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Investing Action Steps

The steps below suggest important actions for you to take to establish a solid foundation for future investing activity. Once completed, you will be ready to begin developing a personal investment plan.

Check each action step as it is completed.

  • Review your current financial holdings and determine if they are in saving or investment vehicles.
  • Determine the rate of return for your current financial holdings.
  • Establish short-, intermediate-, and long-term financial goals for you and your family. Estimate the length
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Emergency Cash Reserve

Emergency Cash Reserve

Setting aside money to meet unexpected expenses provides a financial safety net and allows you to take advantage of financial opportunities as they arise. Most experts recommend an emergency fund equal to 3 to 6 months living expenses; however, you do not need to set aside this total amount in a low-yielding passbook, certificate of deposit, or money market account. The amount of your emergency fund depends upon your age, health, job outlook, and personal financial situation …

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Bankruptcy

 

What is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a proceeding in a federal court in which a debtor who owes more than his or her assets can receive debt relief by transferring his or her assets to a trustee or agreeing to reorganization of assets and liabilities. Usually, at least two years must elapse from the discharge of the bankruptcy before lenders will consider making a loan to someone who has declared bankruptcy.

When is Bankruptcy an Answer?

Bankruptcy may be an answer …

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Income Taxes

The goal for taxpayers is to pay no more than the least possible tax owed. Avoiding taxes through legal tax strategies is not to be confused with illegal tax evasion. Legally avoiding taxes means using effective financial record-keeping, decision making, and planning strategies to reduce your total income tax. One example of good tax management is adjusting the amount of federal income tax withheld from your paycheck. If you receive a big income tax refund (over $500) each year, you …

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Household Recordkeeping

A vital aspect of successful financial management is record-keeping. An effective record-keeping system should be convenient to use and not too complicated to maintain.

Financial records have become a vital part of life. They are a key to your credit standing, are essential to help you save money on taxes, and also are a continuing indication of your financial progress. If you have systematic plan for keeping track of important papers you can save hours of anxious searching, help preserve …

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Financial Security: Money Emotions

Money is a subject that few people discuss, but more and more professionals are talking about it – the key link between our emotions and our money. We may think that money is all about our rational selves, but in fact emotions are often very much invested in our pocket books.

 

To be financially secure, whether that entails repairing our credit history or organizing financial affairs or getting an estate in order, we have to deal with the emotional as …

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PowerPay

Credit Cards

Welcome to PowerPay: PowerPay is a system designed to help you eliminate debt in the fastest possible way. PowerPay works when you are willing to:

  • Make a commitment to stop borrowing or buying with credit.
  • Systematically pay off debts.
  • Absolve each debt and continue to apply that debt payment to the next debt obligation.

Total monthly payments don’t change, but the distribution of those payments changes and the overall debt will generally be retired sooner and with considerable savings to …

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Financial Security: Lifestyle Transitions

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Lifestyle transitions requiring financial decisionmaking range from job loss, changes in work status, caregiving responsibilities, divorce, retirement, chronic or acute illness, disability, death, long term care, to estate planning. Making sound financial decisions during these times can impact financial security in the future as well as the present.

  • Lifestyle Transitions Research
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Financial Security: Talking About Money

Why should we talk about money? We learned as children how impolite it was to ask how much someone paid for something, didn’t we?

Unfortunately, there can be severe consequences when money is not talked about. Many couples cite money problems as a factor in divorce. Consumers find they have been taken advantage of when they do not ask for estimates before buying goods and services. And many families are forced to deal with addtional stress after the death of …