Glance through the financial tips for the first week of September 2011

1. Try to make your home appliances last longer so that you can avoid buying big-ticket items frequently

House hold appliances consume a big portion of your pay check. This is why you should try to take care of the appliances. You or your family members should use the appliances very carefully. Give a special attention to the cleaning and maintenance of the household appliances. This will help you make the home appliances last longer. You won't have to purchase another appliance for a long time. Apart from that, this will help you save money on your utility bills.  

For instance, you should clean the compressor of the refrigerator once in 3 months. This will help you remove the dust from inside the compressor. You should close the doors of the refrigerator very slowly.

2. Use cash to purchase things instead of swapping your credit cards unnecessarily every time

You must use cash to make your purchases. You should go to a departmental store with cash in your pocket or wallet. This will help you avoid making unnecessary purchases and prevent you from wasting money. For example, you go to a shop for purchasing a scarf. But you see a beautiful skirt in the shop and think about purchasing it. You use your credit card and purchase the skirt. If you had carried only cash in your wallet, then you could not have purchased the skirt (which you may not even require) from the shop. This could have helped you from wasting money.  

3. Have some idea on the myths associated with health insurance before getting a policy

You should clear your minds off all the myths associated with health insurance before purchasing a policy. This may help you save money and avoid getting into unnecessary problems in the long run. For example, a lot of people think that young and healthy men don't need to purchase health insurance. But this is completely a wrong idea.

You may be a physically fit person but this does not mean that you don't need a health insurance policy. You may meet an accident any time. Your hand or knee may get injured and need to go for an operation. If you don't have a health insurance policy, then you’ll have to bear the medical expenses on your own. This may put a dent on your savings fund.

4. Don't use your credit card like your third hand, these are for purposes that are important

Use credit cards for making important purchases only. It is best to use credit cards for making large purchases. For instance, you are going to a shop for purchasing a laptop. You don't want to carry a huge amount of cash in your wallet. It is also not safe to carry a huge amount of cash with you. You can use a credit card to make the required purchase.

You can also use the credit card for meeting emergency expenses. For instance, your refrigerator has been damaged. You need to purchase another refrigerator. You don't have the money to purchase it. You can use a credit card for purchasing the freezer when you are confident that you can afford to pay the bill.  

5. Opt for short term disability coverage if you go out of work temporarily

You should go for short-term disability coverage when you are out of work for a short period of time due to sickness or some other reason. This insurance company will pay you a certain percentage of your wage for a stipulated time period. You can get as much as 70% of your weekly wage. The coverage time period varies between 10-26 weeks. The period differs from state to state. For instance, you can get short time disability benefits for around 26 weeks in states like New Jersey, Hawaii, Rhode Island, etc.