Hurricane Season: Make Sure You're Covered

Hurricane season is upon us once more, which means greater potential for flooding and/or flood damage to your home.  It doesn’t matter where you live, flooding can occur almost anywhere.  If you live along the coast or near a body of water, particularly, protection against and preparation for this type of disaster is necessary to ensure your finances are protected.  Have you purchased flood insurance?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that flooding is America’s #1 natural disaster.  From snow melts and flash flooding to tropical storms and dams that have reached capacity, the potential for flooding should always be considered, regardless of where your home is located.

With hurricane season here again, it's prime time to be considering flood insurance. 

Why should you purchase flood coverage?  Well, the important fact to be aware of is that homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover flood damage or ground water damage from heavy rain.  So, even if you’ve purchased a significant amount of homeowner’s insurance and your area experiences heavy flash flooding, damage to your dwelling will not be covered unless you have purchased flood insurance.

Check with your insurance agent now, don't wait for a storm to be approaching.  Most insurance companies will not amend or add to insurance policies once a named system is alive, and Federal flood insurance takes several weeks to process.

Credit Cards: Train Your Teens Early

Have any experience with teens getting into credit card debt? How about a teen who has wrecked havoc with YOUR debt structure. We'd love to hear about your experiences in this. Just use the "Comment" link below to sound off about training your teens early how to use credit cards properly.

Consumer Confidence: Worst Since '92

A key measure of consumer confidence dropped in May to the lowest level in 16 years, as Americans grew more concerned about their jobs and more pessimistic about business conditions. The index has now declined for five months in a row.

The Consumer Confidence Index is a weighted average of where consumers feel the economy is right now, and where it is headed - or the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index.

We'd love to know your opinion.. your "consumer confidence level." Tell us what you think by clicking the comment link below.. and sounding off about YOUR Confidence Level in the current economy. Don't worry, your privacy is 100% protected. Although an email address is required to post a comment, your email address will never be published here. We'd love to hear from you.

Cutting Debt: Tips from the Pros

Was one of your resolutions this year to pay off some debt? Finding it harder and harder to pay down debt today? Money Stacy Johnson has a few tips for secrets to paying down that debt. (Video runs 1:32)

What about you? Any ideas you have for cutting down on the debt that wasn't mentioned in this video? We'd love to hear them. Just use the comment link below to tell us your thoughts.

Kansas City Real Estate Investing: The Time May be Right

Listen to all the bad news reports. It's the worst time since the Great Depression to buy real estate, right?

Not so, according to some individual investors, who think the market slump has made selected areas more desirable than they've been in years.

While many buyers, whether potential residents or investors, are staying on the sidelines, largely from fear that prices will continue to plummet, some private investors think there's no time like the present to take advantage of a market in freefall.

Overall, homes sales have plunged to record lows. However, the percentage of investors in the market is edging up, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate information service.

Real estate investors should not expect a return to the no-money-down days, which means they already have cash on the line as soon as they buy. But remember what Warren Buffett says, "the fact that a market is not turning around in the next year isn't significant. If you wait long enough, the market has always gone up since the days of the caveman."

What do you think? Is now the right time to invest in real estate? We'd love to get your opinion on that. Go ahead and click the "comment" link below and sound off.