General Finance Archives — Page 8 of 38

How to Recover Your Finances After a Legal Battle

December 20, 2022 By Erin H Leave a Comment

Legal battles, such as divorce, can have a significant and lasting impact on your finances. It can be overwhelming to try and regain control of your finances after such a stressful and emotional experience, but it’s important to take steps to rebuild your financial foundation. Here are some tips for recovering your finances after a legal battle.

Create a Budget

One of the first steps in recovering your finances is to create a budget. This will help you understand your current financial situation and identify areas where you can cut expenses. This is extremely important for families of divorce as neglect was the top reason why Kentucky children were removed from their homes between 2010 and 2015, making up 68.6 percent of removals. It’s important to prioritize you and your family’s basic needs, such as housing, food, and healthcare, and make sure you have enough money to cover these expenses. Consider creating a budget that includes all of your monthly expenses, as well as any debts or obligations you may have. This will help you see exactly where your money is going and allow you to make informed decisions about where to cut costs.

Find Ways to Increase Your Income

If your legal battle has resulted in a decrease in income, it’s important to find ways to increase your income. This could involve taking on additional work or starting a side business. You could also consider selling items you no longer need or use, such as clothes or furniture, to generate extra cash. Another option is to negotiate for a raise at your current job or look for a higher-paying position. Whatever route you choose, it’s important to be proactive in finding ways to increase your income.

Make Home Improvements

Home improvements can not only make your home more comfortable and enjoyable to live in, but they can also increase its value. According to Remodeling Magazine, replacing a garage door gives you a 93.8% ROI. This means that for every dollar you spend on a new garage door, you can expect to recoup nearly 94 cents in increased value. Other home improvements, such as installing vinyl windows, can also save you money on your monthly energy bills. If you decide to install vinyl windows, you can save up to 20% on your monthly energy utility bills. These types of improvements can help you save money in the long run, and can also be a good investment if you plan to sell your home in the future.

Get Professional Help

If you’re having trouble managing your finances, it may be helpful to seek the advice of a financial professional. A financial planner or advisor can help you create a plan to pay off debt and save for the future. They can also provide guidance on investment strategies and help you develop a plan to meet your financial goals. Working with a professional can give you the support and guidance you need to make informed financial decisions and get your finances back on track.

Consider Credit Counseling

If you’re struggling with high levels of debt, credit counseling can be a helpful resource. Credit counseling organizations can help you create a budget, negotiate with creditors to lower your interest rates, and develop a plan to pay off your debt. They can also provide education on financial topics, such as budgeting and saving, to help you improve your financial skills. Credit counseling can be a valuable tool in helping you get your finances back on track and gain control of your debt.

Overall, these were some of the ways you can help recover your finances after a legal battle. Remember these tips if you are ever facing legal trouble. Keeping your finances in order is important for anyone.

6 Ways to Protect Your Finances From a Workplace Injury

December 19, 2022 By Erin H Leave a Comment

No one likes to think about a workplace injury, but the truth is that it happens more often than you might think. Furthermore, workplace accidents can be expensive, both for the worker and the employer. Workers suffer from medical costs and lost wages, and businesses lose an average of $5,600 for every minute of downtime, per Gartner reports. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect your finances from a workplace injury. Here are some key ways to mitigate the financial risk of an accident.

1. Invest in Health Insurance

One of the best ways to protect your finances from workplace injury is to ensure that you have good health insurance coverage. Health insurance can help to cover some of the costs associated with a workplace injury, such as medical bills, rehabilitation, and other costs related to recovery. It’s a good idea to take the time to research different health insurance plans and find one that meets your needs and budget.

2. Consider Supplemental Insurance

While health insurance can help to cover some of the costs associated with injury, it may not always provide enough coverage. For this reason, it’s a good idea to consider investing in supplemental insurance. Supplemental insurance policies provide additional coverage for disability, critical illness, and other medical expenses.

3. Utilize Employer Benefits

Employers are required by law to provide workers’ comp and disability benefits to their employees, which can be incredibly helpful when dealing with the financial burden of an injury. During the initial five months of 2020, more than 1,300 requests were filed in Kansas alone for workers’ comp benefits, demonstrating how important these benefits can be for injured workers.

Furthermore, many employers also have other types of benefits, such as discounted healthcare services, that can help their employees protect their finances. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the details of your employer’s benefits program and take full advantage of them if and when you need to utilize them.

4. Seek Medical Attention Promptly

If you have been injured at work, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible. According to the American Hospital Association, the United States boasted 6,210 healthcare facilities in 2017, providing plenty of options for anyone with an occupational injury to get the immediate medical attention they need.

Prompt medical treatment can help ensure that your injury heals properly and quickly and document the circumstances of your accident. Furthermore, seeking treatment right away can help to reduce the amount of time you spend away from work. This reduces the financial burden of workplace injury.

5. Contact a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

A workplace injury often involves complicated legal issues. Even if you feel confident you are entitled to compensation from your employer, it’s best to retain an experienced lawyer specializing in workers’ comp claims. An attorney can assist you in filing the workers’ comp claim and help you navigate the legal system, ensuring that you’re properly compensated for your lost wages and medical bills.

6. Find Financial Support

If your injury results in long-term medical costs, consider seeking financial support from charitable groups or non-profit organizations. Various programs are available that provide financial assistance to those in need and are often tailored to specific medical needs. They can help you get through the tough time so that you can pick back up when you’re healed.

The possibility of a workplace injury isn’t something that anyone likes to think about, but the truth is that it is a potential reality. With these six tips, you can protect your finances from the financial burden of a workplace injury. Invest in good health insurance coverage, utilize employer benefits, consider financial support, and seek legal and medical help. This will help you ensure that any workplace injury does not put a financial strain on your life.

How to Freeze Your Family’s Credit

September 5, 2022 By MelissaB 2 Comments

About 15 years ago, I discovered someone had opened an account in my name and charged $1000. Luckily, I caught the fraud early, and the business where the theft occurred gave me my money back. However, that experience spooked me, so I froze my and my husband’s credit within days. At the time, parents could not freeze minor children’s credit, but that has since changed. Just recently, I started the process of freezing my younger children’s credit. If you’d like to do the same, here’s how to freeze your family’s credit.

The Drawbacks of Freezing Your Credit

My husband and I love that our credit is frozen because we feel less vulnerable to identity theft. However, there are a few drawbacks to this peace of mind.

You Must Thaw Your Credit in Advance If Applying for Credit

Recently, we bought a new house. The mortgage broker needed access to our credit scores and history, so I had to thaw our credit for all three credit bureaus. This takes me about 30 minutes each time I have to do this.

You Can’t Apply for Credit Spontaneously

Likewise, if you’re in a store and the clerk offers you a discount if you apply for the store’s credit, you won’t be able to because you have to thaw your credit first. But, again, I don’t consider this a drawback because it helps me avoid spontaneously signing up for credit, but some people feel boxed in by having frozen credit.

Limitations of Freezing Your Credit

While a credit freeze prevents thieves from opening new accounts in your name, it does not stop credit theft entirely. For example, within the last five years, my credit company has notified me three times that someone had fraudulently tried to charge something on my card. Luckily, each time the credit card company caught the theft and issued me a new card. However, in instances like this, my credit freeze did nothing to protect my existing lines of credit that I legitimately opened years ago.

How to Freeze Your Credit

Freezing your credit is simple. You can choose to call each credit bureau or complete an online form. Online is the easiest and fastest. You’ll need to give your name, address, and social security number. You’ll also need to answer some personally identifying information such as former addresses and counties you have lived in. This will allow you to set up an online account with each bureau so you can freeze and thaw your credit.

You can also choose to freeze your credit by mail, but this is the least efficient way and takes two to three weeks.

How to Thaw Your Credit

If you want to thaw your credit over the phone, you’ll need to use the PIN that the credit bureau gave you when you froze your credit.

If you want to thaw it online, log into your account with the credit bureau. A PIN is not required. Then you choose whether you want to temporarily or permanently remove your credit freeze. If you remove it temporarily, you can enter the date you want the thaw to begin and the date you want it to end.

Some credit bureaus used to charge a fee to thaw your credit, but, thankfully, now each of the three credit bureaus offers this service for free.

Why Should You Freeze Your Minor’s Credit?

Your child’s credit is a blank slate for a criminal. Because your child is too young to open credit, you will likely never check to see if their identity has been stolen. Unfortunately, this means criminals can open up a line of credit in your child’s name and have it for YEARS before your child first applies for credit or you check their credit for theft.

Furthermore, unscrupulous relatives can also steal your child’s identity. There have even been cases of parents using their child’s identity and opening lines of credit in the child’s name.

How to Freeze Your Minor’s Credit

Freezing your minor’s credit is more complicated than freezing your credit.

You must freeze your credit at the three credit bureaus, just like adults do. However, to freeze your child’s credit, you must establish both your child’s identity and yours as the child’s parent. You will need to send copies of the following documents to the credit bureaus:

Your driver’s license (or other government-issued ID),
Your birth certificate,
Your child’s birth certificate,
Your social security card,
Your child’s social security card,
A utility bill with your name and address on it

In addition, you’ll need to complete and send in the Minor Freeze Request form from Equifax and Experian. Transunion requires you to complete the Child Identity Theft Inquiry and send in the necessary documentation.

If your child does not have a credit report (which is what you want since it means no one has opened credit in their name), the credit bureau will first need to open a file on your child. Then, the bureau freezes the child’s account. This process can take 10 to 15 days or longer before the freeze takes effect.

When Can a Minor Control Their Credit Freeze?

When minors are 16 or older, they can decide to leave their credit freeze in place, temporarily thaw it, or permanently remove it.

Final Thoughts

Freezing your family’s credit may seem over the top or paranoid, but it’s not. With our increasingly online data-driven culture, our personal information is on many online sites. As the news reminds us, these sites are regularly hacked allowing thieves to sell and use our personal information to their advantage. A credit freeze on each family member’s credit bureau file helps protect them from identity theft and the nightmare that comes from trying to prove you are not the one who ran up thousands of dollars on credit.

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MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.