Many of us know the feeling of getting our car insurance bill and thinking, “Again!? Didn’t I just pay this!?” Car insurance is one of those unavoidable (in most states) expenses. AOL Autos wanted to find out from an insider exactly what goes into those prices and what we can do to keep our car insurance costs down. We talked to Patrick Lawson, a 25-year veteran auto insurance agent.
The Bottom Line: Premiums
Have you ever wondered how they come up with these numbers? Lawson mentioned the common factors like age, sex, car type and driving record but also noted a new, little known factor. “Companies are now, of all things, checking credit because people with poor credit, statistically, can be susceptible to more claims,” he said. He explained that some people in these cases are more apt to file a claim instead of settling it themselves because they might not have the means to handle it any other way.
“Insurance is nothing but numbers, and that’s all the industry has to go on is how they make these number come out.
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So you’re an avid stock investor and/or trader. If you’re interested in expanding your portfolio with options trading or you’re looking for a new online stock broker that has strong support for both stock investors and options traders, then you might want to get to know OptionsHouse. This broker offers low rates and even some commission-free trades. Let’s jump right into the details of OptionsHouse:
OptionsHouse Review: Brokerage For Stock & Options Trading
Pricing and Commission Rates
For stock trades, they’re available at a flat rate of $2.95. Note that you’ll also pay $.0005 per share if the stock you’re interested in is $2.00 or less and isn’t options-eligible. This is one of the cheapest stock brokers around, as a lot of brokers I’ve seen charge $10 or more per trade.
You have a few choices when it comes to picking your rates for options trading. If you intend to keep your account low-volume, you’re likely to appreciate the Up to 5 for $5 rate. Those who want to t
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If you haven’t been credit card shopping recently, you’d be amazed at the variety offered today. In addition to the different interest rates, the extent of rewards or perks offered is vast. There are cards offered to fit everyone’s needs. Good credit, bad credit, in between, 0% APR introductory offers, sky miles, cash back,… just to name a few.
Of course the financial experts would tell you to watch that credit card debt, pay off the balance every month so you don’t hav…
If you haven’t been credit card shopping recently, you’d be amazed at the variety offered today. In addition to the different interest rates, the extent of rewards or perks offered is vast. There are cards offered to fit everyone’s needs. Good credit, bad credit, in between, 0% APR introductory offers, sky miles, cash back,… just to name a few.
Of course the financial experts would tell you to watch that credit card debt, pay off the balance every month so you don’t have to pay interest. If you do have high balances the experts would also tell you to take out a loan on your home so you could get a lower interest rate and tax advantage too. But that’s not always realistic or possible for some. Perhaps they just bough
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Savers managed to increase their savings levels by just 38 on average in 2009, according to ING, with many people instead focusing on paying down debt.
The savings provider claimed that the average person holds 2,205 in savings – the equivalent of 1.7 times their monthly take-home pay. Most financial experts agree that savers should have the equivalent of three months` salary put away to protect against debt and other financial emergencies.
ING said that savings levels actually rose by 112 during the final quarter of 2009, but this was more than offset by the 149 withdrawn from savings accounts in the second quarter.
A debt expert at Think Money said: “These figures really demonstrate the difficulty many people faced at the height of the economic crisis. Savings are important for protecting against potential debt problems, but it seems existing debts were already a pressure for many people.
“It often makes sense to pay off problem debts before putting money into savings, because debt interest grows more quickly. Anyone having trouble with their debts should speak with a debt adviser about how to improve their situation.”
More thoughts on health insurance and health care reform.
Health care costs are sky high in America, so it seems to me that having good health becomes a much more valuable matter here than anywhere else. This fact rings very true every time I come across a story about how someone goes bankrupt because of medical reasons. When you fall ill, not only do you lose your ability to earn a living (hence you need disability benefits of some sort), you also get squeezed dry by soaring medical costs.
Image from AmericanProgress.com
Besides all this, there is one other unfortunate statistic that needs to be reversed. That would be the number of lives that are lost due to the lack of accessible health care for American citizens. I’ve noticed a disturbing trend: more people are deferring medical treatment for life-threatening problems because they simply cannot afford health insurance or health care. The latest casualty in this predicament is a reality television star: Jennifer Lyons was a participant in the show Survivor, who battled breast cancer for five difficult years. I
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