Personal Finance

When I went to graduate school at Syracuse University, I had a small scholarship, and federal student loans. However, even with these resources, I still didn’t have quite enough money to pay tuition for my Master’s program. So I turned to a private student loan to supply the deficiency. “After students have considered scholarships, grants and federal student loans, their next step is to find private student loans,” says Beatrice Schultz, a licensed College Planning Relief specialist and co-founder of Westface College Planning. “Private loans come from many sources, including public banks, private group, or individual lenders,” she continues. “All will require a co-signer, ideally with good credit.” Once you move into the realm of private student lending, your credit becomes more important. My private student loan was co-signed by my in-laws. I’m happy to say that they haven’t had cause to regret that decision. From banks to credit unions to P2P lenders set up to match students with interested lenders, it’s possible to find private student loans. Unfortunately, though, you need to be careful. The interest rates and repayment terms on private loans aren’t as generous as what you find with federal student loans. There are also networks that can help you find private student loans, if you are having trouble getting a loan through your bank or credit union. Schultz recommends SoFi (which connects students and alumni through a lending pool) and Private Student Loan Marketplace (which allows direct side-by-side comparisons of loan rates and terms). She also suggests that students consider student loans based in religious organizations. You can also get help through Slice Finance and TuitionU, which are both social-based student lending web sites. Crowdfunding is moving into the student loan space — and why not? It’s a trillion dollar business now. What to Look for in Private Student Loans Many financial planners and college planning experts insist that there is no such thing as a “good” private student loan. However, if you have to get a private loan to close your college funding gap, you should be careful and shop around. “When comparing loans, make sure to consider not only APR, interest rate, total cost, monthly payment, borrower benefits, fees and repayment options, but also co-signer requirements,” Schultz says. “Also find out how soon after the student starts paying the loan back a co-signer can be removed from the debt.” It’s important to keep in mind that your co-signer is on the hook if you default, so you need to be considerate to your co-signer. Bottom Line Private student loans should be your last resort. You should do what you can to plan ahead by saving up in a 529 plan, and then try for scholarships and grants. After those routes are exhausted, turn to federal student loans. You can also turn to family and friends to see if they can help you. Finally, if there is still a funding gap, private student loans can provide a bridge. Private student loans don’t come with the same protections and terms that you get from government resources, so it’s important to think long and hard before turning to them. Image: Rennett Stowe Where Can You Find Private Student Loans? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com. The post Where Can You Find Private Student Loans? appeared first on Bargaineering.

If you were to guess who stays in their homes longer: first time home-buyers or experienced buyers, who would it be? You probably guessed right, buyers that are trading up stay in their homes for longer. First time buyers average about 11 years in their house while trade-ups are closer to 15 years (collectively, the average person stays in their home for 13 years). Now let’s flip it a little bit. Between the two groups, who has a greater likelihood of moving after the first year? That distinction belongs to the trade-ups. This is just one of the many interesting things we can learn from the National Association of Home Builders study about our home buying habits. As you can see from this chart, both first time buyers and trade-up buyers follow a pretty logical path for how long they stay in their homes. 1st time buyers are more likely to trade-up, but not by as much as one would think. In both cases, after about 30 years about 1/3 of homebuyers are still in their homes. This number shouldn’t surprise anyone, but you can’t help but wish it was higher. What is surprising is that after two years more than 10% of all homebuyers have moved. Even in stable housing market conditions that is not really enough time to make a home purchase worth it in the first place. Everyone has their own rule of thumb, but you typically want to stay in a home 5-7 years at least. The most notable revelation from this chart is the behavior of of the trade-up buyer. Trade-up buyers are both more likely to sell after 1, 2, and 3 years, and more likely to stay in their homes for longer than a first time buyer. One could extrapolate from this that there is a group of serial movers but that most people buying a trade-up home intend to stay for a while. This is how things are today. How do our homebuying habits compare to years past? This research dates back to the 1980s so we can get a decent picture our housing preferences have evolved over time. The reality is these numbers are remarkably stable. It’s no surprise that leading up the financial crisis we were moving more often, but if you go back to the 80s and 90s this curve looks pretty much the same as it does today. We keep our houses on average for 10 to 15 years, and after 30 years about 1/3 of us are still in the homes we purchased. There are observable patterns in the data though. After the financial crisis we stayed in our houses a bit longer than average. Just like leading up to it we were faster to sell. The rest question is whether the changing rules for mortgages, and the lessons we’ve learned about borrowing, will create a lasting change in our behavior towards homes. Probably not. Related posts: Stay Away From Selling In May Why Some People Don’t Respect Stay-At-Home Moms/Dads Homebuilders Will Keep On Building Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

My latest search for a tenant was not easy. After hosting six open houses over a one month period I’ve finally found the one who will hopefully stay for longer than one year, pay on time and take good care of the place. It’s a darn small world because her boss is a fellow tennis club member I see literally every week. He enthusiastically gave her a thumbs up so here’s hoping for the best! The average search duration during my previous three changeovers took half as long. I attribute two reasons for the duration difference: 1) Pricing and 2) Pickiness. Over the past 10 years I’ve seen my net worth grow just like most of you. As a result, I’ve become more picky in choosing “the ideal tenant” because my rental property is decreasing as a percentage of my overall net worth. With such a decline comes a reduction in time I want to spend tending to this asset. My first tenants were French citizens with no credit or rental history. I was a first time landlord back in 2005 who based my decision on gut and paystubs. They fortunately turned out to be terrific tenants who stayed for four years until they got married and decided to buy a place of their own. Perhaps I was lucky, or perhaps most tenants are simply honest to goodness people and being so thorough isn’t necessary. With each subsequent tenant I’ve scrutinized just a little more. A minimum of 40X monthly rent for annual income and credit scores of over 720 are non-negotiable criteria now. The average credit score for a rejected mortgage applicant is 729 so I’m not far off. The one thing landlords need to realize, however, is that you can’t always get what you want. After the fifth showing I almost gave in by lowering my price, but figured out a win-win pricing strategy just in time. MAXIMIZE YOUR RENTAL INCOME WHILE LOWERING TURNOVER I could ask for the moon and probably get some meteors if I priced my rental property low enough. The key is to figure out the current market for your rental property as well as understand your own tolerance for turnover. It’s safe to say that every single landlord wants high price, low turnover. My issue was that I priced at the absolute top of the range and couldn’t get the pick of the litter. Basic Marketing Steps Landlords Should Consider: * Search online to understand the market. Craigslist is the easiest and most efficient place to search for comparable properties. I have a two bedroom, two bathroom condo overlooking a park in a nice area in San Francisco. I first search for ALL two bedroom, two bathroom condos in my area. Then I narrow the list down to five listings that are as close to my unit as possible. Seldom will I find a perfect match, but I come close. Then I refine my search further by inputting an upper maximum price in the search 20% higher than the average of the five listings to make sure there isn’t anything I’m missing. The markets are relatively efficient within a +/- 10% pricing range, but you never know. * Make your listing beautiful. Now it’s time to list your property online. Of course you are going to write the most wonderful, detailed description about your place as possible. It’s important to include keywords to major parks, hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, bars, main streets, and nice attractions as possible for search purposes. I’ve had numerous students from one graduate school contact me due to putting their school in my listing. The second crucial step is to upload as many pictures of as many rooms as possible. Craigslist allows for up to 8 pictures, so make them count with your best picture first. * Avoid pricing ending in $X.000. In other words, $3,499, $3,497, or $3,495 looks more attractive than $3,500. Pricing just below the hundreds figure also helps when prospects are searching online. The search engine might miss the whole figure, but the simple truth is that $3,495 sounds better than multiple l

Our family now has a pet rabbit, named Oreo. He has an outdoor cage that we built ourselves. I would have expected that he would be frightened of our children, but he actually seems to like them very much. Whenever he sees them, he hops toward them and he happily eats everything that they feed them. The pet rabbit was basically a compromise with regards to all of the various concerns we had about a pet: indoor allergy worries, maintenance, and other things. After a lot of research, a rabbit seemed like the best option. The Benefits of a Reverse Mortgage Broker If a reverse mortgage broker takes 10% of what you get from this but helps you find a reverse mortgage that pays 20% more, then it’s worth it. (@ dumb little man) The Worry That You’re Doing the Wrong Thing Right Now I think we all have this worry fairly regularly. I can certainly say it’s something I struggle with, my wife struggles with, and many of our friends struggle with. (@ zen habits) Four Simple Steps for Coping with Significant Life Changes Significant life changes almost always come with personal challenges. This is some great advice for overcoming those life changes. (@ unclutterer) Polishing perfect The perfect is the enemy of the good. That idea is worth keeping in mind no matter what you’re doing. No matter what you do, there comes a point where further effort is pure diminishing returns. (@ seth godin) The post The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Pet Rabbit Edition appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

If you find yourself trying to get out of debt it can be overwhelming to know that you owe a great deal of money. It can be even more overwhelming when collectors contact you repeatedly in order to try and get you to pay. The good news is that you do have some rights. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is designed to protect consumers from harassing behaviors on the part of debt collectors. It is important to know your rights under the FDCPA, and be ready to report violations of the act. Debts Protected by the FDCPA Most personal, family and household debts are protected under law. Money you owe on your credit card, as well as auto loans and mortgages, are protected. You are protected from those who regularly collect debts. For instance, collection agencies, lawyers and companies that buy delinquent debts are all considered debt collectors. When they attempt to collect a debt, they have to follow certain rules, and avoid engaging in practices that might be considered: Unfair Abusive Deceptive Get a Debt Collector to Stop Calling You Debt collection calls can add a great deal of stress to your life. Chances are, you already know that you owe someone money, and that it needs to be paid. If you want the debt collection calls to stop, there is a rather simple procedure: Ask, in writing, for them to stop calling you. Write a letter requesting that the contact stop, and send via certified mail (so there is a record of the collector receiving it). Make sure you keep a copy for yourself. Once the collector receives this letter, the only contact that can be made with you is to inform you that no further action will be taken, or to let you know that further action is coming (such as a lawsuit). You can also stop the contact by designating a representative. If you make it clear that an attorney is representing you regarding your debt, the debt collector must contact him or her, rather than you, to make arrangements. Note, too, that debt collectors can’t call you at your place of work if you tell them (on the phone or in writing) that you aren’t allowed to get those types of calls while working. Verifying the Debt In some cases, you might think that you don’t even owe the debt! And, even if you do owe on it, debt collectors must send verification of the debt. Within five days of contacting you, a debt collector must send out a validation letter telling you how much you owe, the creditor you owe the money to, and steps you can take if you don’t believe you owe the money. Keep records of contact, and the date on the letter, since a debt collector not adhering to the standards can earn you some reprieve. You also have the right to ask for proper documentation of the debt, including a copy of the bill that you are supposed to pay. What Debt Collectors Can’t Do In the past (and sometimes still today) strong arm techniques have been used to scare people into paying the debt – even if the debt isn’t theirs, or they can’t pay. Here are some practices that are forbidden to debt collectors: Threatening violence against you. Use of obscene language while speaking with you. Publicly humiliation by publishing a list of people who haven’t paid (although this information can be given to your attorney, spouse and the credit bureaus). Making false statements, including claiming they represent the government or some other organization that they don’t, and misrepresenting the amount of money that you owe. Implying that you will be arrested or a warrant will be issued if you don’t pay your debts. Depositing a post-dated check early. Threatening to take your property or garnish your wages (unless allowed by law in your state) without a proper court order. Calling you at inconvenient times, including before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your time. While you should repay your debts when you can, there is no reason to bow to harassment. You do have rights, and you should make sure you claim them. Hav

What might the 2014 tax rates and 2014 tax brackets look like? Last year the fiscal cliff deal made the tax bracket structure permanent. The 2014 income tax brackets will continue to keep the 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35% and 39.6% tax brackets in place from last year. Each year the federal income tax brackets will adjust based on inflation. However, based on the President’s budget proposal, we might be using the new chained CPI inflation adjustment instead. If we use chained CPI, the inflation calculation is projected to be lower, which will also lower the expansion of tax brackets each year. While we won’t know the exact adjustments to the tax brackets, it’s nice to have a framework in place to project the tax impacts on your personal financial planning. 2014 Tax Rates & Tax Brackets Based on the most recent release of inflation data (and adjusted slightly for the possible use of chained CPI), here’s what the 2014 tax brackets might look like. As soon as the IRS releases the final 2014 tax brackets, I’ll update the federal 2014 tax tables: table.dp2 { border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-spacing: 2px; border-style: outset outset outset outset; border-color: ; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: white; } table.dp2 th { border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; padding: 1px 4px 1px 4px; border-style: inset inset inset inset; border-color: gray gray gray gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px; } table.dp2 td { border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; padding: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-style: inset inset inset inset; border-color: gray gray gray gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px; text-align: center; } Tax Rate Single Married Filing Joint Married Filing Separate Head of Household 10% Up to $9,025 Up to $18,025 Up to $9,025 Up to $12,875 15% $9,026 – $36,625 $18,026 – $73,225 $9,026 – $36,625 $12,876 – $49,075 25% $36,626 – $88,725 $73,226 – $147,875 $36,626 – $73,925 $49,076 – $126,700 28% $88,726 – $185,075 $147,876 – $225,275 $73,926 – $112,650 $126,701 – $205,175 33% $185,076 – $402,325 $225,276 – $402,325 $112,651 – $201,175 $205,176 – $402,325 35% $402,326 – $404,000 $402,326 – $454,500 $201,176 – $227,250 $402,326 – $429,250 39.6% Over $404,000 Over $454,500 Over $227,250 Over $429,250 The 2014 federal tax tables are based on your filing status and number of dependents for the 2014 calendar year. In addition, a new tax credit in 2014, the Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit will apply to your taxes based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income. 2014 Tax Rates vs 2013 Tax Rates Want to compare the projected 2014 tax brackets to the current year to see the changes? Here are the 2013 tax rates for comparison. 2013 Tax Rates & Tax Brackets table.dp2 { border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-spacing: 2px; border-style: outset outset outset outset; border-color: ; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: white; } table.dp2 th { border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; padding: 1px 4px 1px 4px; border-style: inset inset inset inset; border-color: gray gray gray gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px; } table.dp2 td { border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; padding: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-style: inset inset inset inset; border-color: gray gray gray gray; background-color: white; -moz-border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0px; text-align: center; } Tax Rate Single Married Filing Joint Married Filing Separate Head of Household 10% Up to $8,925 Up to $17,850 Up to $8,925 Up to $12,750 15% $8,926 – $36,250 $17,851 – $72,500 $8,926 – $36,250 $12,751 – $48,600 25% $36,251 – $87,850 $72,501 – $146,400 $36,251 – $73,200 $48,601 – $125,450 28% $87,851 – $183,250 $146,401 – $223,050 $73,201 – $

When it comes to buying life insurance coverage, many of us focus on the family’s primary breadwinner. While you do need life insurance for the primary breadwinner, don’t forget that it is usually a good idea to get coverage for someone who isn’t the primary breadwinner.Consider the household finances as a whole, including the non-financial contributions that a stay at home partner makes in order to prevent the need for paying for certain things.What Does Your Stay at Home Partner Contribute?You might be surprised at what your stay at home partner contributes, even though he or she doesn’t have what is considered a “real” job that results in a regular paycheck. Here is the story of one State Farm agent who learned firsthand how helpful it can be to have an insurance policy on your non-breadwinning partner:Michael Venable of Hopkinsville, Ky., lost his wife, Beth, from a stroke following brain surgery on August 24, 2012. Michael was left with four young children, including a new baby adopted from Ethiopia. Fortunately, the family had a life insurance policy for Beth that has allowed Michael to hire a nanny to help with the kids while he’s continued his work as a State Farm agent. The life insurance proceeds have also allowed Michael to carry on Beth’s passion of serving others, especially orphans. Michael has raised more than $50,000 for a charity for orphans. Michael knows first-hand the importance of having life insurance on both spouses in the event of an unexpected life change.As you can see from Venable’s experience, there is a lot that goes into being a stay at home partner. Think of all of the things that your stay at home partner takes care of. From picking the kids up after school, to running errands, to getting dinner started, there’s a lot that goes into being a stay at home partner.After you consider what your partner does, then consider how much it would cost to hire someone else to do it. Because you can’t if you are going to keep earning money for your family. If you are going to pay someone else to do all the things that your stay at home partner used to do, then you need to have the funds. A life insurance policy can provide those funds.If your partner has a job, it’s even more important that he or she is adequately covered by life insurance. A part-time job may not seem like a big addition to your income, but consider what things would be like if you didn’t have that money coming in. Some of the “extras” that you have in your budget might be the result of your partner’s efforts.Really think about what your partner contributes to your household finances, and keep in mind that these contributions might not be directly financial. Then, figure out how much life insurance coverage you should have on him or her. You’ll increase your peace of mind knowing that you can afford to move forward and get the help that you need if your partner passes on.The post Non-Breadwinner? You Still Need Life Insurance Coverage appeared first on Personal Dividends - Money+Lifestyle.Related posts:Your Family Needs Life InsuranceI’m the Primary Breadwinner, Not a Sugar Mamma5 Tips to Save Money on Auto InsuranceTravel Insurance: Don’t Leave Home Without ItLow Cost Auto Insurance – Vehicle Insurance Rating

A reader writes in, asking: “You’ve mentioned in several articles that target retirement funds are not tax efficient. I don’t fully understand why they would be any worse than just holding a few index funds, since they own the same stuff in the end. Could you elaborate on this idea in an article?” There are several reasons why funds of funds are less tax-efficient than a DIY allocation using individual index funds. Firstly, they result in an impaired ability to tax-loss harvest. For example, with respect to any given share purchase of a fund of funds, there will likely come a time at which one of the underlying funds is worth less than it was worth when you bought into the all-in-one-fund, yet the overall portfolio has a gain. With a fund of funds, there would be no ability to tax-loss harvest. With the individual funds, there would be such an opportunity. In addition, even when tax-loss harvesting opportunities do come around for an investor in an all-in-one fund, it can be difficult to find another all-in-one fund that makes a good tax-loss harvesting partner. Switching to a different target date fund from the same fund company would often mean an undesired change in your asset allocation, and switching to a target date fund with a different company would likely mean a dramatic increase in costs. Second, depending on your federal income tax rate and your state income tax rate, you might find it advantageous to use municipal bonds (which are exempt from federal income tax) or Treasury bonds (which are exempt from state income taxes) instead of the “total bond” -type of fund that is included in many all-in-one funds (including Vanguard’s Target Retirement and LifeStrategy funds). Third, funds of funds are ineligible for the foreign tax credit, whereas international funds that directly hold international stocks do qualify for the credit. Fourth, if you have tax-sheltered retirement accounts in addition to taxable brokerage accounts, you might benefit from implementing an “asset location” plan — that is, placing your least tax-efficient assets in your tax-sheltered retirement accounts prior to placing your more tax-efficient assets in such accounts — rather than holding the same asset allocation in your taxable accounts and your retirement accounts. What is the Best Age to Claim Social Security? Read the answers to this question and several other Social Security questions in my latest book: Social Security Made Simple: Social Security Retirement Benefits and Related Planning Topics Explained in 100 Pages or Less Click here to see it on Amazon. Treasury Circular 230 Notice: Any U.S. tax advice on this blog is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed on this blog. Disclaimer: Your subscription to this blog does not create a CPA-client or other professional services relationship between you and Mike Piper or between you and Simple Subjects, LLC. By subscribing, you explicitly agree not to hold Mike Piper or Simple Subjects, LLC liable in any way for damages arising from decisions you make based on the information available herein. I am not a financial or investment advisor, and the information contained herein is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of this email (or by removing this RSS feed from your feed reader if you have subscribed via a feed reader).

My wife and I have weird work lives. I only have mandatory work from March through August, while my wife works from September through November and January through March. We only overlap for one month out of the year. My wife has begun her first real down period while I’m still in season. One week was enough for her to start thinking of ways to fill her down time, while I need to start thinking about what I’m going to do when September rolls around. For Her I always used to look forward to breaks from school or work, but I’d get bored after a few days or a week. I’d need to find something to keep myself occupied until I returned to normalcy. This is how my wife feels right now. She was looking forward to a few months off after a four month nursing assignment. Now, she’s trying to find something to make her time worthwhile until we return home and she gets another assignment. She’s looking for some hobbies or even some work, so we began brainstorming. We found that nurses can get stay-at-home jobs, working over the phone or internet. She’s applied for a few positions and has also begun extensive training on our dog. Life is all about feeling worthwhile. When you don’t feel like you’re spending your time wisely, you may start to ponder its meaning. For Me The same situation occurs for me when the season ends in the fall. The tired feeling from a long season ends after about a week, and I’m left looking for what’s next. Freelance writing has filled a good amount of time each of the past two offseasons. Working out for the next season takes up about 25-30 hours a week. This still leaves a pretty good chunk of time for other activities. I’ve considered looking for an in-person job this offseason, but I’m still not sure if it’s a plausible idea. We’ll only be living in Minnesota for four months, which would make employment fairly difficult. For You While not many couples are in the same situation as my wife and me, many people experience this issue a few times in their lives. For younger kids, this happens when school ends or a break starts. For adults,  it might happen when you quit or lose your job, find new employment, or have a large break in work. Your kids going away to college could generate the same feeling. Anything that frees up a lot of time will be followed by this feeling fairly quickly. Many people spend their lives switching hobbies and finding new things to do. My mother-in-law enjoys crocheting, while my mom was a stay-at-home mother for many years and has found a new job as a preschool coordinator. Life isn’t all about making and spending money; a lot of it is about spending your time wisely. How can you feel as though you’re doing something worthwhile? What do you do when you feel you aren’t filling your time well? This article originally appeared on MoneyNing.com. Let us know what you think (or read what others thought) here. Related posts: Which Car Options in a Transient Life? Moving Up… What Now?

The Super Man complex most healthy people have has a kryptonite when it comes to life insurance: the non-medical factors that affect your life insurance rates. It’s a huge shock to many people who get a free life insurance quote who are in the best shape of their lives when they can’t qualify for the best life insurance rates because of non-medical factors. It usually goes something like this: “I Crossfit 3 times/week and compete in Iron Man triathalons and you’re telling me that I can’t qualify for the best rates because I’m a rock climber?” Yes. That’s what we’re saying. In our 8 years of helping consumers find the lowest life insurance rates available, here are the top 5 “non-medical” factors that affect your life insurance rates (in no particular order). 1. Hazardous Occupations Have you seen “Deadliest Catch” ? Those 700 lb steel traps on a boat being swung around by 25 foot waves isn’t really the ideal risk for life insurance companies. Expect to pay more… a lot more. We’re also talking about occupations like oil rig workers, ironworkers (think high rise structural construction) and bomb diffusers. Yes, I’ve actually insured a police bomb diffuser. One of the sharpest clients I can remember – but he pays A LOT more for his life insurance than if he didn’t have this hazardous occupation. Again, most of these people are in great shape because of the nature of their occupation – but their non-medical factors come into play when underwriting their applications. 2. Hazardous Activities In this group, the most common risks we see are deep sea scuba divers, private pilots, motor racing, skydivers and high altitude rock climbers. Most of these people HAVE to be in great shape to perform these activities at a high level and most of them are. However, these risky activities come with increased premiums when it comes to life insurance no matter how fit you are. Be prepared to fill out a questionnaire regarding the specifics of your hazardous activities as life insurance companies will determine your pricing based on many factors including your training, experience and how often you perform these activities. If you are going to participate in high risk activities don’t be surprised if you land in the high risk life insurance premium bucket. 3. Foreign Travel If you have any plans to travel abroad, your life insurance company wants to know about them. If it’s a high risk area, like any of the places on this government Travel Warnings List, you’ll have a very hard time finding coverage until you come home from your trip. Life insurance companies will also be looking at the purpose of travel and length of stay. For example – you may have a 2 week vacation planned to Bali, Indonesia, but Indonesia may be on the state departments “Travel Warnings” list or be a high risk country in the company’s underwriting guidelines. Many companies won’t consider this risk after factoring the purpose and length of stay. Many companies will ask about previous foreign travel as well. If you show a pattern of traveling to potentially high risk places, they may factor that in to their underwriting decision. 4. Family History This is the biggest disappointment to consumers purchasing life insurance because it’s something you have no control over. Generally speaking, if any of your parents or siblings passed away before the age of 60 of cancer, heart disease or diabetes – most life insurance companies won’t offer their best health classification. However there are some highly rated and very well known life insurance companies that don’t factor this in. If you’re in great health, make sure your agent provides you with these options. 5. DUI’s and Moving Violations Life insurance companies will pull your Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) and factor in any excessive