INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS » Investing Money

Despite the best of intentions, sometimes investments do not pay off. Many times they can devalue, close down, or even hinder the financial health of the investors. There are times when you should stay in for the long haul (like the the current devaluation of stocks) as the financial losses may be too great, but there may be times when it is better to abandon the sinking investment "ship" early on in the game.
The top five indicators of when you should bail out on an investment are:

1. You are struggling to make ends meet just to finance the investment

Although the goals of investing is for the investor to make money, many times unsavory financial advisers will push unwise investments on you in order to make money. Make sure that the investments you are pursuing match up not only with your long term goal, but your monthly budget, if not, get out!

2. Staffing Change

Everyday you call up your brokerage firm and get a different person handling your account. If the corporation handling your money cannot properly manage their staff, chances are they may not be properly handling your investments.

3. You keep losing money

If the transaction fees are eating up the entire profit from your investment and is starting to nibble away at the principal, pull your money and invest it more wisely elsewhere.

4. The investment is putting to much emotional strain on you

For years home ownership has be promoted as one of the best way for individuals to profit from their investment. However if you own your home, are struggling to make the payments and are losing sleep over it, it may be time to sell the property and move to a smaller, more affordable rental option.

5. The investment sounds to be good to be true

Any investment that promises huge returns for very little effort is probably more of a Ponzi Scam then anything else and should be avoided at all costs. However, if you believe you fell for one, try to get your money back as soon as possible and report the management team to the proper authorities

Municipal bonds are popular debt security investment tools issued by the government. While there are other forms of investment issued through the same source, "munis" offer some specific perks that you may enjoy. To find out if you will, let's explore the basics of municipal bonds.

What Are Municipal Bonds?

As mentioned previously, municipal bonds are debt obligations that are issued via government entities. The idea of this type of bond is to loan money to the issuer in exchange for the receipt of a set number of interest payments that will be made over a predetermined period of time. You will also be given a maturity date, which will end the length of the loan. When this date is reached, your original investment will be returned to you with a final interest payment.

How Are Municipal Bonds Offered?

There are two ways that municipal bonds are offered to investors; via taxable and tax-exempt formats. If you choose the taxable route, you will have to include your interest income from you bond when filing your taxes. However, if you take the tax-exempt route, the income you generate usually escapes federal taxes and sometimes even state and local taxes as well.

There are also two varieties of municipal bonds to consider when you're thinking about buying. The first is the revenue bond, which is supported by specific projects, such as toll bridges and highways. The other is the general obligation bond, which is backed by the credit of the issuing jurisdiction, rather than the revenue from a specific project.

Are There Any Risks Involved?

In general, the risk involved in municipal bonds is low; however, they are not completely risk-free. For instance, there is a risk that the issuer won't be able to meet the financial obligation once the maturity date is reached. Also, there is a risk that the interest rate you thought was fixed might change if rates in the marketplace rise.

Purchasing municipal bonds is just one way to invest your money. So if you think buying a bond is a good route to take, it's good to explore all types of bonds before making your final decision.

In tribute to the Los Angeles Lakers' 15th NBA championship title, here are 13 things (in honor of Laker great Wilt Chamberlain) the Lakers can teach you about finance.

Play both ends of the court . When the Lakers lost game 3 of this year's finals, Kobe didn't blame it on poor offensive...

Everyone is looking for a safe way to invest their money. People want to ensure not only that their principal remains intact, but that their money earns a high yield and lives up to its fullest potential. One way to diversify your portfolio is to invest in treasury direct bonds and a...

Many Investors are questioning the 401k Contribution Plan

There was talk not so long ago regarding the privatization of the retirement system for working Americans. That process would have relied more on investment plans like 401ks and IRA contributions and would have lightened the load on the...

Before you can answer the question "how much do I need for retirement ," you need to do a thorough evaluation of your responsibilities and your priorities. Your responsibilities will dictate that you have enough money for your retirement to meet them, and your priorities will determine how much...

Pacific Mercantile Bank is offering a 2.87% APY IRA CD for both 18 month and 2 year terms . The minimum deposit require is $7,500. You can view their rates here . Their rates are updated every Tuesday, so lock it in if you are interested.

Residents in every state can apply for Pacific Mercantile...

Chicago - locals only . Washington Federal Bank is offering a 2.65% APY CD for 13 months , but in order to get this rate there are a few requirements. Here's how to qualify:

• Open a savings account with a minimum of $250 deposited
• Without the savings account (1% APY), the CD rate falls to 2.40%...

You may be surprised to hear that many companies are considering doing away with matching contributions to their employee's 401(k) plans. Some big companies, including Ford Motors, Bethlehem Steel, and Charles Schwab, have already tried suspending or reducing their 401(k) matching contributions...

The financial crisis of the past couple of years was the biggest since the Great Depression. Even then, the one topic that was almost never raised was the financial health of the US federal government . In fact, throughout the crisis, the US Treasury bonds were used as a "safe haven," and...