Big Words start conversations and open doors to new places.
Author: anwaryusef
Anwar Y. Dunbar is a Regulatory Scientist. Being a naturally curious person, he is also a student of all things. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor’s Degree in General Biology from Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). Prior to starting the Big Words Blog Site, Anwar published and contributed to numerous research articles in competitive scientific journals reporting on his research from graduate school and postdoctoral years. After falling in love with writing, he contributed to the now defunct Examiner.com, and the Edvocate where he regularly wrote about: Education-related stories/topics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Financial Literacy; as well as conducted interviews with notable individuals such as actor and author Hill Harper. Having many influences, one of his most notable heroes is author, intellectual and speaker, Malcolm Gladwell, author of books including Outliers and David and Goliath.
Anwar has his hands in many, many activities. In addition to writing, Anwar actively mentors youth, works to spread awareness of STEM careers, serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the David M. Brown Arlington Planetarium, serves as Treasurer for the JCSU Washington, DC Alumni Chapter, and is active in the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. He also tutors in the subjects of biology, chemistry and physics.
Along with his multi-talented older brother Amahl Dunbar (designer of the Big Words logos, inventor and a plethora of other things), Anwar is a “Fanboy” and really enjoys Science-Fiction and Superhero movies including but not restricted to Captain America Civil War, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Prometheus. He is a proud native of Buffalo, NY.
My blog focuses on General Education. Students who are pursuing a white collar education, have dream schools which they want to attend above all others. There is typically a lot of competition for these schools. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Accepted To Your Dream School.
However, in order to enjoy these benefits, you need to get accepted into your dream school, first. With that in mind, here are some steps that you can take to increase your chances of getting accepted when applying to colleges.
Take practice exams. If you need to take a test, such as a math assessment, in order to be offered a place at your chosen college or university – don’t leave your success to chance. Instead, do as much practice for college math prep as you can, such as by taking practice exams. This way, you’ll increase your chances of getting a good grade on the day while also reducing any anxieties you have about the test itself
Remember that your GPA isn’t everything. While your GPA will play a key role in the college admissions process, it is not the only thing that the admissions board will be looking for when scouring applications. They’ll also want to take on students who are enthusiastic forward-thinkers who are participating in a range of extracurricular activities, too. Ideally, you should ensure that your extracurricular activities align with the program you’d like to join. For example, if you want to join a performing arts course, being part of your local drama club is a great starting point.
Write a fantastic college essay. While this can vary, your college essay typically accounts for 25% of your overall application. This means that a well-written essay can dramatically increase your chances of being accepted into your dream school. For this reason, you should put a great deal of time and energy into constructing the perfect college essay.
Remember to:
● Write the essay with a clear message or theme in mind. ● Ask for advice from teachers and academic essays when writing and editing the essay. ● Carefully check your essay for spelling and grammar mistakes, repealed phrases, or difficult-to-read passages. ● Start the essay with an interesting hook in order to capture the reader’s attention.
Volunteer. Volunteering experience can also increase your chances of getting accepted into your dream school. This is because it shows the admissions board that you are a considerate and committed individual with strong values. Fortunately, while it can be time-consuming, volunteering can be a lot of fun, especially when you are supporting a cause that is close to your heart. If possible, you should reference your volunteering efforts in your college essay.
Final thoughts. It is normal to feel nervous when you start sending out college applications. After all, a lot is riding on receiving that acceptance letter (or email). However, there are plenty of steps that you can take to increase your chances of getting accepted into your dream school, from practicing for entry exams to volunteering with local charities and nonprofits.
My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The are many challenges and stages to running a business. No matter what type you own, you want to constantly improve its performance. The following contributed post is entitled, Improving The Performance Of Your Business.
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Whatever kind of business you run, you will always need to make sure you are doing all you can to keep its performance as high as possible. And as it happens, there are a lot of things you might want to focus on in particular in order to make sure you are doing this well enough. If you manage to do this right, it should mean that your business is so much more likely to succeed in general.
In this post, therefore, we are going to discuss some of the main ways you can improve the performance of your business. If you have done the following, you should find that you are much more likely to get the kind of business you want, in no time at all. Let’s take a look.
Set Clear Goals
It’s important to have clear goals in place, as well as some really clear metrics that you can use to identify how close you are to achieving those goals. Without clear goals, it’s much harder to measure progress or to make informed decisions. It’s therefore usually prudent to define some smart objectives, and to ensure that you and your teams are fully aware of exactly what they are.
It could be anything from increasing revenue to improving customer retention, but once you have your clear goals in place, you are going to find that it really makes a huge difference to your business’ ideals for success.
You might also want to consider using some analytic tools to help you track the progress of your goals, as that is the kind of thing that is really going to help.
Generally, anything you can do to make your operations as smooth running as possible is going to help too, and that largely means streamlining them as best as you can. Efficiency is always going to be crucial if you want your business to be as profitable as possible, so this is something that is really important for you to think about. If you suspect there might be any unnecessary bottlenecks or outdated processes, getting rid of these is bound to speed things up for your business considerably.
It’s therefore wise to do an operational audit every now and then, so you can identify what might be inefficient and start to really radically optimize your workflows. If you can do that, you should find that it is going to make a huge difference to how your business operates, and that your operations are going to be so much more streamlined and successful.
You should also consider automating some tasks as a way to achieve this, and this is something that is always going to be possible to achieve too. Good automation is one of the simplest ways to make sure you are improving your business’ performance in general.
Use The Right Tools
In a general sense, if you are using the right tools for each task, that is always going to mean that you are much more likely to get the job done as you would hope, and this is obviously something that is really important for you to consider. This counts for everything from which machines you use in your factory to finding the right mineral processing software and so on, so it’s really vital that you are thinking about it from a number of angles at once.
When you have the right tools in place, and they are being utilized effectively, that is always going to be an important thing for your business’ future and for making it a real success, so this is certainly important for you to think about.
Strengthen Customer Relations
The relationship you have with your customers is always going to be important, and you should make sure that you are doing all you can to really keep on top of this. Of course, you can’t control it perfectly, but you can try to ensure that you are doing all you can to keep the relationship as strong as possible from your end of things, and it’s vital to make sure you are aware of those things from as early on as possible.
As it happens, there are quite a lot of steps you can take to ensure that you are improving the customer relationships that you have. That could include personalizing those interactions you have with them, by using data-driven insights, so that you can make it as personal as possible to each individual. And it could include the collection of feedback with regularity so you can implement improvements that they say would be useful.
You might also want to consider offering loyalty programs and exclusive discounts, as these are the kinds of things that are always going to be useful to consider as well. If you can do those things, your customers are going to be happier and you will find that you have a much better performance across your business as a result of this.
There is a lot to be said for really investing in your employees and their ongoing development. This shows that you care about them, and it also allows you to really be able to make the most of them and help them improve, so it’s the kind of thing that is always going to be important for you to consider improving upon. Your team, after all, is usually your greatest asset, and if you can invest in them, you will find this really makes a huge difference to your workforce.
You can support your employees in lots of ways here. That can include providing ongoing training and skill development, or working hard to foster a positive company culture that they can make use of with real open communication. You can also make sure that you are recognizing and rewarding your employees for their contributions as well as you can. All in all, this is going to mean that they are much more likely to improve and to stick around as well.
Leverage Tech
The more successfully you leverage technology in and across your business, the better it is going to be for the future of your business, so this is something that is going to be really important for you to consider as well. You might want to think about using cloud-based solutions for better accessibility and security, or implementing some strong data analytics to gain insights into market trends. In any case, if you are using tech well you will find that it tends to make your business so much more successful and helps you to improve performance greatly.
Ensure that you have a strong focus on this, and it should help you to run your business so much more effectively on the whole.
Focus On Financial Health
You should ensure that you have a good focus on financial health, and in particular that you are following as many financial best practices as you can. That includes monitoring your expenses and identifying any cost-cutting opportunities, as well as working hard to diversify revenue streams to reduce dependency on sources. If you do that kind of thing, it’s bound to make a difference.
As you can see, there is a lot to consider if you want to improve the performance of your business. Just make sure you’re following as many of these as possible, and that should help you to really bring your performance as high as possible.
My blog focuses on Legal Affairs. Many of us will need one and having good legal counsel will coming in handy for all of us. The following contributed post is entitled, Things To Consider Before Hiring A Lawyer.
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Most people believe that they will go through life without ever needing to hire a lawyer. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.
In fact, there are many scenarios in which you can benefit from working alongside a lawyer, such as when navigating the aftermath of a car crash or when being accused of any kind of criminal wrongdoing.
Of course, if this is not a situation that you envisioned yourself in, you may not even know where to begin when finding a lawyer – which is where this guide comes in!
The type of charges you are facing. While they tend to cover all of their bases in law school, lawyers tend to pivot into a specific niche or legal practice upon receiving their qualifications. Doing so allows them to become well-versed within a specific area, improving outcomes for their clients. As such, you should ideally keep an eye out for a lawyer who has experience handling the kind of charges you are facing. For example, if you’re facing criminal charges, then you should reach out to a criminal lawyer, such as those featured on this website.
Their success rate. It goes without saying that you will want to hire a lawyer who is really good at what they do. One way in which you can gauge this, beyond scoping out their CV, is by finding out more about their success rates. How many clients have they supported who later had their charges dropped or commuted? While a 100% success rate is rare, figuring out this kind of information should provide you with much greater peace of mind moving forward.
In addition to this, you may also find it useful to review feedback and reviews left by previous clients – both on their website and third-party sites. This will also help to lower your stress levels during this time, as you know that you are working alongside a lawyer you can trust, especially if their clients have faced similar charges.
Their fees. One of the biggest stressors associated with hiring a lawyer is the amount of money that you will have to pay for their support. For the most part, this is not necessarily money that people have set aside. As such, you should be sure to discuss their fees with them in detail ahead of time; in addition to the possibility of putting some kind of payment plan in place. After all, paying in smaller amounts over time is much more feasible than paying one lump sum.
Final thoughts. Taking the above three factors into account when hiring a lawyer should help you to determine whether or not you’ve found the right fit. However, it is also important to build a rapport with your lawyer so that you are able to talk to them openly and honestly. By doing so, you’ll feel much more confident in your decision, as it means that you’ll feel as though you can trust them to protect your best interests throughout every stage of the legal process.
My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner yourself, there are several services you will need for your functions to run profitably and seamlessly. The following contributed post is entitled, Understanding The Services You Need As A Business Owner.
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As a business owner, you’re going to need to admit that there are areas of your business in which you are going to need help. This is not a bad thing, and it’s certainly not anything to be ashamed of, but there are still some who feel this way. If this is you, you’re never going to get all of the help that you need which will end up being a problem.
If you keep reading on, we’re going to be talking about some of the different services that your business is going to need, that you’re going to have to search for. Keep reading if you would like to find out more.
The chances that you are going to find anyone who can handle your IT department the way that a professional company can are slim to none. You can try to hire people, but there’s no way that it’s going to be managed as well as it could be, and that will be a constant nagging thought in the back of your head. So, it’s better to just give up on that and hire a company who has a strong reputation for catering to companies’ IT needs.
Ensure that you check out reviews and speak to them about what they can offer you before you sign on any dotted lines so that you can ensure you have the best.
Payment Processing
When someone makes a payment, you need to be able to collect that payment from them, but you need a service that can do this for you. A lot of people don’t actually know what hosted payments are when they start their business, but you need to learn fast and you need to find a company that can help you out here pretty fast. This goes for any business that accepts cards or payments made through PayPal and other mediums which aren’t cash.
Lastly, when you are a business owner you need to be aware of how much money you have coming in and going out. If you aren’t very good with money then you can quickly fall into difficulty. When you first start your business you should have set yourself a budget and had money available until profits started rolling in. If this hasn’t happened then you may need to request financial assistance. If you haven’t already taken a business loan out then this might be an avenue to look down. You just need to ensure you can make the repayments each month.
You could also think about hiring a financial advisor, they will come in and search your books. This will tell them areas you are spending too much and places you could be spending a bit more. Hopefully this will help you manage your company’s money a little better.
We hope you found this article helpful and that it gave you some insight into which services you may need as a business owner. There will always be other people out there waiting to help you and work with you but you won’t necessarily need them.
My blog focuses on Health/Wellness and Workplace Discussions. Manufacturing has some unique health-related functions and scenarios. It’s critical to know what they are and how to avoid them. The following contributed post is entitled, The Worst Quality Hazards Of Healthcare Manufacturing, And How To Avoid Them.
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Quality compromises are always bad news in manufacturing, but never do they have such a significant impact as within the field of healthcare. After all, you aren’t simply creating products within your healthcare business. You’re developing potentially life-saving equipment, and even minor issues could have fatal consequences.
The careful management of all areas of healthcare manufacturing is therefore key. But what are the worst quality hazards to look out for, and what steps should you take to avoid them at all costs?
Quality control processes, which involve ensuring that products meet a range of predetermined standards, should always be a vital manufacturing element. This is how you ensure that all products leaving your factory are fit for purpose and unlikely to let your brand down. In the healthcare industry, this is also how you ensure that your products save lives rather than endanger them.
Unfortunately, there are many ways to slip into catastrophic quality control failures, including failing to effectively delegate or document this process. Let’s say that you’re manufacturing hospital beds. Somewhere during the manufacturing process, there was an error with the custom torsion spring that’s responsible for the integrity of those beds. But your quality control processes are haphazard and poorly tracked, so everyone assumes someone else has checked everything over and found no problems. The beds are sent out and instantly collapse, causing further harm to potentially elderly or injured patients.
As well as leaving you at risk of noncompliance and the hefty associated fines, this throws your manufacturing integrity under serious question. Don’t let that happen. Instead, always prioritize well-handled quality control processes with multiple checkpoints and proper, traceable documentation that’s easily accessible for everyone.
# 2 – Confused Training Focuses
Specialized training is vital in a warehouse that handles potentially hazardous medical chemicals, and should be provided across all relevant team members. Unfortunately, too many healthcare manufacturers slip into confusion about who those team members might be. This can result in training oversights, particularly within management teams who can too often leave themselves off the register. Risks can very quickly follow including non-conformance and the risk of dangerous exposure.
As a rule, all team members overseeing a process or procedure should receive adequate training, even if they’re not directly involved themselves. That means your higher-management team, as well as your on-ground employees, should always be in that training room.
# 3 – Sterility Risks
Sometimes, healthcare manufacturing hazards come in the form of lacking sterility that sees products failing to meet the FDA’s aseptic standards and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) regulations. This most commonly arises when medical device packaging becomes unsterile for reasons including exposure and poor design.
Obviously, changing your processes to ensure improved cleaning and sterility checks can manage exposure risks. Packaging design is a little harder to handle, but The National Library of Medicine has found that additions like outward curling seals can significantly reduce sterility risks.
Medical manufacturing can easily feel like a minefield, but avoiding these quality hazards can help you get ahead.
My blog focuses on Workplace Discussions. One of the keys to having a successful office keeping it clean and efficient. The following contributed post is entitled, Maintaining a Well-Functioning Workspace: Top Tips for Keeping Your Office Spick and Span.
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Having a clean, tidy, well-functioning workspace is important for both keeping your office looking nice for clients and for your own well-being.
To that latter point, it’s very difficult to be productive if there’s clutter around or key pieces of equipment aren’t working properly; a clear space is a clear mind, and you want an office you can take pride in. Of course, that’s easier said than done, and most people don’t know where to start.
This article is here to help: here are some top tips for keeping your office spick and span!
If you’re dealing with a messy office where you can’t see the wood for the trees, your first port of call is to do some much-needed decluttering.
Start by removing the literal rubbish – stuff that can go straight into the trash. It’s important to do this first so that you can differentiate between general mess and other things that simply need organizing.
Then, tackle the biggest elements first, such as completely clearing your desk and re-organizing it and going through draws full of accumulated documents. After you’ve had a thorough clearout, you may even consider investing in some new storage units such as more efficient filing cabinets or some basic shelving.
Repair or Replace Broken Equipment
Office equipment like copiers, printers, and desktop computers take up a lot of space, and it’s common to have one or more of these pieces of technology just sit in a corner because they’re not working for whatever reason.
Now’s the time to make a choice – you either get these items fixed or get rid of them. Contact a professional service that offers office equipment repair, or see if you can sell the items on eBay (even if they’re not in working order, you could sell them as ‘spares and repairs’).
The Importance of a Daily Cleaning and Tidying Routine
Once you’ve gotten rid of all the clutter and essentialised your office equipment, you’ll have considerably transformed the space – but your work doesn’t end there. From now on, you’ll have to make a considerable effort to keep on top of things so that you never end up in the same position again.
A daily cleaning and tidying routine is a must. Every day, make sure you tidy your desk, neatly arrange any paperwork that’s left over, and square up all other items ready for the next day of work. You should also spray down surfaces and wipe them with a microfiber cloth, and purchase some screen cleaner for your laptop screen or desktop monitor. Every couple of days, be sure to give the place a quick vacuum, too.
This routine won’t take a lot of effort, but it’ll ensure your office stays relatively mess-free as long as you keep up with it.
Wrapping Up
The above tips are relatively simple, but you’d be surprised at the extent to which they can entirely transform your office. It might take a few days to get there, but make no mistake: you’ll feel much happier in an office that’s clean, tidy, and well-organized!
My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Starting a business can be tricky and there can be some luck involved. There some keys to success though. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Things Every Manufacturing Startup Needs To Get Right.
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When you’re a manufacturer that’s new on the block, there’s a lot you need to prove. Mainly, that you’re capable of taking on purchase orders in their bulk, and still delivering according to the client’s exact specifications.
It’s all about streamlining your processes, and that takes time to pull off properly. That’s not an easy thing to manage at your current stage, but it’s something you can excel at when you get the three things below just right.
As such, take a look through if you’re a new manufacturer in need of some advice right now.
How long does it take you to complete a purchase order? This is the kind of issue that holds every manufacturing startup back at some point, and you could well lose a client or two because of it. While this is common and is part of the process, it’s not something you should allow to continue past the first couple of months of operation.
Instead, you need to work on creating an acceptable delivery timeframe. Firstly, ensure your clients know how long work is going to take, and try to deliver to this window each and every time.
While you may be tempted to indicate shorter fulfilment stages than in reality, it’s sometimes a good idea to do the opposite. Give yourself some wiggle room, and if you can deliver before the ‘due date’, you’re more likely to hit your actual target.
Quality Equipment and Control
What are you working with within your manufacturing startup? It should be the highest quality you’re able to budget for right now, to ensure you’re not compromising on effective processes at the client level.
This also means ensuring the smaller details are well invested in too. Working with custom metal stamping companies will guarantee both your machines and cables are held together by durable pieces that fit properly and really work. That’ll reduce downtime, which can be a big problem in the early manufacturing stages.
You should also look at the way your team interacts when on the manufacturing floor, to identify things like traffic flow issues, or safety hazards you hadn’t seen before.
A Supply Chain That Works
This may be obvious from the get go, but so few manufacturing startups tend to get this right. When it comes to impressing customers and managanging fulfilment in a way that ensures you’re the right choice in their eyes, you’re only as good as the supply chain you make up.
That means you need to work with a supplier that offers the same kind of quality you do. To ensure that, you need to research your potential partners, make sure you read over contracts, and don’t be afraid to change where you source your materials if the relationship is no longer working out for you.
If you’re a manufacturing startup, the three things above are goals to hit each and every time. Make sure you’re considering them in your own workflow.
My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Workplace Discussions. Most businesses and organizations have to change spaces and some point and either set up new offices or move older offices to a new location. The following contributed post is entitled, What You Need To Know About Setting Up A New Office.
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In business, your office is always going to be one of the most important things of all, and it’s something that you need to make sure you are getting right. The truth is that setting up the office might not be all that difficult to do, but you will need to ensure that you are aware of a few essential things first and foremost to help the process along. In this post, we are going to take a look at some of the main ways in which you can hope to set up a new office and do it right.
The clearer you are on the needs of the business from its office, the easier it is going to be to get it. You’ll need to think about what you need in terms of the size and layout of the space, the location that is going to be best for you, and what kind of tech and equipment is going to be necessary for you to have. You will also have to consider carefully the kind of budget you are likely to be able to work with. If you can do that, it’s going to make a huge difference to how the whole project turns out.
Invest In Great Furniture
Your people are going to really appreciate it if the office they work in is comfortable, so that is one reason why you should make sure you are getting hold of some great furniture. If you can do that, you are going to find that you’re much more likely to have the kind of office that is going to serve you well. You’ll find it’s helpful to go to the likes of Solutions 4 Office, as they can help you figure out exactly what furniture you need and provide you with high-quality examples of it.
You should ideally be planning your office layout with productivity in mind, as this is going to be the kind of thing that really makes the whole experience so much better. If you can do that, you are going to find that it makes a huge difference to the way you approach the office, and you are going to really have a much better and happier workforce too. So make sure you consider everything that might be necessary when it comes to making the place more productive for all.
Set Up Comms
You are going to need your communications infrastructure to be in place as soon as possible too, so this is a really important thing for you to think about. That and your IT are going to help form the basis of the actual work that takes place in your business, so it’s vital that you are going to do this and you are going to do it right. Once you have done that, you are probably going to feel that your office is so much more ready for you to be in.
My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money. While they can be helpful, credit card usage can cause havoc on the financial health of the user. The following contributed post is entitled, 7 Steps To Escaping Credit Card Debt.
Feeling overwhelmed by credit card debt? You are not alone. Credit card debt is one of the most common types of debt and it can quickly build up. The good news is that, even in extreme cases, there are many ways to successfully tackle credit card debt and regain financial control. Below are 7 steps that could be worth following to help you escape credit card debt.
Create a budget
The first step to helping you pay off your credit card debts should be to create a monthly budget if you don’t already have one. Work out how much you can afford to spend each month so that you’re able to pay your bills. Be prepared to make some cutbacks – this could include getting rid of unnecessary subscriptions, spending less on food/drinks and exploring more free social activities.
Minimize borrowing
Continuing to use your credit card will only add to your debts. Try to avoid any form of borrowing – use your debit card for all payments and avoid taking on extra loans or payment plans unless they’re absolutely necessary.
Consider debt consolidation
Maxed out multiple cards? Have other debts that you’re struggling to pay off? Taking out a debt consolidation loan could be one exception where taking out an extra loan has benefits – this is a large loan that is used to pay off multiple debts at once, turning multiple debt payments into one single monthly debt payment that is easier to keep track of. Just be wary that this could mean paying more interest in the long run.
Use the snowball method
Another way to tackle debts is to use the snowball method. This involves paying off the smallest debts first and working your way up to the largest debts. In the cases of credit cards on multiple cards, this could involve throwing everything you’ve got at the smallest credit card debts first. You can focus on the larger debts first, but this means having to juggle multiple debts for longer.
Talk to your creditors
Ignoring those phone calls and texts won’t make your debts go away. Get in contact with your creditors and see if you can arrange a method of paying back your debts. This could include paying off small amounts each week. In some cases, you may even be able to negotiate a way of reducing your debts such as reducing interest or even writing off some of your debt if it’s very large. Debt advisors can help you with this.
Explore new income streams
Extra income streams could help you to throw more money at your debts and pay them off quickly. It could also allow you some extra disposable income to spend on yourself so that you’re not having to make major cutbacks for months on end. A few ways to make extra income could include starting a side hustle, selling your clutter or asking your employer for extra hours/ a pay rise.
Get legal help if needed
If you find yourself in a situation where your debt feels unmanageable, there is always still the option of legal support. A debt relief attorney can provide guidance and help negotiate with creditors on your behalf. If last resort options like bankruptcy are necessary, a debt relief attorney may even be able to help you explore these and minimize future financial damage.
Conclusion
Escaping credit card debt often isn’t easy, but it is achievable with the right amount of determination and discipline. Stay positive, focus on the end goal and celebrate your progress along the way.
My blog focuses on Financial Literacy. It’s a good idea to start investing money, but beginning can be tricky, especially for novices. The following contributed post is entitled, Investment Tips for Beginners.
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If you’ve come into some wealth and you find yourself with an abundance of money that you don’t know what to do with, you might consider investing it. The thing is, if you’re a beginner and you’ve never had this kind of money before, investment can seem like a very daunting process. If you’re cautious about losing the money you’ve just come into, the last thing you might think about is investing it elsewhere, especially if you’re scared about what the return could be?
The thing is, if you’re sitting on wealth, it should be working for you. It’s just smart to make sure that you’ve set yourself up for your future and any future children you have. We’ve put together a checklist of things that can help you as a beginner so that you can learn to invest your money and become intelligent about how to keep it moving.
1. Don’t invest in something you don’t understand. You may have heard about the price of Bitcoin, but do you know what Bitcoin is? Given the proliferation of novel investment products, it’s a good idea to keep your money to yourself until you fully understand what a product does and what it could be doing for you. Never make an investment that you don’t fully understand, especially when it comes to its risks. You want to be careful about avoiding any investing fads, especially those that don’t stand the test of time.
2. Seek out the advice of a financial planner. It’s a nice idea to have a financial plan, but you need somebody to help you with that plan. You should have a financial plan that includes goals and milestones, and these goals and milestones should include setting targets for having specific amounts saved by specific dates. If you have a plan for your money, you can watch it grow and tick off all of the things you want to achieve. For example, you might want to have enough money to facilitate buying a house. You might want to start a college fund or an emergency fund. If you can start taking off these items, you can literally see your money working for you.
3. Put savings first. Before you become an investor, the very first place that you need to learn to invest in is yourself. You can’t invest without having money to invest, and unless you have been given a huge investment, then you need to consider how you can build the wealth so that you can invest the wealth. Setting aside a portion of your paycheck for savings is a good idea, and if your employer offers a savings plan such as a 401K, it can be a good way to make saving automatic for you. If you struggle to save and you’re impulsive in your spending, then get external help with making sure that your savings stay on track.
4. Start learning terms like compounding. Start saving and investing on a systemic mathematical basis. Compounding as early as possible can allow you to take full advantage of its power. Compounding can help you to increase your wealth. It’s important that you understand all of the investment terms so that you can invest your money in the right places and at the right time.
5. Talk to somebody about risk. Investment risk has many aspects such as the default risk on a bond or the volatility that come with stocks. Bitcoin is not as new as it used to be so you still need to learn about Bitcoin. It’s insurance out pros and cons before you put any money into it. You also have to determine your own tolerance for risk. How much can you be prepared to lose should an investment go wrong? What if you put your money into stocks and the stock market crashes? These are questions that you do have to answer, because otherwise, what’s the point in investing your money in the first place?
6. Understand how to diversify your portfolio. If you do get comfortable investing your money in one place, you need to learn how to diversify so that you can spread your wealth and make sure that it’s growing in different directions. Diversification involves putting your investment portfolio among a variety of investments so that returns or losses could be offset by above average returns or.In another area.
7. Keep your costs as low as you can. While you can’t control the future returns that come with your investments, you can control the costs, such as transaction costs or investment management fees. These can be a drag on investment performance. If you understand how to keep your costs low, you’re going to be able to keep your investment profits high.
8. Discuss classic investment strategies. When you get help from a financial advisor, ask them about the investment strategies that you should understand as a beginner. For example, do you know the difference between active VS passive investing or income oriented versus gains oriented investment investing? Investment managers can help you to beat the market, but there are very few out there that do it consistently enough over the long term.
9. Stick with it. If you’re investing for the long term, you do need to be disciplined with it. Don’t get excited or rattled by market fluctuations because you need to look at the long term figures, not what happens overnight. Media coverage of the markets can be sensationalist, so you need to make sure that you’re taking the advice of the investment manager that you’ve chosen rather than watching the headlines.
10. Make sure that you think like an owner. Your investment shares are going to make you an owner in what you do. You own a portion of those shares so you want them to be profitable. You have to be an intelligent long term investor and not a short term speculator. So think about how a prospective business owner would think before they buy a stock and go with that line of thinking yourself.
