Financial Resource

So you have a job and you make money. Is it enough to cover all your expenses? Is it enough to put aside some money towards your retirement? What about those credit card debts, home mortgages, and travel expenses coming up? What about starting a family, paying for your children’s education? Have you already started planning for retirement? What steps have you taken?  Perhaps you have consulted with retirement planning services and professionals or found some online sources for financial planning software and retirement planning tools.

Ok, so we have raised a number of questions and hopefully sparked some ideas and thoughts in your mind. Our last podcast introduced the topic of financial freedom and how the resources learned from our community can be shared with our listeners. The ultimate goal being that we can use this information to achieve financial success in our lives.

Well, here’s a little preview of our next several episodes about a Retirement Planning Guide, which will be sold through leading book sellers like Amazon for $29.99. However, for a limited time, we are giving away this eBook as a FREE download along with a five part course which will be emailed to you. To get this and other exclusive content now, sign up to our email list.

Our next several episodes will dive into the contents of this Retirement Planning Guide. You don’t want to miss this series of podcasts if you are looking to personally manage your finances or are searching for a retirement planning guide, including retirement planning calculators and retirement planning software. All this valuable information along with tips and tools for retirement and financial planning are in this eBook to aid you with your own personal financial planning. 

What is covered in this Retirement Planning book?

• Things you should think about when starting your retirement plan
• How to determine how much money you’ll need now and in the future
• Maximizing your employer’s retirement plans while you can
• How to find FREE MONEY in your employer’s retirement plans
• Investing in the stock market to grow your retirement savings
• What you need to know if you have to work after the age of 65
• How to plan your will
• The best way to use your home in your retirement plans
• How to find health insurance in retirement
• If you need to purchase long-term care and life insurance
• Lots more…

We look forward to sharing this with you in the upcoming podcasts. Once again, sign up to our email list to get the FREE eBook and the five part course. Also if you want to get ready to listen to the podcasts on your iPod, click the iTunes link above. It will take you to the Financial Resource iTunes store. Click on the Subscribe button once you are in iTunes. With that final click, you are all set to automatically receive the latest FREE podcasts on this book.

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Welcome to episode FR1 on www.financialresource.org. We are delighted to have you join us today. We are your hosts at financialresource.ORG and our names are Shahin and Prabakar.

Our first episode is to discuss “financial freedom” and what it means to you?

One definition of financial freedom is “a well-planned lifestyle where one no longer is required to work for income to cover their expenses”. Doesn’t this sound great? However, contrary to popular belief, it does not require being free of debt, as a debt payment is just another expense like food, travel, gas, and other living costs that all of us have. Typically, financial freedom or financial independence can be attained in one of two ways (or a combination of the two):

1. Earn enough passive investment income so that one can cover all their expenses.

2. Create a large enough “nest egg” that can be liquidated over time to cover one’s expenses.

Simply said, financial freedom is one point in life when you do not work for money anymore. Instead money works for you. I love the sound of that!  To achieve financial freedom, there are many typical popular routes:

Property or Real Estate Investment; Internet Marketing; Trading; Owning a Business. We will talk more details about each of these in future episodes at FinancialResource.ORG, so remember to subscribe to our FREE podcast or the RSS feeds at the end of this podcast.

As we talk about the term “financial freedom”, one thing that comes to our minds immediately, that we want to warn our listeners about is the marketing ploy used by many companies. For example, when you type in “financial freedom” into the google search, you will get an exhaustive list of debt relief products, mortgage consultants like reverse mortgages and debt consolidators, and other low fee credit cards, and advance fee fraud.  There are also solicitations that often promise “financial freedom” in return for a couple of hours a week work, or in return for sharing one’s bank account information with the widow of the director of Nigeria’s central bank, etc. As we all know we need to educate ourselves, work hard and smart to achieve financial freedom and nothing comes for FREE.

That sets the stage for us to introduce FinancialResource.org. We are a community on the path to financial freedom! As an educated, ethical, determined, and hard working member we are willing to share and provide our experiences as a resource to achieving financial success. FinancialResource.org will have articles and podcasts on financial literacy, book reviews, and interviews with financial experts. Our interviews will feature financial educators, financial professionals, and members like you, who are willing to share their life experiences for all of us to learn from.

We know your time is precious and that you are listening to us so that you can get some value and education in a clear format. So it is our promise to you that we will not rant and rave and will provide you with clear subject material to learn from. In return, we ask you, our listeners, to please give us feedback and suggestions, so that we can deliver the best content for you!

What’s on the next episode on www.FinancialResource.org? You the listener can decide. Log on, subscribe as a member, and provide us your suggestions on a financial topic you would like to hear more about. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Warren Buffet is all over the news again! This time it has to do with Wall Street and saving those Bond Insurers. The billionaire investor’s offer to help out troubled bond insurers rallied the markets and the Dow Jones industrials rose more than 130 points, easing some of the market’s concerns about further deterioration in the credit markets. Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway holding company has offered up to $800 billion in municipal bonds, primarily as a second level insurance. The last time we heard his name all over the news was when he donated a substantial amount of his money towards the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. That is just fantastic! We need more of the wealthy in this country to find charitable causes and foundations that will help to alleviate poverty, reduce diseases, provide universal education, bring about more equality, and reduce the increasing gap bewteen the rich and poor.

Talking about the rich and poor, most of us in this country feel that the rich do not pay enough taxes and the rich just get richer. Well, what do you think Warren Buffet has to say about this? What is his opinion on the amount of taxes he pays? What percentage do you think his tax rate is at? Keep in mind that the average American pays about 28% in tax. You will be surprised at his answer!

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Recently my wife and I visited China and Thailand during November and December of 2007. It was an eye opening experience for me. Thailand was nice, the usual tourist spots, warm weather, sunny beaches, and yummy delicious Thai food. China, on the other hand, was a sight to see! Its not like any other place I have visited before, the culture, the people, the food, the historic places…  OK, you probably don’t want to hear me ramble about my 5 week vacation right? There is something else we need to talk about - related to finance of course - the emerging China markets - or has it already emerged and positioned itself as one of the biggest, dominant, and powerful markets now? People, we need to look at China and if you are wondering how to profit in the Chinese markets, you better start your research now!

     

As we travelled through 12 cities in China, there was one common sight we could always expect in every major city. Centralized areas of intense shopping and dining, throbbing with commercial activity. Large malls, with namebrand shops like the Gap, Limited, Versace, Nike, Addidas, and more, are popping everywhere. Shopping isn’t just limited to the weekends in China. All day and all night, there is a constant buzz of people walking, shopping, eating, selling, buying…doing what they need to do to keep the economy alive!

Just about everywhere we went, the large billboards and electronic advertising showed western models showcasing clothes, jewelry, watches, shoes, bags, just about anything. It made me wonder why there wasn’t many Chinese models on these billboards. The western markets have influenced the Chinese markets and the large namebrands are recognized everywhere.

KFC, MacDonalds, and Pizza Hut are practically on every street corner. The Chinese love for American fast food is taking over their country. Starbucks (yes, we stopped in for a cafe latte with one pump carmel for my wife to stay warm) is also popping up everywhere and the average coffee drink appears to be transitioning from a luxury item, that previously was only available to the wealthy and upper middle class, to an average cup of coffee, available to the common working class. If you are a stock owner of any of these large US corporations doing business in China, I imagine you are probably going to hold onto these stocks, as these companies are rapidly growing their base and markets in China. Especially with the weakening US dollar, the income from these international markets are going to be a significant portion of the company’s reported income in the year end statements, once the foreign currency is converted back to the US dollar for reporting to the US investors.

We also had the opportunity to take a 4 day cruise down the Yangze river and tour the largest dam in the world, the Three Gorge Dam.  This project was undertaken by the Chinese government to provide power to almost three-quarters of China. It is estimated to be 20 times more powerful than the Hoover Dam!  Of course the project comes with its controversies as well, especially environmental and social challenges that many Chinese citizens will face for many years to come. There are also major railway, air transport, subways and mass transit infrastructure projects going on all over China. Most of the world’s resources and materials, like steel and concrete, are being used up by China right now!

Major residential and commercial real estate developments are cropping up everwhere. As the Chinese people get more wealth and enjoy a higher standard of living, housing markets and the real estate industry has boomed. Despite government policies to cool down a real estate boom, the country’s major cities, like Shenzhen, Dalian, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Xiamen have experienced continued growth through 2007. We visited Xiamen, in the south of China, towards the end of our trip. Along the waterfront in Xiamen, a large mixed-use real estate development is taking place. This facility will showcase a residential and commercial neighborhood that includes offices, hotels, shopping malls, a marina, golf courses, cruise ship terminals, and outdoor parks. Remax, Prudential, Century 21 and other US real estate brokers have already set up offices and agents to cash in on the boom!

Entrepreneurs from street vendors, retailers, internet start ups, to large venture capital funded corporations and companies are shaping the Chinese economic markets. A successful business needs customers, and China has billions of customers! They have the resources (people) and the buying power! 

Just yesterday while driving to Riverside for work, I was listening to ‘These Days’ on PBS radio. Guest Reporter, Kai Ryssdal from Marketplace - National Public Radio, was answering questions from callers. The topic of China came up to which Kai was sharing his experiences when he lived in China and reported on China. I will leave you with some of his comments on China.

“…there is this amazing economic thing happening in China…” 

“…China already has a Trillion dollars invested into the American Treasury Bonds in their bank…”

“…sometime before 2030, China will be the biggest economy in the world. People need to ask themselves how they feel in this country about not being the worlds dominant economic power…”

 Got your attention?

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Here are some statistics that I found quite interesting while researching what it costs to express your love in the United States.  According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2006 Valentine’s Day Survey, it’s costing more to show your love. Apparently, the average American will spend over $100 on February 14.  Call me cheap, but that just seems like a lot of wasted money to me on a fabricated holiday to apparently express your love to your loved ones.

The statistics show that men will spend (aged 45-54) nearly double what women spend on the holiday and will be purchasing less flowers and more jewelry.  Guys… save your money and make dinner or clean the house and use the savings to get the both of you something that would be a real asset.  Now, that’s romantic!

62% of consumers will purchase at least one greeting card for the holiday, with 47.1% buying candy and 42.1% enjoying an evening out with their sweetheart. Other popular gifts include flowers (32.9%), jewelry (14.6%) and gift cards/gift certificates (10.9%).  Be creative people, write a note on some recyclable cardboard, paper or anything.  Save the environment by not going to the store, using gas, wasting time looking at the card racks, standing in line with all the other last minute thinkers and spending your money on something that took down trees and used trucks to deliver it to your neighborhood pharmacy.  Be thoughtful and creative, spend some time making your own representation of your love.

Valentine’s Day is the third most popular card-sending holiday behind Christmas and Father’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation.
More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine’s Day, according to the National Confectioner’s Association.

 Below you will find a video clip from Channel 8 News where Pete the Planner makes some recommendations on how to be effective with your spending on this holiday.  Most importantly these ideas can be used next week and next month as there will always be moments to show love for your loved ones and it does not have to be expensive.

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In summary the video posted here will show you  that a group of G7 leaders recently met in Tokyo to discuss the world economy.  They state that the Global economy could get worse and is mainly the cause of the crumbling US housing market.  Presently the losses of the banks amount to approximately 100 Billion dollars in relation to this housing market down-slide.  That is a lot of money!  The G7 leaders were comprised of finance ministers from Japan, United States, Canada, Italy, Britain, Germany and France (for those who did not know what G7 is?) from which the Japanese and French leaders stated that they were not concerned about their regions as the fundamentals remained firm for the economical conditions in Japan and France.  I would love to know why Japan and France are standing firm on their fundamentals and what is anticipated for their future economic conditions if the US market tumbles futher downward.

I am not sure how to take the comments made on this video and how to prepare ourselves for what is yet to come all because of the housing market debacle that was mainly generated from capitalistic greed.  In many an instance I was privy to dealings with Real Estate Brokers who were selling overpriced homes to under qualified buyers.   So the Brokers got rich on these innocent victims who only wanted to fulfil the american dream of buying a house in America and so did the banks by charging outlandish fees.

At the end of day we all will have to pay…

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Have you heard of Jim Jubak? I have been reading recent articles and posts by Jim Jubak, MSN’s money man. He is touted by MSN as “The Web’s No. 1 investing columnist”.  Look at his site on MSN Money, there is a ton of good information, but if you are a novice to finance and financial information, then it could be overwhelming.

Jim Jubak’s articles range from stock investing tips, to recession markets, bear markets, US energy policy, banking crisis, how to profit from rising food prices, how to profit from the weakening dollar, China markets, Japanese markets, and a lot more. His articles are relatively easy to understand, but you must have some knowledge of financial intruments and markets. If you are well versed with financial markets and financial intruments, then you will have no problem and will find lots of value in Jim’s articles. On the other hand, if you are a novice and are somewhat intimidated or find it difficult to grasp the content of Jim’s articles, then here is a suggestion to help you learn more and become your own financial expert: pick an area that interests you, whether its the stock markets, bond markets, 401(K), rising oil prices, China, or one of the other areas that Jim reports on, review the article, and then post your questions and comments on this blog. Of course don’t forget to reference the article title and date. We can review the article and have contributing authors and experts engage in a discussion with you to help you learn and understand. Sounds good?

Knowledge is Power!

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Great forum! Thanks. Here is some news that might uplift those home buyers out there in the high priced California real estate market. The United States Senate voted today to approve a multi-billion-dollar economic stimulus bill which includes a CBIA-supported increase in the federal conforming loan limit. The loan limit increase means that federally guaranteed loans, which carry lower financing costs for homebuyers, will rise to $730,000 in California’s high-cost housing markets providing needed mortgage capital and, hopefully, much-needed stimulus to dormant home sales. The stimulus package, approved by a vote of 81 to 16, must go back to the House of Representatives for a vote - expected to be a formality - before its expected arrival on the President’s desk next week. More on this important development in next week’s Monday Morning Report. Thanks to all CBIA members who weighed in on the bill over the past several weeks.So what does this mean to the average home buyer? Lower interest rates on those high priced homes in California and other markets!

Here is the link to the entire article:

https://www.inman.com/inmanstories.aspx?ID=66047

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Welcome to Financial Resource

This is an open forum and blog to discuss everything related to finance and financial information. We will discuss how to make, spend, and manage money. We all learn from each others experience with managing money. Financial Resource invites you to subscribe and become an author to post your articles related to finance or simply to ask questions from the experts and authors on all matters related to finance including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401(k), retirement investments, mortgages, loans, credit cards, auto loans, refinancing your home loans, recession proof investing, real estate investing, and much much more. Visit frequently to review recent articles and post your comments.

We look forward to your visits!

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