July!

Wow, it is already July. Pardon the lack of posts. I work 50-60 hours a week. I am so tired everyday. To make matters worse I actually went to the E.R. today. I had some stomach problems that escalated and I felt like vomiting this morning. I was prescribed some antibiotics and now I feel a whole lot better.

Though I am really busy, I realize that prioritizing is SOOOO important! If I don't set goals and deadlines for myself, I will forget what is important and never get it done! This is definitely something I need to work on and continue to get better at. ING is on the backburner but I want it to be at the forefront. I need to make things happen for myself despite my natural tendencies to let things run passively.

On another note, have you heard about Mint.com? I totally love this site because it helps you budget and see where your money is going. There are cool pie charts so you can see what percentage of your money is going where. For me, 50% is going to rent :( I need to fix that! I am moving apartments at the end of August so I am definitely looking to reduce my rent by at least $100-200/month.

Finally, with summer in full swing- what are your plans? I am looking forward to sitting poolside soaking up the rays. I am tempted to take vacations because of all the great deals I see on Travelzoo but I know I have to save. Deals will always be around so I shouldn't be taking them needlessly and spending where I shouldn't. What is something free you like to do in the summer?

'Til next time, have a Happy (and safe!) 4th of July!

Angela

Life Lesson

First off, I'm on the ING website!! Yay!

I realize that I am blessed to have 2 jobs. My new one is totally chill- I get to go on Twitter and Facebook. I get to find tidbits of useless information but also totally cool stuff like making $5 dinners! ING has been going well. Mid-May and prospects are turning into clients.

Life lesson learned this past Mother's Day weekend: Don't let others dictate your life. I get a lot of crap from people saying being licensed in life insurance is not a 'real' job. It discouraged me but I know what I do is legitimate and helps a lot of people. I wouldn't be in the job otherwise. I am not a natural at sales!! (Why would I be wasting my time!?) This is fuel for me to work harder and prove myself. When I roll in mounds of green don't come knocking at my door! Millionaire here I come!

Haha, well maybe not in 10 years....

'Til next time!

Angela

MAY!

It's already MAY!! Time flies!!

As for work, ING has been a super support system in my new career. I have new confidence in my abilities to succeed and realize the potential I have yet to achieve.

ING has a great new product out called the Global Index Universal Life (GIUL). It is indexed to the S+P 500 as well as 2 other international markets. This is a great tool to utilize the ups of the market (NO CAP on interest earned!!) but protect you from the downs (GUARANTEED 1% return). Ask me if you want more info! I am going to switch my policy to this one because it is a great retirement tool as well as building up my savings.

Other news: I picked up another job on the side to help me with living expenses. I will be starting work next week. Kind of excited. I will be a Sales and Marketing Assistant for an Online Accounting Software company.

Life is full of new things in store.

I hope to make the most of my time and help people along the way.

I leave you with an article about SS. Baby boomers are eating up the money saved for everyone for retirement. In the best case scenario, people in their 20s and 30s will see about 30% of their SS income. SUCKS right!?! Take a look here. Consider building your own SS Fund so that you can combat the losses and have money for retirement.

Cheers!

Angela

The Fifty Success Habits

While in Sydney I met a woman named Judy. She was soooo nice and she took me to church on Easter Sunday. It was such a blessing. While parting our ways she talked about a man named Craig Harper. He is a motivational speaker and is pretty famous in Australia.

I had the chance to look at his website (www.craigharper.com.au) and I came across the article that Judy had talked to me about. Take a look. The 50 Success Habits. Today in my weekly Monday ING meetings I learned about forming good habits- prospecting, making appointments, closing sales. With structure and routine in your day, success will come.

Despite the crappy day I had today, I have to pick myself up. I realize where I need to direct my energies and hopefully the rest will follow. The 50 Success Habits can be used for anyone and for any situations- Judy used it to help her lose weight. For me, I see myself relating to the habits in helping me with my career.

The road to success is not easy but having a roadmap can make it a heck of a lot easier.

Big Girls Don't Cry

Oh oh oh oh oh how discouraged I am right now.

I know now why you have to have a 'tough skin' in the business. People give you some of the greatest happiness but also give you this biggest headache.

I guess I can't be so surprised that things aren't easy- though it did seem so in the beginning. Too easy in fact. I should of not set up my expectations- now I am back at zero- a big and hurtful tumble to the ground.

Ahh life is full of ups and downs. My bubble of happiness was left in Sydney, a sort of escape- though I didn't know it was that until now.

I did cry- shed a tear- maybe many but on the bright side- from rock bottom you can only go up. Press on! Success is persevering through what you think you cannot. I will be stronger, I WILL.

Change starts NOW!

With the enactment of Universal Health Care this week, CHANGE is on its way. I am pretty neutral about it, more so because I don't know a lot about it. On one hand, everyone will not be denied from basic health care but on another, how will everyone pay for health care? Will it really be that affordable for everyone?

On another note, though the economy is down and we all have to scrounge that much harder, I do believe we have to make a CHANGE to our financial situations. We all say we want to be richer, have a better paying job, etc but utilizing what you have right now can set you up for a more fruitful future! SERIOUS!!

These are some really simple and easy steps you can take. Little steps toward a positive financial direction is something that will stick with you for a lifetime!! Everyone has to start somewhere so do not be daunted by you only saving a certain amount. Saving $1 a day is better than using that money to buy you a McChicken at McDonalds (and it's better for your health too!!)

'til next time,

Angela

Honesty is the best policy.

HAPPY 1st day of March!!

Time flies!! It's a great sunny day here in Irvine and I am here nestled in my apartment (It's still cold!!).

Anywho, time to share some insight into where I am at right now.

Starting new into the financial services business, it is definitely not a steady job in the beginning. You really have to work hard to get your name out - handing out your business cards, talking to business owners, going to networking/mixer events. I am still transitioning and it's a bit scary. Not having the traditional 9-5 job in the beginning of your career is challenging. I feel like if I don't have booked appts that day I can just do whatever. No one is down your back- you work for yourself and in the end, you can be your own worst enemy. The discipline factor is something I definitely need to work on.

The first couple of months at ING, I have learned a lot but now it's a challenge to have people listen to me and hear what I have to say. Business can be far and long to come by. In light of this I applied for a few part-time jobs just to have a side income. I have an interview tomorrow. Hopefully this residual flow of income will help me ease the financial burdens I have so that I don't have to hard sell. In the end, I want people to be happy with the services I can provide instead of people saying that I pressured them into buying something they weren't ready for.

Reiterating my title of today's post, Honesty IS the best policy. Me being honest and truthful about the situations I am going through will help me and maybe even help you realize that life is not paved and smooth. The ups and downs make it difficult but all in all, if we don't have failures, we won't know what TRUE success really is.

I leave you with a Follow-Up Article to my discussion about Permanent Life Insurance in my last post. It talks about how Permanent Insurance can relieve tax burdens and help you create a nest egg for your future.

Til next time,

Angela

Write More! With a Lil Insurance 411.

I am trying to get in the habit of sparking my intellectual juices and write more. Hey, it will make me a better writer, yeah?

I wanted to take this time to answer some Q's that people have been asking me on the topic of life insurance.

1. What is the difference between term and permanent life insurance?

Basically, term insurance is like auto insurance. You pay into a policy and you only get money if something happens (ie, accidents or fatality). There is no cash accumulation and policies are normally 10, 20, or 30 years in length. When the policy term ends, you can either renew or stop insurance. The cool thing about term insurance is the affordability with a high death benefit. If you are in good health, a policy could cost you less than $50 a month with at least $500,000 in coverage. This option is good for people covering a need/asset such as a house or a business and it could also protect your family in case something happens to the breadwinner.

Permanent insurance is permanent. (Hence the name!) The policy will never outlive you and you are guaranteed a death benefit as long as premiums are paid into the policy. In essence, a permanent policy is life insurance combined with savings. With the premiums put into the policy, these funds are able to collect interest and build cash accumulation. Those monies are credited based on fixed, indexed (ie S+P 500), or variable interest rates (whichever you choose). Permanent insurance lets people pay into a policy and eventually the policy pays for itself. (This is assuming that premiums are above minimums.)

2. I am single and young (under 35), what is my need for life insurance? (Why the heck do I need it or want to get it?)

Good Q! Using the life insurance as a 'savings' vehicle, we can utilize the policy to be your own 'bank'. How is that you say? Well, as mentioned before permanent life insurance can accumulate cash value. That money is credited each year depending on what interest option you choose. For example, if one chooses an Indexed Universal Life policy (IUL) the interest would be credited based on the performance of the S+P 500. For the past 35 yrs, the avg performance of the S+P 500 has been about 8%. This means you would get 8% interest credited to your life insurance policy. The interest compounds annually, giving you a lot more interest than traditional savings, checking, or CD accounts (0-3%).

On the note of having your own 'bank', life insurance has tax-free distributions of money. That means if you need to access your money in the account, you can take up to the account value tax-free. If your account value was $40,000 you could take out a 'loan' of $20,000 to buy a new car and you don't have to pay back into the life insurance policy. Pretty neat, huh? You would be your own 'banker' and save yourself a lot of money by not having to pay interest and making the real bank rich.

Overall, life insurance for singles can be a wise investment and you have the security that if anything happens to you, your parents or family will not have to carry any of the financial burdens that you accumulated throughout the years.

3. Is this too good to be true? What is the reliability of the Life Insurance market?

The only drawback to Life Insurance is that the premiums you put into your policy are NOT tax-deductible. That means you would put after-tax dollars into your Life Insurance account. This is different from a 401(k) because in that kind of vehicle you would be putting in pre-tax dollars and deferring interest until you take out money from the account.

Life insurance is an under utilized vehicle that people should be more informed about. Taking money out tax-free is great as taxes will most likely grow in the next 10-15yrs. Taking advantage of today's low tax environment and putting money into life insurance can be a great way to diversify your financial portfolio.

The life insurance industry has stood the test of the financial slump of 2008. As many banks crumbled, not ONE life insurance company went under. They are financially stable and your money is guaranteed as stated in contract.

I leave you with an article I found on 401(k)s. Rethinking the 401(k) can free up money to place in a tax-free environment (Roth IRAs or Life Insurance).

Feel free to ask me questions!

Angela

GET MOTIVATED!!

today i went to a GET MOTIVATED business seminar with the ING clan.

it was a really entertaining seminar with speakers such as condolezza rice, zig zigler, colin powell, and rudy giuliani.

an interesting thing i learned was that everyone has a different motivational DNA and that people are motivated and demotivated by certain factors. for example, some one who is a connector is motivated by solving problems but is demotivated by isolation and conflict. on the other end of the spectrum there are producers and those are the Type A personalities. they are ultimately driven by results and demotivated when they have to follow the directions of some one else.

overall, what i got out of the seminar is that the biggest enemy you will ever face is yourself. stop making excuses and do what you KNOW you are capable of. stop letting others dictate how you are going to live your life. you are the only one going to live your life so OWN UP TO IT!

on another note, work is slow. it's not hard to find people to talk to, it's just that the people i talk to aren't really going to become clients. yes, i do want to help people but i also have to think about bills and rent and yucky stuff like that. i am not discouraged though and i know everything will come as it should (in due time).

anyways, i bet most of you have a CC (credit card) and i found an article that talks about the new rules for CCs. take a look! and know what those tricky bastards are doing to you to get more money out of you!

til next time,

angela

january update

january was an exciting month.

-i passed my CA insurance exam! (finally! i know!) that means i am officially affiliated with ING!! YAYY.

-i cemented plans with my roommates to go to NYC during their spring break (March). super excited :)

-went through more training with ING and am learning more and more!! my brain has withered with all the nonsense reality tv that i have been addicted to. haha.

a little money for thought:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/10/news/companies/banks_consumers_switch/index.htm

it talks about banks. i personally have a credit union account and an account with Chase. honestly, i would like to put more funds in the CU account but there is a lack of accessibility (ATMs and branches) that ultimately made up my decision on opening an account with a big banker. if you have a local CU around your neighborhood, it would be good to check out their rates and see if it would be advantageous for you to switch over.

til next time!

angela

2010

haha, reading my old posts. WOW...have things changed!

first off i am so encouraged and blessed to have found a job with ING. it's going to be tough but i believe that hard work pays off and i am 100% committed! i am a "financial consultant" and i help people manage their finances and help people accumulate wealth on a tax-favored basis. sounds cool yeah?

seriously, if you are in need of any financial advice, i am here. FREE OF CHARGE. swear! i will take YOU out to a cup of coffee! try me and shoot me an email! - auzzie31@gmail.com :)

i'm excited for this new year and i hope you are too. i see a lot of growth potential for me financially, spiritually, physically. it just takes dedication. i hope to spend more quality time with the people i love and really show them that i love them. my 23rd year of life is going to be awesome, let's start this new decade off with a bang!

angela

"never never never give up." - churchill