The concept of stock market and shares is mainly derived from a method of raising financial support for corporations by converting the common people into investors. These incoming funds are utilized by corporations to develop their business activity and expanding horizons and in exchange the turnover of a company is divided among the investors who had shown faith in the firm by buying shares. The Indian economy is emerging as a superior power virtually untouched by economic down turns and recessions. It is one of the fastest and balanced emerging economies in the world. Thus it is not unnatural to see the Indian stock exchange soaring new heights. BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange) form the backbone of our stock market. The sensex is the main indicator of BSE and Nifty the main indicator of NSE. They are the basis of measuring the turbulence and volatility prevailing…

Have you ever had your credit card number stolen? Or had someone open an account in your name without your knowledge? As a professional, your identity is one of the most important assets you have.  And with more than 9 million victims of identity theft happening annually, identity theft protection is becoming very important for affluent professionals. So, how do you go about protecting your identity?  Here are some tips: Make sure nobody is standing right behind you when you’re using an ATM machine.  Keep your hands over your touchpad to protect your passcode and your body in front of the screen.  Cell phone cameras are everywhere and someone my try to photograph your card info. Pay your bills online using only a secure site if that service is available. Don’t give out your credit card number on the Internet unless it is encrypted on a secure site. Take a…

Understanding the Form 1040 By P. Christopher Music Wouldn’t you like your money to stay at home rather than going to Washington? That can be done by proper income tax planning. Income tax planning is an interesting activity because it is based on “voluntary compliance”, meaning that income tax is a tax that is not “compulsory”, but one in which citizens “voluntarily comply” with the Code.� Let’s not go down the rabbit hole of legalities and logic of this oxymoron, but instead look at common sense strategies to reduce our yearly income tax liabilities within the Form 1040, our US Individual Income Tax Return. Go get a copy of Form 1040 for 2009. The strategy is simple.� Earn as much income as we can, but structured in a way that keeps line 37, adjusted gross income, as low as possible. Income The first section of interest is the Income section (lines 7-22).�…

Many people view their home as their largest asset.� Thousands and thousands of dollars are spent each year by the average homeowner to renovate and maintain a home to provide a comfortable place to live.� Recent economic events have finally shown us that housing values do fluctuate and, over the long run, tend to maintain their values after the effects of inflation. If we view and treat our household as a for-profit business, and view the cost of the home as a business expense, we will spend a bit more time analyzing each expense and its contribution to the overall value of the home asset. There is practically no limit on what we can spend our money on within the four walls of the house in which we live.� But, there are a couple of rules that apply to these “investments”. First , your personal residence is…

The first thing to determine is how much money is needed annually to pay for your lifestyle.  In other words, how much does it cost to live in the manner you wish to live?  Let’s say, for example, that you spend $100,000 per year today to live comfortably.  How much do you need in assets to provide this $100,000 in income?  At a generous 5% rate of return per year, you would need a lump sum of at least $2,000,000. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the effects of inflation.  How much will inflation be over the next 20 years?  Who knows?  But don’t delude yourself into believing that it will be the artificially low amount of about 3% per year we experienced from 1990-2009.  No, it will be more like 1970-1990�€”5% or more.  With all of the government and banking manipulation of the…

It is not uncommon in the United States for people to have health coverage with their job. However, many Americans do not have that option. The only thing they can do is consider buying individual health insurance. In some cases, having insurance with your job, is not the most cost efficient way to go. The Kaiser Family Foundation says that the average cost of an individual health plan through the company you work for is $779 for an individual and $3,515 for a family. These prices are a calculated average so it stands to reason that many employees are paying more than that each year. There is a big difference in price and coverage between insurance agencies, and it pays to look around and get quotes and coverage statements from a number of different health insurance companies before you purchase a policy. Look for non-profit sites that do not…