50 Plus Finance

Saturday, October 13, 2012

5 Facts on Life Insurance for Over 50's

Life insurance for those in their 20's, 30's, and 40's is very inexpensive. On average, you would pay less than $300 per year for coverage up to $250,000. The cost of term life insurance has really come down over the years benefiting many families.

But as we get older the costs of insurance naturally rise because the likelihood of the insurance companies paying off rises. Here are a few facts to keep in mind when shopping for over 50 life insurance.

1. Life insurance for those over 50 is generally offered as a whole life policy. It will insure you until you pass away, as opposed to term coverage which will only cover you if you pass away within the time period that the policy is in force.

2. According to the statistics, life expectancies have increased, Americans, in general, live longer than they did ten years ago. As a result of the greater life spans, many leading insurers are lowering their rates.

They offer insurance policies to older folks too. Where we may relate term insurance with young adults, it is not difficult for a pretty healthy 50 year old individual to get a 10, 20, or even 30 year term insurance policy!

3. Because people are living longer, insurance providers are more than happy to extend insurance coverage. While a 50 year old individual may have some difficulty finding a 30 year policy, they can certainly find 10 – 15 year term coverage.

They can also look for permanent coverage like a whole life policy. This can be a significant part of your financial strategy. There are other purposes of policies for older individuals as well, such as Estate Planning, tax planning, etc.

4. Buying insurance coverage for individuals over 50 has been made simpler by online services in America. These days, choosing life insurance for your family is easy, thanks to how simple it is to get quotes from top insurance agencies in the United States.

The quotes cost nothing, and they can be seen within a few moments. In the past, getting insurance was complex and time-consuming. The whole process of attempting to search through rates and details from different firms was daunting and complex.

Websites have made this process simpler. By answering a couple of questions, you are able to get free quotes from legitimate insurance providers.

5. One benefit of whole life insurance for over 50′s is that they have predetermined (fixed) premiums, so you don’t need to worry about the policy getting more costly as you get older.

But this implies that policy benefit payment will not rise in accordance with inflation either, thus it could leave your loved ones with less purchasing power than you had anticipated.

As a general rule never go with your first over 50 life insurance quotes, always compare insurance company benefits and their life insurance premium before you make a decision in getting life insurance.

Related articles
Life Insurance & Its Role in Human Life (50plusfinance.com)
Do Baby Boomers Still Need Life Insurance? (50plusfinance.com)
Picking The Right Insurance Company (50plusfinance.com)
Adding Your Children Onto Your Insurance Policy: Pros and Cons (50plusfinance.com)

Friday, October 12, 2012

Call Center Communication Made Easy

The gas company serving this area brought their call center back to Phoenix from India last year after numerous customer complaints. What a difference now when you call them. Plus it also created 300 jobs. They were so bad that when India answered I couldn't even understand them or be understood. I'd simply ask to be transferred to a supervisor in the U.S. and they would comply. Now that I know it is the law - I will do it for sure anytime you call an 800 number for a credit card, banking, Verizon, health and other insurance, computer help desk, etc.

If you find that you're talking to a foreign customer service representative and you do not understand the person you are talking to, please consider doing the following:

After you connect and you realize that the customer service representative is not from the U.S.A. (you can always ask if you are not sure about the accent), please, very politely (this is not about trashing other cultures) say, “ I'd like to speak to a customer service representative in the United States of America.“

The rep might suggest talking to his/her manager, but, again, politely say, “Thank you, but I'd like to speak to a customer service representative in the U.S.A.“ You will be immediately connected to a rep in the U.S.A. That’s the rule and the law. It takes less than one minute to have your call redirected to the USA. Tonight when I got redirected to a U.S. rep, I asked again to make sure - and yes, she was from Fort Lauderdale.

Imagine what would happen if every US citizen insisted on talking to only U.S. phone reps from this day on. Imagine how that would ultimately impact the number of U.S. jobs that would need to be created ASAP. If I tell all my friends to consider this and you tell all your friends to consider doing this - see what I mean... it becomes an exercise in viral marketing 101.

Remember - the goal here is to restore jobs back here at home - not to be abrupt or rude to a foreign phone representative. You may even get correct answers, good advice. and solutions to your problem - in real English.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Receiving Payments for Your Blog Business

English: First 4 digits of a credit card

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the reasons why people create a blog is to make money from it. There are several different methods that you can employ to earn money from your blog. The amount that you make will mostly depend on how many people actively visit your blog every day.

Putting Ads on Your Blog

This is done by many bloggers and is one of the quickest ways of starting to make money from a blog. The simplest way involves signing up to an advertising network, such as Google Adsense and inserting their ad codes into your blog. When a user visits the site, he will be shown the ads, which can be either text ads, banner ads, or in some cases video ads.

Usually you will get paid a few cents every time someone clicks on one of the ads. Alternatively, you can get paid on a CPM (Cost Per Mille) basis, where you get paid a fixed rate for every thousand visitors that see the ad, regardless of whether they click on it or not. With some advertising networks, it is possible to "rent" advertising space on your blog. This allows you to get paid a fixed rate for that advertising spot per day, week or month.

Selling Merchandise Through Your Blog

You may use your blog to promote your own items that you would then ship to buyers. This can be a very efficient way of selling certain types of merchandise online, as your blog will give you a place where you can explain how your products work as well as the benefits that they would bring to the buyer.

If you're selling items online, you will need to use a service that allows you to process credit card transactions and receive payments. PayPal is an online wallet service that is extremely popular among bloggers. The user can pay by credit card, bank account or from their PayPal balance. You will then receive the payment, minus a small processing charge for each transaction. Even though PayPal is the most popular option, there are other services that you can use as well, such as Moneybookers.

If you're making a lot of credit card sales through your blog, you can contact a financial institution to sign up for a merchant account. Here's a clever way to find out which merchant account fits you best , for example: bettermerchantaccounts.com/what-to-look-for-in-a-merchant-account-provider.

In this case, the money from your sales will be deposited directly into your bank account. Fees charged on each transaction vary from one financial institution to the other. However, you should know that merchant accounts have specific requirements associated with them and are more difficult to obtain than simply opening up a PayPal account. You would usually need to have a registered business, as well as make a relatively large amount of money in sales each month to qualify for a merchant account.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Free Online Business Courses Helping with Personal Finance

Finance (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

There are few things more daunting in our personal lives than the concepts of personal finance, financial responsibility, and preparing for retirement. Money matters are almost always a drag. Whether you're 20-something and just graduated from college or you're 55 and edging on retirement, a little guidance when it comes to finances can be extremely useful. Truly understanding personal finance and retirement planning will most likely take a bit more effort than just reading a few blog posts or "how to" books on the topic. Take the time to really invest in your financial future by educating yourself as carefully and thoroughly as possible on financial matters. As technology grows and expands, we have more and more access to useful information and resources. Use these three online business open courseware classes for free to learn more about personal finances and money management.

Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning- University of California Irvine

This online class is offered by the University of California in Irvine and takes a careful look at financial planning. While this class certainly shouldn't replace a professional financial planner if you need one, it can be extremely useful in getting individuals started on the path of financial planning. Students can take the class for free online to gain an understanding of financial planning in the broadest sense. Students will learn to manage all aspects of a person and family's financial affairs. This starts with exploring family spending planning and extends to looking at risk management with insurance, taxes, wealth accumulation, investing, and wealth distribution in retirement and estate planning. This online course is a great stepping off point for beginners of any age to delve into the world of financial planning and management.

Introduction to Financial and Managerial Accounting- MIT

This course is presented by open courseware-great MIT and the Sloan School of Management. As an introductory course, this business class tackles the sometimes confusing topic of accounting. Students will study the basic concepts of financial and managerial reporting in this online course. You will explore topics like the accounting process, statement of cash flow, balancing and recording transactions, long-term assets/depreciation, and much more. While some of this material may be more advanced than is necessary for personal finance needs, the course can still be very worthwhile for the average individual.

Statistical Thinking and Data Analysis- MIT

Another course offered by the MIT Sloan School of Management, this course explores the topics of statistics and data analysis. Again, this course may look into several topics that are more advanced than the average person might need, there are many things to take away from the course. Students will look at topics on applied probability, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, linear regression, analysis of variance, and much more. Learning these areas of statistics and data analysis can help with understanding your money use and future prospects. Students have access to lecture notes, exams and solution, and assignments with solutions. Follow the class completely or pick and choose through the topics that you are truly interested in learning and you think can help your financial planning and personal finances.

Karen Smith is a devoted freelance writer and business blogger. Her primary goal as a blogger is to inform her readers about pursuing a business degree online. She also enjoys writing about small business trends, Internet marketing, personal development, and sustainable living. Karen welcomes your comments below!

Pages