During the financial turmoil all over the nation, consumers still have to be worried about falling victim to the increasing amount of scams in addition to worrying about staying on track with their personal finances. Due to the increasing rate in the number of home foreclosures, many consumers are looking to get help and at that point they are usually in a desperate situation. It is these vulnerabilities that leave consumers open to the predatory people who are looking to take their money while promising to save their home. They post guarantees to cease foreclosure on the internet, television and in the newspapers. Out of desperation, many people will do anything to save their family’s home but end up getting taking for a ride. The con agency takes your money and becomes invisible and you end up losing your home anyway.

How To Spot The Unscrupulous People
Con artists today have a big advantage with technology. There are many ways to make their “company” look legitimate and official. Keeping tabs on what’s real and what isn’t is no easy task. One red flag should be companies that name their company or use a URL address that is similar to the various governmental programs available set up to help homeowners. Some even go so far as to say they are affiliated with the governmental assistance.

Here are a few tips for evaluating different loan modification assistance companies:

• If you are contacted by phone, do not hesitate to ask for a call back number, which can help you confirm the companies identity when you call them back. If the representative declines to give you that number, hang up and do not divulge any personal information.

• By phone, email, or mail, if you are asked to pay upfront fees or give out personal financial information, it’s a big red flag. Legitimate companies would never ask you for any of this information without the proper paperwork or signed agreement.

• When reviewing websites, look for URL addresses that end in .gov. Even if a site has the word “government” or other related terms in their address, does not mean they are legitimate.

• You should never have to pay for assistance. There are HUD approved counseling agencies that offer free advice and assistance with preventing home foreclosures.

Keep in mind that the marketing tactics scam companies employ can be very good and easily misleading. They are very aware of how impatient and desperate people are to keep from going into foreclosure and they will capitalize on that desperation in every way they can. The money you are handing over will be stolen instead of used for saving your home. Visit a legitimate agency for help or check out the Obama administration’s Make Home Affordable website for more information about saving your home.

The Green Panda Treehouse posted the Carnival of Personal Finance #211.  In addition to including our article about why automating finances doesn’t always pay, there are a number of excellent blog posts from the personal finance bloggers out there.  Here are a few we like:

• Deposit Accounts discusses and definesin What are Annuities?
• InsureBlog has the latest information in HSA Update: Early Summer Edition
• Miss Bankrupt shares her on list on What not to buy at Dollar Store.
• Fiscal Fizzle reviews Covey’s principles in 7 Habits of Personal Finance.
• American Consumer News wants to make sure you Know Your Rights if You Are In Debt.

The eSavings Time Deposit is offered through Amboy Direct, the online version of Amboy Bank from New Jersey, featuring a reasonable 2.35% APY for savings of $10,000 or more and 1% APY for $100 to $9,999.  You can open the time deposit with a small minimum of just $100 and you are required to leave your money in the savings for a 12 month term.  If you would like to make additional deposits to the eSavings Time Deposit you can do so within the first six months of opening your eSavings Time Deposit, up to a maximum balance of $100,000.  Your interest rate is guaranteed throughout the twelve month term.  The only other stipulation is you can’t open an eSavings Time Deposit with money you already have saved with Amboy Direct.

It’s not in your best interest to save money in an eSavings Time Deposit if you don’t think you can leave the money untouched for at least 12 months.  If you withdraw your money before the 12 month term, you will pay a penalty equivalent to 3 months of nterest.  When making a withdrawal from an eSavings Time Deposit, you cannot withdraw just a part of the money - they require that you withdraw the full amount, and the enire balance is subject to the early withdrawal penalty.

The eSavings Time Deposit is available nationally.  They have an online application available on their Certificate of Deposits page.  Deposits and add-on deposits to the eSavings Time Deposit need to be done through ACH (electronic transfer) from a checking account held at any other, non-Amboy Direct bank.  The interest rates for eSavings Time Deposits lock in when the application is submitted.

This Time Deposit (CD) will be converted to the basic eSavings account unless you contact Amboy Direct and ask them to renew your Certificate of Deposit.  So if you are not interested in having an eSavings account with Amboy Direct, you’ll want to be sure to contact the bank for renewing your CD or withdrawing your money upon maturity.

Most certificate of deposit products require much higher minimums.  The Amboy Direct eSavings Time Deposit makes it possible to open your account with just $100.  During your first six months you can continue to deposit to the account to build it up and earn more interest.

Amboy Direct and Amboy Bank is FDIC insured up to the regular deposit limits.  Bankrate gives the financial institution 4 stars.

The United Central Bank, a financial institution with both offline and online capabilities, offers a variety of banking products with industry competitive rates, from money market accounts to certificate of deposits and installment savings accounts. Some of the rates have dropped a bit from May’s published rates, however they are still competitive with most of the banks offering the same products.

As of June 2009, the following competitive rates are in effect for the following United Central Bank deposit products:

• Certificate of Deposits: a 12 month Certificate of Deposit offers 2.4%. 6 month CD offers 2.15%.
• Super Saver Installment Certificate of Deposit: 1 to 5 years is 3.30%
• Global Savings Account: $25,000 to $50,000 offers 2%; while a $50,000 or more is 2.5%
• Global Money Market Account: $5,000 to $75,000 is 2.39%, while deposits over $75,000 and up to a maximum of $300,000 receive 2.59%

Certificate of Deposits are available as IRAs for terms that are 12 months and longer.

There is an online application which is available to anyone in the United States which can be used to open some of the accounts online, instead of finding a physical bank branch. Unfortunately, not all products can be opened using the online application at this time, but the list is growing. The online application can currently be used to open a Global Money Market Account, a 12 month IRA Certificate of Deposit, and a 12 or 36 month Certificate of Deposit.. The website does not provide a full list of funding options for opening and funding new accounts, and a customer service representative wasn’t very knowledgeable of the topic either. The customer service representative said you can write a check to fund or open an account with United Central Bank,, but that she wasn’t sure if you could fund them electronically or not. Once you fill out the online application, you receive an email with instructions for funding the account.

United Central Bank also offers small business loan programs, business banking, and free bill pay.
You can also open a United Central Bank account at any of their branches, if you prefer to open your bank accounts in person rather than over the internet. There are United Central Bank branches located in select cities within Texas, California, Virgina, Georgia and Maryland. BaeurFinancial gave the bank 3.5 stars in May 2009, while Bankrate gave the bank 3 stars in December of 2008. United Central Bank is a FDIC member, since 1984.

Many financial experts agree that automating your payments, bank deposits, and investments makes great financial sense, it isn’t always the case with all of your bills. Of course, the theory behind it that what you don’t touch you can’t spend. While in theory, that theory makes sense. You can certainly build up a nice 401k account or your savings account by automating such deposits but there are some areas where automating could cost you.

Automating your bill payments and savings deposits essentially means that you set up bill pay through your bank or through your creditor and each monthly payment is automatically deducted from your account on the due date you set. This is certainly a convenience to paying your bills on time each month which is essential for good credit but there are also some drawbacks. The number one being that if you are ignoring your monthly bill statements, you could be missing out on some savings.

Here are some things to consider when you set your bills on autopilot:

Your Utilities
If you are just paying for electricity, cable and phone month after month, you may be missing out. Looking over each of you bills each month gives you the opportunity to look for errors that can be corrected in your favor. You may also be missing out on better deals if you are not looking at the competition.

Insurance
You likely could be qualified to receive different discounts on your insurance bills every few months but if you aren’t asking for them, you might not get them. Check in with your insurance agent every three months or whenever there is a change in your situation. You might be able to reduce your payments and save a lot of money. If you are just paying automatically, you’ll probably forget to stay in touch.

Cell Phone Plans
In the cell phone industry, there seem to be new deals and upgrades every day. Although those deals usually require a renewed contract, they can often reduce the cost of your phone bill, get you a new phone for no cost, and even add additional features to your cheaper plan.

Renewable Services
There are occasions where you sign up for services that require you to enter your credit card or bank information and the monthly charges automatically renew and are deducted from your account. Many times the companies that offer this payment plan rely on you forgetting about them and thus you continue service and generate them tons of revenue. Whenever you sign up for something like this, make a list and keep track of what is automatically drawn from your account. Chances are good you stop using the services but keep paying for them long after. Even if it’s just $10 a month, in a year’s time it adds up to $120. You can find somewhere else to spend that money.

Automatically paying bills is convenient but in our busy lives we tend to forget a lot of what is going on behind the scenes. If you do use auto pay for your bills, make sure you keep tabs on them each month and at least look over the statements you are receiving. Nothing is fail-safe and mistakes can be made. Unfortunately it is your wallet that will suffer in the face of these mistakes.

Not everyone is quick to rush out an buy the latest software or gadget to handle their own personal finances. These people just might have the right idea. Spending a ton of money you don’t necessarily have in the first place just to manage your own money may not be the best way to remain frugal or financially smart. So for those who are not tech-savvy or who can not afford to get the technology claiming to make financial management as easy as 1-2-3, here are some was to keep track of your cash while saving some of it at the same time.

Put It In Writing
One of the most common and useful pieces of advice concerning personal finance is tracking your spending. Typically, it is advised that you keep a pocket-sized notebook on hand at all times to make tracking more efficient. Since you are already using a notebook and a pencil to deal with your finances, take it a bit further when you are ready to create a new budget and purchase an inexpensive notebook or ledger that you can use to write down all of your bills, due dares, expenses, and other financial obligations each month. You can also keep a page to re-write all of you expense spending and get a clearer picture of how much you are spending each month and where you can make some cuts. A more traditional pen-to-paper method can help you keep it simple and inexpensive, but most importantly it will allow you to keep tabs on your cash.

Retain Your Receipts
If you can get in the habit of consistently asking for receipts, even if you pay cash, you will have a better history of what you are spending until you can sit and write it down. Receipts will help you keep track of the date you made the purchase, what the purchase entailed, and the total cost of the purchase. It can also help you to mark on each receipt what category the expense falls under so when it comes time to go over your budget, you’ll know how much spending you are doing for all different categories such as entertainment, bills, food, and the like. The key to making this an effective method of saving money is to keep all of your receipts in a designated location, regularly writing down the information contained on the receipts, and of course, remembering to ask for a receipt each time you spend money. Otherwise, this method can quickly become overwhelming and ineffective.

Utilize Statements
This may not be an effective method for all types of expense tracking but if you are prone to using your credit card for all your spending, you can take the monthly statements and notate them with individual categories. You can total each statements and have a good idea of what you are spending on each category. This will make it easier to make the difficult decisions of what to cut out spending-wise to save your budget. This will help you to also create a new budget if you haven’t yet started one.

Whether you are a first time home buyer or an experienced investment property buyer, everyone needs to invest in a home inspection. While some people may feel paying someone else to do what appears to be a simple once over of the home is a waste of money nothing could be farther from the truth. Purchasing a home is a big investment and should not be taken on without fully understanding your financial obligations in the long term. Here we will cover why getting a home inspection is a must for anyone investing in a residential property.

What is a home inspection?

A home inspection is simply a visual examination of the structure and systems that operate within the home. This inspection is preformed by a professional home inspector who will examine the roof, attic, insulation, walls, ceilings, windows, doors, foundation, floors, basement and structural components. In addition to examining the structure, your home inspector will look at the plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling systems. At the end of the inspection the inspector will prepare a report for you to review outlining his findings.

What is NOT covered?

Remember that your home inspector can only report what he/she sees. This means they cannot normally cover issues such as termites or pests, engineering issues or problems that are otherwise concealed. Since your home inspector can only examine and report on things in the house, if you are purchasing appliances that are not already attached, they would not fall within the scope of the inspection. Your inspector is there to give you an idea of the home’s structural integrity, again based on what is visible. They cannot advise how much repairs will cost or predict future problems outside of the information available at the time of inspection.

Why is it important to have a home inspection?

Paying for a home inspection should be considered an investment in your future. Since a professional home inspector is trained to look for issues that you might otherwise overlook, they may spot problematic areas that suggest past damage or predict future issues. Being armed with this information before you close on the property gives you the opportunity to discuss repairs or problems with the seller who may be willing to make repairs before you take over ownership of the home. In some cases your inspector may be able to spot problems that could potentially lead to very costly repairs in the future. Knowing this in advance allows you to make an informed decision as to whether or not your dream home could potentially turn into a nightmare.

Obtaining life insurance is not a pleasant experience, but it is necessary. Keep in mind that it is not for you, but for those you love. Looking at it in that light helps you stay motivated to get it done.

Here are six steps in shopping for life insurance that will hopefully make it less of a chore.

Buy what you need. It is easy to buy too much or too little insurance. You need buy only what you need. The task of finding out how much you need is determined by a thorough review of your circumstances. That is why a good, local insurance agent is much better than those who do not have offices in your area.

Term over whole. The debate between term life insurance and whole life or cash value insurance is settled: term life insurance is the way to go. Paying more via a whole life policy in order to build up cash value is not a wise use of your investment money. You can find much better returns on your money by placing it into conservative municipal bonds and other stocks.

Check Internet quotes. Even though you are better off buying insurance locally, it never hurts to get price quotes from Internet insurance providers. This way, you can compare prices and challenge your local agent for a better deal. After all, it is your money and you deserve the lowest premium you can get.

Get healthy. Before you apply for life insurance, take time to get healthy. If you are not, you will pay a higher amount for your life insurance. Now more than ever your health plays a huge role in the amount of your monthly premiums.

Stay with major providers. There is nothing like staying with the major life insurance providers for stability. Do not compromise your coverage by obtaining insurance from a carrier that may or may not be around long term. Also make sure the company you go with has good financial ratings.

Evaluate life changes. Once you have your life insurance in place, make sure that you perform a checkup every 18 to 24 months in order to make changes to your policies that affect your insurance. Life insurance is not a ’set and forget’ proposition. There are special policies for young people and special options for senior life insurance worth considering.

Using these steps, you can find a policy that is right for you and provides for those you love when you are gone. Keep in mind that now is a good time to look for life insurance because rates are very good at this point.

As many people have learned during these recession time, saving real cash is the best way to make a purchase and the safest way to stay out of debt. While many people understand that saving cash is for the best, many still have great difficulty find money to put away when they need a new car, have to pay for college, or even saving for retirement.

In the 1970’s, Americans managed to save more than 10% of their disposable income compared to the 0.4% saved in 2005. In 2009, we’ve kicked it up a bit and saved a decent 5.7 % of our disposable income. It seems everyone is having difficulty saving for a rainy day. Since many are already on a strict budget with little to nothing left over, it seems that putting such little money aside each week is pointless. Plus there is always the possibility an unexpected emergency will arise. But experts suggest that you in fact go back to your budget and get rid of what it is you really don’t need. The only other alternative is to make more money.

The rule of thumb for your income is as follows:
50% - used for your necessities
30% - used for your wants
20% - used for your debts and savings accounts

Getting money to save will take discipline and a desire to succeed at saving money. Different savings goals need different types of attention. Here is how you can start:

Emergency Fund
Financial experts agree that having an emergency backup account that has at least 3-6 months worth of living expenses in an account is the place to start. Before saving for any other goal, you need the security of an emergency account that will help the family get by in the event of an emergency, such as medical problems or a job loss or other unexpected but true emergencies.

Short-Term Savings Goals
Short term savings goals can be established for things such a family vacations, new furniture, or a new car. You need to figure out how much money you need to save each week by dividing the purchase price into the number of weeks you have to save.. Say you are going on a family vacation one year from now that costs a total of $3000. You can determine the amount you need to save each week will be around $58. That money can be put into a interest-earning account and regular contributions need to be made in order to stay on track. You may also look into CD’s and money markets to increase your earning potential over time as you save.

Mid-Term Savings Goals
Mid-Term savings goals are similar to short-term savings but require the individual to save for a longer period of time. These savings will go towards college expenses, wedding preparations, a downpayment on a home. Depending on what it is you are specifically saving for, you will need to explore your options. For instance, a 529 savings plan would b a good investment for the college tuition portion of your mid-term goals. Safe avenues for savings such as CD’s, money markets, and savings accounts are all good places to stash your cash for when you need it. Purchasing stocks to fund mid-term goals ma not be a great way to increase your capital.

Long-Term Savings Goals
Long-term savings generally involve retirement funds. Experts agree that in order to reach a comfortable retirement is to invest a certain percentage amount into stocks in order to keep the pace with inflation. Recently tumbles in the stock market have shaken some and those individuals may prefer to keep their retirement savings in the traditional 401(k) and similar plans. You may consider checking out an IRA if your employer does not offer you a retirement savings account. A goal of 10% of your gross income is recommended at the target number for your retirement savings plan.

While the gas prices have come down from their all time highs experienced around the country just a few months ago, they’re still higher than what most of us would like to pay to fuel up our vehicles. The job market is tough, and many people are forced to take jobs that are further away than they’d like to commute, simply because it’s all that is available to them at this time. Commuting is among many family’s highest weekly expenses, which reduces the amount of income you actually earn after your commuting expense- but here are some tips for saving money on your commute that should help you stretch your income a bit further:

Car Pooling

Is there anyone you work with that lives near you? Why not take turns driving each other to and from work? While not as convenient as jumping in your car and taking off, sharing the driving responsibilities means you aren’t always using your own car to get to and from work - reducing your gas use and mileage on your vehicle.

If no one you know works in the same place that lives near you, think a little more outside the box. Does anyone live near you who also works in a near-by building? If you’re both traveling from your home neighborhood to the same general location to get to work, couldn’t you ride together and drop each other off at work or within walking distance to your place of work?

Public Transportation

If you live in an area where there are buses and public transportation, consider using them to get to and from work a few days a week. Often, buses and commuter trains are very inexpensive and cost much less than driving your car to and from work - and while they’re not as convenient as having your own wheels, they do have some other advantages. You can read while commuting, or give your presentation slides one last look-over before arriving in the office for example. These are things you can’t (or should not!) do when driving yourself.

Consider a Smaller Car or Hybrid

Smaller cars and hybrid vehicles are usually more fuel efficient than larger cars. When you buy them though, they tend to have a higher price tag than the other cars so it can be difficult to decide whether or not you really get any savings over the long term. Play with some numbers and see what you come up with for your personal driving needs to see if this is an option that will save you money long term.

Can You Work From Home?

In some cases, employees can eliminate the commute expense altogether by working from home. If it’s not possible to work from home every day, perhaps you could work from home a few days a week. Depending how far to and from work you drive, you could very well save considerable amounts of money in gas and wear and tear on the vehicle by working from home a few days a week. In addition, driving less miles per week is one way to lower your car insurance premiums, which can be another source for saving money for you if you can telecommute.