Get acquainted with the 5 financial tips for the 4th week of September 2011:

Tip no 1 - Let kids be responsible for their own money.

It is best to teach your son/daughter about the money management techniques before reaching adulthood. Make them aware of the value of money. Teach them good financial habits and skills. One easy way to do this is to make them responsible for their own money. This will help them to avoid making costly financial mistakes once they become adult.

For example, you can give a monthly allowance to your son or daughter. Tell your child that he/she has to cover his/her expenses within this amount. You won't give him/her a single penny till the next month. This will make your child to not spend the money recklessly.

Tip no 2 - Check your credit report after repaying a debt.

Make sure you check your credit report after repaying a debt. For example, if you have settled a past due account, check your credit report and find out whether or not the creditor/collection agency has updated the account status as "Paid as Settled" or "Paid as Agreed". If you have paid off an account in full, then find out if the account status has been updated as "Paid in Full". If you have settled a charge-off account, then the account status is ought to be updated as "Settled charge-off".

If the status of the accounts has not been updated even after repaying them, then ask the creditors/CAs to update them accordingly.

Tip no 3 - Use gas credit cards to save money on gasoline.

These cards have become quite popular these days. Gas credit cards are an effective tool to combat with the rising fuel prices. These cards help you save money on the gasoline purchases. Usually, gas credit cards offer around 2-5% discounts on the gasoline purchases. So, if you drive regularly, then you can take advantage of these cards and get special rebates on the gasoline purchases.

Make sure you shop around before taking out a gas credit card. Opt for a card that offers maximum rebates on the gasoline purchases. You may also go for a card that comes with 0% introductory rate.

Tip no 4 - Show your child how to pay bills.

You should show your child the proper way to repay the bills. Your son will have to make bill payments at some point in his life. So, it is better to show him the right way to pay the bill. You can ask him to write a check for making payment to a creditor. Tell him how to write the check. Ask him to calculate the bill amount before writing the check.

In this Internet era, it will be a mistake to not show him how to pay a bill online. Don't let him to pay the bill online right way. Ask your child to sit beside you when you are going to pay a bill online. You child can watch and learn the steps to pay bills online.

Tip no 5 - Avoid smoking to attain the best life insurance rate class.

The insurers charge a high premium rate on the smokers than the non-smokers. So, this means that smoking affects your health and wealth in a negative way. The life insurance companies will categorize you into the risk class if you are a smoker. The insurers may increase the premium rate by as much as $100 if they find out that you smoke or use tobacco products regularly.

If you can stay away from smoking for around 1 year, then the life insurance company may regard you as a non-smoker and can reduce the premium rate.