Business Finance Profile

Archive for December, 2010

It was not too long ago when contracts were made on a handshake and a promise.  Individuals were not particularly concerned with things like insurance because they relied upon the goodwill of their neighbor to compensate them for wrongful damage.  For a variety of reasons, including an increase in the speed and cost of auto wrecks, auto insurance soon became an important purchase for responsible individuals.  Not long after, the federal government mandated that auto insurance be carried, at least minimally, by all car owners. The increase in the need for auto insurance over the last 10 years has led to increases in the complexity of insurance, while at the same time, amplifying the need to be more cost conscious in auto insurance purchases.

Buying auto insurance today requires as much dexterity as buying the automobile itself. It is important to know the factors that an auto insurance company considers when offering quotes. This will allow you, as the consumer, to know what steps you need to take in order to qualify for a lower quote. The five easy steps to a lower insurance quote are:

1.     Portray yourself as a ‘safe’ candidate: Insurance companies are interested in managing risk.  Consequently they offer drivers who are less likely to get into wrecks or at a minimum into wrecks of less severity, a lower insurance quote.

-Maintain a clean driving record, free of traffic violations or accident claims.

-Install anti-theft devices in your vehicle.

-Attend a Drivers Safety Training program.

-Buy a ‘safe’ vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety together collect information on safety related aspects of different vehicles. Buy an automobile that is officially designated as ‘safe’.

-Park your vehicle in a garage.

2.     Show your Credit worthiness: As a risk management entity, insurance companies are also worried about getting paid on time.  If you can show yourself to be credit worthy, there is less risk of you not making your payments on time, thus warranting a lower rate.

-Maintain a good credit score and clear up any errors on your credit.

-Cut down on the total number of outstanding credit cards to 2 or 3.

3. Practice Financial Wisdom: The way in which you structure and pay for your policy can lower the risk that an insurance company faces with respect to you as a customer.  By taking steps to lower their risk, you receive a lower insurance quote and policy.

-Buy an annual policy instead of a six monthly coverage to get you a lower rate that remains the same for a year.

-Opt for automatic payment deductions from your bank account or your credit card to avoid getting charged for mail payments.

-Increase your deductibles on comprehensive and collision policies to reduce on the rates.

-Get loyalty discounts by buying your home and auto insurance from the same company.

4. Assess your Insurance Needs accurately: This is obvious, the more coverage you get the more it will cost you.  Add-ons are killers in the insurance business, strip your policy down to just the minimum of what you need.

-If your vehicle is not used much or you have an old car with little market value, opt for minimum liability alone. It will cost you less.

-After fulfilling the legal mandate on auto insurance, insure according to your needs alone.

5.     Other wise things that you can do: There are a number of other considerations that go into your insurance quote.  Some of them are not reasonable steps to take, while others you can do with little effort which can translate into substantial savings.

-If your car is used only for a particular purpose, make your agent aware of it, as this will limit the cost.

-Students that make good grades are often eligible for a discount.

-Give up smoking; it can help you get better quotes.

-Change your occupation if you can help. A delivery boy carries a higher risk than a storekeeper.

Fund raisers are a great way to raise money for your school, sports team or other type organization. What’s also nice about them is that they are a very sociable way to earn money for a good cause because you’re out there meeting the community. For younger participants, fundraisers can even be an early lesson in sales and marketing.

A very high-profit fundraising item right now is candles which are fun and very easy to sell because of their popularity. Candles are a much better choice than food or over-priced novelty items that tend to generate lower profits. They are a rapidly growing option that is more appealing to the public because they are a non-junk food alternative to fund raisers.

Candle fund raisers can also be very lucrative because they come in so many different varieties of size, color and scents creating a great earning potential. For school fundraiser such as band or sports teams, you can purchase and resell candles in your school’s colors. For any type of organization, especially religious congregations, think about holiday themed candles for those times of the year.

If your group has decided to embark on a candle fund raiser, a plan of action is a very important step for reaching your fund raising goal. You should start by determining the amount of money you want to raise. Next, figure out how many people in your organization are willing to take part in the campaign and then set your deadlines by deciding on when your group is planning to start and stop the fundraiser.

Research the candle manufactures that get involved with fundraisers and supply these types of items for that purpose. You’ll want to start comparison shopping so that you can ensure the most profit. Once you’ve got your partnership in place, the next step would be to determine the ‘new’ sale price of each candle and the number of candles each participant in the fund raiser will need to sell in order to achieve your goal.

Be sure to let everyone involved know what the expectations are and encourage them to use their best selling skills. Also, if you’re using brochures to sell the candles, you’ll want to supply your sellers with everything they’ll need to make meeting your fund raising objective as organized and easy as possible. Give them plenty of order forms and make them aware of shipping and delivery time periods so that they can let their customers know when to expect their items.

By following a few guidelines and setting a fair, but profitable pricing structure, your organization should be well on its way to reaching its fund raising target! Good Luck!

Debt problems exist all around the map and most families find themselves struggling over one thing or another at some point in time, it is a sad but very true problem going on in the world. Debt can be and is very bothersome, so for anyone out there who is finding a hard time getting out of the debt that you are in, please do continue reading this entire article, hopefully it will be more than helpful to you all.

Anytime that somebody offers a word of advice, you should always take the time out to listen up because you might just find that it is very helpful advice. There are many professionals available to anyone out there needing any sort of debt assistance, and by choosing to go with a professional you can be assured that you are going to be all set up and placed on the correct path for a successful financial future.

Debt problems will send you in a spiral of frustration, anxiety and even depression at times, so knowing what not to do with your money is really very important. Debt consolidation is always an option to help anyone who is in financial assistance and if you find yourself drowning in debt then perhaps you should definitely be considering some different options that could help to straighten you all out.

Consolidating your bills each month will make it possible for you to save yourself some money every chance that you get and by doing so you are always going to have a little bit of extra money in the bank each month that comes along. Your extra money can be  put into some sort of stocks or cd’s, perhaps you could start seeing that you do know how to save more money each month, it might even be quite shocking to you at first.

Debt flooding within your home can be very exhausting for anyone responsible for trying to correct the current situation within the home. It can be extremely tiring and overwhelming just trying to find any sort of answer that could potentially help to get you through this horrifying time in your life. It is real important for you to pick up some helpful books regarding debt because if you do not do something now about this problem, things are going to become very bothersome and even more of a headache than ever before.

Your life does not have to be this way, making a few more intelligent decisions when it comes to your money each month, will truly provide you with the type of financial stability that you are looking for and have been looking for now for quite some time and have not yet been successful with any type of action. Get a friend that you can trust that might know a bit more about debt flooding and all of the problems that can come from having to deal with it. Good luck!