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Financial Planning and Wealth Management

Nigeria is among the third world nations.This gradation is so based on the level of development and growth indexes emanating from the confines of the country. Recently, due to economic activities and government plans, the country is termed an emerging economy.It is positive to note that in recent times, growing economic activities in the nation has started showing signs of producing a brand new sets of millionaires. Among them are educated and non educated, young and old, local and foreign, male and female, and most importantly those that are financially literate and illiterate. They are coming from virtually all diverse areas of businesses. Most vivid of them all are those in banking, oil and gas, sports, manufacturing, transportation, telecommunications, real estate and our darling entrepreneurs whom we call, buying and selling folk.The numbers of these new sets of millionaires are bound to be expanding owing to the virgin nature of the country and the escalating demands of its over 140 million citizens and unknown number of aliens. Equally, worthy of note is the VISION 2020 proposed by the present president, President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua to place Nigeria among the top 20 economies of the world by that year.As noble as the ideas are, and as all spanners are now at work to realize this vision, creation of more wealth poses more problems less than the eyes can see in terms of retaining the wealth so created. On this note stands the need for a financial planner in wealth management. This notion remains novel, yet it sounds quite strange as many of our citizenry both individuals and cooperate bodies may not understand its place in economic affairs. Mr. President saw it as a dire need thus, in his state visit to Switzerland earlier this year, he called on Nigerian business community living there to come home and give a helping hand to realizing this dream.This service has been well established in developed countries and it accounts for the quantum leap in these nations wealth. It is not a chance occurrence to see empires abroad that has lasted for more than four decades and still counting. Among them, a word like PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT is quite a regular which denotes a specialized service rather than a generally offered service. According to Morgan Stanley a foreign financial service provider, “private wealth management” is a service reserved for clients with investments worth over $20 million.Based on this reason, the importance of a financial planner cannot be over emphasized. He occupies a central position akin to that of a coach. In his team are bankers, lawyers, insurers, real estate brokers, stockbrokers et al.Their duty depends on the originators instruction.This duty separates them from other the traditional financial services practitioners. Thus for a beginner he can be a trusted friend and guide to reach a set financial destination. For those who have counted a few millions, this strategic plans multiplies your wealth, for those in the multi million arena, their expertise will sustain, safeguard and transfer your hard earned wealth to your desired recipients.Cases abound of empires in multiples that have nose dived and disintegrated at the demise of their founders. Similarly, a person’s individual law does offer one’s wealth to unapproved persons. Also, probate taxes and mismanagement of wealth are not left out.The sole work of a financial planner in wealth management is to use various wealth management options to protect the clients’ wealth. When this is done the life span of wealth is protected and prolonged while a nation’s wealth is buoyed.Get a financial planner today!

Your New Retirement Lifestyle – Frugality: Doing the Best With What You Have (Part 1)

As I’ve recommended in my previous books, retirees should try to live a creative, innovative, and fun lifestyle that is within your means financially. Frugal living during retirement does not need to entail obstacles to living your dreams. You may not need to change your whole lifestyle either. It is all a matter of how you approach frugality. Try to do the most that you can with the resources you have available.Being frugal involves getting the best deal and may lead to you having fun and doing the things you want for a longer period of time. You may need to evaluate your lifestyle and adjust your expenses in an effort to allow you to do more and different things that are important sources of enjoyment during these years. Certainly your income must satisfy your expense needs. Changing an existing lifestyle during retirement may simply only involve reorganization. Basically speaking, a frugal retirement is carefully planned. You spend your money wisely to gain the maximum benefits. Ultimately, you would like to have a lot of fun with only minor adjustments. In fact, with a little creativity, you may need less retirement income. And, you may not need to incur ongoing debt with that credit card. If you intend to base your retirement strictly on leisure activities, the amount of money you spend could be excessive.As you develop your retirement plan, consider how important personal development and enrichment and productivity are in addition to leisure. In terms of learning, the cost can be pretty reasonable. You will find that public universities and community colleges often provide courses at nominal cost for seniors and retirees. Courses may be offered at your local senior citizen center or park and recreation department. Nonprofit organizations such as Elderhostel sponsor low-cost opportunities around the world. Obviously, you can explore individual hobbies or activities. Productivity activities can even be a better bargain, especially if you consider volunteering. As a volunteer you can give back and perhaps engage in a learning experience with little or no cost to you.I suggest that you begin by evaluating your expenses, both current and anticipated. Prioritize items in your budget relate to you enjoying your retirement. Focus on areas that may seem a bit too indulgent or excessive. Sometimes we can take for granted our luxury cars (and associated taxes) when, in fact, a more down-to-earth vehicle will do. The end result may free up a bit of money that can be used for other things. Ultimately, these actions may readily reduce debt and lead you down a path to enjoyable retirement lifestyle. Living a frugal retirement lifestyle may involve some experimentation.Online Retirement CalculatorsThere are a variety of on online calculators available to assist you. For example, CNN Money offers links to help you to “run your numbers.” Additionally, you can simply type in “retirement calculator” into your favorite search engine and come up with a lengthy list of programs.The calculators below are generally easy to use.• FINRA – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is an independent organization that oversees brokerage firms. This tool is straightforward and simple to utilize.• The American Association of Retired Persons features a calculator, which offers the ability to combine information from two people and change your rates of return over time.• T. Rowe Price offers an easy to use calculator called a Retirement Planning Worksheet.The next article in this series will feature specific suggestions on how to enjoy various components of your retirement lifestyle on a frugal basis. I am a firm believer that we can reinvent and rediscover our passions during our “third age”.

Online Car Finance

With the increase in the number of people who want to purchase a car through car financing, many car financing companies now go online to take advantage of the power of the Internet.Over the years, car financing has changed a lot in order to cater to the people’s demand for a more convenient way of shopping for car financing options. And because of the Internet, online car financing is now widely available to those people in search for a variety of options.Online car financing is very convenient. You can file your loan application over the Internet and shop around for a good deal from the comfort of your office or home. You do not have to visit your local car financing company because everything about car financing is already available to you online. You just have to email the company or contact their customer service representative for certain queries.Aside from this, applying for online car financing is not as lengthy a process. What used to take hours can now take minutes because of modern technology. You can easily browse from site to site to compare car financing companies as well as their rates. You just have to read and understand the details about car financing included in the website so when you file your car financing application, you have a clear understanding of what you are getting into.However, with the rise of scams on the Internet today, you have to be very cautious when selecting the online car financing company that you deal with to make sure you are not being taken advantage of. You should only deal with companies that publish their contact details on their website, including phone numbers, email addresses, the company’s address, and the name of the company head. You should find time to verify their office’s contact information in the phone directory or in the yellow or white pages. If the company is not listed, it could probably be a phony site.Online car financing is indeed a more convenient way to shop for car financing options and compare car financing rates. Just take the time to do your research, as this will help you find the best deal for your car purchase.

Best Photography Programs

A brilliant pianist has no need to look at the ivory, his hands know the way. This is also true with a great photographer, and the best photography programs instill this in their students. While allowing their talent to shine through students with excellent photography skills are able to function with their cameras instinctively. They are so familiar with their equipment and the training is so etched in their mind they are able to simply work, allowing their talent to show itself while the training keeps them on the path of correct procedure.The following is a short list of schools with excellent photography programs: Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara Ca., Brown College Mendota Heights, MN. Harrington College of Design, Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology, and Briarcliffe College. These are all notable schools that give fine photography training. These schools stay abreast of the latest technology in the business. Students are given the necessary training to keep them competitive in a highly competitive market. The best photography programs prepare a student to walk into any photography situation and go to work.The best photography programs teach a student to be creative without losing control of the elements needed to make a shoot successful. In the best photography programs students are encouraged to find their comfort zone and expand on it while learning the discipline required for success. The Photography business is extremely competitive and a good photography program does not allow its students to go out without having the skills necessary to compete. Many things are taught in the best photography programs: Video Photography, Film Photography, Visual Journalism, Still Life Photography, Advertising, Portrait, and Commercial Photography.A student learns and becomes proficient with their technical ability they are able to completely concentrate on there talent while taking care of the other aspects of the photography business. The camera is machinery a photography student must become familiar with; in a sense the camera is his lifeline. In the best photography programs the use of the camera becomes second nature the student has been trained so well.The camera and the hand of the artist has been the recorder of history for generations. The development of these skills has only come to fruition through training. People become so developed with this skill they almost function without thought of the technical, completely concentrating on the art, the way only an artist can do. The best photography programs have a hand on learning situation, allowing the student to make mistakes with the benefit of professional correction. We get unforgettable movie images and pictures of events that stay with us; this is partly due to reflective genius, and training given by the best photography programs. Photographic excellence is everywhere we look, and many places we don’t.