Sweating The Big Stuff

Tips for Budgeting Your Money to Achieve Financial Freedom

Posted by Kate Ferguson in Personal Finance • 0 Comments - Be The First!

Making wise decisions regarding your money will encourage personal financial growth and stability. A budget gives you financial freedom. It helps you identify where your money goes, which results in better financial decisions. Here’s how to get started and stick to it.

A Plan of Action

In short, a budget provides the tools for personal wealth. Using one helps you refrain from making poor decisions regarding your money. With a clear view of your debt and your income, you can achieve financial goals. You learn how to pay down your debt and keep more of your money for personal gain.

Eliminating Wasteful Spending

Most people will admit that they waste money. You may do so without noticing. Habits you develop, such as buying coffee on the way to the office or ordering meals out a few times a week, are normal occurrences. Unfortunately, they are sapping your extra cash, leaving you short financially for the things you need. You can afford to spend money on products that benefit your personal hygiene and health, like Konjac sponges and an electric toothbrush.

Reuse Instead Using Once Then Tossing Away

The good news is there are dozens of ways to spend less on the things you need. For example, you use traditional paper towels once and toss them away. Instead, consider replacing disposables with items you can reuse. Bamboo paper towels and cotton cloths are two examples that will save you money and help reduce waste in landfills and toxins in the air. Travel mugs and water filters eliminate the need for disposable cups and plastic water bottles. You get the idea.

Pay Your Bills on Time

Paying your bills on time eliminates accrued interest and late fees. It also helps you increase your credit score, a three-digit number that can work in your favor or against you. A poor credit score can cost you dearly. It can prevent you from buying a home, a car, or sending children to private schools and colleges. It can also make it harder to get into an apartment and cause you to pay a security deposit on utilities. On the other hand, a good credit score opens the door to the lowest interest rates on large purchases, saving you a ton of money over the term of the loan. It also gives you access to the best insurance companies and can make you a desirable candidate when searching for a job.

Smart Shopping

Before making any purchase, it’s always best financially to shop around to make sure you get the best price. Food shopping costs the average family over $200.00 weekly. Comparing the weekly fliers of the local supermarkets and using coupons for the things you need can shave $20.00 or more off the bill weekly. That’s $80.00 or more a month and nearly a thousand dollars a year in savings. Shopping on certain days and after a holiday can provide a savings of 40, 50, or even 60-percent off a product’s original sticker price.

Establish Savings

Unexpected expenses will happen. However, if you have money in a savings account for these moments, they become more like non-events. Unfortunately, without savings, any small hiccup that requires money can quickly become a financial disaster.

Allocate Funds to Several Places

When you have a budget, you set aside funds for the things you want. You can allocate money for a down payment on a home or to purchase a new car. You can also set aside money to fund your child’s education and to enjoy financial comfort in your retirement.

Budgeting your money doesn’t mean that you live life without. In fact, it provides the opposite, financial freedom. Use a household budget to achieve these goals and enjoy a better quality of life.

5 Tips for a Thriving Business During the Pandemic

Posted by Lauren in Business • 0 Comments - Be The First!

Many businesses have suffered or failed during the pandemic. This is not news to the countless people who have lost their job. To put this in perspective, US job losses due to Covid are the highest since the Great Depression. Very few people have figured out how to keep their business going during this time of crisis.

There is no single answer that will serve as a solution to the problem. Rather, there is some combination of many answers that will help keep the OPEN light turned on. No two businesses are the same. And no two sets of answers will be the same. Here are a few you can try that have proven successful for others:

1. Fix Your Car

There are lots of business opportunities in the Great Northwest. Besides a couple of high-density populations, the people are spread out. If you are in outside sales, you will need a car to cover most territories. The relatively mild weather is quite conducive for getting out and knocking on doors.

If you want a small advantage in a competitive space, you need to take care of the little things. Take your car to a Washington auto body shop before you take it to Spokane to sell that water purification system. You are not going to make that $5,000 sale if the customer does not take you seriously. Drive up with that busted tail light and huge dent in your door and they will very likely not bother to answer their door when you knock. Make a better first impression and end with a better result.

2. Improve Your Education

There is always something you can improve through ongoing education. In an effort to save money, some people discontinued their formal education when things went sideways. They thought they would have plenty of time to pick back up after the crisis. Unfortunately, it seldom works out that way. After a crisis is over, people are busy scrambling to try to make ends meet. Education gets put on the back burner. You can increase your odds of success by continuing your education when others have chosen to opt out. Make the most of this opportunity by investing in yourself.

3. Take Your Business Online

Not every business is going to benefit greatly from an online campaign due to the nature of their business. But most can achieve some gains by expanding their presence. If you are a local business, you can improve by appealing to a local SEO marketing campaign. You might not be able to ship your home improvement service to customers around the world. But you can get the word out to more people in surrounding areas. They are far more likely to ask their digital assistant for a recommendation than they are to look you up in a print directory.

4. Stay Open During Regular Hours

One of the biggest customer frustrations in the Covid era is trying to figure out when businesses are open. It used to be from 9 – 9. Now, we are lucky if that same business opens by 11. Compounding the problem is that hours seem to be different from one day to the nest. And punctual opening is a thing of the past. You can improve your business just by being open for consistent, advertised hours. If people travel to your store only to find you closed, they are unlikely to do it again.

5. Add a Delivery Option

We are fast becoming a delivery culture. It is not just pizza and Chinese food anymore. Pharmacists, grocery stores, and restaurants, are just the tip of the iceberg. There is no good reason why other businesses like auto parts, pet supplies, and electronics retailers shouldn’t also be in the delivery game. Figure out how to deliver and your business will gain an advantage that will last beyond the pandemic.

Coronavirus has sidelined a lot of businesses. but business is all about the ability to adapt to change. Adapt by fixing your car, increasing your education, going online, opening for regular hours, and finding a way to deliver.

How to Determine What Job You Are Suited To

Posted by Daniel Packer in Personal Finance • 1 Comment

The fact that many people end up in a completely different line of business than what they initially wanted should tell you something. No one is ever born with a clear plan of what they should do in life. Our preferences, likes, dislikes, abilities, and skills form the path of reaching the perfect job for us. There are hundreds of different tests and quizzes out there that “help” you establish the perfect job for you.

However, the truth is that the job you are cut out to do is almost always different than what you had in mind for yourself. There are many factors to take into account to help in this decision-making process, and here are a few that determine what job you are most suited to.

It’s Not Always About Passion

Whether you are just starting out in your career or have worked in many positions that just didn’t feel right for you, you need to know that you are not alone. A recent study has revealed that nearly a third of Americans are stuck in jobs they don’t care about just to get by. We are often tempted to think of our passions as the perfect career choices for us; however, this isn’t always true. Following your passion doesn’t always secure you the amount of money needed to lead a comfortable and stable life; therefore, passion isn’t the only factor to consider. Instead, consider what is the right fit for you. You need to think about your personality, preferences, principles, the work environment you want to be in, and the amount of money you want to make.

Assess Your Skills

Finding a suitable career for you depends merely on what you are good at. Are you good at working with your hands or do you prefer a mind-stimulating job? Are you good at math? Do you prefer a routine and specific schedule, or do you want a more flexible position? All these questions and more should be answered until you reach the right fit for the skills you have. For example, if you have high intellectual abilities, analytical skills, and good communication, then you might begin to consider a career in investment banking, especially if you are a nimble thinker that can differentiate between good opportunities and things you should dismiss. Assessing your skills will help you greatly in determining what you can and can’t do which will narrow down your search pool.

Ask Experts

After assessing your skills, identifying your likes and dislikes, and determining what you need to excel in your career, it will be easier to limit your search to a few career choices you are contemplating. At this moment, it’s better to seek help from experts in the fields you are interested in. Ask questions about what you need to know and start eliminating what is unsuitable.

Going on a job hunt is never easy. This doesn’t only refer to the crazy maze of searching, applying, and going to interviews; deciding on whether a certain job is suitable for you, to begin with, can be safely deemed the hardest part. If you are unsure about what career path you should go for, then you need to take some time to assess all your wants and needs until you reach the right decision for you.