Archivos del mes November, 2007
Publicado por sam - 10/11/07 a las 05:11:13 am
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Despite the phenomenal growth of financial planning services and the enormous influence that planners can exert over the investment of their clients resources, there is virtually no regulation of the industry or any uniform system of earning credentials. Indeed, there is no agreement about either the functions of a planner or the training needed to perform them responsibly.
As concerns mounts about the growth of the industry in both size and influence, a number of governmental and private groups— Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and some industry organizations—are looking at ways of regulating it with a view to protecting the clients. Thus far, however, no governmental regulations seems to be forthcoming. One of the two major industry associations favors a policy of self policing by SROs—Self-Regulatory Organizations; the other apparently believes that enforcement of existing state laws will suffice. Seguir leyendo REGULATING FINANCIAL PLANNERS…
Publicado por sam - 09/11/07 a las 05:11:46 am
Fine-Tuning Your Budget
Once you have reached agreement on your goals and their timing, your next step is to examine your current budget to see whether your spending pattern is likely to lead toward their realization, even though they may be years away. Usually some changes are necessary. If, for example, a young two-income couple plans to buy a home in five years but is currently saving nothing, both should cut down on some of their expenditures.
Although adjusting your current budget will not by itself enable you to realize your long term goals, it will certainly move you in that direction. And if you make these adjustments and as some of your expenditures decrease, you will be well on your way—provided, of course, that your goals are reasonable and possible to achieve.
Calculating Your Net
Once you have made adjustments in your budget, your next step is to calculate your net worth—that is, the amount you have left after subtracting your liabilities (everything you owe at the moment) from your assets (everything you own). Seguir leyendo ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS…
Publicado por sam - 08/11/07 a las 05:11:43 am
Putting It on Paper
Even when you recognize the need for financial planning, you may do little more than think about it at odd moments. But this kind of sporadic attention is more likely to culminate in a vague resolve to do something about it one of these days rather than in a specific
Table 7-1 Sample Goals and Benchmarks at Specific Ages
20-30 Years
Establish Credit
Open bank accounts
Purchase health, life, and auto insurance
Begin to formulate tax strategies
Set aside one tenth of income savings
Invest in an IRA or pension plan
Make a will Seguir leyendo Sample Goals and Benchmarks at Specific Ages…
Publicado por sam - 07/11/07 a las 05:11:15 am
If you have a savings account, a life insurance policy, or a will, you have, in fact, done some financial planning, because all of these items are future-oriented. The first makes possible your plans for future spending, and the last two protect you against future contingencies. Once you understand this, you can see that financial planning is simply a more detailed and more systematic version of what you have already begun.
Anticipating Change
One of the limitations of an annual budget is that it may temp you to believe that your current pattern of spending will continue almost indefinitely, even though the actual dollar amounts will change. This belief is totally misguided, because over the years your needs and wants, as well as your discretionary income, are likely to change. Seguir leyendo SETTING YOUR GOALS…
Publicado por sam - 06/11/07 a las 05:11:12 am
Working out a budget is a short term project. It involves little more than adjusting your expenditures to your income for the next year or so. Continuing the process is relatively simple because neither expenses nor income is likely to change very much in any one year. Financial planning, by contrast, is more complex. The time span it must take into account may be as long as 40 years—a period during which almost every element of your spending pattern, as well as the sources and amount of your income, will inevitably change. But, difficult though it may be, financial planning enables you to choose the changes your prefer and to prepare for those that are inevitable.
Seguir leyendo FINANCIAL PLANNING…
