Posted by
joslyn – May 9, 2011
Have you always wanted to go to Bora Bora? Fiji? The Seychelles? Don’t think you’ll ever be able to afford it? You can.
You can put aside $50 a month. Or $20 a month. Or $10.
A friend of mine — who is 35 — decided that she is going to go to Bora Bora for her 50th birthday. So for the next fifteen years, she is going to put $50 into a savings account every month. She set up an auto-transfer from her checking account so that it happens once a month, automatically. Not only is she saving money consistently, but she doesn’t even have to lift a finger to make it happen.
And when she turns 50? Hello Bora Bora!
Sometimes, delayed gratification is the best kind.
Posted by
joslyn – May 5, 2011
According to the aptly-named Longtermcareinsurance.org:
“The average Ancient Greek lived until age 18. The median life span of a Puritan was 33. The average American life expectancy is now about 75 years for men, 84 for women.”
Long-term care is one of those things we consider a “nice to have,” not a “need to have”… if we’ve even heard of it at all. Very different from health insurance, long-term care refers to a type of insurance you can buy that will take care of you in the event of a long-term personal calamity that leaves you disabled and unable to take care of yourself financially. It’s also a great buffer against the inevitable financial strain of aging. It’s a supplement to health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid that assures you will not be left to fend for yourself if something happens to leave you disabled or chronically ill.
Long-term care insurance can pay for a caregiver, companion, therapist, or nurse in the event that you are left unable to take care of yourself.
The trick to affordable long-term care is to secure it early. The younger you are when you begin investing in this insurance, the less you will pay monthly—and the good news is that once you land a monthly rate, it will never go up as long as you make consistent monthly payments. Policies are guaranteed renewable for life.
This handy Long-Term Care Calculator will help you calculate the potential cost of long-term care in your area.
Posted by
joslyn – May 3, 2011
Re-Aging is a credit term that can mean two drastically different things.
The bad thing:
When a collection agency or other bad-credit-reporter nefariously changes the “purge-from date” so that a blackmark stays on your report longer than it should, it’s called a “re-aging.” And while it’s illegal and a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as the consumer, you have to stay on top of your credit report in order to realize that it happened and report it.
This is just one of the many reasons that you should take advantage of your ability to see a current copy of your credit report — for free — once a year.
MyFico says: Illegal “reaging” of a charged-off debt occurs when a tradeline on your credit report is reporting a newer than your actual “FCRA Compliance Date”. (Read more)
The better thing:
Legal re-aging happens when you strike a deal with a creditor prior to a charge-off. Say you’ve missed making payments on your credit card for 3 months. If you plead your case well and your bank agrees to “re-age” the account, you won’t get penalized for the lost time or be considered “overdue.” It’s like starting the clock over.
Posted by
joslyn – April 28, 2011
Eating leftovers from last night’s dinner is a great way to save money on lunch and cut down on wasted food.
The problem is, some of us aren’t organized enough to remember that the leftovers are in the fridge in the first place. Weeks later, we get curious about that funky smell or that anonymous paper bag taking up so much valuable real estate.
Solution? Clear pyrex containers that take the place of plastic Tupperware.
Clear glass containers are great for several reasons:
- They let you see what’s inside, so you don’t forget it exists.
- They stack quite nicely.
- They’re more durable than plastic, and they don’t leach plastic into your food when microwaved.
- They don’t start to smell funky after a while, like plastic tends to.
You can get them at kitchen supply and container stores as well as some discount stores and weird, out-of-the-way Asian markets. They cost a little more up front, but they’ll save you money down the line.
