An investment portfolio will typically contain a range of diverse investments. With different asset classes, industries, and financial vehicles, a well-designed portfolio prevents you from “putting all your eggs in one basket.”
Many portfolios begin quite simply, for instance, with a savings account and an index or mutual fund. Then, as the portfolio and its owner matures, other assets are added. Over time, a portfolio might include:
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Everyone loves certainty. They want to be told what result they will get if they take a certain action. Financial planning tries to offer this certainty. “Save $1,000 a month in your 401(k) and you’ll have a net worth of $X and a retirement income of $Y/year!”
However, financial plans tend to offer little actual financial certainty.
There’s nothing wrong with crunching numbers and estimating returns (my husband builds financial software that does just that!) Just be very cautious. Realize that financial plans are only a “best guess”—and guesses are almost always wrong.
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We love the celebration of gratitude that happens at this time of year. If love makes the world go around, then gratitude makes it a more abundant world!
As we’ve covered in previous articles, cultivating gratitude can increase happiness, health, and success! As a matter of fact, there are at least 21 scientifically proven benefits of gratitude. Gratitude can actually make you wealthier, too, because people would rather work with or do business with a grateful person. Gratitude can also help you save more money by short-cutting the need to spend in order to be happy!
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Whole life is a valuable and versatile financial product that provides an ideal foundation for your finances. However, it’s not always easy to understand the ins and outs or how to best USE it!
Statements from life insurance companies aren’t always clear and helpful. Policyholders don’t always understand the power and flexibility of their policies. And not everyone knows how to utilize whole life insurance to improve their overall financial strategy.
This week, we launched an incredible new resource to help you discover exactly how to make the most of your policy. It’s called “Whole Life 101”—a video course from yours truly, Kim D. H. Butler. We have been working on this behind the scenes for months and this week is the Grand Opening for the Whole Life 101 course!
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Most people have a calculator on their smartphone that can add, subtract, multiply and divide. But you need a financial calculator (or financial calculator app) to figure out how much interest you can expect from your bank CD over time, or how your mortgage payment would change with various interest rates.
Perhaps you’ve found yourself Googling for an online financial calculator to find the answer to a personal finance question… but the functionality is limited. Or maybe you’ve learned how to use a Texas Instruments or HP financial calculator… but you’d love something simpler. If so, the free financial calculator app we share today will help you make smarter financial decisions with ease!
My husband, Todd Langford, develops financial calculators that create clarity around personal finance decisions. The Truth Concepts software is a suite of tools and calculators that helps advisors compare various financial strategies—such as different investments, loans, rental properties, or tax strategies. Truth Concepts can do complex work, such as calculating the internal rate of return of a whole life policy or comparing different types of investments with unequal cash flows. We use and love the Truth Concepts financial calculators, however, the learning curve and investment is a bit much for the layperson. Fortunately, now there is a user-friendly app that puts calculating power right at your fingertips!
Read MoreToday’s article is a guest post from Kate Phillips and an update to our previous articles about healthcare sharing plans. Kate uses a healthcare sharing program called Liberty HealthShare that we have previously covered on our website. Since there have been recent challenges with healthcare sharing ministries, it’s time for a fresh look at both the promise and potential problems of medical cost-sharing programs. This article outlines the pros and cons of healthcare sharing plans and may help you determine if they are worth your consideration.
Open enrollment for health plans through the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) insurance exchange runs from November 1 until December 15. While the majority of people with ACA plans receive subsidies—87 percent, according to Kaiser Health—an income of roughly $50,000 for an individual or more than $100,000 for a family of four will disqualify you. And if you’re in that boat, there’s nothing “affordable” about health insurance these days.
According to ehealthinsurance.com, in the four years from 2013 to 2017, health insurance premiums increased by 99% for individuals and a stunning 140%—from $426 to $1,021—for families that did not qualify for subsidies via the ACA. Families with children can expect to see premiums as high as $20,000 per year—or more.
Read MoreThis article is adapted from Perpetual Wealth: How to Use “Family Financing” to Build Prosperity and Leave a Legacy for Generations by Kim D. H. Butler and Kate Phillips. The book contains a whole chapter on raising financially responsible children! Right now you can download the entire PDF at Partners4Prosperity.com/pwbook.
There is a saying attributed by some to Abraham Lincoln, “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” This is especially true when it comes to money!
Even when great sums of money are passed on to future generations, multi-generational wealth rarely lasts more than a generation or two. It fails when the children—even if they are middle aged “children”—haven’t done their own growing. Money given to someone not ready to hold it is like water poured into a leaky bucket.
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