Five Secrets for Long-term Financial Success

Future financial success is not a guarantee that any one of us can rely upon, no matter how wealthy we are now or intend to become.

There are however five future proofing financial steps that we can take to protect our current financial status, improve our future financial prospects and secure our long-term financial success.

1)Know The Different Between Good Debt & Bad Debt

Bad debt is any debt that accrues interest month after month on outstanding balances and includes credit card debt of course, which is now the most common type of bad debt that we are all burdened with. Other examples of bad debt include store card debt, home secured loans other than your mortgage and any money borrowed from lenders dealing with high risk borrowers as they charge the highest rates of interest and have the most restrictive and inflexible terms and conditions.

Good debt is really only your mortgage, although some people would argue with me and include car finance in this category even though a car is not an essential item for most people - if we're honest with ourselves! Good debt in the form of your mortgage enables you to afford the roof over your head and for most of us it is the only way we will ever be able to afford a home.

Future financial success is not a guarantee that any one of us can rely upon, no matter how wealthy we are now or intend to become.


A mortgage with an attractive and affordable interest rate will of course cost you money but at the same time it enables you to purchase a capital growth appreciating asset that you can later sell and redeem cash from or pass to your heirs upon death and that will be a positively tangible asset to benefit their financial futures.

2)Get Out Of Bad Debt

Examine all of the bad debt you have and prioritize the amounts to be paid off first by beginning with the most expensive debt in interest and charge terms. Every month pay off as much as you can afford from your number one debt and proceed with this approach right through every bad debt you have until you have no outstanding amounts remaining.

Then - take on no new bad debt! Keep out of credit card and loan hell.

3)Pay Off Your Good Debt

Having worked hard for as long as it takes to pay off all of your bad debt you can now turn your attention to your mortgage - some mortgage lenders penalize for early repayment so consider re-mortgaging if you can get a better or same rate of interest and you won't incur arrangement fees, or try to arrange new terms with your current lender that will allow you to make regular lump sum repayments.

The shorter the life of your debt the less interest you will pay and the sooner you will own your own home - your most significant financial asset - outright. This will give you massive security and also free you up financially to enjoy life to the full and save more towards your retirement.

4)Save For Retirement

Most governments of the civilized world reward their citizens with tax breaks on retirement savings made. Furthermore many conscientious employers add to an employee's contribution to a works pension scheme. Find out what benefits you're entitled to and get a retirement savings plan in place immediately. It is never too early to start saving for retirement.

Whilst paying off your debt is an essential step on the road to long-term financial success, so ensuring your future is secured through saving today for your own financial wellbeing is an essential step. After all, if you don't look after your best interests, no one else will.

Put as much as you can possibly afford each month into the best savings or investment product to suit your requirements and circumstances - and start today.

5)Protect Your Personal & Financial Assets

Insure your life, your family, your health, your business and your home - then use the services and advice of qualified taxation and trust professionals to find out whether there are legal and legitimate ways in which you can reduce your overall taxation burden and your estate's future inheritance or death taxation burden.

Look after your personal interests today and ensure that your financial assets are protected for life.

Rhiannon Williamson is a freelance writer whose many articles about onshore saving and offshore investing have appeared in financial publications around the world. Visit this link to read her latest articles about Offshore Investment

Financial Planning (Only Necessary If You Are Still Breathing)

If you, like most people, have not seriously considered what steps you should take for planning your finances and are now planning on buying a house, getting married or having children, you will do well to read David Chilton's book 'The Wealthy Barber'.

It will not matter if you have never heard of a mutual fund or even balanced your checkbook. If dry financial reading is not up your alley, you will STILL find 'the Wealthy Barber' easy reading. It will have you fluent in financial planning in weeks.

The key to David Chilton's success with his book is that it is written as a story, rather than a manual. You follow three 30ish individuals as they build their financial houses from scratch. They get their information from one of the most knowledgeable and financially secure individuals in town - the barber.

The gem of this story lies in the fact that the barber shows how income is not the biggest factor in planning for financial prosperity - proper planning is. And you can have your own finances in order by reading and applying the tasks he assigns his 'students' while they visit for their monthly trim.

'The Wealthy Barber' has been favorably commented on by newspapers and financial reviewers because it does not stress budget or a reduced standard of living. It is these steps which often sabotage the best intentions of individuals. The sooner the methods are applied, the easier it will be to see their effects while maintaining your lifestyle, but it is always better to start now than not start at all.

'The Globe and Mail' calls 'The Wealthy Barber' "...a perfect gift for young couples trying to live comfortably and save money in an increasingly tough world". Is that not a gift worth receiving?

'The Wealthy Barber' will show you how to plan for your retirement, save for large purchases or future needs, invest, protect your family and avoid being victimized by financial blunders by exposing some financial products and services which you may not need, but are sure to be sold.

Although the story is set in a Canadian town, the general methods and training provide a valuable education in personal financial planning.

Having a clear understanding of your financial situation and preparing a plan is no longer a mystery. Although some decisions require the guidance of an expert, arming yourself with the right questions and basic knowledge will ensure your best financial outcome.

In today's world financial education is often sorely lacking. Taking steps to educate yourself, and pass that education on to your children will protect your family and provide an abundance whether you are current millionaires or not.

James Louis writes about things that impact our society. A long time investor, he likes to share his experience and insights. One of the subjects he writes about often is annuities. For more information visit: http://www.annuities-info.com

The Financial 'Killing Field' 

Countless would-be stock and options traders enter the market each day with an almost messianic desire to make money trading -- only to exit in defeat, with large capital losses. For those who survive and become successful at trading, it usually is necessary to pass through three stages:

1st Stage: Greed 2nd Stage: Fear 3rd Stage: Successful Risk Management & Consistent Profits

It is only at the third stage when profits become systematic and losses minimized. You may be in the greed stage currently, or perhaps you are already in the fear stage. If you are lucky or skillful, or have a combination of both, you may have passed right to the stage of successful risk management and consistent profits.

The bottom line is that no one can successfully trade if his or her emotions are swayed by greed or fear. It is no understatement to say that emotional decisions are a trader's worst enemies. It is only after establishing a set of rules that you know are sound (especially well defined risk-reward parameters) when fear and greed can be controlled and profit making made more consistent.

Often the quest associated with the greed stage is associated with the idea of "trading for a living" and finally liberating oneself from the proverbial "rat race." Ironically, many ultimately find a stable job comforting after the frenzied up- and-down moods of the madness associated with betting in the stock, futures or options markets. The "hoping" (praying might be a more apt term) syndrome -- wanting a market to move in a favorable direction -- is finally cured with a retreat to the office job (usually at some considerable relief), with shattered dreams, broken egos and too often an empty bank account.

These are the hard facts of life of trading in capitalist markets, too often down-played by the a new breed of online discount brokers and self-interested vendors of trading services (i.e., expensive data feeds and trading software) of one kind or another. Most care little about you, meaning about whether you win or lose, probably as little as the markets do.

When you burn a hole big enough in your pocket, they know there will be another newbie wannabe trader ready to fill the vacancy left by the last trader's blown-up account.

It is this reality -- a relentless financial killing field-- that keeps the real pros in business, since by definition with losers you have winners. Since options markets -- my favorite markets to trade -- like most financial markets, is a zero sum game, with every winner there must be a loser, a regular slaughter of the lambs is a prerequisite for others to survive. And the winners are usually the big guys (the "smart money") with plenty of capital and experience to weather any storm; the losers, the "dumb money," the members of the "crowd," (the average investor) are often undercapitalized and inexperienced.

In the options markest, the crowd is usually found playing the "long" side (i.e., leveraging their smaller capital bases with the purchase of puts and calls). Put and call options trading data and expiration patterns reveal that they are consistent losers. As you will see, though, it is possible to play the market without purchasing a single option--employing an option selling strategy used successfully by large professional money managers who have proven track records. I will discuss this approach in subsequent articles.

Meanwhile, if you are new to options trading, or trading in general, the old saying that 'haste makes waste' applies painfully here. Some words of advice: Take a step back and study the markets carefully before putting your hard earned money at risk.

In my next installment, I will show you why I believe options traders should explore limited risk strategies that take advantage of what is known as time premium decay. You'll need to learn some of the basic option concepts, so I will help you along with these essentials, as well.

That said, stay tuned for some good news about potential winning approaches that can hopefully keep you out of the financial killing field.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Trading can be risky and losses can be substantial. Trade with risk capital only.

John F. Summa is Founder and President of OptionsNerd.com (http://www.optionsnerd.com), and a registered Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). Mr. Summa writes frequently and is co-author of Options on Futures: New Trading Strategies and Options on Futures Workbook (John Wiley & Sons, 2001).

The Latest Investment Stocks Online Articles

Low Risk Investing

Check the facts and you will see that land can offer you better growth in the right location with lower risk than almost any other investment. There are plenty of companies that will help you and the investment maybe small but the change to your finances could be big.

Forex Trading

Forex traders rely on several parameters to conduct their trade. The more successful or experienced traders follow their instincts based on years of experience of trading in the forex market.

Financial Aid - Recently with a surge in enticement for online education some universities imparting it have devised several ways to financially assist the aspirants.

More articles coming soon!

Investing Stock Online Resources

Yahoo Finance

Wall Street Journal Today's News

Investing Articles

Big Brother Winners