Term Or Whole Life Insurance

Know The Difference Between Term & Whole Life Insurance

The basic difference between term and whole life insurance is this: A term policy is life coverage only. On the death of the insured it pays the face amount of the policy to the named beneficiary. You can buy term for periods of one year to 30 years. Whole life insurance, on the other hand, combines a term policy with an investment component. The investment could be in bonds and money-market instruments or stocks. The policy builds cash value that you can borrow against. The three most common types of whole life insurance are traditional whole life policies, universal and variable. With both whole life and term, you can lock in the same monthly payment over the life of the policy.

Forced Savings

Whole life insurance is expensive: You're paying not only for insurance but also for the investment portion. That extra cost might almost be worth it if these policies were a good investment vehicle. But usually they aren't. Insurance agents like to call these policies retirement plans, emphasizing the "forced savings" inherent in forking over the premiums each month "for retirement."

Leaving aside the fact that there are many better ways to save for retirement, these policies come with high fees and commissions, which sometimes lop off as much as three percentage points from the annual return. On top of that, there are up-front (but hidden) commissions that are typically 100% of your first year's premium. Worse, it's often impossible to tell what the return on the investment will be, and how much of what you pay in goes toward the insurance and how much toward the investment.

Premiums for term insurance are downright cheap for people in good health up to about age 50. After that age, premiums start to get progressively more expensive. The same holds true for whole life policies, though people who need coverage starting in their 60s and beyond may have no alternative but to buy whole life. Most companies simply won't sell term policies to people over about age 65.

Term: Where the Value Is

To get a real sense of the value of term, let's compare a term policy and a universal life policy. Say a 40-year-old nonsmoking male has a choice between a $250,000 Met Life universal policy with a $3,000 annual premium and a same amount of renewable term coverage with a 20-year fixed premium of $350. At the end of one year, the universal policy, assuming it paid 5.7% per year, tax-deferred, would have a cash value of exactly zero (cash value is the amount you would get back if you canceled the policy). But say he had instead invested $2,650 (the difference between $3,000 and $350) in a no-load mutual fund that averaged a total return of 10% annually. At the end of the first year, he'd have $2,841, accounting for taxes on the earnings at a 28% rate. At the end of 10 years, he would have accumulated more than $46,000 in after-tax savings in the mutual fund. Over the same period, the cash value of the policy would have climbed only to $31,819.

That's not to say that whole life insurance is always a bad idea. Wealthy people can use whole life in their estate planning by setting up an insurance trust that will pay their estate taxes from the proceeds of the policy. And for the growing number of people in their late 40s or early 50s who are just starting families, whole life is at least worth a look.

Knowing the difference between term and whole life insurance, you can make a better choice catering to your needs.

10 Fitness Tips

10 Fitness Tips

Everybody wants to be fit, want to be in a great shape but.. in the absence of right tips motivation factor gets lost. But here are few tips to make you fit and will help you in looking good and feeling better.

1.Exercise everyday keeps fat away. Exercising, hitting a gym, aerobics can be a good option to loose weight but by walking to your school , using stairs instead of lift can also help in burning some extra fat.

2.Begin your day with exercise before breakfast and burn up the most calories with the least effort. Diet food for diet. Diet food can be a good option but many of us feel that it doesn't taste good. That's not true one can at least give it a try as diet food can also taste as good as fatty food. Leaving some of the most common fatty food can help you too. Cutting soda out of your diet completely can save the average person 360 calories or more each day. Water or fruit juices can be a better option.

3.Regularly review a card with your personal reasons to be trim, slim.

4.Water...... the magic wand can help you too. Drink two quarts of water daily as it supports your metabolic systems and it helps your skin to shine brightly.

5.Missing meals?-then stop it right now. Never miss meals specially breakfasts. Your body is only loosing carbohydrate and water when it looses weight rapidly. Your body gets indications that it's starving and reduces its metabolic rate which makes it harder for the body to burn fats. After that when one starts eating again then his body starts pilling up fats again.

6.Eat to live. Stop eating as soon as you are full or satisfied .you need not to fill your stomach like balloons to the fullest. Eat slowly as it will help your body to recognize that you have had enough.

7.Watch out what you eat. Learn what foods are high, medium and low calories and try to make your diet chart accordingly.

8.Avoid grease, high calorie oils while cooking. You can always look for some recipes high on nutrition but low on calorie. Reduce intake of sugar, salt, syrup, jam, French fries, potato chips, chocolates, chicken skin.

9.Alcohol has no nutritive value, but its high calorie content. That's why try to reduce your alcohol intake as its good for your health too.

10.Be strong. Try to develop some more interest other than eating as it will reduce the burden of dieting from your head. It will end your crush on that new brand of chocolate.

http://www.women-fitness.org/10-fitness-tips.php

Time Is Money

The Concept of Time Is Money

Time-value-of-money is the simple idea that money grow over time because it earns interest. And because interest earned in one period can earn more in the next, your money will not grow in a straight line. It will grow exponentially!

We call this exponential growth compound interest. Compound interest so inspired Albert Einstein that once said it was the greatest discovery of the 20th century. In a way, he wasn't kidding. The effect of compound interest is impressive.


To see the impact of compounding, look at these two examples:

Example 1

If you compound $1,000 for 20 years at 5% per year, your money will grow to $2,653. If you compound the same amount over 40 years, you will end up with not 5.3 times, but 7 times your original investment (the exact amount is $7,040). That's exponential growth in action!

Example 2

Suppose you compound $1,000 for 40 years at a higher rate of return of, say, 10%. Then, at the end of that period, your wealth will grow to an astonishing $45,259, the result of saving over a long time at a high rate of return.

As you can see, in addition to time, the compounding effect becomes stronger if you are able to invest your money at higher rate of interest.

The bottom line

Compound interest is a wonderful friend to those who develop the saving habit early in their lives. But if you delay, it will constantly remind you of the wealth that you could have had.

" Money For Something" By Dr. Fong Wai Mun & Dr. Chng Lui

Difference Between Stock & Mutual Funds

Investing Stock Or Mutual Funds

Before you invest your money, you need to understand your investment. Should you invest in stock or mutual fund? You should understand the difference between stocks and mutual funds.

Stocks are pieces of corporate pie. When you buy stocks, or shares, you own a slice of the company. For example, if you buy the shares of P&G, you own a slice of P&G.

A mutual funds is a collection of stocks, bonds or other securities owned by a group of investors and managed by a professional investment company. In this case if you buy a particular mutual fund like S&P 500 Index Fund, you are owning a collection of 500 companies in this fund.

Having understand the difference between stocks and mutual funds, you should analyse your ability to tolerate risks when investing. If you risk threshold is low, maybe mutual funds might be more suitable for you. If you understand your investment so well like Warren Buffett, he can buy a particular stock like Coca Cola in terms of billions.

Understanding the difference between them will help in your investment decision.

By Sean Toh

Use Arnold Schwarzenegger To Motivate You

I Use
Arnold Schwarzenegger
As My Motivation

Use a hero you like to motivate you. He can be anyone you look upon as a hero. In my case, I have chosen Arnold as my hero when I was a teenage. Take all the good strengths that you see in someone and help you. Don't be too worry about emulating exactly because you can't. If have one or two of all the strengths that you see in your hero, that is good enough.

You should try to identify your strengths and weaknesses as you are growing up so that capitalize on your strengths and know your limitations from your weaknesses.

Thanks Arnold. Your Visual Images have pushed a lots of people to believe they can achieve.

By Sean Toh

http://www.schwarzenegger.com/en/athlete/mreverything/index.asp?sec=athlete&subsec=mreverything

Boardgame Can be Good For Your Financial Quotient

Start Playing Boardgames With Your Kids

Boardagmes like "Game of life", "PayDay", "Monopoly" and "Cashflow" can be interesting and help increase your financial quotient. Not only do you learn to make mistakes in a simulated environment which might serve as a great learning lessons when the real life incidents happen.

It is also a great way to build good relationship with your kids as well as helping them get ahead later when they grow up. They are not so afraid or make the wrong choice when coming to money matters.

Give it a try with your kids and have great fun learning.

By Sean Toh

Body Shop Massage - Relieve Your Everday Stressess

Simple Solutions For Everyday Stresses

Touch is an instinctive way to heal, connect and soothe. Massage helps you bolster those basic impluses with expert know-how, so you can make your partner - or yourself - feel wonderful.

Massage has been practised throughout most cultures for thousands of years for one simple reason: touch is a powerful healer. Today more than ever, as the stress and strain of our fast-paced lives take their toll on our bodies, relationships and enjoyment of life, caring touch is an absolute necessity. Whether it's structured is in the form of a massage or gentle caress, touch benefits the body, mind and spirit.

Research shows us again that touch measurably improves health and wellbeing. According to studies by the Touch Research Institutes, based at the University of Miami, in Florida, touch can facilitate weight gain in premature babies, reduce stress hormones, combat depressive symptoms, alleviate pain and boost the immune system. In dozens of international studies, researchers have found that massage can help reduce anxiety, slow respiratory and heart rates, soothe tension-related headaches and eyestrain, reduce blood pressure, encourage the production of endorphins, and improve alertness at work.
Different forms of healing touch are practised around the globe, from the familiar gliding movements of Swedish massage to the ancient Eastern traditions of acupressure and reflexology. But at the heart of them all are caring touch and positive intention - whether it's to help relieve pain, to give pleasure or simply to express love.

The power of touch is just so wonderful.

By Aurum Press

http://www.thebodyshopinternational.com/web/tbsgl

Tips For The Week About Money

Planning For Success

As a student, the day you will have to get a job and earn your keep may still seem a long way off. So why should you plan your finances?

The answer is simple. If you don't have a money plan, future goals such as pursuing higher education, owning a home, holidaying overseas or buying a car will be difficult, or impossible, to achieve.

Start planning young.

"Money For Something" By Dr. Fong Wai Mun & Dr. Chng Pheng Lui.

Healthy Habits

Early screening can save you big medical bills in future - and may even save your life

We all know how important it is to look after our health, but when it comes to forking out on expensive health-checks when there's nothing actually wrong. Well, it's easy to see why so many of us end up putting it off for another year or two. After all, with some preventive screenings going into the hundreds for a quick half-hour test, it's a lot of money to spend on a "just in case" cause, right? Wrong. That old excuse won't wash anyone, because there are actually low-cost health screens and test out there; you just need to know where to find them. Remember, many diseases can be treated successfully if detected early, but may cost you your life if detected too late.

"SimplyHer" Singapore August 2005 No.10

Healthy Recipe For The Body

Pancake Recipe From Bodybuilder, Tomm Voss

This pancake recipe contains not only in high in protein but also carbohydrates to give lots of energy to your day. It is easy to prepare and a healtier way to provide good nutrients to your body.

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/nutrition/recipes/1

Two Cents' Worth

More information is not necessarily a good thing

One bias investors have is :

I know better, because I know more. The illusion of knowledge is the tendency for people to believe that the accuracy of their forcasts increases with more information.

Another bias investors have is :

I can make judgement based on what it looks like. Companies that have seen high growth in the previous five years are forecast by analysts to continue to see very high earnings growth in the next five years.

According to James Montier, Global equity strategist Dresdner, Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Sean's Advice - Dare to Dream

Dare to dream and don't underestimate what you can do.

As long as you believe what you can achieve, stay focused and work toward your goals. You need to achieve all the small goals in order to achieve the bigger goal. In the process of achieving your goals, maintain that health is as important as achieveing the rest. Credit Plus Health is all about tying wealth and health hand and hand as you enjoy every moments in your life.

Sean Toh

Learn "Value Investing" from Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett,
An Illustrated Biography
of The World's Most
Successful Investor

Learning from the best investor in this world, Warren Buffett. The king of Value Investing will share his life story in this comics illustrated biography about his successes of investing throughout his life to becomes the second richest man in this world after Bill Gate. Warren Buffett achieved it by being an investor instead of a businessman.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

First and simple book to start to be rich

There are so many books to read in this world. Do we try to read all the books then? Reading the right book can help trigger your thoughts, give you the right mindset to start your journey to be rich. " Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter, C.P.A is an excellent book to start because it influence your mindset to change and let you discover the journey to reach financial freedom.