Investment is the buzz word nowadays and with the volatility and the uncertain global situations, it would be a boon if investments would ensure that you get consistent income over life time, especially when you are nearing your retirement years.  This is where financial institutions like Banks try and sell Annuities. Annuities are financial instruments which provide the benefit of interest accrual along with the benefit of deferred tax.

This means that while the investment accrues compound interest over the course of few decades, there is just a one time tax at the time of withdrawal. The biggest benefit is that the interest is accrued until an age of 80 years or even more, perhaps the longest amongst all other forms of investment.

In a usual process, a bank representative sells annuities of the insurance company which has tied up with the bank. Even though annuities are a safe bet, there are many cases where unsatisfied consumers choose to withdraw from the product which has made this perception rife “Don’t Bank on Annuities”.

Are annuities really not that good?

First and foremost, annuities are not bad and offer unbeatable features in some respects vis-à-vis other products. But, almost selling of any other financial product, there are some agents who abuse the product as they are offered high commissions for it.

Bank Annuities

Earlier, banks used to offer annuities to a customer who wanted a little more than a deposit account. Banks take licenses so that some of their employees can sell the products. Upon successful sale, the employee is rewarded either through bank’s incentive program or through commission.

This results in twin benefits to the bank. The bank is not only able to generate additional revenues but also simultaneously able to maintain its relationship with the customer. Earlier, annuities were offered as the default investment option to consumers, but with the changing trends and newer products, banks with insurance licenses in the modern day world can offer a variety of options to customers.

Question the intent

Unless you have an old and trustworthy relation with your bank, you must raise questions if someone is trying to sell you an annuity scheme. For instance, one can ask why annuities are recommended and not other financial products? You can also ask whether the person selling the scheme has the relevant expertise to give you adequate information or whether the person has the license to provide something other than an annuity. This will only help you in having a better understanding of what you are investing into.

When it comes to putting your faith in money matters, having clarity will help you in achieving financial goals.

An honest person will guide you by explaining both the pros and cons as well as any alternative strategy which maybe better than annuity scheme. What must be really emphasized is that a customer must be made to understand everything.

Conclusion

Annuities were one of the first products which featured into the savings cum investment category. But, some unscrupulous elements have started making investors believe not to bank on annuities. If you can do a bit of due diligence and follow some of the above mentioned guidelines, this can prove to be the safest investment when it comes to providing rich returns.

This post is contributed by Adam Anderson. He has been using payday loans as one of the fastest option to get rid of his financial crunches.

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You need to start planning now if you want to have some money set aside for next year’s vacation. But how can you go about doing this without succumbing irrelevant purchases and overspending on lavish dinners? For some families, saving up money for a year-end vacation is a breeze. For others, it can be quite a challenge. In the following sections, we’ll provide you with a few key tips for helping you save money for your own year-end vacation.

Set Your Sights on Your Destination

First and foremost, you have to stay committed to whatever saving process you decide to take. If you can’t then chances are good that you’re going to overspend in areas where you shouldn’t. One of the best ways to stay persistent is to remind yourself why you are saving. Post pictures of your travel destination on your computer desktop and talk about your plans with co-workers and friends. This will ultimately increase your motivation and help you stay focused when saving money.

Use Your Miles

If you are someone who travels a lot then you can use your miles to earn a free flight at the end of the year. Keep in mind that the amount of miles that you’ll need ranges from carrier to carrier and it also depends on where you are traveling to. In general, you can acquire free flights by accumulating anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000 miles. This can be a quick and simple step to take when you are trying to save money on a year-end vacation.

Start a “Travel Fund”

Not only is starting a “travel fund” a lot of fun but it can ultimately allow you to save up a lot of money in a relatively short amount of time. Take note that there are a few golden rules that you’ll want to follow when taking this route. The first is that you shouldn’t remove money from this fund unless it is an absolute emergency.

One tip that you could utilize is putting your money in a separate bank account where you won’t be able to see it on a daily basis. Secondly, try to put at least 10% of your monthly income into your travel fund. While it may not seem like a lot at first, this number can quickly add up and provide you with a hefty fund to utilize at the end of the year for your travels.

Noc likes to travel and start saving at the beginning of the year for a big trip and sometime uses Travel Advantage Network to create lifelong memories.

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The insurance industry is footing an ever increasing bill for the devastation being caused to thousands of homes and vehicles across the UK as a result of climate change. The huge rise in payouts over the past decade or so for risks such as floods could render the insurance industry unsustainable if the current trends continue.

The insurance industry is being urged by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) to step up their efforts to engage the government and policymakers on the issue and increase awareness of the dangers climate change poses. It is feared that without swift action insurers will be unable to offer cover to residents in high risk areas of the UK as well as oversees.

The CII recently published the third in their series of reports looking closely at the impact climate change is having on the insurance industry. The report put forward three visions of the future, devised by leading climate change and insurance experts, and the risks each posed for insurers and society as a whole.

Best case scenario

This favourable scenario looks at the future in a world that has managed to harness renewable sources of energy effectively and successfully minimise the amount of green house gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels. Governments across the world have been able to develop infrastructure sufficiently to ensure there are early warning systems in place to allow them to counter any climate risks without the destructive consequences such events bring today. In this scenario insurers encourage the development of sustainable practices by incentivising their customers financially.

The middle ground

In much the way the insurance industry is headed at present, this scenario bases its premise on a limited endeavour to introduce sustainable practices and sporadic efforts by governments to increase the use of renewable energy sources. In this scenario the insurance industry would be left with little choice but to withdraw cover from high risk locations prone to extreme weather conditions.

Worst case scenario

In this scenario only very little effort is made to increase the use of renewable energy sources. This would push the climate of the earth beyond the point of redemption, whereby efforts to increase sustainability in the future would be essential, but their implementation would be extremely costly and would only have limited success. The insurance industry would be unable to meet the costs of such an increasingly turbulent natural environment, with freak weather events and localised devastation becoming commonplace.

Although these scenarios are future predictions and far from definitive, they have been created based on detailed analysis of current and historical trends. The consequences of neglecting to act now and allowing our climate to become increasingly tempestuous are clearly severe, and potentially irreversible.

Claire White is an employee of ConstructaQuote, one of the UK’s leading insurance comparison sites, working with some of the UK’s leading insurers to find businesses and private customers alike great prices on a wide range of insurance products .

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Do you remember the 1988 comedy starring Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin; the 12 year old boy who wishes on an enchanted fairground fortune teller machine to be “big” and wakes up the next morning aged to an adult overnight? “Big” is the “13 going on 30” of the 80s and if you haven’t seen it, find yourself a copy and make some popcorn. Not only is this sweet and funny 80s comedy entertaining, it actually can teach you a lot about money management and success.

Here are a few of the lessons that this classic film has to offer:

You are Richer than You Think

While Josh is trapped in the body of a 30 year old man and is trying to figure out how to get back to his normal 12 year old self, he rents a room in New York City and finds himself a job at the MacMillan Toy Company.

There is a great scene where Josh receives his first pay check and when he opens it he loudly exclaims “A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SEVEN DOLLARS?” Josh is obviously thrilled by this amount of money but Scotty, his cubicle neighbour, assumes that his surprise is negative and remarks “Yeah, they really screw you don’t they?”

Josh’s pay, calculated for inflation since 1988, is really only moderately higher than minimum wage. Scotty, the adult, sees this amount as practically worthless and not enough to get by on. However, from a kid’s perspective it is a fortune. It’s enough for Josh to pay his rent and treat himself and his best friend to pizza, snacks, soda and much more.

What this scene really shows us is the reality of lifestyle inflation. As we get older, we tend to continue to increase our lifestyle to match our pay with nicer clothes, cars, houses, etc. After we get our first raise, the money we lived happily on before is just not enough anymore. This means that we never really feel like we have enough extra money to save or do the things we want.

Think about this in your own life; have you inflated your lifestyle to match your earnings? What would a younger version of yourself think about how much you are earning and how much you are spending?

You’ll Earn More Money When You Love Your Job

After a while of working in his entry level job, Josh runs into the owner of the company Mr. MacMillan at the famous NYC toy shop FAO Schwarz (remember the iconic giant keyboard scene?). He impresses him with his extensive knowledge of current toys and his vibrant youthful enthusiasm, (which comes as no surprise, because he is a 12 year old after all). Mr. MacMillan offers him a promotion to the ultimate child’s dream job: Toy Tester.

Now Josh is getting paid a huge wage and he is able to move out of his dodgy flophouse and into a gorgeous apartment which he fills with a pinball machine, a trampoline and a Pepsi vending machine. His success brings incredible jealousy from his workmates, including ultra-competitive Paul Davenport.

But there is a reason why Josh gets the sweet high paying job and Paul doesn’t; it’s because Josh has a passion and a love for the business whereas Paul only wanted the promotion for the money. When you go into a career that you love and are passionate about, that will be naturally reflected in your performance. Your enthusiasm will make you great at what you do, which will increase your potential for success.

These are just a few lessons that we can learn from the classic 1980s comedy ‘Big’. Who knew a kid trapped in an adult’s body would have so much to teach us about money and success?

Sarah Fox is a finance blogger and huge 80s movie fan. She provides her readers with helpful tips for everything from finding payday loans online to balancing their family expenses.

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Aside from the obvious benefit of a reduced sentence, there are a number of benefits to accepting a plea bargain. Plea bargains often pose advantages to both sides, both the defense and prosecution. Time, money, and hassle are saved for both sides of the legal process. There are also several benefits the defendant should keep in mind when considering a plea bargain.

Faster Outcome

A criminal trial can be a long, expensive, and emotionally traumatic experience for a defendant. Plea bargains allow you to skip the extensive trial procedure and move right into the sentencing phase before a judge. You will know the outcome of the conviction much sooner than if you had to go through an entire trial, without needing to pay attorneys’ bills throughout the trial process.

Leave Jail

Defendants unable to get out on bail, whether bail was denied or is too expensive, will most likely need to stay in jail for the duration of the trial before being released or transferred to a prison. Once a plea is entered and accepted, you will be sentenced and moved out of the jail. Leaving jail could mean going home or starting a sentence in a prison. While prison may not seem like a good place to be, they are almost always better than jail.

Lesser Charges

A plea bargain often involves pleading guilty to offenses less serious than those you were charged with initially. The prosecution will reduce the charges, or remove some altogether, as a way of making the plea agreement more attractive to the defendant and increasing the chances of a fast conviction.

This is an especially important benefit of accepting a plea bargain if you are being charged with crimes that can be personally, socially, or professionally damaging. A lesser related offense can keep you from needing to continue feeling the negative effects of a conviction even after you have paid your debt to society.

Shorter Sentence

A plea bargain that results in you entering a guilty plea to lesser charges can also result in a shorter sentence. Not only are the required minimum sentences shorter for less serious crimes, many judges are more likely to show leniency to a defendant willing to accept responsibility and avoid a lengthy trial. A plea bargain can help you reduce the time you will need to serve.

The benefits of accepting a plea bargain affect your life in both the short and long terms. By accepting a plea bargain you can avoid the embarrassment of a trial and potentially shorter the sentence you will receive. Always consult with a lawyer before accepting a plea agreement.

Mike often writes articles to help explain the confusing criminal justice system. While he tries his best to explain the laws, he believes that hiring a criminal defense attorney is still the best way to go if in legal trouble.

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