Posts tagged: cash flow

Cost Effective Life Hacks When You’re Out Of Work

financial life hacksWe always want to know little hacks for daily life, usually in the form of needing less effort to accomplish something or finding a cheaper way to fix or obtain items. However, situations vary a lot and the more serious the issue, the more we search desperately for ways to get around it. So what can you do if you’re out of work? First of all, don’t worry. If you’re out of work, whether it be your fault or not, there’s plenty of things you can do to make ends meet each month. There’s never any shame in needing a little help, even in the form of looking to someone else for answers, so read on for a few good ideas that can bring in some easy cash to make the hard times a lot easier.

Important First Steps To Take When Out Of Work

First of all, considering hiring a service such as LaPorte Law Firm if you think you were unfairly dismissed or aren’t getting the benefits you’re legally entitled to. It’s the best move in a situation when you’re out of work and your dismissal doesn’t feel right. Finding someone who specialises in social security means bills will also be a lot cheaper!

Also, try digging into your savings account if you have one. It can help pay off any debts if you’ve been laid off, and keep a few things at bay, most of all any collectors. Your number one priority at this kind of time is looking for a new way to bring in a stable income; in other words, a new job. Make sure you’re getting all the help you can with things like rent and mortgage most of all, so see if you’re owed any back pay or deductions in terms of tax.

If You Have The Commitment, Join A Blogging Platform

Making money at home couldn’t be easier when you have an internet access and some spare time. Vlogging and Blogging means you’re exposing yourself to some kind of audience, which also means advertisers will be exposed to them as well.

One of the main ways you can start bringing in extra cash every month is through placing ads on your pages. The most popular way to utilise an ad is to host a CPC (cost per click) banner or sidebar. Every time a visitor to your site turns into a customer by clicking through the ad, you get paid for it. It’s that simple!

Yet depending on the amount of visitors you have to your blog, some advertisers may even approach you with exclusive offers. If you can offer them exposure then you’re guaranteed a few offers from all different kinds of products, whether they be big companies or small. You can even write sponsored posts to advertise something in the form of reviews, and they’ll often send you the product for free!

Sell Off Your Surplus

So this category is going to have a lot of stock to it, but that’s just representative of how much you can sell off if you don’t want or need it anymore. So, got some clutter laying around the house? Spruce it up and put it on an auctioning platform! This can seem a lot like common sense, after all, everyone uses a yard sale or Ebay at some point to get rid of something. However it’s a much more lucrative market than you may have first thought.

We need to get into a lot of detail here. A lot of specialty stores and sites exist for each kind of item, so look around for a good place to get the best money for value. DVDs and CDs are one of the main sources for this, so polish up any old records and get rid of them.

You can even use social media to find the best market place and the most competitive prices. It’s also a lot easier to talk to people in real time. Facebook is good for this kind of selling, as it is specialised for this kind of action.

You can find cash for clothes centres, meaning you can just fill a sack with any clothing items you no longer want or fit you and finally get rid of them. It even means you get money in hand on the same day.

If you have a vegetable patch in your garden, now’s a good time to harvest and sell off what you don’t need at places like farmer’s markets, if you like being surrounded by competitive prices and the good smelling produce. However you can once again sell off anything you’ve grown online, and find advice on making the most money for value.

Write Your Own eBook Or Make Images

If you have some writing skills or photoshop proficiency, then you can sell anything you craft from these online as well. Creating products in a digital format means anyone will be able to access them, immediately increasing the market you can sell to.

With an eBook, you should have a good amount of time to work on writing a story if you’re out of work. Don’t just rush something out because you need the money and think people will be interested in whatever you have to offer. Making quality content is the best way to get visitors and potential customers to click on you. Similarly, drawing in photoshop takes some time to do well, and you can even take commissions from people.

It’s even better if you already have a blogging platform to work off of, as you can introduce your products to loyal readers and have them interested from the start, which means word of mouth advertising in real life as well.

So there you have it, a few hints as to what you can do to bring in some money when you’re out of a stable income. You can do any and all of these things, so don’t panic about how little each one seems to make alone.

Why Every Small Business Needs QuickBooks

small business taxFinances are very crucial to business organizations. They are basically the main reason organizations are in business. Firms invest their resources and through their operations and product offerings, they aim to recoup as much finances as possible. To be able to tell their financial position after all this, businesses have to account for every penny invested into the business as well as funds earned from the products and services rendered. Initially, firms would rely on excel sheets for their accounting processes. Different columns would be created for funds invested into the business and another for funds generated from the business operations. The figures had to be entered manually of course and the firm’s bottom-line generated manually as well. This method was error prone and as a result, it could not be relied upon to give the best financial position of a firm at a given time. Accounting software were invented specifically for this purpose. Using these software, and particularly QuickBooks, businesses are now able to manage their finances in a stress-free manner. This post about QuickBooks explains in detail why every small business needs QuickBooks for its business operations.

1. QuickBooks provides real-time financial insights into a firm.

QuickBooks has an online version known as QuickBooks Online that allows firms to access their financial data and information online and in real-time from their PCs and mobile devices. You, therefore, don’t have to be at the office for you to access your company’s finances. This ensures that you can go about your business remotely and this goes a long way to help you save time. This online visibility gives you secure access to information such as profits and losses, incomes and expenses at a given time. Other activities that have been made possible with this online feature is the management of payrolls as well as sending invoices. Impressive isn’t it?

2. Minimizes accounting errors.

The use of excel spreadsheets for business operations results in a lot of errors. Misplaced figures and data entry errors can put the entire bookkeeping process into disarray and this makes the financial position arrived at using excel sheets false and misleading. QuickBooks feature a level of automation whereby financial information is fed directly from your bank and other financial institutions. QuickBooks is also quick to identify mistakes early in the bookkeeping process and this helps the concerned parties to correct them early in advance.

3. Filing your taxes is easy.

Filing tax returns was a labor-intensive process that small businesses had to go through way back before QuickBooks was invented. Firms had to rifle through its paper records to find receipts and invoices needed for filing the returns. This process has been made easier with QuickBooks whereby you get to update your tax figures in real time every time you upload financial records into the system. This takes place throughout the year and when the time comes to file your returns, you are able to do it in a very short time.

Difference Between Saving and Investment?

savings for investmentsWhen it is time to decide what you would like to do with the extra money leftover after paying off all your bills. You can either save it or invest it. Although savings and investment are sometimes used interchangeably, many people confuse savings and investment for the concept – however, they are not the same. Both savings and investments can be used for meeting various expenses in life, there are some major differences between them.

The primary difference between savings and investments is that while saving money generally implies putting aside a part of your income regularly in order to meet unforeseen expenses, investment means putting your saved money in various financial instruments in order to maximize your returns and grow your wealth.

Another key difference between savings and investment is the appetite for risk that you are willing to take when putting aside money for savings and investments. It might not make sense to park your savings in long term instruments with a lock in period that does not allow you to access them during a financial emergency – what savings were designed to do in the first place.

At the same time, keeping all your money stored in a safety vault might be very safe, but will not generate any returns over the years. On the other hand, if the money invested in various products like stocks, mutual funds, gold, etc. you may have to take on more risks, but there is potential for your investment to grow over time. If invested wisely, your money can grow over the years. If planned smartly, then investment in stock market can make your invested money grow manifold.

People typically save for meeting short term needs – a set target or objective. However, investment generally entails a longer horizon of six months or more. It is designed to provide returns and grow your money over a period of time.

3 Emergencies That Can Destroy Your Finances

financial emergenciesAn emergency is defined as any serious event that requires immediate attention. Bearing that in mind, what emergencies can occur that end up causing your finances serious harm? Below, you’ll find three big ones that can really hurt your family and your money:

Your House Getting Damaged

Damage to your house is an emergency none of us wants to deal with. The simple fact is there are many ways in which your house can suffer serious damages. What if a bad storm hits and the wind damages your roof or lightning strikes your house. Or, what if someone in your home accidentally starts a fire and your kitchen goes up in flames? When you start to think about it, there are so many things that can happen that lead to your house getting damaged. The worst thing is, in an emergency like this, the repairs to your house will be very costly. There could be serious damages that need fixing and a lot of work that needs to be carried out in your home. In some cases, you may need an entire roof replaced or your house cleared and dried out after water damages. Regardless of how your house gets damaged, the consequences may be very dire for your finances.

A Family Member Getting Arrested

When someone in your family gets arrested, it does count as an emergency. It’s come out of nowhere, it’s a challenging life event, and it requires immediate attention. We’re not talking about someone in your family getting arrested for serious crimes here. We’re talking about if someone is maybe out partying with their friends and they get arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour. Or, they make a mistake and shoplift. Regardless, someone in your family might make an error of judgement and end up arrested and awaiting bail. This then means you have to go through the effort of contacting a company like Kat Bail Bonds to help you pay the bail and get them out of jail. Depending on the crime, it could cost a lot of money and leave your finances in a very bad position.

A Car Crash

Car crashes are probably the most common emergency out of all three listed here. Also, they’re very damaging to your finances as they can hurt you in multiple ways. With a car crash, you have the financial pain of dealing with a damaged car as well as any medical problems that may occur. You could end up with broken bones or muscle strains that require immediate and expensive medical attention. If you have a good insurance policy, you might be covered for events like this and not have to pay for repairs to your vehicle. Likewise, you could find a lawyer to help you make a personal injury claim and avoid those medical expenses. However, then you end up with a lawyer fee, which can also be costly! No matter where you turn, a car crash can have a detrimental effect on your finances for some time after the event.

If any of these emergencies happen, they need to be dealt with quickly. The problem is, they all require a lot of money to be spent. The best way to handle an emergency is to have an emergency fund set up. This means you’ve got money saved away to help you in case scenarios like these happen.

Financial Downsides and Potential Issues of Owning a Pet

financially downGetting a dog, or any other animal, to become a loved member of the household is a big step that many families decide to take at some point in their lives. Dogs and cats and other little domestic animals can offer a lot of love and warmth to a home, which is why so many welcome pets into their loving arms. With anything, there are both pros and cons to pet owning, and one of the biggest things that concern a family when it comes to the decision of welcoming a pet is the financial impact it will have.

Dogs are one of the most common pets that are seen in modern households. They’ve been man’s best friend through the ages. A dog can offer additional security and protection, as well a fierce friend that will last a lifetime… in dog years.

However, they also can get expensive. Some dogs, like purebreds, can be hundreds of dollars, and that is just the initial price of your pet that doesn’t include all of the supplies and equipment you’ll need to care for them for the years to come.

Regular and emergency vet visits. Dogs should be seen by a vet often and stay up to date on their immunizations and treatments to avoid getting medical problems. Sometimes these things can still happen, so you’ll have to also plan for the possibility of extra medical bills for your pet.

Special care equipment and furniture. Large dogs and older ones will need special beds that can get expensive. Walking gear can vary depending on the size and strength of your pet, and if they have existing medical conditions, they may need certain food that can get expensive. Planning for these things can help you decide a budget.

Potential injuries and prevention. Your dog may get hurt or may end up hurting others. This is rare, and some legal funding companies will offer a dog bite loan to help you stay on top of things financially while you’re working through the repercussions financially for a dog bite.

Many people have allergies to pet fur. Making sure that everyone has medicine and makes an appointment for allergy testing can get expensive depending on how many people are in your home.

Destroyed or damaged furniture and items. Dogs, especially puppies, are playful and energetic. They’ll get bored and lonely when you aren’t home. In the early months before your dog is fully trained, you may have to deal with damages to the things in your home. This can also go for cats.

Moving can get a little pricey if you have to bring the pets. Paying for transportation for a pet can get expensive depending on the size and weight and type of your pet. Some can get in the car with you, but you’ll have to make more frequent stops.