Tim Duncan allegedly scammed by financial adviser

San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan was allegedly scammed out of $25 million by longtime financial adviser Charles Banks.

Bloomberg reported the 18-year veteran and future Hall of Fame big man lost more than 10 percent of his career earnings.

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Forward Jeff Green exercised his $9.2 million player option for next season with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Acquired from the Boston Celtics in a trade during the 2014-15 season, Green played in 78 games for both teams and averaged 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists. (Editing by Frank Pingue)

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Coach Mike Budenholzer will hold a joint title of coach and team president in a shakeup of the Atlanta Hawks that includes the dismissal of general manager Danny Ferry.

Ferry has been exiled since last summer, when a racially insensitive scouting report on free agent Luol Deng put the fellow Duke alum in the crosshairs.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Just married? Here are 7 money tips

Now that your dream wedding is over, what's next? To keep you in the honeymoon stage as long as possible, it may help to know that money problems are one of the most common causes of friction in married life.

It doesn’t matter if you have loads of cash or just have enough to get you by. Now that you’re married and all your money and assets are conjugally-owned (unless you had a prenuptial agreement), you may one day find yourselves running into arguments over how to manage your finances and assets on a day-to-day basis.

To avoid these issues and set your marriage off to a good start, especially on the money front, here are some tips to help you:

Discuss your life goals

To plan and manage your finances together, you need to know each other’s goals in life since these will determine your spending and your investment strategy. Do you want to have children? If so, how many and how soon? Do you plan to buy a house? If so, what is your time table for this? Do you plan to relocate? Pursue further studies? Start a business together? Travel? Goals can evolve with time, and make it a habit to revisit your goals every so often.

Set your priorities

This is directly related to the first. Money issues usually begin when spouses cannot agree on their priorities. Before these issues come up, have a conversation so that you would know what matters to each of you as individuals and as a couple. Let’s say you both decide that starting a business is your top priority for now, then both parties would understand that most of your joint funds will be going to the business, and that purchases of big-ticket items such as a house or car may have to take a back seat in the meantime.

Set a monthly budget

Now that you know each other’s life goals and priorities, set a monthly budget that you can live with. This will be based on your joint monthly income. Determine how much you would spend on the basics (utilities, housing, transportation) as well as on non-necessities (entertainment, leisure). Make sure to set aside an amount for savings. Determine how much each one would contribute to this budget (if applicable) and agree to regularly review this budget.

4. Decide on your bank accounts. Discuss if you would want to have separate bank accounts, a joint account, or both. Most likely, both of you already have individual accounts. If you are employed, then you would continue to have your own personal bank account. You may also wish to talk about how you would regard each other’s money. Some couples may prefer to have freedom to use their own money, while others may be more comfortable consulting each other on various expenses. This would differ greatly among couples, so you need to know what you are both most comfortable with.

Have a record filing system

Records are often overlooked by most people, but this is very important so that you can study your finances and have quick access to all the important records you need to have available. This would include bank statements, real estate titles, billing statements, etc. Make sure that both of you know where to find these records. You can also keep electronic copies of these records using various shared programs and apps that both of you can access anytime.

Start investing

Investing early in your marriage gives you one great advantage: time. You don’t need large amounts of money to invest especially in mutual funds or other investment products for retail investors. What you invest in will depend on your circumstances and your strategy, of course. Make sure you top up as you go along. Find a financial adviser you both trust and are comfortable with.

Set up a sinking fund

Both of you can contribute to this fund on a regular basis. Agree on how this will be used—as an emergency fund, to purchase a large-ticket item that you are planning for, to pay for childbirth expenses, etc.

As with almost anything concerning your marriage, your joint finances will run smoothly if you both remain open and honest to each other about the direction you want it to take. All it takes is a little careful planning—and a whole lot of communication.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Four Strategies to Completely Settle Your Credit Card Debt

If you are looking for information on how you can pay off your credit card debt in the soonest possible time, then we advise you to pay close attention to the remainder of this piece. Below, we have listed down and tackled four effective strategies that you can use to gradually pay down what you owe so that you can eventually free yourself from your credit obligations.

Tried and Tested Tactics for Paying Off Credit Card Debt


Come up with a credit management plan on your own. Many consumers have successfully retired their credit card obligations by making important changes in the manner by which they manage their personal finances. Some found it necessary to limit the use of theirfor credit counseling services. You can also rely on the experience and expertise of financial advisers to free yourself from the bondage of credit card debt. To do this, you just need to sign up for credit repair services with a credible counseling firm. For sure, with the help of a certified financial adviser, you will discover effective techniques on how you can gradually settle your credit obligations and soon rehabilitate your credit profile. Your credit repair course can also help you gain insights on how you should manage your personal finances so that you can prevent yourself from falling into debt traps, which can once again inflict severe damage to your credit standing.



Apply for a debt consolidation loan. In some cases, you must apply for another credit program to completely retire your outstanding financial obligation. After all, you need to have ample funds to pay off your credit card debt, once-and-for-all. Good thing there is a popular credit program these days called debt consolidation loan. Under this program, you will receive sufficient funds that will allow you to settle all your existing credit obligations – such as credit card debt, an unsettled secured or unsecured personal loan, and even unpaid utilities bills. In return, the lender will ask you to pay back what you borrowed in affordable monthly installments which will be based on your financial capability.



File for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is rarely considered as an option for retiring credit card debt. Rather, it is perceived as a last resort, most especially if all the efforts that you have invested to pay off your credit obligations proved to be in vain. After all, with this program, you can expect to have a clean slate once your credit accounts have been completely discharged.



Still, you need to remember that there are stringent requirements imposed on those who wish to apply for bankruptcy. So, before you process the paper works and apply for this program, we encourage you to seek professional assistance from a bankruptcy attorney. Through this professional, you can soon discover if indeed you are qualified to file for this quick-fix strategy, and at the same time, you can receive valuable information that you can use once you start with your court proceedings.

source: creditcreators.com

How students can maximize their daily allowance

MANILA, Philippines – Students spend a bulk of their allowance on mobile phone load, food and transportation, but a financial adviser said there are a number of smart ways to maximize their daily allowance.

On ANC’s “On The Money,” Salve Duplito said maximizing a daily allowance takes effort and discipline, and may require small changes in your daily routine.

To avoid spending much on prepaid load, for instance, Duplito advised sending emails or using the landline instead of sending text messages when you are at home.

“If you have Wi-Fi at home, email instead of sending text messages. Use the landline, don’t let your fingers spend all your money. Small expenses bunch up to big nightmares over time, spend more time talking to your friends face to face rather than on the phone,” she said.

Messaging apps that allow free text and calls are also useful when trying to cut down on expenses.

For food, Duplito suggested bringing cooked food instead of buying meals. She said even Makati yuppies have adopted this practice to save on their daily spending.

Commuting to school also costs time and money to students, and Duplito suggests that time management and planning play important roles for more efficient travel.

“Wake up early and plan well so that you have plenty of time to take public transportation,” she said.

Duplito said there are two ways to make a big impact on finances: increasing income or reducing expenses.

“If you want to maximize your allowance, you have to do both,” Duplito suggested.

She recommended tracking down weekly expenses on a notebook to monitor the items bought, cost per item, and time it was purchased.

“At the end of the week, your notebook should tell you exactly how much you are spending and on what, and what time you are most vulnerable to frivolous expenses,” she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com