Update Oct. 31, 2009 All About Life Insurance and Financial Planning By Insurance Experts

Financial planning is the long-term process of wisely managing your finances so you can achieve your goals and dreams, while at the same time negotiating the financial barriers that inevitably arise in every stage of life by Creating a Sound Financial Plan
Step 1 Establish Goals
Step 2 Gather Data
Step 3 Analyze & Evaluate Your Financial Status
Step 4 Develop a Plan
Step 5 Implement the Plan
Step 6 Monitor the Plan & Make Necessary Adjustments

Recommended Reading
Insiders Tips For Reducing Spending
Money Saving Tips And Ideas Covers
Practically All Areas Of Household

Financial Planning - What You Need to Know About It

By Cornie Herring

Financial planning is important to ensure you stay in control of your money for current and future. It covers a wide range of money topics that you must learn up if you want to continue stay health financially. We will discuss some important topics about financial planning and how each of these topics works together and affecting your financial healthiness.

Among the important topics that you should know when trying to understand about financial planning are: budgeting, expenses, debts, savings, retirement and insurance. Let's discuss them one by one.

Budgeting

The most basic level of personal finance is how to allocate your money so that your money is always in positive flow, it's called budgeting. Budgeting is a process of allocating your money so that you know how much your spending and where the money has gone. Your budgeting plan should be based on your financial condition to allocate the money according to the priority of your primary needs.

Expenses

After you have created a budget plan, you will have better control on where your money goes and what are the optional expenses that you can trim off. For many people, cutting expenses on such little things that are optional to your needs can add up to significant savings which you can use toward investment to create your future estate.

Debts

You may not be able to avoid debt totally because you may get loans for buying home, car or business investment. But, your debt should always be at controllable level. When you do your financial planning, you should take into consideration about your debts so that you have plans to get rid of them.

Savings

Allocating money into saving accounts is an important step in financial planning process. You may need money for emergency needs, as your kid's educational funds, for planning for your retirement & etc. With fewer companies offering full pension plans and the uncertainty of Social Security, it has important to plan a fund that you can put aside to be used during the emergency situation.

Retirement Planning

The quality of life you want after the retirement will depend on your current contribution. You will probably want to retire happily with financially peaceful mind. Therefore, you have to include your retirement plan when you perform the financial planning.

Insurance

Major illnesses, disaster, accidents and many other incidents may happen without warning and they may cause a sudden need of big amount of money, which our emergency fund may not be sufficient to resolve them. Here, comes the important of insurance in our financial planning. It should be included into your financial plan to provide protection to your lovely family members against the unexpected such as illness or loss of income sources due to dead.

Summary

Financial planning is a process of estimating the current & future financial needs, and making plans to achieve them. The above elements are the key elements involved in financial planning, which you need to take into consideration when planning your financial needs.

Visit Cornie Herring's website at http://www.studykiosk.com/CreditBasics to find more debt relief resources on the option available for you to get rid of debt. Learn how debt consolidation, credit counseling and other debt solutions work in helping debtors to resolve their debt issues.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cornie_Herring

Recommended Reading
Insiders Tips For Reducing Spending
Money Saving Tips And Ideas Covers
Practically All Areas Of Household

How to Begin Planning Your Financial Future

By Richard Gorham

Financial planning today provides major benefits tomorrow, and for the remainder of your life.

Regardless of your current income level or personal situation, learn why you must be committed to the following personal finance strategies in order to secure your financial success.

Planning now for your financial future is, quite simply, a smart thing to do. The tools and process detailed here will pave the way for anyone who is serious about conquering their debt and taking control over their financial existence.

Financial planning is how you get from point A to point B, as well as points C, D and E. Depending on where you are financially today, you no doubt have multiple goals that you wish to accomplish. "Hoping" for your luck to finally change, or "waiting" for your ship to come in, is NOT a financial plan - it's simply a dream.

Most people get into a set routine with their finances. The longer you allow yourself to continue down the same financial road without a clear map in hand, the more you lessen your chances of realizing your financial goals.

Let's face it, most people are not known for their patience or their planning skills, and even less people are admired for their ability to save money. No one should be surprised to learn this given how the mass media is constantly teaching people in our society to "buy it now- pay later!"

To ensure financial success, people must break away from this destructive, and weak, mind-set.

Do not make the common mistake that financial planning is only for the wealthy, or that you must already have a good sized nest egg before meeting with a financial advisor. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

However, you don't need to pay out your hard earned money for a professional. The most effective financial planning occurs in the home at the dining room table or home office.

Common tools include the household checkbook, a pen, calculator and a piece of paper with a line down the middle. One column is titled, "Cash Coming In", and the other column reads "Cash Going Out".

The main goal to keep in mind is that you want to spend every dollar of your monthly income ON PAPER, before you actually spend it. This way you will plan your expenditures for the month, knowing you have set aside adequate money to cover all the fixed expenses. In addition, you will have thoughtfully allocated the remaining funds to the areas of your life that are most important to you.

Examples of important financial goals might include:

• Buying a new car
• Saving for a down payment on a house
• Future college saving
• Dream family vacation
• Purchase of investment property
• Planning for retirement years

Regardless of what your financial goals are, your chances of realizing those goals are highly dependant upon your decision to plan ahead and your willingness to take action - right here and right now.

There is a great tool available to anyone who is not comfortable with sitting down and creating a household budget on their own. This important tool is called a Personal Financial Statement.

If you've ever applied for a loan or credit card, you have filled out the majority of what is found on a personal financial statement. Starting immediately, you can begin using the same process that a lender uses to account for all monies coming in and going out.

Once you have completed filling out a personal financial statement, you will have all the information you need to take the financial planning process to the level - that is, creating a budget that works!

"Budgeting" gets a bum wrap. No one likes to hear the word "budget"; however, it is the process of budgeting (aka. financial planning) that will ultimately set you free and secure your financial future. Too often, people make the mistake of assuming "only broke people have to budget". The reality is that most rich folks are rich because they budget.

The decisions you've made up until now are the reason you are where you are today. The decisions you make today going forward will shape your destiny. The only real question is, "Where are you going?". Decide well.

About The Author: Richard Gorham says, "Conquer debt and increase your income!" Access a wide variety of free tools and resource information to better manage your finances at http://www.debt-to-income.com/debt-free-living.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gorham

Recommended Reading
Insiders Tips For Reducing Spending
Money Saving Tips And Ideas Covers
Practically All Areas Of Household

Back To Insurance Contents

Back To The Top

Update Oct. 12, 2009 All About Life Insurance and Financial Planning By Insurance Experts

Financial planning is the long-term process of wisely managing your finances so you can achieve your goals and dreams, while at the same time negotiating the financial barriers that inevitably arise in every stage of life by Creating a Sound Financial Plan
Step 1 Establish Goals
Step 2 Gather Data
Step 3 Analyze & Evaluate Your Financial Status
Step 4 Develop a Plan
Step 5 Implement the Plan
Step 6 Monitor the Plan & Make Necessary Adjustments

Recommended Reading
Insiders Tips For Reducing Spending
Money Saving Tips And Ideas Covers
Practically All Areas Of Household

Insurance Agents Name Choices - Insurance Specialist, Financial Planner, or Life Advisor?
By Donald Yerke

Are you one of the plain insurance agents? Agents often prefer to upgrade their title as an insurance specialist or financial advisor on their business card. Names like life advisor reflect positive experience and knowledge. Which of these different terms distinguishes you from being just one of the insurance agents? Here are 101 top choices to pick from.

There is a lot more to a name then may realize. Calling yourself an agent or sales agent makes you sound run of the mill. It also projects the sound of a salesman trying to sell you something. Few people enjoy feeling a person is selling them anything, it stinks of pressure. This is why in this list of different terms you will see how high words like specialist, expert, and professional rank. The prospect gets a completely new perspective, just by the title you give yourself! Prospects closely take notice when an agent jointly works with them in reaching a decision on what is the best plan of action. Prospective clients want to feel like they are part of the decision process.

Important internet search tip: to get an accurate count use quote marks around your term, "insurance specialist" will only give you that term in that exact order. Without the quotes you would also get all instances of people searching terms such as specialist insurance, specialist in writing insurance claims, specialist in automobile insurance sales, etc.

To give this article value, in front of each of the insurance agents distinctions is the number of current Google listings. This way you can easily see how often internet views "insurance agent " look-up terms like specialist, planner, representative, and. advisor. Please remember the Google count figures often change daily.

1. 10,600,000 = financial advisor

2. 6,690,000 = insurance agent

3. 4,280,000 = financial planner

4. 2,120,000 = investment advisor

5. 1,780,000 = insurance agents brokers

6. 1,600,000 = investment adviser

7. 999,000 = insurance guide

8. 735,000 = insurance specialist

9. 638,000 = financial expert

10. 604,000 = financial professional

11. 590,000 = financial specialist

12. 513,000 = life pro

13. 433,000 = insurance professional

14. 431,000 = health insurance agent

15. 322,000 = insurance expert

16. 271,500 = insurance salesman

17. 269,000 = life professional

18. 268,000 = life insurance agent

19. 253,000 = insurance consultant

20. 252,000 = insurance advisor

21. 244,000 = insurance sales representative

22. 219,000 = insurance manager

23. 218,000 = estate advisor

24. 217,000 = insurance executive

25. 189,000 = estate planner

26. 186,000 = independent insurance sale

27. 179,000 = insurance sales agent

28. 155,000 = insurance seller

29. 130,000 = insurance producer

30. 126,000 = investment representative

29. 120,000 = insurance authority

30. 119,000 = insurance representative

31. 112,000 = life agent

32. 107,000 = life insurance specialist

32. 104,000 = life specialist

33. 102,000 = insurance adviser

34. 89,900 = insurance sales manager

35. 86,200 = licensed insurance agent

36. 85,200 = insurance manager

37. 71,000 = health agent

38. 66,600 = insurance pro

39. 65,100 = insurance sales rep

40. 60,000 = insurance designer

41. 59,400 = insurance sales person

42. 55,600 = life consultant

43. 54,500 = group agent

44. 52,200 = ins agent

45. 50,100 = estate adviser

46. 50,000 = insurance pros

47. 46,800 = insurance counselor

48. 43,800 = financial pro

49. 43,400 = insurance salesperson

50. 40,200 = insurance sales specialist

51. 37,700 = life producer

52. 37,000 = insurance sales executive

53. 35,400 = independent insurance brokers

54. 34,700 = long term care professional

55. 34,500 = financial planning advisor

56. 33,900 = medical insurance specialist

57. 31,300 = health insurance professional

58. 29,300 = life insurance expert

59. 29,000 = insurance rep

60. 28,900 = financial planning advisor

61. 27,500 = health insurance specialist

62. 26,000 = health insurance advisor

63. 25,500 = independent insurance professional

64. 24,700 = employee benefits specialist

65. 24,000 = life advisor

66. 22,900 = life insurance advisor

67. 21,800 = life insurance sales specialist

68. 19,900 = life insurance professional

69. 19,300 = insurance producer

70. 19,200 = licensed financial planner

71. 16,200 = health insurance producer

72. 14,900 = insurance sales consultant

73. 14,000 = term life insurance broker

74. 12,800 = long term care specialist

75. 12,700 = annuity specialist

76. 12,500 = estate planning specialist

77. 12,200 = insurance marketer

78. 11,950 = life insurance representative

79. 11,900 = insurance planner

80. 10,600 = insurance sales professional

81. 10,400 = life insurance advisor

82. 10,200 = insurance writer

83. 9,650 = insurance recruiter

84. 9,480 = financial planning advisor

85. 9,030 = estate planning advisor

86. 8,570 = annuity broker

87. 7,520 = insurance general manager

88. 7,070 = insurance trainee

89. 6,800 = long term care insurance specialist

90. 6,670 = term life insurance agent

91. 6,440 = long term care insurance agent

92. 5,870 = licensed life agent

93. 5,300 = financial insurance agent

94. 5,270 = annuity agent

95. 5,080 = ins professional

96. 5,030 = medical insurance professional

97. 5,010 = disability insurance agent

98. 4,990 = employee benefits professional

99. 4,430 = mortgage insurance agent

100. 4,200 = disability insurance specialist

101. 3,900 = long term care agent

For your own sake, never tell prospective clients that you are one of 1,500,000 insurance agents licensed to sell life, health, annuities, and financial policies. The term insurance specialist or insurance professional immediately makes your prospect more confident of your abilities. However, please do not use the overused and abused terms of financial planner or estate planner unless you actually are qualified to be one.

If case, you are interested, here are more titles with over 1,000 Google entry occurrences that did not make the top 101 list. They include group health professional, ins specialist, insurance marketing representative, health insurance adviser, ins representative, term life insurance specialist, mortgage life insurance agent, insurance marketing specialist, disability insurance broker, life ins agent, term life agent, senior market specialist, life investment adviser, MDRT insurance agent, and insurance saleswoman.

Should you want to get more attention on major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Ask, here are some tips. On the front of your website entry page, use the title and first line to put a more descriptive term about the services you provide. Rather than announcing "insurance agent for many products", try this, "medical insurance professional and disability insurance specialist." Both these titles only have about 5,000 competing entries, which could include 3,500 to 4,000 weak ones each. Now it depends on following the advice given, and internet search engine skills you possess. An internet searcher might now find you in the top 100 listings for each of the terms! On an "insurance agent" search, with well over 6,000,000 listings, it might take a 24/7 week to find you listed toward the end of the heap.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don't know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon early this summer. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE "Think and Grow Rich" Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donald_Yerke

Recommended Reading
Insiders Tips For Reducing Spending
Money Saving Tips And Ideas Covers
Practically All Areas Of Household

How to Select the Right Financial Planner
By Tushar Mathur

There's retirement to plan for and college tuition for the kids. Insurance. Estate planning. And, oh, don't forget a wedding for your daughter. If all this sounds familiar, it may be time for you to start shopping around for a financial planner.

Certain experts, such as stock brokers or tax preparers, are there to help you deal with specific aspects of your financial life. But if you don't have an overall plan, you may well be spinning your wheels trying to get ahead. That's where financial planners come in. One who's trained and astute will typically draw up a written plan that focuses on such things as your retirement and insurance needs, the investments you need to make to reach your goals, college-funding strategies, plans to tackle debt - and finally - ways to correct any mistakes you have made in haphazardly trying to plan on your own.

Before you begin shopping for a planner, one word of caution: Unlike brain surgeons, hairdressers, and plumbers, a financial planner doesn't have to crack a book, take an exam or otherwise demonstrate competence before hanging out a shingle. In other words, anyone can claim the title - and thousands of poorly trained people do. That means finding the right planner for you and your family will take more work than researching the best new flat-screen TV. And so it should. After all, it's your financial future that's at stake.

Here's how to get started:

The old-boy network

One easy way to begin looking for a financial planner is to ask for recommendations. If you have a lawyer or an accountant you trust, ask him for the names of planners whose work he's seen and admired. Professionals like that are in the best position to judge a planner's abilities.

But don't stop with the referral. You should also look closely at credentials. A certified financial planner (CFP) or a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) must pass a rigorous set of exams and have certain experience in the financial services field. This alphabet soup is no guarantee of excellence, but the initials do show that a planner is serious about his or her work.

You get what you pay for

Many financial planners make some or all of their money in commissions by selling investments and insurance, but this system sets up an immediate conflict between the planners' interests and your own. Why? Because the products that pay the highest commissions, like whole life insurance and high-commission mutual funds, generally aren't the ones that pay off best for the clients. In general, we think the best advice is to steer clear of commission-only planners. You also should be wary of fee-based planners, who earn commissions and who also receive fees for their advice.

That leaves fee-only financial planners. They don't sell financial products, such as insurance or stocks, so their advice is not likely to be biased or influenced by their desire to earn a commission. They charge just for their advice. Fee-only planners may charge a flat fee, a percentage of your investments - usually 1 percent - under their management or hourly rates starting at about $120 an hour. Still, you can generally expect to pay $1,500 to $5,000 in the first year, when you will receive a written financial plan, plus $750 to $2,500 for ongoing advice in subsequent years.

Where to get help

If people you trust can't recommend planners in your area, or if you want to broaden the field from which you choose, you can get lists of local planners from the following trade organizations. Check out each group's website.

* National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
* Financial Planning Association
* American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Trust but verify

After putting together a list of at least three candidates, arrange face-to-face interviews. These consultations are usually free. Among the questions you'll want to ask are:

* Do you specialize? Many planners try to be jacks-of-all-trades and take any client who can pay. Some, however, work primarily with a certain type of client, such as small business owners or widows. Others tend to focus on one area of financial planning, such as retirement issues or college funding. You'll want to make sure the planner has experience working with people whose financial lives are similar to yours.

* How are you compensated? Any reputable planner won't flinch when you ask this question. It's imperative to find out ahead of time both how you'll be charged and how much.

* May I see your ADV form? This is a report the planner files with regulators. Part I of an ADV (the name stands for adviser) will tip you off to legal or regulatory problems in the planner's past. Part II outlines his or her experience, investment strategies and potential conflicts of interest. Planners are legally required to show you Part II if you ask. They can refuse to show you Part I, but that's a good reason for you to refuse to give them your business.

* May I have the names of three clients similar to me? You'll want to talk to these clients about their experience with the planner. It's also a good idea to ask to see at least one recent written plan; the planner can block out the name of the client to protect his or her privacy.

Finally, be alert for canned sales presentations, which are not uncommon in the field of financial advice. And give the highest marks to an adviser who listens closely to you and asks insightful questions. Notes Stuart Kessler, past chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, "Someone who isn't able to listen carefully won't understand what you are looking for."

Tushar Mathur writes regularly about Personal Finance and Investing at Everything Finance (http://www.everythingfinanceblog.com). He also writes about Green Living at Talking About Green (http://talkingaboutgreen.com/).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tushar_Mathur

Recommended Reading
Insiders Tips For Reducing Spending
Money Saving Tips And Ideas Covers
Practically All Areas Of Household

How Much Life Insurance Do You Really Need?
By Richard Kaloust

Some people equate life insurance with tragedy and death. In truth, life insurance is for the living. Without it, the sudden demise of a key breadwinner could leave a family stranded without the resources to maintain their lifestyle - or even retain their home.

Not so long ago, experts recommended that families carry a life insurance policy with a death benefit of between five and seven times their annual household income. Today, however, in light of rising house prices in many parts of the country and spiraling college costs, most advisors now recommend eight to 10 times income.

Unfortunately, most American families are underinsured. According to statistics from industry research and consulting firm LIMRA International, the average American household carries just $126,000 in life insurance - approximately $300,000 less than they actually need - and only 61% of adult Americans have life insurance protection, a decline from 70% in 1984.(1)

A Cornerstone of Sound Financial Planning

Financial experts generally consider life insurance to be a cornerstone of sound financial planning, for two key reasons. First, it can be a cost-effective way to provide for your loved ones after you are gone. And second, life insurance can be an important tool in the following ways:

1. Income replacement -- For most people, their most valuable economic asset is their ability to earn a living. If you have dependents, then you need to consider what would happen to them if they could no longer rely on your income. A life insurance policy can also help supplement retirement income, which can be especially useful if the benefits of your surviving spouse or domestic partner will be reduced after your death.

2. Pay outstanding debts and long-term obligations - Without life insurance, your loved ones must shoulder burial costs, credit card debts, and medical expenses not covered by health insurance using out-of-pocket funds. The policy's death benefit might also be used to pay off a mortgage, supplement retirement savings, or fund college tuition.

3. Estate planning -- The proceeds of a life insurance policy can be earmarked to pay estate taxes so that your heirs will not have to liquidate other assets to do so.

4. Charitable contributions -- If you have a favorite charity, you can designate some or all of the proceeds from your life insurance to go to this organization.

Determining How Much: A Four-Step Process

Determining how much life insurance coverage you need is a four-step process:

Step 1: Determine Your Family's Short-Term Needs
Short-term needs are financial obligations and/or expenses arising within six months of death. Examples of short-term needs include expenses you pay now such as:

* Loan balances (automobile loans, etc)
* Outstanding credit balances (credit cards, revolving lines of credit, etc)
* Mortgages (first and second mortgage, home-equity loans, lines of credit)

Add to these current expenses any death-related expenses that must be paid in the short term:

* Funeral expenses
* Final medical costs
* Estate settlement costs and probate
* Estate taxes due
* Charitable bequests you would like to make upon your death

If you don't already have one, your survivors should be left with a liquid emergency fund sufficient to get them through any unexpected financial needs. Most advisors recommend between three and six months' worth of living expenses.

Step 2: Determine Long-Term Needs
In addition to covering your survivors' short term needs, some level of monthly income will be needed to maintain their current standard of living and meet financial goals such as saving for retirement and funding college for children. The value of these future obligations is discounted back to present value amounts to provide a dollar amount that, if invested, could provide an adequate income stream to fund all of your long-term goals.

Step 3: Calculate Your Total Available Resources
By this point, you should have a good idea of your family's total cash needs in the event of your untimely death. With any luck, you have already begun to set money aside to cover some of these costs. Other resources that may be available to your family include pensions, annuities, funds from retirement accounts, employer-provided life insurance, and Social Security. The Social Security program offers benefits to survivors under age 17, and those whose spouses were receiving retirement income from Social Security can also count on survivorship benefits. The total value of these future resources is discounted back to present value amounts. This gives us a single dollar amount that we can use to offset your total needs.

Step 4: Provide Funds To Cover A Shortfall
In most cases, comparing total needs to total resources will result in a shortfall. That's where life insurance comes in. Without it, your survivors will be left with the choice of either finding or creating additional resources (such as having the surviving spouse return to work) or experience a decline in the quality of their lifestyle. Life insurance is uniquely suited for covering such a shortfall. It is a means of sharing the financial risk of premature death with many, many others who have similar concerns.

You pay a relatively small premium to an insurance company in exchange for their promise to pay your beneficiaries a specified death benefit in the event of your death. You may find it ironic that a financial need arising from death can be alleviated by a financial resource that is created after death. That's why life insurance, although something no one hopes to ever need, is indeed for the living. It's also a vital issue we can help you investigate in greater detail to ensure your family's financial future will be protected.

1. "Life Insurance Awareness Month," LIMRA International, August 2004
Material discussed is meant for general illustration and/or informational purposes only and it is not to be construed as tax, legal, or investment advice. Although the information has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, please note that individual situations can vary therefore, the information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Diversification does not ensure against loss. Source: Financial Visions, Inc.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Kaloust

Recommended Reading
Insiders Tips For Reducing Spending
Money Saving Tips And Ideas Covers
Practically All Areas Of Household

Back To Insurance Contents

Back To The Top