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Christian Halas - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Halas Consulting was started on the premise that it is possible to do well by doing good for people, an idea that frequently gets lost in the financial services industry where being rewarded for meeting sales quotas often trumps being rewarded for doing well for the client.
Halas Consulting is an independent consulting firm that, in conjunction with our strategic partners, handles all aspects of our clients' portfolios including: insurance planning, banking, tax planning and ... [More]
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Christian Halas Email Alerts
- The Two Huge Obstacles Mutual Fund Managers Have to Overcome That Most Fail At
[Investing:Mutual-Funds] The active vs. passive management debate has raged on for years and will probably still be going on long after I'm gone. The purpose of this article is not to solve the debate, in fact it will probably be analogous to pouring gasoline on a fire, but I believe it's important. What will be discussed will be to look more closely as to why active managers are playing a losing game in most situations.
- What Do You Know About Your 401k Plan? In Planning For Your Retirement, Ignorance is Not Bliss
[Investing:IRA-401k] For many, their 401k is the largest asset they own worth more than their homes in many cases! But it also tells me that many people send 5-15% of their income to a vehicle that they know very little about. Isn't that frighening? I think so!
- Will You Be in the Investment Markets Before the Next "Tipping Point?"
[Investing] As I write this at the end of July, 2009, the D.J.I.A. is having yet another triple digit gain day. It has surged from it's low, south of 6500 in March of 2009, to just north of 9k in late July. It has done this in the fashion of strong gains, slight pullback, and strong gains again, a great "bull" sign if you're a student of markets and their movements like I am.
- Recycling Your Money is Good For Your Financial Environment
[Finance:Personal-Finance] Do you recycle your money? If not, why not? When paying with cash, the trend is to travel as light as possible, that means almost everything that is being paid for with cash (as opposed to plastic), is being paid for with paper money. The change we receive is kinda like the empty plastic bottle that we throw in the trash recycling bin, it can be combined with other of its kin to make more of the paper stuff. So if you need a reason to empty out your ashtrays/cupholders, dresser and night stand tops, counter tops and change bins, read on and learn why not reusing your money is about as wise as not recycling your paper, plastic, or aluminum.
- 5 Stupid Ways to Lose Money to Those You Dislike and Simple Solutions to Stop it From Happening
[Finance:Personal-Finance] There enough ways to lose money that can't be controlled and that's a bad thing. What's even worse is losing money by things you can control, but don't by either laziness or ignorance. Today we're going to explore some of those ways...
- Health Insurance Buyers Beware! Some of the New TV Advertised Health Plans Are NOT Insurance!
[Insurance:Health] With health insurance and the cost of health insurance being hot topics these days, a new breed of health plan has arisen to fill the need. While these plans aren't awful, and would fulfill a need for someone that can't qualify for a more conventional plan such as a major medical plan, it's important to know what the difference is between the new plan and conventional insurance as not knowing could cause a very unpleasant and costly surprise at best, and be financially devastating at the very worst. Read on, to inform yourself as well as your family and friends.
- Healthcare - The Different Types of Health Conditions and Impairments an Their Important Differences
[Health-and-Fitness:Healthcare-Systems] Healthcare, it's a very popular topic these days especially with the "graying of America," one of the deepest recessions we've experienced in 25 years, and people losing their jobs and the health coverage that often comes with employment. President Obama used his intention to reform the healthcare system and get coverage for more people as one of the key issues to catapult him to victory this past November. Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drugs, physical therapy, I could go on and on,but there's not doubt it's a topic that's on many people's minds, and also one that's very misunderstood because of the ...
- Beware of the Investment Opportunists - 4 Examples to Be Aware Of
[Investing] Regardless of the economy or market environment, you will hear a particular investment opportunity being marketed very heavily. But who stands to make out from the opportunity you or the offerer? The fact is, in most instances the offer is made at a time when the investment has peaked or is peaking and has only one direction to go, down. In the case of the safe investments like fixed annuities or CDs, while they won't go down, you could be stuck in a lower yielding instrument after the markets shift and you are unable to also shift without substantial penalty. As always, let the buyer beware.
- How Some Life Insurance Policies Fail and Leave Grieving Families to Struggle Financially
[Insurance:Life-Annuities] Many people buy life insurance to protect their family in case of the untimely death of the family breadwinner. However certain assumptions were made when these policies were originally purchased and these assumptions didn't "pan out." Because of this, people who thought they had paid up policies were asked to shell out hundreds to thousands more in premium dollars, or even worse these policies unknowingly lapsed without knowledge, causing a grieving family to have deal with financial challenges at a time when more problems were the last thing they needed.
- Where to Go When the Markets Are Low - Making Money in a Down Or Stagnant Market
[Investing] "The interest is up and the stock market's down and you only get mugged if you go downtown" - from Hank Williams Jr., "COUNTRY BOY CAN SURVIVE." These lyrics are only partially true as the interest rates are down as well as the stock market, and if you really want to get mugged go and see Bernie Madoff, he seems to be able to have put the skid row thugs to shame in the mugging dept. But like in every crisis there's opportunity for those who know where to find it. Here's a few ideas that you can use immediately for the time being.
- Cash - How and How Not to Use it As a Part of Your Investment Portfolio
[Investing] Find show me a person that does not like cold, hard, cash. We all smile when we find a 1 or 5 dollar bill in the pocket of an old coat that we haven't worn in awhile.
- Did the Latest Financial Crisis Teach Us Any Lessons?
[Investing] While everyone is still running for hills from the latest financial meltdown, history shows that lessons learned are soon forgotten once the good times roll again. Unfortunately, like the awesome run-up before this crisis, another one or two will probably happen in our lifetime followed by another crash. The name of the game stays the same, only the names, faces and situations change. In order to make good things happen, we must not repeat the same mistakes twice.
- Why the Downturn in the Financial Markets Could Be Good News For IRA Owners
[Investing:IRA-401k] As the old saying goes "If life hands you lemons, make lemonade." If the complete meltdown of the world financial markets isn't the biggest lemon most of us have been handed, I don't know what is. But if you're one of the few strategic minded people out there who thinks long term and acts quickly on his/her decsions, the downturn could present a huge opportunity going forward.
- The 3 Things Wrong With Most 401k Plans and How to Fix Them
[Investing:IRA-401k] The current 401(k) plans, which are still mostly the expense-laden dinosaurs with mediocre investment options that confuse the heck out of their owners, will soon be a thing of the past. They will be replaced by the 21st century model which has lower internal costs, better investment options, and the ability for employees to get advice from an objective advisor that does not sell retirement plans.
- How the Financial Crisis Changes Where You Should Go to Get Financial Advice and Guidance
[Investing] This financial crisis will change many things going forward regarding how we as individuals invest, what we invest in, and who helps us decide these matters. The financial advice marketplace is a plethora of advisors and consultants with many different explanations as to why their qualified to give you advice, but only one type of advisor is required by law to ALWAYS act in your best interests.
- Healthcare - The "Wildcard" in Retirement Planning
[Investing:Retirement-Planning] Healthcare is a popular topic in the upcoming election, and probably the most popular benefit people get at work, but in many cases healthcare gets lost in the shuffle when planning an enjoyable retirement. Unfortunately, a health crisis in retirement can derail the whole retirement plan. Here's an in-depth look at a topic that gets glanced over at best and ignored at worst when planning a retirement.
- A Unique Way to Protect Yourself From the Financially Devastating Costs of Long Term Care
[Insurance:Long-Term-Care] Long term care insurance, while well known, is not the only financial vehicle on the market to help with potential long term care costs. There are several others, though they don't get nearly the same amount of press. Here is an example of one of the other options
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