| New ways to look at old wisdom
There used to be a TV commercial from an investment company whose motto was, "It's not what you make, it's what you keep." Its message about maximizing after-tax returns still holds true, but the best way to achieve that goal has changed over the years. Here are a few examples of situations where traditional advice may no longer make sense: Old wisdom: Put as much money as the IRS allows into your company's 401k plan. You will save immediate taxes on the amount of your contribution, the money will grow tax deferred, and when you withdraw it after retirement, you will be in a lower tax bracket. Considerations: Although no one can predict the future, there is a very real possibility that your tax bracket may actually be higher in retirement than it is now.
Belfast and Dublin companies go Caribbean
BELFAST, Northern Ireland: Instead of limiting investment and supply of services regionally, some local companies are extending their portfolios internationally. Globalisation is steadily increasing the available opportunities for tender and direct foreign investment, especially in developing regions. Unfortunately, information on government programmes and incentives offered to direct foreign investors for enhancing economic development are not widely known. .
Work to keep your interest rate down, your savings rate up
Suze Orman is a financial planner and author best known for her CNBC television program "The Suze Orman Show." She answered reader questions about personal finance on Boston.com last week. Here are excerpts: Q. Hi. I am in my early 30s and own a condo with a hefty mortgage. This does not allow me to contribute to my Roth or 401K anymore. I have $20,000 combined. However my employer contributes 5 percent of my salary automatically. Is this enough for a few years until I get a raise? A. The question should really be: How do you free up more money so that you can have your cake and eat it, too? The best advice I could tell you is the higher your FICO score, the lower your interest rates will be on everything you purchase. The more money you save in interest , the more money you have to eventually put into your retirement account.
Forbes '100 Best' have local connections
Now a part-time shift supervisor at the Starbucks at the Shoppes at College Hills in Normal, Kelly has found a supportive group of co-workers working together for an organized company — so much so she's never worked for one that's better.She's not alone in her thinking.Fortune magazine recently named Starbucks as one of its 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2007. Google topped the list at No. 1. Other companies with a Twin City connection that made the cut include Cisco Systems, Edward Jones, Pella, Aflac, Marriott International and A.G. Edwards.Local workers point to a company's focus on employees, benefit packages and professional training as reasons why.“Starbucks gets a lot of bad publicity because they're a corporation and they're on every corner in some big cities, but what it comes down to is they take care of their employees better than anyone I've ever worked for," Kelly said.Perks of the jobFor starters, at Starbucks, employees — or partners as they call themselves — can participate in a 401k plan and buy company stock at a discounted rate.
Protect your identity at tax time
The chance of becoming a victim of identity theft is one of those things that gnaws at me sometimes, leaving me with a certain sense of vulnerability and helplessness when it comes to shielding myself from a determined ID thief. Tax time, when millions of people stuff envelopes loaded with personal data -- Social Security numbers for every family member, income statements and employer's tax ID numbers -- offers another round of chances to the name-robbing set. I searched for ideas to improve my own defense system and here's what I've come up with so far. When mailing in your return, be sure the personal documents and check aren't visible from the outside of the envelope, according to Frank Abagnale, a famed forger turned ID theft expert.
The Advisory Group of San Francisco Launches Service Suite That ...
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 28, 2007 -- The Advisory Group of San Francisco, LLC (www.advisorygroupsf.com), a preeminent and fully independent wealth strategy firm, announced it is launching a suite of special services that helps employers who sponsor 401(k) plans optimize their plan results and costs to determine whether fiduciaries and their plan participants are making sound decisions and paying fair fees. The suite of services, available now, is called "401(k) Effectiveness Analysis,"™ and is a win for both employers and employees because it provides insight into investment design and participant behavior to determine the degree to which a plan is helping or hurting participants. It also includes a "total cost" study, devised specifically for 401(k) plans by Advisory Group experts, that makes plan costs transparent to employers, giving them the power to decide whether they and their participants are paying fair fees in relation to their plan size.
Is now a good time to buy property?
The answer to the perennial question of "is it a good time to buy property? " depends on where you are looking according to a specialised property market analysis company providing recommendations of when and where to buy, hold or sell property. The company officially launched a new web based system today, called SuburbWatch, which has been 6 years in the making by property market analyst, investor, and author Kieran Trass. The system has only been on-line for a few days but already has hundreds of registered users flocking to the website to find out if it’s a good time to buy or sell property. SuburbWatch reveals startling observations about the short term prospects of property values. Based on SuburbWatch’s analysis Trass says "nearly a third of Auckland suburbs are indicating it’s still a very good time to buy property.
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