Worth Saving? 3 Cost of Living Expenses You May Be Tempted to Cut Down

For many people, cost of living expenses chew through the lion’s share of their income. They get to the end of the month with almost the exact same amount of money. It can prove tempting to save money by cutting down on some cost of living expenses. There are, however, three of these expenses that aren’t worth the meager savings.

Food

There are good ways and bad ways for you to cut down on food costs. Good ways include coupons, buying store brands, and even the occasional bulk buy. Once you do these things, though, you might be tempted to simply start depriving yourself of more expensive food. Think fruits and vegetables during the winter months.

That’s the bad way to cut down on food costs because it will almost certainly affect your health. Your body needs the vitamins and nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. Depriving yourself of these increases the odds of getting sick, which will cost you in medical bills, prescriptions, and missed work.

Insurance

Sooner or later you’ll look at your insurance premiums and think they’re too high. You might say, “I don’t really need that much coverage, do I?” It’s easy to think that way when you’re in good health or haven’t had an accident recently. 

The problem is that it’s hard to predict health problems or accidents. Ditching better insurance coverage for cheaper premiums leaves you in a vulnerable position if anything goes wrong. 

You can find yourself on the hook for thousands of dollars in medical costs or replacing your vehicle out of pocket. You won’t save nearly enough on your premiums to make that a good trade. Plus, you can usually find better rates with another insurance provider.

Savings

Every budget should include money for savings. Ideally, it’s 10% of your take-home income. When things get tight, you can find yourself thinking that there are better uses for that money. “I’ll replace it later,” you think.

The problem is that money that’s not in savings can’t go into a retirement account like a Roth IRA. Even if you do replace those savings later, you can’t reclaim the growth that money experiences in a retirement account. 

No matter what you buy now, it’s rare that it can exceed the long-term investment value.
Many families live on tight budgets, even in a strong economy. 

When it comes to cutting your cost of living expenses, though, some cuts aren’t worth the savings. Food, insurance, and savings are three areas where you really are better off spending the money.

How to Prepare Your Pocketbook for a Cross-Country Move

Moving all the way across the nation can be pretty intimidating, to put it mildly. It can also be a major financial commitment. If you want to get your bank account ready for this kind of relocation, you have to keep your cool. It’s wise to give your bank account a gentle warning before taking action.

Reduce Your Costs

Cutting expenses dramatically can help you prepare for your massive relocation. You may want to stop eating out for a few weeks or months before you move. 

You may want to stop spending money on extras such as movie theater tickets and cable television as well. These costs can add up dramatically.

Work a Part-Time Job

You can safeguard your bank account from moving expense shockers by working a part-time job. Getting an evening or weekend job can help you save a lot of extra cash. 




It can help you create a fund for unanticipated moving setbacks as well. If you want to avoid panic, then it can always help to have extra cash on hand.

Select an Affordable Professional Moving Company

Professional moving assistance doesn’t have to wreak havoc on your finances. If you hire a company that’s known for outstanding value, you should be A-OK. Ask people for suggestions for a moving company that is economical. 

Search the Internet for moving specials and discounts that may be offered by highly regarded relocation businesses in your area, too. If you move on a certain day, you may be able to decrease your expenses in a major way.

Look for Free Options

Paying for moving and packing tools and supplies can often be extremely costly. Paying for boxes, bubble wrap, duct tape, and the like can often make you feel like you’re going to go broke. If you want to stay away from the poorhouse, you can go above and beyond to find free options. 

Your local supermarket may have boxes that you can take for free. Free boxes can often save people hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Try to find out about tape, padding materials, and everything else, too. It can never be harmful to ask.

Don’t let any huge moving effort get the best of you. You have to be the portrait of equanimity. If you freak out, things will be a lot harder on you. If you keep your composure, you can do things the right way. You can think about cost-cutting strategies, too.

7 Crucial Things to Remember While Applying for a Home Loan

Buying your own house is like a dream come true. You get to enjoy the comfort and security of your own home. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about your landlord’s unnecessary restrictions, complaints, and rent negotiations. 

However, purchasing a house can be quite stressful due to the rising prices of the property. But don’t worry, we have listed a few things to remember before applying for the home loan:

1. Check your CIBIL score:

Before you apply for a home loan, you need to make sure that you have a decent CIBIL score.A score of 650+ is considered suitable for a home loan.If your credit score is good,banks will offer a loan at attractive interest rates.

Moreover, you may get financing up to 80-90% of the total cost of the property, if you have a good credit score. But in case there is a mistake in your credit report, tell the concerned authorities.

2. Compare interest rates: 

Before applying for a home loan, it is better to compare interest rates across various lenders. Interest rates can differ widely from lender to lender, so explore your options. 



Also, compare interest rates,maximum tenure,eligibility,processing fee and various other factors offered by different lenders. Banks and NBFCs such as Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC, and ICICI Bank offer home loans at a lower rate of interests.

3. Additional charges:

When you are applying for a home loan, you need to be educated about the various other charges that the lenders add to the current schemes.

They will add administrative and service charges or processing fees. So before you finalize any deal, you should make note of such additional charges that the lenders ask from you.

4. Calculate EMI:

Use online Home Loan EMI calculator to know how much EMI you can afford to pay every month on the borrowed loan amount. Various banks and websites of online marketplaces like MyLoanCare have their personal EMI calculator which allows you to calculate your monthly EMI based on different loan amount, interest rate and tenure.

You can calculate the EMI amount to know how much money you have to repay every month comfortably with the income you are earning.

5. Keep your documents ready:

Keep all the important documents ready and in order before applying for a home loan. This will help to speed up loan processing. The important documents that you need to submit are: KYC documents, income proofs, bank statements and property documents.

6. Read the fine print of the agreement carefully

Read your home loan agreement carefully. Sometimes, lenders may verbally agree to certain points but in the end whatever is present on the paper will only be taken into consideration. 

So it is best if you could just spend some extra time reading the document carefully rather than getting stuck in complications later on. Never sign on a blank loan paper even if the salesperson asks you to do so.

7. Never leave a doubt

Ask questions if you have any doubts, because it is very important to be aware of every term and condition mentioned in the loan. For your satisfaction clear out everything beforehand and your dream home will be yours in a hassle-free manner.

So, if you are planning to take a home loan,make sure to consider the above-mentioned tips for easy approval of your loan application.

Prepare for Retirement with an HSA

Retirement planning isn't something that happens by chance. It requires planning, financial commitment, and a long-term perspective. No matter where you are in your retirement planning process, we have an additional way to save tax-free funds for retirement. Enter the HSA (health savings account).

HSA Overview

By all intents and purposes, HSAs were designed to help individual and families save pre-tax funds for qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses. It creates a clear path to save money and reduce the cost of health services and expenses.

The benefits of an HSA are that they provide triple tax-tax advantages: tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free distributions (as long as they are used for qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses). This sounds great for health costs, but how does it connect to retirement?

After the age of 65, you can use your HSA funds for anything, just like A 401(k) or IRA. In fact, an HSA has no mandatory distributions in retirement. You get to decide when and if to use those pre-tax assets or sell investments in your HSA account. You can let your HSA funds grow into your 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Extra Tax-Free Retirement Savings

While the tax advantages of an HSA are clear, maybe the real value is an additional retirement savings account. Combining the savings power of a 401(k), IRA and HSA to create the only triple threat for retirement savings. That means more tax savings and more money for you in retirement.

Plan for Health Costs

Even with all of your detailed retirement planning, you might have missed the massive impact healthcare costs can have on your retirement savings nest-egg. According to a recent Fidelity Report, healthcare costs are expected to exceed $275,000 per couple in retirement. This is on top of Medicare coverage. 





HSAs can cover these expected health costs, so you can use your 401(k) or IRA for the stuff you want. Maybe some world travel?

Don't Wait to Open an HSA

HSA savings opportunities are based on HSA-eligibility. You must have an HSA-eligible health plan to contribute to an HSA. You can, however, use any accumulated HSA funds not matter your health plan. An HSA account is for life.

Your retirement planning might be in full swing, or you might be just getting started. No matter where you are in the retirement planning process, you can open an HSA to accelerate your retirement savings.

Get Ready For the Walmart Black Friday Sale 2018

With grand Black Friday Sales 2018 approaching in couple of few months, Walmart is coming up with some possible expected discounts that will be offered to its customers in the upcoming once in a year sale which will start on November 23, 2018. Walmart is fully excited for the grand bandwagon where it will offer much more attractions and discounts as compared to the previous year Black Friday Sales.

During the Black Friday week, Walmart will keep on surprising its customers with numerous deals and offers such as early access to Black Friday deals, pre-black Friday, Black Friday online specials and much more to fascinate its customers. Walmart will offer majority of the products at attractive lowest prices and if you are crazy for electronic devices including TVs, Cell Phones, Laptops, Smart Home gadgets to name a few, then this Walmart’s Black Friday Sales is exclusively for you only.

Some popular TV manufactures who will offer their products during the sale period are:

• Samsung
• Vizio
• LG
• Sony
• Phillips
• TCL
• Hisense

You can buy all range of TVs including Smart TVs, 3D TVs, Curved TVs, QLED TVs and much more at jaw dropping prices, following is a glimpse of offers which can be yours in the Black Friday Sales 2018.

Following are the anticipated discounts on the most preferred TVs that will be offered by the company:

Sceptre 32" Class HD (720P) LED TV

Get into a world full of vibrant colors by buying the X322BV-SR, the HDMI input offers the excepnally supreme mixture of high-definition video and clear audio. Other features include:

• Display Size” 31.5"
• Backlight Type: LED
• Resolution: 720p
• Effective Refresh Rate: 60Hz
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Viewable Angle (H/V): 178 degrees/178 degrees
• Number of Colors: 16.7 million

Original Price: $179.99; Expected discounted price: $89.99

Overall ratings: 4.4 out of 5

SAMSUNG 50" Ultra HD Smart LED TV

Enjoy viewing the high dynamic range including the latest HDR10+ content on a stylish and modular TV that can adjust the picture quality as per the moving scene.

Some other inbuilt features consist of Smart Hub, Contrast Enhancer, Hybrid Log Gamma, Universal Guide, SmartThings App, PurColor, UHD Dimming, High Dynamic Range (HDR) Media Player among others.

Original Price: $599.99; Expected discounted price: $397.99

Overall ratings: 5.0 out of 5

VIZIO 40" Full Array LED Smart HDTV

This latest Full-Array LED has the superior picture quality with convenient smart TV experience.

The inbuilt high-speed Wi-Fi will enable you to view the content in a wink of an eye, instantly connect with numerous apps including Netflix, Xumo, iHeartRadio, Hulu Plus, Spotify, YouTube and much more.

If you are a sports freak then this TV is a must buy for you, D-series includes Clear Action" 240, which mixes strong and powerful image processing with 120Hz effective refresh rate for the better viewership of fast action scenes.

Original Price: $318.00; Discounted price: $229.00

Overall ratings: 4.0 out of 5

Hisense 49" HDR Smart LED TV

You can watch your content in more vibrant and bright colors with four times more pixels (8.3 million) than in the standard high-definition TV.

The inbuilt HDR technology enhances the brightness; the UHD Upscaler brings lower resolution content closer to 4K, and with Motion Rate 120 you can watch fast moving sports, action scenes and 4K gaming in a more lively and entertaining way. The inbuilt dbx-tv digital audio technology will give you the clear and loud sound without irritating your ears.

Original Price: $349.99; Discounted price: $299.00

Overall ratings: 3.6 out of 5

In addition to the above products, there is a never ending list of TVs on Walmart and you can easily pick the one according to its features such as the size of TV, brand, price and much more and can give a modish and sophisticated look to your living room in your homes. Stay connected to Walmart to know more about the grand door buster deals.

Cellphones

Cellphones are the most important electronic device that has made our lives more comfortable and entertaining, now cellphones are used for variety of purposes apart from just making or receiving calls. At Walmart, you can stay closer with the technology as the company has announced its plans to offer significant discounts on cellphones during Black Friday sale.

Some well-known cellphone manufactures who will offer their products during the Black Friday Sale 2018 are:

• Apple
• Samsung
• Motorola
• BLU
• Huawei
• HTC
• AT & T among others.

Apple iPhone 6

• Apple iPhone 6 is newest addition in the Apple iPhone family, the stunning 4.7” Retina HD Display allows you to view visual more clearly with amazing graphics.
• The 8 Megapixel iSight Camera and 1.2 Megapixel FaceTime Camera, features 1080p and 720p video recording, enhanced face detection and sapphire crystal lens cover will allow you to save all your memorable moments with more clarity.
• Battery will work for up to 24 hours.
• Original price: $399.00
• Discounted price: $179.00
• Overall ratings: 4.0 out of 5

Huawei Mate SE 4G LTE Cell phone

• The 5.93" fully HD screen offers an outstanding edge-to-edge viewing experience and with a 18:9 aspect ratio, you can view the scenes, watch videos, browse your clicks, or can play your favorite games with more clarity and accuracy.
• The dual lens camera along with Portrait Mode will allow you u to take pictures of surroundings from different angles in a more lively and colorful way. The phone features a 16 MP and 2 MP dual-lens cameras.
• The 4 GB RAM will allow you to accomplish the task in a more speedy way even when multiple apps are opened on your phone, and with 64 GB of storage you will never fall short of space to store all your personal and professional content.
• Original price: $249.99
• Discounted price: $229.99
• Overall ratings: 4.5 out of 5

Samsung Galaxy S9 Smartphone

• With Samsung Galaxy S9 Smartphone in your hand you can flaunt your style among your friends and known ones, if you are self-obsessed about clicking your selfies then this phone is a must buy for you. The phone’s camera captures photos like a pro and click amazing pictures in dark sun, moonlight and in extreme low light as well using its adjustable aperture.
• This 5.8” smartphone has super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 1440 x 2960 pixels with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Other features include 4 GB RAM, 64 GB internal memory which can be extended up to 400 GB using microSD.
• Original price: $719.99
• Discounted price: $619.99
• Overall ratings: 3.5 out of 5

So keep yourself updated with the offers that will be posted on Walmart’s website on regular basics, you never know what kind of offer the company will introduce for the Black Friday Sales; there is still some time left for the grand event but Walmart has already started preparing for this mega sale so that its customers can prepare their shopping list well in advance and can take the maximum benefit out of it.

Managing Finances As We Age: Tips To Save Money, Reduce Financial Stress, and Save Time

Our financial goals certainly change as we age as many who are over 50 are considering when they will be able to retire comfortably. Saving money over the course of the year could not be more important as a monthly savings over a decade can amount to quite a lot. 

A proactive approach to managing your finances can help reduce stress, save more money, and even save time. The following are tips to do all of these things as we progress in age.

Move Investments To Less Volatile Options

As we age we are not going to have the same amount of expendable income due to retirement as well as our working years dwindling. For these reasons it is important to take a more conservative approach to investing as a big loss can delay retirement or postpone it indefinitely. 

Plenty of people move into investing in mutual funds or bonds during this time as there is sure return on many of these. Do not compromise your future looking for a big payday later in life as you need to ensure your future on more than a hunch.

Order Groceries For Delivery Online

Ordering groceries online can save you money in a variety of ways. There are deals only available online and it is much easier to stick to a budget when ordering groceries online. Gone are the days of something catching your eye in a display that is not on the list that you have written down. 



The online option even allows a customer to repeat an order they have previously put in. This helps a household never run out of commonly used items like milk or eggs. Get your groceries delivered by mercato.com to save the time of a commute as well as the most convenient delivery available.

Try An Online Trading Platform

The days of having a broker that will charge you outrageous amounts to purchase stock are over. There are plenty of online trading options that can be done effectively from a mobile device. 

The extra income that you have can be transferred to one of these platforms or apps so you can start purchasing stocks, bonds, or mutual funds as soon as you are paid. The flexibility to sell and purchase stock without worrying about a bulky fee can allow an investor to make the most out of their investments.

Utilize Online Banking

Online banking can help save time instead of constantly having to balance a checkbook. Noting what money was spent can still help as banks as well as credit cards make mistakes. Online banking allows the user to see if there have been fraudulent charges to an account within a day of it happening. 

Transferring money from account to account if a child is in college can be seamless instead of having to be done at the physical bank. No more guessing games when it comes to your finances as you will be able to login and view your finances in a matter of seconds.

Start ACTUALLY Following a Budget

Regardless of age it is never too late to start following a budget even if you have not had one in decades. The first step is gathering all of your expenses and sorting them. You might find that you are overpaying for a service or subscription that is no longer used but someone just forgot to cancel. 

Make a realistic budget then stick to it for find yourself with a few extra thousand dollars at the end of the year without impacting your quality of life overall.

As you can see there are plenty of adjustments to make with our finances as we age. Take the time to try some of the above tips to see if they can make your financial health better.