Piggy Banks For Children

One of the most important lessons that you can teach your kids is how to handle their personal finances. Unfortunately, this is one area where parents are failing their kids. Taking the time to make a plan to start teaching your children the basics about personal finance from an early age is a wonderful way to put them on financial solid ground when they become adults.

One of the best ways to begin teaching children about personal finance is through piggy bank. While most people think of the piggy bank as simply place to deposit coins and bills, it can also be an excellent teaching tool about some of the fundamentals of personal finance.

While the standard piggy bank will do, there are now a large variety of piggy banks that have been developed specifically to help teach kids about personal finances. Choosing one of these banks can go a long way to helping your child understand that there is more to personal finance than putting away money to spend later.

It's also important to remember that you'll have to do more than simply give your child piggy bank. You'll need to spend some time talking with your child about the best ways to use the money that they do receive. By talking to your kids about personal finance and helping them decide the best ways to use their money, you will begin to lay a solid foundation for money management.

Be sure that you also take the time to live what you preach. If you are going to explain to your child the importance of saving, spending, investing in donating, it's important for you to also do these things and to show your child when you do them. This will reinforce those basic personal finance concepts so that they will have them well ingrained when they are older and have to do all their personal finance on their own.

Blogging Help: Free Word Counter

If you are a writer, there are a number of free online tools that can help you with your posts. One of my favorites is random word picker which does a number of useful functions when you are writing a post. This is why I always use this simple tool when I am writing a post and you should consider doing the same.

Word Count: The website does exactly what it says it's going to do. It gives an accurate count of the number of words in the articles you write. This is especially helpful when you are writing blog posts for others or need to write an article within a specific range of words.

Character Count: Much like the word count function, the tool also gives a character count of everything you write. Again, this can be quite helpful for certain writing assignments and guest posts.

Keyword Density: This is an especially useful extra function. In addition to word count and character count, the tool also list the word density for the top 10 keywords in the article you have been writing. This allows you to determine if you have been using words too often in your writing and to make sure that the articles are hitting the keywords that the article is about.

An added bonus is that you don't have to go to the site to use this tool. There are downloads for Wordpress and Google Chrome so that you can use the functions with your regular writing within these formats. If you write articles on a regular basis, I think you will find this to be an excellent tool that you will use on a regular basis.

Your Credit Rating and How It Works

Your credit rating plays many important roles in your life. It can dictate not only whether you get a loan, but also whether you qualify for insurance and, in some cases, a job. Today, comparing credit report providers at somewhere like Moneysupermarket.com may get you three different credit ratings, or scores, because each provider uses slightly different criteria. But for the most part, your credit score is based on five aspects.

Credit score criteria

1. The single most important aspect of your credit score is your payment history, which makes up 35% of your score. This includes whether you pay back your debts on time and whether you have any past due or charged-off balances.

2. The next most important criteria for your credit rating is how much you owe. Generally, the less you owe the better, although you are measured on how much you owe in relation to how much credit you have, rather than purely how much debt you have. 3. You generally need to keep your debt to less than 30% of your available credit. If you go over this ratio, it will negatively affect your credit score.

4. The next most important aspect of your credit score is your credit history. This measures how long you have had credit and the time since your last activity on each account. The types of credit you use and how much new credit you have both counts for the least amount of your credit score -10% each.

5. Types of credit measures whether you have more than one type of account. This could be credit cards, car loans, mortgages and so on. New credit measures how often you open a new credit account.

Improving your credit score

There are many ways you can improve your credit score or at least keep it from declining.

Making sure to pay all your bills on time is very important. Though many creditors won't report a single late payment to the credit bureaus, they will report payments that are 60 or more days past due or multiple late payments.

You should also try to pay credit balances in full each month or failing that, pay as much as you possibly can toward the debt. This keeps your balances low and also limits the amount of finance charges you pay.

Some people think it's a good idea to close credit cards that you no longer use. But this actually is of little benefit. Closing a card does not erase any negative history and it lowers the amount of credit you have available, which can raise your debt ratio.

One of the easiest things you can do to improve your credit and something many people overlook is to make sure there are no mistakes on your credit report. Reports suggest that up to 25% of credit reports could contain errors, so it's important to check your report at least annually to make sure your score isn't being unfairly affected.

This article was written by Karl Thompson

Payment Protection Insurance - The Saga Continues

Payment-protection insurance continues to be a topic of interest, with more and more consumers in the UK coming forward as victims of mis-selling. But with a number of bogus claims firms becoming involved, not everyone is getting the full amount of money that they deserve.

These days, choosing a financial product or service is a lot easier, especially with the introduction of useful comparison sites such as MoneySupermarket.com, which make it quick and easy to compare prices and details.

Being mis-sold payment-protection insurance doesn't happen quite as often today as the way we apply for financial products is different. But for those who have been mis-sold in the past, getting compensation is now an easier process.

Thankfully, financial institutions have changed their procedures to help customers making claims, mainly due to a number of claims firms that were misleading people about the process. Over £1.9 billion was repaid to customers last year, with more claims waiting to be settled.

Banks have been trying to make the claims process easier to try to prevent consumers being duped by rogue firms. These firms are making their profits from people by taking a large percentage of their compensation.

Of course, there are many reputable claims companies who are doing a professional job and helping victims get the compensation they deserve. But it is important to make sure you choose a credible firm to help you with the process, if that is what you wish to do.

Sadly, there are still a number of consumers who are unsure as to whether they even have a claim at all. Many claims experts encourage anyone who isn't sure to speak to a specialist and discuss their case one to one. If your claims company is an honest one they should tell you straight away whether you can make a successful claim before you sign up.

Do You Have a Claim?

A typical PPI claim payout is currently around £3000 and three out of four claims are successful. But if you're not sure whether you have a valid claim it might help to consider the following questions.

When you were applying for any kind of credit agreement, such as a mortgage, loan or credit card, were you told that PPI was mandatory? Or were you told that taking out the insurance would make your application more likely to be successful?

If you were persuaded to take out PPI, did you find that the policy was actually of no use to you because you were self-employed or you were outside of the valid age range, for example?

Perhaps you found that you were paying for insurance without even being asked if you wanted or needed it? If you can answer yes to any of these questions then you definitely have a reason to claim.

Making a claim is important so if you do wish to move forward with it but are worried about using a claims firm you could try contacting your lender directly instead. If there is no response after a few weeks go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which will be able to advise you on your next move.

Find Out How Much You Can Save By Using a Debt Calculator

If your major financial goal is to pay off your outstanding debts and achieve the status of being debt-free, you are not alone. Consumer debt is a major issue for many Canadians. In fact, the average debt of Canadians, not counting mortgage debt, is over $25,000. As debt balances increase, monthly payments also increase. This means that it is often more difficult to get out of debt when you have higher outstanding balances. Using an online debt calculator is a great first step to take to explore your debt repayment options.

The Cost of Your Debt

You can use an online calculator to calculate your debt and learn what the true cost of that debt is. Many people believe that the cost of debt relates to their monthly payment or their outstanding balance. However, interest charges are assessed on debts each month. The longer your debt balances remain, the more money you will pay with time. A debt calculator can show you how much money you will pay on these debts if you only pay the minimum amount due each month. You could save money by paying your debts off early.

Your Debt Relief Options

You can also use a debt calculator to explore your debt relief options in more detail. For example, there are several different consolidation loans that you may be considering applying for. These may have different loan terms, interest rates and loan amounts. The loan you choose to apply for will affect your immediate budget, the amount of interest you will pay on your consolidation loan and how quickly you can achieve the status of being debt-free. The right calculator can help you to make a more informed decision about your finances.

Managing Your Budget

You may be trying to decide if you want to seek debt relief, such as with a consolidation loan, or if you want to pay your debts off on your own. A debt calculator can help you to compare the pros and cons of both options. Consider factors such as how long it will take to pay off your debts in full, how much interest you will pay over that period of time and how your budget will be affected by the two options. While you want to pay off your debts, you also want to make sure that your budget isn't too constrained by your efforts. Those who live on a tight budget are more likely to fall of track with their repayment efforts. Even the smallest unexpected expense, for example, can cause those living on a tight budget to struggle financially. The best option for debt repayment is often one that allows you to pay off debts without significant struggling. If you are like so many others who have used a debt repayment calculator, such as the calculator found at http://www.Debt.ca, you will make the decision that debt consolidation is your best option. This method typically allows consumers to pay off debts more quickly and easily while also providing for immediate relief in their budget. You can use this calculator and explore the debt consolidation programs offered through this website.

Parks Canada Offers Free National Park Admission

For anyone living in Canada, they will want to take advantage of a special free offer to visit their national parks and national historic sites for free tomorrow. Parks Canada has announced that they are offering free admission to all national parks on July 1 in celebration of Canada Day. This is a wonderful opportunity to explore the beauty and wonder of the many national parks and national historic sites which are run by Parks Canada.

Parks Canada runs 43 national parks which should provide the opportunity for nearly everyone to find something of interest. The following national parks will all offer free admission on July 1:

Aulavik National Park
Auyuittuq National Park
Banff National Park
Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Forillon National Park
Fundy National Park
Glacier National Park
Grasslands National Park
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
Ivvavik National Park
Jasper National Park
Kluane National Park and Reserve
Kouchibouguac National Park
Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve
Mount Revelstoke National Park
Nahanni National Park Reserve
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
Point Pelee National Park
Prince Albert National Park
Prince Edward Island National Park
Pukaskwa National Park
Quttinirpaaq National Park
Riding Mountain National Park
Sable Island National Park Reserve
Sirmilik National Park
St. Lawrence Islands National Park
Terra Nova National Park
Torngat Mountains National Park
Tuktut Nogait National Park
Ukkusiksalik National Park
Vuntut National Park
Wapusk National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park
Yoho National Park

Maintain Weight to Save Money

Losing weight and looking at your new self in the mirror could give you a boost of self-confidence, but you'll get a nice kick in the pants each time you buy yourself a new wardrobe. After losing all that weight, you normally wouldn't want to hide behind those baggy old clothes. You'll want to show off your new self.

Every 10 pounds you lose in weight, you drop a size. And continuing to wear clothes 3 or 4 sizes too big will make you look and feel terrible. You’ll need to buy clothes from scratch, whether it's office wear, formal wear, jeans, or dresses, everything has to go. You'll need a couple of thousand dollars at least to replace all those, and if you continue to lose weight, you'll need a couple of thousand every 2 or 3 sizes down.

Now, I agree that losing weight is a challenge. But not putting on weight is also a challenge. The kind of sedentary lifestyles we lead, and the unhealthy foods we eat, gradually keep putting on us those extra pounds. Most of us need a lifestyle change, but it doesn't have to be a radical one. Sensible choice in food (fewer carbs, more fruits and vegetables) and moderate exercise could keep us from packing on those pounds, and prevent us from the costly health problems associated with obesity. Maintaining your weight is just one way to save money on clothes.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Generally speaking, it makes more dollar sense to just maintain your weight, but if you are already obese, maintaining your weight could cost you more in health problems and medical bills.

Learn to Cook at Home to save money

Learning how to cook at home is probably one of the simplest and easiest ways to save money on food. I'm surprised by how many adults lack basic cooking skills, and just how much of their hard-earned money they spend on take-out foods or processed frozen dinners. Depending on the size of the family, you could be spending thousands of dollars on ready-made meals a year.

Some people are on the road most of the time because of the nature of their jobs. They have little choice but to eat out. But the rest of us can easily avoid it, and would actually prefer great tasting home-made meals to unhealthy super-sized fast food, or expensive restaurant food. Learning to cook for yourself and for your family is probably one of the most important decisions you'll ever make. By learning this essential skill, you are in control of what you and your family eats and the overall nutritional value of your meals, in addition to saving money.

You can learn cooking by a variety of different methods - cookbooks, DVDs, television programs, or you can take classes at the local community college. The internet is a goldmine for free information. There are tons of blogs, YouTube videos, as well as recipes that offer tips and instruction on various cooking techniques. Learning how to cook doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg.

Experience is the best teacher. It will take you less time, if you are constantly applying what you are learning at home. Start with simple recipes and slowly work your way up to more complex dessert recipes and restaurant favorites. It doesn't matter what kind of food you like to eat, learning how to cook is going to one the most valuable skills to help you save money.

Make your own cleaners to save money

The good folks on TV would like you to believe that there is a cleaner for everything (just another reason you should consider breaking your TV Habit). For furniture, windows, dishes, floors, one for every piece of household fixture. If you believe them then I have some snake oil to sell you.

The fact is that if you use all those products to keep your home clean, you could be spending thousands of dollar a year on chemical cleaners alone. There are a number of fabulous cleaner alternatives that are good for your growing family as well as your wallet.

You should have in your cleaning arsenal some olive oil, vinegar, essential oils, baking soda and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap. Baking soda softens water naturally, so it's fantastic for your laundry. Just add a cupful to the wash cycle. It's a mild abrasive, and when used with Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, you can clean off the scum in your bathtub, your greasy flat top range and your messy kitchen counter. You can even sprinkle some in your baby's diapers and you won't notice any smells! As a mild abrasive, baking soda makes a great exfoliant. Just mix it with your favorite face wash.

A mild bleaching agent with antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, you can mix it with an equal amount of water and use it in a squirt bottle as an amazing all purpose cleaner. You can even use scented vinegar as an air freshener instead of commercial products such as Lysol or Febreeze. If you don't like the smell of vinegar, you can mix in some drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil or some other essential oil. It masks the smell of vinegar. In fact, it smells great.

For polishing furniture, you can rub in some olive oil. One tablespoon is all you need to give your coffee table a great shine. Enjoy your new cleaners, save your wallet and the planet.

Draft Setting: Save on Printer Ink

In the not too distant past, businesses required tons of paper forms, which were either mailed or kept around the office. In the electronic world of today, most documents have become digitalized and are even transferred by electronic mail. But often these forms have to be printed in order to be signed or stamped. Compared to the dot-matrix printers of the past, printers today use up more ink to get those crisp, pixel-perfect documents and graphics. More ink equals more money, and it's important to know how you can help your bottom line by reducing printing costs, and better utilizing your ink cartridges and printer.

One of easiest and quickest ways to save ink is by the click of your mouse. Just make some slight changes in the printer settings of your printer's menu. Printers usually offer a variety of different print settings from a basic Draft to sharp Photo quality. Each setting is used for a specific purpose. If you want to print the pictures you took on your vacation, you'll need the Photo quality setting. For professional documents and resumes, you would find the Automatic Sharpening quality most appropriate. For normal use, it would make most sense if you use the Draft setting. This setting uses less ink, which means that you save more money.

Usually printers automatically stay at the last used setting. If the last time you used the printer was with the Photo quality settings, your printer will probably give you photo quality for your current print job as well. So, it's best to check your printer settings every time you start a print job. Another money saving setting is the black and white color setting. Color cartridges cost more than black ones, so it makes more sense to just print in black and white when color is not necessary.

Using a water bottle saves money

How many have you filled up on gas and spent an extra $1.50 on a bottle of water? If this is a regular occurrence, think about how much you are spending during the whole year? A little over a $100? Maybe more?

Instead of buying branded bottled water from gas stations, convenient stores and vending machines at work or in school, you can carry with you a water bottle and refill it with tap water from the water fountain. Did you know that Americans spend $1 billion dollars annually on bottled water alone? Tap water in most homes is safe, and you can make it safer by investing in a good water filter. It could also save you and your family hundreds of dollars every year.

You can take the water with you to work, out walking or to the gym. You can keep a bottle in the car to avoid buying bottled water at the gas station. A reusable bottle in your car's cup holder could save you a lot of money!

Calculated at a per gallon rate, bottled water actually costs more than gasoline. The water in those plastic bottles, however, is clean and inexpensive. By filling your eco-friendly bottle with tap water, you can make small savings that add up to a substantial amount over the long term. This will help you balance your family's budget.

A reusable water bottle is not just easier on your wallet, but also on the environment. Manufacturing bottled water costs the United States 32 to 54 million barrels of oil’s worth of energy every year. To top that off, every bottle ends up in a landfill. All that costs you further tax dollars every year. Carrying a reusable water bottle is smarter, cheaper and environmentally friendly.

Do Your Own Taxes

Let's be honest; everyone hates tax season. That time of year when you have to get everything in order to ensure that you get the right amount of money back, if you are owed any. One of the easiest things that you can do to make your tax season a little easier, is to be completely prepared and know when taxes are due. Unfortunately, many people do not manage to do this alongside their already hectic schedules and busy lives. If you are one of those people that do not have a lot of time, the tip that you are about to hear may seem completely ludicrous, but if done properly and with the right amount of organization, this tip will be fruitful for you.

Do your own taxes. You may laugh and turn away from the computer screen right now, but look at the huge amount of money you will save by doing these taxes yourself. Accountants and professional "tax preparers" can charge hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars to figure out your money situation. With the influx of tax software and online programs, there is no longer any need for you to pay someone a small fortune to do the job that you can very easily do yourself. This means that the costs that you will have to pay for filing will be a fraction of the cost that you usually end up paying, and these savings can always be better spent elsewhere.

There are a number of tax programs and types of software on the market that ensures you the ability to do your taxes in the comfort of your own home, even in your night clothes if you so wish! This also saves money in transport costs. You will no longer have to cart all of your paperwork to the local accountants or tax preparer's office and the time will be minimal, as long as you follow the instructions given in the program or software, word for word.

Retirement Money Management

Two of the things that you have to worry about when it comes to retirement age is how much do I need for retirement and how are you are going to manage your money. Get too frisky with the pennies and you will soon find that you are running out, but if you prepare and have a little bit of organization, you will find that your money works well for you before, during and after even retirement.

One of the first things that you must do when it comes to good retirement money management is start as early as possible. This makes sense – the earlier you start, the more you will have saved, and this in turn means that you will have a lot more fun and more money to play with when you eventually give up work. Start a pension plan early and make sure that you use a plan that is going to work for you. You should alert the appropriate people that you are going to be retiring soon as well – you want the pay checks to stop and the pension to kick in. Waiting around for money that you “hope” will come soon is never fun and could cause more undue stress than is necessary.

Budgeting is essential when it comes to have good money management during your retirement. Before you know it, all those expenses can mount up, especially if you had a good life before you gave up work. It’s wise to make a note of how much you are spending on a monthly basis, and perhaps make a few cuts here and there – do you really need all those cable TV channels when you only watch a handful anyway? Be sensible! If you don’t use something, what’s the point in paying for it?

If you have long term assets, stocks or anything similar, make them work for you. It is wise to speak to a good financial advisor at this time of life to ensure that the money you have invested is working well for you. If it's not making you money, it’s not an investment and it might be about time to cut ties.

Retirement doesn't have to be a worrisome time – as long as you manage your retirement money properly, you will have a blast!