The Flaw In The Argument In Favor Of Credit Cards

Credit cards are powerful financial tools, however, if in the wrong hands, they can cause financial damage. People who have immaculate control over their spending tend to go overboard when it comes to credit card spending.

Here are the flaws in the reasoning:

Positive Incentives Too Small: Positive incentives such as interest earned and brownie points hardly add up to anything. If you run your usual household expenses with the card, you are likely to make an additional few dollars per month. The banks know it, which is why they give it to you. However, most people fail to realize that they are not going to make much by earning a few dollars in interest or getting a few gifts.

Tendency to Splurge: Research has shown that credit cards induce tendency to splurge. This is why a shopkeeper pays 3 percent off their margin to the card companies. An average American is known to spend 18 percent to 20 percent more with credit cards than with cash.

Convenient Options Leading To The Trap: Credit card companies offer you convenient minimum payment options. They then run usurious interest on remaining debt. Before you realize it, you are up to your neck in the credit card debt and may not have even spent most of the money.

Thinking of Your Retirement Plan

Retirement planning can begin at any age. Since everyone wish for a comfortable retirement it would not be possible without a right plan. A person should start planning his retirement as soon as he gets financially independent. The major concern for anyone’s retirement is financial security, which requires financial planning, commitment and money. A comprehensive retirement plan includes long-term growth oriented investment-linked insurance products, keeping rising cost of living in mind.

It is believed that one should not delay planning for retirement and the earlier the better. The more one suspends his retirement planning the more one needs to cut down the investment horizon. For instance, if you start saving at 25, then you will need 35 years of investment horizon if you aim to retire by 60. In order to diversify your investment portfolio and to reduce the risks, it is advisable to invest in debt instruments such as Provident Funds, fixed deposits and bonds that are issued by government or reputed financial institutions. Based on individual’s risk appetite, investment horizon and desired returns, one should be on a constant search for new and better opportunities for investment. With evolving financial markets, new instruments and investment opportunities are coming up that one can choose that would match one’s retirement plan. Gold has gained the confidence and trust of investors for a long time, and investing in gold has proved to be a safe haven for many. Considering the recent upside and further scope for higher returns, it would make sense to invest in gold ETF’s than in physical gold keeping retirement as your goal.

Another crucial aspect of your retirement planning is healthcare; when you are healthy, it is advisable to look for long-term care insurance. There are plenty of policies and schemes available in the market but it is recommended to take professional consultation before you enter in any contract. Finally, buying a house of your own may serve in two ways, mental satisfaction of asset creation and will serve as source for cash flow when you have no other source of income. This is called as `reverse mortgage’. Thus, retirement plan can liberate from post-retirement worries and will provide you and your loved ones a peaceful life.

Where To Keep Your Savings?

Savings are an important component of our financial life. This is because no person in the world makes money in the exact pattern that he wants to spend it in. For instance, when you are young and single, you might be making more money than what is required. On the other hand, when you are retired, you are making no money at all and require some to survive. Savings and investments are the key here. They help you avoid starvation and gluttony and live a predictable financial life.

Here are some maxims to remember when it comes to your savings:

Cash Is Trash: Keeping your holdings in cash and bank balances is simply unadvisable. You need to keep a certain amount to meet immediate liquidity requirements. However, keeping all of your money there at a single point in time is counterproductive. The interest rates offered by banks on savings accounts are always less than the inflation present in the market. Hence, you may be losing purchasing power. Your $100 may grow to $105, but it will buy goods worth less than $100 today. Hence saving in cash should not be your objective.

Invest In Real Assets: The best hedge against inflation is real assets that have a tangible existence, such as your house. Real estate grows in value over years. Even if it does not, it does provide you with stable passive cash flow. Gold and silver are known to be the best hedges against inflation. However, ensure that you hold them in physical form.

Invest In Paper Assets: Also ensure that you are well invested in the markets. Invest in a portfolio of stocks, mutual funds and bonds. Keep varying the percentages of asset allocation at different stages of your life.

It is important to save. However, it is even more important not to lose the purchasing power of your money when you save it.

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How to Find the Best Stocks to buy in 2012

The stock market is a vibrant place which is easily affected by various external factors such as, the overall global economic situation, and especially by the country’s economic standing. Even a remark by its spokesperson can affect this volatile market. As such when you plan to look for the best stocks to buy in 2012, it is important to evolve an investment strategy right now. Last year witnessed great upheaval in the market and the road ahead to 2012 is also likely to be rocky for stocks and bonds. You will need a new strategy and the right funds to be able to steer your way through the rough period ahead.

For an average investor, the best strategy will be to find the best stocks to buy in 2012, for which, it will be necessary to research all types of investment news and stock ratings. The focus should be on bond funds and stock funds, but the best bond funds should be more defensive and the best stock funds should be more conservative and able to generate income.

Since Europe and the U.S. are going through a difficult period being burdened by the sovereign debt and with hardly any economic growth, the only way to go forward will be to adopt defense as your weapon while looking for the best stocks to buy in 2012. If you can avoid being hit hard by losses now and till the end of 2012, you might be able to reap a good harvest when the storm dies down.

As far as the bond fund investment strategy is concerned, the best stocks to buy in 2012 will be to hold on to shorter-term high quality corporate bond funds instead of long-term funds because if the interest rates start increasing, the value of long-term bonds will slump. Moreover, corporate bond issues yield higher interest than U.S. Treasury notes and bonds and because the corporate world in the U.S. is in a much better condition than the U.S. government.

In the case of stocks, the best stocks to buy in 2012 will be equity income large-cap funds because they are invested in major corporations that have been known to pay above-average dividend yields. It is also necessary to avoid or sell equity stock funds that have high investment in growth and/or small company stocks.

Any reliable investment news will also advise you that in your list of best stocks to buy in 2012, you should not include gold, gold stocks and gold funds since gold’s price has escalated to a great extent and has become more of a speculation than a hedge against inflation or disaster. An insured account in your local bank will be a much better investment.

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Finance Enquiry – A Valuable Source of Authentic Investment Opinion

Investors now have a credible option to access authentic analyst ratings or analyst opinions online at www.financeenquiry.com. The site is particularly helpful for the serious investors as it covers a wide range of investment options ranging from equities, mutual funds, gold, silver, commodities, forex and ETFs. The site is already witnessing a steady rise in popularity and page rankings as more and more investors are logging in to get valuable investment opinion and advice.

Finance Enquiry is a dedicated business news portal specializing in presenting the latest and the most updated investment news, views and opinion, mainly covering North America and Europe. They source their information from a global network which includes some of the best financial institutions as well as a host of eminent analysts, investment banks and rating agencies. They have a dedicated team of journalists, specialized in business and finance that interpret and analyze the critical information for the benefit of the investors logging into the portal. ( Prlog.org )

The markets today are witnessing sustained lack of investor confidence mainly due to the beating that investors, big and small, have taken. As a result, every piece of market intelligence dished out by the scores of finance portals and publications is scrutinized intensely by the discernable investor community. In this scenario, sources like Finance Enquiry that captures investor attention on the basis of authentic and authoritative market information is like a breath of fresh air.

Finance Enquiry offers insightful, substantiated, authentic and up-to-date market news, views, updates and information that can certainly make a difference to the serious investor who is not looking for a quick buck, overnight. The kind of value that a substantive source like Finance Enquiry offers is generally understood by the patient investor, who doesn’t like to take undue risks. The bad times today are essentially the result of reckless investments by institutions and individuals alike. The content in this portal definitely suggests a cautious yet, dynamic approach towards investing. Investors that appreciate such a balanced approach will have the last laugh.

For More Visit : FinanceEnquiry.com
Also Read : Perfect time to invest in the stock market

Is Nissan the Next in Line of Fire of UAW?

The United Auto Workers (UAW) Union, which has already bagged contracts with three big auto makers in Detroit - GM, Ford and Chrysler, is now training its guns on foreign automakersí plants in the U.S. Itís most likely target is Nissan.

According to reliable sources, Nissan has already been discussed as a target for organizing by union leaders. Although the UAW has always been against organizing workers in foreign plants in the U.S., it is adopting different tactics this time.

Any decision will not be made by the unionís executive board, until it sees the automakers reaction to UAW demands to be allowed to pitch workers and let them vote on joining the union.

Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., BMW AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG and Hyundai Motor Co./Kia Motors Corp. have been asked by the union to let workers vote on union representation in a free election.

The UAW signed new four-year deals early in 2011 that did not include pay raises for most workers. Though, it opted for profit-sharing. The deals have resulted in the creation of thousands of extra jobs in those factories.

There has been a fall in membership of UAW to just more than 376,000, which is just a quarter of what it was in 1979. Last year it rose 6 percent, going up for the first time since 2004.

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Apple (AAPL) iPads Become Favorite Toys of Kids

Much more than what adults can do with an Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad, kids are finding it a great adjunct for their games and other applications. Toymakers are taking advantage of the situation and rolling out new ways in which kids can derive fun from using the iPads for their games.

Whether it is a free Disney app that allows kids to drive around on different courses by moving the car across the iPad screen or whether Crayola makes it convenient for kids to doodle on the iPad using its iMarker just like using a crayon on a coloring book, kids are finding a lot of avenues to play around.

The iPad also allows Tweens to enjoy their favorite Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez tunes on a Disney microphone that creates a karaoke machine out of the tablet. Moreover, teens can fly technology accessories company Griffin’s toy helicopter by using the iPhone as a remote control.

Toymakers have taken advantage of the versatile applications of the iPad and made it and the smartphone into playthings for kids. Their commercial rationale is based on the premise that with high unemployment rate and a weak economy, parents would not mind spending on toys for their kids that use devices like the iPad that they already have or want to have for themselves.

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Google to Close Admeld Deal after Clearing Antitrust Hurdle

With the Justice Department approving Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) purchase of Admeld Inc. on Friday, Google is confident of closing its purchase deal “in the coming days.” Google is expected to pay around $400 million for Admeld, an online display advertising-service provider.

As Google is increasing its influence in internet-related markets, its recent actions are receiving more and more scrutiny from antitrust regulators. When the company confirmed its deal to buy Admeld in June, the Justice Department asked for further information on the deal. The antitrust division of the Justice Department said Friday that it had received the necessary information from Google, Admeld and other market players during its investigation.

The division said in a statement that “After a thorough review of the evidence, the division concluded that the transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the sale of display advertising.”

The Justice Department said that during its investigations, it found that Web publishers depend on multiple display advertising platforms and are able to shuffle business among them in response to alterations in price or the quality of ad placements. Web publishers of online content are helped by Admeld to sell lower-priced advertising on their websites that they find difficult to sell on their own and thereby they get the tools to regulate who buys it.

Google’s shares went up recently by $5.12 to $618.97 and it generated nearly $30 billion in 2010, mainly from selling ads on its search engine.

Read More :  Google to Close Admeld Deal after Clearing Antitrust Hurdle