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4 Ways The Internet Can Solve Your Cash Problems

June 12th, 2017 Posted in Entrepreneurship, Money Tips
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If the internet has done one thing it has ramped up our accessibility to extra cash, and who doesn’t want or need a little bit of extra cash. After all, we tend to be one dollar short of our bills at the end of each month for the simple fact that we all live to our means.

The reasons why we may want to make a little bit extra are almost infinite. It could be that we want to pay down debts before we get stung hard by the interest rates, perhaps an injury is keeping you out of work, your emergency fund was suddenly hit by a car maintenance job, or you want to put that little bit more into your retirement fund.

Whatever it is, we have done the due diligence for you and come up with the best ways to make money online and help you make that little bit more:

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Survey Taking

More and more people are using the increased demand for data to their advantage, namely by making money in their spare time. Seriously, the world has gone absolutely nuts for data, and businesses will do anything to better understand the average consumer, which is where you come in and, more crucially, where this list of paid surveys comes in. All you have to do is tick some boxes or answer questions, maybe even test a product or two and, voila, you can earn a little bit of extra money to go toward your debt repayments or whatever you are using it for. Simple and effective.

No-Risk Betting

It’s also called matched betting, and it is arguably the easiest way to make substantial money (without robbing a bank or a friend’s ISA). The way it works is relatively simple: you take advantage of those free bets you always see being offered by betting shops and then ‘matching’ them at an exchange. That’s what makes it risk-free. Twice over. Not only are you betting for free, you are also betting for and against a certain outcome. Big money to be made once you get the hang of it and, yes, it is totally legally before you ask.

You might also want to check out Betulator

Just Search The Web

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, and that certainly seems to be the case with Qmee’s idea, which has made making a little bit of extra money online almost as easy as breathing air. All you do is install the Qmee add-on to your web browser and then browse the web as you would normally. You just conduct a search and every so often, what will happen is, a sponsored result may appear with a cash reward attached to it. If you’re interested, well, click and collect. Yes, the rewards may be tiny, but for doing nothing new that’s a good deal, as is the fact you can cash out whenever. Yup. no minimum amount needed.

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Test Sites

So you know your way around the web, huh? Well, why not turn this into a nice little money spinner (maybe even go pro with it) and browse the web full-time. You think we’re joking, don’t you? We’re not, and UserTesting will support us. This is a new type of platform and what it does is allows people to review websites, loads of websites. It takes about 20 minutes to do a review and, in return, you’ll get $10 dropped into your PayPal account. That’s it. Simple.

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Getting Over Credit, Debt, And Other Horror Stories

June 8th, 2017 Posted in learning about money
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When people think of credit and debt, their minds immediately go to the worse case scenarios of them. We’ve all heard ghost stories of how bad credit can drag you down and limit your options and how debt can become a spiral that can truly be very hard to climb out of. But the problem is that a lot of people focus on the negative consequences of these stories that they fail to consider just how helpful credit and debt can be. Here, we’re going to challenge the phobia and help you use credit and debt better.

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The sooner you come face-to-face with it, the better

There’s a significant portion of adults who have never once checked their credit report. Some of these people might not know to, others have chosen not to because they’re staying well away from credit as much as possible. However, even if your record is immaculate, your report might not be. You might have to repair your credit score by no fault of your own but because there are erroneous accounts on them. For instance, you might be getting bad reports based on accounts that are mistakenly tied to your name but aren’t yours. Or you might be up-to-date with all your payments but your creditors made a mistake in reporting that you missed a payment.

It’s the next step in a better financial life

When used responsibly, credit and debt are the steps you take to make some of the biggest financial decisions in your life. When you get a car, when you buy a house, when you start a business, the chances are you take out a loan for them. With better credit, which is built by taking debts responsibly, you have the chance to get the best discount auto loans and the best mortgages. Having no history of credit isn’t going to help you get better deals. You have no history of being a responsible debtor, after all. Only by building a healthy credit history can you get the best deals.

Credit cards aren’t the devil

Those pieces of plastic might be considered the single most dangerous aspect of credit. Yes, people get themselves into credit card debt they can’t handle by using it to make lifestyle purchases they otherwise couldn’t. But that debt can be used positively to build up your credit so long as you have pre-planned a budget to always keep on top of it. Debt management turns debt from a danger into a simple part of life. You can get rewards cards that turn credit card use into extra purchasing power, whether it’s through air miles or through grocery vouchers.

Wise use of credit and responsibility for debts can be one of the most effective financial tools at your disposal. It can improve your purchasing power and it can help you make some of the biggest financial decisions in your life. In any account, it’s important to come face-to-face with it so you make sure that it’s not marred by errors that could come back to haunt you.

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What They Don’t Teach Them In School

May 30th, 2017 Posted in financial literacy for kids, teaching children about money
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Getting your children to learn the importance of money can be one of the most valuable things that they will ever be taught. Unfortunately, schools around the world still are not grasping on to the idea that the more knowledge we impart about the world of finance for when they reach their adult years, the more that children will take on board and be able to utilise it to their own advantage with the next generation. With that in mind, what are the top three things that we need to be teaching our children now, while the time is right?

Save Carefully

It’s hard to expect a child to be able to save all of the money that they receive, but there are good incentives to set for them to want to do it. Paying them for simple jobs around the house such as loading the dishwasher and sweeping the leaves from the front lawn will teach them that they have to work hard for what they receive and rewards come alongside this work. Taking care of their money for them, or at least giving them the option of you taking care of it, will see you acting like a bank. Even teaching them the value of getting loans from New Horizons or other such lenders can help them appreciate just how far money gets people. Let them see the importance of watching their money grow and learn for themselves just what they are able to purchase with it. They may even want to open their own bank account if they haven’t got one already.

Consider Your Options

Teaching your children actions to their consequences is hard when they aren’t fully aware of what options are available to them. For example, they could put their money into saving accounts, ISAs, bonds – there is a wealth of choices available to them, and most adults don’t even know a good enough amount about them to warrant a good explanation. It can be something that you can learn about together; you may find that you are stashing your money in the wrong place when you find out about what the best option for your child is. It’s all one big learning curve that doesn’t stop as you get older – you are simply just more aware of what’s available.

Make Good Choices

What’s good and what’s bad when it comes to money? Live off of your own experiences and recall them to your children. You know where you will have made some bad choices in the past, but children are best taught from your own experiences rather than you trying to explain what might happen. Think of it as taking a history lesson from somebody who has gone through the actual event – a bit far fetched, but the sentiment is still the same. Or, if you know what path you should have gone on to get yourself in a financially sound position, try and guide them along the one that you know that you should have taken. Our children may not be taught how to make financial decisions in school, but they can learn from us and what we have picked up along the way.

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The Ultimate Guide To Spending Less

May 30th, 2017 Posted in learning about money, Money Tips
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Extracted from The Ultimate Guide To Spending Less: 117 Tips! by Klaus Nymand.

Are you the type of person who wants to save money but isn’t about that spreadsheet life? You don’t live for crunching numbers and you don’t need an in-depth course in personal finance. This guide to money saving tips is exactly what you’ve been hoping for.

Use this guide on how to save money to pick up savings tips you like and skim over the rest. There is something in here for everyone. Remember that the smallest change can yield big results over time.

1. Use The Envelope Budgeting Method

This method works best for cash stashers. You have to have some willpower or the ability to not rob Peter to pay Paul. Work out your monthly expenses and assign an envelope for each. Deposit the correct amount of cash in each envelope each pay period to equal the amount due at month’s end.

2. Segment Your Money In Multiple Bank Accounts

These days, most of us need our income available in digital form. We pay bills online and that’s a challenge with the envelope method above.

Luckily, you can accomplish the same end by opening a second checking account. This second account is your master envelope. Put all of the correct apportioned amounts into that account each pay period.

When it’s time to pay your bills, all of the money is ready to send out from that account.

Paypal has a great prepaid debit card that you can use for this purpose if you can’t or don’t want a new bank account.

3. How To Use Prepaid Cards To Budget

In fact, prepaid debit cards can really help with budgeting! For starters, there are no overdraft fees to drain your already strained finances. If you play your budget to the razor’s edge, a prepaid card will give you some peace of mind. Use them to pay bills and shop online.

4. Why You Should Keep An Allowance In Cash

If the methods above sound like too much work, reverse engineer it! Figure out what your weekly bill figure is. Leave that amount in your bank account and take cash as your spending money.

Of course, if you prefer your spending money on a card, grab a prepaid debit and load it with your weekly allowance.

5. How To Earn More With A Side Gig

Depending on your talents, you may find a side job is a great way to budget since it creates more money to work with. Websites like Fiverr, Upwork, and People Per Hour make it relatively easy to pick up some digital side work you can do from home. You can even monetize your photos through platforms like Pixabay.

The Penny Hoarder is a great resource for learning about potential side hustles. Just be sure to research anything you find there before you jump into it.

6. Leverage Rounding In Your Budget

If you have some room in your budget after bills, try rounding all of your bills up a few dollars. If your electric bill is generally $37.50 a month, stash around $40. This will slowly pad your bill account for emergencies.

7. Remember To Pay Yourself First

When money is tight it’s so easy to scramble to pay your bills and forget to set any aside for a rainy day. Whether you invest in a retirement account or keep a meager savings, putting your own savings at the top of your bill list helps you actually save.

This tip covers matching your employer’s contributions to your retirement accounts if you can.

8. Eliminate A Luxury On A Rotating Basis To Save

Think of this tip like financial Lent. You’re going to look at your debit account and see where you spend the most money on a luxury. Hopefully, there is more than one so you can rotate your cuts. If not, you can go a week on and a week off.

Once you see where you are spending extra money, abstain from those purchases for a week. When the week is over, add that bonus back in and remove something else.

This way you never feel too depressed about skimping to save money.

9. Choose Accounts That Work For You

Bank of America’s Keep The Change program rounds up every purchase using your debit card and deposits the change in your savings account. This is a brilliant way to save if your problem is actually setting money aside.

If you can’t swing that kind of increase in your spending, look for new accounts you can open that give cash with sign up. This may be actual cash or in the form of a gift card.

Many online banks provide higher interest rates to their customers to entice them to sign up. If you are paid through direct deposit you can open a high-interest checking account at a bank like Allied Bank and earn more interest than most standard accounts.

10. Try Micro-Investing

The Stash app and others like it capitalize on the popular trend of micro-investing. Users invest as little as $5 in fractional shares. Buy as often or as rarely as you like. You can also combine this tip with skipping a luxury and invest the cash instead.

In addition to Stash, Acorns and Clink work similarly but with slightly different features.

To read more of Klaus Nymand’s excellent money saving tips (there are 117 in all) please visit 

https://moneybanker.com/us/blog/ultimate-guide-to-spending-less-117-tips/

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Building a Firm Financial Foundation

May 30th, 2017 Posted in financial education, learning about money, Money Tips
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Effectively administering your personal finances encompasses broad responsibilities, ranging from everyday budgeting to long-range concerns, such as retirement planning and preparing for a child’s higher education expenses.  For the best results finding security and stability, individual money managers start with solid footing, building upon each favorable financial outcome.  Without a consistent base, on the other hand, individual finances are vulnerable to damage and distress.

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Building a sturdy financial base begins early in life, as young adults transition from dependency, carving-out their own financial territories.  And the process continues for a lifetime, calling on effective money managers to remain proactive shaping positive financial outcomes.  Consider the following concerns, at the heart of your financial stability:

Use Strong Credit References to Support Your Financial Health

From your first financial interactions, your behavior handling money lays the groundwork for credit references, which follow you for a lifetime.  By setting-off on the right foot, you not only establish short-term credit references, but early success also puts building blocks in place on which to raise a strong financial structure.

Although it is a representation of your actual credit behavior, your credit score ultimately takes on a life of its own.  Beginning with your first credit card, car note, or revolving store account, credit reporting agencies monitor your behavior making good on debts and managing money matters.  Successful financial outcomes boost your score, while inconsistencies reduce your strength of credit.  Each circumstance is judged according to its particulars, so it is hard to generalize about the impact of credit mistakes.  Suffice to say, however, it doesn’t take many missteps to undermine your credit strength, resulting in an uphill battle correcting deficiencies.  In addition to responsible use of credit opportunities, adopt these strategies to maintain credit integrity:

  • Always pay on time
  • Utilize various forms of credit
  • Close unused accounts
  • Check your credit score annually

Select the Right Financing for the Job

Various types of financing serve non-commercial borrowers, helping people fund everything from routine daily purchases to major, big-ticket buys.  Matching the correct loan or revolving account to your funding need can save money on the cost of purchases and reinforce your financial foundation.  Using equity financing to carry-off home improvements, for example, is a sensible approach to renovation.  While relying on a high-interest credit card to pay for residential upgrades may not be prudent.

Fortunately it is easier than ever to evaluate lender rates and terms, using online resources to compare and contrast borrowing alternatives.  Your credit history, income and employment status are important considerations when vetting financing alternatives, leading you to the most cost-effective solution for each funding need.

Build a Strong Financial IQ

When it comes to money matters, knowledge is empowering – in more ways than one.  Not only does financial understanding give you peace of mind, ensuring you are making the right moves, but a well-rounded financial IQ can also have a direct impact on your bottom line.  Building and reinforcing financial savvy protects your monetary interests and  whether or not you are mathematically inclined, general accounting principles are important tools for making the most of your financial resources.  Understanding how to balance your budget, for instance, is essential for long-term financial success, resulting in a sustainable flow of cash through your home.  And knowledge of fundamentals such as depreciation, dollar-cost averaging, and APR weigh heavily on your ability to effectively manage money.  For the most consistent financial outcomes possible, use your commitment to financial understanding to make informed decisions, without leaving money on the table.

Your financial security relies on a sturdy base and ongoing discipline managing money matters.  From a high credit score to a strong financial IQ, it is up to you to use all the tools at your disposal, building and preserving a solid financial foundation.

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