Survey: More than a million Pennsylvanians lack health insurance

A survey released Thursday by the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance estimates the number of state residents without health insurance has topped 1 million — or about 8.2 of the state’s population.

The last health insurance survey conducted in 2004 found that 7.5 percent were uninsured.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate got ready to approve a bill today that provides health insurance to about 11 million low-income children, paving the way for President Obama to claim an early legislative victory and collect a quick down payment on his campaign pledge to guarantee care to every American child.

What’s your opinion on closing the gap for America’s uninsured?  Would you like to lower your own heath insurance premiums?
Learn more about the health insurance gap

Five Ways to Recoup Lossesh

With retirement cushions beginning to look more like throw pillows –  many families are wondering: “How can we recoup some of our losses?”

Bloomberg commentator John F. Wasik spelled out five ways any household  can save and use their money prudently even in a bad year.

One, keep investing, but do it in yoursellf!  Continue to contribute to your 401(k) plan. Keep in mind that taking your employer’s matching contribution, if you have one, is still a 100 percent initial return on investment. If you don’t feel comfortable investing, save up cash and put it in money-market funds, I-bonds or certificates of deposit.

Two, appeal your property taxes. Do this every year by reviewing your home’s assessed valuation. If it’s too high compared with similar properties, talk to your local assessor or appeal it on the county level. If you win the argument, you can usually freeze or lower your real-estate tax bill.

Shop Around for Insurance
Three, yes, shop around for insurance. Everything from increasing your deductible, or out-of-pocket expense, to lowering premiums across the board on life, health, homeowner’s and other policies. [Efinancial can help in this department. - Ed.]
Learn more insurance and investment tips

A New President, and a new Precedent for Change

Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.  In his speech,  Obama discussed the challenges facing America and Americans.  As one of our colleagues observed, his evocation of George Washington at the end of his address made it clear that he regards the perils that face the country as almost no less daunting than those that it confronted in battling for its independence. His inaugural address, sober and dignified, has set the foundation for constructing a new gleaming edifice of democracy. It is up to us as much as Obama to construct

The President emphasized not so much sacrifice but responsibility. His call was to the citizenry of America and of the planet to not sit idly but to take heed, take action, and help build the future

In this historic moment, we at Efinancial want to know where you were, what you were doing, and what you thought of his inaugural address?

Inauguration Sensation

When TIME magazine named Barack Obama the 2008 Person of the Year they did so for a host of reasons that cut across the fabric of American social and political life.   When the Financial Times also choose Obama as Person of the Year they recognized his practical, bipartisan approach and his selection of a top-notch cabinet as being vital signs for an economic recovery.

“Everything Mr Obama has done in public life so far suggests an instinctively bipartisan figure. Often compared with Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose “first-class temperament” enabled him to chalk up a historically productive first 100 days as president, almost nobody can recollect Mr Obama even raising his voice,” they cite.
[Read more]

Opposing Views: How Quickly Will the Economy Recover?

One of the hottest debates of the moment among economists, not to mention readers of this blog, is how quickly the American economy will recover from the current recession. Two polarizing views surround the issue. On one side of the question is the position that our economy will recover quite quickly. On the other side of the ring is the longer term, wait-and-see theory of our economic recovery.

Let’s start with the long, hard road. Despite the expectation of a major stimulus package, which is expected to be one of President Obama’s first acts in office, the market has not responded in any meaningful way. A part of this less than rosy forecast is that contraction within various markets is still likely to occur. Why? Corporate budgets have already been set for the year. Combined with a recession occurring in the rest of the world, US exports will remain low this year which will hurt corporate capital. Finally, fears arising from job loss, which may persist even as the economy improves, could keep people from increasing consumption. All of these factors suggest a slower recovery since anything and everything we attempt to do to fix the problem will take a long time to take effect.

Learn more about how economies recover

The Motley Fool’s Question of the Week: Life Insurance – Do I Need It?

The Motley Fool’s U.K. bulletin board has asked plenty of brain teasing questions over the years. But this week’s installment takes the cake for pure common sense: Life Insurance – do I need it?

A single woman who has mortgage insurance protection writes: “I’m a single twenty-something with two properties, both of which are mortgaged. One is an interest-only mortgage, the other is a repayment mortgage. I have life insurance policies in place over both properties along with a benefit in work of four times my annual salary should something happen to me. I have no dependants and feel that I am perhaps a little over-insured. Ahh, so the question  may not be so simple. is this person over-insured?

When do you need life insurance?

The Motley Foll has always been famous for cutting to the quick. In this case, the answer to “Do I need life insurance?” is straightforward. Generally-speaking if you have people in your life who depend on you financially — whether it’s your partner, your children or someone else — then it’s a good idea to take out enough life cover to provide for your family’s financial well-being should the worst happen to you.

Read more about why life insurance is necessary

New Year’s Resolutions to Stick With

Why do we make New Year’s resolutions?  Mostly because we realize we would be happier and more satisfied if we were to achieve these meaningful goals for ourselves and our loved ones. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way.

In these unsettling economic times, setting goals for safeguarding your financial health is an important priority.  If you can resolve to stick with these resolutions, you will be better prepared to deal with life’s unexpected, but inevitable, twists and turns.

1.  Accurately assess your Financial Assets.
Take a look back at your credit card and bank statements over the past year and pay attention to what you are spending and where you are spending it.  Can you keep up this rate of consumption or should you save or invest more of your money?  Make an honest appraisal of where your money is going. Often times, conducting a simple personal audit will be eye-opening if not jaw-dropping.

2.  Improve your Credit Score.
Check your credit score to make sure everything is in order and double check to see if there is anything in your profile that will make potential lenders wary about lending to you.  By  improving your credit picture,  you will be able to receive a better deal on loans.  This could mean everything from a potential refinance of your mortgage to a better auto or credit card rate. Try to pay off your credit card bills as this will improve your credit score as well.
Read about important economic goals