The effects of Sandy are still being felt. Trees are down, flooding, power outages, loss of transportation and the list goes on. Another affect to be wary of from Sandy are scams. Phishing expeditions for donations to charities to help the victims of Sandy are circulating. People are emotional after such a devastating event and [...]

To keep pace with the rising cost of living, the Social Security Administration announced a 1.7% benefits increase for 2013. This will give a $19 boost to the average benefit of $1,130 a month.  Too bad that $19 isn’t enough for the 56.3 million people who get Social Security to keep up with the rising [...]

Even with all the damage that Hurricane Sandy caused, one silver lining is that we shouldn’t see much, if any spike in gasoline prices. Gasoline prices were falling before Sandy struck, and nationally, at least, they’ve continued to drop in the storm’s aftermath. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline stands at $3.52, [...]

Every state requires some sort of Continuing Education (CE) credits that each producer has to complete to keep his/her life insurance license in good standing. See below for what the Iowa Insurance Department requires.   36 CE hours, including 3 hours of ethics, are required every 3 year license term (see license term below). Only 18 [...]

Are you like most Americans and the majority of your retirement savings is wrapped up in a 401k? Are you also like most Americans that have no idea how your 401k is performing or what your retirement savings is being invested in? It may be a great time to take greater control of your financial [...]

  JC Penney once said ‘that the well satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts” Too many advisers will not do a business plan in the midst of one of the most challenging markets in a generation and then wonder why their business flatlines. Others will forget to refine their success through probing [...]

IRA Financial Group interviewed over 100 self directed IRA real estate investors about how the domestic real estate market will play a role in making a voting decision for a presidential candidate, and over 80% of those interviewed said the real estate market will play an important role in their decision as to which candidate [...]