3 Must Know Tips For Retirement Planning

May 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Retirement planning signals the beginning a new and exciting lifestyle.  Punching a time clock for the last time is in the not to distant future.  Is the life you’ve envisioned for yourself just a dream or does it have the possibility of coming true?

Do you want to do some Bass fishing?  How about spending more time volunteering for charities?  Just as you would plan a boating trip, its even more important to have a guide to retirement planning for the most extended vacation of your life.

Take the three tips listed below to heart and I promise it will make your trek to your golden years much more pleasurable.

Prepare a budget.  How do you know if your playing the retirement planning game well if your don’t track your results?  A paper or electronic budget will help to give you some idea of what your actual living expenses are.  Once you know what your current living expenses are then you can begin to prepare for the future.

You may discover that you may not need as much to live on in your golden years as some expenses will go away.  Food costs will decrease if you were use to eating lunch at a restaurant on a daily basis.  Commuting expenses will definitely go down or away altogether unless you count walking from your bedroom to your kitchen.  Without proper tracking there is no way for you to know what your spending habits are.

Eliminate the college fund.  If you didn’t start saving for your kids college education when they were small then forget it.  Now is not the time to divert retirement savings and investments to fund a college for your children.  There are many options available for a kid’s college but when’s the last time you heard about getting a loan to fund your retirement?

The average retiree enjoys 20 years of retirement so you need money to maintain your same standard of living and that won’t be cheap.  Rather than dumping money into college expenses max out a Roth IRA each year instead.

Do a house audit.  As you age so will your personal residence.  Chances are there will be some deferred maintenance needed on the house.  The main areas of concern should be the roof, plumbing, heating ventilation air conditioning units, major appliances, landscaping, updates to the kitchen and bathroom.

Either your will have to prepare to make these repairs pre-retirement or set aside the funds for post-retirement.  This is often the most overlooked areas that retirees do not take into account as they approach retirement age.

Filed Under: Budget, Finance, Personal Finance, Savings Tagged With: ,

Get The Cheapest Electricity With A Solar Lease

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

During these tough economics times, many people are looking to save money. We have many bills to pay, not the least of which are our utility bills, including electricity. If you are looking to save money on your electricity bill, your first thought may be to look for the cheapest electricity supplier around. However, it may be that the cheapest electricity that you can get may actually come from installing solar panels.

How can that be? There is an innovative new approach to financing solar panels, called solar leasing, that is being offered by companies such as Solar City and SunRun. These companies will put solar panels on your roof, sometimes without any down payment at all, and then sell you the electricity that they generate, often at a lower price than you are currently paying for electricity. You can estimate how much they will charge you for the electricity produced by their solar panels by using a calculator such as the one found on the Solar City web site.

The best part is that the savings will only increase as electricity prices increase in the future. Since these solar leases allow you to lock in an electricity prices for the next 15 years or so, even if you are paying about the same for that electricity as you would if you just kept paying your electricity supplier now, your savings will grow as electricity prices increase. It’s hard to find anyone who thinks electricity will become less expensive in the future, so why not protect yourself from future price increases by locking in a low rate with a solar lease now?

One limitation is that these companies currently only operate in a handful of states. At the time of writing, Solar City serves customers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Texas, while SunRun serves customers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. However, both companies say that they plan to continue to expand, so perhaps you will see solar leasing available in your state soon, if it is not available already.

Filed Under: Budget, Finance, Personal Finance Tagged With: ,

How To Choose The Best Bank For You

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Choosing the right bank is just as important as choosing the right home, car, and mate. Your money is your livelihood, and your means of living, providing for your family, preparing for your future and enjoying life.

There are several things you want to think about when deciding on which bank is best for you. You must first know what your financial goals are. Are you making any major purchases such as a house or car? Then you will certainly want to research the bank’s interest rates on mortgages or car loans. Do you have any children and are trying to save for college? Many banks offer great rates on accounts for young people. Also, research which bank offers the best bank cd rates so you get the best return for your long term investment.

After accessing your financial goals, begin to think about your personal lifestyle. You want to choose a bank that fits the way you live. For example, will you do a lot of traveling? If you do, you’ll want to find a bank that is national. Remember that most banks charge fees for using their ATM’s if you’re not a customer of their bank. Having a bank that is national will allow you to travel and have free access to your funds at ATM’s anywhere in the country. Does your busy schedule leave you with little time to wait inside a bank for financial assistance? Are you always at your computer online? If that is the case, you will want to find a bank that offers excellent online service.

There are over 8,000 banks in the United States. All of them want your business. Banks do more then just hold your money. The decision you make on where to bank is a life long financial commitment.

Filed Under: Budget, Business finance, Finance, Personal Finance Tagged With:
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »