Personal Finance Blog – Tips & Advice from UnitedFinances.com

It’s normal for new businesses to make errors. However, there isn’t much margin of error when it comes to taxes. For many small business owners, unfortunately this is the part they understand the least. This leads them to make errors that could at best result in money lost, or legal troubles in a worst-case scenario. Let’s take a look at a few tax mistakes small businesses commit way too often.

Royalty-free image

Not Keeping Receipts

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make as a small business is not keeping receipts. If the IRS notices something suspicious on your reports, they may ask for an audit, and that means that you will have to show proof for any expenses. Some may assume that their credit card statements can work instead of receipts, but that’s not always the case. The IRS will want to see receipts for certain things, and if you can’t produce them, it will make the process complicated and long.

Another major issue is not tracking taxable activities properly. For instance, you are required to keep a mileage record for vehicles in your fleet. If you aren’t, you can kiss that business driving deduction goodbye.

Not Working with a Professional

It’s a big mistake to assume that you can do your taxes alone and that working with an accountant is an unnecessary expense. It is often advisable to hire a small business accountant to help manage your books and accounting while you focus on your business. If you’re located in Florida, a Florida CPA will be able to help you not only keep your books in order, but inform you of any scheme of benefits you may have access to. This is something that could instantly affect your bottom line.

A CPA will be able to ensure compliance. They may also be able to tell you about anomalies in your books or ways that you can run a more efficient operation. A good accountant is one of the first people you need to work with as a business owner if you want to avoid trouble and keep your finances under control.

Mixing Your Business and Personal Expenses

This is another very common mistake that businesses make. When you mix both your business expenses and personal ones, you might miss out on a business deduction, or you might mix up personal and business expenses. To keep things clear, make sure that you have a separate credit card and bank account for your business and personal purchases. Also, consider switching to an LLC or corporation if you’re operating as a sole proprietorship.

Claiming Deductions will Trigger an Audit

Claim all the deductions that you can. You should never leave money on the table out of fear that it will trigger an audit. Not only should you not fear an audit if your books are in order, but there’s no deduction that is more likely to trigger an audit than others.

If you’re a budding small business, make sure that you avoid these mistakes at all costs. This will allow you to not only stay out of trouble with the IRS but also run a much tighter ship.

One stock you may not have heard about that was swept up in the stock-buying frenzy was Express, a mall retailer that perfectly profiled the small-cap stock that the Reddit forum, WallStreetBets, favored. This stock took off like a track star leaping off running blocks. Its 400% leap, startled Wall Street’s elite billionaire investors, causing them to appeal in desperation to the SEC to stop the Reddit-based retail investors from seizing the day with their unorthodox but perfectly legitimate crowdsource-like tactics.

If you wish you could have got in on the action when it was unfolding, then you should prepare yourself for something as spectacular happening again in the future by paying down your debt to a zero balance and setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. financial goals. 

Paying Down Your Debt to Zero Balance 

It may seem absurd to talk about paying your debts down to zero when you consider yourself lucky just to pay off even a small portion of your credit card balance every month. If you’re in this dicey situation, there is a way out that you may not have considered: Getting a consolidated loan. This is an unsecured loan that is substantial enough to pay off all your credit cards at once.

Repaying a consolidated loan is easier than paying off each credit card one at a time because you will pay a lower interest rate and only pay an amount that works with your budget.

Consumers can also use installment loans to build credit and reduce debt. These are short-term loans that can be repaid in small installments. You can receive up to $2,000 to pay off credit cards with the highest interest rates and pay the loan off in a more practical and affordable way. 

Set S.M.A.R.T. Financial Goals 

As you’ve probably guessed, S.M.A.R.T. does not refer to a more ingenious way of setting goals — although it is more multilayered than most goal-setting methods — but is an acronym.  Briefly, S stands for “specific,” M stands for “measurable,” A stands for “actionable,” R stands for “relevant,” and T stands for “time-bound.” 

While this goal-setting framework is often used by corporations to improve their bottom line, you can borrow it to improve your own personal finances. The reason it’s more effective than most goal-setting methods is that it forces you to clearly outline your aspirations, which, of course, increases your likelihood of achieving them.

Let’s take a closer look at how this goal-setting method can be used for financial goals:

• Specific: A specific goal is one that clearly states amounts, dates, and actions. The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to plan what actions to take to achieve your goals. An example of a specific financial goal might be:  “I will have $10,000 in my savings account by January 1st, 2022.” 
• Measurable: You need to set a benchmark and decide on milestones on your way to achieving goals. 
• Actionable: Decide on a course of action that will help you achieve your goal. For instance, if your goal is to save $10,000 in a year, an action step you could take would be to save $27.40 every day. 
• Relevant: A relevant goal is realistic, measuring realism by past performance. For instance, you’re unlikely to make six figures within a year if you are currently only making $25,000 a year. A more realistic goal would be to make $50,000 a year, perhaps $25,000 from your current job and the other $25,000 from a passive income stream. 
• Time-bound: A goal should have a deadline, otherwise it’s just a wish. It doesn’t matter if you don’t hit your deadline, but trying to reach it will cause you to try harder and make more progress; and, if you don’t meet your deadline, simply said another one. 

In summary, position yourself to have the money you need to jump in on promising future stock market investments by paying off all your debt and setting S.M.A.R.T. financial goals for the year.

Around 25% of people in the US have zero emergency savings. If this is you, there is a huge possibility that you are at a high financial risk. Saving money is something that most people say they want to do but there are reasons why it does not happen. The very common excuses are:

• I cannot save money.
• I do not know how saving should be done.
• There is not enough money available to save.
• I do not have the information needed to save.

The problem is that all of these are excuses. Saving money is always possible. Things are quite simple in fact. This is different than being accepted for large business loans. If you want to go over financial problems, you need to save money. Here are some ways to do just that.

Pay Off Debts

You might think this is not saving but as you remove debts like credit cards and student loans, you quickly realize the fact that you have more money to save than what you initially think. Money that you now use to pay debt can actually be added to a savings account. Focus on paying off debts first, before you do anything else.

Build An Emergency Reserve Fund

Try to build a fund that is as large as around 3 to 6 months when calculating expenses. Obviously, this is very difficult to do for many. Just try to do it as slowly as you can. After you have an emergency fund set up, use monthly contributions to increase your emergency fund. Auto-deposits can be set up right from the paycheck.

Build Long And Short-Term Savings

The emergency savings accounts should be put into high-yield accounts. With long-term savings, it is better to use something else. This includes funds you would eventually use for a larger purchase, like buying a home. Obviously, you need to focus on short-term savings first. Then, you can move up to longer savings plans.

Max Out Your Retirement Plans

When you work somewhere that offers 401k, try to max it. This is basically free money that you should not neglect, especially if your retirement savings are not as high as they should be. Basically, a good rule of thumb is to match how much money the company offers.

After you do this, try to max out extra retirement savings options. You could contribute to IRAs and look into various other retirement plans that are available for you.

Always Take Small Steps When Saving Money

One of the biggest reasons why people fail as they try to save money is that they do it too fast. You can so easily lose motivation if you do not have immediate results. However, in order to gain financial freedom, you absolutely need to work on it. This means you should take it slow. Every single small step you take is a huge gain in the long term.

Unfortunately, it is common to see that people wait until huge financial problems already exist. Although even then it is possible to start saving, it is easier to do so when you do not have problems.

Auto insurance is a fact of life. If you plan to drive a car then you will need to be insured. What many people don’t know is how the cost of their premium is affected by so many things. Some of which are totally out of your control.

Knowing why your premium costs as much as it does is a good way to figure out areas where you can actually save on your insurance. The more you know the more power you have over your insurance. In this article, we will go over what some of those factors are that affect your insurance.

1 – Where you live

Driving a new car off of a Volvo dealer Phoenix AZ lot is going to cost more or less than somebody driving off of another in some other part of the country.

Geography is one of the main factors as to how much you are going to pay. One of the reasons is that there are different regulations that cover auto insurance from state to state.

Even besides what state you live in, there are different prices for the area, too. For instance, some cities that have a high theft rate mean that you are going to pay a higher premium than someplace rural with little chance of your car being stolen.   

Where you park your car will impact the cost of your insurance. If it is street parked then this will raise the cost as it is prone to be in an accident or stolen. Garaged cars will cost less to insure as they are protected from theft and accidents.

2 – How you drive

Your driving record from the past may come back to haunt you when shopping for a new policy. Accidents and speeding tickets go on your driving record and are accessible by your auto insurance company. There are penalties that will follow you around for some years after your infraction or accident.

Even when you have a clean record, your driving habits will affect the cost. Insurance agents will look into how far you drive to get to work and what the route is like. Commuters with long drives in high accident areas will pay more for insurance than those that work from home.

3 – Type of coverage

The coverage that you need is one of the biggest factors and is not the same for everybody. For instance, you may be financing a new car and the financier requires that you get full coverage including fire and theft. This is going to be an expensive policy and there isn’t much wiggle room on the price of the premium.

Once you are done paying off the loan, then you are free to pick and choose the coverage you need. Many people find that they are overpaying for insurance because they are overcovered for their needs and car.

For instance, you may find that having theft coverage for an old car makes little sense since it is not a target for thieves. Or, being covered in the event of a flood when you live in a city that has a high elevation is not necessary.

Make sure that your coverage is only for things that you actually need and you will save a lot.

It’s time to apply for a home loan once you find a house that meets your budget, needs, and preferences. Applying for a mortgage means selecting a lender and completing an application.

The good news is that the home loan application process has become easier these days, thanks to many lenders now offering online options to interested applicants, however not knowing how to complete the application process correctly may still result in you forgetting to list important details, such as a co-borrower (when required) or your bank account details. Forgetting to include critical information could lead to snafus later.

Follow the following steps if you’re not sure what to expect when applying for a mortgage.

1. Prepare The Required Home Loan Documents

Mortgage lenders will be interested in your overall financial situation, creditworthiness, and employment history. You and your co-borrower will be required to prepare and provide documentation to your lender, to help them verify that information. Documents you’ll want to ensure are ready before completing your application include:

• Recent pay stubs that cover at least two most recent months
• Self-employed documentation, including a copy of the most recent year-to-date or quarterly profit/loss statement if you’re self-employed
• W-2s (Internal Revenue Service tax forms) for the last two years including all pages and relevant schedules of signed business and personal returns.
• Complete bank statements for the last two months for all your financial accounts, including investments
• A copy of the signed agreement between you and the seller (Purchase and Sales Agreement)

Depending on the type of home loan you’re applying for, and your own personal circumstances, the lender may require additional documents. As part of the process, the lender will also run a credit report with your permission.

2. Choose The Right Mortgage Type For You

There are different types of home loans. They differ based on the terms of the loan and whether or not the mortgage is government-backed or not. Below are the most common mortgage types and their benefits.

• 30-year fixed home loan – The interest in this type of mortgage doesn’t change over the loan’s full term. It also gives borrowers the lowest fixed-rate payment.
• 15-year fixed mortgage – This home loan works the same as a 30-year fixed one. The only differences include a lower interest rate and the opportunity for the borrowers to pay the loan off faster.
• USDA mortgage loans – the Department of Agriculture of the USA backs this type of home loan. It’s offered in USDA-eligible rural areas and it requires zero down payment from borrowers.
• VA home loan – This type of mortgage is for eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and service members’ spouses. The US Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees VA home loans. It doesn’t require a down payment or minimum credit score.
• FHA loan – The Federal Housing Administration is the organization backing FHA loans. These loans require a 3.5% down payment for borrowers with credit scores down to 580. Those with credit scores of 500 have to pay 10% down.

3. Choose The Right Type Of Lender

The best way to select the perfect lender for your mortgage needs is to get estimates from at least three companies offering home loans. To do this, you can make a list of your preferred lenders and talk with a representative from each company. Comparison rate websites can also help if you want lenders to contact you before even submitting your application.

Some options to help you explore home loans are:

• Banks – Most institutional banks now offer mortgages. If you have a significant amount of savings for a deposit, you may be eligible for a home loan with a lower rate. Keep in mind that banks generally have higher interest rates, not to mention they maintain stricter lending standards.
• Credit Union – As a credit union customer, there’s a good chance you’ll see lower closing costs and fees reductions as your mortgage commences. If you’re a member, you’ll likely also get a lower interest rate for your home loan. Locating a neighborhood credit union is as simple as searching ‘find a credit union near me‘, and these institutions generally offer lower rates because they operate as non-profit institutions.
• Mortgage brokers – Choose a mortgage broker if you want more options for your home loan. Mortgage brokers work with multiple loan companies, although it’s important to note that brokers don’t have a say in whether your mortgage is approved or not. The decision when it comes to your loan’s approval and terms will still be in the hands of the lender.

4. Fill Out The Application

The actual application process becomes quick and easy once you’re done completing the steps above. The next step is to decide which method you’ll take when applying. You can apply for a home loan in the following ways:

• In-person – The in-person mortgage application is the traditional way of applying for a home loan. You’ll visit the lender’s office and talk with their loan officer.
• Over the phone – You can also apply by phone. You’ll speak with a loan officer who will walk you through each of the application’s sections.
• Online application – Many lenders also now offer online application options to potential borrowers. You can use your desktop, laptop, or smartphone to fill out the application form.

Final Thoughts

The lender or broker (if you chose to work with a mortgage broker) will keep in contact with you regarding your application’s progress once you’ve completed all the steps listed in this post. If you’re approved, you’ll receive an official document containing your home loan’s conditions. So, keep your lines open and be sure to check your email inbox regularly.

Some people argue that a business registered under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance is automatically considered a tax resident. While this is true, it is important to appreciate that the Hong Kong administration considers failure to demonstrate economic substance to mean that the company has shifted it to another jurisdiction. 

The impact of this is that your company might get denied tax resident certificate, making doing business in other countries very difficult. Here is all that you need to know about tax substance in Hong Kong. 

A Closer Look at Tax Substance in Hong Kong 

Notably, there is no clear definition of tax substance in the Hong Kong laws. However, the term is used to mean the value that a company is contributing to the Hong Kong economy. As an island with little or no minerals or land for agriculture, Hong Kong spares no effort to ensure that companies operating there support its business-based economy. 

When a business applies for a tax resident certificate, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) indicates that it considers two things; 

• A firm is incorporated in Hong Kong. 
• A company incorporated outside Hong Kong but has most of the operations managed in Hong Kong. 

However, we must say that a lot more than the above two factors are checked before the certificate is issued. This means that even if your firm is incorporated in Hong Kong, it might still fail to qualify for a tax resident certificate. Some things that might make you fail to get the certificate include not filing tax returns correctly and on time and breaking other Hong Kong laws. 

Why You Need to Demonstrate Tax Substance in Hong Kong 

After incorporating businesses in Hong Kong, most investors want to grow them into both the neighboring countries and globally as well. Demonstrating tax substance can help you to achieve this goal easily. See other benefits of demonstrating economic substance:  

• It is the Gateway to Enjoying the Benefits of DTAs

Hong Kong has entered into more than 40 double tax agreements (DTAs) with different countries across the globe. To enjoy the full benefits of these DTAs, you have to get a tax resident certificate from IRD after demonstrating tax substance. Some of the benefits of DTAs include low withholding tax rates on interest or dividends and avoiding capital gains tax. 

• It Gives Your Company an Advantage Over Competitors 

By demonstrating tax substance, you get an added advantage over other companies in Hong Kong because you can easily expand globally. So, go ahead and extend your reach, such as identifying and working with partners in different countries to grow sales.  

How to Demonstrate Tax Substance 

The following are some key things you can do to demonstrate tax substance for your company: 

• Manage your company or most of its operations from Hong Kong. 
• Make sure some of the directors or senior managers stay on the island. 
• Have a functional office in Hong Kong. 
• Hold regular meetings on the island. 
• Ensure you have staff residing in Hong Kong. 
• Have some of the company’s cash stored in Hong Kong. 

Opening a business in Hong Kong is the first step to growing its presence globally. By demonstrating tax substance in Hong Kong, global expansion becomes pretty easy because you can take advantage of the DTAs. Consider working with an expert agency to help you understand tax substance more effectively and get a tax resident certificate from IRD.  

Nowadays, a great number of people often face the problem of lack of money. Regularly, this happens due to the global crisis, so that employers need to cut their workers’ salaries. However, in some cases, small wages are connected with underestimation of the amount of work and the importance of the profession from society and, accordingly, the employer. The profession of a nurse frequently falls into such a “wave of unappreciation.” 

In fact, nurses do a huge job because they have a great number of duties, except medical ones. Moreover, nurses are supposed to work long shifts sometimes in terrible conditions and, from time to time, to deal with some unpleasant behavior of people. Undoubtedly, we cannot deny how vital and nervous at the same time their job is. Although, in spite of the facts mentioned above, nurses are still underpaid and, consequently, they usually want to have another sort of income.

Loans as a Common Type of Nurses’ Incomes

The most common way to get more money as a nurse is to apply for installment loans no credit check. It is a pity because nurses could earn more money with the help of their knowledge, however, in reality, sometimes things do not happen in such a way. An installment loan is a credit that you acquire one-time and then pay back in fixed payments every month. 

The appealing thing for low-paid people is that usually, money lenders do not check your credit story, credit score, or your ability to pay back before lending you money because installment loans have high-interest rates and short repayment limitations. As a matter of fact, installment loans with no credit check are a quite risky way of borrowing money because of the conditions under which these loans are issued to the neediest. That is why you should always evaluate your capabilities objectively and understand the possible consequences.

By the way, installment loans are quite popular among nurses. They often stuck with their debts because of their low-payments. Some recent surveys made by social and medical organizations claim that today 30% of nurses between the age of 20 to 50 have such loans.

Actually, installment loans are not the only type of loan that nurses could borrow. Regularly, some nurses, who have not finished their medical degrees yet and have practiced as nurses, have student loans. Student loans, on the one hand, could help young nurses to finish their studying years, but, on the other hand, could make big financial problems for young nurses. 

There are some analyses that have been done by social survey centers, which show us that one-third of graduates who have debts are unemployed and, therefore, cannot pay the money back. This actively demonstrates that nursing students get into the job market with considerable financial liabilities which, surely, could have an influence on their future opportunities to have a job and repay. Indeed, a lot of sociologists declare that governments cannot turn away from this problem and call on to solve it as far as possible. Maybe this could impact on conditions under which loans are giving out.

Part-Time Jobs

Deviating from the topic of loans, here are some other ways of making extra money as a nurse.

• Some nurses work part-time as home nurses. There are a number of agencies that give services to people who are bedridden and not able to leave their own houses. Nurses usually apply for such a part-time job in these agencies. The main duties of a home nurse are to visit a particular number of patients and provide some medical care that they need. Consistently, such care contains general checkups, clothes changing, monitoring blood pressure, blood sugar measurement, and other resemblant medical responsibilities. In point of fact, such a job is a great type of part-time work because it does not need a great effort. Furthermore, it is a very noble occupation because giving a helping hand to helpless people is an essential thing.
• Another nursing part-time job is giving individual medical online-consultations. Many companies, specialized in such a matter, may give you an opportunity to remotely assist people on their illnesses, make diagnoses and write prescriptions for medicines. You would have your own list of patients who would need to be controlled. This job is convenient for many nurses, and the particular reason for such satisfaction is the ability to make your own comfortable schedule based on your scope.
• Last, but not least, is working as an immunization nurse. Many people from the medical sphere are familiar with such an opportunity. Immunization nurse is a seasonal part-time job, which starts in September. It is a well-known fact that when autumn begins a lot of people become infected with influenza disease. The flu activity starts nearly from October and continues until the spring. This firmly demonstrates the fact that a lot of people want to have flu shots in order to avoid this disease. That is why many regional immunization clinics usually look for nurses who can provide the service of making the vaccine.

There Is Always a Way Out

To sum everything that has been stated so far, it can be seen that there are a lot of ways of having another source of income being a nurse. However, although there are plenty of types of part-time jobs where nurses could use their professional knowledge as a wellspring of money earning, some nurses prefer just to have installment loans with no credit checks. The reason for this fact is quite obvious — it is easier to make monthly payments from salary to salary. Anyway, there is no doubt that every nurse has the ability to make their own choice related to their own comfort and opportunities.

Too many times when we are faced with a curveball in life and we get thrown off course, we simply give up. I have heard countless stories of individuals who believed they had everything in place to start their dream business venture all to have it taken away because of a hiccup.

Perhaps they were in the beginning stages of their start-up company only to hit a speed bump, and this led them to panic, to not think things through, and in the end, had everything crumble down around them. All those years of hard work and planning have gone in the blink of an eye.

If you are finding yourself in what seems like a similar situation, my advice would be to you to remain calm. Take a step back before making any permanent decisions and assess the problem for what it is, more often than not the solution revolves around or requires of money, and this is not something unattainable as many people tend to think right off the bat.

Taking stock of what exactly is happening at the moment is going to help determine the best solution moving forward, breaking it all down into different categories and seeing which needs your immediate attention.

In the beginning.

You and your girlfriends would often sit in the middle of the playground at lunch and chat about what type of businesses you would be running one day, each detailing their creativity into the products and services you want to offer and how you were going to do it.

As each person took their turn, feeling the love and support from the circle of friends basking in the sunshine, no dream and no goal was out of reach. Or so you thought in the present day, the moment in which you find yourself.

Graduation day came for all from the respective universities and it was time to head off into the big world to make that once dream chatter become a reality. You had spent countless hours, days, and weeks drawing up and setting plans into action for the new boutique shop you wanted to build and open on the high street in time for summer.

Finally, the day arrived where it all sprang into action. Contractors, diggers, builders, and tradesmen as far as the eye could see arrived on site ready to tackle their assigned tasks, the butterflies were on full force in your stomach and if it weren’t for the excitement of the project taking off you may have been sick. Nevertheless, the big day was upon you and there was no turning back.

Stage 2.

A few months have passed, the shell and most of the internals are complete on your project and all it needs is that final push to get you across the finish line. You feel stressed as would anyone embarking on such an adventure, but eager to set up shop and get the ball rolling.

Your close-knit circle of friends has also made a mark on their respective industries opening their little corner shops or creating the product that they believe will add value to peoples’ lives. As it all seems too good to be true you simply keep your eye on the prize.

But then you are hit with a harsh reality you didn’t expect, and you get that sinking feeling in your stomach. Unforeseen expenses popped up, extra materials were purchased, and without you taking note it seems that the money flow is coming to an end. So much so that the final push to bring it all together is now out of reach if you don’t get some financing soon.

After a few days of back and forth pacing and defending off questions and queries from all angles, you decide to lay it on the table with your friends who have been through thick and thin with you to see what they make of the situation.

What blew your mind was hearing that they too were looking for financial aid but were not a big enough corporation to get a substantial loan on their own, and so the subject of a group loan was broached.

You discussed it in as much depth as you could and decided to go for it, to get a samlelån or “group loans” and to do so as a ‘team, a family who you can always count on.’ This way everyone wins, all dreams are kept alive and well, and the world is still a great place to be an entrepreneur with a vision.

Knowing you all have each other in mind when taking out a collective loan shows responsibility and awareness for each other, but also love and care and believing in each other and the goals we wish to achieve.

Bringing it home.

First things first let us understand what does it mean to take out a group loan as such and why it can be beneficial to small business owners. Essentially to be considered for a group loan a few factors need to be met, the group should consist of a minimum of 3 willing participants, each person owns and is involved with a small company that brings in an income, and that the aforementioned businesses have been operational for at least 3months.

So why does it work for small brand entrepreneurs? We will break it down into the top reasons some of the successful applicants have commented on.

• Guarantors. This is one of the perks of this arrangement, the people responsible for paying for the loan in the event you cannot are the same ones you take responsibility for should they not make payment. You each look out for each other or everyone goes down.
• Collateral. Using assets or property leases as a ‘backup’ is what’s used for the generic loan system, they use the home as the payment method should a default occur on the monthly repayment. When going in as a group this factor is eliminated and which makes it that much easier to get accepted for.

Many options are available for collateral, some of which you can read up about here https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/collateral.asp, and see a more technical version of the explanation in the event it is still unclear what you are getting yourself in for.

• Simple. As everyone is on the same page and basically in the same boat there is a mutual understanding of the process which takes the complexity out of things. Thus the process is quick, simple, and effective for all parties involved.

A group loan has made many entrepreneurs the big corporations they are today, by simply getting a helping hand at the point where it could have all gone down the drain, they turn a bad situation into an unforgettable positive.

Not only do they have the story to tell and live by each day, but knowing they helped someone else out too in the process makes it so much better. We all deserve a chance in life to make something of ourselves and any ideas we may have, whether on paper or in the pipeline and if a humble group loan will do that for you then you should go for it.

In the personal finance realm, there are all kinds of tools in which you can invest. You can get some of them through your work, and you can purchase others on your own. They can pay significant dividends, particularly if you diversify your portfolio and make your money work for you.

We’ll go over some different financial tools in this article. We’ll discuss why you may want to invest in each of them, and we’ll talk about any potential drawbacks that each one might present.

Why Invest in Various Finance Tools?

Before we get into the different tools that are out there, we should explain why they’re going to interest you. Your short and long-term financial health is the main reason why you should look into investment tools and strategies.

Some people don’t plan for their financial futures. Instead, they spend their money recklessly and hope they’ll see an unexpected windfall.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says that Texas and nine other states represent 51% of truck or bus fatal crashes. A resident of these states might try to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit if a commercial vehicle kills a family member.

However, you can’t count on lawsuits for your financial future any more than you can rely on a rich relative leaving you money or winning a Powerball jackpot. These things happen occasionally, but you’re better off pursuing reality-grounded investment strategies. Now, let’s go over some of the tools at your disposal.

401K Programs

A 401K program is something that your work might offer to its employees. Workers get a chance to save for their futures this way.

A 401K is a retirement account. You put funds into it from your paycheck each week, or possibly every month if you’re on that pay schedule. Some employers will also match your contributions up to a particular percentage, such as 2, 3, or 5%.

401K programs are great because when you put money into them each pay period, you’re saving for your future and your family’s future. You can also get what amounts to free money if your employer generously matches part of your contribution.

You can cash in your 401K once you get to retirement age. You can use that money in retirement, along with your Social Security payouts.

The one drawback is that if you have very little money in the present, you probably need every penny you can get. When you put money in your 401K every pay period, that’s less money you have to spend on rent, food, utilities, and so forth right now.

An IRA

Maybe you’re self-employed, or you have a job that does not offer a 401K program. Some of them don’t, particularly if the job is what some people call “unskilled” labor. Food service industry jobs, for instance, don’t often provide 401K programs.

An IRA is a retirement account you open yourself with a bank. You put money in it when you can afford to do so, and it generates interest. Like a 401K program, you wait until retirement age, and then you collect that money.

The drawback is the same as with a 401K program. You can’t spend in the present what money you’re saving for the future.

Also, if you need that IRA money desperately, and you decide to cash out early, you’ll usually have to pay a penalty on that. If you don’t want to pay that penalty, you’ll have little choice but to wait until you get to retirement age to claim that cash.

A Mutual Fund

Maybe you want to get into investing, but you feel like purchasing individual stocks is too risky. That makes sense since buying individual stocks is a significant gamble due to how much they can fluctuate.

Buying into a mutual fund essentially means that you’re buying up many stocks and other commodities at once. A financial expert controls what commodities make up the mutual fund. The idea is that your investment will grow over time, and you’ll get more money out of it depending on how many shares of the fund you bought.

You can cash out your mutual fund shares at any time without suffering a financial penalty. The only potential drawback is that even though mutual funds are safer than single stocks because they’re more diversified, even a mutual fund can go up and down depending on what the market’s doing.

If you can leave your money in a mutual fund for five or ten years, you’ll probably make money off it since history shows that mutual funds usually go up over longer periods. However, if you buy into a mutual fund and then decide you need that money again just a couple of months later, you might lose money that way if the market’s not doing so well at that time.

CDs

A CD is another financial tool you can consider. You can buy a certificate of deposit for a set amount, usually from a bank, and it will often bring back a higher interest rate than something like a savings account would. You might get a 6-month CD or one that matures in a year, two years, or even five or ten years.

CDs are safe since market volatility cannot touch them. Like IRAs and 401Ks, though, you can’t collect that money until the maturation date. With most CDs, you incur a penalty if you need to withdraw the money early.

Because of this, you need to be as sure as possible that you won’t need that money before the maturation date, or it kind of defeats the purpose of buying one. Also, if the economy isn’t doing so well when you’re CD shopping, the interest rates you can get for them aren’t going to be all that high.

You might decide to purchase several of these tools if you can afford them. Diversifying your financial portfolio is one of the fundamental strategies in which any individual can engage.

Supposing you are all set to start your own business and ready to experience the freedom it will offer you—the freedom of exploring your passion and setting your working hours while being your boss. Everyone wants to be the CEO of their own company. In case you don’t know, 2016 was when eighty new business ventures were created each hour. Since then, more and more people are striving to start with their small business and moving towards entrepreneurship. If you are one of these, there are five things that every successful business needs, especially when starting on a small scale.

Strong Business Plan

Nothing can go wrong with a strong business plan. It doesn’t matter your business’s nature and what services and products you want to sell and provide to your clientele. You need a strong business plan. If you search the internet, you will find many free business templates to help you set up your business plan. However, if writing isn’t your cup of tea, you have nothing to worry about. You can also seek professional advisors who will help you set up a document that contains your business aims. Remember to jot down all your milestones, goals, and objectives to track your progress effectively.

Good Marketing Strategy

An effective marketing strategy is an essential part of any business. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that a company’s success and failure depend on the marketing strategy. Different aspects are part of an effective marketing strategy. For instance, you need to consider your competitors’ stance, the marketing forms, and the contemporary marketing methods. You will also need to determine how you will reach your client base. An effective marketing strategy includes an effective marketing strategy.

Customer Engagement

When it comes to setting up a business, the most important components are your customers. Without your clients, your business will cease to exist. Focusing on your clients’ requirements and needs is a crucial step towards a boost in sales revenue. This is specifically true when you launch a new product. Your customers need to be the focal point of every business decision that includes the payment methods and forms of engagement if you genuinely want to be successful.

Effective Management of Finances

One of the primary reasons businesses are forced to close their doors is poor cash management. Without cash, you won’t be able to invest in stocks or put your business plan into practice. You cannot even pay your employees, follow your marketing plan, and invest in any equipment. Irrespective of the nature of the business, you will have to make all financial investments wisely. You might also opt for online loans while keeping a close eye on your income and expenditure. Businesses require funding at different phases. It might be at the start of a new project or while expanding one’s business, investing in equipment, and recovering from losses. Entrepreneurs have to look out for effective ways to make optimal use of their financial resources, and whenever the need arises, they can opt for a business loan.  

Enhanced Technology

In 2021, we cannot deny the importance of technology being the king. With the ongoing pandemic, half of the population is forced to work. Your business needs to be all geared up with the recent technology to stand out from your competitors. This includes making your business websites compatible with different browsers and mobile devices. Upgrading your business website with the latest software can also boost your business efficiency while safeguarding your administrative tasks.

Whether you have just set up your small business or have been running it for a while, there’s a high chance that you’re going to need some additional funding. Although it’s easier than ever to start a small business online with whatever you have in your bank account, many business owners find that borrowing money helps with improving branding, hiring an employee, outsourcing to freelancers or specialist companies, and reaching out to potential customers. Getting a business loan is difficult for many new, small companies. But the good news is that there are several small business lenders who may be willing to accept your application and provide you with the funds that your business needs to grow. Plenty of new businesses will need to acquire a new business bank account if they want to start generating credit. This helpful resource has a list of the best business bank accounts.

Reasons to Apply for a Short-Term Loan:

First of all, it’s important to determine the right type of funding for your business. If you need the cash to cover an emergency expense or a sudden loss of cash flow, a short-term business loan might be ideal for you. These loans are designed to be taken out for a short period of time to cover unusually high expenses and keep your cash flow positive. They are often used for purposes such as making emergency repairs, hiring additional temporary staff during busier periods, or when you expect your cash flow to improve soon and need additional funds to keep operations running until then. Find out more about qualifying for a short-term business loan at advancepointcap.com.

Long-Term Financing Options:

On the other hand, you might be looking for funding options that are available to your business over the long-term. A business credit card is often one of the most effective funding options available as it provides you with an ongoing line of credit that you can use whenever is necessary for making purchases, upgrading equipment, investing in services, and more.

Getting Your Business Plan in Order:

Whether your business needs short- or long-term financing, it’s important to make sure that everything is in order before you apply. Any lender will want to see a copy of your business plan before they consider your application, so it’s a good idea to go through this document and make sure that it is up to date. If you are just setting up your business and have not yet written a business plan, there are plenty of online resources that you can use to help you create one.

Your Business Credit Score:

Bear in mind that your business’ credit score will be taken into account when applying for short- or long-term funding. This applies to any lending that you have participated in and how it was managed. If your business is currently in debt, it may be necessary to pay these debts down before you can apply to borrow more. Issues like missed payments and defaults will also be taken into consideration. If your business is brand new, your personal credit score may be examined instead, so it’s worth taking steps to improve it before applying.

If your business needs funding, determining the exact type of funding you need and ensuring that your company is in a good position to borrow is crucial to improving your chance of acceptance.

Is it time to give your finances a makeover? Whether you have accumulated a large sum of money or you have recently pulled yourself out of debt and you wish to manage your money better, it might be time to do a little inventory and establish some new goals for your wallet.

When you are trying to figure out the best path to improving your financial health, the world is truly your oyster. The financial industry – from the corporate titans to the small fintech outfits – has come up with a treasure trove of products and services to take care of your money.

To make your journey to financial wellness a little easier, we have compiled a list of the top financial products everyone should look into this year:

1. Wealth Management Apps

Do you have time to sit down with a cup of coffee and comb through your financials for a couple of hours? If not, you can automate this process by utilizing any one of the many wealth management Apps available today.

Online wealth management Apps are great because they monitor your spending, update you on your goals, offer personal finance tips, and even encourage you to better take care of your dollars and cents.

Plus, some Apps can even invest for you, with some even using your spare change!

So, what wealth management apps should you consider? Here are a few of the most popular ones:

• Acorns: This app takes your virtual change out of your account and invests the money.
• Mint.com: A budgeting website and app that gives you a detailed presentation of your budget, transactions, and analysis.
• Finch: This innovative hybrid checking and investing App, lets you instantly access your invested funds.
• Personal Capital: This app tracks your budget while also giving you insight about your investment accounts.
• Empower: This service integrates budgeting with accrued saving, setting weekly and monthly spending limits.

The attractive aspect of these Apps is that they are free to use!

2. All-in-One Checking and Investing Account

If you have a lot of funds sitting in your checking account, it is dead money. Many consumers will rely on their checking account as an emergency fund source or as a financial cushion. But aside from covering the necessary day-to-day and month-to-month bills, the money in your checking account serves no other purpose. And, since the dollars in this account are not earning interest, these funds are in fact losing value when you factor inflation. 

So, what is the alternative? Perhaps an all-in-one checking and investing account is something to think about for your finances.

This account essentially blends your banking and investing needs into one convenient account, from buying that daily latte to paying your rent to investing in an index fund. And, perhaps the most appealing benefit of them all, is that it provides daily returns. Instant liquidity and regular growth: a savvy financial product for any beginner investor!

3. Robo-Advisors

Are robo-advisors the go-to tool for investing in the future?

Robo-advisors are digital platforms that give users automated and algorithm-driven financial planning services with little to no human supervision. Everything robo-advisors do is based on the information from clients.

Robust financial planning, enhanced security features, and detailed portfolio management – these are some of the features of robo-advisors.

Could they replace conventional financial advisors? Consider this from Investopedia:

“With more than $250 billion currently under management in the U.S., various industry studies predict that the amount managed by robo-advisors will continue to grow at a torrid pace. At one point, many even predicted that robo services would drastically reduce or eliminate the need for traditional advisors.”

Some financial institutions are choosing to blend the human with the robot, providing the efficiency and convenience of a robo-advisor, with access to personalized service where needed.

4. Value Dividend Stocks

Interest rates are at all-time lows across the globe, encouraging consumers to dip their toes in the financial markets to receive more than a few cents on their savings. But what should investors even buy if they’re looking to reduce risk but maximize returns?

Although everything comes with risk, your best option might be value stocks that pay a dividend.

A dividend is a portion of the company’s profit that is paid to shareholders every month, quarter, or year. This strategy is beneficial for two reasons: you receive a capital gain from a higher share price, and you earn a regular income.

Here are some value dividend stocks that have not missed a dividend payment and have been steady in their yields:

• International Business Machines (IBM): 5.58% yield
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE): 0.99% yield
• Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM): 2.20% yield
• Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP): 3.81% yield
• Walmart (WMT): 1.45% yield
• Suncor Energy (SU): 3.44% yield
• Nutrien (NTR): 3.16% yield

5. REITs

After watching the multiple real estate shows on television, you have probably gotten the itch to participate in real estate investing, whether it is flipping properties or earning rental income.

While appealing on screen, in reality real estate is a hefty commitment, demanding time, energy, and considerable financial resources. Not to mention stress. If investing in real estate doesn’t fit into your current situation, there is an alternative: REITs.

A real estate investment trust, or REIT, is a company that owns and operates income-producing commercial, industrial, or residential real estate. REIT investors earn a monthly or quarterly dividend, without the headache of owning a physical property!

So, what are some REIT products you should look into in 2021? Here a handful to consider:

• Prologis (PLD): 2.45% yield
• Public Storage (PSA): 3.60% yield
• SBA Communications (SBAC): 0.71% yield
• Equinix (EQIX): 1.57% yield
• American Tower (AMT): 2.25% yield

The financial industry is known for its impressive number of financial products. You can find anything and everything for any purpose or goal. But knowing what to research and what to buy in 2021 – and beyond – can be a feat in and of itself. For more information on how to get your money to work harder for you this year, talk to someone you trust who prioritizes savvy financial management, or reach out to a financial expert who has experience in any of the products we’ve listed above.

For more than two decades, China has surprised everyone because of its meteoritic economic growth. Almost all top companies, from Dell to GM, have some presence in China or plan to go there. If you are a US citizen and want to see your company grow rapidly, the idea is simple, incorporate your business in China. 

The Chinese administration adopted a pro-business approach that targets two things, attracting new businesses and supporting them to grow. In addition, the country has a large market that you can capitalize on to catapult your business to the next level. 

To take advantage of these opportunities, you need to register a company in China, but this can be complicated because it involves dealing with multiple offices and preparing loads of documents. This is one of the reasons why you should consider working with agencies of experts. 

Keep reading to identify more benefits of working with an agency for company incorporation as a US entrepreneur.  

Agencies Work with Experts 

The most challenging process of registering a WFOE in China is probably the large number of documents that need to be prepared. Most of these documents, such as articles of association and the business structure might be too complex, especially to those without legal backgrounds. 

However, agencies are run by experts in company registration. This means that they know how to prepare the documents professionally, raising the chances of your company’s application getting approved. 

Having been in the Chinese market for some time, it will also be easier for the agency to navigate through the different entities. Whether it is getting approval for the business name or application for the business license, the agency will make the process simpler, convenient, and cheaper. 

Agencies can Tell You Strategies that Work and Those that Don’t 

For your business to be successful, you need to use the right strategies. However, a lot of businesses fail within their first year because they adopted the wrong strategies. This brings us to the main question, “How do you identity the right strategy for your company in China?” 

By working with an agency, you have the best opportunity to identify the strategies that work and those that do not. Having worked with other companies, these agencies’ experts will have seen what does not work and caution you in advance. See – why risk using strategies that will yield no fruits? 

A Helping Hand during the Early Phase of Business Establishment 

Company incorporation as a US entrepreneur is only the first step in your effort to make it a multinational.

 The next most important step is getting the enterprise started. The agency you select will be there to hold your hand and ensure your company’s entry is seamless. In addition, the agency can also help you with bookkeeping, filing tax returns, and offer important advice for faster growth.  

If you are a US entrepreneur and plan to invest in China, the best route is working with an agency. These firms not only help to simplify the process of company registration in China, but also come in handy to ensure you become successful. With experts on your side, you cannot go wrong! 

In simple words, having an auto insurance policy is mandatory in most states. Keep in mind, if your car engages in an accident, an auto insurance plan will protect it. However, if you don’t have this policy around, you will have to cater for hefty financial expenses. Today, most vehicle owners have an auto insurance plan. This is why several companies offer affordable auto insurance plans to the vehicle owners. Here, in this blog, we will enlighten the importance of having an auto insurance plan:

      1. Car Insurance is Mandatory

Long story cut short, this insurance plan is mandatory in today’s time. If you continue to overlook it, you will put yourself at the receiving end of the damage. Every state has a certain set of rules and regulations regarding the auto insurance plan. Sometimes, people also want to settle for coverage limits according to their needs. Especially if you are always on the road and travel very often, you don’t have a choice but to settle for an auto insurance plan. In contrast, you will end up paying for the physical damages to the car from your pocket. In many states, people have to get additional car insurance packages to protect themselves and their vehicles.

     2.  The Leasing Agent Might Require it

If you’re purchasing a car on lease, your vendor might require an auto insurance plan. In such a situation, it is best for you to purchase a certain plan instead of bargaining with the agent. Since the agent is responsible for issuing the vehicles, paying for the auto insurance plan will protect your finances as well. However, if you sift with a car that is not insured, you will have to prepare yourself for hefty expenses in the long run. Make sure to choose the right company for the auto insurance plan. Especially if you don’t have hands-on experience of having an auto insurance plan before, it is best for you to consult a financial expert or read the customer reviews first.

     3.  Protects Your Passengers

Apart from protecting you as a driver, the auto insurance plan will also protect your passengers in the long run. Sometimes, when a car accident occurs and people sustain injuries, the auto insurance plan provides payment for the medical treatment. However, in cases of a personal injury, the company will pay the settlement amount to the other party. Such coverages are ideal for surgeries, doctor bills and the frequent hospital visits. However, if your passengers suffer an accident, they might sue you in the future and put you at the receiving end of the damage. Paying for an auto insurance plan can be challenging but its long term benefits are enormous.

     4.  Auto Insurance is Life Insurance

Although the former and latter are a bit different, the ethos behind purchasing them both is the same. One of the core reasons to get an auto insurance plan is to protect your life . Especially if you’re young and vivacious, you would have several plans for your life. However, it is common for young people to engage in accidents very often. This is why an auto insurance policy can be of great help. A car insurance will not only protect your vehicle but will also save you from engaging in a sudden financial calamity in the long run. Talk to a local agent who can help you find the right auto insurance plan for your vehicle. This way, you will be rest assured about the safety of your car and the people being a part of it.

No matter what you do, where you live, or how much you earn, the simple fact is that raising a child in Canada is not cheap. As parents, our main duty is to deliver love, care, and support for our kids, helping to nurture them into well-rounded, civilized human beings. To do this, you must have adequate funds behind you to ensure your kids are well fed, clothed, and kept safe and protected.

In general, it’s estimated that you will spend between $10,000 – $15,000 each year on your child until they reach 18. While these numbers may seem alarming, there is financial support available which can be a huge help. To find out more, here is a guide on the costs involved in raising a child and what support is available to you.

Maternity Employment Insurance

If you are in employment, pregnant and need to take maternity leave, Canada allows you to do so for up to 15 weeks. However, depending on how long you’ve been in your position and how many hours you have worked, you have the option to take up to 63 weeks of maternity leave from your position. Your employer has an obligation to accept you back into your role after this period and provide the same rate of pay.

Maternity employment insurance can be a source of financial support during your time off work. The purpose of employment insurance is to cover 55% of your weekly earnings. However, this stops at $573 a week. If you are taking extended leave from work, your income replacement will decrease to 33% of your weekly earnings, stopping at $343 a week. Parents in Canada are now able to take up to 18 months of maternity leave, with the payments spreading out over this period.

Registered Education Savings Plan

While it’s not mandatory to set up a registered education savings plan, many people regard it as a cost towards raising a child in Canada. RESP is a government-sponsored initiative that helps to pay for your kids’ future post-secondary education. Each year, you can get $500 for free thanks to the Canadian education savings grant, which will give you a 20% match for the first $2,500 you save up each year until your kids turn 17. Bear in mind, however, that the maximum benefit you can receive is $7,200 per child.

If you’re a lower-income family, you may be able to get a higher match and potentially receive $2,000 which can be put towards kick-starting your kids’ RESP. If you want to learn more, Wealthsimple has a guide on what a registered education savings plan is, the benefits you can gain, as well as limitations you need to be aware of. Wealthsimple is made up of a group of world-class financial experts who can make your money go further and help you invest and save wisely.

Life Insurance

When bringing a new life into the world, it’s normal to put your full focus and concentration in keeping your baby safe and out of harm’s way. Having a life insurance policy in place is vital for ensuring your children are financially supported in the event of your passing. Your children will depend on your income to get by, which is why you must have a policy laid out to leave them with enough cash to support themselves until they reach adulthood.

If you are young, fit, and healthy, many life insurance policies open to you will range between $30-50 a month. In general, the amount you pay each month should cover basic costs like your mortgage balance, funeral costs, and post-secondary education costs. In addition to all the day to day costs involved in raising your child, you shouldn’t forget about taking out life insurance. You can look online for life insurance quotes to help you get a deal that works well for you. Make sure you have a will written too which will also provide financial security for your children.

Canadian Child Benefit

CCB (Canada Child Benefit) is governed by the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency). Canadian Child Benefit is a tax-free monthly payment given to eligible families to assist in helping with the cost of raising a child under the age of 18. If your child has a disability, the CCB could include child disability benefit. If your children are under six years old, you can receive up to $6,765 a year, whereas children aged between 6 and 17 are entitled to $5,708 per year.

Canada Child Benefit was designed to help lower-income families with day-to-day costs. If you are in a household that earns a significantly higher income, you won’t be able to claim as many benefits. With the country currently facing the coronavirus pandemic, the government of Canada continues to provide sufficient support to all families across the nation during these unprecedented times. In May 2020, families who already receive CCB were given a $300 boost per child in addition to their regular payment.

Daycare Costs

Where you live in the country will reflect on how much you pay in daycare costs. While many of us would love nothing more than to spend every waking hour with our children, work commitments are just as important, especially when it comes to keeping your children safe, happy, and healthy. If you and your partner work long hours and you don’t have friends or family nearby, putting your child in daycare is a factor you need to consider. There are licensed daycare centres in major cities like Toronto and Montreal which can cost you up to $2,000 each month.

With the costs of raising a child already incredibly high, you may want to consider having one parent stay at home for a longer period. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Canadians are working from home already, which may be beneficial if you have recently had a child. While unlicensed home care is considerably cheaper than a licensed daycare, if you’ve decided on the latter for your child, there are limited spots available, so make sure you put your kid’s names on the waiting list as quickly as possible, otherwise, you run the risk of them losing out.

Technology

As your baby grows into a toddler, there are all sorts of equipment and technology you can purchase and make use of to help with their development. Naturally, as your child moves into their teenage years, there are all sorts of gadgets and tech they will want which will have a significant impact on your finances. Whether it’s purchasing a television, tablet, or smartphone, you need to factor in these costs. To save money, you may want to consider putting everyone on a family plan.

Clothes

Raising a child from birth through to their 18^th birthday is expensive in many ways. One of the main necessities that your kids will need is clothes. While big piles of washing are inevitable, there are ways you can save money on clothing your kids. What you may find surprising is that it can cost roughly $15,000 to clothe your kids from birth to adulthood, and this isn’t even factoring in footwear!

If you want to keep costs down, knowing where and when to look for clothes can be a big help. When your child is young, accept and purchase second-hand clothes where you can. Doing so will be an enormous financial help and mean any money you save can be put into other things. As we live in the digital era, your children can benefit from technology. However, that is not to say you have to splurge out on the latest tech. You can purchase second-hand items that work as good as new and won’t have too much of an impact on your finances.

Food

We all understand the importance of eating healthily, so when you have children, setting a good example and teaching them to eat well is key for their development. Rather than spending a fortune on processed food, takeout meals, and McDonald’s, there are lots of healthy alternatives you can make from scratch in the kitchen which will cost a fraction of the price.

If you enjoy cooking and want to give your kids healthy, nutritious meals, learning the basics when they are young will be a tremendous help, meaning you can whip up tasty meals packed with the nutrients and vitamins they need to grow. It’s estimated that the cost of food for children amounts to roughly $1,800 per year. And when you factor in how much food you will need as parents, the total cost can soon add up and be alarming, making it more important than ever to cut corners and cook from scratch.

Bringing a child into the world and raising them to be respectable and hard-working adults takes a lot of time, care, and cash. Having a baby is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially if your finances are all over the place. Therefore, reading the guide above should give you an idea of the costs involved in raising a child in Canada, as well as what financial aid is in place to support you along the way.

A personal loan is a form of credit that can help you make a big purchase or consolidate high-interest debts. Because personal loans typically have lower interest rates than credit cards, they can consolidate multiple credit card debts into a single, lower-cost monthly payment.

This article will get to know what are secure personal loans and what are unsecured personal loans. If you apply for a personal loan, you ask a financial organization, such as a bank or credit union, to borrow a certain sum of money. A personal loan can be used for various uses, while funds from a mortgage would be used to pay for a home and you can get an auto loan to finance a vehicle purchase.

To help pay for college or medical costs, to buy a large household object such as a new furnace or refrigerator, or to consolidate debt, you may obtain a personal loan. That is better from repaying credit card loans to repay a personal loan. With a personal loan, you pay fixed-amount instalments over a set period until the debt is completely repaid.

Here we will now discuss secured personal loans and unsecured personal loans.

SECURED PERSONAL LOAN

Secured loans are a company or personal loans that require some form of collateral as a condition of borrowing. For large loans for which the money is used to buy a particular asset or in situations where the credit ratings are not adequate to apply for an unsecured loan, a bank or lender may seek collateral. Secured loans will make it easier for borrowers to receive lower interest rates when they are present.

Loans may be guaranteed or unsecured, whether they’re personal loans or corporate loans. For an unsecured loan, to receive it, no collateral of any sort is needed. Instead, depending on the quality of your credit score and financial background, the lender requires you to borrow. On the other hand, secured loans need collateral for borrowing. The security for a secured loan may be the commodity that you use the money to buy in certain circumstances. E.g., whether you’re having a mortgage for a home, the debt is backed by the house you are purchasing. For a car loan, the same will be valid.

UNSECURED PERSONAL LOANS

An unsecured loan is one that is not necessary to obtain insurance or a security deposit. For an unsecured loan, applicants qualify based on their financial background and revenue instead of pledging money. Lenders do not have the right to take physical assets—such as a home or vehicle—if borrowers stop making payments on unsecured loans.

Usually, unsecured personal loans have higher rates of interest than secured loans. That’s because lenders mostly perceive unsecured loans as riskier. The lender will worry that you are less able to repay the loan as negotiated, without collateral. Generally, a higher cost for your loan means a higher premium for you.

What to take advantage of an unsecured personal loan?

When you need cash for a particular reason, an unsecured personal loan might be the best option. For instance, if you have high-interest debt, you may choose to consolidate it into a reduced interest rate personal loan to help lower your monthly debt payments. A personal loan may also help you pay for unforeseen emergencies in the middle of winter, such as repairing a faulty heating unit.

But money cannot be used only so it can be used to pay for items. It’s seldom a smart idea to use personal loans to pay for items you want, such as a holiday or a big-screen TV, instead of what you need. Taking on the excessive debt will bring your finances under a long-term burden and harm your financial wellbeing. It’s best to wait for luxuries, save money, and then make the order.

PROS AND CONS OF UNSECURED LOANS

The most significant advantage of an unsecured loan is the reduction in liability from the borrower’s perspective. You should not risk losing your savings if you take an unsecured loan and can’t afford payments; you just put your credit record at risk. For individuals and firms with unsecured debts, once you apply for bankruptcy, there is even a risk that the mortgage will be forgiven.

As no collateral is needed for unsecured loans, the lender takes on more risk, which typically translates into higher interest rates and less attractive terms. Although unsecured loans for the borrower could be less expensive, it is essential to realize how much more they will cost you over their duration. You can find that it’s more valuable to put an asset down as leverage than the additional money you’ll spend in interest.

The most significant advantage of unsecured loans is that they make it easy for everyone to borrow money; you can borrow money without putting up any collateral, whether you’re a tenant or a landlord. The best advantage of unsecured loans is that they make it easy for everyone to borrow money; you can borrow money without putting up any collateral, whether you’re a tenant or a landlord.

Since unsecured loans are backed only by confidence, the higher the risk for the lender, the higher the risk, the higher the cost of borrowing; lousy credit borrowers will face high-interest rates on an unsecured bad credit loan, but if you have a good credit rating, you won’t be so much of a problem.

CONCLUSION

There are particular benefits and pitfalls of both secured and unsecured personal loans. In the one side, with a lower APR, a guaranteed loan may arrive, but are you willing to gamble the property that you may have to position as collateral? And though defaulting on either unsecured or secured loans can mean that your credit is damaged, you can avoid putting up any property with an unsecured loan as collateral (but be prepared to pay higher rates than you might on a secured loan).

If you’re still unsure if your case makes sense with a secured or unsecured personal loan, you may want to speak to some lenders and figure out if you’re eligible. Ask prospective lenders regarding their rates and APRs and secured and unsecured loan maximum loan numbers.

When you’ve had enough forethought to invest your capital, maximizing your return on investment will be a priority for you. Even the best portfolios can have hidden money drains that impede your progress, and knowing where they are will help you to decide what, if anything, to do about it. Sometimes, you might think that these “money drains” are worth tolerating – after all, every portfolio and every investor is different. However, it should be a conscious choice in which you’ve weighed your options and made a reasoned decision. Watch these money drains and decide whether you’re satisfied with them or not.

1. Your Fund Managers’ or Broker’s Remuneration

When people work, they must be paid. When you work through a broker, the fees you pay should be a known quantity. If you buy into a managed fund, it has fund managers, and your investments contribute to their remuneration. If your brokers, or the fund managers that run package investments, are  making you more money than you’d get from simply buying into funds similar to exchange traded mutual funds in Canada that track major indices automatically, it might be worthwhile.

The sad truth, however, is that many managed funds don’t make more money than those run by software. In fact, they can underperform when compared to benchmarks. That doesn’t mean that investment experts are underqualified or have poor business acumen. There are many factors that might affect their well-thought-out strategies. But if they’re consistently costing you money to earn you the same or less than you’d get from a “no-brainer” investment package, your contribution to their earnings is simply a waste of good money and you’d be better off putting it into a tracker fund.

2. “Lazy” Investments

To simplify this concept, let’s make the general assumption that most of the more secure investments aren’t big revenue spinners but can be relied on to bring in dividends and either grow in value or at least maintain it. Riskier investments have the potential for higher gains, but also may lose value if things don’t work out as planned. Of course, this is a generalization and there are exceptions to the rule.

Now, let’s suppose that you’re quite conservative investor – one who prefers the safer options, but you have an asset that’s not performing up to par. That’s a lazy investment, and the money you have tied up there would bring you more income elsewhere.

We often find this happening with property ownership. You have a property other than your primary residence and you’re probably renting it out, getting a (reasonably) secure monthly income from it. But is that income equal to or better than the income you could get from investing in stocks? Is the value of your property increasing sufficiently to make it worth hanging onto? If the answer to either or both of these questions is “no,” consider selling up and putting your capital into other investments instead.

3. Sore Losers

Nobody likes to see stocks losing value, and accepted wisdom is that it’s time to sell if a particular stock drops 8 to 10 percent of value when compared to the amount you paid to get it. But general rules don’t always apply, so do give this some thought before throwing in the towel. If the future looks bright in that asset class and for that investment, but current times are tough, you might want to hold on and wait for a recovery.  Remember, investment is a long-term game.

Let’s look at an extreme example. Following the diesel emissions scandal in 2015, Volkswagen’s stock prices plummeted by 32 percent. Just two years later, the company’s stocks had recovered their value and even exceeded pre-scandal values. Those who sold out at low prices would not have lost any of their original investment capital if they were willing to wait those two years out and investors that sold their stocks at rock-bottom prices lost half of their original investments.

Should they have held on? At the time, it was a matter of opinion. Many people thought that Volkswagen would never recover and, indeed, it was only through a complete restructuring and rebranding that it was able to do so. It’s also worth bearing in mind that investments in Volkswagen underperformed heavily during the recovery period. Would the capital have worked harder for investors even if they sold at the lowest value? That would depend on where they had reinvested.

The bottom line? Do your homework before selling out of a stock because of declining values. Then take an educated guess as to what the future holds and consider what your alternatives are. Now make your decisions based on that. You may be wrong. You may be right, but at least it’s a proactive approach rather than a knee-jerk reaction.

4. Failing to Evaluate and Rebalance Your Portfolio

A balanced portfolio spreads risk by diversifying investment across asset classes. It means that when one sector is doing well, you make up for any losses thanks to returns in sectors that are performing better. As a simple example: if all your investments are in the commodities sector, your investments will only do well when this notoriously volatile sector is also doing well. When it experiences tough times, so do you. So, instead of having all your eggs in one basket, you diversify into tech stocks, industrials, financials, property, and so on. You can also diversify across markets in much the same way.

However, a well-balanced portfolio can become unbalanced over time owing to market dynamics, and you should be ready to adjust the percentage of assets allocated to each sector accordingly. If you’re thinking this takes a lot of acumen and a lot of money to do effectively, you’re right! However, if you are investing in this way, whether on your own or with the help of a broker, you do need to keep your eye on the ball and rebalance, or call for rebalancing from time to time.

One way to escape all this is to buy into one of the internationally recognized funds that pools investment money and then distributes it in a balanced way. This allows you to have the benefits of a balanced portfolio without having to do the work yourself. These big investment funds also have massive resources that allow them to follow markets far more thoroughly than any single person or small brokerage company can. The theory is that you get the benefit of some of the world’s top money minds who are being fed information that few others would have the time or resources to collect and collate. Naturally, rebalancing the pooled investments they manage is part of that.

5. Tax

In closing, let’s not forget that tax can be a major financial drain. Since taxation laws differ from country to country, it would be difficult to give any specific advice other than to say that you need to be aware of the actions that will give rise to tax events and try to minimize their impact. Unless you are an expert in taxation, it would be advisable to consult with someone who is. Yes, these consultations have costs too, but the money they can potentially save you more than makes up for that. Of course, we must comply with the law, but there’s no point in paying more tax than you absolutely have to, and specialist input can save you from doing just that.

The stock market brings so many investment opportunities and you are probably already aware of that. If you aim to invest your money in stocks, apart from choosing the right broker there are other important things. Here are some tips that will help you streamline your investment.

How to find stocks to buy on the stock exchange

Start by buying stocks of companies you already know. Then turn to google finance to find companies that you don’t know but work in the same industry as the companies you know. Already this allows you to have an overview of companies in sectors of activity that you know.

Of course, just because you like a company and its products doesn’t mean it will be a good buy on the stock market, but at least you know what they are doing and why the products are good. The key is knowing what makes a business important to its customers and how much longer that will hold in the future. You should ask questions such as If oil prices keep rising over the next few years, which companies are likely to benefit?

What types of shares can you invest in?

If you are wondering in which sector to invest in the stock market, you might be overwhelmed. he truth is there are many sectors to invest in the stock market. There are different types of stocks on market. Apart from private and, public companies share, we can make a distinction based on their primary business activity:

• Energy
• Health
• Raw materials
• Financial actions
• Industrial values
• Information technology
• Consumer discretionary
• Consumer staples
• Immovable
• Telecommunications
• Public services

There are also promising new alternative industries such as shares of related companies:

• Crypto-currencies
• Blockchain
• The cannabis industry
• Start-ups

How do you find the right time to invest?

How to invest at the right time? Finding the right time to trade or invest in the stock market is not always easy. If you want to analyze the stock markets, there are two main methods: technical analysis and fundamental analysis.

Technical analysis or the analysis of charts of the price of an asset

Short term traders especially appreciate technical analysis to determine when to enter and exit the market. This type of financial market analysis is based on three assumptions:

• the prices displayed include all the information available
• assets always evolve in trend
• history tends to repeat itself

Technical analysis is, therefore, based on the analysis of price action. We often add to the latter technical indicators, support and resistance levels, trend lines and much more. The goal is to determine the future direction an asset will take and obtain buy and sell signals.

Among the most popular technical strategies for spotting good times to invest in the stock market, we will find the range, pullback, gap or even breakout trading. The most used technical indicators are moving averages, Bollinger Bands, RSI, and MACD.

Fundamental analysis or analysis of the intrinsic value of an asset

Fundamental analysis is geared more towards long-term investing to capture large moves. Indeed, this type of financial market analysis considers the evolution of economic, social, political and monetary forces that affect an asset’s price.

The basic principle of fundamental analysis is that an asset’s current price does not necessarily reflect its actual value. Fundamental analysts, therefore, seek to determine the intrinsic value of an asset. Then they compare it to the current price. The goal is to determine whether the asset in question is overvalued (potential sell signal) or undervalued (possible buy signal).

Among the fundamental factors to follow for a financial and accounting analysis of a company before investing in the stock market, we will find the announcements of results, the yield, the distribution rate, the prospects for growth, the performance of the company concerning its sector of activity, earnings per share (EPS), the price-to-earnings ratio (PER), etc.

Markets ebb and flow over the course of the year, and as the seasons shift, consumer and corporate behavior changes. While some investors like to camp on their portfolios for months or years at a time, a different investment strategy entails tracking these patterns and altering investments to harness the different types of growth.

The winter holidays, in particular, can be a turbulent time for investing. If this is your first holiday season as an investor, here’s a bit of what you can expect over the course of the next couple months:

There Are More Half-days and Full Days off

Even the stock market takes a break during the holiday season. During the fall and early winter, there are an incredible number of holidays when markets close entirely, meaning that no one is on the trading floor and that any trades you make won’t go through until the next day of operation — same as weekends. Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are full days off, and both the day after Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas are considered partial holidays where markets close early. If you are aggressive in your day trades, it might be wise to mark these important dates on your calendar, so you aren’t surprised when your trades take a day (or two) to process.

Trading Tends to Slow Down

A large number of people take more vacation days over the holiday season, in the hopes of spending more time with friends and family. As a result, there are fewer people at work almost everywhere — including on the trading floor. For almost the entire duration of the holiday season, there are fewer people engaging with the market, either in investment firms or at their home computers, which causes the volume of trades to decrease dramatically during this time of year. Low volume results in a decrease in liquidity. This means it could be harder to get out from under certain investments, so you should choose your investment moves wisely during the holidays.

Stocks Are Less Likely to Move

Another effect of the holiday season is the low volatility of stocks. Volatility reflects how much an asset’s value fluctuates over a certain period; if there is low volatility, it means that asset’s prices tend to be rather steady. While there are places in a portfolio for non-volatile assets, volatility is generally what investors want to see because stock movement — in one way or the other — is what helps to generate wealth. In general, you should expect your earning potential to be lower in the holiday season, but you should continue using investment tracking tools to ensure that your earnings are still going up.

Markets Move Erratically

The holiday season always falls at the end of the year, which is a strange time for the economy. Some businesses are at their most active, while other businesses are all but shut down. Thus, it isn’t uncommon for markets to be less predictable than usual. Erratic markets are common over the course of the holidays, but a bit of unexpected movement shouldn’t shake up your investing plan. Here are a few mistakes to avoid in erratic holiday markets:

• Don’t invest based on emotion. Seeing certain stocks rise and fall can be equal parts scary and exciting, but you shouldn’t let your emotions overtake your plan.
• Don’t overvalue daily reports. When markets are erratic, the daily report could say almost anything. Small ups and downs shouldn’t cause you any concern.
• Don’t look back. It is possible that your portfolio will dip in value over the holiday season, but that doesn’t give you license to focus on the day you had the highest value. You should focus on looking to the future, not back and not necessarily at the present.

How to Plan for Safe Investing

Every investor has their own strategy, so not every investor reacts to the conditions of low volume, low volatility in the same manner. Still, since you are a beginner, you might want some guidance on how to keep your invested money as safe as possible during this time. Some tips include:

• Be conservative. You probably want to position yourself in safe investments for most of the holiday season, so you don’t need to worry about the sometimes-erratic movement of the market.
• Trade less. You should probably ease up on your trading for most of the season and hunker down with your current portfolio. You should be extra picky about the trades you do go through with.

Every holiday season is different — and the 2020 holiday season is likely to be especially strange. Still, there are ways to survive the holidays with a healthy portfolio, even when you are a beginner investor.

In the last decade, a lot of people have started talking about teamwork and how beneficial it actually is. No one can do everything on their own, and that makes sense. That’s a bit different than what we’re told at school that every individual has skills, talents, and gifts that are uniquely their own. 

Without people to share it with, even our best talents will be of little use. The teamwork trend has slowed down this year because of the drastic shift of the workplace. The coronavirus lockdowns forced everyone to spend time at home, and this is exactly why everyone should focus more on teamwork. Click on this link to read more.

You need to know that you aren’t alone and that there are other people working with you. When you combine a lot of people and give them the same goal, the energy they possess will be the main factor in whether it will be achieved. 

If a group of people works together, it boosts efficiency, productivity, and creativity. That’s what makes every business successful. Here are a few important things that come from being in a team.

Great ideas don’t come from a single person

When you think about the theory of relativity, a single person comes to mind, and that’s Albert Einstein. Even though we all associate this discovery with him, he still had help from his friends and colleagues to define the theory completely. 

That has always been the case, even when we look at history. Einstein couldn’t have discovered the theory of relativity if Isaac Newton didn’t lay the foundations of calculus a few centuries before that. Even the greatest minds have admitted that their ideas came to them because they stood on the shoulders of giants. 

Christiano Ronaldo might be the best soccer player in the world, but Manchester United wouldn’t win the Champion’s League if only he were playing. It takes a combined team effort in order to succeed. Visit this link to read more https://www.ama-assn.org/education/accelerating-change-medical-education/how-medical-improv-training-sparks-better.

Different perspectives

When you surround yourself with people who are exactly like you, there is no opportunity to grow. Of course, no one is perfect. That’s why people from different niches sit down and talk to see if they have any common ground. 

Almost all of history’s greatest discoveries and improvements have happened at an intersection between different cultures or industries. That’s not always comfortable, but we all need to step outside of our comfort zones if we want to make progress. This is a challenge, and new challenges offer us more insight than staying in the same spot. 

Having a diverse team is the only way in which you can navigate today’s changing world. Age, experience, gender, and ethnicity all play a role when it comes to performance improvements compared to solely homogenous teams. The anchor Crawford Mulholland group is a great example. Their training causes everyone to be open-minded, and it allows for a better exchange of ideas. 

You won’t burn out

If you work alone, the odds are against you when it comes to burnout. It’s always better to have someone who will pick up the work when you’re feeling down. Then, when the time comes, you will return the favor. 

Sharing the load is one of the best ways to give emotional support to those who need it. You usually understand the needs of your coworkers better than any manager. That doesn’t mean that managers and bosses don’t have a role to fill. When an employee knows that their boss has their back, this is a great mental support to give in more effort after the burnout passes. 

It improves productivity

If you do a good job, and everyone you work with compliments you, that’s an even bigger incentive to work harder. Whenever someone respects your work and progress, you want to push the extra mile. Compliments do wonders, and they can make you take risks that will pay off in the future. 

You might be willing to put forth more ideas. However, this is mainly true about the smaller team. When you increase the number of people, you also increase the chances of an argument coming up. The most important thing is to find the balance. Keep the energy positive, and you won’t have anything to worry about.