Posts tagged: funding

The Essential Pre-Christmas Financial Check

pre xmas savings“Isn’t it a little bit early to think about Christmas? It’s not even been Halloween yet…”

Okay, so we’ll acknowledge the fact that that’s a legitimate complaint. Christmas seems to come earlier every year and this article isn’t helping that. However, there’s no denying the fact that for people who focus on the health of their personal finances, Christmas can be a testing time. That’s why it deserves focus this early on, even if it does feel strange to be contemplating buying gifts and decorating your home when the leaves have only just begun to change.

If you begin now, you have an early start on your Christmas preparations, meaning that you can survive the festive season with your financial state intact. There are four key questions you need to be able to answer, and then you can forget about Christmas until December.

Who Do You Have To Buy For?

Try and keep the list small, if you’re going to be financially responsible. Family members usually go to the top of the list. If you have a big family, then time.com have some great tips on how to keep it affordable.

Friends are more difficult, so it’s often best to just ask if they want to swap gifts, or would everyone prefer a get-together around Christmas in lieu of actual gifts. You’re unlikely to be the only one of your friendship group worrying about money, so it’s always worth venturing the idea.

How Much Are You Going To Spend On Each Person?

This decision is largely personal, depending on your financial circumstances. However, there are a few universal things you need to keep in mind:

Set yourself a budget per person and don’t exceed it; there will be something you can find within budget, if you’re willing to look hard enough to find it. Christmas gift guides will explode online in the next few months, so scan through them and see what might work. There’s no point setting a budget if you’re going to break it — plan to be very stringent with yourself, keep the numbers amenable to your financial circumstances, and be willing to hunt for good deals.

What Can Make Christmas More Affordable?

Obviously, saving for Christmas is the best way to make it affordable. However, if you haven’t saved anything yet, then it’s unlikely you’re going to be able to put away as much money as you need in time for December.

If that means you’re going to have to borrow to fund some of your Christmas frivolity, you need to make it as affordable as possible. Look through creditrepair.co to see how you can reduce the cost of borrowing, and move any existing debts onto low-interest repayment plans. Combine this with a little extra saving for the next few months, and your personal finances should come through the holiday period unscathed.

With the above answered, you — and your bank account — can look forward to Christmas, rather than dreading the financial toll it may take!

Business Stuck In Financial Turmoil? Simple Ways To Save The Day!

money crisis in businessThe number one reason why businesses fail is due to finances, or a lack of them, we should say. You’ve probably heard this statistic before, but it’s worth repeating as it’s such a significant statistic – within the first year of launching, half of all businesses fail, and all because of a lack of funds. While that statistic may be terrifying if your business is facing financial turmoil, however, the good news is that it is possible to turn things around. Just because your business is struggling financially that doesn’t have to mean that it is the end of the line for your venture, it’s just a case of thinking outside of the box and being creative.

The fact is that getting your business out of financial turmoil isn’t always easy, but if you take note of the advice below, it is possible to get things back on track.

Determine ways to cut costs

The first step that you take should be to determine how you can cut costs. The fact is that it isn’t easy to reduce your business’s spending, but it is doable, it’s just a case of looking at your budget and determining ways that you can cut costs, such as by making your business premises eco-friendly or by utilizing the cloud to help reduce your spending. Look at your current spending, set a price that you would like to reduce your spending too, and then research ways that you can reduce your spending down to that price. It is doable, believe it or not – you may find working with a business mentor or a financial advisor helpful.

Consider how you can boost your budget

If reducing your spending alone isn’t enough to save your business, the next step is to find ways to boost your budget. Your business is your baby, and you don’t want to see it fail, so it’s important to take into account every avenue that you could attempt to go down. How about taking out a small loan to give your business the boost it needs? If you think a loan might help, you can use resources like the Banking.Loans website to look into what you could borrow. Don’t want to take out a loan? How about finding an investor for your business or a silent partner perhaps? If you want to ensure that your business succeeds, it is vital that you are smart about the steps that you take.

Ensure your finances stay on track

It is vital that you put a plan in place to ensure that once you have got your business’s finances back on track that they stay on track. You don’t want the same problem to occur again, so it pays to make sure that you know how to keep your finances on track this time. Whether that means implementing a strict budget and sticking to it or working with a specialist account who can ensure that your business is creating a good profit, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you monitor your business finances and ensure that everything stays on track.

The fact is that getting things back on track after your business suffers from financial problems isn’t easy, but if you take note of the tips and advice above, it is possible to do so and to make a go of things, building a future for your business.

Top 3 Fastest Growing Investments In 2017

investments measureEach year we see certain things come to the forefront of the investment and trading world. These things grow in value quickly and are predicted to keep increasing in value into the near future. As such, they’re perfect investment opportunities for anyone looking to get in early and cash in when the assets peak.

In 2017 many things are catching the eyes of top investors, and we’ve narrowed down the list to these things down below:

Amazon

When it comes to the fastest growing stocks in 2017, Amazon.com is right up there. This has really been the year that Amazon has started to kick start a few new projects. Their video streaming service is improving as they add more exclusive TV shows and movies. Not to mention they’ve also acquired the rights to stream various sporting events live on Prime Video too. Then, there’s their biggest move yet which saw them buy Whole Foods. With so much diversification all in one year, the future looks very bright for Amazon. Experts predict the share prices will rise considerably, so this is the time to get involved and earn a piece of the Amazon pie.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the world’s most famous crypto currency, and it’s really skyrocketing in 2017. It’s fair to say that the price of bitcoin has risen quite dramatically since it was first around. These days, while it may fluctuate in value during a day, it’s generally predicted to keep going up and up. Plus, with things like Bitcoin IRA, you can now invest using a retirement account or your 401k. As such, it’s become more accessible now than ever before, which opens up your investment opportunities. Other crypto currencies are slowly creeping up on bitcoin, but it may be a year or two before they make a ‘fastest growing investments’ list. If you want to go crypto, bitcoin is the way to go.

Virtual Reality

If you’re looking for an industry to invest in, virtual reality is one of your best bets. It’s an industry that saw sizeable growth throughout 2016 and into 2017. More companies are creating virtual reality software, and we should see a lot come to fruition in the next year or so. Just the other day Apple announced the iPhone X with augmented reality built in. This paves the way for more virtual and augmented reality in the smartphone world too. One thing’s for certain, if you’re looking for a fast-growing industry to invest some money into, virtual reality is at the forefront of things right now.

While these investments differ from one another, they’re all incredibly fast-growing right now. Granted, some may still be expensive to invest in, but the potential rewards outweigh the investment costs. All three of these ideas are set to become even more valuable in the future so you can save money by investing now instead of later. The great thing is, they’re all fairly steady investments too. They’re growing fast now, which means you shouldn’t have to worry about extreme price fluctuations over the course of a year or so. If you want to get involved, there’s no better time than the present.

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.