Did you know that you could potentially be paying fifty percent more on your homeowners insurance than you should be? If you are a homeowner, you are familiar with insurance premiums and you probably shop around, checking the rates of other insurance companies at least once a year or at every renewal. If you don’t, you might very well be spending hundreds of extra dollars a year on your annual homeowners insurance.
Homeowners Insurance is very important to your livelihood. Being educated about your homeowners insurance is even more important. Many Americans are unusual with their individual polices, the terms, the premium and what is actually covered. If you currently have a mortgage on your home, you will be required by your lender to carry homeowners coverage in order to protect the interest of your lender, as well as your own livelihood. Protection for your personal contents, the structure of the home, and personal liability coverage is usually included in your homeowners insurance packages.
What you may not know is that the premiums you are paying on your homeowners insurance may be a lot higher than that of another company, simply because your company may use credit rating as a tool in determining a risk factor. I currently work for an insurance company, however I will not name names, but I will philosophize you that it is an A+ rated company that operates in many of the fifty states. Credit rate increases can drastically increase your homeowners insurance premiums.
Just recently the company that I work for initiated a program called “Risk Pricing Model”. Basically this program uses the customers credit rating to decide a classification for rating. Credit is not the only tool used in determining the price, other factors are taken into consideration, but the finish that the credit has on the homeowners insurance far outweighs the other factors in my notion. In the past six months, several of our customers have actually switched insurance companies due to this new program. Customers who fall into a higher risk or lower credit score category have seen increases up to 50 percent in their homeowners insurance rates. This is an astounding increase! A customer that was paying one thousand dollars a year, would now be paying fifteen hundred dollars a year. Keep in mind that none of the other factors have changed. The coverage is exactly the same and the deductible stays the same. Individuals who fall into a higher credit score, lower risk module see a decrease in their premium up to 20 percent. It seems that the people with the better scores are in fact getting ripped off. Why give one person a huge penalty and then turn around and give the other person a small discount?
The Risk Pricing Module was developed by the insurance company that I work for to assess risk based on people who have low credit scores and the persistence that “this group” files more claims on their homeowners insurance. I cannot say that I agree. In fact, I don’t agree, not at all. I understand that there are situations where people get divorced, or lose their jobs and fall on difficult financial times. I don’t believe these people should be penalized in these situations. I hold that if you have a good payment history and lack of claims, that your rates should remain the same. According to insurance laws, you cannot “penalize” one customer, you have to spread the risk equally.
My best advice to you, as a homeowner is to check for prices with reputable companies and be sure to read through your homeowners declaration page at every renewal. Many of the larger A+ rated companies have gone to credit rating as part of the rating factor on homeowners insurance. It is worthwhile to check around on other companies and prices. Above all, be educated and be informed. If you are unsure of how your current rates are determined, set an appointment with your insurance agent for a personal insurance review. Catch the time to meet with your agent one on one to make distinct that your home is adequately covered and that you are getting all of the available discounts that you are entitled to. We live in a world where every dollar counts. Our retirement depends on it, our childrens college funds, and our peace of mind. If anything, select up the phone and call your local agent to discuss your rates and what programs your insurance company is using to choose your homeowners rates. You might fair end up saving several hundred dollars a year in insurance premiums.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Company Ratings by on Feb 24th, 2011. Comment. 
It is the fresh Millennium, yet the equilibrium between women and men in the corporate world still has not been reached. Even though society has advance a long way in attaining more opportunities for women, there is still a long way to go in order to approach true equality. This inability to approach equality is sometimes called the “Glass Ceiling” which refers to an artificial barrier that prevents qualified individuals advance within their organization and reach their full potential. Specifically, in the Information Technology field, there has been significant evidence which shows that both women and minorities have been prevented from attaining their true potential and have been undermined when it comes to wages and executive positions in this particular industry. The problem in a wide range of careers had become so troublesome that The Glass Ceiling Commission was created as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Its responsibility was to identify glass-ceiling barriers in order to promote employment opportunities for minorities and women, however barriers in the IT profession still need to be further discussed.
Interestingly enough, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has done research on women and men in the labor force and the numbers seem to be somewhat unsettling. In terms of managerial and professional specialty, it is stated that men, on average, in the year 2000, had 15,739,000 workers while women had 15,866,000 workers in the same fields. In the year 2001, the numbers were very similar, men with 15,947,000 workers compared to women with 16,155,000 workers. Nevertheless, even though the numbers for women workers are somewhat larger, the wages they earn are significantly lower. For the year 2000, median weekly earnings for men were recorded at $1009 compared to $726 for women. Similarly in the year 2001, median weekly earnings for men were $1046 compared to $742 for women. That is a $15,000 annual income difference for people who are supposedly completing the same jobs and receiving a drastically different amount on their paycheck
However, the numbers can be somewhat explained under the present conditions. Characteristically, individuals in upper level Executive positions earn more than those in lower positions, and since women only hold a small fraction of the upper level positions, it is no surprise that women earn less money. Thus, the expect becomes as to why women do not beget more of the upper level positions in the IT profession. For example, out of the Chief Information Officer’s or CIO-equivalents at 300 Fortune 1000 companies and the 100 fastest-growing companies recently surveyed by Amsterdam, N.Y.- based Sheila Greco Associates, there were only 41 women (13.7 percent), compared with 259 men (86.3 percent). Sheila Greco Associates say that the percentage of women CIO’s has not changed since their research consultancy began its annual survey in 1998(Paul).
According to the 1996 Information Week 500 list of leading IT users, women held the highest-ranking IT positions at only about 7% of the 500 companies listed. Five years later, the number only rose by 1.8 percent to 8.8% of the positions held by women or 44 out of 500 Executives. Among them were Farmers insurance Group, Cecilia Claudio, and New York Life Insurance Co., Judith Campbell. Not surprisingly, the Society for Information Management, an organization of senior IT executives, counts only 195 women among its 2700 members. According to ongoing research by Robert Zawacki, professor emeritus of management and international business at the University of Colorado and distinguished scholar in residence at accounting firm KPMG Peat Marwick in New York, just 20% of senior IT executives are women, while nearly 40% of all IT employees are female. These findings were based on a study conducted every year for 20 years in IT departments at 200 companies in different industries (Wilde).
Amid all of these statistics, it looks like companies are getting the idea, slowly but gradually allowing women to be active in its upper level positions. Xerox, for example, received several awards for its diversity programs. Now, the company has about one-third of its IT department composed of women workers. Xerox CIO Wallington says that 10 years ago a woman in the computer industry had to be “a harder worker, a smarter person, a more wonderful” than her male peers to go beyond the ranks of programming into management. Now that she has arrived, Wallington says, being a woman often makes it easier for her to be heard than her male counterparts. Still, Wallington notes that outside the walls of Xerox, IT is like the rest of corporate America- dominated by white males. She adds, “But hope can be taken from the fact that you can point to those exceptions, exceptions that weren’t there 10 years ago, so clearly there has been progress (Paul).” It seems that having a woman already in a higher space at a company makes it easier for other women to follow suite.
It seems that in IT at least, women are beginning to become a winning force in the Glass Ceiling war. Ann Winblad, founder of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, a $95 million venture-capital fund in Emeryville, Calif., says the software industry is a meritocracy. “Skills matter more than gender,” she says, “It’s an industry where the intellectual capital wins.” For men and women, Winblad says, keys to success are shimmering stamina and well-liked sense. Winblad, who started her career as a systems analyst in 1973, encourages women to be themselves, and to not adjust their personalities to fit a man’s world. “Having a personality that is the same whether it’s with friends or business colleagues is the key to success- and so far less stress, ” she adds (Paul). Thus, individualism is supposed to give women the upper hand when going out for jobs in the upper ranks of the IT field.
IT, it seems, when it comes to sexism, is not much different from other careers. Computer consultant and author Ellen Ullman is quoted as saying “Sexism is everywhere, but technology is one place where for the first two-thirds of your career- if you’re good at it- you’ll be on equal footing with people around you. Other consultants agree with Ullman that “IT is one of the best equal-opportunity areas in our society today,” says Victor Janulaitis, president of Positive Encourage Review, an IT management and consulting firm in Santa Monica, Calif. “It doesn’t care what race, color, creed, or sexual preference you are. If you as an individual can perform results, you’ll be rewarded, and you’ll proceed and progress (Wilde).” While this sounds very reassuring, it might still be a little far advanced into the future for current times.
As far as minorities are concerned, a eye was done in order to attribute the Glass Ceiling as a factor in the advancements or lack thereof of black IT workers. The Glass Ceiling Commission has suggested that there might be a glass ceiling that prevents them from reaching the top levels of IS and non-IS management positions. The commission’s figures note that managers were 92% white and 8% minority in 1988, identical to percentages found in 1980 and 1985. A sample of 138 employees were used, 50% black and the other half white, and 52% of the sample were women. Eighty-two of the IS participants held managerial positions, and the remaining 41% percent held professional positions without supervisory responsibilities. The sample obsolete was also of similar age. The measurements were done through a job performance rating and job performance attributions with a rating scale included on the Supervisor Contemplate. The witness confirmed the presence of race differences in job performance evaluations, attributions, career advancement prospects, and career satisfaction. Black IS employees received lower job performance ratings, were less likely to have their job performance attributed to internal causes, were less successful in their jobs, were perceived as having less favorable advancement prospects, were more likely to be plateuad in their careers, and experienced lower career satisfaction than white IS employees (Igbaria, Wormley).
Alright, so there are fewer women Executives in IT then men, and minorities face a glass ceiling when trying to excel. The question is, why is this the case? Quite frankly, as some put it, women find the demands of IT a little bit too demanding. Karen Hogan, acting deputy CIO of the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. says that she wouldn’t want to take the CIO job at her agency because the time demands the position would impose on her life would be too much to bear. Women, due to the fact they need to care for children, find themselves more at odds with the near-constant travel and intense 24/7 demands of being a CIO (Paul). However, several surveys have found that the plight of balancing work and life are a major concern of male CIO’s as well. According to a current online survey by CIO of 310 IT professionals, almost as many men as women (57% versus 63%, respectively) felt they did not have an appropriate work and life balance in their current job. “Both men and women realize this is an issue,” says Judy Rosener, professor at the Graduate School of Management of the University of California at Irvine. Rosener believes the eventual dismantling of the glass ceiling in IT will engage pressure off both sexes. Rosener says, “A lot of men are saying they no longer want the burden of feeling they have to get to the top.” However, still more men than women are willing to sacrifice their personal lives in exchange for a successful professional life, while women may not be ready to leave their instilled domestic responsibilities.
Even though all of this sounds very promising, the numbers themselves show that this equality still has a long way to go in order to reach reality. Another reason why IT might not favor women is because of the sheer fact that women, throughout history, have not been the major proponents of math and technology. According to Charles W. Moore, the dissatisfaction of females in the IT profession can be explained through a simple observation of the draw that women and men act on a daily basis. Men, when they get together, tend to talk about cars and the intricate parts of their hardware in their different machinery systems. Even though women might be better IT workers they will never get ahead due to the fact that they do not have the drive in IT that men have, thus giving them less satisfaction from working in the industry (Moore). While this is a very risky argument and exceptions do occur, it does tend to make sense. When most women exhaust a computer, they are more enthusiastic in the software and what the computer can do for them than the machine part of the system and the means it takes in order to enact the ends. Thus, in the job aspect of IT, that drive from the enthusiasm gained from the machine aspect in Information Technology, can be the factor that get men most of the executive level positions. Just as when women pick out a car, most women tend to care more about the color and accessories of the automobile than the gas per mileage of the auto. Thus, grouped with the fact that women through history have had more domestic demands put on them, this lack of enthusiasm might be a factor that keeps women out of the front lines of the field.
Information Technology might be one of those original careers of skill that acts very similarly to the oldest game of skill: the game of Chess. Being the oldest game, Chess if much more than just a game of skill. Few people realize this but the queen is the only piece on the board that represents a woman, and she is the most powerful piece of the game. In medieval times, the surrender of the king would mean the loss of the kingdom to invading armies and that could mean change for the worse. The king is the most important, but not the most remarkable piece in Chess. Thus, if the king is not protected, the game is lost. Perhaps, not much is different in world of Information Technology. Even though women might have the same or more skill in IT, they are also bound by the demands of domestic responsibility, and their female drive may not include the same interests in technology and machinery as the drive expressed within the male characteristic, giving males full control of the game. Furthermore, putting a woman in a high level position might be seen as a risk to many companies, not knowing how the public will respond to a woman run game. Thus, when it comes to wages, executives and workers in upper positions tend to make more money. When it comes to those upper positions, women may not possess the characteristics or the time needed to fill those positions, and that is why it might seem that women are more prone to fall prey to lower pay and lower jobs while in reality it might just be a consequence of the historical trends aloof evident in novel life today. Contrastingly from the recommendations of the Glass Ceiling Commission, affirmative action should not be applied; rather women and minorities should be promoted due to their efforts, drive, and skill, and not because of their gender or ethnicity. Therefore, until the queen and other minor pieces makes it evident that they rule the chess game, there will be, for some time to arrive, a struggle of women and minorities trying to attain higher level positions, and white men will continue to rule the field.
Bibliography
Moore, Charles W. “Female Dissatisfaction in the IT Industry.” (2001) 8 Feb. 2002
http://www.lowendmac.com/misc/01/0611.html.
Paul, Lauren Gibbons. “Why IT Hates Women (and the Women Who Stay Anyway).”
CIO Magazine 15 Sept. 2001: 1-10.
Wilde, Candee. “Women Nick Through It’s Glass Ceiling.” InformationWeek 20 Jan.
1997: 83.
Wormley, M. Wayne and Igbaria, Magid. “Race Differences in Job Performance and
Career Success.” Communications of the ACM March 1995: 82.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Company Ratings by on Feb 20th, 2011. Comment.
With more domestic news than we can handle, we are apt to ignore some global news which can impact us.
One such item was the repeat downward revision of world growth forecast by the IMF for both 2008 and 2009. For this year IMF down-rated world growth from 4.1% to 3.9%. For 2009, from 3.9% to 3.7%. A 0.2% change may not appear significant in percentages but we should not forget that that by itself it represents billions of dollars.
How this impacts us?
We usually console ourselves that a falling dollar will become advantageous by making our exports cheaper and competitive in the global market. But that is based on the assumption that economies of foreign importer nations, especially Europe, will maintain a status quo, if not attain upward growth. After all, dollar being the benchmark currency, any adverse proceed of dollar can reasonably expected to push up other currencies.
Not so this time. The recount specifically mentions the residence of European economy as the reason for the repeat revision of the forecast. That means, the hopes of a cheaper dollar pushing up our exports may not happen even next year. European business mavens should be blaming the day they decided to forsake their conservative methods and to transplant the unruly, uneconomic CEO culture from the other side of the Atlantic.
Bear Sterns and Lehman Bros sagas don’t give much for us to brag about our CEOs. When the CEO of Toll Bros openly and honestly admitted that the likes of him are waiting for the arrival of Barak Obama at the White House, it shows how bad things are.
With South Korean regulators breathing down the neck of the Korea Development Bank, chances of a Korean salvage of LEH has become remote. And when a high-profile US regulatory authority has to debase itself for the sake of the prodigal financials and arm-twist Credit Suisse into NOT denying short-term credit to Lehman, that shows how desperate the area is.
Our preoccupation with pampering errant financial CEOs meant we ignored other sectors like agriculture and cannot purchase advantage of the support provided by those ignored sectors.
Yes, our agricultural sector has returned stellar harvests. Our farmers have stumped us and have caught us with our pants down because we forgot to provide them with adequate transportational infrastructure. Every day delayed means losses in millions for the farmers and all business links in the food chain until it reaches the end-user.
Where did we go sinister? Agriculture should have been given an equal footing with housing; so that when other sectors failed, we would
have another sector to cushion the losses.
But for many, providing government subsidies, fighting on WTO forums or destroying excess production to protect the prices is agriculture. For most of us,
especially metro-dwellers, agriculture is the hobby of some laid aid guys and gals in our prairie states.
Forget about haggling with foreign buyers or sellers. How about getting the golden harvest of our farmers to American homes and bring help to our own people?
As for the housing sector,July saw existing home sales rise by 3.1%. However, that is just a drop in the ocean as house prices are still
suppressed by a record high unsold inventory and stagnant near a ten-year lows.
Back to Wall Street:
Indices took a severe drubbing. The only consolation for the bull is that volume in NYSE didn’t reach the billions. Volume in NYSE was
only 865 mln and in Nasdaq it was 1.44 bln.
As happened in the first half of last week, Advance/Decline data confirms a bearish picture. Bearish stocks out-maneuvered by bullish stocks by a margin inexcess of 2:1. In NYSE, 2424 stocks declined against only 710 advanced. In the Nasdaq it was 2212 declined against 603 advanced.
Dow went down by -241.81 (-2.12%) to 11386.25
Nasdaq down by -49.12 (-2.08%) to 2365.59
S&P 500 down by -25.36 (-2.00) to 1266.84
Will Disney (DIS) succeed where Microsoft (MSFT) failed. We will have to await confirmation from Disney or Yahoo (YHOO) whether any formal
talks are on.
One of the few financial companies that could pad the recent onslaughts on the sector is Wells Fargo (WFC) – commendable considering the fact that they were also into mortgages in a substantial way. Now we hear that they won’t be bailing out Wachovia (WB) and Washington Mutual (WM). Favorable for their shareholders.
Recently our government had promised automobile manufacturers 25 billion dollars in developmental loans to tide over difficult times. Now, the manufacturers are demanding twice as much. While auto manufacturers need tax-payers’ help, if those billions are dilapidated only to cover up the failures of the CEOs and the top brass without increasing jobs, then that second tranche will only add to money thrown down the drain. So, government should ask for performance guaranty and proof of increased employment before handing out that second tranche of tax-payers’ money.
Asking for performance guaranty is not socialism, it is raising standards of accountability for tax-payers’ hard earned money.
Will Boeing (BA) be able to ward off the impending strike by its workers? The company has now offered offered 6.5% spread over three years, while union leaders seek information from a 9-13% pay raise in addition to expanded benefits.
XShares will be closing 15 healthcare sector ETFs under their management. May be it gives credence to the observation that ETFs are suffering from too early expansion. Many times jumping on to the bandwagon need not mean you got an adequate foothold for settling down.
China watchers should be interested in the positve company reports from there. While yearly revenues of China Life Insurance Company
(LFC)and China Netcom (CN) fell, their net profits were somewhat better than those predicted by the market. China Unicom (CHU) shwowed
better than expected results in higher quarterly net profit and half-yearly revenues.
Surprisingly, Freddie Mac (FRE) shares sprang up by 17% + when it became known that their $2 billion debt auction was in demand and well attended. Fannie Mae (FNM) went up 3.8%.
M&A:
Precision Drilling Trust (PDS) is acquiringGrey Wolf (GW) for $2 billion.
Broadcom (BRCM) will regain Devices’s (AMD) digital TV business.
ANALYSTS’ RATINGS:
Today’s company upgrades include:
AnnTaylor (ANN), BB&T Corp (BBT), China Sunergy (CSUN), GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL), Leggett & Platt (LEG) and TAM S.A. (TAM).
Analysts downgraded:
Alpharma (ALO), Cablevision (CVC), Headwaters (HW), Healthways (HWAY), Knight Transportation (KNX), The Parent Company (KIDS) and Werner Enterprises (WERN).
Ben Bernanke spoke again today. This time he wants to impose modern regulations and oversight on individual financial institutions, in addition to the present sectorial approach. At least good that we are becoming wiser after the events to restore the lost faith of the short-changed depositors.
But Ben will probably wait to see a change in the White House before that.
As for the daily procure, bearish sentiments today will be strengthened tomorrow if they are accompanied by convincing volume.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Company Ratings by on Feb 17th, 2011. Comment.
It’s the American dream. Owning your absorb home is a lifetime goal of many Americans. Afterall, renting a house or apartment is costly. Sure, you pay your monthly rent and the majority of your housing expenses are covered. Maybe even all of your expenses if your utilities, trash collection, et cetera, are covered in your rent. But, at the end of a calendar year, besides having had a roof over your head, what do you have to show for the money you paid out? You may have paid anywhere from $3,600 this year to $12,000 on up for rent! Twelve thousand could have made several mortgage payments instead! And, instead of having twelve rent receipts to show for your money, you could have invested that money into a home of your own.
With that said, being a homeowner in today’s world means you need to economize anywhere you can. When I sat down to analyze my finances, I did my homework, and plenty of it! You might be surprised to find out what I discovered: that the “Top Ten Monthly Expenses” for the average American family are – in no particular order:
1. Mortgage
2. Credit Cards
3. Transportation
4. Utilities
5. Groceries
6. Clothing
7. Health Care
8. Recreation & Entertainment
9. Child Care
10. Personal Items
I must make a notation here: The ranking of these expenses depends solely on your family’s particular lifestyle. Even so, you and your family cannot live without the majority of these expenses. So, your only alternative is to find ways to effectively diminish your outlay!
Let’s take a look at the costs of owning your home, and I’ll bear you in on some proven techniques you can use to effectively diminish these expenses, and save yourself tons of money in the process!
A Homeowner’s Four “Checkbook Challenges”
Generally, the highest expenses you will incur by being a homeowner are:
1. Your Mortgage Loan
2. Your Property Insurance
3. Your Property Taxes
4. Your Home Maintenance
Your Mortgage Loan – You’ll Find This Interesting
If you are one of an estimated sixty – six million people who own their homes, you probably have a long-term loan of 20 or 30 years, and you make a mortgage payment once a month. Hopefully, your loan is a fixed-rate mortgage, because that’s usually the most economical choice. Why? Because your monthly payment stays the same for the life of the loan.
This way you are shielded from interest rate hikes. Adjustable – interest loans commonly cost less at the starting line, but they can cost you big bucks on down the road when the interest rates go up! When you use a flexible-rate loan, it’s similar to riding a roller coaster with its repetitive peaks and valleys.
Short – term loans let you build up equity in your home faster, but the customary 30 – year mortgage loan usually gives you the lowest payment per month. This is especially important for families who are just starting out. The extra cash saved from the lower payments can be used to pay other debts. When you have the extra money available, you can apply that money towards the principal of the loan to help pay it off faster and save tremendous interest costs!
Three Ways to Slash the Cost of Your Mortgage Loan
There are three basic ways you can save money on your mortgage:
1. Get a lower interest rate
2. Increase your monthly payment
3. Make regular lump sum payments
Unless you already have a “bottom of the barrel” interest rate on your loan, you should take some time to shop around and find the best interest rate possible. If you have a $100,000 loan for 30 years at 8.5%, for example, your payments would be somewhere around $768 a month, not including taxes, insurance, etc.
But if you could refinance your loan – - the same amount for the same length of time – - but at a 7% interest rate instead, your payment would be approximately $665 a month. That’s a savings of $100 a month right there! Times that by 12 and you could save at least $1200 a year!
Now that’s a chunk of change!
So, consider refinancing your mortgage. A Home Equity Loan might even be the right move for you. With a H.E.L., you can deduct the interest off your income taxes. That’s an added bonus!
There’s a determined satisfaction in knowing you haven’t paid more interest than need be.
Watch Your Savings Grow!
You can then either pocket that extra $100, or, you can reinvest it and make it grow so you can attach even more money in the long run!
How can you do that? Simply pick that $100 and apply it towards your mortgage loan every month. That means, instead of making a $665 dollar payment, you are actually paying $765 towards the loan. The result? You’ll be well on your scheme to paying off that 30 – year mortgage 10 years – one decade – early! Now, that’s a major league hit!
Even if your loan has a prepayment penalty clause, it detached might be to your help to pay the loan off early.
Lump Payments Add Up
If you need to exhaust the extra $100 on other things, that’s fine. You can collected make lump sum payments one or more times a year when you have additional money to spare. Sources of added income might include a hefty income tax refund, an inheritance from a rich uncle, or a year – raze bonus from your job.
It would be a wise conception to talk to your fresh lender, and then shop around and net the
interest rates, points, and fees from at least five other lending institutions. You want to find a mortgage loan rate that is at least 1% lower than the interest rate you are currently paying.
Then, look at the numbers to see how they compare. Talk to your accountant or financial
planner for information on how much each loan would cost you, and how each loan would affect your taxes.
The whole idea in a nutshell is to pay off your mortgage loan as quickly as possible. The
faster you pay it off, the more money you will save in interest charges.
Mild another way to achieve these results is to pay one – half of your monthly mortgage every two weeks. This method of payment is an incredibly – easy procedure to make a 13th payment on your mortgage loan every year without bankrupting your budget!
Before You Sign…
Before you sign on the dotted line for a current loan, you should call several lenders for rates and terms based on the type of mortgage you want. You will need to ask the following questions so you can be sure this loan is lawful for you:
” How long is the term of the loan?
” What is the minimum monthly payment? Is there a maximum?
” What is the annual percentage rate?
” Is the interest rate fixed, or is the proposed loan an adjustable – rate mortgage (ARM)? If so, what would the maximum interest rate be? How often might the rate change and what determines the rate change?
” Are there any annual fees or transaction fees?
” What are the “closing” costs?
Personally…
Refinancing was a step in the right direction for me. I saved great by locking into a lower interest rate than I previously had. In turn, my monthly payment was reduced, and that was an important factor in helping me to improve my financial picture!
However, I didn’t stop there. There was much more to do! Read on to secure out what else you can do to slice your home expenses!
Insurance
Even though you must carry a certain amount of insurance coverage on your home and its contents, you can composed save your insurance budget from exuberant costs! There is one insurance expense you can do without, too.
Abolish This Insurance Speedy!
One insurance you can cheerfully do without is called Private Mortgage Insurance. This is an insurance you must sometimes have in order to protect your mortgage lender in case you default on the loan. Obviously, you don’t want to have to pay for this type of insurance. But, if your credit rating is poor, and you are considered a risky borrower, your lender might insist you carry the PMI coverage.
If you have to carry PMI to get your loan approved, then you’re stuck with paying the added expense, at least initially. There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel! Just remember the “Eighty Percent Rule!” Your loan agreement should release you from carrying the Private Mortgage Insurance once you have paid your loan down to an amount that is less than 80% of the value of your home.
Did you know that? If you’re saddled with the costs of PMI right now, be sure to check your loan papers to see how fast you can accept out from under it.
One Insurance You Can’t Do Without
Homeowner Insurance protects your home against the losses caused by fire, theft, vandalism, and the like, and, of course, this type of expense is a necessity. Depending on where you live, there are even policies you can take out that insure your home against earthquake and flood damage too.
You can unruffled save hundred of dollars a year on homeowner insurance, though, simply by being a careful consumer, and here is how to do it:
Begin Cutting Your Insurance Expense NOW!
The first step is to make sure your insurance policy covers your recent needs exactly. Read over your policy and make definite that your home and its contents are adequately covered with enough insurance to replace them in case concern would strike.
This is especially important if you have built – on, or otherwise improved your home, or increased its value in any way. You don’t want to be caught short by finding out you that don’t have enough insurance coverage to replace your home and its contents!
How is this going to save money, you ask? This might not save you much money right now, but it could save you thousands of dollars in the long speed!
Bewitch the Next Step…
The second step is to check to see if there are any items you pay premiums for – especially “extra” premiums that can now be canceled. Examples of these might include expensive jewelry, rare coin collections, valuable stamp collections, a TV satellite system, an outside building that you razed, and so on. You need to have these items removed from your coverage.
Now that you have updated your insurance policy, and you know exactly what type of coverage you need, and how much, the third step is to shop around. You will need to net the lowest insurance rates available for the type of coverage need on your home and its contents. In other words, you will want to get the most “bang out of your buck.”
Where You Can Find the Best Rates
Your state insurance department is the most comprehensive resource you can use to glean an insurance provider. (Numbers by state are available in the Valuable Resources Section.) Or, you can log-on to the Internet and search for: (Your State) Department of Insurance to find their website.
Each department provides samples of insurance premiums that you can consume to help compare rates. All types of insurance are covered, including medical, health, automobile, etc., not just homeowner insurance. Each department also furnishes a special fragment on their website where you can file a complaint in the event you have been ripped – off by an disreputable insurance company.
The Final Step
After you have found the five lowest-priced home insurance companies, the final step is to call them and request specific quotes which meet your needs.
Do do certain your original policy is in effect before you cancel your current one!
Personally…
Am I saving money on my house insurance! You bet! Here again, I found a bundle of savings by actually shopping around, then changing insurance companies! I found out that my former company was charging me premiums on coverage we didn’t even need!
I offer you this proven tip: Don’t listen to what an insurance representative tells you. I can’t emphasize that enough. Read, read, read the proposed policy and make sure you understand exactly what it covers.
Taxes – -One of Life’s Certainties
It was over two hundred years ago that Benjamin Franklin, one of the great statesmen of our time, made this immortal statement: “Nothing is sure in life but death and taxes.”
Did you know that Franklin was also an economist? He is also quoted as saying, ” A penny saved is a penny earned,” and he meant it. His entire life was based on frugality, and his penny – pinching made him a wealthy man.
So, just like Mr. Franklin, you must pay the required taxes on your property. That’s a given.
However, take another tip from him, and create certain you pay the lowest amount possible.
Special Cost – Cutting Programs
Depending on where you live, some counties or municipalities offer their citizenry special programs for seniors or for low-income individuals. These programs permit gracious persons to pay a reduced amount of their property taxes. Call your local tax office to see if you meet their criterion for any money-saving programs they might offer.
Chances Are, Your Property Taxes Are Too High!
You might even considering filing for a tax reduction with your local tax office.
Did you know that economists estimate that over half of all us American homeowners pay too much real estate tax every year? Why? Because many properties are said to be assessed above and beyond their precise value! One of the main reasons for this is that local tax assessors use a “one – size – fits – all” process to appraise properties.
If you win your appeal, and it’s not hard to do, you could save yourself several hundred dollars, or more on your property taxes every year! Wouldn’t you like to keep that money in the bank?
Reasons For Getting Your Taxes Lowered
Some common reasons for getting your property taxes lowered include out buildings, sheds, or garages that no longer exist on the property, deteriorating structures, out buildings, roofing, decks, driveways, and so forth.
How To File For A Tax Reduction
Filing for a tax reduction is easy to do. Simply contact your local tax office and ask for the necessary forms. Take them home and read them over carefully. Then, do a careful audit of your home and property and list the reasons why your taxes should be reduced. Complete the forms – -fill them out completely and carefully – -and return them to the tax office.
If you need help, you can contact a property tax professional for assistance. The tax office will probably set-up an appointment for you to come in and present your case. In a week or so, they will let you know, by mail, the results of your case.
Tax laws vary, so be sure to check with your local tax office to find out the specifics on how your property is taxed.
The Rest of My Story
Okay, now for the “rest of my record.” I had purchased a small house that sat on a plot of land, for “next to nothing.” The house needed completely remodeled. I knew if I did the majority of the work myself, I could turn that house into a beauty for just pennies on the dollar!
The property taxes were cheap. Because they were so low, I just assumed that the place had been properly assessed, and I wasn’t paying too much in taxes to inaugurate with.
Still, I went to the local tax office and got a map of the property. I figured this map would be handy to have in any event. And boy, did it ever come in handy! I found out that the property map hadn’t been updated for many years.
In fact, the property taxes included two outbuildings that weren’t even on the property!
The result? I filed for a tax reduction and got it! And I immediately stopped paying for buildings I didn’t even own!
The legal of the story? Don’t just assume your property taxes are right. Make sure they are. You may be as surprised as I was!
Home Improvement
To keep your property values up for resale or loan purposes, your property needs to look nice and be well – maintained, that’s a given. To do this, you’ll need to make renovations and provide repairs on your home and property. The upkeep can realistically cost you anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on the job.
On top of that, the scams that are pulled on homeowners every day, in regard to hiring contractors, are numerous. These scams bilk homeowners out of additional money that often cannot be recouped!
Americans spend over a hundred BILLION dollars a year in home repair and improvements, according to the National Association of Home Builders. What does that mean to you? Two things: one, it means that the chances are high that you’ll hire a contractor to perform some work on your home. And two, if you do, then you’ll need to take some precautions.
How To Acquire the Best Contractor
1. Obtain at least two written estimates from two qualified contractors. The estimates should list what specific materials will be used, what services will be rendered, the specific start and finish dates of the work, the payment schedule, the contractor’s guarantee in regards to the services rendered, the name, address, and telephone number of the contractor, and the total costs of the work.
2. Never pay the full cost of a job before it is completely finished. It’s often customary to pay, for example, 50% of the total bill before the work begins. When the work is done – completely to your satisfaction, I might add – then the remaining 50% is paid.
3. Be wary of contractors who were “in the neighborhood” and decided to stop by to see if you needed work done. Also, don’t fall for “high – pressure” sales tactics! Dishonest contractors might try to con you into having work done that you don’t want, or even need!
4. Before you hire a contractor, call your local Better Business Bureau to get out if there are any existing complaints against them.
5. If you run into problems that can’t be remedied otherwise, contact your State Attorney General’s Office to file a consumer complaint. Don’t forget to file a complaint with your local BBB too!
“Do – It – Yourself” and Pocket Your Savings!
Don’t forget about the option of doing-it-yourself. You can fix up your home and turn it into a splendid showcase and save $$$ at the same time! And, it’s not as difficult as you may think!
I am not a professional carpenter. Yet I have successfully replaced windows, hung drywall, laid floor tile, plastered, replaced water faucets, installed kitchen and bathroom cabinets, hung wallpaper, painted and so on, for only the cost of the materials! There are easy-to-follow instructions that come along with many types of building materials – - such as floor tile, for example – - and anything else you need to know can be found in manuals and books from your local library!
My biggest project to date was building and staining a deck! There are deck kits you can purchase, and they vary in size and design. But I designed my deck myself.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Company Ratings by on Jan 23rd, 2011. Comment.
It is the new Millennium, yet the equilibrium between women and men in the corporate world peaceful has not been reached. Even though society has come a long way in attaining more opportunities for women, there is still a long way to go in order to reach true equality. This inability to reach equality is sometimes called the “Glass Ceiling” which refers to an artificial barrier that prevents valid individuals arrive within their organization and reach their full potential. Specifically, in the Information Technology field, there has been significant evidence which shows that both women and minorities have been prevented from attaining their true potential and have been undermined when it comes to wages and executive positions in this particular industry. The problem in a wide range of careers had become so troublesome that The Glass Ceiling Commission was created as fraction of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Its responsibility was to identify glass-ceiling barriers in order to promote employment opportunities for minorities and women, however barriers in the IT profession still need to be further discussed.
Interestingly enough, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has done research on women and men in the labor force and the numbers seem to be somewhat unsettling. In terms of managerial and professional specialty, it is stated that men, on average, in the year 2000, had 15,739,000 workers while women had 15,866,000 workers in the same fields. In the year 2001, the numbers were very similar, men with 15,947,000 workers compared to women with 16,155,000 workers. Nevertheless, even though the numbers for women workers are somewhat larger, the wages they earn are significantly lower. For the year 2000, median weekly earnings for men were recorded at $1009 compared to $726 for women. Similarly in the year 2001, median weekly earnings for men were $1046 compared to $742 for women. That is a $15,000 annual income inequity for people who are supposedly completing the same jobs and receiving a drastically different amount on their paycheck
However, the numbers can be somewhat explained under the present conditions. Characteristically, individuals in upper level Executive positions earn more than those in lower positions, and since women only hold a small fraction of the upper level positions, it is no surprise that women earn less money. Thus, the question becomes as to why women do not hold more of the upper level positions in the IT profession. For example, out of the Chief Information Officer’s or CIO-equivalents at 300 Fortune 1000 companies and the 100 fastest-growing companies recently surveyed by Amsterdam, N.Y.- based Sheila Greco Associates, there were only 41 women (13.7 percent), compared with 259 men (86.3 percent). Sheila Greco Associates say that the percentage of women CIO’s has not changed since their research consultancy began its annual survey in 1998(Paul).
According to the 1996 Information Week 500 list of leading IT users, women held the highest-ranking IT positions at only about 7% of the 500 companies listed. Five years later, the number only rose by 1.8 percent to 8.8% of the positions held by women or 44 out of 500 Executives. Among them were Farmers insurance Group, Cecilia Claudio, and New York Life Insurance Co., Judith Campbell. Not surprisingly, the Society for Information Management, an organization of senior IT executives, counts only 195 women among its 2700 members. According to ongoing research by Robert Zawacki, professor emeritus of management and international business at the University of Colorado and distinguished scholar in residence at accounting firm KPMG Peat Marwick in New York, just 20% of senior IT executives are women, while nearly 40% of all IT employees are female. These findings were based on a study conducted every year for 20 years in IT departments at 200 companies in different industries (Wilde).
Amid all of these statistics, it looks like companies are getting the idea, slowly but gradually allowing women to be active in its upper level positions. Xerox, for example, received several awards for its diversity programs. Now, the company has about one-third of its IT department composed of women workers. Xerox CIO Wallington says that 10 years ago a woman in the computer industry had to be “a harder worker, a smarter person, a more pleasant” than her male peers to disappear beyond the ranks of programming into management. Now that she has arrived, Wallington says, being a woman often makes it easier for her to be heard than her male counterparts. Quiet, Wallington notes that outside the walls of Xerox, IT is like the rest of corporate America- dominated by white males. She adds, “But hope can be taken from the fact that you can point to those exceptions, exceptions that weren’t there 10 years ago, so clearly there has been progress (Paul).” It seems that having a woman already in a higher position at a company makes it easier for other women to follow suite.
It seems that in IT at least, women are beginning to become a winning force in the Glass Ceiling war. Ann Winblad, founder of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, a $95 million venture-capital fund in Emeryville, Calif., says the software industry is a meritocracy. “Skills matter more than gender,” she says, “It’s an industry where the sparkling capital wins.” For men and women, Winblad says, keys to success are incandescent stamina and common sense. Winblad, who started her career as a systems analyst in 1973, encourages women to be themselves, and to not adjust their personalities to fit a man’s world. “Having a personality that is the same whether it’s with friends or business colleagues is the key to success- and so far less stress, ” she adds (Paul). Thus, individualism is supposed to give women the upper hand when going out for jobs in the upper ranks of the IT field.
IT, it seems, when it comes to sexism, is not much different from other careers. Computer consultant and author Ellen Ullman is quoted as saying “Sexism is everywhere, but technology is one place where for the first two-thirds of your career- if you’re good at it- you’ll be on equal footing with people around you. Other consultants agree with Ullman that “IT is one of the best equal-opportunity areas in our society today,” says Victor Janulaitis, president of Positive Support Review, an IT management and consulting firm in Santa Monica, Calif. “It doesn’t care what race, color, creed, or sexual preference you are. If you as an individual can produce results, you’ll be rewarded, and you’ll proceed and progress (Wilde).” While this sounds very reassuring, it might still be a little far advanced into the future for novel times.
As far as minorities are concerned, a contemplate was done in order to attribute the Glass Ceiling as a factor in the advancements or lack thereof of black IT workers. The Glass Ceiling Commission has suggested that there might be a glass ceiling that prevents them from reaching the top levels of IS and non-IS management positions. The commission’s figures show that managers were 92% white and 8% minority in 1988, identical to percentages found in 1980 and 1985. A sample of 138 employees were worn, 50% black and the other half white, and 52% of the sample were women. Eighty-two of the IS participants held managerial positions, and the remaining 41% percent held professional positions without supervisory responsibilities. The sample used was also of similar age. The measurements were done through a job performance rating and job performance attributions with a rating scale included on the Supervisor Survey. The study confirmed the presence of race differences in job performance evaluations, attributions, career advancement prospects, and career satisfaction. Black IS employees received lower job performance ratings, were less likely to have their job performance attributed to internal causes, were less successful in their jobs, were perceived as having less favorable advancement prospects, were more likely to be plateuad in their careers, and experienced lower career satisfaction than white IS employees (Igbaria, Wormley).
Alright, so there are fewer women Executives in IT then men, and minorities face a glass ceiling when trying to excel. The question is, why is this the case? Quite frankly, as some put it, women procure the demands of IT a little bit too demanding. Karen Hogan, acting deputy CIO of the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. says that she wouldn’t want to take the CIO job at her agency because the time demands the position would impose on her life would be too much to bear. Women, due to the fact they need to care for children, find themselves more at odds with the near-constant travel and intense 24/7 demands of being a CIO (Paul). However, several surveys have found that the dilemma of balancing work and life are a major concern of male CIO’s as well. According to a current online survey by CIO of 310 IT professionals, almost as many men as women (57% versus 63%, respectively) felt they did not have an appropriate work and life balance in their novel job. “Both men and women realize this is an issue,” says Judy Rosener, professor at the Graduate School of Management of the University of California at Irvine. Rosener believes the eventual dismantling of the glass ceiling in IT will take pressure off both sexes. Rosener says, “A lot of men are saying they no longer want the burden of feeling they have to find to the top.” However, still more men than women are willing to sacrifice their personal lives in exchange for a successful professional life, while women may not be ready to leave their instilled domestic responsibilities.
Even though all of this sounds very promising, the numbers themselves show that this equality still has a long way to go in order to reach reality. Another reason why IT might not favor women is because of the sheer fact that women, throughout history, have not been the major proponents of math and technology. According to Charles W. Moore, the dissatisfaction of females in the IT profession can be explained through a simple observation of the way that women and men act on a daily basis. Men, when they get together, tend to talk about cars and the intricate parts of their hardware in their different machinery systems. Even though women might be better IT workers they will never get ahead due to the fact that they do not have the drive in IT that men have, thus giving them less satisfaction from working in the industry (Moore). While this is a very risky argument and exceptions do occur, it does tend to obtain sense. When most women use a computer, they are more eager in the software and what the computer can do for them than the machine part of the system and the means it takes in order to achieve the ends. Thus, in the job aspect of IT, that drive from the enthusiasm gained from the machine aspect in Information Technology, can be the factor that get men most of the executive level positions. Unbiased as when women assume out a car, most women tend to care more about the color and accessories of the automobile than the gas per mileage of the auto. Thus, grouped with the fact that women through history have had more domestic demands put on them, this lack of enthusiasm might be a factor that keeps women out of the front lines of the field.
Information Technology might be one of those recent careers of skill that acts very similarly to the oldest game of skill: the game of Chess. Being the oldest game, Chess if much more than just a game of skill. Few people realize this but the queen is the only piece on the board that represents a woman, and she is the most powerful section of the game. In medieval times, the surrender of the king would mean the loss of the kingdom to invading armies and that could mean change for the worse. The king is the most important, but not the most powerful allotment in Chess. Thus, if the king is not protected, the game is lost. Perhaps, not much is different in world of Information Technology. Even though women might have the same or more skill in IT, they are also bound by the demands of domestic responsibility, and their female drive may not include the same interests in technology and machinery as the drive expressed within the male characteristic, giving males full control of the game. Furthermore, putting a woman in a high level position might be seen as a risk to many companies, not knowing how the public will acknowledge to a woman run game. Thus, when it comes to wages, executives and workers in upper positions tend to compose more money. When it comes to those upper positions, women may not occupy the characteristics or the time needed to fill those positions, and that is why it might seem that women are more prone to fall prey to lower pay and lower jobs while in reality it might just be a consequence of the historical trends still evident in modern life today. Contrastingly from the recommendations of the Glass Ceiling Commission, affirmative action should not be applied; rather women and minorities should be promoted due to their efforts, drive, and skill, and not because of their gender or ethnicity. Therefore, until the queen and other minor pieces makes it evident that they rule the chess game, there will be, for some time to come, a struggle of women and minorities trying to attain higher level positions, and white men will continue to rule the field.
Bibliography
Moore, Charles W. “Female Dissatisfaction in the IT Industry.” (2001) 8 Feb. 2002
http://www.lowendmac.com/misc/01/0611.html.
Paul, Lauren Gibbons. “Why IT Hates Women (and the Women Who Stay Anyway).”
CIO Magazine 15 Sept. 2001: 1-10.
Wilde, Candee. “Women Cut Through It’s Glass Ceiling.” InformationWeek 20 Jan.
1997: 83.
Wormley, M. Wayne and Igbaria, Magid. “Race Differences in Job Performance and
Career Success.” Communications of the ACM March 1995: 82.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Company Ratings by on Dec 18th, 2010. Comment.
