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AARP stands for the American Association for Retired Persons. It is a non-profit organization that was founded by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired school principal in 1956. The AARP actually evolved from the National Retired Teachers Association in which Dr. Andrus established in 1947.

Over 35 million retired persons over the age of 50 have joined this organization. This group is best known for providing services to the aging population. Some of these services include the following:

• Informing members and the public on issues important to this age group.
• Advocating on legislative, consumer and lawful issues.
• Promoting community service.
• Offering a wide range of special products and services to members.

The membership of this organization is launch to any person who is 50 years veteran and older. There is around 25% of the population in the over 50 category. Around half of the people in this category belong to AARP. Even though it is called the “American” Association for Retired Persons, U.S. citizenship is not a requirement for joining the organization. There are over 40000 members who live outside the realms of the United States.

Being retired is not a requirement for joining the AARP. There are many members who are not retired that belong to this organization. Around 44% of the membership either works part-time or full-time. The median age for this group is 65 with about half of them being women.

Organizational Structure
The AARP national headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. Each state has its own central headquarters as well.

The AARP has two affiliated groups:

• AARP Foundation
• AARP Services, Inc.

The AARP foundation provides programs for the organizations members. These programs include the following:

• A work training program for low-income persons over the age of 55.
• Free tax preparation and counseling for older Americans.
• Improvement to good hot lines through technical assistance and training
• Training and assistance for aging advocates in elder law and advocacy
• Support for housing counselors in their work with older homeowners seeking reverse mortgages
AARP Services, Inc. also provides programs and services to its membership. The following are some of the programs and services that are offered:

• Medicare supplement
• Long-term health care
• Automobile, homeowners and life insurance
• member discounts and savings on prescription drugs, eye-health services and eyewear products
• Discounts on hotels and motels
• Discounts on auto rental
• Discounts on air flights.
• Discounts on flee lines.
• Discounts on vacation packages.
• Discounts on entertainment packages and consumer goods. 

Financial Support 

The AARP receives financial benefit from membership dues and revenue from advertising in AARPs publications. Additional funds are received from the royalty fees paid by the commericial companies that provide AARP endorsed services for its members. Also, there are fees that are generated from certain member programs.
Publications 

The AARP has two print publication and one online publication that the organization produces. The members of AARP received a bi-monthly publication throught the U.S. mail called the “AARP Magazine”. This publication was launched in the year 2002. The magazine covers a wide range of topics including health, finance, and leisure. There is another publication called the “AARP Bulletin” which is published 11 times during the year. This publication has reports about the national and state legislation and the programs that affect the over 50 age bracket.
The online publication (www.aarp.com) is maintained on a regular basis. In addition to the many benefits that were listed above, it also provides basic computer skills tutorials. It also offers information on topics such as finance, health and wellness, tips for coping with life transitions as well as opportunities to contact elected government officials. There are also online discussion groups and online courses provided for the elderly population. 

AARP Programs 

• AARP Independent Living/Long-Term Care/End-of-Life Issues
• AARP Driver Safety Program
• AARP Tax-Aide
• AARP SCSEP
• Volunteering
• Member Services and Discounts 

AARP Driver Safety Program 

This program is an 8 hour classroom refresher designed for drivers over the age of 50. Some of the topics that are included are the rules of the road, defensive driving tips and normal physical changes that comes with the aging process and how to compensate for them. Automobile insurance discounts are offered by many states to those members who complete the program. 

AARP Tax-Aide 

The tax aide assist is a free income tax counseling and tax preparation service for all taxpayers with middle and low incomes; with a special interest in those 60 and older. Beginning February 1st of each year, trained and certified volunteers spot up in designated locations to begin the tax preparation process for its members. 

The tax aide succor is a free income tax counseling and tax preparation service for all taxpayers with middle and low incomes; with a special interest in those 60 and older. Beginning February 1st of each year, trained and certified volunteers set up in designated locations to begin the tax preparation process for its members. 

Membership Services and Discounts 

In the beginning stages of the AARP development, AARP has always responded to its members needs through the many services that it offers. These services would otherwise not exist or be conviently available to its members. 

Today, AARP offers the following: 

• Automobile and homeowners insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term health care insurance
• extensive Depart discounts and programs
• Eye health services
• Investment program
• Credit card services
• Motoring plan
• Legal services network 

How Do You Join?  

Joining AARP can be done in three easy steps. You can receive all the benefits of AARP for only $12.50 a year. This membership also includes your spouse, for free! You may join online by going to http://www.aarp.org/membership/aarp/Articles/join.html. 

When you register online you will go through 3 steps. First, you provide your information including name, address, email, date of birth and work state for both you and your spouse. After you complete this page you will then be taken to the second part of the registration process, which is the billing information. You may pay online with a credit card or debit card or have them bill you. Shortly after receiving your registration AARP will then send you a bill through the mail. If you decide to have AARP send you a bill you must select the “Other payment”, please send me a bill. After doing this you will be taken to the confirmation page where it will list all the information that you have given them. You may print this out for your records.
The invoice for your order will be sent to your lawful away and should receive it within two weeks. After payment has been received you will receive your membership cards and the complete benefits information. 

If you have trouble with the online registration you may call 1-888-OUR-AARP (1-888-687-2277), 7am-12 midnight ET Monday-Friday.

We all know about spending less and saving more but what happens if your budget is already stretched and contorted to it’s max? How do you establish money when every last penny you have is going to pay your bills and you barely have enough money to buy food? At that point, saving money seems next to impossible!

Not so! The truth is, many of us have overlooked the fact that you can save nickles and dimes and before you know it those coins can add up to hundreds of dollars! We don’t realize it, but we often nickle and dime our way into debt. It’s a dollar here, five dollars there and before you know it, you’ve racked up huge bills!

The good news is that you can reduce your expenses the same way. How often do you sight at your bills? I mean really go through them with a fine toothed comb? Are there fees you shouldn’t be paying? Is there interest that has spiked? Can you make adjustments in your lifestyle that can save you money? Can you re-visit a monthly service plan?

Lets start with the basics: utilities. If you’re like me, you get the bill in the mail, screech a little, then get the checkbook out and let your tears wet the stamp for the envelope! But I’ve recently learned that there are hundreds of dollars to be saved in my utilities every month and now I’m kicking myself for not looking closer at what I was paying!

Utilities

We paid $30 every month for trash service. But since my family and I compost and recycle, we rarely have enough trash to fill a bin on a weekly basis. So instead we started to grasp our trash to the dump every month. This saves us $25 since we have to pay $5 to dump our garbage, but still, huge savings!

I then got on the line with my phone and cable companies and when the service people wouldn’t help me I asked for managers. My goal was to reduce my monthly service plans which when go unchecked, often tend to steadily increase in amount! There are usually great plans available for unique customers and if you play your cards right and plead your case with the managers in a polite and thorough draw, you can often get your rates reduced. I managed to save $15.00 with my cell phone company and $20 with my cable company. Score!

Now on to the big guns: the electric company. Did you know that in many states, you can choose your electric supplier? By doing this you can often times receive wholesale rates for electricity that can save you hundreds of dollars each year. Your local utility company will still snort your electricity, read your meter and send your bill…you’ll just choose another company to generate that electricity. In our case, we went with a trim energy company and saved $40 a month because the trace per kilowatt was substantially lower. We also began line the home. If you want to learn more about alternative suppliers, call your electric company and simply ask. You’ll have to do some research for the lowest price but the money saved is totally worth it!drying our clothes which saved us another $40 because the clothes dryer is one of the most expensive utilities in

Insurance

Another place where you might be able to save money is through your insurance company. Do you have an superior driving record? Has it been years since you changed your plan? Chances are, you’re paying too much money. There are many insurance companies out there willing to compete for your business by offering you a reduction in your bill. Do a shrimp research and you might be surprised how much you can save. We reduced our monthly bill by $30 but also did some checking into our home insurance and found that our deductible was ridiculously uncouth, like $500. And since we most likely would not file a claim for that amount, we increased our deductible and the next week had a check in the mail for $300. We will still pay our home insurance through escrow but at least we have a little money in our pockets accurate now and our car insurance was reduced.

Coupons

It always surprises me how people can throw coupons away. It’s money, people! Would you throw thirty dollars into the garbage with such ease? True, coupons can be intimidating at first but if you take a shrimp time, you can be saving big bucks every month. The trick here is planning. There are several websites that can help you with coupons. The one I use is called The Coupon Mom (www.thecouponmom.com) It will match store sales with available coupons so that you acquire double (sometimes triple) the savings! All I do is withhold the coupons from the newspaper, I don’t even sever them. Then I go on line and see what is on sale. If there is something that will suit my family’s needs I add it to my list, gash out the corresponding coupon and head to the supermarket. It’s not uncommon for me to achieve $200 a month with coupons. It will occupy a little time in the beginning because you have to get a system going but once you get the hang of it, it shouldn’t take more than half an hour before you go shopping! Easy money.

Credit Cards

I’m sure you’ve heard it before but if you haven’t done it already, it would behoove you to call your credit card companies and ask for a rate reduction. Typically, the creditors will work with you to reduce your debt and many are offering special incentive plans to encourage you do this! We experienced a rate hike a few months ago just about when the economy went into the toilet. But since we’ve paid our bills on time and have a history of good credit, they were happy to work with us and reduce some rates. We also did some credit card shuffling, closing some cards in lieu of others with better interest rates. We transferred money to cards with lower rates, closed cards with yearly fees and consolidated others. In many cases you could also be paying fees for programs you didn’t even know you were enrolled in! I found on one card that I had been enrolled in a credit protection program and didn’t even know it. Across the board we saved about $150 in reduction of interest rates and fees. Can you see me doing the happy dance?

When it was all said and done we had saved ourselves $820 this month! I was completely flabbergasted. How could we have been spending this noteworthy and not paid attention to it. I could have kicked myself for not doing this sooner. Be ye not as stupid as us, check your bills and start saving money. All it will cost you is a few hours of your time. With that extra money we were able to pay off a credit card and we’re saving to buy an energy efficient dish washer and clothes washer to establish even more electricity every month.

Go ahead, re-claim your money and start saving! It’s easier than you think. You’ll be surprised how much money you can derive.

Everyone should have an insurance plan irrespective of whether one drive a car or a motor bike. However, for the motorcycle riders, the insurance is even more necessary as motorcycles do not have as many safety features as cars have.

This article is aimed to provide information and package details about the top four insurance plans for motorcycle riders.

Most Great Insurance Option for Motorcycle Riders # 1: Markel American Insurance Company

This company has been providing motorcycle insurance for the past thirty five years. It offers very suitable and cost-effective insurance services. Different types of coverage plans are available, ranging from normal utilize to recreational purposes. The best thing about Markel insurance is its speedy processing of insurance claims. Moreover, they provide accessory coverage even up to $10,000. Taking a normal insurance coverage, the company will give an individual $1000 as accessory coverage. In case of excessive re-modeling of your vehicle, they can provide 50% value settlement. The collision coverage plans have different values ranging from $250 to $2000. Markel Insurance is the only company, which provides passenger insurance as well. However, market survey’s narrate that insurance experts of this company often quote higher insurance premiums. With its unique set of coverage plans, Markel’s insurance is one of the most used in the market.

Most Helpful Insurance Option for Motorcycle Riders # 2: AllState Motorcycle Insurance

The best thing about AllState insurance is its waiver offered on first time accident. There are no deductions from your premium for the first accident to your motorcycle. Another unique feature on offer is lease-loan gap coverage. If your motorcycle has been stolen or damaged and you are still left with some of the lease payments, the insurance company will provide with the rest of the amount. It provides an accessory cover of $10,000 on normal plans. However, you can increase your access cover to around $30,000 dollars by paying twenty percent more premium on annual basis. The comprehensive coverage plan provides collision mask, personal injury protection and accessory cover.

Most Suitable Insurance Option for Motorcycle Riders # 3: Motorcycle Insurance services, LLC

This company is famous for its free and affordable quotes provided by their officials. The premium payments can be made through electronic transfer, credit cards or even through the debit cards. They have different coverage plans for a number of motorcycles and they adjust their plans and premium in correlation with the slightest feature of your vehicle. They provide an accessory cover of $1500. Their comprehensive coverage plan includes collision cover, accessory cover and bodily damage liabilities. However, there is one potential pitfall. Their roadside assistance plan has been promoted a lot but people have found it very tough to exercise. Their hidden conditions are not met by even the most obvious road site incident.

Most Suitable Insurance Option for Motorcycle Riders # 4: ACE Insurance services

The best thing about ACE insurance is their flexible payment plans. You can pay the premium in get of installments over a period of six months. The limit for fee custom parts is $1000, which is qualified for normal usage. They have flexible limits for both comprehensive coverage as well as liability plans. There are separate rates for motorcycles of different make and model. The clearance time for claims is a microscopic more than rest of the insurance companies.

Source(s):

Personal knowledge and experience