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Financial Education
Kids and Money: A Little Education Pays Off
Just about anyone who’s ever watched a child or grandchild go from the crib to kindergarten and beyond has uttered the phrase, “They grow up so fast.” Although you can’t really freeze a youngster’s precious moments in time, you can take steps to make sure that his or her journey to adulthood starts with a…
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How Can You Manage Your Debt?
Understanding how much debt you can handle and being smart about managing it can help you pursue long-term financial goals. Consider the following tips when analyzing how much you owe. 1. Calculate how much debt you carry. Although there are exceptions for special situations, many mortgage providers consider the most attractive candidates to be those…
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How to teach your kids the value of saving for retirement — before it’s too late
Written by Bruce Yates, Matt Boelter, and Joe Erickson, CPA Original Article can be found here.
Read MoreAsset Protection in Estate Planning
You’re beginning to accumulate substantial wealth, but you worry about protecting it from future potential creditors. Whether your concern is for your personal assets or your business, various tools exist to keep your property safe from tax collectors, accident victims, health-care providers, credit card issuers, business creditors, and creditors of others. To insulate your property…
Read MoreChoosing an Entity for Your Business
Now that you’ve decided to start a new business or buy an existing one, you need to consider the form of business entity that’s right for you. Basically, three separate categories of entities exist: partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. Each category has its own advantages, disadvantages, and special rules. It is also possible to…
Read MoreUsing Title Insurance to Protect Your Interest in Your Home
What is a title examination? Title is the right to own, possess, use, control, and dispose of property. When you buy a home, you are actually buying the seller’s title to the home. Before the closing, an attorney or title company (normally hired by your mortgage lender) will usually conduct a title examination by searching…
Read MoreImmediate vs. Deferred Annuities
The terms immediate annuity and deferred annuity simply indicate when the distribution phase of the annuity begins. Both allow unlimited contributions, and both can provide, upon election, a continuous stream of payments for life. Immediate annuities Immediate annuities allow you to convert a lump sum of cash into an income stream. They differ from deferred…
Read MoreTeaching Your College-Age Child about Money
When your child first started school, you doled out the change for milk and a snack on a daily basis. But now that your kindergartner has grown up, it’s time for you to make sure that your child has enough financial knowledge to manage money at college. Lesson 1: Budgeting 101 Perhaps your child already…
Read MoreHow many types of government savings bonds are there, and what's the difference between them?
While the U.S. government has issued 13 types of savings bonds, there are currently only two series available for purchase through the U.S. Treasury Department: Series EE bonds and Series I bonds. U.S. savings bonds are nonmarketable securities, which means you can’t resell them unless you’re authorized as an issuing or redeeming agent by the…
Read MoreFinding and Claiming Forgotten Funds
Finding and Claiming Forgotten Funds As a child, you may have dreamed about finding buried treasure, but you probably realized at an early age that it was unlikely you would discover a chest full of pirate booty. However, the possibility that you have unclaimed funds or other assets waiting for you is not a fantasy.…
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