Getty Images Once you reach your 50s, you're generally at or near your peak earnings years. If making ends meet is a challenge now, it's one that's not likely to get any easier as time marches forward. Even more than for your younger counterparts, cost control and debt reduction will be key parts of your plan to avoid spending more than you make. Right now is your last, best hope of structuring your life in a way that lets you cover your costs and enjoy your life's journey. With help from these five tips, you can improve your chances of making ends meet in a way that minimizes the impact on the rest of your life. Tip 1: Negotiate your interest rates downward. Interest rates on everything from car loans to credit card debt are negotiable, and if your mortgage is at a higher interest rate than the current average, you can even try to refinance it to a lower rate. Refinancing a home loan will cost you a bit up front, but negotiating lower rates on other debt might not. The less you pay in interest, the more cash you can put toward paying down your balances. You can begin the process with a few simple phone calls. If you've got a great history of paying your debts on time, your creditors will be willing to work with you in order to keep you as a customer. If your payment history is not so strong, it still might be worth your while to make those phone calls and ask for lower rates. If your creditors are concerned that high interest rates may force you into bankruptcy, they might be willing to reduce your rates to help keep some cash flowing to their coffers. Tip 2: Snowball your debt payments. After you've negotiated your interest rates as low as you can get them, line up all your debts in order from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. On every debt except the one with the highest interest rate, pay just the minimum. On the debt with the highest interest rate, pay as much above the minimum as you can, until that debt has been completely paid off. Once that first debt is paid off, take all the cash you had been paying toward that debt and put it toward the debt that now has the highest interest rate. Repeat the process until all your debts are paid off. Since you're in your 50s, you may want to include your mortgage in that list of debts to include in your snowball. While mortgage rates are low and mortgage interest is federally tax deductible, it's still a principal and interest payment that represents cash you can't do anything else with. Each time you pay off a debt, you free up a little bit of cash that gets you closer to being able to reliably make ends meet from the income you have. Tip 3: Prioritize and cut back your spending. Write down where every penny of your hard-earned income is going. Use a spreadsheet, pencil and paper, or personal finance software like Quicken or Mint.com to get a clear picture of your spending. Once you've got that information, go back and look over each expense and mark it as a "have to have," "want to have," or a "can live without." If you've marked an expense as a "can live without," stop buying it. That simple move alone can free up a decent amount of cash, without cutting back on anything you need or really want. For your other expenses, figure out if there are ways to reduce your spending. For instance, if your 50s brought you new medical conditions, ask your doctor or pharmacist whether generics or older brand-name medicines can treat your condition as well as the newest branded drug. Likewise, we all have to eat, and buying in bulk, cooking for leftovers, and using every bit of food are great ways to keep your costs low while still allowing you to eat the foods you enjoy. Dropping the costs you decide you can live without and getting more efficient on your other expenses will get you much closer to being able to make ends meet. If that's still not enough, then it's time to start cutting back on the things you want but don't necessarily need. Even then, see if it's possible to keep some entertainment in your budget, as it's a lot harder to keep a budget with no fun in it than one in which you give yourself a small reward for your thrift. Tip 4: Put your dependents on a financial diet, too. In your 50, you may well be part of the sandwich generation -- taking care of both aging parents and not-quite-yet-independent children. Continue to love your family and care for them, but do so in a way that doesn't break your bank. For one idea, consider having all the people who depend on you live with you. Multigenerational households aren't all that uncommon and can keep the total cost of living per person lower. Additionally, if your dependent adult children are capable of working -- even at a job that's "beneath" their education and experience -- they should be working or actively searching for work. Even if it takes a while to get them a job in their chosen field, it's easier to get a job when you have a job than when you're unemployed. Employers like to see experience, dedication, and consistent performance, not just academic credentials, and a degree with a job says far more than a degree alone. Tip 5: Use your expertise to your financial advantage. The reason you're near your peak earning years is because you've become an acknowledged expert in your chosen field. A great way for a 50-something-year-old to earn a bit of extra income is to hang out a shingle as a consultant. If going it alone doesn't seem like a good fit, companies like Your Encore are designed around helping experienced professionals find second careers and may be able to link you up to opportunities. Get Started Now Following these five tips can get you to the point where you're reliably making ends meet today and well on the path toward financial freedom for the rest of your life. Perhaps best of all, you'll quickly notice the improvement. Once you're reliably making ends meet, you'll feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders as the financial stress melts away.
Hot Penny Companies For 2014: UMH Properties Inc.(UMH)
UMH Properties, Inc. (UMH) is a real estate investment trust. The firm engages in the ownership and operation of manufactured home communities. It leases manufactured home spaces to private manufactured home owners, as well as leases homes to residents. The firm invests in the real estate markets of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee. In addition, it invests in debt and equity securities of REITs. United Mobile Homes was incorporated in 1968. The company was formerly known as United Mobile Homes, Inc. UMH Properties is based in Freehold, New Jersey.
Hot Penny Companies For 2014: Tyson Foods Inc.(TSN)
Tyson Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and marketing of chicken, beef, pork, and prepared food products, as well as related allied products worldwide. The company?s Chicken segment involves in breeding and raising chickens, as well as processing live chickens into fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products. Its Beef segment processes live fed cattle and fabricates dressed beef carcasses into primal and sub-primal meat cuts and case-ready products The company?s Pork segment involves in the processing live market hogs; and fabricating pork carcasses into primal and sub-primal cuts and case-ready products. Its Prepared Foods segment manufactures and markets frozen and refrigerated food products comprising pepperoni, bacon, beef and pork pizza toppings, pizza crusts, flour and corn tortilla products, appetizers, prepared meals, ethnic foods, soups, sauces, side dishes, meat dishes, and processed meats. The company mark ets and sells its products to grocery retailers, grocery wholesalers, meat distributors, warehouse club stores, military commissaries, industrial food processing companies, chain restaurants or their distributors, international export companies, and domestic distributors, as well as to foodservice operations, such as plant and school cafeterias, convenience stores, hospitals, and other vendors. Tyson Foods, Inc. also offers its allied products to the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and technical products, as well as to pork processors. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Big losers included Best Buy (BBY), which fell 11% to $38.78 after it said margins would get hit by holiday discounts, Campbell Soup (CPB), which fell 6.2% to $39.20 after reporting lousy earnings, and Jacobs Engineering (JEC), which fell 5.8% to $60.03 after it reported earnings that missed analyst forecasts. Tyson Foods (TSN) gained 4.6% to $30.78 a day after beating earnings forecasts, while Boston Scientific (BSX) after one of its medical devices was approved by European regulators.
- [By Tabitha Jean Naylor]
Americans consume a lot of chicken. It estimated that Americans consume about 81 pounds of poultry per year, per capita. With there being upwards of 310 million people living in the United States, it is no wonder why poultry production is big business. Two of the biggest names in poultry production are Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) and Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ: PPN).
Top Biotech Stocks For 2014: CSP Inc.(CSPI)
CSP Inc. engages in the development and marketing of information technology (IT) integration solutions and high-performance cluster computer systems to industrial, commercial, and defense customers worldwide. The company operates in two segments: Systems, and Service and System Integration. The Systems segment designs and manufactures specialty, high-performance computer signal processing systems for the aerospace and defense markets. These systems are used on land, and in airborne and shipboard platforms for high-speed digital signal processing in radar, sonar, and surveillance applications. The Service and System Integration segment consists of the computer maintenance and integration services, and third-party computer hardware and software value added reseller businesses. It also provides professional IT consulting services, including maintenance and technical support; implementation, integration, configuration, and installation services; enterprise security intrusion p revention, network access control, and unified threat management services; IT security compliance services; custom software applications and solutions development and support; and monitoring, reporting, and management of alerts for the resolution and preventive general IT and IT security support tasks. This segment offers its solutions and services for IT environments, including storage and servers, unified communications solutions, IT security solutions, and consulting services. The company markets its products and services through direct sales force, distributors, and resellers. CSP Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Tuesday
Earnings Expected From: Jabil Circuit, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSPI), Verifone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) Economic Releases Expected: Japanese trade balance, New Zealand current account, US current account, US CPIWednesday
Hot Penny Companies For 2014: Smith Micro Software Inc.(SMSI)
Smith Micro Software, Inc. designs, develops, and markets software products and services primarily for the mobile computing and communications industries worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Wireless, and Productivity and Graphics segments. The Wireless segment develops mobile connectivity, mobile information management, and mobile security solutions, including QuickLink Mobile that provides mobile users to connect a notebook or other wireless device to wireless wide area networks (WWANs) and wireless local area networks (WLANs) or Wi-Fi hotspots; QuickLink Mobility suite, which allows connectivity for the user operating on WWANs, corporate local area networks (LANs), and Wi-Fi networks; and QuickLink Media for managing the media on the mobile devices. It also provides SendStuffNow, which secures cloud-based large file delivery solution; Device Management suite that provides intelligent, automated mobile device provisioning, and configuration; and push-to-talk, visual voicemail, and mobile video solutions. The Productivity and Graphics segment develops various software products for the consumer, prosumer, and professional markets. It provides StuffIt Deluxe, a lossless compression solution for documents and media; CheckIt Diagnostics and CheckIt Netbook suite, a diagnosis and troubleshooting solution for hardware and system problems; Poser, a solution for creating 3D character art and animations; Anime Studio, an animation tool for professional and digital artists; and Manga Studio, a solution for creating manga and comic art. This segment distributes its products through online stores, and third-party wholesalers, retailers, and value-added resellers. The company serves mobile network operators, original equipment manufacturers, device manufacturers, and enterprise businesses, as well as directly to consumers. Smith Micro Software, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California.
Hot Penny Companies For 2014: Dehaier Medical Systems Limited(DHRM)
Dehaier Medical Systems Limited, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets respiratory and oxygen homecare products, and other medical devices in the People?s Republic of China. The company also distributes products designed and manufactured by other companies. It offers various medical devices, including C-arm X-ray systems, anesthesia machines, patient monitors, and general hospital products; and respiratory and oxygen homecare products, such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP devices, portable sleep diagnostics, and Rhinitis hyperthermia devices; and air compressors and ventilator trolleys. The company sells its products primarily to distributors, as well as to hospitals, clinics, and government health bureaus directly. Dehaier Medical has a tripartite strategic cooperation agreement with Taiyo Nippon Sanso Shenwei (Shanghai) Medical Gas Co. Ltd. and Beijing Orient Medical Gas Co. Ltd. to develop and distribute oxygen therapy services for the home use market i n Beijing. The company was formerly known as De-Haier Medical Systems Limited and changed its name to Dehaier Medical Systems Limited in June 2005. Dehaier Medical Systems Limited was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
Hot Penny Companies For 2014: Deswell Industries Inc.(DSWL)
Deswell Industries, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of injection-molded plastic parts and components, electronic products and subassemblies, and metallic molds and accessory parts for original equipment manufacturers and contract manufacturers. The company produces various plastic parts and components for the manufacture of consumer and industrial products, including plastic component of electronic entertainment products; cases for flashlights, telephones, paging machines, projectors, and alarm clocks; toner cartridges and cases for photocopy and printer machines; parts for electrical products, such as air-conditioning and ventilators; parts for audio equipment; cases and key tops for personal organizers and remote controls; double injection caps and baby products; parts for medical products comprising apparatus for blood tests; laser key caps; and automobile components. Its electronic products include audio equipment, such as digital audio workstation, digital or analogue mixing consoles, instrument amplifiers, signal processors, firewire/USB audio interfaces, keyboard controllers, and speaker enclosures; high end home theatre audio products comprising 7.1-channel audio-visual Hi-Fi stereo receivers-amplifiers; complex printed circuit board assemblies; and telecommunication products consisting of VoIP keysets for business communications. The company?s metal products include metallic molds and accessory parts used in audio equipment, telephones, copying machines, pay telephones, multimedia stations, automatic teller machines, and vending machines. In addition, it distributes audio equipment. The company sells its products in the United States, the People?s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Holland, Norway, and Germany. Deswell Industries, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong.
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