High Yield Safe Investments
August 5, 2009
You will likely find several investment offerings ranging from tax liens to real estate funds yielding 12% or more that are commonly solicited. The fine print likely suggests that the investor bears all risk associated with such offerings. So much for safety!
If you want true safety, you really are stuck with government notes, certificates of deposits etc. As of this writing, five-year yields for treasury bills are under 2% and CDs average around 3%. For safety these days, high-yields go out the window as well.
Many investors who either need a place to stuff cash or need to ditch the volatility of the current markets are having a hard time finding the best of both worlds: a high-yield safe investment. Read more
What is Variable Annuity Advantages?
August 5, 2009
Let’s keep it simple and list the most apparent positive and negative features of variable annuities to see how they relate to each other and whether they suit your specific needs.
Positives:
Unlimited Contribution: This point is almost never discussed. Unlike other retirement plans (IRA, 401K etc.) variable annuities have no limit to the contribution amount in any given year. This makes variable annuities a great place to allocate larger sums of money rather than being subject to the typical annual contribution limits. Read more
Analysis of Annuity Rates
August 5, 2009
There are some key interest rate components to focus on that should filter out the irrelevant information and make the decision process quite a bit easier. Since variable and equity-indexed annuities float with the stock market, a broad focus on interest rate components is irrelevant. Let’s focus on Fixed Annuities.
There are four key interest rate components in an annuity contract. This should help investors understand where to direct the most attention.
Base Guaranteed Rate: This is the contractual minimum rate that the annuity will yield. This rate will range from 1-3.5% except in the case of a CD-Type Annuity, which will lock a higher rate for the life of the contract.
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Avoiding Bankruptcy Tips
August 5, 2009
The Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act was passed in early 2005 with the intention of reforming American bankruptcy law as we know it. The existing laws, according to Congress and the credit card companies, granted too many debtors who might be capable of repaying at least some of their debts to have them wiped away by the courts. The new law was intended, rightly or wrongly, to eliminate the “bankruptcy of convenience” that allowed many consumers to run up huge debts without repaying them.
Under the new law, filing is much more difficult, time consuming and expensive; so much so that it has discouraged many would-be filers from seeking debt relief through the courts.
Given that debt relief through the bankruptcy courts is now so much more difficult, it makes sense that consumers with mounting bills might want to seek alternatives. In order to do that, debtors need to find some other way to manage their increasing debt. Below are a few tips that might help consumers avoid filing for bankruptcy. Read more