Drinking Coffee Is Now Good For You

Image via WikipediaGood news today on the health front. Coffee drinking is now a healthy thing to do. A leading study out of the Harvard School of Public Health claims drinking one to 3 cups of coffee per day lowers your risk of prostate cancer by 30%.

Also other findings state.

• Men who consumed the most coffee (six or more cups daily) had nearly a 20 percent lower risk of developing any form of prostate cancer.
• The inverse association with coffee was even stronger for aggressive prostate cancer. Men who drank the most coffee [six or more cups!] had a 60 percent lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer.

This study followed 48,000 Boston men for 12 years and found that those who drank six or more cups a day reduced their risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer by 60 percent and of developing any form of the cancer by 20 percent. The study even found a risk reduction in men who drank about three cups a day.

More Studies.

Another study followed 5,929 Swedish women, half of whom had breast cancer, and found that those who drank more than five cups of coffee a day reduced their risk of developing estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer (a particularly aggressive type of the disease) by 33 to 57 percent compared to those who drank less than a cup.

Caffeine is credited with a host of health benefits, including cutting the odds of asthma, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. But in this case, the researchers believe that other plant chemicals in coffee are behind the benefits. They think compounds such as anti-oxidants may cut the odds of prostate cancer and reduce the likelihood of deadly tumors by altering levels of sex hormones, regulating blood sugar levels and cutting inflammation.

Be Skeptical

I am always skeptical of such conclusions from these studies. Remember, 30 years ago Harvard had another study that claimed too much coffee increases the risk of pancreatic cancer among men and woman. Ooops!

All this medical information neither sways or encourages coffee drinking. People who do or don't will continue with their opinions.

Coffee drinking is a part of our culture. Coffee is the way we start our day. It's the same with everything in life, if done in moderation you will be fine.

5 Costs Homeowners Pay That Renters Don't

Image by GreyArea via FlickrThe debate over Renting vs. Home Ownership goes on. The common advice is "Don't waste your money on rent, invest in a House." With the many costs of home ownership, renting is starting to look a lot better. Lets start with the down payment. Renters don't have to pay that big up front expense. The home owner has the pleasure to also have a nice mortgage payment to make every month for thirty years. That's quite a long lease. Plus if home owners don't pay they get foreclosed on, renters are just evicted.

Property Taxes

These are the taxes paid to your local and state governments for salaries and services of government. It's a never ending expense that just goes up as the value of your home appreciates. They vary according to region. Looking at the property taxes for the home is important when your purchasing. Sometimes living in a different county can sometimes lower your taxes because of differing assessments.

Home Maintenance.
Renters are lucky because when the water heater breaks they just have to call their friendly landlord to fix it free. The home owner has to go through the expense of buying and paying to install a new one. Maintenance is a big factor in home ownership. The rule of thumb is to set aside 1% of your homes value for yearly repairs. On a $200,000 home, you will need $2,000 per year. I believe this is a low figure. I would estimate that 4% is the necessary amount needed for home maintenance, at least $8,000 per year for a $200,000 home.

Mortgage Interest.
Again renters win. Over the duration of a 30 year $200,000 mortgage at 5%, the home owner gets the privilege of paying over $200,000 in interest. The amount of interest depends on your interest rate and your duration of the loan. The benefit of paying interest is home owners receive a mortgage interest deduction on their tax return to ease the pain a little.

Homeowners Insurance.
Renters don't have to pay this expense, but they should carry renters insurance. Renters insurance covers the contents of the apartment. Home Insurance covers the structure itself and sometimes the mortgage payoff amount. If your home is lost to fire, flood or other disaster home owners insurance comes in to save the day and puts everything right again. Homeowners should yearly check their policies to see if they have replacement cost on their insurance, not just current value. The average insurance is $950. But if your living in a hurricane, tornado, or flood plane your insurance can be substantially higher.

Real Estate and Legal Fees.
When you rent you just leave a deposit and first months rent and you then get the keys. A home owner has to pay real estate agent fees, lawyer fees, title transfer fees, and closing costs when purchasing and selling a home, renters don't have any of these expenses.

It's understood that landlords pass on these fees to their tenants who rent. Yet landlords get the profit that comes when a home is sold. Even though a mortgage payment can be lower than a rental amount, many other things go into the finances of home ownership.

Your Perception Is Always 20-20 But Your Looking In The Wrong Direction

Image via WikipediaIf you watch the TV on a regular basis, listen to the radio, or surf the Web you will hear and see that the economy is on the brink of collapse. Bad news seems to be in an ever abundance these days. From the tsunami in Japan, European economies on the brink, Medicare and Social Security in danger of failing, and our incredible debt; it can keep you up at night. Bring it down to your own situation. How's your personal economy?

We all are on different points on our life's path. Some are doing better than others. Personally, times our a little tough. My income is down and my expenses are continually rising. But for some, things are looking pretty good.

A friend of mine, ten years older than me, has recently retired. He has a pension from the state, a sizable investment portfolio, Social Security and Medicare. With all that, he lives very comfortably. His house and car are paid off and he has no debt. But the icing on the cake is he has been hired part time at $45 per hour in the same type of job he had before; and he can set his own schedule to work only when he wishes to. Not bad!

If I ask my friend how the economy is, he responds, "Pretty Good!". When we think about our personal economy we judge it by how well we are doing financially in our own lives. Our neighbor can be out of work and in foreclosure and it won't effect our perception. The neighbor's perception of the economy is that it's in the toilet and that he will be standing in a soup kitchen line any day now.

Perception is key here. It's hard to feel the pain of others, but easy to feel our own. What we all need to do is turn off the news and Internet. Get out a book, watch sports, go on a picnic, or just take a walk. Look around you and see a wonderful world. Visit your kids and shut the noise out. Get a hobby or just spend time with family. Soon you will see that your perception will change. You will see that things are not so bad and you will have the energy again to work through your problems.

In life, we walk a path of hills and valleys. For most now we are in a pretty deep valley. Valleys in the world usually never continue forever. By definition valleys are surrounded by hills and mountains. Soon we will be approaching the hills again, followed by mountains. It's going to take a while though.

PerkStreet Financial Review - 2% Cash Back Debit Card with Free Checking

It"s tough these days to get a debit card with decent cash back. Many credit cards have great cash back reward programs but try to find that in a debit card. I try to avoid using a credit card usually. I would like to find a debit card that will satisfy the reward need. I have discovered that PerkStreet Financial can do just that.

How Does it Work?

You apply online and setup an initial transfer of funds from your bank account or credit card. Within a 2 weeks you receive your checks and ATM card. You can withdraw money at ATM's and write checks. To deposit money you can use the U.S. mail with free postage paid envelopes or use free overnight delivery by UPS Stores. You can also deposit funds electronically thorough direct deposit or online transfers. Also you can even deposit cash at 18,000 Moneygram ExpressPayment locations free of charge.

Do They Have ATM's?

PerkStreet has a network of over 37,000 ATM's. They have an online ATM locator. I found within a five mile radius of my home are 28 ATM's. They are located in Walgreens, Winn Dixies, 7-elevens or gas stations. I know these location and they are safe and most are open 24-hours a day. Compared to my bank that has only 4 ATM's within 5 miles.

Who Is PerkStreet Financial For?

• People who like to pay for things with a debit card
• They want to get the most rewards from a debit card
• They prefer to bank online and the phone
• They don't have the need to go to a brick and mortar building
• They want the most free ATM's

What Are The Rewards?

1% cash back on all non-PIN* purchases if your checking balance is less than $5,000 at the start of the day.
2% cash back on all non-PIN* purchases if your checking balance is $5,000 or more at the start of the day.
5% cash back (called PowerPerks) on all non-PIN* purchases when you shop at select retailers announced on PerkStreet’s blog.
How can they afford to give such large rewards?

Because they spend no money maintaining physical branches they can pass the savings on to their customers. With no company owned ATM's they save even more money. Without spending money on buildings, large advertising campaigns and

Any Negatives?

If your account is inactive for 1 month there is a $4.50 charge per month.
The normal fees if you are over drawn or a returned item are the industry standard

Remember PerkStreet Financial accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000 through Bancorp Bank, it's banking service provider.

How do I Contact PerkStreet Financial?

Email: support@myperkstreet.com
Telephone: 866.792.2834
Website: www.perkstreet.com
U.S. Mail: Customer Service Center
409 Silverside Road
Suite 105
Wilmington, DE 19809

Improve your financial life with the PerkStreet FinancialSM Debit MasterCard®. Save money, have fun and stay on budget with the only unlimited 2% cash back debit card. Don't miss out. Sign up today.

Need Help Paying For College, Try FastWeb.com They Will Help You Find A Scholarship

College tuition has just gotten more expensive for me. My daughter is currently starting her third year of college. She is studying Psychology and really likes it. I have been paying for it through FASFA, my money and the help from a grandparent. My problem is the grandparent has dropped out because of financial difficulties. To fill in the gap I started to look into scholarships. I never went down the road to scholarships before, but that's all changed now.

I came across a website called FastWeb.com. FastWeb.com has listings for 1.3 million scholarships worth over $3 billion. Before you can see the list of scholarships, you need to register. You are asked a lot of questions so you won't waste your time on scholarships that don't apply to you. You give them your email address the student's age, year in school, GPA, college major among other things and more.

This FastWeb.com service is provided to you free. The way they make their money is through advertising. While you fill out the information forms you are offered advertising for many non-academic sources like credit cards and contests. Ignore all that and press on. It will take you 10 to 15 minutes to complete the profile, but this will help you get better search results.

Once you finish registration, the website presents you with a list of scholarships that match your profile. The list contains the name of the scholarship, the amount, the deadline, type(whether they are scholarships, contests or require an essay). You can save your selections or mark those you don't want. 

FastWeb.com provided me with 25 potential scholarships. Some were straight scholarships, some were contests, promotions, grants, and essay contests. 

Fastweb.com list of features are:

• Search for local, national and college-specific scholarships.
• Personalized matching service.
• Search and compare your options.
• Tools and tips to help pay for college.
• Jobs and internships for students.
• Resources: articles and information.
• College search.
• For parents, students and educators.

There is a thorough customer service section which includes a FAQ. There is also an email address for questions.

Vanguard Lowers Minimum Initial Investment On Target Retirement Funds

Image via WikipediaVanguard Group Inc. has lowered the minimum initial investment for it's popular Target Retirement Fund series from $3,000 to $1,000, effective immediately. This is great news to the many people who have been held back from investing with Vanguard because of their $3,000 minimums. Previously only the Vanguard Star Fund had a $1,000 minimum.

Also Vanguard is standardizing the minimum investment for all it's Investor Shares funds to $3,000. Before the fund minimums ran from $3,000 to $25,000. This affects the minimums investment for 15 Vanguard funds, including Wellington Fund, Windsor Fund, and the Health Care Fund.

The problem I saw with Vanguard is that if you wanted to create your own balanced Index Fund portfolio with it's mutual funds, you need an initial investment of $3,000 for each fund. My suggested portfolio of Vanguard funds is a good balance for someone my age.

• Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index 50%
• Vanguard's Total Bond Index 20%
• Vanguard's Total International Stock Index 30%

If I started from scratch I would need $9,000 to get started. A $3,000 minimum for each fund. The high minimums hold a lot of people back.

With the new lower minimum of only $1,000 I can buy the Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Fund and get the same allocation and get started with only $1,000. Vanguard has made real progress with lowering the minimums on it's Target Retirement Funds. Many new and old investors will now not be held back and can now invest with Vanguard.

Here is a list of the funds with $1,000 minimum investments:


Vanguard Target Retirement 2010 Fund (VTENX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Fund (VTXVX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund (VTWNX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Fund (VTTVX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Fund (VTHRX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund (VTTHX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Fund (VFORX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Fund (VTIVX) 

Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund (VFFVX)

Click Here To Go To Vanguard Target Retirement Funds

These Retirement funds are an easy way for new investors to get started in index mutual funds. Even seasoned investors will love the set it and forget it way Vanguard does the heavy lifting on asset allocation and rebalancing. With expense ratios being critical to a long term investment strategy, Vanguard comes through with expense ratios between 0.16% and 0.19%.

Vanguard, in reducing it's minimums, has improved it's prospects of attracting new investors who used to be unable to meet the higher minimums to start investing. But with a larger number of smaller accounts, it could be setting itself up for higher costs and turnarounds. That's why investors with larger accounts are charged lower fees.

This is the second major change in Vanguard's fee structure. In October, the company reduced fees for customers by lowering investment minimums needed to qualify for its lowest cost Admiral shares of mutual funds. The minimum for Admiral Shares dropped from $100,000 to $10,000.

These kind of changes do not effect your upper level investors. Both these changes by Vanguard are a benefit to the small and beginner investor. These customers are the ones that need this help. I'll be watching Vanguard for further innovative changes in the future.