As we grow older, your health begins to decline. This can be positive or negative, it’s up to you to decide if it’s a side effect or a cause. Many years of healthy lifestyle choices have gone into that state- but you can avoid some of them with good old-fashioned common sense. We say this every year at the Met Council annual convention, but it’s…
Recent developments in financial education for young people include the introduction of credit and debit cards and online shopping. These activities expand access to high traffic, educational resources. They also increase their understanding of the financial system and the impact that it has on them and the rest of society. This extends into their social networks as well as formal networks like schools. Increasingly, people…
Planning your money is a good way to start understanding how small business owners can benefit from financial planning. Whether you are starting a new company or expanding your company, planning your money will help ensure you are on track. Planning your money includes two main components: budgeting and spending strategy. BUDGETING is the process of setting monetary limits on purchases You can have any…
Corporate bonds are a type of debt. They differ from traditional debt in that they aren’t taken out by an individual, but rather by a company. Corporate bonds are designed for companies that need to raise capital to continue operations, but aren’t necessarily focused on investors as debt holders. Instead, the debt is issued to stockholders or investors as a form of investment. This differs…
The Federal Reserve, or United States Federal Reserve, is a powerful institution that plays a pivotal role in personal finance. The Fed has jurisdiction over five major economies: the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia, and Canada. The Fed’s policies are designed to keep the economy moving and stable. If the economy were to slow down or stop moving, people would be forced to start spending which…
As the name suggests, asset protection strategies focus on protecting your valuable assets against theft, damage, or other threats. There are several ways to protect yourself and your assets, and none of them are more important than the other. However, there are many times when a person should consider having a protection plan in place. For example, if you have money invested in stocks for…
Over the past decade, increased attention has been paid to money. In fact, Money-Related Stress has gone from a once-weekly feature to weekly in some areas due to its importance. As we’ve seen with everything, not everything that looks complicated can be trusted completely. As we grow more and more reliant on our phones and computer devices, it becomes increasingly important that we know how…
Private equity is an area of investment focused on growth and transformation. angels, venture capitalists, and other intermediaries work with companies to help them grow by investing money or introducing new ways to invest in their company. angel investment is the practice of a relatively unknown person or company buying out an existing investor and using their investment dollars to help grow the business. venture…
Time horizon is one of the most important ingredients in financial freedom. When we think of time horizon in financial freedom, you may think of things like retired years, immediate years, and lifetime years. However, there are many times when we do not need the long time horizon. For example, how many of you have bought a house but later found that you did not…
Home equity line of credit is a great way to leverage your savings. Home equity line of credit is just that- a credit card with a balance equal to your home equity line of credit attached. When you make purchases on the card, you are charged the full amount on your HECO balance. For example, if you bought a sofa at a store, you would…