Your Family's Financial Focus - Six Important Areas to Look At

One of the best things you can do periodically is assess where you are right now. Consider the following six areas of financial health to determine where you are — and what you might need to do to get your family’s finances back on track.

Housing Payments

The commonly used rule of thumb is that your housing

Continue reading Your Family’s Financial Focus – Six Important Areas to Look At

Creative Estate Planning

Many of us are so behind in our savings that we must rethink our long-term financial goals, and may be struggling to find anything to leave as an estate to our heirs.

If you haven’t been able to save enough for a tidy bequest, or your goals were crushed in the recession, try these tactics for

Continue reading Creative Estate Planning – Maximize Your Legacy

Your Health and Insurance Costs – Four Ideas to Cut Your Costs Right Now

1. Life Insurance Rates are Lower, Even Though You’re Older: Premiums have plummeted over the past decade, and you may be able to save hundreds of dollars by reshopping your policy, even though you’re older now. Term-insurance prices varied widely in 1998, and many major insurers were charging a 40-year-old man at least $750 per

Continue reading Your Health and Insurance Costs – Four Ideas to Cut Your Costs Right Now

Whole Life Insurance, Looking Good, Can Be A Conservative Foundation for Investments

Thanks to conservative investments in bonds, whole life—and its cousin, universal life—delivered positive returns during the financial crisis. But before you sign up for a policy, beware: You will pay hefty premiums and, in most cases, a steep up-front commission that eats up your first-year premium, leaving little of it for investment.

Whole life and universal

Continue reading Whole Life Insurance, Looking Good, Can Be A Conservative Foundation for Investments