Besides, he has an annual shareholder report that makes me laugh every time, and yes, I am a shareholder. But it doesn’t matter if you have invested in Berkshire Hathaway or not, here are some of the best investing tips everyone should live buy:

1. Understand what you own. Some people take this too literally. Mr. Buffett didn’t have a clue about technology until he met Mr. Gates and now he is a big tech fan. Word to the wise- when you don’t know, partner with someone who does.

2. Don’t buy when everyone else is buying. So difficult to do but very rewarding when done.

3. Buy when everyone else is selling. This crash was the latest big opportunity to buy more. Did you?

4. Buy value. He doesn’t ever buy on the hunch that a company is going to grow. He buys stock in companies that already have a lot of value but aren’t priced high to reflect that value.

5. Stay liquid. If you have all your chips in, you can’t make anymore bets, and you can’t take advantage of opportunities as they come up. Keep cash available to invest.

6. Don’t get swayed by the next “potential” Apple. Growth and fame does not mean profit.

7. Be a long term player. Even though you may experience lower returns than the overall market, if you believe in your positions and stick it out you will find consistent positive returns over a longer period.

Investing tips to put on your wall every time you want to buy or sell.

The post 7 Investment Tips From One of the Richest Men in the World first appeared on Whole Hearted Way.

If you could look 50 years into the future and visualize a gathering of your family, what would you like to see going on and what would you like to hear them talking about? Most people say they would like to see their loved ones healthy, successful, in good relationships, among family and living a life that reflects the values they instilled in them throughout their lifetime. Ironically, people who share this belief rarely, if ever make provisions in their estate plan to support these outcomes. The absence of addressing this desired outcome is a major flaw in planning.

Traditional estate planning, while a critical component to any comprehensive financial plan to build wealth, only addresses your material assets, possessions of financial value, and your wishes for how they will be disbursed in the event you pass away or cannot communicate for yourself. Clearly we amass more in life than material possessions. And the legacy we leave would be incomplete if these are all we’ve made provisions for. While the efficient distribution of material possessions and the common understanding of one’s preferred medical orders is incredibly important, there is still a huge void if you have not shared information to support your desire to leave a meaningful legacy — to assure your loved ones will enjoy the experiences you envision for them in fifty years. Simply put, the absence of a “personal legacy plan” is a critical flaw in most estate plans.

There are two explanations for the irrational disconnect between such universal desires and the absence of common sense provisions in so many estate plans:
First, in our culture it’s hard for people to think about, let alone talk about, their family going on without them. It’s also hard for people to talk about their deepest emotions, core beliefs and personal values. And these are all essential components of a meaningful legacy plan.

Second, while the legal and financial services industries have developed strategies and products to address much of this first hurdle in terms of financial planning, they have never possessed the training and tools required to assist them in the delivery of such a service in regard to non-material assets.

The good news is that the landscape is changing. Having survived the tragedies of 911, Katrina, modern warfare and even the recent stock market crash, America’s awareness of life’s preciousness has increased.

Even President Obama spoke to it last year in his opening remarks to the Business Council at the White House the morning after a tragic airplane crash in Buffalo, NY that killed 50 people. “Tragic events such as these remind us of the fragility of life and the value of every single day,” the president said.

At the same time, the financial services industry, and to a smaller extent the legal community, are also evolving in response to an aging baby boomer population. Specialized legacy planning services are emerging that ensure one’s personal beliefs and values will be clearly left to those we care about. Through these programs financial and legal professionals can offer their clients the peace of mind that goes far beyond
traditional financial and estate planning.

The time for needed change in estate planning has arrived. The public is ready to talk about the issues that matter to them. The critical tools for professionals to have meaningful conversations about legacy plans have arrived. It’s thankfully only a matter of time before “let’s review the legacy plan” becomes as common an expression after someone’s passing as, “we’re going to read the will” and “what does it say in then estate
plan.” That time could be today. You can help ensure the vision you have for your family fifty years from now actually comes true. You have a way to influence more than just the financial future of those you care about. Review your own estate plan and make sure it includes the complete legacy you want to leave behind.

By Mark Colgan, CFP http://www.planyourlegacy.com

The post Most Estate Plans Possess a Major Flaw first appeared on Whole Hearted Way.

The House approves the Senate bill. Not a single Republican voted for it, but 219 Democrats did – and by a vote of 219-212, the House of Representatives sent the Senate’s version of landmark healthcare legislation toward President Obama’s desk. The President signed the bill into law on March 23.

But the fight is far from over. The House of Representatives also passed a collection of amendments to the Senate bill by a 220-211 margin, but the Senate must also approve this reconciliation bill – exactly as it is worded. If that doesn’t happen, then guess what … there will be another vote on the Senate version of the bill in the House.

“If those people think they’re only going to vote on this once, they’re nuts,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said on Bloomberg Television March 20. Hatch claims that Senate Republicans have the votes to force a modification of the bill passed on March 21 and boot it back to the House for a second vote.

Will the reforms be overturned? Twelve state attorney generals have already filed in court to contest the bill. The coincided with the moment President Obama signed the bill.(source) What are the odds the Supreme Court will throw the reforms out? Probably pretty slim. Look at the precedents of Medicare and Medicaid. When both those federal programs were enacted, the Court twice upheld a broad federal role in health care. Yet, is this time different? The bill has different mandates than Medicare or Medicaid.

The big reforms will take effect in 2014. If you are looking forward to health insurance reform, you will have to wait a while before many of the big changes occur.

• Starting in 2014, individuals will be required to have health insurance coverage or pay an annual penalty which could climb to $750 or 2% of their income (alternately $695 or 2.5% of income), whichever is larger. Inmates, Native Americans, and those with religious objections would be exempted.
• In 2014, if you aren’t enrolled in an employer-sponsored health care plan, you will have to buy coverage yourself. You could shop for it through a state insurance exchange. The federal government will offer $500 billion worth of assistance to help insurance shoppers buy coverage through these state exchanges. Undocumented immigrants would not be able to buy coverage.
• After 2014, businesses with more than 50 employees could be fined as much as $2,000 per worker for failing to provide the option of coverage.(source)
• In 2014, insurers will be required to provide coverage to all Americans regardless of their health status.(source)
• Medicare spending will be cut by about $500 billion over the next decade, mostly in reduced government payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Democrats have claimed this will not shortchange Medicare recipients.(source)
• Federal money coming from the bill could not be used for abortions, with exceptions made in cases of rape, incest, or danger to a woman’s life.

What changes are about to happen in 2010? These new rules would go into effect presently thanks to the new law.

• Insurers will be barred from revoking existing health insurance coverage on an individual, unless fraud or misrepresentation can be shown.
• Insurers will not be able to limit the amount of money that can eventually be paid out on a health care policy, and it will be harder to limit the amount of money that can be paid out annually.
• Seniors will get $250 payments to help them out if they face a coverage gap in the middle of the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage plan.
• Children will be able to stay on their parents’ health care policies until age 26, and they won’t be denied coverage because of pre-existing health conditions.(source)
• Adults with pre-existing health conditions will get a chance to enroll in a national high-risk insurance plan – albeit a temporary one.
• Small businesses that sponsor health care plans for their workers could qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the cost of the premiums they pay.

New taxes? Yes – starting in 2013. Approval of these reforms will also bring a new 3.8% tax on investment income for individuals earning more than $200,000 and households earning more than $250,000, so the effective capital gains rate will be 23.8% for these taxpayers in 2013. Also, these taxpayers will be able to keep 8.8% less of the income resulting from taxable stock investments. The Medicare tax rate on households with income over $250,000 will also rise in 2013, from 1.45% to 2.35%.

A huge savings? Maybe. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the health care reforms will reduce the federal deficit by between $65-118 billion over the next decade and by more than $1 trillion in the decade after that.(source) The proof is in the pudding, as all large entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare are all currently bankrupt. Might this add insult to an already bloated national debt? If history is any indication, more than likely the cost of this legislation could be disastrous for the US economy. Time will tell.

Submitted by Curtis Smith CFP®, Founder of Interactive Capital Management in Sugarland, Texas

The post Health Care Changes in America first appeared on Whole Hearted Way.