Tag: Finances

How To Improve Your Finances In 2023: A Quick-Start Guide

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. There is a lot of financial uncertainty heading into 2023. As such it’s going to be critical to arm yourself with as much valuable information as possible. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Improve Your Finances In 2023: A Quick-Start Guide.

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If you have been dealing with unprecedented financial pressure over the past years, you are certainly not alone. With inflation reaching its highest levels since 1982, consumer prices constantly on the rise, and the pandemic-induced crisis still lingering on, many families across the nation are still struggling to make ends meet.

However, as the economy continues to bounce back, there is a lot that you can do to regain control of your finances and get a step closer to your financial goals in 2023. In this quick-start guide, you’ll find everything you need to know to start the year in the right way.

Take a Hard Look at Your Finances

The first step is to take a hard look at your finances and spending habits. Looking at your past months’ bank and credit card statements can help you understand how much and where you tend to spend. In turn, this analysis can help you identify inefficiencies and overspending cases, so as to improve your next month’s finances.

Comparing how much you earn and how much you spend can help you better understand your current situation.

Make a Budget – And Involve Your Whole Family

Once you have a better idea of where you stand financially, it is time to look into how to improve your financial situation. And, to do so, you’ll need a budget that you can follow. But how can you do so efficiently?

If you are struggling to keep up with remembering and recording each and every transaction, you might consider adopting a different approach to budgeting. For example, methods such as the 50\30\20 rule can help you keep track of how much you spend, save, and invest each month without causing you to spend hours tracking every transaction!

Tackle Your Debt

The next step to bring your finances back to balance is to look for ways to escape your debt. To understand how your debt is impacting your finances, you’ll need to calculate your Debt-to-Income ratio – or the percentage of your after-tax income that is directed towards repaying your existing debt each month.

A good rule of thumb is that it should be below 28% – or the DTI you need to be able to access financial products such as mortgages.

Ways to reduce your debt include addressing your high-interest debt first or paying off the smallest debt first.

Take On a Side Hustle To Improve Your Income

Although reducing your expenses and debt are important steps to take on your journey towards better financial health, don’t forget that you’ll also need to improve your income. And, to do so, you might need to establish an additional income source.

Luckily, today, you are certainly not short of side hustle options to choose from! For example, you can become an Amazon or FBA seller or sell your own digital products online.

Nonetheless, as the competition gets fiercer by the minute, you’ll need to tap into your entrepreneurial flair to succeed in such a competitive market! In the example above, you’ll need to learn the basics of pricing amazon FBA products, marketing, selling, and customer service skills.

Consider Turning Your Hobby Into a Profitable Activity

If you don’t wish to take on an additional side hustle and add complexity to your already busy schedule, you might consider monetizing your hobbies or pastimes. For example, if you love to draw or bring to life DIY creations, you could sell your art and crafts on marketplaces such as Etsy.

Alternatively, you might use your skills to offer to consult or freelancing services and bulk out your income.

Rent Out Your Property – Or Part of Your Property!

Your home, as well as other real estate properties you own, represent a crucial aspect of your investment portfolio. And, not just because you’ll be able to sell them to free up cash!

Indeed, while you still have your properties, you can use them to boost your monthly earnings. To do so, you might consider renting out one of your apartments or homes on a long-term or short-term basis. For example, becoming an Airbnb host can help you make an additional $924 each month!

Other ways to use your properties to increase your income include:

● List an empty bedroom on Airbnb
● Lease your car
● Advertise on your vehicle
● Rent out your garage or storage room

Build an Emergency Fund

Although you might wish to use your earnings to bulk out your investments or repay your debt, don’t forget about the importance of building an emergency fund. Indeed, a medical emergency, accident, or an unforeseen financial setback can have a catastrophic impact on your finances if you don’t have an emergency fund in place!

If you need a clear goal to focus on, a good rule of thumb is that your emergency fund should be able to cover at least three months’ worth of expenses.

Invest Every Month

Investing, also thanks to compound interest, can help you establish a solid fund to tap into when retiring. But how much should you be investing each month? Ideally, you should dedicate around 15-25% of your post-tax income to investments on a monthly basis.

However, of course, this entirely depends on your circumstances.

Learn How To Use Your Credit Card Properly

Credit cards are essential financial tools that help you keep up with daily expenses, afford major purchases, and leverage exclusive benefits. But, when used improperly, credit cards can become double-edged swords!

Luckily, there are some simple strategies that can help you keep your finances in check even if you use your credit card as your preferred payment method. These include sticking to a low credit utilization rate, making more than the minimum payment each month, only using the credit card for expenses you can afford, and checking your credit card statements for mistakes and inaccuracies.

Work With an Experienced Financial Advisor

Lastly, if you are struggling to resurface from a financial setback, don’t think twice about investing in the services of an experienced financial advisor.

Although this might seem like an unnecessary expense at first, it can help you better understand your financial situation, set clear goals, and devise a plan to reach them within your pre-determined timeframes. And, don’t forget that there is no better time to get started with rebuilding your finances than today!

Sorting Out Your Business Finances One Step At A Time

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. While it is a separate entity all in itself, your business has its own finances which have to be monitored and managed just like your personal finances. Properly managing them will increase the likelihood of profitability. The following contributed post is entitled, Sorting Out Your Business Finances One Step At A Time.

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What’s been going on with your business finances lately? If you didn’t need to sort out your finances, then you wouldn’t be reading this article, which means something has gone wrong somewhere. Don’t panic, it happens to every business at some point and is nothing to worry about unless it gets really bad. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the steps that you are going to need to take in order to sort out your business finances. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

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Rebudget

First, you’re probably going to want to rebudget. This means that you go through all of your finances all over again. Start from the beginning, and then work out all of your money. Go through all of your incoming and outgoing costs, sorting out your budget so that you know where you are financially. While in theory this isn’t a difficult thing to do, and it’s not when it comes to personal finances, budgeting for a business is significantly more complicated. As such, you might want to hire a professional to come and oversee this, simply so that you know it has been done properly. A professional such as an accountant might also be able to make suggestions that are going to help you save money.

Work Out Ways To Save

Speaking of saving money, you are going to need to work out how much money you can save in certain areas. For example, one of the easiest ways to save money in the long-term is to aim for a more energy-efficient business. You can do this in a number of ways such as switching to solar power, or finding a commercial propane supplier to power your business this way. Sometimes you are going to need to go further than this, which might mean scaling back your business while you recover financially. Worst case scenario is that you are going to have to start letting people go, which we know is not something that you want to do. However, if it’s the only way to save the money you need, it’s going to be necessary.

Find More Money

Or, the other solution is to find more money. You’re probably sitting there thinking that this is an obvious answer with a less obvious solution. Well, if you are currently being funded by an investor, you can always talk to them and ask them for more money. You can always look at bank loans seeing as these are a popular choice, or you can use your own money to give yourself the boost you need. It’s entirely up to you which option you want to try.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you are going to need to do when it comes to sorting out your business finances. If you do this one step at a time, everything is going to be okay because you won’t have rushed to get things sorted. We wish you the very best of luck, and hope that this helps to improve your business sooner rather than later.

Take Control of Your Finances When You’re Struggling

A key focus of my blog in Financial Literacy/Money. A significant part of your personal success and quality of life is your personal financial health. Taking control of your finances is particularly important when you’re struggling. The following contributed post is entitled, Take Control of Your Finances When You’re Struggling.

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Everyone experiences money troubles of different kinds. Even when you’re financially comfortable, you can have times when you’re trying to work out how to stretch your money further. There are also times when you can feel like you’re really struggling and you don’t know how to get back on track. Your money problems are ruling your life, but you don’t know how to make them go away. You could be in a lot of debt or struggling to pay the bills, and you feel like you have no control. If you want to start getting control of your finances, have a look at these steps.

Make a Plan for Your Debts

Most people have some kind of debt, whether they’re paying off a phone, have a credit card or have a mortgage. Some debt is good debt, but there’s also plenty of bad debt, and it can weigh on you heavily. Making a plan to pay off your debts should be a priority if you’re having financial problems. You might need to look into tax relief options if you’re struggling to pay off a tax bill or consider debt consolidation if you have a number of debts. Look at different strategies for paying off debts too. You might pay off the cheapest or the most expensive first.

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Create a Budget

Everyone who wants to get their money under control needs to start budgeting. When you set a budget to stick to, it helps you to control your spending. The first thing that you need to do is take a look at what you’re currently spending. Work out how much your fixed expenses are, then come up with a reasonable budget for more variable expenses, such as groceries and clothes. Once you have a budget, you can track your spending, and you’ll be more conscious of whether you’re sticking to your budget.

Review Your Spending

After creating a budget, you might be able to start saving some money by lowering both your fixed and variable expenses. For example, review your bills to discover whether you could save any money. Find any subscriptions or services that you no longer need or that are wasting your money. Do you really need cable TV? Do you use that Netflix subscription? Getting rid of unnecessary spending can help you pay off debts faster, save more or have more money to spend on things that you want or need.

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Go Cash Only

If you feel like you need to reconnect with your money, consider using cash only to pay for things. You can set up automatic payments for bills, but when you do things like go grocery shopping, withdraw a set amount of money for the month so that you know exactly how much you have left. Stop using your credit card and even debit card for a while, and slowly start to use them again if you feel comfortable.

You can take back control of your finances. Start taking a close look at any debts, your spending and how you could save money.

There’s A Rocky Road Ahead. How Will You Take Back Control Of Your Finances?

Two of the focuses of my blog are Current Events and Financial Literacy/Money. Sometimes there are global and systemic events that have the potential to throw our personal finances into chaos. At the time of this blog post going live, the world is going through such an event with the Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic. Everyone must come up with a plan for survival during this and other crises. The following contributed post is entitled, There’s A Rocky Road Ahead. How Will You Take Back Control Of Your Finances?

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As governments and markets around the world respond to the healthcare and economic implications of the coronavirus, it’s safe to say that most of us have a rocky economic road ahead. Already, many of us are learning that no job is as stable as we thought. No employer is as untouchable as we assumed and that the gig economy has no emergency exit. For many of us, joblessness is a very real and imminent prospect, and many more will face a reduction in their gross salaries at the very least. But in this digitally interconnected age, none of us are powerless. Each of us has the tools at our disposal to make money safely, grow our income and take back control of our finances, whatever capricious twists and turns economic forces may bring.

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Here we’ll look at some ways in which you can make a little extra money and regain control of your finances without even leaving your home…

Start your own dropshipping business

In this uncertain time, it’s likely that more and more people will increase the amount of online shopping they do. While high street stores may have already begun to close their doors, there’s a potential e-commerce boom on the horizon. And that means great opportunity for the quick witted and the enterprising. Dropshipping is a popular way to start a home business as it has the potential to start making money quickly with few or even zero overhead costs. Dropshippers buy items as and when needed and sell them directly to the consumer via trusted online channels, meaning that there are no warehousing costs involved and no liquidity tied up in stock that just sits untouched on the shelf.

Try out trading

In the current landscape, there are a wide range of economic forces in a state of flux. But even here there’s potential opportunity for the savvy investor. Of course, with any kind of investment comes a degree of risk. Nonetheless, with a wide range of digital trading platforms like Targets Trading Pro available, you can start out trading and get to know the futures markets with minimal risk. Invest small while you get a feel for the markets, then as you grow more confident and informed you can grow your investment in direct proportion to your confidence.

Jump on the affiliate marketing bandwagon

If you already have a blog, a YouTube channel, a successful Instagram account or any other kind of robust online presence, you might want to think about joining the fast-growing and eminently profitable world of affiliate marketing. With a potential rise in ecommerce on the horizon and a period of potential uncertainty it’s likely that people will gravitate towards trusted brands. Affiliate marketers make money on purchases made by their followers from brands that they already know and trust. Joining an affiliate scheme is easy, low risk and potentially very rewarding. Here are some of the best ones which you can try right now.

Who knows what the future will bring. But the tools above can help you to stay proactive and ahead of the curve, enabling you to take control of your finances and insulate your household from financial risk.

Five Issues That Will Put Your Finances Through The Wringer

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. There are a couple of keys to properly managing your personal finances. There are also things you can do to destroy your personal finances. The following contributed post is entitled, Five Issues That Will Put Your Finances Through The Wringer.

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Are you worried about your finances? It doesn’t matter how much you earn, financial trouble is something that keeps a lot of people up at night. Here are some of the biggest issues that you need to be prepared for.

Unemployment

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If you’re looking for one of the worst issues that can hit your finances harder than you would like, turn your attention to the possibility of unemployment. The danger can be catastrophic. If you are made redundant you will typically struggle to be able to afford even basic costs let alone things like rent or your mortgage. So, you will need to work to find a replacement job as quickly as possible. But that’s not easy and if you have been off the job market for a while it can be difficult to find your footing. That’s why you need to make sure that you are keeping your CV up to date. Even if you think your job is safe, keep that ear on the ground and make sure you are aware of new opportunities.

Lawsuit

You would probably like to believe that a lawsuit isn’t going to be that expensive. Well, it depends what legal issue you are facing and whether you the defendant or the claimant. When you look for a criminal defense law firm to represent you, you should always think about your budget and what you can afford. Even then though, most people are going to find they need to take out a loan to pay the costs. That’s just a fact of life. Hopefully, you will at least get a positive outcome. Don’t forget though even if you are the claimant some of the damages will go towards your lawyer. The good news is that you can use some of your winnings to pay the cost of the lawsuit. However, this is why many people will avoid a lawsuit completely unless they have a lot to gain.

Divorce

You also need to consider the issue of divorce. The Oscar-nominated film Marriage Story actually provided a brilliant example of how tricky a divorce can be and how hard it can hit your finances. At one point Adam Driver’s character states it doesn’t matter whether his wife seeks profits from a new business venture because there’s going to be nothing left of it. When it comes to divorce you also tend to get what you pay for. Driver’s character initially seeks a high paid lawyer and then decides to save money. However, when the divorce proceedings begin he’s gone back to the high paid lawyer to get the best chances of winning the case. If you want to keep the cost of divorce under control. The best option is to make sure that you try and keep the proceeding as clean as possible. Make sure that it is amicable and then there will be no need for high-cost lawyers.

Theft, Fire And Other Damage

If your home or business is impacted by fire, theft or any damage like this, then it’s always going to hit your finances quite hard. That’s why it’s useful to ensure that you have the right insurance plan in place. When you choose an insurance plan make sure you are fully aware of what is and isn’t covered. You don’t want any surprises to creep up on you here. You should also think about putting the right measures to protect your home. If you’re thinking about theft, you should make sure that you are exploring various options. For instance, CCTV cameras will make it far less likely that your home is chosen for a break-in. Remember, these crimes aren’t typically planned in advance so the right deterrents can save you the trouble here.

Bad Investment

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Finally, do consider the issue of poor investments. Bad investments will knock you down and make it struggle to get back on your feet. If you face a bad investment, then you need to think about whether you can take action to reduce the loss. Selling even when you are at a low point can be the right choice rather than letting the value drain away completely. To avoid the risk of bad investments, never invest more than you can afford to lose. In this way, investing is very similar to gambling. But you should be taking calculated risks rather than throwing it all on black.

We hope this helps you understand some of the biggest issues that you can experience with your finances and how to handle them the right way. Take this advice you don’t have to let these issues cripple your bank account.

Business Finances: Simplified

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Keys to successfully running any business or enterprise is: sound money management, control of cashflow and control of expenses. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Business Finances: Simplified.

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As a business owner, you will likely find there are countless demands on your time. However, there is one demand that is undeniably the most important of all: sound financial management.

The financial state of a business is, after all, the dividing line between business success and failure. While it is undeniably important to think about the future, plan for growth, assess your competitors, keep your staff happy and so on and so forth, without good finances underpinning your company, all of these tasks are rendered irrelevant. Finances are everything… but they are also incredibly complex.

This is far from an ideal solution: the finances relating to your business are important, but they are also confusing, detailed, and in need of constant nurturing. It could be argued that dedicating all your time to good financial management would mean you had relatively little time to do anything else – so how can you cope with the demands of the rest of your business, and managing the finances of that business?

There is, thankfully, an answer to this question: you simplify your business’ financial management; and below, we’ve put together a few ideas that can help you achieve this goal.

#1 – Reduce the number of companies you make payments to

A standard business could find themselves making payments to individual providers for the following products:

● Gas
● Electricity
● Your business cellphone
● Internet service
● Business insurance
● Liability insurance

This means that – at a minimum – you may find yourself juggling six different providers just to establish the basics of your business. That’s six different companies you have to research prior to purchasing, six different account numbers, six different provider terms and conditions, six different customer service phone numbers to remember in case things go wrong, six different monthly direct debits – and that’s just the bare minimum.

Such a scenario is all too common, and it is the enemy of simplified finances. Instead, look for providers that offer a range of services; you could buy your cell phone plan and landline from the same company, click here to find out more about companies that can provide more than one type of business insurance, and group together your utility needs under a multi-fuel account. These measures would halve the number of companies you have to research and deal with, greatly simplifying the management of your outgoing costs as a result.

#2 – Note every single purchase you make

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Imagine a scenario where you use your business credit card to make a stationery purchase. You’re busy, so you make the payment, tuck the receipt in your wallet – or archive the receipt email, if shopping online – and move on with your day, assuming you’ll record the transaction in greater depth at a later date.

There is, of course, a chance you’ll do just that – but running a business is demanding, and there’s an equal chance you’ll forget to do so. This means you’re effectively storing up a problem; a moment when you’ll study a bill, or go through your tax-deductible expenses, and be completely unable to recall the transaction. In the best case scenario, you’ll be able to find the receipt and track back, but even then, you’ve still spent more time than necessary on a small task.

Instead, record the following details about every purchase you make for your business:

● The amount of the payment
● The payment method you used; i.e. debit card, credit card, or cash
● The purpose for the payment
● The payment recipient
● The date of the transaction

You can then set a reminder on your phone to input the transaction into the relevant records and file the receipt for safekeeping as soon as is convenient.

#3 – Schedule account debits for the same time every month

If recurring outgoing payments debit from your account throughout the month, life can get confusing very quickly. You may find that you have to run the numbers and check you have the funds you need to cover future payments every time you wish to make a non-recurring payment or debit, which is far from ideal.

To avoid this, set up all of your recurring payments for a single day every month – ideally the first, as this remains the same date every month. You may find that you need to pay more for the first month on a new payment plan to change the dates, but this is well worth doing in order to achieve a more streamlined approach in future.

#4 – Use a “traffic light” system for financial tasks

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When managing your business finances, it can often feel like you have a plethora of tasks demanding your time – you have to make payments to suppliers, manage your receipts, balance the books, issue customer refunds, and many more besides. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, implement a “traffic light” system.

To do this, start by making a list of all the financial tasks that are demanding your attention.

● Red: tasks that must be completed as soon as possible, with potentially severe ramifications – such as fines or fees – if they are late.
● Amber: tasks that must be completed as soon as possible, but that will not result in financial ramifications if they are not completed immediately.
● Green: tasks that are important, but that are without a pressing deadline or a set point at which they have to be completed.
● Any task that does not fit into one of these three categories should be set aside to be perused at a later date or potentially discarded entirely.

When every task is assigned a color, you can then begin to work through them in order of priority: red, then amber, then green, accomplishing as many as possible in the time you have available.

In conclusion

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For your business to succeed, your financial management has to be excellent – but without consuming your entire schedule. If you give the tips above a try, you should find that you’re able to streamline your finances and exert positive control, while still managing to leave plenty of time for other business-related tasks. Good luck!