How to Put Your Money to Work

What does it mean to put one’s money to work? Basically, when you have money, 99% of the time it is sitting in a checking account. Most people that have their money in a checking have it in a non-interest bearing checking account. There are many reasons why this could be. First, the account minimum for an interest bearing checking account is almost always higher than for a regular checking account, and you may not have the additional necessary funds. Second, you may not know whether your bank offers an interest bearing checking account and, therefore, have never inquired about such. Last, you may not care.

Let me clear something up before we move on. Interest bearing checking accounts are not going to make you rich, however, why would you pass up free money? Additionally, this article is intended for your normal money supply (normal money supply means the money you use to pay bills, buy groceries, and use for all of your other living expenses), not money that you have set aside for investment. It would not be practical for you to move all of this money to a savings account, because savings accounts usually do not come with check writing privileges or debit card options. Therefore, you would have to constantly move money between your savings and checking accounts in order to pay bills. What is the solution? The solution is to find a bank that offers a decent interest rate and a low enough minimum balance for you to take advantage of interest bearing checking. Note that you may have to look beyond the “major” banks in order to find something like this.

Interest bearing checking is not the only way to make your money work for you. Investments such as real estate and the stock market can offer continuous returns (appreciation and rents in real estate and dividends and capital gains in the stock market) on your money. The problem that arises with these investments is the level of risk involved. As many people recently learned, it is easy to lose your real estate investment if you get in over your head. Additionally, unless you know a little bit about financial speculation, the stock market may prove to be a waste of time and money. Also, these investments may need a lot of initial capital to start and, therefore, may not be appropriate for your “normal money supply.”

Under the worst case scenario, you could put your money in a savings account. It will offer a higher interest rate than will interest bearing checking, but will have the disadvantages discussed above.

Find ways to get your money working and you will find that all of those extra dollars acquired by way of interest or investment will really start to add up!

Choosing the Right Estate Planning Advisor

What we create in life, we need to protect in death. Imagine that you are a successful entrepreneur. You are worth tens of millions of dollars. You own a lot of real and personal property and have many cash accounts throughout the country is various banking institutions. Should you have an estate plan?

Let us look at another side of the coin. Let us say that you are successful in life, but not in a monetary sense. You are very happy, are married with kids, and own your own home. You are a middle class person who does not struggle to pay the bills, but does not have much excess income. Should you have an estate plan?

What is an estate plan? Does it include a trust, a will, and a health care power of attorney or any combination of these documents plus more? What do I need? These are the questions that an estate planning advisor (usually an estate planning attorney) should be able to answer.

Everybody’s situation is different, therefore, everybody’s estate plan will be different. A good estate planning advisor will know this. Thus, the question becomes, how do you find a “good” estate planning advisor?

Let us face facts, estate planning involves the inevitability of death, therefore, if you are uncomfortable talking about your death or the death of a loved one, you will have to overcome this in order to advance your estate planning needs. A good estate planning advisor knows that death is a sensitive subject with many people, and as such, will act accordingly to your mentality. You should feel comfortable with and around your estate planning advisor and should never fear asking any question.

As I mentioned before, everybody’s estate planning needs are different, therefore, a good estate planning advisor should ask you about your situation and give you all of your available options as to your needs and wants. An estate planning advisor that tries to put your situation into a “cookie cutter” estate plan should be avoided.

Do not be afraid to ask about something you do not understand or about how something affects your estate. Many people have a fear about asking questions. They feel that they will be perceived as dumb or stupid if they ask too many questions. My thought on the situation is this; if myself and my family are going to be affected monetarily and personally by my decisions as to my estate plan, then I am going to ask any question that I deem necessary until I feel comfortable about what is going happening with my estate. You should feel the same way.

So, what are the answers to all of the questions posed above? The answer is that a competent estate planning advisor should be able to answer them. Find an estate planning advisor that can answer all of your questions, that you feel comfortable with, and that will create a plan that is specific to your needs and wants.