A viatical settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy by the policy owner before the policy matures. Such a sale, at a price discounted from the face amount of the policy but usually in excess of the premiums paid or current cash surrender value, provides the seller an immediate cash settlement. Similar to reverse mortgages, viatical settlements involve insured individuals with a life expectancy of less than five years. In countries with high health care costs (such as the United States), this is a practical way to pay extremely high health insurance premiums and other senior care expenses that severely ill people face. Some people are also familiar with life settlements, which are similar transactions but involve insureds with longer life expectancies (two to fifteen years). - From Wikipedia and other sources 5/2007Retirement Savings Plan - How To Start Your Own
You know you should have a retirement savings plan for your financial security. Where to put the money is not the issue. There are many places to put your retirement savings. Finding the money to put in the plan is the concern. Here's how to start one on your own, FAST!
The old adage, Pay Yourself First, is some of the best money management advice you will ever get. If you don't pay you, who will? How do you do that? Here's how.
Out of every bit of income that you make, immediately carve off 10% and stash it in your retirement savings plan. If you have debt and lots of past due bills, this is probably a scary idea. My advice? JUST DO IT! Making the firm commitment to yourself to operate on 90% of your income is half the battle. As time passes, you'll find you have adjusted to operating on less money.
The best benefit of this self created retirement savings plan is the peace of mind you'll have just knowing the money is there and that you are building your own financial security. You won't worry so much about money. You will actually start sleeping better at night just knowing the cash is there.
Do you think the whole 10% is too steep a step to start with? Take a look at your cash flow from a different point of view. Look at all of the vendors you pay out of your cash flow every week and get the idea that these suppliers are all on your payroll. Is there anyone you can get rid of and operate without? Is there anyone you can cut back from full time to part time status? Just look at the invoices that show up in your in-box every week, and/or those automatic deductions from your accounts and you'll see exactly who is on your 'payroll'.
Here is an example. I was working with the owner of a company who was having a difficult time cutting operating expenses back 10% to put away in his retirement savings plan. We looked at each expense from the viewpoint that the vendor was on his 'payroll.'
Right away we were playing a game of firing vendors like the extra $9.95 per month third-party fraud protection on each of his credit cards. We didn't renew the contract on some advertising that wasn't bringing in much new business and found a more cost effecrtive alternative and saved $280 a month. We consolidated a portion of his debt to a low interest loan and saved over $300 in monthly finance charges. We sold a lease-purchase piece of equipment he had no use for and paid off the note. That saved him $239 a month. We even fired his bank and hired a new one with no monthly account charges and got the old bank off his payroll to the tune of $25 a month. Now he has a nice pension fund building up each month.
Why is it vital for you to have enough control over the flow of money? It is the energy and life blood of a business. It is necessary to channel it through the income producing areas first to keep it running well. Everything runs smoother when adequatecash is available. And that includes you, the owner of the company. Our Money Management Software (http://www.moneymgmtsolutions.com/index.html) guides you towards making the correct decisions about how to use your income to increase your income and bottom line.
You can make a fun retirement savings plan building game with your company's cash just by changing your viewpoint about how you will use the money. Be the Donald Trump of your own organization. Take a really close look at who you are paying out of your hard earned cash flow. Don't be reluctant to say 'You're Fired!' and pay yourself 10% first by setting aside that cash in your personal retirement savings plan.
Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, has years of experience helping business owners and individuals manage their money to become debt free. To learn more about the Money Management Software she created, visit her website and watch the FREE 5-minute demo video at www.moneymgmtsolutions.com (http://www.moneymgmtsolutions.com)