Personal Financial Tips

Archive for November, 2011

There is one thing you can say about Selling Final Expense Insurance to Seniors and that is it’s recession proof. Whether it’s a good economy or a bad economy, selling Final Expense Insurance is the way to go.

Not only are burial insuranc sales recession proof it also is one form of Insurance the Government and regulator don’t mess with and most likely won’t in the near future. If you have ever sold health insurance with it’s yearly rate hikes or Med Advantage, you know exactly what we mean. And then there is Long Term Care… No thank you!

The real trick though with selling Final Expense Insurance is finding that right Insurance Selling System. Most agents don’t make $100k per year and that is sad since there is so much opportunity to make that and so much more if you find that right system.

Most agents don’t focus on one thing or they do and then can’t keep there book of business because rates keep going up and they have to start over every year or the Government changes regulations and all those agents run to the next hottest thing.

Ah, then there is Final Expense Insurance. Such a simple product with little or nothing to learn. You can master it in about a week. There are no moving parts and it is so easy for clients to understand. There is no complicated language about what is covered and what is not. No complicated illustrations or contracts to decipher. There is no question as far as need since we all die. And it won’t put any client in the poor house.

How simple is this – Client dies….. Beneficiary gets some money!

Selling Final Expense in and of itself isn’t necessarily profitable. It really boils down to how you do it and what platform you use in selling it. The old way is out and not very profitable anymore.

What’s the old way? Running appointments in the field, knocking on doors, spending $25-35 for the good leads….. you get the point.

The way to be successful today Selling Final Expense Insurance and the way to cut your personal expenses to practically ZERO and cut lead costs by more than 75% is with final expense telesales.

Final Expense TeleSales has all the advantages of making money without all the expenses and limitation running appointments in the field has. The real trick though is finding the right platform and group to work with. Not many people have all the pieces in place to make Final Expense Telesales Profitable. It’s a tricky business if every piece of the puzzle is not in place. This is where doing your due diligence and research is so crucial to your success in this business.

Selling final expense is the future of selling insurance for those agents that want a simple non complicated product that is recession proof. Not only is it easy to learn and sell but the Market is exploding with new customers every day as the population gets older.

There is an exciting future for this business.

Property investment finance is the one of the first obstacles that the potential investor faces…the benefits and advantages of investing in property for wealth building purposes are quite obvious, and if no deposit lending including costs was freely available, naturally everyone would be an investor!

However this is the post Global Financial Crisis era, where banks who were happy to give you an umbrella when it was sunny are now taking it away when the rain starts to fall.

Loan to Valuation ratios (The ratio of the loan the lender is willing to advance against the value of the proposed property) have taken a step or two backwards….from the heady days of No Deposit, No LMI lending for investment purposes, we are now looking at restricted lending requiring at least 5% deposits plus costs.

Some of the big 5 lenders will require a 10% deposit if you are not a current client…the lenders mortgage insurers have also had an influence on credit criteria. The Lenders Mortgage Insurer (such as Genworth) is the insurer the banks turn to to cover the risk of higher LVR lending.

These premiums are paid for by the client as part of the costs, and are calculated on a sliding scale from an 80% LVR up to 95%, and can cost upwards of 3.5% of the purchase price.

It was the willingness of the Lenders Mortgage Insurers to insure the No Deposit loans that made them possible for the banks to offer, however they did have their own lending guidelines, and there have been occasions when a client breezed through the lending process with the bank only to have the application declined by the insurer!

In the current climate, the issues facing finance professionals is that the LMI providers require applicants to have at least 5% genuine savings, which means that an amount equal to 5% of the purchase price must have been accumulated by a natural saving process, and held in an account for at least 3 months. Some LMI providers now assess applications by the mysterious method of credit scoring…no one can tell the mortgage broker or client why an application has been declined, only that a complex algorithm has been applied to the applicant and the deal in general; if it fails to score highly enough, it is declined out of hand!

Property finance investment for the potential investor that holds some existing equity in an owner occupied property should be a little easier, but as always the lenders look at the main issues of any application; Deposit or Equity, previous credit conduct (no credit issues, proven ability to cope with existing debt levels), serviceability or available income to service the proposed debt, the suitability of the proposed security and so on.

In general, investors try to source Property investment finance from their existing lender, using the equity in the family home. This usually works, although if the portfolio gets larger there is a concern that one lender has all the properties wrapped up together, all cross secured against each other….taking a cautionary view, if something was ever to go wrong, the potential exists for the lender to take whatever action he saw fit to recover any outstanding funds…in other words, he will sell whatever asset is most attractive to him to recover debts.

Having multiple properties all secured against each other also severely complicates matters if you want to sell just the one property.

Another option would be to use a different lender that is willing to take a second mortgage against the family home equal to 20% plus costs of the new property…..in time, as the equity increases on the investment property, this mortgage can be released once the lender has adequate security..the only issue here is that there has to be enough equity in the family home so that the total of the lending across the two properties is not higher than 80% of the values. Once the lending goes over 80%, the loans must be mortgage insured, and at this point the mortgage insurers will not contemplate 2nd mortgage scenarios.

For the average person, property investment finance can be quite a daunting prospect; not only the issue of who to approach for the funding, it is also a question of how should the loans be structured. After all, this finance facility is for an income producing business, there are a number of aspects to be taken into account, not the least of which is the tax effectiveness and flexibility for future expansion and purchases.

A good method would be to talk to an experienced mortgage broker who has dealt with these kinds of facilities in the past….ask him about his past record in structuring and implementing property investment loans, and how does he propose to put the loan together and why. Only when you feel comfortable that he knows what he is doing should you proceed!

Every driver needs car insurance, regardless of the motor vehicle they are driving. If you are the owner of a sports car, you will need car insurance just like everybody else, if not more so! Sports cars are expensive, and if you have an accident you will have to pay out a lot of money for repairs or a replacement.

When you purchase your sports car, you need to approach the insurance company of your choice immediately. Prior to your decision on which insurance company to go with, you must obtain a few comparative quotes. With a few quotes in hand, you will make a more informed decision. Remember that the cheapest quote is not necessarily the best one. You need to look for value for money in your policy. Requesting a higher excess will secure you a lower premium, and vice versa. Although you will need to ensure that you can afford the cost of the excess if you decide to make it high. It is a good idea to keep aside a small savings account, for emergencies such as these. Where a sports car is involved, you know you are going to pay a lot of money on even the smallest repairs. In some cases, your insurance company may not cover the repairs for certain damages.

You can’t run away from the fact that you are going to pay a bit more for your premium for a sports car than other people would with a normal motor vehicle. The point is that sports cars usually move faster than other vehicles, making them more dangerous on the roads. Statistically, speed is one of the leading causes of motor vehicle collisions. Therefore, if you have a car that is capable of going very fast, the insurance companies will have to stick it with a higher premium tag. Furthermore, you have to also remember that sports cars are favoured by thieves. The parts are sold for a lot of money, making them popular theft targets. This also contributes to the higher premium.

In order to keep your premium as low as possible, you need to ensure that you lower your car’s risk profile. A lot of sports car owners are enticed to modify their vehicles to look better or go faster, but this is bad for the insurance premium. A modified or enhanced vehicle will have a higher premium because it is faster and therefore more likely to be badly damaged in an accident. Furthermore, modified and enhanced vehicles are higher theft risks too. If you DO modify your vehicle, you need to inform your insurance company immediately. If you have an accident and they find that you did not inform them of modifications on your vehicle, they may not have to pay out. The best thing you can do with regards to your theft risk is to install a top of the line security system in your vehicle. A good alarm system, immobiliser and tracking device should help substantially lower your premium.

There are many benefits to being a sports car driver, and by all means, enjoy your motor vehicle to the fullest. Always remember to be safe, and adhere to the road rules to prevent being in a collision.

There are actually three credit card and two personal use gas cards. The Conoco gas card is the card that consumers use every day to fill up their tanks and conveniently pay at the pump. The cards make it easier to keep track of your gas expenses. For those who do a lot of driving, these cards make it easy to see just how much they are actually spending in a month’s time on fuel. This is important when the gas prices jump around so much. You need an accurate account of your monthly fuel expenses so you can track your mileage per gallon. Whether you have a personal or a business gas card, you will have a monthly statement detailing your spending.

Personal Gas Cards

With the Conoco gas card, you can pay at the pump and avoid the wait inside at the checkout. The Phillips 66, Conoco and 76 personal credit card is the gas card everyone keeps handy at the pump. The 76 Personal Card is good at all 76 branded locations and at the Conoco and the Phillips 66 locations. With the personal gas cards, you can pay the monthly balance or you can pay the minimum payment. Either way, you will have a detailed monthly statement showing where the purchases were made and for how much.

Conoco Credit Cards

Although these credit cards are idea for businesses, they can be used for many things. The Phillip 66, Conoco and 76 Commercial credit cards offer an easy way to track the purchases by the number on each card. The MasterCard for Phillips 66, Conoco and 76 earns you rebates and is accepted everywhere with no annual fees. The rebates are up to four percent for every purchase made with the card at any 76, Conoco or Phillips 66 locations. The Philips 66, Conoco and 76 Fleet card is for those businesses that need to track and maintain expenses for more than one vehicle. This card is good at all the gas stations and at over forty thousand repair, service and parts centers throughout the country.

With the Conoco gas cards, one can use it at any participating stations around the country. Some gas cards have different requirements. Some gas cards can be used to purchase other merchandise, but you will have some limitations. As with many credit cards and gas cards, lottery tickets are forbidden to be purchased on the cards.

If you need a Conoco gas card, you can fill out an application at the station or online for more convenience. After the application process and a credit check, you will be told if your application is approved or not. Once your application is approved, you receive your card in the mail and you can start using it right away at any participating gas stations. The card is all you need to fill up at the pump and pay right there. You never have to enter the station again unless you have other things to buy.

What is debt management?

Debt management deals with the art and science of systematically reducing any outstanding debt you may have. While it may seem like overkill for something that has to happen naturally over time, a person under a lot of debt sometimes ends up making even costlier mistakes that pull him/her deeper into debt. A good team of experts can offer some unconventional-and counterintuitive-methods to improve the rate of money appreciation such that a person’s debt can be paid on time.

Why do you need debt management?

Debt management is a specialized service that should be overseen by an expert. Just as you don’t handle your dental problems yourself, you need a specialist for your debt management issues. It’s not as simple as setting aside a fixed portion of you income till the debt is paid off; sometimes, you need to make riskier decisions, and have to respond to the market in ways you may not have deemed possible.

Our debt management services specially cater to that. We require very little paperwork from you, and once you have filled in a few simple details, your profile gets created quickly, which in turn helps us to forge better solutions.

The information that we seek from you is very simple, and consists of the following:

1. Your total outstanding debt.
2. The number of creditors you have, which can be useful in certain legal matters.
3. Your current monthly income; note that this is the factor that will determine how soon you are able to pay off your debt.
4. We also need to learn know your monthly disposable income. This leaves out all the expenses that are vital or obligatory or both, and can’t be used at will.
5. Your current employment status; if you are currently employed, it can reduce the problem by a large margin.
6. Your residential status; if you own a house, some land, or other immobile assets, it can help you recover quickly.
7. Whether you have any CCJ or Arrears.

After this simple process is completed, our team will act on this information and get in touch with you.

Just like anywhere else, if you shop around for car insurance in Philadelphia, you could save an average of 481 every six months. The average six-month variation in Philadelphia is $595. The findings, according to Progressive Auto Insurance, focus on auto insurance rate variance – or the average spread between the highest and lowest six-month rates available for new policies. The rate information, in the case of Philadelphia, comes from public filings with Philadelphia’s Department of Insurance. What this basically means is that a Philadelphia could get a quote of $1,250 for a six-month policy from one insurance provider and a quote of $770 from another company for the exact same coverage.

In 2005, drivers across the country saw slightly lower costs in insurance with the average Philadelphia car insurance rates dropping about $268. It matters where you live. New York auto insurance dropped by 3.4% in 2005; yet, New York is one of two most expensive states for auto insurance. This is because of limited parking, more traffic, more car theft and more uninsured drivers. The other highest insurance premium state is Louisiana.

Also, like other states, other factors that Philadelphia car insurance companies take into consideration when offering you insurance is how many driving violations you have, the type of vehicle you drive, how many accidents you?ve been in, your credit rating, your occupation and your age. If Philadelphia drivers and all others know the discounts they could take advantage of they would save a lot of money. You should always shop around and research any policy before you buy it. You need to understand how you can reduce your rates through policy-related discounts (how old your car is, etc.), vehicle-related discounts (based on the model of the car you buy) and driver related discounts (age, driving record, etc.).