Searching for money invest strategies to improve your financial positions and to avoid cash issues ? “Nobody ever told me that life insurance could do things for me when I was alive,” admits Kirby Thomas, owner of Life Insurance Today US, a nationwide provider of life insurance for consumers. Some life insurance policies offer an “accelerated benefits” option in which the death benefit is payable while the insured is still alive. “Possible ‘living benefits’ include terminal illness, critical illness, chronic illness, and critical injury,” explains Thomas. “I recently recommended this option for a woman buying insurance for her 75-year-old mother. By buying a policy with the proper riders, instead of the daughter incurring debt to pay for Mom’s future treatment, the life insurance could be used instead. The death benefit would be reduced by the amount accelerated, and the balance paid to the daughter when she lost her Mom.”
Spend 1-3 Hours Per Week Reading About Finances and Investing: If you want to learn how to take control of your finances, you need to read. Doesn’t matter if this is books, blogs, or other well-known publications. Just a few hours a week can change your financial life. I got in this habit in late 2014 and continue this process today. You’ll be surprised at how much you learn in a short amount of time. Related: Looking for budgeting, investing, and money tools or apps? I’ve listed some of the best ones that will help you succeed with your personal finances. Check out my recommended list here. Find more info at Make Money Tricks.
If you’re contributing to a retirement plan and a savings account and you can still manage to put some money into other investments, all the better. Employment benefits like a 401(k) plan, flexible spending accounts, medical and dental insurance, etc., are worth big bucks. Make sure you’re maximizing yours and taking advantage of the ones that can save you money by reducing taxes or out-of-pocket expenses. Too many people are talked into paying too much for life and disability insurance, whether it’s by adding these coverages to car loans, buying whole-life insurance policies when term-life makes more sense, or buying life insurance when you have no dependents. On the other hand, it’s important that you have enough insurance to protect your dependents and your income in the case of death or disability.
You might hear the word “budget” and cringe a little, but you shouldn’t. Budgeting is not hard, and it doesn’t mean you have to stop doing things you enjoy. Budgeting is simply creating a plan for your money so you have a better idea of where it’s going every month. A popular and effective way to budget is with the 50/30/20 rule. How it works is 50% of your income goes towards the necessities (bills, food, housing, etc.), 20% of your income goes towards savings and the remaining 30% you can use for whatever you please. This is a nice and easy way to break down your paycheck, but you might need to adjust it a bit to fit your lifestyle. Mortgage: This one’s a tricky one, but mortgages are generally considered good debt. They are usually long-term loans with low interest rates, so you’ll still have money freed up for investments and such. The interest from mortgages is also tax deductible, so that’s a bonus. In the end, it’s up to you to decide whether purchasing a home is the right move, as the value of a house will not always rise as some people think. You’ll also have to add in the expenses of property tax, utilities, and home insurance. Visit: aspiretomoney.com.