Pros

Annuities Are Safe. Annuities are perhaps the most safe investment money can buy. Since you’re protected against downside risk, and have some opportunities for capital appreciation, annuities are an excellent choice when safety matters most.

Annuities are Consistent. No other investment option allows future retirees to know exactly how much money they’ll get each month in retirement benefits, not even entitlement programs like social security which seem to have higher and higher age requirements as time goes on. Before purchasing an annuity, you’ll know exactly how much you’ll receive upon retiring, and that couldn’t be a better thing to know. Also make sure you shop around for the best annuity rates before committing as annuity rates can vary by provider. Consistency is key when it comes to your retirement.

Hands off Investing. Many investors flock to annuities because they’re largely hands off. You don’t have to adjust your portfolio weighting, nor do you need to check in or do any real research after the product is purchased. If you’re the kind of person who can’t be bothered to worry about your retirement plan, I’m sure a financial planner would be more than happy to manage it for you via an annuity.

Tax Free Growth. Capital invested in an annuity grows tax free until withdrawal, allowing you to compound your earnings without a tax burden. Compare that to individual stock picking outside a traditional retirement account like a 401k or IRA and you’ll see that your funds will grow faster in an annuity than in other, taxed investments.

Cons

Annuities Can Be Expensive. Don’t be fooled, safety, security, and consistency do have their price. Often, an annuity will cost you roughly 2-2.5% of your investment per year, well in line with high fee mutual funds and several times more expensive than an exchange-traded fund.

Surrender charges, fees on money withdrawn before reaching a certain time table (usually a decade) will cost as much as 7% of the amount of capital withdrawn. Also, expect to pay a few percentage points up front, which helps subsidize the financial planner selling you the annuity.

Annuities May Underperform. Annuities will certainly never drop in value, but they’re unlikely to beat any stock funds. Generally, annuities are good for about 1.5-2% more per year than the return of other fixed income investments like bonds. That return, though good, isn’t great, and an investor with a long term horizon is probably better off with a stock portfolio.

Tax Free Growth has Disadvantages. The ability to grow your wealth tax-free, until you withdraw of course, also means that instead of paying long term capital gains taxes, you’ll be paying personal income taxes. Annuities, as far as taxes go, are considered income rather than a capital gain, and the difference can be as much as 20%. The good news, or bad depending on how you look at it, is that capital gains taxes are on the rise, and by the time you retire, capital gains and income taxes could be equal.

But investing in overseas bank stocks isn’t just a lark. You’re playing with real money here. And the potential to lose your investment is as every bit as real as is the chance that you’ll strike it rich. So before you sink your investing dollars in overseas stocks, make sure that you’ve done your research and that you know exactly in what you’re investing.

The big problem with investing in overseas bank stocks is an obvious one: If you don’t live in the country in which you’re investing, if you don’t follow the local news there, you run the risk of making an uninformed investing decision. And it is these decisions, the one where you don’t come into a situation armed with the necessary knowledge, that usually turn out to be costly ones.

For instance, Standard & Poor’s recently downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of both Portugal and Spain. At the same time, Greece is suffering through a dramatic financial crisis that has sent its stocks spinning. Investors who had their money in the bank stocks of any of these countries have certainly suffered some significant losses.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that investors anywhere won’t suffer losses, even when they invest in their own country’s stocks. That’s just the nature of investing. But when you’re investing your money in your own country’s stock markets, you at least have some rudimentary knowledge upon which to base your investing decisions. You may know that the country is suffering through a housing slump or record levels of unemployment, and this might impact the way in which you invest.

When you’re investing in overseas bank stocks, though, you often don’t know the most important events taking place in a country. This might lead you to make bad investing decisions.

The solution is obvious: Either you don’t invest in overseas markets or you do your research. You can research for free by reading international newspapers and financial reports online. Or you can work with a licensed financial planner who can advise you on the most stable, and potentially lucrative, of overseas bank stocks.

Investing in overseas bank stocks can prove financially rewarding. It can also prove exceptionally risky. Do your homework first, and you’ll enhance your chances of ending up in the “rewarding” camp.

Tax preparation services such as H&R Block make a tidy profit each year on tax refund loans. Basically, customers sign up for these when they don’t want to wait for their actual tax refunds from the IRS to arrive in their mailboxes.

The problem is that tax refund loans, also known as refund anticipation loans, don’t come free. The companies that provide them charge interest rates, often high ones. They might also charge service fees, fees that can also be rather high. In other words, if you can’t wait for your real tax refund, you’ll be getting less money, far less money in some cases, in your pocket with a tax refund loan.

This is why public advocates want to see state governments pass regulations governing the way tax refund loans operate. Basically, these advocates want to cap the interest rates that companies can charge for these loans. Critics say that the companies passing out tax refund loans are preying disproportionately on poor taxpayers. Many of these people are desperate for quick cash to keep the heat on in their homes or to keep food on the family dinner table.

They’re desperate, desperate enough to overlook the often exorbitant interest rates that tax refund loan providers charge them.

In many ways, the criticisms levied at companies who provide tax refund loans mirror those used against companies that originate payday loans. These two loan types, too, have more than a few similarities. They both come with high interest rates, and they both have drawn the ire of consumer advocates.

If you can at all avoid having to take out a tax refund loan, you’ll end up ahead of the game. Why throw away your money on high interest rates or fees? Wait for your real tax refund if at all possible. The government is fairly quick when it comes to sending out refund checks. Can’t you wait two or three weeks if it means that you’ll receive a larger check?

The companies that pass out tax refund loans know that they’re a bad deal. Deep down, you probably know this, too. Don’t make a costly mistake. Avoid the temptation to sign up for a tax anticipation loan. You’re entitled to a refund. Just make sure you get all of it.

That doesn’t mean that paying for insurance, whether it be car, homeowners, life or health, is a pleasant task. In today’s tough economic times, consumers want to spend as little money as possible. You look for discounts on everything from cars to Medifast coupons, so insurance shouldn’t be any different right? Fortunately, with a little research, consumers can take advantage of significant discounts offered by their insurers. These individual discounts can add up to big savings each year.

For instance, many insurance companies offer significant discounts if you bundle your policies with them. This means that you’ll pay less for your monthly homeowners premium if you also take out life insurance or auto insurance with the same insurance carrier. The good news is that many insurance companies offer a wide range of policies. The potential for significant savings, then, is quite large.

Give up smoking. This makes sense for life insurance and health insurance. After all, smokers tend to die earlier and need more medical care during their lives. This is costly for insurers, so they charge smokers more for their health and life insurance policies. But non-smokers can also save money on their homeowners insurance. That’s because cigarettes are the biggest cause of home fires. Insurers know this. It’s why they charge smokers more money for their policies.

Be safe. You can save a significant amount of money on auto insurance by installing a car alarm or some other form of theft-deterrent device. This cuts down on the chances of your car being stolen, something that auto insurers appreciate. You can also qualify for a discount from your auto insurer if you commute to work, park your car in a secured parking lot or garage over night and drive it fewer miles each year.

Safety plays a big role in your homeowners’ policy, too. By installing a security system with your home, you make it less likely that your home will be burglarized. This makes you a lower risk for your property insurer, who will reward you with a lower premium price.

Saving on insurance costs requires that you do some research. But by taking advantage of the discounts offered by your insurers, you can save a significant amount of money each year.

There are numerous investment options in the business world. The only secret to making good money within a short period of time is by applying short-term investment strategies. A good business person would begin by seeking an understanding of what a short-term investment is. Short-term investment funds are funds that tend to mature within a period of less than one or two years. The investment should be known to be of high quality and low risk. There are certain tips that a business person can use in order to succeed in their investment strategies.

How to double up your money
Charlie Munger came up with a wise investment strategy whereby a person can benefit by making investments within a short duration. His tips to successful investment are essential in enriching your investment knowledge. All investors must keep in mind that the risk they take in making investments must be measured at all times. Weighing the risk factor can enable you to have a rough idea of how much you might earn or lose in the deal.

It is also important for business investors to get sound advice and to prepare themselves by learning and researching on information concerning short term investments. As they begin making quick money, they should apply the value of patience. Every investor must acknowledge the fact that they are naive in short term investment operations. In order for you to double your money within a short period, you must be a business analyst rather than a securities analyst. The allocation of costs must be based on opportunity costs. Finally, doubling your money goes a long way to building your personal confidence as well.

Making Use Of Short Term Investments
If you are a an enthusiastic investor, seeking to carry out a short term investment, the first step you are required to take is to seek advise and help from a financial advisor. He or she may recommend incredible investment opportunities for you. You do not have to sweat about making your short duration-investments. After applying their advice you will now be good to go.

Let the money accumulate as it gains a significant interest in the course of the period of investment. Once your savings have come to term, you will notice the interest earned on the money you have invested. It is now your responsibility to make a choice on the amount you are willing to investment within your fund. All investors must take note that greater investment deals hold greater risks in investment. However, the only way they can manage to prosper and earn more out of their investments is by taking advantage of the increased funds.

Problem is, none of these companies can boost your credit scores. And they certainly can’t do it overnight. The for-profit credit-repair industry is a scam.

Here’s the truth: The only person who can improve your credit score is you. You are the only one who can take the steps necessary to turn a low score into one that will guarantee you the lowest interest rates and best loan products.

Today’s mortgage, auto and personal loan originators rely on your three-digit credit score, also known as your FICO score, to determine if you have been a responsible borrower in the past. If you have been, they’re more likely to lend your money at reasonable interest rates. In general, borrowers with a credit score of 720 or higher will qualify for the best interest rates. Those with scores below 620 will almost always be relegated to the world of sub-prime loans, where they’ll be stuck with higher interest rates and fees.

Because credit scores have become so important, an entire cottage industry of credit-repair firms has hit the scene. These companies, who haunt late-night TV and radio, promise that they can instantly boost your credit score. They promise to lead you away from the sub-prime loans into the rarified world of “A”-paper lending.

Too bad it’s all false. There are three ways in which you can increase your credit score. First, you can order your free credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and study them carefully for any mistakes. If you find a missed car payment that you know you made on time, you can notify the national credit bureaus in writing. Once the bureaus remove that mark against you, your score will improve.

Secondly, you can start paying all your bills on time all the time. This will gradually increase your credit score. So will paying down your monthly revolving – usually credit card – debt.

Unfortunately, none of these steps will hike your scores immediately. Credit repair is a long process that requires patience. You may have to wait a year or more for your score to rise high enough to make borrowing money for a house or car a financially sound move.

These steps are all also ones that you can take on your own, without the help of any outside credit repair company. Never pay an outside company to do what can do on your own for free.

There are numerous advantages to buying a house rather than renting one. The best time to purchase a home is when you are ready to settle down; otherwise, if you move in just a couple years after buying a home, you are likely to lose money in the process.

If you buy a home instead of rent a home, and depending on the type of mortgage loan that you take out, your monthly payment will never increase. When you rent a home, you are looking at annual increases of 5% to 8% due to the economy. Therefore, over a period of a few years, if a renter has a rental payment of around $800 and a homeowner has a mortgage payment of approximately $1,000 – who do you think will be better off in the long run? The homeowner will because he or she will not have price increases on their monthly payment.

Now as you can see from the above example, starting out your monthly payment will likely be more, but you can develop equity in your home over time as well as indulge tax savings. Depending on how you build your home, or improvements that you do to your home, you may be able to receive tax reductions/rebates at the end of the year – this is primarily if you “go green.”

When you buy a home, you also of free reign over landscaping, decorating, etc. If you don’t like the colors on the walls, you can change them with no consequences. You can add shrubs, plants, trees, etc. anywhere you want in your yard with no consequences. Anything that you want to do to your home you can with no consequences at all. However, if you were renting, you could lose your deposit or if you signed your lease agreement saying you wouldn’t plant anything in the yard and you do so anyway, you could be evicted from your rental home.

The last advantage that I’m going to discuss today is the safety and security of knowing that one day your payments will end. When you are renting a house, you will have a payment every month for the rest of your life until you decide to purchase a home. If you are buying a home, sure you may have a monthly payment for 10-30 years (depending on your loan term), but the payments will stop in the future at some point.

Although you do have responsibilities when buying a home that you do not have when renting, such as property taxes, maintenance fees, equity loss, and foreclosure, buying a house is much better than renting if you plan on living in the area for quite a while. It allows you to secure a place in the community for you and your family.

Individuals, especially those just turning 18, can’t afford to purchase new things but they assume that with a credit card they can afford it. This isn’t the case. They end up getting a credit card, maxing it out immediately, and then not being able to make the minimum payments each month. This immediately starts destroying your credit.

There are ways to establish your credit without applying for a credit card. Let’s take a look at a few of these ways below.

One of the first things you need to do is to order a credit report – you can do this free once a year. The reason you need to do this is to ensure that you don’t have anything on your credit that shouldn’t be there.

Once you’ve checked out your credit report, checking and savings account are probably the first priority for young adults seeking to establish credit from scratch without a credit card. Bank accounts are a sign of stability for lenders so open one up and keep it in good standing.

Another great way to establish a credit history is to have someone co-sign a loan for you. However, first things first, make certain you can make the payment. If you can’t make the payment, make sure there will be someone else that can help you out and make the payment on time for you until you can pay them back. This will show up on their credit report as well as yours and is probably one of the simplest methods of establishing credit quickly.

There are pre-paid debit/credit cards that you can purchase. You may also know them as secured credit cards. You are practically lending the funds to yourself. You can simply add funds to the card and you don’t ever have to worry about going over and spending too much because you’ll only be permitted to spend the amount that you funded to the card to begin with, which is known as your spending limit. This is an easy way to establish credit (make sure they report to the credit bureaus though as some may not) and keep your head above water.

If you are on your own, in your own apartment or house, make sure you make your rental payment on time as well as your utility bills. More often than not, these places will report the information to the credit bureaus.

One final tip to help you establish your credit score rather than hurt it, do not keep applying for credit cards and other credit accounts as each time you apply, your credit score dwindles just a little bit. If you are trying to establish a good credit score without the use of a credit card, then you definitely don’t want to hurt it in any way during the process.

Above all, just remember to be patient – it takes time to establish credit.