A: Estate planning is important for everyone, regardless of the size of your estate. It’s the only way to control what happens to you as well as your assets if you become disabled or pass on.

You can’t just talk about estate planning; verbal agreements have no legal value. You’ll need to meet with an estate-planning attorney and put it in writing. The following two-part process can save you needless taxes, expenses and grief. 

PART 1: PLAN AHEAD

Save time and money on legal fees by getting organized before meeting with your attorney:

STEP NO. 1 — DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Identify beneficiaries: Write down whom you want to inherit from you when you die. Specify how much, what percentage or which specific assets are to be given to each person and/or charity. Note the special needs of any beneficiary, such as a disability preventing the beneficiary from working.

Identify backup beneficiaries: Select backup beneficiaries in case your first choices do not survive you. If you don’t have strong feelings about an individual for this selection, consider selecting your favorite charity or cause.

Specify the timing of your estate’s distributions: Decide when distributions should be made to your heirs. Some beneficiaries can handle a large lump-sum distribution while others, such as children, benefit from distributions spread out.

Identify guardians: Select the Guardians of the Person to raise minor children should both you and your spouse die or become incapacitated. Also select the Guardians of the Property to handle your children’s inherited assets (or your assets, in the event you’re incapacitated). Also, identify backups.

Identify your executor(s) and trustee(s): Name the persons who would carry out your wishes after your death. You need an executor to administer your will, and if you have any trusts, you’ll need to name trustee(s) to manage trust assets. For each position, select several choices since you don’t know who will be willing/able to serve when the time comes. To provide a check-and-balance, consider selecting co- or tri-trustees in larger estates.

Identify other decision-makers: Select the persons to make health and money decisions for you if you’re incapacitated. These authorizations are given via two separate durable powers of attorney.

Special concerns: Outline any sensitive family circumstances or concerns you have, that could affect your estate so your attorney is aware of them. Also, decide whether your surviving spouse should be able to change who inherits your share of the assets. This is especially important if you have children from a prior marriage.

STEP NO. 2: ORGANIZE YOUR INFORMATION

Make a list of all of your assets and liabilities to identify exactly what’s in your estate. Estimate the dollar fair market value (sales price) for real estate and other unlisted assets.

Include everything that would be received by your heirs and beneficiaries if you were to die today. This includes your life insurance policies, annuities, IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement plan benefits.

List all the primary and backup beneficiaries for any of your assets that have beneficiary designations (such as insurance policies, IRAs and 401(k)s).

Identify how you hold title (ownership) to each of your other assets. This can usually be found on your bank or brokerage statements, on your notes and deeds of trust, or your insurance or annuity policy.

Make a list of any important documents and where they are kept.

To help with these lists, you’re invited to e-mail yfp@financialpartner.com with your request for a complimentary copy of the Your Financial Partner Estate Planning Documents Outline Sheets in Excel file format.

Estate Planning Documents Outline

STEP NO. 3: SEEK THE RIGHT ATTORNEY

Identify several attorneys who specialize in estate planning. Get recommendations from your CPA, financial planner and friends. Estate planning is a special area of law and it is very important that the attorney you select is properly trained in estate planning and appropriately qualified to address your situation. You can check to see if he/she is a board certified specialist in estate planning law (which some states still describe as wills, trusts and estates law), an Estate Planning Law Specialist (EPLS) and or an Accredited Estate Planner^® (AEP)^®.

Call the attorneys and ask how many wills and trusts they have prepared this year and in the last 10 years. Ask whether the attorney also handles wills and trusts after a death to see if they’re familiar with handling the issues that come up after a death.

Find out how they charge. Estate planning is a specialty and thus some estate-planning attorneys charge from $100 to $450 per hour; others charge a flat fee. Make sure they will provide a written fee agreement to avoid surprises.

PART 2: WORKING WITH AN ATTORNEY

Bring your notes on goals (Step 1 above), your estate information (Step 2 above) and your current estate planning documents, if you have any, when you meet with your attorney.

1. Make the most of your first meeting. Discuss your overall goals and see how they can be met. Explain in your own words the estate plan you envision, then ask your attorney about tax-saving strategies and the main documents you might want to have prepared such as:

• Will
• Trust(s)
•  Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management
•  Advanced Health Care Directives
•  Living will

 Bring any of the following information, if appropriate, with you to the attorney’s office:

• Personal information, including the full name of you and your family members, addresses, Social Security numbers
• A list of your financial advisers
• A net worth statement showing all assets and liabilities, their current value and ownership
• A budget or analysis of your cash flow
• Employment benefits statements or summaries
• Retirement plan(s) and beneficiary statement(s)
• Life insurance policies
• Deeds to real property
• Partnership agreements and buy/sell agreements
• Your last two years’ income tax returns
• Any of the estate-planning documents listed above that you may have had prepared previously
• A list of your questions, concerns and ideas

By providing advisers with this information, you could save one to five hours (or more) of billable time.

Before leaving your attorney’s office, request a brief simple written summary of your agreed upon estate plan to serve as a record of the decisions you made. Confirm that you’re taking advantage of all tax-saving possibilities and minimizing administrative costs.

2. Review and sign documents. Have draft copies of your estate-planning documents sent to you for your review and approval. Note questions and changes in red ink in the margins. Be specific. If you have a large estate, have a copy of your documents also sent to your CPA and/or financial adviser for their input.

Discuss questions and changes with your attorney.

After you sign the documents, ask your attorney where the documents should be kept and how much information about them should be provided to your family members, executors and trustees.

Estate-plan documents are technical, very dry and do not communicate personal feelings. Consider drafting a letter to your spouse and family expressing your final thoughts and feelings to them.

3. Take care of title and beneficiary designations. Have your attorney make sure titles on your assets and your beneficiary designations are coordinated with your will and/or trust(s).

4. Update your estate plan. Once a year, call your attorney to see if you need to update your estate plan. Call any time you have changes in your personal situation due to births, deaths, marriage or divorce, as well as significant increases or decreases in individual assets and/or the size of your estate.

This information is brought to you by The NAEPC Foundation and Noverus, your financial and estate planning partners. © Copyright NAEPC, The NAEPC Foundation, Noverus and Valentino Sabuco, CFP^®, AEP®.

Now’s time to put the finishing touches on winning your 2011 tax-cutting money-making game!!!

Our tax laws are ever-changing, they are not intuitive, they’re difficult to understand and time-consuming. However, there are many times when it’s quite possible to reduce your tax obligations in ways that are legal and ethical. The tax laws change regularly, as does your financial situation. Therefore, don’t waste money by not practicing income tax planning to help win your “money game.”

Money saved through tax planning can fund other important life goals, such as funding your child’s education, buying a car or house, taking a family trip, achieving financial independence, etc.

Work on your income tax planning at least twice a year. The first early in the year, maybe when you complete your last year’s tax returns. These are due in April, but can be extended to October.

The second time is within the last three months of the year. This allows you to make final adjustments to your estimates and to take into consideration any changes in your situation or in the tax laws. It also allows you to see if you fall within the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) rules.

The AMT system was originally set up to capture tax from taxpayers who took too great advantage of certain tax breaks. These tax calculations are very complex – and likewise ever-changing – and are filled with all kinds of traps for the uninformed. You’ll need tax planning computer software for your calculations to be accurate. For 2011, the exemption amounts are: $48,450 Single or Head of Household, $74,450 Married, $37,225 Married Separate.

Tax planning basically is projecting your income, deductions and credits, then determining what the income tax will be. It also involves modifying your projected income, deductions and credits to give you a more desirable result. Tax planning can be done with tax software, if you understand both how to use it and how the tax rules work. If not, work with a qualified tax professional.

THE FIRST STEP

Most financial decision have some kind of tax implication, and  unfortunately most people choose to focus on taxes only when preparing their returns (after the fact). By doing so, they miss opportunities to adjust their tax situation to their advantage.

Most personal life events can be improved with some attention paid to taxes:

• Marriage or divorce
• A birth or death in the family
• Buying or selling your house
• Refinancing your mortgage
• Realizing a capital gain through stock sales
• Changing jobs or opening a business
• Funding and/or paying for education
• Taking withdrawals from retirement plans
• Beginning retirement

TAX-SAVING STRATEGIES

Lowering your income taxes is done in two general ways:

• Increasing deductible expenses and credits
• Reducing taxable income

Successful tax planning operates on the principles of deferral, tax-bracket timing, and the use of available deductions and credits.

To get started, here’re a few tax-saving strategies:

DEPENDENT EXEMPTION. Normally, you can claim someone as a dependent only if you provide 50 percent plus of that person’s financial support. But there’s an exception in cases where more than one taxpayer contributes to the dependent’s support.

If you and your siblings each contribute more than 10 percent to a parent’s support, your collective contributions equal more than 50 percent of the parent’s support, one of you can claim the exemption. All must agree on who gets it with a written agreement and IRS Form 2120 must be filed.

ACCELERATE DEDUCTIONS, DEFER INCOME. Generally take deductions in the earliest year possible, and delay income if you can.

For example, pay state income taxes, property taxes or make charitable donations before Dec. 31 so you can deduct them in the current year. But if you don’t have enough itemized deductions to exceed the standard deduction, or if the Alternative Minimum Tax applies to you, or if you have excessive itemized deductions, you’ll want to do just the opposite. (See why you need the tax software or a tax professional’s guidance?)

MEDICAL EXPENSES & MISCELLANEOUS DEDUCTIONS. If you have medical expenses or miscellaneous deductions (such as investment expenses and tax-preparation fees), try taking them as much as possible in one year so that you can list them all on one year’s tax return unless you fall into AMT.

That will help you beat the 7.5 percent floor (2011) that applies to medical expenses and the 2 percent floor that applies to miscellaneous deductions. (The “floor” rule states that in order for you to receive the deduction, your total must represent at least that certain percentage of your adjusted gross income.)

STUDENT LOANS. If your modified adjusted gross income is less than $60,000 ($120,000 if married filing jointly (MFJ)) you can deduct up to $2,500 of interest payments on student loans that paid for your education or your spouse’s or dependent’s education. If it’s over $60,000 but less that $75,000 ($120,000 but less that $150,000 MFJ) your deduction will be prorated.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAXES. If you pay self-employment taxes, be sure to deduct 50 percent of these taxes on your Form 1040.

BUSINESS EXPENSES. If you conduct an activity as a business, you can deduct the related expenses. Even if your activity is a hobby, you may deduct expenses up to the amount of revenue received from that hobby.

STANDARD MILEAGE RATES. If you can deduct mileage rates, beginning on Jan. 1, 2011, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 51 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

HOME-EQUITY INTEREST. Interest for consumer loans is not deductible. But if you take out a home-equity loan of up to $100,000, in most cases you can deduct the interest regardless of the use to which you put the proceeds.

RENTAL INCOME. You pay no tax on income from renting out your home for less than 15 days.

CREDITS. Tax credits are preferable to deductions. That’s because deductions merely reduce the income on which tax is based. Credits actually reduce the amount of tax paid. For each dollar of credit, you save $1 of tax. In recent years, a number of credits have been added to the tax code. Be sure you take whatever credits available to you.

As you can see, tax planning is truly a lifelong process. Look at it as a family game, your “financial money game,” and try to include the entire family – grandparents, parents and kids. Each dollar you save by using the tax-planning process goes directly into your pocket and can be used to fund your life’s most important financial goals.

On page 95-1040 2010 IRS instructions, you’ll find how long the IRS thinks it takes the average taxpayer to do their returns.

RESOURCE CENTER

www.taxsites.com/state.html   

www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/category.jhtml?id=30

www.taxact.com/tsupport/index.asp

www.hrblock.com/free-tax-tips-calculators/index.html 

www.irs.ustreas.gov

This information is brought to you by The NAEPC Foundation and Noverus, your financial and estate planning partners. © Copyright NAEPC, The NAEPC Foundation, Noverus and Valentino Sabuco, CFP^®, AEP^®.

SAVE MONEY ON TAX-PREPARATION FEES

If your records are well-organized, it takes less time to gather up the relevant documents your tax preparer needs to accurately prepare your tax returns. This, in turn, saves your tax preparer time, thus saving you money. Organizing your records also produces similar cost savings when working with a lawyer, a financial planner or a business adviser.

CUTTING YOUR TAX BILL

 By having a well-organized set of records you’ll be less likely to miss out on tax deductions you might be entitled too.

LOCATING KEY DOCUMENTS IN AN EMERGENCY

If something happens to you, or if you’re not home and a document needs to be located or information found, others will have a better chance to find them.

NOT MISSING DUE DATES FOR PAYING BILLS

With a good system in place, you’ll reduce the chance for missing due dates. This also avoids late-payment penalties and bad marks on your credit rating.

HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR TAX PAPERWORK

The hardest part of organizing your tax records is getting started. Creating order from disorder is much tougher than keeping order once you’ve got it.

Here are some general paperwork organizing guidelines

• Gather your “primary documents” in one location. Primary documents include your birth certificate, marriage certificate, military documents, passports, insurance policies, property deeds, wills, financial records such as stock purchase and sales confirmations, and your employment benefit statements. For a free detailed checklist of primary documents and some checklists for setting up or improving your filing system click here 
• Photocopy your most important documents, then store the originals in a safe-deposit box. This includes one-of-a-kind documents such as automobile ownership papers or negotiable instruments, like stock or bond certificates.
• Store your other primary documents and the copies of the most important ones in a financial organizer, such as an accordion file. Keep your financial organizer in a fireproof safe or box in your home. Do not put most of your primary documents in a safe-deposit box in a bank, as many states have laws that prohibit immediate access to safe-deposit boxes upon the death of the owner. Be sure another adult in your family knows the location of your organizer in case of an emergency.
• Set up a filing system to hold the many other documents you handle each year, such as correspondence, bills and worksheets. Use manila folders to hold your documents, and place them in a filing cabinet or file box.
• Start a financial planning calendar. Make sure important deadlines don’t catch you by surprise. The calendar should include events like due dates for estimated tax payment, renewals of insurance policies, certificates of deposit maturities, IRA contribution dates and property tax deadlines.
• Organize your personal and family data on a series of fact sheets. This will make the information easily accessible when you need it, such as when you must file financial applications, meet with advisers or prepare your tax return.

Income Tax Record Organizing Guidelines

Once you have begun to organize all the paperwork in your life, you can focus specifically on organizing your tax documents:

• Current Year Tax File: Each year, set up a new tax file. Use it to place any tax-deductible receipts and capital expenditures – new house, rental property, stock confirmations, etc. – you obtain throughout the calendar year. If you use duplicate checks, attach the duplicate copy to the receipt; if you do not use duplicate checks, write the check number and date on the receipt.

Also use this file to hold your year-end records such as W-2s for salary and tax withholding, 1099s from banks and brokerages for interest earned, 1098s for deductible mortgage interest, charitable deduction receipts, and any other pertinent records. This file allows you to find your tax-related items for the year when you are ready to meet with your tax preparer or begin doing your own tax returns.

• Create a Permanent Tax File: Once your tax returns are filed, convert your current year tax file into a permanent record by binding down your tax receipts, records and a copy of your tax return. Make copies of your capital expenditures paperwork  – new house, rental property, stock confirmations, etc. – and place them in your financial organizer.
• Set Up a Current Year Paid Bills File: Each year, make a new paid bills file. It is helpful to use a check system that provides duplicate copies of checks. File all non-tax-deductible bills, attached to a duplicate of the check used to pay them, in your paid bills file by check number. If you do not use duplicate checks, write the check number and date on the receipt. At the end of the year, you will have all your receipts at your fingertips. If you were not sure if something was deductible, your tax preparer can quickly find the answers for you from your records.
• Start a New Check Register Each Year: By starting a new check register every year you can keep each year’s check records with the tax records of the same year.

CHECKLIST FOR ORGANIZING PERSONAL VS. BUSINESS RECORDS

Maintain separate record-keeping systems for your personal and business matters. By separating your records, you provide solid evidence to the IRS of which expenses are for business purposes and are more likely tax-deductible.

Separate records also make it easier for you to monitor the progress of your business and personal financial situations. It can also help you save time when you need to prepare personal or business tax returns or financial statements.

Separate your business from your personal finances by:

1. Using separate credit cards for personal vs. business use. If you have more than one business, use a separate credit card for each.
2. Using separate checking accounts. Never mingle business and personal funds. This would be an engraved invitation to the IRS to disallow tax deductions for your business. And it will make cash-flow management a nightmare.

RESOURCE CENTER

www.getorganizednow.com/

www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/edit/news/stories/news_071900.asp

www.librarysupportstaff.com/papermngt.html

www.lifetoolsforwomen.com/p/paperwork.htm

www.fool.com/personal-finance/taxes/get-organized-for-the-irs.aspx

It is wise for your parents to have their documents in order. That way, they will have set up the desired legal mechanisms to help manage their financial, health and personal affairs when they’re unable to do so for themselves. Here are some considerations to keep in mind.

HANDLING FINANCIAL MATTERS

There are several documents your parents should have created or updated before either of them becomes incapacitated or passes on. By doing so they can materially improve how their finances could be managed for them and their loved ones.

Will

A will is the document through which your parents direct the disposition of their non-trust and retirement plans assets upon death. It also can appoint an executor, the person or persons your parents appoint to handle the necessary administrative affairs to make sure their assets are distributed properly.

If there are large amounts of assets, or special needs for beneficiaries, trusts can be created via the will for estate tax saving, personal servicing of family members or charitable reasons.

Living Trust

A living trust is a document spelling out the management and distribution of assets entitled within the trust while your parents are alive and after they die. If one or both are incapacitated, or one of them dies, the individual or organization (e.g., a bank) they name in the trust document as trustee will manage their financial affairs according to the terms and conditions of the document.

A living trust can allow you to avoid the court system for the management of your parents’ financial affairs by providing an alternative to a conservatorship or guardianship while incapacitated. A will does not address this issue.

Some advantages to bypassing the courts are:

• Avoiding the legal expense of initiating the proceedings
• Not being embarrassed by being declared incapacitated in an open court
• Not being subjected to continuing legal expenses for court accountings and reporting through the years

A possible disadvantage of using a living trust and avoiding the court system is that there may not be anyone (e.g., a judge) watching the trustee to be sure things are being handled prudently.

A possible solution is to have two or more parties acting together as co-trustees and making joint decisions rather than relying on the judgment of just one person.

It also may be beneficial to have a court conservatorship or guardianship even if there is a living trust. The legal proceeding can establish your parents’ legal incapacity to the world and prevent them from being bound by contracts or other documents signed by them.

If your parents have a large estate (more than $5 million for 2011-12), the living trust can also provide tax provisions that can allow them to pass on up to $10 million federal estate tax free.

Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management

For assets not included within a living trust, or if your parents do not create one, a durable power of attorney for property management can be created. Through this document your parents can appoint an agent, or agents, to manage their money and financial affairs in the event either becomes incapacitated. This document is usually effective only if they are incapacitated, though it can also provide for limited powers to an agent when they are traveling and financial decisions must be made.

Care should be used here because giving a power of attorney to someone is similar to giving that person a signed blank check. As with trustee appointments, if you use a person(s) as opposed to a corporate fiduciary (bank trust department), it’s usually a good idea to name two or more people to act together.

Nomination of Conservator or Guardian of the Estate

Guardians or conservators (different states use different names) are appointed by a court to make financial decisions for incapacitated people. The person(s) appointed are entrusted to take care of your parents’ assets that are not part of a living trust. In some cases, a conservator or guardian can ask a court for authority to sign a new or amended will or living trust for the incapacitated person.

If your parents have signed a nomination of conservator or nomination of guardian, naming their choices to manage their financial affairs in case of incapacity, the court will give weight to their selections. Before appointing someone to take over your parents’ affairs, there is a court hearing to determine your parents’ capacity.

Guardians and conservators have great power. They can spend and invest your parents’ money and sell their investments without permission from your parents. This is usually the case, as well, with living trusts and durable powers of attorney for property management. The difference is that guardians and conservators act under court supervision (although sometimes after the fact).

HANDLING HEALTH & PERSONAL MATTERS

Very often, health and personal matters are handled informally. However, three documents should be considered to protect your parents:

Health Care Directive (Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care)

Under this type of document, your parents each appoint an agent to make medical and health care decisions for them if they’re unable to do so themselves. This agent is typically someone in the family whom they trust to make routine as well as life-and-death medical decisions. If your parents haven’t created and signed this type of document, they can have the wrong people making their medical decisions if they are incapacitated.

Living Will

A living will (also sometimes called a natural death declaration) is generally used to limit life-sustaining treatment. Because the living will generally becomes effective only in a terminal condition, these types of instructions are often written into the powers of attorney for health care.

Nomination of Conservator or Guardian of the Person

Besides the above-mentioned financial matters, this document can cover who makes your parents’ personal, day-to-day living decisions in case of incapacitation. Without this document, a court has little direction as to the people your parents want involved or avoided in making domestic decisions, such as where your parents live / get medical care.

For each of the above documents, consideration should also be given to naming backup choices in case the first selections can’t serve.

The above-named documents are complex and are usually integrated together, thus it is highly recommended that you work with a competent estate-planning attorney to draft and keep them up-to-date for your parents. With larger financial estates, other financial advisers should be included in the planning. It is also wise to get these documents in place for yourself.

Consider opening a dialogue with your parents, siblings and adult children to address not only your parents’ finances and personal affairs, but the entire family unit’s needs. This concept of a “family office” has been primarily utilized by the wealthy, but today it makes good sense for most families to bring a businesslike attitude to their personal affairs.

COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID IN ESTATE PLANNING

1. Lack of planning
2. Unorganized finances
3. Not having wills, trusts and durable powers of attorney
4. Having out-of-date estate plan documents
5. Not coordinating life insurance and retirement plan beneficiaries and ownerships with estate plans
6. Not coordinating property title holdings with estate plans
7. Not having enough life insurance
8. Not having a location sheet
9. Procrastination

RESOURCE CENTER

www.naela.org/

www.naepc.org 

www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c23141.htm

www.elderlawanswers.com/Default.aspx

www.martindale.com 

www.EstatePlanningAnswers.org

At the end of the day there are usually only two ways in which you’ll have more money: earn more and/or spend less. To assist you with the latter, try playing a fun game we’ve developed designed to improve your situation. It’s called the “Cost-Cutting Money-Making Game.”

THE BASICS

To win at the “Cost-Cutting Money-Making Game”, you’ll need the right strategies, an open mind and a small amount of time and effort. It’s really a money-saving game, with techniques for saving large and small amounts every day that can really add up over your lifetime.

HOW TO PLAY

The objective here is to save the most money with the least amount of effort. Following are this year’s Top Suggestions for Saving Money. Check off any items that apply to you. Write down what you might be able to save in a month in each category, and then total your monthly savings.

Some strategies take a bit of time and attention, while others are easy to put into action right away. None have immediate impact on your lifestyle, however, over time, they can add up to significant savings for you.

As you think about your spending patterns and needs, come up with new ideas to add to your list.

To foster a little friendly competition in the game, challenge your family to see who can save more each month. The winner gets something special prepared by the loser(s) – maybe a favorite culinary treat or a pass from doing some household chores.

TOP MONEY SAVING IDEAS

FINANCIAL

1. Income taxes – If you regularly get a tax refund, talk to your tax preparer or adviser about reducing your estimate tax payments or withholdings during the year. Put that money to work immediately.
2. Bank services – Shop for no-fee checking and ATMs. Use free online bill payments and automatic payments to save postage and time.
3. Credit cards – Use a card with no annual fee and one that gives you “cash rebates”. Pay off your balances monthly. If you’re carrying a balance, ask your card company to lower its rate, or transfer to a lower-rate card.
4. Insurance – Consider raising deductibles or co-insurance on health, disability, auto, and homeowner’s insurance. Shop for better coverage at lower premiums. Pay premiums annually.
5. Loans – Refinance high-interest loans into lower-interest ones. Convert nondeductible consumer debt into a tax-deductible home equity loan. Don’t abuse this strategy.
6. Property taxes – If property values in your neighborhood have decreased, try having your property reassessed by your tax assessor to lower your property taxes.
7. Charitable contributions – Volunteer time instead of money. Donate household items that you no longer use. Consider making gifts of appreciated property instead of cash.
8. Advisors – Use qualified fee-based financial advisors before making major financial decisions. Prepare an agenda for all meetings to save everyone’s time. Use a discount broker to buy and sell your investments.

HOUSEHOLD

1. Get physical – Clean your own house, mow your own lawn, wash your own car, recycle your recyclables, etc.
2. Appliances – Consider upgrading older appliances to more energy-efficient models.
3. Utilities – Use energy-efficient light bulbs and lower your water heater temperature. Don’t use the dishwasher dry cycle and turn down the heat and air conditioning. Plant water efficient landscaping.
4. Phone – Shop for the best long-distance carriers and rates for telephone (including the Internet) and cellular phone services. Use the phone book or free online services like 1-800-FREE-411.

SHOPPING

1. Clothing –  Shop during sales or at discount outlets (making sure that “discount” prices are actually lower). Think twice about marked-down items – if you wouldn’t buy the garment at full price, you may not really want or like it that much. Consider maintenance costs – a garment that needs to be dry-cleaned every time it’s worn may not be a bargain at all.
2. Food – Grow your own. When shopping use a grocery list and avoid shopping on an empty stomach. Cut back on prepared foods; try using an online menu planner like www.mealsmatter.org/ or www.aflashinthepan.com. When shopping with kids limit them to choosing one item each.
3. Buy in volume carefully – Buying on sale or through big-box retailers can mean major savings, provided you stick to your shopping list and use what you buy. Needing extra storage or trashing spoiled or unused food waists your money. Set up a bulk food–buying cooperative with friends.
4. Coupons & rebates – Use them to your advantage and only if you need the item. If there’s a great special coupon offered through a newspaper, buy an extra paper and use it on a separate shopping trip. Before making a large purchase check online if there’s a discount coupon available.
5. Avoid impulse buying – Resist the temptation to go shopping just for something to do or to cheer yourself up.
6. Generic brands – By buying generic brands, a family of four can save as much as $2,000 a year on its food bill.

PERSONAL

1. Forgo little things – Saving $3 a day by giving up specialty coffee drinks, sodas and snack foods could add up to $1,095 over the course of a year. By investing that money with an 8 percent return, you’d have $16,772 in 10 years. Think about what that could mean in 20, 30 or 40 years.
2. Take advantage of community resources – Borrow books from the library instead of buying them. Run at the school track instead of a club. Go to free community concerts. Trade baby-sitting with friends. Have a yard sale to sell what’s not needed.
3. Automobiles – Make your car last another year. Conserve gas by driving below the speed limit. Change your own oil according to specs. Buy a late-model used car instead of a new one.
4. Meals – Take your lunch to work. When eating out at restaurants pick those that offer two-for-one specials or other discounts. People often spend more on restaurant meals or purchases when they pay by credit card. Try making it a habit to pay by cash or check.
5. Entertainment – Go to bargain movies or rent DVD’s and videos. Buy used DVD’s instead of new ones. Take the kids for a hike and picnic instead to an amusement park. Plan vacations you can afford. Lower your golf score by spending less money at the driving range and more time at the free putting and chipping greens.
6. Memberships – Belong only to clubs that matter to you, especially when dues are involved. Review your membership on an annual basis.
7. Postage – Use USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes for your immediate shipping needs.

RESULTS

If you practiced all these money-saving techniques, you could save yourself more than $1,000 per month.

If you’re 34 and saved this amount every month until age 65 while earning 6 percent on your money, you could have over an additional $1million! If you earned 8% on you money you’d have over $1.6 million. Not bad for playing the “Cost-Saving Money-Making Game.”

FREE COPY OF THE COST-CUTTING MONEY-MAKING GAME

You can receive a free copy of the “Cost-Cutting Money-Making Game” click here

If you have any great cost-cutting money-making ideas, send them along and see if they make next year’s list of top cost-cutting strategies. Email: admin@naepc.org

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release March 31, 2011 Presidential Proclamation–National Financial Literacy Month

A Proclamation

     Americans’ ability to build a secure future for themselves and their families requires the navigation of an increasingly complex financial system.  As we recover from the worst economic crisis in generations, it is more important than ever to be knowledgeable about the consequences of our financial decisions.  During National Financial Literacy Month, we recommit to improving financial literacy and ensuring all Americans have access to trustworthy financial services and products.

     The financial crisis was fueled by a lack of responsibility from Wall Street to Washington.  It devastated ordinary Americans, many of whom were caught by hidden fees and penalties or saddled with loans they could not afford.  Preventing a recurrence will require both better behavior and oversight on Wall Street and more informed decision making on Main Street and in homes across our country.  To lay the foundation for continued prosperity, we must expand the availability of financial products and services that are fair, affordable, understandable, and reliable.  We must also strive to ensure all Americans have the skills to manage their fiscal resources effectively and avoid deceptive or predatory practices.

     Building on the important protections in the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act, the Dodd‑Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which I signed into law last year, will help restore financial stability by enforcing the strongest consumer financial protections in history.  This Act created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency with one job — to look out for the interests of Americans as they interact with the financial system.  My Administration also established the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist the American people in understanding and addressing financial matters and to identify effective approaches to increase financial capability through education and access.  Additionally, the National Strategy for Financial Literacy provides a new framework for strategic coordination and an overarching financial literacy strategy.

     While our Government is taking decisive action to promote financial stability, our Nation’s prosperity will ultimately depend on our willingness as individuals to empower ourselves and our families with financial knowledge.  For more information on improving financial literacy, concerned individuals may visit www.MyMoney.gov or www.ConsumerFinance.gov, or call toll-free 1‑888‑MyMoney for guidance and resources.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2011 as National Financial Literacy Month.  I call upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities to improve their understanding of financial principles and practices.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/31/presidential-proclamation-national-financial-literacy-month

Heart2Hearts: Workbook and Deck of Cards

The Heart2Hearts™ Deck of Cards and Workbooks are the perfect client gift! Read more below or visit the private link for additional details.

About the Heart2Hearts™ Deck of Cards…

“How do I start a conversation about my end-of-life healthcare wishes?” “This is really uncomfortable.” “What should I say?” These questions were asked over and over again by patients. As a result, the Heart2Hearts™ deck of cards were invented in order to provide 52 conversation starters. You may find that you want to use them to play poker or as a regular deck of cards. Be prepared to have the most meaningful Heart2Hearts™ conversation of your life.

About the Heart2Hearts™ Workbook…

Illness, death and dying are not topics that we like to broach How do we even begin to confront these issues? Heart2Hearts™: The Workbook makes starting the most important conversation of your life easier. By completing this innovative workbook and discussing it with your loved ones, you will give them a priceless gift…peace of mind. They will know your wishes and can follow them if you cannot make healthcare decisions for yourself.

In this workbook you will discover how easy it is to:

• Overcome your fears
• Discover your feelings regarding your loved ones
• Improve the communication with those you love
• Share where you keep important financial and legal documents
• Determine what is important to your quality of life
• Ensure that loved ones will follow your wishes

www.discussdirectives.com/heart2hearts-acp.html

The Personal Financial Management System

Helping You Achieve Financial Stability, Security & Freedom

Managing personal finances is far more complicated—and far more important—than ever before. The recent housing and equity collapse, compounded by the loss of jobs, has created a greater need for proper financial planning. Many people feel less secure about their investments, jobs, homes, and futures. It’s hardly news that people are spending money faster than ever for housing, food, education, health care, taxes—everything! As a response, your financialPARTNER has been developed to help address these financial challenges and alleviate much of the stress that surrounds this area of your life.

The financialPARTNER system motivates, educates, and empowers you to improve your financial lifestyle by providing an easy-to-use, systematic approach to financial planning and asset management. This one-of-a-kind financial planning system helps you effectively organize, track, and manage your personal finances. It also gives you better control over your financial world.

Your financialPARTNER Guidebook provides you with a powerful systematic approach to help you get organized manage and plan your finances over your lifetime. There are over 200 pages of easy –to-understand instructions that will guide you through the 11 the subject areas of personal finances. A glossary of financial terms and a wealth of financial tips designed to help you reach and maintain your financial goals.

Included with Your financialPARTNER Guidebook is over 50 uniquely designed forms to help you record all your essential financial data, assist you with your family financial planning, and track your progress.

The financialPARTNERsystem does not replace trusted advisors, but rather provides you with a proven method to gain control over and better manage personal finances. LetfinancialPARTNER be the solution you have been searching for.

Page Count – Including Covers 208

Unique Forms – 52 within

Click here to download Your financialPARTNER brochure

www.laweasy.com