Last year, I wrote several posts in a series on Examinations Under Oaths. Last week, I was contacted by a policyholder who had read my posts after he received a letter from an attorney to schedule an examination under oath on his claim for fire damage. This insured, like many others, wanted to understand why the insurance company was demanding his examination.

In an effort to gain more perspective from the carrier’s side, Michael Boyer has written about examinations under oath in the text, Property Investigation Checklists: Uncovering Insurance Fraud, Tenth Edition.

Boyer tells readers that the demand for an examination under oath is not a new phenomenon. It was first included in the 1943 standard fire policy’s cooperation clause. The 165 line policy required an examination under oath on lines 113 -122. Bo

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For a limited time, you can get a $10 statement credit for spending at least $10 at a local small business when you pay with your American Express card and check in via foursquare, the social networking site that allows you to share your location with friends.

From foursquare’s blog:

Check in at a merchant with a Special… load the Special to your card, and then pay for your over $10 purchase with your American Express ® Card. No need to show your phone to a cashier or anything – you’ll receive the credit on your Amex statement within 5 business days.

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Most of us can’t tackle all of our spending and saving needs at once.  We’re taught to maximize our retirement savings, create an emergency fund, pay off debts, and buy the right insurance while paying our bills, raising our kids, and trying to have a little bit of fun for ourselves.  Here’s what you need to know now to properly prioritize your spending and manage your money.

Pay Your Bills

If you can get a handle on your basic living expenses, your ability to manage all your other financial priorities will be greatly enhanced.  Try to limit your necessary expenses, which includes shelter, utilities, transportation, food, insurance, child care, and minimum loan payments, to less than 50% of your after-tax income.  If your necessary expenses are higher than this, you may want to consider trimming your costs by trimming your food bills, lowering your home’s thermostat, finding a cheaper place to live, or getting rid of an expensive car.

Create An Emergency Fund

Having an emergency fund allows you to pay for minor emergencies without adding to your credit card debt.  Set up automatic transfers from your checking account into a savings account and deposit any tax refunds or other windfall payments into the savings account until you have saved at least three months worth of expenses.  There’s a large psychological advantage to having an emergency fund as people that have them are much less worried that a small financial emergency would cause a financial hardship.

Pay Off Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt is one of the most dangerous types of debt because lenders can change rates and terms at any time, the interest rate is usually in the double digits, and high credit limits encourage you to rack up more debt than you can comfortably repay.  To eliminate this debt, target the debt with the highest interest rate first, paying as much as possible while paying the minimums on any other debts you may have.  Another method would be to tackle your smallest debt first to give yourself the psychological boost of completely paying off a credit card bill.

Falling living standards and the looming return to recession has failed to dent the British public’s sunny disposition, according to the results of David Cameron’s “happiness index”.

The poll found around three-quarters of adults in the UK are satisfied with their lives despite the continuing economic gloom.

The survey of 4,200 people asked participants to rank how happy or anxious they felt on the previous day on a scale from nought to ten. Just over one in every four respondents scored seven or more out of ten for happiness. The remaining one in four felt anxious.

Seventy six percent of people were estimated to have a rating of seven out ten or more when asked “how satisfied are you with your life nowadays”. When asked,

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Ever since A Charlie Brown Christmas made its TV debut in 1965, Americans have been guilt-tripped about the commercialization of Christmas and the excesses of the holiday shopping season. I know we all talk about the importance of living simply and saving money during the holidays. And no one complains more than me about the insane, occasionally deadly Oklahoma Land Rush atmosphere of “Black Friday.” (I avoid setting foot in any retail establishment on the day after Thanksgiving.)

But recently, at this time of economic struggle, I’ve been reconsidering my Grinch-like attitude toward Christmas shopping. Despite the excesses and crass commercialism of the holiday shopping season, maybe there’s something noble there as well.

My first job when I got out of college was teaching English in public schools in Japan for a year. And one of the things that really stuck with me was the Japanese people’s admiration for Christmas. Even thoug

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Research and development (R&D) relief is often overlooked because firms “either don’t realise they qualify or think it’s more trouble than it’s worth”, says Tax Tips & Advice. Yet the R&D tax break is worth twice as much as other tax reliefs.

The definition of R&D is broad – it can cover the development of a new method of erecting buildings or a new software product for the financial sector. If your firm spends £30,000 on R&D in 2012/2013 and pays corporation tax at 20%, it will be entitled to a reduction in its tax bill of £13,500 (£30,000 x 2.25 x 20%).

HMRC has launched a pilot scheme offering a dedicated one-to-one service to “help companies formulate and optimise claims. “Once the principles have been agreed on, claims for the following two years will be accepted without the usual scrutiny and questions associated with R&D relief.”

Open to firms with 50 or fewer employees, the aim is to open it up to all businesses in the near future. See www.hmrc.gov.uk/

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