There are so many ways to save money. I just wish people would take action on all the information out there.

I’ll start with my decision to cut the cable. I bought a converter box and a digital antenna, and now my TV shows are free. The primary reason for this decision was not to save money; I determined I was not getting value for my money. Gone are all the duplicate channels, and the shopping channels, and the foreign language news from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, and the ever-increasing cable bills. I figure over my lifetime I will have saved enough to buy a new car.

Here are some innovative ideas: the guy who parks his RV in front of his business with a sign on the side. He’s saving the monthly storage fee for that RV and attracting business at the same time. I know another guy who pays someone to house sit and pet sit when he goes on trips. Costs a bit less than doggie...

There are people and entities out there that can only be defined as financial con artists. They promote or create programs designed for one thing only, to steal your money. Don’t get them confused with the usual rip off artist types though. I am referring to people and entities that pee on our legs and tell that it’s raining with their overpriced products, services and programs.

They may even wear the title of financial planner or advisor. However, make no mistake that they usually plan to take as much of your money as possible. If you let them advise you into a financial sink hole they think it’s your fault. Their primary objective is to make the biggest commission that they can off of you. So what if the product or service they sold you is trash.

Their offerings create regular shortfalls and setbacks for Joe Public and their customer’s income growth objectives. By design the overall...

When you go to a professional money manager the very first step in the interview process should be assessing your needs carefully, with regard to risk, reward, liquidity needs, tolerance for risk, process you’re currently using and how that is working for you and a process that would be acceptable to you and your family to use and then after that an Investment Policy Statement should be created. Now this all sounds very fancy and foreign to some but it is simply an asset allocation plan and process that is acceptable to you, your spouse and your advisor. And in times of panic and emotion like our 500 point drop it is an excellent time to come back to the very beginning of the plan and read the IPS.

Here are some things to consider even if you are smart and responsible with your money. Can a professional manager help me to be less emotionally involved with my portfolio and keep me from...

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a Financial Advisor. I am always interested in learning what entices different individuals to pursue a certain career. She explained that she had always been interested in money and what it can do. There are a lot of people who don’t know how to control and invest their own money. As a financial advisor, she enjoys assisting those individuals in achieving their financial goals, both now and in their golden years. She finally made the decision to become a financial advisor six years ago after her retirement from being a school teacher.

This particular financial advisor is now employed by Legend Equities after a six year stint with Met Life. A financial advisor’s services often include financial planning, life insurance, and long-term care insurance. She works with educators in the 403B marketplace advising them in the area of retirement plans.

I am a Financial Advisor in part because I want to help other peoples’ kids learn how to handle their money (my own three kids got off to a slow start managing their money). I was thrilled when I received an email from an 18-year old who had seen a video of me talking about teens and money. Following, for teens everywhere, is my response to his query about what he should do about his future finances.

Here are 10 things you should know about money:

Number 1 - Being good with your money has a great deal of sex appeal. Demonstrate to the opposite sex such things as saving, investing, frugalness, and she or he will be attracted to you. Also, seek a partner with good money habits.

Number 2 - Your best investment is a good education. Learn as much as you can for every minute in the classroom. If you can’t afford a four-year university, take appropriate classes in a Community College for two...

Your financial advisor should not only be managing your assets and investments; your financial advisor also should be managing the money that you owe. In today’s world debt management is extremely important. Is your financial advisor doing his/her job for you and your family?

Money Coach warning: Please do not confuse a financial advisor who provides financial advice for a fee with a mutual fund salesman, an annuity salesman, or a life insurance salesman. Do not compare a financial advisor to a transaction broker who facilitates the purchase and sale of financial products. I recommend strongly that you do not purchase a financial product from anyone who makes a commission on the recommendation.

Your financial advisor (or yourself, if you act on your own behalf) should address the following areas of debt:

Credit card - Know well that if you cannot pay off your credit card debt at the...

After nearly 50 years of managing my own money and building what many people would consider a fairly large nest egg I reached the conclusion that the world of finance and money management had become so complex that I needed professional help. Moreover, in my retirement years, why would I want to spend my time, even more valuable than money, on dealing with all the decisions and paper work?

If only I could find a professional I could trust, then I could not only make my life simpler, but also do something for my wife. What a terrible situation spouses find themselves in when the mate who handled all the financial matters dies. Think of getting a financial adviser as an act of love for yourself and your spouse, if you have one.

So I spent a lot of time attending financial seminars and meeting financial advisers, but nearly all of them failed to impress me enough to sign on with them...

When I turned 16, my father bought me my first shares of stock. After I ripped through all of my presents that night, my father handed me an envelope. I opened it to find a certificate for 50 shares of Nike stock. The year was 1995. The economy was booming. The dot.com’s hadn’t quite become the rage. And given a choice of stocks, I wanted Nike because I was sporty and grew up in the “Be Like Mike” generation. For a 16-year-old, that was a pretty good reason to hold shares in Nike.

Just over a year later, my father changed financial advisors. I clearly remember the night the advisor came to our house. As I watched the television, they sat several feet away at the kitchen table. After an hour or so, my father called me over. “This is so-and-so; he’s our new advisor. He wants to discuss selling your Nike stock. He thinks that Nike will never go beyond $60.00 a share. He’d like to invest it...

Careers that remain stable regardless of prevailing economic conditions are rare. No commission financial advisor careers qualify for this categorization. If the economy is healthy and thriving, people need advice on how to increase their assets and make good investments. If the nation’s economy spirals downward, people need guidance on how to protect investments or require recommendations on selling or diversifying investitures.
Career Paths

Those pursuing no commission financial advisor careers have a wide choice of paths to take. Concentrate on providing only personal or business advice or choose to serve both sectors. Financial advisors differ from financial analysts in that the advisor typically provides recommendations on a wide range of investment options. Financial analysts commonly analyze and advise on specific investment sectors and industries as desired by the clients, which...