The holiday season reminds us of a culture of excess which most of the time leads us to a lot of financial problems. We list down some of the worst things you may have committed in the past or you can also look at them as the deadliest financial sins you want to avoid:

Co-signing a loan

Never co-sign a loan for a friend if you know that you have enough to really cover for it in case something goes wrong. Remember that you are equally responsible if your friend defaults payment or does not pay at all.

Going beyond what you can

If you are using your credit card for your fuel, grocery, and other purchases and you do not have anything in the bank to back these expenses up, you must do something as soon as possible or you will be neck deep in debt soon.

Spending on wants and luxuries

Shopping for fun? Swipe it ‘til you drop? Booking a hotel suite even when you know you cannot afford it? If you answered mostly yes to these questions then you know that you must think of something since your spending will lash back at you pretty soon.

Splurging like it’s your last day of spending

You need to follow a budget and control your income or else you may lose control. Let us say you are eating a restaurant, decide what you want to eat or else the waiter will be spending your money.

You are not saving

It is a cliché but it is an absolute truth— you must prepare for the rainy days. You need to make sure that you save something that is equivalent to half or a year’s worth of expenses ideally. You also need this for emergency expenses like when your car breaks down or when a member of your family falls ill.

The leaves of the calendar fly quite fast as you see your kid playing with a rattle and then asking you for car keys after a few years. It is pretty tough for everyone when they realize that their teenagers are ready and eager to drive a car. Having a teen driver does not get easy as you have to look for an insurance to cover your new driver. Normally, the insurance premiums will go sky high as you add a teenage driver to the police but there are still ways to keep the costs affordable:

Review your collision and comprehensive insurance

Even when you have a new car, you need to review your collision and comprehensive car insurance as you may not need the best of the coverage. You may want to consider increasing your deductible to around $1,000 so you can save a lot on the premiums. Just make sure that you save some money in case you need to file for a claim. If you have an old car, you might want to drop these policies. Know the value of your car discuss with your provider the most reasonable coverage based on your car’s depreciation.

Add your teen driver your car insurance

It will be cheaper for you to add your kid to the same insurance policy as the family’s. You can save some money by bundling your home insurance with your car insurance policy. If the child is not buying her or his own ride, you might want to assign your or your spouse’s car to the newest driver of the family so you can keep the premiums on the same level as the adult-only vehicle, and you will have the option to assign the cheaper vehicle. You might also want to check with other insurance companies if they have cheaper options for you.

Encourage good grades in school

Remember that insurance policies are about risks, and studies found out that kids with good grades in school end up to be better drivers. You can even get discounts if your young driver maintains a certain average.

Explore discounts for teens

Insurance companies are willing to give discount for teen driver car insurance when your kid has gone thru proper driving course, driving safety programs, and defensive driving courses. The discount will save you money but more importantly, you will have the peace of mind that your kid is well equipped in terms of skill and knowledge important to be safe on the road.

Buy the right car

You do not want to build speed racers, you want to hone a good, responsible driver. So buying him or her a speed monster vehicle will not serve the family good. You might want to get a safe, second hand to car to start with.

Your credit score is the special number that indicates your general credit history and plays a big role in how a financial institution will receive your credit history. It can also play a part in whether you get that specific job you have applied for. The higher that your credit score is the better it is for you, but having perfect credit is not anymore desirable than having moderate credit. There are many other reasons why you should know what your credit score is.

Know in what your credit score is will give you some idea of where you stand as far as if your credit is great, good, fair, or bad. If you do not have any type of credit then it does not matter because it is not applicable to any credit or loan situations. Although a higher score is more favorable when you apply for any type of loan or credit such as a home loan, car loan, or a credit card, those with a low credit score are not totally helpless when it comes to being approved. They just stand a lower chance of getting approved. When it comes to a personal or car loan, those with a low credit score will probably have to have a co-signer so you can see why it is important to know your credit score.

Once you know what your credit score is, you will know if it is possible to get a loan on your own or if you might have to have a co-signer. If you know you have a low credit score you can start taking measures to bring it up.

If you know your credit score you can also eliminate conflicts or problems in your credit report. If you know that you score was seven hundred and when you check your credit report and it is now five hundred you know that is something happens. For example, if you became a victim of identity theft your score would suffer and you can see the outcome of the attack and will let you take control of the situation.

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The year is quickly coming to a close and with it many people’s thoughts are drawn to their taxes. With the ever changing tax laws and most people at the end of their economic tether it seems wiser than ever before to seek professional help in getting your taxes taken care of. But just how does one go about finding an accountant to help you with your taxes? Here are few strategies that may prove successful.

Check out professional tax accounting firms. There are a number of professional tax accounting firms who have accountants on payroll that are not skilled at accounting, but have taken special tax classes and keep updated on the newest laws. If anyone can save you money and get you back more on your tax returns then these professionals should be able to do that. However, keep in mind that these tax accounting firms vary in how much they charge clients depending on how complicated your tax returns may be.

There are also a number of independent accountants that work for accounting firms by day and then help prepare taxes in the evening and on weekends for extra revenue. Most of these accountants also keep abreast of the changing tax laws and often charge less then regular tax accounting firms.

If you are considering hiring an independent account to help with your taxes take the time to spend time asking questions regarding their experience and education. You want to make sure that any accountant you hire knows what they are doing.

Of course you can always find an accountant to help with your taxes by asking your friends and acquaintances if they can recommend someone they used. Sometimes, this method of finding an accountant works well as the people who give the recommendation probably has their taxes done by the individual they recommend and may be able to provide you some great information which may help to make your decision much easier.

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I’m not going to say I totally endorse everything they say in this video – but the documentary really is an eye-opener, and should be shown in high schools throughout our nation to help school youngsters…

Paul Grignon, well done sir!

The American Express Program is a reward program offered to people who hold one of the several different American express credit cards. Gold, Platinum or Centurion card holders are automatically enrolled in the program while those holding an American Express credit card can join the membership program for an annual $50.00 fee.

Like all credit card reward programs you must follow the rules for where you used your credit cards to gain points, but unlike many programs you are allowed unlimited points and they never expire as long as you hold your credit card and the program continues.

Because the American Express member programs has more airline and hotel partners you have more choice of who you can fly with and where you stay to rack up those points. There are also several participating merchants as well as an online store that you can get additional points by shopping for goods from these merchants.

The points you earn can be traded in for airline miles, hotel rooms or suites, rental cars, merchandise, cruises, dining rewards, donations to charities (over 100), and gift cards. In some cases you can combine points earned with a charge on your card to get merchandise that you may otherwise not have enough points to be able to get.

The company does offer a type of sale each month where you can get items for reduced points which may make getting a desired item a little easier if you can wait until the item goes on sale.

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Panelists: William Nordhaus, Robert Shiller, John Geanakoplos, Jonathan Macey & moderated by Richard Levin (Yale University President).

In times past when two people got married there was no question as to whether there should be one or two checking accounts. It seemed as if it was automatically decided that there would be one checking account, the husband would make the money to put into the account and the wife would be the one to manage the checkbook and pay the bills. In the latter part of the twentieth century things began to change and newlyweds began to each have their own checking account with various reasons as to why they wanted it this way.

One reason that newlyweds might want their own checking accounts because they want to be married, but yet still feel independent by paying their own personal bills and they can spend what money they have left anyway they want to spend it. They may even decide on a third account with each one putting in a set amount to pay the household bills like the mortgage or rent payment, utilities and other household expenses.

Another reason to have two checking accounts is so that one person is not responsible for all the checking writing and paying the bills. Having one account could also cause friction in the marriage if one of the parties feels like they are contributing more to the checking account thus paying more of the bills than the other party.

If there are two accounts and a division of the household bills with each one being responsible for certain bills being paid, it might make them feel more like equals. It would also cut down on one party accusing the other party of spending too much of their money on what they want and not contributing to the household fund.

In regard to one checking account there does not have to be one person responsible for making sure that all the bills have been paid. They could have a certain day of the month or set aside one day of the week like Sunday to pay the bills that are coming due and takes turns writing the checks to pay the bills at that time.

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Fraud and Identity Theft are a very common problem – but I had no idea the technical process of this stuff was so so intense. I mean, how do you get both an image from the back and the front and all this data?

Oh well, make sure you are protected!

A loaf of bread, please? Aaight, 30 BILION dollars please!