Ewan Captures : Financial Blog

What Are Final Expenses?

Nobody likes to think about having a loved one pass away. But when it does happen, and the family has not planned for it, the poor family can have a lot of stress to deal with. In the US, funerals can average $8,000 – $10,000 or more. In addition, their may be other costs, called final expenses, like travel, transportation of the body, and even settling debts like medical bills. Most families would have a hard time writing a check for this amount of money.

How To Plan For Funerals

But if you worry about needing to come up with this money, you are not alone. And products called final expense insurance or burial policies have been popular in the market thse days. These are actually smaller face value whole life insurance policies. They have face values that range from a couple thousand dollars to several thousand dollars. And because of the smaller face value, compared to other life insurance policies, they have been designed to be easy for older people to obtain.

Here are some advantages of burial insurance policies:

They should be easy for most seniors to apply for, and to qualify for. The premium can be paid by the applicant, or by a family member. The smaller face value should keep the premiums affordable for most families. The beneficiariy is usually a close family member, and they will get paid cash. Thye can use this money to make final arrangements at any funeral home they choose, and they may keep any money that is left over. A burial policy from a top insurer should be well known by quality funeral homes, and they will often accept proof of insurance instead of cash payments. The money can pay for many expenses that are associated with the end of life, and this includes funerals, travel, transportation of a body, and debt payoffs. It is not just targetted at paying off a funeral home, but can be used the way the beneficiary needs to use it.

Who buys Senior Life Insurance?

Sometimes the elderly person will take out a policy for themselves, and sometimes a family member, like a grown child, will own the policy. It is not an act of greed, but one of financial planning. Most seniors are willing to accept this because they do want their children or grandchildren to have a financial burden heaped upon them when they pass away. In face, many seniors are proud that they have helped take care of this issue, and it takes some stress off of them.

What are the Types of Final Expense Policies?

These policies usually come in 2 main kinds, though the details vary by company.

A simplified issue policy only asks a few health questions, and is designed to accept most people in reasonably good health. It usually only excludes those with a terminal illness or who need nursing home care. The good thing about simplified issue policies is that they have an immediate death benefit with no waiting periods, and the premiums are more affordable.

Guaranteed issue policies, on the other hand, will have a waiting period instead of health questions. That way, almost every senior can be accepted. But if the insured person dies before the period ends, the family may not be entitled to the whole face value. Instead they may get the premiums returned, with interest, or they may get some percentage of the face value. You must look at the individual policy for details.

Much has been said and written about the “horrors” of in house dealer financing of automobile loans. Actually determining the best way to go about financing your next car is a bit more involved. In some circumstances, in house financing auto loans are a very good deal, primarily for those with good, very good or excellent credit. Both the auto dealers and the new car manufacturers know that the limited amount of good and excellent credit available for auto loan financing is very limited and they want as much of it as they can get. So for those with very good credit, they bend over backwards to make sure their auto loan financing is as competitive as possible.

As one moves down the credit spectrum into good to poor to bad, the story begins to change. The average auto finance firm expects most of its business to be poor credit but good enough to pay the loan and not require the car be reprocessed. For an auto finance company this is a great business model. It allows them to charge high interest rates with only a reasonable amount of risk. At high rates they do not even have to finance a lot of cars to have a very viable business. It is in this “gray area” that many of today’s auto buyers find themselves.

For those credit challenged with bad credit, normally the last option and lowest place on the totem pole is “buy here pay here“. In this circumstance the seller actually counts on having to reprocess the car. They realize the credit starved buyer has little or no options so they start by inflating the price of the car. For example a car that may sell on the used car lot of a franchised dealer for $10,000 will easily be $15,000 at a buy here pay here. Often they also require the buyer to put money down and, at the same time, charge the highest interest rates that are legal. Caught up in this set of variables, the buy here pay here dealer does not expect the buyer to pay on the car for too long. They reprocess the car and just sell it again in the same scenario.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who have to look at auto loans for bad credit, the place to start is not even at the auto finance company and certainly not at the buy here pay here dealer. By far the best place to start is the internet. In the privacy of your home you can compare the rates and offers of multiple outlets without ever leaving home. You will be able to determine what your credit will be able to finance and can often get your financing approved over the phone. This way, you are in control and understand what you are getting into.

Like most types of insurance, homeowners insurance can feel like a waste of money until something goes wrong and it is needed. Although it is not advisable to go without it, there are many great tips on finding affordable homeowners insurance. It is easy for any family to protect their home without breaking the bank if they know how to go about it.

One expensive mistake that many homeowners make is insuring the land their home stands on in addition to the house itself. This is unnecessary and can make the cost of insuring a home considerably higher. If someone thinks they may have made this error, they should contact their insurance agent immediately and lower their coverage to the value of the house and the things inside minus the value of the land.

Homeowners insurance is in place in the event that something happens to the home, including a burglary. To get a lower rate on their insurance, homeowners can take extra precautions to protect their home against insurance. This could mean getting a security system that is monitored around the clock or putting window locks on each window on the home in addition to padlocks on all of the doors.

The premium for homeowners insurance, as with most types of insurance, is determined based on the credit score of the applicant. Before applying for new homeowners insurance, applicants should do everything possible to make sure they have a good credit rating. This means paying all bills on time to prove that they can be trusted to pay their premium regularly.

It may be frustrating to pay for something each month that is never used, but when the time of need comes, homeowners are happy to be insured. Nothing can compare to knowing that a family’s home and valuables are protected from whatever incident may occur. However, that does not mean a family needs to go broke to stay safe, and these tips on finding affordable homeowners insurance can make sure that does not happen.

Debt consolidation loans can be one of the best options for you to achieve debt relief. You may have recently had a setback with your job and currently have less income in your household. This may mean that the credit card debt you have is not getting paid. It is time for you to look at your finances and come up with a solution that will help you eliminate those bills.

Getting a loan to consolidate your debt is a great option because it allows you to take all of the current bills you have and consolidate them into one easy manageable payment. You also will benefit because the amount of interest you pay on this new loan will be much lower than what you’re credit card interest rates are.

Your first step in finding this type of help is to talk to your financial institution and see if they offer a debt consolidation loan plan that you can use. In most cases there are unsecured and secured loans that you can apply for. Your best option is to find and unsecured debt consolidation loan so that you can work towards getting your debt completely paid off.

It is important for you to talk with several banks and compare interest rates before you sign on the dotted line. If you or trying to save money and pay off your debt quickly than you want to find the lowest possible rate. Most of your credit card bill rates will range anywhere between 15 and 25%. This new loan that you apply for should be less than 10%.

Remember that you can get out of debt quickly once you apply for a debt consolidation loan. There are many benefits to using this type of debt relief to take a bandage of it today.

Auto insurance is important protection for you, your family, and other people on the road. There are a large number of company’s that sell insurance. Rates can vary a lot so you can save by getting quotes from multiple companies. You will often get additional discounts by combining your auto and homeowners or renters coverage with the same company. The agent you choose to do business with should explain your coverage’s and options to your satisfaction.

Coverage laws differ by states but generally there is a minimum coverage required and an option to purchase more. As an insurance agent I know that many people will ask for the minimum amount of coverage. In Texas that is 20/40/15 which means $20,000 per person for liability insurance (if you hurt someone), $40,000 liability maximum per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH! If you hurt someone in an accident there is a very good chance the injury will be greater than $20,000. It is not uncommon for an injury to be $100,000 or more. The minimum for property damage is also too low to properly protect you and other motorists. Ask your agent to give you information on the incremental cost for higher levels of protection. The maximum available for liability is typically around $500,000. This is good coverage but still may not be enough, especially if you have a lot of assets. If you want more coverage than the auto policy offers you can buy an umbrella that adds an additional amount. For property damage the maximum offered is typically $100,000. Keep in mind that there are vehicles on the road that are valued at 100K or even more.

In most states there is uninsured motorist coverage available at extra cost. This pays you if an uninsured or under insured mororist injures you or your property. This is good coverage to get if it is affordable for you. You can also purchase medical coverage. If you already have health insurance you may want to decline this to reduce your insurance cost. Other options to discuss with your agent could be towing coverage, rental reimbursement, gap insurance and possibly other coverage’s. A good agent should talk to you about every possible discount available from the company. These could include things like a vehicle alarm system, multiple vehicles in the household, drivers training, affinity group, (teacher, police officer, fireman, ect.), electronic fund payment, ect..

Some other ways to save on your insurance could be to have a very inexpensive car and only buy liability insurance. This can save a lot, especially for a young driver. You can also check with your agent for tips on what cars have lower rates before buying a new vehicle. In general, moderately priced 4 door sedans are on the low side. You can also save by having a larger deductible for your collision coverage. Ask your agent about the cost difference for different deductible amounts.

An automobile is a necessity when you are a college graduate. Almost every student wants to get his own car to make things easier. Even though all information is available at your fingertips, most college graduates make mistakes while choosing an auto loan, about which they repent later.

Here are 10 things you need to be careful about when choosing auto loans.

As a college graduate, you can choose your vehicle from a list of used cars, certified used cars, brand new cars and private owned cars as auto loans for college graduates are available for all these varieties. Make a list of vehicles you would like to go for. It would be better to avoid sports utility vehicles (SUV) as you would be spending a lot on gas, which might not be a wise thing while you study. You can make your research using reference magazines and online car review sites to find out the best reliable car before you make your decision. You can also look out for used cars from private parties and get your auto loan pre approved. Many lenders provide checks to pay the owner of the car when you make the purchase and this way you can save costs on dealer commission and other charges. When you purchase a non certified used car or a private owned car, be sure to get the vehicle identification number (VIN) and check the service history online to avoid vehicles with major issues. When approach a lender for auto loans for college graduates, you will be given different combinations of benefits like dealer or manufacturer offered cash back or rebates, no or flexible down payments, deferred payments from one month to one year, road side assistance and zero or low interest rates. Choose the best that fit your financial situation. You must make sure that you get quotes from different companies online and offline to compare the rates and terms offered to choose the best. Even if you have bad credit, there are many lenders who offer you auto loans for college graduates as they reduce their risk by having the car as a collateral for the loan. Even though some lenders offer you blank check auto loans, as a college graduate it would be better choose a car well below $ 25000 and make your payments on time. Make sure you stick to the payment terms and make your payments on time as this will definitely help you to make a good credit history and it can get you the best deals in future.