9 Year Mortgage

9 Year Mortgage says with confidence, that everyone is looking for ways to save money; even those who are financially comfortable would not be opposed to saving a little extra to put into their retirement or savings funds. For those of you who are merely looking for ways to stay within your set budget and live within your means, we offer a simple solution that could save you thousands each year; Bring your lunch to work! Yes, this is not a new concept nor is it hard to apply to your life, so no excuses are allowed from here on out. On average, our clients at 9 Year Mortgage spend between $100 and $200 more than they earn each month. After looking closely at our clients spending, we found that these same over-spending clients were spending nearly $200 a month in “work-lunches” alone; thats equivalent to $10 a day!

9 Year Mortgage’s Rebuttals to Work-Lunch Excuses

For those of you who are trying to cut costs, save money, or reduce debt, 9 Year Mortgage strongly suggests that packing a lunch is a very easy way to help you keep to a budget. There are plenty of excuses you could give for why you can not bring a lunch to work with you, but only a handful or less are legitimate. If you are serious about determining a budget and sticking to it, 9 Year Mortgage offers these rebuttals against our most common excuses against bringing a lunch to work.

Excuse #1: I just don’t like packing lunches.

9 Year Mortgage understands that there are those days when you just don’t feel like packing a lunch, so we suggest you pull a frozen meal from the freezer! Did you know that most frozen meals or pot pies can be purchased for under a dollar? If your lucky, you can catch a sale and find frozen meals for a mere 58 cents! This will not only save you from spending $7.00 on that fast food value meal, you also won’t have to spend the gas money to go and get your lunch. We also guarantee that bringing a frozen meal with you to work will be much healthier than anything you will buy on the go.

Excuse #2: I don’t have time in the mornings to prepare a lunch.

Who said you had to make your lunch in the morning? 9 Year Mortgage knows that at the end of most evening dinners you have leftovers, so we suggest that you take the time while your cleaning up to put a single serving in a separate container for the next days lunch. For additional food to snack on throughout the work day, try putting dried fruit, crackers, real fruit or cut up veggies in plastic bags to bring with you. Another money saving tip would be to drink water instead of purchasing a soda out of your work’s vending machine. Once again, these little tips will not only give you a money saving result, but healthier eating habits as well!

Excuse #3: My workplace doesn’t have a microwave or a fridge.

From our previous suggestions, this does kind of hinder your options. However, there are plenty of lunch options that do not require a microwave or fridge while at work. The classic option is to bring a sandwich with some side dishes, like fruits and vegetables. If you are like many who do not like soggy sandwiches, then put your mayo on the side in a seperate container and finish building your lunch when you are about to eat. Salads are another great option for work lunches. Invest in a lunch pale that is insulated and includes an ice pack. This way you can keep your salad cool and fresh until your ready for your lunch.

9 Year Mortgage Compares Prices: Take Your Own vs. Take-Out

Over the course of a year, it is incredible how much money people spend on work lunches. From the discussions with our 9 Year Mortgage clients, we have determined that if you were to go to a fast food restaurant and get a drink with your meal, the average cost would be between $6 and $10 a day. This adds up to $1,500 and $2,500 each year in work-lunches alone! Now, if you are guilty of going to a more upscale place to eat each day, you can expect to pay between $12 and $20 which adds up to $3,000 and $5,000 per year. If decide that not eating out for lunch is not an option but you cut it down to only every other day, you can still expect to pay at least $1,000 a year, including coffee’s and breakfast bagels you pick up on your way to or from work.

We’re not trying to pull your leg when we say that bringing your lunch to work will save you thousands each year; to prove our point, lets calculate the average cost of a packed lunch

• Sandwich = Less than $1.00, including bread, lunch meat, etc.
• Banana = Less than $.25
• Apple = Less than $.35
• Peanut Butter Crackers = Less than $.35
• Chips= Less than $.37

If you were to eat this lunch, it would cost you just over $2 to make. If you were to pack leftovers or a frozen meal it would cost even less. So within the course of 250 work days, you could spend about $500 for lunches that you bring with you from home.

When compared to the fast food average of $2,000 a year, bringing your lunch to work could add up to a savings of $1,500. If you are eating in the more upscale restaurant choices as mentioned above, you could actually save $3,000 to $4,000. a year. Now that this evidence has been provided for you, is there any question as to if bringing your lunch to work would really save you money? 9 Year Mortgage has had great success with our clients who are trying to cut costs and stick to budget when they decide to make their lunches at home and bring them to work.

9 Year Mortgage Wraps It Up

As mentioned once or twice, bringing your lunch to work not only comes with money saving benefits, but health benefits as well. 9 Year Mortgage is aware of that saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but we believe that doesn’t mean you can’t have a cheap lunch!

If you are determined to start cutting costs in order to stick within your monthly earnings or in order to save money, this strategy of bringing your lunch to work can really work. If you have set aside $200 for work lunches, try bringing your lunch to work every day next month; you’ll see that the savings of $150 dollars is well worth it. By combining this strategy with our other money saving tips, you too can have a well balanced budget that will allow you to start putting money away in an emergency fund or savings account for retirement.

9 Year Mortgage knows that having life insurance coverage is one of the most important purchases one can make, especially if you have dependents like a wife and/or children. Unfortunately, a lot of people see themselves as invincible, thinking “Oh, that will never happen to me,” and then one day it does; Ultimately, leaving your family mourning your loss and worried about bills. Being prepared with the appropriate life insurance can save your family from endless hours of financial woes once you have passed.

How Much

9 Year Mortgage believes that there are five major issues that your life insurance must provide for. If you happen to be the primary salary earner, the five issues that should be provided for by your life insurance are 1) pay off the home mortgage 2) pay off all other debts, including funeral expenses 3) provide an income for your surviving spouse 4) provide a college education for the kids, and 5) cover income taxes due on large estates.

9 Year Mortgage gives the following example in order to show the possible calculations one might want to go through when determining what type and how much life insurance to purchase. A married male at age 35 has three children under the age of 10 and earns $60,000. In this instance the following calculations were made

• Pay off mortgage of $200,000
• Pay off credit cards, cars, student loans and funeral expenses, totaling $50,000
• Provide $45,000 a year as income for your surviving spouse, which makes working optional for her. Because your mortgage will now be paid off, having a nest egg of $1,000,000 that earns 6% in interest will automatically generate this $45,000 annually.
• College education for every child, roughly $100,000 each
• No large estate

TOTAL LIFE INSURANCE NEEDED $1,550,000 (notice this is about 25 times the income).

9 Year Mortgage has seen time and time again the saddening and empty loss endured by the survivors of a loved one without adequate life insurance coverage; the saddest encounters being those who are young with children. Regardless if your children are in elementary school, high school, or college, the death of a parent is a significant hardship for them, both emotionally and financially. Unfortunately, 9 Year Mortgage has noticed that a majority of those who pass away are significantly under-insured.

How Long

Now that what issues should be covered by life insurance, it’s time to determine the length of your policy. Let us continue on with our example above. If the father mentioned previously purchased a 30-year term policy when he was 25, by age 55 his policy is over. At this point in time, he would have paid for all of his children’s college educations and possibly have his house paid off. It may be a possibility that his wife had returned to work since their children were out of the house, meaning she wouldn’t need such a large income from the life insurance. If this is the case, the father may want to drop his coverage down to $500,000.

At this point in time, our father example from above is 55 and healthy and is currently looking for another term policy for 20 years covering $500,000. The bad news here is that at an older age, a 20 year term policy for $500,000 would cost just as much as it would have originally cost to purchase the $1,550,000 policy when he was 25. With this in mind, there are many questions that must be considered: Does he want any coverage at all? Does he want to donate to a charity at his death? Will Social Security be sufficient for his wife’s needs or does she have a pension? Does he want to help provide for his grandchildren or want to leave an estate behind?

What Type

If you find yourself in this situation, Nine Year Mortgage suggests that each of these questions should be discussed with the whole family, including children and possibly grandchildren. At an older age, you may find yourself unable to purchase life insurance or have to pay extreme amounts for minimal coverage; it may just be better to purchase a longer term when you are younger or purchase a whole or permanent coverage.

If you are interested in whole or permanent life insurance, be aware that it is a significant difference in price than a term policy. A healthy male at age 25 who is looking for $1,550,000 of coverage would pay roughly $12,000 per year or about $1,000 a month. The benefit to this type of policy is that even if you do not pass until you are in your 90′s, it is guaranteed that someone you have as a beneficiary will get $1,550,000 upon your death.

If you are to look at strictly the policy, $12,000 a year for 55 years of coverage will add up to $660,000 in premiums, or another way to look at it is 42 cents on the dollar. The good news is, is that a whole-life policy will earn interest over the years. After about 25 years your policy will build cash-value on which you can earn interest. This interest can go towards paying the policies premiums, meaning that after 55 year you will only pay $300,000 on premiums or roughly 19 cents on the dollar. The benefits of a whole-life policy do not end here, the cash-value you gain are seen as tax-favored or can be used as an investment.

9 Year Mortgage Sums It Up

Life insurance costs will always vary from each family to another, but here at 9 Year Mortgage we warn that you should never find yourself uninsured. More often than not, 9 Year Mortgage encounters those who are severely under-insured; we suggest that you do not find yourself in this category. Make sure to over-insure your life policy. Looking back on it, it would seem nonsensical to have life insurance and pay for it for years only to find out it won’t really help your loved ones out once you have left this world.

It is true that whole-life insurance costs more than term life insurance, although the benefits that come with it are indeed far superior to the latter. If you happen to encounter bad health after your term policy expires, your family will face many financial woes. Note that a whole-life policy can never be canceled due to the fact that it builds a cash-value and has tax-favored treatments. Before you jump into making a decision on which life insurance to purchase, 9 Year Mortgage strongly suggests you take a significant amount of time researching each option, adding plans for the future into your decision.

9 Year Mortgage believes that life insurance is a must-have, especially if you have a spouse, children, or both. When the primary bread winner is taken in death, there are many serious decisions to make and if you are lacking life insurances there could be serious repercussions. Whether to sell the house, whether a grandparent needs to move in to help tend the children or whether a stay at home mom should go back to work are all the types of issues that need to be resolved, all while coping with the loss of a loved one. Having the reassurance that money is not a problem or factor in the decision making process may provide a peace of mind when making these decisions in such a hard time.

Below, 9 Year Mortgage has listed the top ten basics of life insurance

1. Life Insurance policies fall into one of two categories

• Term policies are a pure insurance coverage, with no investment component. A key factor 9 Year Mortgage would like to point out is that these policies are “rented” so to speak, meaning that no equity is built up because they will expire on a certain date.

• Whole-life policies tend to combine permanent insurance with an investment product. These policies are owned for life and can acquire a cash savings throughout it.

Note that most younger people usually purchase term policies, which can last for up to 30 years. While it may be cheaper to purchase a term policy, remember it is not yours; you do not own it.

2. Insurance is sold, not bought

The majority of life insurance policies that are written within the U.S. are sold by agents. Life insurance agents have been motivated as of recently due to the high commission that comes with a sale.

3. Whole-life policies are built on estimates

The returns that an agent will quote you are educated estimates; the insurance company has general guaranteed rates. It is important to look at these basic rates rather than assume that the interest rates and projected accumulation are guaranteed.

3. Whole-life is pricey

Because a whole-life policy requires an investment portion it can cost much, much more than a term policy. Many individuals who decide to purchase a whole-life policy often find themselves unable to afford the appropriate amount of coverage, which leaves themselves under-insured. If you are looking to have good coverage with an investment portion, 9 Year Mortgage would suggest that you purchase a combination of a smaller whole-life policy with a large term policy on top of it.

5. Buy enough term coverage to protect your needs

9 Year Mortgage suggests that you do not hold back when purchasing life insurance, especially because the cost for coverage is at an all-time low. We suggest to purchase at least 10 times your average salary, but 20 times would be much better if it is available to you.

6. Match the term of the policy to your needs

You will want your policy to last through many various occasions including through: when your dependents leave home, when your house is paid in full, when retirement income starts, or until you know for certain that you will not have a large estate tax burden; all of which can continue to be paid through a life insurance term.

7. Consider keeping your investments and insurance separate

9 Year Mortgage suggests that you shouldn’t be paying the high commisions and expenses of whole life policies when there are better places to invest. However, if you are looking for a tax break, life insurance cash has such qualities so it may be worth your time to discuss options and possibilities with a trusted life insurance agent.

8. Shop on the internet

You no longer have to wait for that knock on your door or drive down to your insurance agents office; you can avoid all that with online quotes. However, do not under estimate the knowledge and value of having a trusted agent who can counsel you on your insurance decisions.

9. Buy when you’re healthy

The older you get and the more health issues you have, the higher the rates you will encounter for life insurance. Nine Year Mortgage believes the time to purchase life insurance comes when you get married or have children; buy early because you never know when a health problem will occur.

10. Tell the truth

It will not help to falsify your facts when filling out a life insurance application in hopes of getting a lower rate. Let 9 Year Mortgage assure you that if a large claim is made, the insurance company will investigate before they pay.

9 Year Mortgage knows that it is easy to turn around and say “that will never happen to me”, but truth is that can never be determined. We suggest that you are prepared for unexpected events, especially death, by getting your life insurance early if you have any dependents. If you have questions about which life insurance policy is best for you, contact a locally trusted insurance agent to get details.