You are here: Home / Archives for Personal Finance

Solving Your Financial Challenges

Most start-up businesses fail within the first three years of operation, and this is mostly due to financial issues. As a business owner, you need to be able to make smart financial decisions and know when you are spending too much.

Here are some financial tips to help your start-up business succeed:

  • Don’t hire more employees than you can afford. A lot of the money you make goes towards paying employees. This means that the fewer employees you have, the more money you will net. Some start-up businesses find that they do best when they offer internships because interns will work for very little money because of the college credit and experience they gain.
  • Do your own payroll. Most small businesses have no need to hire a payroll company. It is easy to write paychecks yourself and take care of all the business finances. Payroll companies are an added expense that hurts your bottom line.
  • Shop around for suppliers and products. The more you know about a product, the better you are able to negotiate a price. Some companies have a bit of leeway when it comes to their prices.
  • Set strict guidelines for your employees so that they do not waste your money. Cell phones should not be permitted at work and surfing the Internet should not be permitted. Employees work for you, and you are in charge of what acceptable behavior is and what is not.

The most important thing is to track where all of your money is at, whether it is coming or going. This will help you be able to make more informed decisions about your company.

Filed Under: Businesses, Personal Finance | Tagged: Tagged With: , ,

Property Investment Without Becoming a Landowner

During this time of low-priced houses and apartments due to a plethora of foreclosures, there is a great opportunity to invest in property and wait for the inevitable rise in prices. However, taking advantage of this once-in-a-generational opportunity can be a lot of extraneous work if you invest in property using the typical procedures. Being a landlord can be quite a hassle when you have to worry about maintaining a second home, putting up with tenants and the possibility of any of the dozens of expensive problems that homeowners can become involved with.

However, there’s another way to invest in property and that’s through the stock market. The property sector of the stock market has listings from real estate investment trusts (REITs), property unit trusts and property loan stock companies. Typically, these companies invest in office buildings, retail blocks or industrial construction and individual branches that are responsible for the micro-management of these properties. A REIT pays a percentage of its profits to investments while property unit trusts and property loan stock companies pay out twice annually or quarterly.

As with any potential investment, you should make sure to understand the process involved in investing with a company found on the property sector of the stock market, and it’s important to check out the individual companies that you’re considering investing with. For instance, many of these companies have their portfolios listed on their websites which can help you determine if the companies make good business sense to you. 

Property listings can certainly be profitable and are ideal for a long-term investment. For instance, the South African and European property markets are seeing an 8 percent return, even during this economic recession. Right now, many economic experts are predicting that the return on properties may continue to rise as the world market continues to recover and more retail and industrial companies expand their storefronts. 

Filed Under: Personal Finance, Tips | Tagged: Tagged With:

Take Stock of Your Finances

There are a few steps you can take to ensure your finances are in good order.  Everyone should check their credit report and score yearly.  You can get a free copy of your report, but the credit score you will have to pay for.  FICO scores range from a high of 850 to a low of 300.  700 and above is considered a good score.  You can raise your score by keeping balances across all your credit cards less than 30% of the total of the limits.  Also, pay your bills on time, even if it is only the minimum due.
Take stock of your debt load to see just where your money is going.  Housing payments should not be more than 28% of your monthly income and your overall debt load should be less than 36%.  If you find yourself over these limits, start paying off your debt with the highest interest rates, and whenever possible, transfer balances from high interest cards to cards with a lower rate.
Household budgets vary widely and are dependent on age, personal goals, and the local cost of living.  Keeping track of your spending habits, can help you design a budget to better reach your financial goals.  There are often areas where you can cut down, giving you money to put into savings. 
With money as tight as it is right now, most people find it hard to make their expenses let alone have any left over to save.  But there are some guidelines on how much you should be saving for a secure future.  Ideally you should save 10% to 15% for retirement.  You should also have an emergency fund that will cover your expenses for 6 to 12 months.  The best way to begin or maintain a savings habit is to pay yourself first by setting up an automatic withdrawal from your paycheck.  Money that you never see is easier to save.

Filed Under: Personal Finance, Stocks | Tagged: Tagged With:

Invest in Your Family, Not Your Job

Family in tall grass
Image by Jackal of all trades via Flickr

When it comes to investing,most people think about investing their money in companies that will offer them a return which is fairly reliable. In fact, most people don’t bother involving anyone else in their investing practices which could actually be a mistake. Those who find themselves investing without involving their families might find themselves missing out on some potential income! While it might not be an obvious method to ask children to participate in your investment practices, it can really spice things up for the whole family without having to worry about the risks of investing too much as one time.

In fact, you can invest just twenty dollars at a time with the possibility of receiving multiple times that amount in return. What better way to get your children ready for the “real world” and to teach them about money than to let them each invest twenty dollars? Not only can this provide you and your family with a decent little return, but it can really help to build a team environment at home which in turn creates and entirely new aspect of friendship and respect throughout the family.After all, you are learning how to take risks and to build business together!

You might be interested in investing in big stocks and bonds, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t take the time to invest in your family and spend time doing what you love. It’s also a great way to practice for those bigger investments you might be thinking about, but haven’t quite had the nerve to actually put forth as of yet. Even if you don’t have kids, there isn’t a reason you can’t get other family members involved with your endeavors. You never know, you might create an enthusiasm that financially benefits you all at the same time.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Personal Finance | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
Newer Posts »