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Sunday, November 6, 2011

7 Great Personal Financial Tips


Author:

Larry L. Taylor






When it comes to personal finance measures, a lot of people get anxious and stressed out, as financial processes and needs could be so confusing. You may not know what you are really doing, which could hurt you in the long run. Instead of going about the process blindly, make sure you know the best strategy starting with these personal finance tips.





1.       Consider signing up for a flexible spending account (FSA). FSA allows you to pay for dependent care expenses, commuting and medical expenses and prescriptions or health insurance co-payments using pre-tax dollars. This simply means that you don\'t have to pay taxes from the funds you use to pay these regularly occurring expenditures.





2.       Carry $10 cash or a debit card to make small purchases. Recent laws allow the merchants to set a minimum purchase amount when credit cards are used. The minimum amount can not be larger than $10 so your cash in your pocket will cover the price of the items you can\'t charge.





3.       Smoking and drinking are two things that you will want to avoid if you want to put yourself in the best position financially.  These habits not only hurt your health, but can take a great toll on your wallet as well.  Take the steps necessary to reduce or quit smoking and drinking.





4.       When in doubt about borrowing money-don\'t.  Interest is extremely expensive, adding up to 20or even more to your purchases, which is the same as making 20less money!  Wherever possible try to save up for a purchase on your own, and buy it later rather than taking out a loan to get it now.





5.       To improve your personal finance habits, keep track of the amount of cash you spend along with everything else. The physical act of paying with cash makes you mindful of exactly how much money is being spent, while it is much easier to spend large amounts with a credit or debit card.





6.       Improve your personal finance skills with a very useful but often overlooked tip. Make sure that you are taking about 10-13of your paychecks and putting them aside into a savings account. This will help you out greatly during the tough economic times. Then, when an unexpected bill comes, you will have the funds to cover it and not have to borrow and pay interest fees.





7.       Shop at thrift stores where you\'ll find big savings on clothes and household items.  It\'s amazing what people donate to these places!  Often you can find brand new items with the store tags still attached.   Other times the used items you find there are as good as new.  The thrift store price is often only pennies of what items cost new.





If you are ready to gain your greatest edge in personal finance, you can use these tips to get a great stance within your financial matters, able to understand the logistics and the strategies that are essential in each process you go through. Don\'t create more stress for yourself than you have to when there are great resources to teach you more.


Don\'t stop learning about personal  finance here. Sign up for our Free 6-Day eCourse and Financial Tips.  See the author box below.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-finance-articles/7-great-personal-financial-tips-5367427.html
About the Author



Please visit http://www.AFinanceInfo.com for a 6 Day Free Finance eCourse  and Personal Finance Newsletter.  Learn to use practical common sense tips on how to better manage your money.


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Get The Best Low Cost Life Insurance Possible And Protect Your Family


Author:

David Livingston

People often with utmost patience and an applicable commonsense do often stand out and easily get low cost life insurance. It\'s actually very easy to get low cost life insurance. If you really observe, many end up purchasing expensive policies as they do not care to do the research it takes to get low cost life insurance. Points below are tips on how to get low cost life insurance.
•    Do your research; do them properly.
•    Read even the fine prints on the documents / websites.
•    Try to get a policy as early in your life as possible.
•    If you are overweight, try to figure out a diet that is recommended.
•    Do workout regularly.
•    Don\'t encourage smoking.
•    Drive well.
•    Do compare quotes and get tips from experts.

The steps described above can be followed by all. Basically, you need to put your head in to getting low cost insurance life policy. You might have to place your needs above your needs and ensure that you altering your habit can have an impact in your over all insurance cost. Also, you can follow certain diet and ensure that you work out regularly and quit smoking. These things will let you lead a happy and a peaceful life.

When you request for term life insurance quotes, you will get to know that there are number of such types on offer. You can compare online quotes, focus on rates, coverage and time period for which coverage is needed can be the few steps you can take to get the right kind of life insurance for you. These days, carriers are smart enough to create various kinds of life insurance policies that suit the needs of many people. Your friend\'s policy may look ideal for him, however may not be ideal to you. The cost of each insurance policy varies depending upon the difference between them. You can customize a policy for your needs and you will be able to choose one and stick to it.

Renewable term life insurance policy gives the assurance to the policyholder that the policy can be renewed once the term gets over. This kind of policy was introduced when a term life insurance policy expires, people could not get any returns from it and the total premium paid is taken by the insurance carrier. Under this kind, people are given the choice to renew or to reapply with no further proof of insurability. This became a hit instantly and has been chosen by many while considering a policy.

Based on the salary increase or decrease you can alter the premium under the plan adjustable term life insurance. This type of policy allows a policy holder to exchange a term life insurance with a permanent policy once the coverage expires. They are comparatively on the costly side than traditional term life insurance policy as they offer the flexibility that could cost this extra money. No one can predict the future and it is always better to have the cushion you deserve. 

However reasonable is the life insurance online quote you get, it will not be worth anything if the company you choose does not have necessary rating.  Life insurance is normally taken for many years and you must go with a company that is listed with credit rating firms like JD Power or AM Best.  Consumer websites have a list of all insurance companies, reviews and ratings.  Some small regional companies may not be listed and for these, people can request information from the local Better Business Bureau or State Department of Insurance.

An important question to consider before requesting online quotes is – how much death benefit will you need?  Too little will mean your family could face financial instability and too much could mean that costs could increase.  If you take a very high coverage and find that you cannot meet the payment schedule, you could be penalized and ultimately the insurance company has the power to discontinue the policy too.

Thus, it is important that you make a list of all assets, debts, credit card bills, personal and business loan, mortgage payments, tuition expenses and auto loans etc. Consider your current salary and multiply that by 5 to 10 times of this amount. This should be good enough to take care of family\'s financial needs. Though the policy might have been in existence, you should still check the life insurance needs. If you have more money, you can even consider buying another policy or alter your current policy to meet the needs.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/get-the-best-low-cost-life-insurance-possible-and-protect-your-family-5369563.html
About the Author
Article by David Livingston of EQuote, who is a specialist in everything life insurance. For more information on life insurancesand seguros de vida universal, visit his site today.