Economics Finance

When you need a new van you have a big decision to make. Do you buy or lease your next van? Which option provides you with the most benefits? The answer to this question will mostly depend on your personal and financial situation but knowing what both options have to offer will help you make the right decision.

Most everyone is familiar with buying a vehicle and the process that it requires so you most likely already know what benefits it has to offer. On the other hand, leasing vans is a fairly new concept and not everyone knows what great benefits it can provide. Therefore, some of these are listed below:

· You have the option of driving a new van every few years.

· The monthly payments are usually lower than what you’ll pay when buying.

· Vans don’t depreciate as quickly as cars so, this makes it possible for you to pay a low upfront cost.

· There are different leasing options available making it possible to choose one that is well suited for your needs.

· You don’t have to worry about taking care of any major maintenance issues because you can take out a package that will cover this for you.

· Many leasing options will allow you to buy the van at the end of the lease.

· You get to choose how long you want to lease the van. The average time ranges between two to three years but you can choose to lease for a shorter period of time or a longer one if you prefer. Continue reading ‘Should You Buy Or Lease a Van?’ »

Pre-Need Funeral Planning

For survivors, the hours and days following a loved one’s death is no time for weighty decisions. For many Americans, however, this will be the first time they think about preparations for the loved one’s funeral. Given the expense and painful emotions often involved, survivors may be in no condition to make choices for themselves or their loved one.

According to a survey of its membership by the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost of a funeral today is $6,500. That’s an expense that can quickly escalate as survivors confront a bewildering range of options on everything from the kind and quantity of flowers to the quality of their loved one’s casket. A premium casket alone, for example, can exceed $15,000. Add in the expense of roses over carnations and live music over recorded, and survivors can end up paying triple or quadruple the average funeral’s cost. Yet, without advanced planning to guide them, survivors may feel guilty about saying anything but “yes” to the best for their loved one.

Leaving these emotionally charged decisions to grieving family and friends can pose an unfair burden on them in their time of loss. That’s why a growing number of Americans are choosing to take matters into their own hands with pre-need funeral arrangements. According to the American Association of Re-tired Persons, over 21 million U.S. consumers age 50 and over have made pre-arrangements for their own or a loved one’s funeral, representing a total of over $25 billion in prepaid funeral expenses. The National Funeral Directors Association reports that nearly 98% of all funeral homes have instituted some kind of pre-need planning program, making it easier than ever for Americans to plan their funeral well in advance. Today, most funeral homes offer several pre-need planning options. Generally, the process begins when individuals sit down with a funeral director to discuss the plans available to them. Once they’ve reviewed their plans with their spouse and their loved ones, they purchase a funeral package that reflects their wishes down to every possible detail. Consumers have several alternatives for pre-payment for their funeral plans. One is to purchase a life insurance policy with the funeral home named as beneficiary. Or consumers can make payments in installments over months or years. With yet another alternative, they may work with a licensed funeral director to establish a regulated Trust which will pay their funeral expenses. Lastly, consumers may prepay for their funeral in an account which earns interest, and which can be designated “payable on death” to the funeral home. After death, if there’s more money in their fund than required to pay for their funeral, the family will receive a refund.

The benefits of a prepaid funeral package go beyond cost savings, however. For many families, it provides an important opportunity to talk about sensitive issues and concerns that might otherwise have gone unspoken, and it allows the family to decide together which funeral options will be most meaningful to them. In many ways, prepaid funeral arrangements allow families to lay the foundation for a faster process in the future. For many Americans, the discussion of their own funerals conjures up unwelcome thoughts of death. But once they overcome their initial resistance, most will find more peace of mind than discomfort in knowing that all the details of this important task have been handled as they want them to be. Continue reading ‘Seniors Overcome Fear, Obtain Peace of Mind Through Estate Planning’ »

Is it possible to start making a ton of money without a college degree? Most of us are told that in order to be able to make a lot of money you need to go to college and get a degree in order to get a high paying job. But what if you don’t want a job. I came across this dilemma back when I was younger; it was hard for me to find a way to actually accomplish my goal without having to get a job or college degree.

I was finally able to come across something that was able to help me achieve my goal. I began to be curious about the Internet so I decided to go on and started to look for ways to generate an income. This is when I came across an Internet business opportunity known as global domains international. This is an online business that rewards you for promoting their services to other people. It is just like and off-line business only done on the Internet and the best part about it is that you do not need any college degree or prior experience in order to get involved.

I can honestly tell you that I was able to learn a lot more by being part of this company and being exposed to the Internet then I had learned in school while attempting to get my college degree. If you’re serious about making a lot of money and also having a career that does not require a college degree then I suggest you join global domains international. Continue reading ‘Start Making a Ton of Money Without a College Degree’ »

Grocery coupons combined with weekly store ads are the best way to save money on your monthly grocery spending. Food prices are rising and monthly household budgets are getting tighter and tighter. Coupons are a great way to help you save hundreds of dollars on your monthly grocery budget while still feeding your family in a healthy way. Many stores offer a double coupon that is often available in their weekly ad and can be used combined with a manufacturer’s coupon for the optimal level of savings. There are rules surrounding the double coupon and you need to read the fine print to see how they are to be used. Generally, this means an expiration date during the week of issue and a maximum double limit, such as fifty cents. But, this offers you even more savings just for using the coupons you were going to use anyway.

If you don’t get your local paper then take the time to check with the sales staff of your local grocery stores to find out when the sales ad comes out. Also, ask about whether or not they offer a double coupon and when it comes out. You should be able to find the weekly ad in the store as well as the local newspaper or even in your mailbox. You can ask the stores you shop at for these details, so you know when to find the ads and thus the double coupons. Continue reading ‘How to Maximize Double Coupon Promotions at the Grocery Store’ »

As part of an organized global effort to reduce the inconsistent measurement of fair value and the application of impairment guidance for financial assets, FASB has taken swift action with rapid expansion of fair value accounting guidance intended to provide relevant and transparent information to users of financial statements. Similarly, IASB has developed a timeframe for increasing guidance pertaining to recognition and measurement of financial instruments. FASB and IASB collaboration on these projects is paramount due to the impending convergence towards a common, international standard of financial reporting.

While the markets decline appear to have leveled off through the first half of 2009, establishing fair value for certain investments and assessing asset impairment will continue to be challenging aspects of the 2009 financial statement reporting process due to new and developing pronouncements from domestic and international standard setting organizations.

The Evolution of Investment Accounting for Insurance Enterprises
In 1982, FASB issued SFAS 60, Accounting for Insurance Enterprises, which established accounting guidance specific in nature to insurance companies. SFAS 60 required that insurance companies carry fixed maturity securities at amortized cost and equity securities at fair value. Fluctuations in fair value were reflected as unrealized gains and losses within the equity component of the balance sheet, and gains and losses realized upon disposal were recognized within earnings.SFAS 60 introduced the concept of other than temporary decline in fair value, but merely mandated that such declines be recognized as if a sale had occurred.

More than a decade later in 1993, SFAS 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities, superseded the investment accounting guidance offered by SFAS 60 and established a new, categorical method for investment accounting with the introduction of the categories trading securities, available-for-sale securities and held-to-maturity securities.A major development surfaced by SFAS 115 was the need to recognize market value fluctuations as a component of earnings for securities classified in the trading category.SFAS 115 retained the other than temporary decline concept introduced in SFAS 60, and brought greater prominence to the concept of intent to hold as a means of justifying the classification of fixed maturity securities in the held-to-maturity category.

There were several shortcomings of SFAS 60 and SFAS 115 that were not fully exposed until the bull market, which began in the 90’s, was abruptly shifted into reverse during 2008. Specifically, the need for meticulous impairment analysis and the consideration of valuation when confronted with inactive markets were not exceedingly germane. The generally long-running bull market created an environment in which the concepts of other than temporary and intent ability to hold did not require extensive analysis; bright line tests such as the 20% / 6-months approach successfully weeded out the truly poor performing assets. Further, functional markets with high volumes of activity and pervasive asset inflation did not leave many people questioning the significance of a fair value methodology.

While the economic crisis of 2008 lead to the recent barrage of accounting guidance, there existed a severe, but relatively short-lived market slide subsequent to the dot-com bust and 9/11 that sparked dialogue regarding the matters raised in the preceding paragraph. In 2005, FASB issued a Staff Position (FSP), FSP 115-1, which established a framework to evaluate impairment on a security-by-security basis, the severity of the impairment, and the likelihood of recovery prior to an anticipated disposal. Unfortunately, the guidance offered in FSP 115-1 was subjective and created significant inconsistency in evaluating other than temporary impairment (OTTI), which surfaced in the insurance industry during the 2008 financial statement reporting process, when comparing the aggressiveness (or lack thereof) of impairment charges taken by one carrier to the next. While it isn’t extraordinary for two companies to reach different conclusions regarding OTTI for a particular security, due to differing conclusions about intent & ability to hold and assumptions about recoverability of the security valuation, the difficulty that exists for users of financial statements when attempting to compare one company’s performance to another is great. Continue reading ‘Standard Setters on Record-Setting Pace For Issuance of Fair Value Accounting Guidance’ »

Want to know of a quick way to get a preview of your tax refund for 2008?

Want to know your tax refund without actually going through the whole process of filing your tax return?

Is there some tool that will do this for you? for Free?

Yes there is!

Its a little tool called the tax refund calculator.

What does the Tax Refund Calculator do?

Its an online software that you can use to basically get a quick estimate of your taxes without actually preparing your tax return. it is backed by some of the biggest names in the Tax prep business. Continue reading ‘Tax Refund Calculator – Get a Preview of Your 2008 Tax Refund’ »