Reposted from: http://moneygirl.quickanddirtytips.com/5-money-management-tips-for-couples.aspx

One of the biggest challenges in personal finance can be managing money with your spouse or partner. If you don’t agree on money basics, like budgeting, spending, and saving, that can cause serious problems in your relationship. But don’t worry—if you’re fighting about money or don’t think you can ever see eye-to-eye, there are ways to settle your differences. I interviewed Bethany and Scott Palmer—the authors of First Comes Love, Then Comes Money—to learn more about specific techniques that couples can use to improve their financial lives. Here are 5 tips for managing money that can dramatically improve your relationship:

Tip #1: Know Your Money Personality

Understanding your “money personality” is the key to ending conflicts about finances in your relationship for good. Your money personality is the distinct way that you think about and handle money. See if you recognize yourself in one of the following 5 money personalities:

• The Saver – Likes to pinch pennies, hates parting with money, and thinks everything is overpriced. This type likes to research purchases and rarely spends impulsively. Savers are organized and trustworthy with money.
• The Spender – Loves to buy for themselves and perhaps for other people as well and gets a thrill from making a purchase, even if it’s something inexpensive at a thrift store. Spenders live in the moment, buy on impulse, and don’t differentiate between wants and needs.
• The Risk Taker – Gets excited about possibilities and is willing to lose money for the potential financial return of an investment or business opportunity. This personality type thinks conceptually and doesn’t get hung up on the details. Risk-takers can be impatient and make decisions without consulting others.
• The Security Seeker – Likes to plan for the future so they never have to experience a financial crisis. Willing to sacrifice today so they can save, invest, and have adequate insurance to cover their needs tomorrow. Security-seekers are very conservative with money, and are never caught unprepared.
• The Flyer – Flies by the seat of their pants because they don’t like to think about money at all. They’re not motivated by money, rarely make financial plans, and are unorganized. Fliers may end up making financial decisions based on fear rather than good advice.

Each person typically has 2 of the 5 money personalities—a primary and a secondary. To get clarity about your money dynamic as a couple, you should identify your own and your partner’s money personalities.

Tip #2: Have a Money Huddle

Understanding your “money personality” is the key to ending conflicts about finances in your relationship for good. A “money huddle” is a regular meeting you should have with your partner where you talk openly about your money relationship. This is the time to discuss how to blend your money personalities into a system that satisfies both of you. You might have a 45-minute money huddle once a month over dinner, for instance. The purpose of a money huddle is not to crunch your budget numbers or to let tempers flare—it’s to acknowledge your money personalities, discuss how you relate to money, and decide how to move forward as a couple. You should begin your financial conversation with the END in mind, which is an acronym for how to structure your money huddle:
E = Evaluate
N = Needs
D = Dream

I’ll explain each of these in the last 3 tips.

Tip #3: Evaluate Your Financial Situation

You should spend the first 15 minutes of your money huddle evaluating your debt and savings. Quickly review each of the debts you have, such as credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans. Know the balance due on each debt and the interest rate you’re paying. Next, review how much you have in savings and investments, like retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, and bank accounts. Remember that this is just an overview, so don’t let it consume your entire discussion.

Tip #4: Discuss Your Money Needs

The next 15 minutes of your money huddle should be spent discussing one of your most pressing money needs. You might want to save for a vacation, increase contributions to a retirement account, purchase life insurance, or buy a new toy. Listen to what your partner has to say and set a date for when you could research both of your items, take action, and meet your needs.

Tip #5: Remember Your Dreams

Take the last part of your money huddle to remember the dreams you and your partner had earlier in your relationship. Think about what you really want your future to look like. Do you want to buy a home? Have a cushy retirement account? Move? Start a business? Whatever it is, starting a dialog about it is the first step to making it happen.

More Money Management Advice for Couples Knowing your money personalities, and having re gular money huddles that begin with the END in mind, is key to successfully managing money as a couple. If you’re having money problems or just want to know how to avoid them in your relationship, be sure to listen to my interview with money and relationship experts, Bethany and Scott Palmer. You’ll get invaluable advice and hear the answers to 2 questions from podcast listeners who have money dilemmas in their relationships. To access the audio, visit to SmartMovesToGrowRich.com.

   

Follow these steps to protect your personal information when you're away from home.
By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance March 15, 2011

It’s easy to become a victim of identity theft while traveling, whether for work or pleasure. Follow these tips to protect yourself.

1. Let your credit-card company know if you’ll be traveling (especially if you’re leaving the country). Financial institutions’ fraud departments are becoming more vigilant about any unusual activity on your card, which can be a great way to detect a problem. But if you’re away from home when the bank calls to verify the charges, you could end up with a frozen account while you’re out of town. Avoid the hassles and notify your bank before you leave home.

2. Don’t automatically call back the phone number that claims to be from the bank. If you get a phone call or e-mail about suspicious activity on your card, don’t automatically call back the number on the message -- that’s a common ploy by identity thieves to capture personal information. Call the customer service number on the back of your credit card instead. If the call was legitimate, they’ll be able to connect you to the appropriate department.

3. Secure your mail while you’re gone. Have a trusted neighbor or friend pick up your mail every day, or stop your mail at the post office if you’ll be gone for a while. Your mail can be a treasure trove for criminals -- containing your credit-card numbers as well as personal information that could lead to identity theft. “There’s no greater magnet for burglars than a mailbox that is overflowing with mail,” says Adam Levin of Credit.com and Identity Theft 911. And don’t announce the dates of your travel on your Facebook page. That’s like issuing an open-invitation to thieves (see 5 Facebook Posts That Put You at Risk).

4. Weed out your wallet. Tourist destinations are often a haven for pickpockets, so go through your wallet and take out unneeded credit cards and personal information before you leave. Don’t carry your Social Security number in your wallet, and only take the credit cards that you need. Make copies of all of your important documents, such as your passport, driver’s license, health insurance card and tickets, so you’ll have access to the information if your wallet is stolen, says Levin. Leave the copies with a trusted family member or scan them into an encrypted file on your computer. Also keep a list of contact numbers for your credit-card company and bank with you, so it will be easy to call if your wallet is stolen or you have any trouble with your account.

5. Be wary of generic ATMs. Banks have been reporting an increase in ATM-skimming incidents. This is when thieves install a card reader in an ATM to capture your account information and PIN number, so they can steal from your account. Levin recommends sticking with bank ATMs at a branch to be safe. “There’s a greater level of security,” he says.

6. Check your accounts regularly for suspicious activity. “Spend a few minutes online every day looking at your bank and credit-card accounts, and make sure every transaction is yours,” says Levin. This is a good idea all the time, but it’s particularly important when you’re out of town and might miss a call from your bank about suspicious activity Some banks offer a service that will notify you by text message or e-mail whenever a transaction above a certain size is made on your card.

7. Be careful with hotel computers. Don’t access your accounts or personal information on public hotel computers, which could have software that logs keystrokes and records your passwords and account numbers. And be very careful when using an unsecure wireless network, too.

8. Don’t leave personal information lying around in your hotel room. Keep your credit cards and other important information with you or lock them up in the hotel safe, says Levin, and leave your checkbook in a safe place at home, if possible. Safeguard your laptop computer, too, especially if it has account information that is not encrypted.

9. During long absences, freeze your credit. If you’ll be traveling for a long time and won’t be able to check your accounts regularly for suspicious activity, consider putting a freeze on your credit report. A freeze prevents potential lenders from accessing your credit report without your authorization, which can prevent identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name. You can still make charges to your current cards without unfreezing your account. It generally costs $10 at each credit bureau to freeze the account and $10 to unfreeze it. For this precaution to be effective, you must freeze your credit report at all three credit bureaus. Contact Equifax.com, TransUnion.com and Experian.com individually.

10. Be vigilant after you return home. Identity thieves are known for their patience, and it can take them a long time to pounce. Check your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com for any suspicious activity -- you can get one free copy of your report from each of the three credit bureaus every 12 months, and you can stagger your requests so you can see one copy every four months. This is a good move for everyone to do, even if they haven’t left home in a while.

For more information and steps to take to report ID theft, see the Federal Trade Commission’s ID Theft Site. Also see my Tricks ID Thieves Use column for ID theft red flags, How to Avoid ID Theft for steps to take if your wallet has been stolen, and Your ID Theft Prevention Kit for more information about protecting your identity.


Read more: http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/10-ways-to-guard-against-identity-theft-when.html?topic_id=38#ixzz1QVO9JXge
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It’s easy to tell yourself that you’ll probably never need to purchase extra liability insurance. After all, your chances of being hit with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit may be fairly slim. And besides, wouldn’t the liability coverage on your standard homeowners and auto insurance policies be enough to protect you against a claim or a lawsuit?


Before you make such an assumption — and underestimate the importance of having enough liability protection — consider that between 2001 and 2007, the average jury award for all liability cases increased by almost 62%.1 If you had liability coverage, how much did it increase during this period?

Unfortunately, there are a number of misconceptions about umbrella liability insurance that could cause you to be underinsured.

“My other policies should provide enough coverage.” Standard auto and homeowners insurance policies typically offer between $300,000 and $500,000 in liability coverage. If you’re ever found liable for an amount greater than these limits, you may need to use your home, financial assets, and even your future earnings to satisfy a legal judgment. An umbrella policy acts as an additional layer of protection above the limits of your primary coverage. To qualify for an umbrella liability insurance policy, you generally must purchase the maximum liability coverage available on your auto and homeowners policies, which serve as the deductible for the umbrella policy.

“I’m not at risk of being sued.” If you have a swimming pool, have teenagers living at home, employ workers in your home, own a dog, or entertain frequently, you may have a higher risk of becoming the target of a personal liability lawsuit. Dog bites alone accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claims in 2009. More than 50% of dog bites occur on the dog owner’s property.2

“It’s too expensive.” Umbrella policies typically charge a few hundred dollars a year for $1 million of coverage. The benefits can be used to pay jury awards, plaintiff medical expenses, and legal fees, up to the policy limits. The appropriate amount of coverage for your situation will depend on personal factors, but it’s generally recommended that you have liability coverage at least equal to your net worth.

Omitting umbrella liability insurance from your risk-management strategy could be a costly mistake. The cost is low relative to the additional coverage it may offer.



1–2) Insurance Information Institute, 2010

The information in this article is not intended as tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional advisor. The content is derived from sources believed to be accurate. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. This material was written and prepared by Emerald. © 2011 Emerald Connect, Inc

Source: http://www.fpakatchen.com/Dispelling-Umbrella-Insurance-Myths.c2741.htm