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I don’t know why ….at this hour…down the memory lane… I am repeatedly reminded of Stella, a very charming woman who lived in our province. All of us knew that Stella had a dream. We did not know what? Later …after her death we came to know that she cherished to buy a diamond necklace.

Only her caring and loving husband knew about it. He promised to himself, one day he would definitely buy her a diamond necklace He had limited income, several debt payments, credit card bills and no scope of luxury… so the only way to accumulate money for him was by cutting down on his reasonable and necessary expenses…. with a small little hope…. that one day he would bye a diamond necklace for his love. He had no scope of luxury…so he curtailed expense on several things …he continued with his debt payments, paid his card bills but stopped paying premium for his health insurance and the auto insurance. Possibly he did all these without realizing what good would come out of it.

One day, on a stormy night Stella’s only treasure in her poor little world …her husband met with an accident. And he was severely injured. The doctors suggested that he would have to undergo an operation and for that they demanded big cash amount. The news for Stella was like a bolt out of the blue. She knew hardly anything about the money matters of their house…everything was controlled by her love.

Poor Stella went door to door asking for help, while her love was fighting with death in his sick bed. Many came forward, but the money required was so high that within that span it was next to impossible for her to collect the entire amount. In due course without any treatment, Stella’s husband had to suffer the pain of death. As Stella came to know about her husband’s death she broke down completely. She lost complete faith in life and tried to live an isolated life. But even now she could not get peace. All her husband’s debtors kept disturbing her.

Moreover, on that day, her husband was carrying with him a series of costly and branded electronic goods which belonged to his company. Just for not having an auto insurance , Stella had to take up the trouble to reimburse for all the perished goods to his company. She was even charged by law …as auto insurance premium was compulsory in our state.

As much as i can recollect.. he was carrying him a brand new model of a laptop, a handy cam, an apple i pod, a costly digital camera and some more costly items. I heard that all these items perished with him in the accident.Possibly, some might have been robbed away in the highway, where they met with the accident.

Hardly could she recover the pain of her husband’s unnatural death that she got tangled with more and more complications…

In due course, she was burdened with so much worries that she fanatically tried to figure out ways to come out of this as fast as possible. But she could not continue with her lonely struggle for long. Within a couple of months…one day, amidst such anxiety… while she was on her way back home, in her neighbor’s car she met with an accident. Stella was not enlisted in her neighbor’s auto insurance policy and the driver of their car was proved to be faulty so she could not get the reimbursement for her medical bills. However she was admitted to the hospital but she had to face the deadly hour for the lack of money… in the same… way without any treatment.

Had Stella’s husband continued to pay the insurance premiums …do you think that they would have to suffer such a miserable end? The people of our locality would say “No”. This incident made such an impact on them that after that day everyone started to make payments for all their insurance premiums on a regular basis. All those who did not have insurance immediately signed up with the insurance policies they required. They realized the essence of security and the money management policy in life. That insurance is even beyond the concept of “everything being fair in love and war” is another thing the people believe in after this incident.Actually,for the people of our locality, Insurance began… where Stella’s love ended …..

“Really, can you say what good came out of it?” Who won over? Is it the love arrow of Cupid ? Or, Insurance (security) that Christ, the Savior himself…is always providing us?

Insurance…right?…Had they continued at least with the auto insurance premiums, Stella’s dream of a diamond necklace might have come true. She might have also been able to save her husband and got the reimbursement for all the perished goods. And innocent Stella might not have suffered so miserably either.

Actually God Helps Those Who Help Themselves. Stella and her husband did not help themselves .Stella’s husband discontinued to pay the auto insurance premium.Possibly for such a reason they had a downfall….

Learn more about auto insurance…

Technorati Tags: insurance, auto insurance, premium, credit card bills, debts, diamond necklace

It isn’t easy making the teens understand the value of money. The older they get the more they want to feed their vanity. Their spending habits are easily influenced by their peers, siblings and not to forget the TV stars. To be able to make it in the real world, it is important to make the kids learn to manage their money at a young age. And trust me it’s a major concern among the parents because the run-of-the-mill parental lecture does not work here. My aunt was facing the same problem in making her fourteen year old daughter teach the value of dollar. She was trying her best to make her daughter appreciate the value of money and manage her own spending habits, but that was no easy task. But she discovered a few tricks that really did wonders. And I’m gonna share those magic tricks with you guys. So, settle in and read for fun!!!

• Start giving monthly allowance to your kid: It will make them more responsible. The allowance should cover expenses for their new clothes, school supplies, video games, sports equipment and other expenses. Leave it to your kid to make their own choices, but remember that you don’t dole out any more dollars after the money’s gone. This will make them understand what budgeting is all about.

• Teach your kid the dos and don’ts of shopping: Explain to them the importance of shopping with a list. When you shop with a list it will not let you do impulsive buying (which most of the kids are fond of) and will keep you to just your needs. If they are using credit cards advise them to use credit wisely. Make them understand the costs of credit and the affects of good and bad credit.

• Explain your kid the family’s financial situation: Tell them the family resources are limited, they should understand from where the money comes and how it needs to be spent.

• Be a good role model: You can not expect your kids to be money smart when they are watching you spending on unnecessary items.

Update:
Thanks to Roddick for adding those points. I will cover those in my next post.

Technorati Tags: teen and money, teenagers and budget, teenagers, money smart

Mr X, a young employee was delighted at the prospect of his new job and hastily agreed to take s second credit card within a few days of obtaining the first card, though from a different company. But what was so special about the new card? Well, it was “free” and the only doc required to get it was a photocopy of their first credit card. So, that was it, so simple and easy! Feeling proud of his first card, Mr X just photocopied both sides of the first card and sent it to the Direct sales agent.

In another incident, Mrs Y, a junior school teacher was attracted to the telebrands on TV and obtained an ATM-cum-debit card for the purpose of mail and telephonic orders. But she was shocked when after a few days, one of her orders was not getting accepted even after the numbers were punched as guided by the voice prompt. Now, as Mrs. Y had to avail an offer, she didn’t give up but contacted a tele-agent. She even gave her card number, validity date and last 3 digits on the signature panel of the card for quick processing of the order.

However, what surprised both Mr X and Mrs Y in the following month were the account statements of their cards. They found that their cards have been misused by others for online shopping transactions. Most users are require during online transactions is to enter their credit card number, card validity month/year and a code called the Card Verification Value (or Card Validation Code) available in the card itself.

Now, what’s this CVV?

It’s a 3 digit number code imprinted at the end of the signature panel on the reverse of the card (often a 4 digit code little above the end of the card number).

The CVV serves as the authorizing code for CNP (card not present) transactions. This implies that it is as important as the pin number when you wish to access your bank account. However, unlike the ATM Pin Number which cannot be seen by others, the CVV is rarely protected as it is printed on the card itself.

Your card is thus exposed to other people and hence your CVV too. The best way to avoid this is to memorize your CVV and then put a small opaque sticker on it. Otherwise, if you suspect that your card details are exposed, then there’s no way out except that you get a new card with a fresh CVV and then protect that card.

Technorati tags:credit card debit card protect card card verification value

I’m just back from a shopping trip. I would call it a trip because at one point it seemed that it is never going to end. No I was not out on a shopping spree nor was Ryan. Now you all must be wondering who this Ryan is. He is one of my closest pals and is getting married next month. You know there is this strange thing between both of us….we didn’t start off that well.

I simply hated him n trust me the feelings were mutual. Lol!!! But later on when we started talking we realized “Oh gosh!!! We are so similar.” Be it books, movies, food or anything we share same likes and dislikes. But the most important thing that makes us so strikingly similar is our belief in simple living.

Today he called up and said “Hey just come over and help me with the ring stuff?” An engagement ring is a token of love and commitment. So it has to be special. And shopping for special things is really a nerve wracking job, because you have to be extra cautious. While driving on my way to meet Ryan, many things cropped in my mind. For a while I was clueless, but then I sorted out two important factors: value and quality. I always believe that there is a line of demarcation between being frugal and being cheap. And I knew that Ryan too thinks the same. But what about Emile, his fiancée? She will be wearing it and looking at it for the rest of her life. Women really care how their engagement ring looks. So, how much Ryan should spend on it?

I have seen people spending their two to three months’ salary. It’s simply extreme. There are much better things in life to spend your three month’s salary - be it home, car, retirement, insurance….the list is endless. Then why is there so much hoopla about a big and shiny ring that is worth $1342. That makes me think, is it really a token of love or merely a status symbol that your wife will show to her friends. Now that’s something worth pondering!!!!!

Technorati tags:engagement ring, spending on ring