Steps to Getting in Control of your Finances

For many people, personal finances are a worry - with credit card debts, the worry of mortgage repayments and fear that incomes will fail to keep pace with the cost of living. It's essential to be in control of your finances in these difficult times. We look at ways to stay ahead.

Assess the situation.

The first step to dealing with problem finances is to face up to them. This means taking a deep breath and adding up your debts, from all sources. Once you have done this, categorize them. If you have a mortgage debt, this is less of a concern because it is held against an asset; your home. However, you may still want to check that you are on the most competitive mortgage product that you are eligible for and that your repayments are affordable, as you can make substantial savings just by shopping around.

Personal debts.

If you have non-secured debts, these are your focus area. Non-secured debt is held in many forms; credit cards, personal loans, catalogue debts and overdrafts. They are called unsecured debts, because there is no asset held against them. For example, if you have a car loan - then it's against a car. If necessary you could sell this asset to recoup the loan, or part of it. However, credit card debts usually have no assets attached that could be sold to pay them off, especially if you have an unchecked spending habit.

Do a budget.

When you can see your debts on paper, work out your monthly budget. Assess your income and work out which bills you have every month. Go through your direct debits and see if any can be cancelled. Assess how much money you have after bill payments for your living, shopping, entertainments and other costs.

Decide on a repayment plan.

Your budget will show you where you can save money. Cancel non-essential services, shop around for better deals and downgrade your brands when doing the weekly shop. Set aside a sum each month to repay your debts bit by bit, starting with the most expensive. If you can't find income to do this, work out ways to increase your income or further reduce your outgoings.

Stay motivated.

Nothing feels as good as being debt-free and if you are working towards this goal, you will find plenty of support from national debt charities, online forums and other debt support groups. Seek help if you can't find a way out of your debt and speak to others with similar goals to you. As well as finding great sources of fellow support and motivation, you will start to identify ways of socializing and meeting new people without spending money. 

Once you can change your behavior patterns, switching shopping for new and absorbing hobbies and meeting friends with common goals, you will find new impetus and enthusiasm for your new objectives and be far less inclined to fall back into debt again. With planning, organisation and self-discipline, the freedom of a debt-free life can be yours.

AUTHOR BIO:
Jackie Graves writes regularly on personal finance, debt support and tools such as prepaid credit cards for a range of websites and blogs. She strongly believes in the ability to rebuild a bad credit score.

The Best and Worst Strategies for Gift Shopping on a Budget

Gift Card (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Shopping on a budget can be a pain in the butt. However, if you are smart about your shopping strategy, you can get amazing gifts for very little money. Be careful out there; the world of shopping can lead to pitfalls.

Don’t – Open Lines of Credit 

When you are shopping on a budget it can be tempting to open a line of credit. However, this is a bad idea for your long-term finances. Opening a line of credit can help in the short-term, but it can lead to an over-extended budget and if you have a tendency to over-shop this is never a good idea. 

Do – Go Online For Great Deals

Online cheap shopping is the way to go when you have to stick to a budget. Checking out sales and discounts online is a great way to save money. Did you know you can get coupons online? Some of these can be printed to take to the store, while others are coupon codes that can be used on websites. 

Don’t – Overspend Because You Want to Impress

Have you ever had to buy a present for someone who just seems to have everything? Are you trying to make a good impression on your in-laws? No matter the reason, many people have the tendency to try to impress others with gifts. If you are on a tight budget, this is not a good idea. If you have many people to shop for, buying extravagant presents can lead to disaster. 

Don’t – Overestimate Your Creativity and Drive

If you pick up pieces to make a gift, make sure that it is something that you are capable and willing to make. Otherwise, the money you put into it is gone with nothing to show. This is a trap many fall into. Even if you have the ability to create the perfect present, make sure you have the time and are willing to invest that time and energy. 

Do – Make a List Before You Start Shopping

If it is a big holiday, such as Christmas, it is a good idea to make a list of everyone you have to buy for. On top of that, think ahead and jot down some ideas of what you might like to get each person. This will keep you focused, which will also help you save money. The more focused the list, the more likely you are to stick to it.

 

Don’t – Disregard Gift Cards

Sometimes it is really difficult to find the perfect gift. In these cases, a gift card may end up being exactly what you need.

Making a budget and sticking to it is difficult when shopping for gifts. Get great gifts and keep your budget happy, and you’ll have the best present of all.

Areas Where Your Small Money Drains and You Lose Hundreds and Thousands

budget (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Normally, we do not think of the situations and possibilities when we spend a lot of money but soon we realize that we have made a mistake that is leading us towards major monetary losses. Some of the ways we spend without thinking are:

·         Physical Shopping vs. Online Shopping:

Suppose you go to shop physically and like something. You decide to purchase the items you want. You hurry up, take your wallet out, and purchase them instead of thinking just for a second that they might be useless to you. Later on, when you go home you search for the same product on the internet and find that these products are available cheaper. It's best to search online first before making your purchase because you may find it for less online.

·         You Do Not Use Services You Paid For:

Sometimes, we purchase services that we want to use but do not get the time to use them. For example, you have purchased the HyperOffice app for your iPhone, as you have plans to do your office work at home and for this, you need to use you smartphone. Keep in mind that you are paying $7 for this app on monthly basis but you did not find time to use that app on your phone. What is the purpose of paying for this app? Just think, $7 may not be a big amount to pay on monthly basis but on annual basis, it is a lot of money.

·         Waste of Perishable Food:

If any of your family members are a diet conscious person, they will prefer to have organic food. To save time, you stock up for a month without considering the fact that fruits and vegetables are perishable in nature. As a result, you have to buy them again in the same month, which is why your monthly budget fails to save anything. Buying fruits and vegetables is not expensive but buying them again and again will cost you a lot of money in the long run.

·         Relocation:

Just think for a second that you are moving from one place to another. For your convenience, you did everything possible for you to save money. For example, you hired a home mover. It may benefit you at this time to sell many of your possessions you do not need any more. Less possessions may lead to a smaller living space needed

If you don't, you may have to rent a larger house to place your belongings, which will effect your budget. 

These are a few areas which will help you understand that by spending less you can help in making your income stretch further. 

Author’s Bio:

Husain joined Opendoorloan as a Finance Consultant in June, 2011. He is accountable for all aspects of payday loans online. Visit his website to see how it works.

10 Important Business Laws

There are different policies and rules that must be followed when you are going to start your own business. You have to know these things in order to operate smoothly. In this article, you will be given an overview of the 10 most important laws related to business.

1. Customer Information

The law provides that you should be keeping customer information securely. There is a limitation when it comes to this. You cannot give out any information about your customers to anyone. This rule applies to all types of businesses.

2. Protection of your customer’s identity

There are different victims of identity theft. You may not determine when someone has taken something like your customers information. But this can be avoided when you know the law about customer’s identity protection. You have to exhaust every possible way to make sure that hackers or other identity theft will not be able to take anything from you; this is one of the most important rules.

3. Credit information

When you are going to accept payment through credit card, you need to ensure that the customer’s credit information will not be put in stake.

4. Business permit

You need to have all the documents needed before starting the operation. You need to understand the importance of ensuring that you have everything you need before starting or you will be sanctioned.

5. Tax Identification Number

You need to have your TIN; this is a very important requisite because you are part of a State that can legally demand for taxes.

6. State and Local Taxes

When registering your account, you need to arrange your taxes. You may be asked to pay for local and state tax. In order for you to know the tax that you are going to pay, you need to ask the assistance of the people from the taxing department.

7. Hiring Employees for Your Business

When you are going to hire employees, you need to know your responsibilities as an employer. Make sure that you know the different benefits that they must be receiving. Study the Labor Law for you to understand this part.

8. Business name

When registering the business name, you should make sure that you are not taking somebody else’s registered title. It would be safe if you were going to choose a unique one. Register it so you can ensure that you own it.

9. Business Area

The location of your business is very important; you must be choosing the best area. In this part, you must know the different ordinances and zoning law in the place you have chosen. This will allow you to operate smoothly.

10. Business Structure

You should also be registering the business basing it from its legal structure. Decide if it is going to be a corporation, a partnership or a non-profit organization. You must settle this while you are on the process of registration.

Author Bio:

Burton Copeland is highly recognized with over two decades as leaders in the defense of corporate and commercial fraud allegations. Our team of expertise criminal lawyers will help you to resolve your problems regarding business crime. We provide a full range of legal services to clients ranging from fraud & regulatory crown court advocacy general, serious crime police station advice, prison law professional disciplinary proceedings, to road traffic and motoring offenses."

Save Money by Staying on Top of Your Bills

Every month those official looking envelopes keep rolling into your mailbox demanding money for the services and purchases that we have received. Nobody likes to look at them, and we certainly hate to part with our money. But you can really pile on the debt and get into a lot of credit trouble if you don't keep up with your bills.

Who has the time to deal with bills?

It can be a real hassle sitting down and writing a check out each month to pay the car note, the water bill and all the other creditors that keep sniping at us for the money we owe them, but not dealing with it can come with lots of bigger hassles. Try taking out a loan or getting store credit when your credit score shows that you tend not to make payments on time. Sometimes you can even have trouble renting a new house or apartment if the landlord does a credit check. But there are ways that you can stay on top of those bills and turn your situation into a positive one rather than a negative one.

Time for an attitude adjustment!

The first thing to think about is your attitude. When you think about how much you hate paying bills, are you really being fair to the creditor. They just want what they are owed for whatever they have provided. Wouldn't you? Are you enjoying whatever it is that you bought or service your received? That money isn't yours. When you can think about it in the right light, that you are enjoying the benefits of having been extended the credit, it can make it easier to sit and write the check or send the money online.

Start developing good habits now.

Come up with a regular routine for paying your bills. One of the reasons we let bills pile up is that we say we will get to them later. All too often later never comes, at least not until the collection agencies start ringing our phones on a regular basis. Develop a strategy that works best for you for paying bills and stick to it. One way might be to pay every bill as soon as it comes in, whether that is in the mail or in your email inbox. With this strategy, you get into the habit of dropping whatever you are doing and breaking out the credit card or check book and making a payment right then and there. This way you know all your bills got paid.

Do it once, enjoy the rest of the month!

Another strategy is to pay all your bills on the same day. This works for a lot of people because they don't want to have to think about bills every day or week. The one catch with this method is that you have to keep in mind the due dates of your various accounts and make sure you pick a day that won't make you late on some of your payments. This will probably mean that you will have to make some payments before a bill even comes in, so you'll have to have your account information somewhere. This is a great way for getting into a regular routine without letting bills take up all of your time. For example, you know that on the 3rd of the month you always pay your bills. So you don't have to worry about missing a payment, or forgetting, because you'll always have something to remind you.

Try automatic payments!

Another option that many people find convenient, especially those who are busy or who tend to be forgetful, is to have bill payments automatically deducted from your checking account. What's great is that most banks provide this service and some even offer discounts if you sign up for bill pay services. The one drawback to this method is that you want to make sure you always have enough money in your account to cover those bills. You don't want to be surprised that your account is suddenly in the negative and your car note hasn't even been paid yet.

So, you see, there are lots of ways to make sure you can keep those creditors at bay and hold on to your own sanity. Who needs the stress? Find a way to stay on top of your bills, and you will be able to breathe easier every day.

Author Bio: Darren Carter is currently a resident blogger at http://www.ppiclaimco.com covering topics such as budgeting and personal finance as well as commenting on the recent banking scandals.

Be Proactive By Taking Travel Cover Before You Board on a Flight!

Most of the people get very excited whenever there is travelling involved, business or holiday. At anytime, there are options to explore newer avenues of business along with the place as well when in a new destination. However, in excitement if people decide to forgo one of the most basic needs of travel insurance, it is more than just a blunder. At many times while travelling, it is the prime requisite to travel well-covered but it is not the only benefit you are getting. It depends upon which package you take, for how long and for how many people, individual or combined (in case of family or travelling business colleagues / partners). 

Here we will be focusing on the benefit one gets by getting family travel insurance.

In the event of Cancellation 

Let us start with the first and most basic positive outcome that comes with having this special cover. Due to any reason like some mishap in home or destination country or with the family or travel partners, you might have to cancel the whole trip. As a result, money put in getting the flight / charter bookings, accommodation reservations, transportation, etc will go waste. Exactly at this point, you save few hundred-thousand dollars by getting a suitable travel cover. Just don’t forget to know about the exclusions of your policy. 

Belongings’ Concern 

There is no question of not having any baggage while on a business or family trip. What happens if they get stolen or lost? You get reimbursed (partially if not fully because of the overall limits to the amount) with the insurance. The limit will be decided on the basis of what all the items were there in your bag are and how you have made the claim. There always remains the issue of saving receipts if you want the reimbursement. 

On the wrong side of Law 

You or your family members or another person accompanying you might never have thought of getting entangled in litigation's on a stranger land but sometimes things just happen. Having travel insurance might safeguard everyone under the cover from (some if not whole of) the cost involved in legal battles you will have to become a part of consequentially. 

Health Insurance- An Added Advantage 

Standard health insurances generally exclude travelling from the policy while giving cover only in the home country. So, in case you fall ill or get injured during flight or on reaching the destination, if you have taken this consideration, your health is also covered under the insurance coveting travel. Contacting your travel consultants is highly suggested so that you take care of all the aspects of such cover. 

The Entrance of Third party in the Scene 

Here, being subjected to any kind of claim is the main concern. In case someone or his property gets damaged by you (even if accidently), you are faced with claims that you have to deal with, like it or not. So, being prepared with liability insurance as a part of the cover you will use while travelling is the best way. Being proactive never hurts. 
All the above reasons are sufficient to convince anyone for getting a cover whenever on a go. Are you? 

About the author: 
Marie Ballu is an active blogger who is fond of sharing her views on insurance to help people secure their precious items. She has also presented many guest posts on travel insurance for family, ski travel insurance and much more.