Ben Edwards's Blog: Money Smart Life, page 13

Does it Always Make Sense to Pay Off a Mortgage Early?

One of the goals of those who long to be debt-free is to pay of the mortgage early. The idea is that once other debts are taken care of, it’s time to focus on paying down the mortgage.

There are a number of strategies you can employ to pay off your mortgage early, from switching to a bi-weekly schedule to aggressively making extra payments when you can. Some homeowners refinance to 15-year mortgages to pay off the mortgage faster and pay less in interest.

But is that really the best course of a...

How to Pay Down Holiday Debt as Quickly as Possible

Even with the best intentions, it’s too common: People rack up debt during the holidays. If you have some holiday debt, chances are that you want to get rid of that debt as soon as possible.

Here are some tips from Kevin Gallegos, the vice president of Phoenix operations for Freedom Financial Network:

1. Stop charging.

The first thing you need to do is stop using your credit card. “Don’t close any long-standing accounts with a positive payment history, as that can hurt your credit scores,” saysG...

Money Musings Overheard While Christmas Shopping

What do people in the malls think of Christmas consumerism? Here are some things I’ve heard people say:

Checkout Man at Best Buy:

Man, they brainwash everybody at Christmas. They flood you with ads and make you think you need this stuff.

Guy 1 and Guy 2 in Line at Kohl’s:

Guy 1 - Can you believe we live in a country where there is so much stuff to choose from?

Guy 2- I know, there are some stores that have a whole aisle for just water!

Older Checkout Lady at Bath & Body Works:

When I was a kid, we b...

Buyer’s Title Insurance and Why You Should Have It

Very few people are familiar with title insurance, and even fewer with its optional component – buyer’s title insurance. There are all kinds of insurance policies, but this one never rears its head until you are either buying or refinancing a home or another type of real estate.

Title insurance is one of those quiet types of insurance coverage, that no one pays much attention to until something goes wrong. If it does, and you have coverage, everything will be fine. If you don’t, you could be s...

How to Build Tax Diversification into Your Retirement Investments

You probably understand the importance of investment diversification – spreading your portfolio across various mutually exclusive asset classes.

But when you are investing for your retirement, it’s also important that you build tax diversification intoyour portfolio as well. This balance is much more important than most retirement investors realize.

You can build tax diversification into your retirement investments by accumulating some money in non-tax sheltered plans and assets.

Tax-Free vs. Ta...

How to Reduce Healthcare Costs in the New Year

We have a new year coming, and that means new healthcare costs. The cost of healthcare goes up every year, but since 2010, those costs have slowed. The cost of healthcare has risen an average of 1.3 percent a year from 2010 to 2013, as compared with 1.8 percent from 2007 to 2010 and 3.9 percent per year between 2000 and 2007.I know that my health insurance premium went up by less than usual this last enrollment period.

The fact that healthcare costs are slowing doesn’t mean that you aren’t sub...

5 Types of Financial Advisers: What You Need to Know Before You Choose One

There are times when you might not be sure what to do with your finances. At that point, it makes sense to call in a professional. Sometimes, a professional can help you get through the thornier issues that you are dealing with.

However, it’s important to note that there are different types of financial advisers, depending on your situation. Think about your circumstances, and what you need, and then choose a financial adviser based on your individual needs:

1. Certified Financial Planner

Those...

Why Index Funds Are Your Best Investment Choice

Index funds are a lazy investor’s best investment choice. You can invest your money in them, and even if you never research a single stock or try to time even one market turn, you will never, ever under-perform the overall stock market.

This makes index funds the logical choice for most investors. It’s not that most investors are lazy, but more that most of us are not professional investors, and not familiar with what is necessary in order to successfully invest in stocks. When you invest in i...

Could P2P Lending Help Your Finances?

One of the financial opportunities becoming increasingly popular in the United States is peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. P2P lending exists to help borrowers and lenders find each other. In many cases, P2P lending allows ordinary people access to financial opportunities that they might not normally have.

P2P lending involves lenders (often “regular folks”) offering funds in $25 increments. Borrowers try to raise money a little at a time from several lenders. This way, the borrower receives the mon...

The Benefits of Paying Your Auto Insurance by Credit Card

Some auto insurance companies try to convince you to pay your premium with a credit card, and will even offer incentives for your cooperation. While I generally oppose the use of credit cards for any purpose where it isn’t absolutely necessary, there’s a strong case to be made for using them to pay your annual car insurance premium.

To be clear, we’re not talking merely about allowing your auto insurance company to make monthly debit charges to your credit card to pay the premium in installmen...