Archive for the ‘Financial Literacy’ Category

Millionaires – Myths and Misconceptions

July 29th, 2010 Vijaianand

For the last two post, we have been talking and sharing lot about Millionaires and their mindset. Particularly in the previous post, I have listed few questions which was asked by friends and even asked myself many times. So I wanted to dwelve into those questions and crack some myths and misconceptions about Millionaires from research/study.


Let’s start with something simple.


#1. I have to become a millionaire/rich person to live happily.


That is not true but many think that way. If you ask me, that’s a misconception by many people. It became ingrained in many people minds after looking at rich people,  that they can live happily once they become a millionaire/billionaire or rich person. 

One person’s success in life shouldn’t be all about money and how much he/she makes. It is just a part of the puzzle. It is mostly about how you live with what you make and how you help others to get what they want.Studies have for years shown that cash has only a small effect on our well being.  One can still  lead a miserable even after getting a windfall of money and there are many examples to prove that case.


#2. Millionaires are lavish spenders.

That’s totally wrong. If you take Mr.Warren Buffet, he is one among the richest people in the world but he still lives in his old house. He drives his own car which is pretty old too. There are many other rich who lead a conservative and frugal life. Many new millionaires are true frugalers and made to the list by saving and conscious spending. Not everyone makes to millionaire list by winning a lottery. You should check out the book, frugal millionaires(http://www.thefrugalmillionaires.com) and you will understand how millionaires think differently than normal person.



#3. I will be financially free when I  become a Millionaire.

Don’t count on it not in this current economic situation and expected high inflated one in the future. These days, simply being a (one) millionaire is not enough to be financially free, depending on ones age. Financial freedom is totally independent of being rich person. Not all rich people call themselves financially free. Here is an interesting reportfrom study conducted by Universty of Belgium, UK and  Canada about Wealth and well being. Actually money makes you financially dependent. When you have more money, you become more dependent on it for everything and anything.


#4. Only men are up against Million dollar goal.

According to a report, nearly half of all millionaires are all women. There is no big difference among Men or women when it comes to making millions. Here is the listof women billionaires all over the world.


#5. You need to have Millionaire Mindset to be a Millionaire.

Not entirely true but it helps to reach the goal quicker. You can ask, What is millionaire mindset? It is explained in detail in the best selling book wrote by famous network marketer Bob Protector. He shows how an ordinary person can create his/her own economy by using their mind and thought process. You can read more at free ebook copy.  I also found this ezinearticleto be more precise and short. To be short, it is about fine tuning your act and mind to decide your own the destiny and move towards as the only goal. I don’t truely follow up them since I believe in my simple 3P strategy, Plan, Persist and Perseverance.  


#6. I really need a Millionaire goal to be successful.

Not actually. It depends on each individual. Every individual is different in their own approach but many analyst recommend having a higher goal can lead to higher success rate. As I said earlier, success in life is different for each individual and it doesn’t have to measured in dollars.  Sometimes it is fun to track numbers and dollars to see the progress. But most of the time, it is about pride to say that you are one among list of High networth individual in this world.


Also tracking Many experts from their real life example, “What gets tracked, gets improved?” If you don’t track your progress, you won’t know where you were and where are you now. Tracking the progress is an important part for financial advancement.


#7. Everyone can’t become a Millionaire.


Why not? If school drop outs like Bill gates, David Mudrock(Dole foods CEO) can do it, you can too.  You don’t need an MBA or doctor to be a Millionaire. Here is the list of all drop out millionaires,  and here is one from forbes 2010 list of top ten drop outs.


If this makes you feel better and get you working on your Million dollar goal, go for it.

I have unrevealed some myths about millionaires, now you might ask how can easily become a millionaire?

It is actually a million dollar question and nobody has silver bullet answer for this question. If I had known the exact answer, I would have been a millionaire by now. Obviously, you cannot be a millionaire overnight unless two things happens, winning lottery or waking up with million dollar idea. There are “n” number of ways to become a high networth individual(over 1million).

A very conservative approach many banks suggest is to save a particular dollar amount from your early age like 21 every month and you can be a millionaire when you are 60 years old. It is also not set in stone because it depends on factors like saving rate and economical condition. But there are other ways like starting a new business, inventing some new product, work on multiple investment strategies etc., 

Just hook on to a strategy which works for you according to your comfort level and keep at it. Don’t give up, just keep trying…

Image source: westLoh.com

Posted in Financial Literacy, Frugal, General Tags: No Comments »
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Personal finances on the slide despite national upturn?

July 28th, 2010 Vijaianand

According to a recent survey by the Washington-based Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP), Americans anticipate the national economy could be more likely to improve than decline during the next six months. However, as Bloomberg reports, the CFP study also shows the majority of Americans do not have as much faith that their personal finances will improve.


Personal finances fall as recession fades


Forty-four percent of CFP poll respondents see the U.S. waking up before their own personal finances, when 28 percent are pessimistic on all fronts. “Americans are generally hopeful, and much of the economic news leads us to conclude that we are out of the recession, and a double dip is unlikely,” said CPF chair Robert Glovsky to Bloomberg.


But this optimism doesn’t stick to the personal finance problem, it seems. Consumer confidence may be up while the declared unemployment rate was down .2 percentage points from May 2010 to June 2010 (it was 9.5 percent in June), but the CFP survey indicates that nearly two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) indicate that their worries over basic matters of long-term personal finance have grown significantly since the beginning of the recession. Individuals know they’re in need of cash now, but often find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to a bank loan. Relying upon a poor credit personal cash loan is an choice, but not one that has inspired consumers to view their financial futures within the most good manner.


A three-fold path to bad-time personal finances


The CFP survey, which was conducted via telephone by market research firm Penn Schoen Berland, found the vast majority of the 1,000-member sample group of consumers ages 18 and older were afraid they wouldn’t be able to maintain sufficient savings, pay for college or have enough money put away for retirement. Not only that, but 80 percent of the group agreed that Congress wasn’t doing enough to regulate financial markets. However, various media sources indicate a reform bill may pass through Congress soon.


More information about this topic at these websites


bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-13/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-economy-than-own-finances-survey-says.html


cfp.net/media/release.asp?id=253

Posted in Economy, Finance, Financial Literacy, Saving Tags: , No Comments »
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Tax Planning – Stock Investment Strategies – II

April 27th, 2010 Vijaianand

In the last couple of posts, we been looking at how Tax planning can have an effect in your tax preparation. We saw the difference between Tax Planning and Tax preparation. We also started digging in deep on how the cost basis and stock selling strategy can save you some money. In the previous post, I started explaining about different types of determining cost basis and will complete in this post. At the end of this post, you will know which methods helps on different situations. So read on.

Check out the cost basis using FIFO method before moving on to read so you can better understand the difference.

Average cost is another method for determining cost basis and is only used with investment/mutual funds. To determine the average cost, the total cost of all shares purchased including any invested dividends is divided by the total number of shares held.


Once this method is used, it must be used each time the taxpayer sells shares in a mutual funds. This method is most effective if the shares purchased first have the lowest cost basis.


Average cost has 2 different ways of calculating according to the stock purchased periods. The single category method is when the investor takes all of the purchase amounts and divides by total number of shares owned. The double category method sorts the total shares owned into a short-term and a long-term holding period. Then, the average cost for each category is identified.


For example, Jan buys the Vanguard growth fund

  • 200 shares on January 3, 2001 at $20/share

  • 300 shares on September 5, 2002 at $25/share

  • 200 shares on April 20, 2008 at $22/share

On Oct 15, 2009 she sold 500 shares at $20/share. What is her cost basis according to the average cost method?


According to the single category average cost method, she would take an average of the purchase prices and divide by the total number of shares owned:

  • 200 shares at $20 = $4,000

  • 300 shares at $25 = $7,500

  • 200 shares at $22 = $4,400

  • Total cost = $15,900

  • Total shares = 700

  • Average cost per share = $22.71

So the gain/loss for this sale was:

  • 500 shares ($20 – $22.71) = -$1135.50

Therefore, Jan had a net loss of = -$1135.50


The specific share identification method implies that specific shares are used to apply against the shares sold.


Before selling shares, the shareholder must inform the broker or fund company regarding which shares are to be sold. These instructions must be given at the time of sale or transfer, not later. The broker or agent must confirm this request within a reasonable time after the sale.


This method can be used effectively only if the shareholder has kept accurate records and has followed through on the receipt of confirmations from the broker. It allows the shareholder to control the capital gains taxes that he or she has to pay because this can be determined by selecting the shares to sell. You can tell your broker to sell your highest-cost shares when unloading part of your holdings in a stock. Using this “specific ID method” requires you to identify the shares to be sold by specifying their cost and purchase dates. You must also receive a written confirmation of your instructions from the broker or keep a record of your oral instructions. Put this in your tax file for safekeeping.


Which method is suitable and when?

Specific ID method is the best method for tax purposes because the investor has absolute control over how much the gain from a sale would be. Long term or short term gains can also be controlled. This is the preferred tax basis method for investors who actively manage their portfolio for tax efficiency. It is also not the most cost effective because of all of the effort that is required for proper record-keeping.


If you don’t follow th procedure, you must use the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method, meaning the shares you bought first are considered sold first. Those were likely the cheapest — giving you the biggest possible tax hit. The point to remember is that you must take action at the time of sale to use the specific ID method.

Short term Vs Long Term

If you have both unrealized gains and losses in your portfolio, but want to make some sales in a certain way matching them property to get the best effect.  First, the general rule is try to sell long-term holdings (held over 12 months) first to benefit from the 15% maximum long-term capital gains rate. Then, unload your short-term holdings.


Then in order to offer offset those gains, you can sell the loser stocks for loss to balance it out. You will generally get the most tax-saving for the buck by selling short-term holdings for a short- term loss by taking advantage of short-term losses offsetting short-term gains which would otherwise be taxed at the regular income tax rate and any leftovers then offset long-term (15%) gains.

By following the above strategies matching your situation, you can either save some money by not paying to uncle sam way beyond the tax season. That concludes the tax planning – Stock investment strategy by doing cost basis analysis.

Posted in Financial Literacy, Stock Market, stocks, Tax Planning, Taxes Tags: , No Comments »
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