Category Archives: Financial

May 6, 2019 · 1:26 pm

Top Reasons to Work From Home

Are you thinking about working from home? Loads of people are attracted to the idea of telecommuting because of its long list of benefits, from more time with the kids to a casual wardrobe. It’s a big decision that requires planning, but it’s not as daunting as it might seem. Consider these top reasons why you should work from home.

Flexibility

work from home

Undoubtedly one of the best reasons to work from home is flexibility. You’re the master of your schedule and can set your own hours. Are you a night owl? Carry on, Johnny Carson. Want to have lunch with your best friend? No need to check in with the boss. Take as long as you like.

With time for family and friends, creative ventures, and even travel, you can pursue a level of work/life balance that a regular 9 to 5 commitment can’t match. Just don’t let all this flexibility leave you crunched for deadlines.

Plenty of Opportunities

Today’s employers are continuing to embrace a variety of full and part-time telecommuting opportunities. From language translation services to medical billing, the global shift towards remote-friendly workplaces is on the rise.

Advertising is a key industry that offers a variety of ways to fulfill your dream of a nomadic work life, like influencer marketing. LinkedIn is touting thousands of available freelance influencer positions that help businesses connect with influencers, build PR programs, and track ROI — with lucrative starting salaries too.

Tremendous Income Potential

If you’re blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit, achieving success as a freelancer or remote employee is within reach. In addition to saving big on work-related expenses such as gas and office apparel, working from home might be a profitable venture.

Bloggers can earn $12,000 a year or more, while virtual assistants and graphic designers are raking in as much as $5,000 monthly from their home office. This level of control lets you set your income goals and may add up to a consistent, livable income.

Vloggers

Design Your Space

Just imagine your new work space. What comes to mind? Is your new office chair an overstuffed recliner or the picnic table in the park across the street? You don’t have to cram your remote office into a spare closet or the corner of your living room. Gone are the days of being tied to a clunky desk and secondhand rolling chair.

You can fit your office anywhere, and you’re not tied to your home either. Use your kitchen’s breakfast bar as a standing desk or take your laptop to your favorite coffee shop around the corner. Most libraries offer free Wi-Fi and a quiet environment that’s perfect for contemplating innovative ideas. Take your job on the road while traveling and never miss out on life again.

More and more people are choosing to work from home. For many, it’s a great fit and a lucrative career move. But it’s not a magic solution to the woes of the workplace. You still have to put in the effort to reap the rewards.

Podcast

 

This is a collaborative guest post, the ideas expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mommy Ramblings.


1 Comment

Filed under Financial, Home & Garden, Life

Tagged as , , ,

April 4, 2019 · 7:55 pm

What To Expect When Renting Your Property Out To Tenants

Renting Your Property

Many property owners consider the idea of renting out their houses to tenants. However, whether it’s for the benefit of gaining extra income or paying down your debt for the family’s needs, becoming a landlord can be indeed a big challenge. It can even become big trouble when specific considerations aren’t made. Whether you’ve inherited property or your family have decided to live abroad for good, here’s what you should expect when you’re planning to put your place up for rent, especially for families searching for new homes:

There are specific landlord-tenant laws you have to understand.

When it comes to becoming a landlord, the first thing you should do is to know and understand the landlord-tenant law. Most states observe specific landlord-tenant laws that can help rent your property out to tenants. Before doing anything, it’s essential to follow the procedures and processes about security deposits, the number of notices you have to give tenants when you want to evict them, and the extent of access to your property. By understanding the law, you’ll be able to manage your rental property and your tenants properly.

You have many responsibilities as a landlord.

 After understanding how the law works, you need to figure out if being a landlord is a responsibility you can handle on your own. From staying on top of repairs and maintenance to collecting rent and looking out for your tenants’ housekeeping skills, you have to understand all of these things to get started. So, try to ask yourself if you’re ready to perform all the responsibilities involved when deciding to rent your place out to other people.

Once you’ve decided to become a landlord soon, start looking for websites like Gumtree Real Estate where you can post ads about your rental properties. That way, you’ll get more prospects coming in to inquire about the rental.

 You need to prepare your property before renting it out.

 With several competitors in the market these days, you don’t want to rent your family’s property as it is since tenants tend to be choosy, especially if there’s an increased availability of rental properties. Below are the things you need to do to prepare the place for renting and improve the overall look of the property:

  • Clean your home and ensure that all appliances are in good condition.
  • Give your property a fresh coat of paint if the existing paint starts to peel off.
  • Make sure that the place is well-lit.
  • Check the electrical and plumbing systems if they’re working correctly.
  • Make sure all windows and have appropriate locks for safety purposes.
  • Ensure that your property is free of hazards, such that both your interior and exterior don’t have unstable handrails or broken steps.

Painting Rental Property

You need to set the right price.

Once you’re done with the preparations and you’ve already determined your responsibilities as a landlord, then it’s time to set a competitive price for the rent. You can start by getting to know the rates of other rental properties in your neighborhood or community. As mentioned, tenants have a variety of rental properties to choose from. Thus, consider giving some good deals and be sure you pinpoint the best features of your place.

You have to screen potential tenants.

Once your property is ready to be shown, begin searching for the right tenants who will occupy your place soon. By renting out your property to them, it means you expect them to take care of the place and pay the rent on time without delays. Get the best tenants through the following:

  • Collect references for prospective tenants and review their credit histories. The potential tenants’ credit scores can be a helpful screening tool to determine whether to accept or deny a rental candidate.
  • Do an interview with your candidates to ensure you’ll be comfortable dealing with them.
  • Perform a background check by checking references from previous landlords and employers.

Once you’ve got the right tenant, discuss the reasonable security deposit you’re going to ask. From there, make necessary arrangements for the appropriate payment schedule.

Preparing a contract of lease is a must.

When you already find your tenants, you need to prepare a contract of lease to get started. Under these circumstances, you may opt to hire an attorney or a project manager to customize the lease. If you decide not to ask help from anyone, you can utilize the standard lease form that you can find on the Internet. However, it’s important to review the form and see if there’s a need to tweak it to suit your situation. An example of a provision you may want to customize is whether you allow pets and the applicable rules you’re going to follow.

Renting Your Property

Conclusion

Renting your property out to tenants can be a massive undertaking. It’s also the kind of business that you’re going to have for yourself and more importantly, your family, thus careful consideration is required. By knowing what to expect in the rental process, you’ll get yourself in the right direction with the least amount of headache and best possible results. Not only that but you can also get to help some families looking for a new home within your area.

Australia, energy, gas, electric

This is a collaborative guest post. The ideas and views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mommy Ramblings.

 

 


1 Comment

Filed under Financial, Home & Garden

Tagged as , , ,

February 24, 2019 · 9:47 pm

Your Guide To Evaluating Credit Card Offers

There are some critical questions to pose before accepting one of the credit card offers
likely to appear in your mailbox this month. Sandwiched between the incredible interest
rates and outrageous cardholder rewards there are some rather stark realities.

Evaluating credit card offers is about a whole lot more than going with whoever dangles
the most delectable looking carrot. There can be pretty sharp sticks hiding in there too.
Here’s what you need to consider to understand what’s really going on.

credit card offers

Your Spending Habits

Why do you feel you need a credit card? What will you be using it to do? Is it to serve as
a safety blanket for emergency situations, or will you use it for routine buys? Do you
plan to use it primarily when traveling?

Different offers serve these scenarios in different ways

Travel perks might dictate your choice in one circumstance, where deferred interest
might make more sense in another situation. The only way to determine which offer will
serve you best in these regards is to take a good look at your spending habits before you
agree to accept a card.

Associated Costs

Does the card have an annual fee? How much is it? Will the perks that come with having
the card outweigh the annual fee? What’s the annual percentage rate? What happens if
you don’t pay the balance in full each month? What happens if you do?

If you’re using the card heavily, you’ll rack up a lot more rewards than if you use the
card infrequently. If that rewards card has an annual fee, it might not be worth it. If
you’re just starting out and all you can get is a secured card, can you afford to have it?
How do they want you to come up with the security cash? Will complying deplete your
savings?

Credit card offers

The Devil in the Details

Every offer looks better than the next—until you comb through the six-point type on the
back of the application. That’s where you’ll learn that deferred interest they’re touting
so heavily applies only to your first purchase with the card.

What does the interest rate go up to when that zero percent deal expires? How much
are they going to charge for late payments or cash advances. What happens if all you
can make is the minimum payment?

Speaking of which, should you ever find yourself in a situation in which you cannot
afford the minimum payments on your obligations, you’ll do well to avail yourself of the 2 services of a company like Freedom Debt Relief. They can help you develop a plan to get your finances back on track.

Interest Rates

Your Credit Score

This can be a significant factor when it comes to determining the nature of the deal you
can get from a credit card issuer. While you might be getting all sorts of mouth-watering
offers from card companies, if you look closely, they always say something like “On
approved credit.” Or, “These deals are reserved for those with excellent credit.”

This doesn’t mean they won’t issue a card. Instead you’ll get a deal far less appealing
than the advertised offer. If you don’t review the details, you might be surprised to
learn the card you actually got carries a 30-percent APR instead of the zero percent you
were expecting. You can check your credit report free of charge once each year at AnnualCreditReport.com.

These are four of the primary factors you should bear in mind when you’re evaluating
credit card offers. Always take your time and read over every word of the proposition
very carefully before you submit an application. You should then read everything again
when the card arrives—before you use it—to be sure the deal you signed is the one
you’re getting. For more on this subject visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
site at ConsumerFinance.Gov.

Credit Card

This is a collaborative guest post. The ideas and vision do not necessarily represent those of Mommy Ramblings.


Leave a Comment

Filed under Financial, Home & Garden, Life

Tagged as , , ,

February 10, 2019 · 9:47 pm

Top Technologies Helping Ecommerce to Evolve

We have seen more advances in ecommerce over the past ten years, than at any previous period in the history of the industry. Underpinning these gains; are massive leaps in technology and its applications. Let’s take a look at some of the more dynamic technologies helping ecommerce to evolve.

Mobile Computing

There was a time, not so long ago, when the vast majority of personal computing took place on desktop machines such as IBM’s PC and Apple’s Macintosh. While both devices still hold considerable sway, handheld computers such Android-based smartphones as well as iPhones and iPads have surpassed their static predecessors for functions such as email and ecommerce transactions.

When you fold the rise of social media into the equation, retailers now have the ability to entice shoppers with deals and close the sale all on the same device—regardless of where the shopper might be physically, or what they’re doing. In fact, more and more people are whiling away what used to be idle moments shopping online.

ecommerce business

Augmented and Virtual Reality

According to Forbes.com, these two advances are redefining the online shopping experience.

Forbes Council member Alexandro Pando says, “The advent of virtual and augmented reality technologies has provisioned e-commerce vendors with an avenue to display their wares in immersive detail, comparable to the real-life experience.”

He cites the debut of virtual reality options on eBay and website themes provider Shopify as examples of this. Shopify now offers “Thread Store”, its personalized virtual reality application, while eBay has created a full-featured virtual reality store.

These advances give shoppers the ability to “use” products before making purchases. This has the potential to improve customer satisfaction considerably. In turn, this will minimize returns—one of the most expensive aspects of running an ecommerce business.

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

Chatbots have revolutionized customer support. Given how many customer concerns tend to be manifestations of the same issues, customer service automation is just a logical thing to do, but that’s just the beginning.

According to the digital customer communications firm Acquire, examples of artificial intelligence automation tools range from customer service applications to voice-powered assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Google’s Home and Amazon’s Echo.

The company’s research found some 40 percent of millennials are already using voice search for online shopping. This bodes well for the future of this technology in ecommerce.

What’s more, in addition to customer service, Acquire says applications for chatbots include ordering food, scheduling flights, booking hotel rooms, checking luggage at airports, and getting recommendations regarding anything you can think of.

Meanwhile, machine-learning technologies have enabled retailers to provide highly personalized shopping experiences, wherein customers can be guided directly to merchandise with specific appeal for them. This too has led to massive gains in customer satisfaction, as well as increased purchases.

Automated Fulfillment

If ecommerce can be said to have an Achilles Heel, it’s the wait customers must endure between the time they make a purchase and receive their merchandise. This is a significant issue in our instant gratification society.

To counter this, amazing advances in automation have taken place, which in turn have fostered the viability of the largest fulfillment centers ever created. Robotics, self-driving trucks and drones are among the approaches the world’s largest retailer is taking to minimize the interval between payment and delivery.

Even a cursory glance inside one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers leaves minds blown at the degree of automation on display. And remarkably, these developments are in their nascent stages.

With these technologies helping ecommerce to evolve, the business model has grown by leaps and bounds since the first legal internet purchase was made back in August of 1994. Seeing how far things have come makes anticipating the future even more exciting.

This is a collaborative guest post. The words and views do not necessarily represent those of Mommy Ramblings.


Leave a Comment

Filed under Business, Financial, Life

Tagged as , , ,

November 29, 2018 · 12:36 pm

4 Tips To A Successful e-commerce Store Launch For Moms

There comes a time in almost every stay-at-home mom’s life when all of her kids will be in school full-time, and she will have more time on her hands. What can they do with this extra time? Perhaps, they will decide to use that time to earn income for their family. Instead of updating their resume to launch themselves back into the corporate world, they may want to pursue their passion and open an online store.

stay-at-home moms

Online or e-commerce stores are booming, and there are many moms out there experiencing success and making a nice little passive income. Some stay-at-home moms have even grown their e-commerce stores into full-blown companies. This trend is likely to continue.

The growth of online retail sales is exponential. The total sales this year in the US alone is estimated to hit a half trillion dollars. By 2022, e-commerce sales in the US could reach over $700 billion. Why not get your piece of those online sales profits?

If you are considering a stay-at-home mom career in e-commerce, the following 4 steps to launch your online store can be your quick start guide to success.

home office

1. Brainstorm Your e-commerce Niche

Your e-commerce niche is an essential element to online success. Before you begin searching Google for the most profitable niches for online sales, you should consider the products you are interested in and/or purchase. For example, stay-at-home moms may lean a bit more toward products that help moms or children’s products.

Google

Why would you go about finding a niche for your e-commerce store like this? One of the most important aspects of creating and launching an online store that grows, is encompassing your passion or interests. This allows you to stay motivated and to keep at it during those early stages after launch.

2. Selecting Your Online Products

Once you have a niche in mind, it’s time to choose your e-commerce products. This can be slightly challenging depending on your niche, but with a bit of due diligence, you will come up with a nice list of initial products for your online store.

Do you want to have an inventory on hand or dropship products? This is an important question. For example, having inventory is great, but you will need to think about storage space, packaging, shipping costs, having enough inventory, and more. Dropshipping on the other hand, requires you to think about shipping time and price points for each item.

After you choose inventory or dropshipping, you can choose your products. The general rule of thumb, is to net four to five times profit, including shipping, packaging, and marketing costs. So, if you want to offer a product that costs you $5, you should sell it for $20 on your e-commerce website.

3. Time to Create Your Website and Branding Guidelines

Once you have your niche, products and pricing set, it is time to begin creating your online presence. This of course, is one of the most critical aspects of any e-commerce store, since your marketplace is entirely online.

The good news is, that it is fairly easy to set up and launch a WordPress website and develop your branding guidelines. Let’s start with branding. This will require you to choose a primary color for your website and marketing materials, and two secondary colors. 

Branding

Next it’s time to think about your logo. To create a logo, you definitely don’t need to be a professional designer. You can use online design platforms like Canva to design a logo and other essential marketing material.

When you have chosen your color pallette and created your logo, it’s time to create your website. First, you need to think about hosting. It is best to choose a hosting provider that offers WooCommerce hosting. This ensures you are ready to go in the e-commerce space. Then, select a WordPress theme that is tailored for e-commerce from online sites like Themeforest or StudioPress.

4. Optimize Your Website

Last, but certainly not least, think website optimization. More than just a buzzword, optimizing your website incorporates multiple facets of digital marketing like SEO, content marketing, site navigation, and more.

Start building a great user experience by making your website easy for visitors to navigate. Incorporate product categories into your main menu, install prominent call to action buttons and make sure your site speed is optimized. Now, you need to think about product engagement.

bluehost sale

To convert visitors to customers, your product web pages need to be engaging. For example, be sure to have dynamic product images and videos on your website, don’t rely on stock images.  

Every product should have a detailed and unique description. Do not just copy and paste the product description from the manufacturer. Lastly, make sure you have a way for customers to review and rate the products. Reviews and product testimonials are the bedrock of online sales these days.

To Sum It Up

If you are a stay-at-home mom who is  ready to launch an online store, the above tips may be very useful to getting started. After you launch your website, the real work begins, as your business grows, all of the effort will be well worth it. Your online e-commerce website could be your answer to financial freedom. What are your top tips for online retail domination?

This is a collaborative guest post. The ideas expressed do not necessarily represent those of Mommy Ramblings.

 

 

 


1 Comment

Filed under Business, Financial, Resources

Tagged as , , , , ,

November 10, 2018 · 12:38 am

5 Practical Ways to Save in the New Year

With the new year just around the corner, you might find yourself thinking about resolutions. Is financial freedom part of those resolutions? If so, having a well-defined savings plan is one of the surest ways for you to reach your short or long-term financial goals.

Even with the best intentions, saving money is not as easy as it sounds. How many times have unexpected expenses popped up and depleted your savings?  Having a solid savings plan and sticking to it, will enable you to realize your goals effortlessly. Here are some expert tips to help you create a savings plan for the new year.

Set Your Goals

It is hard to succeed without a goal. Knowing your destination before embarking on a journey helps you avoid distractions and arrive on time. This is also the case with saving. The first and major step towards saving is knowing what you are saving for.

Maybe it’s the latest TV, tropical vacation or that gourmet kitchen you have been dreaming about. Perhaps you need to save for retirement or your child’s college education. Clearly stating these goals, will give you the vision and motivation to save.

When defining your goals, it’s possible to end up with a long list of things you want to save for. No worries, just go over the list and prioritize them. The best way to do this, is to categorize them according to their urgency. Then, separate long-term goals from short-term goals. When this is done, it will be easy to know what to start saving for first.

Set the Amount and Deadline for Your Goals

You already know what you are saving for, but that’s not all you need to get started.  If you are not sure of the cost of your goal or fail to set a timeline, you may be setting yourself up to fail.

Imagine saving money for your dream vacation only to find out you underestimated the cost. What a huge disappointment that would be to learn you now have to wait months or more longer.

Eliminate any unpleasant surprises by finding out what your goal will cost right after you set it. Having this information will enable you to come up with a specific amount of money that needs to be deposited in your savings account weekly or monthly to reach your goal.

For example, let’s say you want to purchase a car that cost $23,000 by the end of the year. If you want to save monthly, you would need to save about $1,917 per month for the next 12 months to reach your goal and get your car. Knowing the cost of your goals and setting a deadline helps you plan and save more efficiently.

Evaluate Your Current Financial Position

You can’t save what you don’t have. Doing a through analysis of your income and expenses will give you a clear picture of what you are able to save each month. If you have a substantial amount of money left after you pay your necessary expenses, saving will be almost effortless. However, if you are living paycheck to paycheck, saving will be almost impossible.

Make Changes 

If you find yourself discouraged due to the fact, you have little to no surplus money to save, there are some things you can try.

  • Reduce the cost of your target goal; take the car for example, you will need to find a different vehicle , one that will fit your budget.
  • Extend the deadline of your goal; if you are set on that car,  you will have to extend your deadline. If you increase your timeline to 2 years, the amount you need to set aside each month, is cut in half.
  • Change your spending habits; do away with unnecessary expenses.

 Have an Emergency Fund

You never know when an urgent and unavoidable financial need might arise. Setting aside some money to deal with such issues will help you stick to your savings plan.

Sometimes when people are faced with emergency financial needs, they prefer to dip into their savings rather than take out a loan. They will argue that loans from high interest short-term companies like lend up, net credit , cash net USA or  nation21loans.com  will result in more expenses, unlike the savings. When this becomes routine every time an emergency arises, it ends up depleting their savings and forces them to abandon their savings plan.

To avoid this pitfall, try setting aside some funds that are to be used specifically for financial emergencies, so you can stay on track with saving for your goal.

Automate Your Savings Deposits 

It is unlikely for you to spend what you do not have in hand. “Pay yourself first” is an idiom that you might have heard before. It means that you should deposit money in your savings before you spend it on anything else. However, you might find it is harder to do when you have that money in your hand.

A great solution is to set up direct deposit of funds into your savings account. When you do this, you put your savings plan on auto pilot and ensure you stay on track to reach your goal.

Get SMART

The tips above will let you create a SMART new year’s savings plan (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic and Timely).

  • Specific: You have set a goal and know what you are saving towards.
  • Measurable: You have determined and know how much your goal will cost
  • Attainable/Realistic: An evaluation of your current financial status confirms you can save for the goal.
  • Timely: You have set a deadline for your goal.

With a solid savings plan, you are on your way to achieving your financial goals and attaining financial freedom.

This is a collaborative guest post. The views and ideas do not necessarily represent those of Mommy Ramblings.


1 Comment

Filed under Financial, Life, Resources

Tagged as , , , ,

November 5, 2018 · 3:08 am

Practical Ways To Help Your Adult Children

Raising children is very expensive, and just because they reach the age of 18, doesn’t mean  your responsibility ends. On the contrary, most parents continue to financially support their adult children in some way. Some parents want to ease their children’s financial burdens or to fund a business venture. Even retired parents find ways to assist their adult kids. If you are thinking about how you can best help your kids even if you are retired, we share a few common ways you can help below.

Set up College Funds

First, you could help to pay for college tuition. Going to college is expensive and it isn’t getting any cheaper. On top of that, professional jobs require a college degree, with even more requiring advanced degrees. If you want to help ease the financial burden of student loans, you can help out with their college tuition. This way, they won’t be graduating with a degree and a mountain of debt to repay.

There are several ways you can do this. You can open a separate savings account, then withdraw the money when your children or grandchildren are ready for it. You could also place the money in a trust, which would allow your child to access it when they turn 18. Finally, you could simply have the tuition payments directed to you and pay for the semesters as they come up. Whichever method you choose will depend on your own financial situation and how old your child is.

Help Then Become Homeowners

The other large payment many people have to deal with is their mortgage. Mortgage payments are large and last a very long time. If you want to help your children with a larger down payment for their new home, it will decrease the amount of the mortgage they need. If you son or daughter already has a home, helping them to pay off their mortgage sooner is very beneficial. While every dollar helps, you need to remember to keep your own future in mind. Talk to your kids about how much help they may need, then see if you can make it work.

Funding a New Business

If your child wants to start their own business, they may need additional funds to get it going. Starting a new business is expensive, if they don’t have enough money, they may not be able to do all the things they need to which could spell failure. If you believe in your child and their business plan, you should consider assisting them financially to get started.

Before you do, make sure the business plan is a solid one. While you want to help your kids, you don’t want to throw your money away on a bad idea. If you can, have an outside financial advisor review their business plan and give your their opinion if it is a wise investment. If not, consider other ways that you can help your child, or recommend ways they can improve their business model, so that you can help with funding.

Babysitting

Lastly, if you have grandchildren, you can always help with child care. Sending a child to daycare is expensive, and if your kids can skip it even once or twice a week by sending their kids to you, that will really add up in the long run. Not only do you get to help ease the financial burden of child care, but you get to spend time with your grandchildren as well.

Before you embark on this, make sure your home is safe and baby proofed. Have some fun things for the kids to do, as well as a safe play area with their favorite toys. You don’t have to turn your home into a daycare, but some preparation is a good idea.

How to Find Additional Funds

Now, maybe you want to help your children, but you aren’t sure you can afford it. If so, there are some ways that you can earn some additional funds during retirement. For starters, you could get a part-time job. Another option is downsizing your home which would lower your housing costs, especially your taxes. You could also talk to reverse mortgage lenders. You can use this reverse mortgage lender locater to get  started. There are many options, you just need to consider what’s right for you.

Helping Them Succeed

Being able to help your adult kids out is a great feeling. Even though they’ve left the nest (or are about to), it still feels good when you can help make their lives a little easier. Hopefully, the tips above provided you with some good ideas about how best to help your kids out even during your retirement.


Leave a Comment

Filed under Family, Financial, Home & Garden, Life Stages

Tagged as , , ,

April 5, 2018 · 11:07 pm

Rethinking the Way You Budget in Two Simple Steps

Learning how to put money aside for when you need it can often prove to be a difficult endeavor. Most people make saving a priority but that does not mean it is a straightforward path for everyone. If you make the same amount of money each month, you may feel like you do not have the extra cash available to save. While this might be true to the naked eye, a little bit of effort can reveal all sorts of appealing and practical tactics for saving money and still covering your monthly expenses.

Provide yourself with some useful tips by looking over some of these suggestions for how to save. By taking the right steps, you might find it is much easier to start saving money for your future than you had believed.

Step One: Your Car

Before you look at other areas of your budget, you want to start with your car. Most families own at least one vehicle in the current day and age. While your cars provide you with a sense of freedom and the ability to take on daily responsibilities with success, automobiles also eat away at a budget easier than most other investments. If your car is costing you more than you would like, it might be a good time to start thinking about how you can adjust the amount of money you spend on keeping it roadworthy.

For many, this comes down to changing insurance policies. When your car is costing you an arm and a leg, you want to slow down and look over how much you spend on your plan. Reaching out to another insurance agency for quotes can help you to learn more about your options. If you find that you can save more by switching providers, then you might want to take advantage of this option and see what type of impact it has on your budget moving forward. Speak with an agent and get a more well-rounded understanding of your choices.

Step Two: Your Lifestyle

How you live your life is also going to hold sway over how much money you spend daily. Some people work long hours which can lead to a lot of time spent away from the home. The more time you spend in the office, the less likely it is you are able to bring meals from home to eat when you get a break. Spending money on food is one of the easiest ways people waste money. Instead of buying lunch or dinner to eat at your desk, try to get into the habit of bringing it from home.

To stop extraneous spending, you need to take a look at your life and see where you need to do the most work. This is a long journey that will often require a lot of attention and patience from you. Following the above steps will help to give you a solid understanding of how to begin your journey. Once the ball is rolling, it will be up to you to make sure it gains momentum and helps you to save money for your future in sensible ways.

This is a sponsored guest post that does not necessarily represent the views or ideals of Mommy Ramblings.

 


1 Comment

Filed under Financial, Life, sponsored guest post

Tagged as , , , ,

June 7, 2016 · 12:38 pm

How to create your financial plan with less stress

When you hear the words financial planner, do you wince a little? If you do, you are not alone. I wince too and so do most of us. The negative feelings and dread most of us feel when thinking about meeting with a financial planner usually stem from a past negative experience or uncertainty about what to expect. Are we saving enough? Do we have a plan for retirement that is sufficient? Are we investing wisely? Are we totally off track and headed down the wrong road? All these questions and more run through our minds. For most, facing them and finding out the answer can be terrifying. That fear causes many to go through life without a clear financial plan and ironically, that is what we should be more afraid of.

financial planning stressing you out wm

Maybe you have met with a financial adviser and when they started talking it started sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher, “Wah,wah wah, wah wah” and you totally tuned out. I totally know that feeling. There are so many things most financial planners throw at you and so many decisions they want you to make that you end up feeling so frustrated and decide to take some more time to decide what to do.

Having a simple, clear plan can give you so much confidence. How do we get there? I discovered a very different financial planning service, one that understands why most dread meeting with a financial planner more than getting a root canal.  SUM180 makes financial planning simple, affordable and even fun for everyone, wherever they may be on their financial journey.

The process with SUM180 was so different from anything I expected. With my full life, being able to input my information at my own pace and receiving my financial plan online in a PDF was amazing! Their site is very easy to navigate and entering my information was simple. I had my latest tax return handy and it did not take long to input my information. In a short time I received an email that my plan was ready.  I did not have to become a financial expert or have degree in finance to understand it, everything was clear and easy to understand. Their 3 step approach is simple and does not make me feel overwhelmed. All I need to do is focus on the three most important steps at a time and that makes me feel empowered.

SUM180 is a subscription based, affordable financial planning service and if my circumstances change at any time during my subscription year, I can create a new plan for free! I have to tell you that having a clear, easy to understand plan in place makes me feel so much better. I feel much more in control and not like I am winging things. Before I did this, I was so uncertain, always wondering if I was making the right financial choices. With my financial plan, I have the confidence and clarity to see exactly what I need to concentrate on to reach my financial goals.

I am most surprised at how easy and painless the whole process was. If you are putting off meeting with a financial planner for the same reasons I was, try SUM180, get the tools you need without the overwhelming financial jargon you don’t. SUM180 has a special, limited time promotion where you can save 50% off the current product price when you use the code SPRING50.

I would love to know what you think if you try their services. Please just leave me a comment letting me know.

 

This post has been sponsored by SUM180. I was provided with product at no charge to sample in exchange for my review. The options expressed in this post are my own. I am in no way affiliated with SUM180 and do not earn a commission or percent of sales.


Leave a Comment

Filed under Family, Financial, Life, Life Stages, Resources, Review

Tagged as , , , , , , ,