Engage Mutual’s Over 50s Life Insurance Plan

The over 50s plan from Engage Mutual aims to offer UK residents aged between 50 and 80 years old some reassurance that their loved ones could receive a cash lump sum upon their death. This small nest egg could be used to help your family pay towards the costs of your funeral or outstanding bills, purchase something to cherish and remember you by, or pay towards anything else to help them through this difficult time.

However, it is important to note that Engage Mutual’s over 50s life insurance is not a funeral plan and may not cover the full costs of a funeral. The buying power of the cash lump sum paid out on death will also reduce over time due to inflation.

Premiums for the plan start from £8 per month and range up to £75 per month, depending on the level of cover chosen by the policyholder. The premium chosen by the policyholder is guaranteed to not rise, it is fixed and payments will stop when the policyholder reaches the age of 90 but the cover will continue for life. UK residents between the ages of 50-80 years are eligible to apply and no medical is required. It is possible in some cases for the policyholder to pay more in premiums over the duration of the policy than the amount paid out upon death.

Due to recent changes to the Engage Mutual over 50s life cover plan, new policyholders now also have the option to claim 20% of their life cover if they are diagnosed with a serious illness; or 100% of the life cover if they are diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Policyholders are eligible to receive serious illness benefit and the remaining cover will be reduced by 20% if the serious illness benefit is paid. If the policyholder receives terminal illness benefit, the policy will cease and there will be no payout on death. The serious illness benefit and terminal illness benefit are only available after the policy has been open for 2 years.

Engage Mutual’s Over 50s Life Insurance Plan

Tips for Summer Investing

In the summer heat, many people tend to play fast and loose with their investment portfolios. This is the time in which a savvy investor can step in and make a great deal of money while minimizing risk. The speculative investors will come out of the woodwork here – make sure that you play the market with a steady ear to the street and you will come out ahead.

Here are some of the best tips for summer investing:

1) Read, read, read.

Because there will be much more volume in penny stocks over the summer than during any other point in the year, you want to stay ahead of the game by reading every penny stock newsletter that you can get your hands on. It is information that will make the difference between the investors that come out ahead and those who leave the summer poorer than they began.

When it comes to speculative penny stocks, the only risk that an investor takes is buying into something that he is uninformed of. Make sure not to be one of those investors and you are sure to do well during the summer.

2) Do not make directional bets.

The higher volume of trades that take place during the summer will be your saving grace, not making a bundle on a single trade. The way to make money off of penny stocks in the summer is to play off of all of the directional bets that other people are making.

Take advantage of option strategies and watch for pump and dump behavior from other investors. That he has people thinking that they can make a killing on one trade. Do not make that rookie mistake and you are sure to come out well ahead of many of the amateur portfolios investing in the summer.

3) Make sure that you keep up-to-date on the trends of the market place.

When it comes to penny stocks, companies fall in out-of-favor much more quickly than in other markets. Therefore as you read over your newsletters, you want to make sure that you are focusing your efforts on the top penny stocks for 2012. Remember that past performance of a stock does not correlate at all to its future performance. This notion is definitely one to be considered even more in the penny stock market, and especially during the summertime of fast trades and sensitive investors.

When it comes to making money in the stock markets, you really can’t go wrong with throwing in a few penny stocks – especially if you are a novice in such trades.  Not only do they provide great practice for more costly future investments, but they can also give you great returns.  So instead of simply shying away from the stock markets this summer due to intimidation, consider giving a few penny stocks a try to get your feet wet – the most you have to lose is a few pennies, yet you could easily gain a few hundred dollars.

Tips for Summer Investing

How 0845 Numbers Bring Convenience To A Business

0845 Numbers

0845 numbers are special telephone numbers that are used by businesses in theUKand are known as non-geographic telephone numbers. With 0845 numbers a business is able to provide contacts to its customers without indicating their geographical location. When customers call these numbers they will be redirected to another telephone number be it a landline, mobile or international number. When calling a 0845 number part of the call cost is paid by the recipient. This is known as revenue sharing, something that allows your customers to contact your businesses at cheaper rates.

Businesses that use 0845 numbers

Large retail chain stores use 0845 numbers to make it easier for their customers to contact them. For instance, a large retail company may have several stores throughout a country. Advertising a single number will make it easier for their clients to memorise the contact details. Using a single 0845 number the retail company will be able to route calls according to their origin. So if you call the 0845 number for your favourite retail store, your call will be directed to a local branch near you. This is very good for it reduces the amount of money you spend in making business calls.

The benefits of getting a 0845 number for your business

Getting a 0845 number for your business will allow you to save lots of money from reduced line rentals and call tariffs. Having a 0845 number means you no longer have to rent several lines from different providers so you will be able to maintain a single phone bill. Getting a 0845 number doesn’t mean you will have to change your old contacts, you can still keep using your old numbers and all call will be routed according to your needs. Another advantage of getting a 0845 number for your business is that you will be able to manage your account and all your phone bills over the internet thus making it convenient to continue with your business on the go.

Other benefits of getting a 0845 number

• 0845 numbers make it easier for all your customers to memorise your business contacts.
• You get free access to a call statistics tool. This tool allows you to analyse your business calls so as to determine your business peak period. This tool will also help you optimise your service providing capacity through reduction of missed or unattended calls.
• With 0845 numbers you don’t have to pay a cent for incoming calls within theUK.
• You will be given access to a call management tool which you can sample during a one month free trial period. This tool allows you to redirect calls when lines are busy as well as route calls to mobile phones after office hours.
• With a 0845 number your business doesn’t have to change its telephone contact details even when you decide to relocate to any other part withUK.
• A 0845 number will definitely earn your business some national recognition.

How 0845 Numbers Bring Convenience To A Business

How 0845 Numbers Bring Convenience To A Business

Why 0800 Numbers Cost Less For Businesses

0800 Numbers

For any business to become popular it has to be in constant touch with its customers. A good way to keep customers connected to a business is via a 24 hour phone line service. However, just having a 24 hour phone line service will not guarantee that all your customers will be able to reach you. Phone calls can be very expensive at times, it is therefore important that your customers should not feel the financial pinch when trying to contact your business. That is why it is very important that a business has toll free lines. We are going to look at some of the reasons why 0800 numbers cost less for businesses;

With 0800 numbers your customers won’t have to pay a cent to reach you

If customers are able to contact your business without even having to use a cent, you will be giving your business the opportunity to attract enquiries from all over the place. Attending to enquiries is very important for it lures potential clients thus allowing a business’s client base to grow. One important thing to take note of is that if potential clients know nothing about your business it is very rare they would use their money to try and find out what your business is all about. However with a toll free number, they will enquire and if they like what they hear they surely will do business with you.

0800 numbers give you an edge over your competitors

In business providing technical support whenever needed is very important. With the use of a toll free line your customers will be able to reach you any time when they require assistance. It is very important to know that if customers don’t get the technical support they need they always migrate to other companies. So if you want to attract customers from other businesses you have to make sure your business has a technical support unit that is available 24/7 and on toll free.

You are given the call statistics feature at no extra charge

If you get 0800 numbers for your business you will also be given the call statistics feature which will help you analyse your business calls. This feature can help you determine the time you receive the most calls as well as determine the number of missed calls. This tool will help you much the hours when you need to increase your technical support staff so as to reduce the number of missed calls. With this tool your business operations can be optimized thus giving you more room for expansion and profit generation.

Access to the call management feature

The call management feature allows you to determine call routing. For instance you can have your 0800 number routing all calls to your office during the day and then you can let it route them to your cell phone after working hours. This feature brings convenience to your business allowing you to work and keep making money regardless of your geographical location.

Why 0800 Numbers Cost Less For Businesses

Why 0800 Numbers Cost Less For Businesses

Are Our Mortgage Woes Nearly Over?

The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently lowered interest rates by 0.5% in an attempt to revitalise the struggling housing market. The move comes after a national decline of house prices by 6% over the last year and amid fears that the market will continue to stagnate if measures aren’t taken. However, already in some place the housing market seems to be picking up and, for many of us, we may be saved from some worry over our mortgages by these new cuts.

The RBA’s announced half per cent cut in the cash rate could, according to recent article from News Maker, save some 64,000 Australian mortgage holders considered to be at risk of failing to make repayments. This information was based on the Roy Morgan Single Source of 50,000 Australians. However, for many of us we can only expect a slight reduction in our costs and the truth is that we are relying on the banks to pass on a large percentage of this saving. If they do then it will have a huge effect on those already with mortgages and with those planning to take out a new mortgage.  The question then becomes whether they actually will pass on these savings.

With the standard variable rate cut it seems that many providers will be able to pass on some of the saving to their consumers. However, the recent years have actually seen many lenders profits suffer dramatically and many are voicing concern that the rate reduction will only have a marginal impact on the costs for policy holders. The truth is that lenders have to protect their interests as much as their customers and it looks likely that only a part of this saving will end up being passed on. This is a shame for many mortgage holders who will still struggle to meet all their payment needs. It seems that for some of us our mortgage woes will decrease but for many the situation will remain problematic as it largely depends on how much of the saving your provider is willing to pass on. With that in mind we decided to take a look at tackling your mortgage woes and trying to secure the biggest benefit from these new rates cuts.

One of the first avenues people will look to is refinancing your mortgage with providers likehttp://www.bankwest.com.au/personal/home-loans/home-loans-overview#refinance-your-mortgage. You can change your mortgage policy within a company and between companies in the hopes of attracting a better interest rate and saving money. As we wait to see the cuts take hold it is worth looking at your refinancing options in order to analyse where you can save money. Many people keep their mortgage despite having improved circumstances or despite being able to find lower interest rates elsewhere. If your financial situation has improved since you first took out a policy then it is worth looking into a shorter repayment period and trying to pay off capital in one go. Refinancing is a great way to achieve this and the less risk associated with your policy the more chance you have of securing a better deal. However, if you are at higher risk of failing to make repayments you should still look into the savings that you can make as you may be able to alleviate a significant amount of pressure from your policy. Many companies will offer incentives to switch and many lenders will also allow you introductory rates on a mortgage which will allow you to save money both in the short term and overall.

With these new cuts in rates it is worth re-examining our mortgage policies and trying to find the best deal available.

Are Our Mortgage Woes Nearly Over?

Are Our Mortgage Woes Nearly Over?

Avoid Being Under The Gun Of An IRS Audit – Tax Planning Tips To Avoid Debt

Avoid Being Under The Gun Of An IRS Audit – Tax Planning Tips To Avoid Debt

In the year 2011, the IRS showed its effort to help the struggling taxpayers to get afresh with their tax liabilities. They had the goal of helping the individuals and small businesses meet their tax obligations without adding unnecessary burden to the already hapless taxpayers. Despite the efforts of the IRS to implement changes to the tax filing practices, yet there are many people who are still finding it tough to file their tax returns on time. Who would want to be under the gun of an IRS tax audit? Remember that incurring tax debt is not like any other debt as you may have the government running behind you to recuperate the money. Unlike the private loan institutions, the government will never hesitate before taking a drastic step against you. Before you know the steps to become debt free from all your tax debts, you should take into account some important points about tax planning.

Reduce tax debt, pay back taxes and avert the IRS issues – What steps to take?

As the economy slowly begins to rebound from the shocks of the depression, there are about 30 million Americans who are plagued with some kind of tax issues. Moreover, with the IRS collection efforts on the rise, a large number of Americans are a target of the IRS and they’re desperately looking for some tips to avoid IRS issues. Read on to know about them.

• Hire a CPA for filing tax returns: When you’re making tax returns by filing simply short forms, you may find it convenient filing yourself but problems may creep in when you’re making itemized deductions and you’re oblivious of the tax law changes. A CPA will be able to guide you throughout the process and most tax preparers won’t accept any kind of liability if an audit is declared.
• Keep scrupulous records: The better and smoother will be the process when you ensure keeping a meticulous record of every required document. For filing regular individual returns, you’ll require the W2 forms, bank records and mortgage records and if you’re a small business organization, you may need every detail that goes and comes in the form of your monthly income.
• Report your income accurately: Any money that comes in a particular month should be recorded on your tax return. Though some of it may not be subject to tax, yet you should report them. Don’t even leave out alimony payments and lottery winning amounts.
• File promptly: The most common reason for incurring huge amount of tax debt is that people are not serious about filing their tax returns. If you can plan your taxes well, this should allow the date your taxes need to be in. File as early as you can so that you can file the supplementary form in case there are mistakes.

Tax debt repayment methods – Options to resort to when your efforts are futile

Even though you smartly follow the above mentioned points to stay off the IRS gun, there are people who may still incur debt. What are their options? Have a look.

• The various installment methods: You can either take resort to the guaranteed installment agreement option, streamlined installment agreement option or the partial payment installment option. However, you need to owe an amount of maximum $10,000 and $25,000 respectively to qualify for the first two options. And when you still can’t make payments within your budget, you may opt for the last option. Such installment options helps you revise and relax the repayment structure and helps you avoid debt.
• Offer in Compromise: Just as you settle your credit card debts for an amount that is less than what you owe, you may also settle your tax debts by opting for the OIC. The IRS will consider your income, ability to pay back, your expenses and your asset equity before deciding your fate.

Tax arrears can often keep you awake at night as the IRS will be haunting you for repayment of the money. Take into account the tax planning tips and avoid tax debt to lead a simple debt free life.

Avoid Being Under The Gun Of An IRS Audit – Tax Planning Tips To Avoid Debt