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There is no power of attorney after death. Power of attorney is what’s known as a principal/agent relationship. This means that the individual who holds power of attorney serves as the agent for the individual who assigned it to them, the principal. The role is based entirely on this relationship. When the principal dies, the relationship ends and so does the power of attorney. Here’s what you need to know. You can also consult with a financial advisor to help you make the right decisions for your situation.

What Is a Power of Attorney?

Power of attorney refers to the authority someone has to act on your behalf regarding legal and financial transactions. For the duration and scope of this assignment, this person will act with your full authority. This means, for example, that he or she can sign contracts, sell property, conduct business or authorize financial transactions as though you did it yourself.

The term “power of attorney” refers to both the document that you use to assign this authority and the individual who assumes it. The individual is also referred to as your agent.

There are a few limits on someone who acts as your power of attorney. Most importantly, they cannot contradict you directly. Unless you have been declared legally incompetent, you always have the authority to revoke someone’s power of attorney and they cannot directly disobey your instructions. That said, they are free to undo choices you have made unless you have clearly told them to do otherwise. There are also a few areas where they do not have authority. For example, a power of attorney cannot enroll you in the military or steal from you.

Types of Power of Attorney

People use a power of attorney for many different purposes. It’s common to assign someone power of attorney to conduct a specific type of business. For example, many clients will give their accountants power of attorney for the purposes of filing their taxes. Other people will use the power of attorney when they are physically unable to conduct their own business. For example, many soldiers may assign someone power of attorney to manage their financial affairs while they’re on deployment.

It is also very common to assign someone power of attorney while you are incapacitated. This lets someone handle your financial and legal needs if you are physically or mentally unable to make those decisions for yourself.

There are many different types of power of attorney based on how you set the terms of this assignment. A few of the most common examples include:

  • General Power of Attorney: In this case, you have assigned someone power of attorney with no specific scope or limits. This person can conduct almost all legal and financial transactions on your behalf with the same authority as you, personally.
  • Durable Power of Attorney: This is a form of power of attorney that continues indefinitely, including if you are incapacitated. It only ends when you specifically revoke it.
  • Limited Power of Attorney: This grant of authority only applies to certain circumstances or actions. For example, you may assign someone power of attorney for the purposes of conducting a specific piece of business or managing a certain issue.
  • Springing Power of Attorney: This is a form of power of attorney that only applies when certain conditions are met. The most common form of this is to name a power of attorney who will step in if you are incapacitated, with that authority ending when you are able to make decisions again.

Power of Attorney After Death

Power of attorney does not survive the death of the principal. Once you have died, your power of attorney has no authority whatsoever. The agent cannot make decisions or take actions on your behalf and to knowingly do so would be generally considered a form of fraud.

The reason for this is the nature of power of attorney. This authority is based on the relationship between you (the principal) and your power of attorney (the agent). You invest your agent with a measure of your authority, letting this person act on your behalf and make the decisions that you have a legal right to.

But when you’re dead, you no longer have any authority. Since you no longer have the legal right to make any decisions, neither does your agent. At the same time, the relationship itself has ended since you no longer exist to have a relationship with. There is only your estate, which is managed by your executor (if you left a will) or your administrator (if you did not).

Alternatives to Power of Attorney After Death

Power of attorney is someone who has the authority to make decisions on your behalf and manage your assets, subject to your instructions and wishes. Once you die, this job transfers to whoever holds the role of executor or administrator of your estate. They will manage assets, make payments and make decisions based on the combination of their own judgment, the terms of your will and the inheritance laws of your local jurisdiction.

As a result, the best way to manage power of attorney after your own death is to name an executor to your estate. Write a will with clear terms and a named executor. They will take over making decisions in conjunction with the probate court. This executor can be the person who held your power of attorney in life, although it’s generally wise not to have them involved with the process of writing the will in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

The Bottom Line

Power of attorney is what’s known as a principal-agent relationship. This means that the authority is based entirely on the relationship between you and your power of attorney. Once you are dead this relationship no longer exists, which means the power of attorney no longer exists either.

Power of Attorney Tips

  • No matter who makes your decisions in the future, you can still make the best possible choices today. Working with a financial advisor can unlock a resource to help you properly prepare your estate and manage all of your financial needs for whatever may come. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
  • Power of attorney is a complicated and very important issue when it comes to estate and financial planning.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/djedzura, ©iStock.com/SrdjanPav, ©iStock.com/Daisy-Daisy

Eric Reed
Eric Reed is a freelance journalist who specializes in economics, policy and global issues, with substantial coverage of finance and personal finance. He has contributed to outlets including The Street, CNBC, Glassdoor and Consumer Reports. Eric’s work focuses on the human impact of abstract issues, emphasizing analytical journalism that helps readers more fully understand their world and their money. He has reported from more than a dozen countries, with datelines that include Sao Paolo, Brazil; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Athens, Greece. A former attorney, before becoming a journalist Eric worked in securities litigation and white collar criminal defense with a pro bono specialty in human trafficking issues. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and can be found any given Saturday in the fall cheering on his Wolverines.

Source: smartasset.com

Apache is functioning normally

You don’t have to be salesy in order to make sales! On today’s interview with Mark Plesha, we discuss low-pressure approaches to winning new real estate clients. In addition to scripts, Mark gives tips on winning business from FSBOs and from frustrated landlords. Mark also shares prospecting strategies, ways to win over investors, and more. Don’t miss it!

Listen to today’s show and learn:

  • Mark Plesha’s start in real estate [3:51]
  • Mark’s first real estate deals [4:58]
  • Mark’s favorite real estate leads: for rent by owner [8:21]
  • How to win deals with real estate investors [13:37]
  • Why Mark loves working with investors [21:20]
  • How to identify deals for investor clients [23:15]
  • Podcast nuggets that helped Mark’s real estate business [26:01]
  • Low-pressure sales scripts [27:25]
  • Tips on prospecting and sticking with sales strategies [29:50]
  • What’s fueling moves to Indiana [39:10]
  • Mark’s donation to the Agent Success Toolbox [41:17]
  • How to reach out to Mark Plesha [42:10]

Mark Plesha

Mark is a full-time Realtor® with Rossi & Taylor Realty Group who is dedicated to providing the best customer service throughout one of the most stressful periods of a person’s life. Although new to being a broker, Mark has been immersed in real estate for several years and has a vast knowledge of the local market. His ultimate goal is to serve his clients so well that they have no other thought but to refer him to their friends and family.

Thank You Rockstars!
It might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: We really value listeners like you. We’re constantly working to improve the show, so why not leave us a review? If you love the content and can’t stand the thought of missing the nuggets our Rockstar guests share every week, please subscribe; it’ll get you instant access to our latest episodes and is the best way to support your favorite real estate podcast. Have questions? Suggestions? Want to say hi? Shoot me a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Email.
-Aaron Amuchastegui

Source: hibandigital.com

Apache is functioning normally

A new study from credit bureau TransUnion revealed that consumers still don’t get it when it comes to smart credit habits.

Conventional wisdom tells us to halt or limit spending during the lead up to a mortgage application, whether it’s a purchase or refinance, but a lot of folks seem to ramp up spending during this critical time.

The company discovered that those who refinance their mortgages greatly increase credit card spending in the month prior to loan payoff, a departure from long held assumptions about credit behavior.

They found this out after combing through data from some 16.7 million credit files where a mortgage was paid off and subsequently replaced with a new one between the first quarter of 2013 and the second quarter of 2015.

Amazingly, consumers who refinanced managed to increase average monthly spend anywhere from 1.7-3X their typical spend in the 30 odd days before closing on their refi.

It’s as if they knew they were either going to get a lower interest rate, and thus a lower monthly housing payment, or were expecting some cash out, so they could go buck wild.

Unfortunately, this is the last thing you want to do when applying for a mortgage.

Can You Just Wait a Month!

  • If there’s any likelihood you might refinance your home loan
  • Anytime in the next several months
  • It’s wise to pump the brakes on any unnecessary spending
  • To ensure you don’t jeopardize your mortgage approval

Whatever happened to patience? I mean really. You can’t wait a month to buy that new big screen TV or fancy leather couch from Restoration Hardware?

You do realize your credit score can tank if you increase spending on your credit card(s) before and during the loan process, right?

I proved that when I spent a ton over the holidays. My credit score plummeted to the point where I would have had to accept a higher mortgage rate had I refinanced around that time.

Of course, I knew I wasn’t refinancing so it wasn’t a concern for me.

As expected, borrowers in the “Prime” credit category, characterized as those with 661-720 credit scores, made this mistake the most, at least when compared to those in the “Prime plus” and “Super prime” categories.

Those latter categories include borrowers with credit scores from 721-780, and 781-850, respectively.

So prime really isn’t that good…it’s just above subprime (620 cutoff) depending on how prime you actually are.

You Tripled Your Credit Card Spend

  • While it sounds too bad to be true
  • Many consumers who refinanced their mortgages
  • Increased their spending before and after receiving their new loan
  • Some we’re probably lucky to still get approved!

The Prime folks tripled their credit card spending during the month before refinancing, and once they got their new loan (I’m glad it all worked out), spending remained elevated for many months afterward.

The Prime plus band saw spending more than double its monthly average and it also stayed elevated.

The Super prime peeps were a bit more responsible, only increasing credit card spend by about 1.7X.

Still, in every case these borrowers were committing a cardinal sin – you don’t increase spending before a refinance.

For one, it can tank your credit score, sometimes significantly depending on how you spend. For example, maxing out one credit card is a big no-no. As a result, you might get hit with higher pricing adjustments and thus wind up with a higher mortgage rate.

So your lack of patience landed you with a mortgage rate of 4.25% instead of 3.75%. Good job. That’s your rate for the next 30 years.

Secondly, it can limit your borrowing capacity because you’ll have higher minimum monthly payments related to those tradelines. If you’re on the cusp of approval DTI-wise, it could potentially make a difference, especially if your mortgage rate is also higher to boot.

The solution is really, really simple. Don’t swipe before you refi…that’s it. Just lay off the spending for a month or two and once your loan funds you can go nuts.

Or even go a step further and pay down your debts before refinancing to lower your DTI and potentially improve your credit scores to receive a more favorable interest rate.

By the way, the study also found that prime or better mortgage applicants are 50%+ more likely to open a new credit card during the 12 months following a mortgage inquiry compared to the rest of the population. That actually makes sense.

Read more: Reasons why you can’t refinance your mortgage.

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

What happens when mortgage forbearance ends? On today’s State of the Market podcast, Auction.com’s Daren Blomquist joins us to discuss the possibility of a massive wave of foreclosures hitting the market. We talk about current property prices, dive into detailed foreclosure stats, and more. Tune in and get information on everything you need to know as a Realtor, investor, or prospective homebuyer.

Listen to today’s show and learn:

  • The shadow inventory of foreclosures [4:41]
  • Daren’s thoughts on what will happen to properties in forbearance [8:21]
  • The average equity loss for properties in forbearance [11:23]
  • Foreclosures in Texas [14:37]
  • Bubble or boom? Daren’s thoughts on housing prices [19:48]
  • Why the first-time-homebuyer tax credit is the wrong solution [24:29]
  • The eviction moratorium’s impact on landlords [26:37]
  • Daren’s foreclosure stats [34:22]
  • The average price of foreclosure sales compared to total debt [40:47]
  • Where to find more of Daren’s foreclosure research [42:16]

Daren Blomquist

Daren Blomquist is Auction.com’s new Vice President, Market Economist.  Recently, Daren served as Vice President at Attom Data Solutions where he was widely recognized as an authority in the housing and mortgage industries. In his new role, Daren focuses on analyzing and forecasting complex macro and microeconomic data trends within the marketplace and greater industry.

Daren mines real estate data for key insights and trends to help businesses and consumers make better decisions. Prior to Auction.com, Blomquist directed ATTOM Media, a division of ATTOM Data Solutions, which publishes original real estate reports and analysis.

Related Links and Resources:

Thank You Rockstars!
It might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: We really value listeners like you. We’re constantly working to improve the show, so why not leave us a review? If you love the content and can’t stand the thought of missing the nuggets our Rockstar guests share every week, please subscribe; it’ll get you instant access to our latest episodes and is the best way to support your favorite real estate podcast. Have questions? Suggestions? Want to say hi? Shoot me a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Email.
-Aaron Amuchastegui

Source: hibandigital.com

Apache is functioning normally

Over the years, we’ve learned that buying homes near certain types of businesses can boost the value quite substantially.

For example, homes near Starbucks tend to outperform those near a Dunkin’ Donuts, and you’re better off buying a condo next to a Target, not a Walmart.

If there’s a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s nearby, even better. Throw in a good school and you’ve hit the housing jackpot.

Schools Matter Whether You Step Foot in Them or Not

Plenty of homeowners purchase properties with kids in mind, particularly because of the nearby schools. After all, private school isn’t getting any cheaper.

But aside from saving a ton of money on tuition costs, you can also gain a ton of home equity simply by choosing to purchase a property in a good school district.

The new parent company of RealtyTrac, ATTOM Data Solutions, decided to analyze this phenomenon and discovered it’s pretty darn significant.

They looked at 2015 average test scores from nearly 19,000 elementary schools nationwide across 4,435 zip codes that cover a combined 45.9 million single family homes and condos.

From that they found that of the 1,661 zip codes with at least one good school, the average estimated home value (as of July) was $427,402, a 77% premium compared to the $241,096 average in the 2,774 zip codes without any good schools.

So you might be thinking wait, homes near good schools are a lot more expensive. While that might be true, the home price appreciation in good school districts wallops the performance of inferior school districts.

In areas with a good school, home prices have increased an average of $74,716 since the time of purchase, compared to just $23,311 in zip codes without any decent schools.

On a percentage basis it’s a bit closer, a 32% gain versus 27.5%, but still noticeably higher. On a dollar amount basis, we’re talking another $51,000 in your pocket. That’ll come in handy for college.

Overall, the return on investment (ROI) was better in zip codes with at least one good school versus those without good schools in 114 of 173 metro areas.

There were some outliers, of course. The more notable areas include zips without good schools in Los Angeles, Riverside-San Bernardino, Sacramento, Orlando, and Washington, D.C.

I suppose sometimes a stellar location is enough to drive value, even if the schools are no good.

Home Prices Are More Volatile in Bad School Zones

The company also discovered that home prices are more volatile in zip codes without good schools.

During the recent downturn, between 2006 and 2011, median home prices fell 28.9% in areas without good schools.

Meanwhile, the drop was only 23% in areas with at least one good school, so they held up better.

At the same time, home price appreciation in zips without good schools outpaced the better school zones over past five years during the real estate recovery (up 47.9% vs. 42.2%).

ATTOM Data Solutions senior vice president Daren Blomquist noted that this volatility could potentially benefit homeowners over the short term, but most likely won’t over a span of 10 years or more.

You should still be okay over the long term though…seeing how forgiving real estate is.

However, homes in poor school districts have yet to fully recover; year-to-date, median home prices in the bad school districts are still 1% below levels seen in 2006, while homes in good school districts are up 4.5% from previous peaks.

The Best of Both Worlds

It appears it’s no secret when a certain area has a good school nearby, but there are still some bargains out there if you look hard enough.

ATTOM compiled a list of 117 zip codes as “Good School Bargains” where one can purchase a property for $150,000 or less (based on median) and still take advantage of at least one good school in the area.

Additionally, both school scores and home prices have improved in all of these areas from one year ago and from fives years ago. So things are only looking up.

Here are the top ten, with the highest rank indicating the least home price appreciation over the past 10 years, meaning it still might have quite a bit of upside.

1. Chicago
2. Cleveland
3. Saginaw
4. Milwaukee
5. Tampa-St. Petersburg
6. Orlando
7. Las Vegas
8. Homosassa Springs
9. Riverside-San Bernardino

Home Buyer Checklist

Some quick and easy tips to find a home with great potential.

[checklist]

  • Is it within a quarter mile of a Starbucks?
  • Close to a Target but not a Walmart?
  • Near a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s?
  • In a good school district?
  • Still on sale relative to recent prices?
  • Cha-Ching!

[/checklist]

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

Following the announcement made last summer to acquire Mortgage Lenders of America, “Zillow Home Loans” is now officially open for business.

The new division of Zillow, which is 300 employees strong and operating out of Overland, Kansas, complements the company’s Zillow Offers platform, which acts as an iBuyer of homes in various regions of the country.

But the use of Zillow Home Loans is not restricted to just Zillow Offers’ home sales, per a company press release.

This means they’ll act as a full-scale mortgage lender, ostensibly offering both purchase and refinance loans to borrowers nationwide, regardless of whether they’re buying or selling a Zillow-owned home.

As to why they entered the competitive space, Zillow notes that obtaining a mortgage is often the “most complicated part of buying a home,” and so it’s eliminating that pain point. Or at least taking more control of it.

Doing so makes their business of buying and selling homes a lot more certain, seeing that they’ll control the financing piece if the customer chooses to use Zillow Home Loans.

They might even be able to get the home seller to use them for financing the replacement home purchase, while snagging the buyer’s financing of a Zillow Offers’ property at the same time.

There’s clearly a lot of upside here.

What Zillow Home Loans Offers

At the moment, they’re advertising four main types of home loans on their website, including:

– Conventional loans (those backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac)
– FHA loans
– VA loans
– USDA loans

Those four cover the lion’s share of the mortgage market, with jumbo loans and reverse mortgages the only obvious absentees.

I gave their website a whirl and filled in what amounted to be a lead form, which asked all the basic questions like purchase or refinance, home value, loan amount, credit score, if I wanted fries with that, and so on.

I was feeling frisky so I even put in my email address and phone number, but sadly, upon completion they simply told me a loan officer would be in touch soon.

So there doesn’t seem to be any cool technology happening, at least not at the moment. I was hoping to get a real-time quote or be able to move along further in the process without having to speak to anyone.

After all, it’s all the rage these days to not speak to a human being, especially when it involves a major financial transaction. Oh well…

They Basically Exist to Serve the Zillow Offers Business

  • Home loans business gives them more control of iBuying business
  • Also creates a new source of profit for Zillow
  • Will be similar to a home builder with its own financing department
  • Whether they branch out beyond that to become a major player in mortgage space remains to be seen

If you search for a mortgage on Zillow, at least for the time being, you probably won’t see Zillow Home Loans listed in their lender marketplace.

Instead, you’ll come across lots of unaffiliated, third-party lenders that pay Zillow a fee for what amounts to a borrower lead.

That tells me Zillow Home Loans is mostly focused on the home buyers and sellers using its burgeoning Zillow Offers iBuyer service.

Their press release, which is titled, “Zillow Group launches Zillow Home Loans to Support Zillow Offers,” also makes this abundantly clear.

In other words, Zillow is acting much like the major home builders out there that tend to have their own financing departments.

Home builders with financing departments have very high attach rates, with most home buyers opting to just use the lender being thrown their way, especially if they’re worried about qualifying. Or if a first-time buyer.

Same thing happens with real estate agents by the way – they refer their buyers to a preferred mortgage broker or lender and that person/entity is often used.

Anyway, instead of relying on a third-party to offload their stable of properties to home buyers, Zillow can simply turn to their in-house lender.

This creates several advantages, one being reliability. Home buying and selling isn’t inherently difficult, but financing can often get in the way.

Having control of the lending piece means they can stay on track. And in doing so, they create a new line of profit as well.

It also works with their whole speed and convenience thing, which is the foundation of iBuying to begin with.

And they could convince more homeowners to use Zillow Offers if they bake in discounts for also using their financing.

Lastly, they have a good business in their lending marketplace, so they probably don’t want to cannibalize it.

Whether they eventually branch out to take a bigger chunk of the mortgage market remains to be seen, but that doesn’t appear to be the goal, at least not yet.

So we probably won’t see any fancy technology or innovative stuff like that of Rocket Mortgage and similar debutants looking to shake things up.

But as noted earlier, the new lender isn’t restricted to Zillow Offers’ home sales, and they appear to offer mortgage refinancing as well.

I guess why not if they’ve already got the platform up and running.

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

With dogs giving birth to an average of 12-18 puppies yearly and cats birthing 20-27 kittens, the number of strays is rising exponentially. According to veterinarians, spaying and neutering your pets is the best way to control this population growth.

Over 2.7 million cats and dogs are euthanized annually in shelters– no one is proud of that figure. In the US, over 70 million abandoned pets every year, out of which over 8,000 are put to rest daily. Neutering your pets can be quite a costly venture. Because of this high cost, many owners don’t get orchiectomies or ovariohysterectomies for their pets.

Pet insurance policies vary from provider to provider, as do the procedures. Pet insurance typically does NOT cover spaying or neutering surgeries, making the process more out of reach. In this guide, we will look at which pet insurance offers neutering coverage and the options for getting along with these surgeries.

What’s Ahead:

Does Pet Insurance Cover Spaying & Neutering?

While most pet insurance policies do not cover neutering, Lemonade Pet Health Insurance offers a quick and streamlined pet insurance experience for pet owners across the United States. There are several pet insurance plans you can choose as per your budget and what you’d like covered.

There are several others as well, which we will discuss in detail in this article. However, before diving into the different pet health companies, we must first understand why neutering or spaying is not covered.

Why is Neutering Or Spaying Not Covered By Pet Insurance?

Just like with your health insurance, the policy usually covers procedures necessary to help you live a better life – not elective ones. Similarly, pet insurers consider spaying and neutering an elective procedure.

Yes, they are indeed elective procedures. Still, unless we start raising awareness about the stay population and animal euthanization, it is doubtful that you will recognize the issue – or coverage will become mainstream.

Instead of being a part of direct pet insurance, neutering and spaying is usually a part of add-on preventative care. These wellness plans are also manna from heaven for many pet owners as they can save you from spending thousands of dollars on the surgery, medicine, and care that follows. These pet insurance plans often also cover vaccinations, flea infestations, tick prevention, general examinations, and other similar services.

There are usually quite a few options, depending on your choice. In the next section, we will discuss the costs associated with different pet insurance providers in more detail.

Finding a Pet Health Insurance Provider That Covers Neutering

Five major pet insurance providers cover neutering. Of course, their price range, rating, and coverage differ. Here is a general overview of these companies.

Pet Insurance Provider Monthly Cost Rating Type of Coverage
Lemonade $15 – $30 4.7 Add-on
Spot $10 – $30 4.6 Add-on
ASPCA $10 – $30 4.5 Add-on
Prudent Pet $10 – $40 4.4 Basic
Pets Best $20 – $30 4.3 Add-on

Spot

Coverage

Spot has several pet health plans. Premiums range from $10 for basic coverage to $30 for platinum coverage, with an add-on option of $25 per month for neutering. The add-on gives you a reimbursement after you have gotten the surgery. This means you have the base amount in your account for the surgery. The total platinum preventative care plan offers an annual benefit of $450 to $500, while the reimbursement for spaying or neutering values of $150 to $165.

Other Plans

There are a handful of vets that the provider covers, giving you a lot of freedom about where you want to take your little one. Of course, there is the Gold Preventative Care plan, which would cost you just $10 per month. It also includes dental! Though, you won’t have spaying or neutering covered with the Gold plan. You get an annual benefit of $250 with the Gold plan.

ASPCA

Coverage

ASPCA Pet Health Insurance is another pet health insurance provider offering reimbursement for spaying and neutering. However, it differs because it provides surgery coverage in the base plan. This initiative has allowed ASPCA to overtake its primary competitor, Spot, quite quickly. Another benefit you can enjoy with the provider is that the plan does not have any waiting period.

You get a reimbursement of up to $150 for spaying or neutering your pet, and the policy will cost you $25 per month.

Other Plans

The Prime Preventative Plan covers spaying and neutering, but there is also the Basic Plan. It costs less but does not cover spaying or neutering. It is similar to Spot in terms of price and care, except that ASPCA Pet Insurance offers a quicker reimbursement. Chances are that, if verified quickly enough, you won’t even have to go out of pocket for the surgery!

Prudent Pet

Coverage

A pet health insurance policy for those looking for a cost-effective venture, Prudent Pet offers $60 against spaying and neutering. If you choose a high-end veterinary, you may have to go out of pocket a bit with this plan as it may not cover the entire cost. However, for mid-range vets, this plan is very attractive.

The plan has no waiting period nor a deductible for the coverage. This means the plan will continue to stay cost-effective for years. There are three types of plans, and the coverage varies accordingly.

Other Plans

There is a low, medium, and high plan for your pet. The low plan will cost you $12 per month, but it does not cover spaying or neutering.

Then there is the medium plan that costs $20 per month. It offers $40 as reimbursement against spaying or neutering surgeries.

And finally, the high plan will cost you $30 per month and offers a $60 reimbursement against the surgery.

Of course, the preventative benefits also vary, awarding you $250, $350, and $500 as coverage, respectively (subject to change). Each plan has a broader range of coverage than the competitors, though, and includes wellness checks, vaccinations, heartworm digestive tests, microchipping, and even deworming.

Pets Best

Coverage

Pets Best is unique in the sense that there is no deductible that you have to pay with this policy. It gives you up to $160 against spaying or neutering, which is enough for many high-end clinics. To cover neutering, you will need to purchase an add-on totaling $26 per month for coverage. You will need to go for the BestWellness plan for full coverage. You will get an annual benefit of $535 with coverage, which is relatively impressive.

Other Plans

Pets Best has two wellness coverage plans; EssentialWellness and BestWellness. The former will cost you $15 per month and covers basic pet care costs. The former, on the other hand, offers a wide range of pet care facilities and a much larger reimbursement against preventative care costs every year.

Lemonade Pet Insurance

Coverage

Easily one of the highest-trending pet health insurance companies, Lemonade Pet Insurance is on its way to becoming a market leader with its deals and extensive coverage. It offers several preventative care treatment options, especially for those under two years. For spaying and neutering, it offers $110, $120, and $135 as reimbursement. It has a much smaller waiting period of two days against accidents. This is much shorter than many competitors out there.

Other Plans

First, Lemonade Pet Insurance offers a 10% discount if you bundle your pet insurance policy with other policies, i.e., home, car, or renters insurance. There are accident and illness plans, vet visit add-ons ($2 to $5 per month), physical therapy ($1-$3), and preventative care add-ons (price varies based on insurance selection).

You may pay about $50 per month for a neutering plan coupled with every other plan. However, this gets reduced to $35 per month if your pet is under two years. For puppies, Lemonade policies offer:

  • Complete dental coverage
  • Spaying or neutering service
  • Elective surgeries and procedures
  • Gastrointestinal issues/gland expansion
  • Breeding/pregnancy issues
  • Behavioral issues
  • Other preventable issues.

You have the option of customizing your Lemonade pet insurance policy to cover only a handful of things or everything. Deductibles may range from $100 to $500, while annual coverage limits may range from $5,000 to $100,000.

Which Pet Insurance Company to Choose?

This makes Lemonade insurance an excellent option for expensive pets, including horses! Of course, for exotic pets requiring over $100,000 as coverage, you must contact the company and ask for a consultation.

Customers also find that the pet insurance provider offers several informative resources upon consultation and during coverage. They guide you every step of the way, saving you time researching during the claim. The app and website are also straightforward to use and intuitive, making the experience more pleasant.

Should I Get Pet Insurance for Neutering?

Pet neutering for dogs can cost anywhere from $30 to $40 with lower-end or non-profit veterinary clinics. For higher-end private clinics, costs may range from $150 to $300. For cats, the costs may be $30 to $40 with non-profits and $50 with higher-end clinics.

The surgery may cost even more for horses/ponies, big cats, large birds, and other exotic animals. The rarer your pet is, the more the surgery will cost. This means that pet health insurance coverage for spaying and neutering can help you cover the costs of the surgery and associated care quite easily and save you a lot of issues in the short and long term.

It is not uncommon to expect the cost to be around $150 to $300 for the surgery alone, but the price can go up to $400 to $500 with preventative care and medicine. Choosing the right pet insurance company can ensure that you and your pets can go through the surgery without any personal or financial issues. Be sure to conduct your due diligence with your vet before choosing a pet insurance company, though!

Source: moneyunder30.com

Apache is functioning normally

Last month I wrote a post on do-it-yourself beauty and personal care products. That touched a nerve with a lot of people: some loved it, some hated it; it seemed like everyone had something to say.

At the time I’d planned to follow up with a post on do-it-yourself cleaning products for the home, but I’ve decided to take a step back and look at the bigger question: What is a clean house worth?

Everyone puts some resources into keeping their home clean. Whether you spend hundreds of dollars a month on professional cleaning services or struggle to pay for soap, you’re going to have to shell out cash, time, and effort to have a healthy, clean, happy place to live.

Should You Do It Yourself?

For some, having your house cleaned by a professional seems like an unthinkable luxury. To others it’s just part of the cost of running their household, like paying the electric bill.

The thing to remember when deciding whether to do your own cleaning or pay someone else to do it is that you always have to spend something on keeping your house clean: money or time. Time is a finite resource, too, just like money. If you decide to do it yourself, you’re committing to spending a chunk of time every week doing chores. If you pay someone else, you get that time back in exchange for your money.

House cleaning isn’t cheap. In the area where I live, you’ll pay a house cleaner $70-$100 for biweekly cleaning of a moderate-sized apartment. If you want a really deep cleaning or have a large house, it can cost a lot more.

That price tag is worth it to a lot of professionals. They look at the value of their own time and decide that it’s worth their while to pay someone else to wash the floors and scrub the tub. The time they don’t spend cleaning their own house they can spend working or relaxing.

In the days before I had kids, I lived in a shared apartment with four other adults. We all worked full time. With five salaries coming in and no one with a lot of time on their hands, hiring a house cleaning service was clearly the right call. We never had to fight over whose turn it was to do those cleaning chores, and we were all happy to spend money rather than time on keeping the house clean.

As a stay-at-home mom, that equation changed. Suddenly I was drowning in time and scrambling to come up with enough money to pay my bills every month. Housekeeping services were one of the first things to go.

Every household has to do their own math and figure out how much time and money they’re willing to spend on keeping the house clean.

How DIY Do You Want to Be?

Even if you hire a cleaning service to take care of the big stuff, you’ll still do a fair amount of housekeeping yourself. There will always be spills to mop up, dishes to wash, laundry to do, and garbage to haul to the curb.

When you’re going about your household cleaning, you have a lot of choices to make. What products will you buy? What tools will you use?

There are probably as many individual answers to those questions as there are houses being cleaned. Here are some popular strategies that people use to keep costs down when they’re cleaning their homes:

  • Make your own cleaning products. I know, I know, some of you are tired of the hippie stuff. But this one isn’t mine. Trent at the Simple Dollar has done all the math on how much you can save by just making your own laundry detergent, and it adds up to a decent chunk of change.
  • Do away with disposables. Try using rags instead of paper towels to clean up messes, or buying refills for your handsoaps instead of whole new containers. Every time you can eliminate waste in your cleaning process you’re cutting costs as well as helping out the environment.
  • Buy in bulk. Cleaning products last for a long time, if not indefinitely. You can buy bulk containers of things like laundry soap, handsoap, and all-purpose cleaner. Typically, the per unit cost on these is lower than if you buy just a regular size bottle at the drug store. Watch out for shopping momentum, though. Only buy bulk items you really need and will use.
  • Use coupons. A lot of people make out like bandits byclipping coupons and taking advantage of sales to stock up on their favorite cleaning products.
  • Keep it simple. There’s a dizzying array of cleaning products on the market, making competing offers and boasting features you never knew you needed. Stick to the basics.

Have a Cleaning Plan

Cleaning the house can be an intimidating prospect. Where do you begin? How do you know when you’re done? Without a plan, you can wind up spending a lot more time, frustration and money than you really need to.

Some of the best cleaning advice I ever got was this simple truth: Do one thing at a time. Don’t set aside Saturday as cleaning day and think you’re going to rock the whole place into a state of pristine order like a team of professional house cleaners might.

Instead, pick one task or one room and get it done. Some people get a lot of mileage out of chore charts. (And, of course, there’s J.D. and his silly chore cloud.) In my house, we used to use a chart that listed out all the chores that needed doing. When someone did a chore, they’d initial the chart with the date, so everyone knew when the floors had last been swept or the windows washed.

After nine years of living together, my husband and I are past the days of chore charts. We both know pretty well what needs to be done and how often it needs to happen. We have our routines, and we’re comfortable with the cluttered-but-clean living space we share. The chart was invaluable for helping us work out those routines in the early days, though, and I’m thinking of bringing it back in a different form for my kids’ benefit.

How do you keep your house cleaning without breaking your back — or the bank?

Source: getrichslowly.org