Month: June 2021

Gold has preserved its value over the years, and it’s still essential in many industries today. This is why a lot of people are interested in owning it or at least have a portion of their investments in precious metals.

In the past, gold and silver were only owned by a minority of very wealthy individuals. However, as companies are going public, some of the assets are becoming accessible to individuals, and they became affordable as well. As a result, it’s common to see companies today buying and selling coins and bullions at an affordable rate.

Some of these transactions are safe, mainly if you only stick to the tried and trustworthy manufacturers. You can find more information about these companies by reading Birch Gold Group reviews and learning more about their investment products and services. Know that the regulatory authorities remit not all transactions. Many may be getting it from underground sellers, making it easier for some to enter this industry.

Buying precious metals often involves a large sum of hard-earned cash, and you need to ensure that you’re investing in something safe and valuable. When you know what factors to consider when selling or buying gold, you’re protecting yourself and becoming a wiser investor. Some of the points to consider are the following:

Factors to Know when Buying Gold

1. Verification and Authentication

The first thing to know is to verify whether the bullion presented to you is authentic. This is the same with coins. Verification processes should never be skipped because it’s essential. You may want to have a provider that buys directly from accredited associations, approved refineries, and mints to ensure that their assets are legitimate. If they are buying and selling from the general public, some of the coins may be fake, and you wouldn’t want this to happen to you.

The genuine articles have seals of authentication with them. The so-called chain of integrity is critical when it comes to providers and the overall infrastructure of the bullions. You should know about the origin of the bars that the sellers are offering you. The reputable ones will give you a bar with a serial number stamped on the surface where the purity is 99.5%. You can read more about bars on this site here.

Once you’ve carefully scrutinized and checked the gold bar, it’s time to see if it’s accepted into the professional market. They should remain in vaults that are accredited by international financial exchanges to ascertain that the contents are still pure and there’s no tampering that has occurred.

There are also international anti-money laundering requirements like knowing your customer that involves the photographic identification of clients. Regardless of whether the transactions include selling or buying, KTC will protect all parties involved, and there can be a trace of where the bullions originated.

In the case of coins, there is a gold coin detector like Fisch that’s used by international banks worldwide. Since the 1980s, investors and primary dealers have used these tests that offer services to their clients. You need to increase the chances of owning a genuine article to get the most value from your investment.

2. You Need Safe Storage Somewhere

Select providers that will give you a facility where you can store the precious yellow metals. There should be appropriate insurance, coverage, and highly secure storage where audit controls are done daily.

When you can have someplace where you can safely store your gold bars, you can expect to prevent additional expenses for re-authentication since the bullions have remained within the chain of integrity. The suppliers should never expose their clients in the first place by bringing the physical metals unnecessarily. They should stay in the storage facility for security.

Another thing is that it’s worth noting that your gold as a client should not be considered as property of the bank or broker. Therefore, they should not be included in the balance sheet of the company. If this interests you, you can always try exchange-traded funds that will pool the accounts, and the clients will be the unsecured creditor of the institution in the name of higher returns.

3. Avoid Specific Types of Gold

Owning physical gold coins and bars in a specific account is the safest way to own this asset. However, note that not all that provides sparkle is considered gold. Avoid brokers and telemarketers that are trying to hard-sell you. Know when someone is hard selling you on this page: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/hard-sell/.

Some of the scams are made for overpriced coins, which are often numismatic and semi-numismatic at an exorbitant rate. Consumers are known to have markups of over 100%, and some have been ripped off for 25%. The premium retail may between 5% to 10%, and they are lower with bars when a consumer makes a volume purchase.

Another thing is that leveraged trading is a very high-risk speculation. For example, if a gold medal has a material correction in a typical market, the investors could see their money gone instantly. Also, another point is that many buyers don’t own the metals themselves, and they are exposed to the other parties’ risks.

Know that it can be risky for you to sell your gold to the same provider where you bought it. This form of closed-loop transactions will create a dependency over time, and you may feel overly reliant on the whole thing. The country party is the one making the risks, and the price may not be worth it.

It’s better if you own the bars and physical coins and sell them to others. The markets out there are internationally competitive, and bullion dealers are available every time you want to sell. You just need to decrease your overall dependency and thought process that the provider is the only entity to sell your metals. The competition is essential to ensure that the price is right.

Choose the providers that have a stellar reputation in the international and domestic settings. Then, research them and ensure that you’re dealing with a reputable broker if you ever choose to do closed-loop transactions.

Though it may not be high on the list of priorities of many people when starting a family, having a life insurance policy is very important. It is very confusing for many since you do have to make sure that you choose the right policy for your needs and budget. But, there is more to it than that.

Picking the wrong policy or making a number of other mistakes can leave you in a bad position. In fact, some mistakes are big enough that you may need to hire a life insurance lawyer to help you. 

In this article, we will go over some common mistakes people can make with life insurance so you can avoid doing the same.

1 – You didn’t shop around

You may feel like getting the same policy with the same coverage is going to cost the same no matter what company you go with. Unfortunately, this is not true. There are so many variables that go into the quote that make it vary wildly from company to company.

This means that shopping around is essential. Try to go with a few different life insurance companies and see who is going to give you the best quote. Not only will you be able to find a deal, but you may also find that you can get better coverage than you had planned to get for around the same price by going with a different provider.

2 – Naming the wrong beneficiary

There is usually a good reason to name certain people or things as a beneficiary. Loved ones that happen to be minors, for example. Or, you may even want to name your estate as beneficiary. However, these are serious mistakes to avoid.

Starting with the mistake of naming an estate, the reason this is a bad idea is that it puts your estate beneficiaries in a bind in the event of your death. It can take a long time to get through the probate court which leaves them without the benefits.

Naming a minor as a beneficiary gets very complicated and expensive if you are deceased before they reach adulthood. If there is a dispute over who should be the legal guardian then this can delay the payment from the policy and cost a lot of money in lawyer and court fees.

3 – You fail to keep it updated

Things change over time as life goes on. What was seemingly set in stone a decade ago may have evolved and looks quite different today.

You will have to keep your policy updated as things in your life change to avoid any problems later. For instance, you may be divorced and will need to change your beneficiary. Or, you could find that the policy you thought provided enough coverage no longer does now according to your circumstances.

Review your policy periodically so you can be sure that there are no discrepancies that could cause a headache further down the road.

Slip and fall injury cases are by far the most common personal injury lawsuits. When considering just how severe the injuries can be from a slip and fall, claiming compensation is always the best decision. Even though most people would assume that a slip and fall can’t be that bad, this common injury often results in severe spinal cord injuries and even traumatic brain injuries depending on the specifics of the incident.

After experiencing a slip and fall, you should immediately seek medical attention to determine how severe your injury is. Even if you haven’t endured any severe and life-altering injuries from the incident, you should still contact a personal injury attorney in Tustin or your local area to conclude if you have a legal case and how much your injury case is worth. With that said, here are a few little known facts about personal injury law that could help you win your case.

Premises Liability Refers To More Than Just Slips And Falls

Premises liability does not just refer to slip and fall incidents as the law covers injuries that occur from negligent security, contaminated food, and even a defective elevator, to name a few. As a result, premises liability refers to all injuries sustained on the premises due to negligence. Your claim won’t be secluded to the slip and fall alone, as you may be eligible for additional compensation considering the level of negligence that led to the incident.

You Can Claim From Property Owners For Slip And Fall Injuries

Slip and fall injury claims are not secluded to businesses such as retailers and your place of work. Suppose you slip and fall while visiting a friend, family member, or acquaintance, and your injury is the result of their negligence as a property owner. In this case, you can claim from the property owner as they should have home insurance that covers such instances.

The Timeframe For Claims Depends On The Circumstances

While it is always best to file a claim as soon as possible regarding personal injury lawsuits, the timeframe for claims varies depending on the circumstances. Therefore, if you slip and fall on government-owned premises such as a park, public school, or any government building, you will have to file your claim within one year of the incident. On the other hand, if the slip and fall injury occurred on private property, a retail store, a restaurant, a hotel, or at your place of work, you will have a maximum of two years to claim for the injury.

Personal injury refers to a wide variety of injuries, and while slips and falls are the most prominent, road accidents are the next most common type of personal injury cases. However, regardless of your type of personal injury case, you should always rely on an expert injury lawyer to handle your claim process for you as this won’t just speed up the timeframe. Still, it will also ensure you receive the maximum compensation for your unfortunate experience. 

If you’re thinking about filing for bankruptcy, it’s probably not a decision you take lightly.

Bankruptcy is not an easy way to get out of paying your debts. Instead, you should view it as a means to get control of your finances and rebuild a strong foundation for yourself.

The consequences of bankruptcy can be pretty significant.

For example, bankruptcy proceedings may require that you give up your possessions and sell them to pay your creditors.

Bankruptcies also damage your credit, and they can impact your ability to get a loan for something like a house or a car well into the future.

Even if you are able to get credit from a lender in the future, you’re probably going to get a higher interest rate and less favorable terms than a borrower without bankruptcy.

After you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can expect that it will stay on your credit report for 10 years. If you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, then it will stay on your credit report for seven years.

With a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your trustee uses liquidated assets to pay off as much of your debt as possible, and then the rest is discharged. With a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you have to pay everything back within three to five years based on a court-approved payment plan.

Before filing for bankruptcy, you should consider all of your alternatives, including a debt consolidation loan, help from a government-approved credit counselor, and talking with your creditors to see if they’ll work with you on a repayment plan that’s more manageable for your financial situation.

If none of these things happen and you have no other choice, after a bankruptcy, you should take the following steps to start recovering.

Understand What Happened

The most important thing you can do as you begin to rebuild your financial life after a bankruptcy is truly gain an understanding of what happened and why you found yourself in that situation.

This can be hard because it forces you to look at bad habits and mistakes you made, but this really is the only way you’re going to be able to move forward.

Without knowing where you went wrong, you’re not going to know what to improve on in the future.

Check Your Credit Reports

Looking at your credit reports for the first time after a bankruptcy can be painful, but again you need to do it. This is the only way you’ll know where you’re starting so that you can track your progress.

Look for any mistakes, too, so that you can dispute them.

After you initially check your credit, you should sign up for a monitoring service. There are free options like CreditKarma, and they will help you stay on track of your progress and also alert you of any suspicious behavior that could be affecting your credit.

Maintain Your Home and Job

If you already have a job when you file for bankruptcy, do everything you can to keep it.

If you don’t have one already, then you need to find steady employment.

This will help to rebuild your credit and show you’re reliable. You should work to have a stable home too, whether you own it or it’s a rental.

Create a Budget

When you have a budget, it helps you truly know what’s coming in versus what’s going out. In order to rebuild your finances and also avoid making the same mistakes, you need to have a budget.

You need to start by including all of your income sources. From there, list your expenses and start to see where you can trim things.

Don’t be too rigid in your budget because that might make it impossible to stick to, and then it’s pointless.

Start Using a Secured Credit Card

A secured credit card is likely going to be one of the first things you begin utilizing after a bankruptcy to rebuild your credit.

A secured credit card is one that you can easily get approved for in most cases, even with bad credit.

The reason you can be approved is that the card is backed by a cash deposit you make. The deposit usually equals your credit limit.

If you deposit $300, then you can spend up to $300 with your card.

Eventually, if you pay your bill on time, you can raise your credit score enough to get an unsecured card.

An unsecured card may be an option if you have bad credit, but if it is, you can count on paying high fees to use it.

Either way, having a credit card, using it responsibly and paying on time are going to help you reestablish your credit.

As a note, a secured card might sound like a prepaid credit card, but there are differences.

With a prepaid card, you’re not getting the advantage of having it reported to credit bureaus.

Ideally, to make the most use of a secured card, you should only make one or two small purchases a month with it so that you don’t spend more than you should.

Then, each month, pay your balance in full. This helps you avoid paying any interest.

A secured card can start to improve your credit within about a year.

Aside from making one to two small purchases on your secured card a month, use only cash when you can.

Add Other Accounts to Your Credit

There are certain ways you can add things like your rent and utility payments to your credit report. For example, Experian offers Experian Boost. This lets you add your utility and phone bills in your report, and if you make them on time, then it helps improve your credit score.

Finally, be patient with the process and yourself. The impact of bankruptcy can be difficult at first, but if you’re diligent you can dig yourself out of it and re-establish your credit score. Take your time and look at it as a process.

Many schemes promise financial rewards if you participate in them. Unfortunately, some of them are simply used by dubious people to take advantage of unsuspecting persons.

We suggest that you ask the question “what is in it for them?” before being a part of any scheme that promises financial reward. This is because a system that equally benefits from your participation should be able to keep up with its promises.

For instance, we advise that people stay away from Ponzi schemes as the source of their earnings is questionable. On that note, you should know that participating in a brand ambassador program of a reliable company is worth your while.

This is because even the company stands to benefit from your participation. For instance, it has been discovered that people are likely to deal with goods or service companies that are recommended by brand ambassadors. For more on how running a brand ambassador program helps businesses, you can read this.

We will discuss how you can take advantage of such a strategic marketing program in this article. We strongly advise that you keep reading considering what you stand to learn and gain.

What Is a Brand Ambassador Program?

This is a strategic marketing system by a company that aims to raise people who can act as the brand’s face. The responsibility of these individuals will be to help the business create a positive image, especially among the target audience. Also, well-known companies have these programs to maintain and improve their public image.

A while ago, the concept of handling this portfolio was something that only celebrities in the entertainment, sporting world and other facets were exclusively allowed to do. This is because these people have loyal fans who believe that whatsoever they endorse is worth it.

The truth is that the use of celebrities is still very much a marketing tactic but other people can also play a huge part in promoting a business. This is why many of these companies have set up programs to identify and select people able to help.

The job of a brand ambassador program company  is to hire and train brand ambassadors. Many businesses turn to these professional services for help so that they do not have to go through the trouble of training and monitoring these corporate representatives.

Ways You Can Act as a Brand Ambassador

Once upon a time, the only way anyone could act as a brand ambassador was by physical presence. Although physical presence is still very much used and appreciated, there is the option of being an online influencer for the company. Let us take a look at the implications of being an in-person and online brand ambassador:

In-Person Option

People who participate this way are charged with the responsibility of having conversations that promote the interest of the company. This can be in a marketing or conference event where awareness of the goods and/or service will be done.

In such gatherings, they set up and run tables as well as showcase the products or services in appealing ways. For instance, product demos can be organized for this purpose.

Furthermore, it is not unusual to see such people distribute marketing materials such as posters and stickers. Also, it is common to see in-person brand promoters wear T-Shirts, Hats, and other clothing items that present the company in a good light.

Online Option

Information technology has and is playing a huge part in how companies can create brand awareness and record massive sales. One of the ways this has been possible is by making good use of online brand ambassadors.

For more on this subject, you can visit: https://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/importance-information-technology-business-today-01393380

Unlike the in-person option, these portfolio holders work remotely by using various strategies to create, maintain, and/or promote the brand’s identity. Organized and positive result-yielding activities are carried out on social media platforms to achieve this.

They post visual and/or written content regularly on chat groups and message boards that are aimed at portraying a good image of the company. Other than this, some of these online corporate representatives write reviews in favor of the business they represent.

This is a great tactic considering that some people can only decide to order a product or service after they have consulted reviews. However, such reviews should not seem biased or subjective as this might be a turn-off for some prospective clients.

Wrap Up

Whether in-person or online option, these corporate representatives work to promote the brand amongst their circle of influence. This might be in person or via what digital technology offers.

We have discussed the 2 major ways you can participate in these programs and hope that you make the right decision. However, you should not also forget to make sure the company is reliable. For instance, they should not be into illegitimate operations.

No matter where you live, you should always have a firm grasp on your finances. It’s important to know how much you are spending, how much you are saving, and how much you are earning at any given moment.

Whether you are making the move for a long period time or a short period of time, there are some crucial steps you should take to manage your finances whilst abroad.

Open a Local Bank Account

International bank transfers can end up costing you quite a lot. If you are planning on settling down in a foreign country, it’s wise to open a local bank account. Many countries require a local bank account if you are looking to lease a car or apartment. Furthermore, this will save you from high exchange rates.

Keep an Account Open at Home

You may only move for a few years, or you may end up living there forever. You never know when you might need to come back to your home country. Whatever the case, it’s prudent to keep a bank account open at home. Speak to your bank and ask them what options are available to you.

Find a Suitable Insurance Plan

You never know when you could find yourself in a tricky situation, so it’s always a good idea to prepare for the worst. That’s why you should always invest in health insurance for travelling abroad. Medical bills can be extremely expensive, especially as a foreigner in a different country, so a great way to cover future expenses is by getting the correct travel insurance.

Manage Your Property

If you have a property back home, you should make the most of this investment. Don’t leave it collecting dust, instead, hire a property manager to keep it occupied whilst you are gone. Not only will you make some extra money on the side, but you’ll also keep it maintained and free from intruders whilst you are abroad.

  

Get Used to Conversion Rates

When you live in a foreign country it’s easy to get carried away with how much things cost. Make sure to get used to the conversion rates and always calculate the price in your home currency before you buy. It may seem like your everyday items are extremely cheap, but once you do the math, it could end up being much more expensive than you thought.

Re-Adjust Your Budget

Whenever you move to a new country, or even a new state, you must factor in the new and additional costs. Make sure to re-adjust your budget and set yourself new spending limits. To get the best value for money, set yourself a daily budget in the local currency.

Adjusting to a new life abroad can be difficult. Don’t let something as simple as finances, further complicated your move. If you are still struggling to keep your finances under control whilst living in a new country, you can always reach out to a financial advisor for help.