Here is what you will need:

• 1 small carton of raspberries
• 1 small carton of strawberries
• 1 lime
• 2 apples, granny smith and a braeburn
• 1 Serrano pepper (more if you are daring)
• 1 bottle of Viognier
• 1/2 cup of white grape juice
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 can of club soda
• Mint leaves for garnish

Finely dice both the apples and the strawberries and then cut both the lime and the Serrano pepper into fairly thick slices.
Layer all of the different fruits in a tall pitcher, adding a dash of sugar in between every layer. For an interesting twist, you could use honey or agave instead of plain sugar.
After all of the fruit has been layered, add the sliced Serrano Chile and the remaining sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Add the Viognier to the fruit and sugar mixture.
Add the white grape fruit juice and top it all off with the club soda. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
ENJOY!

Do I Need a Credit Card as a College Student?

As a college student, you are at an interesting time in your life. Most college students work maybe part time and some even work full time while pursuing their degree. It’s hard to live as a college student. What you make usually barely covers tuition and a social life. It’s easy to want a credit card so you can live the way you want, the way you imagine yourself to be once you complete your degree. As a college student a credit card is not necessary, but if you want to start building credit early, this may be the best time to do so. There are credit cards for college students that require fair to no credit and can help you start building a good credit history. The trick is to choose one card and stick with it.

Best Credit Card to Build Credit

The Discover it™ card has no annual fee and 0% Intro APR for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers. Every time I’ve ever had to contact Discover I received great customer service and prompt attention. So I would recommend Discover as a good starter card. Here are a few pros and cons for the card.

Pros

Rotating Cashback Bonus® Categories. 5% cash back in categories that change throughout the year like gas, restaurants, and department stores up to the quarterly maximum. Signing up each time is free and easy. During your life at school, a lot of your purchases will fall into various categories such as gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Now, you can enjoy 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories that change over time when you use your card.

Unlimited Cashback Bonus®. Even if your purchases don’t fall under the rotating categories, you can still earn Cashback Bonus®. Every purchase enjoy up to an unlimited 1% on everything.

Cashback Concierge. Call their 1-on-1 experts who will go through your account online to help get the most cash back for how you use your card.

No Annual Fee. With Discover, you’ll never pay an annual fee. You’ll always be protected with $0 Fraud Liability along with text/email alerts to notify you of any suspicious card activity – that way, you are always safe and well informed.

Cons

There are only two drawbacks in my opinion; one, the 0% introductory APR period is for purchases only and two, Discover is not guaranteed to be accepted everywhere. However, Discover is accepted at over 8 million merchants and at 94% of top 1000 online retailers.

So if you are just starting out and you are looking for a credit card to start building credit, apply now for the Discover it™ card.

Note: The review of this card was updated on 5/10/2013. The review was believed to be accurate during that time. Some information may have changed since that date. Please visit our disclaimer for details on review posts on Young Finances.

Pension payments

In order to retire early, it is important to count on a steady, residual income coming in month after month. If your employer has offered you a buy-out or early pension payments, you need to decide if that will be enough to support yourself comfortably. You should take into consideration your retirement savings, if your home and automobile is paid off and if you will be receiving medical insurance after your retirement. Speaking to a qualified financial adviser will help determine if you will be able to withdrawal funds or collect benefits without falling into a specialized tax bracket that could eat a chunk of your savings as well as the pension payments. Make sure to have all of your savings and investments protected before you start collecting your pension benefits, or you could wind up owing a lot of money when tax time rolls around.

Retirement savings

The savings or 401k that you have been investing in over the years is about to be put to use. Make sure you have enough to pay your month-to-month bills and replenish at least half with your retirement income if needed. Mutual funds are often one way of holding on to your money and securing them until they need to be used. If you will be relying greatly off of your savings, you should consider a balance of investments or combination to get the most out of your money. This includes stocks, bonds and capital preservation investments that ensure long-term capital as well as current cash availability without huge penalties.

Medical costs

It is important to look at your medical insurance before taking an early retirement package. Maybe you will have access to the same medical insurance you currently have with your employer, or maybe you will have to acquire COBRA insurance. Coverage may be different, so it is important to shop around for an insurance policy that gives you and your family the peace of mind you need.

Emergency funds

It is important to have one or more emergency funds set up before you consider early retirement. These funds are set aside for a sudden emergency or the need for quick cash should something out of the ordinary arise. If there are penalties or fees involved, always keep that in mind before removing money from the account. Maybe you have savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market funds and treasury bills as part of your financial asset pool. These accounts should be interest bearing but also make it easy for you to access funds immediately in case of an emergency. Consider being able to replenish emergency funds within six months of the last withdrawal, so your assets remain strong and in place. There is a lot to think about before choosing early retirement. Insurance and access to your money is at the top of the list. Evaluate your income now and when you will retire. Come up with a plan that is feasible for you and your lifestyle. Visit IRED.com for more information regarding your insurance and retirement needs.

When Will I Retire?

Let’s be realistic. It’s very popular right now to decide to Retire by 40. But unless you are starting extremely early, making large financial sacrifices, or generating a ton of current income, you should choose a date that gives you time to save. This retirement age can change, but in general 65 is a typical retirement age. Do I plan to work for money until I am 65? Heck no! I plan to have enough cash flow generating investments that I can choose if I want to work for the fun of it or just live on my investments. So my retirement age is lower than 65. Personally, I’d like to retire from working for money by next year but realistically, I’m giving myself 10 years to reach my passive income goals. Does that mean I plan to quit my job in 10 years? Highly unlikely, but it will be nice to be confident that if I were to lose my job, I would be ok financially. So when you are choosing an age, consider these factors.

How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?

The next thing you need to consider is your desired cash flow at retirement. Do you want to receive a check of $1800 per month? $3600 per month or $10,000 per month? It’s all about how you plan to live during retirement and what expenses you expect to have. Do you plan to own your home? If so, that eliminates the need for a mortgage payment. Do you plan to spend your days traveling? If so, you may need more cash each month to pay for your trips. I’ve heard that 80% of your ending salary is a good starting point. I could probably survive on 100% of my starting salary at retirement. Take a moment to imagine what you want your retirement to look like and that should help you back in to an appropriate number.

How Long Will I Live on My Retirement Income?

This is an interesting question and one that I hadn’t considered when I first started planning for retirement. I assumed that I would have cash flow producing investments and I would live on the monthly cash flow. For example, if I had a dividend portfolio that paid dividends of $3,000 per month I would just live on that. There would be no need to consider my ending retirement date because the investments would continue to generate cash through my dying day at which point it would be passed on to my lovely grandkids. But thinking about how many years you plan to be retired is a step that many people miss and there fore do not save enough to make it through even 10 years of retirement. That means if you plan to retire at age 65, you’ll end up back at work at age 75. You should first assume that you will have income through your dying day. So now you have to try to figure out when you will die. Most people bet on 85 but I like to shoot for the moon and assume 120. But just to be safe, let’s say 100 years old. With 65 as a retirement age, you will need 35 years of income.

Now What?

Check out this handy Retirement Calculator over at Bloomberg.com to play around with a few numbers to see how much you have to save each year to reach 1 million by retirement.

How did you come up with your retirement numbers? Planning to retire by 40? 55? 80?

If you research investment strategies, you’ll see the same advice over and over again. You’re better off if you start early. Starting early maximizes the amount of interest an investment will accumulate. That means more money. That also means that you are faced with a difficult question. Should you pay off student loans first or invest?

There are a few things that need to be considered first.

Do you have any other debt?

Do you have any other debt aside from student loans such as credit card debt, car loans, or medical bills? This is bad debt that can bring your credit score down and accumulate a lot of interest. Those need to be taken care of before any investments can begin.

How much money do you have saved?

You should keep a fair amount of emergency cash available if, for example, the car breaks down or a hospital trip happens. That emergency cash should also cover a few months of all of your bills should you happen to lose your job. How much money do you need to pay all of your bills, buy groceries, and put gas in your car every month? A good rule of thumb is to have three months worth of money saved.

If you have all other debts in check and you have already set aside your emergency cash, then it is time to start considering if it is better for you to pay off student loans or invest.

One option for students looking to get extra money to invest is to investigate the many education grant opportunities for recent graduates.

What types of loans do you have?

Currently, government issued loans have a fixed interest rate of 3.4%. Personal loans will vary and they might not be fixed. If you do not have a fixed interest rate, then it would definitely be much wiser to pay off that loan as much as possible (or entirely) before you consider putting your money into investments.

Are you ready to risk investing?

There is no such thing as a safe investment. The market can crash and businesses can go under at any time. Some investments are safer than others. Relatively safe investments return about 2%. Will that return be worth hanging on to your student loan? Moderately risky investments usually have a return rate closer to 5%. The higher the risk becomes, more money will be returned on the investment. Only you can determine what types of risks you’re willing to take in your investing.

Go with your gut.

One final consideration is how you feel about your student debt. If you are the type of person who is uncomfortable with knowing that you owe someone a lot of money, or you have concerns about making that payment every month, then the answer should be obvious. Pay off your student loans.

There were a lot of questions posed in this article. That is because there are many things to consider with a question such as this. You are the only person who can determine which choice is the correct choice. Evaluate your situation carefully, and make a decision that works best for you and causes you the least amount of worry.

Jen works for an accounting firm and has just reached her 3 year anniversary with the firm. Each year her efforts are evaluated and she has the opportunity to receive a pay increase of any where between 2 to 5% of her current salary. This year, she is contributing 3% a year to her company retirement account and the company matches each dollar that she contributes up to 6% of her salary. If Jen receives a 4% salary increase this year, what should she do with it?

Brandon is a personal trainer by day and works as a bartender at night. He has a savings account with BM. BM savings accounts are great for savers. Each day after work he deposits his dollar tips into his savings account and keeps the coins to roll into bars. Brandon just completed his first pro competition and as a bonus, the gym that he works for gave him $3,000. He has been wanting a motorcycle for a while and has saved 5,000 dollars in the BM savings account towards the 9,000 cost. What should he do?

Isn’t it fun to pick apart other people’s financial life?

How did you decide to use the ongoing cash for Jen? Would you save more each month or use the extra cash to increase your standard of living? What about Brandon? Should he take this extra cash and put it towards a new bike or continue to save for an emergency? It’s up to you. Comment below.

What? Did you think I was going to give you the answers? Don’t you get tired of hearing me talk all by myself???

Come with me if you want to save…

Business and Personal Usage

Businesses everywhere are considering an option such as car leasing because it is an easy and effective way to cut down their costs. This is because auto leasing is going to save them thousands of dollars on what they would normally spend to buy a lot of vehicles outright. Business owners can commit to a fixed monthly (or yearly) fee and use the vehicle until the contract expires. When the contract expires, they give the vehicle back. Then, the leasing company will either lease the vehicle again or they will sell it.

Car leasing is a concept that a lot of people prefer because it is not a process that requires you to have collateral or a pristine credit background as you would need to get a bank loan. Most people do not realize just how much profit a car leasing company can turn over. The way it works is the company will buy a car and then lease it again and again until they are able to make the money they spent purchasing the vehicle back. Depending on the company, they may continue to lease the vehicle once they have met their financial goals. Other leasing companies will sell the vehicle for total profits once they have made back their money leasing it. This is a great industry for anyone to consider going into if they are interested in buying and selling vehicles for profit.

Whether you are getting tired of looking at your present vehicle or you are considering getting a new vehicle; there is no reason for you to spend thousands of dollars on something that is eventually going to break or you will eventually get bored with. Car leasing is a way for you to get the vehicle you want without breaking your bank and exchanging it for something else when you are done with it.

Yakezie Carnival at Family Money Values
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Hurricanes, Panties
Carnival of MoneyPros at Financial Conflict Coach
Carnival of Retirement at Dividend Monk
Carnival of Financial Planning at Master the Art of Saving
Yakezie Carnival at The Ultimate Juggle
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Freeat33
Yakezie Carnival at Money Life and More
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at WILDaboutFinance
Carnival of Financial Planning at Hurricanes, Panties
Carnival of MoneyPros at My Personal Finance Journey
Yakezie Carnival at Money Reasons
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Carnival of Retirement at Money Q
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Faithful With a Few
Carnival of MoneyPros at Freeat33
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca

Paralysis: multi-millions

Medical negligence can have horrendous implications – as a Birmingham mother of two found out when she was left paralyzed from the waist down after a routine operation. The injury meant that she had to give up kickboxing and struggled to care for her children. A seven figure compensation deal meant she could move her family into a home suitable for her condition and kit it out with specialist equipment.

Cycling accident: £14 million

Where injuries and consequences have been great, compensation paid to the victim is also great. The UK record for a compensation claim relates to a former Commonwealth Games cyclist who was hit by a car whilst cycling and was left registered blind, lost the use of his right arm and needed constant round the clock care.

The £14 million compensation he received for his accident injury was representative not just of his horrific injuries, but also the fact that he would forever need constant care and that two members of his family had to give up work to help care for him.

Cerebral palsy: £7 million competitive

Midwives at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital failed to notice that an unborn boy’s umbilical cord was wrapped around his shoulders, which led to him being born with severe cerebral palsy. He was awarded over £7 million in compensation, which was paid to him in annual installments to cover the cost of the care, which he will rely upon for the rest of his life.

Car accident: £3.5 million

A seven year old boy from West London was left without the use of an arm and a leg after he was hit by car. The driver was traveling at 30mph, the speed limit of the road on which the accident happened. Nevertheless, the court ruled that he had failed to take into account the narrowness of the road, which had cars parked along either side and that his driving was negligent. The boy was awarded a total of £3.5 million in compensation.

Brain damage: £1 million

A Cumbrian man recovered £1 million in compensation for suspected brain damage, caused by negligent administration of anesthetic during a routine dental procedure.

Occurring when the man was aged just 6 years of age, the individual’s heart stopped beating following an adverse reaction to the anesthetic. A delay in resuscitation was claimed to lead to brain damage which has left the man suffering from learning difficulties and behavoral problems throughout his life.

Faulty school play equipment: £225,000+

Defective monkey bars in an Essex school cost the council £23,580 when a child was injured on them. In fact over a five year period, Essex Council paid compensation in 17 cases, which cost them a staggering £227,137 in total.