4/03/2009

Buying Medical Insurance When You are Homebased

There are countless jobs you can do that are homebased, but even though you may be an employee a lot of jobs may not offer you medical insurance. A lot of the time employers hire homebased employees to save on their overhead costs. This can save your employer a lot of money and also give you the benefit of working at home. Unfortunately, when you work from home you are not always eligible for the same benefits as in house employees are.
 
No matter who you are or why you work from home, medical insurance is important. There are options for people whose work is homebased though. Most medical insurance companies have individual plans as well and group plans employers offer. Some plans can be expensive though and in order to make sure you are getting the best coverage for the money you are paying you need to understand the basics of medical insurance.
 
Individual plans for those who are homebased are very similar to those that you would normally have through your employer. There are co-pay plans available and also health plans with a maximum deductible.
 
Deductible plans are pretty simple to understand. You have a per person deductible as well as a maximum yearly deductible. A deductible is your out of pocket expense. This means it's what you have to pay out before the insurance pays out. If you have a $10,000 maximum deductible and a $5000 per person deductible, this means that for any one person you will have to pay a total of $5000 for medical procedures per year before the insurance will kick in and pay for anything. You would have a $10,000 maximum deductible meaning that if you have a larger amount of people in your family you wouldn't have to reach $5000 for it one, once you reach the $10,000 deductible for the entire family the medical insurance would kick in.
 
The majority of people want co-pay plans, this is the same whether you are homebased or employed outside the home. A co-pay plan means that when you go to the doctor you pay whatever your co-pay is in the office and the insurance covers the rest. This type of plan usually works best for those with small children who may need to go to the doctor more often. The co-pay plans for individuals normally carry a deductible for hospital expenses. This means that if for whatever reason you or someone in your family needs to go to the hospital, you would need to satisfy the deductible before the insurance pays out.
 
You should choose the type of plan that works best for you and your family. Being homebased doesn't mean that you shouldn't have insurance. It only means that instead of paying for it out of your paycheck you would pay a monthly bill. You may actually be surprised at how cheap you can get a health care plan, especially if your family has no type of prior medical conditions.

3/29/2009

Home Based Business Ideas for Men

Home based business ides are everywhere, but if you research them online you will find a lot of them are geared towards women. Direct sales companies are all geared toward the stay at home mom. What if you're a man who wants to start a home based business? What are your options?
 
Assuming you are not a man who wants to sell stuff your own teddy bears at the next mom luncheon, you may want to consider being an independent insurance agent. You can easily run an insurance business out of your home. You do have to be licensed and while all states are different, it's usually only a couple week class to learn what you need to know. You can either be a property and casualty insurance agent or you could get a license in health and life insurance. Once you are licensed a little networking with other professionals and you will be well on your way to a successful home based business.
 
Maybe you are a more hands on kind of guy though. Have you ever thought about starting a carpet cleaning business or even landscaping? While the actual physical work would have to be done outside the home, you can still conducted the business end primarily from your house. More than likely, you will need some equipment to get started. Since this can get costly, you could look into business loans or grants to help you in the beginning. A lot of men enjoy having this type of home based business, because it also gets them out of the house.
 
If you are looking for a home based business with a low start up cost. You could try freelance writing. All you need to get started is a computer and Internet access. There are many types of writing you can do. Businesses will pay freelance writers for writing anything from press releases to annual reports. There's also a lot of work available for those looking to write keyword articles for web content.
 
Another home based business option could be real estate. There are numerous things you can do in the real estate field and they can all be based from your home. You could be a real estate investor. There are numerous books written for people looking to get into real estate investing. You could become a licensed real estate agent. As a real estate agent you have the option to work for a real estate agency outside the home, but you can also work for yourself out of your home. It may take time to build clientele and find good leads, but both of these types of businesses can be home based.
 
While it may seem like a lot of home based businesses are geared towards women, there are numerous options that aren't geared towards either sex. There are more home based businesses for men then you may think. If you put your mind to it almost any business can be based out of your home.