Category: Contributed Posts

Locked Out of the Property Market? Go Abroad

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Purchasing a home is the greatest purchase and investment many people will ever make. In many places across the country, the housing markets have become exclusive to the point where people can get in. One option is purchase property abroad. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Locked Out of the Property Market? Go Abroad.

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Back in the days, our parents were able to buy their first home for next to nothing. Getting their first job was a fairly easy achievement as well and, sadly, something that many young adults find to be a much bigger challenge.

While some people are able to get a hold of their very first house or apartment with the help of their family or a degree in a field that needs more candidates, most of us are still struggling to make ends meet – and the real estate dream seems further away than ever.

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Luckily, there are options out there and you won’t necessarily have to be renting a flat until you’re in your mid-forties either. Here is a handful of ways to achieve the property dream abroad instead of in a difficult market at home so that you can make a passive income that way – or just become an expat instead. Just make sure to consult a real estate lawyer first!

First: Research the country

If you have never considered buying property abroad before, you’re probably at a loss in terms of where to even start. Where you decide to invest should, of course, depend on a few factors: how much money you have to invest, whether or not you’re looking for a tropical holiday home, and how profitable it is for foreigners to invest in the country.

Some of them are up-and-coming and may give you a decent profit if you manage to hang on to it for a few years or even a short decade. Others, however, may seem tropical and dreamy but make it tricky for foreigners to invest. That’s why you need to do some decent research first and consider your own intentions as well.

Start by checking out this site to learn more about the best countries to invest in, at the moment, and keep in mind that the political climate and the country’s general economy may affect how great of an investment you’ve made.

Research is the keyword here – and the more you know, the better prepared you’ll be when it’s time to make a decision.

Next: Figure out your mortgage options

While a lack of knowledge tends to be the first thing that puts most foreign investors-to-be off from a real estate project abroad, to begin with, they’ll often be thrown off when they try to find funding for their new property.

Keep in mind, however, that some countries are a lot cheaper than others and, if you’re able to, you’ll save yourself a massive amount of hassle if you can just pay everything off at once. Consider your inheritance options, for example, and see if you’re able to get some of it in advance – that way, you might be able to buy a smaller flat without having to take up a loan at all.

That’s the kind of stuff that will make you quite a bit of money when you rent it out as you’ll only have maintenance expenses on the property.

If not, it’s a good idea to ask your parents if they can take out a mortgage on their property and lend you this money – either as an inheritance in advance or just as a pure loan. It will be much easier for you to pay them back once you’re able to rent your new property out, after all, and their generation can start to feel a bit less guilty about the terrible real estate market they’ve left us in.

Have a look at this article on mortgage loans as well, by the way, to learn more about your options when buying property abroad. There are other ways to obtain a real estate overseas besides from depending on your parents or using the lump sum you’ve saved up, though, so consider other options such as financing it through a bank here at home.

While it may be difficult to get a mortgage loan for a property abroad through a bank in your home country, it’s not necessarily impossible. Do your research before you settle on anything final and keep in mind that buying a property at home would have been just as difficult – and much more expensive.

Remember to read up on whether or not you’re allowed to rent this property out as well. Some countries, such as Spain, depend on tourism and make a large amount of money from accommodation during the high season. It just doesn’t make sense for them if foreign investors step in and rent out their own property for next to nothing through Airbnb or similar.

Research, ask a professional for help and keep in mind that you’ll always get there in the end.

Why Organization Is Key To Make Success Of A Side Hustle

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two of its key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. While many people have nine to five jobs, having an income generating ‘side hustle’ can prove to be very lucrative and a wise investment of time and resources. A key to effectively having this type of side hustle is organization. Many people in fact have these side hustles. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why Organization Is Key To Make Success Of A Side Hustle.

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It’s easier than ever to try your hand at something new in the twenty first century. Millennials are savvy human beings with a thirst for interconnectivity and innovation, which is why they are reluctant to simply let their nine to five income wallow in their bank accounts. To make your money work more aggressively, you need to seek out more creative opportunities. Playing to your strengths means focusing on what you love such as craft, wine, real estate or stocks and shares and turning your hands to these ventures as an amateur. While you might not become an investment banker, you can develop a portfolio to help you prepare for your retirement. Organization is key. Take a look at these side hustle investments that you might want to look into.

Real Estate

Property is as safe as houses (excuse the pun) when it comes to making money in the long term. If you are willing to utilize some of your hard earned cash to put down a deposit on a pad, like those listed with William Pitt, you could find yourself with an exceptional asset on your hands. You could look into long term, short term or holiday rentals depending on the property type, target market, and location that you are after. Beachside, country or idyllic locations tend to lend themselves for the more lucrative vacation rental. In the high season, you could be charging over ten times your mortgage repayment weekly to cover costs and top up your nest egg.

Long term rentals may be a safer bet if you are looking for maximum financial security. By handing over the responsibility for the rental to a property management company, you can watch the money come in while not having to worry about a leaking washing machine or a burst pipe. For the long term investor, property is hard to beat.

Wine

If you love partaking in a tipple or two of the finest vintage, you might already have a decent amount of knowledge regarding vintage years and vineyards. Put it to good use and invest in some historic wines that will only grow more scarce and increase in value. You have to think of investing in wine in the same way as you would art. It has to be sought after, rare and have the ability to increase in value. Store it in your own cellar or ask for a wine storage company to look after your magnum or two for a decade or more, and you could have made a tidy profit.

Forex

If you’ve always wondered what trading currencies was all about, why not have a go. You don’t have to be investing hundreds and thousands straight away. Head online and set up a dummy account, and have fun investigating the markets. You might find that you’re a dab hand at buying dollars against the yen, and pounds against the krona. Take your time and learn the ropes, watching some tutorials along the way. When you’re ready, have a go for real but only ever spend what you can afford to lose.

By mixing the low, medium and high risk investments, you’ll create a portfolio that will see your side hustling go from strength to strength.

Getting Prepared For The Unexpected

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Health/Wellness. In life, we never know what is going to happen which is in part exciting but problematic at the same time. It is likewise important to understand this, and to try to figure out ways to be proactive about the unexpected. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Getting Prepared For The Unexpected.

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While it’s great to think positively about the future, it’s also good to be prepared for the unexpected as you never know what might happen – good or bad, it could be an unplanned pregnancy, a new job opportunity or you could lose your job, have an accident or get ill? Any of these events could have and probably will have a significant impact on your finances. So, are you prepared?

Be Realistic
Nobody plans for illness and no one prepares for a tree falling on their car. However, if you do prepare for unexpected events then, you’ll know how to deal with them, it won’t be such a shock and will hopefully mean you have some money or people or access to cash or the right people to help you through it. It’s tough to focus on adverse and traumatic events until you have to, however, if you do and you can think about what could/might happen, and what you would do about it, mentally walking it through, it can help you to work out what you might need.

Start with an Emergency Fund
A priority step for preparing for the unexpected is to have a substantial emergency fund in place. Your emergency fund should ideally cover you for 3-6 months of living expenses. If you are single, or you are a single-income family, you may want to consider building an emergency fund of up to a year, which will provide security for you and your family should you lose your job and have a hard time finding another one, or suffer an unexpected illness or gap in your earnings.

It is nice to know you have the money there while you are dealing with other issues such as job loss, illness or anything that might affect your income. Think about what you already have or is there anything you can sell, can you sell annuity payment for example? Do you have any money coming in from an inheritance that you could put by in case of an emergency?

Think About The People You Know
Professionally and personally, do you have people in your life who will be willing and able to help you if you need them? Do you know people to give you advice, coaching, or counseling? Each person you know will be able to offer something different; some people will be great at providing practical help such as meal deliveries, or personal friends who will stop by your home to help out. Having a support system can be invaluable when an unwelcome event occurs.

What About Your Job?
If you have an accident or fall ill and find yourself having to be away from your job for an extended period, this can add additional stress as you might be worried about your work, your clients and your team. Will they be able to manage without you? If you get a system in place for these kinds of eventualities, this will help to keep your mind at rest, as well as improve your team and employer know that everything will be taken care of.

Why You Should Upgrade Your Office Technology

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital age, it’s critical that your business runs on the most up to date technologies possible. Likewise it’s critical to keep your systems up to date. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why You Should Upgrade Your Office Technology.

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There are aspects of your business that are ever in flux. Your ideas need to evolve; your customer’s experience develops in accordance with the feedback you receive, your staff learn new skills, and so on. One thing that you may think holds steady is the nuts and bolts of your business: the location of your office, the furniture, the technology and software you use to push your business forward. But in fact, these things should also be in flux, especially your technology Below, we take a look at a few reasons why you’ll want to consider upgrading your business technology.

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You’re Behind the Times

You might think that you’re operating at full capacity, but are you? F you’re using outdated technology, then the chances are that while you’re running at 100% with the technology you’re using, in comparative terms you’re only doing things at 75%. You can only do the best with what you have, but what if the best you have isn’t good enough? If it’s been some years since you last updated your equipment, take a look at any developments that have happened since then — you might just see what you’re missing out on.

Your Competitors Are Doing It

Even if you think you’re working well enough with what you have, it’s worth keeping in mind that what you’re doing is only one small piece of the jigsaw puzzle of running a business. What your competitors are doing is also important to your long-term business success, too. So while you may assess things and decide that you’re happy with what you have, cast your mind to the companies you’re in competition with for customers. Would you be quite as confident in your decision if you knew they were upgrading their technology?

It’s Easier Than You Think

There are normally two big considerations that prevent a company from upgrading their technology: the time involved to make the transition, and the cost. Both of these issues, however, are based on incorrect assumptions. For starters, let’s think about the cost. You shouldn’t think about the technology as a dead cost, because it’s not — if it helps you work more productively, then it’ll boost your profits. It’s an investment. In any case, the costs will be offset by the sale of your old equipment, which can be achieved by working with a company that offers data center liquidation. On the time front, if you transition your data into the cloud, then there’ll be no great data migration process. You can just have your new equipment installed, and be back to work at full speed in a day or two.

It’s Safer

Finally, keep in mind that keeping your technology and software up to date is an important part of staying protected about malware and other cybercrime threats. This type of crime has risen significantly in recent years and is especially targeted at small businesses. With the latest tools at your disposal, you’ll be in the best position to keep the threat at bay.

The Small Business Advice You Need

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Starting a business is one of the most challenging endeavors one can attempt. There are certain keys to consider when starting business. The following contributed post is thus entitled, The Small Business Advice You Need.

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Resources for small business owners, leaders, and management can help them to continue to grow their businesses. Many small businesses start with a burst of creativity and commitment, but as the reality of running an SME sets in growth can plateau because owners get overwhelmed by day-to-day issues.

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Many of these issues center around developing a coherent business strategy. How, for example, does a small business owner develop a credible business plan needed to access finance or loans? What responsibilities does an owner have towards staff? How does a small firm attract and retain the right people? How do SMEs cope with local skills gaps? How does a small company get access to the latest SME news to keep abreast of world developments and plan accordingly? How can efficient data management and analysis benefit companies? How does a business develop and market new products or services? What are the advantages of running promotional events? How does an SME compete in world markets? How does a small firm take advantage of the UK government apprenticeship scheme? Many business owners are not business experts, they are passionate about the product or service they provide, but many lack the knowledge or skills in management and running an SME. They need small business resources to give them tips and advice that can support them and are actionable. They need information to be in easily accessible formats made by knowledgeable stakeholders such as key government members, world business leaders, and business associations.

Learning from others

It is always good to look at how others have become successful and learn from their stories. There are many entrepreneurs that small business owners can look up to and perhaps even try to emulate. Perhaps the most well-known of them all is Sir Richard Branson. He knows exactly how to be successful in business, having built up the Virgin empire from nothing. He has bought and sold a number of companies and always seems ultimately to do well – he is renowned for his business expertise. But there are other business owners who are just as intrepid and just as good at business, even if the names might be either surprising or unknown. Justin Matthew is the owner of JMH Consulting Ltd, and is a social media pioneer – he is another successful businessman. Pete Cashmore also ranks as one of the UK’s most successful business owners. He owns and runs Mashable, a multimedia and entertainment platform. Then there is Saul Klein, founder of LocalGlobe which is a British venture capital company. And what about Michael Acton Smith who is the founder of Mind Candy, a children’s entertainment company that created Moshi Monsters? The one thing all of these people undoubtedly have in common is that they will have asked for small business advice when they needed it. Why don’t you do the same?

Sourcing effective resources

With the increase in SMEs has come a huge increase in the availability of best small business resources. But how do I as an SME owner, leader or management source the best of the available advice and tips? Are there any signs I can look for when reviewing their services?

The short answer is ‘yes’, but that’s hardly helpful! Within the business community, there is the will and motivation to help small firms to grow and reach their full potential. Whether this is for selfish reasons, for example increasing the available local supply of products or services that a big company needs, or purely philanthropic is open to some debate. However, there are some features you can look for to indicate you are getting the best advice service. Consider the format that information is presented in. Do you want a long article with a high powered author, using all the latest jargon or do you prefer having the latest SME news and other relevant information presented in bite-sized pieces in videos, interviews, and articles. Would a searchable resource be useful so you can go straight to that information about staff pensions or data analysis you need rather than going through mountains of irrelevant information. Do you need small business resources that quickly, simply and authoritatively tell you what you need to know for example about alternative funding such as equity investment or other finance options, presented by a key government member? Do you prefer an engaging, collaborative approach? Maybe you need annual report due dates or something specific? By asking yourself these questions, you will be able to narrow down your search for information successfully.

Finding the small business advice you need does not have to be difficult. Use the above details for inspiration!

Fighting The Corruption: How To Protect Yourself As A Whistleblower

One of the focuses of my blog is Career Discussions. Whether in the Public or Private sectors, there are instances where employees witness some form of corruption and must decide whether or to say something, or to simply look the other way. While it may be for the greater good, in some instances, there could be long-term ramifications for being a ‘whistleblower’. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Fighting The Corruption: How To Protect Yourself As A Whistleblower.

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Have you seen or found evidence of activity in your workplace that seems shady, unethical, or downright illegal? If your answer is yes, then you have a tough choice to make. You can either keep quiet and allow these issues to continue or voice your concerns and risk facing backlash. If you go with the latter and decide to become a whistleblower, then it’s crucial that you protect yourself from any dangers that may arise from speaking up. Here are six ways for you to do that.

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1. Put Everything In Writing
Once you’re certain that there’s an issue to be addressed, you should document any information that you have gathered and store it somewhere safe. Record phone conversations, keep texts, emails, and letters, and film any face-to-face discussions. Make sure that you have hard copies of all of this information, just in case you experience technical issues or ever get hacked.

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2. Speak To A Professional
A common response to whistleblowing is character assassination. For this reason, you should find yourself a lawyer experienced in whistleblower lawsuits. They will help you to fight this backlash, as well as support you and put forward the best case possible. Many laws provide a financial incentive for whistleblowers, so your lawyer will also help you maximize your rewards.

3. Stick To The Facts
Making false claims publically can see you sued for defamation. Because of this, you need to make sure that you stick to the facts and never exaggerate any of the information that you have gathered. The more reliable and honest that you can be, the more credible you will appear. This means that you’ll have a much easier time convincing others that your claims are genuine.

4. Don’t Discuss The Situation
While your case may not be quite so serious, there have been situations in the past where the whistleblower put themselves in danger by speaking up. If you think that your life or family could be at risk, it’s better to remain anonymous, at least for now. Avoid discussing the situation with anyone other than the authorities and your lawyer, including your close friends and family.

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5. Keep Doing Your Job
Whistleblowers tend to lose their jobs as a result of speaking up. However, until the same happens to you, it’s crucial that you keep working as normal. After all, you don’t want to give your employer a valid excuse to get rid of you. Make sure that you continue to show up on time, keep yourself productive, follow the workplace policies, and try not to make any more waves for now.

6. Prepare For The Worst
Although you can hope for the best, it’s sensible to prepare for the worst. With that in mind, you should build up an emergency fund, just in case your boss decides to fire you regardless. If you think that you could be in any danger, you may also want to go and live somewhere else for a while. This could be with a trusted friend or family member or just a hotel.

Blowing the whistle means exposing the wrongdoings within a company or organization. While this is the right thing to do, it can leave you vulnerable to a number of risks. To make sure that you’re protected, follow the advice above.

Ecommerce Trends Dominating the Consumer Market

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. Much of the business that occurs today, does so online via ecommerce. As such if you’re a business owner, or considering starting a business, it’s important to keep your eyes on the trends taking place. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Ecommerce Trends Dominating the Consumer Market.

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When you come up with a business concept, you want something that is timeless. Products, services, and other business concepts that revolve around the fad or trend of the moment tend to go bust pretty quickly – consumers change their minds and move on to the next thing. Sure, this could be beneficial if you’re looking for a quick money spinner. But if you’re looking for your business to make it in the long run, you’re going to have to come up with a more long lasting and classic concept to move forward with. Trends that you shouldn’t ignore, however, include trends with consumer spending. You should notice how, when, and why your consumers are spending money and capitalise on this! Here’s how!

Watch the Market

The first step that you need to take is to gather consumers’ data whenever you can – just make sure to get their permission first. Look at how they are reaching your website – are they going direct, are they arriving through PPC links, are they being redirected through social media feeds? Notice when they are buying products – do people tend to wait until payday or are they spending earlier in the month? How they are paying for them? Are they using card or merchant services like Paypal? You can learn so much through simply watching.

Make the Most of Market Research

Whether you conduct market research of your own accord, or make the use of market research that others have carried out, you need to be making use of information taken directly from consumers who have been interviewed, surveyed, or questioned in another fashion. Take a look at some of the information gathered by Trade Vitality below to get off to a perfect start!


Infographic Design By Trade Vitality

Calm In The Cubicle: Encouraging Your Employees To Be Stress-Free

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focus are Career Discussions and Health/Wellness. If you’re a manager in an organization or a business owner, a key consideration is keeping your employees at as low a level of stress as possible. If you can do so, you can get them to give you a consistently high level of productivity. The following contributed post is therefore entitled, Calm In The Cubicle: Encouraging Your Employees To Be Stress-Free.

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What we can suffer from when we are starting out on our business journey is that the business takes priority and not necessarily anything else. You might be working to promote your business day and night, and this can be to the detriment of the most important aspect of your company, the employees. After all, if we overworked and underpaid our employees, how long are they going to stay with us? Not very long. But, if we work at improving our employees, nurturing their capabilities, but also ensuring that they are happy in our working environment, this will naturally translate to productive and efficient work. So we need to think about those employees sat in the cubicle, on their own for hours on end, are they actually being productive? Maybe it’s time to look at the more stressful aspects of work, and eradicating them for good?

What Stresses Out Your Employees?
First things first, we don’t have an open door policy; we need to get this arranged. To get an open dialogue with our employees, we need to have continual contact with them, but we need to find what is making them feel bad. These days, stress and anxiety are two common components of modern living, and this naturally spills into their working lives. Sometimes their working lives are the very reason. If we can start to unravel this by having good quality communication and regular contact with our employees to ensure that we are on top of these issues, we can then put the stops in place that benefits everyone.

Fixing The Space
If you have rows upon rows of cubicles, this needs to go. In addition to this, you may want to take your attitude to the workplace out of the 20th century and bring it bang up to date! To alter the space and make it an environment where employees are not just hemmed in like farmyard animals, you should take inspiration from the more modern startups and make them a talisman for what you want to achieve. There are professionals such as Vertical Interior Design that can help you to redesign your office space so you can get rid of the cubicles and the open plan, and make it a more inclusive and collaborative space. This will help your employees to feel they are in more of a collection which will actually impact their work for the better, but those office cubicles never lend themselves well to communicating with anyone. When you see those offices that are silent and almost ghostly in presence, you’d never expect the environment to be a nurturing one.

Flexibility
If your employees feel that their job is the biggest source of stress in their lives, what you can do to make it easier on them is to employ a more flexible approach to their working day. For example, those busy working parents who are always rushing to get in for 9 in the morning, but always end up being late may feel that they have the Sword of Damocles hanging over their head every time they turn up a little bit late. But instead, why don’t you push the clock back a bit for them? Having a more flexible schedule will make them stress less and work better.

Sourcing The Right Stimuli
Because a typical office is somewhere that’s the very embodiment of drab, or demotivation, or without the right touchstones, you can focus on these negative aspects and they can color your entire attitude to work. So if there is nothing much we can do about this, then we need to work at improving the cognition of our workers by implementing certain things that can help in the long run. The right snacks can be a godsend, especially when you look at the fact that the typical office culture celebrates sugar and greasy carbohydrates in the form of doughnuts and pizza, every time there’s a deadline that is tight or you want to reward your employees. But this only makes them sluggish in the long run. Likewise, if you have a very busy office space, and you have employees that are struggling to focus, you can make the most of various productivity tools to help your workers focus better in this stressful environment. The right noise app can drown out any office hubbub and allow your workers to focus on the task at hand. Likewise, if you’ve got a lot of work that needs doing, and a lot of typing, then voice recognition programs could cut that workload in half!

Stress in the workplace comes in many different ways, shapes, and forms. Work-related stress is very common, but there are the external aspects that can cloud their ability to work as well. If we can encourage a more relaxing environment in the workplace, this will translate to a happier person and a healthier environment.

3 Of The Best Ways To Make Money Today

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In 2019 there are several ways to make money aside from working a 9-5. The following contributed post describes a couple of them and is entitled, 3 Of The Best Ways To Make Money Today.

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You will no doubt have heard plenty about different ways to make money in the past. As it happens, there are so many great ways to make money that you might even struggle to choose between them, and this is certainly not going to be helpful if you want to be able to make the most of your finances in the future. However, there are a few ways of making money which generally come out on top, and those are what we are going to focus on solely in this article. Here, we will look at some of the best ways that anyone can make money today, so long as they put the right effort in, are sensible about it, and in some cases, have a little luck on their side. Consider all of the following if you are truly keen to be able to make a lot more money than you might normally think possible.

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Foreign Exchange

Chances are, you have thought about betting on the foreign exchange at some point in your life, but thinking about it and actually doing it are two very different things. The truth is that if you want to make money here, you will need a few different things on your side. First of all, and probably most importantly of all, you will need to find a decent platform like KnightsBridge FX to be able to use. The platform determines not just how easy you find it to carry out the necessary actions, but also how much you are likely to stick with it, and you will want to try and find an exchange which you feel you can use in a strongly intuitive sense. With that, you will have more chance of then making real money from it – but you will also need to make sure that you are genuinely paying close attention to the markets too, otherwise you can’t expect to make any money at all.

Matched Betting

If you have never looked into matched betting before, you are about to discover something of a revelation. Matched betting is when you take advantage of free bets given out by bookmakers by laying your bet at a betting exchange, so that you always make a guaranteed profit, no matter which bet wins or which one loses. You will need to read up on this in some detail before you attempt it, so that you can make sure you are doing it right – but as long as you do that, it is a sure-fire way to make real money, and you could even make thousands a month, depending on how much you have to bankroll initially. This is a powerful and exciting way of earning money, and you should think about it seriously if that is what you want to do.

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Write An Ebook

If you feel you are something of an expert on a given subject, you might want to think about writing an ebook. This can be a good way to help others with that thing, while lso actually being able to make a lot of money in the process. Writing an ebook doesn’t need to take too long, especially if you are already a good enough writer, and you will find that it is a highly rewarding means of bringing in some extra cash.

Easy Ways To Add Value To Your Home This Year

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. The biggest investment for many people is their home. Many things effect home prices – some of which are in our control and some of which aren’t. If you can add value to your home, it’s worth the effort. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Easy Ways To Add Value To Your Home This Year.

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No matter which way you look at it, buying a home is a major investment. In fact, it’s likely to be the biggest one that you make throughout your entire life. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll stop with one house. If you plan to work your way up the property ladder and buy bigger and better houses later, then you need to make sure that your current home turns a profit. With that in mind, here are six improvements you can make to add value to your home this year.

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1. Spruce Up The Garden
When potential buyers arrive at your home, they may already know the asking price, and will immediately start to question whether or not it is worth the investment. For this reason, it’s vital that you make a great first impression. As the first thing buyers see, this means that your garden must be in good shape. From weeding to painting, there are lots of ways to boost curb appeal.

2. Repair The Damaged Roof
Any sort of structural issue can significantly harm the value of your property, but, because it’s on show for everyone to see, a damaged roof can be an even bigger problem. When you repair this issue, you could take the opportunity to make your roof more energy efficient, by investing in Tamko shingles. As energy costs are on the rise, this can be very appealing to potential buyers.

3. Upgrade The Kitchen Area
The kitchen is the heart of most homes, so, naturally, it’s a place where surveyors and home buyers pay a little more attention. With that in mind, you should look for ways you can upgrade your kitchen space. If you plan to sell your home with appliances included, then start by replacing these with new energy-efficient models. This can help you to save money in the meantime too.

4. Replace Any Old Windows
Good-looking and energy efficient windows add instant appeal to your home. Not only do they look great and cut energy costs, but they can also make the house more comfortable, by trapping heat and reducing noise pollution. Because of this, you should consider replacing your old windows with double glazing. Just make sure that the finish and style are right for your home.

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5. Add Extra Living Space
As long as it’s in keeping with your home and done well, adding living space is always a good investment. You could add an extension or a conservatory, for example, or even convert the attic or basement. This can increase your buyers list, by making your property an option for larger families. If you don’t have the find to increase living space, try to add some extra storage instead.

6. Make The Space Lighter
Increasing living space can be beneficial, but it’s also quite costly. If this is just too much for your budget to handle, then make your home lighter instead. This will give the illusion of space, which will increase your home’s value. There are a number of ways to go about this, but some of the simplest include keeping your windows clean, painting the walls white, and adding mirrors.

Whether you want to sell your home or not, improving its value can only be a benefit. Hopefully, with the advice above, you have some idea of where to start.