Tag:

personal finance

Be the Best Trick-or-Treat House on the Block Without Breaking the Bank

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

Halloween is the scariest time of the year, but that isn't always due to the ghosts trick-or-treating you, or the creepy clown sightings on the news. The price of Halloween candy, not to mention the cost of costumes and home decorations, can give anyone the heebie-jeebies.According to the National Retail Federation, which surveyed 6,791 consumers from Sept. 6 to 13 about their Halloween shopping plans, the average American will spend $82.93 on Halloween, up from $74.34 last year. All in all, Halloween spending is expected to reach $8.4 billion in 2016.Fortunately, if you are worried about going overboard this year, many decorating experts maintain that it's possible to have the best trick-or-treat house in the neighborhood without breaking the bank. It simply requires a little imagination and preparation on the front end.[See: 9 Scary Things Consumers Do With Their Money.]Candy. We'll start here first, since it's the easiest thing to find cheaply. Buy your candy several days or weeks in advance, so you can be on the lookout for discounts.If you belong to a warehouse club, buying in bulk might save you money. Digital coupon websites like Coupons.com and RetailMeNot.com have coupons for candy and Halloween costumes that you may want to utilize. Just make sure that if you do buy Halloween candy weeks in advance that you hide it, so your family doesn't eat it and gobble all of your savings.Halloween decorations. Check out the dollar stores first. Sure, that may sound obvious, but if you're something of a dollar-store snob, it also may be the last place you would consider."You would be surprised [at] the fantastic finds that can really add value to your Halloween display. There are plastic skulls, dismembered body parts, creepy spiders and so much more," says Felicia Ramos-Peters, who lives in Hurleyville, New York, and is the founder of GetHolidayHappy.com, a website aimed at helping people celebrate holidays with ideas for recipes, decorations and gifts.Jeanine Boiko seconds the dollar store. Boiko is a New York City publicist who also blogs about home decor and owns an Etsy.com shop called Okio B Designs."Stock up on fake skulls, rats and crows, and jars, window decals," she suggests, adding that, "a can of orange or black spray paint can work wonders on sprucing up dollar store finds and creating the 'eek' factor."And if you see nothing you like at the dollar stores, leave. All you have wasted is some time.[See: 10 Oddly Practical Things You Can Rent.]Lights. But one thing to think about while you're at the dollar stores? Lighting."Lighting is everything," says Jamie O'Donnell, an Orlando, Florida resident who has been an event planner for more than 15 years. "Replace the bulbs of your outdoor light with LED lights in orange or purple to cast your house in a spooky glow. It's fairly inexpensive and only takes a few minutes to do but creates a dramatic look."Judging from what you can find online, festive LED lights may run you around $20 to $30 for a string of, say, 40 to 100 lights (which could cost a small fortune if you intend to light up your entire home). The conventional holiday strings of orange or purple lights are generally cheaper, and will likely run you more along the lines of $5 to $15. Of course, you can always buy your lights after the holidays, when they're on sale, to prepare for next Halloween.Sounds and music. Ramos-Peters suggests using sound as part of your Halloween atmospherics."I think music is an underestimated element for outdoor Halloween displays. It is really easy to download or purchase some scary music and sound effects," Ramos-Peters says. "You can turn heads with a display that has some spooky sounds like a chainsaw or evil witch laughing."[See: 11 Ways to Save Time and Money.]Pro Tip: Use What You Have in Your HomePamela Layton McMurtry, an artist and designer in Kaysville, Utah, and author of the e-book "A Harvest and Halloween Handbook," feels it's always effective when homeowners create a spooky scene on their lawn."I love creative, alternative decor for Halloween and go wild for themes taken from literature," she says (think "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz").Now, that might sound like a surefire way to destroy your future retirement funds. You want to entertain your neighbors, not create a multi-million dollar Hollywood movie. But McMurtry says you may be able to find props in your home or at thrift stores. If you really want cheap and effective, McMurtry paints this picture: "Set up a fake campfire with cricket sounds and sad harmonica music. Mound dirt for a grave and put a pair of cowboy boots nearby with a clue about [what happened to] the demised, like a rubber snake."Something else to look for in your basement, attic or thrift store, Boiko suggests, is a long-forgotten Scrabble game."You can use the tiles for easy Halloween decor by spelling out spooky words. I painted the tile holders black and spelled out creepy words on mine," Boiko says.And if you can keep your Halloween costs low, you won't be tempted to spell out Scrabble letters to make phrases like "holiday debt" and "I'm broke." On the other hand, that may be a creative idea. The children on your block may not get creeped out by those words, but you'll send a chill up the spines of their parents..

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Financial Advisors

How to Find a Financial Advisor if You’re Not Rich

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

If you think about it, the people who need a financial advisor are the ones who can't afford one. If you're impoverished or firmly in the middle class and can't seem to make it to the next level, you're the one who could really use financial advice. If you're wealthy, you know what you're doing.Yet many financial advisors simply aren't interested in working with the middle class. Many firms in recent years have stopped paying commissions to brokers for accounts that are considered small, including accounts ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 in assets. Firms that do take less than those minimums sometimes charge as much as 2 percent in annual fees, though 1 percent is more typical.So what should a middle-class investor do to find a good financial advisor? Experts recommend following these tactics.Know Where to LookAt the beginning of the process, you should think about what type of financial advisor you want to meet with: fee-based or commission-based. Think about what you're looking for. Are you seeking help with investments and retirement planning, or simply someone to go to when you have questions? Some advisors include financial planning in their fees for managing your investments, while others charge a separate fee or hourly rate for advice.As for where to find a financial advisor, there are several places, from the obvious to the unexpected: Ask friends, family or colleagues for recommendations. Obviously, you'll be more likely to find somebody who will work with you if your friends, family members or colleagues are in a similar tax bracket as you are. The Garrett Planning Network. GarrettPlanningNetwork.com offers a map of the United States where users can click on a state and find a listing of financial advisors who cater to the middle class. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. The association's website, NAPFA.org, allows you to find a financial advisor near you. It isn't for financial advisors who generally cater to the middle class, however. Still, you may want to take a look and see who shows up near your home. Robo advisors. You may want to consider an automated portfolio management service as a cost-effective option. For example, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios does not require advisory fees, account service fees or commissions, though you will need $5,000 to get started with them. Meanwhile, Wealthfront, another popular robo advisor, has a $500 minimum account requirement, and only charges an annual advisory fee of 0.25 percent on all assets under management deducted monthly. The Accredited Financial Counselor website. "I would strongly encourage true middle-income people to look (at Afcpe.org) for an accredited financial counselor," says Justin Chidester, who is both an accredited financial counselor and a certified financial planner – as well as the owner of Wealth Mode Financial Planning in Logan, Utah. Search engines. This one may seem like a no-brainer, but the power of search engines can't be overlooked. Chances are a search engine is how you found your way here. So if none of the above prove fruitful, consider a quick Google search for "financial advisor near me" or "financial advisor for the middle class." You've probably heard of certified financial planners, but accredited financial counselors have been around for a while too, according to Chidester."They often have a focus on helping low- and middle-income people, at affordable prices, with topics relevant to everyone – saving, budgeting, paying debt, improving credit, preparing to buy a home and working through poor habits with money," Chidester says.He adds that they can't legally provide investment or insurance advice, but they can provide great education about any financial topic and point you in the right direction for those things.Know What Questions to AskAre you looking for help with investments and retirement planning, or simply for someone to go to when you have questions? Knowing what you're looking for in a financial advisor is the first step to finding the right advisor for you. Knowing how to match an advisor to your needs is the second step. Ask any potential financial advisors these questions: What services do you provide? What type of clients do you typically work with? How will we communicate with each other? How often will I hear from you? Are you a fiduciary? How are you compensated? And how much will I be charged for your services? Some advisors include financial planning in their fees for managing your investments, while others charge a separate fee for advice. As for how much you'll pay, it will vary depending on where you live and the scope of the work you're asking for. Some advisors may charge a couple thousand dollars for a comprehensive plan; others may charge around $200 to $400 an hour to dispense financial advice.Stephanie Genkin, a certified financial planner in Brooklyn, New York, charges hourly – as opposed to what's known as "assets under management." Most fee-only advisors charge according to assets and therefore have minimum thresholds an individual needs to have in their bank account before they'll even consider the person as a client. How much is the minimum? It varies, of course, but often you'll need at least $50,000 before many advisors will consider working with you."That means most middle-class people are automatically excluded from service as they don't have enough in investments to manage," Genkin says. Genkin, who charges $200 an hour for her services, is also a fiduciary. That's important to know because there are two standards that financial advisors adhere to. If you're working with a fiduciary financial advisor, they are legally bound to put your needs before their own. A financial professional who has a suitability requirement is legally bound to provide products that are suitable for your needs, but which may not be the very best for you. That doesn't mean somebody who upholds the suitability standard isn't going to look out for you – but it does mean that the rules for those advisors are less stringent.Registered investment advisors, investment advisor representatives and certified financial planners all carry fiduciary-level responsibility. You can easily spot these titles on business cards, websites and email signatures, if you look after the person's name. Chartered retirement planning counselor and accredited investment fiduciary are other designations that indicate a fiduciary responsibility. Keep in mind, your financial advisor will likely carry a Series 65 license or a Series 7.As for what you might discuss with a financial advisor, it can run the gamut. In Genkin's case, she says, "I work with students to help them create realistic debt repayment plans, self-employed individuals who need help figuring out what they can do to save for retirement and new families who have limited resources and would like to save for a down payment on a home and start a college savings plan for their baby at the same time."She also points out that you may not need many hours, at first, with a financial advisor. If you're just starting this journey, you probably have fewer assets, and you just need that initial guidance. By the time you need more help to manage your assets, well, you'll presumably have more money, and paying for more financial advice won't be as challenging.Stick Up for YourselfTo avoid getting scammed, make sure to get references and check out everything you can find on the financial advisor online first. And keep in mind, everyone pays something when they hire a financial advisor – and not everyone is out to get you.But after you find a financial advisor, you do want to make sure you're in sync. You'll want to get a sense of whether your advisor has a financial philosophy that lines up with yours.And the most important question of all? "Ask how can they help you reach your goals," says Brett Anderson, a certified financial planner and president of St. Croix Advisors, an investment advisory firm in Hudson, Wisconsin.And if you're anxious that you don't make enough money for a financial advisor to work with you, just tell the advisor upfront what you earn, Anderson says."Established advisors will want to have a dialogue even before they schedule an initial meeting with you," he says. "Be honest. Just lay it all out. You'll save everyone time."And the more time you save in looking for a financial advisor, the faster you can get started making your money work for you.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

The Perils of Skipping Loan Payments This Holiday Season

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

The holidays are fast approaching and that means there are presents to buy, trees to trim and merriment to be made, all of which will cost you money. Fortunately, your credit union, bank or credit card issuer may be willing to let you skip your monthly payment in December or January.“Skip-a-pay [programs] are a popular way for banks to add quick fee revenue while giving their clients some extra cash in their pockets,” says John Oxford, a spokesman for Renasant Corporation, which operates 171 banking, investing and wealth management offices in the South. While Renasant Bank previously offered a skip-a-payment program, it does not currently have one.At other institutions, these programs allow customers to skip their monthly payment in exchange for a small fee. Some lenders may even donate a portion of the fee to a local charity so it seems like a win-win for all involved.Not so fast, say some financial experts. Skipping one payment might not seem like a big deal, but it can have a negative impact on your finances.5 Reasons to Skip the Skip-a-Payment OptionRich Hyde, the COO of Prestige Financial Services in Salt Lake City, works with clients trying to raise their credit score and finds some use skip-a-payment programs to stretch their money through the holidays to buy gifts for friends and family. Although skipping a payment may be preferable to racking up debt on a high-interest credit card, it doesn’t come without drawbacks.You lengthen the term of your loan. You may be skipping a payment, but you’ll still need to eventually make it. “They are essentially letting you take the payment from December or January and adding it to the life of the loan,” says Kelsa Dickey, owner of Fiscal Fitness Phoenix. Skipping a payment every year means you could be paying an auto loan for five to six months longer than originally planned.You add to the interest you pay. Not only will the term of the loan be longer, but you’ll pay more interest as well. A $5,000 credit card balance at a 24.99 percent APR accrues roughly $100 in interest each month. As a result, skipping a payment means you’ll end up owing more the next month even if you haven’t used your card.You might forget to make the following payment. Hyde is concerned skipping one payment might snowball into several payments. “Customer behavior can be impacted [by skipping a payment],” he says. “Anything that gets people out of the habit of paying is a bad idea.” You could ding your credit score. If you do happen to forget the next month’s payment, than you could see a drop in your credit score. Plus, you’ll likely get hit with a late fee which typically runs around $35. Dickey adds that some people might be tempted to skip payments even if their lender doesn’t offer a skip-a-payment program. However, doing so could negatively impact your credit score and damage your relationship with the lender, making it difficult to receive loans or lines of credit in the future.You are reinforcing poor money habits. While all the above reasons are enough to say “no thank you” to skipping a payment, Dickey says there is one more to consider. “By skipping a payment, you’re saying Christmas gifts are more important than something like a car that gets you to and from work,” she says. “There’s a much deeper rooted problem of putting things that are not essentials in front of things that are essentials.” Declining to skip a payment is one step toward creating healthy money habits and smart spending priorities.When Skipping a Payment Might Make SenseWhile experts say skipping a payment to buy gifts doesn’t make much sense financially, there may be a time and place for skip-a-payment programs.“If a consumer wants to free up cash for the holidays and doesn’t mind a minimal fee and an added month on their loan, it can be a beneficial short-term move,” Oxford says, “but it should not be used to avoid a payment just because the offer is there.” To minimize the impact of skipping a payment, he recommends people use a portion of their tax refund, if possible, to make an extra payment later in the year. For people who are in a bind and considering a payday loan or going into debt to pay the bills, Hyde says skipping a payment would be the lesser of two evils. Meanwhile, Dickey believes using a skip-a-payment program is understandable in cases of unemployment. “If it comes down to putting food on the table, yes [skip a payment],” she says.Skipping a payment may also be a good strategy if you are planning to use the money from that payment to wipe out a high-interest debt. Installment loans, such as those for cars, typically have a much lower interest rate than what might apply to a credit card. Financially, it might make sense to skip an auto loan payment for one month, and send that money to pay off a credit card account.However, Dickey says most people don’t skip payments for strategic reasons. Instead, they do so to spend more on gifts or holiday deals. She asks, “If your parents knew you were skipping a payment or going into debt to give them a gift, would they want it?” She’s betting the answer is probably no. .

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

3 Strategies to Avoid Soaring ATM Fees

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

You\r
probably don’t need a survey or statistic to alert you that ATM fees are higher than ever. But in case you do: Earlier this month,\r
Bankrate.com released a survey of 25 banks in large cities, which concluded that the\r
average cost of using an out-of-network ATM is now\r
$4.52, a record.\r
\r
That’s the amount of the national average ATM surcharge ($2.88) plus the average fee to\r
use another bank’s ATM ($1.64), because generally, if you use another\r
bank’s ATM, you’re hit twice. The out-of-network bank will charge you,\r
and your own bank will, too.\r
\r
And,\r
of course, $4.52 is only the national average. If you’re in New York City and\r
get money from an out-of-network ATM, on average, you’ll pay a little\r
over $5, according to Bankrate’s data. And if both banks have\r
above-average surcharges, the price to access your money becomes\r
even more expensive.\r
\r
Of\r
course, talk to bankers, and they’ll tell you there’s a reason for those\r
fees: Banks have to\r
maintain the ATMs.\r
\r
One\r
can argue that the fees are nonetheless too high, but if you’re interested in\r
exactly what goes into the maintenance of an ATM, here’s a quick breakdown from\r
John Oxford, director of corporate communication and external affairs at\r
Renasant Bank, a regional bank headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi:\r
\r
Government compliance. Many laws dictate how banks must operate. ATMs had to be upgraded\r
in recent years to be compliant with the American with\r
Disabilities Act, Oxford says.\r
\r
Fraud protection. No surprise here, if you consider how frequently identity theft occurs. "ATMs\r
have had to add skimmer detection and other items such as higher-quality\r
cameras and lighting to make sure clients are and feel safe," Oxford\r
says.\r
\r
Maintenance\r
and service. It isn’t just that money needs to be routinely stocked into\r
the ATM, lest money run out. There’s insurance to pay on the ATM, and the bank\r
leases the property where the ATM is located, Oxford says.\r
\r
EMV\r
chip compliance. You’ve heard about how credit cards are being revamped with\r
embedded microchips that will store and better protect cardholder’s\r
information. ATMs need to be ready for that and upgraded, Oxford says.\r
\r
There is another cost as well, which\r
consumers often overlook, says John Pataky, an executive vice president at\r
EverBank, a financial services company that offers online banking: The price tag of the machines themselves. \r
\r
"Some machines are owned by the institution, but many are leased from\r
the major players in the industry, Diebold and NCR," he says.\r
\r
Still,\r
while there may be a reason for higher fees, that doesn’t mean you have to help\r
shoulder those costs. If you are tired of being hosed by ATM fees, try these strategies.\r
\r
Analyze your banking life. If you don’t like paying ATM fees,\r
make sure you use an ATM that belongs to your bank or is within its ATM network. The\r
symbols alerting you to what network you can use should be on the back of\r
your debit card, or you can inquire at your bank.\r
\r
That\r
said, even if you know what you’re doing, sometimes you need cash\r
in a hurry, and even the biggest banks can’t afford to have their ATMs on every\r
street corner. So if you continually find yourself using an out-of-network ATM and being charged a fee, ask yourself: What’s going on? When does this most often occur?\r
\r
If\r
this seems to happen frequently, you’re probably not\r
taking enough money out when you visit your bank’s ATM, and there’s your\r
problem. In other words, there’s probably a simple fix in your\r
routine to keep you from running short on cash. \r
\r
Maybe,\r
for instance, you should download your bank’s or credit union’s mobile app on\r
your phone, or visit its website and look for fee-free ATMs you\r
can use. Maybe it’ll turn out that you frequently use an ATM that’s out of\r
network when two blocks away, there’s one in your bank’s network.\r
\r
Take cash out at the grocery or drugstore. Here’s a simple\r
fix. Many retail establishments, including grocery stores, will let you take out\r
some cash, often up to $50 – and almost\r
always without a fee. Assuming you shop fairly regularly, take out a little extra as needed when you\r
shop, and you could make using the ATM a thing of the\r
past.\r
\r
Get a better bank. Maybe you need to find a financial institution that doesn’t foist a hefty fee every time you use an out-of-network bank, or\r
one that at least has more ATMs in its network. You may want to try an online\r
bank; many reimburse ATM fees, although some of those banks require you to keep\r
a hefty amount of money in your checking account to qualify.\r
\r
You could also consider switching to a\r
credit union. These operate like banks but are nonprofits that serve their\r
members rather than maximizing corporate profits (which isn’t to say that\r
members never complain about them, or that they never have high fees).\r
\r
"Nearly all credit unions\r
participate in a shared ATM network that provides surcharge-free access to\r
their members’ accounts. No single bank can boast as many ATM locations as the\r
CO-OP Network, the largest credit union-owned, surcharge-free ATM network with\r
nearly 30,000 locations nationwide," says Mike Schenk, a vice president of\r
economics and statistics with the Credit Union National Association.\r
\r
Whatever you do, try\r
to avoid paying ATM fees. If you take out $20, for instance, and you’re paying\r
a collective $5 to two different banks, you’ve just lost 25 percent of\r
that cash to two easily avoidable fees. If you aren’t paying attention to\r
your ATM fees, it may seem like only a few dollars here and there, but that’s exactly what banks are\r
banking on..

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

Goodbye FICO, Hello VantageScore?

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

For more than 25 years, credit scores have been practically synonymous with FICO, the shortened name of the Fair Isaac Corporation. However, a new company, VantageScore Solutions, has emerged in recent years and is chipping away at FICO’s dominance in the credit score business. “VantageScore Solutions is an effort to provide more choice in the marketplace,” says Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting for the credit bureau TransUnion. The credit scoring company is the result of a combined effort of all three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.The company was founded in 2006 and has gained traction. From 2014 to 2015, VantageScore credit scores were used more than 6 billion times, double the amount used from 2013 to 2014. Just as with FICO scores, VantageScore credit scores are used to determine the likelihood someone will pay back a debt. “Credit scores are a scaled representation of the probability of default,” Becker explains. Last December, House Resolution 4211 was introduced in Congress to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use alternate credit scoring methods when making mortgage decisions. Jill Gonzalez, analyst for WalletHub.com, says if the bill is passed, it might result in the programs adopting VantageScore, a move that could be a major coup for the company.“What Fannie and Freddie do now is use outdated models,” Gonzalez says. A switch to VantageScore would change the way applications are evaluated and make it easier for borrowers who have low credit scores under the FICO model to purchase a home. Plus, it could further dent FICO’s hold on the credit score industry. Navigating the Sea of Credit ScoresBecker is quick to note Americans use the word FICO to describe credit scores in the same way they may use the word Kleenex to describe facial tissue. The word has turned into a generic term for how lenders evaluate creditworthiness, but Becker says there is actually a variety of credit scores that can be used.Each of the major credit bureaus has, at one time, created its own score. Other companies, like CreditXpert, are in the business as well. Even within FICO, there are numerous scores. While FICO Score 8 may be most widely used for credit card applications, student loans and other credit decisions, there are FICO Auto Scores, FICO Bankcard Scores and older versions of FICO’s main scoring model that may be used for mortgages.VantageScore seems to be making in-roads in the industry, in part, because it offers a simplified scoring method. “VantageScore has three scoring models,” says Bethy Hardeman, chief consumer advocate at Credit Karma. “For comparison, FICO has over 50 different scoring models.” While each credit bureau may use a different version of the FICO score for various lending scenarios – for example, for mortgage lending, Experian uses FICO Score 2, while Equifax uses FICO Score 5 – VantageScore is uniform across all three companies. The only reason a VantageScore could vary from one bureau to another is if a lender chooses not to report an account to all three companies, according to Becker.What It Means for YouA move to VantageScore could be good news for consumers, particularly those with a weak credit history. VantageScore 3.0 is the most current version and looks back 24 months at a person’s credit history, a feature that allows it to score more people who have little or no recent credit history. “[The company’s] latest scoring model can score up to 35 million more consumers compared to other models due to its broader consideration of credit data,” says Hardeman, adding that the free scores offered on Credit Karma come from VantageScore. The wider consumer net is also because the model can score people with as little as one month of credit history compared to six months for FICO scores, Gonzalez explains. Score models are created using anonymous sample consumer demographics and credit data. While VantageScore 3.0 is a relatively new model, older FICO scores may be based on decades old data. “A score created in 2002 may not be appropriate for the lending environment and consumers today,” Becker points out.The bottom line for borrowers is that VantageScore may make it easier for some people to get access to credit, but it won’t wipe away all financial sins. “If someone is undeserving of credit due to a history of not paying [bills], that won’t change [with VantageScore],” Gonzalez says.Rather than hope a change in score will make credit available, consumers should stick with the tried-and-true methods of paying on time and limiting the debt they carry. .

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

What Millennials Want From a Bank

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

As the youngest and largest generation, millennials are making their mark on society. From trading taxis for Uber rides to delaying marriage and home ownership, young adults are turning many conventions on their head.Even their banking habits can be unconventional, although industry experts say all generations share certain values when it comes to wanting a financial institution that is stable and secure. "Core expectations are the same, but the way millennials interact with banks is very different," says Matthias Goehler, senior vice president and head of industries at the e-commerce solutions company SAP Hybris.[See: 10 Retirement Planning Moves to Make in Your 20s.]Here's a look at some of what's important to millennials when it comes to banking, and how those things differ from older generations.Technology is a must. As digital natives, millennials are unsurprisingly looking for ways to integrate technology into their banking experience. "Their preferences are very orientated toward quick interactions, either online or on a mobile app," says Lars Holmquist, senior vice president for the Americas at Collinson Group, a global firm that develops loyalty and lifestyle benefits programs. Those interactions could range from checking a balance to making a deposit digitally. "To me, convenience and access are the main drivers," Holmquist says, when explaining millennial interest in mobile banking.Cash is still king. Despite their inclination toward technology, millennials aren't planning to give up their cash anytime soon. Qualtrics, in conjunction with Accel, surveyed 8,000 adults to learn how the different generations approach their money and payment options. "What we found is that 80 percent of millennials say they still use cash, and 64 percent carry cash most of the time," says Mike Maughan, head of global insights at Qualtrics and a millennial himself. Mobile payments not as hot as online payments. Mobile payments may seem like a logical choice for millennials, but they have been slow to catch on. While millennials are 16 times more likely than baby boomers to use Apple Pay or Android Pay, their use still lags far behind that of cash. Millennials are five times more like to use cash than mobile payments, according to the Qualtrics study. "What that's indicating to us is that there's a long ways to go before mobile payments catch up," Maughan says. However, what is hot among millennials is the use of online services such as Venmo and PayPal, which allow users to send payments that bypass the bank completely. Maughan notes 62 percent of millennials use Paypal, and young adults are six times more likely than older generations to use Venmo.[See: 12 Financial Terms Every Retirement Saver Should Know.]Privacy may be exchanged for a personalized experience. When it comes to privacy, Goehler says millennials may be more inclined to share personal information, assuming it benefits them. "In terms of day to day life, millennials are less concerned than older generations," he says. "[They say] I'm OK sharing something if I get something of value in return."That something of value may be a more personalized banking experience. For instance, millennials may be OK with their data being used if it results in offers tailored to their interests or an app that intuitively knows what to display first. "Call it almost the Amazon effect of offer management," Holmquist says. Instead of having to search for relevant information, millennials may gravitate toward systems that use their personal data to display relevant information immediately. Branches are not obsolete. As banking apps become more functional, "One might have anticipated that millennials aren't visiting the bank," Maughan says. However, they are visiting the bank and in roughly equal numbers to baby boomers. The Qualtrics survey found 30 percent of millennials report they visited a bank in the past week. Meanwhile, 33 percent of baby boomers said the same.[Read: The 10 Best Banks of 2016.]Future wants center around quick and easy banking. Goehler anticipates millennials will continue to press for banking changes that will make transactions more flexible and mobile. For instance, he notes some banking activities, such as mortgage applications, may require a personal meeting to verify a person's identity. "Millennials want to do this instantly," he says. "[They're wondering], why can't I do that on a video conference?"Banking laws and regulations will undoubtedly play a role in how much financial institutions can do remotely, but millennials would probably be happy to do as much as possible from their phone. "In the end, it's the ease of doing business [that's important]," Goehler says, summing up just what millennials want from a bank.How to Save for Retirement on Less Than $40,000\r
\r
.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

6 Credit Card Blunders to Avoid This Holiday Season

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

If you've just finished paying off your credit card debt from last year's holiday shopping, you know that gift buying and paying with plastic can be a dangerous combination.There are so many things that can go wrong (and right) that it would take forever to list every possible way you could spend yourself into the poor house. But whether you're someone who always pays off credit card debt every month or you're still working on paying off debt from Christmas 2009, be sure to at least avoid these credit card blunders.[See: Best Credit Cards: Find the Right Card for You.]Falling for store credit card deferred interest deals. Planning on buying someone a big, expensive gift, or maybe getting something monumental for yourself? Wondering if you should really splurge? That's where deferred interest often lures consumers in. The store will promise that you won't pay interest if you pay off the entire purchase by the end of the advertised period."Every holiday season, many store chains that sell large and expensive items like furniture or appliances start advertising deferred interest offers on their store-branded credit cards," says Alex Gerard, CEO of CardsMix.com, a credit card comparison site. "These offers seem attractive, but they can be dangerous for your pocket if you have little discipline, like the majority of us."If you do have discipline, deferred interest deals can be swell. But it can be devastating if something goes wrong."If you don't pay off the entire purchase and owe even a penny at the end of the advertised period, you will be charged the interest for the whole introductory period," Gerard says.[See: Spend a Windfall Wisely.]Forgetting to track your spending. "The holiday spirit blinds you to how much you're really spending – until the bill comes due in January," says Howard Dvorkin, a certified public accountant and chairman of Debt.com. "So my suggestion is to keep a running list of all your holiday expenses and post them on the refrigerator or somewhere prominent in your home. Once you hit a dollar figure you agreed to stay below – whether it's $300 or $500 or even $1,000 – you and your family agrees to stop spending for the holidays."And if you still have some important gifts you really want to buy? "Everyone agrees to cut from somewhere else in the non-holiday part of the family budget," Dvorkin says.Carrying revolving debt from the holidays. Consumers plan on spending an average of $1,159 on their holiday purchases this year, according to a just-released annual survey of 2,006 consumers (between Oct. 5-9, 2016) from the credit card Discover.You know revolving debt is important to avoid, but you may want to do some math before you whip out your credit card, so you can see what you're getting into. If you were to spend $1,159 on holiday gifts this year, and you had a credit card with an average interest of 15.18 percent (the national average at the time of this writing, according to CreditCards.com), and you planned to take six months to pay it off, you would pay $201.81 each month, spending a total of $1,210.86.That arguably isn't too expensive, spending $51.86 to float $1,159 in gifts in exchange for making your family or friends happy. But, of course, the question becomes – do you only carry that revolving debt for those six months? If you're likely to buy more with your credit card and not pay it off right away, then suddenly that $201.81 payment is going to balloon and will likely become a weight around your neck. For all you know, next holiday season, maybe you'll still be paying off that $1,159 in gifts.Thus, it's vital you pay off that holiday credit card debt as soon as possible.[See: 10 Easy Ways to Pay Off Debt.]Failing to remember that the holidays are ideal for scam artists. It's smart to be something of a Grinch, assuming the world isn't full of good people when you're shopping at your computer or at the mall. From pickpockets to scammers with sophisticated equipment hoping to steal your credit card information when you shop at a public place with unprotected Wi-Fi, some people are out to get you.In Calgary, Canada, for instance, police recently alerted the media that they've seen an escalation in text messages asking consumers if they want to be secret shoppers, and while that might sound plausible, no, these text messages aren't legitimate. And throughout North America, there have been reports of fraudulent online stores and fake shopping apps being created, just waiting for people to find them and type in their credit card information.Be careful about applying for store credit cards. Like deferred interest deals, you'll get a lot of sales employees asking if you'd like to apply for a store credit card. Unless you shop there all the time, and you have a great track record of repaying your credit card debt, your answer should be: no, thanks."It's during the holidays that consumers, revolvers especially, are most susceptible to credit card debt," says Kerri Moriarty, CEO of Cinch Financial, a website that makes customized suggestions to people on what types of financial products they should get.She admits that it might seem "like a no-brainer," to open a store credit card to get a 20 percent discount, "but when you do the math on what it takes to really benefit from the action as a year-round decision and not just a Christmas Eve one, you might be surprised to realize how little of a deal there is – and even more so if you'll carry a balance on that card," she says.Forgetting about rewards on credit cards – or focusing too much on them. According to the aforementioned Discover survey, 46 percent of shoppers said their main reason for using credit cards for holiday shopping was to earn rewards. This is great, if you're racking up rewards and paying off your cards every month. But every credit card and personal finance expert who ever lived will tell you to not overspend just to get a bunch of rewards. Drowning in credit card debt isn't much of a reward.10 Tips for a Budget-Friendly Cyber Monday.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Financial Advisors

11 Things to Know Before Becoming a Financial Advisor

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

What to know before becoming a financial advisor.
The financial advisor career is among the best business jobs and best-paying jobs, according to U.S. News & World Report’s career rankings. It’s evolved “from a sales and product-driven profession to one centered on providing meaningful financial advice,” says Michael Purpura, president of Wealth Management at D.A. Davidson. “It is incredibly rewarding to help people navigate a series of challenging issues and achieve a variety of substantial end goals,” from college planning to funding a comfortable retirement to leaving a legacy to the next generation. But the financial advisor career isn’t right for everyone. Here are 11 things to know before becoming a financial advisor.

It’s an industry entrenched in tradition.
While the financial industry is evolving, it’s still one steeped in tradition and traditionalists. The average age of financial advisors is over 50 and the industry as a whole is dominated by long-standing names. As such, it can be frustrating to be the new person with new ideas in the room. “Younger advisors need to understand that there are many ideas, processes and people in the industry that have been around for a long time,” says Patrick Brewer, founder of SurePath Wealth and co-founder of Brewer Consulting, a marketing agency for financial advisors. “If you are the kind of person who wants to buck tradition, then financial services may not be for you — unless you are willing to be patient and save your entrepreneurial drive until you are a few years into your career.”

Must love people.
It’s a misperception that the financial services industry is for numbers-people. Financial advisors spend as much time, if not more, managing people than they do crunching numbers. “This is a career based on relationships, and advice tailored to each person’s unique needs, situation and objectives,” Purpura says. “Being genuinely curious about people and their stories is crucial to forging trusted, long-term relationships with clients.” So before you start looking at how to become a financial advisor, ask yourself if you have a genuine curiosity about and affinity for people. Do you like helping people and giving advice? Are you willing to spend the majority of your days in conversation with others?

You should be success-driven, not dollar-driven.
Before becoming a financial advisor, ask yourself what your motivation is for starting a financial advisor career. “If you’re interested in becoming an advisor to make money, you’re doing it for the wrong reason,” says Jeff Cashman, principal partner and lead advisor at Cashman Consulting. “Aspiring advisors should genuinely want to help people and serve as a trusted counselor.” He tells aspiring FAs to be “success-driven, not dollar-driven.” Those who are success-driven want to be the best they can for their clients. “Frequently, young professionals get so attracted to the potential for high commissions that they forget the purpose of their role in the first place,” he says. A lot more goes into your work as an advisor beyond just hunting the big-dollar clients, primarily with building client relationships.

You’ll make less than your college friends initially.
The reason having a motivation to become a financial advisor beyond making money is so important is that you probably won’t be making much money in the early years. “In the first three to five years of your career as a financial advisor, you will probably be making less money than many of the people you went to college with,” Brewer says. “Even if you do everything right and learn quickly, your revenue in the early years will be slow to build.” He advises aspiring financial advisors to set reasonable expectations before becoming a financial advisor. “You will make money if you build your relational capital first, but that won’t happen overnight,” he says. “Your work will pay off if you manage to build a practice, (but) not every brand-new advisor makes it that far.”

Problem-solvers preferred.
“At the end of the day, a great financial advisor is a problem solver,” Brewer says. Your days will be spent helping people solve their problems, which could be financial or personal. Sometimes “money trouble is merely a symptom,” he says, “and you have to connect your clients with professionals or resources to solve deeper issues.” You may come across clients struggling with addiction, communication problems or past trauma. “Solving those problems will allow clients to view you as credible and reliable,” he says. “If you don’t enjoy solving problems or aren’t good at doing it, you will be missing key ingredients for building long-term trust and a successful financial advisory practice.”

There are different types of financial advisors.
Many people mistakenly think all financial advisors do the same thing, but that’s not the case. There are many different types of financial advisors from planning advisors to investment advisors. There are rainmaker advisors who are focused on business development and servicing advisors who focus on existing client service rather than finding new clients, says Paul West, managing partner of Carson Wealth. For aspiring advisors this means two things: First, becoming a financial advisor does not mean you’re stuck in the same role forever. And second, your role will likely involve more than picking investments. “The best advisors are ones who focus on comprehensive, strategic planning and providing sage advice,” West says. “Investments are just a portion of the overall plan.”

A willingness to sell is required.
Like it or not, sales is an integral part of the financial advisor career. “This industry can be unforgiving for those who are unwilling to develop their ability to sell,” Brewer says. Even if you steer clear of the transactional side of product sales, you’ll still have to sell your advice; no amount of degrees or certifications will sell it for you. “Many professionals mistakenly believe that by simply being a fiduciary advisor, their expertise will magically sell itself,” Brewer says. “Selling financial advice means building trust, listening, creating a sense of curiosity and inspiring commitment.”

Self-starters thrive best.
In addition to a willingness to market your services to others, financial advisors need to be self-starters. “This is a profession in which you need to rely heavily upon your own motivation and ability to reach out to your clients,” Purpura says. “You are the driver of your clients’ successes and your own.” Regardless of the type of firm you work for – be it a large broker or on your own as a registered investment advisor – you will need a healthy dose of the entrepreneurial spirit to succeed. “While some individuals thrive on this entrepreneurial aspect of serving as an advisor, this style of working is not for everyone,” Purpura says. Do a little soul searching as you’re researching how to become a financial advisor to determine if sales and being an entrepreneur appeal to you.

You’ll need a niche.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there are more than 200,000 personal financial advisors in the U.S. Cerulli Associates puts that number at over 300,000. Either way, this means that as a financial advisor you will be competing with hundreds of thousands of others for clients, not to mention the robo advisors. “In a competitive environment, getting very good at helping people with a specific set of needs and gearing your financial advisory practice toward them could help you establish a unique value proposition,” says Bill McManus, director of Strategic Markets at Hartford Funds. Before planning how to become a financial advisor, think about where you’ll find your niche. McManus suggests looking to your network for inspiration: Is it weighted toward any one professional field? Is there an opportunity to work with a set of people you’re already connected to?

You’ll probably want a CFP and to work for a fiduciary.
There are a couple different frequented routes into the financial advisor career path: You could get your FINRA securities licenses, which will allow you to advise on and sell investments, or you could go the purely planning route by getting your CFP. While you don’t need your CFP to take the first path, many advisors recommend obtaining it anyway. “Investing in yourself and achieving the CFP designation will not only make you credible but also allow you to be thorough in your planning capabilities with your client,” West says. He also advises working for a fiduciary: “Don’t put yourself in a situation where you have to choose sales versus doing what is right for your clients.”

The financial advisor career is open to everyone.
The beauty of the financial advisor career is that it’s open and welcoming to anyone. “As a highly-entrepreneurial profession that offers flexibility and the opportunity to build lifelong relationships with clients,” Katherine Mauzy, principal and head of financial advisor talent acquisition for Edward Jones in St. Louis, Missouri, says that “a variety of professionals, including women, millennials and culturally diverse individuals” should consider becoming a financial advisor. In fact, being of a minority group could make it easier to find your niche. Likewise, the financial advisor career needn’t be your first stop: “Backed by excellent financial advisor training programs, many professionals are successfully transitioning mid-career and discovering a rewarding and meaningful career,” Mauzy says.

Things to know before becoming a financial advisor:
It’s an industry entrenched in tradition.You must love people.You should be success-driven, not dollar-driven.You’ll make less than your college friends initially.Problem-solvers are preferred.There are different types of financial advisors.A willingness to sell is required.Self-starters thrive best.You’ll need a niche.You’ll probably want a CFP and to work for a fiduciary.The financial advisor career is open to everyone.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Financial Advisors

How Women Are Creating Success in Financial Services

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

When she wanted to start Ellevest, a digital investment platform for women, Sallie Krawcheck approached several large banks for funding. She presented the concept, demonstrated the need and how large the market was, but nobody got it. After one such meeting, the CEO of the bank looked at her and said, "Well, don't their husbands manage their money for them?"In one comment, he encapsulated much of what is behind the lack of gender diversity in the financial industry. Women face stereotypes, doubt and biases from both within and outside the industry. But despite these psychological and financial hurdles, women are creating success in the financial industry. And they're teaching other women how to do it, too.Women Face Higher Hurdles Into the Industry When Catherine Berman and Yuliya Tarasava had the idea for CNote, an investment platform that uses technology to help people invest in a more inclusive economy, they entered in the 2017 SXSW Super Accelerator Pitch Competition. From hundreds of thousands of applicants, the judges whittled it down to 10 finalists. Standing alongside the other finalists onstage, Berman realized something: "Out of a global competition of fintech founders, we were the only women. Every other founding team was 100% male."CNote beat the boys to win the 2017 Best Startup Pitch Company award, but too often women in finance find themselves climbing an uphill battle to success. Women represent less than one-third of financial advisors and less than 20% of leadership roles in financial services firms globally. Women-owned businesses receive only 2% of venture capital in the U.S. The Ripple Effect of More Women in FinanceAs the gatekeeper to wealth, the financial industry is in a unique position to improve diversity by supporting women inside the industry and investing in women-owned businesses outside of it. Such efforts can have a wide-reaching impact."I've found again and again (that) when you support a woman entrepreneur, the effect of that goes far beyond just supporting her and her family," Berman says. "She ends up producing a series of positive network effects that also benefit the community, the local economy and the entrepreneur ecosystem."Berman and Tarasva are is proof of this: Since founding CNote they created The Wisdom Fund, a fixed-income vehicle that enables individual and institutional investors to invest their dollars in women-owned businesses. Likewise with Krawcheck and Ellevest, which is tackling not only gender diversity within the company but also the global gender wealth gap.Women have long been criticized for keeping more of their money in cash than men, thus missing out on investing returns, but "that research doesn't hold up," Krawcheck says.It's not a coincidence that an industry with fewer women does a poor job for women, Krawcheck says. She poses the question: Do you really think if instead of being 95% men, the industry had been 90% women, there'd be a CNBC?"CNBC was fashioned off of ESPN, (turning) investing into a sport," she says. "So the ripple effect here is tremendously important for our society."The Knight Foundation commissioned Harvard University and Bella Research Group to look into the diversity of the asset management industry. They found that women mutual fund managers represent less than 10% of the industry and manage less than 1% of total industry assets under management (AUM)."If we do the math, that means men are choosing the companies for 98% of our economy and look where we are," says Kristin Hull, founder, CEO and CIO of Nia Impact Capital. "The mess we're in was literally man-made, and until we can shift that lens to bring in more diversity, we're not going to get out of the problems we're in."How to Bring More Women Into the Financial IndustryImproving greater gender diversity in the asset management space isn't hard: It starts with choosing female-managed funds and investments that support women. To improve gender diversity in the financial industry more broadly, society needs to change the way it thinks. People have been socialized to view white men as leaders and everyone else as not, Krawcheck says. For gender equality to happen, inclinations to homogeneity need to change, she adds."There's an overwhelming draw to familiarity, to working with people like yourself," Krawcheck says. "Even people who are benefiting from the change can fight it because the drive to status quo is so powerful."She puts the onus for change on CEOs. If a CEO isn't committed to diversity, diversity won't happen. To that end, Krawcheck calls a full-stop on hiring if Ellevest becomes too homogeneous. They won't hire until they find someone who brings a different perspective and background. And before you ask: Yes, she upholds this policy even if the company becomes female-dominated.Hull takes a similarly firm view of diversity at Nia Impact Capital. The company is the first U.S. firm to be Gender Equity Now (GEN) Certified, which recognizes businesses that meet a standard of excellence across five areas of workplace culture including the gender perception gap, a certification Hull recommends all companies undertake."Even if you don't get full certification, you learn so many things that can improve your company practices," she says.But even the most committed CEOs can't hire people who don't apply. "Men are quicker to throw in their resumes than women are," Hull says. "Women are much more likely to apply when the hiring process is transparent."To encourage female applicants, companies should improve transparency, she says. Make the salary window available, let people know how many other applicants there are and, "of course, have women on hiring committees."Not only do women hire more women, but having a female role model when interviewing can be invaluable to women applicants.When Chrissy Lee, co-president and COO of Kalos Financial, interviewed for an operations position at Kalos 13 years ago, one of the first people she met was the company's co-founder and then-COO Carol Wildermuth."She blew me away," Lee says. "She presented herself with such confidence… Even in the interview, she was so open to sharing her background, her challenges, what she had to go through."Lee walked out of that interview thinking, "I want her job."As co-president and COO today, Lee is constantly trying to lift other women up in the field. "If I'm winning at something, I want other people to have that experience as well," she says.How to Be a Successful Woman in FinanceWomen must help other women rise, but you can't lift someone who isn't reaching up. If Lee had never applied to Kalos, if Krawcheck had never set her mind on creating Ellevest or Burman on CNote or Hull Nia Impact Capital, they never would have become the beacons of female success in the financial industry that they are today."It's not easy as women to be in this space right now," Berman says. "But the challenges can spark new thinking – and it's a battle worth fighting."Women shouldn't see the lack of diversity in the financial industry as a deterrent, but rather as an opportunity to pave the way for a better future for everyone.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

5 Clues That You're Dealing With a Predatory Lender

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

Consumers are often told to stay away from predatory lenders, but the problem with that advice is a predatory lender doesn't advertise itself as such.Fortunately, if you're on guard, you should be able to spot the signs that will let you know a loan is bad news. If you're afraid you're about to sign your life away on a dotted line, watch for these clues first.You're being offered credit, even though your credit score and history are terrible. This is probably the biggest red flag there is, according to John Breyault, the vice president for public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, a private nonprofit advocacy group in the District of Columbia."A lender is in business because they think they're going to get paid back," Breyault says. "So if they aren't checking to see if you have the ability to pay them back, by doing a credit check, then they're planning on getting their bank through a different way, like offering a high fee for the loan and setting it up in a way that locks you into a cycle of debt that is very difficult to get out of."[See: 25 Fast Financial Fixes.]But, of course, as big of a clue as this is to stay away, it can be hard to listen to your inner voice of reason. After all, if nowhere else will give you a loan, you may decide to work with the predatory lender anyway. That's why many industry experts feel that even if a bad loan is transparent about how bad it is, it probably shouldn't exist. After all, only consumers who are desperate for cash are likely to take a gamble that they can pay back a loan with 200 percent interest – and get through it unscathed.Your loan has an insanely high interest rate. Most states have usury laws preventing interest rates from going into that 200 APR territory, but the laws are generally weak, industry experts say, and lenders get around them all the time. So you can't assume an interest rate that seems really high is considered normal or even within the parameters of the law. After all, attorney generals successfully sue payday loan services and other lending companies fairly frequently. For instance, in January of this year, it was announced that after the District of Columbia attorney general sued the lending company CashCall, they settled for millions of dollars. According to media reports, CashCall was accused of offering loans with interest rates around 300 percent annually.[See: 11 Money Tips for Women.]The lender is making promises that seem too good to be true. If you're asking questions and getting answers that are making you sigh with relief, that could be a problem.Nobody's suggesting you be a cynic and assume everybody's out to get you, but you should scrutinize your paperwork, says David Reiss, a professor of law at Brooklyn Law School in New York."Often predators will make all sorts of oral promises, but when it comes time to sign on the dotted line, their documents don't match the promises," Reiss says.And if they aren't in sync, assume the documentation is correct. Do not go with what the lender told you."Courts will, in all likelihood, hold you to the promises you made in the signed documents, and your testimony about oral promises probably won't hold that much water," Reiss says. " Read what you are signing and make sure it matches up with your understanding of the transaction."You're dealing with pushy sales people. Maybe you went into an office of your own power and free will but suddenly you're feeling as if you won't be able to leave the premises without taking out a loan?That is a very bad sign. Get out.John Henson, a vice president at LendingTree.com, says one red flag is "overly aggressive sales tactics, including using language which obfuscates the actual terms of the mortgage."He also says you could be in trouble if a lender can't explain some of the vocabulary associated with the loan, especially around fees, or if you're having trouble getting the loan terms from the salesperson right away, such as the interest rate, payment amount or number of payments.[See: 10 Ways to Feel Better About Your Money.]The loan is really easy to get. Borrowing money, especially a lot of it, should be difficult. After all, if you're going to borrow tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for a car or house, a lender would be crazy to not vet you thoroughly and take a look at your credit score and report and make sure you can pay. Not doing that, of course, is partially how the country got into a recession about 10 years ago. Mortgage companies weren't doing enough to learn if consumers could afford to pay back what they were borrowing.So if you're in the process of getting a loan, especially a big one, and you're thinking, "Wow, this is easy, almost too easy," you're probably right. Breyault says you should be especially wary when you're on a car lot, and you're seeing signs like, "Guaranteed loan," and "No credit needed." Those dealerships are notorious for having predatory lending practices."The point of those car lots is as much to sell you on a high interest loan as it is to sell you a car," Breyault says.And if that's the case, it raises another question: If you're paying a fortune on a loan with crummy terms, how much confidence can you have that the same company is selling you a quality product?Dear Younger Me: 12 Financial Truths We Wish We Knew Earlier.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

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