Best bussiness financial advice on the net


Investing: New Year Financial Tune Up

While you're making your New Years'reviewing your long-term care and disability
resolutions, don't forget to give yourpolicies as well. And if your needs for life
financial house an annual tune-up. As the oldinsurance have changed, maybe it's time to
saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worthcancel  some  policies  or  up your coverage.
a pound of cure, and few adjustments now
could save you thousands of dollars, not toIf you're still employed, talk with your
mention some major headaches, in the monthshuman resources department and make sure
and  years  to  come.you're maximizing all available benefits. Max
out your 401k and any matching contributions
The first step in any financial tune-up is tofrom your employer. See if there are ways to
reassess your financial goals and make surelower your health insurance costs. Some even
you're on track to reach them. For instance,offer  tuition  reimbursement.
has your target date for retirement changed?
Has a spouse had a career move that affectsThe last major step of your financial tune-up
how much you have going into savings? Are youis a close inspection of your investments. If
planning any major purchases this year, suchyou have mutual funds, check out your funds
as  a  kitchen  remodel  or  buying  a  car?at By entering each fund's symbol, you can
quickly measure your fund's performance,
If you depend on your investments for income,rating, how they compare to similar funds,
perhaps your cost of living has increased andand whether your fund has had a recent
you need to find a way to increase yourmanagement change that could affect
returns. Maybe you've downsized your home andperformance. You want to be in funds that
your income needs have decreased. Whateverhave consistently performed well over the
the case, now is the time to determine whatlong haul, not just one-year-wonders. If you
your current needs are and how to adjust yourhappen to own some funds that are laggards,
investments to improve their ability tothen fire them and replace them with
achieve  your  goals.higher-ranked  ones.
The second step of your financial tune-up isWhen determining what funds to have, don't
to make sure your estate planning andjust look at performance, but also look at
insurance policies are up-to-date and indiversification. If you own several funds,
order. I know it's not a lot of fun to dobut they're all invested in large-cap
this, but believe me, if you could talk withcompanies, that's not proper diversification.
folks like I have, who didn't have theirYou should spread your eggs among several
houses in order and are paying the price,different categories, types and strategies.
you'd gladly take the time to do it now. AndAnd don't forget to make sure your company
it's  not  as  bad  as  you  think.retirement account isn't 100% in company
stock.
Read over the estate documents you have, such
as a will, living trust, powers of attorney,Make sure you're not too over-weighted in any
etc., and make sure they reflect your currentone category. For example, energy and
wishes and situation. Don't have the rightinternational stocks did very well in 2005.
documents in place? No time like the presentIf you have hefty gains in those holdings,
to take care of it. Not sure what you need?you might want to rebalance some of those
Just  ask  me.profits  into  other  categories.
Review your insurance policies, making sureAn annual financial tune-up might only take a
to verify your liability coverage. Forfew hours, but its benefits could last a
instance, most drivers don't carry enoughlifetime. If nothing else, you'll gain the
uninsured motorists coverage. And after allpeace of mind that you're on track to reach
the hurricanes of 2005, make sure you knowyour financial goals and you have your estate
exactly what is covered in your homeowner'sin order. If you uncover some problem areas,
policy. If you have questions, make anyou'll be able to make changes now before you
appointment with your insurance agent andhave to pay for costly mistakes.
know for certain. Don't forget about



1 A B C D 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111