It was only about 4 years ago that I was a teenager and never really thought too much about how my driving affected others. With technology on the rise and touch phones such as the iPhone becoming increasingly popular, teens are spending more time paying attention to anything BUT the road.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to single out the teenage population as many other generations have fallen prey to distractions while driving as well (smoking, eating, multi-tasking, texting, etc.). But in my opinion, it is best to target a population before the bad habits continue even further.

The statistics for teen driving are extremely scary and there has to be a way for parents and others to correct the path of destruction before it gets any worse. According to AAA, car accidents involving 15-17 year old drivers cost society more than $34 billion dollars! These expenses include medical and property damages as well as other related costs for 2006 alone!

So, how can you keep your children and others safe?

Here are a few tips:

SET AN EXAMPLE – Don’t show your kids what it is like to drive by e-mailing on your Blackberry or always being on the phone. Teens will learn quickly from what they have seen their parents or other family members and friends do.

SEATBELTS – I know that when I was younger I hated my seatbelt and didn’t really truly understand what it was there for. Explain to your children when they are young the importance of seatbelts and how they can be life-saving. Hopefully it will become a routine they don’t even have to think about. I automatically put on my seatbelt regardless of how long the trip.

INSURANCE - Car insurance is expensive no matter what. Put a teen behind the wheel and the price can skyrocket your rathes…sometimes by 50% - 100%! You don’t want to have to pay higher rates just because your teen is not being safe or smart behind the wheel. Make a deal with your teenager. Make sure they are following all your rules before you hand them those keys to your car! Give them the information they need to keep their insurance rates low. Some of these things include having a safer car, keeping your driving record clean (no tickets or accidents), or even doing well in school! Depending on your policy, your child could be awarded just for being a good student.

DRIVERS TRAINING CLASSES – There are tons of extra classes outside of the basic drivers education that offer teens a greater variety of learning such as driving in the rain, sleet, and snow. Skills such as what to do if you are broken down on the side of the road are also often taught. These classes can range anywhere from $60-$200 but may be extremely beneficial.

CURFEWS – In some towns there is a mandatory curfew and teens are not allowed to be out driving around past 10:00pm. However, even if your town does not have a curfew, often times it would be best if your teen had to be home at a certain hour so you knew where they were. I suggest letting them know that they can bring their friends home too (if it is feasible for you). This way they aren’t all driving around doing nothing. I know when I was in high school if we couldn’t find anything to do we would just drive around with our friends. Now that I look back on it?…How dumb and a huge waste of gas!! Make sure your teens have a trip with an actual purpose in mind.

TALK – Don’t just hand your teen the key to the car as soon as they get their license. Lay down the ground rules and make sure they understand. Tell them not to become another statistic. Maybe read them some of these…

• In a survey conducted for AAA, it was found that 15-17 year olds were involved in about 974,000 crashes that injured 406,427 people and killed 2,541 in one year alone (SCARY)!

Reader’s Digest reported some more surprising statistics:

• 87% of teen deaths involve distracted drivers (this includes radios, eating, texting, talking on your cell, etc.).
• Adding 1 passenger increases the fatal crash risk by 48%. A second passenger increases the fatality risk by 158%.
• Speeding is a factor in 35% of crash deaths involving young drivers.

All of these statistics are really scary and get you thinking about what you might be able to do to prevent this from happening. Obviously you aren’t going to have complete control over what happens…but at least you can take a step towards making things safer on the roads.

Photo: Wally Irwin

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Imagine being out of work for a few months or even years! How would you get by without income? I know many of us (if not all of us) never want to find out. But if it does happen, it is best to take preventative action.

Not everyone has disability insurance and some may think they will never need it. However, disability insurance may be more important than life insurance due to the fact that you are more likely to get injured than to die (although neither is pleasant).

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and an article on MSN.com, “Every year, 12% of the adult U.S. population suffers a long-term disability. One out of every seven workers will suffer a five-year or longer period of disability before age 65, and if you’re 35 now, your chances of experiencing a three-month or longer disability before you reach age 65 are 50%.” These statistics are greater than you would think.

Only being 22 years old, disability insurance has never even crossed my mind. I always assumed that it was for older people closer to the age of retirement.

Our partners on MainStreet.com explain that long-term disability insurance usually costs about 1% - 3% of your yearly income and protects you against the loss of your ability to get income. This seems minimal to me when you think about how much it can save you if something critical happens.

Long-term disability insurance typically covers an injury that lasts 6 months or longer where you aren’t able to earn an income.

MainStreet.com explains further that you will not regain all of your income while you are disabled and will usually get about 60% back.

The reason for this is clear – why would an insurance company want to pay you back all of your income? What incentive would you then have to return to your previous job?

Unfortunately, many companies do not offer their employees disability insurance and life insurance appears to be more popular. However, often your company may offer you workers compensation but it will not always cover as large amount as disability insurance and for different lengths of time. Make sure you know what your company offers before making a decision on disability insurance!

Different insurance companies will offer different plans with varying costs. Although it is impossible to predict what the future holds, preparing yourself for the worst possible outcome will be beneficial. Better to sacrifice a small percent of your income now than to lose it all in the future.

Photo: Stuart Whitmore

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Travel insurance can cover everything from flight delays and cancellations to unexpected medical emergencies when you are away from home, all the way to rental car damages or lost baggage that may occur.

I was born in England, so besides my immediate family the rest of my relatives live in England. My grandparents can no longer visit us the United States because they are not able to get travel insurance. At their age, it is too risky to travel without travel insurance in case anything medically pertinent happens. The insurance companies will not give them insurance because there is an increased liklihood that something significant could happen.

At around the time of the SARS scare in 2003, my grandmother was hospitalized in Miami, Florida. Not only was she in intensive care, but because of SARS she was also in isolation. Having travel insurance saved her thousands of dollars that she would have had to otherwise pay out of her own pocket.

Travel insurance is not necessarily for everyone, but it is definitely something that everyone should consider when taking a trip.

With airline cancellations and travel delays always likely in the forecast, you want to make sure that you are covered for all of the unexpected. Although we would all like to believe that nothing unexpected is going to happen to us, there is always a possibility that something will.

According to MSNBC.com, about 67 million Americans spent $1.3 billion on travel insurance in 2006. This amount is a 20% increase from what was spent in 2004.

Traveling with a family makes cancellations and medical costs much more expensive. Sometimes, travel insurance may even have a family package that will bundle your children with you for free.

There are many companies that offer travel insurance and the policies may differ from company to company. At InsureMyTrip.com, you are able to compare different companies’ plans and costs to one another. Another thing that is offered is an overview of what all of the companies may offer you. Make sure to pay close attention to detail, because often there are things that are not covered such as trip cancellations due to a divorce.

Although the cost of travel insurance may seem like a large investment at the time, you may save a lot of money if something goes wrong with your trip. If you are making a large investment in a vacation, you should make sure that you are covered just in case. It would be a shame for you to lose all of your money just because you may not have been covered.

Travel insurance however is not for everyone. If your trip is short or does not include a long investment, sometimes the cost of insurance is not worth it. Make sure to check out all of your options and seriously consider what is right for you. Even though your credit card may have insurance that would cover an airline cancellation, it would not cover the rest of your expenses if you never made it to your destination.

Photo: Scott Liddell

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Have you seen the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? If not, you should! It’s a comedy about two guys who make a list of things they want to do before they “kick the bucket.” It is actually quite funny and takes a light hearted look at death.

In an article on MainStreet.com, The Bucket List is described in the following way:

In the film, the two seniors—the independently wealthy Nicholson and the not-so-wealthy mechanic Freeman—embark on Nicholson’s private jet and travel around the world, making pit stops in India, China, Tanzania, and other far-flung destinations. They stroll around the Taj Mahal, ride across the Great Wall on motorcycles, go on safari in the Serengeti and ultimately rack up a bill of $105,730 according to an estimate by the Los Angeles Times.

However, not all of us have that much money to spend, but we should all have our own personal bucket list for what we want to accomplish before we die.

Mine would include something like the following:
• Go skydiving in Hawaii
• Travel to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji
• Backpack through Europe
• Work on Habitat for Humanity
• The list goes on and on…

However, although these are more light-hearted topics and fun, there are some more serious issues that people also need to consider before they die.

As my parents get older, different topics arise in the house that had never been discussed before. It is scary to think of my parents getting older, but the truth is that it is still comforting to know that they want to be prepared.

There are obviously many things that need to be dealt with as you get older and further more before you die. Nobody wants to think about death, but when it happens, it is definitely better for everyone close to you that you were well prepared. It makes the decisions that they have to make much easier.

Some documents and things that you should do before it is too late…
Or in other words, a more serious bucket list:

• Last Will and Testament – This one is a MUST HAVE. You do not want to die without a will. In your will you state where you want all of your assets (money, home, etc.) to go. In the case that you have children, it also provides them with a legal guardian so that you do not have to worry about who they will be with when you are gone. Check out this other Geezeo article about the Importance of Your Will.

• Advanced Health Care Directive – This document states what you want to happen if you have a terminal illness. It is hard for your loved ones to make the decisions for you, so in this document you state what you want to happen if this is the case. Such as if you want to be on medication, life support, or a feeding tube to prolong your life.

• General Power of Attorney – This document gives someone power to handle all of your financial affairs if you are unable to. You want to make sure your debt is paid off and everything is handled in case you are unable to do so.

There are many other documents that could be added to this list, it is your choice which you think you need. Make sure that after these documents are signed and dealt with that you put them in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box in case anything unexpected happens.

Also, make sure to include some fun things in your own bucket list as well! Not all of it has to be documents and legal things to cover; try traveling the world, flying a plane, or bungee jumping out for size!!

Photo: Scott Liddell

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By Chelsea P. Gladden

Have you heard the ‘ol adage if you bring the kids it’s not a vacation but a trip? Recently returned from Hawaii in my 8th month of pregnancy with two little ones four and under, I can validate that statement.

Don’t get me wrong; we had a blast and got some much needed quality family bonding in that I wouldn’t trade the world for, but with lots of diapers to be changed, baths to be given and chasing around in general, it was still a lot of work.

Nonetheless, while you can’t put a price on the memories I will treasure with my family forever, you can put a price on how much more traveling with children costs. Before embarking on your journey jubilee, consider the following.

If you’re flying, children over 2 require an airline seat. While this adds a serious chunk of change, also factor in that once you land, if you’re renting a car, you can no longer get away with the economy size with two or more children and will need to fork over the cash for the next size up. Even if you think you could squeeze two car seats in or have kids who are ready for seatbelts, you’ll still need room for luggage of a family of four or more.

Naturally, you’ll be spending more money on food than when it was just the two adults. Speaking of which, if you want any adult time, trusted babysitting services while traveling tend to cost more as well.

For some elbowroom, a bigger room might be needed and some hotels will charge a per person fee adding to that final check out bill.

However, to keep costs down, there are a few short cuts that can keep family vacationing from family bankruptcy.

Even with gas prices exceedingly high, it still could work out cheaper to pick a destination that you can drive to versus fly. If you keep it in the 100-mile range, you especially will avoid gas costs, car rental and room costs to break up your drive. Working your route to include a visit to family and friends will also cut back on hotel costs and can even score you a free sitter.

If flying is still in your cards, packing light can save you a bundle. To get a family of four packed into carry-ons, consider purchasing items such as extra diapers once you land. Bring some traveling detergent so you can wash clothes and get away with packing less. Doing so will help avoid airline charges for extra luggage and the need for a bigger rental car.

So don’t be deterred from family travel because it can be done cost effectively. Just remember: it’s a trip.

For more ways to be travel savvy The Street.com recommends booking a vacation home. Check it out: here.

Don’t be greedy with your travel savings tips. Share them on It’s Time to Budget and Financially Frugal Families.

I was searching online about life insurance and realized that many sites tell you complicated facts when you really just want it put in plain English. Then I found this article from our partners at MainStreet.com that did just that…easy to understand! MainStreet.com found a great way to explain life insurance to those who are not completely sure what to expect.

Get Life Insurance
By MainStreet.com Staff Writers

Isn’t life insurance only for retirees and grandparents? Not exactly. The basic rule of thumb is, if you have people who depend on you financially, (known as “dependents”), you need life insurance.

Your dependents will likely need financial help after you’re gone to cover things your income would normally pay for—such as mortgage payments, tuition bills, and month-to-month expenses. They may also need additional money to cover funeral costs, estate taxes or old debts. This article can help you determine how to select the right option for you.

Know Your Options

If you have dependents, there are two types of life insurance to choose from:

Temporary (also called “term”). Term life insurance lasts for a set period of time (known as the “term”, and typically somewhere between 10 and 30 years) and offers a lump-sum payment to the person you choose, also known as your beneficiary if you die during that term.

Permanent (also called “cash value”). Once you sign up for a permanent life insurance policy, you make regular payments (also known as “premiums”) until you die. In addition to offering a death benefit, permanent life also invests a portion of your premiums for you, which can then enjoy certain tax advantages the IRS has created to encourage insurance ownership. Because of this additional investment advantage, permanent insurance is always more expensive than term insurance.

There are three basic types of permanent insurance:

Whole Life Insurance. Has fixed premiums throughout your lifetime with little to no choice over how your premiums are invested.

Variable Life Insurance. Allows you to choose among different funds and reap the rewards of better investment performance if you make the right fund choices (or, feel the pain if you make poor investment choices).

Universal Insurance. Lets you increase the premiums you pay in order to grow the cash value and increase the payout upon your death.

Make Your Choice
Now that you understand the basics, it’s time to decide which type of policy makes the most sense for you. For most people with dependents, that choice is term life insurance–its policies are more flexible, easily renewed, competitively priced, and easier to understand and acquire. And because they are cheaper, they also leave you with more disposable income to invest as you choose.

Only if you are older, in desperate need of a savings plan, or without sufficient retirement savings might permanent life insurance be the better choice, because these policies force you to invest a portion of your premiums each month. However, these policies are complex, require much more money up front and in monthly premiums, and don’t offer you much say over how your money is invested. To make a final selection, you have to decide which is more important to you: simplicity and lower monthly payments (term) or accumulated savings despite a greater monthly expense (permanent).

Purchase the Right Policy
Once you’ve determined which type of insurance to buy, here are some ways to ensure that you secure the best coverage.

Decide How Much Coverage You Need. If you died, how much money would it take to replace your lost income and cover any major debts and expenses? A general rule of thumb is to get six to ten times your yearly income, but crunch some numbers yourself to be sure that’s adequate, using online calculators like the one at Bankrate.com or MSN Money.

Choose Your Term. If you’re going with term insurance, decide how many years your dependents (spouse, children, step-children, legal guardians) would need coverage in case you die. As a starting point, look at the number of years until your kids finish college or your spouse will retire.

Shop Around. Several web sites allow you to compare policies and companies with a few mouse clicks (examples include Lifeinsure.com, Intelliquote.com, and Reliaquote.com). The best insurance quote sites rate the providers based on factors such as financial strength and premium pricing (such as http://www.lifeinsure.com/insuranceratings.asp).

Take Care of Business. Once you’ve chosen your policy, fill out an application (where you determine who gets the money, aka your “beneficiaries”) and get a physical (typically paid for by your insurer) that determines the cost of your premiums.

The Bottom Line: Choosing the best life insurance policy and provider doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. By learning the basics outlined here, determining your personal insurance needs, and researching your choices, you and your family will feel protected in no time.

Photo: © Nicolas Raymond

By Chelsea P. Gladden

Co-workers Christian and Bobbi first bonded over their mutual tragedies. Bobbi had lost her father unexpectedly and Christian had survived a car crash that left his wife and 7-month-old daughter dead and his three-year-old son with brain damage. Having one another during their grief proved invaluable.

Eventually, the two fell in love and were married. Bobbi started working part time from home to help care for her stepson Austin who, in addition to brain damage, had autism. The Snows soon wanted to add to their family and were given the gift of their son Josh. It wasn’t long after his birth that they were then pregnant with Blake.

During this second pregnancy in 2006, the family was told that Josh had autism. While the news is devastating for any parent, they were ready to do all that it takes to get Josh the treatment he would need.

While tending to sessions for both sons, their third was eventually also diagnosed. Their strength of character kept them strong as they moved forward with the cards they were dealt.

Working closely with ABA, a form of therapy that has helped children overcome Autism, the future looked bright and the two younger boys were looking likely to enroll in kindergarten and live Autistic free lives.

However, in March, the Regional Center, which funds children with disabilities, inexplicably stopped covering treatment for Josh. Bobbi and Christian have been faced with an $11,000 a month bill in order to continue the treatment– which stands a much better chance the earlier age its received — that has shown vast promise for curing Josh.

Clearly, saving for the unknown is always a good idea but no family could ever anticipate a sudden $11,000 a month bill that could change the course of their son’s life. I chose to write about it because I had just received a moving email from Christian describing their plight. Bobbi and Christian are one of the nicest couples I have ever met and Bobbi is my amazing sister-in-law’s sister.

Their courageousness in the face of adversity has reminded me that there’s more to saving up for a new car, house or paying off the credit card debt, but instead to set aside in my Geezeo budget a fund to contribute to people in need of services you can’t put a price on.

Want to join the discussion on savings? Visit It’s It’s Time to Budget and Couples & Money. To learn more about the Snow family, visit: http://www.fightagainstautism.com
And get creative with your money making. Visit The Top Ten Most Searched Stocks on TheStreet.com.

My 3 year old has an interesting obsession with quarters. Everytime we go to the store, he wants one - but not for the toy machines (hint: we never stop in that area at the front of the store, so I doubt he even knows it exists). He wants to put it in a donation receptacle for the Children’s Miracle Network. Does he realize the good deed? I’m not sure. But for him it’s fun to watch the coins go around in circles before it drops into the bottom.

I’ve been thinking here recently about how we can be more effective at teaching our kids the value of money and the importance of saving it. I know, they’re only 3 and 1. But I’ve read in various articles that 3 is a good age to start. Here are some of the things that I have learned:

1. Give your children an allowance of $0.50 for every year of age/week. So a 3 year old would get $1.50 or a 10 year old would receive a $5 allowance.

2. Give the allowance on a Sunday so that they don’t blow it on the weekend.

3. If they run out of money do not give them any more.

4. Teach them to save a portion for purchasing goals that they may have (like a new toy). One portion should go to long term savings (bank account), another portion to midterm savings (piggy bank), a small portion to charity, and the rest is spending money. (This works best with older children.)

Of course, you should never make your child feel guilty about not saving their money if they choose to buy a toy instead. After all, how well are you doing with that personally?

They say to practice what you preach. So if you are trying to show your kids how beneficial it is for them to save their money, then why not prove it to them by actively saving money yourself. You could have a small amount that they see you put into a piggy bank, just like them, so that they will want to be just like you. Afterwards, you can deposit the rest of the savings into a safer place like your bank.

What are you doing to help your children learn about the value of earning, spending and saving money? Share your stories in the group Financially Frugal Families.

By Chelsea P. Gladden

It’s time to hammer the last nail into my proverbial youth coffin: purchasing a minivan. Baby number three arrives in a month and my current Ford Escape won’t accommodate a trio of car seats. My non-minivan driving friends and brothers are appalled, but what am I to do?

Of course there’s larger car options, but even if I’m willing to ignore my responsibilities to the environment and breathable air, the current state of gas costs added to more diapers will leave me unable to afford a car at all. A friend who filled her Ford Expedition before gas hiked to $4 a gallon said it was $85! I’m up to $45, so that’s nearly double.

In addition, if I want to consider a car that could take out a small city with one wrong U-turn, I also have to think about how much more often I’d be hitting the pump. A Nissan Armada gets 12 street miles and 18 freeway, the Ford Expedition is 12/16 and the Tahoe is 14/20. Meanwhile, the Honda Odyssey minivan gets 16 street miles to the gallon and 23 freeway miles. It’s one thing to avoid the cost of filling up more frequently, but it’s a whole other when I think about 4 to 7 more sanity saving miles per gallon versus stopping to fuel up with three screaming kids in back.

Green friendly options such as the Toyota Highlander give me 18 street and 24 freeway miles, allow me three car seats, but while using the third row, not only would I have to climb to get a child in and out 4-6 times a day on average, but there’s little room left for strollers, beach chairs, suitcases and pack’n’plays when traveling, etc.

Cadillac has answered my desires with their ’09 Escalade Hybrid giving me 20 miles city/ 21 highway, but in addition to it not being available until the fall, the starting price of $60,000 could get me two decked out minivans. Sigh.

Clearly, killing any remaining faux youthful image I have of myself makes the most financial sense. Therefore, the hammer is out, the pounding has begun and I am dangerously close to throwing in the towel. Help!

Want to get family financial planning savvy? Check out Financially Frugal Families and Couples and Money.

I have always heard, that in order for us, as adults, to be able to truly enjoy life, we have to make sacrifices - sometimes, to our future.

And then there is the flip side, you have to sacrifice your current life to be successful, build wealth, and be comfortable when you are older - with the possibility of retiring when you are still young enough to enjoy it!

Is there ever a balance? Can’t we do both? Of course! But that in itself is a lifestyle change.

You need to rediscover what is most important in your life, and make a new list of priorities. Most of the time, when you do, you will discover that most of those things don’t cost a lot of money. Here is some of my list: Playing with my boys - regardless of where, enjoying peaceful time reading a good book, drinking some lemonade, or taking my dog for a walk. Those things cost little to nothing for me to do.

To go along with the above, we have to remember that people are what’s most important, not things. My focus from my list above includes doing things with my kids, having time for myself, and enjoying time with my pet. If we focus too much on the things we get for ourselves or the people in our lives, then we will definitely spend a lot of money.

Splurge - only sometimes. If you can force yourself to wait for something that you don’t really need, sometimes you will realize that you no longer want the item anyways. But remember that it is okay to treat yourself some of the time.

Slow down! If you look at how fast time goes by, you will realize that you need to really determine what things are most important. For me, I’ve realized how quickly the last three years have gone by. My boys are getting older every day. And it won’t be long until the oldest is in school. I won’t be able to spend as much time with him and so I need to make sure I am setting aside time now! He won’t remember most of the toys we have bought him over the last few years. But he will remember the time we spent together. And that really is priceless!

Utilize Geezeo to help get yourself on a course that allows you to be happy and content, now and in the future! Go ahead and set some goals so you can have a plan to make it all work!