Locals learn good business at financial seminar.
The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and financial expert Greg Carter joined hands to offer locals a variety of finance tips, and the packed room of attendees received a step by step outline to keeping their wealth in order.
The first step Carter hammered home was the importance of life insurance. He explained that, while life insurance was originally only useful after passing away, the coverage has evolved to protect customers and offer numerous benefits during their lifetime.
“Let’s look at life insurance you don’t have to die to use,” Carter said. “Only two percent of Americans have this kind of life insurance. Most people purchase life insurance to provide a legacy of financial security, but doesn’t it make sense for the benefits to also extend and be available during difficult financial times? We call this living benefits. Essentially, whatever your death benefit is, if you become really ill or injured, if you have living benefits with your life insurance, the company will let you use up to 90 percent of that before you die.”
Not all life insurance plans include living benefits, but Carter suggests certain plans can help to not only provide legacy funds but to remove the threats of debt while still living.
Preparing an emergency fund was another big point touched on, and Carter recommended attendees save at least three to six months worth of funds for emergency use. The course itself focused on avoiding debt, and having a backup resource of money can help avoid having to take out loans or buy with credit.
“We recommend three to six months of income set aside for a rainy day,” Carter said. “That’s for discretion. If you want to travel and do some of those things, or if the hot water heater breaks or you get a tax bill. Have three to six months set aside. This summer our washer went out, we had a leak in the sink, one of our air conditioning units went out. It just happens. It’s easy to say and hard to do, but once you do it, you have power. It’s just money set aside.”
Some other topics the seminar touched on include estate preservation, saving for retirement, and increasing cash flow, but prevention of debt remained the underlying theme of the discussion. Those who joined seemed satisfied with what they had heard, and the group seemed ready to tackle any financial problems.
“I learned a lot,” Stephanie Davidson said. “For me, figuring out my financial legacy is about is very important. I have inlaws that are of age and some of them are not in the best of health. This will not only help me prepare my step- children but help prepare the generation ahead.”
More information on Alpha Kappa Alpha and future events can be found at http://www.aka1908.com/.