Financial Planning for Cops – Do You Know How Much Your Financial Advisor Charges You?

Police officers are like most people and have no idea how much they pay for investment, insurance, or retirement advice.  A lot of people mistakenly assume they receive free advice.  Some advisors do not explain their fees and many consumers do not take the time to ask.  People in law enforcement, like most people, are usually shocked when I explain how much they’ve been paying in commissions or fees.

There are many different ways advisors are paid Continue reading

How Will the Obama Stimulus Package Affect You as a Police Officer?

You’ve probably heard of the stimulus package because the media has been obsessed with it since February 17th when it was signed, but you may not know how it pertains to you.  As police officers or other law enforcement professionals this Act will have the same effect on you as other Americans but you should understand what it does.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as it’s formally named, is a blend of tax cuts, Continue reading

Hey Cops in the U.S. Do You Want a Bigger Tax Refund?

How much will you get back from the IRS this year?  If you don’t know, than it’s a good time to begin your tax planning.  Police officers like most people don’t plan their taxes and then hope for the best.  If you get a larger refund than expected, you’re happy, but if you’re forced to pay taxes, you’ll be disappointed.  Tax planning gets rid of these surprises and as law enforcement professionals you know we don’t like surprises!

The truth is, when your taxes are prepared, you are merely documenting the past.  Continue reading

5 Money Pitfalls of Divorce for Cops

Editors Note: Every police officer knows how ugly divorce can be from the outside looking in, but we are also often faced with it ourselves. Chuck Rylant is a working police officer and a financial planner and this article gives some useful tips that can help other law enforcement professionals avoid more pain than necessary.

If you are going through a divorce you will experience many different emotions; fear, anger, resentment and distrust are just a few. All of these emotions can wreck havoc on your finances. Continue reading

Cops Take Heed: Experts Say We Are Entering a Recession, You Need to Act Now!

We’re facing unprecedented times in our economy. The government is in the midst of a $700 billion bailout.  The stock market has plummeted and we are in the middle of a housing market meltdown.  Unemployment is increasing as well as gas prices (depending on the day).  If you’re following the financial media you already know we’re facing difficult economic conditions and it may seem as if the end is near. Continue reading

The Police Officer’s Secret to easily saving $15,000 a year

As a police officer it is difficult to find extra money to save. With all of the money we pay in taxes, bills and maybe even child support or alimony, it can seem impossible to begin saving. I am going to share a secret that will help you increase your savings from nothing to over $15,000 dollars per year, while still taking home more money. This may seem too good to be true, but if you patiently follow this method you will be amazed at how much your savings grow. Continue reading

Pay Yourself First

Paying yourself first is very common advice you may have heard from financial planners or read in personal finance books. It is common because it is one of the most important steps to being financially independent. The amazing power of this concept is often overlooked because of its simplicity. If you followed only one bit of investment advice during your life, this would be the one that would most likely make you wealthy. Continue reading

How’s Your Financial Health?

Everyone is talking these days about higher gasoline prices, higher food costs and generally higher costs for everything we enjoy.  At the same time the financial markets of the world are struggling, record numbers of people are losing their homes and the misuse of credit has become a global problem.

How’s your financial health?  Are you unsettled by all around you?  Even though you are a police officer are you in the middle of some of these problems?  As a cop how well to you manage the financial resources you have? Continue reading

Moonlight or Start Your Own Business?

Are you moonlighting or working a second job?  I don’t know many cops who don’t.  It seems like we are always searching for something more.  Maybe we want to earn a little extra cash or socialize with the people or maybe we need that extra cash.  How much of your earnings from any side jobs you work are you actually investing or even saving?

Earning extra cash is nothing new in this world and with the economy in the U.S. the way it is, it seems like those extra earnings are the only way that many people are even getting by with their bills.  It seems that when your primary job is peace officer or law enforcement of any kind that it shouldn’t have to be that way but it is. Continue reading