Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tis A Treat To Be Insured

I've been doing a lot of research on insurance companies lately as I hope to reduce all my insurance costs. I never really compared insurance plans when I first signed up so it's about time I found the best and cheapest insurance to suit my property. I will be looking at my car insurance company, home and contents insurance companies, and life insurance company. I'm sure to find a better deal on at least one of these insurance plans, so I need to gather some home insurance quotes, and any other free insurance quotes I can find. I also want to investigate the possibility of transferring all my insurance policies to the one company, and combining these into the one insurance policy. This will hopefully reduce costs even further.

My contents insurance also needs to be updated to increase the value of cover as I have bought many new expensive items since I last updated my cover. It would be a disaster if my property was stolen but was not included in my insurance policy...I wonder if I can update my policy online? I do plan to take out home contents insurance rather than paying for the two separate policies, so I might just leave it until then. My house insurance is very well priced so I shall just transfer my policies to that insurer.

To be sure that i'm getting the best insurance deal possible, I need to make an insurance comparison between all the available options. I hope to find a policy with the features I desire and no extras I would never use. I can't imagine insurance policies, particularly for property insurance, would be quite so customisable though.

Another insurance policy I am paying far too much for is my life insurance policy. I have seen many advertisements on TV and online offering some brilliant prices, especially when compared with the current premiums i'm paying. I'm quite sure that my house insurance company also offers life insurance so I might transfer it over also. I was surprised to see pet insurance also advertised on their website as I had never heard of it before. It sounds like a great idea as my pets often require several visits to the vet each year and to have all their treatments paid for with my pets insurance policy would be a huge help.

Universal Search Directory Saves The Day!

I have been enduring the arduous task of trying to find some quality websites to help with some financial decisions I have to make...that was until I discovered a brilliant website called Universal Search Australia. It is a very easy to navigate directory with many different categories and even has current news from around the world and the local weather. I was particularly interested in the credit cards directory as I need to apply for a new credit card soon and the websites listed have been very useful. I hope to apply for a personal loan too in the near future and discovered that Universal Search Australia also has a personal loan directory amongst many more. This directory has saved me a lot of time and frustration as all the websites and information I need is at my fingertips. Thanks Universal Search Australia!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Behold The Wonders Of Direct Deposit!

Brushing up on my media skills, I realised that I needed to purchase a software licence to one of the programs I would need to use regularly. I could purchase it online and either pay with a credit card or by direct deposit from my savings account. My bank has a great online banking system and I do worry about credit card fraud when paying online, so I chose to just transfer the money from my savings accounts to the software company. It was such an easy financial transaction and has inspired me to pay for more of my online spending using my savings accounts rather than my credit card.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Entering The World Of 3G

While trying to decide what mobile phone I am going to buy, I have just realised that a phone with 3G coverage would be a wise choice as most mobile phone networks seem to be moving onto this coverage. It would also allow me to take advantage of great mobile internet speeds and other great features (including 3G music) available through the mobile phone networks. My current phone has none of these features so it would be quite a step up for my mobile phone technology. I also find the idea of 3G videos very appealing so I am able to watch videos on my mobile phone while on the run. It's a very exciting prospect!

GPS mobiles have become very popular lately too, i'm not sure I would use this technology but that hasn't stopped me wanting it! Finding a 3G phone with all these features at an inexpensive price could prove difficult. I will search all the online mobile phone retailers to see what mobile plans and phones they have available to see if I can get the best mobile phone deal possible. I hope to find a cap plan with a good quality GPS phone featuring a camera and mp3 player. My first task is to choose a few mobile phones I would like to have, and then choose a mobile cap plan from there.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Looking for online credit cards

Looking for online credit cards

I don't know why I was resisting looking for credit cards before, but I just came across this site, www.OnlineCreditCards.com.au, and I'd never realised the variety of credit cards that are on offer. I used to just think that credit cards gave you a huge credit limit and charged a bunch of interest on top, but after seeing the products on offer at this site and reading more about credit cards, I think I may need to get one for myself.

There is this really useful page the site has where you can compare credit cards based on their major features. It seems stupid now, but I really had no idea what the interest rates on online credit cards were like. I just thought they were high, and I had no idea about interest free days on purchases. My parents were always suspicious of credit cards, so I guess I must have picked it up from them.

To be honest, with interest free days and the low interest rates that some online credit cards offer on the site, I find it hard to believe that credit card companies can make any money at all. I mean, as long as you repay your card in time to beat interest, your card should only cost you the annual fee each year to use. It's not like the credit is money I actually have, so obviously I'd just use the card as a convenient way of shopping online and keeping costs together. I really think I should seriously consider applying for online credit cards.

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Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Sparkling New!

I'm in desperate need for barcode printers! My last printer died recently so I now have a huge pile of documents I need to print urgently. I'm not fussy as to what I buy as long as it prints black and white documents quickly and has the abilty to print in colour also. I need it to be able to connect to my best laptops if possible as they are where I conduct most of my business from. I don't want the printer to be too expensive as I will also need to purchase some computer accessories for my home office to be complete.

My home office is fairly new as I have only just begun working from home. I think I have pretty much all the equipment I need apart from the barcode printer and various computer accessories. I must admit I do enjoy buying new computer related items as it gives me a chance to check out the new technology available. There have been some great cheap computers around but mine are still running perfectly fine so I don't have an excuse to buy one yet. I might upgrade in a year when my current technology becomes obsolete.

I just remembered I am yet to set up a functioning internet and network system as there have been some connectivity issues. I'll need to find new cable modems for a start as I think this is where the problem lies. It was the cheapest model available in a brand name i've never heard of so I shouldn't have expected things to run smoothly. I've had to frantically create a computer backup on many occasions as things have been so unstable. I will definitely spend a little bit extra to buy some quality products!

I should buy a desktop computer to use as a backup and storage system for times like these as I only have my few laptops at the moment. These laptops only have a CD ROM drive so I will need to get a DVD burner as part of the desktop computer package also. While i'm there I might also pickup a new computer bag as my current one is falling apart with threads sprouting everywhere! Perhaps my short list of items to buy may not be quite so short now, and I think there is more to come...

Yes indeed I do need a new computer battery too! My current laptop battery only lasts about an hour of use before it completely runs out of power. I need a very powerful battery that lasts at least 4 hours straight of constant use though this may not be possible with my laptop models. The computer mouse could do with an upgrade too as i'm constantly cleaning it without success. It takes a lot of effort to click any of the buttons and the scroll wheel doesn't even scroll left and right, let alone the fact that it isn't even an optical mouse!

I've had my current computer desk since the late 80s so it doesn't really have the accommodation for todays PC and accessory requirements. There are quite a few computer desk styles on the market so I should be able to find one to suit my situation perfectly. I think a corner desk will be best option to save space and provide shelf and computer storage for all my printed documents and many accessories.

With all these features i'm hoping to find in the one desktop computer, I think my best option is to customise a computer package. I don't want to pay for features I will never use so customising my computer will probably save me money in the end. I might even be able to include a wireless computer networking system to improve my network connection. I should customise my computer case too while i'm there as a special treat. I'm thinking some sort of sparkley blue number!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Rusty Finances

My computer skills are rather rusty at the moment so i've decided to attend an 8 month course to brush up. It is quite an expensive course but its the only way I can become employable and make money. As I don't have the cash for the course, i'm going to take out a students loan to help with all the expenses.

My finances are currently heading towards debt which shall be reversed as soon as I can put my new skills to work. My financial advisor has cautioned me about spending all this money on my course but the benefits will far outweigh the possible debts. I will also need some fast cash to buy a vehicle of some sort so i've been looking into cash advance loans and a commonwealth bank car loan.

With all the hundreds of financial institutions and loans companies around, it's becoming impossible to decide which loan to choose. Even after days of searching online, I am no closer to applying for a loan. There has to be some sort of book or guide available from banks to show me how to choose a students loan but I suspect this is not the case.

It looks like another trip to the financial advisor is in order to get my head around all these endless loan options!