Archive for April, 2010

Credit Card Savings

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Posted 29 Apr 2010 — by Admin
Category Saving news

Having a credit card is very convenient since carrying a lot of cash becomes unneccesary and you might even have a hard time leaving your credit card at home. But with its advantages comes also its disadvantages. Since you can always buy things without carrying cash around, you are always tempted to buy something that you come across. If you have excellent control on your finances then good for you. If you have a hard time managing your credit card, then these pointers can help you.

Get organized

First thing’s first, obtain your credit card records to have a better idea of your spendings. Be sure to double check the records for errors and ensure its accuracy. A good example would be to find out if you have outstanding debts that should not be there as well as the accuracy of the listing of your former and present address.

Evaluate your credit card

Go over your recent credit card records and look at the interest rates. Some credit card companies have promos wherein they offer lower interest rates for a period of time and this promo may already be over yet you have no idea and are already paying at a higher interest rate. Also take note of the membership fee which they charge annually since some have very high membership fees. Consider cancelling this if you are not using it frequently.

Pay on time

It is important to pay your bills on time since it can have a negative effect on your credit record or rating. You will also be able to avoid getting charged because of not paying on time. Try asking the credit card company to remove the overdue charge if you have forgotten to pay it on time for the first time.

Manage your debts

If you see that you have more debt than what is comfortable, think ahead and plan out how you will repay it or at least reduce your debt. Devise a way to pay more than what is required of you so that you will have a reduced payment schedule. Prioritize the card that has the highest interest rate. Do not bring your credit card always when you go around since temptations abound.

Don’t bite more than you can chew

As the saying “don’t bite more than you can chew” goes, do not spend more than you can afford. True, a beautiful gold bracelet may be enjoyable to wear but its price tag may mean paying a lot for the next months. If you are bent to save money when using your credit card, unnecessary items like jewelry and the like should be at the bottom of your considerations.

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Credit Card Savings

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Posted 22 Apr 2010 — by Admin
Category Saving news

Having a credit card is very convenient since carrying a lot of cash becomes unneccesary and you might even have a hard time leaving your credit card at home. But with its advantages comes also its disadvantages. Since you can always buy things without carrying cash around, you are always tempted to buy something that you come across. If you have excellent control on your finances then good for you. If you have a hard time managing your credit card, then these pointers can help you.

Get organized

First thing’s first, obtain your credit card records to have a better idea of your spendings. Be sure to double check the records for errors and ensure its accuracy. A good example would be to find out if you have outstanding debts that should not be there as well as the accuracy of the listing of your former and present address.

Evaluate your credit card

Go over your recent credit card records and look at the interest rates. Some credit card companies have promos wherein they offer lower interest rates for a period of time and this promo may already be over yet you have no idea and are already paying at a higher interest rate. Also take note of the membership fee which they charge annually since some have very high membership fees. Consider cancelling this if you are not using it frequently.

Pay on time

It is important to pay your bills on time since it can have a negative effect on your credit record or rating. You will also be able to avoid getting charged because of not paying on time. Try asking the credit card company to remove the overdue charge if you have forgotten to pay it on time for the first time.

Manage your debts

If you see that you have more debt than what is comfortable, think ahead and plan out how you will repay it or at least reduce your debt. Devise a way to pay more than what is required of you so that you will have a reduced payment schedule. Prioritize the card that has the highest interest rate. Do not bring your credit card always when you go around since temptations abound.

Don’t bite more than you can chew

As the saying “don’t bite more than you can chew” goes, do not spend more than you can afford. True, a beautiful gold bracelet may be enjoyable to wear but its price tag may mean paying a lot for the next months. If you are bent to save money when using your credit card, unnecessary items like jewelry and the like should be at the bottom of your considerations.

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Commercial Real Estate Savings

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Posted 15 Apr 2010 — by Admin
Category Saving news

For small companies, an office is an overhead that many feel they can do without, at least when starting up, but as a business grows and takes on staff, an office becomes an essential.



Even before that, there are many arguments in favour of a physical presence; an office can add credibility, and suggests permanence, that the company is going to be around in the future, perhaps particularly important for new companies.



But how much space should you rent or buy? Obviously this will depend on the employees that you expect to be working there, but you will need to factor in growth plans, whether you require an open plan working environment (allow 75-100 sq ft for each person) or individual offices (about 175 sq.ft) and meeting areas (215 sq.ft will accommodate a table and chairs for about six to eight people).



An alternative, particularly if your growth is uncertain is a serviced office, where you rent space by the number of workstations you require and by the month. This may not only help with cash flow, but also allows a company to grow or contract in a fairly flexible manner. There are no capital outlay costs for furniture or telephone equipment, all of which are provided and if you need meeting space, you pay for it by the hour.



Additional services, such as secretarial assistance are also available as required and the telephone is answered by a dedicated receptionist and in your companys name.



On a price per sq.ft basis, serviced offices are more expensive, but this additional cost is often outweighed by the fact you are paying for just the space your business needs.

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Cash Saving Mortgage Tips And The Mortgage Crunching Secret Weapon

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Posted 08 Apr 2010 — by Admin
Category Saving news

Cash Saving Mortgage Tips And The Mortgage Crunching Secret Weapon Banks Don’t Want You To Know

Buying a house is a great long term investment. If you’ve never had a mortgage payment it simply means you’ll have to be more careful regarding the management of your finances. The first step before venturing into a mortgage if youre not already in one is to consider your financial situation. Then decide to buy a home where the mortgage and down payments are according to your financial situation so that you can enjoy life and have a roof over your head at the same time. If you have no idea what your monthly budget can afford then you should take some advice from a finance professional first.

Regardless of your situation here are several ways to reduce your monthly mortgage payments:

As interest rates keep on changing you should keep track of changes and consider refinancing at the right time. This would reduce your expenditures. Do the calculations to know your savings after paying costs and other expenditures.

Find out which bank offers the lowest homeowner insurance rates. You might be able to reduce either your insurance or tax payments.

Check your calculations properly and regularly to make sure that all adjustments are made correctly, even though it’s a bank sometime they make mistakes.

Choose a mortgage that offers flexibility. You want a mortgage that allows you to pay in an easy way according to your earnings.

Consider biweekly payments or accelerated equity plans. This will give you an additional payment each year and begins to reduce your mortgage quickly right from the start.

Try short term loans or variable interest.

Consolidate all your loans into a single one with lower payments. Make a table and analyze all your loans; education, car, home and bank loans for example. Study your expenditures. Try to consult a mortgage specialist, ask him about consolidations and how much it can reduce your monthly payments.

And last but not least, the mortgage crunching secret weapon:

Change a short term mortgage into a long term mortgage – go for a 30 mortgage. This will allow you to pay lower monthly payments which will lower the amount of interest you pay. Now, check with your bank for their rules and regulations but the next step is to pay way more each payment than the minimum payment. Each time you do this you’ll be smacking down the cash on the principle of your mortgage. This is the big mortgage early payout secret and it’s been known in many cases to eat a mortgage really easily in under 10 years.

A mortgage or home loan is a long term debt but it doesn’t have to be a burden. You are advised to pay it off as soon as possible but arrange your budgets tactfully by keeping an eye on insurance, loan disbursements and their interest rates. Enjoy your new home; hopefully with a few of these tips it will be all yours sooner than the banks desire. If it’s paid for it’s yours, if it’s a loan or mortgage it’s still theirs in my opinion.

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Business Cost Savings Through Safety

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Posted 01 Apr 2010 — by Admin
Category Saving news

Business Cost Savings Through Safety

Setting a health and safety program in place will reduce costs. Having a program will reduce accidents and will lead to lower company workers comp premiums; further business insurance companies prefer their customers to have health and safety programs. These insurance companies might even discount the premium if a program can be proved to exist. The average cost of an accident is 68,000. Direct costs in accidents such as workers comp and fines levied can close a business. Indirect costs such as low morale of employees, legal fees, and retraining can be as costly if not more.

A working program will:
1) Improve employee morale Shows care in their well being
2) Reduce revenue loses Fewer accidents keeps all employees at work
3) Give a boost to the customer Makes sure business is operating optimally

Small businesses that have a voluntary health and safety program in place have fifty percent less accidents and reported insurance claims than that of their counterparts according to OHSA stats. Most small businesses fall below the legal requirements for having a formal health and safety program in place due to number of employees on staff. Sixty eight percent of reported accidents are in the service industry which shows even businesses such as retail establishments are not free of accidents.

A health and safety program can be started by writing a health and safety policy; this is simply values that a company wishes to convey in its work processes. Secondly, is how communication between all employees and owners will function. And lastly, put procedures in place to ensure safe practices.

To find unseen hazards and unsafe practices, an audit needs to take place. Take a hard look at the workplace and record all factors that may lead to injury. These hazards might be dangerous chemicals or as simple as a letter opener. Identifying these hazards will lead to procedures to controlling them. Controls such as Dont run with scissors in your hands are effective. Write all procedures in a manual.

Implementing these health and safety procedures will be done with behavioral change. Some programs become weak and non effective because of:
1)No definition of safety practices No written processes
2)No teamwork Safety is communication from the top to bottom and vice versa. A well written plan will describe what roles everyone plays in safety policies.
3)No effective goals The accident free days poster will come as a result of sound safety processes.
4)Wrong incentives Money as a reward does not work well. Health and safety should be fun and worth employees effort. The right incentive plan can be cost effective and have obtainable goals. Incentive plans can include movie passes or simply free coffee on the boss. The insurance industry reports for a pound spent on health and safety yields four to six pounds in savings.

Once all of the hard work of developing and implementing the health and safety program is done, set aside some time each month to review the workplace. Record what is found; this is a good practice to see dangerous trends that might occur such as a fire exit constantly being blocked. On the quarters of the year post a meeting with employees. These meetings are a great way to get vital feed-back from employees and keep them involved. At least once a year, do an audit to make sure your health and safety program is current with present business operations.

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