Welcome to my blog! My name is Katrina, and a few years ago, I opened my own business. Unfortunately, due to really innocent errors on my part, I ended up with a huge tax bill – it was so unwieldy I had to shutter my business. However, I learned a lot from that experience. I took classes and read as many books as I could find on accounting and finances, and I spent a lot of time reading info from the taxation office's website. As a result of that diligence, I was able to open another business, and I take care of the accounting on my own practically perfectly. If you own a small business or are thinking about opening one, this blog is for you. Please explore and learn.
One of the things people delay is planning their finances so that when they retire, or something unexpected occurs, they are well-positioned to sustain their lifestyle. But if you've never sought the help of a financial consultant, you probably have a lot of questions regarding the kind of assistance and advice they can offer you. So with that in mind, here are some of the most common services that an independent financial planner can provide you.
Investment Advice—One of the ways in which an independent financial planner can help you is to offer you investment advice. Investing in the stock market, bonds and mutual funds can be daunting and overwhelming, but with the help of a financial planner, you can navigate through the fancy words to understand just where your money is going.
Many independent financial planning companies employ former members of stock exchanges as well as investment bankers who have spent years successfully investing money. In addition to investing in stock markets, mutual funds and bonds, financial planners can also provide advice on property investment, which remains one of the the steadiest ways to build wealth over a long period of time.
Financial planners can also determine if you are the type of investor who is risk-averse or risk-taking. Long-term bonds and stocks that have steady but low profit margins are best for risk-averse investors, whereas risk-taking investors may be more interested in high-yield bonds and stocks that also experience dramatic drops in shares.
Retirement Planning—One of the truisms that independent financial planners believe in is that If you don't plan for your retirement, you're planning to fail. Retirement planning isn't just about having enough savings for retirement, it's also about making your money create wealth even after you have stopped working.
Independent financial planners can offer you a number of retirement strategies, including life insurance that can act as a long-term investment account, ways to place your savings into high-interest yielding accounts, ways to maximise your work-based retirement accounts and ways to keep your future expenses from affecting the amount of money you can place into insurance and savings accounts.
Insurance Advice—One of the ways in which future earnings are derailed is ineffective insurance for catastrophic injuries or illnesses that render you unable to work. That's why independent financial planners are adept at suggesting insurance policies such as long-term disability care and catastrophic illness coverage that can replace your salary in the event that you suffer a devastating injury or illness. The ability to maintain your income is one of the keys to effective financial planning.
Share3 June 2015
