Archive for February, 2009
Friday, February 27th, 2009
In this post I share responses regarding when and where to get life insurance.
With the arrival of our new baby, the question of what to do about life insurance comes to mind. To help us get some perspective, I reached out to some of my blogging friends and readers and asked them this question:
“ Do you currently have life insurance on yourself or your spouse and where should one go to find the right life insurance?“
Their answers are below:
Sense to Save – We have life insurance on myself (a SAHM) and my husband. We have policies through my husband’s employer and also through Zander.com.
No Credit Needed – My wife and I both have term life policies, purchases through a local life insurance agent. He gave us a comparison of several life insurance companies, and we chose a company with a combination of low price and high rating.
Free From Broke – I get life insurance through work. I must admit this is an area we have to look into more thoroughly though.
Wide Open Wallet – We both have life insurance. I think it’s an absolute necessity while raising kids. In my opinion, term life insurance is the only way to go.
The Happy Rock – Yes we do. We have about 6 times my current salary. With no debt except a mortgage that sum will easily pay off the mortgage and give my wife plenty room to decide were the family needs to go. We probably need a little more insurance on my wife, so that I would be afforded similar options though. When we search we will only buy 20 or 30 year level term insurance from a highly rated company. It isn’t worth bother with things like whole life and other so called insurance innovations that are really just ways for them to make more money.
My Money Minute – As far as Life Insurance goes – we went through Dave Ramsey’s recommended broker, Zander Insurance. They give you quotes for a bunch of different insurance companies, and you can choose which one you want. We have 20 year term life insurance. You may need less, but we each got a $1MM policy. It costs about $75/month ($900/year) total for both policies, and we bought them about 18 months ago. For what it’s worth, I would tend to agree with Ramsey’s analysis on term vs. whole life insurance. I’d rather just insure against catastrophe and invest my money elsewhere.
No Debt Plan – Yes, yes, and yes. We both have life insurance policies. We used AccuQuote.com to find the cheapest deal specifically because we had read about it in Money Magazine. I think SelectQuote is similar if you want to really price compare. We were happy with the cost and got that taken care of in 2007. They are 20 year term life plans — none of that whole life garbage for us.
Budgets Are Sexy – YUP! The spouse and I signed up for it a couple years back when we first moved in together. We both have 30 year Term Life Insurance and pay about $55 total each month for a $350k policy each. The first place I’d recommend hitting up is USAA if you’re eligible (had to have been in the military, or related to someone who is/was). They’re always super competitive, and their customer service is beyond any other I’ve come across! Next, I’d check around w/ other PF Bloggers and see which companies they like. 
The Shauls – We applied with a insurer but were denied due to our occupation. I guess it’s hard to measure a missionary’s risk level. I am going to reapply, however, with a different company. For me, it boils down to the right information with the right agent. If I feel like the guy on the other side of the table is just interested in selling me something, I’m moving on. Good thing for me is, insurance runs in the family. After three generations of private ownership, my relatives know their stuff. Look no further than http://chastainotis.com/.
Christian Personal Finance – I recently discussed this with my wife and because of our current favorable financial position we had decided against getting life insurance until we had kids. I wrote a post explaining my reasons for not having life insurance as a D.I.N.K, but thanks to some enlightening and persuasive comments from the readers I have been rethinking my decision.
ABCs of Investing – Life insurance – yes I have it. I’m the sole breadwinner in my fam so if we want my wife & kiddies to keep the same standard of living if I kick the bucket then it is necessary. You should be able to look up quotes online.
Moolanomy – Right now, I have a group term life through my job and my wife has a term life. I am in the process of shopping for my own term life, but with limited success. If you have a good relationship with your insurance agent, you can start there. Otherwise, you can try sites like NetQuote or InsureMe.
Rocket Finance – Life Insurance is one of the cheapest ways to provide for your family – everyone should consider long term care insurance as well.
Good Financial Cents – I currently have third party life insurance on myself. My wife has term insurance through her employer. Any reputable insurance agent and/or company will do. Be sure to check the stability of the insurance company and also shop around. When you do get a quote, make sure that they are not quoting you the “Superman” rate (unless you truly think you are that healthy). I would first start with your employer with insurance (group rates tend to be cheaper than third party). Your employer will only typically insure you up to a certain amount. If you need more, then go to the third party. In my experience, going to third party carriers that only offer proprietary insurance will be more expensive i.e. State Farm, AIG, Farmers. It might not always be the case, but several years ago my wife worked for AIG, for a bit, selling insurance (Thank goodness no more). With my old firm, I could offer AIG insurance as well as many other different carriers. She ran a quote for a guy and, out of curiosity; I ran a quote for the same guy with same type of AIG insurance. Guess what? If he bought it through me, it would be about $20/mo cheaper. I’m not exactly sure why, but since then; I’ve always assumed that by going to just one company, you will probably pay a bit more. Editor’s note: read where Jeff discusses term vs cash value life insurance.
My Dollar Plan – We also have life insurance on both of us. Term insurance both through group coverage at the employer and purchased outside from a quote on Insweb.
Bible Money Matters – As far as life insurance, that’s one of those things I keep meaning to do, but don’t get around to. I’ve done some searching through Dave Ramsey’s suggested zander insurance, as well as insureme and netquote (I believe).
Free Money Finance – Yes, we have life insurance on both of us (though different amounts.) I went online, got a low price, then told an agent who I knew that he could write the policy if he matched the price. He did.
Reader J – We have limited life insurance through our job, but I’ve been considering Prudential. They hold my 401(k), and seem to be weathering the storm so far.
More reading from Four Pillars: How Much Life Insurance Do You Need.
Thanks for all you solid answers, guys. I appreciate the information.
If you’ve got an opinion on life insurance, I’d love to hear it. Share it in the comments below.
Posted in Insurance | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
The Finish Rich Dictionary
Time for another book review and giveaway. Today I’m featuring The Finish Rich Dictionary: 100 Financial Words You Need to Know by David Bach. You know David. He’s the author of The Automatic Millionaire. Which just happens to be my favorite personal finance related books.
What do the terms retrench, shadow price, and greenmail have in common? They’re all words you likely don’t know but should, and they’re in this dictionary.
I know what you’re thinking…if David Bach is such a successful writer, why has he turned to churning out dictionaries? Well, thankfully it’s not entirely a dictionary.
Throughout the book, David shares mini-chapters on basic personal finance topics, like “How to Buy a Home” and “The Top 10 Money Mistakes People Make“. Each are solid, quick reads full of advice.
I can definitely see this book being a solid reference piece of my library for some time. I’m keeping my copy, but I have one copy to give away.
Win a Copy of The Finish Rich Dictionary
Leave a comment in the box below this post by March 6th to be entered into the giveaway. One entry per person and U.S. only please. I will randomly select a winner and announce it on the blog the weekend of March 7th. Good luck!
Posted in Money Books | 16 Comments »
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
With the baby on the way, this is likely the last tax tip I’ll roll out for some time. I thought I’d take the opportunity to roundup several of my favorite online tax tools and guides to help you this tax season:
TurboTax TaxCaster – Forecast your tax payment or refund using TurboTax’s TaxCaster. If you’ve got all your W-2s, 1099s, and a rough estimate of your itemized deductions, you can use this forecasting tool to predict roughly what you’d pay or have refunded when you file. This is a great tool for those of us who are having to pay taxes this year. With this estimate, you can adjust your spending to ensure you have enough saved for the payment.
Tax Calculator by H&R Block – Very similar to the TurboTax calculator. Haven’t used it though. Let me know how it works for you.
Dinkytown.Net 1040 Calculator
Tax Deductions for Bloggers Making Money – This is a very helpful checklist of likely tax deductions for bloggers, or any online entrepreneur making money. Also, see 46 Tax Deductions that Bloggers Often Overlook.
10 Tax Deductions Freelancers Can Make
101 Tax Deductions for Bloggers and Freelancers
About.Com’s Top Tax Calculators – There’s a paycheck calculator here that tells you if your with-holdings are correct. Each of the 5 calculators does something different.
First-time Homebuyer’s Guide to Taxes
Election Taxes – While the election is over, you can visit this page to see what your taxes will be like from 2009-2012 based on the promises Obama made during his campaign.
Wallstats.com’s Visual Guide for Where Your Taxes Go – This may not help you do you taxes, but it is very cool.
IRS Fact Sheet – Straight from the horses mouth. Here are some of the changes and updates you’ll need to keep in mind when filing this year.
2008 Tax Rates from Bankrate.com
2008 Tax Guide from Good Financial Cents
Last but not least, let me share last year’s very popular, 5 Crazy Tax Write-Offs.
TurboTax Deluxe Giveaway
The winners of the TurboTax Deluxe copies are: Tameika, Shareef, and Jules. I’ll be emailing you guys soon to give you your copies of TurboTax Deluxe + State. Thanks for entering the giveaway and for reading Prime Time Money.
Posted in Tax and Government | 3 Comments »
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
This guest post is brought to you by Steve Sildon, Managing Editor for CreditCardAssist.com. Steve contributes frequently to the personal finance blogosphere on a wide range of credit-related topics, including credit cards, rewards programs and debt consolidation.
For seemingly no reason at all, thousands of credit card holders have involuntarily had their credit limits slashed recently. Referred to as “credit rollbacks”, banks and card issuers are trying to minimize the risk of skyrocketing defaults on credit cards. By limiting or rolling back the amount of credit they provide, card issuers can cut the risk of defaults substantially.
Credit rollbacks have not only sharply reduced consumers’ access to credit but have inadvertently affected credit scores as well, increasing the so-called ‘credit utilization’ ratio that factors so heavily in computing credit scores. Credit utilization is the percentage of your credit limit that you’ve actually used. For example, a cardholder with a $2,500 credit limit and a $500 card balance would have a utilization ratio of 25% 20%.
But after getting a $2,500 credit limit slashed to just $1,000, the same cardholder would now have a credit utilization ratio of 50% on the same $500 card balance. To avoid a negative impact on your credit score, experts recommend that you keep your total credit utilization rate well below 30% overall as well as on each individual account.
Suffering from the negative impact on their credit scores from rollbacks, many consumers have been left scrambling to reduce or pay down their balances more quickly so they can rebuild their credit scores as fast as possible. With the current economic crisis and the rising surge of layoffs, however, this action may not be possible for everyone. For those affected by the credit rollbacks, what can you do as a cardholder to correct the situation?
Here are some tips to get you back on track when your limit has been lowered involuntarily by your card issuer:
(more…)
Posted in Credit Cards and Credit | 3 Comments »
Saturday, February 21st, 2009
If things go according to plan, we’ll be hanging out with our newborn baby girl this time next weekend. Mrs. PT and I are super excited and making the final preparations (i.e. fixing up her room, packing bags, etc). I even picked up the Flip Mino video camera, to help me capture all the action. Well, maybe not all the action. 
While we’re getting acquainted with her over the next couple of weeks, I’m taking a bit of time away from the blog. No worries though, I’ve got a couple of guest posts already lined up, and some pre-scheduled posts related to 529 plans and life insurance, two topics of greater concern for us these days.
If you’d like to offer up a guest post I can use over the next couple of weeks, contact me. Don’t forget, there’s still time to enter the TurboTax Deluxe giveaway. Look for the winner to be announced during the next Tuesday Tax Tip.
Some of my favorite articles from last week:
Posted in Personal Finance Links | 7 Comments »
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
I used TurboTax to file my taxes last year. Love the product and would recommend it for the average tax filer. This year the fine folks at Intuit hooked me up with 3 free copies of TurboTax Deluxe Online + State. That’s a $29.95 value just for the Federal $65 value for each of these copies.
According to the TurboTax Website:
“TurboTax Deluxe was designed to make it easy for you to take advantage of all the deductions you qualify for, so you get the biggest tax refund possible. Choose TurboTax Deluxe if any of the following apply to you:
- You own your home
- You donated to charity
- You have significant education or medical expenses
- You have childcare expenses
- You have lots of deductions”
Because of my business income, and some other nuances, I’m having a CPA do my taxes this year. So, I’m giving these 3 copies away for free, to 3 lucky readers.
How to Enter to Win a Copy of TurboTax Deluxe Online:
- Leave a comment at the bottom of this post for 1 entry. One comment per person, please.
- Email me the secret phrase* for 10 entries.
*The secret phrase can only be viewed if you’re receiving free updates via rss or email. It will show up at the bottom of the daily updates starting with this post.
The contest ends next Monday night, the 23rd at midnight CST. I’ll randomly choose 3 winners and they’ll be announced on next Tuesday’s Tax Tip post. Good luck!
Posted in Tax and Government | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
“The Man” is trying to take your money. Don’t let him. I’ve put together 15 things that you should never pay “the man” for. For a lot of things in life, you get what you pay for. But in the case of these 15 items, most of us wouldn’t be sacrificing any quality to go with the freebie.
- Your Credit Report – Your credit report is available for free right now from http://annualcreditreport.com. Don’t be fooled by the other websites. Just go to annualcreditreport.com and get your free credit report every 12 months. You can get 1 free report from each of the 3 reporting agencies every 12 months.
- Banking Services- Never, ever, pay bank fees for a regular account. Just say no. Sign up for their free account. Switch banks if you have to. Just don’t pay any fees to a bank. It’s not necessary anymore, plus they’re already making interest by holding your money. And do your best to never pay for another checkbook again. Pay as many bills as you can using free bill-pay services. When you do run out of checks, make nice with your local bank branch manager and ask him about getting a free refill. You guys know I love the free banking with FNBO Direct and ING DIRECT. I’ve used them. Never paid them a dime. In fact, they’ve paid me. Best interest rates in the industry, by a mile.
- Software for Your Computer – Stick it to Microsoft! Don’t buy Excel or Word. Invest in a little “free” and get OpenOffice Calc (like Excel), Writer (like Word), Impress (like PowerPoint), Draw (like Paint), and Base (like Access). Why pay when you can get it for free? These programs all have a “save as…” feature that let’s you save in Microsoft format so you can send files to your ”payin’ the man” friends.
- A Credit Card- I can’t think of a single service that a credit card could offer me that I couldn’t get for free or a nominal fee elsewhere. Nor would I ever dream of using a card enough to garner enough services to justify an annual fee. Don’t ever pay for a credit card annual fee. Isn’t necessary. AmEx even has no-fee cards, and have for years now. Stop paying annual credit card fees.
- Books – There’s a magical place in your hometown that’s renting books for free right now: your local library. Check em out. And I’m always giving away free books here on the blog. A new book giveaway coming up soon.
- Tax Preparation- The vast majority of tax filers don’t need to pay to have their taxes prepared and e-filed. Every major tax prep company (TurboTax, TaxAct, TaxCut, to name a few) offers free e-filing services of some kind. And there’s always the IRS Free File that could set you up with free tax prep and filing.
- The Newspaper- C’mon. Do I have to explain this one? If you’re doing it for couponing reasons, ok. But for getting your news??
- Credit Counseling – Credit counseling is available free through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Don’t ever hook up with some shady “get out of debt quick fix” company.
- Water – Well, I realize there’s always going to be that water utility bill. But the bottled water is out. Tap is cool again.
- Budgeting Software – The past couple of years have seen an explosion of online free budgeting software options. There are some really nice option available to you. All are without a charge. Quicken Online and Mint are two that I’ve used.
- A Pet – Search your local animal rescue center for a pet that’s free and in need.
- Online Shipping – With sites like freeshipping.org now available, you should be able to make most of your online purchases without forking over a shipping fee.
- DVD Rentals- Instead of paying $5 for a DVD rental, just go to a RedBox or a New Release rental box in your local grocery store. Before you go though, get the free daily code from www.insideredbox.com.
- Auction Listing Fees – While some items require a true auction type service, or a larger audience to be sold for full value, the vast majority of items you’d want to sell online can be sold through Craig’s List. Ebay does have it’s place. But never use it (and pay their fees) if it’s an item that could be sold on Craig’s List. I’ve sold my last two vehicles there.
- …
Alright, now it’s your turn. I’ve left #15 for you to fill in. Offer up one more thing you should never pay for in the comments below…
Posted in Frugal Living | 36 Comments »
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
It’s Tuesday. Time for another Tuesday Tax Tip. If you’re the type that likes to make sure you have everything together and in one spot prior to sitting down and doing your taxes, then you’re in luck. I’ve collected a checklist of items you need to gather up before doing your taxes. This is by no means an all-inclusive list, but it will help you get started and will maybe help you remember something you’re forgetting.
Tax Prep Checklist
- SSNs for you and your dependents
- Tax ID or SSN, and address of your childcare provider
- W-2 forms
- 1099s (Div, Int, R, B, Misc, G, SSA)
- Jury Duty Pay
- Alimony Received
- Self-Employment Income
- Unemployment Received
- Gambling and Prize Winnings
- Any Other Sources of Income (Rent, Business)
- State and Local Tax Refunds
- Schedule K-1s
- IRA Contributions
- Student Loan Interest Paid
- Medical Savings Account
- Moving Expenses
- Self-Employed Expenses (Insurance, SEP)
- Educator Expenses
- Mortgage Interest and Points Paid
- Charitable Donations
- Casualty and Theft Losses
- Real Estate Taxes
- State and Local Taxes Paid
- Medical Expenses
- Unreimbursed Job Expenses
- Direct Deposit Bank Information
Feel free to 
Print this page and use it to help you gather all of your things together to prepare your taxes. Happy filing!
Posted in Organize Your Finances, Tax and Government | 2 Comments »
