When you are starting up a new business there are a number of different ways you can set it up – one of these options is to create a Limited Company – this creates a business which is entirely separate from you and your personal finances.

1. What is a Limited Company?

The company has its own business name and its own separate identify. You need a business bank account and the business can make profits or loss. It can pay taxes and have debt, of its own, all separate from you as the business owner.

You have to have a company bank account – it can’t be in your name – and all money earned by the company have to go into the company bank account but this is relatively simple to set up.

It is important to understand that the company is separate from you as a person – if you want to have more control and be more involved then it might be better to set up as a sole trader – when you and the business are one and the same.

2. How to set up a Limited Company

The first thing you need to do is choose your company name, and then decide where it will be based. You also need to decide who will be within your company as well. Once you have all that decided you need to think about shares – if you have more than one of you owning the company you will need to decide what percentage you each own. Find out exactly how to set up a limited company in this step by step guide from Crunch.

3. Shareholders

You are able to add shareholders to the company but you should seek professional advice on this side of things as there can be tax implications.

4. Register with Companies House

Once you have decided on everything, you need to go to Companies House website and register your company for a low fee. You can do the whole process online. They will check if any other businesses have the same name as you and will ask who your company director and company secretary are.

It is often possible to do this through an accountancy firm. You need to be aware that being a company director comes with legal responsibilities.

5. A Memorandum of Association

Companies House also require you to file a Memorandum of Association which outlines why the company was set up and how it will be run. It can be used in tax issues or legal proceedings so make sure it is drafted correctly. You can write it but keep it as simple as possible in that case.

6. Consider professional advice

While the process is simple, if you get it wrong it could cause problems further down the line so you might want to consider getting expert help from your accountant or from a company set up specialist. There will likely be a fee involved but it will be worth it to get everything right from the start.

7. Working with your accountant

An accountant will often provide the support to set up your company for free as long as they then continue to work with you to deliver your payroll and taxes and support your business on an ongoing basis. It is definitely worth looking into for all of the help and support which you will get for your business from day one.

8. The business bank account

You don’t necessarily need a High Street bank for your business bank account but there are plenty of other options out there which can be set up quickly to help your business get off the ground without delay.

9. HMRC help and guidance

As a new business owner you need to understand your expenses and tax obligations as well as VAT potentially so it’s worth checking the HMRC website as they have a lot of information and advice for business owners.

They also run regular webinars and advice sessions on all kinds of tax-related business issues so check out everything on there to make sure you register with them for tax and if you need to register for VAT etc..

Again, it’s better to make sure you get everything set up from day one, correctly, so that your business starts from a positive footing. If you have any questions or doubts about business taxes you can also seek help from your accountant.

Setting up a Limited Company is a fairly straightforward process but it’s important to work out if this is the best route for you by looking at all the options first. If you do decide it’s what you want to do, then seek professional advice, from you accountant, before starting out so that you make sure everything is done correctly right from the start for your new business, giving it a good foundation.

Often unexpected expenses come up in life, catching us unawares and unprepared. When that happens, it is good to have the option of a personal loan to turn to for financial assistance.

Personal loans come in two types: secured and unsecured. Secured loans are less common. They require you to hold something for collateral, such as a car title or property. If you default on your payments, your lender is legally able to take your personal secured property.

Unsecured loans are less strict and much easier to get approved for. They require no collateral to get approved. However, they have many drawbacks to them as well, and borrowers should always know the pros and cons of their loan terms before they sign for one.

Personal Loans: What Are They Good For?

If you prefer to leave your personal property safe and not use it as collateral, you have the option of an unsecured loan. These types of loans have an easier application process and quick turnaround on distribution of money. If you need cash fast in an emergency situation, you can apply for a personal loan.

Unsecured personal loans can be applied for online from the comfort of your own home, and many times your approval or denial can be obtained in minutes.

Borrower Beware: Know the Cons of an Unsecured Personal Loan

Although there is no collateral involved in an unsecured personal loan, if you do not make your payments the lender still has recourse to take against you. They may be able to place a lien on your assets to ensure they are paid before you can sell your property.

They also may be able to take you to court and sue you for what you owe, plus legal expenses. Your credit score will be severely impacted, and your wages may even be garnished depending on the terms of the settlement.

Another drawback to unsecured personal loans is that the amounts you can receive are much smaller than secured loans. This helps limit the lenders’ financial risk. If you do not pay the loan back, they are only out a small amount.

You can also expect the interest rates to be higher if you are using a lender that does not run your credit, or approves you even with poor or bad credit. This high interest rate will make your monthly payments larger.

The terms will also be more strict if you can’t make your payments. High late payment penalties or rises in the interest rate for payments not made on time are very common with unsecured personal loans.

Weigh Your Pros and Cons

Before you sign on the dotted line, read the terms carefully. Be sure that you really need the money that you are borrowing, and that the monthly repayment terms are within your budget. Know your consequences and be willing to accept them should you end up having to default on your payments.

If you are comfortable with the cons of a personal loan, they are there for you to help you get through this difficult financial time.

In uncertain economic times, having gold on hand is a surefire way to liquidize and protect your assets. Even in a stable economic environment, gold is a safe haven asset that will never fail you. This is because gold’s value increases instead of decreases in direct relation to the decline of value in paper investments, such as stocks and bonds.

To minimize or even eliminate a fall in portfolio value during economic collapse it’s best to invest in uncorrelated investments. What this means is that you want to own assets that will move the opposite way of other investments when economic times become uncertain. Gold is one of the few guaranteed investments that are uncorrelated to many other investments. This makes it a very safe investment that has proven to remain positive when stocks fall.

This means that allocating some of your investment to gold is a sensible and solid choice. However, the buying of gold bullion is not always as straightforward as one would hope. There are plenty of precious metal dealers who will gladly take your money without having your best interests as a customer at heart. To avoid falling for an unscrupulous dealer, you’ll have to do a little research into finding the best dealer so you can purchase gold with confidence.

Online vs. Local

In general, there are two main ways to buy gold: online or locally (in person).

Local precious metal dealers can be found in cities around the world. However, brick and mortar stores will often come with a lot of overhead. This is due to rent, paying employees, security, and more. This added overhead and the fact that local gold dealers often have lower sales volume means that they will often have to charge more for gold bullion to make up for their costs.

On the beneficial side, a local gold dealer will mean that you will be able to physically inspect the bullion and take immediate possession of it when you purchase it.

Local dealers also have more of a reason to care about their reputation in the immediate community they serve, which may translate into higher quality of service when dealing with them.

Also, if you’re only buying small quantities of gold and you’re paying for it with cash, your purchases at a local dealer might not be reported to the tax authority and can stay confidential. If this is something you are considering, make sure you discuss it with your dealer to make sure you stay below the threshold for reporting.

The other option for purchasing gold bullion is through an online dealer. Online dealers typically do more business and will have higher volumes of sale and much lower fixed costs. This means that you can often find good gold bullion at a solid discount online.

Online dealers will have a much more varied range of products in stock and many even offer convenient buy-and-store programs that permit you to purchase the gold bullion and then keep it in an insured and protected location made available by the dealer. This can be very beneficial since storing your own precious metals can be risky.

Some people are nervous buying bullion online, since it is such an expensive product. However, if you are able to find a dealer with a long, solid history and positive reviews, you will most likely be in good hands.

Unfortunately, buying gold online means that you will have to pay for shipping and handling costs (which are not cheap when it comes to materials of this value), and you will have to wait to physically take possession of your gold. Some online gold dealers like Lucius Precious Metals offer free local delivery for orders over a certain price point, which can be something to consider if you’re in the area.

What to consider when buying gold for delivery

If you are purchasing gold online and looking to have it delivered to you, you’ll want to consider a few things.

First, you want a dealer that has a strong and solid reputation and years of reliability. Read customer reviews and check out investment forums to make sure your chosen dealer doesn’t have any shady reports out on them.

You also want to make sure that the dealer sells only gold coins and cold bars from LBMA-approved wholesalers. This is your best guarantee that you will be purchasing authentic coins and bars.

You’ll also want to check out the dealer’s premiums on bullion. This can vary widely throughout the industry and is not a set-in-stone number. Lastly, check out the difference between buying and selling prices on the dealer’s site, which can be as high as 10% or more.

To maximize your long-term profits, you need to work to find a dealer who is reputable and trustworthy and offers low premiums.

What to consider when buying gold for storage

If you’re buying gold for storage, you still want to check out a dealer’s reputation, bid-ask spread, and other factors mentioned above, however there are other factors that come into play when buying gold for storage.

For one, you’ll want to examine the storage facilities where your precious metals will be kept.

Gold bullion should be stored with a reputable, separate entity so as to reduce counterparty risks. Ideally, you’re looking for an LBMA-approved vault provider like Brinks. These types of companies store gold reserves for massive financial institutions and government bodies. This assures that your gold is being stored in a secure environment.

When storing gold, make sure that your dealer offers insurance that will cover the full replacement value of your coins or bars in the event that something were to happen to them. Full replacement means that you will get back the physical equivalent of the gold lost, and not just the cash value—which is based on the spot price of the metal.

You’ll also want to make sure that your gold is fully allocated to you. This means that it is held in your name, you are the outright owner, and the gold can be made available for delivery or sale at any moment. Unallocated gold bullionis shared by investors who own an interest in the bars, which raises all kinds of liquidity issues that we recommend avoiding.

Cash in a Flash! Well, How to Generate Funds Quickly, Anyway

Short of robbing a bank (which incidentally, we’d NEVER advocate, just for the record) there’s precious few ways to get our hands on a lump of cash in an instant. Or so you might think. However, there are far more legit ways to fund ourselves, which involve neither masks depicting former Presidents of the United States and/or a job lot of Mini Coopers, if we’re mixing our heist movie metaphors. So, what other avenues can you venture down to put your hands on a shed load of money before you can say “This is a hold up!”

Which of course, it isn’t/won’t be.

Finding ourselves short of cash at times when we need it most in our life is not unheard of. On the contrary, as most of us will experience this feeling at some point in our natural, as it can happen to pretty much anyone. Scenarios which tend to create this sense of dread and subsequent cold sweat/blind panic include unforeseen car problems, unpredicted job losses and/or an undetected illness coming to bear. The question is, who do you turn to for help in your darkest hours?

Many people would suggest that you try a good payday loan lender, and there’s many arguments as to why this would be amongst the best choices you could make when faced with this situation. But then you must also be aware that aside from payday loan lenders there are a number of alternative methods you could look into, all of which might be able to free up some much needed funds here and now. Below we take a quick look at just a few of these.

Cash in Your Life Insurance Policy – Not all of it, obviously. It’s just that should you have been in possession of a whole life insurance plan for so many years; the chances are that you’ll have accumulated a decent amount of equity that you could, hypothetically, borrow against. Understandably, if you exercise this right at this juncture, the upshot is you’ll reduce the amount paid out at a later date, but on the plus side at least you won’t be accountable for any taxes if you choose to cash out (as it were) right now.

Home Equity Loans – Adhering to a similar principle to the one outlined above re: life insurance policies, providing that you’ve paid a decent amount into your existing mortgage plan already, you could be able to borrow against the equity of your property. Reverse mortgages could also be a makeweight at this testing financial time in your life, although they only really come into play for those who own their homes outright. But as a cautionary note, it’s worth remembering that both these types of get out of jail free cards come at a price. That price being both types of short term loans to yourself will need to be repaid further down the line. Failure to do so might put your home in jeopardy.

Consider Visiting a Pawn Shop – Careful how you spell/pronounce this one, but actual pawn shops (the modern, more socially acceptable version of these being the likes of Cash Converters et al) are in the business of giving you no-questions-asked short and medium term loans. And the best bit is, there’s usually no restrictions placed on the arrangement of said loans or how you choose to spend the funds recruited. The flip side is that pawn shops only ever lend you a percentage of your item’s monetary worth, plus they do have a habit of charging significantly high interest rates. Oh, and don’t forget. If you fail to repay the loan, your possessions become the loan providers. So think on, if it’s a family heirloom you’re swapping for some much-need folding stuff. That said, if needs must there are worse ways…..

Cards are a Gift Horse – A recent study revealed that in the region of £300 million worth of gift cards went unused in the past few years, which is a staggering amount of money to be sitting on and not actually doing anything for you. Collectively, that is. There are various ways in which to cash in your unused or wanted gift cards too, where monetary recompense isn’t quite the face value, but nevertheless better than the nothing it’s generating sat in your wallet or purse.

Rent a Room out – Most people are under the wrong impression that Airbnb rentals are all about summer holidays, and homeowners who allow you to rent out their gaff whilst they themselves are away somewhere for varying lengths of time. But this couldn’t be further from the truth, as a growing number of the website’s listings encompass both extra and/or shared room arrangements. So, effectively, you still live in your house but allow other (rent-paying folk) to come and go. Works better of course, if you live in a picturesque area and not next to a cement works or something.

You may utilize fixed-rate personal loans as an important debt consolidation tool. Such debt may include meeting some forthcoming expense or credit cards depicting higher rates. Your car or property can be used as collateral while financing a secured personal loan. On the contrary, there’s no need for collateral to back up an unsecured personal loan.

Check Out a Few Good tips to Achieve Better Rates:

Take a Look at Your Credit Score

You may achieve loans with a much lower rate of interest when you possess a higher credit score. Financial institutions don’t take any risks, but they wish to earn good returns on the money that they lend. You must assess your entire credit situation prior to applying for a loan. Your loan application stands a higher chance of being rejected if you aren’t aware of your risks. You must run your eyes through your credit report before even applying for your first quote. The three major credit reporting agencies can provide you with free copies of the same every year.

Improve the Current Credit Score

You must do all it takes to improve your credit score if it doesn’t look satisfactory in the report. Before you even set out on applying for a loan, you must get the errors rectified. You may not even recognize some of the errors like that those concerning unpaid accounts; these errors will certainly leave a strong impact on your credit score. They would even lower your chances of securing a personal loan with a lower interest rate. Likewise, you must also take care of all collection accounts and unpaid credit cards that yield a poor reflection on your report.

Do Some Smart Shopping

A credit inquiry is triggered by each loan application that you submit with a lender. Such an inquiry has an adverse effect on your credit score. Your credit score takes a major hit when you apply for multiple personal loans simultaneously. You must choose loans with credit standards that seem to be affordable for you. By visiting a lender’s website, you may easily find out the minimum credit score that you ought to have in order to submit your loan application with them.

Identify the Right Banks

Apart from a few online market-places, you may check out the prospect of obtaining a loan from banks wherein you already have a savings or checking account. If you’ve succeeded in establishing a long-term banking relationship through your first mortgage or deposits, they’re more likely to provide you with discounted rates or other great deals. Even by enabling your savings or checking accounts to allow an automated payment each month, you may achieve an extra discount.

Draw a Budget

You must check out your affordability before you even try to obtain the best rates. Prior to submitting your loan application, you must understand how much you should actually consider as a reasonable payment every month. Drawing the right budget plays a crucial role over here. You’re more likely to face a problem down the line if your budget gets stretched in order to meet your monthly payments. You don’t need to get over-stretched in order to achieve an inexpensive rate. Winding up more in terms of debt is the last thing that you’d want right now.