Cyber Monday Setting New Traffic Records

While there’s still several more hours to go before the sun sets on Cyber Monday, Internet Traffic Auditor Akamai is using its Net Usage Index to monitor North American visitors to 270 online retail sites, and according to CNN, data from earlier in the day already points to a 43% traffic jump when compared to last year at the same time.

We already know that the average online purchase was up by 35% and that overall online sales were up 11% from last year!  While it’s still too early to predict with certainty, consumer confidence appears to be trending UP!

Holiday Shopping: Tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

With holiday season now upon us, both brick-and-mortar and click-and-mortar retailers are preparing for what they hope will be the busiest shopping days of the year,

The Friday after Thanksgiving has been branded Black Friday while the Monday after Turkey Day has been dubbed  Cyber Monday. Still, many Internet e-tailers say the season’s top spending days could come much later, between Dec. 5 and Dec. 15.

Due to this year’s roller-coaster economic environment, a longer online holiday promotion period is also expected in order for retailers to try and win every last dollar they can from consumers. Macy’s had already began aggressive advertising this year in mid-November.

We’ve polled some of the Web’s top sites for bargain coupons, sweet as peppermint deals and smart savings strategies to help you make the most of your special shopping days starting with Amazon’s Cyber Monday coupons.

Smarter Shopping For Cheerier Holidays! >>>

40 Money Management Tips Every College Student Should Know

The average student who graduates from high school today is at a financial disadvantage. We’re not talking about money. This deficit is a lack of financial knowledge. So many young adults lack basic skills in the management of personal financial affairs. Many are unable to balance a checkbook and most simply have no insight into the basic survival principles involved with earning, spending, saving and investing.

The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is fighting back. The organization offers a Clearinghouse whose aim is to identify high-quality personal finance materials for educational use. Once you find material of interest, you can either download it for free or order it directly from the source. Teachers are encouraged to use these personal finance teaching materials to support their state’s standards in economics, business, math and family and consumer science.

“40 MONEY MANAGEMENT TIPS EVERY COLLEGE STUDENT SHOULD KNOW” helps students get organized and offers tips on financial aid, checking accounts, spending plans, dorms and apartments, savings, jobs and debt. A single copy may be downloaded from the website. Download it here

What financial advice do you have for today’s college student?

Life Insurance Settlements – Cashing Out At the End of a Policy

The facts about Life Insurance Settlements are not well known to a great many policy holders. Just what is a Life Settlement anyway?

Simply put, a Life Settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third party for more than its cash surrender value but less than its net death benefit.

Such a transaction is usually undertaken by those later in life for the purposes of estate or financial planning. Indeed, the redemption of a policy can put an additional financial option in the hands of American consumers at a time when they may need it most.  But don’t expect your insurance company to fully advise you about your choices. The counsel of a trusted financial advisor, or an independent insurance agent can be helpful in suggesting your alternatives.

Learn more about cashing out on a Life Insurance Settlement >>>

U.S. Debt Clock Keeps on Tickin’

The U.S. Debt Clock, as you may have never seen it or imagined it, at USDebtClock.org is both a dazzling Internet dashboard of dynamic, constantly updating digits and a sobering assessment of the state of our national economy at any given nanosecond.

Counting up both U.S. National Debt and US Private Debt in real time, the modular calculator breaks down debt by taxpayer and citizen. The tote board displays Mortgage Debt, Personal Debt and Credit Card Debt as well as State and Local Debt.

The digital display contrasts the red ink, or pixels, of debt calculations against the green ink, of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and other sources of income include U.S. Federal Tax Revenue, including average Tax per Citizen with breakdowns of state, corporate and local revenue,.

Scroll down the Web page and you can take stock of America’s Currency and Trade numbers, Personal Savings sums, Social Security and Prescription Drug Liability costs, and as they say, a whole lot more.

Discover the educational mission of the US Debt Clock >>>

Insuring the “Key-Person” in the Life of Your Business

An often overlooked form of insurance that’s been around as long as banks have been lending money to businesses is key-person insurance. If you own a business or have investors, key-person insurance could be one of the most important keys to your business longevity.

Key-person insurance is the same as ordinary life insurance, except that the employer buys, owns, and is the beneficiary of the policy. Most companies have at least one employee who is key to the success of the business. Usually it’s the owner, a partner, a majority stockholder, or someone with a high level of expertise.  The loss or death of that person could mean financial ruin for the company.

The keys to insuring a key person in your business >>>

5 Reasons To Buy Your Insurance Online

It seems so simple, you would think it would be perfectly obvious. Online “information processing” is, practically speaking, what the Internet was invented for. The Web is tailor-made for shopping for the best insurance policy. Where else can you plug-in a few details and, within a few seconds, have your request rocketing across the Web on its way to a variety of insurance underwriters, each competing for your business? Then, with no pressure and with complete privacy, you get to make a sensible financial decision from the comfort of your desk chair or couch.

Here’s why the online insurance quote is the better idea whose time has come.

1. One application. Multiple bidders. Online makes you a kind of savvy broadcaster. You broadcast the fact that you are in the market for, say, life insurance. The insurance companies who are listening for your broadcast are tuned in to your frequency and respond with a matching quote in return. Now that’s good reception. No static at all.

2. The lowest price. Who doesn’t want to get to the bottom line, and fast?  Talk is not cheap when it takes hours to get a straight answer. Online is simply the least expensive and the premium you will be quoted will be the lowest, plain and simple. Since online is the most efficient channel for user direct, point-to-point communication, the savings are baked right in. Insurance companies know you are looking for a low price, not a visit from a salesman. Online cuts costs to the quick.

3. Your needs, not theirs. Ever hear the term “longtail” search in relation to Internet product inventory? It means you can find the exact merchandise in the precise size, color, texture and features you are most interested in. In a word, it’s called “Better Selection.” Online you can find just what you’re looking for.

4. Answers to your questions. There is also no shortage of information online. So you can find the frequently asked questions and the instant answers you want to almost any topic you have in mind. There are even online insurance calculators to help you pinpoint how much coverage you will need.

5. Full-service. Instead of just one line of insurance, from one company, at one price, the best online insurance company offers you choices when it comes to your other insurance needs. Auto, health, homeowners, renters, business, you’ll get the referrals you need. If they can’t help you with every form of insurance, they will tell you who can.

What’s been your experience with online insurance shopping?

Top 15 Causes of Death: Why and Where to Insure Against Them!

It’s a deadly statistic. The top two causes of death in the United States are responsible for more than 50 percent of America’s annual death toll. If that doesn’t “hit us where we live,” this just might — where we reside in the U.S. has a strong correlation with how we will die.

The Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health break out the 15 most common causes of death as follows:

1. Diseases of the heart   28.5

2. Malignant tumors   22.8

3. Cerebrovascular diseases   6.7

4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases  5.1

5. Accidents (unintentional injuries)   4.4

Know these Leading Causes of Death and Where They Occur >>>>