Preferred Financial Services

Andover, Massachusetts September 3^rd, 2010 –  When it comes to financial advice there are literally hundreds of suggestions, options, and tips that you hear from a variety of sources. While many are good ideas the long term payoffs are not usually guaranteed. During these tough times it’s important to make decisions that you know the outcome of. The following is a list of moves you can make today that will pay off in the future…

1. Max out your retirement vehicles. While it may seem hard to do now during these tough times, maxing out your retirement options when you are young and continuing to do so over the entire time of your working life will lead to huge benefits in the future. The two most common retirement options nowadays are 401(k)’s and Roth IRA’s.
   1. 401(k) plans were created to give workers a way of saving for their retirement through their place of work without the costly benefits that a traditional pension used to offer. Companies large and small have embraced 401(k)’s as an affordable and easy way to attract talented employees as well as helping their employees save for the future. Contributions are done pre-tax which means your effective tax bill goes down the more you contribute as each contribution is taken out of your paycheck before taxes are calculated. Remember, the max contribution this year is $16,500 and if you can’t afford to contribute the entire amount, make sure you at least contribute the amount needed to collect the matching contribution from your employer if offered.
   2. Roth IRA’s are relatively new investment vehicles and are designed to give a retirement option to people who are not able to enroll in a 401(k) plan. Unlike 401(k)’s, Roth IRA’s are built up using post tax earnings. This means the money you enroll in it has already been taxed. While this does not provide any tax relief right now, it does mean that when you turn 59 ½ you can cash out your entire IRA without having to pay any taxes on this amount. This is a huge benefit as typically you go up in the tax bracket as you get older and earn more money. The yearly limit on Roth IRA’s is $5,000 for Americans younger than 50 and $6,000 for Americans older than 50.
2. Pay off your Credit Card Debt. While this is an obvious one that is talked about often in Personal Finance circles, the message that credit card debt is extremely costly never gets old. Holding any balance on your card each month is costing you and your family dearly over the long term. Focus on using credit cards like a monthly debit card; always pay off the bill in full each month. If used correctly, credit cards are an easy and convenient way to borrow money for less than 30 days for free. As long as you pay back the balance in full each month a credit card should not cost you a cent (unless you have yearly fees, maintenance fees, etc.). If you do carry a balance each month, every purchase you make will cost you more and it will become harder and harder to become debt free the longer you wait and the larger your balance becomes.
3. Reevaluate your bank and financial planner. While having professional advice is a key component of any sound financial plan for your family it is important to realize that other motives besides your family’s future could be at play. Many financial planners and bank representatives are paid partly or entirely on commission. This means that they could be advising you to take steps that will certainly enrich their lives but not necessarily yours. This has been a huge topic recently as the market crash of 2008 exposed many risky decisions and plans that financial planners recommended to clients. The end result was a very rich financial planner and a very poor American family. You can find professionals that work on an hourly pay basis so do your best to make sure that the person you are trusting with your financial future has your best interests in mind.
4. Minimize the size of your yearly tax refund. Receiving your tax refund check and splurging on consumer goods has almost become an American tradition recently. Many families actually budget a refund into their yearly spending plan and typically do so to purchase luxury goods that not needed or excessive. While splurging once in a while is great, doing so when you have credit card debt is not only dumb but it is also putting you deeper and deeper into debt. Whenever you receive a refund check from the IRS it means that you paid too much in taxes over the previous year. This means you were giving the government an interest free loan for a year only to receive the excess back without interest. What every family should be trying to do is make the tax refund as small as possible without having to owe the IRS money.
5. Create a Budget to find areas of waste. While budgets are typically the first thing on the list of Personal Finance to do lists, I would like to focus on their use as a way to find waste in your spending habits. Creating a budget and analyzing past spending patterns is a great way to find areas where you wasting your money. If you notice that 10% of your monthly net pay is being spent on lunch at work, maybe it is time to start making your own lunch and saving those 10% in a Roth IRA or other investment. Remember, just creating a budget is the easy part. Actually taking the steps necessary to cut your expenses is the hard part and will require significant sacrifices on your part.

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

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stephan Personal Finance

September 2, 2010, Andover Massachusetts – After what has turned out to be a really rough end to the summer for the US economy, the changeover to September appears to be bringing with it some encouraging if not upbeat news. Data released today covers all the important sectors including unemployment, retail sales, productivity, as well as home purchases. While the data does not indicate a strong rebound is imminent, it does point to the fact that we may have hit the bottom of what has been a tough 2 month stretch.

New unemployment claims dropped for a 2^nd straight week by more than was expected. New claims fell to 472,000 last week, 3,000 less than what was expected. While this is still significantly higher than we need to create consistent job growth it is encouraging that we are trending down not up. As the economy cooled over the past 3 months many had expected another round of massive layoffs, but this data along with the new productivity numbers indicates this is an unlikely possibility. The productivity report released by the Labor Department indicates that worker productivity fell in the spring by the largest amount in over 4 years. In a good economy this would mean more cutbacks are needed, but in our current situation this indicates that current workers are being overloaded with work and are thus not able to perform at the levels they previously had. The logical conclusion to this would be that firms will need to start hiring again in the fall to remain competitive on the international market.

Retailers indicated that sales rose surprisingly in August as analysts expected near zero growth due to the continued uncertainty. While most of the gain can be attributed to steep discounting that is used during the summer months to attract customers, a part of the gain has to be attributed to consumers who are sick and tired of sitting at home not spending their hard earned money. As the summer fades and the fall begins we can only hope that more people will begin to start shopping again as the economy improves. On top of this, after a dismal summer of housing reports indicating that the sector continued to weaken data released today showed that existing home purchases rose in July. While the rate is no better than it was a year ago it again indicates that we may have hit the bottom there as well.

While the data released over the past 2 weeks has not been great it is starting to look like we may have hit bottom. The double dip recession never came to fruition, a 2^nd round of large scale layoffs never came to be, and consumer spending has been making a comeback. Readers, where do you see us heading? Do you believe we are out of the woods or is this just another momentary up tick before more bad news is relapsed over the next few weeks?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

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stephan Financial News

We have listen to all of you who read this blog and have updated our site to  make it easier for you to find previously released articles. I have reorganized past articles so they can now be searched not only by date but also by category. If its financial news it will be in the financial news section and if its a personal finance article it can be found in the personal finance section. Once in a particular folder, use the top right search box to find an article by title. Hope you like the changes and can now enjoy all the past articles with ease.

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stephan Settlements

Andover, Massachusetts August 26^th, 2010 –  Grocery shopping is a huge monthly expense for every family in America, are you doing everything you can to make sure you are not overspending? For many, grocery shopping involves running out of food at home and then heading to the nearest supermarket to purchase whatever they feel like eating. While this might be easy and lead to great meals it is also the most expensive way of shopping for food.

Saving money while shopping does not mean you have to spend hours clipping coupons each Sunday (though coupons can save you a pretty penny each week), what it does mean is that you need a plan before you enter the store. Read the following tips, and see just how much of a difference it can make.

1. Never enter a supermarket without a shopping list. Super markets and stores in general make a lot of their money from impulse shoppers. If you have ever walked into a store looking for green beans and left with a pizza and green beans then you have just added a few dollars to their bottom line. Always have a list of items you need and stick to it.
2. Before you make that shopping list you will need an idea of what you want to eat over the next few days. Brainstorm some ideas and then create a list so that you can make those meals whenever you want to. Not only does this save you money but it also eliminates those nights where you have no idea what to cook and then by default end up ordering pizza.
3. Avoid the free samples that many supermarkets offer. While it may be a great snack, a large amount of people that sample the food end up buying it, even though it was not on their original shopping list.
4. An obvious thing to avoid is the vendors that sometimes populate a grocery store. Just because there is a Dunkin Donuts in the store doesn’t mean you need to get a coffee. Save the $3 and make your own at home for a fraction of the cost.
5. Almost every grocery store in the country is designed to maximize revenue. This means that most have the essentials to a good meal along the outside and back of the store. Vegetables, fruits, dairy, and meats are the most important parts of your diet but are usually located as far away from the entrance as possible. Why you may ask? Its because the margins are usually the lowest on these. A store can make much more money by selling you pre packaged chips, soda, etc. than they can by selling you a pound of potatoes and a steak. Avoid browsing the store and head straight to where you need to be.
6. Finally, avoid the urge to splurge at the checkout counter. Ever notice how checkout counters are usually stocked with cheap and popular items such as gum, magazines, and cold soda? This is because these are again very high margin items for the store. Why purchase a 20 oz. bottle of sprite for $1.49 at the checkout counter when you can have a 2 liter bottle for $1 just 30 feet away? Stay on your toes and don’t succumb to the marketing strategies of the store.

Hopefully you can use some if not all of these tips to shave a couple of bucks off your food budget each and every week. By the end of the year you should see some significant savings that you can then use for other more important issues such as paying down your debt!

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

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stephan Personal Finance

Andover, Massachusetts August 30^th, 2010 –  The Labor Department has released a variety of data over the last few days detailing changes in consumer spending, saving and income in July. While there has been much talk of a double dip recession the data does not back up this fear. The data signals that while consumers continue to be wary of the general health of the economy, their rise in spending and drop in savings indicate they expect a complete recovery to take place.

Consumer spending rose by over 44 billion dollars in July compared to June, a rise of .4%. This is in contrast to a .1% reduction in consumer spending in June. This newest rise is a welcome boost for the economy but is not big enough to fully conclude that consumers are back to spending their hard earned cash. A big driver of this rise was a boost in auto sales in July while factories that typically are shut down for the summer remained open. An up tick in car purchases is a good indicator that consumers are less worried about their financial situation. Americans are starting to trust their finances again and are not as scared of becoming unemployed in the short term as they were just a short time ago when auto sales were at historic lows. If they were still anxious over their employment they would not be investing such a significant part of their income on a depreciating asset such as a vehicle. All of this has been done without any government incentive program so look for this to be a leading indicator of better times to come.

Personal income rose as well in July by over 30 billion dollars, a jump of .2%. This was much needed relief for Americans as income actually dropped in June by .1%. Continued increases in personal income are a good indicator that the economy is headed in the right direction so keep an eye on this statistic moving forward. And finally, personal savings dropped in July compared to June, a good short term trend but a troubling long term trend if it lasts. Personal savings as a percentage of disposable income dropped in July to 5.9% compared to 6.2% in June. While this means consumers are once again spending more and worrying less about their debt, it is important that this rate not reach the lows which we experienced before the collapse of 2008. We all know personal spending is the driving force behind the US economy, but it also left millions of households vulnerable to long term unemployment, medical emergencies, and other catastrophic family events. This is why so many people were left with nothing once the housing market tanked and unemployment sky rocketed in late 2008 and most of 2009. Keep in mind that July’s rate is still historically high so it is not time to worry yet, but if we see a return to a near 0% personal savings rate we will know that Americans did not learn from the Great Recession and are just repeating the personal finance mistakes that led up to the crash of 2008.

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

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stephan Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 27^th, 2010 – Retirement saving has never been at the top of most peoples minds as they struggle through the daily grind of paying bills, keeping a roof over their heads, and feeding themselves and their families. As the baby boomer generation is nearing or has already reached retirement age many of the younger generation are realizing that there will not be adequate social safety nets in place to provide for them in old age. The current retirees have a solvent Social Security system as well as now mostly extinct pensions to get them through the golden years of retirement. Younger generations can not depend on either of these, so what are they doing to prepare for retirement?

Before the economy crumbled in late 2008 savings in general and retirement savings in particular were at low or record low levels. As people have readjusted their financial lives to deal with the new reality of lower pay, uncertain job futures, and a soon to be insolvent social security system, saving has become much more popular. While for many this does not include retirement saving because of current budget needs, many private companies nationwide are doing something to make sure the next generation of retirees will at least have something to support them during their retirement years.

Charles Schwab recently released a survey that indicates the number of employers offering automatic enrollment in a 401(k) retirement plan has sky rocketed. 38% of employers surveyed now have automatic enrollment that require a specific opt out by the employee. This is up nearly 7 fold compared to 2005 when the rate was only 5%. On the flip side, matching contributions by the employer are not as standard as they used to be. 69% of employers currently offer some match which is down from a high of 76% in 2006. While this is discouraging it is to be expected as usually the first thing that gets dropped when a company enters a rough period is the employer match on retirement accounts. While I don’t expect this number ever to reach 90% I do expect it to head back up as the economy improves and companies begin competing for the best candidates.

While forcing employees to do anything is not really the best way to go about retirement saving it will be effective. This is a good trend to see as it means more and more people are saving for retirement without even thinking about it. The contributions are taken out of the employees’ paycheck before they even get it. While it does lower the amount of take home pay during this particularly tough period it will pay off in the long run.

Readers, where do you stand on this issue? If you are against it, are you preparing for retirement on your own or are you just hoping for the best? And if you are for it how far do you think employers can take this concept? Can they automatically enroll you in health insurance, what about gym memberships?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

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stephan Personal Finance

Andover, Massachusetts August 26^th, 2010 – Another week has passed and the Labor Department has released the newest jobless claims report. New Jobless claims dropped for the first time in 4 week which has led to a stronger opening on Wall Street. Claims dropped by 31,000 last week which was more than double the 15,000 drop that was expected by economists.

So what does this mean for the economy? It is good short term news but it isnt an indicator either way that this is the start of a new long term downward trend. While it is encouraging that the number of claims has dropped after a month long  rise the rate is still above 470,000 which is probably around 70,000 more than there should be in a growing and healthy economy. Clearly we still have a ways to go, but lets take this good news and worry about the future tomorrow!

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stephan Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 25^th, 2010 – Recent data released continues to paint a grim picture for the housing sector since the federal housing credit ended a couple of months ago. New home sales hit the lowest level ever in July and existing home sales took another tumble in July as well. All of this news is dragging on the stock market and continues to further the idea that a double dip recession is coming. While I disagree, the data is not encouraging and indicates that the housing sector still has not hit rock bottom.

New home sales dropped 12.4% in July from the previous month to an annual rate of 276,600. This is the lowest annual rate ever recorded since record keeping was first started in 1963. Not only does this mean the housing market still has some room to drop but it also means the construction industry will continue to be hard hit. As winter approaches and these numbers remain low the next 6-9 months could be particularly tough for construction workers. If this wasn’t bad enough, on Monday the NAR (National Association of Realtors) reported that July sales of existing home fell to a 15 year low. While these sales do not affect a particular industry besides realtors it is a much bigger slice of the pie and indicates demand continues to sink. While people may want to move for better work opportunities or family reasons many can not do so at the time because their current homes are underwater. Until housing prices improve the rate of home sales will continue to stay below normal.

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

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stephan Financial News

Andover, Massachusetts August 24^th, 2010 – If you are like many Americans you have faced years of overdraft fees on your ATM/Debit Cards after charging a purchase when you did not have the funds in the account to cover the purchase. For the past 15+ years banks and credit card issuers have been making a fortune off of peoples honest mistakes without any way to stop it but now they finally can. . In the past, if your account didn’t have the funds, you were charged a $20-$35 overdraft fee every time without exception. The new rule that went into effect on August 15th is part of the 2009 Credit Card Overhaul bill and will likely save consumers as a whole millions of dollars each year in overdraft fees.

The new rule automatically bars consumers from over charging on their accounts unless they opt into an overdraft protection plan. This change is finally giving Americans the choice of whether they want to overdraft their account, not forcing them to pay a fee when they do. For those who routinely do overdraft and consider the fee worthwhile it is still very easy to opt into this plan. But for the majority of people who have been robbed left and right in the past because they didn’t realize they were over drafting this law is very much needed. Gone are the days of hundreds of dollars in fees because of a few badly timed purchases. No longer will you be paying $35 in fees for a purchase that over drafted your account by $2.

Where do you stand on this? Have you opted into the plan or are you glad that finally you will be prevented from buying goods and services when you don’t have the cash in the bank to pay for it?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

Is this the news we have been waiting for or just a temporary drop? Have you been asked to take over tasks at work that used to be done by someone else?

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

stavernini@pfs1.net

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stephan Credit Card Debt Help, Personal Finance

Andover, Massachusetts August 23^rd , 2010 – The average interest rate on credit cards rose to a 9 year high last quarter eclipsing 14.7%. This is over 1.5% higher than in the same quarter a year ago and indicates that credit card companies continue to charge fees and interest rates to make up for lost revenue due to the economy and more government regulations.

This average rate hike was followed up by news that credit card spending in the last quarter was the second highest ever recorded, falling just short of the spending level reached in third quarter of 2008. While some may see this record spending as good news for the economy I believe that this is an indicator that Americans are having trouble meeting their obligations and thus are relying on credit cards to make ends meet. This can have disastrous consequences in the when many of these people will default on their obligations. As credit card usage dipped over the past 2 years the credit card companies have done everything possible to remain profitable. The increased interest rates were the easiest way to do this and it appears to be working as many of these companies are posting strong quarterly earnings and rosy forecasts for the immediate future. While this is great for shareholders it is not very good for the average consumer with thousands in credit card debt. It is making their life increasingly difficult as more and more of each monthly payment is going towards interest and not the principle balance. This means that they are paying more and staying in debt longer than ever, just what the credit card companies want to happen as an in debt consumer is the most profitable for them.

Readers, have you noticed your rates reaching new heights? Have you said enough is enough and paid off your cards and closed the accounts? Where do you see this trend heading over the next few years?

Preferred Financial Services is a debt reduction firm certified by the CFC (Center for Financial Certifications) and accredited by U.S.O.B.A. (United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives). Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, Preferred Financial Services has been a leader in the debt reduction industry since 2003. Preferred Financial Services has acquired some of the best experience in the industry over the past 7 years. In 2009 alone Preferred Financial Services reduced over $16.5 million worth of consumer debt for just $6.4 million, for a savings of about 60%- and over 2,900 accounts were settled on behalf of their clients.

For more information, please visit www.pfsdebtrelief.com or follow us on our blog at www.pfsdebtrelief.com/blog/ .

Contact:

Stephan Tavernini

Marketing Coordinator

Certified IAPDA Debt Arbitrator

Preferred Financial Services

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stephan Credit Card Debt Help, Financial News