March 8th, 2009 by Hank Brock

The financial planning process involves five basic steps. After the initial meeting with your financial planner, the five steps to the financial planning process include: data gathering, plan preparation, plan presentation, plan implementation, and on-going monitoring.

1. Financial Planning Process: Data gathering.

Data gathering is a marathon. It usually takes place at your home. It may take two hours or all day. Your planner will need to examine all your documents: Tax returns. Balance sheets. Income statements. Employee benefit plan booklets. Retirement plan documents. Wills. Trusts. Insurance policies. Investment statements. Brokerage house statements. Bank statements. These are the tangible bits of information.

These physical documents are not all that your planner will need to get from this data gathering session. There is also subjective information that the planner must determine. What are your lifestyle goals? Where do you hope to be in the future? When do you plan to retire, and what are your expectations for that time period? Assumptions of the future must also be established. Your attitudes regarding interest rates, inflation, the economy, and various other factors must be clearly established.

Finally, your financial planner will determine your personal attitudes – toward taxes, risk tolerance, complexity/simplicity of your financial affairs. The primary objective of the data gather is to have a clear idea of where you are currently and where you want to head for the future.

2. Financial Planning Process: Plan preparation.

Preparing your plan typically takes three to four weeks, as the planner does an analysis — the diagnostic work. The planner knows where you are, and where you want to be. Now they need to figure out the most efficient way to get you there.

For example, maybe it’s a family partnership. Or a family corporation. Or a family trust. They’ll look at all the pros and cons — then prepare written recommendations. Some will be major strategic recommendations. Others will be minor tactical recommendations. They will all fit together.

3. Financial Planning Process: Plan presentation.

Once your plan is prepared, your planner will schedule time to present their findings to you. During this first meeting, he’ll present the plan to you and review any major points. You’ll then take the plan home to read and study. It is important that you sit down with your spouse (if applicable) and fully examine the plan. Write down any questions that you have regarding it.

When you get back together with your planner, you’ll go over the plan in detail. They’ll answer your questions. Clarify details. As you agree on each recommendation, your planner will prioritize them into an “Implementation Check List.” It’s simply a “To Do” list for you and your planner.

4. Financial Planning Process: Plan implementation.

The first three steps will likely be completed in about a month’s time.

The fourth step, plan implementation, takes on average five to six months (sometimes longer). During this time, you will cover topics such as tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and other insurance concerns. Your financial planner may want to bring in other experts at this time to consult on specific issues.

When all is said and done, you may have as many as 30 different recommendations in your plan. Some will be major, broad, strategic recommendations, likely worth thousands of dollars to you. The rest will be to help you fine-tune your financial affairs. These things will help you cross the T’s, dot the I’s, and ensure your finances are really in order.

5. Financial Planning Process: On-going monitoring and maintenance.

In the final step of the financial planning process, your planner should be retained to help provide periodic updates and on-going advice. You should do a couple of tax planning meetings each year, review your portfolio, update insurance, etc… You’ll often find little questions that you’ll want to run past your advisor. Because your planner knows your unique situation, you will be alerted to changes in conditions that directly affect your plan.

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March 4th, 2009 by Paul Daniels

If we talk about killing boredom, music is definitely one of the topmost items. All you music-lovers, worry not and keep your passion, stay trendy and carry your favorite tracks wherever you go. Internet radio is the answer to your music needs. This is your classic favorite possession and your hip belonging.

If you do your online search in popular merchandise sites such as Ebay and Amazon, you will definitely find different sorts of internet radio, WiFi internet radio and free internet radio. With so many search results, the next problem you may face is choosing what product is of good quality and affordable price. So how would you know that you are going to pick the perfect product? There is no ultimate process to do it. One thing that you have to be very careful about is the fact that there are sellers who are not reliable. Other problems may arise from this such as: poor product quality (the usual, “what I bought is way different from what was described and what the photo showed”).

To overcome this, be very keen. Take note that you are going to spend your hard-earned money and therefore you deserve the kind of value it is worth of. Take time to get to know the buyer, examine the contact details and the terms and conditions posted such as delivery, product description and the like. These details are necessary. Be reminded that you are dealing with someone you do not know and that it pays to be particular with information. Make sure that the product description is clear. Regrets are part of our lives but of course, not this time around.

You might be asking if there are other places online where you can find internet radio, WiFi internet radio and free internet radio. Well Ebay and Amazon are not the only venues where you can discover great finds. You can definitely look for the specific brands you want to own or you can always settle for what fits your budget. In addition, these radios come in varied styles and accessories. You can pick something that can serve as the extension of your self, something that reflects your personality.

So with a wise consideration between product quality, price, transparency of the seller, online reputation and a great deal of common sense, you definitely find and own what you have been looking for.

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