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Apache is functioning normally

May 27, 2023 by Brett Tams

One of the best strategies for ensuring that loved ones will be able to carry on financially in case of the unexpected is to purchase a good, solid life insurance policy. This is because the proceeds that are received through life insurance – which is income tax-free to beneficiaries – can be used for continuing to pay living expenses or to pay off large debts. It can also be used for paying for the funeral and other final expenses of the insured. That way, loved ones will not have to go into debt – especially at an already difficult time in their lives.

When buying life insurance, it is important to consider several criteria. These include the type and the amount of coverage that you are purchasing. This is because you do not want your loved ones to have too little protection.

It is also essential to know that the insurance carrier you are purchasing the coverage from is strong and stable from a financial standpoint. That is so that you can better ensure that the company will be able to pay out its promised policy proceeds if or when the time should come. One company that made our honorable mention for best life insurance companies in the US and many individuals buy life insurance coverage from is Americo Life Insurance Company.

The History of Americo Life Insurance Company

Americo Life Insurance Company has been in the business of offering life insurance and other coverage products for more than 100 years. The growth of the Americo family of companies has built primarily on the successful acquisition of more than 15 insurance entities – each having its specific advantages.

The company has also won other accolades and has been the first insurer in a myriad of different events. For example, in 1922, a predecessor of Americo, Great Southern Life – which was initially founded back in 1909, became the first company in the United States to insure the lives of children.

In 1971, another predecessor of Americo Life Insurance Company, Ohio State Life, was the first insurer to advance death benefit payments to sustain the life of a policyholder. Likewise, in 1981, Great Southern Life led the way as one of the very first insurers in the U.S. to offer universal life insurance coverage – and more recently, Americo was also one of the very first to offer indexed universal life and annuity products.

Americo Life Insurance Company Review

Today, Americo Life Insurance Company has more than 659,000 insurance policies in force. The company has more than $6 billion in total assets, and the company’s statutory premiums have increased substantially over the years. Americo has more than $32.7 billion of just life insurance in force.

Americo is very competitive in the life insurance market – and the carrier maintains a high quality, liquid investment portfolio that consists of more than 95 percent investment grade bonds in its fixed income investments.

Personalized and trusted service is the cornerstone of Americo Life Insurance Company’s business. The company is considered to be progressive in its thinking, and it is highly solutions-oriented.

The company is one of the largest independent and privately held insurance groups in the U.S. Americo is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and it serves it sales force via more than 350 company associates.

Insurer Ratings and BBB Grade

Due to its safe, yet liquid, portfolio, Americo Life Insurance Company has been given a rating of A (Excellent) from A.M. Best Company. This rating is the third highest possible rating on an overall scale of 15 total ratings.

Although Americo Life Insurance Company is not an accredited company through the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the company has been given a grade of C. This is on an overall grading scale of A+ to F.

Over the past three years, the company has closed out a total of 19 customer complaints via the Better Business Bureau. (Twelve of these 19 complaints have been closed out over the past 12 months). Of the 19 complaints, 12 had to do with problems with the company’s products or services. Another six were in relation to billing or collection issues, and one was in regard to delivery issues.

Life Insurance Products Offered Through Americo

At Americo Life Insurance Company, there are many different life insurance plans to choose from. This variety is beneficial in helping clients to more closely plan for their anticipated needs. Americo offers term and permanent life insurance protection.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance coverage provides pure life insurance protection only, without any cash value or savings build up in the policy. Because of this, term life insurance is often quite affordable – even for a large amount of death benefit coverage.

With term life insurance, the coverage is purchased for a certain amount of time – or “term” – such as for five years, ten years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, or even for 30 years. During this term of coverage, the premium will typically remain the same over time, and the amount of the death benefit will remain level.

Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance offers both life insurance protection and cash value. The funds that are in the cash-value component of the policy are allowed to grow on a tax-deferred basis, meaning that there will be on tax due on this growth unless or until the money is withdrawn.

The funds that are in the cash value component of a permanent life insurance policy may be withdrawn or borrowed by the policyholder for any reason that they see fit – including the payoff of debts, the supplementing of retirement income, or even for taking a nice vacation.

There can be many different types of permanent life insurance coverage. These include:

Whole Life Insurance – Whole life insurance offers a fixed amount of death benefit coverage, as well as a fixed premium that is typically locked in throughout the entire life of the policy. Whole life insurance is meant to be kept for an individual entire lifetime, or the “whole” of one’s life. The cash value that is in the cash component of the policy is able to grow via a fixed and guaranteed rate that is set by the issuing insurance company. In some instances, the insurance company will pay dividends to the policyholder of whole life insurance – although these are not guaranteed. A dividend may be taken as cash, or alternatively, it could be used to purchase additional insurance coverage or to add to the cash component.
Universal Life Insurance – Universal life insurance also offers death benefit coverage, along with a cash value component. In this case, however, universal life insurance is considered to be more flexible than whole life coverage. One reason for this is because a universal life insurance policyholder can – within certain guidelines – determine how much of his or her policy premium will go towards paying for the death benefit, and how much will go towards the cash value. Also, the timing of when the premium is due with a universal life insurance policy may also be altered to better fit with a policy holder’s changing needs.
Indexed Universal Life Insurance – Over the past several years, indexed universal life insurance has become a more popular product. That is because this type of coverage can be beneficial both for its life insurance coverage, but also for the opportunity that it provides for both growing and protecting funds. In this case, the return on the cash value in an indexed universal life insurance policy is based upon the performance of an underlying market index, such as the S&P 500. If the underlying index performs well during a given time period, the cash value will be credited – up to a certain cap. However, if the underlying index performs poorly in a given period, the cash value’s return for that time will simply be credited with a 0 percent. So, while there is no gain, there is also no loss for that time. Many who are savings for retirement can benefit from this ability to grow, yet still protect their funds.

The company’s specially designed life insurance products offer unique benefits, and there are simplified issue products available. This means that an applicant for coverage may not be required to take a medical examination as a requirement for policy approval. Because of that, there may be a better chance of someone qualifying for the life insurance coverage that they need – even in the event that they already have an adverse health condition.

The face amount of coverage on most of the life insurance policies that are offered by Americo Life Insurance Company can range between $25,000 and $400,000.

Final Expense Coverage

While all individuals and families may have differing needs, most people will have at least some amount of final expenses. Americo Life Insurance Company offers a series of whole life insurance products that are designed for helping to cover the costs that are associated with funeral and burial expenses, as well as uninsured medical bills and other financial obligations that one’s loved ones may face.

These policies can offer face amounts that range from $2,000 to $30,000. There are both fully underwritten and simplified issue policies – and, those who smoke cigars or pipes, as well as smokeless tobacco, could qualify for a non-smoker premium rate.

Mortgage Protection Coverage

One of an individual or a couple’s biggest expenses in life is their home mortgage.

Therefore, if an income earner passes away unexpectedly, this could mean that his or her survivors would no longer be able to pay the mortgage – and in turn, be forced to move from their home. This occurrence can be made even more difficult, as the family is already facing pain.

With mortgage protection coverage, should the unthinkable occur, this policy will pay out an amount that can pay off the survivors’ mortgage balance. Americo Life Insurance Company offers mortgage protection policies with face amounts of between $25,000 and $400,000.

There is no proof of mortgage required, and depending on the policy that is chosen, the applicant for this coverage may not even be required to undergo a medical exam. There are also some optional riders available that can allow policy holders to customize their coverage to better fit with their specific needs.

Other Products Offered By Americo Life Insurance Company

In addition to life insurance protection, Americo Life Insurance Company also offers a wide range of other products that can help its customers to grow and protect their wealth. These products include the following:

Medicare Supplement insurance – While Medicare Part A and Part B offer a long list of coverages, there are also many out-of-pocket expenses that are associated with Medicare coverage, such as co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles. Having a Medicare Supplement insurance plan can help with covering some of the costs. There are several different Medicare Supplement plans to choose from – including a basic set of core benefits, as well as more comprehensive coverage.
Retirement Annuities – A retirement annuity can help individuals and couples to save in a tax-advantaged manner for the future, as well as to lock in an ongoing retirement income that can last throughout the remainder of their life – regardless of how long that may be.

How to Get the Best Life Insurance Premium Quotes

When seeking the best life insurance quotes, it is recommended that you work with an independent insurance brokerage. If you are shopping for life insurance coverage, we can help. We work with many of the top life insurers in the industry. If you are ready to compare, then just take a moment to fill out the quote from on this page.

Source: goodfinancialcents.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 26, 2023 by Brett Tams

Supplemental income is money that is earned above and beyond a person’s “regular” income, which, for most people, is earned through working a job.

Supplemental income could include income earned through a side hustle, or it could include money from a regular job that is extra: bonuses, overtime pay, tips, commissions, and so forth.

For many people, supplemental income can amount to “extra” money beyond what’s needed to cover their regular expenses. And there are some smart ways to handle that extra income, which may help people reach their financial goals sooner.

What Is Supplemental Income

As noted, supplemental income is money that is earned or otherwise accumulated beyond a typical income stream, like a paycheck. That can include bonuses or tips earned while working a job, too.

Supplemental income can also be earned in the form of a commission, by accumulating dividends on investments, or even by working a second job or side hustle.

There are numerous ways to tap into supplemental income streams, though that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily easy. You should also know that there are generally two types of supplemental income: Active, and passive.

• Active income: This is often defined as trading time for money. The person puts in time, whether that’s through taking photographs for websites or walking dogs, and is paid for their services in exchange. It’s a typical job, in other words.

• Passive income: This kind of work involves little to no active investment in time once the gig is established. It could involve selling an uploaded ebook or affiliate marketing, as two examples.

For many people, a side hustle or second job is likely the quickest route to earning supplemental income. But there are government programs out there, too, that can help those in need, like the Supplemental Security Income program (SSI).

A Note About Supplemental Security Income

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a program administered by the Social Security Administration. SSI provides payments to people over the age of 65 who have a disability, including being blind or deaf. To qualify for Supplemental Security Income, people must also have limited financial resources, in addition to meeting the age and disability requirements. The purpose of the program is to help people meet their basic needs.

As the program is designed to help people meet their basic needs, some of the suggestions for handling supplemental income may not be applicable to those earning SSI benefits.That’s because those who do receive those benefits likely won’t have much room in their budget for additional spending, or the need to find ways to deploy that additional income — they’ll need it to cover their basic expenses.

Launching a Side Hustle

When choosing a side hustle or second job, it makes sense to pick one of interest to you; or, even better, one that inspires passion. This can help to prevent boredom and make it more likely that time and energy will continue to be invested in this income-generating activity. What hobbies, for example, can be monetized? Blogging? Making crafts or designing websites?

Ask yourself further questions: How much time can be invested in this side hustle? Can the required time ebb and flow as demands at the main job fluctuate? What resources are available to get started? And, perhaps most importantly, what’s the estimated earning potential?

Having a second job or side hustle isn’t terribly uncommon these days, as many people either need the extra money to make ends meet, or are looking for ways to pad their earnings to add to their savings or investment accounts.

One benefit of side hustles that are based on passive income is that, although work typically needs done up front to establish the side hustle, it shouldn’t need ongoing active involvement. And whether you’re renting out a room in your house, monetizing a blog, or writing ebooks to earn supplemental income, it’s important to keep some things in mind as you start to see that income roll in.

Tips for Using Your Extra Income

1. First, Manage Your Income Taxes

When working for an employer, relevant income taxes are typically withdrawn from each paycheck but, with a side hustle (one that doesn’t involve working for an employer and receiving a paycheck, that is), the worker is responsible for paying federal taxes, FICA, Medicare tax, and any state and local taxes on net income.

That’s because a “hustle” or “gig” is typically a form of self-employment. To help, the IRS has created a Gig Economy Tax Center with plenty of resources and pieces of important information, including that income taxes must be paid on side gig income of $400 or more annually.

Those earning money from a side gig may also need to pay estimated quarterly taxes. The deadline for these payments are:

• April 15 for payment period January 1–March 31

• June 15 for payment period April 1–May 31

• September 15 for payment period June 1–August 31

• January 15 for payment period September 1–December 31

At the tax-filing deadline, (typically mid-April), a Schedule C usually needs to be filed for people earning money in a self-employed side gig — and, when earning supplemental income, it’s important to deposit enough in a bank account so that funds don’t fall short when tax returns need to be filed. What’s left over after taxes are planned for can be spent in a variety of ways, some ideas might include:

• Paying off “bad” debt.

• Establishing an emergency savings account.

• Saving and investing.

• Enjoying some discretionary spending.

2. Paying Off “Bad” Debt

Bad debt can be defined, in general, as debt you acquire that results in a net loss. For example, going into debt for a vacation, a big party, clothes and/or gadgets doesn’t add to your net worth. Going into debt for your education or home may gradually add to your net worth in the future.

Bad debt can also refer to loan or lines of credit with higher interest rates, and which are harder to pay off as a result. Supplemental income can be used to pay this debt down or off.

Debt management plans to pay off debt include the snowball or avalanche methods — and a combo of the two, the fireball method. Different strategies work better for different people, so it can be worth experimenting with them to make the best choice.

With the snowball method, list bad debts by the amount owed, from the smallest to the highest. Include credit card debts, personal loans, and so forth. Then, make the minimum payment on each but put extra funds on the one with the smallest balance to get it paid off. Once that balance is zero, home in on the debt with the second smallest balance and keep using this strategy until all bad debt is paid off. Avoid using credit cards during this time.

With the avalanche method, list bad debt in order of its interest rate, from highest to lowest. Make minimum payments on all of them and put extra funds on the one with the highest rate. Pay it off and then move to the next highest rate, and so forth.

With the fireball method, take “bad” debt with interest rates of 7% or more and then list them from smallest to largest. Make the minimum payment on all and then put excess on the smallest of the “bad” debts. Rinse and repeat.

3. Establishing an Emergency Savings Account

Another smart idea is to put supplemental income into an emergency savings account. This can be accomplished in conjunction with a debt payment plan (put half of the excess funds into an emergency account and use the other half to pay down bad debt, for example) or as a single focused goal.

Funds in this account are intended for use if a financial emergency occurs. This can be a leaky roof that requires immediate attention, a significant car repair, or unexpected medical bills. Having a robust emergency fund can help to prevent the need to rely on credit cards to address unanticipated expenses.

It is commonly suggested that emergency savings accounts should contain 3-6 months’ worth of expenses. So, add those monthly bills up and multiply by three — and also by four, five, and six. This gives a range of the rainy-day fund’s goal.

4. Saving and Investing

You could save or invest your extra money! This can include saving for personal goals, from a down payment on a house to a vacation fund, and or for retirement. What’s important is to prioritize how it makes sense to use extra money being earned and then save and invest to help meet those goals. How you save or invest that money would be up to you, but you could look at some common investment choices including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and alternative investments, and more.

5. Enjoy Some Discretionary Spending

Once the financial “need-to” items are checked off the list, it can be okay to use some supplemental income to have fun. You could update your wardrobe, buy a new video game, take in a movie, or even go out to a nice dinner. If it’s within your budget parameters, treating yourself every now and then can be a nice thing to do.

Plus, getting a taste of the finer things may help keep you motivated to make sure your spending stays in check and that you stick to your budget going forward.

The Takeaway

Supplemental income is extra income earned beyond your primary income stream, and finding ways to drive supplemental or secondary income can help you reach your financial goals sooner. It can also help you free up some room in your budget to potentially treat yourself every now and then.

You can also put that extra money to work, by saving it and earning interest, or investing it for the future.

Ready to use extra funds to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an Active Invest account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).

For a limited time, opening and funding an account gives you the opportunity to win up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.

SoFi Invest®
The information provided is not meant to provide investment or financial advice. Also, past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Investment decisions should be based on an individual’s specific financial needs, goals, and risk profile. SoFi can’t guarantee future financial performance. Advisory services offered through SoFi Wealth, LLC. SoFi Securities, LLC, member FINRA / SIPC . SoFi Invest refers to the three investment and trading platforms operated by Social Finance, Inc. and its affiliates (described below). Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of the platforms below.
1) Automated Investing—The Automated Investing platform is owned by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor (“Sofi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC, an affiliated SEC registered broker dealer and member FINRA/SIPC, (“Sofi Securities).

2) Active Investing—The Active Investing platform is owned by SoFi Securities LLC. Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.

3) Cryptocurrency is offered by SoFi Digital Assets, LLC, a FinCEN registered Money Service Business.

For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above, including state licensure of Sofi Digital Assets, LLC, please visit www.sofi.com/legal.
Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform. Information related to lending products contained herein should not be construed as an offer or prequalification for any loan product offered by SoFi Bank, N.A.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
Tax Information: This article provides general background information only and is not intended to serve as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for legal counsel. You should consult your own attorney and/or tax advisor if you have a question requiring legal or tax advice.
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Source: sofi.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 26, 2023 by Brett Tams

Written by

Reviewed by

Updated Mar 09, 2023

At Bankrate, we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. To help readers understand how insurance affects their finances, we have licensed insurance professionals on staff who have spent a combined 47 years in the auto, home and life insurance industries. While we adhere to strict
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At a glance

3.5

Bankrate Score

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Auto

3.8

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Cost & ratings

4.0

Coverage

3.5

Support

3.5

Home

3.1

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Cost & ratings

2.8

Coverage

4.0

Support

2.3

Bottom Line

If you live in Erie’s 12-state service area, the company could be a great choice for robust coverage and affordable premiums. Erie’s digital tools are lacking compared to its competitors, though, so it may not be the best choice for tech-focused customers.

Affordable average premiums for both homeowners and car insurance policies compared to the national average
Strong customer satisfaction rankings from J.D. Power
Erie’s home insurance offers guaranteed replacement for dwelling coverage in most states

Erie auto and home insurance is only available in 12 states and Washington D.C.
No usage-based auto insurance program available
Only a few homeowners endorsements available

Answer a few questions to see personalized rates from top carriers

Info

What’s new with Erie?

In August 2022, Erie Insurance established Erie Strategic Ventures to help fund entrepreneurs who create innovative products and services for customers and Erie’s independent agents. The company also recently announced the addition of optional extended water coverage for homeowners policies.

Erie car insurance

Founded in 1925, Erie Insurance Group started in Pennsylvania but has since expanded to 12 states and Washington D.C. The company offers coverage options that may be difficult to find among its competitors. Its standard auto insurance policies feature a diminishing deductible, first accident forgiveness for eligible policyholders and Erie Rate Lock, depending on the state. Additional coverage options include roadside assistance, auto glass repair and personal item coverage.

Erie car insurance earned a Bankrate Score of 3.8 out of 5. This Score reflects the company’s coverage options, financial strength, customer satisfaction and available discounts. Erie lost points due to its regional availability and limited digital tools (for example, the mobile app doesn’t have a claims filing option). Erie earned an A+ (Superior) AM Best financial strength rating and placed third in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study.

Pros and cons of Erie car insurance

Erie’s coverage options and customer satisfaction scores make it one of the best car insurance companies in states where it writes policies. Comparing pros and cons of Erie auto insurance may help you decide if the company could be a good fit for your needs.

PROS

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Roadside assistance and rental car reimbursement available
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Erie Rate Lock may help keep rates stable over time
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Auto policies include pet coverage

CONS

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Available in just 12 states and the District of Columbia
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No telematics or usage-based insurance program available
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Mobile app does not enable policyholders to file a claim from their mobile devices

Erie car insurance cost

Erie is one of the cheapest car insurance companies based on our research of average premiums analyzed from Quadrant Information Services. Erie’s full coverage car insurance costs an average of $1,356 per year, while minimum coverage averages $486 per year.

Comparatively, the national average cost of car insurance for both coverage levels is higher, at $2,014 per year for full coverage and $622 per year for minimum coverage. Actual rates may vary based on car insurance rating factors, but the premium data below may be a useful comparison tool.

Erie car insurance rates by driving history

Bankrate bases the following average rates on data provided by Quadrant Information Services. This may not represent the price you will pay for car insurance. We do not include average rates for drivers with a history of driving under the influence (DUI) because some insurers may not write policies for motorists with a DUI conviction. If you have a DUI conviction, you may contact your insurance agent to find out how it could impact your car insurance premium.

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	Erie average monthly full coverage premium	Erie average annual full coverage premium	National average annual full coverage premium
Clean driving history	$113	$1,356	$2,014
Speeding ticket conviction	$123	$1,476	$2,427
At-fault accident	$134	$1,607	$2,854

	Erie average monthly minimum coverage premium	Erie average annual minimum coverage premium	National average annual minimum coverage premium
Clean driving history	$41	$486	$622
Speeding ticket conviction	$44	$527	$748
At-fault accident	$49	$592	$892

Erie car insurance quotes by age

Young drivers typically pay some of the highest average car insurance rates. Teens and other young drivers may save by remaining on their parents’ auto insurance policy until they’ve established their own households. The following average rates are based on a motorist on their parents’ policy with a clean driving record, as well as drivers listed on their own policies.

Average cost of car insurance for drivers on their parent’s policy

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	Erie average monthly full coverage premium	Erie average annual full coverage premium	National average annual full coverage premium
Age 16	$240	$2,876	$4,392
Age 17	$225	$2,700	$4,102
Age 18	$219	$2,630	$3,837
Age 19	$209	$2,512	$3,345
Age 20	$205	$2,456	$3,149

	Erie average monthly minimum coverage premium	Erie average annual minimum coverage premium	National average annual minimum coverage premium
Age 16	$86	$1,035	$1,470
Age 17	$81	$970	$1,362
Age 18	$79	$944	$1,261
Age 19	$74	$892	$1,070
Age 20	$73	$876	$995

Average cost of car insurance for drivers on their own policy

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	Erie average monthly full coverage premium	Erie average annual full coverage premium	National average annual full coverage premium
Age 18	$249	$2,988	$6,110
Age 25	$136	$1,630	$2,473
Age 30	$122	$1,461	$2,125
Age 40	$113	$1,356	$2,014
Age 60	$107	$1,279	$1,824

	Erie average monthly minimum coverage premium	Erie average annual minimum coverage premium	National average annual minimum coverage premium
Age 18	$90	$1,081	$1,967
Age 25	$48	$579	$747
Age 30	$43	$520	$647
Age 40	$41	$486	$622
Age 60	$39	$462	$578

Erie car tools and benefits

Erie extends a coverage option for non-owned autos including cars, moving vans and trailers that you use but do not own. This may be ideal for Erie drivers who do not own a vehicle but do drive on occasion.

Erie also sells boat, class car and motorcycle insurance, along with coverage for ATVs, golf carts and snowmobiles.

Erie home insurance

Erie home insurance receives high customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power as well as 24/7 support for policyholders and a variety of coverage options. Erie offers guaranteed replacement cost coverage as part of its standard homeowners policies as well as additional living expenses.

Although Erie does not allow policyholders to file a claim through their mobile app, the company has more than 13,000 local agents and advertises a 90 percent customer retention rate year over year.

Pros and cons of Erie homeowners insurance

If you’re considering Erie for your homeowners insurance needs, it may be helpful to compare perks and drawbacks you may experience with the carrier. Here are a few of the key pros and cons Bankrate’s editorial team identified:

PROS

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Guaranteed dwelling replacement cost coverage included in standard homeowners policies
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Ranked 7th in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Home Insurance Study
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Standard home insurance policies include up to $500 in pet coverage

CONS

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Only a few discounts available
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Few optional coverages available
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Not available in all states

Dwelling coverage limit	Erie average annual premium	National average annual premium
$150,000	$659	$975
$250,000	$957	$1,428
$350,000	$1,269	$1,879
$450,000	$1,601	$2,343
$750,000	$2,597	$3,761

Erie home insurance discounts

Home insurance discounts may help you save on your premium. Advertised home insurance discounts with Erie include:

Erie home tools and benefits

Erie’s home insurance coverage comes with unique options not found with other carriers. Its home insurance pet coverage extends coverage to up to $500 for animals, including birds and fish.

Erie offers gift card and gift certificate reimbursement coverage for its ErieSecure Home policies. Customers may receive reimbursement for up to $250 per gift card purchased from businesses within 100 miles of their home, with a maximum of $500 per policy period.

Erie life insurance

Erie offers four life insurance products: term life, whole life, universal life and Erie’s exclusive ERIExpress Life. Erie’s term life insurance may be a good option for those who want a fixed coverage term and intend for the policy to pay for expenses that may be burdensome to loved ones, such as funeral costs and mortgage or credit card debt. Whole and universal life have no fixed terms, but universal life offers the most flexible death benefit. Erie’s unique ERIExpress Life policy may be ideal for people looking for a simplified application and fast approval.

Pros and cons of Erie life insurance

The best life insurance company may be different for everyone, and each policy type serves a different purpose. The following pros and cons may help you decide if Erie life insurance is right for you.

PROS

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Multi-policy discounts available for policyholders with a life and home or auto policy.
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ERIExpress may be available without a medical exam.
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Variety of policy types to choose from

CONS

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Only one rider advertised to customize coverage.
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Online quoting is not available
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Only writes policies in 12 states and the District of Columbia

Erie life insurance endorsements

Life insurance endorsements, also called riders, may modify and extend your life insurance coverage. Erie’s life insurance coverage only offers one rider, a long-term care rider. Erie’s long-term care rider is only available for universal and whole life insurance policies. The long-term care rider provides an accelerated death benefit, which pays a portion of your policy’s death benefit to help pay medical expenses incurred following a covered accident or illness that requires long-term care.

Erie life tools and benefits

Erie provides a life insurance calculator on its website to help customers decide which type of policy may best fit their needs. From there, customers can request to be paired with an independent Erie agent to get a quote.

Erie customer satisfaction

Researching third-party ratings may help you decide which insurer best fits your needs. J.D. Power produces annual car insurance and home insurance studies that rate and rank insurers based on their customer satisfaction. These include the national U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study and more regional U.S. Auto Insurance Study.

Agencies such as AM Best, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s analyze the financial strength of insurers and produce ratings that may indicate the financial strength of individual companies. Erie has earned an A+ (Superior) AM Best financial strength rating.

Lastly, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) produces an annual complaint index report to track the prevalence of complaints lodged against insurance companies. The index employs a baseline of 1.0. Scores below 1.0 indicate that a provider had fewer complaints than expected for a company its size and vice versa.

Erie auto satisfaction

In J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, Erie ranked third in the market, with an overall customer satisfaction score of 893 out of 1,000. More regionally, Erie came in first for overall customer satisfaction in the mid-Atlantic and North Central regions. Erie has an NAIC Complaint Index of 0.56 for its private passenger policies, indicating fewer customer complaints than expected for a company its size.

Erie homeowners satisfaction

Erie ranked above average in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Home Insurance Study, earning an overall customer satisfaction score of 827 out of 1,000. Erie’s homeowner policies have an impressive NAIC Complaint Index of 0.09, indicating very few complaints from policyholders.

Erie life satisfaction

Erie wasn’t rated in the annual life insurance study conducted by J.D. Power, potentially due to the company’s small size when compared to national life insurance carriers. However, the Erie Family Life company, which underwrites Erie’s life insurance products, has an NAIC Complaint Index of 0.46, which is less than half of the 1.00 baseline. Based on this data, Erie’s life insurance customers may be satisfied with the service they receive, since fewer-than-average complaints were filed.

How to file a claim with Erie

Erie gives auto and home insurance policyholders two ways to file a claim. They can contact their Erie agent or call the 24/7 claims center at 800-367-3743. Life insurance customers can file a claim by contacting their Erie agent or by calling 800-458-0811.

Erie availability

Erie writes car and home insurance policies in the District of Columbia and the following states:

Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maryland
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Erie sells life insurance in the District of Columbia and all of the aforementioned states, except New York.

Other Erie perks worth considering

Erie also offers business insurance including business automobile insurance. Business policies may protect a variety of businesses, including breweries, contractors, religious organizations, retailers and veterinarians.

Erie also offers a long list of other insurance and financial products for customers, including:

Financial services: Erie offers Medicare supplemental coverage (Medigap) and retirement accounts, including annuities and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
Renters, condo and mobile home insurance: Erie offers a variety of insurance policies for other dwellings and living situations.
Flood insurance: Erie sells standalone flood insurance policies for homeowners and business owners.
Personal valuables insurance: This coverage may be purchased to financially protect jewelry, art, sports equipment, collections, musical instruments and more.

Erie corporate sustainability

Through The Giving Network, Erie and its employees volunteer time and money with organizations focussed on community building, environmental responsibility and safety. These initiatives include partnering with United Way and American Red Cross, as well as supporting other culture and arts organizations, entrepreneurship, education and environmental responsibility. In November 2022, the provider’s The Giving Network awarded $50,000 in grants to 10 northwest Pennsylvania environmental organizations.

With the company’s ERIE Service Corps, employees are encouraged to use a full work-day volunteering in their local community. The Corps also has a matching donation program and established the H.O. Hirt Scholarship Fund and the F.W. Hirt Employee Emergency Fund to more immediately meet the financial needs of their community.

Not sure if Erie is right for you?

Erie offers a variety of auto, home and life insurance products, but it does not write policies in all states. If you live outside Erie’s service area or need an insurer that offers a more diverse portfolio of products, you might consider one of these carriers:

Erie vs. Allstate

Allstate sells car and homeowners policies in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all states except New Jersey. While Erie extends a multi-policy discount to policyholders, Allstate offers more ways to potentially reduce your premium. For instance, if you switch to Allstate, you might earn up to a 10 percent discount, plus an additional 10 percent savings each time you renew your policy. Allstate also offers a robust mobile app that allows policyholders to file claims virtually.

Learn more: Allstate insurance review

Erie vs. Travelers

Unlike Erie, Travelers offers optional rideshare coverage and gap insurance. Travelers extends many potential home insurance discounts including potential discounts for purchasing a new home and owning a LEED-certified green home. However, Travelers ranks lower than Erie in the 2022 U.S. Home Insurance Study and does not sell life insurance products.

Learn more: Travelers Insurance review

Erie vs. AAA

AAA Life Insurance Company sells term life, universal life and whole life insurance policies. AAA’s traditional term life policies offer coverage up to $5 million and give you the option to add a child term endorsement, which provides up to $20,000 in coverage for each eligible child. AAA’s roadside assistance program is robust and enables you to request battery, flat tire, emergency fuel delivery, locksmith, mechanical first aid and towing services from the convenience of the AAA mobile app. Bear in mind that AAA coverages, discounts and optional coverages may vary by location.

Learn more: AAA insurance review

Is Erie a good insurance company?

Erie has excellent financial strength ratings and earned high marks in J.D. Power’s customer and claims satisfaction studies. Additionally, the provider has NAIC Complaint Indexes that are far lower than baseline.

While Erie includes some perks in its standard auto insurance policies, like roadside assistance and rental car reimbursement, the carrier falls behind in the market by not offering a comprehensive mobile app or telematics program.

Erie’s standard homeowners policies feature guaranteed dwelling replacement cost coverage, which most insurers only offer as an endorsement, but they extend few optional coverages and discounts. Overall, Erie offers a solid portfolio of auto, home and life insurance products, but the provider only writes policies in a handful of states.

Clock Wait

years of industry expertise

122

carriers reviewed

20.7K

ZIP codes examined

Dollar Coin

1.2M

quotes analyzed

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze 2023 rates for ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region. Quoted rates are based on 40-year-old male and female homeowners with a clean claim history, good credit and the following coverage limits:

Auto

$100,000 bodily injury liability per person
$300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$50,000 property damage liability per accident
$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
$500 collision deductible
$500 comprehensive deductible

To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state’s requirements. Our sample drivers own a 2021 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

Age: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the ages 16-60 (base: 40 years) applied. Depending on age, drivers may be a renter or homeowner. Age is not a contributing rating factor in Hawaii and Massachusetts.

The rates for drivers ages 16–20 added to their parent’s policy reflect the good student and driver’s training discounts applied. The rates for drivers aged 16-20 on their own policy do not include the good student and driver’s training discounts. Additionally, 25-year-old rates are based on the driver as a renter and 30+ on the driver as a homeowner.

Incidents: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the following incidents applied: clean record (base), single speeding ticket and single at-fault accident.

Homeowners

Coverage A, Dwelling: $150,000, $250,000, $350,000, $450,000, $750,000
Coverage B, Other Structures: $15,000, $25,000, $35,000, $45,000, $75,000
Coverage C, Personal Property: $75,000, $125,000, $175,000, $225,000, $375,000
Coverage D, Loss of Use: $30,000, $50,000, $70,000, $90,000, $150,000
Coverage E, Liability: $300,000, $300,000, $300,000, $300,000, $500,000
Coverage F, Medical Payments: $1,000

The homeowners also have a $1,000 deductible and a separate wind and hail deductible (if required).

These are sample rates and should be used for comparative purposes only. Your quotes will differ.

Bankrate Scores

Our 2023 Bankrate Score considers variables our insurance editorial team determined impacts policyholders’ experiences with an insurance company. These rating factors include a robust assessment of each company’s product availability, financial strength ratings, online capabilities and customer and claims support accessibility. Each factor was added to a category, and these categories were weighted in a tiered approach to analyze how companies perform in key customer-impacting categories.

Like our previous Bankrate Scores, each category was assigned a metric to determine performance, and the weighted sum adds up to a company’s total Bankrate Score — out of 5 points. This year, our 2023 scoring model provides a more comprehensive view, indicating when companies excel across several key areas and better highlighting where they fall short.

Tier 1 (Cost & ratings): To determine how well auto and home insurance companies satisfy these priorities, 2023 quoted premiums from Quadrant Information Services (if available), as well as any of the latest third-party agency ratings from J.D. Power, AM Best and the NAIC, were analyzed.
Tier 2 (Coverage & savings): We assessed companies’ coverage options and availability to help policyholders find a provider that balances cost with coverage. Additionally, we evaluated each company’s discount options listed on its website.
Tier 3 (Support): To encompass the many ways an auto and home insurance company can support policyholders, we analyzed avenues of customer accessibility along with community support. This analysis incorporated additional financial strength ratings from S&P and Moody’s and factored a company’s corporate sustainability efforts.

Tier scores are unweighted to show the company’s true score in each category out of a possible five points.

Source: thesimpledollar.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 25, 2023 by Brett Tams

Are you wondering about how much you’re going to need saved for when you retire?

It’s a common question that a lot of people have, young and old. Some of the more common variations that I get on this question are, What is the amount of income that I’m going to need in retirement? or, How do I figure out what my retirement income needs are going to be?

It’s a tough question, but the toughest part about answering it is that there is no clear cut answer. There is no universal formula, some general mathematical rule of thumb, or some magic number that you need.

Your retirement income needed all depends on your unique situation.

And that is what makes financial planning an ongoing process. It’s not just a one time, quick, snap-shot solution where, “Okay, bam! This is how much money you’re going to need and you’re all good.” Here are a couple of the different items that you need to consider when you’re trying to figure out what your retirement income needs are going to be.

Pay Your Bills

First and foremost, you have to figure out what are your needs are, meaning how much do you need each month to pay the bills? How much do you need to take care of your health insurance or if you still have a house payment, if you still have debt, if you want to do vacations? It all comes down to trying to identify that. That’s tough for a lot of people, because a lot of us do not budget. A lot of us don’t have a good sense of knowing exactly where our money is going each month. If you don’t have a good handle on your budget, then trying to identify your income need is almost impossible.

How do you do it? You can try to shoot from the hip, which a lot of my clients try to do. But I make them go home, sit down and start looking at where all their money is going per month. What are the things that they have to have each month to buy? Without doing that inventory, without doing that research into their own lives, it makes it tremendously difficult to try to figure out what their retirement-income needs are going to be. That is the first step and, I assure you it’s probably the hardest because a lot of people don’t do it. They just don’t take the time to figure that out.

Show Me What You’re Working With

The second step is that you have to figure out what you’ve got to work with:

How much have you saved?
How much do you have in your 401K?
How close are you to receiving social security?
Do you have any pensions?

All those factors come into play when trying to identify what your retirement-income needs are going to be. For example, I have clients who actually go back and figure out what their income need is as far as paying the monthly bills and having a little extra to play and do the things that they want to do, so that gives us a sense of where we need to be. Then we take a look at what they’ve got.

Have they retired early?

I have some clients who retire at 55, 58, 60 so there is a little bit more pressure on their retirement assets, their 401Ks, their pensions to be able to get them that retirement income. We don’t have social security to lean on, so that requires a little bit more creativity. I have other clients who retire after social security age. Some take early retirement at 62, or some continue to work until they are 65 (or 66). When we have that extra paycheck coming in per month, that gives us a little more freedom and flexibility to try to decipher what the income might be.

That’s why it’s so tough. It’s not a clear cut answer. You hear a lot of general rule of thumb where whatever 70%-80% of your current income in your working years is how much you’re going to need in your retirement years. Sometimes that is the case, but sometimes it’s not. Going back to the income needs, what about health insurance? Is that something that you’re going to have, or are you already on Medicare so it’s not that much of an issue? There are a lot of factors like that that come into play.

Let’s Be Real

The other thing is just being realistic as far as your spending expectations. I have some clients who come to me, and we do all this planning to where we’ve got everything lined up. We’ve identified their needs. We have all their retirement information together, so we’ve identified how much they are going to be drawing out per month. Then a few months into it, they get a little spend happy, and they start wanting to buy things, buy “toys”, do this, take trips.

All of a sudden, they are causing a strain on their retirement portfolio, so we have to have a come-to-Jesus meeting and I address the issue,

“Hey, this was the plan when we first started, now why are we deviating? Why are we all of a sudden buying things that initially weren’t on our plan?”

You just have to be very conscious of that. I don’t want my clients to think they can’t spend their money. It is their money. They worked their whole life to have that, but you have to be careful. You have to be cautious and just be very aware of how much you’re spending and how fast you’re spending it.

One of the most important components of creating a retirement plan is having an accurate evaluation of yourself and just knowing your habits, and how things may be as soon as retirement comes.

Retirement: The Early Years

Going back to that rule of thumb as far as the 70%-80%, typically what I’ve seen is this: In the first couple years of retirement, it’s like the kid who has been stuck in class all day long and it’s sunny outside. They’ve been looking at the playground. They can see the sun. They see the jungle gyms. They’re ready to be set loose, and they want to go play and be free.

That’s what it’s like for many of my retiree clients: once they hit retirement, they’re like that kid who’s been set free. They’re out on recess. They get to play, get to do these things they’ve been waiting to do for so long. They’re ready to go. They’re ready to play and have fun, so those first couple of years they’ll spend a little bit more doing the trips that they want to do, buying the toys that they’ve put off for so many years. Now they feel that they’re entitled to do that, and they are, so let them do it.

Then as they get older, as maybe health conditions don’t allow them to do the travel as they did when they first retired, they’ll tend to spend a lot less than they did in their first years. Whereas the first couple of years maybe you do fall in that rule of thumb of spending the 70%-80% of your working-years’ income, but after a certain point you don’t travel as much because you’ve done everything you wanted to do and are just content to stay around home spending time with the grandkids and just doing a lot of staycations where you’re just enjoying that time with your family. Thus, you’re not spending nearly as much, and it kind of balances out.

Get Your Best Retirement Income Possible

Those are some of the steps that you need to do in the beginning as far as first, identify what you’re actually going to need per month to live off of, to spend, to do the things that you have to do just to get by. Then, you’re going to need to identify what you’ve got to work with, with your 401K and your savings and pensions and when social security is going to play in. Then finally, you just have to know yourself and know your spending habits and how that’s going to affect your income in your retirement years.

Source: goodfinancialcents.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 25, 2023 by Brett Tams

The Complete Guide to Teaching Kids About Money – MintLife Blog

$400 emergency, and a third have saved nothing for retirement. Meanwhile, more than 60 percent of young adults under 34 say that thinking about their personal finances makes them anxious.

In many cases, these young adults feel anxious about their finances because they never learned about money growing up. Fewer than 20 states require high school students to take personal finance classes, even as studies show that young Americans want to learn about money and wish they had learned to be more financially savvy in school.

That’s where you come in. Giving your kids real-world lessons at home on how to manage their finances will go a long way toward helping them stockpile plenty of savings, stay out of debt and maintain healthy credit scores.

Read on to learn the critical money lessons you should teach your kids at every age, from their toddler years to their teen years.

Table of Contents

Start With Yourself: Be a Good Example

Smoking. Drugs. Bullying. All of these are topics that parents say they would rather discuss with their kids than the family’s finances.

Maybe you have struggled with using money responsibly in the past. Maybe you don’t want to tell your kids how much you make or reveal that you’re in debt. But it’s important that you become comfortable with talking to your kids about money so that they become comfortable using it.

Brush Up on Basic Financial Concepts

Pop quiz! If you take out a loan for $1,000 with a 20 percent interest rate, how much will you owe per year in interest?

The answer is $200. Did you know that? If not, you’re like almost two-thirds of Americans who have trouble calculating interest rates.

Take some time to brush up on basic financial concepts. Make sure you understand these topics inside and out so that you can answer your kids’ questions and provide the most well-rounded lessons possible.

Get Out of Debt

Every good lesson in using money responsibly starts with reducing or eliminating debt. More than family’s finances and get on the same page. This way, you can better understand your family’s financial goals and communicate them with your kids.

It’s also helpful to write down your family’s financial goals and display them in a prominent place in the home. For example, if your family wants to go on vacation later in the year, you could post that goal on the refrigerator to remind everyone why the family is saving.

Protect Your Kids

Another important component of putting your kids on the best financial track possible is thinking about what would happen if you could no longer take care of them.

Even though most Americans have life insurance, a good chunk do not have enough coverage. About half of Americans have $100,000 or less in coverage. It’s recommended that you have coverage equal to at least 10 times your salary. With kids, that multiplier should typically be even higher.

Also, make sure you have a will to ensure that your assets are properly divided and that your kids are cared for should something happen to you.

Younger Than 3

At this age, your kids likely just learned how to throw a ball overhand or to scribble freely on paper. They have no idea what money is or how it works — but that doesn’t mean you can’t introduce them to some basic money concepts.

Allow them to play with coins. Play store to introduce them to the concept of a marketplace. Even allow them to watch you pay bills. This helps them understand that money has a value and that items vary in cost.

Coin Identification Game

Show your toddlers different types of coins. Allow them to trace the outlines of the coins onto a piece of paper. As you color in the shapes that you traced, help them to match the coins to the drawings and repeat the coins’ names.

Coins are more fun for toddlers to play with than paper money, but you can also draw dollar bills and color those in to include in your toddlers’ homemade “wallets.”

The Play Store

Using the pretend money that you created from the coin identification game, gather a bunch of household items and allow your toddler to exchange the money for the items.

Kids already love playing store for the fun of it, but take this opportunity to show them that different items require different types of pretend money. For a twist on the traditional game, decorate price tags and attach them to the items.

Toy Calculator and Checkbook

Toddlers are always watching you, so why not use that to help them learn about money? When you’re paying bills with your checkbook and calculator, let them know that you’re buying things just like they do when they play store.

For even more fun for your toddlers, give them their own “checkbook” and calculator to play with while they watch you.

Ages 3 to 5

By kindergarten and pre-kindergarten, your kids have already seen you give something green to the pizza delivery driver or put down a piece of plastic on the table at the end of your dinner at a restaurant.

It’s your job to answer their questions and explain to them that they need money to buy things. As they reach school age, you can even allow them to manage a little bit of money on their own by way of allowances.

It’s up to you whether the allowance should be earned or given, but the important thing here is to teach your kids to save and to help them understand that they may need to wait before they can buy something.

Saving, Spending, and Sharing Jars

Gather three clear jars and ask your kids to decorate labels with “saving,” “spending,” and “sharing” for the jars. Piggy banks are great, but you can’t see what you’re putting in them, and you want your kids to be able to see the progress they’re making!

Explain that everything costs money. The money in the “spending” jar can be used today to buy anything your kids want within reason. If they want something that is more expensive, they will have to wait until their “saving” jar has enough money in it.

You can also encourage your children to put a couple of coins or a dollar bill or two in the “sharing” jar, and help them think of charities for the money.

Needs vs. Wants Shopping

Let’s say your kids want a $10 stuffed animal. Help them count out $10 from their jars. Have them take the $10 to the store and hand the coins and bills to the cashier. Allow them to see how much money is left in the jars, and explain to them that if they spend money this time, they’ll have to wait a little bit before they can buy something again.

If they don’t have enough money in the jars, help them understand how much they have and how long it will take to save enough for the stuffed animal given their current savings rate.

Imaginary Restaurant

What kids don’t like to play restaurant? At the end of the game, remind them that they can’t leave the table without “paying” the bill.

This is also a good opportunity to introduce your kids to the relative value of coins and bills. Show them that one-dollar bill equals ten dimes or four quarters.

Ages 6 to 10

While teaching kids about money is critical at every age, this age group is especially important. Researchers believe that kids’ money habits are formed by the time they turn seven.

Give them a firm foundation in protecting their money in savings accounts (and earning interest), shopping around for the best deals and understanding the different ways that money can be spent or shared.

Opening a Savings Account

Take your kids with you to the bank. Explain to them that putting your money in a bank is better than stockpiling money at home because a bank protects your money and pays you interest.

Explain that the bank pays you interest as a reward for keeping your money in that bank, instead of at another bank. Also, explain that interest is a cool concept because it keeps growing the longer you keep your money in the bank.

You can illustrate this concept by asking your kids to set aside $1 from their allowance. Tell them you’ll act like the bank and pay them 10 percent, or a dime, in interest for this $1. They’ll now have $1.10. Explain to your kids that you’ll pay interest on this $1.10 in a month and that they’ll receive 11 cents instead of just a dime. Allow them to see how interest keeps adding up!

Coupons and Comparing Prices

It’s surprising how much your kids can learn about money at the grocery store! If you use coupons, ask your children to help you clip them and identify the corresponding products at the store. Make sure they watch as the cashier scans the coupons and shaves dollars off your bill.

Additionally, look closely at the unit prices of products. Ask your kids to help you determine which products offer a better deal (a lower price per ounce, for example). This is also a good opportunity for your kids to practice their basic math skills.

Career Exploration

It’s important for kids to know that money is not just spent on physical goods, like food and toys. Explain to them that money is also spent on services, like labor. This is a good time for you to tell them what you do to make money and encourage them to start thinking about what they might want to do when they grow up.

Charitable Giving

Since many of your kids’ money habits will be formed during this time, make sure to explain the importance of giving back to their communities and to those in need. You’ll want to tell your kids that they are part of a larger community and that everyone in the community is responsible for those around them. This includes a responsibility to give your time and some of your money to community causes.

Help them connect with a cause they might care about, like a local animal shelter that rescues stray cats or an environmental group that plants trees in the local park and explain that they can give some of their money to help others. Helping them to understand that not everyone has the money they need will help them appreciate their money and grow to be more giving adults.

Ages 11 to 13

Your kids have already opened savings accounts and have seen how money seems to show up out of nowhere. It’s time to explain how compound interest works and explore other places to store your money. They also can begin to learn more about the worth of objects around them.

Exploring Compound Interest

Finally! You get to share the wonders of compound interest with your kids. Play around with a couple of classic examples that show that savings can really add up, but only if you start saving early.

For example, if they save $100 every year starting at 14, they’ll have $23,000 when they’re 65, but only $7,000 if they start saving when they’re 35.

Encourage them to play with an online compound interest calculator that allows them to input the specifics of their bank accounts and play around with different time periods and interest rates.

Investment Games

Show your kids that you can store your money in other ways that could make you more money than a traditional savings account. However, be careful to warn about the risks of losing more as well.

Have your kids pick out a couple stocks that relate to their favorite hobbies. Track how the stocks perform every week for a given amount of time and award a prize (maybe a pizza dinner or a movie night) to the winner.

Yard Sales

Your kids should have a pretty good grasp on how to value different objects already, but allow them to develop these skills even further with a yard sale (and clean out your basement in the meantime).

Put them in charge of planning the yard sale, finding things to sell, setting the prices, and interacting with customers.

Ages 14 to 18

By this point, you’ve helped your kids learn about money for more than a decade. Now it’s time for them to start working and thinking about college before they eventually go off on their own.

Be prepared to answer many questions during this time, as there are many essential financial You’ll need to cover everything from paychecks to checking accounts, credit cards, and social security.

Breaking Down the Paycheck

As your kids earn their first paychecks, they might not like what they see. The total might not match the amount they had banked on earning. Now’s a good time to explain taxes.

Explain the different types of taxes to them and show them where the taxes go, whether it’s to Social Security or Medicare or elsewhere. Also emphasize the importance of saving and encourage them to open an individual retirement account.

Perhaps your daughter or son will want to make some extra cash. Encourage them to be resourceful and help them look for opportunities like babysitting or selling old clothes.

Debit Cards

Before your kids head off to college and eventually open their own checking accounts, they might want some practice at home. Consider opening a joint account with your kids to give them access to a bit of money. You can monitor their spending using online apps and ensure that they’re making healthy financial decisions.

Their names can also be on the checks associated with the account. Take this opportunity to teach them about writing checks and balancing checkbooks.

Credit Cards

Kids can’t enter into legally binding contracts, such as credit card agreements until they are 18. One way around this is to add your kids as authorized cardholders under certain circumstances.

Whether or not you give your kids access to your credit cards at this point, you must teach them to use credit cards responsibly. Explain that they should use a credit card only if they can pay off the monthly payment in full. Talk about the dangers of debt and how missed payments decrease credit scores and make it harder to secure loans.

Finally, stress the importance of exercising caution and avoiding suspicious websites when entering your credit card number online.

Social Security Numbers

It’s likely your kids will be asked repeatedly for the last four digits of their social security numbers. Make sure they memorize all of the digits before they go off to college so that they’re not caught off guard.

Every parent wants their kids to be financially healthy — to have plenty of savings, know how to budget, and avoid the troubles that come with bad credit. But your kids won’t know how to be savvy with money on their own. Take the time to teach them good tips at every age and set them up for success.

Additional Resources

Find games, activities, and information about money for kids at MyMoney.gov.
Follow the FDIC’s Money Smart for Young People lesson plans.
Explore the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Compound Interest Calculator.
Learn how to explain taxes to kids at USA.gov.
Investigate different types of coins and learn more about the U.S. Mint.

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Apache is functioning normally

May 23, 2023 by Brett Tams

My monthly Extraordinary Lives series is something that I’m really enjoying doing. First up was JP Livingston, who retired with a net worth over $2,000,000 at the age of 28. Today’s interview is with Tanja Hester, who retired at the end of 2017 at the age of 38.

You probably know her from the amazing blog Our Next Life. Our Next Life is one of my favorite blogs, so I’m glad Tanja said yes to this interview!

In this interview, you’ll learn:

How she managed to retire so early;
How she still lives comfortably in one of the most beautiful places in the world;
Her advice for retiring early no matter what your career choice is;
How she decided how much she needed to retire on;
The sacrifices she has had to make;

And more! This interview is packed full of valuable information!

I asked you, my readers, what questions I should ask her, so below are your questions (and some of mine) about Tanja’s story and how she has accomplished so much. Make sure you’re following me on Facebook so you have the opportunity to submit your own questions for the next interview.

Related content:

1. Tell me your story. How are you managing to retire so early?

Hi Michelle! Thanks so much for having me. 🙂 We feel like we’re now living a magical life as early retirees, but there’s no magic to how we got here. We spent a lot less than we earned for a bunch of years in a row, made easier and faster by above average salaries (both earned six figures in our last several years of work), and we tried to make some other smart decisions along the way. But we didn’t strike it rich with Bitcoin or build a unicorn startup or get an inheritance or anything else. We just stayed focused on our goal and ground away at it, bit by bit.

More specifically, we focused on three big things:

1. Buying less house than we could afford. The banks would have happily lent us three times as much as we paid for our house in Tahoe, but we stuck to our guns and set our own budget. We lucked out by being able to buy at almost the bottom of the market in 2011, but even though we could have bought more house then for a pretty good price, we kept our budget modest, and that allowed us to pay off our mortgage in just over five years, which then let us save more in our last year of work as well as go into early retirement with no mortgage, which means our basic cost of living is minimal.

2. Paying ourselves first and automating that. We set our paychecks up so that a big chunk went straight into savings without us ever seeing that money, and had another big portion set to go into our investments automatically with each paycheck. We kept only a small portion of our total income in our checking account, and so felt like that was all we had to spend. But more importantly, saving wasn’t a choice we had to make, which would have relied on willpower we don’t always possess. It just happened without us doing anything. For those who aren’t natural savers (like us!), I can’t recommend enough taking the decision out of it and automating your savings.

3. Not inflating our lifestyle. For the last decade of our careers, we banked every bonus and every raise. So at the start of each year, we’d increase our automatic investments by at least as much as our paychecks increased, meaning we never felt like we got a raise, and we didn’t start spending more. When you add the compounding effect of all those raises we banked, it adds up to quite a big number! But for us, because we did it gradually that way and just kept the amount we had to spend steady, it never felt like a sacrifice to save at a really high rate.

2. When did you begin saving for early retirement?

While we’d been saving for years for a string of financial goals – paying off my consumer debt, buying our first place in LA, buying our forever home in Tahoe and saving a bit for traditional retirement – we started saving for early retirement in a focused way about six years ago. And then we got super focused four years ago.

I still can’t believe how much we saved in that time, but it’s amazing what’s possible when you get really clear on your “why” and align all your decisions around it. (And again, having a higher income for sure helped. You can’t save more than you earn, so the more you can earn, the faster you can save.)

3. Was early retirement always something you were striving for? What made you want to retire early?

Mark and I always had a sense that we didn’t want to work “forever,” but we didn’t know what that meant. We had very demanding, high-stress careers where we could never truly be offline. We loved much about the work and loved our clients and colleagues, but it definitely took a big toll on our physical and mental health. And that’s how we knew that we weren’t willing to do that kind of work forever.

We talked about transitioning to different, lower-paid careers, but once we realized that we could work hard for just a few more years and then never need to work again, it was an easy choice to keep going.

Related: What Is Financial Independence, Retire Early? Answers To FAQs About FIRE

4. Would you say that you live comfortably? I ask this because many people assume that early retirees eat a lot of rice and beans!

I mean, I do love rice and beans. 😉 But we only eat rice and beans a few times a month. I would definitely say we live super comfortably! We own a single family home in a crazy beautiful part of the world, we spend money on fresh, healthy, mostly organic food, we ski multiple times a week and we take several international trips per year.

There’s a lot we don’t spend on, of course, and we do have one freakishly frugal habit that shocks a lot of people – keeping our house at a chilly 55 degrees F in the winter – but we think our life is pretty darn luxurious. But we keep it reasonable by ruthlessly cutting out the mindless spending that doesn’t add real value to our lives and focusing our spending only on the things we love to do.

5. What career did you have before you retired? Did that career help you to retire earlier?

We both worked as political and social cause consultants for a long time – 16 years for me and nearly 20 for Mark. We loved doing meaningful work with smart, talented people, but the pace of it was really hard to sustain. We had to travel a ton and be reachable at all times, and that stress was something we carried around with us at all times. But, the upside of high-pressure jobs like that is that they often pay well. So yes, absolutely – having those careers 100% enabled us to retire early!

6. What advice do you have for the average person that doesn’t make six figures a year who wants to retire early? What do you have to say to those who may think that they can never earn as much as you can – can they still retire early too?

While earning more certainly helps speed things along, there’s nothing about the core principle of financial independence – spend less than you earn and save the difference – that requires an especially high income or a job in tech or any other particular factor. (We both went to state schools for college and majored in English and communications, if you’re curious.) If you can afford to save even a little bit of money each month, you can do this, you just might be on a slightly longer timeline. If you make saving for early retirement a priority, you’ll be amazed that it does not take 40 years to save, as many financial experts would have you believe.

My best advice is to be diligent about tracking your spending. Know where every dollar is going, and then then ask yourself which of those dollars brought you real, lasting happiness, not just a momentarily thrill, and which ones didn’t. Then, as much as you can, cut out the spending that doesn’t make you happy. You don’t even have to do it all at one time, but once you start seeing your spending that way – mindless spending that doesn’t add value and mindful spending that makes you happier – it becomes a whole lot easier to save money.

And then don’t just think about the saving side of the equation. Think about the earning side, too. Side hustles are all the rage, and I side hustled for the first 12 years of my career, working a few odd jobs and then teaching yoga and spinning for 10 years. Those jobs definitely helped me earn and save more in my early career years, but eventually having extra commitments held me back in my “real career.” And at that point, I ditched my side hustle and committed myself fully to my main job, working as long and traveling as much as that required. I know that having that real commitment to work paid off in the form of promotions and bonuses, and that wouldn’t have been possible if I’d kept my side hustle.

7. Will you still earn an income in retirement?

Our retirement is funded primarily by selling shares of stock and bond index funds that we bought throughout our savings phase, as well as by collecting rent on the one rental property we have. We created our “magic number” that we needed to save by figuring out what we’d need to have if we never earned another penny, and that’s what we saved. But now that we’re retired, we also realize that of course we’ll still earn money in some form. Retiring early takes a bit of a hustle mindset, and you don’t just stop being a person who hustles when you leave your career.

The good thing is that we can now put that hustle to use toward community service instead of paid work, and if we do take on paid work, we can be super picky and do only work that sounds super fun, that we’d happily do for free. And that extra money we earn can go toward more charitable giving, toward an extra trip overseas, or maybe toward a home project like a kitchen remodel. In the spirit of full transparency, Mark and I are both working a little bit this year, though in total it will only be about 10-20 percent of our time. We didn’t plan to work, but Mark got an offer he couldn’t refuse to work on a passion project, and I got an offer to fulfill a lifetime dream, so we both had an easy time saying yes.

8. How did you decide on how much you needed to retire on?

The starting point for calculating any early retirement number (or traditional retirement number, for that matter) has to be knowing what you spend in a year. Most online retirement calculators base your target number off what you earn, and that’s bananas if you don’t spend everything you make. When we started our planning, the rule of 25X (25 times your annual spending, the inverse of the 4% safe withdrawal rule) wasn’t as widely talked about, and it wouldn’t have worked for us anyway because we wanted to build a two-phase early retirement plan that would let us leave our traditional retirement savings alone (many early retirees convert 401(k) and IRA funds to be able to access them early without penalty, but we don’t want to do this), so that we’d have a big cushion for our later years, especially given all the uncertainty right now around health care, and the high costs even for those on Medicare.

We probably overcomplicated our calculations a bit because we’re both spreadsheet nerds, but the short version is that we calculated that our 401(k)s already had enough in them to support our “phase 2” (basically our traditional retirement, from age 59 ½ onward, after we can access our 401(k) money without having to jump through any hoops), and so we focused on saving an amount in unrestricted, taxable mutual funds that our spreadsheets told us would carry us through the first 18 years (our “phase 1”). We based those projections on extremely conservative market gains – only about percent real returns after inflation – so that we’d be okay even if the markets are flat for many years.

9. What sacrifices or hard decisions did you have to make?

I think the way we did this – focusing mostly on keeping our lifestyle contained as our earnings increased and automating our savings – made it not feel like a sacrifice. We for sure did give some things up like frequent meals out and traveling with a bit less of a budget orientation, but for those things, it was easy to give them up because we knew exactly why we weren’t spending money on them anymore. Having our goals clear in our minds and both being excited about our vision for the future was so motivating that it headed off any potential feeling of sacrifice.

Two of the hardest decisions we made along the way were to alter our plans to be able to help out family members. We hadn’t planned to buy a rental property, but it became clear that a relative with special needs would be helped a lot if we’d buy a property that would meet those needs and rent it to them, and so we adapted our plans to allow for that. And then another relative was about to go to debt collection for some medical debts that weren’t their fault, and we decided to make a personal loan to let that person move forward financially. Both decisions have worked out super well, and we believe strongly that there’s no point in having money saved if you can’t use some of it to help people you care about, but it was definitely tough to make each of those decisions.

10. What will you do about health insurance in early retirement?

We fully expect the landscape around health care in the U.S. to keep shifting, but for now we have health insurance that we purchased through the Affordable Care Act exchange. It’s a bit pricey but it’s normal insurance, which is a huge comfort to have!

11. What are your long-term plans now that you will have significantly more time not working?

We’re trying to keep things as open-ended as possible! I’m definitely going to keep writing the blog, and we’re both actively volunteering in our community. We went to Taiwan earlier this year and are planning a few more trips through the end of 2018, and then, who knows?

We’re exploring getting a very small motorhome (not big and fancy like yours, Michelle!) that we can use for road trips around the west, but that’s not for sure yet. A few years ago, we decided that our purpose is service, adventure and creativity, so while we don’t yet know what path our lives will take, we know we’ll be doing some of each of those three.

12. Are you doing any lifestyle changes to reduce your expenses in early retirement?

We are! When we were working, we were so crunched for time that we ate a lot of frozen and convenience foods, even though we would have preferred to make everything from scratch. We also couldn’t really comparison shop because we didn’t have time for that. But now we’re making more food from scratch and visiting a wider array of stores and learning what items are priced best at each place.

We’re also DIYing everything we can now that we have time to do that. But beyond that stuff, we were already living at a level we were comfortable with and that let us save a lot, so it doesn’t feel like we need to trim much more. But ask me again in a year, and maybe I’ll have found some new ways to save!

13. I’m curious to know what your methods for staying focused on accomplishing such a major goal?

Even in the very best case scenario, saving for early retirement takes years, so it’s important to know up front that you will feel some impatience along the way. Everyone who’s done it has felt it at one time or another, or maybe many times!

We found it helped a ton to track our progress and look at it often, so that we could see how far we’d come. And having everything automated also helped because we didn’t even give ourselves the opportunity to have the thought, “We’d rather spend this money instead this month to treat ourselves.” And finally, we didn’t deprive ourselves, and I think that’s important.

Living solely for tomorrow is not the way to be happy with your life – you have to allow yourself some joy today. We tried to keep things modest, of course, but we still let ourselves do fun things and spend money on things that made us happy instead of saving all our money. Living for both today and tomorrow helps with the impatience a ton!

14. If you were starting back at ground zero, what would you do differently from the beginning?

If I could go allllll the way back, I’d never set foot in Target! Haha. When I was just starting out in my career, Target was my kryptonite, and I wouldn’t set foot in there without buying a whole bunch of home decoration stuff that I didn’t need. One of my best practical saving tips is to know your spending triggers and avoid them, so to this day, I do not set foot in Target, and I get what I would have bought there on Amazon or at less tempting stores.

But if we’re just talking about the beginning of the early retirement journey, we would for sure have invested in more rental properties. Real estate offers a quicker path to financial independence than does saving, and it gives you some diversification you don’t get by only investing in the markets. I thought I’d hate being a landlord and so wasn’t interested in real estate, but now that we’ve done it for several years, we wish we had put more focus on rental properties.

15. Lastly, what is your very best tip (or two) that you have for someone who wants to reach the same success as you?

Don’t just think in terms of numbers. Get clear about what you really want to be doing with your life – what that looks like, what will make you feel like you have a purpose, what you want to be able to look back on at the end of your life and feel proud of – and then decide what you’re willing to give up to make that happen. Doing that exercise will help you figure out much more quickly how much your new life will cost and how much you can afford to save now, but best of all you’ll have the motivation to do that saving because you will have already invested the time in forming that solid vision for yourself instead of saving just to save, or just because you don’t like your job. If you retire early just because you don’t like your job and not because there’s something else you’re super stoked to do, you’ll probably be unhappy in early retirement, too.

And on the numbers front, don’t just focus on saving money. Focus on earning more. There’s a limit to how much spending you can eliminate but no limit to how much you can earn, so don’t neglect that half of the equation.

Are you interested in early retirement? Are you saving for retirement?

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Source: makingsenseofcents.com

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