Community Magazine January 2009

40 Community magazine Borrow for a Bargain So you decided to take out a loan. How much do you put down? In the current economy, more might actually be less. Loan and mortgage agencies have always wanted more cash upfront – who wouldn’t – so they offer lower interest rates per point (or percent of total loan) put down. And they are more desperate now than ever. Where another 1% down might have gotten your rate lowered by .25% in the past, now you can decrease your rate by half a per- cent for every point you put down. In short, you’ll now see the payoff from a larger down payment much quicker into your loan period, as well as greater savings overall. Larry Aboudi, Residential Lending Lost Luggage Loophole You’ve just landed at your overseas destination and you load up the cab on your way to the hotel. Since you’re a bit early, the front desk clerk asks that you wait a few minutes until your room is ready. But when it is, your luggage is suddenly nowhere to be found. Sure you can use your American Express (or any other credit card for that matter) to buy a whole new wardrobe right then and there, but who’s going to pay the bill at the end of the day? Though you probably won’t get the hotel to shell out, you may get coverage from your homeowner’s insurance com- pany. Some homeowner policies actually cover such losses – and you may be surprised about other types of claims that may be written into your coverage. The key is, understanding your policy and being in touch with your insurance agent when you have a loss. Joey Sasson, Garber Atlas Fries Macy’s Likes Tourists If you find yourself visiting a Macy’s Department Store outside your home state, make sure to take advantage of the deals offered at the Macy’s Visitor Center. Simply go to the Visitor Center and show them an out-of-state identification. You’ll get an 11% dis- count at all Macy’s stores for five days after validation. Want to avoid the crowds when you shop? visit the store weekdays before lunch. And if you find yourself overloaded with purchases and don’t feel like schlepping them on the plane, ask the cashier to have your purchases delivered right to your home – across the street or across the country. Abe R. Safdieh It’s Your Busine $$ Do you have a killer business or personal finance tip? Send your contributions to business@communitym.com Trip Tips The Ticketing Time Looking for the best deal on tickets? The trick is not only knowing where to look, but when to look. Everyone knows that airline tickets go up or down at different times of the year based on demand. But what about on a weekly basis? Many airlines dump their reserved but unsold tickets between about midnight and 1am Wednesday morning (with the time zone dependent on where the particular airline calls home), so that may be the best time to try and save on tickets… if you can stay awake. Forecastingwith Farecast An automated way to time your ticket purchase is through farecast.com . Aside from offering the ability to Search mul- tiple travel sites, and refine and compare results, Farecast, which was recently acquired by Microsoft, provides airfare predictions and histories. Based on travel dates and destina- tions farecast.com can offer advice on whether to buy now because fares are likely to rise or to wait, because they will probably drop. The site now also boasts “Hotel Rate Keys,” which shows whether or not the rate for a specific hotel is a good deal, comparing the individual hotel’s current rate to its past rates. Best of all, the full feature set of farecast.com is totally free to use. Pinpointing Prayer Periods Once you’ve timed your plane ticket purchase and itinerary, you may need to time tefilah (prayer) times – especially if you’re flying through the morning. Zemanim.org takes care of all the heavy lifting for this job. You tell it when and where you’re flying (from and to) and it calculates the correct timeframes during which you may recite shema and amida according to both the strict and lenient opinions. The printable results even include a delay chart which accommodate later take off times in 15 minute increments.