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Category: Finances

Emergency Preparedness – Rainy Day Money Storage.

Emergency Preparedness – Rainy Day Money Storage.

   Just in case you loose your job, the house burns down, your ARM skyrockets, and/or gas prices or other normal budget items suddenly get abnormal, you need to have some money storage.    With monthly house payments, car payments, food and utilities, any loss of income will be quite disturbing.  “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”  Being debt free is it’s own best dividend.    Today’s employees can expect at least 3-5 job changes before retirement.  That…

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Emergency Preparedness – Money Storage in Retirement Plans

Emergency Preparedness – Money Storage in Retirement Plans

   Qualified retirement plans are as simple to understand as a chicken farm.  “Qualified” means that the IRS fox is kept away from layer hens and eggs during the working years because you commit to build this flock as a replacement for you for income earning when you retire from the workplace.       Now, think like a chicken farmer.  Do you want a big flock or a little flock in the henhouse when you retire?  Additionally, in retirement do you…

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Emergency Preparedness – Pensions and Lifetime Income Annuities.

Emergency Preparedness – Pensions and Lifetime Income Annuities.

   All pensions are annuities, but not all annuities are pensions.  What’s the difference?    Pensions offer retirees life income and benefits can be shared with a spouse only.  At retirement most employer plans will offer a single choice from “six standard payout options.”  Option one pays the most money monthly, but only to the participant until death; options two through six pay less, with the spouse getting a continuing fractional amount until death.  Live long, get a lot.  Die…

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Emergency preparedness – The Myths of Lifetime Guarantees.

Emergency preparedness – The Myths of Lifetime Guarantees.

   “Buy this one,” the wife said.  “It’s only $30 more, but it has a lifetime guarantee.”    “Whose lifetime,” her husband questioned?  “I’m 78 and have lived 3 years more than I was suppose to.”    A lifetime guarantee is generally considered to be no longer than 10 years for any manufactured product.  Of course, certificates with fine print can exclude important components, and unless you retain sales slips mere possession may not be sufficient to prove ownership.  Warrantees…

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We Have to Pay Taxes, . . . don’t we?

We Have to Pay Taxes, . . . don’t we?

Emergency Preparedness – We Have to Pay Taxes, . . . don’t we?      “That which is taxed decreases, while that which is subsidized increases.”  Legislators know this rule well.  Governments need revenue, but will offer tax breaks to encourage things that promote self-sufficiency, valuable social and environmental policies, retirement, and charitable giving.    If you knew that it only cost $.78 for every dollar you gave to charity, would you be more giving?  In higher income brackets, $.65…

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Turning Off Telemarketers.

Turning Off Telemarketers.

Emergency Preparedness – Turning Off Telemarketers.      The objective of marketing is to get people to pay attention to a sales pitch.  It’s dinnertime, the phone rings, and a telemarketer from India, the Philippines, or even Panguitch wants to talk to you.    Congress to the rescue.  The FCC was instructed to set up a DO NOT CALL list (www.donotcall.gov) some years ago – (888) 382-1222.  Rules are: 1) you must call on the phone you want protected, and…

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Express Checkout (15 Items or Less Please)

Express Checkout (15 Items or Less Please)

Emergency Preparedness – Express Checkout  (15 Items or Less Please)       With two carts filled, people in line behind me not only starred daggers, but were sure I would try and pay with stolen credit cards and have half dozen felony convictions and outstanding warrants on my record.    I never shop without going out the express line, even if I’m buying 15 cases of goods.    The secret is never buy just onesies and twosies.  Never buy anything…

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Real Relief or Donation Scam?

Real Relief or Donation Scam?

Emergency Preparedness – Real Relief or Donation Scam?      When natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina happen, fraudulent activities seem to spread like gold rush fever.  According to the New York Times, the FBI lists over 2,300 new websites purporting to deal with hurricane relief and assistance.  Some are legitimate, and others not.  Law enforcement has teamed with Internet Service Providers and computer security companies to try and ferret out the weasels.  Well before the calamities happen, scammers register domain…

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“Ive got all the money I’ll ever need, if I die by 4 o’clock.” Henny Youngman

“Ive got all the money I’ll ever need, if I die by 4 o’clock.” Henny Youngman

Emergency Preparedness – “I’ve got all the money I’ll ever need, if I die by 4 o’clock.”  Henny Youngman      “When peoples bank accounts grow, they feel more secure thinking that they can simply go out and buy all of the things that they need.  That’s not the program of the Church.  Food in the basement will be more important than money in the bank,” said President Kimball in the mid l970’s.     The only things that have changed…

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The Large Print Giveth, and the Find Print Taketh Away.

The Large Print Giveth, and the Find Print Taketh Away.

Emergency Preparedness – The Large Print Giveth, and the Fine Print Taketh Away.           Beware of prepayment penalties on fixed or adjustable-rate mortgages, and home-equity loans and lines of credit.  They require borrowers to pay extra cash as a penalty for closing out loans within the first three years.  These fine print contract features, pervasive in the late 70’s and early 80”s during double- didget interest rates, have crept back into lenders agendas to penalize borrowers who see the…

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