Dining out often at restaurants, preparing too much and wasting leftovers are just some of our flaws when it comes to feeding our families. But thanks to CookingLight, I’ve discovered five great ways to stretch your family’s food budget!

Check out the tips below:

1. Eat more meatless meals – Meat is the most expensive item you’ll buy at the grocery store, so try making one or two vegetarian meals a week, or just use less meat in meals. And according to health experts, eating more plant-based foods can lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer (you’ll also save on your term life insurance coverage the healthier you are.)
2. Make a meal plan – Before you go to the grocery store, map out your daily meals for that week. Then only buy those items you need. By doing this, you’ll avoid buying items you don’t need and you’ll probably waste less.
3. Do it yourself – Avoid buying prepared items like frozen pizza crust, and make things from scratch.
4. Learn to stretch meat, poultry and fish – Rather than making protein the center of the plate, use it sparingly for flavor and texture.
5. Eat in season – Out of season produce is costly, and it usually doesn’t taste as good as fruits and vegetables that are in season. Try eating in season produce, when it can usually be found for a great bargain.

If you like our money saving tips, keep checking AccuQuote’s blog, become a fan of AccuQuote.com on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter for more valuable ways to make the most of your money. And be sure to shop online to get free term life insurance quotes. You may be able to save up to 70% on your term life insurance cost!

Life insurance is one of the most important purchases you’ll make to protect your family’s financial future. So naturally, there are some things you need to consider to be sure you’re adequately covered. Some of the things you should look for in a policy include riders. What are they? Riders are additions to a life insurance policy that provide extra coverage for specific circumstances.

Riders usually cost an additional amount, depending on what type and how much they cover. And although you can do without some riders, there are some that you should definitely consider adding on to your existing life insurance policy.

Following are common life insurance riders that may enhance your existing coverage:

1. Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) – In a previous post, we talked about the benefits of having an AD&D policy, especially if you’ve been labeled “uninsurable” by a life insurance company. But as a rider to a life insurance policy, it provides additional coverage if you were to die accidentally. It may double the amount of the original death benefit.
2. Waiver of Premium – If you become disabled, this rider allows you the flexibility to waive your premium payment during the entire time you’re disabled. With this rider, your life insurance policy will remain in force if you’ve experienced a loss of income due to a new disability.
3. Accelerated Death Benefit – If you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness while your life insurance policy is still in force, this rider gives you the option to collect all or part of the death benefit while you’re still alive. This may take away some of the financial burden of paying unprecedented medical expenses.
4. Guaranteed Insurability – For term life insurance, this rider guarantees your policy’s insurability at the end of its term. In some cases, you may not even be required to take an additional medical exam. This rider is worth considering if you think your term life coverage will expire before you die.
5. Family income benefit – When you die, this rider provides your beneficiary with a continuous monthly payment for a specific amount of time.

Fore more information about what riders you can add to you existing life insurance policy, talk to a life insurance agent at AccuQuote. By providing them with some general health and lifestyle information, you’ll receive a free life insurance quote and be able to discuss affordable rider options.

October 28, 2009

How to find the right life insurance professional

Description:

When shopping for life insurance, it’s important to trust your agent. In this podcast, Byron Udell, a life insurance and annuity industry expert, talks about how to find the right life insurance professional.

Size: 3.47 MB

Length: 3:47

Click here to download

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If you were denied term life insurance coverage due to a severe medical condition or other lifestyle factor, you may want to consider purchasing an accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) policy. This type of policy is extremely affordable and offers protection for your family if you were to die accidentally. In addition, if you become injured or disabled due to an accidental cause, you’ll collect a lump sum that can help pay for medical expenses or make up for lost income if you’re no longer able to work.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidents (unintentional injuries) are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. That statistic is even higher for people under age 45. In fact, if you’re under age 45, you’re almost twice more likely to die in an accident than from a natural cause. In 2006 alone (most recent statistic available), 121,599 people died from unintentional injuries.

So if you’ve been labeled “uninsurable” by a life insurance company, don’t think you’re out of options when it comes to protecting your loved ones. You can typically get up to $500,000 in AD&D coverage that will give your family a financial cushion if you die accidentally.

For more information about AD&D insurance, talk to a licensed life insurance professional at AccuQuote.com. You can discuss your coverage options with them and receive free life insurance quotes from the best term life insurance companies. Remember, having some life coverage is better than having nothing at all.

If you need to double your existing life insurance coverage, now is the time. American General Life Insurance Company (AIG) is offering a limited-time opportunity for you to increase the life insurance coverage you already have with them. And guess what? There are no exams, no labs and minimal paperwork!

Why would you need to increase your coverage? If events in your life have changed since you first purchased your policy such as, getting married, buying a house or having a child, you may find yourself in need of additional coverage. And now you can increase your current policy by as little as $100,000, or as much as double your existing policy.

This opportunity is only available for a limited amount of time. But keep in mind – You must have an existing policy with AIG that was purchased within the past three years to take advantage of this offer. So if you’re interested in this chance to provide your loved ones with additional financial protection, call us today at 888-592-5566 to increase your current coverage amount.

For more information about this opportunity or for a free term life insurance quote, contact an experienced life insurance agent at AccuQuote. They’ll compare life insurance rates with top-rated life insurance companies to find you inexpensive life insurance coverage.

Have you ever found a loose, unmarked key and had no idea what it’s for?

It’s easy to forget, so the best thing to do is label any key that’s stored somewhere and not in your regular day-to-day rotation.

There are countless ways to “skin this cat,” including key tags from your local locksmith or hardware store, as well as the ever-reliable ballpoint pen on masking tape.

Here’s one more: my little publishing company received 11,000 key tags instead of 10,000 (they’re included in a book we sell). Since we have no use for the extra 1,000 tags, we’re giving them away free to readers of AccuQuote’s blog. The tags are 1.37″ x 2.75″  manila paper with printing on one side and 4 inches of thin wire that to tie it to a key. The text includes blank lines to write what the key goes to, as well as a website address.

Just send a self-addressed and STAMPED envelope to: EIGHT FREE KEY TAGS P.O. Box 91  Mendham, NJ 07945 and we’ll send you 8 tags free.

If your return envelope is not stamped or addressed, we won’t send you any tags.

We promise NONE of your personal information will be recorded or distributed in any way. You will NOT be placed on a mailing list or otherwise contacted.

The offer ends either November 10th 2009, or when the 1,000 extra key tags are gone – whichever comes first.

Mark Gavagan is the author of two books that help families organize and plan their personal & financial affairs: “The It’s All Right Here Life & Affairs Organizer” and “12 Critical Things Your Family Needs to Know”.

As a new parent, you can expect your expenses to rise to an unprecedented amount of money, actually about $11,000 more a year, according to the Department of Agriculture. But there are ways to keep spending to a manageable level by following these expert money saving tips for new parents from USNews.com.

Decide on a work (or no-work) plan – Before your child is born, it’s important to decide if, when and who will go back to work. It may not make sense for both of you to go back to work if one of you makes less than the cost of childcare.

Don’t mix debt with babies – Reducing your debt, such as credit cards, auto loans and student loans, while you’re pregnant should be a priority before your child is born. This will help to stabilize your financial situation and make spending less of a burden when the baby arrives. It’s also important to have an emergency fund equal to about three months worth of living expenses.

Take advantage of your body’s free food supply – Baby formula costs around $100 a month, while breast milk is free, according to Erica Sandberg, author of Expecting Money: The Essential Financial Plan for New and Growing Families. Talk to your doctor to see if this option is right for you.

Set up a trust and buy life insurance for your family – New parents need a will to specify where their assets will go in the event of a premature death. It’s also important to set up a trust and purchase life insurance to protect your child’s financial future. Term life insurance is also an inexpensive option to provide your loved ones with financial support when you’re no longer around.

Ask yourself: Did this exist a few years ago? – Recently there have been many new inventions in the baby market, like leather diaper bags and video baby monitors. It’s likely that you can live without many of these new products, especially if they didn’t exist years ago when your parents were raising you.

Keep checking AccuQuote’s blog, become a fan of AccuQuote.com on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter for more valuable money saving tips and to learn about the benefits of term life coverage. And be sure to shop online to get free term life insurance quotes. You may be able to save up to 70% on your term life insurance cost!

October 22, 2009

Permanent Life Insurance – Worth the money?

Description:

Byron Udell, the nation’s foremost life insurance and annuity industry expert, talks about the pros and cons of permanent life insurance, as well as provides tips to determine if this type of coverage is right for you.

Size: 6.14 MB

Length: 6:43

Click here to download

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When filling out your application for term life insurance on a comparison site, like AccuQuote.com, you may be asked what rate class you want to apply for. So what’s a rate class and how are you supposed to know yours? Easy. Your rate class is based on several health and lifestyle factors that may or may not affect your mortality. Life insurance companies use it to determine what your term life rate will be.

To ensure that you receive an accurate term life insurance quote, be sure to fill in the appropriate rate class. I’ve provided rate class descriptions below:

• Preferred Plus – In order to qualify for preferred plus rates you cannot use any tobacco and you must be in overall excellent health with no history of drug or alcohol abuse. In addition, you must not engage in hazardous activities.
• Preferred – Generally, to qualify for preferred rates you must be in excellent overall health and you must not participate in any hazardous activities.
• Standard – Standard risks refer to people who have had some minor health impairments. Examples of someone that would qualify for standard rates would include people who have elevated cholesterol levels or who are overweight.
• Substandard – This rate class encompasses people that have more than minor health problems. An additional charge will be added to these people’s premiums depending on the risk factors involved.

Keep in mind that underwriting guidelines vary among life insurance companies, but choose the rate class that you feel fits your health and lifestyle the best. Life insurance underwriters will decide if you fall under a different one. Who knows – you may qualify for a better rate class than you think.

For more information on how to determine your rate class, talk to a licensed life insurance professional at AccuQuote.com. They’ll conduct term life insurance comparisons at top-rated life insurance companies to ensure you get the best rate based on your individual information.

Most single people don’t need term life insurance because no one depends on them for financial support. But like everything, there are exceptions.

For example, do you financially support your aging parents or siblings? Or maybe you have an unprecedented amount of debt that you don’t want to pass on to your surviving loved ones. What about considering your future insurability? – If you’re young and healthy now you’ll most likely be rewarded with the best rates available.

You should also consider life insurance if you anticipate a future need for it. For instance, you see yourself getting married and having children in the future. Since term life rates are near record lows, now is a great time to lock in an affordable life insurance premium while you’re young, healthy and single!

Taking care of this important financial step now will ensure your future insurability. Did you know that if you develop a severe medical condition later in life you may be labeled “high risk” or “uninsurable”. By owning a policy in your younger years, you will usually never be denied life insurance coverage in the future due to health and lifestyle factors.

The fact is: life insurance will get you through all of life’s most important stages – from paying off your student loans to sending your own child to college. Let’s face it; you probably won’t be single and free from financial responsibility forever!