Money and Finance

A common misconception that many homeowners make is that home insurance and home warranty are on in the same. Whilst both are similar in terms of offering pricing plans and deductibles, they are in fact very different. Home insurance will protect the structure of the property and the and the contents within the property such as personal possessions. Home warranty on the other hand will protect the buyers of this warranty agains damage to the home’s systems, as well a helping to pay for repairs and replacements. If you are not sure whether or not you need home warranty, here is why you do.

Getting the Best

Firstly a quick not on getting the best home insurance, you need to compare as many companies as you can, find a company with good customer service and professional care, and one which covers you against everything that may come your way. If you check out First American Home Warranty reviews, you’ll see that they are one of the best, this is why it is so important that you check reviews in order to make the smart choice. You have to trust in those other homeowners who have placed their loyalty with a home warranty firm and reading the reviews will give you an insight into how they deal with a problem, not just how they promise to deal with it.

Natural Disaster

We have seen the damage which a natural disaster can do in recent months, take the wildfires in California for example. If you are in a zone which is prone to flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes or wildfires then you’ll need home warranty protection. A warranty can help ensure that you are protected if you systems in the home are heavily damaged.

Save Money

People may scoff at having to pay $500 per year or $60 per month for their home warranty but this is in fact going to save you a huge amount of money. If your HVAC system goes wrong or if you have to completely re-wire the home after an issue, that $500 is going to start looking like a huge bargain!

Technical Support

Home warranty companies have technical experts who work for them so when something goes wrong you won’t have to wait around for a technician, nor will you have to spend hours trying to find one. When something goes wrong simply call up your home warranty provider and they will send someone out in a heartbeat.

No Risk

The real crux of having a warranty is to alleviate any risk which you may have when something goes wrong. If your electric cuts out and you lose the food in the freezer, if a pipe bursts and ruins that new 3 piece suite, whatever it is that can go wrong very often does, with a warranty you can guarantee yourself that protection.

Don’t leave yourself open to risk, get a home warranty plan and get yourself peace of mind.

 

When you are traveling for work, you may need to exchange currency in order to have some of the local money on hand. However, with most business travel, your employer is the one who is paying the bill. While you may not be spending your own personal money, you still want to get the best deal on currency exchange and save your employer some cash. After all, it will make you look like a money savvy employee! Here are a few ways to save your employer money when traveling abroad.

Exchange Currency With a Bank

Banks are known to offer pretty straightforward exchange rates and fees. There are really no surprises when it comes to converting your cash with a bank! In addition, a bank may give a better rate or a discounted service fee if you are a member of the bank. Before you travel for work, head to your personal bank or the bank that your company uses and see what kinds of rates and fees they can offer. If your personal bank has the best options, use them to convert your money. If your company’s bank is the better choice, see if you can use the business account to save your employer money when you exchange currency.

Try Online Currency Exchange

There are many online currency exchange websites that offer very competitive exchange rates. Not only will you be saving your employer money by using one of these sites to exchange your cash, but you will also be saving time. You can quickly exchange the money you need on FX Compare and have the money transferred right into your bank, before your trip. When you are abroad, you won’t have to worry about converting cash and you can focus on your business trip. Your employer will be thrilled at your planning and ability to maximize your time abroad while saving money! Ordering money ahead of time is a definite win.

Do Not Act Like a Tourist

When abroad, you will likely see many currency exchange counters that are tourist driven. These convenient places to exchange money have very high rates and fees, taking advantage of a tourists need for immediate cash. Avoid these places at all costs! Not only are they more expensive and will cost your employer money, but they also will expose your last minute nature. Your business will have to pay more for your poor planning and decision making. Skip the tourist conversion centers and opt for a bank or ATM that are much more practical.

Avoid Converting Too Much Cash

While you definitely want to have cash on hand when traveling abroad for work, you do not want to convert too much or you will have excess currency at the end of your trip. In order to exchange the money back, you (or your business) will have to pay fees once again. This essentially means your employer will be paying twice to convert cash. Make a cash budget before your trip, convert just what you need and save your employer money! Having a smart and economical employee is sure to be looked at highly!

 

The average American carries about $8000 in credit card debt, not including mortgage or student loan debt. For many people, their debt has gotten so high that they aren’t sure how to get out from under it. As a result, they freeze and do nothing at all.

However, letting your debt get worse and worse isn’t a smart plan. The longer you go without paying your debts, the lower your credit score will sink. The lower your credit score is the less eligible you are for things like home loans or even cell phone contracts.

If you have debts that are overwhelming you, take a look at the best ways to get started.

Get a Clear Picture Of Everything You Owe

The first thing you’ll need is to have a full picture of everything that you owe. Gather all of your bills and make a list. Whether you owe a judgment or have an outstanding medical bill, put it all together in one place.

Once you have an idea of the total number of what you owe and where it should go, you can start developing a plan. Once you have your total, put together a budget of how you’ll be able to make payments on each one. You may have to contact some of the lenders to work out a deal with them.

Balance Transfer

One of the most straight forward ways to get out of debt faster is to lower your interest rate. You can do this by transferring your balance due to a lower-interest card. Ideally, you may even be able to transfer all of your debt to a card that has a 0%APR introductory rate for the first year. If you plan to make payments aggressively, then you could conceivably pay off all your debt in a year interest-free.

Get a Low-Interest Rate Loan

Another option is to apply for a low-interest loan. Usually, personal loans offer consumers a considerably lower interest rate than traditional credit cards.

If the majority of your debt is a result of your car payments, then you may want to look into refinancing your auto loan.

Pay More Than The Minimum Due

Even though lenders give you the option to pay the minimum due each month, paying only the minimum will result in more interest. More interest means more money wasted over time.

You’re better off paying as much as you can each month so that you can get out of debt as quickly as possible.

Get a Side Job

If you’re unable to make your payments or can only afford the minimum due, it may be time to start pursuing more income. Find a side job and dedicate all of the income made from it towards paying off your debts.

 

Did you know that there are many kinds of loans? Did you also know that each loan has a specific purpose? That means there is definitely a loan out there for you, not matter what your financial needs! From quick cash loans to large mortgages, you are sure to find the loan that you need and this article can help you sort through a few kinds of lending options to get a good idea of what direction you should go.

Debt Consolidation Loans

If you have a lot of debt, whether it be credit card debt, student loan debt or car debt, you may want to consolidate all of it to make it easier to manage. A consolidation loan is a large loan that will pay off all of your existing debt accounts. Then, you will have one payment to make each month. In addition to just being easier, you can usually get a better interest rate on a debt consolidation loan, enabling you to pay off your debt faster. You can also use a general personal loan to help consolidate your debt so also check out personal cash loans if you are trying to consolidate your debt.

Quick Cash Loan

A fast cash loan is a great option when you need money in a hurry. You can easily apply online at OzMoney for a loan and get the money you need almost instantly. Many quick cash loans do not even require a credit check, especially if you are just applying for a small amount. Perfect if you have lower credit or just need cash right away, everyone can use this kind of loan at one point of another!

Student Loan

If you are looking to pay for higher education classes, a student loan may be your best option. There are both private and federal student loans that you can look into. Federal student loans usually offer lower interest rates but can take a while to get. You may want to look into a private student loan or just a personal cash loan, if you need to pay for your classes sooner.

Mortgage

A mortgage is usually the best loan option if you want to buy a house. Mortgages are tied to your home and it is the collateral on your home. If you do not make timely payments on the loan, the bank can take your home. However, mortgages have the lowest interest rates and are available in high amounts which you typically need when buying a home. Be sure to pay your mortgage on time and never take out a larger loan than you can afford!

Personal Loan

A general personal loan can encompass and help with almost any financial need. When you need cash for a variety of reasons, this is the kind of loan you should look into. You can take out a personal loan and use it to put a down payment on a car, buy groceries and pay off that uncle you owe money. With a personal loan, there are no restrictions!

 

Cashback sites really rose to prominence in the last 5 years as more and more shoppers are beginning to understand what a fantastic opportunity this is to save some cash. Cashback websites work by offering the consumer outstanding promotions on products, which they can then claim a percentage of the cost back on. Many think that there is some kind of catch with these sites but there really isn’t. Cashback World is one of the best places to secure awesome deals and savings, all you need to do is sign up, pay a small membership fee and then make use of the range of offers available. If you are in any doubt, here is why you need to take advantage of this opportunity.

Real Savings

Sometimes when you see offers like 25% off, the truth is that the price was probably slowly raised for the 2 months ahead of the offer, and the actual saving is closer to 5-6%. This is not the case with cashback and the percentage of money back which you are offered is a real and tangible saving which you can make. There is no catch, just good savings which you can enjoy.

Products

The kicker for those that do not use these websites is that they are more than likely to be buying the products which have offers on them anyway, only they are not making the most of the potential savings. The products which you’ll find with cashback opportunities are not random or weird products which nobody wants, they are everyday items which we are all purchasing each week when we go to the grocery store.

Real Cash

Many think that the percentage of your purchase will be credited back to you in store credits or in online coupons but that is not the case at all. In fact what you will get is real money deposited back into your account which you can then withdraw straight to your bank account. There is no extra requirement to get the money back beyond buying the product and then showing proof of purchase.

So Simple

To get cashback you really don’t have to do a great deal and the emergence of phone applications from sites like Cashback World make things even easier. Using your phone app you can check out products in real time as you shop and see which has cashback offers on them. You can also easily take a quick snap of your receipt and you will see just how much savings you can make based on the products which you have bought.

Growing

Things are really growing for cashback and that means that there are more products and better offers than there has ever been before. If you are not making the most of this opportunity then you are basically paying a higher price for your products than you need to.

There is no time to waste, sign up and get saving now.

 

 

If you’re aware of how important it is to create a diversified investment portfolio, in order to take control of your future, continue reading to discover a few handy tips on how to go about establishing a diversified investment portfolio.

5 Invaluable investment tips:

1. Make sure to accumulate at least a few different asset classes to decrease your risk – Instead of investing all of the money which you’ve earmarked for investing in ordinary shares, it’s a smart move to purchase a variety of asset classes. As an example, you may want to purchase ETF shares and shares in property equity and private equity as well as ordinary shares. When it comes to investing, it’s important to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket, as if one asset decreases in value, your portfolio won’t be too badly affected.

2. Opt for investments which boast a competitive dividend yield and a share price which steadily increases – In order to receive two forms of income dividends and capital gains, it’s also a smart idea to choose investments which offer a competitive dividend yield over 5% as well as a share price which steadily grows each year. To find out how a company’s share price has performed over a five year period, simply find a five-year graph which illustrates the company’s share price over a five year period. Ideally, the company which you should invest in should have a share price that is higher now, than it was five years ago. While it’s okay if a company’s share price fluctuates slightly, which is normal, it’s important that overall the company’s share price continues to increase from year to year. Unless of course the company which you’re interested in investing has recently been listed on the public market and has no share price data to work off.

3. If you choose to invest in a managed fund make sure that you’re well aware of any fees that may be associated with your chosen fund – Some individuals choose to invest a portion of their investment funds in managed funds which are actively managed by investment experts. Especially individuals who don’t enjoy tracking their investments themselves. However, if you chose to invest in a managed fund, keep in mind that there will be fees associated with your investment. So it pays to choose a fund that doesn’t feature high percentage fees.

4. Don’t sell your shares too quickly – Many individuals make the critical mistake of selling their shares in a company if the share price drops suddenly. However, if you still believe that the company which you’ve invested in will experience success in the future, it’s a wise idea to keep your investment. As it’s likely that the share price in question will increase again, within a couple of months. –

5. Reinvest your dividends – Make the wise decision to reinvest all of the dividends which you’re paid out.

So if you’re focused on building your passive income and your investment portfolio, it’s a wise idea to keep all the investment tips listed above in mind.

 

 

Contrary to popular belief, saving extra money doesn’t have to be a challenging task. In order to discover a few fuss-free techniques to save money, simply continue reading!

How to Save Money the Easy Way:

1. Always pay your bills on time – It’s well worth keeping in mind that if you remember to pay all of your bills on time such as your phone bill, your internet bill, and your electricity bill, that you won’t be charged any late fees. In some cases, you may actually save a small percentage discount off your bills by paying your bills in advance. One way to make it a little easier to remember to pay all of your bills in advance is to set up monthly automatic payments using your online bank accounts.

2. Consolidate any debts which you may have into a single loan – If you currently have multiple debts such as credit card debt and car repayments, it’s well worth consolidating all of your debts into a single loan. As you should be able to decrease the interest which you pay each month as a result of consolidating all of your debts into one easy to manage loan.

3. Save any unexpected money which may come your way – Instead of giving in to the temptation to spend any extra money which may come your way, it’s a wise idea to save any lump sums of money which you are given. Examples of lump sums of money which you may be given include inheritances, tax refunds and end of year work bonuses or performance bonuses.

4. Work as a freelancer in order to bring in a second income – If you’d like to increase the amount of money which you save each year by tens of thousands of dollars it’s a great idea to work as a part-time freelancer, in order to bring in a valuable second income. As an example, if you have web design skills, you may want to moonlight as a professional web designer. While if you have a knack for photography, you may want to take a couple of photography classes in order to start working as a freelance photographer during your evenings and weekends. No matter what your skills and interests are you should have no trouble finding a freelance part-time job which suits your experience, skills, and interests. As a bonus, if you’re lucky your part-time may turn into a full-time job.

5. Opt for generic brands over well-known brands – One way to halve your grocery budget is to start shopping for generic brand items instead of more expensive items from well-known, heavily marketed brands. You may even be surprised at how similar the quality of generic brand products are to the branded products which you already know and love.

6. Be mindful of your electricity usage – Another way to decrease your spending and to increase the amount of money which you save each month is to become more mindful of the electricity which you use. As an example, you shouldn’t leave lights on parts of your home that no one is currently using.

No matter why you’re determined to save extra money, it’s well worth testing out all 6 of the fantastic savings tips which are listed above!