Because technology is forever evolving, the need to keep up to date with the specs of the latest releases can become very addictive. I of all people know this and my wife will also vouch for this.
The more technology is used, the quicker it seems the latest technology comes out. Take mobile phones as a prime example. Back in the early days, the average person would upgrade periodically. Phones went from monochrome to full colour, from keys to touch-screen. In the old days, a new phone meant drastic changes and improvements. Now you can update your new phone in a matter of months, in fact if you want to keep ahead of the game you need to.
There are downsides to this, it can get very expensive and it can also cause friction within a relationship.
So whilst the world of technology is alluring it is important that the financial cost of it all does not put too much of a strain on your other financial commitments. Bills, rent, mortgages, tax, rates and all sorts of other things must be paid for and it is vital that your tech addiction does not have a negative financial impact on any relationships you have, as I briefly mentioned.
1 – Surveys.
Public opinions are the driving force behind every product and the companies who make these products want to know what you think so they can make their products more appealing. These companies are so keen on getting opinions that they pay agencies to carry out surveys on their behalf for money. The pay might be relatively modest by most people’s standards but if you have a few spare hours here and there it is a great way earn a little extra spending money.
2 – Selling your old gadgets.
When you consider updating a given gizmo such as your mobile phone or whatever, look into the second hand value of the object you are replacing. It is possible to sell them privately but there are risks involved. If the said item you sold packed up two weeks later you might receive a rather grumpy phone call. The other downside is placing adverts here there and everywhere, giving your details to strangers and the risk of not finding a buyer at all. When I recently upgraded a television I decided to sell my laptop to offset the cost by going to a well-known reputable website. It was quick, hassle free and I didn’t even have to fork out for the post and packaging!
3. Blogs.
Blogs can be more than just a vehicle for showing the world how cute your cat looks playing with a ball of wool; they can make you money too. Google Adsense and affiliate programs mean you can generate some extra cash on the side too. If you have a talent for writing in an engaging and interesting manner this is certainly worth looking into.
I’m Felix Richards and I love technology and blogging about it. Whether you are looking for tips on selling your laptop, what the best smartphone is or something altogether more quirky – I’m your man.
If you’re one of those cinephiles whose film collection has gotten completely out of control, this guide acts as a starting point to get your thinking about how best to sort it out.
You can usually tell you’ve got a problem when it’s been a while since you’ve found the right disc in the right box or when you suddenly realise your films are in little mini-stacks all around the house, even in the kitchen and toilet.
Read on to start getting a basic idea of how to reorganise your films.
Step one: cut the dead wood
You’ve most definitely picked up a whole bunch of films that aren’t really worth your time at all. Round them all up and organise them into a pile and start figuring out how to get rid of them.
You have three options – firstly, see what you can make money out of. Go onto a website like www.musicmagpie.com and start flogging your DVDs there. As for the films you’re unable to sell, find out if any of your friends want them.
As for the last few films – which may be so terrible that no one will want them – take them to the charity shop.
Step two: make some archiving decisions
Next, you have to decide how you’re going to organise the remaining films. Are you going for the comprehensive alphabetical order? Or are you going to go for something a little more fun, like organising them according to genre?
If you’re a real film buff and you have every single film made by all your favourite directors, you could organise them by filmmaker.
Once you’ve decided on your archiving strategy, there are some further touches you might want to consider.
Step three: divide formats
If you’ve been collecting for a while, you’ve probably got a whole bunch of DVDs and then a growing bunch of Blu-ray discs. You’ve probably tried integrating the latter with the former, you’ll notice that the boxes for the Blu-rays aren’t quite the same size and look awkward when piled together.
What you want to do is make a separate shelf for your Blu-rays, and stack them separately. If you’ve got loads of them, you can do them alphabetically or by genre.
Step four: invest in some storage solutions
Perhaps you have absolutely no room left on your shelves for the massive film collection you have cultivated. Start looking around online for handy little storage boxes with outwards-opening doors where you can start stacking your films, close by to your entertainment system.
With so much going on, in terms of client work, I have only been able to make one post or so every month. This has led to many people emailing and asking if my freelance writing course is still in existence.
I am happy to say that the answer is yes. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why I have not posted nearly as much in the past few months. I have been busy working one-on-one with many aspiring writers.
Want to join us? I have one spot open at this time. If you have any interest, shoot me an email and we can move forward from there.
Now that things are beginning to calm down, I hope that I can update the blog more often.
There is no denying the fact that I enjoy my career as a freelance writer. That being said, many people believe that it is a career path that does not require much time and effort. Of course, anybody who has ever worked as a writer is well aware that this is not the case.
As of late, I have been working 10+ hours per day. In fact, I have been working so much that I have only made one post on this blog over the last month. Most of my “work time” has gone to client projects, as opposed to my own.
Fortunately, I have been able to maintain a solid balance between my work and personal life. Despite the fact that I am working quite a bit, I am still able to spend time with my family and on my hobbies.
Although I have done a good job maintaining a good balance, I speak with people all the time who are spending so much time advancing their career that the rest of their life is nothing but a blur.
If you find yourself in this position, there is no better time than now to adjust your priorities and focus on taking your life back. Over the next few months, I hope to make a few minor changes here and there to help better control my hours.
Too much work is a good problem to have. That being said, it can lead to potential issues if not addressed appropriately.
The following was submitted by a guest contributor
For obvious reasons, nobody wants to lose their money under any circumstances. But if the recent economic carnage (remember Bear Stearns?) and the ongoing turmoil in the Eurozone is anything to go by, the prospect of waking up to find that your bank has collapsed isn’t out of the realm of possibility. You should concern yourself with protecting your savings and maximizing the growth of these funds. There are various options that can result in gains each and every year and, fortunately, anyone can take advantage of these solutions no matter how much money they hold in their name. And while it may be tempting to just lodge your savings under the mattress at home, this is the last thing you should do because that money will not grow at all! So if you want to diversify where you invest to protect your interests, check out these options.
(Relatively) Safe Places for Your Money
Here are some of the safest places to keep money from We Know Money:
High-Yield, Low-Fee Savings Accounts
Unfortunately, most financial institutions keep their interest rates low and their fees high for savings accounts. The average bank hands out interest rates below one percent. This story is completely different for fees and penalties though. In fact, you could pay $35 for overdrawing their account a single time. Luckily, various financial institutions still offer accounts with high yields and low or non-existent fees. For peace of mind, just make sure that all of the funds in an account are insured by the FDIC up to a certain amount too.
Dividends and Investments
Investing in stocks and other holds does come with an inherent degree of risk. Still, a cautious and savvy investor can easily turn a profit from the markets. Dividends are payments made on a quarterly or annual basis by companies to their shareholders. Some investors receive thousands of dollars in these payments each year. Of course, the amount earned depends upon the company’s dividend and how many shares you own. The key to success is to build up a portfolio over time and choose stocks that will keep their dividends for the years to come.
High-Yield Certificates of Deposit
Certificates of Deposit (CDs) work like savings accounts, but the owner locks themselves into a certain investment period. Of course, this can range from three months to ten years based upon a person’s preference. The money cannot be touched by the owner during this time, but it earns a specific interest rate during that period. A higher initial deposit usually results in a higher interest rate. By the end of the term, an individual will receive the original balance and all earned interest. Plus, these accounts are insured by the FDIC.
Safety Deposit Box
Sadly, this option does not come with an interest rate or any real way to profit from the funds. Not everyone wants to profit from their savings though. Many simply want to set aside some money they know is secure and protected. In most cases, a bank is likely to feature safety deposit boxes that account owners can rent for an extended period of time. With this option, a person can stick their money in one of these boxes and know that it is protected in a safe at that bank. The safety deposit box costs money but offers definite protection.
Conclusion
In the end, there are plenty of great options for keeping your money safe and protected. Most of the previously mentioned solutions allow you to earn a return on savings too. Some of them are even insured by the FDIC, which means you technically cannot lose their money. Without a doubt, a saver needs to take advantage of the options that suit their needs best. Each and every situation is different, so one solution may not always work for another individual. It is always recommended that a person chooses an option that fits their needs best.
The following was submitted by a guest contributor
Freelancers know what they want and they aren’t afraid of risks. They have quit their nine to five to become their own boss, embracing the new challenge and all of the curveballs thrown into the mix.
But the transition from employed to self-employed can raise some red flags for lenders and most freelancers find that securing credit of any kind, whether it’s obtaining a mortgage or simply looking at a credit card comparison, is much trickier than before.
Options are Available
Being a member of a credit union or holding an account with a bank for three or more years looks good to those particular financial institutions that could extend you a loan. Check with your bank or credit union first for lines of credit, personal loans, auto loans and even mortgages.
No matter where you apply for credit, it’s important that a freelancer can prove their income. This is usually done with tax forms, although there’s a catch. Many freelancers may be tempted to claim fewer earnings on their taxes in order to pay fewer taxes, but the actual earnings for the year are not reported.
This means that the claimed income is a much lower amount, so getting approved for a loan becomes more difficult. Make sure that the amount of taxes claimed each year is accurate and not reflecting a lower salary.
A self-certified mortgage may be an option, although these are becoming harder to come by. This is a type of mortgage that doesn’t require the applicant, such as a self-employed applicant, to prove earnings.
You simply inform the lender of your income. The reason these are quickly disappearing is because people would often lie to get more money, so this isn’t always a viable option, but check with your bank to see if they still carry this type of mortgage product.
Improving your credit score is a good idea whether you are self-employed or not. Lenders most often take into account a person’s credit history as the number one indicator of financial responsibility, even if that applicant works freelance.
This doesn’t mean that there are no options available to the freelancer with poor credit, but interest rates will be higher for anyone with less than perfect credit.
The bottom line is that freelancers will have to do extra homework when it comes to applying for a loan of any kind. When the majority of income shows up on a 1099 tax form, lenders will have a stack of paperwork and plenty of questions for which you need to be prepared.
You will probably be required to show copies of bank statements going back several months or even a few years, commission sheets, tax returns going back at least three years and any other crucial paperwork that can verify income.
Rather than be discouraged at the extra steps you need to take, be prepared and always one step ahead in the game if you want to prove your financial responsibility to lenders.
As you may have noticed, it has been about a month since my last post. Unfortunately (or is it), I have been so busy with regular projects that I have been unable to post as often as I would like.
This leads to one very important question: what can you do when you have too much on your plate?
On one side of the equation, a lot of work is a good thing. This means your clients love you and that you are earning good money. Of course, it also means you are forced to work more hours. Is this something you are comfortable doing?
When you have too many projects and not enough time, here are three tips to follow:
1. Focus on the tasks that are essential to getting every project completed on time (forget about everything else).
2. Need an extension? If so, don’t be afraid to ask your client. Typically, I am able to avoid this situation but it does come about from time to time. Just remember one thing: you need to ask for an extension. Don’t simply assume that this is okay.
3. Extend your work hours. This is pretty obvious, right? While you may think so, many writers don’t realize that this is the easiest way to solve their problem. Over the past month, I have definitely worked longer hours in an attempt to stay on track.
What does your current work schedule look like? Do you have more work than you can handle? If so, try out these time saving tips.
When it comes to creating a niche website there are a few things you must have: proper keyword research, a highly functional website, and an understanding of your niche. Without these three things you are going to be in one of three situations: you’ll have a site that has a lot of great information but no visitors, you’ll have a site with a lot of visitors but low-quality information, or you will have a site that has visitors and great information but is just too hard to navigate. In any of those cases you’re going to be missing out on a lot of income, so here are a few things to consider when creating your niche website:
Always Do Proper Keyword Research
This is so critical but often overlooked. No matter what niche you go into, you must target specific keywords that people are actually searching. If you have a website that deals with information on dog food then you want to know the keywords people are actually searching. Instead of focusing on the keyword “food for dogs” that only has a few hundred searches per month, targeting the keyword “dry dog food” will increase your potential searches into the tens of thousands.
Make Sure the Site Is Functional
After you have done your keyword research and you are driving traffic to your site, you have to make sure once they arrive that they are going to be able to get the information they are looking for. Take the finance niche, for example – if someone is searching for an online loan and they end up on the site https://Wongaforbusiness.com they are instantly going to be able to get information on what they need. The unique slider right on the home page tells them how much they can get and how much interest they will have to pay depending on the amount borrowed and time it takes to repay.
Make Sure You Know The Niche
If you are unfamiliar with the niche you go into, it’s going to be hard to create the content necessary to develop a useful site. Often times when doing keyword research people will get caught up in the keywords that have tons of search or pay a lot for advertising clicks. If you don’t have the ability to create hundreds of articles for your website, or can’t afford to have it done for you, you probably shouldn’t go into that niche.
Saving money is definitely important especially in the contemporary world where recession and bad economy bombards every industry in all parts of the globe. You can find different tips and techniques as well as effective methods in saving money. Financial stability is only possible if you have the right disposition and resources to begin with. You can try some of the following tips to solve your financial problems and concerns today.
Buy basic commodities in bulk
It is imperative for you to know your basic needs and commodities and pinpoint which of these are frequently used. Necessities are considered bulk items and when you shop in bulk, you can expect huge savings and significant cut to your budget. Buying in bulk also entitles you to avail big discounts. Make sure that the bulk items you buy are also consumable before their expiration date. Some of the basic commodities are perishable goods such as dairy products and meat.
Save on water and electricity
You need to save money on your electricity and water bills. Take note that your monthly utility bills consume a considerable portion of your overall expenses. Make sure you do the necessary steps to cut your consumption of water and electricity. The steps are actually quite simple from preserving water to wisely using your electrical appliances and light among others.
Avoid impulsive shopping
You need to live within your means and avoid overspending at all costs. You can start through segregating your needs from your wants. There are things or stuffs you can do without and there are those which are considered your basic needs. Learn how to prioritize what you buy and just let go of the urge to spend on unnecessary stuffs unless you have extra.
Find reliable financial assistance
Loaning money from trusted and reliable lending companies could be a great way of saving money and getting the funds you need to finance your daily expenses. You can choose from a wide array of lending services and different types of loans such as fast cash loan. Reputable lenders such as the fast cash provider Wonga.com could definitely help you with fast application and approval of loans.
The best money saving tips and techniques are only possible if you have the will power and self-discipline to put these tips into action and reality. Make sure you know and master the methods of saving money and what resources are available to make it work.
Holidays are a much needed break that takes you away from the humdrum of daily life and the pandemonium of your profession. Albeit temporary, holidays can be an effective contributor to stress relief and it also provides you with some memorable moments and experiences which are treasured throughout one’s lifetime.
Despite the many advantages and pleasures to be had from a good trip away, you cannot always plan a comfortable holiday due to your financial confinements. Millions of people fall short of the cash in hand that they need, which can be the segregating element between going on a holiday or cancelling one, between a holiday that you would enjoy or one that would be filled with compromises. I’ve been in this boat myself, feeling the temptation for that which I cannot afford. At times I would convince myself that ‘I deserve it’ and would look to apply for a cash advance in my account from somewhere like wonga.ca and would ‘worry about the debt later’. Thankfully I was able to catch myself on before giving in to a luxury expense like this, and paying for it with something as foolish as short term loan.
The much smarter alternative is to try and actively plan a cheap holiday but be pragmatic in your planning to ensure that the cost factor doesn’t end up spoiling your vacation, abide by these simple tips to get off to a good start:
• If you are flexible with the dates, the choice of accommodation and the timings of your train or flights then you can always opt for a holiday package. Making independent bookings of flights or trains, hotels and other necessary arrangements can turn out to be much costlier than a holiday package.
• A much better alternative to flights and train is to simply drive. Renting a car or driving your own car to remote locales or to other cities would save you a lot more money than imaginable.
• Whether you are going to a major cosmopolitan city or a historical town, there will be activities of all kinds. Some venues or places of popular interest would charge you considerably for a visit or for exploring it for a day. At the same time, there would be many places where you do not have to spend a penny. Every city or town has museums, public places and popular tourist attractions which do not cost any money. You should plan to visit more of these places than those that would keep costing you as you keep exploring.
• Determining the time of the year should also be of paramount significance. Albeit you would have to adhere to your availability but trying to visit a place when it is not the peak time is the best way to have an amazing holiday for cheap.
