Six Ways You Can Save Money By Building Your Own Home

If you have a dream home in mind, why not take the project into your own hands? Not only is this option ideal for overly meticulous homeowners, but it can also a money-saving solution. Building your own home from the ground up can save tremendous amounts of cash that can later be used to purchase other necessities for the new abode like furniture and appliances. 

Avoiding Overhead Costs

An apparent way you save money from building your own home is you remove a third-party contractor. A typical rate charged by contractors range from 18 to 20 percent of the total expenses of construction and land. Furthermore, realtor fees can add 5 to 7 percent on your bill, depending on the total price of the house. By building your own home, you can easily cut the expenses by 30 percent. 

Exactly How You Want It

The only person who knows what you want is you. Sometimes, contractors are simply unable to make your home the way you want it to look inside out. When this happens, remodeling is usually necessary to alter the details. This leads to more costs for additional materials and labor work. Instead of a general contractor, you can hire professionals who specialize in certain areas that will work to make your home exactly the way you envisioned. 

Choice of Materials

Some contractors tend to use unnecessarily expensive brands for paint, wood, concrete, etc. Even worse, they can skimp on quality material to save a few bucks, meaning more repairs and replacements for you down the road. For example, for roofing, choose a company that offers quality material so you won't have leaks or problems in the future. Professionals can take care of the hard work for you, making it cost-effective for years to come.

Learn New Skills

If you stumble on something you don't know, you will likely learn the skill and eventually master it. This can save you money later on when similar problems occur, such as a leaking pipeline or replacing a filter. You can also save a ton of money when you complete do-it-yourself projects around the home, instead of hiring a professional to take care of the task each time. Who knows, you can even sell your newly found skills to neighbors who need help with their home's inner workings.

Energy Efficient

Being the contractor of your own housing project gives you the power to choose what appliances you'll be integrating into the structure. You can get long-term savings by using appliances with the Energy Star seal, which is a symbol of high energy efficiency standards. From windows and doors to kitchen appliances and energy-efficient washers or dryers, there many ways you can save money. Having these things will greatly reduce or utility bills. Aside from saving you money, you get to do your part in saving the environment as well. 

At Your Own Pace

If you have lots of time but are riding on a tight budget, you can choose to gradually build your home as you make the money for it. You can avoid steep interest rates on mortgages while seeing your hard earned investment slowly turn into your dream house. Things like the basement are a great place to remodel or finish at a later time. You can also add on rooms or bathrooms in the future when you find more need for them.

While building your own home has it's own unique costs, in the end, it can be a cheaper option for many. With these tips in mind, you can have the home of your dreams without putting a huge dent in your wallet.

Informational credit to Century Roofing Ltd.

Dealing with a Pension Divorce

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Divorce rates have risen considerably for the over-50 demographic. In the US, for example, the rate at least doubled between 1990 and 2009. In fact, the number of divorcees over the age of 50 now exceeds the number of widowed seniors in the US. Likewise, in the UK, divorce rates for those over 60 years of age are now seven times higher than they were in the 1950s.

While statistics show that the likelihood of a couple getting divorced decreases the longer they are married, we are still seeing a spike in the number of pension-aged couples looking to split. In fact, the New York Times recently reported that divorces in the over-50 category have outpaced those of younger demographics.

Any time a marriage ends, a variety of problems come into play. The following are just a few of the most common:

• Economic strain
• Poor health
• Strain on the extended family
• The need for government sponsored assistance

When younger couples get divorced, the stakes are generally lower. For example, married couples around the age of 30 are less likely to have children or substantial assets that need to be divided. Pensioners, on the other hand, have a lifetime of property and assets to contend with – not to mention an extended family that has only ever conceived of the couple as a unit.

However, one financial consideration that deserves more attention than it receives has to do with the pension itself. You see, getting a divorce can actually affect the amount of your pension. And it’s not as if the amount is simply cut in half and divided amongst the two. The actual algorithm employed is much more complicated, which makes it all the more important to seek the advice of family law solicitors before going through with the divorce. At the very minimum, both parties need to understand how this dramatic change is going to affect their finances.

Generally speaking, there are three common ways to deal with a pension in divorce:

1. Pension Off-Setting

In this situation, the pension is drawn entirely by one person (who is, more often than not, the husband). In its place, the financial equivalent to sum total of the pension is given to the other party in the form of cash, property and other assets.

This is often a more attractive option when one person has been the primary income earner for the family. In this case, the person may feel like their pension is a direct extension of their professional performance. It is a personal asset that results from years of hard work. With that in mind, splitting the pension after a divorce may make the person feel uncomfortable. 

2. Pension Splitting

This is precisely what it sounds like. The pension is simply divided evenly between the two people when the divorce is finalised. There are usually a couple of options in this scenario. Half of the pension can be withdrawn and deposited into a different scheme. Likewise, the entire sum could remain in the original scheme and simply be paid out in halves to both parties over time. This is usually only an option where government agencies have introduced specific legislation. 

3. Pension Earmarking

This is a less common approach to settling the pension. In this case, a portion of the pension is legally attached to spouse. When he or she retires, this portion will be paid as a pension benefit.

Valuing Your Pension before Divorce

If a divorce is on the horizon, it is essential that the couple arrange a pension valuation. This ensures that both parties understand exactly how much they are going to receive form a split pension in the future. This is complicated business, and you will almost certainly require legal assistance to effectively determine this.

Valuing a pension is going to cost a bit of money up front, but it is most certainly worth the expense – especially if the size of the pension is going to play a critical role in one or both person’s quality of life after the divorce.

Divorce is painful and rarely easy, and the difficulty in divvying up a pension only adds to the stress and anxiety. That’s why it’s so important to fully discuss your options with an attorney before going through with the split.

How to Ensure Financial Security After a Car Accident

When you have been in a car accident, you could be injured badly. You may be out of work for some time, or you may have to make expensive repairs to your car or perhaps the other party’s vehicle. All the items below will help you ensure that you are financially secure after the accident.

Insurance

You need car insurance to help repair your vehicle. Your car insurance will also help repair the car of the person you hit if you are at fault. You will have to pay for these repairs out of your own pocket when you do not have insurance. Chances are you will face major financial debt or even bankruptcy if you do not have insurance. You could also face a lawsuit especially if the accident is your fault.

Also, according to Anthony Clark Insurance Ltd., insurance will help you pay to replace your personal items. You can have an allowance through your car insurance that will pay for things that were damaged or lost in the accident. 

Civil Claims

You can make a claim in civil court if you feel that you were injured through no fault of your own. The civil claim could lead to a judgment or settlement that will pay you for your pain and suffering. If you have not explored this option, you could be leaving money on the table. However, beware of pursuing a lawsuit. If the other part feels that you were at fault of the accident, they can file a counter claim and attempt to sue you for their pain and suffering. They can also do this even if they are at fault for the accident as long as they have a credible claim that you were also negligent during the accident as well. 

Gap Insurance

There is another type of insurance that you need to have if you want to be financially stable after an accident. Gap insurance helps to pay for the difference between when you owe on a car and what the car is actually worth. You may owe $15,000 on a car, but your insurance may call the car a total loss at $13,000. The gap insurance will pay for the extra $2000 that you would have to keep paying for a car that you have lost in an accident.

Disability Insurance

Disability insurance will help pay your salary while you are out of work. You may never use your disability insurance, but you must pay the premiums to make sure that you are protected at all times. Most people get short term disability which lasts for 30 days, but they also need long term disability that will last up to six months. If you do not have disability coverage, you will lose all the salary you could make at work during the duration of your injury or disability. 

You also may have other expenses that will need to be covered as well. Medical bills are often very expensive and can be crippling financially without the help of disability insurance to take care of you and any loved one that may be involved. The last thing anyone wants while they are on disability is to have to worry about any financial problems or mishaps. Having the necessary insurance to help you out during this time will only lessen the burden and stress that has already been laid on your shoulders after suffering an accident.

When you are involved in an automobile accident, you need to make sure that you have covered all the items above. Each one helps you to remain financially stable even though you have lost your car, are injured and may be out of work.

If I Fall Behind on my Health Insurance Premiums What Happens?

If you’re having financial difficulties it may be that you’re in danger of falling behind on your health insurance premiums. This can obviously be a worrying time for you but it needn't be major problem unless you let it.

The most important thing to note is that you should always take out a plan that you feel as though you can keep up with. That way you can avoid many problems. But many of us have unexpected changes in our lives that mean are financial circumstances are different. There is always a chance you will experience difficulties in paying your premiums, but finding an affordable plan at the outset is still the best option. Keep reading at the HBF health insurance site, where you can learn more about the coverage available & ask questions relevant to your situation.

Can I get help with health insurance from the outset?

If you’re looking at the health insurance marketplace you’ll be able to view a lot of different plans with different provisions and costs. You will probably be able to find a plan that is suitable for your budget. However, there are tax credits available if you are really struggling to afford your health insurance.

You have access to these tax credits straight away and they are intended to take some of the pressure off you financially by enabling you to afford a health insurance plan. You don’t have to buy a plan through the marketplace but it does give you a wide range of choice and it does give you the option of applying for tax credit help. 

If I experience problems after purchase what happens if I miss payments?

If you get a plan that you can afford then hopefully you won’t have any difficulties but life doesn’t always work that way. We have all experienced unexpected events in our life and one of these may lead to you having problems with continuing to pay your premiums.

There are rules that apply under the Affordable Care Act to allow for issues that people may have meeting payment requirements. The one thing you should always remember is to let your insurer know as soon as you are aware that you will be having difficulties; there is no point trying to hide the issue as this will not help. The rules of the Affordable Care Act mean that you have three months within which to catch up with payments you have missed.

Of course this doesn’t mean you should take the whole three months, the sooner you can get back on track with your payments the better. There‘s a very good reason for this as your insurer will only accept claims from you for thirty days after you miss a payment. If you don’t catch up by this time you stand the chance of being faced with a large bill if you have the misfortune of falling ill.

This isn’t going to help you financially and may lead to you missing further premium payments. This is a potentially serious situation as if you don’t pay all of the premiums due by the end of the three months your insurance will be cancelled.