Finance Blog

Investing in a life insurance policy is the most common way to provide financial security to your family in your absence. Life insurance pays the policy benefits to your nominees if an unfortunate event occurs during its duration.

Traditional life insurance policies offer maturity or survival benefits. However, the premium for such policies is high and expensive for most people. Insurers also offer term plans, which are pure life covers available at an economical premium.

What is a term insurance plan?

It is a straightforward life plan that pays the benefits to your nominees if something untoward happens to you during the policy duration. Most term plans do not pay any survival or maturity benefits. So, the premium is lower compared to traditional life insurance policies.

Some term insurance policies offer a return of premium option. When you buy term insurance with return of premium, the insurer pays the entire amount paid at the end of the policy duration. However, the premium for these plans is higher than the amount paid for a regular term policy.

Differences between term insurance and traditional life insurance policies

Although both term and regular life insurance policies ensure financial security for your family in your absence, there are certain distinguishing factors between these two options. Here are three such points of comparison:

• Policy benefits

Your nominees get the term insurance benefits only in your absence during the policy duration. If you survive the policy period, most term plans do not pay any maturity or survival benefits.

On the other hand, regular life insurance policies pay the sum assured (SA) to your nominees if an untoward incident occurs during its duration. If you survive the policy period, you will receive the maturity benefits as per the terms and conditions of the plan.

• Premium cost

There are no term insurance benefits on maturity. As these plans are pure life covers, the premium is more affordable. This allows you to avail of a higher coverage at a lower premium, ensuring that your family is financially secured in your absence. You can easily opt for a higher SA based on their requirements and future financial goals, ensuring they do not face any liquidity constraints when you are not there to look after them.

In comparison, traditional life policies are costlier, and you may be unable to afford a higher SA. This may limit the benefits your family will receive if a tragic event occurs during the policy tenure.

An important consideration is that the premium of a term plan increases if you opt for a longer duration and age. However, the amount remains constant during the entire duration irrespective of the age and tenure when you buy a traditional life insurance policy.

• Policy duration

You can choose the term policy period based on your age and current and future monetary objectives. On the other hand, most traditional life policies have a minimum duration of five years and provide coverage for a longer period.

Things to consider while choosing the right life insurance policy

When you consider buying a life insurance policy, you must not simply think of it as an investment avenue or as a means to achieve your financial objectives or to save tax. You need to keep several other factors in mind. These include:

• Premium
• Maximum coverage
• Current liabilities
• Present financial situation
• Future financial objectives

There are several plus points of buying an online term plan, which includes lower premium, convenience, and quick process. Additionally, you can procure comprehensive coverage through riders, such as waiver of premium, permanent disability, critical illness, and accidental death benefits at a nominal cost.

Both term plans and traditional life insurance policies offer flexibility to pay the premium. You have the facility to pay it either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually according to your financial condition.

Mutual fund investments have taken a special place in investors hearts, especially those who are new to the investing world. This is because mutual funds are an excellent and convenient way of investing your money. These investment vehicles have proved time and again that they have the potential to generate significantly higher returns. This article serves as a mutual fund investment guide for all investors – new and old. Let’s start with the basics.

What are mutual funds?

A mutual fund is an investment vehicle where an AMC (asset management company) pools the capital of several investors. The pooled money is further invested in different securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments, etc. A fund manager professionally manages the fund and invests it in a myriad of investment options according to your financial portfolio. These fund managers are mutual fund experts that hold an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the volatile markets. In return, the fund houses charge a minimal expense ratio i.e., the annual maintenance fee to manage your mutual fund investments.

How to invest in mutual funds in a way that it best suits your financial needs?

Following are some of the points to be considered before you decide to invest in mutual funds online:

1. Investment goals
   Before deciding to invest, you need to evaluate your financial goals, risk appetite, and the investment tenure for which you desire to stay invested. An investment objective aids in determining the macro-level assortment of mutual fund schemes. Your investment tenure has the potential to have a contributory impact on your investment decisions.
2. Performance of the mutual fund scheme against a benchmark
   A benchmark index is a standard against which the performance and stock allocation of a particular mutual fund scheme is compared. It guides the investment philosophy of the scheme. Hence, the asset allocation of a benchmark index must match with the investment objective of the mutual fund.
3. Consistent returns
   An ideal mutual fund is the one that harvests, desirable, consistent, and significantly high returns over a period and not just whirlwind gains. It must be able to offer decent and consistent returns in both bullish and bearish markets.
4. Expense ratios
   An expense ratio is an important factor to consider as they have the potential to take away a considerable chunk of your earnings. A reasonable expense ratio is anywhere between 0.5 – 1.5%. Anything above 1.5% is usually considered as a high expense ratio. As a thumb rule of investing in mutual funds, the higher the asset under management (AUM), the lower will be the expense ratio, and higher will be the take home earnings.
5. Fund manager’s experience and expertise
   A fund manager plays a vital role in the performance of your mutual fund scheme. Although investing in mutual funds is a process-oriented approach, the fund manager has the final say. As a result, their view counts and experience should be accounted as well.

With different types of mutual funds available to individuals, you must remember that no single scheme or a set of schemes is suitable for everyone. So invest in mutual funds that best complement your portfolio. Happy investing!

 

You may think that the term plan that suits your friend or relative would work for you too. But your friend’s health and age may not be the same as you. And these crucial factors affect the policy’s cost. For you, the best plan would be the one that offers you the highest amount while charging you the lowest. Apart from that, there should be additional benefits like critical illness cover, waiver of premium, accidental death, income benefit, etc.

Because you have to keep so many things in mind, choosing a term plan could be challenging for you. However, if you are the only earning member of your family, have small children, and have loans to pay, investing in a term insurance plan would be beneficial. Below are the things you should consider before buying the term insurance.

What Should Be My Policy’s Term?

If you are in your late 20s or early 30s right now, buying a term plan for 50 years can be unnecessary. Ideally, you should invest in policy until retirement. This is because as you advance towards retirement, your family would be less dependent on you. By the time you turn 60, your kid would settle down, you would pay the loans, and may also have a few assets in your name. You can choose a decreasing term plan in this case, where you will have to pay a significantly low premium amount as the sum insured decreases with time.

Advertisements Show Per Day Premium, What Are They?

You would have seen numerous advertisements talking about per day premium, which could be as low as Rs. 25 per day for 1 crore sum insured. But you should know that these numbers are specific to certain age group, health conditions and policy’s tenure. This policy could be tailored for a person in 20s without any medical condition like blood sugar, blood pressure, etc. whose policy term is 40 years. So, you should know that your policy amount and premium are affected by your health, age, and tenure of the policy.

When Is The Right Time To Buy A Term Insurance Policy?

After you turn 18, you can buy a term plan at any age you wish to because there is no maximum limit. But it is advisable to invest in a policy early because you would get a pocket-friendly deal. Not only your sum insured would be high but also your premium would below. Also, when you are in your 20s or 30s, you have more responsibilities as compared to when you are in your 50s and above. A 30-year-old is likely to have a family of their own as well as loans on their head. They would require a large cover so that the future of their kids is secure. But that would not be the case with a 50-year-old person.

The Bottom Line

Before buying a term plan, you should be aware of how term insurance policies work and what factors affect your plan. This way, you would be able to take maximum advantage of the policy.

Professional stock traders are one step ahead when it comes to risk assessment factors. They are not rookies. They don’t believe in an aggressive method, rather, they are concerned about their investment. All the trades they place in the market are based on solid reason. Being a rookie stock trader in Hong Kong, you have a lot to learn from the successful stock traders in our society. A good stock trader can show you the path to securing your financial freedom. So, stop chasing your dream without knowing the key factors of this investment business. Read this article because we are going to highlight some of the key traits of the successful traders which naïve traders never emulate.

Trade with discipline

Everyone thinks they are trading with discipline. But in reality, more than 90% of traders are breaking the rules. They never trade this market with discipline because they are biased in favor of big profit. Once you become biased about the profit potential, you will be placing trades without thinking about the risk exposure. In most cases, you will be placing random trades without giving any attention to your risk management plan. By doing so, you are putting your investment at great risk. If you pay close attention to your trade execution process, you will realize that you are breaking the most common rules at trading. So, focus on this problem and try not to break the rules in trading.

Trade with the trend

All the elite stock traders at Saxo trade with the trend. Navigate to this website and read the analysis of the top traders. Soon you will realize the importance of the trend trading method. If you think the trend doesn’t have any influence on your profit factor, analyze the historic price data. Within a few hours, you will be realized the best trade setups that occur against the major trend often results in a big loss. But if you trade with a low probability trade setup which favors the trend, there is a chance you can make a profit. So, develop the habit of trend trading strategy so that you can make a decent profit losing too much money in trading.

Revise your trading method

The top stock traders in the world believe in dynamic changes in the market. They revise their trading method regularly so that they don’t have to lose trades when the market shifts its periodic nature. But it might be tough for rookies because they don’t know the way to revise their trading methods. But there is an easy fix for this problem. If you are new to stock trading, start a trading journal and keep track of your trades. Soon, you will be able to find the faults in the system by analyzing your past trading data.

After finding the faults in your system, you have to revise your trading method so that you don’t make the same mistake. Take your time and try to improve your skills by learning from your mistakes. Forget about the aggressive method and try to make money using the conservative trading technique.

Control your emotions

The professional stock traders are pro at managing their emotions. They never execute any trade with emotions since they know the result will be a big loss. If you want to succeed as a stock trader, you must learn to control the urge. You might have to lose 10 trades in a row, but you can’t take action to recover the loss. To control your emotions, you might have to meditate on a regular basis. This is fine, but make sure you don’t lose your temper after losing a few trades. Once you manage to trade with a relaxed mindset, securing profit will be much easier.

 

You need a real estate agent to help you sell your house. The chances of selling your property on your own are slimmer than doing it with a realtor. However, you can’t just hire any real estate agent. You must find the right one to increase your chances of attracting the right buyers and closing the deal as soon as possible. It can be challenging to determine if you hired the right one until you work with that agent. Some signs will tell you if you made a mistake in this decision, and here are some of them.

Your home is overpriced

If it has been a long time and you are not getting any offer, check your price. See other similar properties in the market to determine the average price. If yours is way too high than the average, it’s a red flag that your agent agreed or decided to set it on that price. While you may want your property to be sold at a high cost, you will find it hard to sell it if your price is unrealistic. Buyers are more likely to consider those with more competitive prices.

Lack of communication

There should be open and constant communication between you and your real estate agent so you will be up to date on the process. If it takes a long time for your realtor to respond or get back to you, it could be a sign that you hired the wrong one.

The agent doesn’t show up for home inspections

Buyers may request a home inspection, and your agent must be there to determine the result, explain it to you, and negotiate for you. Not all home inspections are the same. Some have exaggerated results, so your realtor should be there to handle it. Reconsider your choice if yours is always unavailable to attend these inspections.

Poor marketing of your property

It’s not enough that your agent will post your home to MLS or Multiple Listing Services. They need to do the proper way to attract potential buyers. From the words to the photos used, they must be well-thought of. Moreover, your realtor must use other platforms to reach more prospective buyers, including blogs and social media. If he is not exerting effort to get the word out there, you may not have the right agent.

Unprofessional

There are different signs of being unprofessional, and one of them is tardiness. If he doesn’t show up on time, he can be considered unprofessional, and you don’t want to deal with this type of person. Other signs are the words he uses and the way he dresses.

You do not feel comfortable

It’s crucial that you feel comfortable with your chosen realtor as you will be working side by side with him in selling your property. If you do not think that you can trust your agent or you feel that something is off, it may be time to look for another one.

Hiring the right realtor to help in selling your property can be a challenge. You don’t have to go through this if you sell your house to wholesale buyers. They buy homes as they are and flip them to meet the needs of their clients. The process is more efficient and quicker. Get to know more about this option by searching sell my house fast Fort Lauderdale on the Internet.

 

So you’ve decided it’s time to move. Whether you got a new job, want to be closer to a loved one, or just need a change of scenery, here are three important questions to ask yourself when trying to calculate the costs of relocation:

1. Why are you moving?

This may seem obvious, but the first and most important factor to take into account when relocating is how said move will affect your income. If you’re not moving far, are you planning to keep your current job and simply commute? If so, consider the change in distance and how that can impact fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance. Are you planning to get a new job? If so, start looking sooner rather than later, and make sure to take into account any potential increase or decrease in your income or benefits.

If a new job is the reason you’re moving in the first place, your employer may be willing to cover or at least split your relocation costs. Some employers will offer to do this upfront, but even if they don’t, don’t be afraid to ask. If they want you enough to hire you over all the other applicants, there’s a good chance they want you enough that they’re willing to help get you where they need you to be.

2. Where are you moving?

Whether you’re relocating one mile away or one hundred miles away, never assume that your new home is going to cost the same as the one you live in now, because it won’t. Property values can fluctuate wildly regardless of distance, and every area’s taxes, utilities, and basic living expenses are different. That’s why knowing your financial limits is so crucial.

Something important to consider is whether you’re looking to rent or buy. If you’re hoping to buy, a home affordability calculator can be vital in helping you figure out your budget. Such tools are capable of taking your annual household income, the amount you spend on monthly bills, and how much of a down payment you’re willing to make, and compare all that information with the current costs of real estate in the same area you’re moving to.

3. How are you moving?

One of the final decisions you’ll have to make before relocating is whether you want to use a moving company or handle the move yourself. Of course, the two biggest factors in making that choice are generally how far you’re moving and how much stuff you have to move. In any case, each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages.

If you opt to go the DIY route, your peace of mind in knowing your belongings are in good hands comes with a price, and not just a financial one. Sure, you’ll have to calculate the cost of renting a moving truck and paying for gas, but you’ll also have to invest a lot of time and physical energy. Hiring a moving company costs more, but that money goes towards paying someone else to worry about that stuff for you. If you’re concerned about entrusting your most prized possessions to someone else, comparison shop and browse consumer reviews on websites like Yelp, or research a moving company’s complaint history via the Department of Transportation’s mover search tool. You always have options; don’t hesitate to explore them.