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  • Prepare for the Unexpected: Why Buying Life Insurance Early is a Smart Decision

    Thinking about life insurance makes most people cringe. Nobody likes to plan, let alone pay, for something completely dependent on their death.

    Though that time seems far away for most of us, in many cases, getting accidental life insurance quotes and then choosing a plan is the best way to protect your family in case something happens to you.

    Who should get life insurance?
    The easy answer here is that anyone with a family or loved ones who depend on them should get life insurance, but it is also beneficial for those with large debts or loans.

    If you were to pass away and you have someone else depending on your income such as a spouse or children, it’s a good idea to invest in life insurance so they would have money to live on after your death.

    The other reason life insurance may be a good idea is if you have a home mortgage or a significant amount of student loan or even credit card debt. In this case, if you were to die, you don’t want to leave your loved ones with a massive debt to pay, so life insurance is a good option.

    What types of life insurance are available?
    Generally speaking, life insurance can be broken down into term and whole life insurance. The main breakdown goes like this:

    Term life insurance: This is the most affordable option. You pay a premium each month, and your beneficiaries get paid if you die within the term of the plan. Most plans are about 10 to 30 years, and if you outlive the plan, you can renew it year by year or start another plan.
    Whole life insurance: This plan extends until you die, and it has a cash value. As long as you pay your premiums, your premium rate and the death benefit don’t change. You won’t have increases in your premium as you get older, but this is countered by a base level of higher premiums compared to term life insurance.

    When looking at these two types of plans, the next step then becomes how to decide between them and which type is the most affordable in the long term.
    How to Choose the Type of Life Insurance

    The general recommendation is that term life insurance is the way to go for good coverage at a reasonable price. Because whole life plans are far more likely to need to pay out (because they span all the way until death), the premiums are much higher.

    As far as spending the extra money on whole life insurance, though, these have a cash value and are meant to be a form of investment. However, there are better ways to invest your money.

    Rather than spending more on life insurance, it’s typically better to put that extra money toward a 401(k), a Roth IRA, and other investments.

    The purpose of life insurance is to replace your income, not to be an investment. So find the most affordable term life insurance plan and put the rest of your money in sound investments.

    When should you buy a life insurance policy?
    The younger you start your policy, the better. If you are single, you should probably wait until you have a spouse or some dependents. But after that, youth is in your favor.

    With term life insurance, if you are young, you can find a variety of relatively low-cost life insurance plans. For example, Allstate has a 20-year, $250,000 plan for a healthy 25-year-old that costs $11 per month. A similar plan at State Farm is just over $15 per month.

    The other point to consider is that the earlier you start your term policy, the lower your rates. If you are 25 years old and you get a 30-year plan, you can keep the same low rates until you get a new plan at age 55.

    As you age, rates go up, as you are more likely to die when you get older, statistically speaking. Thus, expect the plan you get at 55 years old to have a higher rate than the one you got in your 20s.

    What happens when the insurance term ends?
    With term life insurance, there is a fixed term. This can range based on the company and plan you choose, but let’s say you have a 30-year plan. At the end of those 30 years, you’re still alive, so what comes next?

    There is no cash value to term life insurance, so you don’t cash out any money if your term expires and you are still living. Your family only gets money if you die within that 30-year term.

    So if you have outlived your plan, the next step is to talk to your company about options for getting a new plan. Price competitors for life insurance quotes to see who can give you the best rate. Make sure to go with a reputable, reliable insurance company.

    Luke Williams writes and researches for the insurance comparison site, Clearsurance.com. His passions include writing about personal finance, insurance, and other ways people can save and invest their money.

     

  • Decide what kind of home business is best for you

    What sort of company you choose to start from home is crucial to your success. Small, medium, and large firms may be classified into three categories:

    Mix of both the service-based company and the product-based business.

    It’s critical that the firm you select is a good fit for your background, interests, and abilities. Choosing a company that has the capacity to match your financial requirements is also important. Take one of the numerous free online tests available to see whether your talents, personality characteristics, and interests are a good fit for a certain career path. For Home based business  this is important.

    Whether at home, at a shop, or at work?

    Next, you need to make sure that working from home is the best choice for both you and your customers once you have decided on the sort of company you want to establish. The criteria to evaluate include whether the firm is service or product-oriented.

    Home-based employment is often the most cost-effective and time-saving alternative for service businesses of any kind. Visiting your customer at their home for meetings is a common occurrence, and it is more convenient for them. More and more people are meeting clients at coffee shops. Service firms may now be more easily managed from a home office thanks to technological advancements.

    Allow yourself the luxury of having an office or storage facility apart from your house

    A product firm, on the other hand, might be more challenging to manage from home. Running a company from home isn’t always doable, depending on your product and your customers.

    Before opting to sell a product outside of your house, you should take into account the quantity of inventory you need to store, the demographics of your customers, and how you want to advertise your product.

    It is common for a product-focused firm to begin in one’s own home, build up a little amount of cash, and then move to a retail location.

    Take a hard look at your home office and your family’s daily routine

    Determine how much room you have in your house for a work area, and then set some ground rules with your family. Small businesses can’t afford to lose out on the advantages of having a dedicated professional location. A professional workplace may be necessary even if you do all of your business from home.

    The most successful entrepreneurs who operate from home have a door they can lock to keep out the outside world. In addition to a great workplace, you’ll need a dedicated phone line and up-to-date office equipment. Working in the basement, in your bedroom, or at the kitchen table is a prescription for catastrophe. When you’re at the workplace, your family needs to know that you’re working.

    To start a company, create a business plan

    Creating a business strategy will be your next step in this process. All businesses need a business strategy. In any case, it should be a strong piece of writing, no matter how casual or thorough you want it to be. In writing, the idea becomes more solid. It’s impossible to know exactly what you’re going to do in advance if you just have an idea in your brain. Keep an eye on the progress of your company by reviewing your strategy every month.

    A full- or part-time business venture

    Even if the company of your dreams is a great fit for your personality, abilities, and credentials after developing your business plan, it may not make financial sense. As a result, it’s possible that you’ll only be able to work on your company part-time in the beginning. Working from home full time or part time is mostly dependent on two things: how much money you need to make and how long it’ll take to turn a profit.

    Obtaining financing for your home-based company

    After developing a business plan, the next stage is to figure out how to get money for your venture. Loans, grants, and personal savings are the most common sources of startup capital for small enterprises.

    Obtaining a financial loan

    Getting a loan might be challenging for young company owners who don’t have the funds or a track record of success to show that they can pay back the loan. As long as you have a well-thought-out company strategy, you may examine your prospects of securing a bank loan by looking at the quarterly survey results of senior loan officers.

    Conclusion

    Small home-based enterprises seldom get funds from the federal government, but your local government may provide you with information on the kinds of grants that could be available to you. Some areas opt to award incentives to particularly specialized companies, such as day care facilities, breakthrough technology or ecologically oriented companies. Grants for women and minorities are given by those who aim to encourage development within a certain demographic.

  • ELSS Vs Gold Mutual Fund: Start investing and save taxes

    ELSS Vs Gold Mutual Fund: Start investing and save taxes

    Taxes are an essential aspect of the growth of any country. It helps the government build the infrastructure and the technology for a quality living experience.

    As a responsible citizen, it is your duty to ensure that you pay the right amount of tax.

    But there are certain situations in which you deserve a tax break. The government understands that and gives you enough options for you to apply for a tax break. If you are looking for investment options with a tax break, ELSS and gold mutual funds are two options that you could consider. Let us learn more about them.

    What are ELSS mutual funds?

    ELSS funds are a type of mutual fund that invests primarily in equities. It can be called a type of equity mutual fund, but the main difference here is the tax-saver part. They come under the section 80C of the income tax act, and hence, you can save up to Rs.1.5 lakh towards your contribution to the fund,

    Another difference here is the lock-in period. While other equity funds need not have a lock-in period, ELSS comes with a lock-in period of three years. But at the same time, ELSS’s lock-in period is among the lowest among other section 80C instruments.

    But ELSS’s tax benefits don’t end there. Since ELSS has a lock-in period, you can only withdraw the fund after at least three years. This means your returns will be considered long-term capital gains. Here, returns up to Rs.1 lakh are tax-exempt, and the rest is taxed at a flat 10%. This is much more affordable compared to short-term capital gains of a flat 20%.

    Hence, ELSS becomes an ideal option to get the advantage of the growth of the stock markets while savings some taxes as well.

    What are Gold mutual funds?

    Gold funds are mutual funds that invest in different forms of gold. Such a fund will invest in gold by investing in gold ETFs and other reserves of gold. Here, a gold mutual fund will aim at creating wealth by making use of the growth of gold as a commodity. It gives you the ability to reap benefits similar to that of purchasing physical gold, but without the hassle of charges that could come with it. Additionally, in the case of gold funds, experienced fund managers could ensure you get the best out of your investment.

    Taxation on gold mutual funds

    Most gold mutual funds are taxedsimilar to how physical gold is taxed.

    If you are selling gold in your individual capacity, you are subject to pay a tax rate of 20% plus a 4% cess on long-term capital gains. Your capital gains are considered long-term when you sell the gold after three years of purchasing.

    Short-term gains are included in your income and taxed accordingly.

    If your fund holds ETFs in your portfolio, then one ETF unit is considered to be one gram of gold and taxed accordingly.

    But even though they are taxed similarly, investing in gold bonds has some advantages over holding gold physically.

    The main advantage here is that it eliminates storage issues. Physically strong gold may prove to be dangerous even sometimes. But virtual gold will sit safely in your portfolio.

    Also, you don’t need to have a demat account to invest in gold funds, making it a bit easier as well.

    Both ETFs and gold mutual funds are good investment options. One thing that can help you choose between the two is understanding your goals and risk appetite. That information may help you plan your investments accordingly and help you with a decision in this scenario.

  • How To Leverage Data For A Better Retail Experience

    Infographic created by Fiserv, a B2B commerce platform company

  • How to Avoid Long-Term Financial Drains and Obligations

    How to Avoid Long-Term Financial Drains and Obligations

    For many people, the days of having a steady source of income are over. Your income may fluctuate month to month, and sometimes you may change your living situation; either way, there are times when you need to adjust your day-to-day or month-to-month budget. Here are some tips on how to plan and stay in control of your budget to minimize recurring expenses.

    There are multiple types of recurring expenses. Some include various insurance types that can be adjusted. Some include payments that can be completely canceled. And some are necessary to keep, like utility bills, but can be adjusted in different ways. We’ll cover all three categories of expenses.

    Avoiding Long-Term Insurance Financial Drains

    #1 – Auto Insurance

    Monthly vehicle insurance payments can be a big financial obligation. One very strategic way to lower your monthly costs is to sign up for 12 months instead of six months. This allows you to pay less per month because the insurance company views you as locked in.

    So if you know in advance, say, that your income will vary, this can be a great way to plan for harder months.

    #2 – Homeowners Insurance

    There are many feasible discounts you can find for homeowners insurance. For example, you can cut your premiums by as much as 20% if you improve home security. This can entail installing sprinkler systems, fire alarms, and burglar alarms. You can also make your house more disaster resistant.

    These solutions are more long-term to avoid financial drain and can be somewhat expensive at first. However, other recurring expenses, covered below, can be more instantly reduced.

    #3 – Life Insurance

    Now might be just the right time to plan out life insurance and retirement plans. In the case of life insurance, the longer term your policy is, the more expensive your premium will be. Consider changing to a policy that just focuses on when your children are young and financially dependent.

    You can also improve your health to reduce premiums. Try quitting smoking and making sure you stay at a healthy weight.

    #4 – Health Insurance

    Thoroughly research health insurance, and look for plans that have higher deductibles and are HMO plans. These options will lower your month-to-month expenses by lowering your premiums.

    HMO plans do not allow you to see doctors you want without a referral, but this is the trade-off. And a higher deductible also means if you suddenly get injured or seriously ill, you may have to pay more. But again this is the trade-off to lower month-to-month costs.

    Common Financial Drains That Can Be Completely Cut Out

    When examining for instant day-to-day control over your budget, you may find you have more extraneous recurring expenses than you realized. And these can add up. Fortunately, they can also be completely cut out, providing instant relief.

    If you have club memberships, you may need to temporarily cancel them. The same applies to gym memberships. Note, however, that you can still jog in your neighborhood if need be. Or if you live near a lake or beach, swimming may still be an option.

    Other recurring financial drains to check for include subscriptions like Apple Music or Spotify. Perhaps you subscribe to a blog, a newsletter, or a podcast. Or maybe you use services similar to Netflix.

    Go through your card statement to keep track of what you are subscribing to since it can be hard to remember. And beware of free trials. You may find in your card statements that you are paying for a service you don’t even want or use.

    Also consider switching entirely to internet usage, rather than paying for cable TV. Much of the content overlaps, and an entire bill vanishes.

    Lastly, some people have remote storage of physical items that they pay for monthly. See if you can find places for these items temporarily; family or friends may be willing to help.

    These options provide great immediate relief for long-term financial drains.

    Adjusting Other Common, Necessary Financial Obligations

    Aside from insurance, there are many other necessary bills that can be reduced, though not cut out entirely.

    Tips for reducing utilities include: taking shorter showers, purchasing energy-efficient appliances, adjusting your freezer and fridge temperatures, adjusting your thermostat when you’re not home, and using LED light bulbs.

    You can also opt to average your bill. For example, if your summer months are when you know your income will be in a tough spot, air conditioning could be an issue. So choose to average your costs and pay more during the winter months to cover your summer costs.

    For reducing rent or mortgage, Airbnb can be a great way to reduce your costs. Consider renting out a room temporarily, after thoroughly checking the tenant, of course. This can contribute to helping you pay your rent or mortgage. And yes, Airbnb is available to renters, too.

    For phone bills, see if you can change your data plan and use less data. And lastly, for credit card bills, check the terms and find out the minimum payment.

    Dorothea Hudson researches and writes for the car insurance site, CarInsuranceComparison.com.  She is passionate about helping her readers budget and save.

  • Price Optimization A Guide for Retailers

    Infographic created by Clover, a point of sale system provider