Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Adam Ginsberg’s Guide to Paying off Debt

Finding ourselves in a downward spiraling debt trap is usually an indication that we have allowed things to get out of control. And, emerging from this hole and back to normalcy is usually a long, tough and arduous journey.

There are obvious tell-tale signs, some described here by Claes Bell, that have “falling into debt trap” written all over them, and if you can see them, you can save yourself a lot of pain by fixing your over looming financial troubles before they come raining down on you in torrents.

Adam Ginsberg, the leading eBayentrepreneurship and wealth building coach and mentor, has some suggestions on how you can emerge from over bearing debt and take control of your life.

Wake up and smell the coffee
The first step is to accept your financial situation. If you identify yourself with any or similar situations as mentioned in Claes’s article, then it’s time to stop what you are doing, sit down and have a long hard look at your finances. No one’s been able to reclaim their lives from a financial downfall by looking the other way. You’ve got to acknowledge that you have a problem, and then find your way out of it.

Have a Plan   
Compare reclaiming your life from financial disaster to a road trip. Before you embark on your journey to financial recovery, you need to sit down and chart your route on a road map, just as you would before a road trip. The only difference could be that you may prefer the shortest possible route rather than the scenic, longer one. Make your plan as detailed as possible. Your financial plan should have all your debts listed down and your priority to pay them back. Some people prefer to pay back debt with highest interest rates first, while some others prefer paying off ones with the least outstanding amounts. Adam Baker of Man vs Debt has an interesting view of his own.  Adam Ginsberg suggests choosing the method that you feel will give you the most satisfaction.

Live Frugal
If you find yourself in a downward spiral financially, then you need to take desperate measures to save every penny that you can. Cut down on expenses that you can live without. You may have to sacrifice on some of the things that you love, like going to the movies or eating out, but remember you are doing it so you can enjoy them more later, without having to thinks of outstanding debts while indulging yourself. Find cheaper alternatives to things that you cannot do absolutely without.

Supplement you Income
Find ways to increase your income. More money means paying off debt faster. Take up a part-time job or have a yard sale. Think about ways that you can rake in some additional cash. You can also check out Adam Ginsberg’s eBay programs to make money online.

Remember, it all starts with your determination to take the bull by its horns. Once you make up your mind, there’s nothing in the world that can stop you from erasing the last penny of your debt in the time frame that you decide.

Friday, 5 July 2013

Ginsberg Helps you Choose between Mortgage Insurance and Life Insurance



Often times we find that home owners who take out a mortgage on their homes end up buying mortgage insurance as well. What Mortgage insurance essentially does is insure your outstanding home loan with the bank as the beneficiary and in the event of your death squares off your mortgage loan by paying the bank whatever is outstanding on your loan. For many people it’s a matter of priority to ensure that their loved ones would not be burdened by their debts when they are gone. But choosing the right insurance vehicle is equally important for both the insured and their beneficiaries. 
Adam Ginsberg, the pioneer in eBay entrepreneurship and now a leading coach and mentor on online business and wealth building shares his views on whether or not is it a good idea to take out mortgage insurance.
As mentioned above, mortgage insurance comes into play upon the passing away of the insured, absolving his or her next of kin from repaying the mortgage loan. However, there are a few things worth looking into before signing on that dotted line.
More often than not, taking out mortgage insurance is not such a great idea. Here’s why. To begin with mortgage insurance is clearly not in your family’s favor as the insured amount will be paid directly to the loaning bank in the event of your death and your family will not see a dime of it. It is a good idea if you have taken out enough life insurance coverage to cover your family’s needs apart from the mortgage. For example, if you take out an additional term policy for the same amount of premium as you would have paid on the mortgage insurance then your family would’ve had the flexibility of taking care of more important expenses like other high interest loans  than the mortgage and continue to make mortgage payments as before.
Choose between Mortgage Insurance and Life Insurance | Wealth FormulaSecondly, with mortgage insurance, the value of the policy decreases over time since it only covers the outstanding balance on your loan, whereas the premium remains the same throughout. On the other hand, a life insurancepolicy will pay your next of kin the same amount in the last year of its term as in the first.
Adam Ginsberg suggests weighing all your options and arming yourself with as much information as possible (read more here) before taking a mortgage insurance against your home loan.
To know more about Adam Ginsberg and his great new eBay software and entrepreneurship tools go here.

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Ginsberg Talks About Insurance for Kids – Yes or No?




Whenever someone mentions, or even wonders aloud if they should take out insurance for their children, a hot debate kicks off. Every single time!

 This is probably one topic of personal finance/insurance that doesn’t seem to have unanimity on either side. Adam Ginsberg, the online entrepreneurship and wealth-building coach, too studied the various arguments and has decided to put forth his views on the subject.

First and foremost, taking out insurance for children is a sensitive topic for parents as each parent thinks differently about the welfare of their children. Hence, the decision to buy or not to buy life insurance for children should be left entirely to the parents. But here are a few arguments, both for and against, that Adam Ginsberg believes should be shared with parents so as to help them take an informed, albeit an emotional decision.   

The one argument that leans heavily in favor of buying insurance for children is to allow them to enjoy insurance coverage later in their lives in case they end with a chronic illness or a disability which renders them uninsurable. If this is the argument that you as a parent are going to consider then Adam Ginsberg suggests buying awhole life insurance policy, which will keep your child insured for his or her entire life, and also give them some returns in terms of the cash value of the policy. If that is the way you are going to go as a parent, then experts advise buying a renewable term plan for a high value makes more sense, and that too which has the option of converting into a whole life policy later.

On the other hand, the pundits believe that that purpose of insurance is to cover the loss of wage or income in the event of the insured person’s demise, and since children are not earning any livelihood, it is pointless to take out insurance policies for them. Instead, investing in a good 529 plan or IRA make better sense in the case of children. Click here to read more about what various experts think about this never ending argument.


Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Term Life Insurance vs Permanent Life Insurance – Adam Ginsberg Breaks Them Down



As discussed in a previous post, life insurance is a complicated subject and there are no easy ways to know which one is right for you, how long you should take it for, how much insurance is enough etc. etc.  No one can answer these questions for you—you’ll have to work them out yourself.

But, what Adam Ginsberg can do to help you reach a decision about which type of insurance to buy is break down the two kinds of insurance available, i.e., term insurance and permanent, or whole life insurance.

The most basic difference between a term policy and a whole life policy is that a term policy only provides death benefits to the insured person’s beneficiaries in the event of his or her death. A whole life policy, on the other hand, has an investment component along with death benefits which builds cash value over the life of the policy. Therefore, the returns on a whole life policy can be enjoyed by the insured person as well during his or her lifetime.

Secondly, a term insurance policy is taken out for a fixed term, like 10, 15 or 20 years. On the other hand a whole life insurance policy lasts for as long as you keep paying your premiums.
The third basic difference between the two policies is the applicable premium. Term insurance plans have very low premiums compared to whole life policies as a part of the premium for the latter is invested in building the cash value component as described earlier.

Apart from these basic differences, what you should consider when choosing an insurance policy is the death benefit offered.  On one hand you may be able to get a $500,000 term policy, for say, $300 annual premium, but for a whole life policy of the same amount may cost you $3000 every year. Therefore, before you make a decision, you should consider whether you are better off investing in a term policy for $300 and investing $2700 in other investment vehicles with higher returns or if you should hedge your risk and invest in a whole lifepolicy for lower returns.

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Tips from Adam Ginsberg on Choosing The Right Life Insurance

Life Insurance is a simple and, at the same time, a complicated topic of personal finance. Simple because it serves a very simple purpose—to provide for your family and loved ones after you’re gone or even for yourself in case of loss of income etc. And, complicated because we can almost never figure out how to predict how much we’d need in the future to keep us protected from these anticipated losses.

Adam Ginsberg, one of America’s leading internet entrepreneurship and wealth building coaches sheds some light on the various kinds of life insurance and how to choose the right one.

Various kinds of life insurance

Life insurance can be split into two broad categories, i.e., term insurance and whole life insurance.

Term insurance basically guarantees a specific sum of money to be paid to the family of the insured person in the event of his or her death, or in some cases permanent disability as well. Term insurance policies are taken out for a specific period and a specific amount. If the insured person outlives the period of the policy, then the policy expires. In short, term policies are pure insurance in the event of a tragedy, and nothing more.

Whole life insurance, on the other hand covers the insured person throughout his or her life span. These policies include a variable cash value that builds over time along with guaranteed death benefits. However, the premiums for these policies tend to be higher since a portion of the premium goes into making investments on your behalf for that cash value component.

Choosing the right insurance

Adam Ginsberg’s Tips on Choosing The Right Life Insurance | Wealth Formula
Now this is the tricky part. There are as many points-of-view on how to choose the right insurance as there are people you know. However, each individual’s requirements are as unique as the individual themselves and only you can decide which insurance policies will suit you best. There many of your life’s factors to consider while making this decision and Adam Ginsberg suggests a basic approach to analyzing various factors before making a decision.

Factor #1 – Your Age
 Age is perhaps the most crucial factor while deciding on your insurance policies. For instance, if you are young and single or older with grown up, independent children then you may not need pure life insurance at all. However, if you are married and have children with other liabilities like mortgage or auto loans, then you should have at least one term insurance policy.

Factor # 2 – Policy Period
If you have children, then the term period for a life insurance policy should be long enough to cover your children’s college-going age. For instance, if you have children aged 10 and 5, then you should take an insurance plan for a period of 15 years, which will cover your younger child till his or her college years.

Factor # 3 – Insured Amount
This again is a very crucial factor that tends to confuse people while choosing an insurance plan. According to Adam Ginsberg, the ideal insured amount should be the one that covers all your liabilities, like your mortgages and auto loans, and a few times your annual income to help your family tide over in the event of your death, and get back on their feet again.

These are the three basic factors that influence your decision while considering taking out a term insurance on your life and should be analyzed meticulously to help you get the right decision.

Keep a look out for more articles on insurance advice from Adam Ginsberg on this website. And, for any feedback that you may have on our articles, please feel free to write to us.