Fickle Finance

Archive for the ‘Personal Finance’ Category

Michelle White, 22, is a college scholar from Missouri. She tuned in to the reality show of TLC “Extreme Couponing”. With this, she started collecting coupon from the internet.  She also purchased lots of copies of newspapers for the purpose of coupons. She immediately went to a certain grocery store in order to buy some items for her family. Although, the White family is well off, Lauren still wanted to assist her parents since they are the ones who pay for her college education.

She recalled the moment during she was in the cashier when her total grocery dropped off to fifty dollars from two hundred sixty three dollars. She said, “It was quite a good experience for a first-timer.”

Because of this event Lauren is able to reduce the monthly grocery of her family to one hundred dollars from four hundred dollars. The White family currently has forty bottles of body wash for men, eighty jars of tomato sauce, and two hundred eighty eight toilet paper rolls.

Ten years ago, Stephanie Nelson began the CouponMom.com as a free site wherein there was merely 200,000 people who became members in the year 2008. As of today, the site is composed of 4.7 million members and thirteen staff polishing the internet. She stated, “People are not embarrassed about couponing anymore because they watch people on television that saved an amount of money.”

The debate as to how the rising debt ceiling could be resolved is still ongoing. Government officials keep on discussing the best plans and strategies that have been laid down.

Every single investor especially the retirees have the right to be concerned regarding the terms of the rising debt ceiling. The United States Treasuries’ security is considered by a majority of investors to be the choice for a safe refuge.  However, it turned upside down with a pending division.

The pressure and worry is right on track but despite the foreseen impacts, economists advise the public to not panic.

A planner of finance in Scottsdale, Arizona, Jason Washo stated that even though the United States is relegated, the default that United States is facing is likely fictional.

Due to the bond rating of the country which is AAA, agencies of credit rating have made a precaution that they are taking into account a downgrade. This is a risk is believed to exist for the accounts of retirement as well as the treasuries.

Seniors and those people who will be retiring soon could be predominantly hit as they have a large part of investments in the bonds of the government.

According to most financial analysts, it is now the best time to verify and evaluate the balance of an individual’s investment plans. It is to make sure that when the worst case scenario occurs during the raising of debt ceiling, investment accounts of retirees are secured.

Quadrant Information Services monitors and regulates the rates of insurance. It also computes the average premiums.  For a single person, the insurance service have a maximum of one hundred thousand dollars for injuries. There is an amount worth three hundred thousand for all casualties and injuries and fifty thousand dollars for the damage of properties during an accident. As for the comprehensive coverage and deductible crash, there is an amount of five hundred dollars insurance.

A list of the most expensive cars to insure is presented by Insure.com. According to them, the rate of the person is also put into value aside from rate of the car.

Mercedes SL65 AMG is on the top of the list with an average national annual premium of $3,544. BMW 750i follows with premium of $3,281. Third, BMW 750Li has $3,281, while ranking fourth is Mercedes SL63 AMG at $3,263 dollars.  Rounding the fifth spot is Mercedes S65 AMG, with $3,221 dollars.

Purchasing a car loan is one of the biggest take of an individual. Car insurance is a significant factor in order to have a financial back up for car casualties. In general, an expensive car has a more immense bill of insurance. The rates of insurance for cars are mainly based on how many agencies have dedicated payments for the restoration of the car model.

Insure.com senior managing editor Amy Danise said that due to a lot of demands, car rates become higher. Expensive car parts could also be factor for higher rates even though there are only a few claims.

In the next eight months, most of the best-selling drugs will carry out its generic version. Among these, the top two drugs are included – Lipitor for cholesterol and Plavix for blood thinner.

The prices of medicines that are prescribed to over millions of people will about to plunge due to the patents that are going to expire anytime soon.

Statistics shows that by September 2012, the competition of the generic version versus branded drugs will seep through. Lipitor is used by around 4.3 million American while Plavix is taken by 1.4 million people.  Moving closely are medicines for treatment and cure of asthma, depression, blood pressure, high triglycerides, diabetes, bipolar disorder and HIV.

The expiration of patents will have a big impact.  From 2012 to 2016, it is expected that $255B of sales worldwide are about to head out.  Research firm EvaluatePharma Ltd.  based in London indicated that it is expected that the prices will go down. The competition of generic version will cut through the branded drugs.

More than 80% of the cost will be saved by patients when they buy generic medicines. Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield chief pharmacy officer Joel Owerbach stated that a minimum of fifteen percent of the total population is presently taking one of those generic drugs.

Health insurance announced that there could be possible hike on the rate of health insurance. This is a result of the overhauling of health insurance policy.

The policy in raising the rate does not include people roofed by Medicare or big employers. It is only for a large number for small businesses and independent individuals.

Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna Incorporated and health insurance carriers have clamored for an increase in the range of one percent to nine percent. The increase of rate is intended to shell out additional benefits.

The Census Bureau showed statistics wherein there is roughly nine percent of Americans purchase coverage on the individual market. On the other hand, Kaiser Family Foundation statistics showed that there are about one-fifth of Americans who acquire insurance coverage through their employers. The increase is said to cover new benefits imposed by the law like the riddance of particular caps that is covered annually.

Moreover, there is forecast that health insurers are forced to push a series of increase to consumers because of the modification of health coverage in the United States.

In order for one to have the best car deal, a number of strategies can be applied. First, you must be aware of the worth of your current wheels. This way, you could think of the offer of the dealer and whether it is close to your car’s real worth.

Researching for the features of the car you want is also a must. You must also know the price online so that you can have the best idea about the car of your dreams.  Comparing the prices and sticker prices is helpful to the get the best dealership. Online sites such as edmunds.com, AOL Autos and kbb.com have articles about a variety of cars which includes fuel economy, features, and specs.

Carwoo.com provides a better experience for cars deals to its consumers but it requires a cost of forty nine dollars wherein you can bargain the price of a particular vehicle that you wanted.

Peter Valdes-Dapena from CNNMoney picked a number of car models for a good dealership: SUV: BMW X5 35D, Crossover: Hyundai Veracruz, Sedan: Infiniti M56 and Sports car: Ford Mustang convertible.

A new Christmas promotion has been launched by Amazon last December 10, 2011. The promo offers 5% off to customers to three qualifying items. The discounts give off up to $5.00 less on items. However, the discounts can only be availed if the customer has checked beforehand the price of the goods they want to buy at the Price Check app while they are at the physical store with the goods.

Amazon’s idea on the promotion became controversial. Some thought that the application on price checking being incorporated into the promotion is excellent. Wittingly, Amazon has turned their customers into spies for them. Without having to spend any fee for it, Amazon obtains a comparison data on prices from other huge stores.

The technique is known to be an old scheme of providing people the benefit of using a new product which in this case is the Price Check app. While letting them use the app, people may get used to it. As a result, Amazon will draw more volume from this. Plus their expenses may be reduced as they save more from not paying any fee on gathering comparison data.

But every action has its negative side. The promotion raised eyebrows from politicians, advocacy groups, and other retailers.

In connection to Christmas discount season, TVs are top on the list of Christmas shopping for most people.

We know that television sales have slowed down as new technologies like tabs and smartphones come out as interest for people. But shoppers have responded to discounts offered by TV retailers which went up to 50%.

So far, TV sales for 2011 went up by 15% since 2010 as their prices have dropped by 7%, only amounting to $597.

Knoxville News Sentinel reported a student who is just months away from earning a doctorate degree at the University of Georgia has been sentenced imprisonment for credit card scam. The imprisonment sentence will reach 70 months in jail.

Twenty-five year old Carlton Lewis allegedly directed the scheme among the waitresses at restaurants in the southeast area. The waitresses are instructed to skim credit cards of their customers.

According to court document, Lewis and the rest of his crew created counterfeit cards with the numbers stolen from customers. These cards are used to purchase gift cards and other merchandise.

The scheme was accidentally discovered in March along the Tennessee Highway Patrol. A trooper has arrested him for driving under the influence of liquor. While the patrol was searching his car, they obtained some skimming device, newly purchased electronics, fake credit cards and other stuff.

The police authorities have found another technology which is used to re-program prepaid money cards engraved with stolen account numbers.

Lewis apparently lived entirely two different lives. By day, he is a dedicated honor student enrolled in UG doctoral. By night, his identity turns into thief, and a sophisticated fraudster during weekend.

In another report, 26-year old Jonathan Oliveras was also caught due to managing a credit card fraud. The operation went throughout the East Coast of United States. The said scheme involved buying stolen credit card over the internet. Credit cards were brought from sellers whom people believed are located in Russia. Once information were stolen, the data are distributed to individuals in New Jersey, Washinton, DC, and New York to make fake purchases.

As holiday nears, the travel season comes to a height which means more and more passengers are checking in and out of the airport. One burden of these travelers is targeted by a lawmaker limiting airlines in charging too much bag-check fees for customers.

Sen. Mary Landrieu of D-LA introduced the Airline Passenger BASICS Act. The word BASICS means  Basic Airline Standards to Improve Customer Satisfaction.

The said act mandates airlines to allow travelers a free checked bag with a certain limit on weight in every flight. The excess baggage would be guaranteed a certain minimum standard. The act also requires that these luggage fees should be disclosed to customers beforehand so they may pay it in advance.

Landrieu said usually when a flight is advertised by airlines, they only show the plane fare cost which may deceive some customers. Thus, Landrieu thinks passengers should not be paying any additional fees for carry-on bags, water, and other requests. She stated that the unfair fee for such basic amenities makes traveling on air a stressful experience.

Furthermore, Landrieu plans to introduce another bill called the FAIR act. FAIR stands for Fair Airline Industry Revenue. The act would sanction airlines which would not comply with additional fees.  The proponent of the BASICS act contends that bag check fees as this may burden the plane since its overhead storage space may be cramped and securities will have to inspect more baggages.

It Is highly impractical to buy a ticket for lottery with a high interest rate. But state lawmakers are coming up an idea which will make consumers purchase these tickets through their credit cards or debit cards. Lawmakers are coming up with strategies to get more money through lottery to fund college scholarships. They understand that this can’t be done through the current method of buying lottery tickets, which is through plain cash. According to Eagle Forum’s state president Bobbie Patray, state lottery is detrimental to people and those who do usually get into financial trouble. Apparently, Eagle Forum opposes state lottery and is the main concern of this conservative group.

State lottery was first passed during 2002. It has produced over 2 billion dollars for college tuition and other programs related to education. So far, it has been successful and the fear that this would lead more gamblers to lose money has not been seen. People who engage in state lottery spend a few dollars for ticket scratch offs, among other games.

With the introduction of lottery tickets being purchased through credit cards, however, it becomes much more possible for lottery players to drown in deep debt, as it is already the case with families under credit card debt. On average, a family from Tennessee owes 6 thousand to 7 thousand dollars on debts from credit cards. When one gambles on credit, that drains your account very rapidly because most of the time, and the longer you gamble, the more you will lose.