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After you’ve lived through a storm, accident, or natural disaster that damages your home, the stress and emotion are hardly over for you: you still have to file a claim with your homeowners insurance.
This is the point where many policyholders will reluctantly take a lower payment than they deserve, just because it’s easier to cut their losses and move on than it is to fight with insurance after all of their other stresses.
It doesn’t have to be that way. There are several things you can do before and after the fact to ensure you get your full payout — without feeling like you’ve been through the wringer twice.
Here’s what you need to know before you’re staring at your flooded living room in dismay:
1. Be prepared.
One of the biggest reasons why people are disappointed by their homeowners insurance payout is that they’re not clear on what exactly is covered. We tend not to think about insurance until we need it, but every homeowner should take some time each year toreview your policy and make certain that it still provides adequate coverage.
You never know when financial disaster will strike. If you’re a regular reader of MoneyNing, chances are good that you’re prepared for a setback, but many young families are not. Many 18 to 25 year olds are starting families, and they may still have that invincible mindset that doesn’t lend well to preparing for emergencies. I’ve talked with many young mothers who come in looking for help, often in tears, because they don’t have enough groceries to feed their family every month.
While this is a complex problem with multiple causes, part of the solution is teaching young people how to shop smarter and not overspend at the grocery store. “My sister can feed a family of four on $200 a month,” said one nurse. “That’s the type of skill we need to be teaching these young mothers, so they can survive when times get tough.” While shopping skills may seem like common sense, they aren’t. Young shoppers often feel overwhelmed in a store and lose focus.
Even if you’re not a young parent trying to stretch a dollar to feed your babies, you can use these tips to participate in a one month “grocery fast” to make a little room in your budget, get control of your monthly spending, or challenge yourself to spend less. [ continue reading… ]
My mom and I were discussing the price of gas the other day. I told her that I’d just paid $3.96 a gallon; I was shocked that the price was so high and wasn’t happy about spending $50 to fill up my car. Her response was, “I never really worry about the price of gas — what will I do? Not buy it?”
This is an interesting topic to address. People are upset over rising gas prices, but they often aren’t willing to do anything to change its effect on their bank account. Gas is a large monthly cost for my wife and me, but will we stop using it? No. That wouldn’t be a plausible solution. There are, however, some other options to consider.
Better Gas Mileage
Better yet, no gas mileage? New electric cars have hit the market to mixed reviews; some recommend them, while others are quick to point out their flaws. There are several issues with electric cars, such as a lack of charging stations and the short duration of charges.
One of the great pleasures I have in life is the road trip. I love traveling, and a road trip makes the whole thing a little more real to me. I enjoy the journey almost as much as the destination — especially if I’m able to travel through landscapes that are new to me.
A road trip can get expensive, though. By the time you pay for gas, hotels, and food along the way, costs start getting out of hand. As you prepare for your next road trip, here are four tips that can help you save money:
1. Properly Prep Your Car
One of the most important things you can do to save money on a road trip is to make sure that your car is properly prepped. You don’t want to run into mechanical problems that can be expensive — and that can strand you by the side of the road somewhere.
Additionally, a car that is well cared for gets better gas mileage than a car that has to struggle. Get your car’s system up to scratch, and then, once you’re on the road, go easy on it. Drive defensively, and avoid speeding. You’ll be able to avoid an expensive ticket, and, again, you’ll get better gas mileage when you pay attention to the way you drive.
If you dream of conducting a business from your home, it’s important to remember it’s not all about showing up to work in your pajamas. Part of the reason why the entire world isn’t self-employed is that there’s a great deal of behind-the-scenes paperwork that employees at a traditional workplace never have to worry about.
In particular, there are tax rules and regulations that you must abide by in order to keep your new business on the up-and-up. So, before you put on your PJs and start your artisan cheese business from your living room, here are some of the tax issues that you’ll need to know about:
Taxes for the Self-Employed
If you’ve only ever worked in a traditional workplace, you may not realize that taxes are more complicated when you’re the boss/employee/HR department all in one. For one thing, instead of having to pay your taxes on April 15 for the entire year, you’ll have to pay estimated quarterly taxes — on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15. In order to determine how much money to send, you’ll use Form 1040-ES, which includes an estimated-tax worksheet and voucher to submit with your estimated payment. [ continue reading… ]
Every week, I see employees knocking their employers or customers on social media. My Facebook feed often includes a post office employee talking about the “stupid” things people ask him, several WalMart employees complaining about their bosses, customers, and working hours, and department store employees calling out customers as lazy.
Times have changed, and, for most of us, online interaction and social media are a part of everyday life. But are your online activities jeopardizing your job? If you’re not sure, chances are the answer is yes.
How Online Activity Affects Your Employment:
It can get you fired.
No matter who your employer is, certain activities can serve as grounds for firing or reprimands. Talking badly about your employer, company, or customers is bad for business. Check if your company has a clause outlining social media and your responsibility outside of the office to uphold the company’s image.
And if you think your employer can’t gain access to your online posts, think again. A good rule of thumb is to remember that everything you do has the potential to be made highly public. Deleting posts, blogs, or comments doesn’t actually delete anything. A copy of everything you post online is still stored in multiple places and can be retrieved by the right person.
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