What Is a Life Insurance Cash Surrender Value?

One of the most crucial features people look at permanent life insurance is the cash value it has. In most scenarios people who purchase the life insurance are not aware of the cash value substantially because it takes time to grow to a large amount, moreover, in some cases cash values that accumulate to a substantial amount can be used as additional leverage for other purposes. The public is unaware of the potential consequences of mishandling the cash surrender value. But when there is an substantial cash value and the policy holder decides they want to exit the policy then the cash value can be obtained. Because this activity is mainly engaged by elderly policy holders it's called senior settlements.

Facts behind cash surrender value

The monthly premium payment paid by the life insurance policyholder is divided by what is called the carrier. In this context, one portion acts as the insurance coverage, the other profit and the remainder deposited into the cash value account. In most cases, the last portion is an overpayment. Since the life insurance companies will pay the person in the event the person dies, the cost rises as the person approaches life expectancy age and this causes a surplus in payment. The company’s charges premiums higher than usual at the beginning in order to keep the payments level of the policy owner.

Function

The excess cash payment in the cash value account grows According to the policy; nevertheless, the cash value is reversed when the policy reaches where the owner’s payment is unable to cover the insurance cost. All the insurance costs are then covered by supplementing every premium made by the policyholder.

Time

The insurance company spends some of the money during the policy application phase, hence the policyholder will not see any substantial sum in the cash value account. Recuperating from these expenses requires time hence it will take a sometime before the owners can see sizable sums in their cash value account majorly after the company has recovered the bulk of the first outlay.

Advantages

The main idea behind cash value is to sustain a level premium for the policyholder. Without this kind of strategy, the premiums would rise considerably to a point where the policyholder is unable to pay. The cash value account is important in covering all the insurance cost in the event the owner is unable to pay his or her premiums as long as there is sufficient amount.

Most people have misconceptions of cash value due to the advertisements and unscrupulous sales tactics employed. Most of these ads claim that the policyholder can withdraw the cash anytime without any consequence this is however, not true. Cash value withdrawals are supposed to be replaced by the insured person for the premium to stay at a steady level, if not the premiums will rise steadily. One of the benefits of the cash value is that it can be an additional leveraging bargain. Read more.

How to Save on an Extended Car Warranty Find Out

An extended warranty safeguards against any unforeseen, expensive car repairs. This type of warranty is different than the one you received from your dealer when you purchased your automobile. They are actually service contracts because they are sold separately and have a different price. In addition, the warranty covers the unforeseen repairs but also the regular maintenance. If you are the type who likes to be prepared in the event that anything happens to your vehicle, you’ll definitely want an extended warranty. However, you don’t have to pay the full price. Here are some tips to help you get the best price on an extended warranty.

Shop Around

You may want stay with the auto dealer you purchased your automobile from. However, it pays to shop around. You can search for quotes online or through other vehicle service contract providers. Be careful. According to EnduranceWarranty.com, just because the provider has a cheaper or more expensive price doesn’t mean that you receive the same type of coverage. Make sure you know the answers to:

What is covered?

Every extended warranty is different. However, it should include cover specific things like turbochargers and overheating.

How are the warranty claims handled?

There are some common restrictions included in each warranty like using certain repair facilities to paying upfront before work is completed. Find out how claims are handled so you won’t be surprised later.

What service plan do you qualify for?

It will help you understand if the extended warranty offered meets your criteria.

Regardless of the answers to the questions listed above, more than one quote. This will give you a lot of power later to get a better deal later.

Search for Online Codes

There are a lot of coupon codes online to make an extended warranty cheaper. You can redeem them online will getting a quote or sometimes with the provider you call.

Ask if the Auto Warranty Provider Offers Discounts

Many auto warranty providers won’t mention this, but they do offer discounts depending on your situation. For instance, providers often offer discounts to seniors and the military. There is another type of discount called first-call discount. This type of warranty discount is offered when you first contact the provider. It’s akin to the provider rewarding you for contacting them. Use whatever discount applies to you and situation you could save as much as $400 on your extended warranty—or more.

Be Willing to Negotiate

If the quoted price is too high, you don’t have to accept it. Negotiate a lower price. With more than one quote from more than one provider, you can negotiate for something lower. If the provider doesn’t want to work with you, then you have more providers on your list.

Find a Reliable Provider

If you negotiate a great deal with a company you have to make sure that this company is reliable. In order to save some of your time, we came across two different reliable review websites for the 2014: Top Ten Reviews and TheTopTens.com have both listed the top ten best extended auto providers in the United States.

Whether you go through a third party provider or your manufacturer you shouldn’t pay more than you need to for an extended warranty. Remember, as the customer you have the negotiating power. Use it to get the best deal possible.

Tens Ways in Which Forex Trading is Superior to Playing the Stock Market

English: A view from the Member's Gallery inside the NYSE (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

James Sheffley fancies himself a Jack-of-Some-Trades in the finance game. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in economics, Sheffley began his incredibly lucrative career writing for e-econ blogs. As a sideline, he enjoys a marginally successful career as a stock and forex day (and night) trader. When not firmly ensconced behind his keyboard, Sheffley can be found following in the footsteps of his hero, Sudhir Venkatesh, tracking underground economies.

When the average self-respecting, cash-hustling, prospective Master of the Universe considers or mentions “playing the market”, chances are excellent that the market being referred to starts with an “s” and ends with a “tock”. And for laymen, “play”-able markets that aren’t the stock market are rarely, if ever, considered. That’s an unfortunate state of affairs, because the foreign currency exchange market (Forex) is in many ways superior to the stock market as an investment opportunity for average people. How so? Well, read on.

1. You Don’t Have to Worry About Middlemen

One of the primary benefits of forex trading is the trader’s ability to do so without a proxy. Traders, from hobbyist amateurs to seasoned pros can interact directly with the currency pairs being traded.

2. Saving Money on Every Trade

And what is perhaps the chief benefit of bypassing those middlemen (or middle-women)? Saving money. There are no commissions that need paying, no exchange, governmental fees and generally not even a cut from your pocket to a retail trader if you use one. Those guys are generally paid via the bid/ask spread.

3. Forex Offers Greater Liquidity than the Stock Market

The stock market is big- about $22 billion is traded on the NYSE a day. That’s not chump change. The currency market, however, is roughly 2500 times bigger than that. That’s $5 trillion a day. That’s “trillion” with a “tr”. With that much money being traded, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have someone on the other end of your currency trade willing to buy what you’re selling or vice versa. That’s definitely not the case with the stock market. 

4. The Market that Never Sleeps

When the closing bell rings in New York, the stock market slows down significantly. Not entirely of course, but significantly. However, the currency market is pretty much a non-stop party. There are certainly times when that party is particularly jumpin’- when the Forex markets in New York and London overlap, or those in London or Tokyo, you get some hotspots. However, even in the middle of the night for you, that guy on the other end of your currency exchange in Kyoto, Japan or Sydney, Australia might have just had his first cup of coffee.

5. There Are No Fixed Lot Size

The non-Forex market which perhaps most closely resembles Forex in the way it operates is the futures market. (I have a lot to say about Forex vs. futures). Those futures are purchased in lots, like 100 ounces of gold for instance, and there are futures contracts that determine the size of those lots. Not the case with Forex. You can trade with $25 or $25,000,000.

6. No Cornering the Market

Another benefit of the currency market’s incredible size is that no one (or more) facet of that market can be “cornered” by a very wealthy person, collective, corporation or even giant bank. Cornering a currency market would pretty much be the literal equivalent of buying a country.

7. Begin Trading with Less Money

Just like that more monetarily liberal lot-allotment can facilitate trading with less capital at your disposal, it also allows an entry into the market for less wealthy people. Currency trading, more so than stocks, can be accomplished without risking large sums of money. That means a lower “barrier to entry”.

8. Great Leverage

You may be asking, “Great, so somebody can open a forex trading a count with as little as $25. Why would anyone want to trade with $25?” Well, the answer is a two-parter. Part one: leverage. Forex brokers can, to a large degree, determine their own leverage ratios- like 50-1 for instance. So while $50 could net you $1250 in trading funds, kicking in $1000 or $5000 starts adding up to real money.

9. Real Time Preparation and Free Stuff

Another excellent bonus of the whole Forex-trading sphere are the free preparatory tools, demos and perks offered by the forex brokerage services. Demo accounts, forex tracking in real-time, forex news and more, all of which can be had for free. And not only is it convenient to take advantage of those tools, anyone planning on forex trading should get themselves a demo account and be consistently making (virtual) money before they start playing with real dough.

10. All of This Makes Forex Trading More Democratic

Demo accounts, a lower necessity-threshold for middlemen; a reduced or nonexistent threat of getting entirely rolled in some market-cornering coup; lower barriers to entry; the lack of fees, commissions, government taxes, etc.; far greater liquidity and the other benefits to forex trading both mentioned and missed here, all contribute to foreign currency market’s greater availability to the average consumer than the stock market.

Good luck and good trading.

Holiday Charitable Giving: Tips to Help You Do It Merry and Right

Beyond the obvious tax benefits and general warm feelings that end-of-the-year charitable giving brings to those who participate in it, donating money or goods to organizations whose mission is to serve those who are in need does a necessary good in the broader society. However, not all giving is as straightforward as it may seem, and if it isn’t done well, it can bring out the Scrooge in even the most giving of hearts.

Charitable giving—like most things—contains a sweet spot. For some givers, it’s a concern over tax breaks; for others, it’s a desire to make sure they stretch their dollar as far as it can go so the greatest good is accomplished. Whatever your preoccupation, these tips will help ensure your donations this holiday season are merry, bright, maximized and completely deductible. 

The IRS

Most people know the majority of charities in the United States are nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) designation, which is the designation that means your donations to them are tax deductible. Beyond that, the details get murky for most people. Here are few other tips to keep you safe from Uncle Sam when you play Saint Nick this season:

• Donations are deductible during the calendar year they are made in, which means the day you drop the check in the mail or charge a gift to your credit card.
• Limits on how much you can claim and still receive a tax break only come into play when you reach above 20 percent of your income—but you can still give away as much as you want.
• If you volunteer, you can’t deduct the hours you work, but you can claim any expenses that you paid to do the volunteering, like gas mileage.
• The IRS also has a list of recommendations on getting tax breaks from charitable giving, which is great, because they’re the experts.
• Keep Records

While all charitable organizations should send you receipts for any giving you do, it’s always still a good idea to keep your own records. After all, nobody’s perfect, right? So, if you’re giving money via a text message, you’ll need to keep a copy of the phone bill the gift was allocated to. If you write a check, write “Donation” in the memo line, andfor all your giving, keep a record of the following:

• The name of the organization
• The date of the gift
• The means of giving (i.e. check, credit card, donated goods, etc.)
• The amount of the gift

Get Your Employer to Match Your Donation

Even if you don’t work for a large company or corporation—but especially if you do—check with your boss or manager to see about a matching grant. Businesses are interested in tax breaks and in assisting their communities. If you can guide them to a charity that does both, you just made your donation—and your employer’s reputation—that much better.
Do a Background Check

Nobody wants to doubt a charity’s intentions, but it can still be a good idea to check with a site like Charity Navigator to make sure the organization you’re giving your money to is not just legitimate, but that it also handles its affairs well. An independent charity evaluator, Charity Navigator (and other sites like it) works to give donors information about almost 7,000 charities, and they gather information specifically related to a charity’s financial health and its accountability and transparency practices. You can find out how much of the money you give will go to the needs the charity is addressing, as well as how much of your gift will go to administrative work and salaries. Site that evaluate nonprofits take a lot of the unknowns and guesswork out of the giving equation, which puts donors at ease. It also helps good charities reap the rewards of being good stewards, while training a watchful eye in the direction of groups that aren’t as efficient or transparent as they could be—which provides good incentive for those groups to try harder.

Because a hefty portion of most charities’ annual operating budget comes in just as the ball drops on Times Square, year-end giving is their lifeblood. Whether you’re an unrepentant do-gooder or a secret softie who wants a tax break, follow these tips and you’ll ensure your gifts go as far as they can—for the organizations and your tax bill.

Image by imagerymajestic from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author:Arnold Cooper is a blogger who previously worked as an accountant. He suggests considering charities such as Boat Angel for your holiday giving this season.

Car Title Loans: Fast Cash When You are on a Fixed Income

Whether retirement is just around the corner or already here, you might be thinking about the financial responsibilities that lie ahead when you begin getting a fixed monthly income. While you’ve saved what you could throughout the years and did everything possible to prepare for this time in your life, the reality of the economy these days makes it less likely that you will see all of that in the years to come.

While you will surely get enough each month to cover your basic expenses and bills, what are you to do if faced with an unforeseen emergency, or if you want to take a spontaneous trip to see family or friends? Luckily there are solutions for finding cash. Title loans are an easy way to get money quickly, and are helpful when needed unexpectedly. Most lenders, such as TitleMax and others, make the whole thing easy and simple so that you are not drug through a muddy process that is burdensome and tiring. 

An Easy Approval Process

The approval process for title loans is relatively quick. Since there is no credit check for a title loan, you can be approved in less than an hour in most cases. Once you are approved, an appraiser will come out to assess the value of your car to determine the amount of the loan that will be approved. From there, you simply have to work out the repayment terms with the lender and the money is yours. More often than not, you will see the money in your hand the very same day that you applied for the loan. How could you possibly go wrong with that?

Benefits of a Title Loan

There are many advantages of title loans over traditional loans. For one, you get money fast. In an emergency or unforeseen event, it is handy to have extra cash to ensure that nothing goes awry. Additionally, a title loan is used against the value of your car that you already own. While repaying the loan, you can still use the car. And once it is paid off in full (on time), you get your title back. This allows you to get money for other uses, while still retaining possession of your car. Finally, title loans are short term loans, so you only have to worry about making payments for a short while.

As you near retirement, there are bigger fish to fry than money and social security. If you plan it out right, you can enjoy your time and have the money to do so without worry. Title loans are an easy option if you need something quickly. They are helpful loans, so long as you make timely payments and do not fail to pay back the loan in the allotted time. Plan ahead and make sure this is the right choice for you. There is some risk involved, like any loan, but once it is paid in full, you can go back to living as peacefully as you were before.

Image source: nbc29.com

Australia, The New Frontier for Mature Business People

from http://pixabay.com/en/service/terms/

For many retirees with investment funds and mature business people who want to start a fresh venture, Australia holds all the promise of a new frontier. The country welcomes foreign investors and commerce, but there are strict policies regulating money and businesses coming into Australia. The steps for investors and entrepreneurs are similar.

Planning for investors is crucial. They should research the market including threats and future opportunities in the area of their intended outlays. To get a physical presence in the country for assessment purposes, investors should obtain a business and innovation visa in one of two areas. The “Investor Stream” is for people who want to invest at least 1.5 million AUD (approximately $134 million) in an Australian territory or state and who intend to maintain business activity there. The other investment visa avenue is the “Significant Investor Stream” which targets people who are investing at least 5 million AUD in a complying business and who intend to maintain business activity in the country.

Some investments may require submitting a proposal to the government. Depending upon the kind of investment and the monetary value, the proposal may have to be reviewed and approved by the Australian Foreign Investment Board. In addition, investors must understand the current Australian regulatory environment and abide by it. Professional investment corporations who keep abreast of the changing economic climate can offer assistance.

Those wanting to start a business in Australia need to plan as well. First, entrepreneurs should get an accurate picture of their finances, strengths and weaknesses. This includes assets such as available personnel as well as money. There should be a well-defined and realistic business strategy which takes into account several things. A business plan should be in effect, including anticipated startup time and the market potential. In other words, people who want to start a business in Australia need to evaluate personal resources and the financial atmosphere surrounding the industry they are targeting, just as they would in beginning a venture in their own country.

What may be different for foreign business people is the system of regulations and requirements required by the Australian government. Businesses may be registered as foreign companies or as subsidiaries of existing businesses. Business people may buy franchises or even purchase companies already in existence. An understanding of the registrations and their applicable requisites is vital not only to set up the enterprise, but even to get into the country as a business person. Many of these things can be found online, but there are also professional corporations that can be a help in interpreting them.

Just as investors, those desiring to start businesses in Australia must obtain a business and innovation visa. The first step is expressing an interest in bringing the industry to Australia. This can be accomplished online through the portal “SkillSelect” on the Australian Government website. The business person must be nominated by two state or territory government officials. Then, the business person must be invited by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to apply for the visa. Once procured, the Business Innovation and Investment Provisional Visa, which usually lasts six months, allows people with business skills to

• Establish a new business or develop an existing business
• Travel in and out of Australia for the life of the visa
• Bring family into the country
• Seek permanent residency.

The provisional visa can also lead to a permanent visa being issued.

Foreign businesses in Australia are covered by The Australian Fair Trade Law. This comprehensive standard includes unfair market practices, industry codes of practice, industry safety and consumer issues such as labeling. It applies to virtually every corporation or sole proprietor in the country. Penalties for violating the law can reach $1 million. There are other standards as well. Those wanting to begin an enterprise in Australia should be aware of the statutes and their obligations under them.

Australia is an inviting and beautiful “new frontier” with a vital and energetic business environment. Still, business standards and requisites vary by country so wise investors and entrepreneurs should do their research carefully.