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Have Kids? You Should Have Life Insurance

February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Parents want to do all that they can to protect their children, but many of them focus only on the immediate things. They don’t consider what might happen to their family if they were no longer able to provide for them, or if they were to pass away before their children were grown. It’s a lot of responsibility to be a parent, and part of that is having insurance to protect everyone in the family. Life insurance is the best way to do that, and there are two different kinds: whole life and term life. Whole life insurance builds cash value that you can pull out of the policy later, but the monthly premiums are also significantly higher. Term life insurance has no cash value and is good only for a specific term, after which you must renew it. The premiums are much less expensive each month.

Only you can decide what kind of life insurance would be best for you and your family, and you’ll all have to come to a decision as to how much the life insurance policy will be for. You can compare insurance quotes in order to find the best deal, which will allow you to look at the policies side by side and see which one is really providing you the most (and best) coverage for the money. There are usually exclusions to policies, so read all of the fine print and make sure that you understand what you’ve read.

It’s generally very easy to get life insurance, especially if you’re young. In a lot of cases, you’re not even required to take a medical exam. Of course, that depends on the company that’s issuing you the policy and how much insurance you’re asking for. People who want large policies are more likely to need medical clearance before they can get the policy they desire.

Filed Under: Financial Advice, Parenting Tagged With: , ,

Sleepy Kids: Things Every Parent Should Know

December 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Sleep requirements for kids vary, depending on the age of your child. Sleep deprived kids, over time, are more prone to depression, accidental injuries, poor concentration, lower immunity to colds and flu, and obesity. To make sure your child is getting enough rest, follow these pediatric sleep guidelines: Newborn to two months need 12 to 18 hours per day, two to 12 months should get 9 to 12 hours each night and two to four and a half hours of nap time per day, one to three years require 12 to 13 hours of sleep (including naps), and ages three to five years need 11 to 12 hours per day (including naps).
Children who are well-rested typically use three or four areas of the brain when completing a task, but sleep loss impairs brain function and effects coordination, efficiency, and concentration. If you need to find sleep study centers in your area, contact Canada 411. You’ll be able to locate professionals who can suggest healthy strategies for helping your little ones get the sleep they need.
Studies show that adults who get fewer than eight hours of sleep per night are three times more likely to get a cold, so it’s even more important to tuck those kiddies in early. Experts suggest that bedtime distractions, such as TVs and video games in the bedroom, contribute to over-stimulation, which leads to fatigue. Since kids learn by example, parents need to demonstrate bedtime routines that will instill good habits for a lifetime of optimum vitality and health.
Filed Under: Education, Financial Advice Tagged With: , ,

Filing Taxes With Dependents

December 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It seems like just after the New Year, the panic of tax season begins to set in. For some, doing their taxes is a simple affair that they can do by themselves either by using old fashioned pen and paper, or by using one of the popular software filing kits. Of course, any filer wants to be sure to have the maximum number of deductions, but the filing process changes slightly when you are claiming dependents.

The Internal Revenue Service defines a dependent as any taxpayer’s child or relative. It’s not quite that simple, however, as the IRS may want to confirm that the dependent is in fact a child or stepchild of the taxpayer. The IRS may also want to confirm that dependent is under the age of 19 (or 24 if a full-time student), has lived with the taxpayer for more than half a year, and that the dependent cannot provide for at least half of their own support.

The rules for filing taxes that include a relative as a dependent are even trickier, and if dealing with that situation, consulting an accountant may be your best choice.

Once you’ve determined that you will indeed be claiming dependents, you may be eligible for tax credits, deductions and other tax benefits such as personal exemptions, child tax credits and dependent care credits.

The IRS makes an effort to simplify the filing of your taxes through the use of worksheets that are available online, but the safest and best way to ensure you’re getting the proper number of deductions is to sit down with an accountant. At the very least, you should use one of the great software products that ask you a series of questions in order to populate the fields on your tax return.

No matter how you prepare your tax return, filing a return claiming dependents can be more difficult than a standard individual tax return.

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