Category: Contributed Posts

Land And Logistics: 5 Considerations When Expanding A Business Into New Territories

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A business sector that’s in the news quite a bit these days is that of logistics. Logistics is a critical sector in any economy. The following contributed post is entitled, Land And Logistics: 5 Considerations When Expanding A Business Into New Territories.

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Pixabay – CC0 License

Everybody has business goals on a grand scale. Once you’ve tackled your local area and you have set up the business with successful custom, you will need to start thinking about international expansion. In the last couple of years, it has been incredibly challenging, but when you extend your business into new territories you will supercharge your growth but you’ve got to be aware of some of the risks. Here are some things to bear in mind.

Have the Right Reasons To Expand

A lot of people expand purely because they want to get more of everything. The reason could be to expand for a specific client base or the fact that you’ve already succeeded in your local market and need new locations to grow. But you’ve got to bear in mind that a local business is so much smaller. You may already have a handle on your local logistics, but international territories come with a lot more in the way of rules and regulations. This is why you may want to start preparing more in terms of your logistics. Whether it’s through the right digital freight broker or researching the best logistics software, it’s all worth nothing if you don’t have the right commercial reason.

Setting Up a Local Company in a Second Location Properly

Going local is vital for every new business because it gives you the opportunity to expand in a very natural way. Given the risks of doing business in any new location, setting up a local company is always a sensible approach. It doesn’t just help you to reduce the risk to the rest of your business, but it also gives you the opportunity to get involved and get local advice. There are so many different local laws and commercial requirements, but there are also local customs that you simply cannot get to grips with in a few months. You need to find the right people that have an inherent understanding of local trade and customs.

Embracing Local Approaches to Doing Business

Every country is going to have a different approach to its business, and while you will need to keep your company culture and ethos the same, you will need to make certain adjustments to make for a more practical transition.

Keep Face-to-Face Meetings Where Possible

So many businesses have retreated online since the pandemic. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with this, but it’s important to meet suppliers and clients face-to-face so you can start to build local business relationships. You’ve always got to make the effort to go to them, and this is why you need to have this built into your approach to doing business in new locations. Time and time again, many local business people do not go far enough and make the effort, so you need to reconsider how you can avoid doing everything remotely.

Being Involved

When you open a business in a new territory, there will be a specific risk. You need to be highly involved, and even if you cannot oversee everything, you need to have somebody that you trust to be in charge of the operation. This will ensure that you are not just developing your business, but you are working hard at keeping employees happy And healthy. as well.

How To Find The Right Digital Tools And Services For Your Business

Three focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital world, there are a plethora of tools available for doing business. It’s important to find those that will aid you in your business dealings. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Find The Right Digital Tools And Services For Your Business.

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Image from Pixabay – CC0 License

Any modern business needs to have various digital tools and services to manage its operations. These tools and services can range in function, designed for a huge number of tasks, from improving security to enabling customer communication. Whatever your business needs digital tools for, choosing the right ones takes time and consideration. Choosing the wrong tools could cost your business a lot of money and wasted time. Before you decide which digital tools and services your business should be using, you need to assess the needs of your business and determine which tools are going to fulfill them.

Compare Performance

Whatever tools you’re looking for, you need them to function well and offer a performance that will improve your business processes. You could read reviews to understand how others have experienced a service or product that you’re considering. However, there are also more objective ways to check performance levels. You can check the status of a service to determine information like Cloudflare down statistics. Clear stats that reveal whether a service offers the performance you’re looking for makes it easier to compare the tools that you’re considering. Of course, reviews can be useful too, especially when comparing functionality and usefulness.

Communicate with Staff

Whenever you are looking for new tools for your business to use, it’s always a good idea to communicate with your employees. They often know best what types of tools and services they really require and what would help them to work smarter and harder. They can also be involved in testing out new tools, especially as they will be the people learning how to use them and using them every day. Get the input of employees at every level who will be interacting with new tools or whose jobs will be affected by the implementation of something new.

Image from Pixabay – CC0 License

Assess the Costs

The costs of your business’s digital tools and services also make a difference when you’re looking for the right options. It’s not just the upfront cost of purchasing any tools that matters but also other associated expenses and budgeting factors. How much will it cost your business if you choose the right tool? How much could you save if you choose the right one? Will implementing a new tool or service incur any other costs for your company? Consider your budget when you are looking for new digital tools to ensure the cost is right for your business.

Trial Tools and Services

Trying out a new tool or service before implementing it across your organization is smart. Many providers will allow you to start with a demo, where they will show you how everything works and how their service can help. You can then often trial the product to see how it will work for your organization before deciding whether to sign up for a subscription or purchase the product. Trial lengths vary but they usually offer enough time to make a good decision.

Finding the right digital tools and services for your business can take some time but don’t rush the process if you want to make the right choice.

How Physical Advertising Can Increase Business Foot Traffic

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you own a brick-and-mortar business, you want to figure out how to get as much foot traffic possible into your proprietorship. The following contributed post is entitled, How Physical Advertising Can Increase Business Foot Traffic.

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Physical advertising can have a huge influence on foot traffic to your business. Physical advertising refers to banners, flags and billboard advertisements (non-digital), that people can see in the real world. Foot traffic is the number of people that visit a particular area, in this case your company location. Foot traffic to physical businesses will result in a direct conversion to customers in the same way you can expect on a website. Here’s how physical advertising can increase business foot traffic.

Pexels-CC0 License

Physically Signpost Your Business

Research suggests that 85% of people live within a five mile radius of your business. A physical sign will literally signpost your business to local residents, directing them to your location. A sign is a physical way of highlighting your presence in a specific area. Reputable services and high quality banners like this will help physically signpost your business to local customers. 90% of people that enter your business are usually attracted by a banner placed near your store.

The Science Of Advertising

Corporate events have always benefited from physical advertisements like banners and flyers. This is because physical advertising is scientifically proven to draw people to your location. In fact, what is known as ‘out of home’ or OOH advertising reaches 98% of the population and influences over 50% of these individuals every year. Out of home advertising refers to adverts people see when they go outside. With individuals spending as much as 70% of their time outdoors, they are more likely to see physical advertising than the digital equivalent for a high percentage of the time.

Brand Recognition

Brand recognition has a huge influence on foot traffic to your location. Brand recognition is successful when a customer has associated your branding or logo with your business. Physical advertising like billboards or banners can help expose foot traffic to your business, having a huge influence on brand recognition. The use of physical colored banners can even increase brand recognition by as much as 80%. Higher brand recognition usually translates directly to increased popularity and profits.

Increase Business Credibility

Physical advertisements can act as a boost to your business reputation. High quality physical advertising like banners, billboards or flags can show passing foot traffic that you are prepared to invest in your business. Good advertising can also signal to your customers that you are a credible and high quality business. Brand recognition and credibility combined can have a huge impact on foot traffic, as people usually tend to be drawn towards what they like and trust.

Consistent Digital Advertising

Brand consistency plays a huge role in both brand recognition and foot traffic to your business. If your physical and digital advertising is consistent, then any web traffic in your local area will convert to recognition of your physical advertising. Keep any logos, fonts and colors consistent in both your digital and physical advertising for maximum impact.

Have More Money To Invest In Advertising

Physical advertising is significantly cheaper than digital advertising, and it has a real-time physical impact. Investing in physical advertising leaves you with more money to spend on the quality of the advert, and the volume of the adverts to display in your local area. Physical advertising is considered less competitive than digital advertising, which is why there are fewer cost implications associated with purchasing a billboard or banner. They also last for longer than a digital advert which makes them automatically cost-effective compared to shorter digital campaigns.

Reputation As More Energy Efficient

Many banners and billboards are recyclable, whereas a digital billboard or advertisement costs a lot of energy to run for a comparatively shorter period of time. As many as 80% of millennials consider business environmental policies integral to whether they work with an organization. Through investing in physical advertising, you can reap the reward of additional foot traffic to a more environmentally sustainable business.

Conclusions

Physical advertising can have a real world impact on drawing foot traffic to your business. You are physically signaling to customers your location, boosting your brand recognition, and even boosting your reputation as a sustainable business. If you create a consistent and high quality physical and digital campaign, you’ll benefit from your physical banners even more. With more and more people going outside again this year, you’ll find people are more likely to see a physical advert rather than a virtual one. Try investing in a physical banner this year and see what impact it has on your business today.

How To Keep Your Employees Happy And Satisfied

Two focuses of my blog are Organizational/Management Discussions and Workplace Discussions. No matter what kind of organization you’re running, you want to keep your employees excited and fulfilled while on your staff. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Keep Your Employees Happy And Satisfied.

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In order to have a successful business, you need happy and satisfied employees. It’s as simple as that. If your employees are unhappy, they won’t be productive, and your business will suffer. This blog post will discuss some tips on how to keep your employees happy and satisfied and cover everything from salary and benefits to company culture and communication. So keep reading for helpful advice that will make your workplace a more comfortable place!

via Pexels

1) Consider their salaries

Make sure you are paying your employees a competitive salary. This is probably an essential factor in keeping your employees satisfied. If they feel like they are being underpaid, they will be unhappy and look for other jobs. Make sure to do your research and find out what the average salary is for positions similar to the ones you have at your company. You can also offer incentives and bonuses to employees who go above and beyond their job duties.

In order to keep your employees satisfied, it is important to offer them a competitive salary. By providing a higher wage than other companies in your industry, you will attract top talent and keep existing employees from looking for new opportunities elsewhere. Furthermore, by providing bonuses or incentive programs, you will show that you value employee productivity and motivation.

2) Offer good benefits

Another critical factor in keeping your employees satisfied is offering good benefits. This can include things like health insurance, paid vacation days, and retirement savings plans. If your employees know that they are taken care of financially, they will be more likely to stay with your company. Good benefits are also a great way to attract new employees.

It is essential to offer comprehensive benefits packages to your employees if you want to keep them satisfied. Health insurance paid time off, and retirement savings plans are all important factors that should be included in any benefits package. By offering these financial protections, you will show your employees that you value their well-being and security. Additionally, attractive benefit packages are often key in attracting top talent to your company.

3) Promote a positive company culture

Another essential way to keep your employees satisfied is to promote a positive company culture. This includes things like having a friendly work environment, offering flexible working hours, and providing opportunities for professional development. Whether they need forklift certification or a course on customer service, professional development will play an integral role in their productivity. If your employees feel like they are part of a supportive and collaborative team, they will be more likely to stay with your company.

A positive company culture is essential for employee satisfaction. By creating an enjoyable and supportive work environment, you will encourage employee retention and satisfaction. Additionally, by offering flexible working hours and opportunities for professional development, you will show your employees that you value their time and commitment.

4) Give Them The Right Tools

Nobody wants their job to be difficult, so it’s always worth going out of your way to make your employees’ days easier. Tools and technology are great ways of doing this, and there are more than a few ways you can take advantage of them.

Customer relationship management software is always recommended, but the other tools and systems you use depend on the type of business you run. If you run a travel agency, for example, ChatGPT can be useful, as Anne and Carl Deane highlight.

Since the right tools make your employees’ days easier, they’ll be much happier in their jobs. It could even end up making them more productive, as they can get more done during the typical work day.

By following these tips, you can create a happy and productive workplace that will lead to success for your business! Offer competitive salaries, good benefits, and promote a positive company culture to keep your employees satisfied.

How Does Cloud Disaster Recovery Service Work?

Three focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. If you’re running a business or organization, you must think about protecting your data and back it up, even if you have cloud storage. The following sponsored post is entitled, How Does Cloud Disaster Recovery Service Work?

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How does cloud disaster recovery service work? This article explores cost-effectiveness, scalability, compliance requirements, and SLA. The benefits of cloud disaster recovery service may surprise you, and these benefits can help you determine if it’s the right choice for your business. To help you make the right decision, consider four questions before selecting a cloud DR service. This article was written for business owners looking to save money and applies to individuals.

Cost-effectiveness

A cloud disaster recovery service like https://portworx.com/kubernetes-disaster-recovery/ is a smart choice for businesses that need to bounce back from a cyber-attack or ransomware attack. Cloud backup helps minimize the time it takes to get back online, and it can also reduce the overall cost of a system failure. Unfortunately, while most companies recognize the need to use a disaster recovery service, only a tiny percentage of them do so. However, the benefits of this service far outweigh any cost.

The cost-effectiveness of a cloud disaster recovery service depends on many factors. Several factors to consider, such as the level of protection the service offers, its scalability, and the TCO of dedicated DR infrastructure. Some cloud DR providers have several tiers, and some are better suited for specific data types than others. As a result, a cost-effective cloud disaster recovery service will serve a wide variety of data loads, and it may even be more suited for some companies than others.

Scalability

With cloud disaster recovery, your organization can get the scalability and flexibility needed to meet its current and future recovery needs without causing a significant resource drain. Depending on your needs, a cloud DR service may include some or all of your organization’s infrastructure. In this case, your recovery provider should have options to tier the infrastructure with longer-term storage solutions. In addition, you can restore your data and infrastructure remotely.

To choose the right size, you need to determine how much capacity your business needs. There are two main ways to scale up or down. The former involves upgrading memory, storage, and processing power. A vertical approach to scaling usually has an upper limit, and rising beyond that can lead to downtime. The latter method involves:

• Adding more servers.
• Spreading the workload across these machines.
• Enabling scalability to meet your needs without significantly impacting performance.

Compliance requirements

A cloud disaster recovery service can protect your business’ data and resources, but how do you determine which one meets compliance requirements? This article examines the factors to consider when choosing a cloud DR service. To begin, select the type of data you’d like to protect. Do you need to protect sensitive data, or is it enough to ensure your business’s continuity? The answer to these questions can vary by industry and provider, but there are several key factors to consider when choosing a cloud DR service.

SMBs must adhere to specific regulations, such as the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). The requirements vary, but they all require cloud backup solutions to be secure and encrypt data. Also, under HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act), cloud backup providers must sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with their clients to provide backup services.

SLA

A good SLA for cloud disaster recovery service must specify what normalcy means to the customer. In other words, how quickly can the service be restored to the previous state? In short, what is a “recovery point objective”? This article will explore what that is and how you can find out if the provider is meeting its SLA. After all, when disaster strikes, you’ll want to know that you’ll be able to recover your data as quickly as possible.

When evaluating cloud disaster recovery service providers, it’s essential to look at SLAs for the different stages of the recovery process. For example, continuous replication is critical in cloud disaster recovery as a failure during the replication process could compromise the integrity of your standby backup system, thereby inhibiting the recovery process. So, in addition, continuous replication should be included in the SLA.

How To Carve Out A Career Path In Five Easy Steps

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“A career path is a direction you plan to take in the future. It’s important to have a clear career path because it gives you something to work towards and can prevent you from feeling stuck in a job that holds no interest for you.”

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Two focuses of my blog Career Discussions and General Education. One of the most important decisions we will ever make our career path. It will impact our personal well-being and our finances. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Carve Out A Career Path In Five Easy Steps.

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A career path is a direction you plan to take in the future. It’s important to have a clear career path because it gives you something to work towards and can prevent you from feeling stuck in a job that holds no interest for you.

Making your way down a career path can be intimidating if you don’t know where to start. Fortunately, with these six easy steps, you’ll be well on your way to finding the right one for you. Each step requires diligence and effort on your part, but they’re all manageable and straightforward to complete. You’ll feel like a champion by the end!

Photo Credit

5 Steps For Carving Out A Career Path

Step 1. Examine Your Strengths And Skills

The first way to carve out a career path is to thoroughly assess what you have to offer potential employers. Here are questions to ask yourself during this process:

● What comes easily to you?
● What tasks do you enjoy doing?
● What tasks are too complex for you?
● Are there skills you would like to improve?

Step 2. Make A List Of Potential Jobs

List jobs that you’re interested in. Remember to focus on the WHY more than the WHAT. Remember also to list jobs that use your strengths and skill sets. As those are sometimes jobs, you’ll be best at. at. You should think out of the box when making your list, jobs like becoming an expert trucking witness, a unique role where industry knowledge meets legal expertise. You could also consider positions such as a forensic accountant, who uncovers financial fraud; a digital overlanding consultant, advising on remote work while exploring the globe; or a conservation scientist specializing in urban environments, focusing on sustainable city living. Each of these professions requires a distinct set of skills and strengths, encouraging you to think broadly about where your abilities can take you.

Step 3. Research Your Options

This will help you know what exactly you’re signing up for. For example, you should know that careers in data science, accounting, finance, nursing, marketing, and teaching are rising. Engineering and computer programming are two top options for those who want a stable career.

Step 4. Imagine What It Will Be Like In Those Jobs

Your dream job may not be what you expected. You need to consider all the pros and cons. Do some research on the jobs that interest you. The best way to gauge if a career path is right for you is by getting hands-on experience with it. Consider finding someone who can mentor you or act as an advisor while choosing your career path.

Step 5. Put Yourself Out There.

Now that you’re armed with career-building tips, put yourself out there and begin networking. Here are a few ways to get started:

● Find a mentor.
● Join a professional association.
● Use social media as another means of networking online with like-minded professionals.

Taking your personal development forward is important, and exams can be a great way to measure progress. Working towards an exam allows you to focus on areas that need improvement and develop skills. With this in mind, finding resources online such as exam answers in PDF format can be beneficial. Not only do these resources help with revision but they also provide simple, straightforward answers to questions which helps hone areas of knowledge and understanding. GA4 certification answers in PDFs are a smart and convenient way to build confidence when taking an exam, as preparation is key.

Bonus step. How To Use Your Talent To Your Benefit

Suppose you have a talent but aren’t sure where to start or want more feedback before embarking on an independent career path. Consider contacting a worldwide talent acquisition company to give you some guidance. A representative will be able to inform you of any opportunities available in the marketplace.

In Conclusion

Whether you’re planning your first career move or looking to make a significant change, having a strategy will keep you from feeling overwhelmed by options. Following these steps can help you decide on a career path and set you up for success in whichever field you choose to pursue.

When Do You Need Help With Your Business Finances?

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In addition to having a marketable and profitable idea, another major part of your business is managing its finances. It may not always be easy to do by yourself. The following contributed post is entitled, When Do You Need Help With Your Business Finances?

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Every business owner needs to have some money sense. It’s crucial to ensure that you’re not making decisions that hurt your business’s survivability. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to be making every single financial decision by yourself, nor to completely understand every bit of the complex economic underpinnings of modern business. Sometimes, it’s okay to ask for a little help. In fact, it’s recommended. But, when should you do it? Here are a few examples of when to consider it.

Pic – Pixabay License

When it ensures that you get paid

What could be more vital to the financial health of the business than to make sure that you’re getting the money that you’re owed? Depending on how you get paid by your customers or clients, almost every business could benefit from some kind of payment service. This might mean setting up a merchant account to ensure that you’re able to accept certain kinds of payments. If you get paid by invoices, then you should look at invoice software that can help you track the incoming payments across all of your clients, including the ability to automate reminders for those whose payment date is coming up very soon or those who are late. A lot of business owners let their clients go for too long without giving them the pay that they should be getting.

When it comes to your taxes

Every business has to pay taxes and the vast majority of them are leaving money on the table by not being as thorough as they could be. An effective tax plan could see you saving a lot of money through allowance and deductions that you might not know to take advantage of. As such, you should ensure that you make use of taxation services in the lead-up to tax season. Not only can you make sure that the taxman isn’t taking more than they should, but you can also make sure that you’re avoiding any red flags that could trigger an audit, putting you under the microscope and disrupting your ability to work.

When you don’t have enough time to do it all yourself

You need to stay on top of and manage your small business finances. However, that can be easier said than done when you’re running a growing business and having to wear a host of hats to make sure that everything gets done to standard. If that’s the case, you might want to consider hiring a bookkeeper. Bookkeepers don’t really do anything that a business owner couldn’t, they just allow you to free up your time so that you don’t have to worry about it as much. It’s much better than letting your record-keeping, cash flow tracking, and other vital financial tasks go to the wayside.

Simply put, getting help with your business finances is always better than being unable to manage something related to them. Whether it’s something outside of your expertise or you simply don’t have the time to go over the books all of the time, there’s nothing wrong with getting some help.

Avoid These Corporate Event Mistakes

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Corporate events are important functions and must be handled with care. Mistakes must be kept at a minimum. The following contributed post is entitled, Avoid These Corporate Event Mistakes.

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Pexels – CCO Licence

When you’re planning a big corporate event to impress your clients or the boss or whoever, you want to ensure that everything goes right and you, and your company get glowing reviews.

This is harder to achieve than you might think and many people have screwed up in one way or the other. The good news is, we’ve put together a list of the most common mistakes corporate event planners make, in the hopes that you can avoid them and be one of the people who get it right…

Not outsourcing it to an event production company

If you have the budget to do so, but you don’t hire a full service event production and design company to handle the bulk of work for you, you are wasting more of your time and effort than you need to and increasing your chances of having a mishap at the same time. These people are professionals; they know what they are doing, If you are able to do so, hand things off to them and amazing things will happen.

Not planning well in advance

The best corporate events are the ones that have had months of loving planning out into them. So, if you are asked to plan a corporate event at short notice, and you don’t have to accept, hand it off to someone else, or at the very least try to negotiate more time to plan for the big day.

If you have plenty of time available to you, start planning right away. Book the venue, call the caterers, reach out to entertainment providers and get as much done as soon as you can because, if you leave it too late, things are sure to go wrong.

Not drawing up a tight budget

Most corporate events have a strict budget. If that is the case, you need to sit down and think very carefully about how much you will allot to each area of the event from venue hire to catering to goody bags, and you need to do everything you can to stick to those numbers.

It is so easy for things to get out of hand and you to spend way too much securing the perfect venue only to have no money left to serve your guests a decent meal. A tight budget will save your event, and potentially your job.

Not keeping your guests happy

From being there to greet them with a smile to ensuring their champagne glass is always topped up and that the conversation is flowing. If you don’t take the time to look after your guests and be the gregarious host, there is a good chance that the event will fall flat and that is the last thing you want to happen. So, whatever else you do, keep the guests happy.

If you can avoid these corporate event planning mistakes, you can ensure that your event is a total triumph from start to finish and that your place in the company is secured for the foreseeable future.

How To Keep The Cost Of Housing Down

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Home/Property Discussions. One of our major costs is housing. It’s one of the costs that can destroy our personal finances if it’s not properly controlled. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Keep The Cost Of Housing Down.

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It is no secret that the cost of living is rising the world over. Everything includes the price of houses, the cost of rent, the amount you spend on gas and electricity, and your weekly grocery bill. What is more, prices are seemingly only going one way. If you are looking for new ways to stay on top of your finances and avoid getting caught out by price spikes, here are some ideas to help you keep one of the biggest expenses down, the cost of housing.

Photo credit; Pixabay from Pexels

Don’t overstretch

Think very sensibly about your budget. This is not just how much you can possibly afford but how much you should afford. Does your housing budget still leave you with sufficient funds to save money each month and meet all of your other commitments? Is it a comfortable budget or a top-end stretch? To avoid falling foul of price rises it is important not to stretch your budget, but to leave plenty of change for emergencies and unforeseen (and inevitable) price rises. As tempting as your dream home might be, try to have a practical approach and consider whether you really need it. This applies to whether you are buying your home or whether you rent property. Don’t forget with bigger properties comes bigger bills, more maintenance, and higher repair bills. If you don’t need that guest bedroom for an extra big garden then don’t pay for it.

Consider living in a shared house

This can be a particularly useful means of accommodation if you live in some of the big and particularly expensive cities such as London or New York. Living in a shared house can be an incredibly affordable means of living and help you keep your overall expenditure down. You will still have your own bedroom, potentially bathroom, space, and comforts but for a considerably reduced cost. You will only be paying for the room you sleep in and sharing all of the utilities with your housemates. You can also look for shared accommodation that provides your own private bathroom.

If you are considering shared accommodation then the most important thing to consider is the people that you choose to live with as this can have a huge impact on your happiness within the shared house. You want to ensure that they are people who have a similar interest or working pattern to you. People that you are comfortable sharing communal areas with and having a conversation with where required.

Rent out a room in your house

If you own your own home and have a spare bedroom then why not consider taking on a lodger? You will have complete control over who you rent your room, you can determine the rent payable and set the availability timescale and ‘house rules’ to suit you. It can be a great way to help pay your bills or mortgage each month and considerably reduce the cost of living.

Setting Up Healthy Habits In Our Children

Two key focuses of my blog are Creating Ecosystems of Success and Health/Wellness. If you have children, you want to set them up to be as successful as possible. One key to that success is being as healthy as possible. The following contributed post is entitled, Setting Up Healthy Habits In Our Children.

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Pexels – CC0 License

We influence our children more than we know. For instance, if you tend to keep an organized and tidy home as they grow up, they’re more likely to value that and make sure their home space is well cared for.

The same goes for health. If we rely on junk and frozen foods to feed our kids too often (there’s no problem with either of these in moderation), then over time, children may not really know the value of cooking home recipes or using fresh foods to design their own cuisine. While they may develop a love for cooking, they might not have the positive influence of the household to support them.

Children tend to learn through osmosis, including what their home environment was like growing up. If you’re careful about it, you might find that allocating worthwhile healthy habits in them can help them grow more readily, and look to the future with a sense of responsibility rather than muddling through life. Everything begins with self-care, after all.

Let’s consider how to instill these healthy habits in our children for the better:

Attending Dental Appointments

Dental appointments matter and can often help define our health as we grow into teenagers and then adults. This is the same for our own children, who may need braces, or corrective work, or just checkups and regular cleanings. This can show them that dentist visits are a non-negotiable part of essential healthcare, helping them to avoid procrastination when it becomes their time to book. You’d be surprised how well this can go, especially if issues like teeth coming in the wrong way is adjusted properly.

Water As A Must

It’s essential for you to curate a household that appreciates drinking water. We know that sounds quite basic, but you’d be surprised how many children and teenagers artificially decide that they dislike water (as if the most important beverage of all time could be simply ignored), and that they’d prefer juices, flavorings, and sodas. Don’t accept this, as water is essential for good health, and should ideally be the main thing you drink throughout the day. Setting this discipline now can help them avoid picking up any negative habits. If you wish to improve the taste of tap water, buy a water filter.

Avoiding Peer Pressure Habits

One of the main issues that can take place when our kids are growing up is that others in their environment can pressure them, even through implication, to partake in bad activities. Of course, this might mean pre-emptively educating them about the harms of vaping and smoking, but also that just because another household’s family eats poorly it doesn’t mean we have to. The more they can take a reasoned approach to this and resist the urge to impress or act cool, the less you have to worry about them and the mistakes they may make in the long run. At the very least, you’ll give them the ability to know what happens in these environments, and how to avoid them.

Encourage Them To Pay It Forward

It’s nice to be nice, and that’s something more than a few people still need to learn. It could be worth teaching your children to do so. It’ll not only be good for the people they’re nice to, but it could end up positively impacting their health. They can practice this in their daily lives, and could even end up wanting to help a charity like Child Foundation OFAC.

With this advice, you’re certain to set up healthy habits in your children in the best possible light.