The 5 financial tips for the first week of July 2012 are given below.

Tip no 1 - To save money while traveling, drink tap water.

This is one of the eco-friendly ways to save money. Purchase a re-usable water bottle from a shop. It will be better if you buy a large bottle. This way you can store large quantity water in it. Fill it up with tap water. Drink water from this bottle. You can re-fill it from drinking fountains and taps. If you think that it is not hygienic to drink from tap water, then you can purchase a bottle with built-in filter. This will help to safe guard your wallet and health.

Tip no 2 - The PPACA, if implemented successfully, will make the purchase of health insurance mandatory.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare has made it mandatory for the individuals to have minimum health insurance coverage. If the individuals violate this law, then they'll have to pay a penalty for this. Individuals without having any health insurance coverage will have to pay a penalty worth $695 or more in a year. Some individuals may be exempted from the tax penalties on the basis of financial crisis and religious obligations. Other than that, American Indians and some immigrants may also be exempted from the penalties.

Tip no 3 - Buy adequate health plan for your parents from before hand so that you do not have to bear the medical costs from your pocket.

If you really love your parents, then buy a health insurance policy for them. If your parents get ill in future, then you won't have to think about the medical expenses. Your parents' health care plan provider will take care of the expenses. You won't have to open your wallet and handover the dollars to the hospitals. You can give your full attention to your parents' medical treatment.

Make sure you buy adequate health insurance coverage for your parents. Don't buy only the minimum coverage for your parents. You may be able to save money at present. However, you won't be able to save money in the long run.

Tip no 4 - Never ignore your debt repayment deadline.

You have to pay credit card bills, utility bills, insurance premiums, etc. every month within a certain date. This date is called the due date. If you fail to make debts payments within the due date, then the lenders will charge additional interests upon you. They will impose penalties upon you. Other than that, they will inform the 3 credit reporting agencies in the country (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) that you haven't made payments on time. The credit reporting agencies will update this information on your credit report. This in turn will drop your credit score.

Tip no 5 - Check with your state's Department of Finance to see if a PDL is licensed before you decide to borrow from them.

Several state governments have banned payday loans due to their excessive high interest rates. Many state governments are working to bring rules to stop payday loan lending business. If you're planning to take out a payday loan to take care of some urgent financial needs, then visit the official website of your state's Department of Finance. Browse through the website and find out if payday loans are legal in your state. Check out the list of licensed payday loan companies in your state. If you see that a particular company is not legal in your state, then it is better to not borrow money from it.