Need assignment done by tomorrow

Your Number

What is your “number” (see reading for techniques and tools)? What might cause your number to be higher? What average annual return do you need on your investments between now and retirement to reach your number? How might you achieve this rate of return?

Criteria:

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

Write a minimum of 400 words (approximately 2 pages) using Microsoft Word.

Attempt APA style, see example below.

Use font size 12 and 1” margins.

Include cover page and reference page.

At least 60% of your paper must be original content/writing.

No more than 40% of your content/information may come from references.

Use at least two references from outside the course material, preferably from EBSCOhost.

Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the two reference requirement.

Reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) must be identified in the paper and listed on a reference page.

Reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, online newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc.

Sources such as Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, etc. are not acceptable.

A detailed explanation of how to cite a source using APA can be found here (link).

Download an example of a paper using APA formatting here

 In this week you will be introduced to Retirement and Estate Planning Upon successful completion of this Lesson, the student will be able to:  Compare opportunities and strategies for attaining personal wealth  Develop a plan for future financial need and retirement Make sure to utilize the "My Notes" section to organize your thoughts with regard to what is the most important information within the lecture that is being imparted. Focus on factual information relevant to each discussion topic such as definitions and processes. Helpful tips for using this VIP Guide:    This icon means that there is a video to watch  This icon means that there is something interesting to read Reading Assignment and/or Lecture Key Points: One of the most difficult things to decide is how much money you will need to retire. Several web sites have calculators and many people will give their opinion. Really it is up to you. If you have your house paid off and do not plan to travel you will need less income during retirement.  If you have money put away in your 401k and or have a pension plan through your company, you may be able to retire earlier than if you do not have these things. You may have use dollar cost averaging to put money into mutual funds or CDs – if so, that may help you to retire comfortably as well. Maybe you plan to have a part time job to keep you busy and make some additional money – whatever your plan is – remember, it is YOUR plan! It may work for you but not work for anyone else.  BA250 Personal Finance VIP - Week 7 Grantham University 2013 Page 2 of 6 At the end of this document there are a few web sites and videos that you can use to help you answer this question but be sure to use search engines to find your own favorite web sites on this topic. Refer back to them often as you plan.  When you read about planning for retirement you will probably see the term baby boomers – that simply means people born between 1946 and 1964. The people called Generation Y or the Millennial Generation are the children of baby boomers! A will is a legal tool that allows you to say who will take care of your possessions after your death. You can say that your favorite golf clubs will go to your daughter or that your stamp collection will go to your son. Wills and how to divide your assets is often a very difficult subject to talk about but it should be discussed and a document should be created. There are many web sites that you can use or software you can purchase to take care of this. Some of them will ask you the questions, you answer and then it will make the document! Remember it is legal to minimize your estate taxes. So research your situation and decide if you can use a trust (a special type of account with rules) or gift some of your money to your heirs (there are also rules about how much can be given each year without paying taxes). The executor is the person you choose to carry out the wishes of your will. Beneficiaries are people that receive something from your will If you do not have a will you are said to be intestate. Think of that as saying that things are up in the air.   BA250 Personal Finance VIP - Week 7 Grantham University 2013 Page 3 of 6 W7 Discussion Introduction Retirement and Estate Planning When should you start to think about retirement and estate planning? When should you start taking action? Why? Have you already started taking steps toward retirement? If so, when and why? If not, when do you plan to begin? Why? VIP Suggestions: The first question might be better worded as ‘when should you NOT think about’ it! If you have started to do some retirement planning just keep in mind that this discussion is read by your peers so please do not list a lot of details in the discussion! Also if someone says that something works for them, do not be critical, it might really work for them! Ask probing questions about their post to start a dialog, but let’s be careful to respect privacy on this one, ok? Example of how to get started: To get the discussion going I would first use Word to create my entire post, making sure that I answered all questions in my initial post. This is an excerpt from a sample post: ….and I have started to plan for my retirement by contributing to my 401K. The company will match 50 cents on the dollar for the first 2 % that I put it so I am automatically earning 50% on that amount! I am also working with my wife to create a will. We plan to have that finished in the next 30 days so that …. W7 Assignment Using the information in the Lectures & Presentation, answer the following: What is your “number” (see reading for techniques and tools)? What might cause your number to be higher? What average annual return do you need on your investments between now and retirement to reach your number? How might you achieve this rate of return?  BA250 Personal Finance VIP - Week 7 Grantham University 2013 Page 4 of 6 Consider the following: Make sure to reference the Key Points from the lectures above. When asking for your ‘number’ we are not talking about your Sleep Number! What is the amount that you need to retire? Example: My husband and I feel that we need $42,000.00 per year to be able to retire. We own our home but want to travel some to see the grandchildren. To get to our goal we need to save $???? per year for 15 years at an interest rate of X. Final Project Your Financial Situation and Plans This will be due at the end of Week 8. Here is what you will be asked to do so you may begin working on it now. Reflect on all that you have learned in this course. Summarize your financial situation and plans. Be sure to include plans for budgeting, saving, debt and credit, taxes and insurance, investing, retirement and estate planning. Additionally, describe your future career goals and what steps you need to take reach those goals, including plans to pursue a degree in higher education. Tips to get started Look back at your previous assignments and the posts that you have made to the weekly discussions. What did your peers ask you and how did you respond in the discussions? Look at the feedback from your instructor on your assignments. Were you headed in the right direction? If so, this assignment should be a breeze – it is just putting it all together!  BA250 Personal Finance VIP - Week 7 Grantham University 2013 Page 5 of 6 Resource Sites on Studying Strategies: How much money do you need for retirement?   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RodRrSpJh00 03 How to provide for retirement? How much money do I need to retire?   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atdNt5S0VzM (11 min) How Much Money Do You Need To Retire? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2obUyCApFXQ Preparing Last Will & Testament http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37D4QRqJO_4 (4 min) Do you have enough money to retire?   http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mjh45geje/ho

Grading Criteria Assignments Maximum Points

Meets or exceeds established assignment criteria 40

Demonstrates an understanding of lesson concepts 20

Clearly present well-reasoned ideas and concepts 30

Mechanics, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling that affects clarity, and citation of sources as needed            10

Total 100