Family Finances Video
If you have a minute, watch this video for some great money saving tips to help out your family budget during this difficult economic time. Please be patient while the video loads… it may take a couple of seconds, depending on your connection speed.
We also have excellent market commentary from INO.com president and MarketClub co-founder Adam Hewison. Adam shares his decades of trading and investing knowledge LIVE every weekday through his afternoon market updates. See investing information videos at Financial Trend Forecaster.
Tips For Obtaining Extra Funds in Retirement
The Good Old Days are Gone
Years ago when a person hired into a job it was generally until the age of retirement, 30+ years. Companies gave pensions to workers to encourage longevity with the company. The retiree had a 401K, CD’s paying 15%, stock and bonds, and other high interest savings accounts. At retirement they lived off of monthly interest, in addition to Social Security. Retirees also had health, dental and vision insurance through that company until the day they died. People had their homes paid for by the time they retired. Read the rest of this entry »
8 Solid Ways to Insure Your Family for Less
Everyone knows that insurance can be quite expensive, especially if you have a whole family to insure. With all the different types of insurance out there, it can be hard to know how to get the quality insurance your family needs for less money. Fortunately there are some things you can do to make insurance less of a financial burden. The following are 8 solid ways you can insure your family for less. Read the rest of this entry »
4 Low-Cost Tricks to Promote Your Small Business More Effectively
By Tim Brown
Unless you promote your business, there is hardly a chance of it succeeding. Running your business effectively requires that you promote it effectively. One way to do that is by hiring professionals to do the job. However, you may be on a tight budget. In that case, here are some low cost steps to market your business. Remember, effective promotions lead to higher profits.
1. Employing Social Media
Expand your business through social media. Interactive marketing in the US will hit nearly
$55 billion by 2014. Social media is expected to increase to $3.1 billion by 2014. Social marketing
is a top priority for 45% of senior marketers. Companies are adopting social media tools such
as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to effectively market their business. Every company must
participate in social media to stay competitive. The web and social media have transformed the
communication process for the marketers. The opportunities presented with this faster means of
communication should be availed by the marketers to accelerate the market acceptance of their
businesses. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t Give Up On Those New Year’s Resolutions Yet
After a week or two of the New Year, many of us are starting to wonder why we ever vowed to those resolutions in the first place. Sure we want to get our spending under control or shed a few extra pounds, but these goals require lifestyle changes that aren’t always the easiest to make. However, throwing in the towel on those New Year’s resolutions may sabotage you in more way than one.
In addition to improving your health or overall mental well-being, several New Year’s resolutions will also help you get a better hold on your finances, especially if they are one of the following: Read the rest of this entry »
How Expensive It Is To Bring Up A Child In The US?
With the current economic meltdown and post recession hangover, the cost of almost everything has been increasing by leaps and bounds.And the cost of child care is no exception. The latest updates of Department of Agriculture (USA) claims the cost of raising a child has been amplified ten times since 1960. In fact for a family with an average income, the cost of child rearing ranges between $11,650 and $13,530 each year. If you are a new parent and feeling worried how to deal with the overwhelming cost of child rising, the following points can help you. As a parent, you may feel like it is always necessary to provide your children with the best products but remember, to keep your finances in the right order, you have to take some strict steps sometimes. Read on to know some frugal tips which can make your task of parenting/ raising children less expensive. Read the rest of this entry »
Making Financial Resolutions for the New Year
Christmas has past and the new year is upon us. It’s a great time for some personal reflection. First, look back and think about last year. Did you have a good year? A worthwhile one? Did you treat people well and appreciate your family? Did you enjoy yourself? Did you conduct your finances in a responsible manner? Certainly, there are many questions you can ask.
Next, once you’ve reflected back, it’s now time to look ahead to the new year. With your goals for the next year and with your assessment of the past in mind, make a list of resolutions that you hope to achieve over the next twelve months. They can be personal or work-related. They can be collective goals for your whole family. What matters is that these resolutions establish objectives and guidelines for the upcoming year. Read the rest of this entry »
The Importance of Reviewing your Beneficiary Designations in Estate Planning
Naming specific beneficiaries for your assets is a great way to direct wealth to specific persons, trusts or organizations without going through the potentially, long and costly
probate process. Assets of this nature are often referred to as “controlled assets” because upon death these assets are automatically directed to the named beneficiary before the probate process begins. It is important to mention that drafted Wills of Last Testament are first reviewed by the court system during the probate process. Thus, assets with a beneficiary designation are excluded from any bequests in the will. Worded differently, these assets will not make up the property available to distribute according to the wishes stated in the Will of Last Testament. Problem? For some people; Yes.
If you are making very specific bequests in your wills pay close attention to Read the rest of this entry »
Appliances That Bump Up Your Electricity Bill
Do you know how much do you pay for your electricity every month?
Most of us don’t always take a good look at our utility bills, preferring to pay the amount due without so much as a perfunctory glance at the numbers that reflect our consumption pattern. This bad habit prevents us from knowing where and how to start cutting down our electricity costs effectively.
So if you’re really serious about reducing your electricity bills and conserving the planet’s energy reserves for that matter, take a look at the power consumption labels on your home appliances. It will give you a clue as to how you can take a step towards wise energy use. At the same time, you will also know which appliances you need to replace with newer, more energy-efficient models or to repair for better performance.
Power consumption is measured in kilowatt-hours, the same reading that your electric meter uses to measure how much electricity you’ve used up in a month. 1,000 watts = 1 Kilowatt. Running a 1 KW appliance for 1 hour uses 1KWh (kilowatt-hour).
Some of the appliances that are most notorious for being power monsters are:
Don’t Throw Out Old Appliances, Save Money By Fixing Them!
If a key home appliance fails then it can be very costly to replace, but you don’t want the dirty laundry piling up because the washing machine isn’t working. There is a simple alternative to buying a replacement that can save you a lot of money.
Every year thousands of repairable home appliances are being thrown out due to minor faults. Many common faults with domestic appliances can be easily fixed, but people are often put off attempting a repair as they don’t know how to find out what’s causing the problem and what needs to be done to correct it. However, fixing your own appliances needn’t be a major headache and most spare parts are simple to fit, with some just clipping or pushing into place.
Where as a new stove or washing machine can cost hundreds, the majority of spare parts will only set you back a fraction of this cost. There are three main barriers to do-it-yourself appliance repairs, but the answers are usually easier to find than you may think. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Are We Working Harder For Less?
These days, the standard for most Americans is to work harder and harder at work everyday. Between bosses pushing us to the absolute limit and increased expectations from clients and customers, it seems like there is no room for failure. Everyone is being asked to do more work in the guise of a bad economy. All of our manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas and the ones that remain in this country are demanding to say the least.
A recent article on CNN illustrates that men at the age of 25 are earning 10 cents less per dollar today than their counterparts in 1980. Because of a lack of jobs, people are more grateful to keep the ones they have and will do some menial tasks in order to please their employers. But is the economy the only reason we are struggling to make ends meet? If you take a step back and analyze some of your purchasing habits you can probably invest, shop, and save smarter. All you need to do is take a time out to analyze the situation. Read the rest of this entry »
