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How many monthly bills do you get? You may have a mortgage bill, a car payment, heating, electricity, gas, telephone, television, and that doesnt even begin with your credit card and store card payments. The fact of the matter is that people today have more monthly commitments than ever before. And with all these various bills it is very easy to forget to pay one on time.

Then there is the wholly separate issue of whether or not you can afford all your bills. Sometimes we may simply have over extended ourselves financially and in such situations we may not be able to pay all of our bills as they fall due. And what if you were to lose your job, or become ill or otherwise unable to work? Even if this is only for a short time, you will have some very real problems meeting all your monthly bills.

Penalties

This can be disastrous. First of all most creditors will slap late payment penalties and other administrative charges to your account if you are late. Some may recall or try to repossess assets if they have security over them. This is most serious in the case of your house but can also apply to your car or any other purchase you have made by instalments such as a television, or computer.

How can you provide for such an outcome? Well having some savings is a very good start. This should be able to cushion you for a few months should you lose your job. Then there is the fact that it is perhaps not so wise to rack up so many commitments that you cant reduce your outgoings at short notice.

Insurance Protection

Another option to consider is payment protection insurance. This can be very helpful and is designed specifically for situations such as these. How it works is you pay an amount extra on top of your monthly bill. This is automatically added to your bill and depends on how much you have outstanding for each bill. For example, payment protection insurance on a credit card might be priced at 1 per 100 you have outstanding. What happens then is should you lose your job through no fault of your own, or should you become unable to work due to accident or illness, then the insurance should step in and make your repayments for you so that you dont fall behind and rack up extra fees. This can be a great assistance to you financially, at a time when you need it most.

Whether or not to re-finance is a question homeowner may ask themselves many times while they are living in their home. Re-financing is essentially taking out one home loan to repay an existing home loan. This may sound odd at first but it is important to realize when this is done properly it can result in a significant cost savings for the homeowner over the course of the loan. When there is the potential for an overall savings it might be time to consider re-financing. There are certain situations which make re-financing worthwhile. These situations may include when the credit scores of the homeowners improve, when the financial situation of the homeowners improves and when national interest rates drop. This article will examine each of these scenarios and discuss why they may warrant a re-finance.

When Credit Scores Improve

There are currently so many home loan options available, that even those with poor credit are likely to find a lender who can assist them in realizing their dream of purchasing a home. However, those with poor credit are likely to be offered unfavorable loan terms such as high interest rates or variable interest rates instead of fixed rates. This is because the lender considers these homeowners to be higher risk than others because of their poor credit.

Fortunately for those with poor credit, many credit mistakes can be repaired over time. Some financial blemishes such as bankruptcies simply disappear after a number of years while other blemishes such as frequent late payments can be minimized by maintaining a more favorable record of repaying debts and demonstrating an ability to repay existing debts.

When a homeowners credit score improves considerable, the homeowner should inquire about the possibility of re-financing their current mortgage. All citizens are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. Homeowners should take advantage of these three reports to check their credit each year and determine whether or not their credit has increased significantly. When they notice a significant increase, they should consider contacting lenders to determine the rates and terms they may be willing to offer.

When Financial Situations Change

A change in the homeowners financial situation can also warrant investigation into the process of re-financing. A homeowner may find himself making considerably more money due to a change in jobs or considerably less money due to a lay off or a change in careers. In either case the homeowner should investigate the possibility of re-financing. The homeowner may find an increase in pay may allow them to obtain a lower interest rate.

Alternately a homeowner who loses their job or takes a pay cut as a result of a change in careers may hope to refinance and consolidate their debt. This may result in the homeowner paying more because some debts are drawn out over a longer period of time but it can result in a lower monthly payment for the homeowner which may be advantageous at this juncture of his life.

When Interest Rates Drop

Interest rates dropping is the one signal that sends many homeowners rushing to their lenders to discuss the possibility of re-financing their home. Lower interest rates are certainly appealing because they can result in an overall savings over the course of the loan but homeowners should also realize that every time the interest rates drop, a re-finance of the home is not warranted. The caveat to re-financing to take advantage of lower interest rates is that the homeowner should carefully evaluate the situation to ensure the closing costs associated with re-financing do not exceed the overall savings benefit gained from obtaining a lower interest rate. This is significant because if the cost of re-financing is higher than the savings in interest, the homeowner does not benefit from re-financing and may actually lose money in the process.

The mathematics associated with determining whether or not there is an actual savings is not overly complicated but there is the possibility that the homeowner will make mistakes in these types of calculations. Fortunately there are a number of calculators available on the Internet which can help homeowners to determine whether or not re-financing is worthwhile.

Savings account is account deposited that is only intended to stay in the bank for a relatively shorter time span. This account usually offers much lower interest rates than most bank accounts. But still, like many other accounts, it accumulates interests. The rate of which is largely dependent on the conditions provided by the bank.

Savings accounts are normally maintained by commercial banks, credit unions, loans and savings associations, and some mutual savings bank that are offering interests that can never be used as money. However, the account may be utilized by writing a check.

These accounts allow customers to use parts of their liquid assets, which may be used for any transactions. But before a savings account is used, the balances in the savings account must first be transferred to checkable deposits or transaction deposits or currency. But due to the simplicity of transferring the saving accounts, they are often termed as "money".

Though the use of checks is often not allowed, withdrawals are still easier when done using the savings accounts. The Money Market Deposit Account or the MMDAs on the other hand may restrict you on a limited number of transference of accounts and withdrawals.

With the advent of the Internet comes the development of a new system of banking- the direct-to-consumer banking system. This particularly addresses online savings accounts. Direct-to-consumer system allows direct access to savings accounts from the traditional bank online where money naturally transfers by means of electronic bank transfer. There are two types of banking institutions that create and allow this form of transaction- online-only banks and the traditional banks.

Online-only banking is the answer of the entrepreneurs to the growing consensus of the general public of who usually make banking transactions through the internet. These banks tried to accomplish what real banks have done. They offered almost the same spectrum of products that traditional banks have but offered them on consumer-friendly deals- high interest rates and low fees.

Online savings accounts often offer significantly higher rates of interest as compared to the contemporary savings account. This deal may be attributed to the fact that lesser expenses during online processing and that online market is naturally rate-sensitive.

Sadly, the majority of the consumers are not yet prepared to this new treatment in banking. This in effect, brought down most of such banks.

But by the end of year 2000, ING launched an optimized form of online-only banking. This was rather successful and brought great increase in the online banking industry. They created a much simpler savings account transaction that pays higher rates than the traditional banking. But this does not permit the use of ATM cards, checks, and other services. It was only intended as an account for which your money may be safely guarded.

For almost three years, ING had no other rivals in this system of banking. But recently, many other banking institutions have followed suit. Some were the pioneers of the online-only banking who eventually died down during the course yet returned to beat the market share ING has. Some of these banks offer the same services with that of the ING programs. Most have the same principle of high interest rates and no unnecessary frills.

One notable new entrant is the VirtualBank. This targeted the high-end techy society yet they offer much lower rates as compared to the ING Bank. Thus they gained some consumers.

Eventually, the industry expanded sometime in 2003 until 2004. And by the year 2005, savings account virtually revolutionized banking by means of online-only banking.

Only a few years ago the concept of online banking seemed like a dubious one concerns about security and computer glitches were enough to put most people off. But with the continuing success of flagship companies like Cahoot, Egg and Smile, more and more of us are choosing to do business over the net. Sophisticated technology means that your information is well protected, and an online account offers several advantages over traditional banking.

Anytime, anywhere

The convenience of being able to log on and carry out transactions at any hour of the day or night could be a welcome alternative to visiting the bank on your lunch hour. No queues and no bank holidays mean the customer has even more control over their finances. Plus, your account information is displayed as a clear overview no more riffling through mountains of old bank statements to find the info youre looking for.

Get higher

Because online banks dont have the overheads of running branches, they can pass on the savings to the customer, and offer better rates of interest on your money. Not only do they offer substantially more interest on your current account but there are also loans available with very low APRs that will save you money in the long run.

Safe and secure

Some experts consider internet banking to be even more secure than traditional methods you wont have pieces of paper with sensitive information lying around, and theres no danger of your business being overheard by other bank customers. Check that the site is secure whenever conducting business online, never send passwords or account information in emails, and be sure to log out when youve finished your session

The downside?

In the past there have been a few cases of computer glitches revealing customers personal information, but these have been relatively minor and as internet banking becomes more popular, systems are likely to become more secure than ever. Technophobes probably wont enjoy banking online. You do need to make sure your computers security system is sound, and that you have privacy for your session. Some people may miss the face-to-face contact of their local branch, and most will choose a combination of online banking, phone banking and branch visits. As internet banking becomes more established, its likely most of us will end up conducting at least a proportion of our business online, and you could find switching on to the new banks well worthwhile.

In this day and age, there really shouldn't be any reason to make certain financial mistakes. Do a search of the internet and you will find that there are thousands of articles out there that warn you of the pitfalls of certain choices. Advice for living a financially stable life is everywhere. What are you waiting for?

Here are the most common mistakes that I've seen people make. I've even made a few of them myself. These are the financial mistakes that you can learn from. You've probably made a few of them yourself, they are very common.

Mistake #1: Using that little plastic card to get what you want.

We'll just start off with the number one mistake out there. This is probably the most common mistake in the country. Almost every person in the US today has a credit card. It is almost like a right of passage when you turn eighteen. There are even people out there that aren't eighteen yet that have them.

Credit card debt is the fastest way to ruin your finances. It is easy to acquire and difficult to pay off. The minimum balance doesn't pay off enough of your outstanding balance to help you very much. You will be paying on your balances for decades. Even a $500 balance can take you over a decade to pay off if you simply make the minimum payment.

Add in the interest rate, which rarely goes down. If you miss a payment, you will really be paying the bank. Thirty percent interest is common on a credit card once a payment has been missed. And you only have to miss that payment by a day -- which can happen in the mail or processing if you don't plan ahead well enough.

Mistake #2: Buying more home than you can afford.

With the real estate market in the state it is today, many people are regretting their housing decisions. Adjustable rate mortgages are acceptable loan products for some people. But only if they can afford the maximum rate that the loan can hit if interest rates go up. Too many people only consider that introductory rate. They stretch and purchase as much as they can afford. Then, when rates go up and their rate adjusts, they can't afford the payment. Add that to a slowing housing market, and you may have a foreclosure on your hands.

If you are going to buy a home, make sure that you purchase what you can afford. Take out a fixed-rate mortgage so that you know what your payments will be. If rates go drastically down in the next couple of years, you can always refinance. If rates go up, you are protected. Try to aim for a 15-year mortgage over a 30-year. It will save you hundreds of thousands in interest. But if you can't do it, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is an acceptable loan choice for the purchase of a home.

Mistake #3: Not controlling your money.

Too many people live paycheck to paycheck. They have no savings. They have no retirement plan. They have nothing to back them up in the case of an emergency. They have no control over their money.

You have to take control of your finances if you want to retire someday. You have to learn how to budget, save, invest and spend. All it takes is a little time. And once you get in the habit, you will notice that your life has more control. You should say where your money goes, not lenders or creditors or anyone else.

Mistake #4: Not saving for retirement.

There are more seniors in the work place now than there were twenty years ago. And even more than there were fifty years ago. If you want to retire with enough money to live comfortably, you have to start putting something back today. Start an IRA. Contribute to your employer's 401(k) plan. Figure out how much you need to invest and find a way to do it. This is your future. You don't want to reach sixty and realize that you can't afford to stop working. There is no guarantee that you will be able to draw social security or other forms of assistance then. What if you become ill and have to retire? What if you get hurt? Prepare for the future. Start saving for retirement today.

As a parent, the big financial concern with a newborn is how to set aside enough money to assist for a college education. Universities and state governments have developed many different financial savings plans to encourage parents to save money for college. Some of the plans include 529 accounts, Coverdell accounts, Roth IRAs and prepaid/guaranteed tuition costs. Unfortunately, few of the programs offer every benefit such as tax deductions, tax deferred savings, unlimited investment options, self directed investments and no penalties.

Selecting a university is a critical and expensive decision, and in my view it is foolhardy to make before the last couple years of high school. A drawback of the university-based or state-based plans (such as a 529 account) is that they impose penalties if a child doesnt attend a specific university or in a specific state. Who knows what aptitudes, skills or interests your child may develop that necessitate a specific school that is out of your home state. University and state-based plans also impose penalties if the money isnt ultimately used for qualified college expenses; another example where an event that is out of your control and may cause an unneeded expense. But the biggest problem with university and state programs are the financial rule changes they make after you start the plan.

To me, the university and state-based programs are a lose/lose savings plan for parents. If the cost of tuition rises faster than forecasted, in spite their guarantees, they raise the price and leave you under-funded. Conversely, if tuition rises less than forecasted, then you end up overpaying for tuition. And the same applies to the stock market some plans force you to invest in; when the market fell in 2000 and 2001, many plans broke their promise to guarantee full tuition funding in spite of promises to the contrary.

Another drawback of state-based plans is that your investment options are severely limited to a few mutual funds run by the brokerage firm operating the account. I have evaluated several: and they have high fees and poor returns, and Im wary of the lack of competition for many of these accounts. The brokerage firms blame economics for the lack of investment choices, saying that most of the accounts are small and not very profitable for them, so they want as little trading and customer interaction as possible.

The federal college savings plans are better because they allow the widest selection of investments (such as an educational Roth IRA or other education savings accounts), and can be applied to most any accredited university. These accounts offer tax-free growth and withdrawal is also exempt from federal taxes and some states taxes. Realistically, your situation may call for multiple accounts. Rules prohibit you from using these if your income passes certain thresholds.

In my opinion, the best place to start saving college is with U.S. government ibonds from TreasuryDirect.gov. These bonds offer the most flexibility and control, and require none of the paperwork and rules of other savings plans. They accrue a decent rate of interest every month, the principal is adjusted for inflation each quarter, the income tax is deferred, and you dont have any brokerage fees. And when the money is withdrawn for a university on their approved list, the money can be redeemed tax-free. (As for limiting rules: you cannot withdraw the money in the first year, and if you withdraw it within five years, there is a three month interest penalty so ibonds are not the best savings plan after a child reaches about age twelve). Since ibonds are simply savings not an educational account, the money can be spent for any type of expense that may arise.

The government and brokerage firms keep updating these accounts, so my complaints will hopefully become moot in the near future. But the criteria that you need to watch for are: many investment options, few penalties, no taxes and total control. These will maximize the money youre setting aside for that expensive degree.

The biggest concern that people have when they start using Internet banking is security. The media is full of scare stories about foreign hackers breaking into thousands of bank accounts and draining out all the money, leaving some poor old couple missing their life savings. Many people have even been scared out of signing up for Internet banking at all by these kind of stories, thinking that it somehow puts them at risk. However, as long as you take the time to learn a little about the Internet, nothing could be further from the truth.

Before we go any further, there is one thing that is absolutely the most important thing you can know about Internet banking security. It is this: there is absolutely no guarantee that emails are from who they say theyre from. E-mail was designed back before people were concerned about Internet security (thats why you get so much spam), and if you know what youre doing, its really very easy to make an email look like it came from absolutely anyone, anywhere. With this in mind, you should simply ignore any email that says it comes from your bank, and never click any links that the emails may contain.

Thats the biggest risk out of the way, but there are still a few other things to watch out for. When you go to your banks website, make sure that youve really ended up at the right place by looking for the address in the address bar towards the top of the screen it should be the address of your banks website, not anything strange. Also, make sure to look for the padlock icon in the bottom-right of your screen, as this tells you that your connection is secure. If youre ever in doubt, close your web browser and start again, copying the banks website address carefully from a letter they sent you.

Financial Budgeting, Income, Costs and Hints (Part 3 of 5)

Part 3 is: Start Saving!

So you are loaded down with bills to pay each month and are wondering how you can begin a savings account for emergencies and other high-expense endeavors. In other words, where can you find that extra cash to put away for later?

Firstly, when configuring your budge, plan for your savings first. You will grow richer each month if you begin to pay yourself first. Before paying any bills, decide on a set amount that you will pay yourself first - maybe five or ten percent - or whatever you decide - of your paycheck. Then, deposit the amount into a savings account before paying any bills.

When you do this at the beginning of the month, your entire paycheck will not suddenly slip through your fingers. If you wait until the end of the month, there may be nothing left to save. Paying yourself first will give you a systematic way to make your money grow. Regardless of your profession or your income, this system will work if you stick to it.

Anoter technique you may try for saving money is to empty your extra change into a coffee can or a jar each day. At the end of the month, roll the coins and put them into your savings account. You may be able to save 30 or 40 dollars each month just with your spare change.

Remember that good money management is more than just a mathematical formula. Its too closely tied with the ups and downs of living to be just that. Your money management plan is always subject to change if your life situation changes. The object of a good budget is to make your money go the farthest in helping you reach your goals, it is not there to force to you to abide by rules.

Dont get discouraged if the budget plan doesnt work perfectly right away. It may involve some revising and editing until it fits your needs. Then, make sure to review it often, and be sure it is making the best use of every penny! Because we know how helpful those spare pennies can be!

I just finished a Venti Latte at Starbucks, my fifth this week. As I enjoyed my coffee and thought about my next save money grow rich article, it hit me like a ton of bricks that my coffee could be the subject of my article. I started doing the math on the latte in my hand; Three dollars and forty cents multiplied by five times a week multiplied by fifty two weeks. Thats eight hundred and forty dollars Im spending a year on fancy coffee! If I saved that money each year and invested with five percent interest, which is pretty easy to get, I could have sixty thousand dollars in thirty years. Im spending sixty thousand dollars on a cup of coffee. Im not even accounting for inflation which is going to make that latte cost over eight dollars in the last eight to ten years of that thirty year period. At eight percent interest it would be one hundred and ten thousand dollars. Yikes!

What little things are you spending your money on? You might not drink fancy coffee, but Ill assure you that there are other things youre spending your money on that can be cut from your budget. That money can be saved, grown, and used to become rich or at least retire comfortably. How much do you spend on bottled water, cigarettes, beer, and lottery tickets? You dont have to give up all of your favorite vices, I mean luxury items. Life is pretty boring if all you do is save every penny, but it is a good idea to take an inventory of what you are spending, what you can give up, and what it is worth to you in future dollars.

Track your daily expenses for a week. Make a list of each of the expenses and separate them into the items that are absolutely necessary, like gas, and the items that are not necessary, like the coffee.

Here are some other areas that you can cut back and save:

- Eating out. Only eat out occasionally and take your lunch to work.
- The mid afternoon candy bar. Hey, its good for your health too.
- Pre-packed convenience foods.
- Carry over credit card interest. Pay your credit card bill off monthly.
- Extra cable channels.

Youll be amazing how fast you can come up with two hundred and fifty dollars a month that can be saved. Using the savings calculator at www.rich.fqte.com/savings-estimator.htm you can see that two hundred and fifty dollars saved monthly for thirty years adds up to a lot of money. Time to ditch the latte, save money, and get rich faster.

Good news: Consumers can save nearly $3 billion a year just by using coupons when shopping. According to the Promotion Marketing Association Coupon Council, spending just 20 minutes per week clipping coupons can save you up to $1,000 per year. It's easy. Over 85 percent of all coupons issued in the U.S. are found in Sunday papers. And it's popular. Seventy-six percent of Americans are already coupon users.

The following tips can also help you on your way to becoming a savvy coupon clipper:

Finding Coupons:

• Look in the store. You'll find coupons in retailers' advertising flyers, on the shelf, at kiosks, even at the checkout. Turn your register receipt over-sometimes there will be coupons there, too.

• Try samples offered in the store and you'll often be offered a coupon to take home a package of the products.

• Check product packages. Your favorite brands want to keep you loyal, so you'll often find coupons on or in the package.

• Look on the Internet. There are coupon sites where you can print coupons and find providers who will e-mail you coupons. A product manufacturer's Web site may offer coupons for brands you love. Check the store's Web site too. Be cautious online, however, of someone offering to sell you coupons...there's no need to buy them when there are so many available free.

Using Coupons:

• Organize your coupons in the order that you shop the store to save time and make sure you use them all.

• Make coupon-clipping a family affair--it can be a great math and savings lesson for the kids. Involve them in the process and let them "earn" coupon savings money.

• Use coupons with shorter expiration dates first.

• Shop on double or triple coupon days and use manufacturers' rebates to realize additional savings.