ULTIMATE SMART MONEY where saving money is possible

Debt payment or retirement planning

UltimateSmartMoney — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 18:44:53 +0000

When you don’t have enough savings in your hand, it may get tough for you to manage your finances. The situation may also turn difficult when you have insufficient savings. How? Well, more than difficulty it creates confusion. The confusion pesters the people most who have numerous debts to pay, retirement savings to continue and very little savings to maintain both. Most of the people couldn’t make out what is their priority, debt payment or retirement planning. If you have enough savings, then you can save for your retirement along with paying off debt but if the savings isn’t sufficient, then it may be difficult to continue both.

Debt payments or retirement savings – Which one is more important?

Throwing away debts is a must for financial well being and retirement savings will secure your life after retirement. Both are equally important, so making a choice may get tough. Various financial advisors don’t find it smart to choose any single option.

It’s also true that you can’t think of hoarding money when debts are breathing against your neck. In such a circumstance it’ll be better for you to pay off debts with your limited savings. Otherwise the debts may strangle your finances and it won’t be possible to secure your future either.

Is it possible to continue savings along with debt payments?

However, you may continue your savings for retirement along with debt payments even if your savings are scarce. You must utilize your savings extremely carefully to maintain both. Here is an overview of how you can do that:

Find out how much you need to pay: You must get a clear picture of your debts at the very beginning. Also you must be well aware of your financial condition. If your financial standing is really poor, then you must not delay your debt payments. You may opt for debt settlement to pay off your debts as soon as possible so that you don’t have to bear the burden of interest rates anymore.
Set time specific goals: It’s always advisable to pay off debts without taking too much time. This is because of the ever increasing interest rates. Make your debt payments on time to eliminate debts right away. With gradual reduction in your debt amount, you’ll be able to increase your saving and secure your life after retirement.
Start saving with smaller amounts: It’s not possible to garner a huge amount of retirement saving instantly. You may have to start with smaller yet continuous savings. Once you get rid of your debts you can increase the savings. It won’t take you much time to save considerable amount if you’ll continue your savings on a regular basis.

What you must do for better retirement savings?

It’s quite obvious that you won’t like to reach retirement with lots of debts still chasing you. Debts will neither allow you to live freely nor will they let you save for a better retirement. So what should you do in such a circumstance? You should look for debt relief for sure. Debt relief programs like debt settlement and debt consolidation will help you to pay off debts along with saving some for future. Get professional help if required for better assistance. You may start saving for retirement as soon as your debts come under control. This will surely relief you from financial difficulties.

Author Bio : Dan Marshall is a financial writer and enjoys writing articles on the global financial situation, bankruptcy, making money online, the stock market, debt consolidation, and mortgages along with other finance-related topics. For more details you can check https://www.facebook.com/OVLGroup.

Social Security (FED OASDI) Tax Impacting Your Paycheck in 2013

UltimateSmartMoney — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:44:35 +0000

Have you checked your paycheck stub in 2013 yet? If you have, then you already noticed that FED OASDI/EE, which stands for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance/Employee’s Earning, under your tax deduction section went up significantly. The reason being is that employee’s portion of Social Security increased from 4.2% in 2012 to 6.2% in 2013. At first, I thought, “Oh, it’s just 2% increase”. However, I quickly realized that this 2% increase is actually 47.2% increase compared to 2012. For example, if you were paying $80 in FED OASDI/EE in 2012 every week, in 2013 you are paying $118 ($38 more every week)!

The maximum taxable income increased as well. In 2012, the maximum taxable income was $110,100. In 2013, this maximum taxable income increased by $3,600 to $113,700! This means that an individual who paid maximum of $4642.20 in 2012 will be paying maximum of $7,049.40, an increase of $2407.20! Sigh… However, As long as your annual income is less than $113,700, your contribution to FED OASDI/EE will not reach $7,049.40.

By the way, don’t expect that your Social Security benefit will increase by paying this extra 2% in 2013. There is absolutely no change in the benefit.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2013

UltimateSmartMoney — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 02:40:51 +0000

I would like to wish everyone Happy New Year! Watch and enjoy this spectacular firework, “Burj Khalifa – Dubai New Year’s Eve Fireworks”!

Taking Control After an Car Accident When Not At Fault

UltimateSmartMoney — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:00:35 +0000

I recently read an article from Krantcents titled, “Claiming compensation after a car accident“. I felt this article provides what you should do if you are in situation where you experienced a car accident. This type of information is important to keep in your back pocket just in case accidents happen. We hope we never experience car accidents but unfortunately, they do occur so it’s best to be prepared at all times.

It is highly recommended that you should contact personal injury solicitors if you are in an accident that is not your fault. The personal injury solicitors represent you by taking the claim against the insurance company of the person responsible for the accident. This is an important first step because most likely there is no cost to you even if you end up losing the claim.

The article concludes by providing a list of things you can do immediately after the accident such as obtaining driver information, taking description or taking pictures of vehicle, identifying and obtaining witness information, and calling the police and insurance company.

Are you prepared if you get into a car accident?

How to Get Free $150 Staples Gift Cards

UltimateSmartMoney — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 23:07:06 +0000

Recently, I read an article at MoneyGreenLife titled “Get $150 In Staples Gift Cards By Buying Gift Cards at Staples“. It describes how you can get $150 worth of free Staples gift cards, which could come very handy in preparation for the holiday spending season. The best way to take advantage of this free gift cards is to spend $1000 to buy VISA or MasterCard prepaid gift cards using one of your credit cards that accumulate points. You can use them to spend anywhere just like a debit card. However, be aware that there is an activation fees for these gift cards that you buy, totaling $34.75. So, in the end you will gain $115.25. I think this is still worth it because not only do you get more than $100 worth of Staples gift cards, you also accumulate credit card points. If $1000 is too high, you can spend as little as $100 to take advantage of this offer. I recommend spending at least $200 so that you can maximize the activation fee. You can easily submit a Staples online rebate form, which even tracks rebate status.