Category Archives: Personal Finance

9 Things You Need To Know About Asset Protection

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It takes a lifetime to accumulate assets. However, it doesn’t take even a few months to lose all your hard-earned wealth if you’re not careful. Asset Protection is about strategies to protect your assets against lawsuits so that you don’t lose everything you’ve earned in your life.

The primary aim of asset protection is to ensure you have something left for you despite legal claims by creditors. If you have a proper asset protection strategy, you’ll limit creditors’ access to your valuable assets.  

Not all individuals are equally vulnerable to losing their assets. Professionals like doctors, real estate investors, and entrepreneurs have a higher risk of losing their assets than others.

However, many individuals are vulnerable to probate. Thankfully, there are reputed companies like Mile High Estate Planning, that can help individuals to either avoid probate or successfully deal with probate.

What are the things you must know about asset protection? Let’s find it out.

1. Asset Protection Strategy Is Only Effective Before You Get Sued

Many people don’t think about the risks the future holds. They regret it when they’re in the middle of chaos. An asset protection strategy is only valid before a claim or liability arises. A definite asset protection strategy can help you reduce the risk of lawsuits. An effective asset protection structure acts as a strong deterrent.

2. Your Personal And Business Assets Are Not Separated By Default

One can start a business right away without registering a corporation. You can efficiently operate a business in the form of a sole proprietor or a general partnership. However, people don’t realize that these business structures have unlimited liability. There’s no distinction between your personal assets and business assets. This means that creditors can make claims on all your assets.

3. Registered Corporations Offer More Security Than Sole Proprietorships

Having registered corporations will help you separate your assets from your company’s assets. The corporation structure offers limited liability, which restricts the ability of creditors and lawsuits to impact you personally.

Some popular forms of corporations are C Corporations, S Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), and Limited Partnerships. Consult a reliable business consultant before choosing the right form of structure for your business. You’ll also need the help of multiple agencies to start and operate your business smoothly.

4. There Are Corporation Formation And Discounted Asset Protection Scams

You may have heard about discounted asset protection and corporation formation scams in the market. Some companies may offer to form your LLC (Limited Liability Company) or corporation for as low as $99. These companies only give you a sealed document and disappear. Try to find a reliable agency or attorney to form your corporation and to structure your assets.

5. Asset Protection Laws Vary By State

You need to be aware of the asset protection laws of your state. The laws vary and affect all areas like IRA (Individual Retirement Accounts) exemption, HSA exemption, Homestead exemption, Annuity cash value exemption, LLC charging orders, Burden of Proof for malpractice, etc. For more information, check this resource.

6. Insurance Is Not A Replacement For Asset Protection

Insurance can’t replace the need for an asset protection strategy. Insurance supplements asset protection and vice versa. Insurance will safeguard you against fraudulent transfer claims and other specific lawsuits. However, it doesn’t offer protection against every type of lawsuit that may come your way. With that said, you must choose the right insurance package for your needs.

7. Bankruptcy Is Not The Safest Route Anymore

There was a time when business owners could get rid of all their debts via bankruptcy. But that’s not the case anymore. Since 2005, the bankruptcy laws have changed. Now bankruptcy provides debtors with fewer benefits. The state homestead exemptions are now limited.

On top of that, some new bankruptcy code provisions can make certain parts of your asset protection plans ineffective. Bankruptcy attorneys can now argue strongly to make you vulnerable to losing more assets.

8. Asset Protection Is For Everyone

Some people feel asset protection is only for wealthy people, entrepreneurs, and some other professionals involved in risky professions. But the truth is that asset protection is for everyone.

Moreover, you don’t need to pay a hefty sum of money to structure your assets. Therefore, it’s better to pay a small sum of money to avoid the risk of losing your properties in lawsuits.

9. Your Spouse Can Help You Protect Your Assets

If you’re in a risky profession, it’s smart to transfer some valuable assets as your partner’s separate property. Your creditors won’t be able to come after your spouse’s assets if you’re facing a lawsuit.

Final Thoughts

Knowing about asset protection is a must for every individual. Sadly, many people aren’t aware of the importance of asset protection. Because of their ignorance, people end up losing a sizable part of their assets. Some people even lose their whole life’s earnings.

Having the right asset protection strategy can help you keep a significant part of your valuable assets safe and secure. Secure your assets and help your loved ones protect their assets too.

Understanding Dividends and Dividend Reinvestment

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June is always considered the lucky month for those who invest in company stocks and shares because it’s a time to get rewards for their financial contribution to the company. For companies, June is the beginning or the end of a financial year and a moment to show gratitude to the company shareholders through dividends. Companies calculate the amount to pay their shareholders in the form of dividends. To avoid receiving lesser dividends than you anticipate, it would be wise to use a dividend growth calculator.

How dividends are issued

Dividends are issued in the form of cash or can be in the form of more shares and stock in the company. Before they are released, the company directors and executives make decisions based on the company’s performance, whether to issue or not issue dividends. The amount received in the form of dividends depends on company performance during the year. In case of losses, companies decline to issue dividends.

Dividend reinvestment

In the pursuit of more wealth, shareholders consider reinvesting their stocks to increase their company ownership and dividends. Dividend reinvestment is an excellent strategy to build personal wealth and has numerous benefits and negative consequences. In summary, dividend reinvestment is the reinvestment of dividends into the company in the form of stocks or shares. As a shareholder, you can reinvest the dividend income in the same company or another company.

Pros and cons of dividend reinvestment

As previously discussed, dividend reinvestment can have both positive and negative consequences. Understanding these consequences is necessary before an investor decides to reinvest their dividend income.

Pros

Build wealth

Stocks and shares are capital that is reserved and can be converted to cash in case of future challenges. In case you do not have an immediate need for money, then reinvesting dividends is a perfect means to save at high returns compared to the bank savings. In case the company performs well during the year, the stock prices are likely to rise, and you can sell the shares at a profit.

Freedom to invest

Owning company shares gives you the freedom on time to invest and sell your shares. The stock market can offer the best opportunities to invest at certain times, and sometimes it may be expensive to invest in a stock. With the dividend income, you can choose to invest in company stocks when the share prices are low and then wait to reap the benefits when the shares increase. The flexibility gives you the appropriate avenue to make profits in stock trading.

No brokerage fees

First-time investment in company stocks may require guidance by stockbrokers unless you have adequate financial literacy. Dividend reinvestment will help you eliminate agency costs since you already have in-depth knowledge of the stock market.

Cons

Dividends are taxed

Dividend income, like major investments, is subject to taxation. Dividend incomes are usually taxed in many countries, and reinvesting your dividends exposes you to more taxes. If you are residing in a country where major government budgets are satisfied through taxes, dividend reinvestment makes you liable to more taxes. Another thing to understand is that the larger the dividend income, the larger the amount of tax to be paid despite the tax rate being constant.

Poor planning and financial literacy

Reinvestment in dividends requires a deep understanding of the financial market and company financial statements. To trade in stocks, you need to be capable of analyzing the company’s performance and understanding their future performance. Lack of financial knowledge or planning could lead you to reinvest in a company that may underperform in the future.

Limited control over stock shares

After reinvesting your dividends, you surrender the control of your finances and capital to third parties. Reinvesting leads to shareholder losing their control over their capital and the prices of market shares. The stocks’ prices are limited to the stock market, company performance, and economic factors, neither of which you can control.

Decision making on dividend reinvestment

Many people are always undecided about whether to reinvest their dividends or not. The decision to reinvest or not to reinvest should be guided by certain factors such as company current and future performance, economic factors like economic boom, recovery or recession, and the stock market performance. Consider these factors before making your bold moves.

Dividend reinvestment should be a decision based on company and economic factors and not instincts or influence. Building your wealth is more than dividend reinvestment. 

Cut Out The Middlemen, Slash Ad Costs & Start Making Money Instead

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Stop throwing good money away on ineffective online marketing campaigns that cost an arm and a leg and start spending small amounts wisely to get your target audience directly to your website so you can actually get a return on your marketing investment and start turning a decent profit.

Have you been pounding away at the keyboard trying to build up an audience on social media only to realize that you’ve spent far too much time chasing your tail without any real results?

It doesn’t take long to realise from a cold-hearted business perspective that the time you invest trying to attract friends and fans on Facebook, LinkedIn and other big name social media networks has cost you a fortune in lost man hours – possibly weeks and months all old – trying to build a network of “friends” that for the most part couldn’t give a hoot about you. All they care about is how many hearts their latest selfie has.

Sooner or later we realise that marketing is never free and that time really is money. We grudgingly admit that we have to spend a bit of money somewhere if we want a real chance of getting a return on our investment.

The thing is, paying for social media marketing doesn’t cost ‘a bit of money’. It costs a mint if you want any chance of your ad being seen by people outside your enclosed social network.

True, you can target a very specific audience demographic with a social media marketing campaign and choose a cost that fits your budget. But even when you do splash out, you don’t really know whether you are targeting real people with real social media profiles or just getting likes and views from a horde of traffic bots.

Working out where to place your ads is a nightmare, too, and a huge gamble if you only have a small budget to splurge. Facebook, for example, gives you a confusing choice of nine ad placement options:

Facebook Desktop Newsfeed

Facebook Mobile Newsfeed

The Right-hand Column

Facebook Instant Articles

Facebook In-Stream Videos

Facebook Suggested Videos

Instagram Feed

Instagram Stories

Facebook Audience Network

Where do you start with all these ad placement options? How do you know which one will get you the best results, and at what cost? I don’t have the answer and I doubt many people do, because all these options are nothing more than a glorified pay-per-click (PPC) model; you pay for the clicks and impressions (views) of your ads by users on the network.

What’s the Cost of Web Traffic from a Facebook Ad?

The cost per click on Facebook can be anywhere between $1 and $20 per click, depending on the type of campaign and its parameters.

The cost of an ad campaign measured as a ‘cost per mile’ (CPM) means you pay for every thousand impressions (views), which is somewhere in the region of $10.

What’s the Cost of Web Traffic from a Search Ad?

Admittedly, social media ad campaigns cost less than search ad campaigns, which work out at about $2 per click with Google Ads (AdWords). You could say that a search ad has more value than an ad on a social media network, because a search ad on Google could potentially reach anyone doing a keyword search anywhere in the world. Whereas ads on social media networks are only seen on pages within the network and only by users of the network.

One of the most expensive types of pay per click marketing is one based on ‘Cost per Action” (CTA), which means you only pay for an action that turns into a genuine lead. Worth much more than a perfunctory click on an ad, the desired action in a CTA plan could be someone filling in a form or getting in touch and sharing their contact details.

Paying for an action on a search ad campaign with top industry keywords with Google currently costs almost $60 per action. Bing Ads cost a little less at around $50 per action.

What’s the Cheapest Way to Get Traffic Directly to My Website?

Ultimately the goal of any online marketing campaign is to get web traffic directly to your website. Once visitors arrive, as long as you have something valuable to offer them, all the hard work is done and you’ve got a barrage of potential customers breaking down your doors.

The cheapest web traffic is bot traffic, which is artificial web traffic sent out from bot farms or click farms. You’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel here though. If your aim is only to boost your visitor statistics for show then buying some bot traffic will do the job.

With a bot traffic plan You can get tens of thousands of visitors for a few dollars but you won’t see much of a return because bots aren’t interested in whatever you are selling and they certainly don’t part with any cash.

Why Paid Web Traffic is Cheaper & More Valuable

If you are going to spend money on an online marketing campaign, paying a few dollars to guarantee getting a specified number of visitors in your niche directly to your website is a shortcut that saves you a bunch of cash by cutting out the middlemen (social media and search ad platforms).

Spend wisely on a web traffic plan from a reputable vendor and you’ll get human visitors rather than bots. You’ll have a much better chance of making a return on a much smaller investment because you have a captive worldwide audience – the same as the leads you could be paying $50 a hit for with a keyword CTA campaign – and all you need to do now is convert those visitors on your own website.

Instead of paying for clicks and views of an ad on an enclosed social media network or a search engine campaign, buying web traffic brings visitors directly to your landing page. Or if your landing page is on a social media network such as Facebook or Instagram you can send web traffic there without paying the network through the nose for the privilege.

So What’s the Cost of Web Traffic?

Bear in mind that 1,000 views (impressions, not clicks) costs a minimum of $10, and each click on an expensive campaign can cost up to $50.

You can get 10,000 visitors directly to your website with a paid web traffic plan for between $50 and $80 – about the same price as a small handful of clicks on an ad.

Have a look at this A-Z of vendors with reviews of websites where you can buy traffic online and see what other internet marketers have to say about each vendor. Their prices vary wildly depending on the visitor numbers and plans they can offer.

Web Traffic Buying Strategy

Here are some tips to help you decide on a web traffic plan that’ll get you the best bang for your bucks. Stick by these simple rules to improve your potential returns.

Buy Only Human Web Traffic

You’ll pay a bit more for a web traffic plan offering high-quality web traffic but that’s because quality means real people visiting your website instead of swarms of worthless bots. Real people are potential customers that spend real money.

Target Your Niche

If you buy a paid web traffic plan providing real, human traffic you should be able to choose the niche of your target audience in the same way you’d choose a demographic in a social media marketing campaign. Some web traffic vendors allow you to choose several target niches. Others just one.

Target Your Market’s Geographic Location

If your goal is to get customers into a physical store or a brick-and-motar location, you’re probably only interested in targeting a local audience. The same might be true for a localized online business or service. If that’s the case, get a plan that allows you to target specific countries, or different states if your web traffic is only in the US.

Spread Visits Over Time

Web traffic plans often let you choose the length of time to get an influx of visitors, which can be anywhere between a few days up to a month at a time. The longer the better, really. Getting a sudden spike of thousands of visitors in a short time won’t help much but spreading them out over 30 days at a time helps your stats grow organically and improves your search engine ranking due to the increase in your website’s popularity.

I hope this helped you see a way through the confusing corridors of online marketing and more importantly helps you save money in the right places for some healthier returns.