Let us have a look at few most promising sectors that will dominate the market in coming 10 years.

Phone Technology

As of now, this is the fastest growing market, and demand for phones is increasing by leaps and bounds. In years to come, the world will need more technicians produce, troubleshoot, and manage this technology. This sector is highly depended on communication, which is also a promising sector in itself.

Certified Financial Planner

Most people around the world yet depend on financial planners to design their retirement portfolio, get out of debts, and make proper utilization of their resources. Hence, demand for certified financial planners would increase considerably with increase in population.

BioTechnology

Health issues in our society are on a rise, and existing resources are not adequate to meet increase needs. We will need more innovation and more strategies to solve this problem. So, this sector would certainly be very important at least for the next decade.

E-Commerce

Have you ever tried making money on the web? If no, start doing before the world saturates the market. Internet, introduced as information spreading medium, is now the best tool to make money from home.

Environment

Since last 5 years, ‘go green’ and ‘save our planet’ signboards have appeared all around the place. We are being more concerned about our planet and it health lately. Companies are going green, people have started saving energy, and scientists are coming up with many ways to save efficient resources of our planet. If this is just a fad, it’s here to stay for a very long time. At least, until we solve this problem.

Interactive Entertainment

With the increase in social media networks and people interest in the same, it’s evident that people want to interact with each other. They are, however, to busy to schedule it. This is where online interactive games come into role. Nothing is more refreshing than coming home from office and playing games online with your friends living in other part of the world.

Search Engine optimization and Tools

If E-Commerce is the next hot-spot, search engine optimization that helps websites to perform better with search engines, will certainly be in demand.

Infrastructure

If you think yours is a developed country, think again. As far as infrastructure is concerned, no country is developed. Many innovations are yet to be made, and most of the existing project requires maintenance and redevelopment. So, for at least next couple of decades, infrastructure is going to play a vital role in shaping nation’s economy.

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However, your investment decisions must be based on other factors including your personal goals, current financial status, and so on. You cannot start investing simply because your broker informed ‘buy this, it’s a good stock’, or ‘market is not at it’s peak, this is probably the best time to invest’, or ‘This stock will certainly skyrocket’.

Before we believe in all these things and start investing, STOP! Have you gone through your financial plans? Would this action help you to reach your goals sooner? Instead of asking a financial consultant you must ask few questions to yourself. ‘Should I invest in this stock, or should I repay my loans first?’

This may be not the right time to invest, let’s us discuss why.

You Don’t Have Adequate Knowledge About Investing

There are several investing enemies, but the biggest one is within. Although most people advice ‘learn from your mistake’, it’s wiser to learn from other’s mistakes.

Without accurate knowledge about any financial product, it’s not advisable to invest. You can think about putting your money, only if you have gained fundamental knowledge about how it works. I am not asking you to procrastinate your investment plan. But a well researched, and informed decision can take you a long way.

Repay Your Debt First

It’s always better to put off investing until you have repaid your debt, at least the major ones. This is because the profit you would earn from you investment, in most cases, would be way less than the interest you pay on your loans.

Many people do make the mistake of investing in retirement plans without repay all the debt. Later, when they aren’t able to make high-interest payments, they withdraw money from retirement account, by paying penalties on such early withdrawals.

You Don’t have Definite Future Plans

Before you put money in any investment product, it’s important to have a plan. You must decide where you money would go, and how long would you hold your investment. A general investment rule is the longer you hold it, the less risky your investment is. If you have money now, but you don’t know when you future would you need it, it’s wise to stash your cash in a high-interest savings account.

In most investment products, you need to pay some fee to open the account and withdraw the investment. It’s no point rushing to open an IRA account, and depositing all your investments, only finding out that it would cost you a lot to withdraw before retirement. If you start putting money in an ESA for your child’s college education, you cannot transfer them in your 401k account. Hence, make sure you have a proper game plan before making investment decisions.

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There are few of us who work hard, save, and invest, and build a fortune that many of us simply dream about. But as soon as we reach a secure stage, we are often asked to enjoy what we have accumulated. Many are told to act nobly or altruistic by giving away money as charity, while many others are simply asked to keep building the fortune.

What is it that we want to do with our money? Why do we want to save money?

We strive hard, and give up our desires today and save more, simply to enjoy tomorrow. But when tomorrow comes, we still try to save more. Most people believe being frugal today will help us have a better retirement, have a better future. The problem with future, however, is it never comes. Although you may draw a line on your savings and start living your life, the fact is, we are never full, we never draw the line.

Although I have been frugal many times in my life, I would admit that I am not in for saving and living only for the future. This doesn’t mean I am an impulsive spender or I seek instant gratification. But I am a bit skeptical about the future.

We keep saving for our retirement. We put money into our 401k retirement plan and investments in our IRA, which cannot be withdrawn without reaching that age or being charged with penalty. We haven’t touched our hard earned money since decades, and we keep stuffing in more. However, we are not sure weather we would live that long to achieve our financial goals, let alone enjoying our money.

We are so busy bothering about the future, completely neglecting the best gift of our life: present. We want to secure our investments and want guaranteed returns, but we don’t have guarantee of whether we would live to receive the returns.

So, What Should We Do? Save or Not To Save?

You must save for your future, but not deprive yourself of anything. Some personal finance blogs share some really good tips on how you can save money without depreciating the quality of your life. Learn how you can invest more without loosing what you have now. Life is really short. You might be saving for your retirement, and you may be alive as well. But you would always regret about what you missed doing when you had the opportunity.

I am not against saving. In fact, I have written many articles on savings on this blog. But your priority should be living, and then saving. Don’t forget your financial goals, but also remember that you are in this world only for a short while, for much shorter time than you think. If your approach asks you to deprive of things, try to find alternatives.

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Probably everyone know this. But When can I check it, and how does it work?

You must enter the area ‘Where’s My Refund’ only if you have filed your tax returns (1040/1040A/1040EZ). If you have already filed it, you will have to fill up a form that asks for basic personal information including Social Security, address, tax receipt numbers, and so on. It will process your information and display the result (when your refund would be sent) within minutes.

The method of filing tax returns determines the time it takes to receive your refund. If you have filed it online, you can check the status within 72 hours of filing it. In case of mail, however, it takes around 3-4 weeks to get the result displayed.

The timeline provided by IRS is general, and may not be applicable to all. It may take more days to display your status online. Besides, this system displays return status that were filed in the current year, and last six months of the previous year.

What Information Would the System Ask For, In Order to Display Tax Refund Status?

If you want to know your refund status, you will have to provide the following information:

• Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or Social Security Number
• The amount of refund written on return receipt
• Status of tax filed (type of tax filed)

Don’t fret if you can’t find any of the above mentioned information. The tax return and the tool provides information on where to find it.

The process sounds simple. However, does this website provides information on all types of tax refund status?

This tool doesn’t provide information on all types of taxes, and it cannot be used by every individual. For instance, if you have filed Form 4010X (amendments) or business tax, you wouldn’t be able to view your tax refund status.

If you have filed your tax returns through mail, it would take around 6 weeks to get it processed and reach your mailbox. However, if you have done it online, you can check the status in 3 days and receive checks within 3 weeks.

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What’s a 0% Interest Credit Card?

Many companies introduce credit cards with 0% interest rate on new purchases and balance transfers. These offers, however, are valid only for a limited period (usually 6-18 months), and are introduced to attract new customers.

Alright, What’s a 0% Balance Transfer?

By availing a card with 0% interest rate, you can transfer the debt on your current card to your new card that charges you 0% for a limited period of time, usually till the offer is valid. This is a great opportunity for people who have huge credit card debt and are currently paying over 20% on the total amount. They can save some hundreds each month, simply by transferring the balance, which can be used to repay the debt quickly.

Should I Apply For 0% Balance Transfer Offers?

You can apply for 0% balance transfer offers only if you use your card responsibly, i.e. you make payments on time. For many, 0% interest credit card serves as an excuse not to make payments on time. By doing this, you will only keep accumulating your debt, which would eventually be very difficult to repay. However, if you do so, the interest rates will increase even before the introductory offer ends. Hence, if you can’t make full payments, at least make sure you make monthly minimum payment. Such cards and offers must be used to eliminate your existing debt quickly, and save some money every month.

Here are few tips that can help you save some money on 0% balance transfer offers:

• These cards ask for 2-5% balance transfer fees, or a fixed amount of $50-80. Make sure you select a card that charges low fee.
• Before you apply for such cards, make sure you understand how it works, when to get it, and when to exit.
• Don’t forget to make payments on time, or it may increase your increase rate immediately.
• Link your credit card bill to your savings account to make automatic payments.
• Know how much can you transfer, there are limits on such transfers.

Such card can definitely save you loads of money, if you don’t break any of their rules. If you are a responsible user, I would suggest you to go for it, and make maximum use of it.

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In spite of falling straight on our faces, we still ask this question ‘Does free money exist?’, simply because we learnt another thing in childhood, ‘never lose hope’. And those you never lose hope, gets its reward. There is absolutely free government money available, and the best part is, there isn’t any scam. It’s real.

Around $25 bn is given away by our government as free money. This amount, however, is distributed in form of government grants. So, what should be your next step? There are two ways you can get this money. If you want whole of it, derive a flawless plan to kick those people out of Washington, or White House, or wherever the money is kept with a gun, and don’t get out of the country as soon as possible. However, such people always have a sad ending; remember childhood stories? If you don’t care about endings, execute the plan.

Another way to get a part of this money, if not whole, is to do what it takes to receive this grant officially. You can plan to build a day care center or a big sports complex in your city, or erect a new recycling center. Yes, these kinds of projects get government funding. And the best part is you don’t have to repay the amount. It’s absolutely free government money. Another good thing about having your project financed by government is they would never like to watch it go down.

In short, once you get this money and your business starts operating remarkably, you would keep getting absolutely free government money. Maybe I put the whole thing quite casually, but the fact is, there are numerous people in US, UK, and Canada who have availed this money and depended on it for their whole lives.

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1. Automatic Reduction from Your Income
   And who would pay my monthly bills? I am already not able to meet my expenses. This is what happens when you ask for advice to people who are jealous of you, of everyone.
2. Collect Change
   

   Not from other people, but yours. Say you buy something for $8, you receive $2 change if you hand over a $10 bill to the shop owner. Do not use that $2 coin, save it, says Mr. Jackson, my neighbor. According to him, you can save enough every month to pay your electricity bills. My guess – he doesn’t watch TV, use computer or laptop, or a heater. I mean, how can you pay an electricity bill by saving $2?

3. Get Goal Jars
   Another weird suggestion from Mr. Weirdo. He asks me to bring goal jars. Do you remember those wide, short, clay pots, with small opening? Yes, you can bring them home, not one, many, and label them as ‘education’, ‘eating out’, ‘kids’, ‘holiday’, ‘girlfriend expenses (not applicable to unlucky ones)’, etc. He says it’s better than using envelopes because clay is not made by cutting trees. Eco-friendly suggestion, isn’t it?
4. Have a Budget
   Not as long as Obama though. But it’s essential to keep a track of your expenses, sources of income, savings, and whatever you do with your money. It doesn’t matter if you make sacrifices for something in one category to meet the goals of another, until you are within your budget. Some sense from Mr. Jackson at last. But he said ‘I have 10 ways to save money, all logical.’
5. Eliminate or Reduce your Vacation
   I almost laughed for a minute when I heard this. I am planning to save money to go for a vacation and he plainly asks me to no to go. How can he say this so innocently?
6. Sell Useless Stuffs on eBay
   You would think eBay is not a fool’s paradise, where you can put useless items on sale and people will buy it. Trust me, or Mr. Jackson, there are many fools all around the world. After he gave me this suggestion I sold 3 items that I would have burned instead.
7. Start a Hobby
   But not an expensive one. Think about some thing that you like and how you can use it to make money. Like Mr. Jackson can definitely be a financial consultant.
8. Ask for an Increment in Salary
   I thank my employer everyday just because I am still there, working, and receiving salary on time. My company downsized from 1300 to 700. Is it the right time to ask for a raise? And you said 10 ways to save money, Mr. Jackson, not 10 Ways to screw your neighbor.
9. Cut off Your Cable Connection
   I told you…I told you he doesn’t watch TV, he doesn’t have an internet connection, he doesn’t have any thing, and he wants me to be like him. And how much it would save every month? Aammm… so what if it saves a good amount? What about my kids? Where would they watch cartoons?
10. Cut Down Expenses Considerably
    According to him, you can reduce you monthly expense by as much as 30-40% by just stopping impulsive shopping. That’s true. I agree with him on this. We all do this. Let’s vow not to shop on impulse. Hey, look at that new bike, I want it now.

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1. Don’t wait for an opportunity to invest. Let it operate automatically. Ask your bank to invest a fixed amount every month for 401(k) or other investment plans.
2. Keep adding money in your saving account. This will earn you good amount as interest every month.
3. Aviod paying banking fees. Use your bank services for free to pay bills, checks, auto deposits, etc.
   
4. Don’t get simple credit cards. Pick the one that offers cash back facility. Over a period of time, you get a good return.
5. Keep searching for hot deals that can save you some money. Don’t buy any items without proper homework.
6. Use ceiling fans and table fans instead of air conditioners. They consume much less electricity than the latter.
7. Replace all tubes and bulbs with CFL bulbs to save energy. This is one of my favorite practical money saving tips.
8. Drive smoothly and at a constant speed. Of course, you have to slow down at many places. However, try to drive at a normal speed, without much application of brakes.
9. Plan your major purchases well in advance. Don’t purchase things during peak season.
10. Go for good quality products. Cheap goods may save some money. But those gains are temporary. Quality goods will last longer and save much money in long run.
11. Quite contradictory to the previous one in the list of practical money saving tips, buy a generic item wherever possible. By this I mean, don’t go for branded products when a generic one can serve the purpose, but don’t compromise on quality.
12. Start using coupons and search for stores that offer discount. You can start by visiting online websites like Ebates.
13. Stop eating out. If it’s not possible, at least try to reduce it. An average American spends a major portion of his income in eating out. Don’t be an average American, be smart, be frugal, cook and eat at home.
14. Eating leftover isn’t a disgrace. If you cook a dinner tonight and much is left after eating the dinner, take it for lunch tomorrow at your workplace.
15. Don’t buy DVD’s and books. Borrow them from the nearest library. You don’t really refer your books after you have read it once, so why spend so much unnecessarily?

Yes, I know that some of these practical money saving tips wouldn’t apply to everyone. If so, please ignore them. Applying even few can help you to save a good amount every month. Try it.

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1. It’s wise to stock basic stuff in bulk. This will save considerable amount of money. However, don’t try to stock perishable goods.
2. Keep a track of stores that offer great benefits to customers through discounts and coupons.
3. Keep a track of food stuffs that you regularly buy in small quantities. Get them in large quantities whenever possible.
4. Don’t forget that for additional discount you can use a manufacturer’s coupon along with store coupon.
   
5. Consider grocery shopping as a business deal. Next time you go the nearby grocery store, try to maximize your profit. Don’t forget to have a goal.
6. Don’t shop daily. Do it twice a month or once in a week.
7. Don’t go for food shopping when you are tired, hungry, stressed, or depressed. Plan your shopping when you are most excited and happy. You attitude makes a huge difference.
8. Don’t buy breads. Purchase a bread machine. No, it isn’t costly. Most people ignore it because they don’t really have time to prepare bread. Moreover, homemade bread is better than outside bread for your health.
9. Another smart way of saving money is by adopting a habit of baking potatoes every time it’s possible. Later, put the potatoes in fridge.  Whenever you have omelet dinner or quick breakfast, these brown potatoes goes very well.
10. If you are a cookie lover, this tip is especially for you. If you know how to make cookies, bake them in large quantity and freeze them. Again, it’s not important to bake the whole batter, you can freeze it. Later, when you need it, thaw and bake.
11. Much of our money is wasted when food is wasted. Take measures to reduce food wastage. Eat fruits before they decompose, or make fruit juice and store it. Have a habit of inspecting your food regularly.
12. Make use of leftovers. You will be surprised to know that you can save a lot by using leftovers. Or use it the other way round. Make excessive food, which can last for at least another day.
13. Don’t spend much time in any grocery store. Get in the store, buy required products, check your list, and go home. The more you stay, the more you will purchase. Remember, we are saving money?
14. Whenever you go to a grocery store, keep an eye on the advertisements and cash registers for special discounts and offers. You will save some money next time.
15. Before you go out to shop, don’t forget to check the local newspaper for today’s offer and discounts.

These are very commonsensical ways for saving money on food. However, we tend to avoid these things while shopping. Again, make sure you don’t affect your health just to save few dollars. After all, health is wealth.

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The biggest retiree medical expense which is the long-term care is normally not covered by Medicare. Just to give an idea of the cost involved let us look at the numbers. As per Genworth Financial survey a room in a private nursing home last year cost an average of $76,460 a year which is $209 per day. Again costs differ in different states and can start from an average of $125 a day in Louisiana to $515 in Alaska. There are other not so expensive options but even they don’t come in retiree budget. Per hour on an average home-health aide cost $19 which by simple compounding amounts to $43,884 per year for 44 hours a week of care. One needs to shell out on an average $36,090 annually for a private one-bedroom unit in an assisted-living facility. Adult day care costs $15,236 per year, on average, for care five days a week as per survey done by Genworth Financial.

So how do you pay such hefty long term care bills. The best way would be to take long-term care insurance. As per AARP estimates to take a policy that covers long term care expense a 65-year-old will have to pay anything between $2,000 and $3,000 a year. As per calculations from Fidelity Investments for a couple both 65 years of age in 2008 to insure against a lifetime long term care expense would need to take a policy of $85,000. In short long term care insurance doesn’t come cheap. Hence it is best to evaluate long term care insurance policy carefully before taking it. Check out on factors like cancelation of policy terms, premiums, renewal, length of coverage and maximum payout before taking the policy. These policies are quite complicated and written quite extensively on what is covered but few years later when you actually start using long-term-care services you may find that some elements are not covered. Hence it is very important to go through the blueprint of the policy carefully. It is also important to check on the financial stability of the insurer to make sure that the insurer is capable of meeting your claim. Financial health of the insurer can be checked  either by rating of agencies like A.M. Best, Moody’s, or Standard & Poor’s  or you can check with your state insurance department.

Take care of your health

Of course the best way to meet the rising cost of health care would be to take good care of your health. A good health diet, plenty of exercise and a stress free life will go a long way in keeping you health and hence reducing your medical bill. Many retirees who cannot afford health care simply stay without it. For instance study conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation study reported that some Medicare Part D enrolees who could not pay the bill in prescription drug coverage just stopped taking their medicines. In a survey conducted of people who are suffering from chronic conditions and taking medicines 10 percent stopped taking oral anti-diabetic drugs, 18 percent stopped taking osteoporosis medications, and 20 percent stopped the usage of proton pump inhibitors to reduce gastric acid. Stopping medication is not solutions rather it will only aggravate the problem as not paying attention to a chronic condition will only aggravate the condition and will mean bigger health care costs in the future.

Read more at: Planning For Health Care In Retirement- Part II

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