My Personal Finance Journey

Category Archives for Saving Money & Frugal Living

Hospitality: Are You Ready for the Olympic Games?

 

The following is a guest post. Enjoy! 

Hospitality: Are You Ready for the Olympic Games?
 
The stadiums are built, the running tracks are ready, and even Boris has had his hair cut – finally. But, with the influx of tourists coming into the United Kingdom for the London 2012 Olympic Games, questions are being asked of the hospitality industry, from the maids who clean the hotel rooms to the restaurant staff in thousands of businesses throughout the country. Under increasing pressure to provide accommodation and food to the Olympic community, travelling from all over the world to experience the best of British, will our hotels and restaurants triumph, or will they struggle to feed the masses?
 
With less than a year to go until the Olympic Games, is it becoming increasingly difficult to determine whether the hospitality industry will be able to cope with 14 million extra meals that have to be served, and an extra 1 million visitors in need of place to stay.
 

Employment

 
Notoriously known for its high turnover of staff, the hospitality industry is one of the core infrastructures of the British economy. With over 800,000 new applications to work in the many areas hospitality has to offer, job opportunities are becoming more and more frequent. In fact, there are more jobs currently available in hospitality than the last two years combined.
 
In view of the Olympics, it’s expected that businesses are going to need an extra 100,000 full-time staff in order to cope with the work load. However, many of the 800,000 applications have been for roles not related to the turnover of customers. For example, there are extremely high numbers of applications for hotel porters, cleaners, and night staff.
 
Applications for more skilled roles, such as reception managers, restaurant managers, and senior chefs have seen a hefty decline. Some highly skilled positions are receiving less than 10 applicants, compared to over 60 for a hotel porter role. The Olympic Games are identifying a large skill gap in our employment sector. Surprisingly, the majority of businesses have yet to take steps to plan for the Olympics, and some are refusing to prepare at all.
 

Legacy

 
Surface concerns about hospitality’s ability to provide for the Olympic Games, from arranging drink suppliers to organically-sourced meat, this industry will need to think towards the future with regards to the benefits the games will provide. By providing a good and well-managed service, the hospitality industry will secure international custom from tourists for many years to come.
 
Although the Olympic Games are a chance for the United Kingdom to test the true capabilities of its infrastructure, from public transport to food service, it is also an opportunity to leave a legacy. Even with all the customer-related issues brought on by the sheer scale of the games, projected revenue for the hospitality industry is through the roof. The advantages of this exponential source of income continue to outweigh understaffing and experience issues. However, if the hospitality industry has any hope of maintaining this wealth of income in the future, planning needs to be precise in order to sustain such an important part of the United Kingdom’s infrastructure.

How about you all? What industries do you know of are currently running short on workers? Are there any left in this slow economy?


Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/uggboy/4540056800/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Easy Like Sunday Morning Recap and Roundup – # 7 – June 24th, 2012

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Each time, the purpose of the Easy Like Sunday Morning Recap and Roundup series is the same – for me to be able to connect with you, the readers, on a more personal (non personal finance informational transmission only) level, encourage community, and also to give back to the other bloggers around the blogosphere who have mentioned My Personal Finance Journey throughout the past few weeks or so. It’s been quite a while since the last roundup, so we have a lot of catching up to do! 

As far as the theme goes, the title of the roundup gives it away. The roundup theme is named after the Lionel Richie song, Easy Like Sunday Morning (which I play once each time I put this together), to remind us of the importance of slowing down at least every once in a while to take appreciation for that which transpired over the past few days.

So, without further ado, let’s get started with this edition’s roundup!

Updates from Jacob’s Personal Finance Journey and Life 

  • As far as my life in general, the month of June has brought some really fun times and also some big, but also good, changes! 
    • First, in early June, I participated in my 4th consecutive annual Multiple Sclerosis fundraising bike ride (MS150).
      • To date, I’ve raised $5,050 of my original $7,500 goal. I’m still waiting on a good number of company matches, which I believe will bring my total to above $6,000 for this year. Completely awesome! A big thanks to everyone for their support on this. 
      • Donations still count until July 12th, 2012, so if you’re interested in making a tax-deductible donation, click here! Just $10 will make a world of difference! 
    • Second, also in early June, my girlfriend and I adopted a second greyhound (see picture below). His name is Coat (short for his racing name, Irene’s Coat). He’s a very loving soul and likes to cuddle more than our other greyhound, Charlie, who is more of a cat than a dog. 

    • Third, in my graduate school research, my advisor and I have gotten very close to publishing a collection of my research data in the Journal of Biomacromolecules. 
      • We have to do some Atomic Force Microscopy work (we had only done Transmission Electron Microscopy before) to provide a more in-depth numerical analysis of the protein aggregates (amyloid-beta) we study relating to Alzheimer’s disease. So, it will be interesting to learn that new technique in the coming months. 
      • However, we are pretty confident that we can get it reviewed successfully after this additional analysis! We’re pretty happy! 
  • As far as my personal finances and blog go, the major recent development is that my girlfriend, Becca (who also runs a very awesome wine blog – see picture below of her), moved in to my condo about a week ago. 
    • We’re currently wading through two sets of household items and trying to make them fit in to only enough space for one set of items, but we’re slowly making progress. As a typical guy, I mainly try to stay out of her way! 🙂
    • It will be nice to get her help for some of the monthly expenses, and it will also save her some money because she won’t have a large rent payment anymore. 
    • I’ll probably do a post soon about the various considerations of having a significant other move in to a place you own, so keep an eye out for that. On the way soon!


    Guest Posts from Personal Finance Bloggers on My Personal Finance Journey

    Since the last roundup, there were five guest post here at My Personal Finance Journey.

    -Kyle from The Penny Hoarder posted about how he saved big money on his home remodeling project.

    -Darrow from Can I Retire Yet? posted about 7 startup business lessons.  
    -Anthony from Fiscally Sound posted about how to save on ATM fees.

    If you would like to guest post on my site, please click here to read more details about how to kick off the guest posting process. I’d love to hear from you!

    In addition to the guest posts featured on this site, I’ve written 4 guest posts (listed below) for other sites since the last roundup. I really enjoyed the opportunity to write these posts. A big thanks to all of these bloggers for allowing me to partner with them! 
    -Can You Use Harry Browne’s Permanent Portfolio to Beat the Market? – posted at Consumerism Commentary.

    Blasts From the Past

    For the first 6 months after I started this blog, I pretty much “blogged in a cave.” What I mean by this is that I cranked out over 200 very good blog articles in this time period, but since I didn’t know any better, I didn’t reach out to other bloggers, get involved with the online community through commenting on other sites, or do any kind of site promotion at all. As you can imagine, some of the articles written during this time period didn’t get the attention that I think they deserved corresponding to the content contained.

    The Blast from the Past section will feature one old My Personal Finance Journey article each roundup that I feel is high quality, but was published prior to my blog having any sort of real readership. This week’s article is listed below:

    How Does/Should Home Ownership Fit in to Your Overall Asset Allocation? – This post discusses some of the different arguments, viewpoints, and options for how one can account for home ownership in their overall asset allocation. There is definitely some divided opinions on this, but since home ownership is something that a person is very “tied” to and is undiverified, I decided to not consider my home equity in my overall asset allocation decisions. How do you handle this question in your personal finances?!

    Personal Finance “Mad Props” of the Week Award

    Every once in a while, when I’m reading an article or site in the personal finance blogosphere, I’ll be so impressed in hearing about what a person did or wrote about, that all I can say to myself is WOW! This section of the roundup will serve as a running “home” for recognizing outstanding achievement.

    The Mad Props award for this roundup goes to Financial Samurai and the rest of the members/participants of the Yakezie Personal Finance Blog Network for putting on the 4th Yakezie Writing Contest Scholarship. What transpires in this contest is that high school-aged kids submit essays on several common topics, and then the winners are awarded scholarships of $500, $300, or $200 to help with costs to further their education. 
    I’ve served on the committee who helps review the submitted essays in the past, and I can tell you, there is a lot of competition from some VERY good articles! The deadline for essay submissions was yesterday, June 23rd, and I look forward to seeing who the winners will be this time around! Should be fun! 

    If you know of someone in the PF blogging world that is really doing amazing things, feel free to send me an email for consideration in future roundups.

    Giveaways

    Listed below are the giveaways I’ve come across in my journey through the personal finance blogosphere this week (along with the links so that you can head over and enter!). It’s great to see everyone giving back to their readers through these promotions.
    • Kylie Ofiu is giving away a Baloue iPad folio until July 12th.
    • James Petzke is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card until June 25th. 
    • Thirty Six Months is giving away 2 – $50 Old Navy gift certificates until today!
    • Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff is giving away a Miche Bag until July 1st.

    If you’re hosting a giveaway and it’s not listed above, please send me an email to let me know, and I’ll get it included in next week’s roundup!

    Blog Carnivals Featuring My Personal Finance Journey Articles

    ·         The College Investor hosted the Carnival of Passive Investing and included What is the Highest Expense Ratio You Pay On the Mutual Funds You Own? Plus a Comparison With the National Average.
    ·         Cult of Money hosted the Financial Simplicity Carnival and included What Are Your Options for Borrowing Money in Today’s Economy?.
    ·         Sense to Save hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance and included The Case Against Passive Investing.
    ·         Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio Blog hosted the Self Directed Investing for Retirement Carnival and included The Case Against Passive Investing.
    ·         20 and Engaged hosted the Yakezie Carnival and included The Importance of a Good Credit Rating.
    ·         Money Q&A hosted the Carnival of Retirement and included The Permanent Portfolio by Harry Browne – Component Returns Correlation Analysis and My Future Plans.
    ·         My University Money hosted the Carnival of Financial Camaraderie and included Should You Replace Your Ink Jet Printer With a Laser Printer? – A Cost Comparison
    ·         101 Centavos hosted the Yakezie Carnival and included What Do You Refuse to Go Cheap On?
    ·         Family Money Values hosted the Totally Money Blog Carnival and included Pros and Cons of Investing in Gold
    ·         No Debt MBA hosted the Best of Money Carnival and included What Do You Do If You Really Cannot Afford Regular Health Insurance?
    ·         The Skilled Investor hosted the Carnival of Financial Planning and included Spread Betting – How It Works and Risks Involved
    ·         Bucksome Boomer hosted their Weekend Scoop and included $141.20 Giveaway – Community and Charity 10% Monthly Blog Income Give Back #5 – February 2012 Edition
    ·        Financial Success for Young Adults hosted the Carnival of Financial Camaraderie and included Back to the Basics: Control Your Spending.
    ·        Squirrelers hosted the Festival of Frugality and included Back to the Basics: Control Your Spending.
    ·        Money for College Project hosted their weekly round-up and included The Effects of TV Shows on Reality.
    ·        CreditCardsCanada hosted the Carnival of Financial Planning and included Financial Goal Setting for the 2012 New Year.
    ·        Money for College Project hosted their weekly round-up and included Spread Betting – How It Works and Risks Involved.

    If you are hosting a carnival that includes (or included) My Personal Finance Journey and I missed listing it here (I don’t get trackbacks since I’m not on WordPress, so I have to rely on direct email and Google Alert notifications), please email me so I can include it in my roundup. Thanks!

    Several Posts I’ve Enjoyed Reading Since the Last Roundup

    1.       Yakezie posted about new member, Good Financial Cents, and narrated how he learned financial management from his parents’ experience and its impact on his life and career.
    2.       Cash Money Life posted about How to Avoid Distractions and Increase Productivity and listed ways to keep away from distractions and stay productive.
    3.       Wealth Pilgrim posted about Why Your Spending Leads to Risky Investments and specified several reasons why you should consider working at home, instead of the traditional nine-to-five job.
    4.       Financial Highway posted about 5 Significant Ways It’s Cheaper to Work from Home and had fun with asking how much his readers spent on their wardrobe today.
    5.       Punch Debt in the Face posted about Things I Want, But I Am Not Mature to Have  and enumerated three things he wants in life but not yet ready to have them.
    6.       Budgeting in the Fun Stuff posted about So Your Kid Earned a Free Ride… and asked what you will do with your college savings for your daughter if she earned a scholarship.
    7.       Money Crashers posted about 5 Fun Activities for Toddlers on a Budget and suggested five different cheap activities for toddlers that would capture his attention.
    8.       Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance posted about How to Create and Implement Money-Making Idea and listed six steps to become a successful entrepreneur.
    9.       Yes I Am Cheap posted about Get Out of Debt in 2012: The Debt Snowball and Snowflake Methods, gave the difference between the two and provided examples how they work.
    10.   Christian Personal Finance posted about Get Out of Debt: 5 Things to Avoid Selling and enumerated five things that you should not sell to pay off your debts. 

    Top 10 Referring Sites to My Personal Finance Journey Since the Last Roundup

    1. Free Money Finance 
    2. Yakezie
    3. Wise Bread
    4. Tight Fisted Miser
    5. Giveaways Are Sexy
    6. So Over Debt
    7. Festival of Frugality
    8. Brave New Life
    9. Carnival of Personal Finance
    10. Wealth Informatics

    Top 5 My Personal Finance Journey Commenters Since the Last Roundup

    1. Miss T @ Prairie Eco Thrifter
    2. Jon @ Free Money Wisdom
    3. Evolving PF
    4. Making Sense of Cents
    5. Frugal Beautiful

    Best Reader Submitted Question Since the Last Roundup

    This section will serve as a running location for any very insightful, high quality questions submitted by readers throughout the week.
    There were no questions submitted this week. However, if you are wondering something about personal finance, please feel free to email me and ask!

    My Other Sites

    Currently, my only other site besides this one is The Carnival of Passive Investing, which runs monthly editions. For the upcoming June 30th edition, we have LaTisha from Young Adult Finances as our host. If you have any passive investing posts you’ve written recently, you can submit them to be included in the carnival. Also, a big thanks to our March, April, and May hosts of the Carnival of Passive Investing – Free From Broke, ETF Base, The College Investor

    However, I have several other domain names purchased, and I am currently learning WordPress Self-Hosted to get these sites live as soon as time allows! I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on progress.

    Well, that wraps up this edition of the round-up If you have any suggestions or recommendations for things you’d like to see in this roundup, just let me know by sending me an email!

    As always, thanks to all the readers for creating such a great community here at My Personal Finance Journey. Your interaction is what keeps me going on this blog!

    Until next time – Jacob

    How about you all? How is Summer going for you so far?!

    Breach of Contract Remedies: What to Do?

     

    The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

    Breach of Contract Remedies: What to Do?
    There are many ways in which a contract can be breached by those who are subject to it. Equally, there are numerous types of remedies available to those who have been adversely affected by any such breach. Understanding the intricacies of contract law is a matter for solicitors, but knowing when and what action can be taken ought to be a concern for any individual, group, or company.

    Types of Breach

    Contract law can be extremely convoluted, but its basics can be grasped quite easily. If a term, warranty, or condition of a contract has been breached, the affected party can claim for damages.
    Employment contracts are often subject to claims of a breach, with employees taking their employers, or vice versa, to court or tribunal over various issues. Problems arising from contracts of sale or service are also common. Indeed, many aspects of civil litigation are founded on interactions between merchants and consumers.
    A contract of sale might be breached when the buyer receives a product that is different from the item he purchased, especially if the goods are not fit for the purpose stated or for some other reason. A contract of service, meanwhile, tends to involve more complex breaches, the most basic of which occurs when one party fails to perform as agreed.

    Exemption Clauses and Unfair Contract Terms Act (UCTA)

    Sometimes, a breach is not always a breach. Contract law in England and Wales has evolved to accommodate exemption or exclusion clauses, which often seek to prevent a party from pursuing a claim in court. An exemption clause might, for example, remove the buyer’s right to a refund if he or she has used a product (though statutory rights remain unaffected).
    Some exemption clauses may be considered unfair or unduly onerous. The Unfair Contract Terms Act of 1977 (UCTA) deals with most such clauses, but the common law has also devised various rules by which negligence cannot be avoided in contract. Conditions written in small print, for example, cannot always be relied on in court, as important clauses must be effectively communicated to all parties. It is also unlawful for any person to restrict or exclude by reference to a contractual term his liability for death or personal injury arising from an act of negligence.

    Remedies

    Breach of contract solicitors in the UK advise clients on all sorts of issues, with the aim of obtaining justice on their behalf. The remedies made available by the legal system of England and Wales can be broadly defined in categories of restoration, revocation, and remedy.
    More often than not, mediation services will attempt to resolve a dispute before legal action is taken. If negotiations fail, the court will assess what, if any, breach has occurred before ruling on the matter. Damages are often awarded, but the contract may also be terminated or annulled. If possible, the court might also decide to restore the positions of the parties prior to the breach. In a contract of service, the remedy is likely to involve ensuring that specific performance is completed.

    How about you all? Have you ever been involved in litigation involving a breach of a contract? Which side of the discussion were you on? 


    Do you think people act too quickly these days to try to obtain damages for minor breaches of agreements?


    Share your experiences by commenting below!

    ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/donabelandewen/1045446557/sizes/l/in/photostream/

    Sensible Spending and Saving For You And Your Family

     

    The following is a guest post. Enjoy! 

    Sensible Spending and Saving For You And Your Family

    Good sense on big choices

     
    Families need to act for the overall benefit of the family finances. While the interest of each family is specific and personal to individual needs, goals and aims, there are common issues affecting all of us. Shrewd planning and making the right choices on key issues can make a big difference to the family budget when times are tough.

    Location, Location, Location

     
    One of the most important decisions in family life is choosing accommodation. What is negotiable? What size and nature of home is vital? If you must live near grandparents, other relatives or friends who can offer free childcare, close to school, near the workplace or vital amenities, can this still be achieved by moving a to a wider geographical radius at a cheaper price or in downsized accommodation?
    How many people in the family must have a car, taking into account the combined costs of insurance, fuel and parking? Would relocating enable you to make use of public transport to get to work, college and school at a much reduced cost. Car pooling and sharing the load with friends, neighbors and relatives might be an option.

    Education, Education, Education

     
    There’s no getting away from it, education costs money, whether you’re in the fee paying market or not. Careful planning is essential to take account of all those essential extras for each child and adult, including books, school, sports and work equipment, trips, clubs and computer equipment, certification and training. As your child gets older, apprenticeships, colleges and university fees require essential budgeting from the outset. That early investment will ultimately help the family achieve future financial stability.
    Keep school uniform non-negotiable. School and work wear can be purchased second hand to achieve significant savings. Having a network of parents and friends to recycle and hand down school uniforms from older to younger kids is a wise choice. Work wear can be vital to maintain the best impression and enhance job prospects, but it can be sourced cheaply from sales. Sign up to e-mail list alerts for quality clothes at the best prices available. You may need to buy a year or a few years ahead, if you are certain they will be worn.
    Check that all Child Tax Credits, Nursery Vouchers and other benefits are claimed. Ensure that advice from a company that does contracting for accountants is sought to ensure that your home business stays tax efficient. Regularly check supermarket deals online carefully before visiting the store for the best multi-buys on essentials for packed lunches.

    Birthdays and Celebrations

     
    Children particularly love a fuss being made on their birthdays, but it need not cost the earth and the moon. Remember the days before you had to outdo every other child in the class by hiring One Direction to perform a personalized gig? Make your child feel special by talking about their birthday in the lead up to the event and afterwards. Make cards, get cheap balloons, make the birthday cake, offer homemade mini sandwiches, multi-buy crisps, fresh fruit and treats, and the retro party becomes cool again.
    Encourage children to choose a single mid-price present in lieu of lots of treats bought in the weeks and months before. Deferred gratification is a valuable lesson forgotten in times of economic boom. Spending time fully engaging with your child on their special day and their memories will be just as fond, without the need to re-mortgage.

    How about you all? What factors do you feel are most important in determining how much a family is or is not able to save? 


    Share your experiences by commenting below!

    ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/serpicolugnut/172616929/sizes/o/in/photostream/

    Success In A Freelance Economy

     

    The following is a guest post by Denver, an experienced blogger and freelance writer who loves to contribute her articles to various blogs and websites.

    Success In A Freelance Economy

    These days, we are all aware of the difficulties in the economy, with increasing numbers of redundancies and a lack of career opportunities. However, we are also seeing a change in the way people are working. Home-based offices and working away from the business premises are becoming more common, as is using professional freelancers for projects. Working as a freelancer is not only a great way to fit work around family commitments, it is also a good way to make a living for those professionals with specialist skills or knowledge.

     

    Is There Work Available for a Freelancer?

    The recession has brought hard times for everyone, and businesses in particular now fear the costs of recruiting additional staff. Instead, they are turning to freelance professionals whom they can employ on a contract or project basis, guaranteeing them the skills and experience they need without an expensive hiring process or the long-term cost of full-time employees. Using a freelancer is nothing new, as for many years, businesses have been outsourcing some projects. These days, however, more and more elements of companies’ operations are being outsourced to freelancers. If you are thinking of choosing a freelance career, there is no better time than now.

     

    What Are the Benefits of Being a Freelancer?

    As a freelancer, you will have more control over your life. This applies to not only the hours you want to work, but the projects you take on. Many parents choose freelancing as a way of combining childcare with working while avoiding expensive childcare costs. Depending on your chosen industry, the Internet and other technological advances mean you can work from anywhere – you are not tied to an employer’s premises. Being able to choose your own projects allows you to focus on the specific areas that are of interest to you and will give you the chance to develop new techniques and skills as you build up your business.

     

    What Do I Need to Get Started?

    It is worth remembering that freelancing can be challenging too. Firstly, you will need to find your niche. You will have to decide if your skills and experience are needed by potential employers. Freelancing covers a variety of roles, from graphic designers to accountants, but whatever sector you choose, you will need enthusiasm and motivation to make your new business a success. Be prepared to put in the time, especially when you start out, as it will take you quite a while to build up relationships with clients and you might find yourself working all sorts of hours. Finding clients who will give you regular work is essential, and remember that word of mouth is the best form of advertising for freelancers.

    Freelancing can be a daunting prospect, but there are lots of companies and freelancing websites that are more than happy to offer advice and guidance. Consider starting up your business and developing it slowly alongside your regular job to make the transition easier. One thing that seems fairly clear is that the current economic situation is not going to change any time soon, so opportunities for freelancers can only grow in the coming years.

    How about you all? Do you currently perform any freelance work on the side of your normal job? If so, how do you get connected with the people that hire you?

    In your full time job, does your company use freelancers for specific tasks?

    Share your experiences by commenting below!

    ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamgreenapple/4476675378/sizes/l/in/photostream/

    How to Reduce Your Business Energy Costs

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    Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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    The following guest post. Enjoy! 

    How to Reduce Your Business Energy Costs

     

    Energy bills are a massive overhead cost for every company. Aside from staff, they can amount to the biggest cash-outlay a company has, especially if the company is an industrial one. Businesses often don’t benefit from the best energy deals from the big companies. This might be because they are more worried about their public image than their image within the private sector. This can leave small and medium businesses out in the cold when it comes to savings where it matters.
     

    Saving Money with Conservation

     
     
    There are loads of changes small businesses can do to ensure they are spending as little as possible on their energy bills. There are all the usual advices to be adhered to, such as turning off all lights, computers, and monitors every night and making sure all staff are mindful of their own carbon foot print. Turning in to a more efficient, greener, and perhaps even paperless company can also do wonders for your energy bills as well as your stationery/printing costs.

     

    Saving Money through Professional Consultation

     
    There are still other avenues to save businesses money on their energy spending. Comparison companies are online companies who strive to give great service and advice in this area. They work with some of the country’s most famous suppliers yet never favour one over another. They take in all the information you would like to part with about your business and give you the best advice they can in terms of deals and offers.
     
    Their energy savings are at an average of £88 million since its opening in 2007, and they always keep the small business owner I mind. There are many comparison sites out there for many different things, from flights to credit cards, and there are many that help the individual get the most of their electricity and gas deals. But, there is a distinct lack of companies that help the business space. This may be because energy companies see corporations as their biggest income, but in this, they forget about the struggling small businesses who are alienated as a result.
     
    If you are looking to slice chunks off your business energy bills, make sure you go for a comparison company you can really trust. The best companies are those who offer a free phone number, a call back request, and who aim to get back to their customers within a minute of their calls. The last thing you want is to be on the phone for hours, spending more of your company’s funds. Going online is always the best option from the outset, but the option for a friendly phone call is also really helpful if you get lost.
     

    How about you all? What techniques do you know of or that your business uses to save on utility bills?


    Share your experiences by commenting below!

    How To Improve Your Credit Score

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    Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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    The following is a guest post. Enjoy! 

    How To Improve Your Credit Score

     

    If you’re trying to improve your credit score, it can be difficult to figure out where to start.  It is important to remember that your credit score is a direct reflection of how you’ve handled your credit, so it reflects your actions around your credit.  The easiest way to improve your credit score is to be responsible with credit going forward.

     

    Be On Time, Every Time

     

    One of the biggest impacts on your credit score is your payment history.  This accounts for roughly 35% of your overall credit score, according to FICO.  Your payment history is a direct reflection of how often you’ve paid your bills on time and in full.  So, the easiest way to improve your credit score is to make every payment on time going forward.  After about 6 months, you should see improvement in your score.  You also need to make sure that you are making at least the minimum payment each time as well.

     

     

    Have Different Types of Credit

     

    New credit and types of credit each impact your score by about 10%.  This means that you should open different types of credit from time to time to diversify your score.  This could include money from credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and small personal loans from the bank.  Basically, anyone who reports your credit to the credit bureaus can have a positive impact on your score, as long as you are on time with your payments, every time. Also, a word of caution – utility bill payments in your name go on your credit report as well. So, make sure you are current on those.

     

     

    Always Pay It Back

     

    Finally, you always have to pay back your debts.  The amount you owe makes up roughly 30% of your credit score, so the less you owe, the better your score.  However, you will need loans and credit, so don’t fret about debt.  However, just make sure that you always pay back the amount you borrow, and pay it back on time.

     

    Length of Credit History

     

    Finally, the length of your credit history plays a part as well.  It will take time to improve your credit score, since everything remains on your report for years. As a general rule of thumb, it reflects better of your credit score if you have accounts open longer. On the other hand, closing old small loans can sometimes decrease your credit score.  However, maintaining these tactics over a sustained period of time will help you get your score back!

     

    How about you all? What habits do you practice to keep you credit score high? 


    Share your experiences by commenting below!

    ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/4105755730/sizes/l/in/photostream/

    What You Need to Know About Mobile Payments

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    Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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    The following is a guest post. Enjoy!  

    What You Need to Know About Mobile Payments


    Mobile payments are quickly becoming a very popular way for retail stores and service providers to accept payments from their customers. Because mobile payment technology is so new to the market, however, few business owners really understand what options are available and how these options can help their business. 

    Types of Mobile Payments

    The best place to begin to learn about this technology is by learning about the different types of mobile payment systems that are available. Generally speaking, mobile payment processing is defined as any system that allows a customer or business to use a smartphone, tablet computer, or other mobile device to receive and process credit card transactions. The method is commonly referred to as phone credit card processing. In general, there are four common types of mobile payment processing.


    Person to Person (P2P) Mobile Payments

    One of the best known methods of mobile payments are P2P payments, also called person to person mobile payments. In order to use this method of payment, the two users (customer and business) must first download an app onto their respective mobile devices. These apps are designed to process payment data and transmit it to the other mobile device. In general, these apps are provided by so-called third-party services, like PayPal, and fees for these types of transaction can be high.

    The main advantage to using P2P payments is that neither mobile device has to have a mobile card reader connected to it. Most of the apps that perform P2P payments store the customer’s credit card information after he or she manually enters it, so their actual credit card doesn’t have to be swiped.

    Closed Loop Mobile Payments

    Another type of mobile payment, closed loop mobile payments, were one of the first mobile payment systems made available to individuals and retailers. The method depends on the retailer to create and operate its own payment system. Typically, a store or service provide, creates, and offers an app to its customers. This app links the customer’s credit card or bank account information to the store or service provider. Then, customers place their orders and make payments through the company’s app. These systems are typically popular among large retailers who can afford to create and administer their own app.

    Mobile Wallet

    A much newer method of mobile payments is called mobile wallet. To use this payment method, a customer downloads a so-called “general payment app” on his or her mobile device. Then the customer pays a store or service provider by opening the app and telling it to send payment from his or her bank account or his or her credit card information to the store or service provider. While relatively new, many people see potential for this technology to make carrying a wallet obsolete.

    Direct Billing


    Finally, it’s important to know and consider direct billing. This method was one of the very first mobile payment methods introduced to the market. This method allows someone to purchase items or services directly through their mobile phone company. Common examples include in-app purchases. Customers see the charge on their phone bill.

    How about you all? Do you use these (or other) mobile payment options very often? Do you pay merchants who swipe your credit card on their smart phone reader very often? Do you worry about security with these types of transactions at all?


    Share your experiences by commenting below!

      ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenswamp/2790584534/sizes/m/in/photostream/

      Buying vs. Renting a Home – Which is the Better Financial Move?

      The following is a guest post. Enjoy! 
      For many adults, owning a home is a long-fantasized about benchmark, signifying the moment life takes an extraordinary turn for the better. But, is it possible that owning a home is no longer financially fruitful? The age-old “renting versus buying” debate continues to weigh on the minds of those stuck in the mind-spinning predicament of determining whether to stick it out with a landlord, or take the matters of housing into your own hands.

      The best thing to keep in mind when deciding whether to take out a mortgage, is to throw away any prior “common sense” knowledge you’re perceived to have on the debate. Don’t assume that buying a home is always the most cost-efficient option, and try to view renting as something more than just throwing away your money every month to “the man.”

      Let’s break the argument down into three primary categories.

       

      • Money sent to the land of no return. The general myth and stigma surrounding renting, is that the money you put in never comes back out. While not entirely untrue, it is perhaps unfairly criticized in comparison to the realities of mortgage payments. In the first five years of paying mortgage payments, 80% of the money spent on a mortgage payment goes to interest, which means that – assuming property values and rent sums are in sync – it will not be until 20 years into paying a mortgage that you see less money being “thrown away” on this interest, even at a fixed rate. And while you may see your mortgage payment dip below that of rent payments (which tend to increase by 5% per year) after about five years, it is important to consider where your money is actually going when you write your routine check to the bank.
      • Monthly expenditures. One of the more obvious perks to renting as opposed to taking out a mortgage is the all-inclusive nature of most rental agreements. In many cases, utilities are included as part of the package, maintenance is largely your landlord’s problem, and property taxes are a relative non-issue. When buying a home, however, these expenditures – which had previously been your landlord’s issue to deal with – become your financial responsibility. Homeowner’s insurance, property taxes, and general maintenance can all accumulate to sums that cost almost as much as a rent payment itself. And while there are tax savings to be had from taking out a mortgage, the difference still has homeowner’s paying more in the long-term than they would be paying rent.
      • Building equity. The core of the renting versus buying debate, building equity is in fact a valuable long-term investment and inherent advantage to buying a home. However, equity comes with its own set of risks and costs – it means properly investing in and maintaining a home, relying on the strength of the housing market (which currently is only appreciating at a 4% rate in today’s market), and buying a home in an area that you are safely certain will not result in a depreciating home value. It is entirely possible to become wealthy off of buying a home, but it is also not any more profitable to buy and sell a home after hefty down payments and expenditures than it would be to simply invest that same money in the stock market, which by comparison, would offer a 7-10% return.

      Ultimately, there is no black and white answer to buying a home as opposed to renting, but there are factors to consider based on your lifestyle and financial means. Owning a home can be a wonderful thing, but it can also be a poison if investing in a home not intended to be permanent, making renting – at the very least – the short-term solution.

      How about you all? In general, do you think buying or renting is a better choice? What situations do you think renting makes more sense than buying and vice-versa?

      Share your experiences by commenting below!

      ***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwthompson2/139445633/sizes/l/in/photostream/

      Google Gmail and Calendar vs. Microsoft Outlook – Which Is Better For Productivity?

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      Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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      It’s pretty amazing to me to think about how much the world’s usage of technology and telecommunication has changed in such a short time since the year 2000. When I graduated high school in 2004, almost nothing related to school was accessed online. The teachers didn’t communicate with students via email, BlackBoard, Collab,  or other online document/course management systems. In fact, I think the only reason I ever used a computer back then was either a) to chat with my friends using AOL Instant Messenger or b) type up reports whenever it was absolutely required! In fact, AOL seemed like it was one of the only popular Internet and email providers.

      Now, it’s hard to find people with an AOL email address (I still have one, but all that it receives is about 20 messages of SPAM per day). Furthermore, the AOL service is now free, instead of paying $30 per month like we used to.

      My my how times have changed. When I graduated from college in 2008 from the University of Arkansas, I had four email accounts – 1 from college, a Gmail account, a Yahoo account, and my old AOL account. The professors communicated everything via email and online course management systems – from class notes to exam grades and coordinating meetings. I even had started and run an eBay selling business! However, at this time, I still was only checking my email maybe once or twice a day. Why? Because I didn’t seem to receive that many emails.

      After college in 2008, I started my first job as an engineer with a large publicly traded pharmaceutical company. It was then that the use of email become very widespread for me, with me having the temptation to constantly check it during the day. In fact, I found myself at times purposely ONLY checking it 2 times during a day in order to maximize productivity (see Getting Things Done by David Allen and The Hamster Revolution for more details on this)

      During this time, my eyes were opened to (a new tool for me at least) the Microsoft Outlook email/calendar/task management software. At the company I worked for, nearly everything was managed through Outlook: there was a handy dandy directory in Outlook that told you everyone’s contact info as well as their physical work addresses and supervisors, it was used to reserve rooms for meetings, and was used to manage email.

      Since my exposure to Microsoft Outlook 4 years ago now, I have been able to compare Google’s Gmail and Calendar features to Microsoft Outlook head-to-head. As such, the purpose of today’s post is to share some of my thoughts about these two products so that you can determine whether Gmail or Outlook is better for you. 

      Comparison of Calendar Capability – Google vs. Outlook

      In my opinion, Google’s calendar and Outlook’s calendar are fairly similar – probably because Google modeled their calendar after the features that were tried and testing in Outlook. Below is a summary of the similarities and differences:

      Similarities

      • Both allow you to create and schedule events (either one time or recurring), invite attendees, and program reminders as pop-ups on your screen. 
      • Both allow you to share calendars with others. 
      • Both allow you to view your calendar in multiple formats – daily, weekly, etc. 
      Differences
      • Google calendar allows you to program email reminders. Also, you can program reminders beyond the maximum 2 weeks allowed in Outlook. 
      • Google calendar also features a “search” capability, making you able to search all of your events.
      • Outlooks allows you to work “offline” more easily than Google does, in my opinion. However, Google does have offline browser apps for Gmail and Calendar now. 
      • Outlook allows you to drag and drop EMAILS directly from your mail to your calendar. This is very handy for me since it is easy to see what the email chain contained when an event pops up on my calendar. 
      • Next, Outlook’s Calendar content is stored on your computer, not online like Google is. This can be either a plus or minus, depending on how you look at it. 


      Verdict – In my opinion, both Google and Outlook’s calendars are good, so I recommend using both. 
      However, because I really like the Outlook drag and drop feature, I choose to mainly operate, add, and manage events through Outlook. But, you can easily take advantage of the features of Google’s Calendar by simply using the handy Sync function developed by Google to automatically copy all events between the two programs. 

      Comparison of Email Capability – Google vs. Outlook

      Overall, I think most would agree that Gmail and Outlook have a very different ‘feel’ when it comes to how each program handles email. On one hand, Gmail is very rapid, and allows for you to shoot off many emails within a minute, while Outlook requires a few more clicks with multiple reply screens needing to pop up, and then you have to click the Send/Receive button to send the email right away. Listed below are some of the similarities and differences between the two programs:

      Similarities

      • Of course, both enable the user to send and receive emails, mark the emails as read or unread, and create folders in which to place emails. 
      • Both seem to have good SPAM/Phishing controls, which prevents the automatic downloading of external new content that could potentially harm your computer. 
      • Both allow email notifications on your desktop, if you desire. However, I personally don’t recommend this because it can distract you from the current task you are working on in favor of checking your email. 
      • Both allow you to have a signature below every email you write. However, there are some differences here. See the Outlook section below.
      • Both have Out of Office Notification capability. 
      • Both allow you to send mail using other email addresses that you own/control.
      • Both are ‘searchable,’ meaning that you can search folders for specific words or email addresses. However, as you can imagine, Google is a little better/quicker at this search feature than Outlook I think.  

      Differences – Email Features Provided by Gmail

      • Has the Gchat feature, which is good for people wanting to communicate quickly with other people online. Webcam conferencing is also possible with Gmail, as well as calling people on the phone. 
      • Has the “Conversation View” feature, which appends conversations of the same topic within the same window. 
        • Personally, I hate this feature. I am never able to find WHERE in the window the newest email letter is, unless I search for it for about 3 minutes. 
        • The other option to this is to turn off the Conversation View, which is not any better because it doesn’t place old emails in the same chain within the same window, making you unable to view the progression. 
      • Gmail has an auto-forwarding feature, which allows you to automatically have any new messages sent to your account to another account. This is great for enabling you to maintain multiple email accounts, but only having to actually log in to one every day. 
      • With Gmail, all emails are backed up online, away from your local computer. This is a good thing for safety. You also have 10 GB of free storage space, in addition to your Google Document/Drive folder. 

      Differences – Email Features Provided by Outlook

      • Unlike Gmail, when you click “reply” on Outlook, it simply copies the text from your current email chain below the new message you are writing. There are no tricks to finding out what order the emails were sent. 
      • Signatures. 
        • Simply put – I love the signatures feature in Outlook. Not only do I have my contact information in my signature, but I also have about 15 common email responses pre-typed in these email signatures that save me loads of time/pain each week. 
        • Gmail does have a somewhat new “Canned Responses” feature that is similar to this in Outlook. However, when I tried it, the canned responses had to be entire previous emails, not just a specific copy/pasted text like in Outlook. I think that Google will eventually improve this, but for now, I found Outlook to be better for this purpose. 
      • Folders.
        • The folder capability in Outlook is extremely flexible and truly maximizes my organization abilities. 
        • First, you can create as many folders as you want, and unlike Gmail (where they are “hidden” and you have to click ‘view more’ through in indiscernably organized list), the folders are very easy to view on the sidebar of the screen. You can view an example of the folders I have set up in the picture below:
         
        • In addition, in each Outlook folder, you can either specify that you’d like to display the total number of items or the total number of unread items. This ‘total number of items’ display feature is especially useful for actionable folders (like the ones with the @ sign shown above) because even though I have already read all of these emails, they still need a response/follow up, so I don’t want to lose sight of them. 
        • Lastly, with Outlook folders, you can drag and drop emails from your inbox in to the proper folders. With Gmail, you have to click a drop down menu and select the destination folder from a somewhat long list. This takes up more time than is necessary in my opinion. 
      • Outlook can connect and download email from web-based email services, such as Gmail and Yahoo, using POP and/or IMAP protocols. 
      • Control How Often You Send/receive Email and Go Offline.
        • Another thing I like about Outlook is that you can specify how often (if ever) that your emails are automatically downloaded. This can be as much as every 30 seconds to every 30 minutes, or never, if you set Outlook as offline. 
        • For me, I only like to read my email several times throughout the day so that I don’t get distracted from being strategic about the order that I tackle things to do. 
        • So, what I do is set Outlook to stay “offline” and just manually send/receive my email when I am ready by pressing the F9 button.  
      • Change Arrangement of Screen Elements.
        • With Outlook, it is very easy to change the orientation of the email reading pane and folders. 
        • For example, I like to have my reading pane on the right side of the screen. However, you can also have it on the left or on the top. 
      • Mark Comments in An Email.
        • Another cool feature of Outlook is that it allows you to (if you desire) automatically mark comments in a previous email in a different color text. This is particularly useful if you are reviewing someone’s proposal or responding to a list of questions posed in a previous email.  

      Verdict – In my opinion, for maximizing productivity for folks that receive 50-200 emails per day (not uncommon in today’s working world), Microsoft Outlook is head and shoulders above Gmail because of the customization options available. In particular, the capability that Outlook provides with folders, signatures, and logically appending past email text is much better for people that are short on time.


      On the other hand, Google’s Gmail is slightly ‘quicker’ at sending individual emails, and as such, is well suited for people that receive only a couple emails every day and do not need all of the hierarchy of organization with folders, etc. 


      In fact, in order to have the benefits of both Gmail and Outlook (email and calendar), I would actually recommend doing what I do and have a Gmail email account/address, but operating all of your email and calendar activities on a day-to-day basis through Outlook. This is very easy to set up using the POP/IMAP downloading and Calendar Sync features discussed in the previous sections. By doing this, you can have the Gchat, auto-forwarding, and online backup of all emails (even ones sent through Outlook) while keeping the organization of Outlook.

      How about you all? Do you use Gmail (or another online email provider) or Outlook to manage your email and calendar on a day-to-day basis? Which do you think is better and why? 


      Share your experiences by commenting below!

        ***Photo courtesy of http://www.public-domain-image.com/cache/objects-public-domain-images-pictures/electronics-devices-public-domain-images-pictures/computer-components-pictures/black-computer-keyboard_w725_h483.jpg

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