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3 Things To Consider When Looking For A New Home

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Buying a new home is a big decision. Not only do you need to consider everything from a financial standpoint, but you also need to think about how moving into a new home could impact every other aspect of your life.

To help you in making this all-important decision, here are three things to consider when looking for a new home.

All Associated Costs

The cost of getting into a new home goes far beyond what you can pay for your monthly mortgage. Because of this, you need to be considering all associated costs before you can determine if you can really afford to make the move you’re wanting.

According to Diane Koopman, a contributor to LifeHack.org, you also need to think about things like your living expenses there, what bills you’ll need to pay, maintenance costs, renovations, furnishing, moving costs, closing costs on the home, and more. Once you’ve been able to hash out what all of these costs will likely be and then balance them against your budget, only then will you know if you can truly afford the home that you’re wanting to buy.

How You Feel About The Neighborhood

The actual home you buy is only part of the equation. Equally important is the neighborhood in which you’ll be moving into, especially if you have kids.

To get a feel for the neighborhood before you purchase a home there, Coral Nafie, a contributor to The Spruce, advises that you try to spend as much time in that area as you can. Ideally, you should shoot to visit that area on various occasions and at different times of the day. By doing this, you should be able to see what type of goings on are common in that area. You should also look up any statistics you can find about that area so you can get as clear of a picture as you can regarding how you’ll fit into that community and how well it will match with the lifestyle you’re wanting.

Issues With The Home

Before you buy a new home, you’re going to want to make sure that you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into as far as any issues that the home has that you’ll then need to address.

While a lot of this kind of stuff will come up in a home inspection, you should do your own inspection before you purchase the property. During this inspection, Thomas Noel, a contributor to Freshome.com, recommends that you check out things like the roof, heating and cooling systems, the foundation, any areas where water damage is common, the windows, and the electrical system.

If you’re looking to buy a new home, consider using the tips mentioned above to make sure you get the right property for you.

 

Getting a Quote: 5 Factors That Affect the Term Insurance Pricing

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When looking for insurance, you’ll know that there is a tremendous amount of diversity in the quotes you’ll get back from different companies. Some will aim to be as cheap and as affordable as possible, whereas others seem to be priced astronomically, and it’s hard to understand how they could justify such a figure.

However, when you start to understand the different terms and factors that are used to price insurance plans, you can start to see how to improve the quotes you’re getting, or how the price is decided in the first place. With this in mind, today, we’re going to explore the five key factors that affect insurance pricing.

1.Your Unchangeable Factors

Several factors will go into your insurance term plan quote that will act as a base for your pricing. For example, your gender, your age, and your family history will all be taken into account when looking into health insurance policies and will affect the final quote you receive.

Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about this, and if you have a long-running health condition in the family, this will increase your premium since you’re far more likely to suffer from this yourself. If you’re older, you’re also more likely to run into health complications, therefore needing to pay a higher premium.

2. Your Lifestyle Habits

One of the most essential things your term insurance company will look at is how well you look after yourself and the kind of lifestyle habits you’ve chosen. Do you exercise regularly, drink lots of alcohol, or smoke a lot? If you are making what they would consider poor lifestyle choices, this can affect your premium.

3. Your Free Time

What you choose to do in your free time will dramatically alter the premium of your insurance quote, but it’s important you’re honest with this section of the quote. For example, if you add snowboarding to your list of hobbies, this will increase your premium, but if you’re in a snowboarding accident, you’ll be covered.

If you don’t mention this and you’re involved in an accident, the insurance company may not payout.

4. What You Do For Work

Depending on what you do for work can affect what your best term plan will be. If you work in an office and there’s not much danger, your term plan can be cheaper. However, if you work in a dangerous occupation with hazards, especially those with an increased risk of death, this can raise your premium costs.

5. What Kind of Policy You Choose

If you’re paying for a long policy, the more expensive it will be (over the course of the entire plan) because it’s far more likely you’re going to pass away during this time or will experience poor health. For example, if you compare a 30-year plan to a ten-year plan, the 30-year plan is going to be more expensive, although they will typically be more affordable on a monthly or yearly basis in terms of payment plans.

Summary

As you can see, there are lots of aspects insurance companies will consider when it comes to pricing up an insurance term plan, and it’s up to you to ensure you’re looking for the best deal. Don’t be afraid to ask questions as to what is being considered for your price, or shop around to find the company that’s right for you.

3 Tips For Selling Your Products On Amazon

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If you have some type of product that you’d like to sell online, using Amazon to help you do this could be a great option for you. However, selling your products through Amazon is often easier said than done, especially when you’re just starting out.

So to help make this whole process a little easier on you, here are three tips for selling your products on Amazon.

Decide If You Want Amazon To Fulfill Your Orders

When working as an ecommerce business, one of the biggest parts of your business is going to be fulfilling your orders in a timely manner. And while you can certainly take care of this all on your own, even while selling through Amazon, you might want to consider if using Amazon to fulfill your orders might be a better option for you.

According to Clifford Chi, a contributor to HubSpot.com, if you send your products to an Amazon fulfillment center, you can take advantage of Fulfillment by Amazon and have them store, package, and ship your products to your customers once they order from you through Amazon. This can also make things like returns much easier for you as well, since Amazon will take care of it on your behalf.

Learn How To Market Your Page

But before you have to worry about people dealing with the shipping of the products they order from you on Amazon, you first have to know how to get your pages and products in front of them.

To help you with this, Sammi Caramela, a contributor to Business News Daily, shares that Amazon does a lot of this work for their sellers. However, you’re still likely going to want to run some advertising and promotions or deals if you can. And to ensure that your page doesn’t go stale over time, you’ll also want to schedule in some refreshing on occasion, too.

Use Tools To Help You Optimize Your Listing

One thing you can try to get more and more people coming to your Amazon listing is to use the right tools to help you optimize everything on your page.

Aron Hsiao, a contributor to The Balance Small Business, shares that Amazon gives all their sellers reports about ad campaigns. From these reports, you can see what people are typing into an Amazon search before they find and purchase your product. With the information, you can better cater your listing to certain groups of people who might be a big portion of your buyers. Using these keywords could be your ticket to getting even more sales through Amazon.

If you’re considering using Amazon to sell some of your products online, use the tips mentioned above to help you make the right business choices and get the best possible return on your investment here.

 

Turn Your Trash into Cash – 4 Simple Tips to Sell a Junk Car

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Old Car, Rotten, Rusty, Vehicle, Metal, Auto, Wreck

Let’s face it, an automobile won’t last forever. Regardless of the amount of money that you’ve spent on a car or how aesthetically pleasing it once was when initially purchased, all vehicles eventually get old and serve little purpose other than yard art. So, what should you do when an automobile is no longer in a usable state or isn’t worth having? You sell it, of course! And in this article, we will discuss a few tips that should help you transform your trashed car into cash.

  • Place an ad online

In the digital age of today’s modern world, the internet has become the go-to platform for buying, selling, and trading. And automobiles are no different. After all, not only is this approach much more comfortable and convenient to use, but it’s cost-effective too. As such, it makes sense to do the same and place an ad online for your junk car. In this way, you will be able to reach a broader audience and are far more likely to secure a deal as a result. More importantly, you won’t have to pay any nominal fees either.

  • Join an Internet forum

Not unlike any other product or service, junk cars have their own target demographic. And internet forums are a good source of potential buyers for vehicles that are no longer in usable condition. From gearheads who enjoy restoration activities to collectors looking for their next big project, joining the right forum can go a long way toward helping you get rid of your vehicle.

But before you broadcast your intention of selling, it’s recommended that you participate in some conversations first. After all, these automotive enthusiasts can be a great source of useful information, and as a result, might offer insight into how much you can potentially get out of your junk car.

  • Refer to professional services

These days, the market for junk cars is no longer limited to automotive enthusiasts. And there are several companies available like Junk Cars Miami that will not only help you determine the value of the vehicle. But also give you a good deal too. So, refer to these professional services before you decide to commit to a buyer. In this way, you’ll know for sure whether or not you’re getting the best deal out of the sale.

  • Word-of-mouth

Even in this day and age, traditional methods of advertising like word-of-mouth still work as well today as they did in the past. So, a good option is to have family and friends pass the word around that you’re looking to sell your junk car. After all, everyone has a network of contacts these days. And it’s likely that someone on the list is looking for the vehicle that you’re trying to get rid of.

Selling a junk car is easier said than done. After all, not many people will commit a sizeable amount of financial resources to an unusable vehicle. But with these tips, not only will you be able to get rid of your car but make a profit too.

Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/old-car-rotten-rusty-vehicle-metal-3399349/

 

How to Finance a Car without the Stress and Expense

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Car-buying can be an intimidating endeavour for anyone, much less someone who has never dealt with financing. With the never-ending tales of being ripped off, or worse yet, being sold a lemon, no wonder consumers fear shopping for a car in a market where we can be sold on anything. From unscrupulous lenders who trick consumers into dubious financing contracts to lenders who charge excessively high interest rates, vehicle buyers have a lot to be concerned about.

However, shopping for a car does not have to include the stress and expense characterised by these purchases. In fact, by going into financing informed with the information needed to secure an appropriate loan you remove many of the hassles associated with car shopping. In addition, by having the requisite information handy, you can secure a loan that will land you a steal.

Keep reading to learn how you can alleviate the stress and expense of car-buying to make your next vehicle purchase as straightforward as possible.

Financing

Before shopping, peruse the various financing options available. Today, you can finance a car through a credit union, a bank or any financing company. However, by shopping around, you guarantee that you will secure the best possible rate. While traditional methods of financing are great, also check out alternative financing options. You can finance a car from Latitude Finance and be given rates that are just as competitive as conventional financing companies. By going into a financing office having already exhausted all avenues of financing, you can rest assured that you are securing the best loan for your budget.

Pre-Approval

Consider getting pre-approved for a loan before actually shopping for a car. This benefits you in a couple of ways. The first benefit of getting pre-approved for a loan is that you know exactly how much you have to spend, which is great in terms of limiting your choices. This also cuts down on the amount of time you would spend shopping for a car.

The second reason getting pre-approved is great is because it streamlines the car-buying process in that you have already applied for the loan and they have given you an amount you can reasonably spend. This translates into getting you out of the dealership a lot sooner than with other financing methods. For the most part, the pre-approval alleviates many of the stresses associated with car-buying.

Down Payment

In the distant past, before modern technology made financing so accessible to consumers, a phenomenon called the down payment made car-buying a less stressful task. Today, many zero down loans have made it affordable to purchase a vehicle. However, there is something to be said about having money set aside for a down payment.

A down payment can alleviate the stress of securing financing for a couple of reasons. For one, it allows you more purchasing power as it relates to the various types of vehicles you can purchase. Then, it also gives you some leverage as it relates to your overall interest rate and monthly payment. A down payment can drastically reduce the amount you pay to the financing company every month.

Budget  

Go into the car-shopping experience with a budget. Your budget sets the ceiling for how much you can actually afford on a monthly basis. Additionally, this budget will limit the vehicles you can actually afford to purchase, which saves you time in the long run. Things to consider when making a budget include monthly payment, insurance, maintenance and fuel costs. By going to the dealership with a budget, you alleviate the stress of knowing what you can actually afford.

Shop Without Fear And Intimidation

The biggest hurdle to stress-free car-buying is related to the financing and expense of purchasing a new vehicle. However, by taking a multi-pronged approach to this experience, even shopping for a car can be enjoyable as opposed to stressful, and worse yet, expensive. For the most part, a little preparation before shopping will alleviate any stress, and you can actually be enthused by your new purchase.

Learn From The Expert: Last Minute Tips On How To Cut Your Tax Bill

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Even though the deadline for filing 2017 self assessment returns online is long past (31 January 2018), it is never too late to get information that can help for subsequent ones. Of course, if you missed the deadline, you may have to pay a penalty, unless you have a really good excuse, such as a long stay in the hospital (with hospital records to back it up), but for subsequent tax filings, the following minute tips from personal finance experts will help you cut your tax bills in the future.

Cut your tax bill when you donate to charity –

If you are an additional or higher rate tax payer, you can legally cut down your tax bills by being charitable. You are essentially killing two birds with one stone. Donating for a good cause and slashing your tax bills. When you add up your charitable donations on your tax returns, you can claim tax relief. Mathematically, you can save 25p on every £1 charity donation. Not only can you earn tax relief from major charities, you can also lower your tax bills by sponsoring minor events like scouts or brownies at your children’s school. All in all, you get to save by giving.

ISAs –

If you are a basic taxpayer, you can earn as much as £1,000 interest on your personal savings without paying one penny in tax. The same thing applies to higher rate tax payers, you can earn up to £500 in interest without paying tax. However, you may need to check the tax certificate for your bank account. The same thing applies to investments. You are entitled to £5,000 a year in tax free dividends if you own any investments outside your pension or personal savings account, although this figure will reduce to £2,000 from April 2018. You can actually save up to £20,000 every year with an ISA without having to pay capital gains tax or income tax.

Better mortgage alternative –

The new property and mortgage rules that will take full effect within a few years will see landlords progressively lose valuable tax relief on their buy to let properties mortgage costs. Before the introduction of this new rule, landlords only have to declare rental income after they have paid mortgages, and this system help cut tax bills by thousands of pounds. But, since April 2017, the method of declaring rental income has changed; meaning a lot of landlord will be expecting significant increase in their tax bills. However, because mortgage rates have dropped in recent years, landlords may be able to make savings by exploring other mortgage opportunities. Additionally, landlords can talk to tax experts to ensure they are claiming all they can against their rental income.

Self employed allowable expenses –

If you are self employed, you can slash your tax bills by taking note of what is called allowable expenses. For every £1 you spend on ‘expenses incurred exclusively in the performance of your business’ you can get 20p back in your wallet. For example, if you work from home and have to travel to London for a business meeting, you can claim travel costs which can cover food and drinks. Unfortunately, the taxman will not appreciate 5 star restaurants in your fillings, but the odd meals and drinks can add up. The secret is to keep track of all these seemingly insignificant expenses. One way to do this is by ensuring you get a receipt every time you carry out these little trips.

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