Thursday, March 1, 2012

Cheap Life Insurance: Too Good to Be True?

A life insurance contract is one of the most important contracts you will ever sign in your lifetime. Many people don't realise this, but you only have to ask a widow or widower with two or three children who has lost a breadwinning spouse in the prime of his or her life. You will most likely find this type of family unit living on welfare in a rented government home in an inner city ghetto. In contrast you can compare this family's lifestyle with one living as they always have, in the same home in a prestige location with sufficient financial support to see them through life while the children grow. Their financial plans remain unchanged and they are carrying no debt. The latter family had adequate life insurance cover on the spouse who unfortunately died. The former had none. Nothing you do will replace a lost spouse with responsibilities physically but there is much you can do to ensure your family doesn't suffer financially.

 

Term Life Insurance is the Cheapest

While accepting the need for adequate life insurance you may also be tempted to look around for the cheapest cover possible. You can look at this cost in two ways; first you can buy large amounts of cover for very little cost while young if you purchase term life insurance but secondly the cover is cheap because the life insurance underwriters have accepted your risk as being low. They are in effect betting that you will survive the term you have taken the cover out for. If they are right, and we all hope they are, you will forfeit the premiums you have paid. If they got it wrong and you died within the term you were insured for your beneficiaries would receive the full insured amount. It works much in the same way as does general insurance. For example you usually take out insurance on your home and contents on an annual basis. If your house didn't burn down during that time well and good but any insurance premiums you had paid for the cover will be forfeited to the insurance company. On the other hand if it had, the insurance company would have paid to have it rebuilt.

 

Life Insurance is Cheapest While you are Still Young

Term life insurance cover is different to general insurance in that the premiums you pay are heavily weighted towards the insured person's age. This is because insurance underwriters have determined that the younger you are the longer you are expected to live. As you get older and you feel you need to extend your cover after it has expired, you will have to take out new insurance for a fresh term at a higher cost. When you get into your sixties and seventies the cost of term insurance cover can be quite prohibitive. Therefore, it is possible to get cheap life insurance, without any catches.

 

Large Amounts of Cover When you Need it Most

Term life insurance is the type of insurance you take out to get you over the high financial responsibility periods of your life such as when you marry, buy a home, start raising children and start your own business. On each of these occasions you will need additional life insurance cover in case something was to happen to you while you were engaged in carrying out these life events. If you were to pass away for any reason whatsoever during these times, innocent people could suffer unnecessarily for many, many years, if you had neglected to financially protect them with adequate life insurance on your life. Cheap term life insurance is the ideal cover you need at these times in your life and it is term life insurance that can give it to you.

 

Importance of Competition in Life Insurance

Life insurance is different to most other commercial products that you buy in that it is a product you will wish you will never have to use despite paying for it each month. It is purely and simply a risk avoidance protection product that you can ill-afford to not have if things were to go seruously wrong. There are many companies online offering term life insurance and most of these are quite legitimate and sound business organisations but there are some that are doubtful and it is for this reason that you have to be careful to not choose such protection on the basis of price alone. Term life insurance is cheap when you consider what it offers but while nobody expects to die prematurely many of us unfortunately do. Sound life insurance companies have underwriters who have made a science out of the amount of risk the company carries with each individual person they have insured. Individuals policy holders are then grouped according to age, health, work and recreational habits. Good underwriters are able to tell the insurance company how many of those policy holders they expect will die within the term of insurance. They will not know precisely who they are, but they know a certain number will and the cost of paying out the sum insured for each one is therefore taken into account as far as costing is concerned. Then there are administrative cost to pay along with the need to build reserves and of course be profitable. If a life insurance company comes out offering too cheap a premium for a certain term of cover it should be examined thoroughly as it could be too good to be true but you will never know if it is or not. It will be your loved ones who will suffer as a result.

 

Make Sure you Research Who Your Life Insurance Company is

Over the last few years many life insurance companies have merged with one another, others have been swallowed up by larger organisation and many fly-by-nighters have entered the industry. Before you accept what you are being told make sure you do your research by finding out exactly who the company is who you wish to do business with. Read what kind of reviews they have been getting but at the same time remember that anybody can write a review and place it on the internet. It is usually safest if you stick to the well known establishments who have stood the test of time, even if you may have to pay a little more.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

When Payday Loans Are Used Properly They Turn Out to Become an Absolute Life Saver

Nowadays, cash advance loans or payday loans mainly get a lot of criticism because consumers always unfairly compare them to bank loans. Those are set up with monthly installment payments that you pay back over time. Actually, payday loan is sounds "Hey can I borrow a few pounds until my next wage day?" Which means in about one or two weeks later the full amount of money that you borrowed, plus the fee, must be paid back to the lender. It is no doubt that, if you compare those regular loans you would get at your bank with payday loans then the interest rate of the second will appear extremely high. Nevertheless, a lot of people say that comparing payday advance loans to traditional installment loans is like to compare apple and oranges. But since they are both loans actually I feel it’s more like comparing oranges to grapefruits.



Usually, the potential for a lot of consumers to get in trouble with those payday loans exists because they misuse them and keep renewing, in such way becoming dependent on them. However when payday loans are used only as they are intended, like for monetary emergencies (the car breaks down, the unexpected bills appear, etc) they turn out to become an absolute life saver. Actually, I've needed to use them in the past. My car did break down and I didn't have any other appropriate solution how to get to work and I could not afford to miss any more days. So I felt the online payday lenders can help me very much to keep my job. But I paid it off on time and didn't go back to get another one next week.



One friend of mine told sometime that he have got payday advances from time to time with the company in his neighbourhood. But the only company he did borrow money with moved their office and they are now almost one hour away from his place. He liked that payday loan office because the staff knew him. And they never asked to check his credit report. I told him that I don't think the reason that mentioned payday loan office didn't asked to check his credit before giving him the wage day advances was because they just knew my friend. Most of all direct payday lenders do not require credit checks from their applicants. All you need is to prove your identity and your ability to repay it. For this purpose your short personal and financial information, that you will be asked in the form, is enough.  



The main difference between applying for a payday loan via the Internet vs. walking into a payday loan store is, of course, convenience. Because all of the online payday loan lenders I've checked out will deposit the requested money directly in your bank account. And on the mentioned repayment date they will draft the borrowed money plus fee directly out of it. They will contact you by e-mail first. Payday loan company will give you all the necessary information about the exact amount and the exact date; you'll need to repay it. Then you make your decision whether, or not, to apply for payday advance loan.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Finance 101: Baby Expenses and Money Saving Tips

Jamie Highland writes articles and blog posts for My Baby Shower Favors, a site that sells baby shower favors and other related supplies like baby shower games. In this article, Jamie gives a few money saving tips when raising a baby.


Raising a baby is one of the biggest joys in life but it is also connected to a lot of expenditure. Many new parents understand this fact after the new family member has arrived. Dealing with baby-related expenditures can be a challenging task.

Daily expenses will certainly go up – just think about the diapers, formula, cosmetic products, clothes and the other little items that babies need. The good news is that many parents are capable of saving some money.

Saving money while raising a child requires planning and creative thinking. Here are several great ideas that will help you get started.

Milk for Babies
Formula can be very expensive. The majority of parents spend anything between 60 and 100 dollars on formula each month. This cost can add up to a significant amount over the course of a year.

Breast feeding is actually much less expensive. It comes with a number of benefits that no formula can provide. If you are incapable of breast feeding your baby, go for the powder formula, which is less expensive.

Try to get formula from a warehouse. If you buy a larger quantity, you are probably going to get a better price for it. Avoid the ready to use formulas because they tend to be the costliest option.

Disposable Diapers: 


The next big expenditure, which is incurred on a regular basis, involves the diapers. Few parents really think about it but disposable diapers can cost up to 100 dollars per month. The alternative? Eco-friendly, reusable diapers.

Cloth diapers are once again starting to gain popularity. These are easy to find in many baby stores, as well as organic stores. The cloth diaper is designed for multiple uses. It is both environmentally friendly and better for your baby’s skin.

Washing these diapers is not as difficult as many parents believe it would be. According to one mom, it is possible to save nearly 2,000 dollars by going for the multiple use cloth diaper.

Baby Clothes:

Babies grow and they are in constant need of new clothes. This is one of the most serious expenditures connected to raising a child. Parents are forced to spend up to 50 dollars on a monthly basis for new clothing items.

Gifts from family and friends are a great way to minimize clothing expenditure for some time. Next, you can ask friends whose children are already grown to provide you with some baby clothes. This option is highly advisable. The fact that a child wears a specific clothing item over a relatively short period of time signifies that the outfit will be in a very good condition.

Thrift shops and garage sales are also good options for parents that are trying to find inexpensive baby clothing. There are even baby clothing exchanges set up where you can get baby clothes from other parents worldwide.

Toys:

Parents are also likely to spend a lot on toys. As the little one grows, this expenditure is also likely to expand. Encourage the kid to play with household items. These kinds of ‘toys’ stimulate imagination and are much better than the all plastic, all technological pieces available on the market today.

Building toys together with your child will be a fun time for both of you. It is exceptionally easy to create a doll out of pieces of fabric, threads, old clothes and cotton. Using your imagination to produce something beautiful for your child will make you feel great and will help you save some money.

It is important to know that the prize of a party game can be something small, yet tremendously enjoyable. You do not have to spend a fortune on the item. Some of the best party prizes for ladies can be made at home. All it takes is some creativity and the desire to come up with something special for your friends.