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Kids Make Great Entrepreneurs: Here’s How To Teach Them About Business And Life

February 22nd, 2017 Posted in Entrepreneurship, kids and money, learning about money
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If you don’t fancy the idea of your children spending all their holiday time watching TV and down the skate park, what should you get them to do? One idea that is becoming more and more popular among parents is getting kids to start their own businesses. Not only is this a good idea, given the direction that the economy is going, it’s also beneficial for helping kids develop confidence and people skills.

Here’s how to help your kids achieve their business goals.

Let Them Pursue Their Passion

Kids find it really difficult to focus on things that they aren’t interested in. This is why getting them to go to school can be such a mission: smart children hate the fact that they have to sit in rows all day, doing things which are boring.

Kids Make Great Entrepreneurs: Here's How To Teach Them About Business And Life - lemonade stand image

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If you want their new business venture to be sustainable, take a step back and ask them what sort of business they’d like to run. Kids who love animals will probably be quite happy to set up a dog-walking business or even a pet sitting business. Children who are gifted in music or acting could hold their own after school classes. The possibilities are endless.

Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, set up a worm farming business when he was a child, selling worms to passers-by at the tender age of nine. His goal was to become the number one worm farmer in the world.

Introduce The Concept Of Money Management

Because parents provide all the resources that kids needs, many children grow up with the impression that money is infinite. The reality of business soon teaches them that it is not. In fact, it shows that it is often very hard to come by. They’ll soon find out that most companies have to go through lenders, like Colbeck, in order to make ends meet, especially for the first few months and years. Teenagers, for instance, can do things like calculate profit and loss, and how much they would have to repay to a lender every month at a given interest rate. Younger children can practice things like counting up how much money they have in the till and what they’d need to spend to expand their business.

If your children are particularly adept, you could even hold your own investor meeting, where members of the community come to hear the business pitch and commit small sums of money if they like the idea. This will get children used to the fact that they have to offer value to investors in order to receive money in return.

Teach Them About Customer Service

Being able to listen and communicate with people is an essential entrepreneurial skill. It’s what forms the building blocks of all entrepreneurial careers. One of the key skills children need to learn is how their business idea can actually benefit other people. Why do people want to have somebody sit their dog, for instance? Getting children to understand that people want problems to be solved (like the fact that they are worried what their dog will do to the house if it gets distressed while they are out) is the key to giving them good “business sense.”

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A Foolproof Guide To Finding Your Perfect Property

February 8th, 2017 Posted in learning about money, Money Tips
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Property buying can seem incredibly difficult as there are loads of steps to take. Before you do anything else, you should settle on what your perfect property is. Today’s guide will talk about the three main property types available on the market. Each one is different and ideal for different types of people.

Make sure you read this guide carefully as it will tell you more about each property. Then, by taking the information onboard, you can judge which one is best for you. So, check out everything you need to know in the guide below:

finding your perfect property - dream house image

(Pexels: http://bit.ly/2ljH6HE)

Houses

Houses are probably the most popular property option out there. In truth, most people will tell you they aim to own a house during their lifetime. There are many benefits of a house, and it can be the perfect property for lots of different people.

The thing with houses is that they come in all shapes and sizes. You can get ones with only one floor, or some with multiple floors. The number of bedrooms also varies, as does the garden/garage size. However, the fact is that houses have the potential to offer you things like a garden, garage, basement, attic. They’re the most spacious property type out there and are perfect for families. This is why they’re very popular, a house will give you a ‘complete’ property. Houses are also great property investments as you can do so much to increase their value. People have bought small homes and extended them to become much bigger and hold more rooms. They’ve then sold that home for double what they paid for it. So, if you’re looking for a property to invest in, houses are probably your best bet. The other reason they’re so popular is because of the choice you have. Essentially, there’s a house out there for almost everyone.

Pros

Living in a house can provide many pros that might make it perfect for you:

  • Great for families
  • Potential for lots of extras – garage, garden, etc.
  • Fantastic investment opportunity
  • Loads of different types to choose from
  • Can make improvements

Cons

As for the cons, there are a couple of things that might put some people off:

  • Tend to be very expensive to buy meaning you’ll need a mortgage that takes ages to pay off
  • Can often be situated outside of main city areas and away from public transport

Houses are the best property type for families to purchase. They’re also exceptional if you want to invest in something that can easily grow in value.

finding your perfect property - apartment block image

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Apartments

Apartments are a very popular property type that many people look to buy or rent these days. Essentially, they’re aimed at people that don’t need as much space as a house will provide. While you can get apartments with two, three, maybe even four bedrooms, you do miss out on many things a house has. An apartment won’t have a basement or an attic, you won’t have a personal garden. There are also restrictions on the work you can do to an apartment, even if you own it. For example, it’s pretty impossible to extend an apartment as it’s part of a building with other apartments that you probably won’t own.

So, if an apartment doesn’t offer as much as a house does, why are they so popular? When you look at them, it’s probably down to a few main things. For starters, apartments tend to be in very good locations, particularly for people working within cities. You’ll struggle to see housing blocks built right in the middle of a busy city, but you can bet there’s be an apartment for sale that’s right in the middle of all the action. In a sense, that’s one of the main aims of an apartment, to provide properties for people in busy city areas. Secondly, it goes back to that point about apartments not really providing as much as a house goes. While this may be a negative for some, it’s a huge positive for others. There are single people out there, living alone, who want somewhere to live. It’s impractical for them to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house that they won’t use to its full potential. It makes far more sense to look for something smaller that suits their situation better. Finally, apartments can be much cheaper than other properties – in both rental and outright purchasing prices. It can often be much cheaper to live in a two bedroom apartment than a two bedroom house. Especially when you take into account the location of an apartment. There’s no comparison between the cost of a house near the city and an apartment in the city, the house will be way more expensive.

Pros

There’s a lot to love about apartments, and they have a few big positive points that people may enjoy:

  • Often in good locations near busy cities making them perfect for working individuals
  • You get as much space as you need and don’t waste money on things you won’t use
  • Cheaper than houses in the same area
  • So many on the market up for rent/sale at all times

Cons

With that being said, there are some negative points that might put certain people off too:

  • Not ideal for large families as there’s restricted space
  • No personal garden
  • No personal garage
  • May have to pay ground rent even if you own the apartment itself

Is an apartment the perfect property for you? If you’re living alone or with one or two other adults, then it might well be. If you’re living with a family, then an apartment should never be more than a temporary place of residence.

finding your perfect property - condo image

(Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/8D4zA3)

Finally, the third most popular property type is a condo. What is a condo? Well, it’s similar to an apartment but not the exact same. The size of each property is very similar, and they’re both situated in buildings with other condos/apartments in the same building. The difference is that apartments are in buildings that are owned by someone. Whereas, in a condo complex, everyone owns their individual condo, and no one owns the building itself.

Condos

Condos are popular for people that have accrued a decent amount of wealth and want to invest in a small property. Owning a condo is great as you can then rent it out to someone else in bring in a lot of money. They also tend to be in excellent locations with the complexes featuring things like swimming pools and other social areas. Many people in the real estate industry see condos as a luxury property, they’re more for people that want a relaxing environment to live in.

Pros

The pros of a condo can be seen down below:

  • Great buy-to-let investment
  • Luxury living in popular locations
  • Cheaper than buying a house
  • Complexes have lots of extras and friendlier environments than apartment buildings

Cons

As with every other property, the pros come with some cons:

  • Not great for family living
  • Can’t make improvements to increase its value
  • Rental costs can be quite high

A condo is great if you’re looking for a change in your life and want to step away from a big city and live somewhere more peaceful. It’s a luxury purchase, and also a brilliant one if you want to get involved in the buy-to-let game.

In summary, you should be able to figure out which property is perfect for you by reading this guide. Once you’ve figured this out, you can get started hunting for your ideal place to live.

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Teaching Your Children to Ask for Financial Help

January 27th, 2017 Posted in learning about money
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Children are curious. They’ll stick anything tasty looking into their mouths, they’ll crawl and climb on furniture and they’ll ask questions about generally everything they are unsure about. Why is it then that we lose that sense of curiosity when we grow older? Why is it that as adults, we rarely ever look for help and instead, decide to take matters into our own hands by consulting Google?

Teaching your children to ask for financial help - piggy bank with euros image -

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Don’t be ashamed to ask questions

When your children are growing up, they will undoubtedly ask you a myriad of questions. Why’s the sky blue? Why is water wet? Why am I growing taller? All of these questions relate to very fundamental understandings of how the world works. Children are so curious that they won’t even be ashamed to ask a question about grown up topics, such as “how was I born?” or “how do you make babies?”.

It’s only once we’ve become self-aware of our surroundings and how the world works that we understand what it means to be embarrassed or ashamed. You wouldn’t ask someone a basic question about your body because, as a grown-up person, you’re expected to know the answer. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask just to confirm something.

Many people visit a doctor and ask them questions or seek medical advice that is trivial to a doctor. It’s not exactly common knowledge why different parts of your body ache, but you learn those naturally through experiencing those problems. Is your nose runny? Then chances are you have a cold. Are you also getting headaches? Then you might have flu symptoms. These are things we learn as we visit a doctor and ask them questions, so why do we not feel ashamed to ask these basic questions, but we hesitate to ask for financial help?

Getting financial help isn’t embarrassing—it’s normal

If you’re capable of asking your doctor about your body, then you’re capable of asking a financial advisor about your money. There’s no expectation of what you should and shouldn’t know. You go to a financial advisor and you can barrage them with questions no matter how basic or complicated they are because that’s what they are paid to do: advise you.

A Fee Only Planner could be the best option for someone who is concerned about their financial situation. Many other financial advisors will ask for compensation in other forms, such as selling you other financial products and services that may or may not be in your interest. As a result, a fee-only planner is the best option for someone who just wants to pay money for advice and avoid further complications.

Always ask questions

Just like your children, you need to be curious and ask questions whenever needed. Don’t keep yourself in the dark or look for solutions to your problem via Google. Hire professional help whenever possible and don’t forget that you are never alone when you are in a financial crisis or deep debt. Hire an advisor, ask questions, and don’t stop asking until you are satisfied that you understand the answer. Once your children grow older, remind them how they used to be curious and full of questions when they were younger, and they’ll quickly understand that there’s no shame in asking for help.

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The New Home Financial: How To Make It Through

January 27th, 2017 Posted in learning about money, Money Tips
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Moving into a new home is great, excitement bubbles over as you work where you’re going to move and start thinking about how you’re going to decorate it, but there are financial hurdles to get over along the way that all but the most rich need to spend time deliberating and worrying about. There are ways around this, ways that require perseverance and a willingness to learn. Sure, saving takes some time, and parting with that cash can be tough, but you need to see it as an investment, only then does it make it all worthwhile.

The Mortgage

Getting a mortgage can be an extremely demanding and painful process. You need to stack the card in your favour before going for one, otherwise you could be turned down, which is a stressful process. If you are turned down, there are places that can help and give you more advice such as at 1stukmortgages.co.uk/declined-or-refused-a-mortgage-advice. You should seek all the advice you can prior to the meeting and make sure you have saved up enough of a deposit. This will be the largest outgoing but don’t worry because you aren’t under pressure to save, just save bit by bit and as much as you can. Know what kind of properties you want and save accordingly.

Saving for a new home - buying a property image

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Government Taxes

Don’t forget there are government taxes you may have to pay too, so don’t put everything into your housing deposit. Remember you are going to have to save up some extra money for this. The tax such as the stamp duty tax is a tax that varies depending on the price of the property. It is an non negotiable fee which you need to pay. You can calculate how much your duty will be here. You need to set this sum aside because you don’t want to be caught out and end up having to pay it out of cash reserves you have set aside for other things, such as renovation.

Renovation

You’ll need spare cash for renovation. There will be many things in your new property that either need fixing up or changing to suit your own needs. Before you purchase the house you should get a building survey done, which will show you any issues that need to be rectified, Don’t be afraid to offer a lower price because of these issues. Or, ask them to sort the issues out before making an offer. They may take the financial hit or pay out for the work to be done themselves. Whatever they decide, it’s win win for you. You don’t want to end up with a property that has severe structural issues. Set aside money for the home, after you’ve viewed it you’ll know roughly how much you’ll need to spend to do what needs to be done. You don’t want to end up in the situation where you have spent all your money on the deposit with nothing left to buy shabby chic coffee tables and other furniture or make the necessary changes.

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Investing Time and Money: What Kind of Investor Are You?

January 23rd, 2017 Posted in learning about money
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Before you dive in and start investing your money, you need to think about what kind of investor you want to be. There are so many different types of investor, and there are lots of tactics, techniques and approaches to investing as well. By knowing about these things before you started, you can develop an approach that works best for you from the start. One of the four types of investor you will find below could be you, so read on now.

The Calm and Patient Investor
Some people are naturally calm, and they like to invest in a patient and measured kind of way. This can work very well for some people, but others simply aren’t cut out for it. It’s the kind of investment strategy that you automatically slot into, or you automatically don’t. You can’t really control how calm and measure you are when investing your cash or selling stocks. If you remain calm and stay on top of your investments at all times, you can often ride out the bad times and find the good times. However, it can backfire. No strategy or approach to investing is foolproof.

money palm - investor image

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The Silent Investor

Some people like to invest, but they don’t necessarily like the work and energy that goes into it. This is especially the case for people who are investing in startups and small businesses. That’s why many people become angel investors. They look for new business opportunities and invest their money if they like the sound of a business or an idea. But they don’t necessarily get their hands dirty when it comes to the running of the company. Instead, they let the managers and other owners get on with running the business and creating a return on their investment. There are also lots of crowdfunding opportunities for angel investors out there.

The Risk-Averse Investor

Being a risk-averse investor might sound like a contradiction because investing is all about taking risks, right? Well, yes that is true. But there are still lots of investors out there who invest their money in a way that is very careful and cautious. They assess everyone opportunity very carefully. And they never let go of their money unless they are sure of what they’re doing. They might also be more likely to pull out of an investment or sell their shares at the first sign of trouble. This can sometimes lead to missing out on chances to make money. Or it can limit losses, so it works both ways.

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The Mix and Match Investor

If you’re a restless kind of person that likes to try lots of new things, you might be a mix and match investor. These are the people who invest in lots of different ways. For example, they might trade on the stock markets and also build up a portfolio of investment properties at the same time. That’s just one example. There are so many different types of investing out there, and you can combine or juggle them in any way you choose to.

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