Corliss Online Financial Mag

If you're like most Americans, you probably didn't make a new year's resolution to get started with long-term financial planning. A staggering 84 percent of respondents to a New Year's Resolution Survey from Allianz Life Insurance said that financial planning was not among their 2014 resolutions at all-the highest percentage ever to reveal that in the survey's history. What held them back? Well, 30 percent said they don't believe they make enough money to "worry" about financial planning. That's bizarre. Shouldn't having less money increase your need to manage what you have effectively? Regardless of your situation, I hope you'll engage in the planning process this year-and the sooner you get started, the better.

"It will be very painful and even feel like cutting one's wrist." So predicted Li Keqiang, China's premier, as he discussed the task ahead of him during his first press conference last March. Not the most inviting prospect for investors looking to make a play on China. But they should certainly take heed of these words. Li is the man who, together with president Xi Jinping, must lead a reform programme regarded by analysts as the most fundamental in decades. It will affect almost every part of an economy worth $9.4tn (Britain's annual output, for comparison, is $2.4tn). So what are these reforms? And why does China's new leader think that their implementation will be so painful? There are three key areas which investors should note.

I'm grumpy about flying these days. Part of it is just the hassle of the process, but now there's even more. Bud and I had a decades-long strategy of managing our US Airways frequent flier status to maximize free upgrades on domestic and European routes, as well as to secure virtually free first-class seats on flights to Oceania, Southeast Asia and Africa. Trust me, there's nothing like being pampered in first class on Singapore Air to take the sting out of flying! Sadly, airline rewards and loyalty benefits are going the way of free meals - or free anything - in the air.

IT'S time to come clean about our dirty credit card habits and how we can avoid them eroding our wealth. While we've all been slowly reducing our outstanding credit card balances, with $34 billion still owing, they remain the scourge of most families. It's fair to say credit cards are the most potent weapon of mass financial destruction since the loan shark. Their convenience and flexibility means it's so easy for them to get out of hand and lead to serious financial distress. We need to be vigilant in ensuring our credit cards work for us and don't destroy our finances. To avoid getting into trouble in the first place, or get back in control of an existing debt, here are our five golden rules for using credit cards.

Just before tax season comes the opportunity for college-bound students to apply for monetary assistance via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The program collects and sends financial data to colleges that use it to award need-based financial aid to students. Filing a FAFSA was once daunting, according to Pam Rambo, a former college financial aid and admissions professional who now works as a researcher for families and students looking to maximize their financial aid opportunities. For more useful reference: http://corlissonlinegroup.com/ http://corlissonlinefinancialmag.wordpress.com/ https://www.facebook.com/corlissonlinefinancialmag

Savvy Senior: How to pick a financial advisor Savvy Senior How to Pick a Financial Advisor Dear Savvy Senior, Can you give me some tips on how to choose a good financial planner or advisor? My wife and I are five or six years away from retiring and could use some professional help to get us on track. * Seeking Advice Dear Seeking, With all the different financial advisers and services available today, choosing a trusted professional that can meet your needs can be a bit confusing. Here are some suggestions that can help.

Consumers Can Avoid Financial Ruin, National Debt Relief Provide Tips On How To Do It National Debt Relief publishes an article on their website to reveal 8 tips that will help consumers avoid financial ruin. Philadelphia, PA ( PRWEB ) January 31, 2014 National Debt Relief is intent on helping consumers avoid financial ruin. On January 28, the leading debt relief company published an article titled "8 Ways You Can Remove Financial Ruin From Your Future." This article discussed various tips that will save consumers from another financial crisis.

Often at the start of a new year, one of our most popular resolutions is to become more financially stable and responsible. Overspending and overextending ourselves often comes from a place of lack and not feeling as if we have enough. It is an emotional issue as much as a material one. Sometimes we feel as if by controlling and increasing the material volume of lives, we feel more abundant. Not only is this not true, it has the opposite effect. The more we spend our money in non-constructive ways, the worse we feel and the more we spend to feel better. Vicious cycle much? Money is a deeply personal subject and financial circumstances vary greatly from individual to individual and family to family. There are no one-size fits all rules regarding money but there are some general tips that work well for most people. For more useful reference: http://corlissonlinegroup.com/ http://corlissmag.livejournal.com/ https://foursquare.com/corlissgroupmag

"Financial Planning Tips," A New Article On Vkool.Com, Teaches People How To Create A Personal Financial Plan Easily - V-kool The new "Financial Planning Tips" article on the site Vkool.com instructs readers how to create their own basic financial plan effectively. Seattle, Wa (PRWEB) February 01, 2014 The new "Financial Planning Tips" article on the site Vkool.com delivers to people helpful tips on how to create a financial plan within a short period of time. At the beginning of the article, the author recommends people to determine their current financial situations.

The Corliss Online Group Financial Magazine: Financial Tips for Boomers Looking to Retire Abroad As baby boomers continue to redefine retirement, many are looking to settle abroad to launch the next chapter in their life. Whether you are seeking a warmer climate, better tax advantages or more adventure, financial planners say retiring to a foreign land can present a number of financial challenges. To help create a retirement guidebook for boomers looking to leave the country to live out their golden years, I spoke with Michael Ward, CEO of USForex - North America and Europe, who detailed how retirees can preserve their income and avoid losing money when living abroad.

Democratic presidents tend to preside over better economies than Republican ones, but that may be down to pure luck, according to a recent paper from Alan Blinder and Mark Watson at Princeton. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. economy has grown at an average real rate of 4.35% under Democratic presidents and only 2.54% under Republicans. So what gives? "Democrats would no doubt like to attribute the large D-R growth gap to better macroeconomic policies, but the data do not support such a claim," they write. "It seems we must look instead to several variables that are mostly 'good luck.'" Three factors can explain 46-62% of the growth gap, according to the paper. Here are the reasons (via James Hamilton): Oil shocks. With the exception of Jimmy Carter, oil price shocks tend to dog Republican administrations more. The 1956-57 Suez Crisis, early-70s OPEC embargo, 1980 Iran-Iraq War, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 all happened during Republican administrations. Productivity. It's hard to say that a U.S. president is responsible here, but Democrats tend to see bigger gains in productivity. Bill Clinton, for example, enjoyed a big boost in U.S. productivity during the 1990s. Consumer confidence. Consumers tend to have a rosier outlook on the U.S. economy in the first year a Democrat is in the White House. "Yet the superior growth record under Democrats is not forecastable by standard techniques, which means it cannot be attributed to superior initial conditions," they write. Chalk this one up to luck again, but it does come "tantalizingly close to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which consumers correctly expect the economy to do better under Democrats, then make that happen by purchasing more consumer durables."

The think tank Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts the UK economy will outstrip France and Germany within two decades even if Britain stays in the EU. But while leaving the organisation would have initial negative consequences, the CEBR's chief executive Douglas McWilliams suspects "that over a 15-year period, it would probably be positive." Britain is set to vote on a referendum on EU membership in 2017. The report predicts the UK's GDP will first move to fifth place ahead of France by 2018 before leapfrogging Germany around 2030. However, despite being forecast to be the second most successful of the Western economies after the US, it will fall behind the accelerating economies of India and Brazil. "Germany is forecast to lose its position as the largest Western European economy to the UK around 2030 because of the UK's faster population growth and lesser dependence on the other European economies," the report said. But added: "If the euro were to break up, Germany's outlook would be much better. "A Deutsche Mark-based Germany certainly would not be overtaken by the UK for many years if ever." It added that a factor driving the UK's move ahead of Germany is the assumption of a falling value for the euro, Germany's falling population and the UK's rising population. The gap between the two countries will fall from almost £610billion in 2013 to just £183billion in five years. The UK's GDP will grow from more than £1.59trillion in 2013 to £2.6trillion in 2028, compared to China which is predicted to be in top position with a GDP of more than £20.5trillion, ahead of the US with an estimated £19.7trillion Japan will fall from its steady position in the global league of third to fourth by 2028, overtaken by India and followed by Brazil, Germany and the UK. The positive report on the economy comes as a poll reveals more people believe they would be helped rather than harmed by a rise in interest rates. A survey reveals that a pre-

The holidays were great for Amazon and lousy for UPS. The two are linked and are a good illustration of two problems we'll face more often as the web meets the real world. Shipping giant UPS failed millions of customers this holiday season, missing the delivery of "a small percentage of its packages" on the Christmas Eve, according to a statement it released on Tuesday. Meanwhile on the day after the Christmas Day, e-tailing giant Amazon is crowing about signing up more than one million Amazon Prime members last week and that it registered record number of orders. Later Amazon said it would offer shipping refunds on packages affected by the UPS delays. Both events are linked, and here is why.