Let Your Small Business Thrive with Smart Financial Planning

 Sales on Small Business Saturday and during the holiday season can often make or break a small business.During this time, many small businesses are focused on revenues and operational efficiency. But they should also dedicate time to address their financial risks.Small business owners can manage these risks by adapting their individual financial plans to the risks of business ownership.The top financial planning areas of concern for small business owners are:1. Tax planning. Businesses and individuals have different marginal tax rates at different income brackets. A CFP® professional can help you coordinate your business and personal income taxes for maximum returns.2. Insurance coverage. Small businesses require specialized insurance coverage beyond what the owners may have for themselves and their families. Small businesses need to have a safety net in the event that they are affected by a natural disaster, death or disability of the owner or other key individual, loss of property, or lawsuits from negligence or defective products.3. Retirement. Small business owners need more retirement planning rather than less. The good news is that business ownership affords all sorts of tax-advantaged ways to save for retirement. The ability to put aside amounts is considerably larger than what is permissible to non-business owners.4. Investments. Most small businesses are self-financed by their owners. This may mean that the business is the owner’s major or only investment. Small business owners who have extra capital may want to reinvest the money back into the business. CFP® professionals may help you diversify your investments to offset your financial risk as an owner.5. Succession planning. Small business owners need to have a plan for what they want to do with their business after retirement. The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly added a great deal of complexity to the lives of small business owners who wish to monetize their life’s work and pass on their business to someone else. Working with a CFP® professional can help small business owners determine all the options for a successful transition.If you are a small business owner or thinking about starting your own business, visit LetsMakeAPlan.org for more information on how to find a CFP® professional and how smart financial planning can help your small business succeed. 

Refresh Your Finances This World Financial Planning Day

(NewsUSA) – New Year’s Day is a popular time for making resolutions to save more and spend less, but you don’t have to wait until January 1 to commit to financial well-being. This October 6, World Financial Planning Day provides the perfect opportunity to refresh your financial plan and set goals for your future.
World Financial Planning Day is dedicated to increasing financial literacy worldwide and helping people understand the value of financial planning, as well as the role a competent and ethical financial planner can play in making sense of your finances.
Experts agree that it’s important to periodically review your financial plan to determine if adjustments are needed, particularly given the economic and personal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. If your circumstances have changed, your financial plan may need to change, too.
A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional is a highly trained and trusted advisor who can help you get a holistic view of your finances, identify the short- and long-term goals most important to you, and determine if you need a financial refresh to get there.
A CFP® professional can help you set and achieve goals, such as these:
* Afford a comfortable retirement. A CFP® professional can help you take advantage of saving and investing opportunities as you age, estimate your expenses in retirement, and prepare to have enough money to cover those costs for your lifetime.
* Buy a home. CFP® professionals can recommend key insurance, saving and budgeting strategies for buying a home and protecting what you own. They can also advise you on special programs to help reduce housing costs.
* Pay for a child’s education. Understanding the tax breaks, savings plans and financial aid options that can make the cost of college more affordable are some of the ways that CFP® professionals can help you reach this goal, in addition to recommending strategies for paying off student loans.
* Start or grow a business. A CFP® professional can provide guidance on retirement savings plans for yourself and your employees, debt financing, succession planning, and adapting your personal financial plan to suit the risks and realities of owning a business.
* Get out of debt. CFP® professionals work with you to determine which debts to focus on repaying first and how to reduce what you pay in interest.
Visit LetsMakeAPlan.org to find a CFP® professional and learn more about how they can help you reach your goals by bringing all the pieces of your financial life together. Then you can mark this World Financial Planning Day as the kickoff to working with a competent, ethical financial planner to map out your financial future.

Financial Planning Now Means Financial Security Later

(NewsUSA) – For many people, the idea of creating and sticking to a budget is intimidating. The thought of investing, managing debt and saving for major purchases, such as a house or car, can leave anyone overwhelmed.
“A budget is a necessity for controlling spending and working toward financial goals,” says CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional Ross Levin, CFP®. “But what people don’t remember is that budgeting is actually about making choices.”
One smart (but ironic) choice you can make is to budget for a financial planner — who will help you better manage your budget. A skilled financial planning professional can help you build a workable budget and give you the tools and encouragement to stick with it.

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Flyers Help Your Business Take Off

(NewsUSA) – Consumers are swamped with messages about products and services. Effective advertising will cut through the clutter and capture a prospective customer’s attention with a targeted message.To be effective and reach a target audience, the best advertising is credible, unique, and memorable. Using flyers is a relatively simple and inexpensive way for small and mid-sized businesses to make an impact in the local community."The goal behind designing a flyer is to capture someone’s attention within three seconds of them walking up to their front door," says Stefanie McKinney, founder and owner of The Flyer Guys, a family-owned, Arizona-based company that specializes in creating memorable advertising with flyers.To make the most of your advertising campaign using flyers, keep these points in mind:- A picture is worth 1,000 words. Don’t underestimate the power of images. People look at pictures before they start reading any text, and a funny picture in particular can make an impression.- Less text for more impact. Once you have a picture, think about text. Keep your text concise, and use bullet points when possible, in order to allow more white space for quick and easy reading.- Catchy headlines. Along with a photo, a headline is the first thing to catch a customer’s eye. No matter what headline you choose, consider using color for added impact, and keep your font choice easy to read.- Contact information and call-to-action. This is where the nuts and bolts of your product or service comes in, so give it the proper attention. Even something conventional such as "Call Us" or "Order Now" can have greater impact with fonts and colors. Online businesses, make sure your website address is clearly visible, so your audience is likely to keep the flyer as a reference. For in-person businesses, simple directions and even a small map can help ensure that you are on the customer’s radar.- Enlist happy customers. Sincere testimonials can have a significant impact on attracting new customers. When your customers compliment your product or service, ask whether you can use their comments, either anonymously or with their name, to help promote your business. The more specific the comments, the better.For more information about the power of flyers, visit theflyerguysaz.com. 

Healthy Tips For Going Back to the Office Post-COVID

(NewsUSA) -Whether you are just starting out with your first job and apartment, or entering the later stages of your working life, there is no wrong time to plan for retirement.For Millennials and Generation Z, saving may seem less important, but don’t discount its importance."Even though retirement is decades away, acting now can lead to better financial security throughout your entire life," says Mark Wernig, CFP®, Lead Advisor and Principal at Dowling & Yahnke Wealth Advisors.For those who are younger, take some smart steps now, and you can reap the benefits whenever you retire. The following tips can help you to save for the future:- Make saving automatic. Young adults should invest in a 401(k) plan with their employers, with an automatic contribution. This makes saving easy, you don’t have to think about it, and you will reap the rewards later.- Put money back. Many adults deal with debt from student loans, car loans and mortgages. Set financial goals and know the interest rates on your loans, so you can make a budget and try to pay them off as soon as possible.If you are a Baby Boomer farther along in your career and retirement is fast approaching, don’t despair. It’s never too late to maximize your savings with these smart strategies:- Play catch-up. The "catch up" provision for individuals ages 50 years and older lets you add extra money to many corporate retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Roth IRAs."Workers age 50 and older can make an extra $1,000 catch-up contribution to an IRA in 2021, for a maximum possible IRA contribution of $7,000 in 2021," says Spencer Betts, CFP®, Chief Compliance Officer and financial consultant at Bickling Financial Services.- Postpone Social Security. Age matters. The full retirement age for Social Security is 67 for anyone born after 1960. For every year you delay taking your Social Security (age 68 to 70), you increase your benefit by 8%.- Revisit your health care plan. Health expenses are one of the top sources of spending in retirement. Make sure your health insurance plan meets your needs and do some research to switch plans if necessary. In addition, be aware of health care savings accounts (HSAs), which are pre-tax savings accounts that allow tax-free withdrawals for health expenses. HSAs also have a catch-up option for those over the age of 55.Regardless of your age, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional can provide guidance and advice as you consider these points in retirement planning:

Continue Reading: Healthy Tips For Going Back to the Office Post-COVID

Your Local Subway Now Has Biggest Menu Changes in History

(NewsUSA) – What’s your favorite Subway sandwich? Well, it’s time to visit your local Subway® restaurant and try it again because it just got better. You might even find a new favorite. The company is making the biggest changes to the menu in the brand’s history, and your local Subway is ready to share all the new items and serve up a delicious sub sandwich, from the new Turkey Cali Fresh to the All-American Club™.The Eat Fresh Refresh menu updates include 11 new and improved ingredients, six all-new or returning sandwiches, and four revamped signature sandwiches. Whether you’re a classic sub lover, want to double down on protein or enjoy a flavor blast with a new MVP Parmesan vinaigrette, Subway offers endless customization and options for any appetite.Your local restaurant has been baking great bread for years, and it just got better. Tasty bread is the core to every sandwich. To that end, Subway is adding two new choices — Artisan Italian and Hearty Multigrain. A panel of world-class bakers spent two years working to perfect the recipes and baking techniques that set their sandwiches apart.Other new and improved ingredients in the Eat Fresh Refresh menu include new deli-thin sliced ham and turkey, hickory-smoked bacon, smashed avocado, artisan BelGioioso® Fresh Mozzarella from Wisconsin, and tangy MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette™.One thing that hasn’t changed: high-quality, premium 100% wild-caught tuna, sourced from leading global suppliers who remain committed to consistency and safety at every stage of the supply chain. As tuna has always been a fan-favorite, there will be no changes to this sub, as it remains an anchor of the menu with simple ingredients.You can explore all these new menu items by downloading the updated app available through the App Store and Google Play. The Subway app makes ordering and customization easier than ever with an enhanced dashboard and order tracking features. For added convenience, your local restaurant is rolling out a new Subway Delivery option in select areas for more accessibility and meal-time ease."Subway has been serving freshly made, customizable, and better-for-you sandwiches for more than 50 years, and we wanted to give our guests more new and improved flavors that are craveable as well as fresh and customizable," explains Paul Fabre, SVP Culinary Innovation at Subway. "Our new culinary team is delivering monumental updates to the entire core menu so that when our fans come in, they notice everything is better."Visit subway.com for more information about the Eat Fresh Refresh program, to place orders, or download the Subway app.

Planning Your Financial Future with A Professional You Can Trust

(NewsUSA) – Financial planning can be complex, so when you seek guidance in planning your financial future, it’s essential to work with someone you can trust.A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional makes a commitment to CFP Board to act as a fiduciary, which means acting in their clients’ best interests at all times when providing financial advice. You should want a financial adviser who makes this commitment directly to you. Therefore, whomever you choose as your financial professional, including a CFP® professional, you should consider getting a written engagement that requires them to have a fiduciary obligation to you.Professional standards are important to protect consumers. CFP Board’s Code and Standards sets forth the commitment that all CFP® professionals make to CFP Board. This includes duties to maintain the confidentiality and protect the privacy of client information.In addition, CFP® professionals commit to CFP Board to disclose any conflicts of interest that might affect the professional relationship and compromise the CFP® professional’s ability to act in their clients’ best interests.Approximately one year ago, CFP Board updated its Code and Standards to mandate that all CFP® professionals commit to CFP Board to act as fiduciaries for their clients when providing financial advice."Simply put, someone acting as a fiduciary should deliver financial advice that is clear, specific, objective and thorough," says Dan Candura, a CFP Board Emeritus® member and Founder of Candura Group, LLC.Professionals who follow CFP Board’s Code and Standards commit to fulfilling three key duties as part of their fiduciary duty:- Duty of Loyalty. This means putting their clients’ interests first."Your interests should be placed above the interest of the CFP® professional and the CFP® professional’s firm," according to CFP Board’s website.- Duty of Care. This means being careful, acting with prudence and diligence in making recommendations to clients.For example, if you receive a sudden windfall of money that you want to delay investing, a CFP® professional who abides by a commitment to CFP Board will review the reasonable options and consider factors such as risks and interest rates in making the best recommendation.- Duty to Follow Client Instructions. This means complying with all objectives, policies, restrictions, and other terms on which you have agreed, and "all reasonable and lawful directions of you, the client," according to CFP Board."Meeting these three duties enables CFP® professionals to honor their commitment to CFP Board to act as a fiduciary, in the client’s best interest. Certainly, that is what every client deserves," Candura says.To learn more about how CFP Board’s Code and Standards for CFP® professionals help protect consumers, visit LetsMakeAPlan.org. 

How One Company Is Doing Right For the Planet

(NewsUSA)Not that long ago, "sustainability" in the business world was defined as being able to stay afloat even in trying economic times. But these days, when Greta Thunberg may be the most famous Swede since Ingrid Bergman, it’s taken on a whole different meaning – what the Harvard Business School describes as efforts to "positively impact the environment and/or society."Of course, some businesses, like Whirlpool Corporation, have been ahead of the game, and are now setting even higher new targets to tackle climate change."We established our first office for sustainability over 50 years ago," said Marc Bitzer, the company’s chairman and CEO.1. Achieving Net-Zero Carbon Emissions in Plants and Operations By 2030That’s the updated commitment to environmental sustainability that the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company just announced this month.To get there, the company has been installing even more wind turbines and solar panels to help power its sites and distribution centers with renewable energy. (It’s already one of the Fortune 500’s largest U.S. on-site users of wind energy.)And it’s improving efficiency across more than 30 of its manufacturing sites and distribution centers around the world though retrofits.2. Greening Homes Through VPPAsThat’s Virtual Power Purchase Agreements for the uninitiated. Or in other words, agreements signed with energy companies to help fund wind and solar farms to generate renewable energy for the grid.Whirlpool Corporation’s first VPPA project broke ground in Texas in early January. It promises to be the first of many such projects helping to cleanly power not just its own sites but also local homes.That’s right, ordinary people’s homes.3.Innovative Household ProductsIt shouldn’t surprise anyone that U.S. News & World Report named four innovative Whirlpool brand products among the best refrigerators, dryers and washing machines of 2021. Yes, they look great. But they’re also designed to be extremely energy and water efficient.In fact, Whirlpool Corporation has already reduced the emissions linked to its products in use by 60 percent since 2005 and has committed to lowering them by an additional 20 percent by 2030 from a 2016 baseline.One fun fact for you: Dishwashers save three to four times the water compared to hand washing your dishes. And, hey, they save you about 30 minutes each time too.4.Helping Even You Reduce Waste MaterialNot content that more than 70 percent of its manufacturing sites are already zero waste to landfill, the company aims to make that 100 percent by 2022.Plus, to tackle other environmental challenges like plastic pollution, it’s ramping up the use of recycled or reused materials in its appliances. And guess what? Those high-performance recycled plastics Whirlpool Corporation started to employ in its products means it’s making use of you own waste.

Military Families Make Financial Planning a Mission

(NewsUSA) – Military families are the foundation of our nation’s security, and they deserve respect and support for their dedication and service to the country. And given the unique challenges and frequent unpredictability of a military lifestyle, proactive financial planning is especially valuable for military families.
However, military families also have access to financial benefits and savings opportunities such as low-cost investments, loans, insurance, and legal protection, according to the website of the CFP Board, a non-profit organization whose mission is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning.
“Applying the same mission mindset to managing your personal finances that you bring to managing your military career can be especially helpful,” says Steve Repak, CFP®, a U.S. Army Vveteran who went on to a career as a certified financial planner after 12 years of service.
“If I had done a little planning, and executed on what might have been a slightly painful budget when I first joined the military, I wouldn’t have been left with so much credit card debt,” he acknowledges.
To make the most of your finances, create a financial plan for saving and investment just as you would plan a military maneuver.
– Identify your goal. First, identify where you are, then where you want to be financially, and outline the steps to get there. Start by figuring out your monthly income and expenses, and how much you want to add to savings each month. Put a plan in writing to reduce or eliminate spending to meet your goal.
– Turn to a team. Military families can consult a range of resources for help in developing a financial plan, including the U.S. Army Community Services (ACS) for Army personnel. In addition, a CFP® professional can help you clarify financial goals and objectives and offer you strategies for meeting them.
-“Be determined and take action now. What you know about financial planning is less important than what you do about it,” Mr. Repak says.
Adopt a “war fighting spirit” and do what is necessary to accomplish your financial mission, whether it is saving money, reducing debt, building wealth for retirement, taking specific steps for money management now that will pay off with financial freedom in the future.
Visit letsmakeaplan.org for more advice and tips to help military families meet their financial goals.

Gold and Silver makes Digital Debut, Public Exchange Listing in Blockchain Era

(NewsUSA) – Silver and gold, long-time staples in the global economy, are entering the age of digital finance.
Gold and silver have a history as safe-haven investments, trusted units of account, and affordable media of exchange, according to the LODE Project, a company constructing a blockchain-powered gold and silver payments platform.
“LODE has utilized the innovative application of blockchain technology to give these metals a role in the digital economy,” says Nick Prouten, an Ambassador at the LODE Project.
Both precious metals and cryptocurrencies have increased in popularity in recent times, as global uncertainty rose in the face of the pandemic. To hedge against the devaluation of the U.S. dollar, investors have sought these alternative assets to diversify their holdings and protect their wealth. Now, a solution has emerged that combines the two worlds.
LODE is mining the value of gold and silver by offering gold-backed stablecoin (AUX) and silver-backed stablecoin (AGX). Both products will make their debut on the Hotbit exchange in the second quarter of 2021, adding a new type of liquidity option to the precious metals market. Hotbit is a leading exchange with more than $46,800,000 in trading volume, according to Coin Market Cap.
Each AGX Coin represents one gram weight and measure of verifiable silver bullion, and each AUX Coin represents one milligram weight and measure of verifiable gold bullion, both securely held and independently audited in the LODE reserves.
The AGX and AUX Coins are developed and minted on the Syscoin blockchain platform, and their listing on the Hotbit exchange will facilitate gold and silver digital trading on a global scale. This development comes at an opportune time, as investor interest in metals and concerns of supply shortages are on the rise.
LODEpay also offers an app, the LODEpayWallet, to make digital transactions of gold and silver more accessible. The app allows users to send, spend, and store funds backed by digital silver and gold. In addition, users of the LODEpayWallet can obtain virtual credit cards that they can use to spend AGX and AUX anywhere that credit and debit cards are accepted.
Visit lodepay.com to learn more about metals-backed digital assets, and to test digital gold and silver by downloading the LODEpay Wallet via Google Play or the App Store.