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1). Are You Going Bare? Why insurance is a vital part of any financial plan. 2). Are You Ready to Retire As the boomer generation turns 60, it is time to examine your retirement options. 3). Can You Afford to Have Bad Credit? How much does bad credit actually cost? 4). Diversify with Real Estate Real estate is a good way to diversify your assets and create a second stream of income. 5). Do You Pay Yourself? The typical scenario is that you get your paycheck. After you recover from the shock at how little is left after taxes, you proceed to divvy it up among all your outstanding bills, intending to put whatever is left over into your savings. But there never seems to be anything left over and your savings don’t grow. A better ... 6). Don't Check Your Brain at the Border I always believed in the maxim, “diversify your investments”. So during our working careers my wife and I used to buy real estate, especially south of the border. When it came time to retire, we chose to live at least half the year on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico. Lake Chapala is at almost the same elevation as Denver, Colorado, ... 7). Get Rich Slowly Is it hard to get rich? Not really, if you’re young. Its fun to play with financial calculators and see what might happen. Assume you have just graduated from college, are about 22 years old and I just started your first real job. If you put $100 a month in an IRA that grows at 10% a year, you will have about $865,000 at a... 8). How to Protect Your Assets For most people, the law and adequate insurance coverage, will protect almost all of their assets. 9). Inflation - The Slayer of Your Savings Since inflation consistanly erodes the buying power of our money, our investments have to exceed the inflation rate or we will outlive our money. 10). Is Life After Bankruptcy That Bad? It seems that some people do not recognize that dispite some unpleasant aftereffects, bankruptcy is truly a “fresh start.” Instead of being satisfied with the benefits they receive some people remain unhappy. Here is a letter I received: “Why does it take attorney's six or more weeks to discharge a chapter 13... 11). The Blame Game Who do you blame for your financial troubles? 12). The Devil Made Me Do It Unfortunately there is a growing trend in the US to blame someone else for our own mistakes or bad decisions. If you build your house on the beach and it gets blown over by a hurricane, FEMA will take care of rebuilding it. If you eat too much, some nice trial lawyer will be happy to sue McDonalds or Ben & Jerry’s for mak... 13). The Magic Bullet Theory of Investing Sadly, too many people believe that the successful in our society got that way through luck. So their financial plan is based not on earning and investing money, but waiting for their fairy godmother to show up. Some “miracle” roads to riches: The Lottery What better way to get rich, but to play the lot... 14). The Major Changes Caused by the Bankruptcy Reform Act Hightlights of the major changes to the bankruptcy laws likely to affect consumers. 15). The Road to Financial Freedom The road to financial freedom is a lot shorter than you may think. For those of us who did not start our lives wealthy because of our family, we only have 46 to 49 years of income producing – more if you want to work into your “retirement” years. During that time, we must complete our education or training, get a job or open a business... 16). The True Cost of Bad Credit I am often asked the question; What does bad credit cost me?” It is a hard question to answer because of the individual’s circumstances and the fact that lenders are competing fiercely for customers. But I will give it my best shot. Mortgages If you know your credit score you will be in a positio... 17). What is True Wealth? What is true wealth? What should you expect if you reach the end of the gold paved road to financial freedom? If you have a million dollars, will you be satisfied? What about 10 million? Is true wealth a numbers game or do other factors enter into the equation? Ebenizer Scrooge of Dicken’s The Christmas Carol was ve... 18). Working in Retirement Why working in your retirement years can be good for you financially as well as physically. 19). You Gotta Have a Plan How that is some people can retire at 50? Or not lose their shirt when there’s a stock market “crash”? Why are some people able to earn high incomes or even have “multiple streams of income? How come some people retire to a life of luxury and world travel, while others barely have enough to feed and house themselves?...