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Browse every published article connected to P. Christopher Music, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to P. Christopher Music, or search within this exact expert archive.
Why You Should Treat Your Household like a Business Do you treat your household like a business? Maybe you feel that treating your business like a business is quite enough. But think about it for a minute. As someone who owns a small business or a professional practice, you know there are some fundamental ways to operate that group activity so that it is a profitable, expanding endeavor.
Common Sense Rules to Keep Your Hard-Ea ed Money By P. Christopher Music Do you know the tale-tell characteristics that indicate “investment scam?” Over the course of the last two decades in the financial industry, I have had good fortune, and yes, bad fortune in learning about the realities of investments. When I speak with investors, it’s not uncommon for some people to insist on certain delusions they have accumulated regarding the subject.
How Can You Make Sure That Your Assets Are Really Protected? Are your assets protected? Are you sure? If you're like a lot of people, you may think your assets are safe, but the reality is very different. What is asset protection? Well, it is creating barriers between your assets and anyone who is attacking them. This includes lawsuits and taxes among others. Just know that if you own any assets in your own name they are generally NOT protected. Let's take the subject of lawsuits. Did you know that in the US alone there are more than 50,000 lawsuits filed each day? When is your turn?
Understanding the term is more important than ever in today’s economy By Christopher Music “Financial planning” is a term that has been widely used over the last couple of decades to attempt to explain the activities of investment, insurance and tax professionals. While it has been used more and more by these professionals for marketing purposes, the term is largely misunderstood by the public because the activities to which the name is applied vary as much as the entire financial industry.
Financial Planning Strategiesr Are you in control of your finances? Unless you're very unusual, the answer is probably no. And if that's the case, it means that you're probably losing out big-time. Read on to discover the two keys that get you started with effective financial planning. Sure, there are more aspects to financial planning. However, these two major keys are absolutely essential, and without them, none of the others matter. So they're the ones you should start with: 1.
How to Get the Most Value from Your Homer By P. Christopher Music Many people view their home as their largest asset. Thousands and thousands of dollars are spent each year by the average homeowner to renovate and maintain a home to provide a comfortable place to live.
Practical Financial Planning Advice You've got to make money before you spend money. If you think of the kind of financial advice you usually get from financial advisors, you'll probably find that it's pretty much entirely focused on the second half of that sentence: saving and investing money. That's certainly a legitimate approach, but it's severely limiting. How much can you really save and invest when you're dealing with a limited amount of income? Read on to find out about another approach. A company's financial situation has two aspects: what comes in and what goes out.
Good debt, bad debt - is there a difference? By Christopher Music Do we really need debt? Is debt actually something that is part and parcel of our economic existence? Let’s take a look at what debt really is. It’s defined as one owing something to another or the condition of owing. Why do we get into a condition that we owe someone else money? It is terrifyingly simple. We spent more than we earned. Money is earned by delivering a valuable product or service in which someone has given you something valuable in return.
2 Financial Planning Strategies to help protect your assets Would you like more control of your finances? The first thing you'd need to do is to actually create a plan. And then, you need to keep your goals and purposes in mind as you invest. But that's just the beginning. Read on for two more of the six key elements you need to deal with before you can be assured you've covered the basics. These two keys are absolutely essential, yet many people are reluctant to deal with them because doing so makes them uncomfortable.
How to Pay For Your Lifestyle without Credit Cards Can you afford your lifestyle? How much income does it really take to live the way you want? And what can you do about paying for it? First of all, what is a "lifestyle"? Well, it's the quality of your living and working environment: the house you live in, the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the car you drive, entertainment choices, etc. In other words, it's everything that you spend your money on.
2 Financial Planning Strategies that can stop the waste of your wealth Are you where you want to be financially? Or are you moving in the right direction at least? Chances are that you're not there yet, or at least not getting there as quickly as you'd like. Read on for two more keys to taking control and achieving your financial goals. There are actually six things you need to do to get on the right track financially. 1. The first is to set goals and create a comprehensive plan to get you there. 2. The second is to keep that goal in mind as you make investment decisions.
Strategies to Keep More of What You Make Well, the year is coming to an end and many business owners are meeting with their accountants and tax advisors to figure out how to reduce that inevitable income tax burden coming in April. Here are a few strategic ways to keep some more of that money at home. Business owners are often successful in earning some money beyond the expenses of acquiring it-in short, profit. The only problem is, the profit is taxed.
The way to prosperity is to run your household like a company By Christopher Music Where does the lack of control start regarding finances begin? Closer to home than you might think! One of the biggest errors in the field of personal finance is the lack of a position within the household “company” who is ultimately responsible for the economic condition of the group. This is the Household Chief Financial Officer (HCFO). The household as a group has agreed-upon goals and objectives related to financial matters.
How to Control Your Assets through an Effective Estate Plan What is estate planning? It is planning (setting out a series of steps beforehand to accomplish a particular objective) your estate (the titling, control, and eventual transfer of all of your stuff to others). Estate planning is done by working out how your affairs will be handled when and if certain events occur such as disability, incapacitation or death. This is done by working out a plan and implementing it through various legal documents and processes. 1) To begin, one must have an updated last will and testam
1. Income Planning — Creating and implementing a plan to increase the gross income of the practice and the household to accomplish the clients’ goals and purposes. This must be done first since financial planning cannot be done if no money is made in the first place. 2. Policies and Procedures — Creating and Implementing policies and procedures for the management of financial matters in the household to ensure that the household net worth increases.
Understanding Life Insurance Terms and Concepts By Christopher Music The subject of life insurance is often confusing to the lay person. It’s something that most of us need at some point in our lives, but it isn’t something that is as interesting as our favorite hobby. Therefore, there are tons of opinions about if one should have it and if so, what variety should be purchased. Why do we need life insurance anyway? From a strictly financial viewpoint, your life has economic value.
Why put yourself in a position where you are affected by the roller coaster of market volatility? By Christopher Music With all the volatility of the stock market, have you ever wondered what alte atives are there to the stock market? One alte ative to investing in the stock market, especially during times of exceptional volatility is in a Fixed Index Annuity (FIA), a hybrid between a fixed and variable annuity, for long-term growth. What is an annuity?
Having “the stomach for investing” can tell you whether you’ll win…or loser By Christopher Music Are you REALLY a stock market investor? When people learn that I’m a financial planner, I’m always asked the same basic questions: “What do you think of the market? What do you recommend?” It seems that people want to have some insight as to how to profitably invest in investments such as mutual funds or stocks.
Know the laws of investing and quit following the herd into financial destructio By Christopher Music Do you know the irrefutable laws in investing? This is not an article on different investment strategies, but rather more fundamental laws related to the subject of investing. Investors can be counted upon to make the same mistakes again and again.
One of the most frequently asked questions for a financial advisor is “How much money do I need to be able to retire?” Well, the answer is both simple and complex. To get a real understanding of this question, you need to understand the concept of “wealth equivalents”. The first thing to determine is how much money is needed annually to pay for your lifestyle. In other words, how much does it cost to live in the manner you wish to live? Let’s say, for example, that you spend $100,000 per year today to live comfortably.