Tips To Choosing A Financial Education Consultant

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The main goal of a financial education consultant is to help organizations capably and productively implement financial literacy programs. They help organizations choose curriculum that is a good fit for the participants. Our current economic situation makes it vital for colleges, schools, nonprofits, and other organizations who understand the importance of providing our youth with a practical financial education to use the services of a financial education consultant.

The job of a financial education consultant is to evaluate current fiscal literacy initiatives and the audience the financial literacy courses are being delivered to. They evaluate your goals, objectives and examine the direction you want to take your financial literacy program. Then a consultant will make recommendations so the financial program runs smoothly and successfully accomplishes your organizations goals.

A financial consultant should also help to save your organization money. Often they provide turnkey solutions to your financial literacy program needs. A consultant can provide financial literacy curriculum, financial camps, financial educator training and resources to help you receive sponsorships and grant money.

Consultants not only help organizations develop training programs but they also help them deliver ‘money skill’ training more effectively. Just one simple tip like relating money to lifestyle can make a big difference in the rentention of the material taught.

Today’s youth are not focused on just “money.” It’s what money allows them to do that motivates our children to learn about personal finance. Uncover their personal dreams and find out how they want to live their day-to-day life. Then relate their aspirations to earning and managing money to help them reach their goals faster. This little adjustment can make the difference so that people are motivated to take positive action.

With the recent economy there is a major shortage of financial education consultants. With the current trend to provide more and more people with a life changing financial education this is a career that offers a bright future.

There are many organizations that need financial education consultants to educate their students, employers and people they serve. It is advised to work with a certified financial educator that understands the needs of the organization. Once they receive their financial education consultant designation they have the skill sets needed to create holistic financial education programs that can meet a wide variety of objectives.

Certified financial education training is extensive because a financial education consultant must have mastery of many areas. They need to know how to teach financial literacy programs, evaluate the effectiveness, how to fund financial literacy programs, evaluate teachers, design financial literacy lesson plans, build financial education based business and a host of other responsibilities.

A financial education consultant is committed to helping organizations effectively implement financial literacy programs. Their role includes saving time and money as well as ensuring these organizations provide practical financial literacy instruction so the participants maximize the benefits they receive from the program.

What Is Holistic Financial Planning

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One of the newer phrases to find its way into the vocabulary of today’s more progressive financial planners is holistic financial planning. So what does it mean and why now? Also is this newer type of all inclusive financial planning something that you can benefit by?

In broader terms, holistic financial planning identifies and takes into consideration the entirety of a clients financial situation both present and on into the future. When the client receives completely inclusive or complete holistic advice, they are far better able to make decisions that insure that their total objectives are more realistically obtained.

In the past far too many financial planners and their clients took a far more narrowly focused approach to Financial Planning. Each consideration was held out and dealt with separately. One by one increments or facets of a persons finances would be analyzed and dealt with as a singular unit. In the end it was felt that all the pieces would fall together correctly and they often did.

How Holistic Financial Planning Works

With holistic financial planning however, all aspects of clients finances, goals, lifestyle and ideals are brought together at once and analyzed as a whole. A much bigger picture is viewed, if you will and also other peripheral aspects and factors such as clients principles are entered into the equation as well. Something that was rarely done in the past.

Holistic financial planning begins with a preliminary financial advisory process that includes an initial fact finding stage. This initial stage of the process is geared towards assessing a clients likes and dislikes, general opinions, goals both short and long term. Also during this initial fact finding stage, information such as a clients risk tolerance is also gathered and filed for analysis. Then after the necessary preliminary information has been gathered, it’s on to the next phase.

This secondary stage would be the strategy recommendation stage, where all of the data gathered is used to formulate an inclusive and objective strategy that takes all into account. In this stage the clients objectives and goals are prepared and laid out with a focus on creating wealth, debt management, taxation plans, estate planning and of course risk.

While this process may sound simple on the surface, it’s not. In fact in some cases the entire preliminary review can involve several meetings and in the end what is arrived at must also be approved by the client. As these meetings and review sessions unfold, often times a client will be given several options to choose from, such that in the end the final plan meshes seamlessly with their principles and values.

The final phase of the holistic financial planning process involves the monitoring/review process. As previously indicated, this a continuous and ongoing function in which benchmarks the applied overall plans outcomes and performance levels, factored against the clients perceived goals and objectives.

This ongoing process includes periodic portfolio value assessment reports, workshops and seminars, portfolio review meetings and strategy sessions and of course the end of year pre-taxation strategy and planning sessions. So hopefully now you can see that it’s a system that provides holistic advice for clients geared towards growth, security and peace of mind.

Federal Government Financial Assistance Programs For Debt Relief Or Grants

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Nowadays, you can get the financial help you need with the federal government financial assistance programs for debt relief or grants. These are being given out by the United States Federal government to its American citizens in order to give assistance to those who are on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. The money for these grants is taken from the funds which the government has allocated for this purpose every year.

There are now so many different government grants which are being given out. While there are grants which are intended to help homeowners and single mothers, there are also grants which can give financial support to those who truly need it. People who will receive this grant money can use it then to repay their debt so that they can be free from it.

The reason why the government is giving away this help is because they want to help their citizens. As long as an individual is a legal American citizen who is over 18 years old, he can already apply for the grant. All he needs to do is to submit the necessary documents for application so that he can have a shot at getting the help he needs.
If you are among the many American citizens who have lost their jobs as a result of the global economic downfall, there is hope waiting for you. The debt relief grants can help you find a way out of filing for bankruptcy. This is because bankruptcy is the last solution and will not benefit anybody. Instead, the government wants to give you the financial help you need so you can start anew and repay your current debt.

Through the leadership of US President Barack Obama, many Americans are being given a second chance. Many individuals are getting the help they need with their current debts. Not only that the other government grants being given away has given hope to the many beneficiaries. For many people, this is just the help they need to have a fresh start with their lives.

Aside from losing your job, you may have also encountered a serious health problem which has left you scrambling for money. For this reason, federal government financial assistance programs for debt relief or grants are the best solution for your financial dilemma. When you get approved for this grant money, you can be able to stand on your own two feet once again.

Debt Consolidation Loans – The Solution To Your Financial Problems

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A debt consolidation loan is meant to help people that have defaulted, missed payments or fear that this may be true in a near future. If this is your current situation, here are some guidelines on how to face debt and your bad credit situation and which options are available for you to escape from the debt trap. Missed payments and default usually happen because someone has failed to take into consideration unexpected circumstances that can arise and prevent successfully paying one’s debts. It is essential for this people to get out of debt; otherwise further spending will severely compromise their credit capacity and even risk bankruptcy.

Even though there are many ways to get out of debt, not all of them are available for everyone. Sometimes reducing expenditures while meeting costly loan payments is impossible, and since some expenditures are unavoidable they default. For those with bad credit, it is hard to get a loan and bad credit loans are an option that is not always a solution and sometimes adds up to the problem due to the high interest rates.

Bad Credit Loans

Failing to pay (even if you just miss out one or two payments) affects your credit score and is recorded in your credit history. Though you may obtain a loan with bad credit, you will either have to bear with higher interest rates or put your house as collateral thus risking losing it if you continue to miss payments.

Though bad credit loans carry higher interest rates or the risk of repossession, they are sometimes the only option for those who cannot get regular loans. If you have too many stains on your credit history and you think you will not be able to be approved for a regular loan, then you can seek a bad credit loan lender.

There is another way of reducing the interest rate charged on this kind of loans that does not imply offering an asset as collateral. This is especially helpful for non homeowners who would not be able to offer collateral anyway. Getting the aid of a co-signer (a good credit one is better) will guarantee that you get approved and the interest rate will also be reduced as this person acts as a guarantor of your debt.

Debt Consolidation Loans

On the other hand, a debt consolidation loan will reduce your payments, your debt and your creditors to one. You will get to repay the loan in smaller monthly installments for a larger period of time. If you can offer some kind of collateral you will even get smaller rates making it easier getting out of debt in a near future if your income increases.

If you feel that bills and debt have leaded you to a trap you can not get out of but you know you can make the sacrifices to reduce or control your spending in order to meet only one payment and avoid getting into more debt, a debt consolidation loan is the right option for you. You will avoid the appalling consequences of a bankruptcy and yet get a fresh start.

Wealth Management Services Vital For Achieving Your Financial Goals

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Wealth management services include a wide range of advisory services for investment and financial portfolio planning. There are several advantages that come with proper financial planning and wealth management. Some of these include reduction in tax liability, better managing of assets and earning higher yields on investments. Whether you are a customer seeking financial advice or a high-net-worth individual, the services of wealth managers allow specialized counseling and efficient planning. It is always recommended to hire competent wealth management professionals that have practical experience in the industry. They do a lot more than simply recommending best performing investments or mutual funds. Investments are an important part of financial plan and they analyze the different strategies available to recommend the best ones according to the amount of taxes that one needs to pay. Tax reduction strategies are highly useful in improving the financial position.

A diverse portfolio prepared by professionals of wealth management firm helps you in protecting your assets from mortgages, creditors and much more. Estate planning is also a component of wealth management. With proper estate planning, you can make things much easier for you and your family while settling your estate. The professionals analyze your current short term and long term financial goals. They are experienced in the field and are expert in predicting future movement of finances. They recommend actions that work to improve your existing financial strategies. The detailed plan of action prepared by professionals help you to achieve your financial goals. There are several wealth management firms run by experienced professionals and internet is an ideal medium to find them from the comfort of your home.

Michael K. Farr is the President of Farr, Miller & Washington, LLC and approaches investment through a long-term strategy. He utilizes his years of experience in the field to offer the best services to his clients. He is well familiar with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly challenges of investing on Wall Street in a tumultuous political and economic climate. He strives to offer most efficient wealth management services to the best prices to his clients.