Archives for September 2012

Best Ways For Young Workers To Save For Retirement

As a young adult, there will be many financial decisions that you will make over a lifetime. These decisions will determine your financial picture that will carry you through life. One of the wisest decisions you can make is to start investing while you are young. There are several ways to do this. By making the right financial choices, you can make sure you are prepared for money challenges in life.

Current retirees depend heavily on the Social Security program that subsidizes retirement income. The Social Security program is weakening every year, as there are not enough workers to contribute tax funds to support the ever-growing retiree population. It is predicted that there will no longer be funds available by the time today's young workers are ready to retire. Young workers are well-advised to make their own provisions for income after retirement.

Retirement Accounts

One of the best investment strategies is to open an IRA. An IRA or an individual retirement account allows you to save and invest during your working years and enjoy your earnings after you retire. Most young workers save with an IRA through their employer. There are, however, options available for the self-employed and young business owners.

If you own your own business or are self-employed, many banks offer the SEP-IRA (simplified employee pension) account that is great for freelancers and small businesses that hire employees.

The Power of Compound Interest

Albert Einstein once described the principle of compound interest as one of the most powerful forces in the world. While he may have been exaggerating, there is some truth to that statement. Compound interest, to put it simply, is the interest that your interest earns, month after month, year after year. If you put your money into an interest-bearing account, the money you earn in interest will also earn interest. This causes your money to snowball at a staggering rate.

One of the strongest advantages that you have is your age. A person who starts to save and invest at 20 has a distinct advantage over someone who starts at 30. The thirty-year-old would have to save almost double the amount of money of the twenty-year-old to earn the same returns at age 65. By starting when you are young, you can save less money and earn more in interest over time.

Saving now for your retirement is the best way to ensure that you will have enough money to live comfortably after your working days.

Passive Ways To Make Money: Credit Card Rewards And Swagbucks

By Melissa 1 Comment

There aren't many truly passive ways to make money, but there are ways to make money doing what you already do, and those are the methods I like to take advantage of.

One of my favorite ways is to use a credit card that offers rewards points. As long as you are paying off your balance each month, you are earning free money for something you would already do, buy things on your credit card. Using this method, I have been able to routinely give my mom free restaurant gift cards for her birthday and Christmas.

The other way I like to earn “free” money is by using Swagbucks, which I would like to discuss today.

What Is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is an Internet search engine. While it is not quite as powerful as Google, I find it meets the majority of needs. I use it almost exclusively as my search engine. Randomly, you will be awarded Swagbucks while you search the Internet. You can let these Swagbucks accrue and redeem them for gift cards, cash, and a variety of other prizes.

How to Earn Even More Swagbucks

There are many ways to earn Swagbucks, but there are several that will yield more results with less effort (my favorite way!):

Have friends join up under your referral link. Every time someone joins under your referral link, you will earn matching Swagbucks for every Swagbuck they earn up to their first 1,000 Swagbucks. If you have several friends joining under you, you will earn Swagbucks more quickly.
Look for freebie codes. Swagbucks occasionally offers freebie codes, either through their Facebook page, the app or through bloggers. Follow bloggers who use Swagbucks to learn about the freebie codes or sign up yourself to be a Swagbucks blogger. Make sure to use the app as well as you'll be notified when new codes are available.

What Can You Earn?

You can purchase anything from small kitchen appliances to posters with your Swagbucks, but my favorites are Amazon gift cards and PayPal cash.

Amazon gift cards are given in a variety of increments from as little as a $5 gift card for 450 Swagbucks to as much as a $500 gift card for 54,995 Swagbucks and everything in between.

PayPal cash can be redeemed for, again, as little as a $5 payout for 700 Swagbucks or as much as $100 for 12,549 Swagbucks. The money is automatically deposited in your PayPal account after some verification.

When you are ready to redeem, you simply enter your password again, choose your prize and redeem. Be warned though, redemption can take as long as 6 to 8 weeks, so make sure you allow yourself enough time. I once tried to redeem for an Amazon gift card for some Christmas presents. The problem? I was redeeming in early December. Now I know to plan ahead.

There aren't many places where you can get “free” money any more, but by maximizing credit card rewards and Swagbucks points, finding free money is still possible.

What is your favorite way to find “free” money?

How To Check Your Credit Report For Errors — And Get Mistakes Fixed

By Miranda Marquit Leave a Comment

Your credit history matters a great deal. From loan rates to getting some jobs, what's in your credit report can make a difference in your finances and in your life. If there is a mistake on your credit history, you could be impacted rather surprisingly. An erroneous negative item can bring down your score, and that means you could pay more in interest when you get a loan, or that you could end up losing out on some other financial opportunity, such as a better insurance rate.

Regularly check your credit report for errors, and fix mistakes that you find. That way, you stand a better chance of having an accurate score that lenders are impressed with.

Check Your Credit Report Regularly

You can get access to your free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com. You are entitled to one free report each year from each of the three major credit bureaus, as well as reports from some of the other credit reporting agencies. Get your free report, and check it over. Look for discrepancies in your payment history (very important since this is the weightiest factor), as well as other inaccuracies, such as who closed an account, and personal information. Also, make sure that all of the loans reported are actually loans you applied for. An unexpected loan that you didn't apply for could be a tip off that your identity has been stolen.

Fix Mistakes on Your Credit Report

If you find mistakes on your credit report, you need to fix them. Negative items can impact your score to an alarming degree — especially if there are multiple mistakes, or if the mistake is a major one. Here are the steps you need to take to fix a mistake on your credit report:

Contact the credit bureau in writing: Write a letter to the credit bureau, including your personal information, and the information that is inaccurate. Include a statement about what the accurate information should be. Some consumers like to enclose a copy of their report, with the offending item(s) circled in order to make it clear. If you have documentation, enclose copies (never originals) to back up your claim. Send the letter via certified mail so you can verify that the credit bureau received it.
Contact the reporting creditor: If you want to speed things along, you can do so by contacting the creditor and talking about the mistake. You can contact by phone, but sending a letter, using the same info you sent to the credit reporting agency, can help, too.
Wait for word: By law, credit reporting agencies have to investigate your dispute in a reasonable time period. Usually, the decision is made within 30 days. Wait to find out the outcome of the situation.
Take action: If you don't agree with the action, you can appeal the decision. Or, you are allowed to include a note of explanation on your credit file so that others can see your side of the story. If the credit bureau says that you are right, and agrees to change the information, double check after a couple of weeks to make sure that your credit report is now accurate.

Don't let mistakes remain in your credit report. You want to make sure that everything is properly sorted before you apply for major loans. Otherwise, you might find that you have problems with your financial transactions. Check your credit report, and fix errors, and you'll have a better chance at smooth sailing.

What Sort Of Liability Coverage Do You Have On Your Rental Car?

By Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

When I travel, I try to avoid actually renting a car. I either road trip it, or I try to stay somewhere near public transportation. However, there have been times when renting a car has been the best option. When you do rent a car, though, you need to be careful of the liability coverage involved.

If you get in an accident, you will be responsible for damage you cause to the rental vehicle, to other property, and perhaps even to injuries you cause to others. Before you rent a car, make sure you have the liability insurance coverage that you need. Here are some things take into consideration:

Coverage Offered by the Rental Car Company

Rental Car Insurance Coverage In some cases, the rental car company offers auto insurance on the cars. Some companies, like the Hertz on Demand program, offer free liability coverage. However, it's important to realize that this doesn't mean you have the coverage you need. Many free liability program only offer the state minimum on liability coverage. So, you might only be covered for a relatively small amount, like $25,000 or $50,000.

Of course, you could also pay the fee for extra coverage on the rental car. Most rental companies will sell you coverage for a flat daily rate. However, it can get a bit pricey in some cases. You'll want to see what others offer before you decide to take the rental company's liability coverage.

Rental Car Insurance from Your Credit Card

Many people don't realize that their credit cards might actually come with rental car insurance coverage. A number of credit cards offer free liability coverage for rental cars. This can be a real help for you when it comes to making sure you are protected when you drive a rental car. Once again, you need to double check the coverage limits. You are likely, though, to receive good coverage.

In order to make sure that your coverage is activated, you will need to pay the rental fee with the credit card in question. Additionally, you will need to sign the insurance waiver offered by the rental car company. When you don't get coverage through the rental company, you need to sign a document indicating that you are declining the rental car company's coverage.

Your Current Insurance Policy

You might already have rental car liability coverage through your current auto policy, and not even realize it. Contact your insurer to find out what the limits are, as well as the terms for coverage. You can also find out about an umbrella policy that can help shield you from liability issues associated with your rental car experience.

It's also possible to get what is known as a nonowner liability policy. This can allow you to have insurance when you rent a car. Check the rates for the level of coverage you want. If you frequently rent cars, it might be more cost efficient to get this separate coverage.

Review your options, as well as how often you use rental cars. You want to be able to get the best coverage for your money, and ensure that you have enough coverage to pay for issues that arise if you get in a wreck with your rental car.

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