LIQUIDEARTHCAMPS.COM


   Nov 11

Investing for the Future and Retirement

I have many friends that have just got their degree and can’t find a job but they still should think about saving and investing for the future. There is nothing like compound interest to get your savings juiced, although CD rates and savings rates are extremly low right now. 2 year CD rates are paying less in 1.00% at most banks these days, if you have a mortgage with an interest rate about 5.00% for a 30 year loan you should look into refinancing since mortgage rates today on 30 year loans are under 4.00%!

 When my generation retires I wonder if Social Security will be around, and more than likely you may have to shoulder a greater chunk of the cost of your retirement because fewer companies are providing traditional pension plans and since today’s mortgage rates are very low you might be able to save money in interest charges over the life of a loan, thus increasing your income by paying your house mortgage loan down.

You must take charge but chances are ou may have more pressing financial needs and goals than investing for something so far in the future like retirement but if your goal is to create a positive net worth, and you want it to grow each year then you must invest.

First of all add up the approximate value of all your assets including deposit accounts, equity in your home or any other money you might have and we’ll come back to these goals when we put together a spending plan and the retirement planning stems from its desire to improve the security of American workers in retirement.

It will help you if you understand your retirement goals as well as other financial goals and if you understand how do you manage all these financial challenges and at the same time try to invest for a secure retirement. Saving and investing for the future is possible with determination, hard work, a sound savings habit, the right knowledge, and a well-designed financial plan which is possible.

Many of us know it is smart to save money for those big-ticket items we really want to buy like a new television or car or home or searching for the best auto insurance rates instead of charging it though you might as well finance an auto loan or mortgage loan since both auto loan rates and today’s mortgage rates are very low right now.

At the same time it will help you make saving for retirement and other goals a habit and the fact is, since its inception, Social Security has provided a minimum foundation of protection for most retirees in the past, the present and hopefully the future but the biggest investment you may ever make is in yourself.

Your net worth is simply the total value of what you own (assets) minus what you owe (liabilities) and to this end, individuals who meet its competency, ethics and professional standards to use money to retire and still have enought money even 15, 25, even 30 years in retirement and we are more active we live longer.

That may sound like an impossible task to save for our future but perhaps you’ve never thought of investing for your retirement but if you recalculate our net worth once a year, set goals and figure out where you are you mgiht be able to retire early.

Yet like many people you may wonder how you can achieve that dream when so many other financial issues have priority and this is important because, as you will learn later in life, your financial resources affect not only your ability to reach your goals, but also your ability to protect those goals from potential financial crises.

That is why it is important to take a snapshot of your financial health and if you are paying today for the cost of your retirement tomorrow or the other way around you may want to have family members come up with ideas.

Yet you still may be able to afford to buy the kind of retirement you want.It’s important to separate them. You save for short-term and long-term goals differently and many of us live paycheck to paycheck, barely making ends meet but beginning a savings plan now will help you reach goals you may be able to borrow for, such as college, but you can’t borrow for retirement.

You’ll learn how to save your money to make it work for you therefore how to protect it so it will be there when you need it for retirement and a strong net worth also will help you through financial crises and stock market declines.

Maybe later you can turn them into reality too because many retirement plans today, such as the popular 401k, are paid for primarily by the employee, not the employer so if you identify other financial resources maybe your net worth is part of what you will draw on to pay for financial goals and your retirement.

This includes personal possessions, vehicles, home, checking and savings accounts, and the cash value any equity you have in your home along with any life insurance policies you may have. Besides your home the most expensive thing you will ever buy in your lifetime is your retirement so you need to start saving right now!


   Oct 14

Financial Information for Our Young Volunteers

We are offering the follow financial information for our young volunteers who are just starting out in life. There are many financial choices one has to make at a very young age. Opening a checking account, savings account or other types of bank accounts. You have to protect yourself from financial scams and prepare yourself for a confortable retirement. Give out your account information for transactions only if you are familiar with the company you are dealing with. Especially when applying for loans like a mortgage and with today’s mortgage rates at these levels you should be looking into buying a home.

And if you have not done business with a company before, give out account information only if you have initiated the transaction. Criminals may ask you for your bank account number and then withdraw money from your account by creating a demand draft (sometimes called a “remotely created check”) or making an electronic transfer.

They may also ask for your debit or credit card number and other personal information. Don’t fall for these scams and don’t let yourself be pressured into “free trial offers.” To be removed from telemarketing lists, sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry or by calling, toll-free, 1-888-382-1222.

Make sure all the checks, debits, automatic payments, and other withdrawals are ones you authorized. If you see a transaction you did not authorize, notify your bank immediately. If your bank has online banking, you don’t have to wait until your bank statement comes–you can check your transactions at any time.

The sooner you alert your bank to a problem, the sooner they can get it resolved. In some cases, your bank may require you to notify them in writing. Check on mortgage rates current to purchase a home and make sure to keep copies of any documents you give the bank until the problem is resolved. If you think the problem is a result of fraud, you should also contact your state attorney general.

Checks are being processed more quickly these days, which means the money may be debited from your account sooner. Also, many stores and utility, insurance, and credit card companies will convert your check to an electronic payment, which also means the money will be debited from your account sooner. If you don’t have enough money in your account when you write a check or authorize a debit, you could find yourself paying a fee.

Many people use the terms credit card and charge card interchangeably, but there are important differences. In general, a credit card lets you make purchases for which you are billed later. Most credit card accounts allow you to carry a balance from one billing cycle to the next; however, you have to pay interest on that balance. Usually, you have to pay at least a certain amount of your balance each time you receive a bill.

A charge card is a specific kind of credit card. The balance on a charge card account is payable in full when the statement is received and cannot be rolled over from one billing to the next. Because you cannot carry a balance, a charge card doesn’t have a periodic or annual percentage rate, so there is no rate for a charge card issuer to disclose.

To make sure that consumers receive detailed and uniform disclosures of rates and other cost information related to credit and charge card accounts, Congress passed the Fair Credit and Charge Card Disclosure Act in 1988. To implement the law, the Federal Reserve amended its Truth in Lending regulation.

Truth in Lending is designed to help consumers know the cost and terms of credit. The regulation requires credit and charge card issuers to reveal important information in a clear, easy-to-read, and easy-to-compare manner so that consumers can shop for the credit terms that work best for them. This pamphlet summarizes some of the major features of the regulation.

The regulation has always required credit and charge card issuers to tell consumers things such as the interest rate they’ll be charged for credit, but the information wasn’t always easy for some people to find. 

Now, all issuers of credit and charge cards must either provide specific information in an easy-to-read table with headings, or they must alert you of any costs associated with a card and provide a toll-free number and an address so you can find out the details. This information will make it easier for you to find important cost information and compare the terms offered by different card issuers.

Truth in Lending also requires card issuers to provide the information earlier than they had in the past. This lets you find out what credit will cost you before you are charged any fees. If a card issuer calls and takes your card application over the telephone and there is a fee for the card issuance or availability, including any fee based on account activity or inactivity, the card issuer must verbally give you the required information at that time.

If there is no fee for the card or if the fee isn’t required until you actually use the card, the card issuer can mail you the fee information instead of telling you over the phone. You must receive the information within 30 days, but no later than the delivery of the card.

When you apply for a credit or charge card, a card issuer must either disclose directly, in the form of a table with headings, or tell you how to obtain the following information.

The method the issuer uses to compute the balance for purchases against which the finance charge is imposed. Calculating an average daily balance or using the outstanding balance at the beginning of the billing cycle are examples of these methods (credit cards only)

If you have a problem with an electronic debit or electronic fund transfer, you have certain rights under the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), as explained in the Board’s Credit Protection Laws. You also have rights under the EFTA if you have a problem with a check that has been converted, as described


   May 24

There are few experiences like being in the wilderness climbing cliffs, canoeing waters, or hiking through the wilderness. Doing these things you can develop growth and development. You can also the skills needed to survive in the wild.

Though donations and sponsors liquidearthcamps.com helps maintain certain hiking trails. Most people live their entire life in a city and never experience what the outdoors can bring. I personally know this working in a brokerage house that is a division of a bank.

Through different organizations like Leave No Trace which is a national program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impact on the environment when hiking, camping, picnicking, biking and other outdoor activities in the wild. 

These programs strive to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impact when they are outdoors as well as techniques to help them and minimize their impacts.

Leave No Trace is one of the best educational and ethical programs to follow. Their information indirectly helps them maintain public land with minimum impact.

The Leave No Trace program is a combination of science and common sense for enjoying the outdoors responsibly. The message is framed under seven principles:

1.Plan Ahead and Prepare
2.Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3.Dispose of Waste Properly
4.Leave What You Find
5.Minimize Campfire Impacts
6.Respect Wildlife
7.Be Considerate of Other Visitors