Category Archives: Saving Money

How To Make $300,000 Life Insurance Proceeds Last A Lifetime?

0
Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on February 3, 2010 – 3:41 pm
Filed under Financial News & Updates, Insurance, Questions & Answers, Saving Money

I think I, the AKPK DMP blogger, am taking my financial aspect more seriously now than ever. I find myself reading tax, insurance, home mortgage, retirement fund and a few money topics which I previously hated a lot. ;-)

They still don’t interest me much, but I am doing my best to know more. Life is unpredictable, right? What if something happens to hubby? Touch wood. What should I do with his life insurance proceeds?

Speaking of life insurance, you really have to read this article – Making $300,000 Last A Lifetime. It gives you a general guideline on how to turn your retirement savings into income for life.

(Money Magazine) — Question: My mother-in-law, who’s in her early 60s, was recently widowed. She now has Social Security and approximately $300,000 from a life insurance policy to live on. She’s not comfortable taking on much, if any, risk but she does need to generate income from the life insurance proceeds. Any recommendations for how she should invest this money? –Chris, Atlanta, Georgia

Answer: Before you and your mother-in-law can even begin to think about investments, you first need to address two fundamental questions.

The first is how much income does your mother-in-law require to maintain an acceptable lifestyle for the rest of her life? If she’s in her early 60s, she could easily live another 30 years, if not longer, depending on her health and genes.

The second question is, how much of that income can she reasonably expect to withdraw from the $300,000 in life insurance proceeds?

Three hundred thousand bucks is a lot of moolah. But there’s a limit to how much lifetime income you can get from it — probably much less than most people think.

Making a retirement budget

Start with a pencil, paper pad and a calculator by going over her current outlays and then making reasonable assumptions about the future, such as how much different expenses might rise (such as health care) and which might decline or even disappear (paying off a mortgage other loan, perhaps). Read More »

How AKPK Debt Management Program Blogger Saves Money As Emergency Fund?

0
Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on January 30, 2010 – 3:20 pm
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Credit Card Debts, Credit Cards, Debt Management Tips, Financial News & Updates, Free Debt Reduction Tips, Saving Money, Spending / Expenses

Question: My wife and I know we should have an emergency savings fund, but with one income we have nothing left to save after paying expenses.

But I’ve been thinking of a way to deal with this problem. We charge about $2,000 in monthly expenses to our credit cards, which we then pay in full each month.

My idea is this: Instead of paying off the cards every month, I’ll make only the minimum required payment and save the rest. Once I’ve accumulated a decent emergency fund, I would then begin paying down the cards. Do you think this is a good strategy? — N.G., California

Doesn’t this sound familiar to many people? It definitely sounds familiar to me. ;-)

There was once upon a time in 2007 that hubby and I were living on one income. Life was tough then because there’s so little income in hand, yet there were so many bills like car and home loan installments, term loans, and as many as 15 credit card payments waiting to be paid every month!

It’s very difficult to save for emergency fund after paying all the expenses because there was literally no money left at all!

But since hubby and I enrolled in AKPK debt management program and hubby started his full time teaching job, we have been able to save money as emergency fund.

If you are thinking of paying the minimum credit card payments and saving the rest as emergency fund until you have accumulated a decent amount of emergency fund to paying down the credit cards, well, it may/might never come true.

Financial experts say so. And I say so; I did what the reader above thought of doing and it didn’t work for me. It’s either you find extra money/income or cut down on expenses or do both if you want to save money as emergency fund.

I agree with Walter Updegrave, the author of the article of Big No-No for Building Emergency Savings that, “If you can’t save today because you have no money left after paying your expenses, how are you going to pay those expenses, plus come up with an extra $xxx a month to pay down the credit card balance you racked up to accumulate your emergency fund?”

I also concur with him that it’s more practical to spend less than you make or cut down your expenses to save money.

Well, the reality is that there is only one way to save — and that’s to spend less than you make. There are a number of ways to do that. You can go the “cut the latte” route and avoid relatively small daily expenditures that add up. You can create a budget and then go over it line by line, looking for specific areas to squeeze. You can try two techniques that I’ve advocated in the past, focusing on big-ticket items or employing strategies that can effectively fool you into being a better saver. Whatever works for you. But one way or another, you’re going to have to find a way to pare your spending.

… But I also know that borrowing to save is an oxymoronic concept that’s more likely to create problems than solve them.

What A Lucky Money Month For AKPK Debt Management Program Blogger!

0
Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on January 20, 2010 – 8:23 am
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Credit Card Debts, Debt Management Programs, Emergency Funds, Income Streams, Saving Money, Spending / Expenses

AKPK Debt Management Program Bloggers Money LuckIs January a prosperous month to you? I think it is a lucky money month for me, the AKPK debt management program blogger, and hubby.

For me, a sudden increase in the number of product reviews is doubling this month’s income. If I add in my AdSense and Amazon earnings, wuahaha, this Chinese New Year is going to be a prosperous new year.

So far, my personal savings has reached RM1,700 without hubby’s knowledge. ;-)

As for hubby, besides his monthly salary of RM2,000, he will have a one-month bonus or maybe 1/2-month’s bonus. We are still grateful if he is only given a half-month bonus. After all, he only commenced his work on the 1st of July last year.

Oh, there’s still Ang Pao for him from the school! The amount of money given depends on his work performance. It will be between RM500 and RM1,000.

After deducting this month’s RM680 AKPK debt management repayments, RM820 car loan, RM374 home loan installment, RM150 bank overdraft interest charge, RM270 flat rental, RM110 phone and internet service charge, RM33 handphone fee, electricity bill, food and grocery expenses, there’s still money left to be saved as emergency fund and pay back some personal debt owed to friends/family.

The AKPK DMP Blogger Starts Joining SMS & WIN Contests To Save Money!

0
Posted by Vedis the DMP Blogger on December 16, 2009 – 9:14 am
Filed under AKPK Debt Management Plan, Saving Money

Win Giveaway Contests To Save MoneyOn Monday, hubby went for a foot reflexology treatment while I was at Ipoh Parade choosing some used magazines. To my delight, I caught sight of the latest issue of The Malaysian Women’s Weekly magazine.

It’s the December issue of The Malaysian Women’s Weekly at only RM3.50, rather than its usual price of RM5.60. You know, RM3.50 for 352 pages!

But what I love most is the Christmas Special promotions where there are gifts and hampers to be won. Since I hadn’t taken part in any contest or giveaway for a looooong time after I got into deep credit card debt and also enrolled in the AKPK debt management program, I decided it’s time for me to have fun with contests and giveaways.

Who knows? Maybe I am lucky enough to win a cooking pot, a detox program, a spa treatment or a vacation that saves me money. Starting now, I am going to join as many contests and giveaways as possible.

If you love to take part in MWW’s giveaway contests, hurry and get a copy of this month’s The Malaysian Women’s Weekly magazine.

Of all the ten contests, I only sent in my entry by sms to WIN 28 San Remo Pasta Pots Worth RM180 Each and WIN 32 Juvanex Hampers Worth RM160 Each. Hope to win either one of the contests. :-)

Or should I take part in all of the ten contests? Not necessary, right?

I am listing all the Christmas Special promotions. See whether you are interested in sending SMS to win one of the contests.

1. WIN 22 Sarah Jessica Parker EDP Worth RM225 Each.

2. WIN 10 Origins Starting Over Hampers Worth RM583 Each.

3. WIN 22 TriAction Age Defender Creams Worth RM228 Each.

4. WIN 16 Maquillage Make-Up Hampers Worth RM350 Each.

5. WIN Colmar Tropicale Berjaya Hills Stays Worth RM6,200.

6. WIN 50 Ferrero Rocher Products Worth RM100 Each.

7. WIN 50 ICI Dulux Supreme Paint Cans Worth RM100 Each.

8. WIN 28 San Remo Pasta Pots Worth RM180 Each.

9. WIN 36 Rilax ZZZ Hampers Worth RM145 Each.

10. WIN 32 Juvanex Hampers Worth RM160 Each.

There is one thing that I don’t understand, you know. Why didn’t The Malaysian Women’s Weekly get its own domain name? Instead it is using a blogspot, wewantmww.blogspot.com. My two cent only.