AIG is steadily getting closer to repaying the $132 billion debt that it took in 2008 from the government to avoid collapse. The latest step in the direction is AIG’s agreement to sell its international life insurance unit, American Life Insurance Co. (Alico) to MetLife Inc. [Read more…]
Setting Goals For Effective Financial Planning
Financial experts, investment advisors and retirement planners – all advise you of the benefits you stand to gain with proper financial planning. Setting up a structured plan for saving and spending lets you take control of your finances so that your long term financial goals are met. However, to make your financial planning effective, it is essential for you to set goals.
The Importance of Goal Setting
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Avoiding Bounced Checks with OD Line of Credits
If you have had to shell out precious dollars in the form of overdraft fees because the check you issued bounced at your bank, then you know the importance of having a safety net in your bank account. Most often you have funds to pay the check but they are just not in the right account or available at the time when the check is presented.
It is at times like these that the extra expense incurred in paying the overdraft fee is completely unnecessary and avoidable. An overdraft line of credit is a safety net for your bank account that ensures you avoid such charges and fees.
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Using Your Credit Cards Wisely
The credit card is the culprit behind many Americans’ huge debt today. This handy piece of plastic is so useful and convenient that we often manage all our shopping without money just by swiping our credit cards at different stores and outlets. It is only when the credit card issuer sends you your bill that you actually realize how much you have spent. If you have run up enormous debts because of your credit cards, then chances are, you are seriously considering cancelling all the cards you have. Instead of doing something this drastic, you can simply start using your cards wisely.
Keep Your Balance Low
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How to Make Controlled Spending Viable and Stress Free
Saving money for the future does not necessarily have to entail frugal living and sacrificing every single enjoyable thing you do at present. After all, you save money so that you can continue to live a good life instead of allowing your financial limitations to dictate what you can or cannot do in future.
An effective future savings plan does not require that your spending is strictly limited to essentials or unavoidable expenses. In fact, this would not be a sustainable savings plan at all and as a result not an effective one either. What is required is to control the way you spend and to make this controlled spending a habit.
Know What Your Dollar Buys for You
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How to Fix Your Credit Score
Your credit score plays a very important role in determining how easy it is for you to get loans and how attractive the loan terms are. Any lender you approach will refer to your credit report to gauge how much of a risk you are and how likely you are to pay off his loan on time.
This risk level determines the rate of interest, the term and other aspects of the loan he gives to you. Having a good credit score ensures that you are in a strong bargaining position to get cheap loans with attractive terms. There are no effective quick fixes to improve your credit score but it is possible to make a significant difference in a short time by taking the right steps.
Understanding the Basics
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Types of Health Insurance Plans and Cost
It is extremely important that you invest in health insurance. Medical bills stemming from a car accident or major surgeries can be a huge financial set back if you don’t have health insurance. Even if you have to spend quite a bit of money to buy a health insurance policy, it is in your best interests to take one out.
Types of plans
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Plan Your Taxes for a Better Tomorrow
Taxes constitute a significant portion of annual expenses a family has to incur. Plan your taxes carefully to avoid shelling out large amounts of your hard earned income on deductions, which could have been avoided. These tax planning and saving tips can help you manage your taxes better:
A new graduate
A new graduate can save taxes in a number of ways. If you are relocating to a place more than 50 miles from your current location and your relocation amount hasn’t been reimbursed by your employer, you can deduct the cost incurred by you for the trip. You can also deduct travelling expenses taking into consideration 16.5 cents a mile. If you have taken an education loan, the interest paid on the loan can be deducted.
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Common Life Insurance Mistakes to Avoid
Life insurance is an important investment, not just for wealth accumulation but also for financial security. People take out life insurance keeping the interests of family members and dependents in mind. Even in tough times, it would be unwise to contemplate canceling your life insurance policy to save money. Those who feel that life insurance policies are unnecessary or a burden should know that life insurance is a good investment as well as a sound savings scheme. Here are some life insurance mistakes that you should avoid.
Not talking about life insurance
People generally tend not to talk about life insurance as it evokes the uncomfortable topic of death. But you have to be prudent when it comes to your finances and openly discuss life insurance with your spouse or dependents. After all, it is your duty to offer dependents financial support when you lose the capacity to earn income.
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Hiring A Market Investment Financial Adviser
Hiring the right financial advisor can be an important step towards managing your wealth better. Before hiring a financial advisor, check his credentials, references and qualifications. Besides this, also ask him the following six questions to assess whether you can benefit from his services.
What is the cost of the services offered?
The fee charged by your advisor makes up just one part of your overall costs. You also have to take into account brokerage commissions if your financial advisor will be trading in securities. A thrifty financial advisor is often the best choice. He should ideally trade to ensure that your annual portfolio maintenance costs (excluding advisor fee) are as low as possible. Additionally, compare fees of different advisors so that you get the best deal.
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Holiday Shopping Without Burning a Hole in Your Pocket
This holiday shopping season is shaping up to be a good one for shoppers, as retailers are competing to lure them with big discounts. Apparel prices have dropped since spring this year and they could drop further by the end of the year.
Contrary to this, those shopping for gadgets may not find useful discounts as the demand for gadgets has gone up tremendously this year. Whether you want to buy apparel or splurge on gadgets this season, there are a few tips to help you shop without burning a hole in your pocket.
Know Where to Go Shopping
Even during the festive season, it is rare that high-end brands offer drastic discounts. At such times, opt for stores that sell good quality products with lesser-known brand names at good discounts and special offers. If you are keen on buying branded items, look for stores that sell moderately- priced branded products.
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Money Management for Children
Raising children’s awareness on money management serves two important purposes – it helps them understand where money comes from and why it is important to save. Generally, the first purpose is served much sooner than the second as children may take longer to curb their need for instant gratification with all that money can buy. By introducing your kids to money management, you can be assured that they will grow into financially responsible adults
Giving monetary allowances to children
Give your kid a monthly allowance for selective purchases and not unnecessary ones like candy, video games or fashion accessories. Also remember that the monetary allowance given is not lunch money or for clothes, books and other school supplies – this is something that the parent must provide separately. Encourage your kids to save some money from their allowance, put it in a piggy bank or account.
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What You Need to Know About Investing in Mutual Funds
A mutual fund is a collective investment, pooling money from thousands of investors to create a portfolio consisting of bonds, stocks, and other securities. This is done in keeping with an agreement enforced by the company offering mutual funds. Each mutual fund investor gets his or her share of returns from the total funds.
Mutual funds allow investors to make investments ranging from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. They also help investors create a diversified portfolio at low costs when compared to purchasing individual bonds and stocks. Also, mutual funds save you the trouble of tracking multiple investments as this is taken care of by the fund manager.
Stock funds
Stock funds are mutual funds that invest in stocks. There are different types of stock funds, such as index funds, growth funds, value funds and hedge funds. Growth funds invest in stocks of fast growing companies while index funds buy and sell securities that reflect a particular market index. [Read more…]
Lodging Alternatives for Budget Travelers
Lodging costs constitute the bulk of expenses for a traveler. Lodging at hotels can burn a large hole in your pocket. Increasingly, budget travelers are looking for unconventional accommodation arrangements that can save a significant amount of money. Here are some options that you can consider while choosing an accommodation during your travels.
Short-term, cheap sublets
Look for cheap apartments that owners rent out for a certain period of time. Sublets can be found through newspaper ads or websites such as Craigslist. Keep in mind though that New York recently passed a law banning tenants to rent out apartments for a duration of less than 30 days.
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Ways to Raise Money for Your College Education
The economy is on a downturn and the cost of college education is rising. Students need to find cost effective ways to pursue their dream of college education, which is an expensive proposition for most. We offer some useful tips on how to go about funding your education in an affordable manner.
Ask Your Relatives
More and more relatives are chipping in with money to help their loved ones. A recent research says that almost 66% of grandparents have financially helped their kin for education purposes.
Cheaper colleges
Admission in community colleges can provide you with some financial relief. Community colleges are the cheapest colleges in the country and are becoming great alternatives for low and middle income families.
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5 Ways To Protect Your Credit Card and Identity
Credit cards are synonymous with debt and your unaccounted spending can lead to debts that may not be good for your financial health. Here are 5 risks associated with credit cards that you should be aware of:
Using credit cards on unsecured sites
To prevent identity thefts, use your credit cards only on secured sites. Secured sites are encrypted and prevent hackers from stealing your credit card details. To see whether the site is encrypted, check if there is a lock icon on the address bar. An encrypted site will always show ‘https’ instead of the normal ‘http’ in unsecured sites.
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Bonds As Part of Your Investment Strategy
When you buy a bond from a company, you are essentially loaning the money to the company to fund their projects. This money is loaned by you to the company for a specific period of time. After this period, the company returns your money along with an interest paid on it.
The total returns on the bonds may not always be fixed, as is the case with variable interest rate bonds. So be cautious about the amount of money you invest in bonds and check on the reputation of the company with whom you plan to invest.
Difference between a bond and a bond mutual fund
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Money Saving Travel Tips
Travelling can be fun especially if you are traveling to exotic destinations worldwide. You get to experience the culture, food, attractions and nightlife of the destination you visit. But traveling costs can be very high for several destinations and if you are a budget traveler, planning the trip carefully becomes very important. Here are some ways you can save money while traveling:
Cheap flights
Off season flight fares are much cheaper than those during the peak season. So it is important to have flexibility with your travel dates. Flight fares change almost everyday. So, check and compare between different flights before you decide on the itinerary. A low fare can help save a lot of money.
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What You Should Know About Investing in Stocks
When you invest in the stocks of a company, you gain ownership of a part of the company. So it is important to invest in a profitable firm whose shares will grow and give you good returns in time. As different industries have different growth rates and profitability, stocks in companies from different industries will bring varied degrees of risk and returns for you.
This is because the value of a company depends on how relevant its product or service is in the market at a given point in time. For this reason, it becomes crucial to analyze which industries and specific companies are profitable and whether investing in them could be beneficial in the long run. Here are two useful tips on investing in the stock market.
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How to Finance Your Car
Buying a car involves three major aspects – understanding the kind of car you want to buy, monthly payments you can afford and terms of the lender if you take a loan to finance your car. All three aspects are connected with each other in that the right car for you is not solely based on its utility, but also its affordability. Conversely, an affordable car need not be right for you in terms of its utility.
Similarly, a car that appears affordable initially, may not turn out to be so when you talk to banks and find out about the costs associated with the loan. Here are a few useful tips that will make the process easier.
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Managing Your Finances for a Debt Free College Education
Managing finances when you are in college can go a long way in ensuring that you graduate with no debts. You can manage your college finances with relative ease if you are willing to spend money wisely and save money when you can. Here are a few tips that you can use for effective money management in college.
Create a Plan for Expenses
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Credit Report Myths You Should be Aware Of
There are several myths that people have about credit reports. Here are some of the most common ones:
Real time updates of credit score
One of the common myths is regarding real-time updates in credit reports. Unlike what is wrongly believed by most people, updates in the credit report are not done in real-time as you charge items or make payments. Your account with the agency will be updated by your lender once a month.
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Employees Facing Difficulties with Disability Insurance
Most employees may not be aware of disability insurance. But the issue has come into focus as companies are increasingly cutting back on this insurance for their workers. It protects employees against loss of income as a result of disability, permanent or temporary.
Under this coverage, employees who suffer injuries at work or become severely ill are provided an income. Disability insurance makes the employer-offered benefits package more competitive. A disability insurance policy explains the policy tenure, terms of the illness/disability, coverage limit and certain exclusions.
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What First Time Stock Investors Should Know
While many people do not like to gamble, the attraction of the stock market is too hard to resist. The key reason is that with some smart thinking and a bit of luck, you can make a good profit by investing in stocks.
If you are a first-time investor, then you should tread carefully, investing a small amount first and increasing your investments as you become more experienced and understand market trends properly. Here are some of the basic things that a first-time investor must know before buying stocks.
Types of stocks
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How Cost Effective Is It To Lease a Car?
If new car prices are proving to be too high for you in this tough economy, then there is another option you can consider – car lease. Leasing is a convenient way of getting a new truck or car every few years without worrying about selling off the vehicle, something the leasing company will handle for you.
But you have to make an important financial decision at the end of your lease term. You should decide whether you want to lease a new car and return the one you have or buy the car at the pre-determined end-of-lease price. While lease payments may look low in comparison to the loan amount you will have to borrow to purchase your dream car, leasing does not work for everyone.
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How to Build Your Savings for a Safe Financial Future
If you are looking for ways to save more without lowering your standard of living, then read on for some useful practical advice. If you want to save money without living a miser’s life, then you must start by taking a quick account of your income and expenditure. This will help you in figuring out your goal for the savings. Post that, all you’ll need to do is to make simple changes that will help you accrue larger total savings.
The first thing that you should remember is that doing things by yourself at home is always cheaper than getting ready made goods or services. You might have to make some initial investment though. For example, you can start making your own coffee at home before you leave for work instead of buying one from the nearby Starbucks. This will help you save money on a daily basis. Similarly, instead of going to canteen, it is better to keep some tea bags and make tea with the hot water in your office itself.
Find home made alternatives for various commercial goods. For example, vinegar and water can be used to clean glass and baking soda can also act as a cleaning agent. These will not only help you save the money that you spend on cleaning supplies, but will also be more eco friendly.
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Money Management for Young Couples
One of the common fights that young married couples have is over money. What is the best approach in managing those greenbacks that have become such an essential part of our lives yet the cause of frustration and arguments? Here are some immediate steps you can take to organize your finances as a new couple.
It is wise to have a joint checking account for shared expenses like rent and utilities. Keep separate individual checking accounts for personal spends – this can go a long way to prevent arguments about spending and finances.
Managing your finances together means not just covering all your expenses but also putting away something for the future – saving for a new home, your kid’s education, and other priority areas. Start a savings account. One of the most important things about managing money is understanding compound interest. Use it to the benefit of your family’s financial future.
A budget is an absolute necessity. Start by creating a list of recurring expenses you will have every month. Subtract the total from your monthly income. Ideally, there should be quite a bit of balance left over. If there is, you can go ahead and invest a portion of that amount into various financial instruments of your choice. Also make sure you set aside some of the balance for a separate emergency fund to prepare for any unforeseen events.
If you don’t have a balance or have a negative balance, then it is the time to cut down on spending. Have a relook at the items on your expenses list and see where you can cut down. Here are some suggestions on how to keep costs low.
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Avoid the Holiday Rush by Shopping Online
Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving, heralds the start of the shopping season, about a month before Christmas. Traditionally the best deals are offered on this day. So Black Friday usually sees a mad rush of shoppers in stores along with jammed sidewalks and massive traffic grid locks. To avoid mobs of shoppers and yet capitalize on attractive discounts and deals, you can consider shopping online.
Look Out for Online Black Friday Sales
Retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy offer online discounts that extend past Black Friday. You can get great deals without having to stand in a queue. You can also check out Black Friday Ads, a website that offers good deals, coupons and ad listings.
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Tips On How to Invest Your Money With The Economy In Mind
If you are new to the world of stocks, bonds and other financial instruments, you should know that investment is both an art and science. Only after you understand how the financial market works should you start making your investment plans. Here are a few things you should think about if you are keen to invest your money.
Understand Your Risk Appetite
You must not only be open to the risk of losing money but also decide exactly how much you can afford to lose. You should realize that every investment carries some inherent risk of loss and that some investments carry higher risk than others.
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Health Insurance Why Do You Need It?
When it comes to our health, we all know that treatment costs can be very unpredictable. Medical treatments and surgical procedures seem to be getting more expensive with each year. In today’s stress-filled world, ailments related to anxiety, nervous disorders, breakdowns from high pressure at work are all common problems that we all have to deal with. It is more important now than ever before for everyone to have adequate health insurance.
Medical Emergencies Can Wipe Out Savings
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Investment Advice for Beginners
Investing for the future is an essential and integral part of saving. After all, what is the point in saving if your dollars are just going to be resting in a lock box or even a low interest savings account? By the time you use these savings, the money saved over the past twenty or thirty years will not amount to much in the present because of inflation.
The fact remains that unless your savings are invested in the right way, they will not give you much financial security in the future. Investing your savings in the proper instruments and avenues multiplies them considerably. Here is some advice that beginner investors can use:
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How to Consolidate Student Credit Card Debt
Credit cards come with minimum payable amounts, which are percentages of the total outstanding on the card. Students often find themselves hard pressed for extra cash and they continue to make only the unavoidable minimum payments month after month. This leads to a huge interest accumulating on the balance, resulting in unmanageable debts in an alarmingly short time.
During the recession, many students found themselves watching helplessly as their debts grew sky high. There was not much they could do then but as the economy begins to settle down to an even keel now and is even showing signs of rearing up, there are some solutions that you can explore. Debt consolidation is one such option than can help debt-ridden students get their finances under control.
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Tips for Shopping on a Budget
Most people in a financial crunch fear shopping expeditions the most. These are often the times when money simply flows out of your pockets without your even realizing it. However, it is impossible to eliminate shopping completely. After all, you do need the groceries, staples, consumables and other essentials. These tips will help you shop wisely so that your spending is limited well within your budget.
Build Loyalty
Shopping with one specific store often pays off. All big stores generally have ‘loyal customer’ cards on which points accumulate every time you make purchases there. These points can be exchanged for other goods or in some cases, discounts. If you have a reasonably priced store nearby, then make a conscious decision to complete all your shopping when you visit it. Ask the store personnel for a Loyalty card or a frequent shopper card and make sure every purchase gets recorded against it.
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Tax Attorneys for Your Legal Problems
Ideally, every taxpayer should file his/her income tax returns before April 15th every year. The tax filing process is not exactly a cakewalk and you could encounter some problems, even if you are not at fault. Tax filing procedures and timelines that are not adhered to can sometimes result in penalties, from a fine to even prison time. If you are not sure about the tax filing process, it is wise to hire a good tax attorney to help you out of your predicament.
Don’t try to fix the problem on your own by calling the IRS and explaining the issue. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents are trained to investigate and collect evidence used in criminal proceedings. They may seem helpful but remember that any statement you make may be used against you in a court of law.
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