There’s a simple rule when it comes to debts. Unless the debt is interest free, continuing to borrow the money is costing you money. If you can earn interest on savings or get a return on other investments, it usually benefits you to pay off the debts and invest your money. Except, if you are overpaying to reduce your debts this can leave you short if there should be an emergency and some lenders dislike people repaying more quickly than they should and charge fees and impose penalties for early repayment. So, applying the general rule, you should always pay off the most expensive loans first.... 

Most people fail to think ahead. That means they get caught up in a panic when an emergency arises and, more often than not, end up taking short-term finance at very high rates of interest. This does nothing more than make the emergency worse. So, even though you may already be on the margin and living paycheck to paycheck, there are a few simple steps you can take to save yourself from the pain of these high-priced loans. The first involves joining a credit union. Almost every major city across the US has a credit union and their membership rules are reasonably easy to satisfy, being aimed at... 

A while ago, before the price of gas rocketed up to stratospheric levels, there was some research on travel habits showing that men preferred to drive long distances whereas women preferred to do the same journeys by air. When the price of crude oil did reach record levels, both genders were hit. The drivers were paying $100 to fill up the tanks of their guzzlers and surcharges were making the price of seats on an airplane ever more expensive. Now we have a different problem with the recession. The price of gas may have dropped but people no longer have the same amount of disposable income to pay... 

When buying their homes, most people never really think about the costs of insurance. Yet the building you choose has a direct effect on the amount of premium you will pay to insure it. Where you buy is critical. Should there be a track record of hurricane, tornado or flood damage in the area, many insurance companies will either not offer insurance or will want high rates to match the increased risks of a claim for storm damage. Now come to the age of the property and the building materials used. Older buildings may have an ageing electrical system more likely to catch fire and a plumbing system... 

When the going is good, the majority simply renew their existing policies or spend only a few minutes buying a new policy. Saving a few dollars is less important when credit is flowing freely. But now we are in a recession and every dollar matters, it’s time to look more carefully at how we spend our dollars on insurance. The first step is to shop around. That way, you will find out for certain whether you are paying too much. When you talk to the insurers and research their companies, remember to ask about the claims process. This is not just about saving money on the premiums. It’s... 

The law is very straightforward. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives all US consumers the right to receive one free report from the credit bureaus every year. The intention is to ensure that everyone understands their financial situation, takes precautions to fight identity theft, and gets (reasonably) fair treatment from all lenders. You have no right to receive your credit or FICO score. The problem is that every lender, insurance company and other company that uses the information about your finances applies a slightly different formula to work out your score. There is no one score to give you.... 

Has it occurred to you that it’s not very fair when insurance companies start poking around your life. They want to know how well you drive your vehicle, what you have in your home worth protecting, how likely you are to fall sick and, most cheerfully, when you think you’re going to die. There’s no part of your life they don’t investigate and build into their models for deciding how much to charge you as a premium in your latest policy. So you retaliate. Instead of blindly picking a company out of yellow pages, you use a site like this to get comparative quotes from all... 

The world of technology is changing fast. When I was young, it was not uncommon for tradespeople to use a horse and cart for local deliveries around town. Now, we have trains that ride on a magnetic field, jet aircraft and hybrid cars. The idea of a hybrid is quite fascinating. As a gardner, to be able to take two different species and create something new with the best qualities of both. As a technologist, to be able to take a conventional internal combustion engine and combine it with electric motors. It’s like a marriage. When the two components work well together, they are strong. If... 

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that an increasing number of people are now unable to afford medical insurance. Some 47 million people do not have medical insurance. When they begin to fall sick, there is nothing that can be done if money is short. When it comes to a choice between food on the table and treatment, most people decide to eat. They hope they will get better. When health does not improve, there is no improvement in the choice to be made. If treatment remains unaffordable, they have to wait until their sickness worsens to the point it can be considered an emergency. At this point, people... 

In 2007, before we were hit by the credit crunch, the wave of foreclosures and the loss of jobs, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 47m people have no health insurance. That’s a rise of almost 5% as against the estimated number of uninsured made in 2005. So what does this actually mean? The results confirm that these people have no health insurance plan through their work (including the military) or union membership, and no access to federal or state programs including Medicare and Medicaid at any time during a twelve month period. This reflects a growing reality that the average employer...