Role Of Personal Financial Planning

So what role does personal financial planning play? It can be quite a lot to think about, but in essence, it simply asks the question of “What is personal financial planning”. Another question that it asks is “What is in it for me?”. Anyway, what should your personal financial plan consists of? The following information is a guide for the individual and one should take note of individual circumstances in their own context.

Basically, personal financial planning will take into account the following areas: budgeting, savings and investment, insurance, management of “big-ticket” items, cash-flow management. A good financial planning book will let you know that a good financial plan starts with budgeting, and it is true. A budget enables you to decide how much you can spend and keep. Of course, the main idea is to ensure that your outgoings (expenses) do not exceed your incomings (income). This will create excess funds with which to save and invest.

Savings and investment are similar, yet different in its objectives. Both are money left over; after your expenses are deducted from your income, and kept for certain objectives. But that is where the similarity ends. The difference between both lies mainly in their objectives and time frame. Essentially, savings are meant to be and can be withdrawn at a moment’s notice or within a short time-frame. The returns from savings tend to be quite low. Just think of how much your bank savings account can get you. Investments tend to be less liquid (depending on the type of investment instruments) and have a longer time frame. The returns from investment can be much higher than savings, but so is the risk level. Depending on the type of investment, one may lose even the capital sum.

Insurance must definitely be part of robust personal financial planning. A big portion of the role of personal financial planning is to make sure that one has the ability to carry on living in case of some unfortunate events, both big and small. In essence, insurance provides a safety net to provide some form of financial assistance when one meets with events like accidents, disabilities or illnesses. One major way which insurance can help is that it also provides peace of mind, knowing that financial assistance is at hand in the event when things do not go the way it should be. This peace of mind leaves one with the energy and confidence to move forward to do the things we need to do.

Think very carefully when deciding on purchase for “big-ticket” items. These items could really be essentials like houses or cars for transportation. Yet other items may be considered luxury items like expensive sound systems. There is really no right or wrong answer on what are the “right” items one can purchase. Everybody buys things for for their own reasons – some which may seem totally irrational to outsiders. However, as a guide, the main rule of thumb in personal financial planning is never to put out cash for something you cannot afford.

Making purchases on credit is usually not a good idea. The credit card companies do a marvelous job of convincing us that spending on credit is alright and that we should not delay our purchases until we can afford to buy them in cash. Spending future money (that is what spending on credit means), and in the process chalking up consumer debt is really not sound. Usually, the right choice will be to delay the purchases until you can afford to buy them with the money you already have.

There are of course exceptions to this rule of thumb on financial planning. But the exceptions are not many. One main exception is the use of credit to purchase a property to stay or for investment. Not many people can afford to pay up a house purchase at one go. A person may have to wait a whole life-time if he intends to wait until he can fully pay for it in one lump-sum cash. Buying property for investment may be a good idea if you know what you are doing. The essential is that what you pay to the bank in bank loan and interests is more than offset by the returns on the property purchase. This is the concept of using “other people’s money” to make money for yourself. There are a lot more details to look at in this type of investment. So do proceed with much caution.

The role of financial planning is simply this – to allow you to follow your own personal financial plan based on your own financial and non-financial situation so that your financial objectives at various milestones of your life can be accomplished. It helps to lessen the unexpected, so that one would not meet with financial tragedies like nightmares come true.

Divorce and Financial Resolutions – Working Together

The holy grail of divorce proceedings, for all those involved, is to reach an amicable agreement between the divorcing parties on all issues regarding finances (and custody) as swiftly as possible, instead of relying on a judge to make a court ruling which may not best suit one or both of the parties. The more conflict there is, the more expensive the process is, the more damage is done to the relationship and, most importantly, the more damage is done to the children involved and their own relationships.

Mediation

One process which can minimise conflict and cost is mediation. At the heart of this process is the idea that both sides will meet face to face with a neutral mediator (who may or may not be a trained lawyer) to discuss and resolve particular sticking points. The mediator cannot advise the divorcing couple, only facilitate their discussions. This may involve suggesting that parties should seek further advice in financial or legal matters if they deem it necessary however. Both parties can still consult individual lawyers outside of the process but their lawyers are not allowed to take part in the meetings themselves. At the end of discussions, the mediator will write up and prepare the agreed terms so that each legal team can sign them off – entering into a legally binding agreement in doing so.
Mediation can prove significantly cheaper than following the court route with costs estimated at 500 per person compared to costs in the region of 5k to 20k for court hearings. Furthermore, the wider good that face to face discussions do to the relationship between the parties and therefore the handling of their children can be immeasurable.

Collaboration

A relatively new technique which is gaining in popularity is that of collaboration. In a collaborative divorce procedure, each party appoints a specialist collaboration lawyer and the individuals and their lawyers all meet face to face (as opposed to traditional correspondence between lawyers) to discuss and hopefully resolve disputes without the need to go to court. Collaborative lawyers are trained to work together towards a solution rather than solely representing their own clients and again the process can bring in other professional advisors to facilitate the meetings in relation to financial matters or child welfare.

If the collaboration process does not yield a resolution, the case will still then need to be heard in court, however, each party must enlist new legal representation and the discussions held in the collaborative process cannot be referred to in the court hearing without the consent of both sides. This exercise in drawing a line and making a clear distinction between the collaboration process and the courts ensures that the discussions in the former can be as open as possible.

Again collaboration should prove cheaper than the court route as it is often limited to around 3 to 6 meetings with court hearings only occurring if the process fails. Successful collaboration can therefore negate the expense of extended litigation and correspondence by post etc.

Funding Issues

As mentioned above, following a collaboration or mediation route can prove significantly cheaper than taking financial disputes to the courts. This is becoming particularly salient as the government looks to reducing the funds available to prospective divorcees through legal aid and because of the fact that fewer law firms are now prepared to take on legal aid cases due to their added bureaucracy (legal aid applications etc). The rationale behind government cuts to legal aid are that more couples should be encouraged to pursue mediation and this is being backed by a significant increase in mediation funding.

For those who do find themselves in court and cant access legal aid there are ways of accessing funds which involve the the lending of money, via a solicitor, from a bank or a litigation investor. In addition, employing a solicitor on a fixed fee rather than an hourly rate can not only control but significantly reduce costs. However, the most effective way of ensuring that the funds needed for the future of the individual and their children are left intact is to make use of either mediation or collaboration.

Things To Look For When Dealing With a Financial Adviser

Financial Planners play a important role in helping their clientele preserve, invest, and consequently grow their capital. Typically they can help plan and achieve specific financial targets like saving for a business or purchasing a house. Based on the experience of whom you work with, you may find that some even specialize in areas like retirement or estate planning.

Don’t mistake advisors with stockbrokers – the marketplace mavens professionals contact in order to trade stocks. Another area that folks confuse a lot would be that they believe that financial advisors are also insurance agents or accountants.

In terms of qualifying criteria to become a ‘financial planner’ presently there isn’t much which needs to be done outside of hanging a sign up that says ‘financial advisor.’ They might tack on an alphabet soup of letters after their names, but CFP (short for certified financial planner) is regarded as the significant credential. A CFP status is essential and is the initial sign that the person you want to do business with is in fact experienced the financial industry. Anyone that carries the CFP status is devoted to taking continuing education and ethics training. The CFP credential is a great signal that a possible manager can give sound financial assistance. That being said, simply because you’ve passed the exam doesn’t mean you have the credibility and skills needed for each customer. As with most significant lifestyle decisions, make certain you are very thorough about deciding on the best manager.

Traditionally, financial consultants earn their income either from commissions or by charging hourly or flat prices for their expertise. Traditionally a commission is paid when somebody buys or sells stock or some other sort of investment. Depending on the person, some people are more comfortable dealing with financial planners that do not rely on commissions. The main reason for this is that there is a feeling that these particular professionals may steer you in a specific direction just for them to earn money, and not because it is in your best interests.

A growing amount of financial consultants earn money only when you pay them a fee for their counsel. If your planner works based on fees then they don’t make any cash from life insurance coverage or mutual funds. That being said, you might pay a set fee such as $3000 for a financial strategy that is customized or you. Or based on your agreement with the financial consultant you can pay an yearly charge that is generally a percentage of the assets they have to invest. However other financial consultants charge a set service charge similar to lawyers or other specialists.

Something to be familiar with is the fact that you will come across financial advisors that do not take clientele with less than $250,000. The reason for this is that most planners prefer to deal with a larger accounts that they are paid more for their time. In conclusion it’s best to find out later that you’re comfortable working with and they will make the time to ensure that your financial concerns and questions are addressed.

Uses Of Professional Financial Management Services

Lots of localities and property associations employ the services that a professional financial management company offers for numerous reasons. The major reason for which this kind of service is required is to do Management of Associations in Orange County and to do the Billing Services for Associations in Orange County. The most important Billing service that the financial management companies have to do is keeping budgets up-to-date and billing the homeowners or anybody else who require being billed. Uses of financial management services in Orange County are truly never-ending, and lots of people do not understand the amount of work needed to run an association handling numerous homeowners.

How financial management companies help in property management

Organizing lots of diverse budgets for the association board is among the most important uses of this sort of Community Association Service in Orange County. There are yearly budgets, development budgets, and also budgets that consider the future years of the association. Running of something such as a neighborhood is able to be extremely costly, which is why it is important to ensure that you are billing the correct amount for ensuring the maintenance and smooth running of everything. One more use of such a service is that all the bills that have been approved by the board are paid, ensuring that all is going according to a formula.

Billing the homeowners and added association remembers requires being exceedingly organized and controlled to make certain that each and every amount is paid. People paying this sum also would like to see that the money that they are paying is being made good use of and being used in the maintenance of their community and this is one more services that that financial management companies offer. The money having been paid and utilized, fiscal reports must be put forward before board running the association, such that they are able to see that everything is being run correctly.

The importance of Commercial Association Management services

Unlike housing property, how well your commercial or business property is managed is able to create or destroy a business venture. This is the reason for which business associations frequently take the help of companies offering Commercial Association Management services.

The importance of business parks to businesses

An affordable yet effective option in commercial property that you company can do with are business parks as they let your company to access businesses that it may perhaps network with.

The running of business parks

Companies in Orange County are either able to rent space or acquire buildings, based on the set up of the park. In a few cases a business park association in Orange County might charge the companies yearly fees for covering constant landscaping, security, and fundamental maintenance, and security fees.

Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. (ipci) – Financial And Strategic Swot Analysis Review

May, 10, 2014 : Company Profiles and Conferences presents a Company Report on “Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. (IPCI) – Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review”, which helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better.

Summary
This comprehensive SWOT profile of Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. provides you an in-depth strategic analysis of the companys businesses and operations. The profile is bring to you a clear and an unbiased view of the companys key strengths and weaknesses and the potential opportunities and threats. The profile helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better.

This company report forms is the part of Profile on Demand service, covering over 50,000 of the worlds leading companies. Once purchased the highly qualified team of company analysts will comprehensively research and author a full financial and strategic analysis of Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. including a detailed SWOT analysis, and deliver this direct to you in pdf format within two business days. (excluding weekends).

The profile contains critical company information including,

– Business description A detailed description of the companys operations and business divisions.
– Corporate strategy Analysts summarization of the companys business strategy.
– SWOT Analysis A detailed analysis of the companys strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats.
– Company history Progression of key events associated with the company.
– Major products and services A list of major products, services and brands of the company.
– Key competitors A list of key competitors to the company.
– Key employees A list of the key executives of the company.
– Executive biographies A brief summary of the executives employment history.
– Key operational heads A list of personnel heading key departments/functions.
– Important locations and subsidiaries A list and contact details of key locations and subsidiaries of the company.
– Key manufacturing facilities A list of key manufacturing facilities of the company.
– Detailed financial ratios for the past five years The latest financial ratios derived from the annual financial statements published by the company with 5 years history.
– Interim ratios for the last five interim periods The latest financial ratios derived from the quarterly/semi-annual financial statements published by the company for 5 interims history.

Key benefits of buying this profile include,

You get detailed information about the company and its operations to identify potential customers and suppliers.
– The profile analyzes the companys business structure, operations, major products and services.