General Articles

How to Save Money on Your Own House

Among many ways to save money, people generally do not know how to save on their house. How is this even possible at the first place? But when you think about the costs that a house require; furniture, electricity, water, appliances, then it will make more sense to you. Some people who realize this are already taking the steps to reduce all of these “unnecessary” costs. A great example of this is living in a RV (recreational vehicle).

If you rent a house, share it with someone

it is a great idea to invite others to rent the house with you. It just does not make sense if you rent the whole house for yourself. A $500 monthly rental can be slashed into half, $250 by just finding another housemate. But of course, a housemate or roommate must be somebody you can live with. Just be selective when it comes to finding the extra tenant.

Opt out of the expensive rental

If your landlord charges you excessively and you think he is taking advantage of you (after analyzing market price), then move out to somewhere cheaper. Even if it is a low-cost flat, does it matter that much? The benefit of saving due to a lower rental outweighs the luxury of staying in a bigger house. Besides, when you are able to save more, this simply means you can have faster financial freedom. You would want to start saving for a house in future. You would not want to rent a house for the rest of your life, would you?

Bargain with your landlord

Study the market price for house rentals. Determine whether the cost of living suits the quality of environment being provided. If you found out your landlord is overcharging you, bring it up immediately. There is no need for fear of confrontation here. It is your finance and only you alone care about it, not others.

If your landlord is smart, and you have been a good tenant (paying rentals on time every month), he or she will listen and consider your plead for a lower rental. That is because a house without a tenant to pay rent is worse, for a landlord. Showing all you can and proving that you are “poor” enough will help. If all else fails, then ask for an upgrade in the house.

Aim to buy your own house

In the long run, it is more beneficial to you. If you do the math, owning a house is much cheaper than to rent and makes much more sense. This is especially true when prices of houses fall during certain periods, coupled with low interest rates that bank provide.…

Self Storage – A Place For Storing Anything

Self storage is a business that can prove to be of great help as it leases out storage spaces to customers, where the customers are free to store any item of their choice. The storage units come in different sizes and the rent is charged in the basis of size of the unit and the period for which the lease is taken. The items may be stored for durations ranging from one month to twelve months.

The Advantages Of Self Storage

People might wonder why to go for self storage units when there is warehouse storage available and even their homes might have plenty of garage storage space. Well, the difference between any ordinary storage space and self storage is, first and foremost, the climate controlled environment. The self storage facilities are usually climate controlled. Climate control mainly refers to using heating, ventilation and air-conditioning to control the internal environment of the storage unit. Climate controlled units ensure that the items stored in them do not get damaged by excessive heat or cold. They are ideal for furniture storage, car storage and storage of other expensive equipment that may get spoiled if stored for long periods in normal conditions. Another advantage is the large choice available as regards the size of the units. The sizes vary from mini, small, medium, big, large, extra large and even loft areas. Many of these storage places even provide spaces big enough to store RVs and boats.

RV storage and boat storage are difficult to find on a person’s property and hence the availability of self storage is a blessing for owners of these items. Another advantage is that these places are usually equipped with full time surveillance and alarm systems to prevent burglary. This ensures the customers of the safety of their goods stored away. Yet another advantage is that these places are usually located in easily accessible areas.

The fees charged for the units are very nominal and there is the additional advantage of being able to store goods for periods as long as a year. The extent of the lease period to a year is very advantageous to people who may have been transferred out of state for a few months and need a place to store their items safely till they return.

The Disadvantages Of Self Storage

Even with its many advantages, self storage is not without its flip side. One of the main disadvantages is that the real liability of loss of goods stored away remains with the customer. The possession of the goods never leaves the customer and hence the store owner never has any genuine responsibility for the goods. If the goods are damaged due to any reason, there is no accountability as such on the owner of the self storage place.

When a comparison is made of the ups and downs of self storage, it is evident that the ups outweigh the downs. This is probably the reason …

6 Close Guarded Secrets of Spending Less

There are known ways to control your spending effectively. But first of all, why is spending so important? Rather, why is the habit of spending being discussed time and time again? In simple terms, if you spend more than you earn, you are looking for trouble.

Only spend within your earning capability

Anyone, whether rich of poor who spend too much has a problem. But this could be an inaccurate statement at the first place. To better illustrate, take the example of 2 individuals who are rich and poor respectively. The rich person spends $20,000 a year when he has an annual income of $100,000. He spends 20% of what he earns. Meanwhile, the poor or poorer person spends the same $20,000 amount in a year. But he or she earns less income, which is $50,000 (half of the rich person). This means the poorer person is spending an excessive 40% of his or her salary! It is only accurate to think in terms of percentage.

Other people might give you bad influence

Even your best of buddies or colleagues can do this to you. How is this so? Well, how do you usually react when your friend (who is wealthier than you, but not understanding) asks you out for an expensive dinner at 8? Peer pressure does exist not only in teenagers, but adults, too. Value your own opinion first.

Monitor yourself

The obvious one is t track what you spend. That is because the responsibility that you take dictates your financial future. Whether you make or break, it depends on your money habits. Achieving financial goals can be hard to do, but not impossible.

If you have someone to pay first, that is you

Have you ever heard of paying yourself first? This would mean devoting to a specific amount of savings each month. For example, paying yourself means funneling your income every month to your own bank account savings.

Avoid being a criminal

These products are often associated with crime. You would probably know what they are by now. If you are a smoker, then stop it. If you are a heavy drinker, then drink less and eventually stop it altogether. These 2 habits, if stopped effectively, could save you hundreds of dollars a month easily.

Be a second-hand buyer

Start buying used things. This might sound like a cheap option, but it easily shaves half the actual cost of buying a similar item that is new. The only condition is, you have to check for its quality. If the quality does not differ that much than the new one, then why not?…

5 Benefits For Your Business When You Use Self Storage Units

Self storage units are a great way to store your important business documents in an environment that is low-cost and secure. The most common reason that businesses use self storage units is to store archived documents and records instead of using up valuable commercial space.

There’s no getting away from the fact that when you’re in business you have a legal requirement to store documents for several years. The majority of those documents are not needed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and most will never be accessed again – they just need to be kept safe and sound. So it makes good common sense and business sense to store them away from your normal working day premises. Here are 5 benefits for your business of using self storage units to store your important documents:

1. State of the art security – Self storage units offer the highest level of security for your archived records and documents. You might not need the documents now, but you would be devastated if they were stolen or destroyed. Making use of a self storage unit means your records are in a secure locked unit which is monitored and not able to be accessed by anyone without your permission. You can store your documents and basically forget about them, because you know that the self storage unit is perfectly secure.

2. Clean and climate controlled – It’s not easy keeping paper documents in a good condition when you store them in a roof cavity or a back cupboard. You never know what could be happening to them, from rodent attack to damp or heat damage. Self storage units are well-maintained, clean and have just the right climate controls for archived documents. There’s no chance your precious records will get wet or hot, so when you need them, they’ll be in just the same condition as the day you left them there.

3. Convenience and service – You never know when you will need one of your important documents. You might think they’ll never be needed, but then along comes a day when you’re asked for something in particular. Storing your business documents in a self storage unit with purpose-built racks and filing systems means they’re available when you need them at a site that is convenient. You can access your property whenever you need to and find the right document easily.

4. Value for money – It makes good business sense to use your office space well. Storing documents is not a good use of office space, so keeping archived records in a self storage unit makes financial sense. Self storage units are great value for money. You can rent exactly the size you need and you’ll be surprised at how inexpensive it is.

5. Welcoming friendly staff – Keeping your important documents in a separate location is a big decision, so you need to know that the staff who monitor the …

Get Local Self Storage Space Near You

Self storage is an industry that is still growing. Experts say that even though the economy is the way that it is, this industry will stay solid and recession proof. It would be hard to believe that a retail environment such as this would not be out of business like other retail environment. Businesses are fighting hard in order to get every customer in through their doors and rented. It would seem that the face of the industry is changing but not the basic nature of the industry. People will always need a place to store, it is just where and when they will decide to store. The concept of storage self is really quite simple. The self storage storage location will provide the empty space, you take your belongings there, load the space up and put a lock on the door. Very simple concept, but is needed across the world. As you see a simple concept, but sometime it is not that easy.

There are a variety of self storage units available to the general public now it is just a matter of what space the customer will need. What they need to do is the customer needs to understand what they will store so they can find the right storage space for their needs. You will see in your local area that there are a number of self storage facilities for you to choose from. When you make that decision, getting your belongings to that space is the next feat. Some facilities offer some kind of moving service while others do not. If this is a feature that you desire, call around to see who provides that feature. If facility does not have the features you want or the services, maybe they can recommend someone who does.

So if you are looking for storage self storage is the route you should investigate. If you have never used this service before, you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is. When you call your local facility ask as many questions as you can about storing. The more questions that you ask the storing professional, the more at ease you will feel about storing your belongings away from your home. Being prepared for whatever move you make is essential to moving day. When moving day comes, you want it to go as smoothly as possible. Talking it over with your moving team and also your local facility manager is crucial to a great moving day.

There will be times in which you will pass by your local storage self facility often on your way to work and not realize it. Sometimes we do not realize something is there until we are in need of that service. When the need is there, we are sometimes surprised at the number of places in our local area that can satisfy that need. So we will pick up our cellular devices or our home phones to …

Packing Supplies For Self Storage

When you are starting the packing process of all your goods at home you will have to first get all the packing supplies. There is no need for you to get the supplies on your own. Most self storage facilities provide you with their preferred packing supplies so that your goods are protected in the best possible way.

Let’s take a look at a few necessary Packing Supplies

Packing Boxes

The most important packing supply you will need has to be packing boxes. They are sturdy, covered from all sides thus giving maximum protection and they come in a variety of sizes, colours and shapes to offer maximum assistance. Packing boxes can be used for both books and wines.

o Book and Wine cartons are great for packing small items such as books, wine bottles, DVDs and CDs. They can also be used for crockery, crystal ware, glass ware and kitchen utensils.

o Storage Boxes are great for storing nick knacks, albums, photos, files, documents, etc. They are a good option for office purposes as they can be easily compartmentalised.

o Tea Chest Packing Box is ideal self storage units for packing clothes and sundry items. They are also good for the bulkier household items like kitchen appliances, linens, toys, pots and pans, etc.

o Packing Box can be used for the fragile items like mirrors, glassware, etc. It can also be used for prints, photos, paintings, canvasses, etc.

o Packing Box-Port-a-Robe are boxes that are used to hang your clothes as they come with a steel rail on which the clothes can be hung. They can be installed in your homes or are great when moving and you don’t want to fold the clothes.

o Wine Boxes have separate compartments so that the wine bottle can be placed upright and so is easy to transport.

Covers

You need covers to wrap certain goods as they provide a lot of protection to your valuables. Some covers you will need:

o Bubble Wrap is the best option to use if you want covers for your fragile and breakable items. They are an essential packing supply for valuables as well.

o Butcher’s Paper-this semi transparent paper is very handy to wrap crockery, glassware and crystal. You don’t even have to wash after unpacking you can directly store them, thus saving precious time and energy. You can even stuff this paper in the empty spaces in the boxes to avoid any breakage.

Locks

You will require locks to ensure complete security. Ask for special disc locks for your storage units as they are the best against tampering.

These are just a few items you will require when you are packing your goods that will be stored in a self storage facility. If you are looking for quality self storage facility that also offers storage boxes and other packing supplies then you could consider the name Store More. For more info please click here .…

How to Get That Cash Out of Cash Back Credit Cards?

They look attractive from a distance but hard to get when you run after them. Credit cards with cash back rewards offer hard cash as a reward for your spending. But if you don’t realize their inside secrets, you may be paying out extra cash for your spending!

There are plenty of credit card offers in the market offering cash back rewards. Almost all major credit card companies frequently come out with such cards. If you are a disciplined spender, you can make most out of them otherwise it will be only end up in a dream. Remember the following tips while going for such cards –

1. Deceptive fees and higher interest – Such cards do offer cash back rewards but many of them charge annual fee. If you are just a normal spender, this fee will negate all your cash rewards. Most of them come with a very heavy rate of interest. So if you do not pay your balance in full at the end of every month, you will be paying out big money by way of interest.

Make your research on all these cards and find out which ones do not charge annual fee. You should also make a comparison of the rates of interest charged. Take the best.

Also, remember to pay for all your spending at the end of each month. Do not spend excessively to reach higher levels. You may not be able to pay back all the dues in time.

2. Restrictions on rewards – Keep a close look on their rewards program. Sometimes you may go on collecting points in anticipation of rewards but when you go for redemption, you may find that half of the points have already expired and due to limitation of time. Some cards require you to spend over a particular amount in order to qualify fully.

You should be smart to keep track of such restrictions.

3. Incentives for higher spending – Most of the credit cards offer you a high percentage of cash back reward if you spend in a particular category of expenditure. For example, if you spend on gas, it may give you higher cash back. If you shop on-line on some specific sites, you may get some extra bonuses. There are some promotions for your first purchase with the card. So if you start spending on your new card, you may get this special bonus.

Think about your spending pattern before applying for these cards. If your spending habits are not matching with the reward conditions, you may not be able to get much out of such cards.

4. Redemption requirements – Some cards will send you gift checks automatically on reaching a particular level of spending. But some cards will require you to specifically request for a reward.

You should tone up your spending pattern to match such reward conditions so you get timely rewards.

Cash rewards are always attractive …

Let’s start with the most important part of an ISA: how it differs from a general savings account. Though both ISAs and regular savings accounts earn you interest, only ISAs allow you to withdraw your money without having any income tax deducted.

An Individual Savings Account (ISA)

An ISA is a tax-efficient way of investing your money; as long as it stays in the account, you won’t have to pay any income tax on the interest. However, if you take your money out from an ISA, this will be classed as ‘general income’ and subject to income tax. External funds can also be put into ISAs, but they cannot remain in the ISA for longer than 12 months unless they qualify as a short-term or capital gains exemption investment.

When money is placed within an ISA, it does not count towards any annual allowance restrictions that you may have; this includes pensions and self-assessment contributions. The only limitation is on withdrawals as they count towards the annual allowance.

A savings account

A savings account is a current account that pays interest on deposited money and allows customers to withdraw money whenever they wish – although some accounts only offer limited services such as withdrawals or stop payments.

Savings accounts can be created with or without withdrawing money from another current account, and they pay interest on the amount of deposited funds every year. Savings accounts have daily restrictions on withdrawals, but these don’t apply to everyone. Some banks let you make more than three pre-arranged payments per month and unlimited withdrawals for those who hold certain products, such as an ‘overdraft’ credit card product.

There is no limit on where you can manage your savings account from (e.g. not just at a bank branch), and there’s no restriction on transferring between savings accounts owned by different people (e.g. parent and child). The most significant limitation with savings accounts is that the interest earned each year is paid after income tax has been removed, so if you are withdrawing it, you will have to pay tax on what you withdraw.

Savings accounts can be managed online, by phone and post, and there are no restrictions on where you manage the account (e.g. not just at a bank). The interest rates paid on savings accounts can vary greatly; searching through uswitch for ‘savings’ will give you an idea of what types of interest rates are compounded each year for different accounts. Like ISAs, there is no income tax payable on the amount earned from your savings if it stays within the account.

You can also open a savings account with an ISA. This is called a Stocks and Shares ISA (individual savings accounts), and it’s managed by HM Revenue & Customs; customers are allowed to invest into both types of ISAs but cannot put more than £15,000 into one type per year.

Similarities between ISAs and savings accounts:

• Can hold money for five years before withdrawing it (ISA only)

• Interest earned within

As ordinary individuals who are doing their best to work every day, financial obligations can sometimes be tough and we cannot just ignore this. That’s why we often knock on our relatives or friends’ doors to borrow money and when these people cannot lend us, we deal with lån på dagen (same day loan) as our last option. We are in a situation where cash is urgently needed so we must find a way to get funds as fast as we can to settle our engagements and if possible, we should have it ready on the day we applied for this loan.

Well, this may sometimes be very easy or may take some time, depending on the financial firm or creditor requirements, policies, and how they handle the process, so we just need to wait. However, we must also consider our situation, especially if this money will be used for emergency purposes and there is no time to waste since it is urgent. Therefore, we must find creditors who offer and can guarantee same-day loans without asking too many requirements from the applicants.

This is possible but these lending offices can only lend you a small or limited amount, some of them may even charge you high-interest rates, and you have to pay at a shorter time. But as a person who needs cash badly, you won’t surely mind about such policies because you are only thinking of how to avail yourself of the funds. We are all facing financial difficulties anyway, especially when the pandemic started but keep in mind that you have options so choose the right firm where you will send your loan application.

Transparency

A good reason to trust such lending companies is their transparency which is very important in this industry. This means that there won’t be hidden charges when it comes to the interest rate – read more from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/interestrate.asp, and other fees. You know how much you will repay them every month and how much you will be charged for late payments as well.

These things are something that you have to consider every due date so it is a must to have it clear and open. When you are aware of the details of your loan, you can plan well on your monthly expenses. I guess you’ll have more chances of keeping some for your savings with this.

Fast and Helpful

When the process of our loan application is faster, then this would be beneficial to us because of our immediate needs. Let’s say that you are using a credit card whenever you are shopping since you only need to swipe it and tell how many terms you want to pay this. The process is the same when it comes to speed that’s why it can help you a lot since you are in a rush.

Most of the time, the application is treated in an instant because the approval is very fast. You may even apply for these types of …

How to Really Diversify Your Investments

What is diversification? It can be defined as the act of varying your assets or properties to a multiple sources. In effect, you can reduce your risks. A simple explanation would be to put your eggs in more baskets instead of one only.

How does this apply in investments? If you follow the idea of diversification, then you need to carefully rethink your investing strategy. You should place your money in different investments with returns that are not related to each other.

Why is this so? This is because some investments will fail at times. The good news is, your other investments will prosper. You can thank your strategy for buying investments that are different altogether in terms of their returns. This increases your chances of earning a net profit, in a bigger picture.

What kind of investments should you diversify to? Well, there are many to start with. The common few include stocks, real estate, bonds and even starting your own business. Consider the domestic and international markets for your investment platforms. Spread your assets by selecting different types of investments.

Let us talk about stocks as an example. You have to realize that when you invest in stocks, you must select the ones that perform well under all kinds of economic situations. This is a very important criterion when choosing a stock. This is why mutual funds are created. They are simply the diversified portfolios of securities consisting of stocks and bonds.

Therefore, what happens when you buy a mutual fund? You are actually investing your money together with thousands of people in a sea of stocks and bonds. Mutual fund itself is a diversified investment alone.

You should now be aware that diversification brings you 2 other benefits. When you diversify, you are reducing your volatility in the value of your whole investment portfolio. Compared to when you are investing in a single source only, your diversified investments are capable of fewer fluctuations in value over time.

Diversification actually gives you a higher rate of return. This applies when there is a certain amount of risk involved, like all investments do.

In the real world, not a single person can predict the future of the market. Therefore, it is suffice to say that nobody can say a single investment type is the best. No single stockbroker can guarantee you a specific number of profit. There are cases when people do get lucky. However, that would akin to gambling; depending on luck. In conclusion, diversification simply reduces your risks when you invest.…