Use a Debt Elimination Plan to Kill Debt

If you’re like most people who are drowning in debt, then you are more than ready to find a good debt elimination plan and kill that debt off for good.
The big financial gurus like Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey and David Bach, use the snowball method to help people get out of debt quickly. This is the method of transferring payments from balance to balance as they are paid off until all debts are killed…and hopefully for good.
These three gurus each have a unique way of setting up the snowball.
Balance Snowball – Dave Ramsey’s Method

• Debts are paid off by balance in ascending order, lowest to highest
• Starter payment (extra money in addition to minimum payment) goes to the lowest balance.
• Payment amounts move from debt to debt, snowballing as it goes until all debt is zeroed out.

This method is good for keeping you incentive going as the smaller balances will get knocked out pretty quickly. Psychologically this debt elimination plan is very satisfying.
Interest Rate Snowball – Suze Orman’s Method

• Debts are in descending order by interest rate, highest to lowest.
• $10 is adding to the minimum payment for all debts
• The snowball starter is adding the the first debt (highest interest rate) and then snowballs from there until everything is paid off.

You will most likely pay the least interest rate using this method, but seeing that first debt paid off may take many months and this can be discouraging.
DOLP System Snowball – David Bach
The DOLP (done on last payment) system uses the number of months left to determine the order of payoff. The debt with the least number of months goes first and so on.

• To determine the number of months, divide the balance by the minimum payments.
• Add the starter amount to the first debt and snowball until all debts are gone.

Because balance and interest rates aren’t figured into the order, you might end up paying the most interest on this debt elimination plan. However, like Dave Ramsey’s plan you’ll see debts paid off quickly at the beginning.
All three of these plans are good ones and they will work to get you out of debt if you stick with it. Pick the one that appeals to you the most and just get started!

7 Ways To Save Money on Car Insurance

Insurance for DummiesWhat would you say if I told you that you might be able to save over $500 on car insurance in less than an hour? And that you could complete the entire process from home?

Here are seven different ways that you just might be able to save hundreds of dollars on your car insurance if you simply take a few minutes to put these tips into action:
[Click here to check auto rates in your area.]
1. Drop Coverage You Don't Need
The beauty of doing a car insurance coverage checkup every six months or so is that even if it turns out that your current car insurance coverage is still the best value out on the market you may just find out that you are paying for a part of your auto insurance policy that you no longer need.
Not only do insurance rates change quite often but your insurance needs change more often than you may think. If you have a new teenage driver or have added a new car to your policy or have moved to a new zip code or--well, the list goes on and on. All of these things may potentially cause you to be paying for coverage that you no longer need.
[See The Most and Least Expensive Vehicles to Insure]
2. Search for Discounts
Never assume that because you searched for all of the car insurance discounts available 6 months ago that now there are no new discounts that you may be eligible for. New opportunities for saving money with a car insurance discount program pop up all of the time as different companies announce different discount programs in order to increase their market share.

What You Don't Know About Buying Car Insurance Can Hurt You

3. Improve Your Credit Score
It's no secret that a better credit score will result in better car insurance rates. You may have been working hard to improve your credit score over the last few months in order to qualify for lower interest rates for a home loan or auto loan and you are now starting to see some of your hard work pay off.
When you see an increase in your credit score don't let the opportunity slip by to check and see if this credit score improvement will result in an improvement in your auto insurance rates as well. You've worked hard to improve your credit score so why not spend a few minutes to see if that can only help you get a lower interest rate but a lower car insurance rate as well?
Take some of your car insurance savings and use it to treat yourself to a nice dinner at your favorite restaurant--you deserve it!
4. Pay Your Premiums With a Credit Card
Wanna shave off 1 percent to 5 percent off of your total car insurance premiums just by changing your method of payment? With the average cash back credit card earning you anywhere from 1 percent to 5 percent cash back that's like getting a bill from your insurance company and then having to only pay 95 percent to 99 percent of the total instead of the full 100 percent!
One to 5 percent may not seem like much but as you can see with a cash back credit card calculator that money can quickly start to add up--depending upon how much money you spend each month if you use that cash back card for many of your purchases then your savings could end up being enough to pay for an entire year of college tuition after 15 to 20 years!
5. Tell Your Kids to Keep Their Grades Up
Virtually all of the major car insurance companies offer some form of good student discount. If your kids get good grades then you save money. Some companies offer savings for a lackluster C while most offer savings for you that range from 5 percent to 15 percent if your student maintains a B or an A on their report cards.
Maybe it's time to pass along some of that savings to your kids as a financial incentive to keep their grades high (after all, why not just let the insurance company pay your kids to get good grades rather than you?)
[See Buzzworthy New Cars to Check Out for 2011]
6. Take a Driving Course
OK, maybe you don't want to tell your spouse that you are signing up for a driving course because no one wants to admit that they may not be the world's best driver BUT if signing up for a defensive driving course that will take up minimal time and save you money--why not?
After all, at least you aren't one of the world's worst drivers - at least I hope not! Taking a driving course just one time can result in lifetime savings on your car insurance.
Check with your car insurance company as to what type of courses and course providers they will recognize for a discount on your policy.
7. See If Your Occupation Can Save You Money
Did you know that when car insurance actuaries calculate car insurance rates that they actually assign different risk classes to different types of occupations? Some occupations have cheap car insurance rates while other occupations get assigned an added level of risk that increases their rates.
The various occupation risk assessment algorithms will vary from one insurance company to the next but generally speaking professions like engineering and teaching will receive lower car insurance rates than business owners and attorneys. So what do you call yourself if you are an engineer that owns their own business? You tell me.
Insurance Claim Secrets REVEALED!
Set of 3 Car Auto Registration and Insurance Holder

The Biggest Threat to Your Money

What's one of the most ruinous and underrated things that can rob you of money over your lifetime? Neglect.
You know what I'm talking about. Picture this scene: You're at your 6-year-old's soccer game, chasing your 3-year-old out onto the field. Your boss calls your cell phone with an emergency complaint from a client, and in the middle of this crisis, your mom tries to break in on call-waiting to complain -- again -- about your sister's boyfriend. Meanwhile, in the back of your head, a little voice asks: "Should I have refinanced my home mortgage to get a lower rate?"
You're busy -- really busy. I'm sure you don't have hours to set up a financial filing system in neat, coordinated folders. You probably don't have time to review your homeowners' insurance or auto insurance regularly. You consider it a pretty good achievement that you managed to check the performance of your 401(k) funds this year.
You know you should do more, and you might not realize how much your financial neglect may cost you. Compared with your average evil financial villain, neglect just isn't that sexy. It doesn't sound nearly as terrible as a housing bust or a market crash. You don't find any statistics measuring its effects month after month, like inflation. It doesn't even wear a mask or a cape.
But it costs you plenty. Here are some common things we forget to do anything about:

• That $5,000 you have sitting in a savings account that doesn't pay interest? Plunk it in a CD paying 5% interest, and you've just made an extra $250 this year.
• Those bank fees you're paying every month because you haven't taken the time to switch to a free checking account? They could be sapping your wallet to the tune of $25 to $100 or more every month.
• Been meaning to take a look at those credit reports? Identity theft could cost you an average $422, according to a survey the Better Business Bureau released last year.
• Have a chunk of change sitting in your brokerage account ready for investment in a Roth IRA, where it can grow tax free? Leave $1,000 in that taxable account for 10 years and it'll cost you $641 in taxes and lost earnings (assuming the market keeps up its average annual 10.5% return and you're in the 28% bracket).
• Has "write a will" been on your list for a few years now? According to AARP, probate costs can eat 5% of your estate. On an estate worth $800,000, that comes to $40,000.

This month's ideas add up to a whopping $1,117 -- all you have to do is find the time to get it done.
So make the time. Get a babysitter, or send the kids to the park for the afternoon with Dad. Hire a neighborhood teenager to mow the lawn. Turn off your cell phone for the afternoon. Order groceries online and have them delivered. Do whatever it takes to carve out a free hour or two once a month, even if it costs you a little bit of money to free up a few hours. Your investment will pay you in cash dividends.

The Craziest Thing I Did to Save Money

by Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro

Creative And Crazy Ways to Save Money
Trying to save money can be boring. Then again, some consumers find strange but creative ways to stretch their dollar.

"When we were saving for our first house, I would cut back by keeping the ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise packets from fast-food restaurants and filling bottles at home. We even had close family members save the packets for us! In addition, we never purchased drinks and always took our orders to go. We drank water from a thermos or purchased soft drinks on sale or with coupons.
"The way registers were set up at the time, we'd sometimes make money on items that didn't cost a lot to begin with. In addition, we had coupons that were doubled. This gave us more off than the original cost of the item. Since we wanted to save money and make as large a down payment as we could for our home, we figured EVERY penny counted, which it did."
-- Robert from Indiana
Cheap Meal, Happy Family
"We had just moved to another state, and my husband was trying to start his own business, so money was very tight. All three of my children were in sports so we traveled a lot to their events. In order to save money, I decided to boil some hot dogs to feed my bunch before their games. I packed the bread, hot dogs and condiments in our van and proceeded to pick everyone up from school.
"Then I drove through a fast-food place and got a large cup of free ice to split between the kids for the drinks that I had brought from home. We parked the van and began to get all the food out of their containers. As I went to get the hot dogs, I realized I had placed the boiled hot dogs in a narrow-mouthed thermos to keep them hot. To our horror, the hot dogs were stuck in the thermos because (the hot dogs) had continued swelling after I had taken them out of the boiling water!
"My husband was proud of me for trying to save money. However, he had to literally dig the dogs out of the thermos in pieces. We did eat, but I never again tried to keep (hot) hot dogs in a small-mouthed thermos. It was a cheap meal that kept us together and happy, and no one was late for their games!"
-- Brenda from Florida
Dumpster Diving in Cemeteries?
"A few years ago, I was into crafting artificial flowers. A neat way to save money on my hobby materials was to go Dumpster-diving at cemeteries to pick up artificial flowers and miscellaneous decorations left behind. I would go into the cemeteries, take what was thrown out in the Dumpster and use the items instead for my crafting!"
-- Ann from Iowa

Save on Golf Balls
"My son plays golf in both high school and on junior tours during the summer. I follow him, keeping a statistical score card while I save money by looking for stray golf balls. It is not uncommon for me to find up to 12 dozen golf balls just following him for one 18-hole tournament. At a regular cost of up to $45 a dozen, this is money we save by not having to buy them. Also, I sell some of the balls to make some money on the side!"
-- John from Indiana
Eat Less Food
"In an effort to save money, the craziest notion I endured was to stop purchasing groceries and eat WAY less, often not eating all day into the wee hours of the night!
"I also limited any other types of purchases and since I had stocked up in the past few years, I was able to live off the items I had stocked away. For my method to work, the trick is to stock first and save after, while keeping others from using up my stockpile!"
--Dina from Illinois
Smoke Less, Travel More
"Many years ago, my husband and I decided to stop smoking. He named the date we would start and sure enough, before we went to bed that night, we tossed our packs of cigarettes. I told him that I was going to put away each day the amount of money we would have spent on the cigarettes. So I made a ritual of every night putting away in a desk drawer $3. Back then, smoking was much cheaper.
"At the end of one year, I had saved almost $1,100. That money paid for a trip to London! I suggested this cessation method to a friend and he was successful in both saving money and eliminating his smoking habit."
-- Joyce from North Carolina