By financen | June 28, 2008 - 6:41 am - Posted in Personal Finance

Stimulus Payments are being issued on a schedule according to the last 2 digits of the primary social security number (SSN) shown on your 2007 tax return.

While preparing your tax file or filing a return, fees was deducted from your 2007 refund, or you received a refund anticipation loan, you will not get any direct deposit. A paper check will be sent to you instead.

You must check the payment schedule prior to using this application because specific information about your stimulus payment will not be available until about one week before your payment is scheduled to be sent.

When you are ready to get your stimulus payment information, you have to take the following steps.

1) Enter your social security number.

2) Filing status whether you are single or married or you are filing a joint return. Married people filing separate return must also mention their status. You also need to mention if you are a head of the household or qualifying widow.

3) Consumers need to be very alert with their personal information. There are lots of email scams about the economic stimulus payment. Always remember IRS never initiates any emails. Just in case if you face any problems while using the application forms, check the requirements to make sure that you are using the correct browser software for the application to function properly.

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By financen | June 24, 2008 - 4:47 pm - Posted in Insurance

California auto insurance State laws have the following requirements as minimum coverage:

$15,000 Liability Bodily Injury (coverage per person)

$30,000 Liability Bodily Injury (coverage per accident)

$ 5,000 Property Damage Coverage (towards any property such as other autos, or any other property)

Liability coverage limits apply on a per accident basis. The above liability coverage is often referred to as 15/30/5 which is an abbreviation.

As per the California auto insurance laws, you must have at least one of the coverage mentioned above, but if you can have multiple coverage, your assets will be more secure. It’s best to get California auto insurance quotes if you are shopping for multiple coverage.

Check out the California auto insurance laws with the California Insurance Dept and get more knowledge in completing a California auto insurance quote comparison from multiple companies with the hassle of having to contact with insurer individually with the option of purchasing a policy online and receiving instant proof of coverage.


There are four ways to accomplish financial responsibility:

  1. Coverage by a motor vehicle or automobile liability insurance policy;
  2. A cash deposit of $35,000 with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV);
  3. A certificate of self-insurance issued by DMV to owners of fleets of more than 25 vehicles; or
  4. do business in California

As per the California auto insurance laws, all drivers and owners must have at least the statutory limits of minimum liability insurance or an approved alternative way to pay for injury or property damage they may cause. If the laws are violated, penalties are very severe with this section of the vehicle code.

When your car is in an accident for which you are found legally liable, bodily injury (BI) liability covers your liability to others for injuries to them. Property damage (PD) liability covers your liability for damage to someone else’s property.

A policy with bodily injury of $15,000/$30,000 and property damage of $5,000 will pay out as follows:

  • The maximum limit for one person’s injuries, medical expenses is $15,000 under the bodily injury portion;
  • If two or more people are injured, the maximum limit for the accident will be $30,000;
  • The maximum limit for damage to other people’s property (their car, their fence, etc.) is $5,000.

Comprehensive coverage (other than collision), uninsured motorist, medical payments and collision insurance are not required by law.

For more information, you can call the following law enforcement agencies in California:

California Department of Insurance
300 South Spring Street, South Tower
Los Angeles, CA 90013
800-927- HELP (4357)

California Department of Motor Vehicles
2415 1st Avenue Mail Station F101
Sacramento, CA 95818
800-777-0133

California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan
595 Market St., #1250
San Francisco, CA 94105
(800) 622-0954 Toll-free within California only.

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By financen | - 4:18 pm - Posted in Insurance

The cost of car insurance is moving up in most of the states. In Illinois, residents are complaining that a typical car insurance in their state is costing at least several hundred dollars a year. Your annual auto insurance premium is decided on the basis of your age, driving record, and other factors. One important thing to worry is that how people in the state of Illinois can lower their premiums and save money.

You cannot drive a car without insurance in Illinois State. The laws require that every automobile owner must purchase a minimum amount of liability coverage. It’s important that you must set aside some portion of your income to provide yourself with adequate protection. There are different ways by which you can reduce the Illinois auto insurance costs without having to cancel the policy.

Different ways to save money after following the laws as per the Illinois auto insurance policies:

Shop around with different companies before purchasing your auto insurance policy: The best time to shop with different companies is when your current policy is reaching the renewal date and when you noticed that the premium has moved up. You will be surprised to know that the same auto insurance policy with different companies can differ by a hundreds of dollars. Illinois auto insurance rates are governed by the state laws.

Increase your deductible: Raising the deductible on the auto insurance policy is a good way to cut the cost of the policy. A premium set on a $250 payment plan is going to have a higher interest rate than a premium set for $500. Increase your deductible as much as you can so that you save more in the annual premium.

Monitor your credit report thoroughly: Credit report is a very important document that shows the exact financial picture of an individual. You will be able to shop for the lowest auto insurance rates if you have better credit scores.

Drive less: You may qualify for a low mileage discount if you drive your car less than a certain number of miles in a year (eg. 7500). If your insurer is offering you this kind of discount, make sure that you drive within the restricted miles

Don’t use your car for business purposes: A car driven for business purposes is going to be charged a higher premium than a car driven for pleasure purpose.

Drive safely: if you have a clean driving record for a specified period of time, you will be eligible for a price break on your policy. There should be no cases like accidents, serious moving violations, drunk driven convictions etc. that can seriously affect the premium costs. Drive carefully to get the best discounts in your auto premiums.

Auto insurance premiums are expected to be higher in urban areas because of incidents like accidents, vandalism etc. The premiums will be lower in rural areas because there is not so much congestion and crime. You may not want to move from a city to a country just because the premium is lower but if you have to relocate, you will see a lot of money being saved.

By financen | June 22, 2008 - 5:43 am - Posted in Personal Finance

As per the laws issued by the IRS, people who opted for direct deposits on their 2007 income tax returns will get the payments of up to 600 ($1,200 for married couples) plus $300 for eligible children younger than 17, throughout the spring and summer.

The first cycle of paper checks will be mailed out by the IRS starting from May 9. The taxpayer who opted for direct deposit first will get the payment sooner by mail. Tax payers who submitted their returns before April 15 will be the first one to get the checks. Those who did not submit within the due dates may see their economic stimulus payment schedule later than the scheduled dates.

People who submitted their tax returns to be processed before April 15 will get the direct deposits transmitted to your bank account according to the following schedule.

If the last two digits of your social security number are ending with 00 – 20, then you will receive the economic stimulus payment deposit by May 2.

  • Social security # ending with 21 – 75 – direct deposit will be deposited by May 9
  • Social security # ending with 76 – 99 – direct deposit will be deposited by May 16

People who want to get their direct deposits by paper check, will receive the check within the following dates.

  • Social security # ending with 00 – 09 – May 16
  • Social security # ending with 10 – 18 – May 23
  • Social security # ending with 19 – 25 – May 30
  • Social security # ending with 26 – 38 – June 6
  • Social security # ending with 39 – 51 – June 13
  • Social security # ending with 52 – 63 – June 20
  • Social security # ending with 64 – 75 – June 27
  • Social security # ending with 76 – 87 – July 4
  • Social security # ending with 88 – 99 – July 11

IRS is going to send notices to the taxpayers who have filed their 2007 tax return and are eligible for the economic stimulus payment. It is suggested to keep these important papers documented and should be retained by the taxpayers.

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Nowadays, many people prefer to open small business merchant account considering the benefits and added features that comes along with it. Small business merchant account will enable your business to accept credit cards from your customers. Nowadays, internet has made so many things possible. If you want to grow the size of your business, you have to give more options and facilities to your customers when they are doing any purchase from you. You want to keep them as regular customers. With the help of small business merchant account, you will be able to give more payment options to your customers.

Credit cards have made it possible to do any kinds of purchase online. If you have a small business merchant account, your customers will get more flexibility from you and pay for the items with a credit or debit card. If you have this kind of account, you should be able to get payments from your customers in different ways like echecks or by online ACH authorization.

 

In order to expand your business, you must have a small business merchant account and accept the major credit cards like MasterCard, VISA, American Express, and Discover cards. This will increase your sales potential and you will have more customers to do business with. Once the customer has decided to purchase an item from you, either he can make payments by echeck or ACH or by credit card or debit card. You will get the money deposited into your small business merchant account within two to three business days if the payment is done by credit or debit card. When you swiped the credit card of your customer, money earned that day can be sent to your business checking account. The monthly statements at the end of month make tracking sales volume and deposits into your account easier. The credit card terminals or software for processing payments can be purchased outright or leased.

You also have other advantages of opening a small business merchant account. You can open up future capital opportunities for your business and you don’t have to go through the complex loan application process. You may be able to obtain advances based on the number of the credit card receipts from month to month. This way you have more access to fast cash that can be used for pressing needs. You will get a lot of buying power for your business and this will definitely help in the expansion and growth of your business.

By financen | June 14, 2008 - 10:54 am - Posted in Insurance

People undergoing serious problems due to their illness now don’t have to lose heart and feel low. There are a variety of critical illness recovery plans that offers complete and flexible Critical Illness Insurance. These plans come with a wide range of benefits and valuable assistance services that will help you and your family meet the financial and non financial challenges when you are going through serious illness.

Anyone between the age of 18 – 65 can get a Critical Illness Insurance plan and get the protection when you are going through tough financial situation in life. If you have the Critical Illness Cover in the right time, life can get a lot smoother when you are facing the challenges in life during your illness.

 

 

Critical illness recovery plan policy will assure you a lump sum benefit amount between $25,000 and $2 million.

You can opt for a variety of flexible premium plans and terms so that it can suit to your current requirements and have the ability to purchase additional benefits to get maximum protection. Some of the plans have been explained below:

Covered critical illnesses insurance will give you a lump sum benefit if you are diagnosed with serious diseases like cancer, coma, loss of limbs, heart attack, benign brain tumor, blindness, bypass surgery, deafness, chronic kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, loss of speech, paralysis, Parkinson disease, severe burns, stroke or some other very serious diseases. You have to satisfy the survival period as defined in the policy.

Critical illness recovery plan policy is not just a claim check. It offers you a unique combination of assistance services that comes with the plan at no additional costs. You will get the best doctor services and get treatment from the world’s top medical experts and specialists on your condition.

You will have your daily expenses covered in the plan. This plan will give the peace of mind to you and your family when you are struggling through your illness.

You get a health journey program in this plan. This will give you the support to deal with stress associated with a critical illness.

Long-term care conversion benefit: From age 55 to 65, it allows you to convert all or a portion of your critical illness coverage to long-term care insurance without having to submit proof of insurability.


You might find an account in the name of THD/CBSD reported on your credit report. If you are not sure about this account, you must dispute this item with the credit bureau reporting it. THD/CBSD stands for The Home Depot / Citibank South Dakota. If you are seeing this item reported on your credit report, it might be possible that you were having a Home Depot credit card from Citibank and your previous payment history is showing up on your credit report. If you are seeing this item by error, you must report it to the credit bureau or contact Citibank for disputing this item.

However, if this item is found to be correct, then you must repay this account to see a positive effect on your credit report. Call Citibank and put your payment proposal. Tell them that you have all intentions to pay this account as soon as possible. Once you have paid off this item, your credit scores will improve.

If you had an account with THD/CBSD and have paid it off, but showing as not paid, then you have to dispute the item either with the credit reporting agency or contact Citibank to resolve this error.

The toll free number of THD/CBSD is 1-866-875-5488. You may call the customer support for more information.

In most of the cases, Citibank tries to collect the balance from the customer by working out a payment plan. In case, they are not able to recover the money, they forward the account to some outside collection agency.

It is often tough to work out a settlement plan on a Citibank account. They will usually like to settle the account on their terms, rather than agreeing with your terms. Hence, many people leave the account as unpaid until it is sent to collections. It is often easier to negotiate with the outside collection agency than Citibank.