Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Grow your Income in 5 ways

Even though most of the suggestions made in this article do not apply ot me, there may be others who might learn something from it.

This article has been written by David Bach who has written many best seller books like Start Late, Finish Rich: A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age and The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich

Five Ways to Grow Your Income by 20 Percent
Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007, 3:00AM

One of the things I like most about the new Yahoo! Finance format is the immediate feedback I get from readers. Just last month, my column "Five Ways to Save $2,500 in 20 Minutes" received enormous positive feedback.

I also received comments from concerned readers who basically said, "Your ideas won't work for me -- what else can I do to stop living from paycheck to paycheck?"

These readers certainly aren't alone. I completely understand that too many people today simply can't make ends meet with the salary they're earning. If that's the case, it's time to consider ways to grow your income.

Meet the Egglestons

Over the past year, I've had the honor and pleasure of appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show as an expert money coach for her Debt Diet series. The mission of this life-changing program is to start a worldwide movement helping millions of people get out of debt and finally realize their goal of true financial freedom.

On the show, I coached an amazing couple -- Dan and Sally Eggleston. Dan and Sally are both elementary school teachers earning a combined income of $92,000, and live in Indiana, where they're raising three wonderful kids. When I first met them a year ago, they were $100,000 in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy.

Working together, we managed to find ways to cut back on about $500 of unnecessary expenses each month (using what I call the Double-Latte Factor). That was a great start. But due to the huge amount of debt Dan and Sally had accumulated, they had to do more.

In order to make measurable progress toward paying down all their debt, they not only needed to seriously cut back on their expenses, they also required a solid plan to grow their income by at least 10 percent over the year. The Egglestons didn't just succeed -- they crushed my goal by growing their income by over 20 percent!

Continue...



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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Brutal day on Wall Street !

Today, the stock market took a real beating! Every index (DOW, Nasdaq, S&P) went down at least 3%.
I'm sure it wont be a pretty picture in my 401K account tomorrow. Hope the stock market recovers soon.

Below is a news article explaining the blood shed.

NEW YORK

The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 500 points with about an hour of trading left today but then gained about 100 of it back. The Nasdaq Composite fell more than 100.

A 9 percent slide in Chinese stocks, which came a day after investors sent Shanghai's benchmark index to a record high close, set the tone for U.S. trading.

Investors' confidence was knocked down further by data showing that the economy may be decelerating more than anticipated. A Commerce Department report that orders for durable goods in January dropped by the largest amount in three months exacerbated jitters about the direction of the U.S. economy, which were raised a day earlier when former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the United States may be headed for a recession.

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Netflix delivers billionth DVD

Being an avid Netflix user, I was hoping it would be me !

Texas woman wins free lifetime subscription after receiving the online DVD rental company's one billionth delivery.

February 26 2007: 5:47 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- A Texas woman won a free lifetime subscription to Netflix Inc after her rental of the Academy Award-nominated film "Babel" became the online DVD rental company's one billionth delivery on Saturday, the company said.The woman, of Helotes, Texas, a San Antonio suburb, requested anonymity
Netflix delivered its first DVDs, including "True Crime," "Analyze This" and "Dr. Strangelove," from a single San Jose, California, warehouse in 1999.

The service, which then had 2,000 titles, has grown to 42 distribution centers nationwide and more than 70,000 DVD titles. It delivers 1.5 million DVDs each day and recently launched an online movie download service with about 1,000 titles.

The top five titles delivered by Netflix over the years were "Crash," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "Walk the Line," "Hotel Rwanda" and "Million Dollar Baby."

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Monday, February 26, 2007

The Ebay of Loans


Prosper.com links individual lenders to individual borrowers. It strips out some middleman costs but not default risk.
Year-old Prosper functions as an online way station where borrowers and lenders can arrange three-year loans of up to $25,000, at rates three to five percentage points lower than what credit cards charge (see table). Its a-rated borrowers pay an average 8.8% yearly, versus 11.8% for a fixed-rate credit card and 13.8% for a variable-rate card. They could get even better rates, along with tax deductions, if they tapped home equity, but many Prosper borrowers don't own a home.

The San Francisco site provides credit checks of borrowers via Experian and posts their ratings (ranging from AA to HR, for "high risk") with their profiles online. Bids are for interest rates, and the lowest ones win among sometimes dozens of bidders. Borrowers post a requested rate on their Web profiles, mostly in line with their credit rating.

The winning bidders' money, usually in small increments, is packaged into one loan. When lenders browse through the borrower profiles and place bids, it's often for a fraction of the total loan needed, with $50 the minimum. Lenders get the safety of diversity. The profiles allow lenders to see borrowers' debt-to-income ratio, current and past delinquencies. Some borrowers even post monthly phone bills and housing expenses. Borrowers provide photos of themselves, their kids, their pets and--a requirement--what they want to use the money for.

Find out more at Prosper

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Celebrate the festival of colours with Reliance India Call "Rang de

Got this email today...more savings...YE !

Dear Customer

It is the season of colours. It is the season of fun, frolic and an
official license to be naughty. Make your Holi even more colourful by
sharing the joys of Holi with your loved ones through our Rang de offer.

On account of the Rang de offer, enjoy 10% discount on monthly bill
(maximum upto $50). The offer is valid from 1st March 2007 00:00 hrs
IST.upto 31st March 2007 23:59 hrs IST

Rang de your family and friends by telling them about this wonderful offer
and helping them register with Reliance India Call. Share the colorful
moments with the same crystal clear voice and other advantages that are
unique to Reliance India Call. However, please read terms and conditions
carefully before signing up.

In case of any queries you may log on to our website
www.relianceindiacall.com or contact our 24X7 Customer Care Service
1-888-6-RELIANCE (1-888-673-5426).

Assuring you of an impeccable service and innovative offerings on an
ongoing basis.

Regards,
Reliance India Call Team

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Convert EB3 to EB2 ...is it possible ?

A colleague and I were talking about how slow the retrogression for I-485 is progressing and he brought up a point about how EB2 category priority date is moving much faster than EB3, currently Jan 2003 as opposed to May 2001 for EB3.

So we were wondering if we could convert our EB3 filing to EB2 because the requirement for filing in the EB2 category is that you should have a work experience of at least 5 years.
At this point I do have 6 years experience.

But after doing a little more research, our hopes were destroyed :)

Here is the Murthy forums post that talks about it.

So we have no choice but to wait for our EB3 Priority Date to become current...bummer !

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Saturday, February 24, 2007

Nice Phrases !

Today my mother told me these nice words, when we had our weekly India telephone call, that I thought of sharing.

Dream is not what you see in sleep...Dream is the thing that doesn't let you sleep !
--> Abdul Kalam (President of India)

Where there is silence, there is God.
--> Mother Teresa

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10 Ways to make money Online

I came across this interesting article on Webworker Daily.

1. Offer your professional expertise in an online marketplace.These days, you can do more than just sell your old books via Amazon and your old Coach handbags via eBay—now you can sell your professional capabilities in a marketplace. No longer are you limited to looking for a permanent or contract job on Web 1.0 style job sites like Monster or CareerBuilder. The new breed of freelancing and project-oriented sites let companies needing help describe their projects. Then freelancers and small businesses offer bids or ideas or proposals from which those buyers can choose.

Elance covers everything from programming and writing to consulting and design, while RentACoder focuses on software, natch. If you’re a graphic designer, check out options like Design Outpost or LogoWorks–you don’t have to find the customers, they’ll come to you. Wannabe industry analysts might sign up for TechDirt’s Insight Community, a marketplace for ideas about technology marketing.

2. Sell photos on stock photography sites. If people regularly oooo and aaaaah over your Flickr pics, maybe you’re destined for photographic greatness or maybe just for a few extra dollars. It’s easier than ever to get your photos out in front of the public, which of course means a tremendous amount of competition, but also means it might be an convenient way for you to build up a secondary income stream. Where can you upload and market your photos? Try Fotolia, Dreamstime, Shutterstock, and Big Stock Photo.

3. Blog for pay. Despite the explosion of blogs, it’s hard to find good writers who can turn around a solidly-written post on an interesting topic quickly. GigaOM is always looking for bloggers with great content ideas and solid writing skills. How do you get noticed? Comment and link to blogging network sites. Write blog posts that are polished and not overly personal (although showing some personality is a plus).

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Friday, February 23, 2007

Access your PC from anywhere...for FREE !



I came across this new FREE service a few months ago and have been using it with great success.

LogMeIn Free gives you fast, easy remote access to your PC. All you need is an Internet Connection and a browser.

When I was in India, I was constantly using LogmeIn to access my HomePC here in Atlanta, to check my Outlook work mail, run updates etc. It works exactly like Remote Desktop Connection and it is very secure.
The speed was really good too even when I used a dialup connection.

Sign up for a free LogMeIn account

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Thursday, February 22, 2007

One Phone Number...for Life !!

I came across this wonderful new FREE phone system...GrandCentral !

With this account, you can have one phone number your entire life...no matter how many times you move.

I just signed up for it yesterday. It is 100% free and will always remain free. Just a few premium features will cost extra once they come out of BETA.

GrandCentral does not replace any of your existing phones or phone numbers, it just brings them together into one number. A few of the exciting features are:

  • Roll all your phone numbers into one
  • Check your messages by phone, email, or online
  • Keep all your messages online for life
  • Record and store your phone calls (just like voicemail)
  • Send annoying callers to SPAM
  • Click-to-dial from your address book
  • Record a custom voicemail greeting for each caller
  • Use RingShareTM to turn your Mp3s into the ring tones your callers hear
  • Forward, download, flag, and add notes to your messages
You find out more at GrandCentral

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

How to choose Funds in your 401K

I came across this excellent article about choosing funds in 401k on Morningstar.com

How Not to be Overwhelmed by Your 401(k)
Even if you've got a big menu of choices, there's no reason to be weighed down.

By Christopher Davis | 02-20-07 | 06:00 AM |

Because I work at Morningstar, a lot of family and friends ask me to make recommendations for their 401(k) plans. I'm always glad to help, of course. After all, I want those that I care about to make good choices for themselves, financially and otherwise. I also think of it as an opportunity to step into the shoes of a more typical investor and see what they're up against.
If my friend Oscar's experience is any indication, many investors face a bewildering number of choices in their 401(k) lineups. Oscar recently asked me to help him pick investments for his first 401(k) plan, and he was overwhelmed. I couldn't really blame him. His employer gave him a long list of funds to choose from--36 in all--that would have taken an awful lot of time and effort to research, even for experienced folks like me. Not only did Oscar have a daunting number of options, he had to decide on an overall asset allocation and how much of each fund he wanted to own. And had he not known me, he would have probably made all of those decisions without much guidance at all.

If you're struggling with a similar situation, don't fret. To help you find your way, here are a few strategies that Oscar and I considered.

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Cheap Rates for Calls to India

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Starting 2007, Extended Daylight Savings

Beginning in 2007, daylight saving time (DST) will be extended in the United States. DST will start three weeks earlier on March 11, 2007, and end one week later on November 4, 2007. This results in a new DST period that is four weeks longer than previously observed. Unless certain updates are applied to your computer, it is possible that the time zone settings for your computer's system clock may be incorrect during this four week period. In particular, you must make sure that both your Windows operating system and your calendar programs are updated.

Do I have to update my computer?
Home users: If you use Windows Vista or have Automatic Updates turned on, you may not be affected by the change in daylight saving time. If you want to confirm, follow the steps in the Daylight Saving Time Update Guide below.

IT professionals and IT managers:The Daylight Saving Time Update Guide below will quickly lead you to KB articles and downloads for the products you specify in the guide.
Daylight Saving Time Update Guide (source: microsoft.com)

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Monday, February 19, 2007

XM-Sirius announce Merger

Actually, Sirius (SIRI) is buying XM (XMSR) for 4.5 billion dollars !

Since I bought Siruis stock last year, the stock price has been going down. I hope this will boost the stock price.

Here is a link to the merger announcement article

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Consolidated View of Accounts

I regularly use this website to view all my financial accounts in one single consolidated view.
Now, you can also have your frequent flyer miles, hotel points etc. also in this view.
It has a portfolio Manager module, Transaction Manager module and a bill payer module.
It works out even better for me because I can also add my accounts that I have in India. It sows the amount in the Indian currency (rupees).
It gets the latest amounts from all the accounts once a day or you can update them manually.
Works out great for me.
Link to Register for free
Let me know if there are any questions.

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Sunday, February 18, 2007

Watching My Cell phone Minutes



Found this interesting (Windows Only) application on MyMoneyBlog.

Freeware system tray app WatchMyCell logs into your cell phone account and keeps a watchful eye on how many minutes you've used for the month.

Just download and install the program, set it up with your provider (currently supports Cingular, Verizon, T-mobile, Sprint, and Nextel), then define your rules for how soon you'd like to be alerted of your dwindling minutes and what form you'd like that alert to take (email or SMS).

Download: WatchMyCell

Source: Lifehacker

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Saturday, February 17, 2007

No movement in EB3 Retrogression

Still No Movement for EB Categories

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for March 2007 is identical to the January and February 2007 Visa Bulletins for the Employment-Based categories. It also contained a prediction with respect to EB3, stating that little, if any, forward movement is expected in the near future. In fact, it is possible that EB3 will retrogress even further. As a quick reference, the contents of the Visa Bulletin are summarized below.
All countries have cutoff dates. India remains at May 8, 2001 and Mexico is at May 15, 2001. China, the Philippines, and worldwide continue to have cutoff dates of August 1, 2002.

As stated, the Visa Bulletin predicts that EB3 is unlikely to move forward in the near future, and that any potential forward movement will be small. The DOS notes that the demand for visa numbers with priority dates before the August 2002 cutoff is expected to remain high, because both the Department of Labor (DOL) and the USCIS are working to clear case backlogs. These backlog reduction efforts could cause the dates to retrogress even further in spring or summer 2007.

Source : murthy.com

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Nice Money Blog !

I came across a nice blog that talks about how we can save and invest our money.
The author has put his own portfolio on it and talks about his own personal goal of making 1 million dollars.

There are some interesting ideas about which credit cards to use, how to make more money and much more.

Interesting!

Mymoneyblog

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Friday, February 16, 2007

Free Credit Check

I have come across many of my friends who do not know that you can get your credit report from the 3 major credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian for FREE !

I'm not talking about ads that we see online and on TV like freecreditreport.com.
They will give you your credit report once for free, but also sign you up for a bunch of other stuff that you don't need.

The site I'm talking about is http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com

This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report.


Rule of thumb: If you have to enter credit card information, its not FREE!

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Earn Money when your PC is IDLE

I dont know how well this would work, but I have downloaded this PEER software called Gomez PEER.
Its a java based application and does not require you to open any ports on your network.

Lets see it actually makes any money for me. :)

To get started click on the graphic below:



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Thursday, February 15, 2007

Best of both Countries

My daughter who was born in the US.
So her passport, act as a passport entry into a lot of other countries, while her parents patiently await for their green card...

She also has an OCI card ...Overseas citizen of India
This not only acts as a lifelong visa to India, but she can also study, work and open up a business in India.

Man...I wish I was born in USA.

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Retrogression sucks!

People who have a priority date on or before 08, May 2001 can file their I-485. Me, my priority date is Jan, 2003. Long way to go....

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Links

Link exchange
Linkalizer offers the most efficient way for you to exchange quality links.

Global Investor
Go global with global investor. Easy to use investment, finance and service tool. Banking, finance, knowledge and information worldwide.

Travel to Costa Rica, honeymoon, vacations trips, Costa Rica Family Trip
Costa Rica Travel In Paradise is a full-service tour operator offering Costa Rica vacations, escorted trips, incentives, honeymoon, family vacations, the best online site about Costa Rica tours. Costa Rica Travel, Viaggio Costa Rica, Voyage Costa Rica, Spielraum Costa Rica, Viaje a Costa Rica, Curso a Costa Rica, Resor till ...

Stop Foreclosure
Our mission is to educate homeowners on the foreclosure process and the options available to them to stop foreclosure. EnTrust Home Solutions is a Christian community counseling organization offering free advice to stop the foreclosure process and help you save your home from foreclosure.

India Real Estate, Property Listing, India Properties, Real Estate Agent
India`s leading property site, with thousands of listings in all cities across India. You can buy, sell, lease and rent properties including flats, apartments, homes and commercial office space in India through our portal.

sint maarten rental weeks.com
owner direct timeshare resales and rentals. free listings

credit card processing
Merchant accounts and credit card processing at the guaranteed lowest price. Small, home based, and Internet businesses welcome. Full range of e-commerce solutions. Shop us first - or last, our prices can`t be beaten!

Borehole deep well submersible pump manufacturers and exporter
Kiwi Pumps - Manufacturers and exporters of submersible Borehole pump, Borewell submersible pump, New Energy Saving Borehole Submersible Pumps, deep well submersible pump, bore well submersible pump, water pumps in India, Gujarat. Kiwi offers wide range of submersible pumps, borehole pumps, pond pumps, V3 Submersible Pumps, V4 Submersible Pumps, V6 ...

Bali real estate and property in Phuket
Asia real estate. Portfolio of finest holiday properties on tropical holiday destinations. Bali property and Phuket real estate.

world cup tickets
Information on the history of the world cup Football, including information of world cups taking place in the years 1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, ...

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Thursday, February 1, 2007

Young People in the UK Property Market

In the UK, investing in property has gone through a huge boom in recent years. Such a pattern has been mirrored in developed countries across Europe and further afield, but things seem to be running out of steam. Towards the end of last year almost all of the countries in Europe suffered sharp drops in house price inflation, and concerns that the slump in the American housing market could be mirrored on this side of the Atlantic have been echoing around.

But could we really see a significant dip in average house prices, matched with a widespread bout of repossessions? A recent survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors showed UK surveyors are at their most negative on house prices and agreed sales since May 2005 and April 1999 respectively. Meanwhile, in December and January, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders stated that the number of home buyers dipped to a nine year low. Such figures suggest that not only are people being priced out of the market, but that banks are also keen to reign in their lending practices after suffering from losses tied to the US subprime market.

One particular problem for the UK market now is a steep fall off in the amount of first time buyers. Not since 1980 has there been so few first time buyers entering the market, with an estimate of 300,000 making it onto the ladder last year. If you consider that average house prices have far outstripped GDP rises since 1995, and now stand at some eight times over the UK’s average wage, then it seems almost obvious as to how this problem emerged.

Despite the huge price rises, many first time buyers have still been eager to get on the first rung of the property ladder. Many have achieved this with a minimal deposit, often after negotiating 100% mortgages, or even more, from a bank. However, in the wake of the credit crunch many banks have been keen to review their lending practices, and a more cautious approach is becoming widespread. The number of mortgages approved for home buying fell for seven consecutive months up to December 2007. To exacerbate the problem, lenders steadily withdrew 125% mortgages, an attractive product for first time buyers, from the market. The last lender offering a 125% mortgage pulled their product in February.

Another report, this time from the Halifax, has also said that the average stamp duty bill for first time buyers has almost doubled over the last five years. Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax said, ‘Stamp duty has again become an issue for first time buyers because the stamp duty thresholds have not kept pace with house price inflation.’ The bank has also pointed out that first time buyers cannot afford to buy a house in 92% of UK towns. For young people in this market, it looks as if renting may be the only way forward.

If you’re a first time buyer looking to get into the market, the Fish4 can provide you with a useful property directory. Also, if your thinking about how much you can afford, take a look at Alliance and Leicester’s useful onsite mortgage calculator tool.

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What to think about with home insurance

Can you think of anything in your life, outside of your family of course, more worthy of protection than your home? It’s not just a case of material worth but increasingly of massive personal significance. Think of all the time we spend these days hunting down somewhere that we feel fits the bill perfectly. So much consideration goes into the process of finding the dream home these days ‘location, size, suitability and increasingly that much discussed but hard to pin down ‘wow’ factor. It’s hard to imagine a more devastating blow than suffering significant damage to your home or its contents. All this means that home insurance should surely be a top priority.

Making sure you end up with the right policy to fit your needs and that you feel is cost-effective can be a complicated process though, it would be nice to think you could take the easy route and default on a standard policy but, really, there’s no such thing. You’ll need to check though any prospective insurer’s levels of cover and various exclusions. But let’s start by breaking the subject of home insurance into the two principal types of cover Building Insurance and Contents Insurance.

Building Insurance

Building insurance should cover more than simply the main building and include any outbuildings such as garages as well as gates, patios, sheds and fences. It’s important to give any exclusions or clauses, and there will almost certainly be quite a few, a thorough examination. Make sure you know what’s covered and what isn’t.

Don’t over-insure yourself; the sum should be the cost to rebuild rather than what the property is worth. In certain cases the insurer will only pay out the cost to rebuild anyway. A rebuild cost should be pretty cheap and easy to come by so make sure you get it right. Also take into account the likelihood of rebuilding costs increasing over time especially if you make any modifications. And if you’re after a quick money saving tip, think twice about paying with a direct debit, it’s entirely possible you’ll be charged up to 30% interest. A good alternative is to pay using 0% credit cards on purchases, such as ASDA Finance offer.

Contents Insurance

Once again it is important to be certain that you are insured for the right amount. It may seem like a lengthy process to assess the correct value of everything but it really is worth compiling a comprehensive check list. It’s quite possible that your insurer will put a limit on individual items, if this is the case and a single item is worth more than an imposed home contents limit try to negotiate an increase or, failing this, you’ll have to insure it separately.

Check precisely what your contents are insured against ‘theft and fire should be standard but you should also look to include cover for additional threats like storm and flooding damage.

Check out the possibility of combining building and contents cover with the same insurer, this will obviously save you time and hassle but could also get you a discount. Don’t just plump for a combined deal for convenience sake though; a good policy for contents could be teamed up with a less impressive deal for the building or vice-versa.

If you’re shopping for home insurance, then check out ASDA Finance for a range of quotes from a panel of insurers. You can pick from both buildings insurance and contents insurance with a range of flexible packages. If you’re shopping on the web it’s also worth looking out for online discounts, house insurance from the Co-operative bank for instance is 10% cheaper when purchased online.


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Three Ways to Avoid Mortgage Meltdown

You’ve heard it all before - there’s a credit crunch going on. The world economy is in danger of catching a cold, and America’s already looking quite ill. It’s an untimely reminder that after years of sustained growth and low inflation, things can always go back to being not quite as good. It’s a particularly dangerous climate to be in for homeowners, with the house price boom stalling and credit becoming less readily available. In December of last year accountancy firm PwC published a worrying report stating that insolvency levels could rise to record levels as 1.4 million come off their fixed rate mortgage deals. Things might be looking gloomy for homeowners, but there are certainly ways to avoid the onset of problems. Here’s a guide to avoiding the problems.

Think About Remortgaging

If you’re one of the homeowners coming off your fixed rate then you should really think about refinancing sooner rather than later. PwC anticipated that the average household will be stung by an extra £140 on their monthly repayments when they come of the low fixed rate deals, the majority of which were agreed during periods of low interest rates in 2003. If you can secure another low rate deal from another provider then you could potentially cutting off a large extra bill. Take a look at Alliance and Leicester’s mortgage calculator to see what you can afford and what you could get.

And the rest...

It’s got to be said that merely remortgaging isn’t the only thing you should consider if your monthly repayments are going down to the wire. Websites such as uSwitch are all about empowering the consumer into getting the best deals, and they’re much easier to find than you might think. How about changing your insurance premiums, for instance? ASDA Finance have found that nine out of ten customers save money when switching to their life insurance, and if your quote is beaten, they state on their emails that they want to know where it’s come from so they can match it.

When your debt is getting worse, not better

Being in some debt and paying for it is close to inevitable when you’ve got a house and a family, but things can go from uncomfortable to terrible if you take a liberal attitude towards debts. Failing to repay your overdraft and exceeding the limit regularly is a sign of credit distress, as is taking on new credit without clearing the old. Some of the best ways to clear costly debt at the moment is Virgin Money’s credit card, which has 0% on balance transfers for 15 months (2.98% fee) and you can transfer to your current account. Additionally, if you’re paying for an overdraft facility, then you should probably consider one of Alliance and Leicester’s premier current accounts. They offer an interest free overdraft of up to £2500 for the first 12 months, and once you’re in credit you’ll receive 8.5% AER per year.

Rates quoted in this article are correct at the date of writing (11/03/08) and may be subject to change at the lender’s discretion.

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Insuring the Cost of Smoking

Since the smoking ban came into effect last year, smoking in public has been increasingly frowned upon. But it’s not only the health implications of smoking that can affect you; the financial impact can be quite hard to justify as well. Back in 2006, research by the NHS Smoking Helpline recently found that smoking costs around £2500, and this isn’t just for the price of cigarettes. If you think that the average cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes now teeters around £5.20, and you smoke 20 a day, then that’s £1893 a year. Then you have to consider the hidden costs, such as cleaning and repair, and higher insurance premiums.

According to the Credit Finance Centre, a non smoker’s life insurance rate will, on average, be 30% - 55% less than that of someone who smokes. Life insurance is about providing financial security for people who depend on you if you died or became seriously ill, so obviously smoking increases the risk of the insurer having to pay out, and so they have good cause to put up the premium. However, we decided to put this fully to the test by filling out ASDA Finance’s life insurance quote calculator, you can clearly see differing results.

Our quotes were taken for £50,000 worth of cover for a 40 year old man, for 35 years on a single basis:

· Non smoking - £11.46 per month. (£4,813.20 total)

· Smoking - £21.45 per month. (£9009 total)