Having financial management goals is important, because it allows the investor to make informed financial decisions that must be made in order to hit those goals. Understand the two goals of financial management through the tips and advice from anexperienced businessman in this free video. Expert: Patrick Munro Contact: www.northstarnavigator.com Bio: Patrick Munro is a registered financial consultant (RFC) with outstanding sales volume of progressive financial products and solutions to the …

You would be a great help for answering this. Thanks!

1. Do you believe there is a product out there that educates people on personal finance effectively?

2. If so, do you believe these products are priced fairly?

3. If given the choice, would you participate in a membership forum that promotes financial literacy through progression programs, meaningful discussions, and award honors?

4. How much do you think is a reasonable price to join a forum like the one described in the last question?

5. What type of information would you like to see if this forum existed?

The number and variety of investment products that are accessible today is staggering and to the average investor, attempting to understand which one is right for you can be a tough task. There are various risks and rewards that go along with each one. One can feel that in order to understand each product requires an advanced degree, but you can improve your odds of success by doing your research.

You may have heard some investment advisers or institutions talk about a diversified portfolio. Having different types of investments instead of just one type helps to protect your money by diluting the risk. You can think of it in terms of being a multi-legged approach to investing. One prong or type of investment may be composed of stocks, bonds, and savings.

Commodities make up the second type of investment product. These are goods such as oil, gold and silver. They can result in substantial returns but at the cost of very high risk. Commodities are usually left to the experienced investor who has time to closely watch the market because they are very volatile.

Real estate has traditionally been a solid investment but not everyone has the funds to go out and start buying property. To apply the Toronto residential real estate market as an example the average cost of a home is over $300,000 with commercial properties being even more. This is where Real Estate Investment Certificates, or REITs come into play.

These are entities that go out and buy property or interests in hotels, office buildings, shopping malls and even mortgages. REITs themselves come in various forms to suit your investment style. REITs that are invested in physical real estate are called Equity REITs. The rents that are charged generate income. To use Toronto as an example again you may have shopping centers with a Wal-mart, Home Depot, Payless shoes etc. that are all leasing buildings from the property owners. All together these Toronto properties are all generating income from rents for the REIT and its investors. Mortgage REITs, however, comprises of investing, or lending, of mortgage money to property owners or developers. If you can’t decide which one you prefer you can choose to get a hybrid REIT which is a combination of the two.

One risky type of real estate invest is known as an option. This is simply a buyer is making what’s known as an “option for consideration”. The option entails an offer to buy real estate if certain conditions are fulfilled such as financing or inspections. During this period the property is taken off of the market in return for a small amount of money as a deposit. This can be risky because the buyer may be forced to forfeit their deposit if the conditions are not fulfilled. On the upside the buyer could earn a quick and substantial profit if they can quickly sell their option to a third party. To do this right a buyer needs to research the market thoroughly.

It can be confusing at times but the more you know the better off you will be. Long term investing is the key and real estate has proven to be a good vehicle for investors and even with the many possible risks involved it is considered to be the least risky when set side by side with other types of investments. And as such it is vital to include it in your investment portfolio.

I’ve heard of diversifying and that some investments (like savings accounts and CD’s) simply earn interest and are supposedly completely safe, particularly if FDIC insured, but I know little about stocks, bonds, and other types of investments. What do you consider the safest investment(s) and in what combination?

Not everyone is aware of the newer laws regarding capital gains when it comes to selling your home for a profit. You may be ready to downsize or invest in a home in Yuma instead of the stock market or other entity. Whatever your reason for selling, you need to know what benefits you can realize. The last thing you want to lose in a real estate transaction is a tax advantage. Needless to say anything tax related may have complications and restrictions. If you don’t fully understand all of the laws, be sure to hire a well-schooled and experienced real estate tax accountant.

Just to refresh your memory or to educate you if you don’t know the basics; married couples may exclude $500,000 dollars of profit on the sale of a home, and singles or married people filing separately are allowed a $250,000 exclusion on their profit. There are no limits as to the number of times you can claim these exclusions, but there are some restrictions you need to pay close attention to.

In the past you could use the exclusion only once, but now you have unlimited access. In other words you can keep buying and selling homes for a profit within the monetary guidelines as many times as you choose. The two caveats are:

• You have to own and live in the house for two years out of five before you sell it. That means that during the two years it serves as your main home. In the case of those that are married, only one of them needs to live in the house. There are more specific rules that apply in the case of legal separations and divorce. These are best taken up with your accountant or the IRS.

• As mentioned, the parties must inhabit the house for at least two years, but this isn’t always possible due to certain conditions. The IRS calls these safe harbors. Some of them pertain to health, job changes, and the catchall phrase “unforeseen circumstances”. These or course can confuse anyone, so once again you want to make sure you’re advised by an expert. In fact they’re so poorly explained that even some IRS personnel don’t fully understand them.

Even if you don’t qualify for one of the safe harbor exclusions, don’t give up. You may be able to prove to the IRS that you do indeed qualify. It may not be easy, but you want to do everything possible to take advantage of these tax laws meant to help you.

By the way, primary residences may be single family homes, condominiums, or town homes. They must have at a minimum a place to sleep, cooking facilities, and a toilet.

The main thing to remember is to keep every receipt for anything pertaining to the home. Real estate commissions that you pay, improvements, legal fees, title search cost, and areas you fix up, may all qualify as tax write offs and make your profit less…a plus for you. The IRS requires proof, so hang on to everything you even think may be important.

If you work these laws to the best advantage you can keep buying and selling homes in Yuma and generate a secure retirement nest egg.

I know nothing about personal finance. My parents never taught me and I need a complete introuduction to budgeting, saving, and investing. Step by step guidande kind of stuff. Does any have advice?

Let’s start this out by learning what a capital gain is. A capital gain is considered the difference between what you paid for your investment and what you received as a return on that same investment.

The United States government already offers many homeowners all kinds of tax breaks. The biggest ones are the property tax deductions and the mortgage interest. Now if you’re a home seller you also have a great advantage. You won’t owe the government anything off the sale of your home. The way it works is like this. When you decide to sell your home and your single you can make up to a $250,000 profit and not have to worry about paying any capital gain taxes. What’s even better is if you’re married you can make up to $500,000 in profit and not owe a dime. Many home sellers are shocked by this huge break. You can utilize this new law an unlimited number of times. There are still some requirements that need to be met. The first requirement is the home has to be your principal residence. It doesn’t apply to investment housing. You also must live in the home for at least two out of the five years prior to the sale of it.

The first step in the calculation of capital gains in Canada is you need to determine whether or not the property sold was capital property and then determine if the proceeds of this sale exceed the total sum of the adjusted cost base. Adjusted cost base along with the expenses that were incurred at the time of the sale. Claiming any type of reserve or any kind of capital gains deduction could have an affect on your capital gain reporting as well as your capital gain tax amount. If the payment will be received over several years claiming a reserve will allow you to report any capital gains from only the portion of the proceeds of the disposition you had received during that year. The lifetime total exemption for any person is $250,000. This isn’t too bad especially if you made a small investment.

Money Saving Secrets

Cutting Corners and Saving Thousands

When Jean found out she was pregnant, she wanted to figure out how she could stay home and raise her child. She and her husband, Joe, sat down and began to plan their future. First, they decided to move across the border from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Just by moving, the taxes went from $7,000 to $2,900 — a drop of more than half. Not only did they find a house, they found their dream house atop an acre of wooded property. Still, they needed to change every aspect of their lives to accommodate their life decision.

One easy change they made was taking their trash to the dump, instead of having it picked up. Just by taking this trip, they now save $500 a year. Jean decided to get rid of her car loan and get a used, reliable minivan, which saved her $3,600 a year. Groceries, too, can be bargained. Using an online grocery site, Jean bids on her groceries and spends half the price. She then goes to her grocery store of choice. With her prepaid list, she picks up her groceries. What a deal! Change of season equals more savings. Jean bought her son’s winter wardrobe for the next several years by buying sweat suits in various sizes. They usually retail from $10—$20, but she bought them for $1.50! She also trades clothes with her neighbor to cut corners.

Even on a budget, Jean still enjoys her luxuries. She. Instead of getting her nails done weekly, she gets them done twice a month and uses her loves manicures handy coupons.

Sometimes she gets tired of being it the bargain hunter, but once she catches a glimpse of her son in his stylish outfits, she knows it’s all worth.

Discuss the attitude for personal finance base on the “Can You Afford It?” section

I am sick and tired of seeing my stock portfolio sometimes decreasing a few thousand dollars in one day. I am always looking for new stock investments. Which large corporate stocks are still available that have always made a profit and still have profit growth, have a low PE ratio, pay a dividend that will not be cut, have little or no debt on their balance sheet, and will be safe in this bad economy that we are facing. Provide the ticker symbols of these stocks and the reasons why the stock of these companies should be purchased.