Mar 16

The main advantage of a property investment in Chicago Illinois is You get a walkable downtown with great public transportation. Many apartments overlook beaches or harbors on Lake Michigan.

Average Home Prices Chicago Illinois

Chicago property can be expensive, prices of Chicago condos go from the $300,000 to $1 million or more. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average selling price in Chicago area in 2010 was $204,000.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Feb 19

The advantage of investing in a franchise business instead of starting your own brand is you will have an easier time attracting hard to find customers. A franchise business like Mcdonald is already established in the market, consumers already recognize it, when you invest in Mcdonald franchise you are riding on their goodwill.

Top 5 Franchise Business Investment 2011

Forbes magazine has compiled a list of top 20 franchise businesses that offer best investment returns.

  1. Domino Plaza
  2. 7 Eleven
  3. Kumon North America
  4. Mcdonalds USA
  5. Papa Murphy’s International

Check out the slide show of the other 15 franchise businesses at Forbes website.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jan 23

From January 1, 2011,  more than 10,000 baby boomers a day are turning 65 and that will continue for the next 19 years.

Best age to start collecting social security benefits?

The answer is, the longer you wait, the larger your monthly check.

You are allowed to start collecting Social security retirement benefits at age 62. If you opt to collect early,  you will get a lower monthly amount. The full benefits are are paid out if you begin collecting at age 66. You can also delay and start collecting a larger monthly check at 70. After age 70 there is no advantage in delaying.

To make it clear check out this NYTime example of the difference it can make by delaying the age when you start collecting your social security :-

Take those who are set to receive $1,000 a month at their full retirement age. If they sign up for benefits at age 62, they will collect only $750. But if they wait until 70, they will earn extra credit and receive up to $1,320 a month — nearly a third more.

To know how much you can collect, use the Social Security benefits calculator, to get the full picture of your benefits under different circumstances and scenarios. You can calculate your payments at age 62, 66, 70, or for any year in between.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Oct 20

The advantage of being young is that you have alot of time to save and accumulate enough money for retirement.

In a Boston Globe Money Make Over column, Financial Planner Philip Lee of Back Bay Financial Group gave the following financial advice to two 30 something young people, unmarried without kids.

First of all pay off the students loans.

Tackle the emergency fund, make sure that you have enough tucked away to cover six months of living expenses.

Don’t ignore retirement savings, since delaying even a few years can dramatically increase the amount that you need to save each month.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aug 25

If you are interested in calculating the value of your home you can take advantage of free home values tools.

Many Web sites offer home valuation information free or for a fee. One online site offering a free tool is Realtor.com, the official site of National Association of Realtors.

The Home Values tool on REALTOR.com can show you what houses around yours have sold for recently.

Try the tool at Realtor Home Values

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