This week, let’s talk about premium riders. Those are riders that somehow affect your life insurance premium.

Premium Riders

Waiver of premium: The waiver of premium rider is one which waives your annual life insurance premium if you become disabled over the life of your policy. It is important to remember that the waiver of premium rider generally only kicks in when you lose your income as a result of a qualifying disability. This keeps your life insurance policy in-force even w… Continue

Like any complex financial product, life insurance isn't really a point-and-click type of purchase. In order to maximize your premium dollars and create a policy with real value for you and your family, you must consider the purchase of life insurance riders.

A rider is basically an additional benefit you can tack on to your policy. It's kind of like buying a model home with upgraded counter tops. The rider costs a little bit of extra money but provides an additional benefit and they are genera… Continue

Rollover your workplace retirement plan investments from a former employer into your IRA.
A surprisingly large percentage of individuals who change jobs (either voluntarily or involuntarily) leave their retirement plan money - 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans - with their former employer. This may not be wise because most such plans offer a very limited range of investment choices and many plan investm… Continue

You'll probably get cheaper airfares and a better choice of accommodations at a better price if you plan your vacation now. Also, you don't have to travel great distances and spend gobs of money to have an enjoyable vacation.

Think about it: you probably live close to areas that other people travel thousands of miles to visit.… Continue

I was watching some footage of Anderson Cooper saving a young boy's life in Haiti and I started thinking about natural disasters. The tsunami in 2004, hurricane Katrina, this earthquake (and aftershock) in Haiti, the wild fires in California, and all the other disasters in between.

You know as well as I do that there is no way to insure yourself against being in a state, country or area that experiences a natural disaster. There is no insurance you can buy that makes sure you are never affected… Continue

This week while we were at Home Depot buying some carpet, my husband broke a tooth. It was his odd love for beef jerky that initiated the break, but regardless of what the cause, it was broken. These things can happen to any of us at any time, whether we have dental insurance or not, whether we have emergency savings or not. And you can't exactly leave a broken tooth unfixed for an indefinite period of time...you know...stuff can get in there and make an already expensive situation positively ca… Continue

This is a great list of things for everyone to do to rehab their budget.

Did Suze Orman forget anything? If so, add it below!

Lately I’ve been reading Dickens’ classic tale, David Copperfield. Like most Dickens novels, David Copperfield has orphans, urchins, child labor, mean adults and people who dress in way too complicated a manner for daily life.

But David Copperfield has a very important character whose way of living and resulting insight is still relevant today. That character is Mr. Micawber, a man of little means who has grandiose ideas. Mr. Micawber constantly dreams of the things he will… Continue

Every year, I like to delude myself by making New Year's resolutions that involve eating healthier, exercising daily, and spending more time being active (outside of the daily exercise). These are important resolutions because, if left to my own devices, I would watch sci-fi movies and eat potato chips and French onion dip with a Ben and Jerry's chaser all day every day.

While these goals do help me make some changes in my overall eating and activity habits, they begin as the insane ramblings o… Continue

If there are people in your life who would suffer financially from your demise, then you need life insurance. If you've got kinds, you probably need a lot of it - $1 million is not an uncommon need for a breadwinner with a couple of kids. And remember, the insurance provided by your employer is never enough.

… Continue