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What Does Flood Insurance Cover?

Posted on April 24, 2018 by

Flood Insurance is just as simple as it looks, it is an insurance policy that covers losses due to flooding. Flood insurance is something that is required in some areas depending where you live in the flood plain. The coverage is different depending if your area is residential or a commercial area that is being insured. So what does flood insurance cover exactly?

Residential policies cover the following items when a flood causes damage to your home:

Residential Building Coverage

This insures your home or dwelling, attached or detached garages, and certain permanent structures installed in your home, such as built-in dishwashers, permanent shelving, furnaces, radiators, hot water heaters, plumbing, stoves, ovens and refrigerators. When it comes to what inside your home a flood insurance policy will cover, they will insure pretty much all personal property and owning such as clothes, furniture, appliances, and home decor.

Coverage in Basements

When it comes to a basement a flood insurance policy will cover structural elements and equipment normally located in a basement such as unfinished drywall, electrical junction and breaker boxes, air conditioners, furnaces, lights, and cleanup.

Non-residential policies cover the following items when a flood causes damage to your business:

Non-residential Building Coverage

What does flood insurance cover in this case? When the structure that has been damaged is not a residence, it is considered non-residential building. This coverage pretty much covers the same time of materials which are included in the basement coverage such as unfinished drywall, electric functions and breaker boxes, furnaces, lights, cleanup and foundation elements. When it comes to the contents that are covered within the structure, the policy will cover furniture and fixtures, machinery or equipment, stock, raw materials, finished or unfinished goods, and packing and shipping supplies.

The cost of flood plan depends on the amount of property that you have and the amount that you want to insure. For residential coverage the most that can be insured is $ 250,000 of building coverage and $ 100,000 contents coverage. Business owners are qualified for $ 500,000 building coverage and up to $ 500,000 contents coverage. It is stated that the average flood insurance premium is approximately $ 370.00 a year, but that will vary depending on your location and other factors such as age, elevation of home, building occupancy, and your deductible. …

Seminars – Financial Advisors' # 1 Way to Attract More Clients in the 21st Century

Posted on April 23, 2018 by

The continuously-evolving financial services industry has returned to seminaries as the most effective method for building a business as a financial advisor. With continued corruption, regulatory issues and overall lack of trust in the industry, the stage is set for a new way to incorporate seminaries into your practice.

With an ever-increasing base of products and services, combined with growing demands on everyone's time, an effective seminar program can attract more clients, generate more referrals, and enhance all of your marketing efforts while saving you both time and energy. It's time to learn a new approach to an age-old process.

I started in the financial services industry in 1982. At the time, limited partnerships were the rage, and tax shelters were a haven for investors and a big ticket for advisers. Cold calling was the most effective method to grow a practice, and there were few to no compliance issues. We could open an account and place a trade over the phone with just a name, address and social security number.

In the 1990s there was a shift toward fee-based business. "Limited partnership" became a dirty phrase, and mutual funds and contractualized mortgage obligations began filling the void. Although cold calling was still a viable form of prospecting, seminars began to play an increasing role in generating volumes of potential clients. Product-focused breakfast suspects at the local coffee shop were not uncommon. Participants were seen as "buying units" and success was determined by products sold.

Over time, the term "stockbroker" was replaced with financial consultant; today, the terminology is shifting towards "wealth manager." What was a low-touch, transactional and sometimes impersonal business in the 1980s has become a high-touch, relationship driven, fee-based business in the 21st Century. While we used to be content to sell just stocks and bonds, now we are looking to provide planning, insurance, lending, banking, estate planning, and a multitude of products and services that extend our reach well beyond the stock and bond markets.

As we continue moving toward total wealth management, specialization is becoming increasingly critical to professional survival. Depth of resources is the foundation of today's practice, and a high level of client service and added value is what encourages client loyalty and inspires referrals. Our relationships with clients are reaching new levels, becoming stronger and penetrating multiple generations. All of this creates greater demand on our time, leaving less time to develop new business, which leads us to the new push for partnerships and teams. With broad capabilities and growing expectations from clients, teams are becoming a critical component in building dynamic businesses – ones that can continue to focus on organic growth while actively pursuing external growth.

At the same time, the Do-Not-Call list has reduced the efficiency of cold calling, high-volume seminars are riddled with empty seats, and increasing competition has diluted our prospecting efforts. So how do we find new clients and grow our businesses in this environment, all the while maintaining high levels of client service?

Just as …

Owner Financing – Bad News

Posted on April 22, 2018 by

When a seller considers owner financing there are many details to consider. Remember you are acting as the bank. You are lending your equity to a buyer. This may not bother some sellers, though most people feel that owner financing is too risky.

One of the first things you want to consider is how long you will finance the mortgage. 30 years is a long time to wait for most of your equity. Make sure you detail the terms so there is no misunderstanding between you and the buyer.

The Interest rate you negotiate can make your mortgage more secure if you can charge a higher rate to the buyer. What legal hassles are involved if they stop paying? Believe me, sometimes things change in peoples lives, layoffs, etc. Seller financing is not something you should jump into without careful consideration.

Because of falling home prices in most of the country and the lack of affordable mortgages for buyers is there a way to use owner financing to sell your home without the risk. Is there a better, easier way to sell your property with owner financing? What if you could sell your mortgage at the closing table and walk away with your equity in cash. How would you feel if you could sell your property in weeks, not months or longer? Who would like calls from buyers with low credit scores, and you can say yes.

Sounds too good to be true. Remember the old saying, every cloud has a silver lining. There is a plan for helping sellers with owner financing that was popular during the Savings and Loan disaster years ago. You may not remember 18% interest rates and gas shortages.

Blow off the dust, if you know the history of owners financing you can find your best solution. …

Benefits of Making Use of Financial Management Consulting Services

Posted on April 21, 2018 by

Whether you are a private individual or a company, making use of financial management consulting services can prove very beneficial. These professionals have years of bookkeeping and accounting knowledge, which they use to provide you with a complete consultation service designed to help you maximize your cash flow and make necessary plans for financial growth moving forward.

The first benefit of any financial management consulting service, whether you are a private individual or a company, is that they help you plan and forecast for your financial future. These professionals will take a close look at your finances, your ledgers and your bank accounts. They will identify your assets and then work out an effective forecast based on what they see, helping you identify what to expect moving forward. They will also help you put a plan in place to meet the goals of the forecast, always working to improve your financial situation now and in the future.

The financial management consultants will take their time to analyses and assess your finances. As a private individual they will want to look at your bank statements, identify your spending, work on your income and expenditure. Analysis can help them pinpoint areas where you can reduce expenditure, while offing you a plan to help you build your financial products to achieve financial success in the future.

As a company, they will look at your bank balance and statements, they will identify your assets, they will work on your expenditure and then come up with effective ways to improve income and reduce expenditure, giving you a higher profit margin and an improved cash flow now and moving forward.

The financial management consulting service provider will also offer you effective and accurate reporting on a regular basis. They become your financial business partner, they will work with your in-house bookkeepers and accountants, ensuring that your company receives the most effective service, keeping you updated on progress, providing you with detailed reports and helping you when it comes time to appoint new suppliers, to ensure you continue to enjoy the best prices.

They will make certain recommendations. The benefit of them making recommendations is that their complete focus remains on helping you reduce your expenditure with ways to increase your income. As a private individual, you may not be able to increase your monthly income, but with the help of one of these consultants, you can make your money go further, even possibly making some good sound financial investment options to ensure your savings continue to grow at all times.

It is important that you pay close attention to some factors before you make any decisions and hire a financial management consultant. You want to choose a company that has years of industry knowledge and experience. The good news is that with cloud based solutions these days, you are not restricted to only hire the services of a company in your local area, you can choose a company anywhere in your country, which gives you access …

Financial Advisor Jobs – Not As Easy To Make Money As You Think

Posted on April 20, 2018 by

If you've been looking at financial advisor jobs, or trying to find out how to become a financial advsior, I've got news for you: it's not as easy to make money with this position as you think.

I'm a veteran of the financial services industry, having spent 7 years as a financial advisor. I was blessed to have built a thriving practice of over 200 client groups. I sold my financial planning practice and received a very nice payout for several years.

So I'm speaking to you from experience when I say this: IT'S NOT EASY TO MAKE MONEY AS A FINANCIAL ADVISOR.

As a matter of fact, I would place this way of approaching income high on the difficult-ways-to-make-money list.

Here's why.

First, you'll probably work for several years before you turn a real profit. When I say several years, I mean in the neighborhood of 3+ years to really find your groove and have things moving along like clockwork.

Second, you'll probably work lots of hours in the beginning. Working 60+ hours as a financial planner is not unusual in the beginning years of building a practice. There will not be a lot of time spent with friends and family. They get used to it, but why should they?

Third, it takes time to build seasoned relationships with your clients, where they come to trust you, know you and like you. People only do increased business with people they know, like and trust. Depending upon your personality, it could be easy (or not so easy) for people to get to know, like and trust you. Time is required.

Becoming a financial advisor is not a viable solution for money problems today, if you're looking to make money quickly. You'll probably be out of lots of money and time before you actually hit profit status, which can be true of many businesses out there.

The important thing is that you go into the financial services industry with your eyes wide open, and no stars in them.

I began my career in financial services with stars in my eyes, excited about being in a prestigious industry with lots of clout and respect and thought it would be fairly easy to build my practice. It was not. On some days, it required the proverbial blood, sweat and tears.

So tread carefully when considering financial advisor jobs. There is a higher profit, easier alternative (see below). …

Calculate Internal Rate Of Return Using Excel

Posted on April 19, 2018 by

Internal rate of return is commonly known as IRR by those in the
financial industry. To understand internal rate of return, you must
first know what is NPV or net present value. IRR is discounted rate
of return derived based on the condition that net present value for
an investment is 0. IRR is then compared to the company's discounted
rate of return. If IRR is higher than the company's / project's discounted
rate of returns, then the investment is deemed to be worthwhile for the company or investor.

The discounted rate of return for the company is determined
by the investors themselves. Discounted rate of return is derived
based on a number of factors. One of them is the consideration of
risk. If the investor is evaluating a more risky investment, he is
likely to have a higher rate of return. This is to compensate the risk
that he is taking on this project. Another factor that could influence
the discounted rate of return is the general market rate of return.

To calculate the internal rate of return manually (without a
financial calculator) is a very laborious process. It will take
you minutes if not hours. However, using Excel, you can do it in
less than a minute. Assuming that the cash flows (from year 0 to
year 5) is in the range "D $ 3: J $ 3", the formula to der the IRR
is "= IRR (D $ 3: J $ 3)" without quotes.

Now that we have learnt how to calculate the internal
rate of return, it is important to know that IRR can only be
used under certain conditions. The best way to determine if the
IRR can be used is to plot the NPV of the investment against
the discount rate of return. If the NPV crosses the X-axis more
than once, ie NPV is zero more than once, than the investment
is considered to have multiple internal rate of return and should
be used with caution.

It is very safe to use IRR only when the cash inflow or outflow only
changes once. This means that you can have a series of flow
before the inflow comes in. Once the inflow kicks in, outflow can not
be present again. Alternately, you could have a series of inflow
first followed by a series of flow, but inflow of funds can not
appear again. If there are multiple IRR, then it would be difficult
to determine which IRR to use.

If there are changes in the cash flows from negative to
positive and back again to negative, the chances of this
investment having multiple internal rate of return is very
high. …

Gold – What is the Return on Investment (ROI)?

Posted on April 18, 2018 by

Investing in gold usually means a long-term investment for five to ten years or more. Is there a right time to invest in gold? Many people ask this question, since the price keeps changing, almost on an hourly basis. In today’s context, the gold price is on an upward trend and sometimes it retains the same value. Several financial analysts suggest that gold investment is a convenient, safe and value for money.

What is the root cause for the rise in value?

The price of gold is based on the value of the US dollar. The international trade is dependent on the common exchange currency. However, some analysts suggest that there is a possibility of a correction in gold prices due to profit booking.

If you deeply analyze the facts, you will find that the value of gold does not actually change very much at all. The value of gold over the past 200 years has hardly changed when compared with the value of other goods in market. If you compare one ounce of gold today, you will be able to purchase almost the same amount of goods as you could have done 50 years ago. The only change is the value of the currency and not the gold. Inflation, recession, all affect the value of the fiscal currency but generally do not affect gold.

What is the ROI?

However, One ounce of gold purchased in 1973 for $64 is now worth more than $900. In the long run, the outlook for gold market is strong as crude prices are rising and dollar is weakening.

It is likely that this scenario will continue and in the future years. Gold has always provided a high return over a long period of investment. The other factor, which adds to the increase in value is, decrease in gold mining (supply) and increase in demand. You are likely to get a ROI of 1000%, if you continue to invest in Gold for a long-term basis.

When is the best time to invest in gold?

The best time to invest in gold is right NOW! In fact it is always the best time to invest in gold. If you were to purchase a small amount of gold each month for the next 5 years, you would still beat inflation hands down.…

How To Choose a Financial Advisor

Posted on April 17, 2018 by

OK, you’ve made the decision. It feels great! You’re going to begin working with a Financial Advisor! But now, you have to find one. Where do start? What do you look for? How do you know that they’re trustworthy? What if you make a bad decision? Wow, it’s a lot of work. Maybe you’ll postpone this, and do it another time when you’re better prepared. Yeah, that makes sense, and it feels comfortable. Congratulations, you have just talked yourself out of it!

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it probably is. The selection of a Financial Advisor is an important one. But it’s not as grueling and difficult as many perceive it to be. In this author’s opinion, if you follow some basic, common sense rules, you should be able to easily make the decision and enjoy a very successful, educating experience.

FIND SOMEONE YOU LIKE

First and foremost (I almost hate to include this because it’s so obvious), you have to like the person. Find someone who you enjoy spending time with and talking to. Make it someone you could actually hang out with, someone who is genuinely appealing to you. Whatever criteria you use in this area of the selection process, now is the time to use it.

FIND A REFERRAL OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW

If you can, get a friend to refer you to someone they work with. This way, the Advisor is a known quantity and has an established track record with whatever attributes the person that made the referral feels they need to have in order to be worthy of referring out. Better yet, perhaps you actually know someone who you can work with. This makes the most sense for obvious reasons. Remember though that you will be establishing a business relationship in addition to whatever existing one you already have. Make sure this can be done.

FIND SOMEONE WITH TEN YEARS OR MORE EXPERIENCE

You need to find someone who has survived the high attrition rate associated with this industry. There are many reasons why they leave, but the important thing for you is to find one that hasn’t. Many Advisors you meet today will not be in the business two or three years from now. An Advisor with at least ten years experience has also most likely weathered a good and bad market. Let’s say you found a new Advisor back in the late 1990’s that had only a couple of years under their belt. They would have only seen bull markets, and have the feeling of invincibility when it comes to investing your money. And believe me, after the year 2000, and just after September 11, 2001, your new Advisor wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what just happened and how to handle all the panicked phone calls. And chances are, with only bull market experience, your Advisor you would have had you overly aggressive in your investing and as a result you would have suffered a serious loss. Besides, with 10 …

Differences Between Management and Financial Accounting

Posted on April 16, 2018 by

Financial and management accounting look at a business using different perspectives. Management accounting, also known as cost accounting, focuses in the internal needs of a company, while financial accounting concentrates on outside users of information. Financial statements compilation is associated with financial accounting. Budgets and cost variances relate to management accounting

Focus of Attention

Management accountants are concerned with planning and controlling operations, focusing on details, such as material costs. The more complex an operation is, the more likely it is to have more accountants dedicated to management needs, such as budgeting, and strategic planning.

Financial reports represent a business as a whole, while managerial accounting is often more goal-oriented and more specific to an area of a business. For example, a manager may ask accounting to give him a report showing sales numbers for the past two years. He is interested in only a part of the big picture.

Past versus Future

Financial accounting is concerned with the past, while management accounting deals with the future. Financial accountants want to make sure that historical data is compiled properly. They don’t care if expenses are above budget or about cost variances because they usually don’t provide budget information to outsiders. Instead, they focus on compiling data properly, following GAAP- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Different Needs

Another area where financial and management accounting differ is that management accountants need to be nimble enough to provide internal reports on as-needed-basis as well as periodic statements. It’s common for accountants to run queries or setup reports without much lead-time. The point is to get the information to management fast. This is not the case with financial accounting, where accountants want to be precise and careful because reports go to users outside the business, such as investors or creditors. Financial reporting usually takes time and it is a planned event.

Accounting Systems

Generally in computerized accounting, the cost accounting system interfaces with the financial accounting system, feeding into specific accounts, such as inventories and cost of good sold. The company uses the cost system in its daily activities to control its processes and be able to assign costs to each part manufactured. Financial accounting doesn’t need to know costs of manufactured part A versus part B — these are particular concerns of management accounting only. Often, once a week or a month the controller runs an interface where information is transferred to certain accounts in the general ledger.

Usually if something looks odd or wrong in the financial system, the management program is used as back up and for research. For instance, if the transportation-in account looks too large, then the accountant could use the management module or system to get information on inventory and other purchases that could cause the unexpected variance.

Many times the same individual does management and financial accounting without realizing it. This is often the case with small businesses. In many instances boundaries between the two types of accounting are blurred and is not a problem. However, when dealing …

Taking Bold Financial Risks

Posted on April 15, 2018 by

'There is a way that seemed right without a man but the end thereof is destruction'

The above saying can be said to be true in some situations, but from the moment when I discovered the true meaning of wealth, I have never met a wealthy man who came into his fortune without having to take certain decisions, actions that seemed futile at that particular moment.

It is an obvious fact that making a headway in life requires a certain level of risk taking ability. Your ability to take the 'bull by the horn' in seemingly situations determines how far you go in life.

Let's take a case scenario of two brothers who happened to be farmers in a village far away from any natural source of water supply. Farmer A and Farmer B plant their crops at the same time in a land not too far apart from each other. After a while, the rains stop falling, farmer A is contending with the natural order of things, but Farmer B is not … he seeks ways to provide an all year round supply of water to his crops so he devises a means of transportation water from a faraway stream into his farm land. Now, farmer A tries to dissuade him by pointing out the various disadvantages of irrigation which includes over flooding. Farmer B despite knowing that he risked over flooding his small farm, persisted, ignoring the risk and thinking only of the advantages.

Sometimes, it is harvest time, both farmers cultivated their crops but as you must have guessed by now, Farmer B's harvest was more bountiful than that of his brother … in the long run, the end justified the means.

Now the difference between this two brothers is that one of them did things differently than what was regularly obtained. He took the risk of irrigating his farm despite the obvious risk of over flooding involved.

Now let's refer this story to the present day craze for financial freedom by Nigerians as a result of which most people have bought into the now popular mavorodian network known as MMM.

A lot of people call this scheme a scam simply because they are scared of losing their money, I mean nobody wanted to lose hard earned money especially in this period of recession. Most people want financial stability, but not the risks involved in achieving this stability and as such, they remain in the same position, year in, year out.

Bill gates, one of the world's richest man of all times, took a great risk when he took over the running of Microsoft world … the risk of immediate COLLAPSE but he was not deterred, he knew the rules of success, only the risk takers take it all.

My point being, it is a fact that nothing last forever, the mavorodian system, may not last due to some situations which includes greediness among-st participants, but those in the business of making money know that a good …