Archive for January, 2011

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The Truth About Direct Deposit- Survey Uncovers Payment Myths

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

Despite 95 percent of Americans having heard or read about identity theft, a new survey reveals that many are unaware of the security differences between direct deposit and paper checks-placing them at greater risk for identity theft and fraud.

The survey, sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks, is the latest public service initiative of the Go Direct campaign. Go Direct aims to motivate people who receive Social Security by paper check to switch to the safer, easier option of direct deposit.

Despite the fact that direct deposit has been around for more than two decades, the survey found that four out of 10 Americans (40 percent) do not use it.

According to the Treasury, direct deposit is simply the best way to receive federal benefits. Direct deposit eliminates the risk of lost or stolen checks, reduces fraud, protects against identity theft and gives people more control over their money. Plus, direct deposit provides people with immediate access to their money from virtually everywhere.

In addition, the survey found many Americans don’t know the facts about safeguarding their money and identity. Key myths about direct deposit and paper checks are:

• MYTH: Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said a paper check with your name on it can only be cashed if you sign or endorse it.

FACT: Checks can be forged-some more easily than others. Payments that come in the mail are especially vulnerable to theft and forgery.

• MYTH: Nearly half of those polled said direct deposit of payments such as wages, salary or government benefits go through the Internet to be deposited into your account.

FACT: Direct deposit works by transferring funds directly into your account through a highly secure electronic banking system-not the Internet. It is the same system used by the world’s leading financial institutions.

• MYTH: Nearly 40 percent of respondents replied false to the statement, “No direct deposit has ever been lost or stolen.”

FACT: The direct deposit system creates records of transactions so payments can be traced, and that means problems-although very rare-are quickly fixed. It’s also a fact that you are 30 times more likely to have a problem with a check than with direct deposit. In 2004, more than 70,000 checks issued by the Treasury fell prey to endorsement forg-eries. These checks totaled more than $61 million.

These are all reasons why the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks are encouraging people who receive Social Security and other federal benefits to use direct deposit-the safest, easiest way to get payments. With direct deposit, people can be confident their payment will be in their savings or checking account on their payment day-on time, every time.

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Opening US Bank Account For Non Resident Aliens

Friday, January 28th, 2011

NRA or Non Residents Alien is a widely used term, which refers to the non-US citizens, having no residential base in the country. It is generally put in to the use by the countrys banking sector. Why does a NRA require a US account? Lets try and analyze the various benefits that everyone around the globe can extract from a US account.

With emerging trends and the Internet boon, everything seems to be happening online. Whether you are a small free-lancer or big exporter of goods, your entire transactions are possibly going to be online. Whatever be size of your business you cant escape the fact that there is big drift of trade towards the Internet. And its evitable that with the US currency being the currency with the maximum reach, you should also have an easy to handle place to trade in the same. A US account is what you really should opt for. Let me list some unique benefits that a US account offers.

1.Savings on Tax: The amount of strictness that US ensures as far as protecting its people is concerned is great but despite of that when it comes to the Tax laws of NRAs the laws are such that you would end up saving a lot on your taxes. If you open the same international account in some other country you would end up give a lot more tax. So this is one important and solid benefit.

2.No Physical Presence: An account in a US bank usually comes fully loaded with a huge amount of solid services. There is a lot of support for online transactions and this in turn makes physical presence not a necessary requirement. You can handle all the functions of your account from the comforts of your home or office.

3.Reference: This is a very interesting point and not many people know about it as well. There are some nations in which it is impossible to open an account directly. But after having been the customer of a US bank for six months or so you can easily ask your bank to refer you to other banks in other nations including these nations. And this makes way for you being able to open accounts at even other places via the US route.

4.Safe: Your money in the US bank is safe. I have friends who are webmasters and who have used other systems, which accept money online. One of them recently lost around $3000 with such an online system, as the system simply froze his account. In another instance one of my other contacts was charged so much as charge back money that he lost a sum of around $2400 just like that. And this is not limited to these to instances only. Once your business starts flourishing and you start earning a good amount of money, you would realize that you require something much better and more reliable than these online systems. And a merchant account in a US bank is the best solution for you.

5.The stringent laws of US banking sector almost made it impossible to open the accounts for NRAs. However the things are not that grueling anymore; though it would be incorrect to call the procedure easy and simple going. The things are still complex and complicated. However the best solution that I found after a lot of research on the website, rather an online guide: http://www.non-us-bank-account.com. It is a complete step-by-step procedure, which teaches you how to open a US bank account as an NRA.

I feel the importance of a US account for a NRA is now quite evident and the fact that it shall really help you grow your client base. So dont waste you time, act now and go for a US bank account.

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Is FSBO For You?

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Selling your home yourself can save you thousands of dollars in commissions. However, that doesnt mean you should necessarily do it for the following reasons:

Demanding Work

Selling your home yourself is demanding. What if you spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and concentration in your business or profession? What if you have to travel a lot? Entertain a lot? Invest long hours? Do a great deal of study reading just to stay as good at your work tomorrow as you were today? People whose work life includes those sorts of demands probably dont need another project that requires time and attention.

My suggestion is that if your work is exhilarating, challenging, and consumes large amounts of time, you will probably be better off working with a Realtor. Take the time when you first put your home on the market to interview an agent or two. Ask how they market their listings. Ask if they keep their clients informed about the status of their propertys marketing. Ask for references. When you find one you feel can and will do a good job for you, sign a listing agreement. A good agent can give you sound advice and save you a ton of time.

Inexperience

You are probably a good candidate for working with an agent if you have never bought or sold a home before. The same thing is true if it has been a number of years since the last time you bought or sold. Ditto if you have not bought or sold a home in this part of the county before. People who work for settlement agents, lenders, and the like are probably exceptions to these general ideas about who shouldnt go FSBO. You can get experience if you work in the industry without actually buying or selling your own home frequently.

Older people are usually better off working with an agent. A typical situation is that they have owned their home for a number of years. The home has appreciated often more than the owner realizes. The owner now wants to buy something all on one level in a community in which the exterior and grounds maintenance chores are handled by an association. They need to sell one home and buy another. Its often also desirable if they can add to their savings from the sale, and have the operating expenses of the new home be lower than the old. The idea of making a big change and the multiplicity of accompanying concerns is daunting. A good agent can make a world of difference.

If either of these situations describe you or your situation, going FSBO is probably not for you.

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Term Life Insurance – Save Money the Smart Way

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Term life insurance is the easiest type of life insurance to understand. To put it simply, the insured person pays a minimal premium per thousand dollars of coverage on an annual, semi annual, quarterly or monthly basis. If he or she dies within the term of the policy, the life insurance company will pay the beneficiary the face value of the policy.

Distinctive Features of Term Life Insurance

To better understand some of the distinctive features of term life insurance consider the following points:

First, term life insurance is “pure insurance” because when you purchase a term insurance policy you are only buying a “death benefit”. Unlike with other types of “permanent insurance” such as whole life, universal life, and variable universal life, there is no additional cash value built up with this kind of policy. Term insurance only gives you a specific death benefit.

Second, the coverage is for a defined period of time (the “term”) such as 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and so on. Once the policy is in force, it only remains in force until the end of the term — assuming you pay the premiums, of course.

Third, most term insurance policies are renewable at the end of the term. With what is known as “Level Term Life Insurance”, the death benefit remains the same throughout the term of the policy, but since the insured person is getting older, the premium will gradually increase. As time goes by the cost of a level term insurance policy may become greater than you are willing to pay for a simple death benefit. An alternative is the “Decreasing Term Life Insurance” policy in which the premium remains the same, but the death benefit goes down as time goes by.

Fourth, most term policies can be converted to permanent policies within a specific number of years. If you decide it is important to retain the insurance coverage, converting may be something you should plan for. You can anticipate the accelerating cost of term insurance premiums and convert your policy before the premiums become prohibitively high. It is true that in the short term the premium will usually be higher than if you stayed with the term policy. But over the long term this difference will decrease because of the rapid acceleration of the term insurance premium as you get older. A permanent policy also accumulates cash value which increases the total death benefit paid to your beneficiary.

Popular Uses of Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is most appropriate whenever you want to protect your beneficiaries from a sudden financial burden as the result of your death. Here are some of the most common uses of term life insurance.

Personal Costs Due to Death – When a spouse or family member dies there will be immediate costs. Many people purchase a relatively small term life insurance policy to cover these costs.

Mortgage Insurance – Banks and financial institutions often insist that mortgage holders retain a term life insurance policy sufficient to pay out their mortgage. Such policies make the bank the beneficiary of the policy. If the mortgage holder should happen to die before the mortgage is paid off, the insurance policy will pay it out. This is also a great benefit to a spouse whose earning power will likely be decreased due to the death of his or her partner.

Business Partner Insurance – Term insurance is also used by business people to cover outstanding loans with their bank, or to purchase a deceased partner’s shares on death, if they had an agreement to do so. Most partnerships have an agreement of this sort, and the policy premiums are paid by the business.

Key Person Insurance – When a company loses key individuals due to death, this can often result in hardship to the company. Key person insurance is purchased by the company for any individual it deems to be “key”. The company itself is made the beneficiary of the policy. So when a “key” person dies, the company receives a cash injection to handle the problems associated with replacing that person.

Getting a Term Life Insurance Quote

Here are some things to look for when getting a quote for term life insurance:

1. The cheapest rate today will not be the cheapest rate tomorrow. For instance, the cheapest premium today will likely be for a Yearly Renewable Term policy. This policy is renewed every year at which time your premium is also adjusted upwards. This is fine if you intend to convert to a longer term solution (permanent insurance) in a year or two, or if you have a very short term requirement for insurance. But if you think you will need this insurance for a longer period, you would be better to commit to something like a Ten Year Term Policy. This locks your premium and death benefit in for ten years. Your rates will not increase until you renew.

2. Compare coverage and premium projections for different policies. Think about the long term and get the coverage that saves you money in the long run.

3. Make sure you completely understand the conversion options built into the different policies you are considering. Most policies will let you convert part or all of your term insurance into permanent insurance within a specific period of time, and without the need of a medical examination.

4. For some situations you should consider options such as Decreasing Term Life Insurance in which the death benefit decreases as time goes by. This makes sense if the policy is being used to cover a mortgage or business loan.

Term life insurance is not the answer to all life insurance requirements, but it should be part of a sound plan for every person’s financial future.

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Starting Young: Teaching Teens to Save Money

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Parents mostly complain that teenagers do not listen to them. The opposite is true when it comes to advice regarding ‘money matters’. Teens actually welcome their parents input about their finances.

In the past few years, teenagers have earned billions of dollars with part-time and summer jobs.

Some have spent most of what they earned, while others saved most or even all of it for a big purchase, or for their college education.

Kids these days are becoming more and more aware of their family’s source of income and financial status. They apply these money-spending principles when they venture out on their own.

Thus, it becomes more of a parents responsibility to start training their teenage kids to use their money wisely.

Here are some ways on how you, as a parent, can teach your teens to save those hard-earned bucks:

1. Lead by example.

With your lifestyle, the children will see how you spend your money.

If they see you allotting a certain amount for a specific household need, they will eventually do the same when they get to earn their own keep.

2. Help your teens get a bank account.

Establishing a bank account under their name would give them an instant financial responsibility.

Sit down and explain to them how to manage their own account, and the rewards that they get once they save enough.

Their savings could go to their college tuition, or a big purchase like a car.

Additionally, it gives them a sense of accomplishment once they have saved up, with something concrete to show for it.

You may check out the special benefits that banks offer for teens who open their accounts at such an early age.

3. Construct a spending plan.

Once they hear the word ‘budget’, teens tend to cringe at the mere thought of having to restrict the spending of their money.

Instead, you and your teen son or daughter could build a spending plan. This would get them excited, and think of ways on how they can wisely spend their savings.

Also, have them list down their earnings versus their expenses.

Let them know the difference between the items that they need and the luxury items that they want, which they can actually do without.

4. Make a mock investment in the stock market.

Make them aware of the options that they have financially.

Casually introduce to them the business part of your daily newspapers and have them make mock investments for companies who manufactures products that they like.

Monitor the stocks together and this would give them another option of investing their money in the future.

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The Simple $10 Debt Elimination Solution

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Ask a friend what resolutions they made for the new year and your bound to hear them reply Pay off my credit cards. Ask them how they planned on reaching that goal and many of them will not have a clear cut answer.

The obvious first step to paying off credit card debt or paying down credit debt load is to cut back or eliminate the use of your credit cards. For some people this first step can often be the most difficult. If youre used to spending freely with plastic and worrying about the consequences later, its difficult to break free from this buy now, pay later attitude.

To gain control of their careless credit card spending habits, some people cut up their credit cards therefore making it impossible to use them. Others lock up their credit cards or hide them in a safe place and vow to use them only in an emergency.

The second step to paying down credit debt is to pay more than the minimum balance due. Most credit card companies require a minimum monthly payment of 2.5% of the outstanding balance. For example, if you have an outstanding balance of $1100.00 on a credit card charging an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 18.9% your minimum monthly payment would be $27.50. It will take you 66 months or 5.5 years to pay off your balance of $1100.00 making the minimum payments. The credit card company will make $676.94 in interest from your use of their credit card.

Monthly payments are purposely kept low by the credit card companies so that they can earn as much as possible from the interest rate charged to you the consumer. Paying just the minimum payment will keep you tangled in credits web for years and years to come.

If youve been paying only the minimum due month after month, ask yourself this question, Do I have an extra $10.00 I could apply to this months payment? Im sure that most of us could find some way to come up with an extra $10.00 for the month. Try cutting out a few cups of coffee or lunches at your nearby fast food outlets and in no time flat youll have saved up the extra money that you need.

Now, its time to unveil The Simple $10.00 Debt Elimination Solution. Take that extra $10.00 and add it to the minimum monthly payment above, therefore making a payment of $37.50. By adding just that $10.00 a month to your minimum payment, youll trim 23 months or nearly two years off of that credit debt! On top of that youll save $277.00 in interest alone! Thats money you can put toward savings or paying off other debts. Imagine how much youd be able to save if you applied this same simple strategy to each of your other credit card debts!

Paying down credit debt doesnt always mean having to make huge monthly payments or sacrifices. It just takes some basic planning and a simple effective strategy to make it work.

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No Fret Family Budget

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

For some, the idea of a budget is often a blur. It is frustrating to see how hard it is to do a budget and realizing that with one wrong purchase, you can actually ruin the entire thing. And this has been a perennial headache for most homemakers.

It is about time to overhaul the way people look at budgeting. It can actually be a great way to keep track of your family’s expenditures and help you evaluate the things that you spend the lion’s share of the family’s earnings on.

What is a budget? A budget is a tool for handling your finances by controlling the family’s expenditures in a way that money is enough for paying up bills, and still ensuring that savings are set aside for future expenses – vacations, or children’s education, or even for retirement.

Try these simple steps in preparing a no fret family budget, and see the benefits of intelligent spending.

1. Gather three months of your pay stubs and get your average monthly earnings.

2. Get out three months of your monthly bills. Do this for the fixed expenses like the rent, phone bill, car payments and other loans that come monthly. Add them up and get the average. Do the same for other expenses like groceries, and credit card bills.

3. Evaluate the results of your computations. Looking at your average monthly earnings against your monthly fixed expenses and other monthly expenses, think of some ways to economize. Cut back on some items that are somehow unnecessary.

4. Knowing the facts of your income and expenses, develop a family budget and try to stick to this monthly budget.

5. Now that you have a monthly budget, set up a savings account. Save up by making regular deposits to this account.

6. Keep track of this monthly family budget just to see if it is working for you. Try to fine-tune the “rough edges” of this budget as you go along.

7. If you can get hold of a personal budgeting software or spreadsheet application to keep record of your budget, the better. This will make organizing your expenses very easy.

These are the basic steps in developing and implementing a no fret, easy to stick to monthly family budget. Of course each family has diverse needs and wants. You have the freedom to develop your own monthly family budget, depending on your familys financial background and needs. No matter how you do it, just focus on the end result, which is building a savings that leads to a bright and financially stable future for your family.

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open an online savings account today

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Open an Online Savings Account
With the popularity of the internet many financial institutions are beginning to see that they can offer their customers many different options. There are several financial institutions that have decided that they can give their customers more services because they have cut their overheads by operating completely online. Using an online bank is often times much better than using your local banking branch, and when you open an online savings account you will find that the fees are much less and the interest rate is much higher which puts extra money in your pocket.
One of the first questions or concerns that many consumers have is when you open an online savings account is your money safe? The answer is yes; if they are FDIC insured that means that your money in an online savings account is insured by the federal government just as it would be in your local bank. It also has the limits of $100,000 per depositor.

The next question is usually how do I actually open an online savings account? It is very easy, you go online and decide which banking institution you would like to use. They will then have an application to fill out which will include all your personal information. Once you submit the application they will then print it all out and mail it to you to be signed.

When they mail your application anyone that will be a signer on the account will have to sign the application and signature card in the appropriate places. They will then ask you to include a photocopy of all the signers’ driver licenses. This is due to the changes in bank laws after 9/11. At this time you will then include your deposit, and as with any transaction done through the mail, do not send cash.
Once they have received your deposit they will send you your checks or debit cards to access your savings account. Most of the online banks give you one or two free times to use an ATM machine to access your funds without charging you a fee, check the terms and details of your account to make sure.

Depositing money is also a question that most people have with online savings account. You can deposit your money three ways. First you can mail in a check for deposit, make sure it is indorsed “for deposit only” and mail it certified. You can also have money direct deposited from your employer; just fill out the proper forms that your employer will give you. Next you can transfer money online from any other banking account, there is usually a limit of how much you can transfer and the bank you are taking the money from usually charges a fee.

If you want to save and earn a higher interest rate then your local bank can offer, open an online savings account. Your money is safe, easy to access and will earn you a higher rate of interest and accrue fewer fees than with a standard local bank.

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Supermarket Smart Cart

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

We ‘check out’ latest supermarket smart cart.

Phil Lempert (The Supermarket Guru) test-drives the Stop & Shop’s “Shopping Buddy”, a grocery chains attempt to eliminate the annoying check-out line.

Its a fact : most supermarket shoppers love going to the supermarket finding new products, tasting free samples and finding bargains spending money.

But then it comes time to check out.

Having enjoyed the displays and the picking-out of items, they are then faced with the task of taking their selections, putting them on a conveyor and then putting them back in their cart.

And, usually, of having to wait in line for such a dubious privilege.

Yes, dealing with the supermarket check-out line including the horror of having kids screaming for the candy conveniently placed there by profit-hungry conglomerates is among the least popular chores, according to many surveys. And while many supermarkets have installed self-checkout lanes, only a third of consumers, according to a ACNielsen Homescan (the global leader in market research, information and analysis.) consumer panel of over 61,000 Americans, believe this kind of help-yourself method is no way near a solution.

Plainly, supermarkets need to figure out better ways to check out. And many of them are trying to come up with an answer.

One chain in particular, Stop & Shop, a chain based in the Boston area, is seeking to change the whole way we shop for groceries including the dreaded check-out lane.

To find out more, I traveled to Braintree, Mass., to, um, check out Stop & Shops Shopping Buddy. I also looked at IBMs Everywhere Display, a new in-store tool for marketing products to consumers.

The Shopping Buddy

Shopping Buddy can help you organize your shopping trip and save money! The Shopping Buddy is a small tablet that you activate with your Stop & Shop card. Once activated, the Shopping Buddy displays your personal savings coupons and shopping history by aisle, based on your location. It’s easy to see the things that you normally buy that are on sale in each aisle. You can also use Buddy to:

* Keep a running total of today’s purchases
* Order deli without waiting in line
* Scan and bag your items as you shop for quick checkout

Shopping Buddy is only available in the Braintree, Quincy Southern Artery, Kingston and Plymouth Massachusetts stores.

The IBM Everywhere Display

This transforms any surface into a virtual interactive touch screen computer. Next to an item on the grocery store shelf the Everywhere Display can give you information about the item including videos and web based information. It can tell you if an item is in stock and if not you can then and there place a special order for it. Of course, promotional savings are attached to these displays as well.
So, when will every store in America be as easy and fun to shop?

The Shopping Buddy is available in 20 stores in New England now and we will see another 150 installations in both Stop & Shop and its sister chain Giant (Washington DC area) by the end of 2005.

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Is credit card debt consolidation for me?

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

With the average Australian household credit card debt rising to almost $10,000, credit card debt consolidation is big business today. The popularity of credit card debt consolidation is evident by the numerous methods as well as the large number of firms providing credit card debt consolidation services. However, all credit card debt consolidation methods work differently, and depending upon your own financial situation and the amount of your debt, you should choose the credit card debt consolidation method that works optimally for you.

There are numerous credit card debt consolidation options available for the average debtor. If you are not already neck-deep into debt, then the best method for paying it off is to consolidate using credit cards. Credit card companies offer many different options for people who use this method of credit card debt consolidation. Many companies offer a 0 interest rate.

The advantage of using this kind of credit card debt consolidation method is that you end up saving the sky high interest that you were paying on your earlier credit card. This way, whatever you spend on paying off your credit card balance goes directly towards reducing your principal instead of being wasted on interest payments. However, this method of credit card debt consolidation works only for people who are regular and disciplined about paying off their credit card balance on time.

One thing that you need to keep in mind is that, no matter what, you are consolidating with a credit card! So, in case you delay your monthly payments, you will have to pay back your balance with a much higher rate of interest than what you were probably paying on your earlier credit card. While generally credit card debt consolidation schemes start with a 0% APR, the rate of interest shoots up steeply once the introductory period is over and you may end up paying more than you would have originally. If you want to become debt free this way, then remember that strict discipline and thoughtful planning are the cornerstones of credit card debt consolidation through balance transfers.

In case you feel you are not disciplined enough to always pay off the balance on your new card on time, then consolidation through credit card may not be the best option for you. In such cases, you should try exploring credit card debt consolidation loans. You can write off your entire credit card debt using the payment from a credit card debt consolidation loan. And the best part is that these loans are available at a much lower interest rate than what your average credit card company charges.

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