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Finance

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Introduction

Retirement planning is a long-term and tedious process. It needs meticulous planning and discipline to achieve the retirement corpus. Most people defer retirement planning thinking their retirement is far away. However, you may not have enough time left to accumulate a sizeable retirement corpus. The following are some salient tips for successful retirement planning:

Calculate the Retirement Income

The first step in retirement planning is to assess how much you need to save for it. You should calculate your current monthly expenses and adjust them for inflation in your retirement age. If you plan to retire at 60 years and expect a life expectancy of 80 years, then your retirement savings should last for 20 years. Once you have worked out the retirement corpus needed, you should invest regularly towards achieving it. It is also important to decide on an annual withdrawal rate to ensure your savings last till your life expectancy. In our example, the savings should last for at least 20 years, meaning you can withdraw 5% from the corpus annually.

Start Investing

Now that you know your retirement corpus, it is time to act.  You should decide the return on investments you want and the number of years you have to build the corpus. This will help you identify appropriate investment instruments for building the corpus. You can also consult a financial advisor if you need more help and clarity on it. It is better to decide on the investment modes based on your risk-taking abilities. If you are a risk-averse investor, then do not risk your capital by investing it in volatile investments. You must be a disciplined investor and not be fazed by market volatility. You must remain invested for the course to achieve your desired retirement corpus.

A very important aspect of retirement planning is to start investing early. The earlier you start investing, the more time you will have to achieve your retirement corpus. This means you will have to invest lesser to reach your corpus amount.

Reduce Your Debt

It is important to reduce or completely pay off your debt before retirement. You should take stock of your outstanding debt and plan to pay off the costliest one first. Outstanding debt can escalate quickly and eat into your retirement corpus, which is not desirable. You do not want a sizeable chunk of your retirement corpus into servicing debt. You can also consider meeting your expenses from cash to avoid new credit card debt.

Improve Your Financial Condition

You should improve your financial condition as much as possible before retirement. Upgrade your skills to increase your earnings. You may also consider working overtime to get more money to invest in retirement planning. You can also use the additional income to repay debt. Another approach to have more disposable income is to reduce non-essential expenses. Cutting on such expenditure can allow you the flexibility to put the savings for retirement planning. If you have debt, then search for options to refinance it with lenders willing to charge a lower rate. If you wish to learn more about Accounting and Finances visit our site at accounting services near me!

Deciding to invest in a rental property is an exciting time. It can also bring a lot of emotional and financial stress to the investor. That’s why it’s important to make sure you understand the market, and all the ins and outs of investment properties before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you are just starting out on your investment journey, here are a few tips to get you started.

Know What It Takes to Be a Landlord

Managing a property comes with repairs and being able to fix common issues yourself will save you a lot of money in the long run. If you don’t already have a basic understanding of how to maintain and care for a building, take time to learn all you can before investing. Eventually, you might be able to hire outside help, but especially if you are just starting out, being to take care of problems yourself is advised.

Pick the Right Location

So much of real estate is about location. You might find a great property with all the amenities you’re looking for, but if it’s in the wrong location it could be a total flop. When looking for a property consider the school district, local amenities such as parks, pools, and shopping malls. You should also consider the property tax of that area and make sure you will be able to keep housing affordable and accessible. Steven Taylor Los Angeles said, “Providing safe and affordable housing is one way to give back to your local community”. Choosing the right location can be the difference between a help and a hindrance to the community.

Secure Your Finances

Before making an investment as huge as a rental property, make sure your own finances are in order. Pay down any personal debt you have, secure a down payment for your property, and make sure you have plenty of money in savings for unexpected costs that may come up. In addition to saving, make sure you’re aware of potential income opportunities as well. Landlords, such as Steven Taylor LA, are often eligible for tax breaks related to their business and properties, so make sure you do your research ahead of time. Don’t let any potential financial benefits go unused.

These are just a few of the many things to keep in mind when beginning your investment journey. Don’t rush the process and jump into an investment. It’s important to do your research and feel confident and empowered as you step into this new adventure.

Trauma insurance, which is also known as Critical Illness insurance, covers specified, serious conditions.

Owing to the current global pandemic, there have been many asking the question: does trauma insurance cover me if I am infected with Covid-19?

The answer is ‘no,it does not cover Covid-19’.

Aspect Underwriting’s Trauma insurance provides a lump sum amount to the insured for 11 pre-defined medical events, which does not include viral diseases like Coronavirus 2019(Covid-19).

Insurance agencies or underwriters provide product disclosure statements (PDS) that outline coverage details of their insurance products.If you have purchased a Trauma or Critical Illness policy as a standalone cover or as part of insurance bundle, you should refer to the PDS that came with the policy.

Trauma insurance is usually purchased with other similar products such as Income Protection, Accidental Death, and/or Total & Permanent Disability. These products can all be purchased standalone or you may select two, three or all four together. Each of them cover specific circumstances, their payouts differ from each other and do fit together to provide a great deal of protection.

Trauma insurance, as the name suggests, covers serious medical conditions and pays a lump sum benefit upon diagnosis of such a condition.

The most common trauma insurance claims are made for cancer, heart attack, coronary bypass and stroke. However, Aspect Trauma Cover provides extensive medical cover including 11 critical illnesses, that if diagnosed have potential significant financial implications over and above medical costs.

The 11 critical illness covered by Aspect Trauma Cover incudes angioplasty, Aorta surgery, benign brain tumour, cancer, coronary artery by-pass surgery, heart surgery, heart valve replacement or repair, kidney failure, major organ transplant, multiple sclerosis and stroke.

Trauma Insurance will normally cover those 11 critical illnesses, however by pure nature it doesn’t include a viral disease such as COVID-19.

There are many trauma products on themarket, and they are unlikely tohave Covid-19 under the list of medical events covered by the policy.

However, if you contract coronavirus and that leads to severe complications such as a heart attack, stroke or kidney failure, among others, the trauma policy should respond.

So, to summarise, Trauma or Critical Illness insurance do not cover Covid-19directly but it covers all the critical illnesses listed in your policy even if those ailments develop after you have been infected with the Covid-19 virus.

Inclusion of medical events covered by Trauma or critical insurance differ from one insurer to another. Refer to the PDS provided for all the medical events covered by it and if unsure,always contact your insurance provider.

Debt collection occurs when creditors want to secure Commercial Collection Services from a person or businesses, that they have previously been unsuccessfulin obtaining. Once the creditor cannot get their payment from a debtor even after multiple attempts,they will usually get a debt collector involved.Hiring a professional will save you from the headache of chasing the debtor, and a debt collection agency will have more experience and skill in this area.

A collection agency kennewick wa always needs to know and be aware of the legal obligations within their field. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has jointly produced a debt collection guideline to assist creditors, collectors and debtors in understanding their rights and obligations. These guidelinesare to ensure that alldebt collection activity is carried outconsistently and in linewith consumer protection laws.

However, what if a debt collector is also struggling to get the payment from a debtor, what can they do within the law, from here?

  1. Final Notice Letter

The first thing that a debt collection agency will do is send a final letter of notice to the debtor, to advise them that this is final notice of payment. This will normally be after they have received 2-3 friendly reminders already, through either email, letters or a phone call.

  1. Letter Of Demand

If a debtor doesn’t respond to the notice or the response is not good enough according to the debt collection agency, then the next step a debt collection agency will likely take is to send a letter of demand asking for immediate full payment. Until the debtor paysthe debt in full,they will keep receiving calls or emails from the debt collector within the legal obligations.

However, if you can’t make the full payment, you can talk with them to negotiate payment options.

  1. Negotiating Payment Plan

A debt collection agency will likely negotiate a payment plan with a debtor, if their response is that they cannot pay it all upfront. The agency will always be willing to help find a suitable payment method for you, as all they want it for you to pay, no matter how it goes about. There are various types of negotiations when it comes to payment that you can expect, including signing a legal repayment agreement with regular instalments, or a discount if you pay immediately.

  1. Legal Proceedings

If you don’t respond to any notices or demands, or if the debt collector feels that negotiation plans aren’t working,they will start legal proceedings.

They will collect all the necessary documentation required to get back all debt and take you to court. This will usually increase the amount you owe, as it won’t just be the debt amount, but the debt collection agency will file a “Statement of Claim” for the debt amount, debt collection costs and interest of the debt, for you to pay.

Once a court proceeding has commenced, you will have 28 days to pay the debt or file a defence. The debt collection agency can ask a court to pass a judgment against you if you don’t show up tocourt.

  1. Affect Your Credit Rating

If the court passes judgment against your or your business, it will be recorded on acredit reportas a default which will impact your future ability to take loans or get a credit card, until the judgment is removed. You will need to talk to the debt collection agency and come to an agreement to remove a default or take legal action.

  1. The Police Can Seize Your Property or Business

The debt collection agency can apply for the court to issue a warrant against you. If the court passes judgment against you, a court sheriff will visit your house or business, seize and sell your property to pay your debts.

Almost 20% of all Canadians currently earning an income in the country are self-employed, yet it remains notoriously difficult for them to obtain a mortgage; why should this be? As a growing demographic, and one that is set to increase, shouldn’t it be easier for them to find a mortgage?

Below, we take a closer look at the reasons behind the problems self-employed people face when seeking a loan to buy a property, and offer some important guidance and support:

Income – how easy is it to prove if you’re self-employed?

For the self-employed, proving their income isn’t always easy, and many owners of businesses record multiple expenses to try and minimize their tax requirements; this is something that the majority of lenders don’t (or refuse) to recognize.

If, as a self-employed person, you’re able to provide personal tax Notices of Assessment going back at least 3 years, and include them with your mortgage application, then generally speaking, you’ll be able to access the same mortgage deals as a traditional borrower. However, should you be unable to include these with your application, then you’ll have to rely on a solid credit history, and be able to stump up a minimum 10% down payment.

What other supporting documents must self-employed people produce?

To obtain a mortgage as a self-employed individual, along with your Notices of Assessment, you may also be required to include the following documentation with your mortgage application:

  • Statements of finance for your business
  • Evidence that your HST and/or GST has been fully paid
  • Contracts showing your predicted future revenue
  • Both your personal and business credit scores
  • Evidence that you are the principal owner of the business
  • A copy of your borrowers’ business or GST license or Article of Incorporation proving that you’re licensed
  • Evidence that your down payment was not a gift to you

 

Mortgage default insurance rates for self-employed mortgages:

If, as a self-employed person, you can provide evidence of your income through your personal tax Notices of Assessment, then your mortgage default insurance policy will be the same as if you were applying for a traditional mortgage. That is to say that if you’re only making a down payment of between 5 and 19.99%, you’ll be required to pay a premium, but you don’t need to pay it once you’ve put down at least 20%. Paid off over the duration of your loan, the premium is then added to your mortgage.

How a mortgage broker can help if you’re self-employed:

Knowing which lenders are offering the best rates for your circumstances – especially when you’re self-employed – can be tricky, tiresome and downright tedious at times, and that’s why working with a mortgage broker is such a good idea. Able to make sense of the mortgage market and translate it for you in layman’s terms, they also have access to many deals that you may not be offered if searching for a loan independently, and hiring one is always a sound investment.

For more detailed advice and guidance on securing a mortgage as a self-employed person, contact a mortgage agent, specialist or broker.