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"My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected and the despised."

Jesse Jackson



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Featured Investing Articles

Investing the Right Way
The world of investments offers a dangerous draw: huge rewards with the chance of terrible losses. Investors love the idea of accumulating wealth, but no one likes losing money. The trick is to know how to invest with minimal risk. Nobody can predict the ...

It's Stocks, Not Markets, that Bring Investment Success
It's Stocks, Not Markets, that Bring Investment Successby Gabriel NijmehIf you are fairly new to investing and looking for some guidanceor if you are seasoned investor, let me introduce you to NAIC.National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) is a ...

Small Cap and Big Cap Investing
To be honest, it doesn't matter what type of stocks we invest in. Common stock with small capitalization (defined as having market capitalization of $ 500 Million or less) and big capitalization (market capitalization of $ 5 Billion or more) can give you ...




Does Your Life Include a RIPE Plan?–Planning Tips for Retirement, Investing, Protection, and Estate Planning – Part 1 (Retirement)
 
Does Your Life Include a RIPE Plan?–Planning Tips for Retirement, Investing, Protection, and Estate Planning – Part 1 (Retirement)
by: Janet L. Hall

No matter what your age or years of work, it's almost never too late to start planning for your retirement. As a matter of fact, the younger you are, the less chance you will have of becoming destitute, or a * bag * person. I'm not trying to be funny, it can happen to you if you don't watch what you are doing and PLAN for the future.

Ponder for a minute on the questions below:

~~ What kind of life do you want in your * golden years *?
~~ How will you use your retirement time, meaning, what activities, interests, or travel might you want to pursue?
~~ Will you need or want to change your housing and lifestyle completely or do you hope you can * stay where you are, doing the same things you've always done *?
~~ If you are planning on living in a different area, what are the standards of living in that area OR what are the chances of the standard of living increasing or decreasing where you are currently living?
~~ How might your health affect your retirement?
~~ Will you need to continue to work part-time after retirement to * make ends meet *? How will that affect your benefits?
~~ Do you want to start your own business, many people do after retirement, and how will that affect your benefits?
~~ What * support * systems do you have or need to have in place?

If a company employs you, you need to FIND OUT:

~~ if they have a retirement plan (benefits), such as a pension or 401(k)
~~ what your TOTAL monthly or lump sum disbursement will be
~~ how much you can contribute
~~ length of service required to be eligible to collect benefits
~~ age required to be eligible to collect benefits
~~ if the plan will meet your needs/lifestyle after retirement

Take the time and schedule an appointment with your employer's * benefits person * and discuss YOUR retirement plan. Ask them about YOUR Statement Of Accrued Benefits (SAB). This is YOUR personal account and will tell you the benefits you can expect based on your salary and retirement time.

If you're self-employed, as many of us are, you need to establish your own retirement plan. The easiest plan is an IRA at which you can only contribute $2,000 yearly. If you're young (years away from retirement) check out a non-deductible Roth IRA. Other plans include SIMPLE, SEP-IRA, and Keogh Plan. If you want to learn more about these plans, check our Reviews section near the end of the newsletter.

Please don't think you can live on Social Security (in the USA) alone! If you have no idea what you MIGHT have already accumulated into Social Security, FIND OUT! (Link for SSA in Reviews section)

WARNING and a TIP: Just when you thought you were covered! One thing that can zap you financially is a divorce (I hope this never happens to you) and your pension plan could be one of your largest assets to be DIVIDED up (I've seen this happen). SO, if you're married, I sincerely hope you stay so happily and forever after!

Smiles, not Piles,
Janet L. Hall
Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker
http://www.overhall.com
"If your current systems aren't working for you...
get an "OverHall"!"

The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional
Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of
OverHall Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to
her FREE organizing newsletter at
http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visit
her web site at http://www.overhall.com

Copyright (c) 2000 by OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to
reproduce, copy, or distribute OverHall IT! or any articles
by Janet L. Hall so long as article(s) is kept intact, this
copyright notice, and full information about the author is
attached.



About the Author
The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional
Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of
OverHall Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to
her FREE organizing newsletter at
http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visit
her web site at http://www.overhall.com




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The Guardian

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Regulators eye bank's role in Facebook IPOCBS News
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Apollo Investment Corporation Reports Financial Results for Quarter and Year ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Apollo Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:AINV) or the "Company", "Apollo Investment", "we" or "our" today announced financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and year ended March 31, 2012. The Company's net investment income was $0.21 per share for ...

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FoodNavigator-USA.com

Diamond Foods Receives $225M Investment From Oaktree
Wall Street Journal
Diamond Foods Inc. (DMND) said private-investment firm Oaktree Capital Management LP is investing $225 million in the struggling snack-food company, a deal that potentially could lead to Oaktree gaining a 16.4% stake. Diamond said the move allows it to ...
Diamond Foods Secures $225 Million Investment From Oaktree Capital ManagementMarketWatch (press release)

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Active Or Passive Investing: Which Is Best?
Forbes
A woman called my firm after reading about our Upgrading investment approach in the New York Times last fall. She was interested in our strategy, but she thought she was a passive investor, not an active investor. Usually what makes an investor passive ...
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Large Investors Choose to Swim on Their Own
Wall Street Journal
By CRAIG KARMIN Some of the world's biggest investors are betting they can beat real-estate fund managers at their own game. Put off by high fees and disappointing performance of so-called pooled funds, major institutions such as Harvard University's ...

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