Finance News Blog

Teaching Your Kids To Be Responsible With Money

Teaching children to be responsible with money is an important part of parenting. After all, you want your children to grow up to be productive members of society who can take care of themselves and manage their assets well. You can begin money education at a young age, and letting children have some money to spend independently can help foster good saving and spending skills. Consider these three ways to teach your kids about money.

1. Give a Weekly Allowance

When kids have chores that they must complete to earn an allowance, they learn the importance of work. The money is much more valuable if they earned it rather than if it is simply given to them. Setting clear chore expectations with a set allowance amount each week can help your family get things done around the house while learning valuable lessons.

2. Demonstrate the Importance of Saving

Instead of getting your teen the items from KratomMystic.com that they have been wanting, make them save up for it. Show them that it takes time to get enough money for things that they want and that they must work harder to buy fun things. They will learn to appreciate the things they are able to buy more because they will know they earned it.

3. Affirm Good Spending Choices

When you see your child make a smart financial decision, say so. This helps them build confidence in themselves that they can handle the money that they earn and spend it wisely.

There are so many things to teach your children, but financial matters are definitely an important one. Instead of focusing on the dollar amount of an allowance, focus on the hard work and effort that they do. Reward positive behavior, and encourage them to be smart in their money matters.

What Type of Investor Needs Financial Advice?

Let me begin this article by explaining that every investor will have a very unique set of circumstances, be it financial, relationships or geographical, which makes their needs slightly different from the rest of the population.

In that vein, you should always read guides about whether you need financial advice with a pinch of salt – after all, no journalist or writer will understand your situation and be able to make a proper assessment.

That being said, financial advice is not for everyone. Everyone, from the UK financial regulator, to financial advisers themselves will be upfront and admit this.

So, who are financial advisers an ideal match for? What type of investor should be seeking professional advice on matters such as investments? Let’s take a look at different investor types (by general bucket) and see how a financial advisor could help or hinder them.

Novices (People who have little interest or knowledge of investing)

The first group of investors are the novices. And I mean complete novices – those who aren’t familiar with the characteristics of stocks & shares or corporate bonds. A novice won’t have directly invested into equities, bonds or property before. They won’t have even read an investing book.

As a result, they will have typically kept their savings in a safe, government-backed bank account or savings bond.

For this group of people, financial advisers offer a gateway into a far more lucrative form of investing.

Without the support of a qualified professional, a novice may never feel they have the confidence or direction to place money into a diversified portfolio of assets. The financial adviser is not only an adviser, but also a sign-post, capable of educating and opening the eyes of novices to better opportunities beyond the horizon.

This group of investors are well catered for by the financial advice industry. They will be dealt with by advisers who can communicate complex matters clearly and in simple terms that they will understand.

The Wealthy

The wealthy could also benefit from financial advice because for them, it’s virtually free. What do I mean by that? A rich person discount? Absolutely not, if anything, a financial adviser will charge higher fees to a wealthy individual.

However, fees for upfront advice (such as creating an investment plan) tend to be fixed rather than % based. This means that for an investor with a £20m sum of money to invest (such as a lottery winner), the fee will be capped at (for example) £10,000. £10,000 may feel like a significant amount of money to spend on a few hours or days of research and advice, however relative to the investment itself, it’s a modest amount (It’s 0.05%!).

The benefits of advice scale up with the size of the investment – the money you have invested, the more financially better off advice could make you. However the costs don’t scale up. This makes professional advice a perfect match for the wealthy.

If you’ve heard of the term ‘family office’, this is a private organisation that a high net worth individual has created primarily with the purpose of organising and advising on their financial affairs.

Bank Secrecy Act of 1970: What Are the Key Takeaways?

The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970 is a money-laundering regulatory law. In this act, banks must report transactions that involve foreign currency. The act has been changed several times, especially with the Patriot Act that is designed to monitor terrorist activities. The goal of the act is prevented banks from playing a role in illegal money transactions.

There are several key takeaways to the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, including the FATF travel rule and AML compliance.

Who administers the BSA?

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) is responsible for watching financial institutions. FINCEN sets compliance obligations for financial institutions, and management at the institutions must follow the regulations.

What is an AML program?

An Anti Money Laundering program needs to be designed for each financial institution. They all have varying needs, called risk profiles. So the AML program needs to be designed for the policies and procedures at each financial institution. Employees need to be trained on how to recognize money laundering traits, so they can let their compliance officers know if something is wrong.

What is a compliance officer?

A compliance officer is the employee who is in charge of developing and implementing the AML program. The compliance officer should understand how to conduct audits while fulfilling the rules of the AML. They often are involved in developing training programs for employees, although they usually do not conduct the training themselves.

Who audits banks?

Banks should only be audited by third-party, unrelated companies. This means the audits will be honest and follow the rules set forth in the AML.

When does currency need to be reported?

Currency needs to be reported when the transactions are over $10,000 in cash. Banks must send the documentation to regulators. Businesses need to do the same thing, especially if they receive $10,000 in cash or more from one buyer. The reports need to be sent when the transactions seem especially suspicious.

What makes a transaction suspicious?

Suspicious activity is tough to identify, and the rules surrounding it are not very clear. This makes the BSA rules difficult to follow. Some of the ways that employees are told to identify suspicious activity is through screening, asking questions, finding records, and evaluating the information. The “SAFE” acronym helps, but it is less than perfect.

Some of the suspicious activity includes frequently depositing or withdrawing large sums of money, especially if the account used has sporadic activity. When the account is filled and emptied regularly, the account might be suspicious. The account holder might have some unexpected small transaction to serve as distractions. You might also see large transactions after major sporting events, as people try to move money after big wins.

What behaviors are suspicious?

Along with the unusual banking, suspicious activity includes strange behaviors. People who could be suspicious often refuse to talk about where they got the money. Another suspicious behavior is coming up with a strange explanation to how they acquired a lot of money.

How To Choose the Right Senior Housing

When the time comes to place a loved one in a senior living facility, you may feel overwhelmed by the number of options you have. You want to place your loved one in an affordable facility that offers exceptional care but finding one that meets these criteria may appear challenging. When visiting potential facilities, analyze these three aspects of each one to determine where you should place your loved one.

Reputation

There are several types of senior housing to choose from. Do some research online and ask around in your community to see what kind of reputation each facility has. If the reviews are mostly positive, you know to look further into placing your loved one there. In contrast, negative reviews can help you avoid a bad experience.

Emergency Preparedness

A disaster could strike at any time so you want to ensure your loved one will be safe if something happens. Examine the senior housing emergency preparedness plan to make sure your loved one will be well cared for. Make sure there is a plan for a variety of natural disasters and that the facility has an evacuation plan when necessary.

Staff

The staff at the assisted living facility you choose should be caring and attentive. You should make sure the facility runs background checks on all of its employees and you need to know that there is a plan for reporting elder abuse if necessary. These people will be caring for your loved one every day, so you also need to make sure he or she is comfortable with the staff.

Choosing to place loved ones in assisted living is often a difficult decision. You want to choose a place where they feel comfortable and you want to be confident they are receiving the best care possible. Plenty of research is required to choose the right senior housing facility but analyzing these three aspects of potential housing facilities can help you feel comfortable with your decision.

Advantages of Getting Your Taxes Prepared by a Professional

Whether you run a business or need help preparing your own taxes, you might benefit from hiring accountants woodbridge va who can provide tax preparation services. Doing your own taxes can be a hassle, especially if you have a complicated financial situation or simply don’t have the time. Luckily, with the help of a tax professional, you can get the job done without hassle. Plus, tax professionals are knowledgable about the constant changes in tax law as well as ever-changing tax codes. If this sounds appealing to you, read on and consider the benefits of professional tax services. Then, determine if they outweigh the costs.

Save Money

A tax preparer has the expertise to help ensure that you get all the deductions and credits that you’re eligible to receive. Even if your tax professional finds one deduction or tax credit you may have missed, it can easily exceed the fee it costs to have a professional prepare your return.

Ease Your Mind

Unfortunately, some tax returns can be complicated. For example, if you’re a small business owner, you might itemize your deductions, which means that you have to complete and file IRS 1040, Schedule A, Schedule C and Schedule SE, as well as other forms. This can be quite time-consuming. Plus, there could be a few areas of the document that you don’t understand. As a result, you could make an error on your return simply because you don’t understand how to fill it out. On the other hand, a tax professional can help navigate you through a complicated tax return and eases the burden of filing on your own.

Preparing and filing taxes can be one big hassle. Enlisting the help of a professional tax preparer can make things so much easier.