10 Characteristics of Debt-Free People

Whether you’ve resolved to get debt-free in 2014 or you have a long way to go, it’s good to be inspired. Look at people you know who are already living debt-free lives. Whether it’s a friend, family member or co-worker, the person you are thinking of probably shares similar qualities with other debt-free people. Here are 10 common characteristics you can copy to live within your means.

1. They Pay Attention to Details

You won’t notice that recurring fee on your credit card for the gym you’ve stopped using if you’re not checking your statement regularly. People without debt monitor their personal finances closely. They are less likely to waste money by forgetting about payment due dates or overdraft fees.

You can start paying more attention also. The key is just to start. Try looking at your credit card statements every month. Next monitor all of your spending. Now add up your income. Compare the two and see where you could cut back. Re-visit a budget a few times a year to stay on track.

2. They Know Their Stuff

Debt-free people do their own research. They might have an accountant, but they don’t send over paperwork or sign their taxes without looking them over. If you want control over your finances, you need to learn about them. It may feel overwhelming but the sense of security you will feel in understanding what’s happening with your money will outweigh the discomfort.

[Editor's Note: If you want to get an idea of where your credit currently stands and how your debt is impacting it, the free Credit Report Card will provide you with two free credit scores and a breakdown of your credit profile.]

3. They Pretend They Make Less

Even if you are already deep in debt, you can start to improve your situation by immediately changing the way you look at your money. Imagine you make 10%, 25% or even 50% less than you do. Make a budget using that math. It may be impossible at first, but start making cuts to your spending.

Debt-free people live on less than they make. This allows them to put money aside for buying a house, retirement and an emergency fund. This provides a financial independence that allows you more options in the future.

4. They Think Long Term

When the focus isn’t on immediate gratification, you can make smarter decisions. Sure, it would be nice to have this season’s hottest shoes, but how will they help your long-term financial goals? This doesn’t mean you can’t ever buy shoes! It just means you have to save up before you buy them. This also gives you the time to consider if you really even like the shoes and avoid impulse purchases.

5. They Aren’t Afraid to Ask

Ask for help. Ask for lower interest rates. Ask for forgiveness when they make one late payment. Debt-free people take control of their finances and they aren’t meek about it. If you know someone who has met a financial milestone you admire (saved $1 million for retirement, bought a car in cash, etc.), don’t be afraid to ask how they did it.

6. They Save

Whether you got a significant bonus or a $25 check from Grandma, you should think first of paying yourself. This is true of your regular paycheck as well. You know you have to pay the rent (or mortgage), so treat your savings account the same way. Make it a habit. And better yet, make it a mindless habit by setting up automatic deposit. Debt-free people know adding even small amounts now will give you more financial freedom later.

7. They Set Goals

You’ll find it easier to put aside money if you have a strong sense of what it’s going toward. This works for when you are saving up for those shoes, planning a vacation or thinking about retirement. Debt-free people set specific goals so they know what they are striving for. This helps you stay on track. Retirement can be a hard one for young people. It seems so far away! Think about what sounds appealing about retirement. If it’s travel, imagine the places you will visit. Now the goal seems more specific.

8. They Say No

You may get lots of tempting offers throughout the week for lunch with co-workers or dinner with friends. Don’t be afraid to say no. Debt-free people know that saying no to smaller expenses can add up to big savings. This doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun. Host a potluck dinner instead of trying out the new, expensive restaurant. Meet up with friends in the park for a walk instead of taking an expensive exercise class.

9. They Know the Value of Cash

Debt-free people know the value of a dollar… because they see it! It can be easy to overspend when you are never seeing actual money. Having to part with some cash can remind you the transaction you are making is real. Plus, once that cash is gone, it’s gone. Try only using cash for a while and see how it changes your perception of purchasing.

10. They Value Experiences Over Stuff

Debt-free people aren’t focused on things. They value experiences more than having the latest things. The average person will list family and friends high on what they value. But are your choices reflecting that? If you are working extra hours to pay for a fancy meal with the family, think about the tradeoffs. Would you be better off not working late and having two (or five or 10) meals at home with the family?

To become debt-free, you are going to have to shed some of your current bad habits and take on some new, more constructive ones. Use the people who already living debt free as inspiration.

Raising Kids These Days Ain’t Cheap

Kids these days! They can be so expensive!

Raising a child gets more expensive every year.

Not only does inflation take its toll, but there always seems to be another activity to do.

The older your children get, the more they are likely to cost (well, once you get them out of the initial “baby” stage where diapers can be a killer cost).

The USDA says that children are getting more expensive as well. I recently plugged my information into the Cost of Raising a Child Calculator offered by the USDA, and found that my 10-year-old son is expected to cost me $20,660 just this year.

We’re not on track to actually hit that mark so far this year, but the results have me thinking. I’m sure there are those in other places who spend that much on their kids — or spend even more — each year.

What Do You Provide for Your Children?

I  have two children still at home, and apparently that makes a difference. After playing around a little bit, I discovered that the average yearly cost for each child goes down when you have more kids. Probably because multiple children share the resources that you provide for them.

So, what are some of the amenities you provide to your children? Here are broad categories the USDA includes in the calculation:

• Housing
• Food
• Transportation
• Clothing
• Healthcare
• Childcare and education
• Other

On top of that, the USDA calculator takes into account where you live (regional) and how much money you make. At first, I thought it odd that how much money you make matters.

However, when I thought about it, I realized that many of those with higher incomes feel pressure to spend their money a certain way by doing things like sending their kids to private school, providing some sort of private lessons, and by buying more expensive clothes. Just where you live and the car you drive as a person with a higher income can influence the average cost of the activities your child is involved with.

For most families, the cost is going to be somewhere closer to $13,000 a year.

How Can You Reduce the Costs of Raising a Child?

Of course, the calculator just offers an average. Many people get away with spending a lot less on their children each year. I’ve performed the calculation on my son, and I’m below average in some of the categories and above on others.

A lot of the price reduction comes from figuring out ways to reduce the costs associated with raising a child, and not falling prey to the “expectations” of your income group.

Some of the costs, like being careful with what you spend on clothing, and taking the time to shop carefully, using coupons and sales, for groceries, can be cut just by being savvy.

Additionally, if you are a family that is more interested in financial freedom than keeping up with the Joneses, you can reduce all of your costs (including those that deal with raising kids) with a modest home and modest cars. If you have a partner, and can swing the one-income thing, you save on childcare costs just by having one parent stay at home.

Finally, limiting your children’s activities can save you a great deal of money. After all, do you really need to pay for your kids to do four or five extracurricular activities? You run the risk of burning them out. Instead, consider limiting them to two activities. You’ll save money, and your kids won’t run the risk of becoming too stressed.

What do you think? Does it cost so much to raise a child? How do you save money?

5 Bad Money Decisions You've Made {But Might Not Admit It}

If you ever took a traditional economics course, you learned that human beings make rational decisions about their finances, and choose things that are in their best interests.

But you only have to look around you to find evidence that human beings are far from rational, particularly when it comes to finances.

We all consistently make irrational and stupid choices that cost us more, both in the short and the long run, because we are not always capable of deciding what is in our best interests.

This understanding of how real people make real financial decisions comes from the (relatively) new field of Behavioral Economics. This discipline looks at the intersection of psychology and economic theory, and it paints the human animal as a far more irrational creature than Adam Smith ever imagined.
 

Check out these five ways that humans make poor money decisions, and see if you can recognize any of your past blunders

1. Seeing a High Price Can Make us Pay More

We like to think that we know a fair price when we see one, but the truth is that we’re remarkably suggestible. For instance, take a look for the most expensive wine on the menu the next time you are out to a nice dinner. Often, you will see a single bottle listed at $100 or even more, while the rest of the wines are listed at about $25-$50 per bottle. That one expensive bottle is listed on the menu to make the $50 bottles seem much cheaper in comparison.

Many restaurants literally only keep one bottle of the expensive stuff, because they don’t intend for anyone to actually buy it. It’s there to sell the $50 wine, which would have otherwise seemed far too expensive compared the other options.

What’s happening here is something Behavioral Economists describe as anchoring. Once we have a number in our heads, it anchors our expectations for price. Dan Ariely, in his book Predictably Irrational tells how Williams-Sonoma was frustrated at poor sales of its bread machine, priced at $275. The solution they came up with was to offer another model—one that was larger and priced at $400.

Suddenly, sales of the cheaper model rose, while no one bothered with the spendy version. This was because shoppers suddenly had something to compare the original to, and $275 no longer seemed like too much to spend—at least not compared to $400.

2. We Hate to Lose, Even When we Already Have

If you've ever held onto a tanking stock because it’s “sure to regain its value,” then you have been a victim of loss aversion. Loss aversion is psychological quirk that makes us work much harder to avoid a loss than we will to achieve a gain. In terms of the stock market, once a stock starts doing poorly, we think of the money we have already lost, and we fear further losses. But instead of cutting our losses, and accepting the fact that the money we've already spent is a sunk cost, we hold onto those stocks in the hope that they’ll pick back up again.

You can see loss aversion in nearly every aspect of life. This is the reason why we keep those bread machines we spent nearly $300 on, even though we never make bread in them—and we could certainly get something for them at a garage sale. The simple fact that we will never see that $300 again is enough reason to let the machine gather dust, because we’ll kick ourselves for “only” getting 10 bucks on a resale.

Loss aversion is also why we are so unwilling to cancel memberships to gyms we don’t attend, clubs we don’t go to, and cable packages we don’t use. We think about how much it will cost to rejoin if we were to quit—forgetting that every month we’re allowing more money to go down the drain for fear of “losing” the original enrollment fee.

It’s very difficult for us to remember that that money is already gone.

3. We Overvalue Free Things

How many times have you ordered a book that you’re not entirely certain you want, just to make sure you qualify for free shipping from Amazon?

When you do that (and we all do), you end up paying more money overall and end up with an unwanted item, to boot.

This is clearly irrational.

For some reason, the word “free” seems to scramble our brains. When we are offered a free item or service, we forget what other costs there might be to that item or service because we are so focused on the fact that we’re not paying money. What’s really interesting is that we are willing to pay more in order to get something free. That’s why Amazon offers free shipping for orders over $25, and why many marketers and retailers give out free gifts with purchase.

4. Future Needs Vs. Today’s Wants

We think things in the future are less important than things happening now. Human beings have a very hard time planning for the future. Apparently, 75% of Americans nearing retirement in 2010 had less than $30,000 saved which is a pretty horrifying statistic. But before we write off three-quarters of the retiring population as irresponsible laggards, we should look at our own behavior.

• How many times have you bought something with a credit card without a specific plan to pay it off?
• How often have you promised yourself you’d diet only to be tempted off the path the moment you see a box of donuts?
• How many times have you left work for yourself to do in the morning, only to curse yourself the next day?

What’s going on here is something called hyperbolic discounting. That’s a 50¢ word for our unconscious feeling that now matters more than later. We know that we ought to put money aside for retirement, but man is that far away! And the money is here now. So, we tend to think that retirement will take care of itself, while the money can be put to “good use” now.

5. We Overestimate the Possibility of Unlikely Things Occurring.

Our brains are wired to think that things we can easily come up with an example of are likely to happen.  This is something called the availability heuristic. What that means is that we think we’re much more likely to win the lottery or win big in Vegas than is statistically possible just because we can think of examples of people who have won.

Since we can think of those examples, we think the outcome is more likely. And every time you read a news story or see a movie about such winners, your brain believes that you winning is even more probable.

Even if you are able to sidestep the availability heuristic, you may still fall victim to the similar gambler’s fallacy. This is when you believe that something is “due” to happen because it hasn't for quite some time. For example, you might bet on a coin coming up heads on the 21^st toss after it has come up tails every time for 20 tosses. It seems as though the coin is “due” to come up heads, but it’s still only 50/50 odds.

Otherwise rational investors may find themselves following the gambler’s fallacy by avoiding buying stocks that are going gangbusters, for fear that there has to be a fall eventually. Statistics may show a general regression toward the mean (i.e.—everything evens out eventually), but general statistics are meaningless when talking about individual events.

Irrational Money Decisions Affecting Your Life

Approaching all of our financial decisions rationally is remarkably difficult to do. It pays to think about the money choices we make, and try to figure out what our motivation is each time. A little mindfulness and self-knowledge can do wonders for combating irrational decisions.

Freedom During Retirement

The very essence of retirement is freedom:

• freedom to travel
• freedom to pursue activities one did not have time for while working
• freedom to go where one wants and when one wants

   These perks of retirement would appeal to anyone. In fact, approximately 40 percent of working Americans envision retiring at or before age 65. However, consider the following results of a survey by the Employer Benefit Research Institute in Washington D.C. Only 24 percent of workers are very confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement; 38 percent of those surveyed admitted that they are either not too confident or not confident at all.

• Only 13 percent of workers are very confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years, and only 27 percent feel very confident about having enough money to pay for medical expenses.
• About 30 percent of workers believe they need to save less than $250,000 to achieve a comfortable retirement. The majority of those did not undertake any kind of retirement needs calculation.

These statistics, though compelling, are not surprising. Americans have not been very diligent in developing sound retirement savings plans. Despite the fact that most individuals cite retirement as their primary savings goal, they have difficulty juggling their many financial obligations. They view retirement as a distant point in the future. As such, people find it easy to set aside the goal of retirement in favor of current financial demands: a new home, college educations for the children, vacations, medical expenses, a new car, or daily living expenses.

Yet the reality is that retirement planning cannot be reserved for tomorrow or perceived as optional. Retirement planning cannot consist of putting aside the dollars that remain after all other obligations have been paid for. Rather, retirement planning takes a conscientious and strategic effort to ensure that you can sufficiently provide for your retirement.

 

Mortgage Rates hit Recent Highs

The top 10 reasons people are transferring billions into annuities

Let’s make a review of the top 10 safe reasons people are transferring billions of dollars into annuities each month.

The greatest fear among investors is running out of money during retirement or going bust before retirement. Wall Street has robbed retirees with the IRS forced liquidation sale from which investors can never, ever recover. Banks and federally regulated interest rates are bankrupting people dependent upon interest income from their bank accounts.

So, what’s the good news?

Economists, financial universities and publications are now recognizing and publishing the real merits of annuities. People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities each month. Why? A recent Gallup poll once said the number one reason is safety.

O.K. -- Let’s review the top 10 safe reasons people are transferring billions of dollars into annuities each month.

No. 10 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities to protect their money and make it immediately available to their heirs.

The full value of your annuities can be paid to your heirs, your church and/or your charity in one sum, in monthly incomes or a combination of both a lump sum and monthly income, usually within 72 hours.

No. 9 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities to avoid probate courts.

Any remainder in your annuity can avoid that long, painful and costly time delay in the probate courts. That saves time, court costs, administrative costs and legal fees.

One might say annuities leave your heirs money instead of court battles and legal fees. That’s just a few of the ways annuities provide more money for your family heirs.

No. 8 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities for guarantees.

No other money contract provides all of the ironclad guarantee of the annuity. Annuities come with a money back guarantee. Not only do annuities guarantee the return of your money, they guarantee annual growth on your money, credited annually and sheltered — sheltered from the IRS (tax-deferred), sheltered from market losses, and sheltered from corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom.

It was Will Rogers who said, "I am more interested in the return of my money than the return on my money."

It’s true. The return of your money is more valuable than the return on your money … at least until your money more than doubles.

No. 7 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities to develop a tax favored stream of income with tax dollars.

You can grow an annuity into a substantial amount on which you have never paid tax and convert the annuity into a tax-favored stream of income with an exclusion allowance. It’s something everyone should look into.

Recession, inflation and taxes are eating us alive, while stock market losses and low bank rates are also taking their toll. Tax-deferred annuities offer a way to grow tax dollars into substantial amounts, and then convert the tax dollars into a tax-favored stream of income.

No. 6 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities to develop an income with 100 percent tax dollars.

You can grow an annuity with compound tax-deferred growth and later convert those tax dollars into a stream of income.

No. 5 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities to reduce or eliminate income tax on Social Security income.

Retired people are paying more than $60 billion dollars annually in income-tax on Social Security income.

Tax-free income from muni-bonds and taxable interest credited to CDs and money markets can trigger income tax on Social Security income but not the interest credited to a tax-deferred annuity.

One dollar credited to your bank accounts and money markets can trigger income tax on 85 cents of your Social Security income but not the interest credited to your annuity — it’s another way annuities can help you enjoy more income, more growth and less tax.

No. 4 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities to stop paying tax on interest accumulation.

Most people with bank CDs and money markets let the interest compound and grow. That means they’re paying the income tax on interest earnings out of their own pocket.

Transfer those accounts into annuities and the tax dollars you were paying out of your pocket becomes money you can spend, save or invest. Now that’s synergizing your money.

No. 3 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities for more income.

We have covered some of the many ways annuities can provide more income with tax-favored income and more growth on your money which can provide more income in the future including ways to develop an income with 100 percent tax dollars.

No. 2 — People are transferring billions of dollars into annuities for more growth on their money.

With taxes and inflation eating us alive, how can we enjoy a richer lifestyle and a richer retirement? The answer is stop losing money to the IRS and stop losing money on Wall Street.

Albert Einstein said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.”

That causes me to wonder, what would Einstein have called compound tax-deferred interest? I would venture to say he would have called it the ingenuity of annuities.


The no. 1 reason people are transferring billions of dollars into annuities is safety. With annuities, you can grow your own money in the safety zone.

In summary

Annuities are helping people enjoy more income, more growth and less tax with safety.

You've often heard it said, "If you want a higher rate of return, you gotta have some risk. Here's my response: Does risk increase the rate of return or does risk increase the probability of loss?"

Disclaimer:  This article does not apply to the variable annuity.

The Right Way to Plan for Retirement 

How new consumer attitudes and needs are shaping the market 

·        

Baby Boomers are increasingly becoming aware of the risk of shrinking assets. In fact, they fear this more than death. A recent study showed that 39 percent of Boomers were afraid of the Grim Reaper, but 61 percent said “outliving my money in retirement” was a scarier prospect.

This worry is not only gripping older Boomers who may be dealing with severe portfolio shock just when they need to start tapping their savings. In fact, it seems even more pronounced in younger Boomers, who may still have 20 years of work and wealth accumulation ahead of them. Among those aged 44 to 49 who are married and have dependents, the fear of outliving assets jumps to 82 percent.

Boomers are not alone in their desire to discover how to maintain income for life. Financial professionals also recognize the need to make adjustments. According to a 2009 LIMRA survey of 1,200 financial professionals, advisors indicated these as the top three areas in which they want to grow their knowledge:

1. Strategies to guarantee income in retirement (76 percent)
2. Strategies to minimize the risk of outliving assets (74 percent)
3. Techniques to protect against market volatility (70 percent)

Annuities by another name

Change is clearly under way in the world of financial planning for retirement.  Individuals, financial professionals and government regulators are publicly stating a desire for guaranteed retirement income solutions, with annuities playing a central role. The problem is that the word “annuity” continues to have a negative public perception based on attitudes formed about the products 10 to 20 years ago.

When you think about the benefits of an annuity, it becomes clear that these are stereotypes we need to overcome. A recent study found that, among 15 different attributes of financial products, consumers rated these as the top five most important:

• Stable, predictable retirement standard of living
• Guaranteed income stream for life
• Guaranteed not to lose value
• Protection against market downside
• Don’t need to think about it; stable and predictable

Also noteworthy is that the lowest-rated characteristic was “the opportunity to participate in market upside.”

In short, an annuity is just what many consumers want — even if they do not realize it. Agents must start the work of renewing the public’s perception of this important and highly relevant product. It won’t be an easy task. In the aforementioned survey, 54 percent of consumers expressed distaste for the word “annuity,” even as they were seeking the very features and benefits the product offers.

Most consumers admit that their biased view against annuities is based on information from 10 to 20 years ago — sometimes even longer. In addition, 64 percent say they have not attempted to learn more about annuities since first forming their views.

Happiness is an annuity owner

For those who have a knee-jerk negative reaction toward annuities, a surprising fact may be that an informed owner of an annuity is a happy consumer: 80 percent of annuity owners are pleased with their purchase because of its safety, security and protection. In fact, annuities rank second-highest in satisfaction among all financial products.

Even with this buyer approval, however, 46 percent of respondents say that they have not heard about annuities from their financial advisor. Another 19 percent are uncertain whether an annuity was recommended.

All too often, retirement planning discussions never start because the financial professional’s visceral reaction to the word “annuity” preempts the conversation. This has to change, if only to allow the consumer education process to continue so that a fully informed decision may be made about guaranteeing lifetime income.

If you aren’t in the practice of advising your clients on annuities, it’s time to start. Begin by describing the basic benefits the product provides, rather than naming the product. This will help you circumvent any negative stereotypes that may exist.

The world of retirement planning has changed, and so has the fundamental perception of how to prepare for retirement. Regardless of whether consumers, educators, politicians, the media, government officials and business leaders want to accept this structural change, one thing is certain: The demand and need for guaranteed lifetime income planning and long-term security will only grow in coming years.

Baby Boomers are increasingly becoming aware of the risk of shrinking assets. In fact, they fear this more than death. A recent study showed that 39 percent of Boomers were afraid of the Grim Reaper, but 61 percent said “outliving my money in retirement” was a scarier prospect.

This worry is not only gripping older Boomers who may be dealing with severe portfolio shock just when they need to start tapping their savings. In fact, it seems even more pronounced in younger Boomers, who may still have 20 years of work and wealth accumulation ahead of them. Among those aged 44 to 49 who are married and have dependents, the fear of outliving assets jumps to 82 percent.

Boomers are not alone in their desire to discover how to maintain income for life. Financial professionals also recognize the need to make adjustments. According to a 2009 LIMRA survey of 1,200 financial professionals, advisors indicated these as the top three areas in which they want to grow their knowledge:

1. Strategies to guarantee income in retirement (76 percent)
2. Strategies to minimize the risk of outliving assets (74 percent)
3. Techniques to protect against market volatility (70 percent)

---

Annuities by another name

Change is clearly under way in the world of financial planning for retirement. Individuals, financial professionals and government regulators are publicly stating a desire for guaranteed retirement income solutions, with annuities playing a central role. The problem is that the word “annuity” continues to have a negative public perception based on attitudes formed about the products 10 to 20 years ago.

When you think about the benefits of an annuity, it becomes clear that these are stereotypes we need to overcome. A recent study found that, among 15 different attributes of financial products, consumers rated these as the top five most important:

• Stable, predictable retirement standard of living
• Guaranteed income stream for life
• Guaranteed not to lose value
• Protection against market downside
• Don’t need to think about it; stable and predictable

Also noteworthy is that the lowest-rated characteristic was “the opportunity to participate in market upside.”

In short, an annuity is just what many consumers want — even if they do not realize it. Agents must start the work of renewing the public’s perception of this important and highly relevant product. It won’t be an easy task. In the aforementioned survey, 54 percent of consumers expressed distaste for the word “annuity,” even as they were seeking the very features and benefits the product offers.

Most consumers admit that their biased view against annuities is based on information from 10 to 20 years ago — sometimes even longer. In addition, 64 percent say they have not attempted to learn more about annuities since first forming their views.

---

Happiness is an annuity owner

Don't Lose Another Cent!!!!

When it comes to annuity products, fixed index annuities (FIAs), offer the opportunity for interest growth while protecting you against market risk.

• FIAs offer the ability to earn interest based on changes in an external index, such as the S&P 500, while offering protection from loss of principal. Important to know, at no time is your money invested directly in the market because you do not actually own any stocks, bonds, index funds, or other investments, so your principle is protected from risk of loss. When the index increases you are credited gains.... when the index loses -- you do not lose a penny!!!

• FIAs offer additional benefits including tax deferral, a guaranteed minimum value, a death benefit, and the option for guaranteed lifetime income.


• Most annuities give you access to at least a portion of your money, such as 10%, per year after the first year with no surrender charges.

• Many FIAs offer multiple ways to access funds .

• Features, such as penalty-free withdrawals, loans, nursing home provisions, and full accumulation value paid to beneficiaries at death are now common.


• Most current FIAs allow for lump-sum access at the end of the term, some as low as a 5 year period. Many offer the option if you choose -- for a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal stream.

FIAs let you choose a beneficiary - and you can change them down the line if you want.

• Your beneficiary will be entitled to receive a death benefit if you die before you withdrawal your money, or if annuity payments have been initiated, to receive any remaining guaranteed payments under certain annuity options, in lieu of a death benefit.


An FIA may be a good solution. The reality is, with the current volatility of the financial markets– combined with the limited availability of retirement income sources such as pensions –Americans have a greater responsibility to prepare for their future. FIAs can be a great addition to an overall retirement income plan.

Contact me for more information regarding the most current progressive Annuities available today. Some offer bonuses credited to your principle of up to 7%. Think about it – if the Annuity Index were to gain 7 to 9 % over the next year plus a 7% bonus that would equal 14 to 16% gain without any market risk.

The Truth about Fixed Indexed Annuities ---- Misperceptions vs. Realities

When it comes to annuity products, fixed index annuities (FIAs) have been around for a relatively short period of time. Created in 1996, FIAs are insurance products that offer the opportunity for interest potential while protecting against market risk. However, as with many new ideas, misperceptions abound.

Misperception #1: FIAs are too complex to understand.

Reality: Understanding FIAs involves learning some basic terms because interest earnings are calculated in various ways.

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