Financial Articles For You

I have found a few Financial Articles that I think may be of some interest to you.  I'm linking to the specific article, as I don't always agree with everything on the website itself.
Enjoy.

An Interview With The Millionnaire Next Door - Get Rich Slowly Blog
Eight tips for feud-free estate plans - Financial Post
Keeping the farm all in the family - Financial Post
Feeding yourself on a dollar a day - Macleans

If you know of a good financial book or article that you have read, please post a comment about it below.
Jerry

Banking Has Changed - A Lot!

While I was growing up in the 1970/80’s, I remember my mom having to run to town (we lived on a farm) very quickly in order to pay a bill at the bank before it closed at 4:00. She did that run maybe 2 or 3 times per month.  She also withdrew some cash for small purchases, but most of our larger purchases, like groceries, were paid for by cheque.  That was the norm for a few decades for families all across Canada.

In the early 1980’s bank/debit cards and ATMs were introduced, allowing Canadians to do withdrawals from their chequing account.  This added a major convenience as consumers no longer had to worry about getting to the bank when it was open for cash withdrawals.  With the addition of deposit services through ATMs, Canadian banking habits started to change, and those habits were no longer centered on banking hours.

Healthy Financial Life

In February I wrote an article about the habits of a “Sick Financial Life”.  It was very easy to write as the problems listed are common habits that we see harming our members on a regular basis.  Today I decided to look at the positive habits that we also see on a regular basis (but we do see people in bad situation more than those with good, after all, the doctor doesn’t tend to see the healthy people).

The people we see who are leading a healthy financial life either have or are doing the following:

1. 1.    Set realistic short term and long-term financial goals.  They then create and stick to a plan in order to achieve them.
2. 2.    They know their financial situation.  They keep track of debt monthly, and review their investments at least annually.
   

How much insurance is enough?

If you’re looking for an easy and quick response to this question, then you aren’t talking to someone who really knows insurance.

There are many factors to consider in evaluating your life insurance needs which may include current age, spouse’s age, children (college costs), funeral costs, taxes due on death, outstanding loans and annual income needs.  A life insurance policy will ensure your family’s needs will continue to be met, even if your untimely death cuts your earnings potential short.

Fraud Prevention

During these tough economic times, criminals are growing more creative in their acts of fraud. There seem to be a lot of letters, phone calls and e-mails going around right now, offering everyone the chance to get a lot of money for doing very little. That by itself is almost a sure sign of a scam.

You work hard for your money, and Rocky Credit Union doesn’t want some crook from who-knows-where to end up with your life savings. Be on the look out for a few of the following typical warning signs that a criminal is out to get your money: