As the world economies become increasingly battered by uncertainty, what does one do to protect oneself in this unsettled market?

Here are six suggestions to help you plan for that rainy day, which already may be here.

1. Investments. If you are approaching retirement, it is time to reposition yourself so you have an emergency fund. If you are in for the long term, most experts say hang on!

2. Keep your day job (if you have one). The unemployment numbers have been rising. Now may not be the time to be looking for another job.

3. Mortgages. If you have not “fixed” your mortgage rate by now, do it!

4. Don’t sell your home or investment property until the market improves, unless you have no choice. With the volatility in the market, this is the worst time to sell.

5. If you decide to buy property, make your objective the long term—hold for a minimum of 5 years.

6. Revisit your insurance policies to make sure you have enough coverage on important items such as homeowners, rental policies or an umbrella policy.

Are you looking to invest in the real estate market? Steer clear of these classic pitfalls.

1. Don’t rely on a realtor to find out a property’s real worth. Always remember that a realtor, in most cases, works for the seller. Go online to the tax assessor office, do online research on sold information, etc. and do your homework.

2. Don’t think the seller is in a stronger position than you. It is a buyer’s market and, especially now, sellers are more desperate to sell a house than you are to buy it.

3. Don’t become emotional over the deal. Keep your heart out of the process. Use your mind, or you may end up overpaying for the property.

4. Don’t quibble over minor points. Strong negotiators don’t have to negotiate every detail. If you found the right property for your needs, make the deal and do it. Don’t nickel and dime the seller over the tiniest points like curtains or cleaning.

5. Don’t look for “house beautiful.” If you can, look at the property for its structure, not its cosmetic fixes. Ignore paint color, furniture and fixtures. Look deep!

6. Do NOT put an offer in on a property unless you have all of the facts first! Impulsive investors loose.

7. Don’t “pretend” interest if it is not there. Either you are interested in making an offer or not. This is not negotiable. It is your reputation so take care of it!

8. Don’t start looking until you have the money in place. Enough said here.

9. No one is your friend in a real estate transaction. This includes the realtor, the banker, the seller, the appraiser, and anyone else involved with the deal. I could tell stories on this step for hours!

Take these steps to protect yourself from saying something you did not mean to say!

• Choose your method. Consider if email is the right method of communication in the first place. On a sensitive matter you maybe better off going face to face.

• Set the stage. Make your emails informative, not just in details but in presentation. Use correct grammar, punctuation, and capitalization and tone to convey the right emotion for the message.

• Be positive in your communications.

• Use caution: Be careful you who include on group emails so you make sure you don’t send an unintended message.

Baby Boomers must figure out how to manage their money in their retirement. Consider this:

Right now there are 2,838,071 62 year olds living in the United States
79 million total baby boomers, those born between 1946 – 1964
$1.75 trillion dollars are estimated in Boomer 401(k) plans
$301 billion is the projected amount of assets expected to roll over into IRAs in 2008
$334,176 is the average dollar amount rolled out of 401(k) plans.
Source: Benefit Research Institute

With the expectation that social security will not be in our future, it is time for all boomers to start taking steps to figure out how to have the necessary income to live out the rest of their lives! A self-directed IRA or Individual(k) is a start. If you are in the boomer age bracket, you cannot afford NOT to have a self-directed IRA. Log onto www.theentrustgroup.com to find an office near you! After all, it’s your financial future! Don’t die broke!

A special article from the CEO of Entrust, Hubert Bromma - the leader in self-directed retirement plans.

After the events of the last several weeks, a number of people have asked us about the safety of their self-directed IRAs. Is the Custodial Bank safe? Is the Depository Bank safe?

The answer is yes, of course. Bu this may be a simple answer to a complex question, so it is necessary to look at what “yes” really means.

First, all self-directed IRAs are just that—self-directed. This means you, our valued client, controls all investment decisions made with your Entrust self-directed IRA. You are the IRA owner and fiduciary to your own IRA. Your investment choices are clearly those you have directed us to make.

Second, the Custodial Bank is the custodian of your IRA. The assets of your IRA are held in segregated accounts for your benefit. That is why you see the vesting of your assets showing as FBO, or “For Benefit Of”. The bank holds these assets for you and you only. In the case of International Bank and Trust, it is a non-depository, non-lending bank. This means all of your un-invested funds are placed in federally insured depositories. Not just one depository, but many depositories. For example, FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per account in un-invested funds that each bank has. If you have $1,000,000 in un-invested cash, there would be at least four banks that your IRAs un-invested funds would be deposited in, and in the case of FDIC insurance, your un-invested funds would be fully insured. All other investments you make with your Entrust self-directed IRA are not insured by anyone.

The Custodial Bank may also be a depository of your un-invested cash. Because Entrust has special arrangements with such custodial banks, we also place un-invested funds into several federally insured certificates of deposit. This spreads the risk you may have for un-invested funds to many financial institutions, as noted in the previous paragraph.

As you can see, you have made the right choice to self-direct your IRA in your choice of investments. Those investments you have made are as safe as your investment decisions are. In all cases, your un-invested cash is safe. Only the collapse of entire governments could potentially change this fact.

For those who ask, what happens to our Entrust self-directed IRA if a Custodial Bank is in trouble? First, all Entrust related offices are required by law to be examined and audited in the exact same manner as our custodial banks, so you can be certain that your accounts are retained under regulatory scrutiny and subject to all the laws associated therewith. Each third party record keeper and administrator is audited and examined at least once each year. Second, what we have done for your benefit is something unique in the self-directed IRA industry: should a custodial bank be in trouble, that bank would transfer the custodial relationship to one of our other custodial banks. Your accounts would continue to be serviced and protected as always. This adds safety to your self-directed IRA in a way no other custodian does.

We, the Entrust Group and all of the Entrust companies are in the self-directed IRA business. You have entrusted us with the record keeping and administration of your self directed IRA. We are here to protect and service you IRAs and ensure that your IRAs will be there for the present and future.

To contact the author, visit www.theentrustgroup.com.

Did you know that the number of centenarians (people who reach the age of 100) is doubling every 10 years? At that rate, the number of centenarians currently living in the United States will rise to 160,000 by 2017. That means as many as 1 to 3 million baby boomers will have a shot at hearing their birthdays announced on the today show! Experts predict that one in 10 girls and one in 20 boys born today will live to see 100. Who would have ever thought?

Mortgage rates have slipped below 6% but not every one will benefit from this news. Know what you are in for before you buy, get qualified. Consider:

• New risk-based pricing guidelines that make mortgages more costly.

• Though rates are down for mortgages, jumbo loans are much higher, so if you are investing in an expensive part of the country, consider this if you are applying for a jumbo loan.

IR 2008-41
IRS has recently unveiled its latest list of notorious tax scams, which it calls the “Dirty Dozen,” highlighted by Internet phishing scams and several frivolous tax arguments. New to the “Dirty Dozen” this year is a scheme, which IRS auditors discovered, that relates to unreasonable and/or excessive fuel tax credit claims.

RIA observation: Practitioners should counsel clients and prospective clients to steer clear of these schemes and take steps to remedy the situation for any client that may have gotten involved in one of them.

“Dirty Dozen” for 2008. IRS has identified the following tax scams as this year’s “Dirty Dozen:”

Phishing. This is a tactic used by Internet-based thieves to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal information they can then use to access the victims’ financial accounts. Phishing scams often take the form of an e-mail that appears to come from a legitimate source. IRS never uses e-mail to contact taxpayers about their tax issues.

Economic stimulus payment scams. Some scam artists are trying to trick individuals into revealing personal financial information that can be used to access their financial accounts by making promises relating to the economic stimulus payment, often called a “rebate.” To obtain the payment, eligible individuals in most cases will not have to do anything more than file a 2007 federal tax return. But some criminals posing as IRS representatives are trying to trick taxpayers into revealing their personal financial information by falsely telling them they must provide information to get a payment.

Frivolous arguments. Promoters of frivolous schemes encourage people to make unreasonable and unfounded claims to avoid paying the taxes they owe. Most recently, IRS expanded its list of frivolous legal positions that taxpayers should stay away from. Taxpayers who file a tax return or make a submission based on one of the positions on the list are subject to a $5,000 penalty.

Fuel tax credit scams. IRS is receiving claims for the fuel tax credit that are unreasonable. Some taxpayers, such as farmers who use fuel for off-highway business purposes, may be eligible for the fuel tax credit. But some individuals are claiming the tax credit for nontaxable uses of fuel when their occupation or income level makes the claim unreasonable. Fraud involving the fuel tax credit was recently added to the list of frivolous tax claims, potentially subjecting those who improperly claim the credit to a $5,000 penalty.

Hiding income offshore. Individuals continue to try to avoid paying U.S. taxes by illegally hiding income in offshore bank and brokerage accounts or using offshore debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, foreign trusts, employee leasing schemes, private annuities or life insurance plans. IRS and the tax agencies of U.S. states and possessions continue to aggressively pursue taxpayers and promoters involved in such abusive transactions.

Abusive retirement plans. IRS continues to uncover abuses in retirement plan arrangements, including Roth IRAs. IRS is looking for transactions that taxpayers are using to avoid the limitations on contributions to Roth IRAs.

Zero wages. Filing a phony wage- or income-related information return to replace a legitimate information return has been used as an illegal method to lower the amount of taxes owed.

False claims for refund and requests for abatement. This scam involves a request for abatement of previously assessed tax using Form 843, “Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement.”

Return preparer fraud. Dishonest tax return preparers can cause many problems for taxpayers who fall victim to their schemes.

Disguised corporate ownership. Some people are going as far as forming domestic shell corporations in certain states for the purpose of disguising the ownership of a business or financial activity. IRS is working with state authorities to identify these entities and bring their owners into compliance.

Misuse of trusts. For years, unscrupulous promoters have urged taxpayers to transfer assets into trusts. They promise reduction of income subject to tax, deductions for personal expenses and reduced estate or gift taxes. However, some trusts do not deliver the promised tax benefits.

Abuse of charitable organizations and deductions. IRS continues to observe the misuses of tax-exempt organizations. These include arrangements to improperly shield income or assets from taxation, attempts by donors to maintain control over donated assets or income from donated property and overvaluation of contributed property. In addition, IRS is seeing an upturn in instances where taxpayers try to disguise private tuition payments as contributions to charitable or religious organizations.

The financial gurus tell us we should save 10% of our annual income in order to have enough cash to last through our retirement. Most of us are not in a position to save this kind of money due to the rising cost of everyday living. Just look at the gas pump!

Some of us might feel we don’t have the financial resources to start stashing cash until we are in our 40s and even then, it could be a stretch. Yet, waiting until you are over 40 to start socking money away is not a wise idea. After all, had you started saving $100 per month at age 20, earning 7% a year, you would end up with $381,472 by the time you turn 65. However, if you wait until age 40 to start saving $100 at 7%, you would only have $82,056. Would of, could of, should of, right? WRONG!

One of the few tax enhancements we all have is our IRA or 401(k). No matter how old you are, every dollar you put away in your retirement plan today compounds at some interest rate on a tax deferred or tax free basis for your future!

If you could start putting away the maximum amount allowed in your IRA or 401
(k) at your place of employment, that’s a start. Bonus if your company provides matching money! Of course, I believe in the truly self-directed IRA where a portion of my retirement account is invested in what I choose—real estate, gold, investing in a new business, or investing in energy are just a few examples. Did you know there are over 40 different asset types one can invest in with their self-directed plan? By having a portion of my retirement account in a self-directed plan, I have the ability to steer my funds into investments I feel have the best potential for growth.

In these difficult financial times, now more than ever, you need to take control of your financial future, even if you think you have very few dollars to contribute. Look into a self-directed IRA… you will thank yourself when 40 turns to 50 turns to 60. By the time you start taking distributions, you will have figured out how to max that cash because no one cares more about your money than you!

To learn how a truly self-directed retirement plan (not offered by traditional brokerage houses!) works, visit The Entrust Group (www.theentrustgroup.com). Take a tour of the web site, download the newsletters and view special reports that can help you overcome financial procrastination and maximize your retirement plans!

If you are looking to sell your investment property, consider hiring a home inspector to make sure the following items are in order and fix any potential problem. This will eliminate any further negotiating on your sales price once the house is under contract due to a potential buyer finding problems with the property from their inspection.

1. Wiring – make sure the wiring is sufficient and working.

2. Roof leaks.

3. Heating systems are operating correctly and filters have been changed.

4. Structural problems. Cracks in the walls, foundations and ceilings that may not be so obvious to you.

5. Plumbing.

6. Mold, radon, soils inspections.

7. Overall maintenance and cosmetic issues.

Though it may cost you a few hundred dollars to get a home inspection, you could end up saving thousands should problems be discovered thanks to the buyer’s inspection company.