Thomas

3 Budget-Friendly Ways To Make Your Home Your Own When You Rent

By Thomas on June 13, 2022

If you don’t currently own the home that you’re living in, you might feel like you don’t have the freedom or capabilities to make this space your own. And while this might be true to an extent, if you really want to turn this space into something that reflects you and your design aesthetic without going to the extent of doing actual renovations, you’ll be glad to know that there are still plenty of ways that you can tweak and change things up.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three budget-friendly ways to make your home your own when you’re a renter.

Hide Floors You Don’t Love

One part of many rentals that takes a lot of abuse is the flooring. And because getting new flooring can be expensive, many landlords aren’t looking for any excuse to put new flooring into their units. However, there are ways that you can hide floors that you don’t love while you’re renting.

To put down some new flooring without having to tear up what’s already there or ruin the current flooring, you might want to look into peel-and-stick flooring tiles. These types of flooring tiles will give you the freedom to put a new look and feel onto the flooring for very little financial investment. If this isn’t an option for you, you can always put down some rugs that you like to cover up parts of the flooring that don’t suit you.

Use Fabric Rather Than Paint

For many homeowners, adding a new coat of paint is a great and inexpensive way to make a room look brand new. But for many renters, painting isn’t something that they are allowed to do. So if you’re wanting to change up the look of the walls or ceiling in your space, you may want to use fabric rather than paint.

All kinds of fabric pieces can be pinned or stapled to the walls and ceilings of a space without causing much damage at all. And this way, you can put something you love over the walls that you hate and have the room look much more to your liking.

Go Ahead And Hang Your Art

In some rentals, landlords ban tenants from putting any holes in the walls. But if you have art or other decor that you want to hang up, putting a few holes in the walls might be necessary.

Rather than keeping your walls bare, consider how you might be able to hang your art with as little damage as possible. While you might be able to use some hooks that don’t actually go into the walls, small holes are usually very easy to cover up once you’re ready to move out.

If you want to make your rental feel like your true home, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find ways to make some inexpensive changes.

4 Customer Service Tips for Your Online Business

By Thomas on May 26, 2022

Running an online business can be surprisingly easy. You can manage everything from the comfort of your home, and costs like rent are not necessary. Yet, there are still mistakes that can cause the business to fail. One of the most common issues is a lack of good customer service. Your customers are the lifeblood of your business, so it’s important to keep them happy. Here are four customer service tips for your online business.

Deliver Goods Undamaged

It’s very easy to focus on fast delivery and neglect the condition of the product. A huge part of customer service is delivering what your customers pay for and your customers will not be happy if they receive a damaged product.

Luckily, this can easily be ensured. The best way to ensure safe deliveries is to hire a professional freight unloading service to handle things. This way your products will arrive at their destination in one piece and without any damage.

Alternatively, you can also take some preventative measures yourself, such as packing the items securely and using a tracked shipping service.

Respond Quickly to Customer Inquiries

When a customer contacts you, they expect a quick response. If you take too long to get back to them, they may go to your competitor.

You can guarantee quick responses by:

Using a chat robot. A chat robot can answer common questions quickly and efficiently.
Hiring customer service representatives. This is a more expensive option, but it will ensure that someone is always available to answer customer inquiries.
Automating responses. Similar to a chat robot, you can use an autoresponder to send a pre-written response to customer inquiries.

Keep Customers Informed

One underrated way to provide good customer service is by keeping your customers informed.

If you have a website or blog, make sure to post updates regularly so your customers know what’s going on with your business. You can also use social media to keep them updated, and to answer any questions they might have.

Or, you can send weekly or monthly newsletters to update them on new products, services, or deals you are offering.

Here are some communication tips:

Make the writing personal, as if you are speaking to a close friend.
Be clear and concise.
Use a friendly, yet professional, tone.
Avoid using jargon or technical terms.
Make sure to proofread before sending.

Offer Discounts and Coupons

There are few things customers like more than a bargain, so offer discounts and coupons to sweeten the deal. You can promote these offers on your website and social media channels, or send them out via email to your subscribers.

Just be sure to make the terms and conditions clear, so there are no surprises down the line.

Some ideas include:

First purchase discounts.
Bulk purchase discounts.
Loyalty program coupons.
Seasonal promotions.
Random giveaways.

Running an online business is no easy feat. There are a lot of moving parts, and you have to be able to wear many hats. But by following these four customer service tips, you can set yourself up for success by having customer service at least figured out.

Places Where The World’s Wealth Is Stored

By Thomas on May 16, 2022

Money is everywhere. Imagine if you could take all the paper currency in the world and put it in one place! Then there’s all the gold bullion, which would surely fill the major sports arenas, not to mention precious stones, of which there are tons! It is estimated there is more than $300 trillion spread around the world. Below are some of the locations where a lot of the world’s wealth is located.

London

The capital city of the UK, here you will find (if you are lucky) huge vaults full of gold, silver and platinum. All the trading venues have gold reserves in specially built vaults; this is necessary to cover the huge trades that are made. London is also home to some of the top jewellery collections, with the Crown Jewels being a good example. JP Morgan keeps 155 million ounces of silver to facilitate trading on metals futures, which is more than little! Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and De Beers have 40% of the world’s diamonds under lock and key somewhere in the bowels of the City of London.

Federal Reserve Bank, New York

There are said to be at least 550,000 bars of gold bullion deep inside their Manhattan vaults, which is an astounding collection of wealth. That is more than $200 billion in value; the mind boggles with what you could do with that! Some say the Fed Res have no gold, but we’ll never really know! If you are looking to acquire gold, you can also go to the Brisbane gold dealers at City Gold Bullion, for example. They are always ready to trade at spot prices. You can find dealers in your location through a quick online search.

Precious Stones

Of course, there are many tons of precious stones that have yet to be discovered; Myanmar is the capital for rubies, while Columbia has the majority of the world’s emeralds and South Africa has the most unmined diamonds. Sapphires are found in Madagascar, while the Argyle Mine in Australia is the location of the best pink diamonds.

Department Of Energy, Arlington, Texas

This is where the world’s plutonium is stored; worth an amazing $10,000 an ounce, this facility hosts 6,000 plutonium pits and the value is astronomical.

South Africa

This country tops the bill for both diamonds and platinum, essential in the manufacture of flat screen TVs and there is said to be a huge store of this precious metal. It is impossible to estimate how much platinum is still in the ground, while diamonds are also abundant.

Middle East

The various royal families on the continent obviously have vaults where they store their gold and while we’re on the subject of wealth, think of all the oil yet to be found in this region of the world. Many of the best jewellery collections are housed in Saudi Arabia and UAE, these items have been handed down through the generations, while some were stolen and others auctioned off in Paris, London or New York.

If you are looking to add to your investment portfolio, search online for a leading gold bullion dealer and take advantage of rising prices.

An Easy Guide to Managing Credit Card Debt

By Thomas on May 3, 2022

If you’re in debt to multiple lenders, opting for debt consolidation is a good way to regain control of your finances. In simple terms, debt consolidation is a loan to pay off credit cards and is a tactic often used by people who are struggling to keep on top of their repayments. Below, we’ve put together an easy guide to managing credit card debt and explain how debt consolidation may help you.

The benefits of debt consolidation

Taking a loan to pay off credit cards has two primary benefits:

You assimilate your debt into one monthly payment, making it easier to manage.
You might save money on your repayments, as the interest rate on your debt consolidation loan might be lower than the combined interest of your other forms of credit.

Why should you consolidate your debts?

Using a credit card is a form of revolving debt. It doesn’t need to be paid over a specific period, and it has no fixed term. In other words, it keeps rolling over until you pay it back. For most people, this means more interest payments and a longer period of time in debt. You can only avoid interest payments if you pay your credit card off in full each month, which isn’t a position that most people comfortably find themselves in. Taking out a loan to pay off credit cards allows you to bring an end to the recurring debt and focus on paying fixed monthly repayments to another lender.

How does debt consolidation work?

Thankfully, debt consolidation is easy to understand:

You calculate how much you owe on your credit cards.
When you have your total, use this as your target amount for the loan that you apply for. You will need to consider its interest rate compared to the interest you’re currently paying on your credit cards.
When you’ve found a suitable loan, apply and receive the money. Then use it to pay off your credit cards.
You’re then required to pay your debt consolidation loan each month.

Using a personal loan to consolidate debt

Perhaps the easiest option to consolidate debt is to take out a personal loan from a lender like Koyo Loans. This allows you to receive an agreed sum of money that you will need to pay back over a pre-arranged period of time. If you’ve done your research, you should be able to find a personal loan that has a lower rate of interest than you’re currently paying on your credit cards. Often, personal loans are unsecured and are relatively easy to apply for. Applying for a personal loan will also simplify your debt repayments and make your life that little bit easier each month. Alternatively, you could apply for a balance transfer card, but you need to make sure you understand the fees before applying.

Should you pay debt off quickly?

There’s no doubt about it – the quicker you pay off your debts, the less interest you will pay. For instance, if you borrow £1,000 at 10% with a loan term of 3 years. You’ll pay the initial £1,000 plus £300 in interest payments. However, if you borrow £1,000 at a rate of 8% over five years, you will end up paying £400 back. So, don’t get caught out when calculating the rate of interest on your loans, and always try and pay your debts off as quickly as possible. At the very least, you will need to meet the minimum monthly repayments, but it’s best to pay slightly more if you can to keep on top of the amount of money that you owe.

Debt consolidation and your credit score

In the short term, taking out a debt consolidation loan might have a negative impact on your credit score. However, in the long term, it will improve it. Also, remember that credit scores aren’t the only metric used by lenders. Many utilise Open Banking to get a much clearer picture of a borrower’s financial situation before approving or rejecting a loan application. Regardless, you need to make sure you pay your debt consolidation loan off in a timely manner to ensure it doesn’t negatively impact your credit score.

Negotiating credit card debt independently

You should only really think about negotiating your credit card debt when you’re in danger of missing your repayments. You should seek independent advice before doing this, as you don’t want to harm your long term prospects of accessing credit. You might be able to negotiate a temporary reduction in repayments but make sure you fully understand the long term impact of doing so.

Next steps

Hopefully, you can now see that getting a loan to pay off credit cards can be a useful step for many people. If you feel like a personal loan will help you improve your debt management, get in touch with a lender like Koyo Loans and start your loan application today.

Is it necessary to be wealthy to consult a financial planner?

By Thomas on May 2, 2022

We always rely on lawyers when in need of legal advice, or career counsellors while thinking about which line of academics to pursue. However, when it comes to financial advice, a lot of people simply rely on advice from their friends, colleagues, or even look for answers on the internet. While this can be useful, it is essential to understand that there are professional financial planners that are in the best position to take care of an individual’s financial matters.

Now, a lot of people are worried about the fact that consulting a financial planner could prove to be expensive. This is one of the most common rumours out there which is just not true. Not everyone might necessarily need to consult a financial planner. However, those who invest in mutual funds and have portfolios that are not fulfilling their goals can greatly benefit by consulting one and getting proper guidance. Financial planning is all about using limited financial resources in order to realise one’s financial goals successfully.

Read on to learn more about how a financial planner can help in achieving one’s financial goals:

Is consulting a financial planner worth it?

Hiring a professional who has expertise in handling financial matters can be a much more economical option as compared to acting on an inexperienced individual’s advice. There will be many people who are well-intentioned, giving all sorts of financial advice. However, this does not necessarily mean that it is the right advice for the individual in question. A lot of people rely on influencers online that publish content with financial advice. However, it is important to understand that each individual’s financial state differs from the other, and not everyone would benefit from the same advice. Consulting a financial advisor and paying their fees instead can be a great decision as they learn about your individual financial goals and base their suggestions while keeping those goals in mind.

Is it possible to plan finances without hiring a professional?

Of course, an individual can always choose to plan their finances by themselves. However, it is also essential to keep in mind that financial planning is not everyone’s cup of tea. This does not mean that the individual does not have the right mindset for money management, just a lack of time on their hands. Managing investments, seeing that they are aligned with financial goals, reviewing the performance of their investments, etc. can take up a lot of time. In such cases, simply relying on a financial planner can prove to be a lot easier. They would know which types of mutual funds to invest in based on the individual’s goals, which can take a big weight off the investor’s shoulders.

A good financial advisor can help in creating a clear plan and guide individuals with their investments that can help them achieve their financial goals. This will also help an individual to stay in control and maintain a balance between their income and expenses.

Ways To Save Your Business Some Money

By Thomas on March 21, 2022

Business owners know as well as anyone that saving money is always a priority. Running a business isn’t cheap, and you need a healthy flow of dough to keep everything operating without issue.

Finding solid ways to cut back on costs will give you a financial advantage over the battle you’ll face in the first few years of starting a new business. Take a few moments now to check out a brief compilation of some helpful ways to save your business some money.

Utilize digital marketing to the max

Traditional marketing can be a bit more pricey than digital marketing methods. Some digital marketing outlets are even free if you do the content work yourself. Either way, digital marketing is much more affordable and more effective than traditional marketing methods.

Use your website to boost your visibility online, and consider adding a blog to your pages as well. A good blog can do a lot to draw interest from web users. Check out how this unloading service blog does a great job at relevance and education regarding the industry.

Consider remote work for your employees

Remote employees don’t cost your business nearly as much as it does to maintain an office space. Remote employees use their own hardware, and they don’t have to rely on your business to provide a safe and comfortable space for them to operate.

Even if you can’t take your business completely remote, you may benefit from offering remote opportunities. Consider the various ways in which your business could work in remote operations, and create a way for your business to save some money along the way.

Outsource jobs whenever it’s efficient

Outsourcing various elements of your operation to other capable businesses or individuals could also help you save some money on operations. Setting up a digital marketing campaign is a good example of where you can use outsourcing to cut costs.

You can outsource your digital efforts to a professional agency that specializes in that particular field of business, so you don’t have to worry about the issue or use any of the valuable time of your employees to get the job done.

Negotiate with your vendors

If your business works with various vendors to operate effectively, you do have the ability to haggle a bit with those resources. Vendors are not strangers to negotiations, and you can probably work something out to make the connection more beneficial for you both. You never know until you try.

Always work with a detailed budget

Overall, it’s a lot easier to save money for your business when you work on a budget. Make budgeting a priority in your business, and take the necessary steps to make sure your spending sits within the boundaries set by your budget.