Megan McGinnis' Blog–Get Connected!

Loan Modification Program that’s Free-NACA

Loan Modification Program that’s Free-NACA I am re-publishing this article as I see the need is extreme and I continue to hear positive results coming from this group.  Please consult their website for current events.  The link is below.  Best of luck.  Megan McGinnis _______________________________________ I just discovered this loan modification program that’s free yesterday [...]

Top 10 Financial Services Experts on Twitter

Top 10 Financial Services Experts on Twitter 1. Suze Orman | ( SuzeOrmanShow on Twitter ) Emmy Award Winning TV Show Host, Number One NYTimes Best Selling Author, Motivational Speaker and America’s Most Trusted Personal Finance Expert 2. CMEGroup | ( CMEGroup on Twitter ) A CME/CBOT/NYMEX Company 3. Kiva.org | ( Kiva on Twitter [...]

To Pay or Not to Pay Taxes – The Debate Over Roth IRA Conversion Rages

To Pay or Not to Pay Taxes – The Debate Over Roth IRA Conversion Rages My associate Amanda Han introduced this topic on converting to a Roth IRA but I think it’s compelling enough to examine in more detail.  This is an opportunity for many people to pay taxes on the “penny seed” instead of [...]

Seeking Residual Income, Real Estate Investor Stumbles into the Information Age

Seeking Residual Income, Real Estate Investor Stumbles into the Information Age What’s all the hype about residual income?  Well, there are only so many hours in a day to work, 24 to be exact, and if you derive all of your income from just those hours then you have to work a lot of hours [...]

Are All Novice Real Estate Investors Seeking a Get Rich Quick “Fix?”

Are All Novice Real Estate Investors Seeking a Get Rich Quick “Fix?” What’s the allure of real estate investing?  Why are so many people drawn to this field as a means of creating a second income?  I think this is so primarily because it is sold as a get rich quick scheme.  Have you ever [...]

Client Made a 401K Withdrawal–Uninformed Realtor Causes Client to Pay $15,000 in Unnecessary Taxes

Client Made a 401K Withdrawal–Uninformed Realtor Causes Client to Pay $15,000 in Unnecessary Taxes I was sitting in the sauna a few weeks back, chatting with a fella who had just liquidated his 401k because he was sick and tired of the performance and so he decided to take action and buy an income property [...]

Tools for the Times. Which Financial Planning Software Is Best for You?

Tools for the Times.  Which Financial Planning Software Is Best for You? Ok, it’s kind of mundane but folks need some kind of financial planning software, I figure, to get back on track.  The question is: who do I use?  Take it from this expert if you are looking for some advice.  We all need [...]

How Much is Enough?

How Much is Enough? Four flat screen TVs, 3 cars, a 3500 square foot home for 2 people and a dog, including an eight hundred square foot kitchen with custom granite counter tops in which no one cooks: is this the American Dream Home or is it the American Debt Problem?  Do you know anyone [...]

Knee Deep in Debt–Options for the Dumbfounded

Knee Deep in Debt–Options for the Dumbfounded As we saw in the previous article on debt settlement options, it’s good to check in with the government to see what their opinion is.  I found this second article on the Federal Trade Commissions website to be of value too.  It is long but you can choose [...]

Are you one of “The Near Bankrupt?”

Are you one of “The Near Bankrupt?” Not everyone in trouble in this economy has run up debt to pay for their “expensive toy” habits.  Many people in the US have resorted to using their credit cards to help supplement the loss of income due to layoffs or reduced hours.  The figures are growing and [...]

Bait & Switch in the area of debt settlement? Who do you trust to handle your credit card debt?

Bait & Switch in the area of debt settlement?  Who do you trust to handle your credit card debt? There are many companies out there purporting to reduce your debt but it’s hard to know what the best options are.  With so many sources of information online it’s easy to get influenced by opinion, and [...]

Loan Modification Scams – No More!

Loan Modification Scams – No More! This new loan modification legislation in California, which prevents anyone from charging up-front fees, signals a big change to come in the foreclosure arena.   I think this legislation will cause even more foreclosures down the line because home owners can’t do the negotiations themselves and no upfront fee [...]

Doomsday for the American Economy Because of Greedy Banks ?

Doomsday for the American Economy Because of Greedy Banks ? Well, I have a 50% chance of being right and a 50% chance of being wrong on the foreclosure front but I believe we have a longer way to go down in the real estate arena before we start our recovery—15 to 25% more.  There [...]

Top Ten Tax Tips–Outside the Box

Top Ten Tax Tips–Outside the Box As I mentioned, I hate talking about taxes but I love finding experts who love to talk about taxes.  I found this Top Ten List that is really smart and wanted to share it with folks who are like me–hate doing it but know it’s necessary.  From retirement planning [...]

Term or permanent life insurance? Part IV of IV

Types of permanent life

The real wild card in terms of price is permanent insurance, because most policies have guaranteed and non-guaranteed portions. There are three main types of permanent insurance.

Traditional whole life: This type offers the most guarantees. The annual premium is guaranteed, and there are minimum guaranteed cash values and death benefits. Most whole life policies these days are “participating,” meaning that the dividends they earn can be used to increase the cash value and/or death benefits, decrease the premiums or be refunded in cash.

If you are a conservative investor and also have trouble saving, traditional whole life makes sense.

Universal life: If you need premium flexibility, especially in the early years of the policy, universal life is for you. Universal life insurance was developed in the 1970s, when insurance-industry regulations changed to allow insurers to be more competitive with other financial-services providers.

Universal life insurance is more flexible than traditional whole life, because premiums can vary from year to year and sometimes can even be skipped. Universal life has maximum guaranteed premiums and minimum guaranteed cash values and death benefits. Instead of dividends, universal life policies earn interest at the credited interest rate determined each year.

Variable life: If you consider yourself a knowledgeable and risk-accepting investor, check out variable life. Variable life insurance has the fewest guarantees and therefore offers the greatest potential for cash-value increases.

There are required guaranteed annual premiums and a guaranteed minimum death benefit. However, there is no guaranteed cash value, and you have to select the investments for your policy.

Buyers typically are offered a variety of mutual fund accounts, ranging from money market funds to aggressive growth funds.
Not an investment toollife insurance

Life insurance should never be purchased solely as an investment. After all, some of your premiums are being used to buy death-benefit coverage and to cover other expenses (including sales commissions). Life insurance should not be purchased on children as a way to save for college, and make sure you (and your spouse) have all the coverage you need on yourselves before you buy any coverage on a child.

When you make your purchase, avoid all of the fancy riders, but do consider the waiver of premium, which suspends your premium payments but keeps the policy in place if you become disabled.

If you find that you cannot afford all of the permanent insurance you have decided you need, consider a combination term-plus-permanent policy.

Term or permanent life insurance? Part III of IV

Term or permanent life insurance? Part III of IV By Ginger Applegarth http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourLife/TheRagingDebateOverTermvsWholeLife.aspx Guidelines to live by when buying Even with all of these variables, there are some guidelines you can follow. The key is how long you plan to keep the policy. If the answer is less than 10 years, term is clearly the [...]

Term or permanent life insurance? Part II of IV

Term or permanent life insurance? Part II of IV By Ginger Applegarth http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourLife/TheRagingDebateOverTermvsWholeLife.aspx Permanent life insurance is more expensive As you might expect, permanent life insurance premiums are more expensive than term premiums because some of the money is put into a savings program. The longer the policy has been in force, the higher the [...]

Term or permanent life insurance? Part I of IV

Term or permanent life insurance? Part I of IV By Ginger Applegarth http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourLife/TheRagingDebateOverTermvsWholeLife.aspx Few people who have bought insurance — or even window-shopped for it — have escaped the debate over term versus permanent insurance. And the wrong kind of life insurance can do more damage to your financial plans than just about any other [...]

Women receive more life insurance benefits than men, survey says

Women receive more life insurance benefits than men, survey says By Bob Graham in IFAwebnews.com A gender gap exists in the amount of life insurance benefits received by men and women after the death of a spouse, according to a survey by MetLife. In general, wives who received life insurance benefits after the death of [...]

Life Insurance-How much is enough?

Life Insurance-How much is Enough? Life insurance, the decision about it is a controversial one.  Term vs permanent.  I will be discussing the various points of view this week so tune in. As your living situation changes ( the value of your home, the income you will replace for example), don’t forget to review your [...]

Retirement Planning-The Key is to Start Early

Retirement Planning-The Key is to Start Early I love these etrade commercials because they are not only funny but they offer an important lesson in each one.  The key to the most successful retirement strategy is to start early.  With the proper instruments, the compounding will do the heavy lifting in your retirement account.  Thanks [...]

Loan Modification vs Short Sale

Loan Modification vs Short Sale Many homeowners don’t know what direction to go when they are facing foreclosure.  They are unfamiliar with the term “short sale” so they don’t know what their options are.  Kurt Novak  sheds some light on these two options. Are Loan Modifications Better than Short Sales? by Kurt Novak When you [...]

Affiliate Marketing Explained-Part III

Affiliate Marketing Explained-Part III By Brian Hunter Affiliate Marketing Benefits “…….Affiliate marketing is an extremely advantageous arrangement for both the marketer and the affiliate. In the case of the merchant, he gets added exposure (and sales) for no more cost and any cost (commission) only arises when sales occur. Additionally, he can have as many [...]

Affiliate Marketing Explained-Part II

Affiliate Marketing Explained-Part II By Brian Hunter Compensation “…….In affiliate marketing, the affiliate is compensated for every visitor, subscriber and/or customer provided through his efforts. This compensation (usually referred to as commission) may be made based on a certain value for each visit. The most attractive aspect of affiliate marketing from the merchant’s viewpoint is [...]

Affiliate Marketing Explained-Part I

Affiliate Marketing Explained-Part I It occurs to me that many folks are unacquainted with this term and could use a bit of an explanation.  It is, after all, all the rage online but it’s not always talked about in most social circles because affiliate marketers capture eye-balls online, not in person, usually…..I have chosen Brian [...]