Tol Records Finance and Money Management Tips

Archive for the ‘Personal Finance’ Category

You have seen their ads and you may have wondered if they are worth a second look. What am I talking about? Online banks! Also known as internet banks, these are financial institutions who provide the majority of their banking services over the internet. Typically, online banks offer consumers high savings rates, low loan rates, and a mix of other services. Let’s look at 7 winners in this fast growing field:

1. E Trade Bank Part of E Trade Financial, the discount internet stockbroker. E Trade Bank offers checking accounts, money markets, and certificates of deposits as well as a VISA credit card.

2. Netbank Along with offering checking and money market accounts, Netbank provides mortgage and home equity lines of credit to customers. With tie-ins to affiliated companies Netbank also offers Auto, Homeowners, Condo/Co-op & Renters Insurance and Life, Health, Long Term Care & Dental Insurance.

3. Virtual Bank VirtualBank, a division of Lydian Private Bank, is a federally chartered bank regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision. The bank offers checking, savings, and credit card services to customers.

4. Ever Bank This leading internet provider of banking services offers the most extensive, and varied services of any online institution. Ever Bank offers business and personal checking accounts, mortgages, home equity loans/lines of credit, reverse mortgages, a VISA credit card, and world currency accounts. This latter category is for investing in Deposit accounts and CDs denominated in any major world currency.

5. Emigrant Direct Part of Emigrant Savings Bank which traces its roots back to 1850 as a service provider to Irish immigrants. Emigrant has $10 billion in assets and more than $1 billion in net worth. It operates as a full service bank through 36 branches in the New York metropolitan area, and through EmigrantDirect.com. Emigrant offers only consumer services online; their high paying savings account is a chief investment vehicle.

6. ING Direct ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. ING offers mortgages, loans/lines of credit, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market mutual funds through another division.

7. MetLife Bank Yes, MetLife. A division of insurance powerhouse Metropolitan Life, MetLife Bank offers savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, mortgages, and IRAs to consumers.

If you are banking exclusively with a “brick and mortar” institution you may be missing out on high paying investment options or competitive loan rates that easily undercut many traditional banking entities. These online banking success stories are only part of a growing number of savvy providers, some of whom are definitely worth a closer look by you, the consumer.

You just can’t get that memo right, can you? You print out the first draft and find a misspelling. You print out the second draft and discover you missed some commas. You print out the third draft and later decide on a new title. Now the final draft is ready for printing. Before you throw away those wasted sheets of paper, stop and realize that you could be costing your business as well as the environment.

You probably know that by recycling you can save landfill space. But did you know that recycling also can produce a profit for your company? Follow these recycling tips and your workplace will be ready to save the world.

* Create a recycling program. Almost all types of office papers are recyclable. So is most plastic, aluminum and cardboard. If your office doesn’t already have a recycling program, contact your local recycling company to see how to start one.

* Use recycled products. If you recycle but don’t buy recycled products, you’re defeating the purpose, in a sense, by discouraging manufacturers of recycled products.

* Conserve paper. Find paperless ways to communicate, such as by e-mail. Also, save used paper for scrap, make double-sided copies and only print pages you actually need. By cutting back on paper consumption, your office will save money and natural resources.

* Recycle office equipment. Did you know that computers can be recycled, as well as cell phones, PDAs, pagers, chargers and rechargeable batteries? Many local recycling companies and retailers, including Staples, offer easy ways to recycle your equipment.

* Recycle empty inkjet and toner cartridges. The fewer drafts you print, the more money you’ll save on cartridge replacements. But when that inkjet or toner cartridge is empty, recycle it through mail-back programs or local retailers like Staples.

In fact, Staples offers a Recycle for Education program that gives $1 to local education charities for every empty inkjet or toner cartridge you recycle in their stores.

Here you’re going to learn several ways to save money every month by lowering your monthly bills.

There are lots of ways to save money, no matter how much of it you have – or don’t have!

Having struggled for many years paying my own bills, I learned many ways to save money. From simple things like food, gas, and clothing, to bigger expenses, like insurance and your mortgage.

All you need to know is where to look to find the savings.

Several Ways To Save Money

The first thing you need to do is eliminate ALL of your unnecessary expenses:

• eating out on the weekends
• buying lunch at work every day
• magazine and newspaper subscriptions (especially those you can get online and at the local library)
• cable TV (you’d be amazed at how many other ways you’ll find to spend your time once you get rid of cable TV)
• groceries (you can save lots of money with coupons and specials.)

It’s OK to reward yourself once in a while, but if you are really looking to get out of debt faster, you owe it to yourself to save every single penny you can!

To find other ways to reduce your expenses, take a close look at your checkbook and credit card statements. You should also call your credit card companies to see if they will lower your interest rates, even if it is only for a short time.

You’ll be amazed at how many ways you can save money, especially once you start looking carefully at how you spend your money every month.

Shop Around For The Lowest Prices

For those expenses you can’t eliminate, it’s time to start shopping around for the best prices.

Once I realized you can shop around for just about ANYTHING you spend money on every month, I learned how to save myself SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS each and every month!

In fact, by shopping around I ended up saving myself more than $750 a year on car insurance alone!

The same is true of many of your monthly expenses – like long distance telephone service, internet service, all types of insurance, mortgages, and in some places even your utility bills.

It DOESN’T take any special skills. All it takes is a few clicks and you can save yourself a bunch of money in no time at all!

So, if you’d like to save yourself lots of money every month – and who doesn’t – start shopping around and looking for ways to lower your monthly bills right away!