Wealth Today

As I’m pondering putting off buying a house, all of the news regarding an alleged housing bubble is of great interest to me. It seems as though there’s two sides who are decisively split on whether or not there is one, or if it’s even possible that there could ever be one.

Here’s some articles saying that there’s not:

• Toll Brothers Exec Says No Housing Bubble
• Is the Real Estate “Bubble” Going to Burst?
• Fed’s Olson — Still see no national housing bubble
  

Here’s some saying that there is:

• U.S. housing bubble may pop
• The Housing Bubble
• UCLA Economists Still See a Bubble in Housing Market

Unfortunately for those of us desperately wanting to finalize our decision and be comfortable with it, the disagreement is unsettling. This is where financial literacy proves valuable.

CBS’s MarketWatch has a good brief article on how to Get what you want from a financial planner.

Here’s what you should expect a planner to do:

• Help you calculate your family’s net worth — your assets minus your liabilities — so that you know for sure where you stand financially.
• Assist you in drawing up a workable budget to ensure that you aren’t living beyond your means and to free up money for saving and investing.
• Aid you in allocating your assets among different kinds of savings and investments.
• Help you manage your IRAs, 401(k)s and other tax-deferring plans, and confirm that you have a proper strategy for eventually withdrawing funds from them.
• Check that you are adequately insured against sickness, injury, disability and death, and that you are properly protected against lawsuits and damage to your cars and house.
• Devise a strategy to hold down your taxes.
• Draw up a plan that will enable you to meet such long-range goals as sending your children to college and retiring comfortably.
• Review your will and help you prepare an estate plan for passing along your wealth.