Importance of Retirement Planning

Estate Planning - An ignored concept of financial planning.

A: When it comes to retirement people plan their finances but they fail to look beyond retirement and do their estate planning, which is an important concept of personal finance which has got neglected.

Speaking about estate planning, it is very critical to look at what is estate planning. Estate planning is nothing but a concept of consolidating a person’s wealth, preserving it and managing and finally transferring it to the next generations. Therefore, this is nothing, but an estate planning.

Coming to the point of what somebody should keep in mind when he is doing an estate planning. A person should take three steps, which are very important in the same given chronological order to make sure that the estate planning is holistic and fulfilled in the right fashion. The first step, which is most important, is to draw a balance sheet of assets and liabilities; assets and liabilities, not just from the current assets and the current liabilities also having a projection of what the future is going to be and then arriving at the net asset of an individual.

The second step of estate planning is to understand clearly as what one wants to do with net assets; bucketing them into different allocations.

The third step is the execution of these two in the form of a will and a trust or one of them or both depending on the client’s requirement. Therefore, these are the three basic steps which one needs to be taken care of. 

Is this the right time to buy gold jewellery

The recent, sharp decline in gold prices has shaken the market out of its comfort zone. It is a unique situation because the investors who are holding on to their gold positions are unhappy that the prices have gone down, whereas the women who have been wanting to buy jewellery ever since the stark rise in prices, are delighted and celebrating the fall. At the end of the day, gold is a commodity, and all commodity prices go through cycles. Apart from having limited use as jewellery, gold is also perceived as being a store of value from historical times.

From 2000 onwards, gold has had a dream run, with prices rising significantly on a yearly basis. However, people have forgotten that there was a period during the 1990s, when gold prices had declined continuously. The recent collapse of gold prices can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the speculative sell-off and recovery in the US. If the interest rates in the US go up, gold will start competing with the US treasury. After the subprime crisis of 2008, investors across the globe had bought gold as a store of value. As the world economy stabilises and people's faith in the banking sector recovers, gold is likely to lose its sheen.

My recommendation to investors and savers is to start investing in a disciplined manner and spread the gold purchases over a period of time. Reduce the gold allocation in your portfolio as we think the prices will witness a consolidation and stabilise at around $1,200-1,300 because this is the marginal cost of production.

For those interested in buying jewellery, there is no right time to do so. Whenever you can afford it, walk into the nearest jewellery shop, buy and indulge yourself.

source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Guide to financial planning

FINANCIAL planning. If that word is a put off, don't let it be. It's the all important word in your money dictionary. Here, we simplify it for you.

Step 1 - Put your finances in orderWe spend more than half our lives working and saving, but hardly spend any time planning on how to put that hard-earned money to work more effectively. So, how do you plan your financial life?

Put your (financial) house in order
Financial planning starts with a review of your overall financial profile, and not at investing. Before rushing to build an investment portfolio, you need to address the following issues:

Insure your health, life and assets
Start by protecting your family�s current lifestyle against events/ expenses beyond your control. Buy appropriate insurance policies for your medical expenses, life, car, and other important assets.

Calculate: How much insurance you should buy

Repay high-cost loans
Paying credit card bills on time can save you more money in interest costs than most of your investments could earn you. Ditto for borrowings that cost you more than 15% pa. So, put high-cost loans behind you, and only then start building your investment portfolio.

Put money aside for emergencies
Deploy some money in short-term investments that can be encashed on demand to help you tide over unforeseen needs and emergencies.

Draw up a savings plan
Income - Expenditure = Savings

Do not leave this equation to chance � make a savings plan. Put away as much as you can, as regularly as you can, aim to save at least 15% of your take home annual income.

Buy Cheaper flats in resale

 

 

  

After the failed predictions over the past couple of years about a fall in property prices, you are more likely to witness the prophesied Second Coming before the promised correction. So what should cash-conscious buyers do? Wait endlessly in the hope that realty prices falter or take the bait of glossy schemes offered by developers? While most such offers for new houses seem tempting, you won't derive any real benefit.


Fortunately, there is a third option: cheaper flats in the resale market. No, these aren't old, mouldy apartments in decades-old projects. Quite a few of these houses have not even been lived in, but you can still get them at a discount to similar houses within the same project or vicinity. If you're wondering why resale flats are cheaper than the new ones being offered by the developer, it can be due to various reasons. One of them is that these houses have been snapped up by buyers and investors during the pre-launch phase with the intention of selling them after about three years to earn a profit. At this stage, they were only required to make the down payment.

"Many investors book a property at the initial stage just to make a small profit. If they want to make a quick exit, they will price it cheaper than the one offered by the developer, for a faster sale," says Yashwant Dalal, president of the Estate Agents Association of India, an apex body of real estate developers.



Another reason is that a lot of investors who book flats during soft launches are offered heavy discounts by builders. "To get funding before construction commences, builders offer investors at least a 20% discount to the prevailing market rate," adds Dalal.

So, even if such investors sell the flats at a price lower than the one offered by the construction company, they make a hefty profit. While individual buyers readily make the down payment, a few find out that their finances are strained when they have to start paying the home loan EMIs after the construction is complete, especially if they are also paying a rent. In some cases, they find another project that is more to their liking. Obviously, in either situation, the only option is for them to sell the current house as quickly as possible to repay the home loan, even if it means earning a smaller profit than the one they had hoped for.

 

 

 

 

 

After the failed predictions over the past couple of years about a fall in property prices, you are more likely to witness the prophesied Second Coming before the promised correction. So what should cash-conscious buyers do? Wait endlessly in the hope that realty prices falter or take the bait of glossy schemes offered by developers? While most such offers for new houses seem tempting, you won't derive any real benefit.


Fortunately, there is a third option: cheaper flats in the resale market. No, these aren't old, mouldy apartments in decades-old projects. Quite a few of these houses have not even been lived in, but you can still get them at a discount to similar houses within the same project or vicinity. If you're wondering why resale flats are cheaper than the new ones being offered by the developer, it can be due to various reasons. One of them is that these houses have been snapped up by buyers and investors during the pre-launch phase with the intention of selling them after about three years to earn a profit. At this stage, they were only required to make the down payment.

"Many investors book a property at the initial stage just to make a small profit. If they want to make a quick exit, they will price it cheaper than the one offered by the developer, for a faster sale," says Yashwant Dalal, president of the Estate Agents Association of India, an apex body of real estate developers.



Another reason is that a lot of investors who book flats during soft launches are offered heavy discounts by builders. "To get funding before construction commences, builders offer investors at least a 20% discount to the prevailing market rate," adds Dalal.

So, even if such investors sell the flats at a price lower than the one offered by the construction company, they make a hefty profit. While individual buyers readily make the down payment, a few find out that their finances are strained when they have to start paying the home loan EMIs after the construction is complete, especially if they are also paying a rent. In some cases, they find another project that is more to their liking. Obviously, in either situation, the only option is for them to sell the current house as quickly as possible to repay the home loan, even if it means earning a smaller profit than the one they had hoped for.

7 Powerful Success Principles

A principle is a rule or law concerning a natural occurrence. When principles are applied, the results are predictable. Today I want to talk about seven success principles that will make your success a natural occurrence. These principles are timeless; they will work today the same as they worked 2,500 years ago, the same as they will work 2,500 years from now.

If you follow the success principles, success will surely be yours. Contrary to popular opinion, public debate, and what you may have seen on television, success is not the result of good luck. Success comes from the proper application of principles.

With that said, here are seven powerful success principles.

1. Prepare

“It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” -Paul Bryant

Success occurs when the prepared individual creates their own opportunity. Are you prepared? Preparation is the foundation of success. It often takes years to prepare for success, there are no overnight successes. What appears to be overnight success is usually the result of at least 10 years of preparation.

2. Get Started

“What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If you’re not in action today, you don’t have a tomorrow, just a longer today. So get into action now, and begin to move in the right direction.

3. Move in the Right Direction

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” -Oliver Wendell Homes

Are you moving in the right direction?

If you’re moving in the right direction, no matter your speed, you will eventually get to your intended destination. It’s not that important where you are right now, what matters is where you’re headed. Don’t get discouraged because you haven’t arrived; it’s only a matter of time before you walk into your dream.

4. Dream and Act

“To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.” - Anatole France

What you dream today will become your tomorrow…if after you finish dreaming it you wake up and turn it into a reality. Dreaming is necessary, it frames your thinking, but it’s not enough. You need to develop a step-by-step action plan to turn those dreams into reality.

5. Think Big

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” - Michelangelo

Think bigger! If I have a little cup, I can fill it with a little water; if I have a big cup, I can fill it with a lot of water. Your thinking is the cup that determines what you get out of life. Expand your thinking and you will expand your life.

6. Grow

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” -Charles Swindoll

Life is about growth. The challenges of life, the seeming impossibilities are really just opportunities for you to grow. You need these challenges; how can you grow without a challenge? The challenges make you stronger, they make you better.

7. Be Determined

“The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed” - Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Og Mandino said, “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” Are you determined to succeed? Have you made up your mind? When you decide to succeed, when you cut-off all other options, when you’re determined to succeed, you will find a way to do it. So stay focused, success will be yours.

Source : thechangeblog.com

Factors to be considered while buying a Mediclaim Policy

Whether insured or uninsured, people do not take medical insurance seriously. They take it for granted perceiving various notions about it. The uninsured consider it of not worth investing and thus stay away from it. They ignore wide ranging benefits and thus stay away from it. Others who are insured do not pay attention while buying health insurance plan and thus remain unsatisfied with its services.  In order to resolve this problem, there is a need to make people aware of the true benefits of a mediclaim policy. However in other cases dissatisfaction remains due to wrong choices made at the time of purchasing a health plan. It is thus recommended that the person must choose a policy after proper analysis.
 

It is extremely important to make sure that you select the best health plan as per your needs. One must not end up with a wrong choice as it may not be of much help at the time of requirement.
 

While keeping an eye on the premium, one must also read through the features of bonus and discount along with the deductibles and co- payments. It is important to keep all these point in mind so as to ensure the right selection.
 

Besides this the plan must be read in complete detail to get a clear understanding of its coverage services. There have been cases where people have suffered due to delay in services pertaining to the waiting period. Every policy adheres to a fixed time period called as the waiting period. Pertaining to certain illnesses, it is only after the completion of that period that the policy gets fully active. The insured can then avail the healthcare facilities as per the policy terms and conditions. Hence it is important to take a proper note of that as it can affect the healthcare of the person.
 

 Also every health plan has certain enticing features included. It is not advisable to overlook them as it the policy works accordingly. The buyer must necessarily go through all the listed features and benefits so as to understand the covered and uncovered perils. Policies differ from each other on various grounds. As the health needs vary from person to person, it is mandatory for all to pick a plan that suits them in the best possible way. Medical insurance plans are available in abundance. There are several insurance providers that have formulated products that do not include sub limits. To make it easy for people, some plans are made available without any deductible or copayment charges. They are easy to understand as they adhere to simple terms and conditions. It is an attempt to keep the buyers away from several hassles.
 

The reason that people make a wrong choice is due to the fact that they go by hearsay. However it is not necessary that the plan chosen by your friends, relatives or neighbors will be appropriate for you as well. Every individual differ from the other in terms of health needs. Thus it would not be right to assume that one health insurance plan will meet everyone’s needs. It is advisable to proceed in this way. It has chances of leading you in the wrong direction, hence ending with an inappropriate selection.
 

An ideal way to choose a plan is to analyze the personal health needs first. In accordance to that one should make the choice. You need to carefully dwell upon the personal medical care needs. This is the only way that one can make the right choice. 

One crucial step to be undertaken while buying a plan is to compare the health products. It would truly helpful to compare the plans on the basis of coverage limit. It is a vital pillar that can make a huge difference. It plays a crucial role in making the right choice. While doing so one must read each and every feature enlisted. Every health plan incorporates various features and benefits. But the coverage and functioning depends on mentioned terms and conditions. Thus along with the coverage limit you should also read through the plan features in detail. It will help in getting a clear idea and thus enabling you to pick the best plan for self or family. This is an essential requirement so as to ensure the best returns for which you pay.
 

All the information is readily available. The insurance companies have made it hassle free for people to acquire all the information about the health policies. The person can get hold of information at any time of day or night. Making itself available to people without any time constraint, the health insurance companies pave a much simpler and easier way to acquire medical insurance. In this journey of reaching a worthy conclusion, one can take help of online premium calculators. Thus is a provision that has been made available by various health insurance companies to help people calculate the premium amount. It is an easy application that can be operated easily. This gives a clear idea to the insured individual to get to know of the exact premium amount that he/ she need to pay to the insurer. It is helpful as the person can select the plan as per his/ her budget frame.
 

The other feature like co- payment, deductibles, waiting period and associated conditions must be noted with due attention. To understand the plan properly it is required to make a thorough study of it in detail. The buyer should be aware of the conditions or circumstances where he/ she can use the policy. This can be achieved by taking health insurance plan and the procedure of purchase seriously.
 

Buy the right health product and enjoy wide ranging healthcare benefits. 

 

Source : apollomunichinsurance.com