There were a few quick wins; Sky was cancelled as was gym membership and direct debits to lottery syndicates etc. Charities have been shelved temporarily as have anything that wasn’t vital. She then used the comparison websites to source better deals on the home insurance, car insurance and permanent health insurance. In most cases she was able to save a few pounds to chip away at her shortfall.

Source: http://www.permanenthealthinsurance.uk.com/blog/2012/01/27/permanent-health-insurance-one-expense-we-had-afford/

Firstly I would like to know the exact date when I will have to have a Pension scheme in place and be paying in on behalf of my staff. I hear this date is different depending on the size of your company so I feel this should be my first question. Secondly I would like to get a breakdown of which of my staff would have to be enrolled, as I assume my 16 year old part-time staff would not require a pension contribution! Thirdly and most importantly I’m looking to find out how much it would cost to set up, and to administer each year, along with an idea of how much the contributions will cost me. If there are any other options regarding how the scheme should be set up then I’d be interested to run through them.

Finally I’d like to know how I can reduce overall costs.

If anyone can think of areas I haven’t considered then I’d be grateful to hear from them.

Source: http://occupationalpension.org.uk/blog/2011/11/09/what-questions-should-i-consider-regarding-occupational-pension-reform/

Larger Roth IRA withdrawals, including some or all of the interest earned in the account will be subject to tax. There is also a loophole for early Roth IRA withdrawals know as the “72(t) exception”. Under current tax law, you can avoid the 10% penalty tax if you take “substantially equal periodic payments.” The Internal Revenue Service 1989 Cumulative Bulletin tells you how to calculate what it considers to be “substantially equal periodic payments”. IRS Revenue Ruling 2002-62 adds additional details and clarifies some issues pertaining to Roth IRA withdrawal early. All of these engrossing volumes are very likely available at your local law library. To take a series of “substantially equal periodic payments” from your IRA without penalty, you must withdraw money at least once a year, and you must keep taking withdrawals for five years or until you reach age 59, whichever is longer. So, a 35-year-old must take withdrawals for twenty-five years, while a 51-year-old must take them for eight-and-a-half years. A 57-year-old would have to take withdrawals for five years, until age 62. Also, you must let a minimum of 5 years plus 1 day elapse from the date of your first SEPP withdrawal before making “unlimited” withdrawals from your IRA, even if you’ve reached age 59 1/2. Otherwise, the IRS will hit you with the 10% penalty and retroactive interest charges. The amount of your withdrawal is calculated based on the balance of your retirement account on December 31 of the preceding year or any date in the current year prior to the first distribution using your age on December 31st of the year in which you make the withdrawal.

So maybe you’ve had a savings account for a while or maybe you’ve taken out a mortgage for a house. Is your bank actually helping you, or it is doing more harm than good? If you’ve never looked into the benefits of a credit union, maybe now is a good time to switch. There are actually many benefits, many of which you’ve probably never even heard about.

Simply put, a bank is an establishment that is there to make money for itself. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s what every single business is in business for: to make its own money. So what’s so great about a credit union? What makes it different? A credit union is a non-profit organization that is there specifically for its members. Basically, it’s a group of people dedicated to their money. So instead of stockholders making decisions for the bank they have partial ownership of, you can literally own a portion of your credit union yourself and be able to vote and participate on different aspects of the company. It is completely Democratic and members even elect a volunteer Board of Directors. Sounds good, right?

Credit unions also offer higher rates of interest payout in savings accounts as well as having typically lower interest rates on loans and personal lines of credit. They also offer many free services such as checking accounts, debit and credit cards, and personalized service.

There are some people skeptical about credit unions because they believe that their money isn’t safe. This rumor is no longer true and all credit unions now legally have to be federally insured, just like a bank. So there really shouldn’t be any question in which establishment you should choose.

Now that you’re convinced, go a step further. What other corporations do you spend your money at? The grocery store, clothing venues at the local mall. Once you start saving your money wisely, try spending your money wisely, too. Everything you do can become more frugal and help you in life. Learn to shop around. Do your research on which credit unions offer the lowest interest rates and the highest interest payouts.

But statistics show that golden dream comes true for only a very few of Americans. Some studies reveal less than 10 percent of us ever retire. Even more alarming, other studies show a large percentage die within a year or two after retirement.

Clearly, an enjoyable, healthy retirement is not something that just “happens.” To get past all the challenges that lie in your way, you need to plan for your retirement wisely.

I advise people in my seminars NOT to retire, but to RE-FIRE. Instead of looking at retirement as merely leaving the world of work, look at retirement as a time when you can finally achieve the things you’ve always wanted to do.

Most retirement advice centers around telling you to put a lot of money in a savings account. While saving for retirement is important, most of what you should do to retire well can be accomplished within five years of retirement.

Much of what you need to do to retire successfully is mental and spiritual. When many of us retire, we walk away from a life of work that filled our days, exercised our minds, and included most of our good friends. Once you’re retired, you find your days become empty and unfulfilling, even depressing.

That’s why it’s critical to plan new tasks, goals, and attitudes for retirement. While sitting in an easy chair and relishing not having to go to work can be fun for a while, you’ll soon need activities and relationships to make your days fulfilling. You’ll also need ways to create a satisfying social life that often includes important new friends.

That’s why RE-FIREING in your retirement years is the right approach to take. Rather than giving up, you’re recharging and moving forward to an even more exciting life.

Focus on attaining optimum good health, creating the fine-tuned relationships you’ve always wanted, and finally accomplishing some of your true purposes in life. Re-firing can help you figure out what has been missing from your life, what you really want to do in your senior years, and help you develop solid strategies for quickly achieving your important goals.

I’ve been receiving a great many letters lately that go something like this! “I’m about to turn 50 and I’ve just started planning for retirement! Any ideas?” Great question! Something you should have asked 15 to 20 years ago but never mind, better late than never.

Most of the mail comes from self-employed people who broke the number one cardinal rule of self-employment – they didn’t pay themselves first. They put everything back into their business. This predicament is a common one. The Employee Benefits Research Institute reports that more than half of the self-employed aged between 45 to 54 have saved less than $50,000 for retirement. A recent Fidelity study found that the average baby boomer is on track to replace just 60% of his or her current income in retirement, even with help from Social Security and pensions.

Why are we so unprepared? The simple explanation to this question is that we as baby boomers are a generation of grasshoppers who fiddled away our youth when we should have been saving. You could say that the financial pressures we all face have made it very tough for us to save. The list normally starts with college fees and helping aging parents, higher prices for housing and medical insurance. We baby boomers have never been one for self-denial If we wanted it, we got it.

You’ve all heard this advice before, save as much as you can in an IRA or 401K plan. At 50, you are more than likely to have entered your peak earning years. Let’s say you channel an annual 3% raise into a retirement plan. That’s another $2,250 in savings if you’re making $75,000 a year. Saving the equivalent of an extra $10 a day in an IRA or 401K will increase your savings by more than $100,000 over 15 years if your investments earns you 8% a year.

The IRS rules allows workers over the age of 50 to put more money into individual retirement accounts and workplace retirement plans. For 401Ks, this catch-up provision brings your maximum contribution to $20,000 a year. Assuming you’re eligible, choose the immediate tax break that comes with a deductible IRA rather than a Roth IRA’s tax free withdrawals. “If you’re behind on retirement saving, your tax bracket will probably be lower in retirement than it is now,” reasons financial planner Greg Schultz of Retirement Planning in Walnut Creek, Calif. The immediate tax break is worth more to you.”

If, like most of us, you haven’t managed to save to much by 50, it’s more likely because you spend more than you can afford. There’s a silver lining to this, the worse our spending habits, the more room there is for improvement.

The first thing to do is create a budget. If you already have one, revise it to reflect your new goals and target. You should organize your outlays by category, and try to identify the areas that are stopping you from reaching those goals and targets. Try to stop the wasteful or bad habits and chances are over the last five decades you have developed a few.

Whatever you do, you must save more, downsize, rethink your retirement age – it’s time for action. Once you get started, you’ll going to feel much better, and for good reason. Just facing the issue head on will give you hope. There’s no need to be fearful of the future anymore.

Your Money Matters By Carl Hampton the bestselling Author of From Credit Despair To Credit Millionaire

Have an opinion or a question you would like me to answer, then write me! http://wwwCarlHampton.com

But I have found something that simply works…

If the above statement does not suitably impress you, perhaps you are not fully aware of what it takes to accomplish this in this day and time. Just because I said it is simple, do not underestimate the value of this gem. If you think its easy to find something that actually works…you have not tried…end of story. The Continental Trust and Credit Union has been the long sought answer to the banking relationships I required.

But before I give you a brief review of its qualities and benefits, let me stress that I am not talking about just going out and opening an offshore bank account. In my opinion, this is not a valid and workable relationship. First, unless you intend on having assets of less than $10,000 USD (I am talking about US citizens here) you are required to report this account; and secondly, anything with your name attached to it in the banking system is discoverable. Just having an account in a supposedly sovereign jurisdiction that will keep your information private is not good enough in todays financial landscape. Suffice it to look at the large number of high rollers who tried to hide a good portion of their assets this way and got in a good deal of trouble. This is not the way to do it; its not what I want, and I will presume its not what you want. Hiding things and privacy are very different arrangements, and you want to be involved in the latter.legitimate, legal, secure, workable financial privacy!

With that being saidlets take a look at this treasure I have found

The Continental Trust And Credit Union is a private savings and loan association domiciled in Stockholm, Sweden and registered in accordance with the Economic Associations Act (1987:667). The activities are regulated by the Swedish Banking Act (2004:297). As a legally designated ‘Ekonomik Foerening’ (EF) it is essentially a Savings and Loan association. Under the law that regulates Continental Trust, provided that it does not solicit to the public and keeps its membership ’small’ by legal definition, an EF is exempt from the standard banking regulatory regime and the only reporting required is an annual tax return filed on net profits.

What this means is that this type of an organization is basically not required to report anything regarding its membership or financial transactions…ever! This is as good as it gets! Now this does not mean you can get away with criminal activity, because if you give governments or courts a legitimate reason to come after you, they can eventually get just about any information they want…but as far as financial privacy, this is off the grid. This is a legitimate type of organization classified by the World Bank as a Non-Bank Financial Institution and recognized as having an important role in a balanced and diversified financial sector. In other words, its not some shady deal that you have to worry about being under the table. All of its officers have had background checks, the books are audited annually by a major, well recognized auditing firm.

Thats the legal stuff…now as far as its usability and benefits…here are the major points:

Full internet access to accounts and built in secure message system
Internet security system twice as good as most major banks (Regarding security; Account data is held not only in secure and stable Linux servers with all the appropriate firewalls, but is then maintained on powerfully encrypted hard drives which are not on the same server as the web page but are instead, held and maintained very privately and secure half a world away. The domicile, banking, secure servers, web servers and administration are all conducted and compartmentalized from different parts of the world making Continental Trust one of the most secure operations of its kind in existence today.)
So designed that even if the webserver were hacked, no information could be accessed
Transfer accts. for general in/out activity by wire transfer or by transfer to linked private International Secured Mastercard Program (no spending limits except for the balance stored)
Credit card, not debit card; much more useful in situations such as car rental etc. Funds accessed by:
merchant purchases
ATM withdrawals
Wire transfer
Bankers draft
Savings Accounts with 9% yearly earnings
CDs yielding from 1%-2.5% monthly (thats rightmonthly; excellent passive investment)
Minimum initial deposit is 2500 euro.
Loans against capital or real estate

My experiences with CTCU have been excellent. The communications with the staff have been prompt and professional. The treatment I receive is as a person, not a number. The one small problem I once experienced was when opening a trading acct. The trading institution would not initially accept the wire transfer because it was sent from another institution than what was named on the account. This is actually how this kind of organization works, its clearing of funds is through a separate bank. The problem was easily resolved by the staff sending the proper documentation showing that the CTCU account was in fact the initiator of the wire transfer. Problem solved!

The other thing you need to know is that access to the Credit Union is by private membership only…you must be a member of the private business group Venture Resources Group. There are other benefits as well to becoming part of Venture Resources Group as they are experienced professionals in the international arena, but I will not go into that here.

The last thing I will point out, is that CTCU is still fairly young and its deposits and ability to do other things in the financial world is comparatively smallbut growing.

So there you have it as best as I can put it. More detailed information is available from the Venture Resources Group and guest login codes to access all the information on the Continental Trust And Credit Union website are available upon request.

I sincerely hope that this article and the information it contains are of great benefit to you and can give you a sense of financial confidence that here, finally, is a solution to what you may have been looking for… as it did for me.

Important Note: A pre-requisite to having this kind of financial privacy is to establish working relationships with properly formed and maintained international entities. For the purposes of this article, I have assumed that you understand this, and have access to this kind of knowledge and relations. If you do not, then allow me to refer you to Venture Resources Group where I know you can get reliable and reasonably priced access to them.

The numbers bear out Jefferson’s assertions. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, 58 percent of families with credit cards have an average outstanding balance of $5,100. Between 2001 and 2004 (the last year for which statistics are available), household debt increased a whopping 26.3 percent. During the same time period, the median income fell almost a full percentage point, to $37,800. Furthermore, nine percent of families surveyed by the Fed reported that they had been at least 60 days late with a payment in the previous year. “Unless and until Americans adopt the practices of the wealthy, they will continue to spend more money than they earn, and have nothing to show for a lifetime of hard work,” says Jefferson.

Prior to becoming a consultant with Wealth Masters International, Jefferson was a network marketer who experienced firsthand the limitations of a traditional mindset. “I never went beyond my inner circle of family, friends, and acquaintances,” she says. “I simply didn’t have access to a marketing system that would enable me to reach the numbers of people necessary to truly create wealth.” Regardless of how hard she worked, Jefferson was never able to generate the massive downline necessary to succeed with traditional network marketing paradigms which is one of the reasons that she switched to Carbon Copy Pro (www.wealthtransfernow.com).

Moreover, she witnessed the mistakes of those who did experience success. “Oftentimes, people who made a considerable amount of money would simply blow through it, because the companies they were affiliated with didn’t offer direction and guidance to help them achieve their long-term goals,” Jefferson says.

In contrast, she has found Wealth Masters International’s commitment to personal and financial growth a refreshing change. “The company offers a free analysis of a member’s credit situation and helps them get on track to pay down their personal debt and step on the road to financial freedom,” Jefferson says. “The company has alliances with experts in everything from credit repair and financial goal-setting to investments and wealth accumulation strategies.”

Jefferson notes that the company’s “Six Steps to Freedom” resources have not only assisted her in her consultancy, but have helped her develop skills that she routinely uses in her other business ventures. The six steps involve analyzing your personal finances, minimizing your tax obligations, creating a savings fund, ensuring that you are legally protected, building a legacy through wealth creation, and creating a lifestyle that achieves your personal goals. “Wealth Masters International has enabled me to create a life where I can achieve my income potential and spend more time with my family. But the most rewarding part is being able to help other people stop the downward spiral and not only live, but also thrive,” Jefferson concludes. Considering the state of our nation’s collective financial trouble, that’s refreshing news indeed.

We all have some common problems which are very serious. By this article I would like to raise the awareness and then propose a solution which will be beneficial to anyone who’s interested. Please allow me first to create the context for this:

It is clear to all of us that we live in a troubled world. We can all agree on that. Whether we are talking about individuals, organizations, systems or governments, it seems that the rule of law, the concepts of traditional values, decency and respect are all being pushed aside in favor of short term gain, control and easy or quick enrichment regardless of the consequences.

How do we manage in such a ‘dog eat dog’ world?

It seems that there are two general concepts we must embrace to not only survive, but to thrive in such a lawless and threatening environment;

A) We must ‘Get Ahead’
B) We must then find a way to ‘Stay Ahead’

Lord knows that when you look around and read the headlines that are telling us:
======
terrorism is rising
the tax man’s appetite is becoming more voracious
huge banks are reporting losses in the billions
the trillion $$ mortgage industry is upside down
big brother is tightening his grip
jobs are being exported
credit is tightening
recession is looming

…this environment spells trouble for the masses. If you are one of the masses, you are in trouble! The masses have virtually no ability to help themselves with individual creativity and independence so they look to government for help and the cycle or dependence intensifies and trend worsens. God help us all !

So what’s a person to do to escape from the herd of lemmings diving off the cliff?

First, you must re-align your thinking in a way that creates a new paradigm for complete self reliance. Nothing short of complete personal independence and sovereignty will do. This is paramount. Continue doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll continue getting what you’ve always been getting. You MUST break from the ‘herd’ mentality.

Then, you need to immerse yourself in the knowledge that you will need to acquire the skills required for the job. This knowledge will enable you to accomplish your goals and feed your new paradigms of personal self reliance. This will involve and include new ways of doing business, managing finances, creating wealth, preserving wealth, accumulating savings and resources much faster than ‘conventional wisdom’ would ever allow. But that’s only the finances part. You must also break free from the pharmacological medical monopoly that ensures poor health. You must break free from the legal entanglements that ensure your slavery and the list continues.

Do this and you have at least started the process in an important way.

The problem is the ‘how’, right? Or maybe the ‘where’ as in ‘Where’ do you find the resources, the people, the mentors the knowledge systems and support for such a massive personal transformation?

I won’t beat around the bush. Here is where you do it if you’re serious about getting results as soon as possible: The Venture Resources Group. Get with your referring member and get started now, so you can attend the live conference coming up soon in Panama.

Unfortunately, not everyone is ready financially for The VR Group. It’s an exclusive program and we recognize that it takes some preparation and financial capability to benefit right away.

This is where my Special Announcement comes into play.

I am very pleased to announce that VR Group has formed an alliance with the Continental Savings Club which accomplishes the following for you;

You can start learning about what freedom requires taking some small beginning steps.

You can start associating with like minded individuals for next to nothing

You can start putting yourself in position to crank up your financial prowess with everything to gain and nothing to lose.

You can position yourself to participate in VRG (a $1500 program) for only $99 one time.

With the Continental Savings Club you can easily share this critically important news with virtually anybody you care about.

Follow traditional thinking and you are in trouble! Conventional wisdom is not cutting it. You either break yourself free from ‘business as usual’ or you go down with the ship and risk your family’s future with you. The ball is in your court! It’s all up to you and the decisions you make for yourself.

We invite you now, to participate in the Continental Savings Club. It’s simple, it’s easy, anybody can benefit.

Check it out for yourself.

Opportunity is knocking !

Stop the process in its tracks

The best thing you can do is to stop the foreclosure process in its tracks. As you may or may not know, foreclosure is a long, drawn out process that gives the owner of the home plenty of chances to stop the process and deal with their debt. The first interactions that the bank or lender has with you is not part of the formal foreclosure process, and that is a good time to get a handle on the situation and really keep it from going any further. If you have missed a handful of mortgage payments, dont write it off as too late to save your home and your current lifestyle. If the bank has not yet sent you a notice of foreclosure, the process is not yet official and you still have plenty of time to turn it around.

The first thing you should do is respond to the phone calls and the letters that are coming in the mail for you about your late payments. This may be painful and something you dont feel like doing, but it will be less painful than having your home taken right out from under you. Call the bank your lender; you may be surprised to learn exactly how willing they are to work with you. If you explain what your financial situation is, your bank will likely be willing to work with you and will just be happy to hear from you. Sometimes, all it takes to stop the process from becoming a formal one is a response from you.

Once you contact the bank or lender you need to be prepared to set up payment arrangements that will get you back on track. Let the bank know exactly how much you can pay each week. Even if you can only pay a couple hundred dollars each week, this will eventually get you back to where you should be and the bank will consider it a good faith effort to keep your home and as long as you keep up with these scheduled payments, youll find that the bank is willing to work with you as long as you need them to so that you can keep your home as well as keep them off your back. It might take awhile, but you can get on top of your late payments. Remember, your bank doesnt want to foreclose on your home, so you should take all of the chances you are offered and communicate with the bank about the issues youve had paying your mortgage, and then arrange payments, and be sure to make them.

Show the bank you mean business

Once youve received a notice of intent to foreclose, you still shouldnt lose all hope. Most of the time you can still keep your home and reconcile the debt with your bank. You might have to make a larger payment or the bank may actually try to demand that you pay the debt in full, but if you get a foreclosure attorney involved you may be able to undo these issues. Most of the time if you can pay a portion of the missed payments on the spot youll be able to proceed normally and set up new monthly payments so that you dont have to lose your home. An attorney can often step in and help you set up payments that will not leave you broke, but will also satisfy the needs of the bank. Sometimes it is easier to have an attorney present to sort of act as a middleman since this is a very stressful situation for most owners, and it can be difficult to keep emotions out of it. Attorneys will also be able to ensure that your rights are protected and that you have every chance possible to save your home from being foreclosed on.

If you miss the boat on this type of thing, you can actually show up at the auction for your home. As long as you are the highest bidder, the bank doesnt care who buys the home just that the home sells. If you are intent on saving your home, the auction is a great place to be because there may only be a handful of people there that bid on the home and if you are able to put down a large sum of money, you might just win your house back! Dont dismiss every chance possible to win your house back, as you may figure out how to come up with the money just in the nick of time.

As you can see, there are many ways to keep from being foreclosed on. Many people simply sell their homes, sell belongings, stock, or take money from savings accounts to pay off their debts and get back on track. Foreclosure does not only mean the loss of your home, it means damaged credit and the need to look for a new place to live. If more people would realize that the bank really does not want to foreclose on their homes and that they can take advantage of these offers by just picking up the phone and getting in touch, fewer homes would be foreclosed on. Banks will often help you refinance if you are just not able to make such big payments each month, or theyll make payment arrangements for you to get on top of the debt. Dont be afraid to ask questions, get help, and get aggressive about keeping your home because you can stop foreclosure.