Archive for June, 2011

Life Insurance: When and Why

By: Green Panda | Date posted: June 08, 2011 (5:00 am)

I don’t think many people enjoy talking about life insurance when they’re just starting off their families sand careers, but it’s a vital topic to cover. Part of being young is feeling as if you could conquer the world. You’re probably not thinking about what would happen if you were dead due to an accident or an illness. Unfortunately, tragedy can strike randomly and your family may be faced with that situation.

How do you know if you should start thinking about life insurance? How can you figure out how much you need? How do you find the right companies?

When Do You Need Life Insurance

If you’re single and have no dependents, life insurance probably shouldn’t be a priority for you now. If you’re married or have a family, however, you may want to look into further. Don’t just think about it when you have kids though. The key is seeing if there is anyone who is dependent on your income to survive. It may be your spouse, children, disabled relatives, or your parents if they live with you.

cash for life insurance

Life Insurance Questions

Take a few minutes to answer a few questions about life insurance and  your family’s plans for the future. The answers can help you determine how much you need to get for your policy.

  • If something would happen to you and/or your spouse, how would your family live?
  • Will the money be needed for 6 months, a year, 3 years? In other words, how much of a cushion do you feel comfortable with to get your family back on their feet?
  • How will your kid(s) be cared for if you and your spouse pass?

They may be uncomfortable questions, but they are necessary. You want to get the right policy for your family’s specific needs.

Finding the Right Life Insurance

Your next step is to find a reputable company that can help you create a policy that will provide the coverage you need at a reasonable price. Finding the best life insurance companies isn’t an impossible task. Shop around to get quotes and ask your personal network who they would recommend and why. I would also ask them who they would avoid as well. You don’t want your loved ones struggling to get the money that they’re entitled to. This is how you could compare life insurance quotes and their services.

My sister in law and her family had to unfortunately go through this additional stress for almost two years before the company would release the money.

Thoughts on Life Insurance

Besides getting life insurance, you also want to looking into making a will to make sure your family knows your wishes. When family is in the midst of grief having a clarity as to what you’d like done can help ease the burden and stress. If you haven’t gotten it already you may also want to look into getting the right health insurance for your needs.

Photo Credit: seanmcmenemy

5 Tips to Save Money and Stay Healthy

By: Kristina | Date posted: June 07, 2011 (7:00 am)

Two personal goals that many people hope to achieve are to lose weight and save money. Today we are going to kill two birds with one stone and discuss ways to achieve both personal goals.

Here are five tips to keep your body slim and your wallet fat:

 

Cut out Fat

A lot of our calories come from and a lot of our money goes towards eating on the go.  If you work, or go to school, or both, you know that it is extremely difficult and inconvenient to pack a lunch for the entire day.  It is definitely much easier to grab food on the go throughout the day. Unfortunately we do not very often find foods that are both fast and nutritious.

It is said that we should not eat foods with more than 15 grams of fat per 100 gram serving.  This eliminates the cost and the fat of most fast food restaurants. Yesterday I bought a breakfast sandwich for $1.80, a $5.18 veggie burger for lunch, and a small iced cappuccino for $2.05 as my afternoon snack.  This is a total of $9.03 for just one day of eating fast food on the go, this can add up to over $45 per week.

 

Eliminate Snacks

Our morning and afternoon snacks could cost us $2-$3 each or more if we add a beverage.  This can add up to be very costly, it can also add up to a lot of calories.  Think about what you bought as your morning snack yesterday, maybe it was a bagel which is both expensive and full of carbs.  An individual bagel can cost up to $2 or more if we add crème cheese; we can buy a bag of 6 bagels at the grocery store for $3.99.  If possible we should try to bring fruits and veggies for snacks throughout the day, it’s a lot more economical to buy in bulk at the grocery store and bring a little healthy snack each day.

 

Drink Lots of Water

Drinking water throughout the day is better for your health and better for your budget.  A soft drink can cost $1.00-$2.00 per can or bottle.  If you find the taste of water to be boring or bland I suggest that you buy packets of Crystal Light.  A package of 10 flavour sachets is approximately $3.59.  Crystal Light offers several different flavours such as raspberry, lemonade, and iced tea.  All flavours have 0 calories and 0 grams of sugar.

 

Reduce Portion Size

Eating less food or eating fewer times a day will definitely help save on both our budget and our waistline. Did you know that a regular portion size of food is a handful or the size of a cup? Eating only a cup of pasta or rice will really suck at the beginning because we will be hungry if we are used to usually eating larger portions.  However, our stomach will adjust to the change and our wallet will appreciate the savings.  If you cook in bulk for several days try splitting your meal into three portions instead of two.  This saves on your calories as well as your wallet.

 

Eat Less Sugar

Think about your last snack, was it candy or chocolate? Ideally the average person should only take in 15 grams of sugar per day, but actually the average person takes in over 100 grams of sugar per day.  Did you know that a small Tim Horton’s Iced Cappuccino has 33 grams of sugar? That is $2.05 and 33 grams of sugar that we will never get back.

 

The next time you are waiting in line at Tim Horton’s, Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts stop and think…can I really afford to eat this?

 

Photo by lachshand

 

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Basic Investment Advice: How to Choose the Best Investments for You

By: Kristina | Date posted: June 06, 2011 (7:30 am)

Good Morning Green Panda Friends! Today we are discussing basic investment strategies as well as different types of investments that are designed specifically for our personal financial goals. The most basic investment advice that I can provide to anyone is to buy low, sell high, and stay invested for the long term.  Let’s look at each one of these basic investment strategies in further detail.

 

Basic Investment Advice #1: Buy Low and Sell High

No one can predict the market fluctuations.  We have a 1 in 365 chance that we will buy our investments on the lowest day of the year, and sell them on the highest day of the year.  Since those are really not good odds, the best investment advice is to continuously buy into the market on a regular basis.

The strategy of regularly buying Mutual Funds on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis through pre authorized contributions is called Dollar Cost Averaging.  When we continuously purchase investments we are buying into the market when it is high and when it is low.  Therefore, the average cost of our investment is lower than it would be if bought into the market on a high day.

 

Basic Investment Advice #2: Invest for the Long Term

It is very important to start investing at a young age and stay invested during market fluctuations.  Very often people panic when the market is experiencing a downturn, and they sell their equity investments at a loss to purchase more secure fixed income investments.  This is the exact opposite of a smart basic investment strategy.  We want to buy low and sell high, not sell when the market is low and buy back in when the market is high.

We have to be comfortable with the level of risk versus return that comes with our investment options. Before you purchase your Mutual Fund or Stock Investments you have to ask yourself, am I comfortable with the potential return for the possible risk involved? If you are looking for a 7 or 8% return, then you also have to be comfortable with the possibility of your investment value declining by 7 or 8%.

If you are new to investing consider buying a Balanced Mutual Fund.  This is a medium risk fund that will experience moderate fluctuations in the daily value.  A Balanced Mutual Fund usually has a 60/40 asset allocation in Equity and Fixed Income.  Mutual Fund Investors receive their account statement on a quarterly basis, it is important to review your quarterly investment account statement to make sure that you are comfortable with the risk versus return of your Mutual Funds.

 

Basic Investment Advice #3: Choose Personalized Investments for Your Goals

Many Mutual Fund Companies offer Select Portfolios and Target Date Mutual Funds which are designed for specific types of investors or for a target investment date.

Select Portfolios offer the perfect asset allocation for your individual investor profile.  Select Income Portfolios, Balance Portfolios, Growth Portfolios, and Aggressive Growth Portfolios are offered by most Mutual Fund Companies.  Select Mutual Fund Portfolios are the perfect solution for investors who want a simplified investment option, and who do not want the hassle of choosing their own individual investments.

Target Date Mutual Funds are designed for investors who are going to stay invested until their specific target date in the future.  These funds are commonly used for investors who are investing for a specific goal such as saving for the down payment of a home, investing for their education, or saving for retirement.

Target Date Mutual Funds are more aggressive the farther away they are from the target date.  Every year as we approach the target investment date the Mutual Fund asset allocation is rebalanced to become more secure and less risky.

Fidelity Investments offers the Fidelity Asset Manager Mutual Funds that focus on the asset allocation.  Fidelity Asset Manager Mutual Funds are based on an Investors tolerance toward risk versus return.  Fidelity also offers Lifecycle Mutual Funds which are also known as the Fidelity Freedom Funds.  These Target Date Mutual Funds range from 2015 to 2050.

 

Yakezie Link Time

By: MD | Date posted: June 03, 2011 (6:00 am)

The other day we wrote about the benefits of investing in your career. Have you ever invested some of your money towards growing your career? This post looks at the benefits of investing your money in your career for the long term. Give it a read.

Time for the links:

1. What to do When a Landlord Will Not Return a Security Deposit @ Car Negotiation Coach.

2. How to Finance a Summer Vacation @ Money Green Life.

3. 401Ks and ROTH IRAs @ Ultimate Money Blog.

4. Why I Never Trust Economists or Weathermen @ Investor Junkie.

5. What Can You Learn from Kids? @ KrantCents.

6. Why Best-Case Scenaros Suck @ Money Crush.

7. Chapter 7 Versus Chapter 13 Bankruptcy @ Financially Poor.

8. New Tires for My Vehicle and New Eyeglasses @ Out of Debt Again.

9. 11 Tips on Smarter Spending @ Beating Broke.

10. The Economy of Doubt @ Canadian Finance Blog.

11. Get Free Credit Scores from GoFreeCredit.com @ One Money Design.

12. Gold Makes a Marriage? @ Well Heeled Blog.

13. How To Retire Rich – 3 Steps @ Wealth Pilgrim.

14. youngandthrifty’s Mildly Extreme Couponing @ Young and Thrifty.

15. Auto Insurance Shopping @ Buck Inspire.

Investing in Your Career is Investing in Your Wealth

By: MD | Date posted: June 02, 2011 (6:00 am)

Investing In Your CareerAs you realize that you might be in the wrong field or that you want to make more money you’re going to have to take steps towards career improvement. If you don’t take any proactive measures then you’re simply going to remain in the same position for the rest of your life. If you want to earn an MBA, you must search for the best MBA programs. If you want to switch career fields, you must search for college programs that interest you. If you want to start your own business, you need to speak with other successful people that have done so. At the end of the day, if you want to invest in your career you must understand that you’re going to do lots of research. This decision will determine how far you’ll go in improving your wealth.

Why exactly is investing in your career investing in your wealth?

You create more opportunities.

The more you learn and the more knowledge that you acquire, the more opportunities that you’ll create for yourself. This doesn’t mean that you only create more work opportunities. You also allow yourself to meet new people that could point you in many different directions. You may also realize that you have strengths and unique skills that the market demands. You’ll never find out until you take the time to invest in your career. What’s your hidden talent? What’s your maximum potential? You’ll never know until you throw yourself out there. When you throw yourself out there you’ll find that there are many new opportunities waiting for you.

You can find a more lucrative career.

Do you want to provide a better life for your family? Do you want to start a family? Do you want to pay off your debt quicker? If you answered yes to any of these then you would really enjoy the benefits of a more lucrative career. When you decide to take additional courses or find any other way to invest money in your career then you’re allowing yourself to find a more lucrative career. Why? Because you’re becoming more valuable to your organization. When you become more valuable this means that you can either move up the ranks or switch companies to find one that appreciates your talent.

You build a stronger network.

Whenever you take any new courses or step outside of your comfort zone in general you’re allowing yourself to build a stronger network. You put yourself in a position to meet new people that you never knew even existed before. I experience this all of the time. When I join a new gym I meet fitness enthusiasts that I wouldn’t have met before. When I join a new club I get to meet people that are just as passionate as the same topic as me. Simply put, when you invest in your career you’ll allow yourself to meet exciting new people, building your network in the process. Would you like to build a stronger network?

You master the art of hustling.

At one point in your life you’re going to have to hustle hard. This is why you need to learn how to moonlight your way to success. Personally speaking I go through my phases as it relates to hard work. It all depends on what’s going on at the time. The busiest that I ever was in my life was when I was in school full time, working full time hours, starting my blog, and in a serious relationship. Right now I’m hustling, but not like before. I’m working on more meaningful projects with more long term benefits. The point here is that when you start to invest more time and money into your career you’ll slowly learn how to master the art of hustling. Once you do so you’ll be well on your way towards building your wealth.

As you can tell I strongly believe that investing in your career is investing in your wealth. Have you recently invested any money into your career that benefited you greatly? Please do share with us. It’s always great to hear reader stories from those of you that have tried new things.

That concludes this series. Next week we will resume with a new a series. If you’re interest in further reading please check out some of the past posts:

How to Create Savings Habits.
Good and Bad Debts: What’s the Difference?
How to Setup Financial Goals.

(photo credit: nashvillecorps)

Health Insurance and Your Needs

By: Green Panda | Date posted: June 01, 2011 (5:00 am)

If you haven’t looked into it already, now is the time to consider getting some health insurance coverage. You don’t want to be stuck with a huge medical bill that can not only ruin your finances, but can cause you a lot of emotion stress. The good news is that there are some options to consider. You just need to look at your current needs and go from there.

Getting the Right Coverage -Mass Health Insurance?

If you have a spouse or kids, you should even more closely at the coverage your policy offers because you don’t want to be left with a huge hospital bill due to a gap in coverage. Double check the deductible that comes with the health insurance policy. If have some savings set aside, you can raise the deductible and save on the premium. However, if you don’t have any savings, a high deductible is no help for you.

Sometimes you can get solid coverage at a reasonable price by checking out group plans. Ins addition to what they may offer at your job, see if any of your professional memberships qualify you for a group discount. I even found out that if you join your state’s farm bureau (for North Carolina membership is only $25/year), you can not get health insurance, but you can also get discounts on other insurance policies. It’s not only for farmers – just check to see what qualifications are for your individual state.

Finding Health Within Your Budget

Of course the hard part when shopping around for health insurance is finding within your own budget. If you have a lapse in your premium payment, your coverage is nonexistent. If you’re tight on money, but want to have health insurance, an option you may want to consider is short term insurance. It’s typically 6 months or less and it covers a portion of ER visits.

Another option if you’re still in college is looking at being a part of your parents’ health insurance policy. While it may costs a bit of money, there’s a good chance it’ll give you the most bang for your buck. Simply take the time to budget your portion of the premium into your spending plan. If your parents can cover the expense, that’s an even better deal. Do them a favor and stay healthy, keeping their health insurance expenses low.

Thoughts on Health Insurance and You

Take your time when searching for health insurance. You want to find the best value, not the cheapest policy. I hope this information can help you make the best choice. If you have any information, please share them in the comments.  How many of you have health insurance coverage right now? How were you able to find the best deal? We can all help each other out with this important expense.

 

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