Personal Finance Universe | PersonalFinanceUniverse.com

TurboTax asked:

If your e-filed tax return was rejected with the “Recovery Rebate Credit” message, watch this video to find out what to do. The Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) was the amount of money that you received last year for the economic stimulus payment. You must enter the exact amount you received into turbotax. To find that amount, please visit www.irs.gov and search for “stimulus payment.” Once you find the exact amount you received from the government, enter it into turbotax and resubmit your tax return. For more information, please visit: turbotax.intuit.com

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Max R asked:


what part of indian culture makes them always want to get the best deal on things, no matter what effect it has on other people or businesses?

they come in to my store and bargain me down ALL day.. stuff is clearly marked with a price and they do not give up. i even caught two of them slapping hands right behind my back because they got a 5 dollar discount out of me on an item

at the same time, they are the biggest proprieters of small business and obviously know the costs of keeping a place running.. i have never gone to a 7-11 trying to get half off on a newspaper or a pack of cigs.

I guess what i’m saying is they try and get you with their pricing yet they refuse to pay yours. they are scrapin both sides of the field and saving every bit they can. they come here to be economically secure but they are sinking a tremendous amount of money out of our economy. i’d just like to know what’s behind it.

thank you – and just to clear things up, my goal is to learn, not offend

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Nicole Maschwitz asked:


We girls are always on the lookout to find new ways to stand out in a crowd. When we go to a party, a business function, or even out on a date, we are looking for ways that we can make ourselves distinct and different from every other woman in the room. We want people to pay attention to us, and to seek us out as someone they will want to spend their time.

When we are at a party, we want people to notice us and to pay attention to us. When we are at a business function, we want our bosses and co workers to take notice of our finer traits, including our style and fashion sense. When we are on a date, we want our date to see us in a different and brighter light than the women he has met before us.

Many of us have learned that alcohol is not a necessity for us to stand out in a room and get noticed. In fact, we can draw much more favorable attention with the clothes we wear and the accessories we use when we go out.

Dont Be Ostentatious

Most of us know women who are caught up in having the most expensive accessories in the room. For them, it is not just a matter of having distinctive apparel. No, for them, it is a matter of being able to claim more spending power than you or me. Of course, most of us know that spending power does not make you a more attractive person.

Few women who live outside of the major cities of the world, New York City, Paris, London, and Melbourne, Australia, and women who work outside of the entertainment industry, would seriously consider the purchase of a dress from Armani or Versace. We would likely never indulge $2500 on a Gucci purse or a designer dress, although we might spend a healthy amount of money to buy a beautiful wedding dress that we will keep forever after all, we will only get married for the first time, once.

Stand Out With Style

The good news is that there are more ways to stand out in a room than to outspend everyone in the room.

Even an interesting set of earrings, a bracelet or a necklace can attract people quickly to our side to view the beauty or distinctiveness of our jewelry. Of course, it is not even necessary to indulge in gold or diamond jewelry to attract attention from others.

In fact, with the development of the global Internet marketplace, it has become much more easy to buy jewelry from other parts of the world, frequently for prices less than the cost of a cheap gold strand. For example, one could buy a necklace or choker with African styling or even Malaysian styling, for under $100. Despite the seemingly low cost, a piece of jewelry from another part of the world might just attract more attention and conversation than a Gucci purse or a diamond-studded earring set.

Speaking of Gucci, one could even pick up a handmade handbag with African, Mediterranean, Japanese, or Southwest Native American styling that attracts every eye in the room. Why spend $2500 on a handbag, when you could attract even more attention with a handbag that could be purchased for under $100?

The Frugal Shopper

If you are frugal in your shopping, that does not have to mean that you have to be the girl in the corner to whom no one is paying any attention. In fact, being frugal does not mean that you have to be plain or boring either.

Being a frugal shopper simply means that you have the ability to make your money go further, without giving up on having the things that make our lives fun and interesting.

Most women have households to run and children to support. Most of us have had the necessity to be frugal with our money from time-to-time, for the sake of keeping our households running smoothly. As such, many of us have learned that demonstrating style and beauty does not have to be expensive. In fact, many of us have learned that the trick to making our money go further can be summed up in one simple sentence, dont be afraid to shop around.



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Matthew Kepnes asked:


One reason that people stay away from extended travel is because they believe it is expensive and think they won’t save enough. That is not true. One of the greatest myths of travel is that it is expensive. People think that to travel you need to have a lot of money because all people see on TV are advertisements for fancy vacations and think all travel is like that. But it isn’t. In fact, travel is quit cheap.  You can travel around the world for under $15,000 dollars for one year of travel. If you only go cheap areas of the world, you can do it for even less.

$15,000 dollars sounds like a lot of money right? Sure it is but that is covers all your expenses. You probably spend more than that already. It also sounds impossible to save but you’re wrong again. There are many ways to save that amount of money. It simply requires persistence and making saving money a habit and priority.

$15,000 dollars is about $1,200 dollars per month, which is a lot but manageable if you control you’re spending and cut your bills. To save that much money you need to become frugal and cut out your extra spending. It is mind blowing how much money people waste each day. Cut out your extra spending and watch your bank account rise and rise.

The easiest things to cut out are your vices. One cup of coffee a day is $150 dollars a month. A pack a day smoker would save $210 dollars per month. A typical night out on the town can cost around $50 dollars or more in a big city, and since most people go out two nights a week, you could save $400 dollars. Already we have saved $400 or more dollars, depending on your habits.

Those are the low hanging fruit though. The real way to save money is to eat in and consume less. If you are an average person, you probably eat out 5 to 7 times a week. If each meal costs an average of $20 dollars, that is between $400-$560 dollars per month. Eating can cut your cost down to $80 dollars per week. That saves you a lot of money, since you probably already do some grocery shopping too.

Cut out your consumption and buy only things you need. That is the real secret to saving for a trip around the world. Buy only what you need and save the rest. People spend hundreds of dollars a month on little things that they don’t really need- DVDs, music, movies, drinks, and a lot more. All of that adds.

If you only eat in and go out once a week, you will only spend $340 per month and save over $800 dollars per month just by doing those two things. To save more money, move into a smaller apartment or get a roommate. Even consider moving home if you have that option.

If you follow these tips, you will be able to save the money you need per month for your travels by simply living frugally and smartly. Your friends may tell you you are living like a monk and, though it may feel that way a lot of time, picture the reward you have coming to you- one year around the world. The price will be worth it.



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Alexander West asked:


The trick is to start investing for your retirement as early as possible. The longer you leave it, the less chance there is of building up enough funds to allow you to comfortably retire. Comfortably retire, is a relative term as everyone’s situation is different. The following items represent some of the opportunities available to you [in no order of importance] for generating an income in the run up to and during your retirement.

1.Retirement Annuities; an annuity is a payment made by an insurance company to an individual for the rest of your life in return for you giving them a capital payment. So for example, let’s say that you invest in a personal pension plan with an insurance company for 30 years. When it comes to you retirement date, the amount of money that has built up in that pension plan, let’s say $100,000 is then traded in for an annuity. You can either buy this annuity from the insurance company that you have built up your pension plan with or you can search the annuity market for the best annuity rates. A financial adviser can help you do this. But once you have bought your annuity then that’s it, there’s no going back. So choose wisely and do your research.

2.Fixed Deposits in Banks; This is another very popular method of investing for retirement. Every bank pays out a healthy interest rate on the invested principal, due to which after some years the invested amount multiplies. If kept for a significant number of years, the little amount invested in fixed deposits could multiply and be a good source for spending the life comfortably after retirement. One of the better aspects of banks [even in today's credit crunch environment] is that they are a safe house for your money. You will pay for this safety by being offered a lower interest rate.

3.Term Insurance Policies; Term insurance policies are set for a fixed period of years, which can be either a short or a long period of time. The investment is done in the form of premiums after regular intervals of time. The premiums are collected by the insurance company and the interests are accrued on them. When the stipulated term is over, the insurance company pays out this amount to the person. Many people buy term insurance policies to tide them over after their retirement.

4.Real Estate Investing; Most people have paid off the mortgage by the time they reach retirement age. If they timed buying their property right, which most people will have because of the huge time frames involved circa 25 or 30 years, it is almost certain that their property will have built up significant equity. This can be a good option for investment. Many people sell their homes after retirement and buy smaller homes in a more peaceful area. The money they save is good enough to look after their needs in their post-retirement years. This is a clever idea if you have not had the opportunity to save for your retirement through a company or personal pension plan.



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Ann Liu asked:


Here is what I learn – wealth never happens by chance. It always begins with a clear goal in mind. In order to achieve any level of wealth, you need to have a specific figure to focus on; otherwise, you will never be able to develop a strategy to achieve it. That is also the reason of why those millionaires always make a decision to become rich.

To achieve your financial target and earn the amount of money you want, set up an effective financial plan is an essential task. To makes your plan work effectively, you need to have some significant financial knowledge to help you achieve your wealth success.

Following are some helpful tips for you toward to how to gain financial knowledge and build your wealth:

1. Hiring a More Knowledgeable Person Work for You

If you are going to hire a person work for you, always keep in mind that hire one who is more knowledgeable in the position you intend to hire him or her, because it will help you have less worry if he or she is able to perform the job. It also reduces your workload and let you be able to focus more on other important things.

At the same time, you can also get to learn from that person, and you will have more time to attend other moneymaking ventures.

One thing you should remember – do not think the person might be a threat to your business, as long as you pay him or her well and recognition his or her work, otherwise, he or she need not work for you in the first place.

2. Changes, Especially Those that Involve Bargains can Spell Profit

I think we all see or had this experience – when a supermarket has a “sale”, people most likely reaction is to buy and stock up. If you analyzed it, you will understand people’s behavior and thought it is normal reaction.

Comes to the stock market, when there is a price crash, you will see people tend to shy away. This is totally contrary to what happens in the supermarket.

It is hard to find out why, perhaps, we will never know.

On the other hand, when prices in a supermarket go up, people shy away. Again, in the stock market, when prices go up, people start to buy; this should not be the case, is it?

3. Know the Difference between an Asset and a Liability

For me, I think this is a big portion toward to financial knowledge gain.

Actually, it is hard to define an asset and a liability, it is depends on the person looking at the things. What you think is an asset, could be a liability to another person.

The things you should understand is anything you own that earns are an asset; otherwise, it is a liability.

4. Conventional Way of Doing Business

Oftentimes, we stick to the conventional way of doing business, like “This is the way, so it has to be done here.”

For all we know, the conventional way might not be the best way. If look at it from another way, the unconventional way, sometime it could save money, and money saved is money made.

5. High Emotions (Fear Included) can sometimes Suppress Financial Knowledge

Do not let your financial ability submit to your emotions. I know sometime it is hard to do, but as far as you understand overcoming emotions is part of the learning process, then it should be fine.

Similarly, making financial decisions without proper training on finances is disastrous.

Gain more financial ability is means to have more options for opportunities that come to your way. In the same manner, a higher level of knowledge can help you spot those opportunities other people don’t see. What you can’t see with your eyes, you might see with your mind with the knowledge you have.

As we know, money comes and goes. But unlike money (although this is what we’re aiming for), financial knowledge stays. It likes nourishment; the keen to let it stay is to keep it accurate and up-to-date.

If you come to the point that you feel like you are being push around sometime, just stay calm and smart, exercise self-discipline, and keep updated. Always be alert and look out for “double standard” information (information that requires double-checking). It is better to reconfirm than to sorry later.

For the basics of financial knowledge, in a lot of case, it should be taught in the school already. However, for whatever the reason, not everybody learns it. That is why the poor and middle class comprise the majority of the populace with its gap from the rich ever widening.

If a person winds up with a lot of cash without financial ability, this person is bound to find his or her money gone soon. We have heard of athletes who earned millions during their prime and movie stars who amassed untold fortunes only to grow old broke.

So having financial knowledge is truly vital to maintain and grow your wealth.



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Craig Rad asked:


A life insurance is what makes us more responsible and offers a glimpse on how rational we are because it is a proof of how much we understand the financial planning. A life insurance is what makes the connection between you, the high-minded and responsible person, and the life insurance company, the company that makes sure that what you have will be the will for your dear ones.

When it comes to the life insurance tips, one of the most important aspects is that even though the price is very significant, it is not as important as the terms and the conditions that the contract involves. This is probably the most vital aspect of any sort of contract. In order not to get duped, make sure that you carefully read what the contract contains right before you sign it. If necessary, and it is advisable, ask you lawyer or hire a lawyer who is specialized in the field of the life insurance in order not to be sorry later for having made a wrong decision.

The life insurance contract refers to your agreeing of paying money on a regular basis, called the ‘premium’, and the insurance company, in its turn, will pay an amount of money in the incidence of your death or in the case of some other incidents that might happen while the policy is still available, still in force. But be careful because the life insurance company will pay only for the damage that is stipulated in the contract. In the case in which, for instance, you break your leg, but the contract does not mention that the life insurance covers the expenses needed for the hospitalization or for the medication required in such a case.

Another important life insurance tips refer to the fact that you must keep in mind the fact that all contracts have their terms, conditions, exclusions and limitations. There are also two very important types of life insurance, namely a fairly simple one that does not involve too many details, and another type of life insurance that contains more complicated and complex legal-financial issues.

All in all, here’s a sum-up of the most important life insurance tips. First of all, read carefully the terms, the conditions, the limitations, and the exclusions of the policy before you accept it. It is useless to contest a policy after you have signed it. Second of all, make sure that you clarify any ambiguity in writing, not only in a verbal mode. Do not forget that even if a policy seems to be “simple”, this does not mean that the content of the contract is that simple or that any aspect related to it can be easily solved.



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