Combining Your Cable, Phone, And Internet Bills

Often, the best options for consumers interested in telecommunications are found in packages.  Like the providers of other kinds of services, telecommunications providers will offer deals to customers who receive multiple services from them.  When a customer gets more than one service from the provider, it’s an advantage to the provider, of course.  But it is also an advantage to the customer.

A cable television, internet, and phone provider will offer discounts on “bundled” packages as incentive to the customer.  Why wouldn’t a customer want to save money?  And why wouldn’t a customer want fewer people to deal with, and fewer bills to pay?

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Should I use my Mortgage to Pay Off my Credit Card?

the credit card trapA general rule of thumb is to pay off your loans with the highest interest rates first.  If you do this, you will be spending less of your time paying off interest rates and more of your time paying off the real balances themselves.  This usually means that the first step in taking care of your debt is to pay off your credit cards.

Credit cards often carry with them incredibly high interest rates, somewhere on the order of 18-30 percent of the card’s outstanding balance.  Sometimes cardholders attempt to bargain with the card companies, and this bargaining can sometimes result in an interest rate that ends up between 40-60 percent.

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How to Invest in “Green” Mutual Funds

If you are a savvy investor, then you are probably aware of the buzz around all things “green.”  Perhaps you are wondering whether or not you, too, should jump on the renewable energy investment bandwagon.  Now is a great time to consider investing in the green arena.

Not only are there incentives from the public and private sectors, but the government is also presenting investors with some incentives to invest in green technology and innovations.  Businesses that are green-conscious are initiating projects using cutting-edge inventions and materials, and attempting to raise money for these projects.  Many of the projects deal with solar or wind energy, as well as other renewable energy sources, like geothermal energy and biomass energy.  What an exciting opportunity for investors:  you can get in on the latest investment trend by investing in a mutual fund for one of these companies.

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LPL Acquires Fortigent: What it Means for Banks

When LPL, the Boston- and San Diego-based broker dealer, acquires the limited liability company Fortigent, some financial advisors could see the merger as their chance to finally leave big banks.

Forty-five percent of financial advisors often think about breaking from their big-bank employers, according to Aite Group.  Twenty-five percent consider this sort of break a very likely action on their part.

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Business Liability Insurance for Home Businesses

running a business from your homeMore and more of us are running our own businesses from home.  We think about these businesses all the time, and take them seriously.  However, we might not have thought enough about home business insurance.  Insurance for your home business is an important consideration, just as it is for any business.

Your homeowner insurance most likely covers much of your home’s contents—that’s what it is designed to do.  But homeowner insurance may not cover the business that you operate from within your home.  Most home insurance policies are explicit about this fact; they will often only cover around $2,500 of business-related losses.

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