you need to find out where the problem is and adjust your strategy.

Wait until it’s ready.

Using patience and waiting for the deal to come to you is just one more habit that a share trader learns about at the start their career. Patience is one of the share trader’s best tools. 

Understand the big picture

Seeing the big picture and knowing the details are how an online share trader understands the markets and trades successfully.

When you see the big picture you understand that just because your equity drops in price there is no need to sell a position. You have learned, through experience, some trades go down but later increase in value. Only a trader who has been working in the business has the discipline to stay invested and not run.

Online share trading has leveled the field so many more people can participate in trading. Today anyone can trade, you do not need to have a pro or have a pro help. The average man or woman can do well trading in the market. All it takes is for the new investor to be educated.

Share trading, can be a risky endeavor, so it is best to be very knowledgeable in all aspects of the trade to avoid losing your hard-earned money.

Are You Too Old to Start Making Money Online?

Technology is often thought of as a young-man's game (or a young woman's) and that might perhaps explain why you regularly hear of these young entrepreneurs like Zuckerberg and Nick D'Aloisio (the Summly kid). Presumably younger people generally have a better understanding of technology, are more in touch with what's happening, and are thus better poised to set up their own businesses utilizing technology to make themselves billionaires.

But is this actually true? Do you really have to be young to get rich online or is it possible at any age? How about over fifty?

Why 50 is Just Right

Well actually it may surprise you to learn that you are actually at the very best age to start making money online if you are over fifty. The reason we hear more about guys like Zuckerberg and Nick D'Aloisio is partly just that they are more media-friendly. Getting rich online at a young age just makes a great story for the papers, and so when someone youthful has a hit app or website you're much more likely to hear about it. At any age these sorts of stories are the exception, but there are more successful entrepreneurs aged over 40 than any other demographic. And that must be rather encouraging.

There are many things that make you better poised to be a success online once you reach your later years too. For one, you will of course have more experience – perhaps not with tech – but probably with business, with finance, with people and with all the other elements required to make a successful product and business.

At the same time you are also likely to have a bit more money behind you which you can then invest into your new company should you wish and you're likely to find it easier to get loans if you want them.

As you get older still and are perhaps working fewer hours, you might also have more free time to dedicate to running your online business. Imagine being in a situation where you have all the time you need to work on a website, no day job anymore to take up your time and some disposable cash to pour into your idea. That's really rather ideal…

The Challenges

There are challenges as well though, which include the potentially relative lack of tech knowledge. If you find yourself in a situation where you'd like to be an online entrepreneur but don't know anything about programming or internet marketing, then that leaves you with two options:

a) Learn the topic you need to know about – again you should have the time and this will likely be a skill that benefits you in other ways too.

b) Outsource the elements you're not confident with – if you're a good writer or a designer then you can handle those elements of your online business but outsource the actually coding or the SEO to others. This is what good businesses do anyway, and there are plenty of ways you can find cheap services online that will handle your business for you for a reasonable cost.

The other thing to do is to try and choose an industry and a business model that plays to your strengths. One way to do this in particular is to create a website, an app or an eBook that is targeted at your demographic. This is a good strategy because you will find that your sensibilities that way become an asset rather than a set-back. You will have more idea of what other people over fifty want from a website or an app, and as such you'll be able to fend off the competition. This is a great captive audience with the most disposable income, so in fact you're in the perfect position to make a killing online!

Author Bio:

The author is this article is Jenny Wadlow. She is a professional freelance blogger. She writes articles for Bentham IMF, a commercial litigation finance company. She uses her free time to indulge in reading and sports activities.

Life Insurance Tips if You’re Over 50

If you're over 50, the time has probably come for you to start considering taking out life insurance to keep things under control, should you unexpectedly die. 

Seeking out the best policy can be a little bit of a challenge however, so you might want some tips to get you going before you get begin, as you don't want to end up taking out a policy that you don't need, or one that costs you more than it should. 

Decide How Much You Need

It's often a good idea that you first understand just how much you're going to need, in terms of a payout, when organizing a life insurance policy. To find this out, you might want to take a look at your current costs, and what debts you currently have. As well as this, look at any people that depend on you for an income, as you might want it so they can carry on living as they do, even when you're no longer here to provide for them.

Take Steps To Reduce Policy Prices

Another thing you might want to consider, is improving your lifestyle. If your health is already in good condition, you'll already be at an advantage, as you'll be paying less than most, when insurance companies see you more favorably. 

If you've got a few unhealthy habits however, take this as a chance to kick them to the curb, and begin a new healthy life. 

Doing so could reduce the amount you're forced to pay, when it comes to finally taking out the policy you decide on.

Find the Best Deal

If you have not already considered the option, shopping around for a good deal is spectacular way to save on your life insurance policies. Back in the day you might have had to call up companies individually in order to find a good deal, however now you have the chance to find all that's on offer, just by looking at one screen. 

Different websites cater to different demographics, and so you'll want to find one suited to your age group. For instance, if you follow this link www.genesage.com/life-insurance-over-55-cover, you'll be able to find out about the options that are available to people of the age of 55 and over. 

Life Insurance...Because You Never Know What Could Happen

The fact that life insurance exists, gives you the chance to take care of those you love, and settle any debts you might still have, even in the event of your death. With so many different companies, offering so many different policies, knowing what's right for you can be a tiresome experience. 

The task can be made easier however, and by seeking out and following the proven tips available, you'll be able to pick the right policy for you, and make sure you're not paying an extortionate price in the process.

As long as you do what's needed ahead of time, you can sit back and relax, knowing that whatever happens to you, money will be the least of your worries, when it comes to taking care of those you love, should you no longer be here to do so.