Chances are right now you aren’t getting any kind of deal from your current provider. This is especially if you have been with them for any length of time. The fact is there are many top of line service providers that are offering all sorts of discounts and incentives just to get your business. You just have to know where to find these coupons and discounts.

I recently found www.couponcactus.com and what drew my interest is the selection of coupons being offered for companies such as AT&T. I was looking at the coupons they offer for AT&T Uverse. This is a service where your television, internet and phone are all connected through the internet.

They are giving away cash back incentives for joining their various plans. Depending what you are paying for your services now this really could end up to great saving for you every month. Wouldn’t it be great to wrap up all of your services under one plan and save money each month?

It doesn’t stop there because the coupon website also offers a cash back incentive just for using their website. You just have to join up to their website for free. It’s worth checking out if you want to have a look at your current plan and see if you can reduce your monthly charges.

It was during a recent cold snap I was tying my shoes up by the back door when I felt a really cold breeze coming through the bottom of the door, near the corner. I recently replace my two outside doors and thought that the company that had installed them had caulked them well enough but I was mistaken. I found the source of the breeze and it was a spot in the corner where they had missed with the caulking.

Upon further investigation I also noticed that I could see sunlight coming through the door at a couple of the corners and I could feel a bit of a breeze coming through the seems around where the door hinges are. Off to the local hardware store I went and picked up a roll of weather stripping for the door and tube of caulking. All for under $20 and with about fifteen minutes of work there was no more breeze. No more cold air coming through the door and no more heating money going out the door. It is a double saving because this little bit of work will help with my air conditioning in the summer as well. I think sometimes we forget about sealing up the house for the cooling season.

A little note about weather stripping. There are all sorts of different types. I opted for the kind that has a peel and stick side on it so you just have to peel it and stick it. No messing around with staples. You can if you want but there is no need, this stuff hold pretty good.

Weather stripping also comes in different sizes. Getting the size right is important. If your stripping is bigger than your gap then you are going to cause more leakage than you originally have. If it is too small then you aren't helping your cause. It might be worth while to try and get a measurement of your gap.

I also notice that most caulking tubes don't have a cap on them. If you let it sit then the air will get into it and it will dry up. I take screw or nail and shove it in the end of the tube to stop it from drying out. Works pretty good when you go to use that tube four months later.

Here is a picture of the exact weather stripping I used for my doors.

Life insurance is one of those financial products most people avoid talking about. The topic feels too depressing and we immediately think about something cheerier like how our favorite baseball team is doing, or what pizza you are going to eat tonight. But it is important, however, to take out life insurance, and discuss what options are available with your spouse or partner. Here, we will look at ways you can save money on life insurance.

Use an Online Calculator

Don't let a salesperson talk you into taking out a policy which is unsuitable for your needs. You might end up with excess coverage or be under-covered. Use an online calculator to get a better idea of how much cover you need to support your loved ones in the event of your death.

Choose a Term-life Policy

A term-life policy is the easiest option for most Americans aged between 20 – 50. They offer coverage with fixed payments for the term of the policy.

Find Quotes Online

The easiest way to save money is to find quotes online. Websites such as Accuquote and InsWeb search through hundreds of insurers to find the best deal for your needs. You'll still have to fill out a detailed form and undertake a medical exam, though.

Be Healthy

Being in the best possible health can reduce policy costs. Stop smoking, get in shape and lower your cholesterol to save money. You'll not only feel better, but your wallet will thank you, too.

Choose Where to Buy

Choosing where to buy life insurance can save you money. You can buy direct from the insurer and save on agent's fees, or pay a fee to a financial planner who will help find and arrange it for you. Your choice.

Understand How Everyone Gets Paid

Remember that insurance agents and commission-only financial planners earn money through selling policies. Some might not necessarily recommend the right policy for you if it doesn't earn them much money. Fee-plus-commission financial planners charge for advice and recommending a product, while fee-only planners only charge for advice. It's up to you to apply. Choose wisely and get the best deal.

Research

There's no substitute for researching the best policy that's right for you. Look online and read financial magazines to get a good deal.

Buy From a Financially Healthy Company

Make sure your insurer is in good shape. Look for an "A" rating or higher from rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch Ratings. This will help ensure your investment is in good hands and you won't suffer any losses should the company be in trouble.

Be Alert

Avoid agents or salespeople who claim to be more knowledgeable about the insurer than a ratings agency or who try to bully you into a policy which isn't suitable. Complain to a senior manager and file a complaint with your state's insurance department or attorney general.

Make Changes when Needed

Your life insurance will change over time. You may get married, have kids, or even divorce. Adjust your policy to suit your circumstances and don't just forget about it. You may not even need a policy when you are retired and have enough saved up.

A guest post by Liz Goldman, personal finance expert and freelance writer for Sunbird Forex Broker – the CFD broker

Nearly 35% of all heat within a home is lost simply through air leakage.  By doing everything possible to lower that number and keep your heat in your home, you can save a great deal all year long.  If you’re not sure where to start, one of the first things to do is a very thorough walk-through of your entire home.  Search high and low, on your knees and on your ladders, for any areas where heat might be escaping.  Check near windows, doors, behind your light switch boxes, under the staircase and around the fireplace.  Everywhere!

If you’re not sure how to tell if air is leaking, simply grab a lighted candle and hold it near the area in question (a windowsill, for example).  If the flame dances around or moves/flickers, you know air is blowing.  Once you find holes, cracks, etc., then you can use weather stripping, caulking or extra insulation to ensure that the air leaks or eliminated completely.  There’s no sense pumping your home full of heat only to let it freely escape out holes and cracks that you can easily get rid of.  Place draft-door stoppers in front of your doors, consider insulated curtains for your windows; all of these “little” things will greatly add up.  For openings you don’t use or rarely use, like pet doors or chimneys, consider sealing them off completely if at all possible.  Extra large openings like those often get overlooked, but they’re some of the worst offenders.

Other easy things to do to keep your heating costs lower:

• Clean furnace filters at least once a month and start the season with new ones (use less energy to push through clean filters)
• Turn hot water heater down from 140 degrees to 120 (you should never notice the difference)
• Turn down your home thermostat down by 2 degrees.  Your body will acclimate to a two degree change very rapidly and you’ll save all season long
• Make the most of sunshine.  The more of the free heat you can soak in from the rays of the sun during the day, the better.  Keep blinds open wide during the day and closed at night
• Turn off central heating at night.  Sleep with an electric blanket or a small portable heater to take the edge off your bedroom
• Use a programmable thermostat to ensure that you never forget to turn the heat down or off for the day/night

Simple changes can lead to significant savings, so never think a small effort won’t pay off over the long run!  Wearing socks and shoes all day and bundling up in an extra layer that let’s you get away with turning down that thermostat will make a difference!  So, keep your heat in wherever and however you can, and watch your savings add up!

Guest post via Air & Water.

My daughter recently took an interest in biagi beads. I don’t know much about them so I did a little digging. Just like any other hobby or interest, it can be expensive if you don’t plan ahead and do some comparison shopping. There are many places to purchase beads and learning a little about them can go a long way into making sure your hobby is done with price in mind.

Are you looking for an alternative to the expensive Pandora beads that are available from exclusive jewellery stores? Biagi beads are a great alternative since there are styles and beads that are available from as little as $3.99 per bead and the beads are fully compatible with the stylish Pandora bracelets that are so popular.

Where can you buy Biagi beads? Biagi beads are available through leading online retailers as well as local stores, mall kiosks and boutiques. The beads are a great alternative to their expensive counterparts and can create a stylish addition to the Pandora bracelet without taking a bite out of the wallet.

The silver designs are a stylish option for the Pandora bracelet and can complement the other styles and designs from leading brands of bracelets and beads. Now, you can have the stylish bracelet that comes from Pandora at a fraction of the cost!

Life insurance can be rather confusing to the ordinary person, like myself. There are a number of different types of policies and different terms for each one.  I recently was approached from a friend about the idea of buying a term life insurance policy. I didn’t know too much about it so I decided to do a blog post on the subject and find out what is term life insurance.

Term life insurance protects an individual in the case of their death, ensuring that final costs and debts are settled, as well as ensuring that the family or beneficiary is going to be able to maintain the standard of living from the proceeds of the life insurance policy.

Term life insurance is unique in the fact that the life insurance policy is obtained for a specific amount of time, the term of the life insurance. Common terms for life insurance are ten or twenty years in which the rates that are quoted at the beginning of the policy are locked-in for the customer.

Term life insurance ensures that the client is going to be covered throughout the term without raising policy costs but at the end of the term the customer must reapply for life insurance with the new variables, including age and medical history to determine the rates for the new term.

Make a Plan:

Before doing any shopping for the holiday, creating a plan of action will result in added savings. The plan should list every individual who needs a gift. Beside the individual’s name, set a spending limit or budget to avoid overspending on gifts. 
A budget and a list of people not only organizes the shopping trip, it prioritizes the gifts and prevents spending more than the allotted amount. 

Look for Special Discounts:

Discount codes for online shopping can add up in savings when it comes time to shop for that perfect gift. Some retailers even offer codes and specials on their social networking pages that offer their friends and followers an opportunity to save even more.

Getting a few discount codes can result in savings as much as 30 per cent, even on items like gift cards. The exact savings will vary depending on the store, the code and the item, but often can add up quickly in extra savings for the season, and you may even come across some great free stuff.

Make Some of the Gifts:

Nothing tells friends and family how much they mean than a homemade gift. This type of gift requires more thought than the purchased item and can save a large amount of money by making numerous gifts with the same supplies.

Great homemade gift products include homemade bath items, special homemade sweets like fudge and Christmas cookies or that unique craft project that will delight the receiver and makes a great decoration.

Homemade gifts vary in cost and options, but even the least expensive gift of some baked cookies or fudge will make the receiver happy while limiting the cost of the gift. 

Suggest a Secret Santa:

The holiday season often means a tight budget for gifts and special items, but one way to help improve the savings is through a secret Santa exchange. This is appropriate for family gathers, friends or even an office setting. 

Instead of buying a gift for everyone at the event or gathered for the holiday, the secret Santa requires a single gift either for one individual drawn out of a hat or for an anonymous exchange.

Each person brings one gift and that is used in the exchange or given to the individual drawn from the hat. 

Recycle for Wrapping:

Wrapping paper is often a large expense in the Christmas season. With so many gifts to wrap, it is possible to go through several rolls of the paper. This is especially true when working around large gift items rather than small gifts.

Instead of using traditional wrapping paper, opt for a recycled option. Use pages from a magazine for small gifts of use the comic section of the newspaper to cover the gifts this year. 

The cost of Christmas adds up when that special meal, decorations and gifts are added up at the end of the season. Fortunately, it is possible to limit the cost and bring down the expenses with a little careful planning and setting a spending budget.

Do you have a website or business that you are interested in promoting or taking to a new level? I have dabbled around with many ways of getting exposure to my websites including blog commenting, creating back links and posting in internet forums. These are all well and good but can only take your business or onsite web presence to a certain level. At some point you have to take things and step further and take different routes to get your name or brand out there.

Depending on your website or brand making it could pay off to take your name or logo to the public and one great way to do this is by having shirts printed off. It’s a great way to get people to recognize your name or brand. Just think how many times you see a corporate symbol and you know exactly what it stands for. Wouldn’t that be great if you people saw your logo and knew what it stands for.

You have to be careful when taking on this task. You can print tshirts cheap but that may not equate to quality. Shop around for the best price and quality shirt you can find. If you cheap out you may pay for it down the road. Finding the right supplier is crucial.

There are many online websites that will work with you on putting your logo onto a tshirt and help you get it shipped in a timely manner. I would personally contact a website through phone or chat and tell them what I am after and build up a healthy relationship with them. Especially so if I was doing a large bulk order. You might even be able to negotiate a better price and save yourself even more money. Every penny counts when you are reinvesting your profits back into advertising.

This weekend I started to venture out into retail land to do some pre-Christmas shopping and scouting for prices and items. After about spending twenty minutes in a big box store I had enough of the looking for a parking spot, the pushing, shoving and sales people either in your face or nowhere to be found.

I started my Christmas shopping by doing it online and ordering the items either to be picked up in the store or delivered to my house. The nice part is not having to put up with the crowds and waste my gas driving around town but there is also another added bonus to shopping online.

That is online coupons. For example, I search in google for sears coupons, go through them at my leisure and then do my shopping. I pour a cup of coffee, fire up the computer, find my coupons for the items I want to buy and it’s done. I wouldn’t have that coupon price if I just went to the store. This way I can ensure that I get the best price possible.

I am going to do all of my Christmas shopping this year with online coupons and online ordering. Why pay more and why go through the aggravation of fighting it out at the shopping malls and stores when you don’t have to.