Disability Insurance is a tool that many people should consider. There are options available that may be able to help you in various situations. In this article we will take a look at disability insurance to outline the way it works.

What is Disability Insurance

Disability insurance is a way for you to be covered and make an income if you are unable to work due to a disability. Each plan has a definition of a disability and the qualifications needed to be met in order to be covered. You may need to work with a physician to submit information to the insurance company.

Types of Insurance

There are two main types of disability insurance, short term and long term. Short term is coverage for a worker for a short period of time, as the name states. The typical time frame is about 3-6 weeks. It will offer a portion of your salary for this time period. Short term might be good for a surgery or procedure that won’t allow you to work. Long term disability is just like short term but obviously for a longer period of time, around 6 months or more. A long term plan may be good for someone who has an illness like cancer.

Ways to Get

Disability Insurance can be acquired many different ways. There are private companies that sell.  Most private insurance companies where you may find home, car or health insurance offer plans. You can have luck finding information online. It can also be offered by social security/the government. Social Security offers special programs for those suffering from major illness. That way everyone can be taken care of in the event of an unforeseen event.

Terms

When shopping around for disability insurance, it is important to review the terms. Once you do your research you will learn a lot of the key terms.

Elimination Period- This is the period of time that must pass before your policy can take into effect. Basically when your policy starts you can not ask for coverage until the elimination period is over. Elimination period vary, can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 9 months. 

Any Occupation/Own Occupation– This term used in disability coverage explains the circumstances of your disability. Are you unable to do any form of work or are you only unable to do your own occupation or own line of work. This is a key element of coverage.

Benefit Period- The benefit period is the length of time you will receive the portion of your salary payments and benefit.

Cost

The price of a policy depends on many things, many of them being the terms mentioned above. 

Hopefully this provides you with an outline of disability insurance and can help you determine if it is right for you.

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Many of us may have memories of our parents or grandparents getting out a pencil and sitting down to balance their checkbook regularly. As the popularity of debit cards and electronic payments skyrocketed, the practice of balancing a checkbook started being viewed as “old-fashioned.”

Keeping an eye on your account can be done a few different ways. Many financial institutions still mail (or email) monthly statements to deposit account holders. Take a look through those when they come every month and make sure everything looks right.

Also, sign up for online and/or mobile banking. This is a great resource to know where you stand at any point – but keep in mind some transactions take longer to post to your account than others. It’s a great idea to check your account online every day, or at least every couple of days.

If you make a transaction at your financial institution, whether it’s with a teller or at the ATM, ask for a balance on your receipt. This doesn’t give you many details, but if it’s far off from where you think it should be this is a trigger for you to do more research.

As the banking industry changes, employees in financial institutions have more opportunities to be trained to provide more customer service than when they were focused almost entirely on transactions. Get to know an employee at your local branch and reach out when you need help. They are there to help, but they can’t if you don’t ask or aren’t honest with them.

While it may look different now, keeping an eye on your bank accounts is still a super important practice. You may not keep track of every single transaction in a check register, but you need to know what’s going on in your account for a few different reasons.

• Knowledge of your balance

Debit cards and electronic payments make it easy to keep spending and have no idea how much money you have in your account. One of the most basic, but important, reasons to keep an eye on your bank account is to know how much money you have.

Failure to keep track of your balance can end up being a very costly mistake. The average overdraft fee in America is $30, which means that every time you swipe your card to pay for something you don’t have money in your account to cover, you’re automatically going to pay around $30 more. Unfortunately, even a $1.50 soda can end up costing you $30 extra if you aren’t paying attention to your account.

• Preventing fraud

With billions of dollars in fraudulent charges made annually, it’s important to keep an eye on your accounts to make sure you recognize every single charge. Even if a charge is only 99 cents or a few dollars, don’t ignore it if you don’t recognize it. A common fraud practice is to process a fraudulent transaction for a dollar or two to see if you notice, then they will hit your account for a much larger amount. This can be devastating, especially for families who live paycheck to paycheck.

If you ever see a charge that you don’t recognize on your bank account, don’t hesitate to contact your financial institution and ask. Most every financial institution has people trained to take care of fraud and they can do some research with you to try and find out what the charge might be and help you get it taken care of if it’s not yours.

Even if you and a bank employee discover together that a purchase you made online came through your account under a different company name than you expected, it’s much better for both you and your financial institution to be safe rather than sorry.

• Mistakes happen

Mistakes can happen – whether it’s at the bank or a merchant where you’ve written a check or swiped your card. If you notice something that doesn’t seem right, always contact your financial institution right away. And if you miscalculated and need to use 24Cash to get a loan until you can catch up, do what you need to get by.

If you see a deposit in your account that you didn’t make, don’t just assume it’s your lucky day. Always contact your bank right away because spending it will eventually catch up with you when someone wonders where their deposit went and the paper trail leads back to your account.

Mistakes happen, and if it’s not your money, it’s not yours – regardless of mistakes. The right thing to do is make your financial institution aware right away of extra money (or less money) in your account than you think you should have.

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Buying a home is a momentous occasion for most people. However, doing so almost always requires a mortgage. Applying for a mortgage loan and having your application approved is often more stressful and challenging than the home buying process itself. With that said, being prepared for what’s in store can put you in a position where these difficulties are minimized.

Consider the following before deciding to apply for a mortgage:

Compare lenders

It’s important to do your homework regarding various lenders. Application requirements, interest rates, loan type, and approval parameters vary from one lender to another. Consider using a web capture tool to document this information as you come across it online. Once you’ve given all the potential options a look, consult these captures to compare notes. Viewing the differences side-by-side will make it easier to determine which lenders are the best choice for your situation.

Improve your credit score

Once you’ve narrowed down the list of best mortgage options available, it’s time to devise a six-month gameplan for getting yourself into the best financial position possible for approval. This almost always requires an effort to improve your credit score. Do so by taking steps to rein in your credit utilization while continuing to demonstrate responsible credit usage. Check your credit report to spot errors that negatively affect your score and take steps to have them corrected. All of this should be done prior to your mortgage application.

Know the 28/36 rule

Most lenders rely on what’s known as the 28/36 rule when determining whether or not a mortgage applicant qualifies for loan approval. The mortgage payment must be no more than 28% of your gross monthly income, while your total debt obligations (including the mortgage payment) can’t exceed 36% of your gross monthly income. These include car payments, student loans, and credit cards. Do the math to determine whether or not your financial situation fits into these parameters before you decide to apply for a mortgage.

Gather the right documents

Lenders want to get to know as much about your financial situation as possible. This usually includes pay stubs, tax filings, and bank statements. While it varies from one lender to another, they typically want to see a month’s worth of paycheck stubs, two years of tax filings, and three months of bank statements. Have all this information readily available before applying.

Pay down debt

Chances are you’re at or over the 36% benchmark mentioned above. You want to lower that figure as much as possible before applying for a mortgage. The simplest way to do so is to pay off as much debt as possible. It’s easier said than done, but the truth is that a high volume of debt obligation will make it difficult to afford a monthly mortgage payment. It’s in your best interest to lower your monthly debt obligations as much as possible, in order to be in a better position to manage the financial situation being a homeowner will bring.

Don’t make any major purchases

Last but not least, you want to hold off on any major purchases before and after applying for a mortgage. In fact, it’s imperative to resist doing so even after you’ve been approved; lenders will continue to monitor your financial situation and have every right to rescind their agreement if they discover you’ve increased your debt obligation by racking up credit card debt.

Being approved for a mortgage is more difficult than ever before, but for good reason. Lenders need to make sure borrowers are in a position to fulfill their end of the arrangement. This requires a lot of paperwork and financial maneuvering, but the ends justify the means. Being prepared is key to being approved.

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