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Working Americans Have Almost No Retirement Savings

18 March 2010

CNN Money reported last week that 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 in retirement savings, which is a statistic provided by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in their Retirement Confidence Survey ( 2010 results ). If that figure isn’t scary enough, it appears that 27% of workers have less than $1,000. Both figures are increases from 2009, when 39% had less than $10,000 and 20% had less than $1,000 a year ago. While the statistics are sobering, it does show how much the recession has hurt a lot of people. If you lose your job, the first thing to go after your emergency fund is probably going to be your retirement savings

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Posted in 2009, 2010, 401k, CD, Cash, HMO, Object, Roth IRA, SEC, Saving, emergency fund, expectation, finance, incentive, index, ira, irs, money, personal finance, prior, program, rate, retirement, savings, social, tips, week, workComments (0)

Co-Signing Risks: Why Co-signing Is A Bad Idea

18 March 2010

Good intentions can ruin you financially. People who are looking for someone to co-sign a loan for them often look for the nicest, sweetest, and gentlest person they know well.  If you have been asked to co-sign for a loan, congratulations on being one of the nicest people in the world.  But, now it is time to do the right thing. No matter how long and tragic story their story is, you need to remember that co-signing a loan is dangerous. Why Is Co-Signing Dangerous? The lending conditions are a high risk : If someone is trying to get you to co-sign with them, it is because they could not get a loan from a bank or other financial institution.  This means that those organizations consider this person too high of a borrowing risk.  When someone cannot get out of debt they are a credit risk.  If you look at how much money credit card companies are willing to extend to people, I take it as a very bad sign when a bank says someone is not lender worthy.  I would not lend to someone who is not eligible for a bank loan.  Best case scenario, I might point them in the direction of Lending Club , but depending on the situation, that could cause more damage than help. When you co-sign a loan you are putting your own funds on the line :  When you co-sign a loan, you are committing to paying back all of the money, interest, payments, and fees if the other person does not.  You are assuming complete financial liability for this transaction.  It is your loan that you are asking someone else to repay. The co-signing relationship puts a friendship on the line .  Best intentions do not pay bills.  If a person cannot afford to make their payments , what do you think will happen to your relationship with that person?  When a person who you cosigned for does not pay, you will likely feel hurt, violated, and taken advantage of,  Your kind gesture may not be returned in kind.  As a result, it will be nearly impossible to maintain a healthy relationship with someone after they default on a loan you cosign.  Is that a risk you want to take with a good friend or family member? Biblical Teaching on Co-Signing Loans Here are three of several passages from proverbs on the topic of pledging for another (what we would call co-signing): My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, (Proverbs 6:1 NIV)… Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. (Proverbs 6:5 NIV) A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor. (Proverbs 17:18 NIV) Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you. (Proverbs 22:26-27 NIV) Each of these passages make it clear that co-signing on a loan is not a biblically advisable action. Why Do People Still Co-Sign? They want to help someone else. They don’t understand what they are committing to. Are you really blessing someone when you co-sign for them? I tend to think there is little benefit from borrowing money.  Borrowing money you cannot afford to repay is even more nonsensical.  By becoming a barrier to someone borrowing money, you are actually blessing them more than if you enable them to get a loan they cannot afford. I know people break the rules all the time so…  If you are going to co-sign either way, be sure the item being purchased in the loan is in your name. Here’s why: You’ll have access to the account information so you’ll know if payments are being made. You’ll be able to repossess and sell the item. You significantly minimize the risk (though it is still risky and a bad idea). Have you ever co-signed a loan?  Would you do it again?  Any other dangers I forgot to mention?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments. This article was written by Craig Ford. Craig is a fulltime missionary in Papua New Guinea who writes Money Help For Christians and Help Me Travel Cheap , a frugal family travel blog. He is the author of Money Wisdom From Proverbs, has a Masters of Divinity degree, and (most importantly) eats homemade pizza with his family every Friday night. Copyright

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Posted in 2009, 2010, Action, Cash, Chase, Debt, Email, Free, Giving, Home, Legislation, Lending Club, Loans, NAR, Object, Organization, Purchase, SEC, Travel, Visa, bible, bible verse, borrowing, credit, credit-card, family, fees, finance, health, irs, lending, money, news, personal finance, rate, rule, stepComments (0)

Canada Vehicle Insurance Quotation – How Anti-Theft Devices Support Lower Premiums

18 March 2010

Canada Car Insurance . You will find a few insurance details, points and hints that can support you save a small on your car insurance plan premiums, on the other hand, for the most part, here is 1 that we tend to neglect to examine into… When folks shop for a Canada auto insurance quotation they bear in mind to discuss with their agent the obvious factors that can lower their automobile insurance policies premiums like driver training, dropping collision from older cars, not applying your vehicle to drive to work, nevertheless when obtaining a Canada car insurance plan quotation quite a few overlook to mention anti-theft products they may have to protect their vehicle. By not mentioning anti-theft products after you shop for a Canada car insurance policy quotation you could possibly be leaving behind some extra discounts. Auto theft fees are huge, they cost Canadians around 1.Two billion a year when you add up legal bills, insurance fees, not to mention health care charges for those thefts which involve injuries. Obviously it’s in our finest interest and the interest of the Canadian insurance organizations to get the actions in providing anti-theft products that could aid decrease these fees and let’s face it, any sort of automobile insurance policy low cost means cash kept inside your pocket! Car Insurance Comparisons . There are three general categories for anti-theft contraptions, understanding these will assistance you when you are shopping to get a Canada auto insurance policies quotation: 1. mechanical – these are products that prevent the steering wheel from moving – ie: locking bars 2. alarms – these cause horns and lights to go off when a person tries to break into the car 3. electronic – immobilizers that cuts the power to the ignition so the automobile can’t be started, The three pointed out are extremely familar to us, most familar now are the electronic immobilizers since recently the Government has just created them mandatory in Canada. These three categories of anti-theft contraptions is usually broken lower again into two categories: Active equipment – devices that require you to turn them on to activate them (mechanical and alarms) High Risk Car Insurance . Passive equipment – devices which are activated whenever you turn the engine off (electronic) It’s the passive contraptions that Canada car or truck insurance coverage organizations are the much better of the two due to the fact they don’t rely on us to remember to turn them on, they arrive on on their own. Just before you begin shopping to get a Canada auto insurance plan quotation, consider benefit of all the insurance coverage details, tips and hints [http://www.insurmycar.ca/carinsurancefactstipsandhints.html] which will aid you save. In this situation get a couple of minutes and write down the anti-theft products your car or truck already has. Write down if you’ve an engine immobilizer, wheel locks, automobile etching anything and everything your auto has and ASK about each of them and see what sort of discounts the insurance coverage organization will provide. DON’T ASSUME that just mainly because engine immobilizers are mandatory that a discount has been applied, make a point of asking.

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Posted in Action, Auto insurance, Canada Car Insurance, Car insurance, Cash, General, Health Care, High Risk Car Insurance, Object, Organization, PPI, Shopping, arm, assistance, auto, created, discount, discounts, fees, government, health, insurance, insurance coverage, insurance plan, mobile insurance, moving, premiums, tips, workComments (0)

Funeral insurance

18 March 2010

This is the festive time for reconsidering about your funeral policy, which you may have, to increase or double up its coverage. Now a days death are in increased number due to violence or accidents at any time, which no one can predict. In this uncertainty situation, if your loved ones are left behind without any financial support after your death, they may have to suffer a lot. So, it is better to consider such coverage whether it is festive time or not. Many people make the error of not planning financially for a funeral and end up stuck with the mental weight of trying to come up with the extra funds to cover the cost. It is important to make sure you have an adequate funeral policy, which should offer premiums you can afford with prompt payout and decent coverage for all expenses that come with the funeral. An average funeral can expense anywhere from R 8000 to R10 000. The first decision you need to make when setting out to purchase a funeral policy is if you would like to be cremated or buried. Then you will need to calculate the coverage needed for these costs while keeping inflation in mind. A South African funeral cost may rise to R20 000. The expenses associated with a traditional funeral include cleaning and animal slaughter. Normally transportation for the mourners is the deceased family’s responsibility. This alone is very expensive. The family faces a huge financial burden whether the economy is good or bad. It is best to purchase a family funeral policy that will pay out immediately after the death of a family member. Unlike an individual funeral policy, a family funeral policy will pay out when the policyholder or any immediate family of the policyholder dies whereas the individual funeral policy only pays out when the policyholder has passed. Banks will freeze all of your accounts until the estate has been settled meaning that monies you may have saved to help cover funeral costs will not be readily accessible. As funeral directors require cash upfront it is ideal to have a family funeral policy. When you calculate the coverage amount you require, first you are requested to contact your local funeral companies and ask them to send you a price list. Apart from the funeral cost, you can also determine using these price lists added to the extra expenses of hiring a priest, if any programs you have, advertisements, hiring a hearse and some more amount for accommodating your friends and relatives. It is very good to suggest of what the exact cost of a funeral will ensure you to purchase a funeral policy that sufficient coverage of the financial requirements of your family on your death. Holidays seem to show an upturn in the number of deaths because of accidents and assault. So think about a funeral policy as this time of year approaches. You wouldn’t want to leave your next of kin with financial woes should you pass on. A funeral policy is a good thing for you to have so that your next of kin will not have to cover your expenses. It also takes the decision-making away from them at a difficult time. Ahead of time you select either cremation or burial. Once you’ve done that, you’ll know the coverage you need because you’ll research what these cost. Most people have no idea and guess low. Make sure that the coverage you buy has enough coverage, pays quickly, and has premiums you can handle financially. Traditional funeral ceremonies can symbolize a huge financial burden on those left behind. The monetary climate is well this can add up to a substantial outlay. Even when The family of cleansing and other rituals as well as beasts for providing elation for the mourners and this can detriment as much as R20 000 as these South African funerals embrace expenses of the dead are commonly responsible for overwhelm. You may think you have enough to cover your funeral because you have money in the bank, but these accounts are frozen until such time as your estate has been settled. When a funeral provider needs the money right away, your relatives will be so happy that you purchased funeral cover . You can buy one just for yourself, where money is available when you die, or a family funeral policy where money is available when you or an immediate family member dies. Part of the funeral planning process requires organization and you can begin this process by contacting a few funeral homes or companies and taking a look at their prices. You need to consider many of the extra expenditures that come with planning a funeral such as hiring clergy, printing funeral programs, obituaries in local newspapers and transportation. There are other expenses outside of the actual policy that covers what your family will need money-wise to pay for your funeral.

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Posted in Cash, Chase, Economy, Free, Home, Object, Organization, Planning, Purchase, The Economy, banks, costs, family, funeral cover, funeral insurance, holiday, holidays, inflation, irs, money, news, premiums, programComments (0)

High Value Contents Insurance in the UK – Ways to Guarantee An Accurate Valuation

18 March 2010

While you are hunting for a high value contents cover which best suits your UK home, you should realize that the insurer will almost certainly want to establish the value of the articles inside your dwelling. It is imperative that you get as precise a valuation as you can because you don’t want to have insufficient cover. Insufficient valuation of a home content occurs more times than you could imagine. It has been said that as many as 30% of people haven’t sufficiently valued the items inside their homes. As disaster strikes and causes devastating or total loss, these are the people who learn that what they deemed as ample cover is, unfortunately, totally and devastatingly too little cover. Next are details about the true meaning of a sufficient valuation. High Value Contents Insurance -About Your Home To assure that valuation is precise, basic information about your home is the first requirement. You’ll need to identify the type of property, such as detached or semi-detached house, bungalow, terrace house or flat. If you are sure of the year that the home was finished, it will be valuable, if you don’t, an fairly accurate date range can be given, for example, prior to 1920, 1920-1945, 1946-1979 and 1980 – now. Other things you will need to list are how many bedrooms and bathrooms it contains, plus if it contains a dining room, a dressing room or study. Other rooms, such as kitchens and living rooms, must be listed as well. The insurer must be made aware of how many adult aged and children are living at the residence, plus the gender and ages of each person. It is possible that you will have to supply your own evaluation of the worth of the furniture like good, excellent or poor state. High Value Contents Insurance -Pertaining to the Contents in Your Home It is crucial to take a precise list of the items inside your home. Be absolutely sure to list any and all serial or model numbers which are listed on any articles. When sales receipts are not available on the articles, make a sincere assessment of when you bought it and how much it costed. If you do have receipts, it’s a good idea to make copies or scan them, since the paper they’re printed on is generally poor quality and will deteriorate quickly. For better accuracy implement a still camera or video recorder

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Posted in Announcement, Announcements, Calculators, Chase, General, Home, Object, Purchase, SEC, The Home, children, consumer price index, cpi, crucial, home contents insurance, index, inflation, insurance, irs, listed, modification, prior, rate, sales, stated, supply, value, waysComments (0)

Should You Refinance to Eliminate Credit Card Debt?

17 March 2010

Have you ever looked at your credit card debt and wondered how to make it vanish? I know I have. The hard work involved with paying down signature debt can be tricky, time-consuming, and demanding. If you have a home mortgage then you likely thought about refinancing to swallow up the credit card debt and place all that debt in one package. I recently did some looking at this approach to see if it should be included in our debt repayment toolbox. Credit card debt comes as an unsecured line of credit, meaning you’re basically giving your word to payback what you use. A mortgage has your home as collateral, so if you do not pay you forfeit ownership rights. Mortgage loans typically last for 15 to 30 years. Credit card debt can pile up and pile up until its all a person can do to pay the minimum monthly payment. With the new credit card law in place, everyone can clearly see how long that minimum payment would take to actually payoff the entire debt. So the quick option would be the simply refinance the home and add all the unsecured debt to the mortgage. Here’s some pros and cons of that maneuver. Pros Credit score will go up — eliminating all that credit card debt will look good on the credit report. More manageable monthly payments tied into the mortgage. Lower interest rates in mortgage than in credit cards Cons Can be costly to refinance because you have closing costs associated with the loan. Refinancing can wipe out years of equity and prolong repayment. Can affect credit score and alter your interest rate (maybe in a good way). It’s possible to refinance if you have equity built up, but that equity would have to be in place at the refinancing time period. That’s the unfortunate part of this market. Most houses went down in price, not up. So there’s not been a lot of movement in the positive direction for a lot of households. And what’s the real benefit? If you manage to refinance and bundle all of your credit card debt into a new mortgage then you have to start back at square one, unless the refinance included shortening the repayment time from 30 to 20 or even 15 years, then it may be worthwhile. So for the credit card debt repayment to really be worthwhile it would have to be a substantial amount, like over $20,000. A smaller amount, like $10K or $5K would not really be worth all the hassle of paperwork and closing costs. Unless you’re planning on reducing a 30 year mortgage to a lower year term, then refinancing to pay down signature debt does not make a whole lot of sense financially. It would better to just throw extra lumps of money at the debt than take on the additional burden of more years on the mortgage. Should You Refinance to Eliminate Credit Card Debt?

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Posted in 2010, Credit Cards, Credit Report, Credit Score, Debt, Giving, Home, Law, Legislation, Loans, Mortgage, Object, Planning, SEC, The Home, budget, costs, credit, credit-card, equity, finance, health, houses, money, month, mortgage loan, move, rate, refinance, refinancing, typically, workComments (0)

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