European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 stars and stripes sunday april 29 2007 your Money do Homework before picking savings plan by Chris Fowler stars and stripes Yokosuka naval base Thrift savings plans and individual retirement accounts Are tax sheltered retirement in vestments so what is the difference and Why should anyone care because for enlisted service members tsp May be sheltered at the wrong end painting in Broad strokes tsp is widely considered the easiest option for service members they can sign up for it during Basic training and the Money is automatically deducted the investment is fire and forget said Yokosuka Fleet and family service Center financial educator Collin Schriver your tax deferred contributions add up to More Money working for you earning in Terest on your investment compared to itself tsp looks smells and tastes like a great Deal and it especially if tsp is the Only Way to get Junior service members to begin saving for their future More information about tsp is available at Wewt Sogov or by speaking to a command financial specialist however a smart investor will Check out available options such As a Roth Ira which can be invested into until the age of s9v2 with a tsp once a service member gets out of the service or retires her or she is no Long eligible to invest into it according to literature provided by fam ily financial advocates an Ira comes in two Basic flavors the traditional Ira which is tax deferred like a tsp and the Roth Ira where you pay your taxes up front paying taxes now is not always bad especially if youre not making a lot of Money if you Are taxed up front when youre in a Low tax bracket you will pay less than you would later in your career when Osten Sibly you should be making More Money a thought is that if you Are going to pay taxes on a Given amount of Money Why not pay less with Roth Ira once youve been taxed and if you follow the withdrawal plus de interest growth is yours tax free i would personally choose me rom Sim Roth Ira named for senator according to the financial newsweekly Barrons individual retirement accounts created by the taxpayer Relief act of 1997 that permit account holders to allow their capital to accumulate tax free under certain conditions Are named after the Delaware senator who championed the idea of expanded iras William v Roth or assets inside Roth iras can be invested in stocks Bonds Mutual funds Bank instruments such As cd and Money Market accounts precious metals and real estate ply because the contributions a retire ment will be tax exempt wrote Michael l pm Damb cup if managing director financial planning and Confounder of family financial advocates and family value creations an email to stars and stripes that is a huge Benefit that is so difficult to beat according to Chindamo a Roth also Al lows the investor the Opportunity to make better choices than what might be offered inthe tsp but you must do your Homework he stressed Large fund platforms such As a tsp have to have a platform of very Large funds in order to take such Large amounts of contributions Chindamo wrote this unfortunately lends itself to lesser Quality funds if you think you will be earning More today than you willbe making when you re tire perhaps tsp is your ticket to ride if you expect to be earning less today than when you retire you May consider invest ing in a Roth Ira but As any financial expert will Tell you the most important thing is to invest the concept of a tax deduction incentive to participate in a qualified plan As far As my firm is concerned should be of Little consequence Chindamo wrote so we like both tsp however the real Issue is to do something on a consistent basis email Chris Fowler ate Micro lending helps immigrant owned businesses grow Chacon Doest have any employees her husband and son help and the stores have about annually in sales chances Are that Chacon who arrived in the United states nine years ago would not have Quali fied for a loan from a traditional Bank to even Start a business never mind expand one but thanks to a Small but grow ing network of Banks and nonprofit groups that specialize in Micro lending entrepreneurial Immi Grants like Chacon Are gaining a Cess to precious capital the association for Enterprise Opportunity a Virginia based Trade group estimates total us investment in Micro lending to be million to million a year Micro lending is loosely defined As Small business Loans of or less to people who fall outside mainstream banking including people of Low income women Minori ties and Immi Grants main Stream Banks either cant or wont lend Money to such people because they Lack Collat eral business experience or even credit his tories supporters have touted i Cro lending As a Natalia Prei Eit Sharpens her loan skills during a mock tool to end Pov loan training session at the Minneapolis consortium erty especially of Community developers in Minneapolis in january in third world by Thomas Lee Minneapolis Star Tribune Minneapolis Ana Cha con had a big decision to make the 51yearold immigrant from Al Salvador successfully operates two hispanic themed gift shops in Minneapolis but her Kiosk at Rosedale Center in Roseville Minn which she opened last month want faring As Well and Chacon had to decide whether to pull out fortunately for Chacon she could Bounce her thoughts off Natalia pretext a loan specialist with the Minneapolis consortium of Community developers and Mon Ica Romero a business Developer with the latino economic development Center both women not Only helped Chacon secure the loan to open the Kiosk but also have provided much needed advice in running her business photos Stubee Minneapolis Star Natalia pretext left of the Minneapolis consortium of Community developers meets with Ana Chacon right in Minneapolis on april 9 Chacon successfully operates two hispanic themed gift shops countries last years Nobel peace prize went to Muhammad a Tonus founder of Graveen Bank a pioneering Micro Lender in Bangladesh but some experts doubt that Micro lending can succeed in an advanced Economy like americas it has really Hast caught on in the United states said Eric Thurman a Micro lending expert and author of a billion Boot straps you need to have easy Means of self employment from the Bankers standpoint Micro lending is not cos efficient because it takes More time and re sources to determine whether the Borrower will repay said Rashmi Nyalchand a Law professor at northeastern University in bos ton who has extensively studied Micro lending but Micro lending programs that provide business advice and technical expertise to borrowers stand a better Chance at succeed ing Nyalchand said last year the nonprofit Micro lending organization made 90 Loans totalling million com pared with 46 Loans Worth in 2003 the consortium also helps Bor rowers develop business plans make financial projections and manage their operations while Banks traditionally have shied away from Micro lending there Are signs that the Industry is changing its mind Banks for in stance have been increasingly eyeing the immigrant Community celent a Bosto based re search firm estimates there Are 600 million to 1 billion Micron tre Preneus in the us alone Call ing such business owners a huge untapped demand for financial services there is definitely a Market said Greg Peterka a senior vice president for weds Fargo one of the few major Banks to make microloan directly to in migrants it has become More of an Opportunity for us