CoastalBendMamas.com: Financial Advise

Prevent Parking-Lot Accidents

Parking-Lot Accident You've just turned off a traffic-congested street and into the relative calm of a parking lot. Time to relax right? Not really. It's actually a time to be extra alert. About 20 percent of all vehicle accidents happen in parking lots, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Though these low-speed collisions are rarely serious, they can be costly, time-consuming and aggravating. Protect yourself and your vehicle by following these tips.

Buy Time to React
Parking lots are filled with obstacles and hazards, but often the biggest danger is other drivers. They may cut across empty rows, drive too fast or ignore signs and pavement markings, endangering everyone in the lot. The best way to deal with these drivers is simple: Slow down. This buys you time to react and avoid a collision. Be especially cautious when turning corners and backing up.

"If you drive just a little bit slower, you are in a better position to absorb the misbehavior of others," says Leonard Evans, an expert and author on traffic safety issues. "You must absorb their folly so you don't pay for it."

Expect Pedestrians
Parking lots are full of people coming from and going to their cars. "Pedestrians have a great sense of security in parking lots—they don't look for traffic," Evans says. Though pedestrians may not be looking out for you, it's still your responsibility to look out for them. Keep a wary eye out for any pedestrians who may cross your vehicle's path and be sure to obey all crosswalks within the parking lot. When entering particularly high foot-traffic areas, take your own foot off the accelerator and cover the brake. Anticipate pedestrians even if you don't see any. If you're in a busy shopping area, remember that people lugging sacks of groceries or other purchases could also be shepherding hard-to-see children, too.

Distance Yourself
Door dings and scratches are aggravating and hard to avoid. No matter how courteous and conscientious you are when parking, you can fall victim to someone else's carelessness. One way to reduce the risk of door damage is to park away from other vehicles. This may be inconvenient, but it's considerably more polite than parking your vehicle across several spaces to keep others from parking near you. And the extra walking is good exercise.

For more safe driving tips, visit the State Farm Learning Center. Article Courtesy of Joely DelVecchio

Life insurance: It’s for the people who live

By Joely DelVecchio

State Farm® Agent

Life insurance is a practical way to protect your family’s financial hopes and dreams. The death of a family member can be devastating to survivors both emotionally and financially. Life insurance can provide cash to help with your family’s immediate and long-term needs.

Immediate needs include funeral expenses, unpaid medical bills and taxes.
Long-term needs include care for a disabled child or elderly parent expenses and, in general, the chance for members of your family to continue to live the life to which they are accustomed.

Life insurance is not for the people who die, but for people who live. It's wise to explore options while you are still healthy; health problems can make life insurance expensive or unavailable. Three forms of life insurance are most common today

Term life insurance - this is temporary life insurance for a specific time period (one, five, 10 or more years). It can provide short-term coverage on a limited budget. Term insurance, however, costs more to buy as you get older.

There are two common types of term life insurance:

Level term: the amount of protection remains the same during the coverage period.
Decreasing term: the amount of protection gradually declines during the coverage period.

Whole life insurance - premiums are generally level with cash value growth throughout the life of the policy.

Cash values can be borrowed (with interest charged) during the insured person's lifetime to help meet temporary or emergency needs.
Funds borrowed reduce the death benefit and cash surrender value.

Universal life insurance - this offers many traditional advantages of whole life insurance (such as protection for life), but also offers flexibility. Coverage amounts and premium payments are flexible to help meet changing needs during an insured person’s lifetime (subject to certain conditions).

When you buy life insurance, you buy a promise of protection against financial loss caused by death. The promise is only as good as the company that stands behind it. In today's marketplace, life insurance buyers should be concerned about:

The financial strength of the insurer.
Customer service.

Contact an insurance professional for information about life insurance.

Can you afford to stay at home?

By Sharon Davis

A few years ago, after the birth of our second child, my husband and I were trying to decide whether or not it would be possible for me to stay home. At first we thought that since we were just about breaking even, womanatdesk there was no way we could ever make it happen. But when we decided to actually put pen to paper and calculate our bottom line with and without my salary, we were quite surprised. What we found was that it was actually costing us to have both of us working.

While that may not be the case for everyone, you may find that the second salary brings in much, much less than you think it does. According to Jan MacGregor, a financial consultant and former analyst, “There are people out there who are expecting to be able to meet their bills better(after they re-enter the work force) and never realize they are either working for a loss or for something like $4,000 a year (after expenses).” That may seem hard to believe, but if you consider the many “hidden” expenses of a two-income household it is often the case. There are, of course, the obvious expenses such as child care and commuting costs.

Some of the hidden expenses are the money spent on lunches, more take-out and convenience food for dinner, dry cleaning bills professional clothing. There can be higher medical costs due to increased exposure to illnesses for children who are in daycare. Many families hire a housekeeper or gardener to keep up on the household work that they don’t have the time to do. A significant factor is your taxable income. A second salary can push your taxable income into a higher tax bracket. While the tax issue in and of itself does not eat up the entire second salary, when you add in all the other expenses of a two income family, you might find that it’s not worth it to have both parents working.

Here is a link to MacGregor’s cost of living chart that uses a second salary of $40,000 as an example: http://cnnfn.com/1999/02/22/life/q_income/chart.jpg If you are considering having one parent stay at home, the best thing to do is to actually calculate your income and expenses, taking into consideration the difference in taxation. You may find that you can in fact afford to stay home with your kids.

About the Author: Sharon Davis is the Mother of two girls, the owner of www.2Work-At-Home.Com and the Editor of the site's monthly ezine, America's Home. In her spare time she reminisces about what it was like to have spare time.

Subscribe to her free ezine, by sending a blank email to mailto:workathome2-subscribe@listbot.com

Giving the Gift of Education

By Joely DelVecchio
State Farm® Agent

School days can be expensive days. According to The College Board,Trends in College Pricing 2008, the average published total charges, including tuition and fees and room and board for in-state students at public four-year colleges and universities in 2008-09 are $14, 333, and 5.7% higher than 2007-08. For private four-year colleges and universities, the same total charges are $34,132, 5.6% higher than a year earlier.

Something else to consider is the 2007 College Board Study, Education Pays, thatshows people with a bachelor’s degree earn over 60 percent more than those with only a high school diploma. Over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a B.A. is more than $800,000. That means if it’s a choice between saving for your child’s college education and getting that big-screen television, you might want to consider putting money away now.

I speak to people everyday who either have children or love someone else’s dearly. What better gift can you give than the gift of education? Most of us want our children’s quality of life to be better than our own, and you don’t have to be the parent to contribute – grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends can contribute on behalf of a child. Saving for college need not be challenging. State Farm offers very affordable, easy savings options you can begin taking advantage of today. The main goal is to establish a savings strategy early. By saving over time, you may not have to come up with large sums of money or take out large loans at the time college starts. Even small amounts on a regular basis can make a big difference in a child’s future.Learn more about Joely DelVecchio & 529 plans at www.joelydelvecchio.com.