Investors tend to shy away from precious commodities because of the seeming volatility of gold and silver prices. However, many are still optimistic about gold—at least one world leader has been stocking up on the metal because he’s aware of its true value.

It’s no secret that gold can be an effective hedge against inflation, and some experts believe that knowledge about the precious metal will change the minds of those who are dubious towards its potential. With this premise, here are the different gold investment methods:

• Buying physical gold – this can be the most direct exposure that an investor can get.  However, be wary of transaction fees in the purchase which may also include hidden costs.
• Gold Futures – this refers to a deal to trade gold at a settlement date in the future, as stated by Bullion Vault, the world’s largest online market for buying physical bullion according to The Telegraph. This means that the buyer need not pay the full amount up front, and the seller has no obligation to deliver the gold yet. Futures traders may speculate on the rise or fall of gold prices before settlement date.
• Gold Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) – this is a type of mutual fund which can be traded like ordinary stocks, with gold as the underlying commodity. This is an exact portfolio and is therefore unchangeable, according to research website Daily Reckoning.  It’s also known to be an easy and cost-effective measure.
• Gold Options – this is an alternative to gold futures, said Investopedia in an article. The owner is given the right to purchase the futures contract within a timeframe at an agreed upon price. It has the following advantages: it acts as leverage to the original investment, and it limits the losses to the paid price.

Having any of these investments could provide diversification to an investor’s portfolio.  Consultation with financial experts is encouraged before deciding on an investment option.

Sometimes, when we’re a bit short or just want to pay for the weekly shop or something bigger like a brand new TV, a credit card tends to come in very handy. Millions of us have them, but there seems to be a huge amount of choice in terms of interest rates, perks and so-called benefits. Amid a multitude of cards, is it possible to tell what benefits are actually of use and what are just myths?

Here, we examine five of the most popular credit card myths that should help make it easier for you to choose the right one for your needs:

Applications affect credit ratings

Thankfully, this isn’t even the slightest bit true. Anyone who’s made countless unsuccessful applications for new cards may feel that rejection could hit their credit score, but that’s not the case. Delayed payments on existing credit cards, on the other hand, can impact on your eligibility for future credit.

Card cancellation improves credit scores

For anyone trying to reduce their debts, this might seem like a sensible, if drastic, thing to do, but it can actually do more harm than good. Doing this will increase your debt-to-credit ratio, thereby reducing the likelihood of you being given a new card should you need it.

Rewards and points are completely worthless

While their worth is often overrated by some providers, perks such as Air Miles and Nectar points might actually come in handy if built up over time. They could pay for a night out, cinema tickets or even give you a discount for your weekly shop. Don’t choose a credit card provider solely because of the perks on offer though!

Credit cards only benefit your score when used

This isn’t completely true. If they’re opened but never used, the fact that little money has been spent can actually boost your rating. Using your card sparingly can help too, as long as you’re able to pay back what you owe in time.

“Set up a regular savings account and shop around to make sure you get the best rate. Ensure that you are on the electoral roll as this can improve your credit score. Review your day-to-day spending to see if you can make any cuts to increase you’re saving, then set up a budget for essentials and stick to it”, said a spokesperson from Yorkshire Building Society.

Paying what you can is always advisable

Sadly, this isn’t true. Even if you can’t afford to meet the full cost of a weekly/monthly payment, paying what you can might not be enough. Paying less than the minimum amount won’t  be enough to help keep your credit score as it is, so it’s important to make sure you have enough money to pay it all off before taking out a card.

Everyone knows that planning and saving for retirement should be high on the list of priorities for the working adult. Even if you only put away a small amount each month, compound interest and can let the money build and do the work for you. However, a notable problem can be determining how much money you need to have saved for retirement, and how much to save or a yearly basis.

Without further ado, here are a few tips to follow so that you can have the correct amount of money for when you want to walk out of your job forever.

Figure Out Your Retirement Number

To truly maximize your retirement savings potential, you need to know a few simple things about your future. For example, you need to know when you want to retire and how much money you should have saved based on your particular lifestyle. Additionally, you will need to know if you will have all your debts and responsibilities paid off by retirement age, such as mortgages, loans, and your kids’ education.

So, once you’ve put all these factors together and played around with some numbers, you should have a decent estimate as to how much you’ll need to have saved at retirement age. Don’t skimp with the details. Make sure you write a detailed financial plan so there’s no gray area.

Pick the Proper Investments

Once you have determined how much you need to save, the next step is to figure out where you should invest your hard-earned cash. Uneducated savers would simply use a savings account, but with interest rates hovering under 1 percent and typically, way less than that, it’s important to find investments that will earn you more money. Stocks, bonds, treasury bills, and certificates of deposit are just a few financial tools that will earn you a better return on your investment.

Annuities are also a great investment, as it gives you monthly payments of principle plus interest. And no matter what you choose to invest in, make sure that you monitor it on a regular basis. Just like gambling, no return on stocks is guaranteed. Always be aware that there is a potential for loss and contact a financial planner for some advice.

Change Your Strategy Over Time

Another often overlooked aspect of retirement planning is changing your goals and requirements over the course of your life. You may find that early on in your savings plan, you may be single, so saving extra money isn’t too particularly difficult. As you get older, you may start having new obligations such as cars, mortgages, spouses, and children to think about. That’s why it’s in your best interest to modify your plan as you go.

After making your yearly savings contribution, see if your plan is still working for you, and if not, adjust it accordingly. If you or your spouse lack financial discipline, you may want to consider investing in accounts (such as IRAs or CDs) that penalize you for early withdrawal. That may be the best way to keep your money safe.

Self Planning or Professional Advice

An easy way to save the most money is to gain as much return on your investment as possible along with minimizing cost. That being said, many people are uneducated when it comes to money management, and thus, rely on financial advisors to do their dirty work for them. However, you may stand to save more money by doing this on your own.

By managing your own portfolio, you can see which investments work for you and which don’t. In this manner, you can see if you are becoming closer to reaching your retirement goals, rather than hiring someone else to do it, and learning nothing about your own investments. Try it for a few months just to see how you do. It doesn’t hurt to give it a go.

Determining you annual retirement fund contribution can be one tough subject for many people, but take advantage of every little bit of spare money you can make. 401K’s are a perfect example of free money, as many employers will match your savings. Perhaps you could get an extra job in your spare time to pack away some extra cash. No matter what you choose to do to earn your money, make sure you set goals and make a plan to reach them. Then, once you are ready to retire, you can enjoy a stress-free lifestyle.

Diversification is a very common topic for those looking to improve the quality of their investment portfolio. Putting all of your eggs in a single basket can be quite risky, so it’s always good to have variety. Stocks, funds and certain commodities (such as gold) are the most common components of the average person’s portfolio, but the largest market in the world is actually the foreign exchange market. Is it something you should diversify into?

Day trading is the biggest trend in the world of forex right now. This means making numerous trades within a single day, and never carrying over a position to the next day. For this, most traders will use technical analysis; they’ll observe price charts and short term trends in order to make their decision. It’s a very hands-on method of interacting with the markets, and as such, it’s not really suited to adding to a portfolio. This is what you’ll hear about most frequently when people talk forex, but it’s not the side of the industry that you need to worry about.

Longer term trends are just as important as the shorter term ones. While forex is immensely popular because of its ability to provide profit in the short term with a relatively modest investment, it is also useful for those who want to put a large amount of money into the market over a longer period.

Exposure to Regional Economics

One of the major benefits of doing this is that currencies don’t move in lock step in quite the same way as the equities market does. Some experts have asserted that the equities market is in fact more than 80 percent correlated, which means that adding currencies to your portfolio will give you exposure to differing economic and monetary events. So much so that Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman believes that currencies can account for two to three thirds of the returns of a stocks portfolio.

This is of course not to say that forex is a replacement for the equities markets. It is more of a compliment to it.

Adding currencies isn’t necessarily straightforward. Many portfolios contain currency ETFs, which are reasonably useful, but they have one critical problem. While the forex market is a 24 hour, 5 day a week market, ETFs are restricted to the usual market opening times. This means that they can react very suddenly if something happens while the markets are closed.

Actual spot trading (generally known as simply FX trading) may be one of the better options, and most brokers offer it.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a way to expose your portfolio to something other than the highly-correlated equities market, then forex could be ideal. There are inherent risks, which is why proportionally you should be careful, but currencies could well be your main method of accruing returns on your investment.

Life insurance is just one of those things that we don’t really want to believe that we need – as a collective human-race that seems to be a common trait. Which, of course, is understandable; after all, when you purchase life insurance you’re essentially planning ahead to when you won’t exist anymore and your loved ones will. It’s a thought that some of us handle better than others.

“They call it life insurance, but it’s really death insurance. After all, you’ll never live to collect,” ponders Judith Hasenauer, an Underwriter for CL (Chartered Life), “That’s why it’s often said that life insurance is sold, not bought.”

At the end of the day, though, this thought doesn’t help anything. Life insurance isn’t about us, it’s about them, our loved ones. In order protect their future well-being, we have to put our own mortality and fears on the back-burner and consider what’s best for them – and what’s best for them is the financial stability that life insurance will provide.

Of course, there’s a few stigmas surrounding life insurance that like to play off of our natural sense of worry, our modern paranoia of scams, and our already innate aversion to the idea of life insurance. It’s important to understand where the real truths are, and while the life insurance industry in the United States is imperfect, you can be smart about your purchase and obtain a policy that is actually important to obtain despite a few pitfalls in the system.

To assist in providing informed information, I’ve collected some commentary from Tony Steuer – Director of Financial Preparedness for United Policyholders – and a Consumer Federation of America expert, James Hunt. Here we’ll dive into three common myths of life insurance with their expert opinions.

“Agents are always upfront about what their commission is.” – MYTH

“It’s a real quagmire,” states Steuer. “Life insurance is the last financial industry where compensation is not fully disclosed.” This is true – not all agents are good agents; there is plenty of scam out there to be aware of, and life insurance companies do believe that if they divulge commissions, it will cost them a sale.

Unfortunately, this is mostly only a problem still here in the United States – most insurance companies from other countries are more and more jumping on the “full disclosure” band-wagon; the U.S. is sure to follow.

Until it does, should you just decide that life insurance is a scam and bail on it? Absolutely not! Instead, Hunt suggests that you do the following:

• Closely examine what the policy determines your first-year surrender value to be; now, compare it to the first-year premium. If the surrender value is close to zero, your agent is hitting a major pay day and therefore, it’s wise to cover your bases and shop around. This is something you typically wouldn’t discover until after the policy is purchased, signed, and delivered.
• Always obtain a competitor’s quote – specifically from TIAA-CREF, a commission-less company that offers direct policies. See a price difference?

“Life insurance is a solid investment opportunity.” – MYTH

“I liken life insurance to the casino industry,” remarks Steuer. “How do you think they get these big, flashy buildings and these solid financials? Not by giving you this really great deal.”

According to Hunt and Steuer, the insurance companies seem to try to dress up life insurance as an investment opportunity more and more every year, which is why financial experts who oppose life insurance gain so much traction with their audience. When financial experts boast that there are better “investments” to be had, they’re not wrong – but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t purchase life insurance, it just means that you shouldn’t be looking at it as an investment. It should be added in addition to investments.

Policies that try to sell themselves as investments miss the entire point of being an investment. “The problem is, 40% or 50% of the buyers drop out within 10 years and never get a good return on their money,” explains Hunt. “Buy term life insurance and stick the savings in your 401k instead.”

“Low cost! No medical exam! Guaranteed-issue!” – MYTH

Individuals who have a substantial amount of medical history tend to get taken in by this one more often than not; luckily, the laws have changed substantially on what life insurance companies can and can’t refuse, so the days of the guaranteed-issue policy are numbered – good riddance.

“For the first two years, the death benefits are minimal,” Hasenauer states. “That two-year window is the suicide period, the contestability window where the company would contest that the information you provided was not correct. They’re not very big policies; you could never go and get a good estate planning-type policy; they’re pretty close to burial-type policies – just enough to get you in the ground and pay the minister.”

And “low cost” they are not – “They’re crazy expensive,” states Steuer. “And statistically, less than 10 percent of people will qualify for the best available rates that are offered.”

As with all things insurance-related, it’s best to shop around. “There is a price and benefit difference between the three-question and the 10-question policy applications,” advises Hasenauer. Life insurance is an important purchase, it’s a necessary purchase, but it’s also necessary to play it smart and weed through all of the sales pitches to find a real policy offered by a company with integrity.

The following is a guest post from Rita P

With a routine pay check and job you can end up saving limited amount of money and spending is restricted too. Earning side income has been quest for many of us to enjoy the extra luxuries and benefits. In the past people had to find ways to earn extra income but with advent of internet you can make side income easily at your home. My first experience of side income source was online. Thanks to internet, today my side business has expanded as I learned more and today it has turned into full time online business.

Well I knew my strengths and my area of focus was writing. It was the best choice for me to start writing for money. In nascent stages I was wondering how to start and where to start, I applied at freelance sites, content mills, top popular blogs and lot more. I sent inquiries for staff writer to popular and famous blogs as well as freelance sites; though I used to get email response but I was never hired.

My focus was clear to start writing and make money online, there was time to give up after failed attempts but thanks to one of my dear friend who advised me to put up a blog and apply to right job boards. After lot of marketing and different tactics for job hunt I finally got my first job from Problogger job board, it was 3 years back and soon I realized the power of writing and making money. I wanted to take it to next level by writing for various blogs and build my own niche sites

I want to share my experience with other fellow writers. I had emailed and applied for more than 80 jobs until I landed for the first one on job boards. Most of the emails which I sent would never get a response, some would reply but no closures. I didn’t give up and continued until my efforts paid off. If you stay there and hang on with patience until you strike your first deal, rest of jobs will follow and it will be lot easier. Below I want to highlight important lessons which I learned

1. If you are looking to earn from writing then you must have your own blog, it will help in marketing yourself and provide good reference
2. When you market your online business, always have your own hosted domain name instead of shared blogging platforms. Having professional domain represents your blog’s authority
3. Add self pictures, about me, services offered and contact me page
4. Market yourself; it is very important, you won’t get a writing job unless you market yourself. Connect with people using social media profiles such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
5. After lot of trial and errors across various freelance and job sites, I found out that best way to get writing jobs is to apply via job boards, there are many popular job boards where you can apply for writing jobs
6. Finally never give up. Once you get your first job, your confidence will boost. All you need to do is keep trying : try try until you succeed
7. Once you grow, you can expand your business and there are many ways to market yourself such as: writing guest posts, participating in forums particular to your niche, networking and social media.
8. Identify your target niche and stay focused. People want to hire specialists and not generalists. All your efforts mentioned above must be focused on your strengths and skills

When I first made my mind to try freelancing, I didn’t know how I was going to earn money from writing jobs but all I can say my zeal to learn and passion to write helped a lot. All the information I gathered was reading different blogs, forums and informative sites. When I was about to give up, the beautiful thing that happened to me was my first job and soon I was flooded with multiple writing jobs. Don’t give up and back yourself with your skills as where there is a will there is a way.

 

It would be great if life was perfectly free of accidents! Everything going according to plan would be a good thing, not only for our health but also our peace of mind.

Of course, there are no such guarantees that this can actually happen.  Even if we do as much as we realistically can to prevent accidents, that’s still not a situation where there are assurances given to us that we’ll be fine.  Sometimes, things out of our control can wreak havoc with our lives, and in some cases these instances can be very harmful.  Accidents simply can’t be prevented.

It’s inevitable that some people will be affected by accidents.  I recall growing up, years ago back in what now seems like the stone ages, a kid in my high school lost her father in what I heard was some type of accident.  At the time, my thoughts were more about how it must have felt for her to have her Dad pass so suddenly.  I never even considered how this could have impacted her and her family in terms of finances.

Now that I’ve got some life experience to draw upon, I can recognize that there are all kinds of problems that could happen to a family that loses someone to an accident.  Of course the human loss and emotions associated with it are the most important things on which to focus.  Nothing is more important than our loves ones.  That said, one of the other issues is the financial impact it could have on survivors.  For example:

• What if there was a non-working spouse who would be strapped for money afterward?
• What if the family had little savings regardless of who was working?
• What if there were multiple kids for which the parents had to provide?

There are people who make the decision to purchase insurance to help mitigate some of the financial risks.  An example is death insurance, continuing the discussion of accidents.  While nobody wants to think of accidents happening, they can happen and do sometimes happen.  Everyone has their own tolerance for risk, and their own financial situation.  It’s at least good to be informed of the different options out there, whether one wants to take action or stand pat with inaction.

Even bigger picture, we should realize that not everything is under our control.  No matter what our best thought-out plans are, things can happen unexpectedly.  It may be good to acknowledge that concept as it applies to different aspects of our lives.  Better to be thinking of these things than not even thinking about the downside at all!

Being realistic, it’s worth to say that many consumers today live in debt. And sooner or later they make a decision to change their life into the better and to start debt elimination. But it’s never an easy process. Lots of people hesitate to start it because they just don’t know what to do and where to start from. There are 2 popular methods for getting out of debt – debt avalanche and debt snowball. But how to choose the one which will suit for you personally? At first, it’s necessary to analyze your current situation to understand how many debts you have, what debts have high interest and which ones have low interest rate. Consider all the pros and cons and do your best to make a really effective decision.

Debt Snowball

This way to get out of debt is about paying off your smallest debt first and step by step moving to your higher debt. It suits for consumers who aren’t confident enough that they are able to pay down their whole debt. In other words, it’s relatively an easy way to start because paying down the smallest debt, for example some loans, often seems not so hard. You should pay most of your attention and efforts to paying down small debts but at the same time it will be necessary to pay minimum on the rest of your debt.

Debt Avalanche

This method is an opposite to the debt snowball and requires you to pay off your highest interest loan first. Then you should continue your debt elimination process by paying down you next highest interest debt and end up with paying off the smallest one. As same as with the snowball method, you should make minimum payments on your other debts while you’re focused on paying down the high interest one.

How to Make a Right Choice

Everything depends on you and your personal financial situation. If you want to reduce a harmful impact of your debt on your financial life then consider choosing the debt avalanche. In case you will pay down your highest interest debt then you will save money. But this way for getting out of debt has an aggressive character so you should be financially and morally ready to start debt elimination from paying down the most expensive loan.

If you’re not ready for though changes or doubt that you can pay down your debt completely, then it’s better to use the debt snowball. Start from eliminating your smallest debt and you will get more confident in your repayment abilities. This method suits for those who want to get quick results. As only you will see the first result it give you a motivation you for becoming debt free and getting financially independent.