Wisdom of Rich Dad

In the United States, almost 40 million people are hospitalized every year, according to the Health Cost Utilization Project. The number of uninsured hospital stays has grown by 42% between 1997 and 2009, the last year for which statistics are available.

If you get sick and require medical care, either in or out of the hospital, you may run into several consequences, even if you have a gold-plated healthcare plan. Here are four situations you should expect and plan for in case you develop an illness.

1. Health Insurance Coverage

The impact of an illness on your health insurance coverage depends on both the illness and the provider. Your coverage may or may not extend to the illness you have and your coverage may be capped or limited, leaving you exposed to paying out of your pocket. The real challenge comes if you are diagnosed with a chronic illness, such as diabetes or asthma. Health insurance companies can change the terms of their policies on an annual basis and you may find that they will no longer cover you for your existing illness.

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For many people, being able to work at home gives them the best of both worlds; they have the job security and income of a regular full-time job, without the time, expense and hassle of going to an office. The financial industry has seen an increasing number of jobs in this sector moving to become available for telecommuters. These jobs range from full-time corporate positions, to opportunities for entrepreneurs and independent contractors. In this article, we’ll provide a breakdown, in no particular order, of the four highest-paying positions available in this sector.

Day Trader

A day trader holds positions in stocks for a very short period of time, often from minutes to hours, and makes numerous trades each day. In most cases, all open trades are closed before the end of the day.

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These days it is more important than ever to maintain a good credit score. Whether you’re planning to buy a home, finance a new vehicle or even sign up for a new mobile calling plan, your credit score will follow you almost everywhere you go. While most of us know the basics of how our credit scores and reports work, and how to build, improve or repair our scores, you may be surprised at some of the things that can have a negative effect on your credit score.

Closing an Older Credit Card

It is not uncommon for individuals to have credit cards that may be 10, 15 or even 20 years old. These cards were probably one of, if not the first credit cards you ever signed up for. With credit cards companies constantly looking for new incentives to coerce us to sign up for more cards, these older cards most likely don’t offer much more than the bare bones, when it comes to rewards or options. Since most people would rather earn rewards points or cash back with their credit purchases, older, less practical cards, probably end up at the back of your wallet or the bottom of your purse collecting dust.

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One of the biggest debates in the investing community is whether the average investor should look for alpha or beta results from his or her portfolio.

What’s the difference? Let’s take a look at each investment style and then you can decide which one best fits your needs.

The Alpha Investor

You’ll often hear active investors refer to their “alpha.” This is basically the amount by which they have exceeded (or underperformed) their benchmark index. For instance, if you invest primarily in US stocks, you might use the S&P 500 index as your benchmark.

If the S&P 500 was up 5% over a given period of time, but your portfolio was up 8%, your alpha would be +3. If, on the other hand, your portfolio was only up 3%, your alpha would be -2. Alpha is basically the amount by which your return beats or lags an index with a similar risk profile.

Most investors, given the choice, would love to beat the index every year. Why would you want to settle for matching the index when you could try to exceed it? Well, beta investors might contend that very few, if any, active managers regularly beat the index, and that many actually under-perform. So, why bother trying?

The Beta Investor

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Those who are interested to invest and build a personal financial plan for life have a goal in mind. Be a successful investor. Especially, if you know about legend investors, your mind will tempt to follow the methods and the road they selected to there success.

That is a good idea but, there are some factors and homework an investor must do himself to be a successful investor in life. This article pointing out some must required actions.

Read, read, read

Consider to read maximum. Reading great books, articles and newsletters will give you enough knowledge to select the right path at tight time. Not only that but, it will also give you enough knowledge on various aspects on investment instrument selections and valuations. A successful investor should spend enough time to find and read most useful books and articles to gain all required knowledge.

Acquire knowledge on available products to invest

Investment world is not small with one or two products. It is very vast and the success of an investor laying on the selection and combination of these products at the right time. To have a successful financial plan, an investor should aware about the advantages and disadvantages of all the investment products around him. He should be able to identify the right one and compare the same with all other similar products available in the market to identify the winner or the loser. A successful investor not only should have good knowledge about the products he deals with presently but, he should be able to understand and explain the features of various products available around him.

Watch business channels

Television especially business channels are necessary part to investors day to day life. This is a very good source to get updated information on latest trends and changes. I am not saying to believe and act as per what they are saying but, through business channels, an investor will get enough opportunity to identify best investment products to do own research to understand the investment suitability. Make this as a regular practice.

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I wrote this essay for your children and grandchildren.

You’ve probably heard about America’s huge debt load. The U.S. government’s financial obligations now exceed $663,000 per American family. This burden will fall on the youngest Americans.

It’s unethical. It’s unfortunate. But it’s the reality.

With this giant financial obligation bearing down on them, it’s critical that now – right now – your children and grandchildren learn about money and finance. They need to know the basic principles… like how to be independent, why debt is dangerous, and how to grow money.

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