By Michelle Studer

Many Americans are feeling the pinch these days from ever-increasing health care costs, and a comprehensive solution to this problem still needs to be found. That being said, a health savings account (HSA) can ease the burden of high deductibles in the here-and-now. Anyone under the age of 65 who purchases an eligible high-deductible health insurance policy - either through an employer or on their own - can set up an HSA, which supplements high-deductible health insurance policy coverage through the use of tax-free, user-contributed savings.  For the 2009 tax year, a policy qualifies as high-deductible if it meets both of the following conditions:

•  The policy’s annual deductible is at least $1,150 for an individual or $2,300 for a family.

•  Yearly out-of-pocket health care expenses do not exceed $5,800 (individual) or $11,600 (family).

 Eligible policyholders can add funds to their HSA account by contributing up to $3,000 per year in pre-tax income (up to $4,000 per year if you’re 55 or older). HSA users also earn tax-free interest on their contributions, and fee-free withdrawals can be made at any time for health care expenses. Employers can contribute funds to HSAs as well, and unlike a flexible spending account there is no “use by” deadline tied to an HSA. 

Even though there are substantial tax and savings benefits to an HSA, it also contains drawbacks in the form of limited usage and contribution amounts. Users who withdraw HSA funds for any purpose other than health care are hit with heavy penalty fees, and the yearly maximum for contribution amounts is relatively small compared to the astronomical cost of a major medical procedure not covered by insurance. Despite these limitations, however, HSAs provide eligible policyholders with a long-term, cost-effective way to offset out-of-pocket health care costs.

Last night a group of PF bloggers in the DC area had our monthly happy hour meet up.  This time it was at the Brickskeller, basically a low key beer heaven.  Being a beer guy myself, I was very happy with the selection.  I actually ended up just closing my eyes, going through the book, and randomly picking a beer out to try, and it turns out, it was really good.  It’s always a good time to get together with the group, catch up, and talk about how blogging and personal finances are going.

It was a smaller group this time which I actually enjoyed.  We were able to all be involved with the conversations and no more than 2 separate conversations were going on at once.  It allowed the group to interact more together and just have a fun time.

The group that attended last night was…

• Mrs Micah
• J Money from Budgets are Sexy
• Mapgirl from Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge
• Mike from Clever Dude
• and making a new appearance, with only a week of writing under his belt, was Brian from Building Wealth Together.

It was a great event as usual, always a lot of fun and to hear the accomplishments of all the other bloggers.  I am looking forward to next month’s meet up.

The new site is here, and we are very proud of it, and we look forward to what everyone has to say about it.

Existing BudgetPulse users will notice that the log in information requested is different on the new site from the old site.  You will now be logging in with your email address and the password you created instead of with a user name.

A lot of users requested this change because it is easier to remember the log in details to an email address over a created user name.  If you forgot what email address you set up an account with, click on the “Forgot Login?” link here or on the site.  Then enter your user name and your email address will be shown.  You can also view the video below showing you how you can do this.  If you h ave any questions, please feel free to contact me at support@budgetpulse.com or on Twitter.

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The brand new BudgetPulse personal budgeting software was released today.  Already we are hearing positive comments from all of you about the new release.   I spoke with a lot of users about something that the old tool lacked.  A lot of existing users to BudgetPulse brought up the point that they may have been confused about how to use certain parts or functionalities in the software, and we lacked a help section.  Newer users mentioned they were confused with where to start.

That all changes NOW!

We have released a full user guide, video guide, and have expanded our FAQ’s.  New users and current users may want to check out the How it Works video to see an overview of the new site.

If you have any questions once you get started using the tool, you may want to check out the user guide and video guide for help with specific actions.

User Guide

Video Guide

FAQ

Enjoy the videos and let me know what you think of hem, and if there are any other videos you would like me to make for you.

Feel free to contact me at support@budgetpulse.com or on Twitter.

I am happy to announce that the brand new BudgetPulse personal budgeting software was released today.  We have been working hard for months redesigning the entire site, and improving and adding functionality based off of all of your requests.  I want to personally thank all of you for your support, and without you guys, we wouldn’t have gotten here.

The site is visually enhanced, allows for easier navigation, features improved content, a video guide, and budgeting functionality.

Some of the areas we improved on or added…

• a) Advanced recurring options
• b) Advanced split options
• c) Brand new dashboard showing full financial overview
• d) Advanced search to locate transactions
• e) Tagging system to help organize transactions better
• f) Full user guide and video guide
• g) Upload Quicken, MS Money, or CSV files of financial information in minutes

We are pleased to bring you all of these features and more.  To get a quick overview of the new site, check out the “How it Works” video below.

I can’t wait to hear everyone’s reaction to the new site.  Feel free to contact me at support@budgetpulse.com or on Twitter if you have any questions.

Thanks again and enjoy!

After months of hard work, we have reached the point where we are ready to release our brand new site to you.  In order to do so, we have to migrate all the existing user data from the old site into the new site.  When this occurs the site will be down temporarily.  When the site goes back live, you will see the new site.

Monday June 22nd 9PM EST - Tuesday June 23rd 1PM EST the site will be down for migration.

I am very excited for the new site to be released, and so should all of you.  We have completely revamped and improved the entire site based off of your recommendations.

If you have any questions about the migrations to the new site, pleases feel free to email me at support@budgetpulse.com or reach me on Twitter.

The post is written by Brenda Williams.She is a community member of world’s largest mortgage community where you have all the choice in the world for mortgage and why you should go for them.

The dwindling condition of the real estate market hasn’t turned around as of yet. More and more people are trying to prevent their homes from foreclosure. As such, the number of refinance applications has increased in numbers. The severity of the real estate crisis can be ascertained as the government stepped in with the mortgage bailout plan to rescue the real estate market in United States.  

If you are planning to refinance your existing mortgage, it is important to find out whether refinancing will help you save some cash. You should find out the amount you are saving by refinancing exceeds the fees you shell out for refinancing. You refinance your existing mortgage when you take out another loan using the same property so that you can pay back the first loan. In case you have been paying a higher rate of interest and you happen to refinance your existing mortgage, you can opt for an interest rate that is lower. This makes your payments more affordable.  

What are the benefits of refinancing?

If you refinance your mortgage loan, you can also decrease the loan term. If you decrease the loan term but continue to pay the same amount every month, you not only make payments for the interest rate, but also for the principal amount. In this way, equity builds up in your property.  

If you availed an adjustable-rate mortgage or ARM when you applied for a mortgage loan, you can switch over to fixed-rate mortgage or FRM. Opting for fixed-rate mortgage makes your monthly mortgage payments predictable but if you are making payments as per an adjustable-rate mortgage, your monthly mortgage payments vary. In case of ARM, the rates vary depending on the prevailing market rates.  

Refinancing can also be of immense help if you need some extra cash to pay off your other debts. This is only possible if you have some extra equity left in your property.

This is a guest post from the young and talented Trevor from his excellent blog Striking Up.

When you look over on the grass on the other side, what do you see? Smiles? People enjoying their time? Before you get mesmerized by them, you have to ask yourself, “What is key?” Do you want your life to be filled with new materials once in a while or do you want one when you feel like it? Do not lose your focus and wanting to settle. You have to go back and ask yourself to keep yourself in check and assure yourself that you want success and not instant gratification.

Your keys to becoming successful are as easy as 1-2-3. Using the positive virtues set out for everyone to obtain and have, the limits are endless. Everyone has the skills needed to become successful and that’s why you can’t tell for certain who’s going to become successful. You cannot say a person who plays video games all day is going to be unsuccessful compared to someone who looks at the stock markets all the time. It’s the things like instant gratification and ‘wants’ that cause us to divert our attention and give us the keys to becoming unsuccessful.

When you compare the middle and high class, the difference is huge. However, there’s nothing wrong with being a middle class but when you have the opportunities to enter the realm of the high class, why don’t you take the opportunity? It’s not like you instantly become evil and have deceived someone when you have joined their ranks.

What do you think? What are your keys to becoming successful? Remember, your keys include your talents and what you are genuinely interested in.

Guest Post by Caren Williams whose articles are devoted to, the most popular ones are establishing positive credit and ways to get credit cards.

In today’s challenging economy, money woes are the most pressing concern of the strong majority of households. While employers are slashing jobs, credit companies are raising interest rates and fees to offset their losses. Needless to say, how it feels like for a regular consumer - piling bills, ever-increasing credit card rates and massive balances.

Until very recently, creditors raised interest rates for those who were late with their payments or exceeded their limits. Today, interest rate hikes are the growing trend in the credit industry. Under the new Federal Reserve rules, creditors will not be able to raise interest rates for no obvious reason. But these rules will go into effect only in July 2010. The question is, how to deal with interest rate hikes now that lenders can and do raise interest whenever they want to?

First off, you should keep track of your monthly statements. The issuers must notify you about the changes in advance. No matter how many credit cards you’ve got in your wallet, you should have accurate knowledge of the interest rates on all your cards. If you have been hit with whooping interest rates, contact your issuer immediately and ask for the explanation. Sad to say, but the strong majority of reps cannot find weighty arguments for interest rate hikes and thus they’re not likely to help you.

In case your issuer doesn’t meet you halfway, you may try the second method - you can opt out of higher interest rates. The key is to act promptly. You need to reject new interest rates within a stipulated period of time. If you decide to opt out of new interest rates, you’ll be allowed to pay off your balance on your old rates. But you should keep in mind that by opting out of new interest rates, you agree to stop using this card.

Another option will be good for people who have high credit scores. Transferring the balance onto a new 0% APR card can save a significant amount of money in interest. So if your FICO is high enough, you may review balance transfer cards that will let you save big on interest charges.

By Michelle Studer

See if you can solve this riddle:

What is a bad presumption to hear from a potential date but a good impression to make on an identity thief?

Give up? Here’s the answer:

“You’re just not my type.”

Congratulations if you already know how the answer applies to identity theft - read on to learn even more. If you’re not sure, keep going to find out.

Identity Thief Turn-Ons

Romantically speaking, we all have a certain “type” that catches our eye.  Some fancy tall, dark and handsome, while others prefer petite, pale and beautiful. As it turns out, identity thieves also have a potential victim “type” that stands out as more eye-catching than others.  Based on the findings of two recently published U.S. identity theft surveys by Nationwide Insurance and Javelin Strategy & Research, the potential victim “type” that identity thieves drool over is middle-aged women, especially if they make above average incomes. For example, Nationwide’s survey results revealed that American victims of identity theft were most likely to be Caucasian women between the ages of 35-54 years old, particularly those who were college educated, held full-time jobs, made at least $75,000 per year, and were either married or divorced (rather than single).

Consumer Beware

Like the Nationwide poll, Javelin’s survey also found that a salary of $75,000+ per year meant a higher risk of identity theft, as did being a female in the 35-44 year old age category. Specifically, the Javelin survey disclosed that women were 26 times more likely to be fraud victims than men. The published report of survey findings also explained that women had an increased risk of identity theft victimization because an increasing number of identity theft attacks have been aimed at stores and restaurants where women frequently make more purchases.

Even if you don’t qualify as the “ideal” victim, this doesn’t mean you should breathe a sigh of relief. Personal data and financial information are truly irresistible to identity thieves; therefore, every consumer is a sought-after object of desire.

Have you taken any steps to make yourself less “attractive” to identity thieves ( e.g., shredding sensitive documents, monitoring credit reports, protecting online information with data encryption, etc.)?

If so, has it worked?