In the simplest of terms, and type of financial account that accrues or pays interest to the account holder by a bank (or any other financial institution) and cannot be used as money, such as by writing a check, is referred to as a savings account. Accounts of this nature enable the individual to set aside a portion of their annual earnings (or liquid assets) in the hopes of earning a monetary gain or return on their investment.

There are a number of financial entities or institutions that offer savings accounts. These include, but are not exclusive to:

• banks (commercial or otherwise)
• building societies
• credit unions
• mutual savings banks
• savings and loan associations

It is important to be aware of the fact that savings accounts are not like other demand accounts and may not offer certain convenience factors like other demand accounts offer. For instance, you may have to find an ATM machine or visit your local bank branch if you are unable to use a debit card or write a check to get some cash. Despite this fact, savings accounts can easily transfer funds from a demand account so that it is readily available for you to withdraw. For this reason, the money in savings accounts has been labeled as “near money” despite the lesser accessibility of these funds.

Income tax implications of savings accounts

Anytime you are preparing to file your income tax return, remember that your tax liability is based on any and all income you’ve earned in that particular tax filing year – regardless of whether or not it was documented and you receive a W-2 (or 1099) for the money you’ve earned. No matter what the source of the income is, you still need to file and report it.

Since the income that you are paid by virtue of the accumulating interest, this is considered as income and you need to report it. Additionally, if you have CD’s or an interest-bearing checking account, you will have to report the interest on these as income on these as well. This also helps you determine whether or not there will be additional IRS forms required when you you’re your taxes.

Reporting your interest income

If the interest income you have earned on one of your savings accounts is below $1,500, you can report this on one of three forms – a 1040, 1040A, or a 1040EZ form. Conversely, if your interest income exceeds $1,500, you will not be able to fill out a 1040EZ form and you will have to file what is called a Schedule B.

Schedule B is the IRS form that is required whenever you have $1,500 in interest income or more as well as $1,500 or more in dividend income. Fortunately, only one of the forms has to be filled out. In other words, if the dividend income is $1,300 and your interest income is $1,400, it won’t be necessary to fill out a Schedule B since your earnings fall below the $1,500 barrier.

What are immediate annuities? Well, there are many different types of annuities are designed in order to allow people to build up some investment for their retirement while not putting their entire nest egg at risk. An immediate annuity gives people the benefit of receiving their income immediately during their retirement rather than over time.

When you invest in an immediate annuity you will be buying into a contract with an insurance company or a separate financial institution that sells annuities. There are a number of annuities pros and cons but basically in exchange of giving them a big pot of cash you will be able to receive this money back to you in installments over a certain period of time. Let’s have a look at a quick example to see if we can make our explanation a little clearer.

Let’s say that there is a seventy year old man who is looking to invest one hundred thousand dollars into an annuity. If you were to consider his life expectancy then we could say that he will receive roughly seven hundred dollars each month for the rest of his life. If something unexpected happens and he passes away earlier than expected then the remaining value of his investment will go towards his beneficiaries (pending the terms of the annuity). This option allows you to guarantee that the value of the annuity will pass down onto your relatives. It should be noted that this option is not always available for every annuity and it is important to read and understand the terms and conditions of the annuity before investing.

It is also possible to do a life only payout option. This is used for those who do not see the passing on of the money as that important and in this circumstance the man could be looking at more like nine hundred dollars a month for the rest of his life instead. Because the return is not passed on to relatives after you die the annuity provider is willing to provide a higher return because they are less likely to lose money.

Of course, there are certain drawbacks to getting any sort of annuity like this. The main one to consider will be the fact that they are designed to be ’safe’ and as such fail to present the best rates of return, which could otherwise be found elsewhere. As with any investment you can and often do lose money so be sure the annuity risk is within your risk level.

An overview of the gold market

Of all the precious metals including copper, platinum, and silver, investing in gold and the gold market has been the most popular as the metal has been utilized as a hedge against economic downturns and inflation. Investors view gold as a safe haven for protecting their financial portfolios.

Gold also helps to hedge against other crises such as those that are currency-based, political, and social in nature. These different crises like our ballooning national debt, potential currency failures, declines in investment markets, inflationary trends, social unrest, and the potential for wars and other conflicts.

Factors that impact the value of gold

Like all commodities and other investments, supply and demand is the most common factor that impacts what the price of gold does. However, unlike those commodities and other investments, the disposal and hoarding of gold play a huge role in how the price of the metal is affected. What most individuals fail to realize is that most of all the gold that has ever been mined is still in existence and is potentially capable of hitting the market at the right price to create a buying frenzy.

The following is a list of three key factors that impacts the price of gold:

• bank failures
• real interest rates that are extremely low or even negative
• crisis, invasions, looting, and wars

Vehicles for investing in gold

There are 7 different investment vehicles available for buying gold that we have listed below. Although there may be others, the following ones are the most common:

Gold bars – the most traditional way of investing in gold is through the purchase of gold bullion, or more commonly “bars.” Major banks in several countries, such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Argentina actually sell gold bars in over-the-counter fashion.

Gold ETF’s – also called gold exchange-traded funds or GETF’s, are traded similar to the way in which stock shares are traded on the major stock exchanges of the world such as London, New York, and Sydney.

Certificates – gold investors can hold certificates of ownership instead of actually storing the bars themselves. In this manner, investors can purchase and sell gold without the physical transference of the product having to take place.

Derivatives – futures, gold “forwards”, and options are known as derivatives and are currently traded on the various global exchanges or in the private market in OTC fashion.

Mining companies – although these do not represent the actual gold itself, you are still purchasing stock shares in companies that mine it.

Numismatics (coins) – coin collecting has been around for decades and many investors have amassed quite a collection of gold coins over the years. Additionally, gold coins are available over the counter at banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Swiss bank accounts – you can purchase or sell gold accounts in numerous Swiss banks as you would on the currency exchange market. These accounts are typically backed by either allocated or unallocated gold storage. Additionally, the purchase or sale of these accounts occurs instantaneously.

What are CD’s?

CD’s are actually are technically referred to as “Certificates of Deposit” and are a time deposit, financial product typically offered by banks, credit unions, and thrift institutions. They are similar to a standard savings account in that they are insured by the Federal Government. They are insured by the FDIC if issued by a bank and the NCUA if they are issued by credit unions. Additionally, they are literally a risk-free form of investing or saving money.

However, there are some basic differences between CD’s and standard savings accounts such as having a fixed term of 3 months, 6 months, or from one to 5 years, featuring a fixed rate of interest and should be held until they mature when you can withdraw the funds along with any interest that has accrued.

Due to the fact that these should not be withdrawn on before they mature or reach the end of their term, financial institutions typically pay a higher rate of interest on these compared to standard passbook savings accounts.

CD interest rate guidelines

There are several different guidelines that are typically followed where the interest rate on CD’s are concerned. These include banks and credit union who offer CD’s that are not insured by either the FDIC or NCUA (respectively) typically offer higher rates of interest. Larger principals should pay a higher rate of interest but not all of them due and longer terms normally involve higher rates of interest except if there is an inverted yield curve (typically precedes a recession). Personal CD’s typically receive a higher rate of interest compared to business CD’s and smaller financial institutions tend to offer higher rates of interest than the larger ones.

How CD’s work

CD’s usually have specific deposit requirements and may afford you a higher rate of interest on larger deposit amounts. In the US, “Jumbo CD’s”, those CD’s that typically have a $100,000 deposit minimum or larger, pay higher rates of interest. Just be aware that this is not a standard rule of thumb with all financial institutions that offer Jumbo CD’s. Ironically, even though they are technically called Certificates of Deposit, there is no actual “certificate” that comes with the account. Account activity is usually monitored by virtue of a passbook and a monthly statement.

Where the payout of interest is concerned, account holders usually have the option of receiving the interest in the form of a check or deposited into a checking or savings account. Just remember that the interest needs to be accounted for when filing your taxes. The downside is that there will be no compounding since you are withdrawing the interest so the yield is ultimately reduced.

When it comes to closing a CD before it reaches maturity, be aware that the partial or total withdrawal will be subjected to penalty fees. As an example, withdrawing the funds from a 5-year CD will usually result in losing 6 months worth of interest. The penalties that arise are a way of letting the account holder know that early withdrawal is not in their best interest and should be avoided.

When you are looking at your entire portfolio it’s easy to get stuck thinking about stocks, bonds and mutual funds but dont forget to think about your insurance policies as an investment as well. Insurance is one of the most important considerations in your financial plan because it helps to protect you from worst case scenarios which can be far more devastating than a loss from one of your investments.

Whatever image you may have of life insurance agents, whether negative or positive, you should realize that their responsibility to you is to guide you and assist you with all of your specific life insurance needs. They can walk you through the decision process and help you to positively impact the lives of your family members and loved ones for that time in life when you are no longer alive. Therefore, it is critical that you select the right life insurance agent and company to handle your personal needs.

First and foremost, it is your specific life insurance needs that should be considered when you set out to choose the ideal life insurance agent. Remember that you are ultimately the individual that has to pay for that policy and then benefit from it. Additionally, you need to take into consideration what your finances will allow you to pay for a life insurance policy and how much you are hoping to benefit from that policy. Here are some helpful tips where this is concerned.

Determine how much you can afford to spend on your policy – the life insurance agent you select should be able to assist you with the choices available that will best suit your budget. Therefore, establishing your budget for an insurance policy is most likely your first move when shopping around for an agent and a policy. Take your fixed monthly costs into consideration when establishing your budget. These include insurance (auto, home, and life), monthly loan obligations, monthly mortgage payment (or rent payment if you are not a homeowner), and other necessary living expenses (e.g. food and utilities).

The next step is to divide your monthly salary in half. The best case scenario is that one half should cover all of the above expenses and the other half needs to go towards other necessities such as retirement and savings.

Determine your specific life insurance needs – there are 3 basic factors that you need to consider when shopping around for a life insurance agent and policy. These include ensuring that your debts will be paid should you pass away, income replacement to compensate for the loss of yours, your dependents needs being satisfactorily met.

Your next move will be to find a life insurance agent and policy that facilitates the above primary needs within your budget.

Additionally, you want to consider any intangibles such as the customer service levels of that particular company as well as how responsive that life insurance agent will be. You need the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your policy will handle whatever situations arise as well as knowing that you are never out of touch with that agent should the need arise. The bottom line is that you want to find the ideal life insurance agent, the right life insurance policy, and at a price that fits within the parameters of your budget.

If you are a beginning stock investor, there are certain steps that you will want to take in order to choose those stocks that you want to invest in. Just remember is that purchasing, selling, and/or trading stocks does not have to be as difficult as what many people might tell you. Just start out slowly and take some time analyzing the companies and their stocks before making your move. Here are 15 steps to consider before making your decision:

Educate yourself – read up on accounting, finance, publicly traded companies, and the stock market

Read the business section of the newspaper – better yet, subscribe to Investor’s Business Daily or the Wall Street Journal

Consider only those industries that you are familiar with – less education time means getting into the fray quicker

Think about stocks in companies or products that you like – take overall popularity factors into consideration

Research the companies you are considering – get to know the company, its industry trends, and how its stock has performed in the past few years

If possible, check out the company financial statements – you will need to learn how to analyze these in order to minimize your risk when deciding on a stock to purchase

Familiarize yourself with several online investing informational websites – this will provide you with knowledge regarding a company’s balance sheet, dividend records, growth or loss of earnings, free cash flow, number of shares outstanding and the company’s revenue growth consistencies or inconsistencies.

Decide on the amount of money that you want to risk – the first rule of thumb here is never invest more than you can afford to lose

Follow the stocks for a couple of weeks on a daily basis – this will help you decide if you want to order a specific quantity of shares or pass them up

Educate yourself on stock identification – certain criteria or information may indicate a potential price appreciation in the future

Calculate when to purchase, sell, or trade stocks – determine a method or technique for doing this so that you will know better timing on purchasing, selling, or trading stocks as well as when you should just walk away and not risk any more or your money

Consider learning how to use technical analysis – stock charts are invaluable where this is concerned, so are other tools such as candlestick charting, EMA, or MACD in order to learn and better time your entries and exits

Pay attention to the more reputable and respected stock analysts and experts – again, this is all part of your stock market investing education

Read up on all of their strategies – if a person is a published successful investor, you would be wise to read what their stock investment strategies

Think logically before you settle on the stocks you are thinking about purchasing – where are you hoping to go with your investments? If you are just starting out, you’re at the bottom and the only way is up (make sure that you always keep an eye on market trends as well)

What is a portfolio?

Whenever you are talking about investments, the term “portfolio” usually refers to a collection of investments that an individual currently owns. These include bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and other investments. Whenever you have an investment portfolio, the aspects of diversification and management play significant roles in that they can have a positive or negative impact on how well it performs for you. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced investor, these factors must be monitored in order to be successful.

four key steps to managing your portfolio properly

Learning how to manage your portfolio properly is critical if you are a do-it-yourself type of investor, especially if you are a beginning investor. Here are four helpful tips to managing your portfolio successfully:

1. There is a lot of information regarding mutual funds – unfortunately, not all of it can be relied upon, so you need to re-read and re-think everything that you have read.
2. Some things you can control while there are others you cannot – in order to avoid getting frustrated and overwhelmed, take control over what you can.
3. Always look at the business that the fund stems from – even though the stock market has been unstable, some businesses have not incurred much risk.
4. Review what stocks you may have in your portfolio to make sense out of the investments you have made – remember that valuation always matters.

There is no point in babysitting your portfolio each and every hour of the day – just remember to remain calm and stay focused in order to make better financial decisions.

The best ways to diversify your investment portfolio

One of the key benefits of diversifying your investment portfolio is that it affords you the ability to realize more significant earnings and decrease your risk rather than if you only invest in one financial instrument. In order to find the right combination of assets for your investment portfolio, here are 4 strategies involved where diversification is concerned:

1. Follow charts that are “age-based”

2. Follow charts that are “risk-based”

3. Invest money by “asset class”

4. Invest money by industry sector

Basically, choosing a risk-based chart means, your risk should decrease as your investment ages. In other words, as you get closer to retirement, your retirement nest egg should become increasingly safer and less risky. In most instances, you can find a wide array of options within each of the four options listed above.

You want to research several factors thoroughly before diving in such as associated expenses, performance track records, and the different types of investments involved. The next thing you want to do in order to diversify your investment portfolio is to allocate your funds accordingly. Having a 401(k) plan enables you to allocate your money on a monthly or a weekly basis. However, you want to be careful and make sure that the money gets allocated into non-taxable personal accounts as well as those that are taxable.

For many individuals, the stock market has provided them with an avenue for wealth for decades now. Prior to the advent of the internet, stock trading was conducted between the investor and a stock broker. Now you can find online brokers and conduct stock trades from the comfort of home. In any event, choosing a stock broker could prove to be one of the wisest decisions you can ever make if you intend to purchase, sell, and trade stocks in the stock market.

5 steps to finding the best stock broker

In order to find the best stock broker, there are 5 steps that you should take before selecting the one you want to conduct your financial business with:

Determine what your financial goals are first – if you are only using a small percentage of your assets to invest in the stock market, you want cost control to be your primary priority. You can do this by utilizing different financial publications such as Barron’s or the Kiplinger reports and compare the different brokerages out there in the marketplace. This also enables you to find out who offers the lowest fee and commission structures.

Conversely, if you are looking to make larger investments, you should consider the broker’s capabilities and not those fees and commissions. Just remember that capabilities and pricing are not mutually exclusive when selecting a broker. This is due to the fact that those lower cost brokerages out there have received high customer satisfaction ratings on a consistent basis.

Decide between investing and trading – investing typically involves deploying your assets (funds) for a longer period of time (up to a year or more) whereas trading involves the frequent purchase and selling of stocks in the hopes of experiencing recurring profits.

Consider how much advice and help that you will require from that broker – if you are just starting to invest in the stock market, we recommend that you search for a broker that is a full-service broker. They are skilled at assisting you with advice on the different investment methods, procedures, and trends. On the other hand, if you are experienced, then you might want to consider conducting stock trades online at one of the internet’s many stock trading websites.

Give some serious thought to the types of stocks you want to purchase or trade – remember that there are some brokerages that only purchase, sell, and trade stocks of American mainstream companies and have millions of dollars of market capitalization. Additionally, you want to make sure that your broker has the capability of assisting you in the purchasing of shares of foreign entities, low-market capitalization corporations, non-liquid penny stocks, and any other types of irregular securities.

Check for SIPC registration – you want to make sure that the broker you are intending doing business with is registered with the SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation). The SIPC insures your account for up to a quarter million dollars. You may also want to consider brokers that carry additional insurance from private providers (e.g. Lloyd’s of London for example).

Are you considering making any investments? Have you heard people say that it is smart to obtain them in order for a better future? Are you unsure of what they are exactly? If you answered yes, you are not alone. A lot of people find them very confusing. Here are the basics of mutual funds.

First off, let us define what they are before we get into the basics of mutual funds. They are a collection of bonds and stocks. They are shares you own of a company you have invested in. They do carry risk of loss, but typically with the higher the risk, the higher the potential of making more.

There are many types of funds. Some are bond, income, balanced, asset allocation, global, international, specialty, sector, regional, ethical, and index funds. Though, the main three are equity funds, fixed income funds, and money market funds.

Equity funds are stocks. This is the largest scale category. Most people pick these because they wish to gain capital growth for the long run.

Another type is fixed income funds, which are bonds. These are investments with returns that are in the form of payments that are fixed and paid periodically. An example of this is government bonds.

Money market funds are another type. This is where financial instruments are traded if they have high liquidity and short maturities. It is where people lend and borrow for short periods of time, usually a year or under. They consist of a few factors. They involve certificates of deposit (called CDs) that are negotiable, treasury bills, municipal notes, banker acceptance, federal funds, repurchase agreements, and commercial paper.

Those were the basics of mutual funds. Hopefully now with this information, you will be able to select the right type for you, if you are interested in getting them.