Personal Finance Blog – Tips & Advice from UnitedFinances.com

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown unprecedented challenges at the business world, meaning companies have had to deal with the unforeseen and the unknown. During nearly a year of incredible difficulty, uncertainty, and abrupt disruptions, businesses have had to pass through many unpleasant phases. However, 2020 has also provided many lessons and paved new paths. What’s in store for enterprises in the coming year is a matter of speculation, with experts divided in many regards.

Despite the uncertainties, it is possible to make predictions about what we may expect to see next year, at least to the best of our knowledge. Here are six predictions for businesses for 2021 so you can start planning for the year to come.

Business Won’t be Back to Normal Until the Second Half of the Year

Experts stand divided on the question of when everything will get back to normal: there is a broad spectrum of predictions on the matter. Half of the CFOs in major UK companies believe that business-enterprises will return to the pre-pandemic levels only in the second half of 2021. However, others believe that business may get back on track in the first part of the year. And there is a worst-case prediction too that hardships could even last as far as 2024. All we can do is wait to see how everything turns out, as it is hard to make concrete predictions in these times of rapid fluctuations and many unknowns.

Commerce Going Digital for Survival

The pandemic that cut down offline interactions drastically has meant businesses have had to depend on online and digital technologies more than ever. Whether it is for communication, sales, or payments systems, many companies that previously only made a minimal use of modern technologies started incorporating more technological solutions. The trend is here to stay and will become a significant deciding factor of business success in 2021. Most businesses already have an established digital presence through multiple channels including websites, apps, and social media to engage with their customers.

The COVID Vaccine Will Boost Sales

The anticipated vaccine rollout of the COVID vaccine will give a fresh hope to business in 2021. Almost all sectors will see increased activity, with healthcare, hospitality, and transport expected to flourish in particular. The vaccine will be the single most important reason for many businesses that have been in a hiatus for a while to spring back to work. Though issues with regulations, production, and distribution of the vaccine are still uncertain in a number of ways, experts look forward to it as a highly decisive factor for the recovery of businesses from their pandemic-induced slump.

The Customer Will Have to be Studied Anew

The Pandemic has made a drastic shift in consumer behaviour. There is a wide gap between pre-COVID and the post-COVID customer views in terms of their approach to prices and quality levels, the ability to shop digitally, and the kind of products they prefer. A significant proportion of consumers used digital financial services, including internet banking for the first time during the pandemic. Whatever businesses had learned about their customers will have to be relearned in 2021. It will have a considerable impact on how organisations conduct their affairs, plan strategies and advertise products.

UK Unemployment will Rise

The pandemic has rendered many people jobless. Last year, unemployment in the UK was 1.3 million. And predictions are that it will rise to somewhere between 1.9 million and 4 million in 2021. Much of the turbulence currently witnessed in the job market will carry over to 2021. Though the current unemployment rate of 4.8% according to the BBC is comparatively less than during the 2008 financial crisis, it unfortunately looks like it is set to rise in the future.

The Need for a Dedicated Budget for Cybersecurity

The coming year will demand cybersecurity to be a key consideration in any company’s budget. As more and more businesses go digital, the threats from the cyber world increase, such as phishing, ransom ware and hacking. Since many establishments have switched a considerable amount of operations to online only due to the COVID crisis, they may not be fully aware of the hidden threats and thus could be in a highly vulnerable.

For cybercriminals COVID-19 is an excellent opportunity to exploit newly established networks of small and medium companies. Cybercrime has increased more than ever during the pandemic, so companies that have moved online will need to step up their cybersecurity efforts (and budget) in 2021.

Key Takeaways

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, things have been changing and taking new turns from month to month. Therefore, we cannot rely on any prediction as a surety. Factors like delays in the vaccine distribution due to regulation issues or complications with its production, and many other uncertainties could mean that more surprises are around the corner. Nevertheless, taking expert predictions into considerations, while being prepared for things to change, is the best way for businesses to set themselves up for success in 2021.

As you begin to grow and diversify your investment portfolio, there are some key things you need to know about Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs). Make sure that you do your research well before investing—this way you will be sure that you are investing in the right type of products and that you will be able to get more benefits for your investment. It is better to be safe than sorry.

GIC Overview

You are probably wondering, ‘what is a GIC?’ GICs are certificates are issued by Canadian financial institutions that are typically issued without any conditions in return for a set of investment documents that can be used as security for the loaned funds. These certificates can be flexible, and come with numerous terms and conditions that vary from institution to institution.

So, What’s the Catch?

When you deposit the money, it must be for a fixed length of time, and interest rates can vary according to the length of the commitment. Purchasing a GIC is lending the bank your money and making interest off of the money for lending it to them. Be aware if you take the money out before the term is up, there is a penalty.

Financial institutions that offer them are legally obligated to pay the principal and interest. And if the bank were to fail, the investor is insured by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) for up to $100,000 CAD.

What do I Need to Get a GIC?

First of all, you need to know that you need to have a certain minimum percentage of asset value as collateral. The higher the risk, the higher the interest rate. So, you need to think carefully when choosing a GIC and make sure that you understand the terms and conditions. Also, in most instances, the interest rate charged will vary on how risky the investment might be. A GIC is typically a safe and smart investment for people who are looking for an additional income stream.

Are GICs Tied to the Stock Market?

There are GICs available that are tied to the stock exchange. These can offer low risk for a high return and are offered through a broker who sells stocks to you through your brokerage account.  Using a broker could allow transparency with the exchange you are trading, since you know who you are dealing with as well as the type of stocks you will be purchasing. However, before you do this, you should do your research. By doing a bit of due diligence, you will be able to make sure you are getting yourself the best deal for your money.

Fixed vs. Variable: What Interests You?

A fixed interest GIC is issued to an individual at a fixed rate over a specific amount of time, usually for a short period of time. These types of policies are generally offered as retirement annuities by banks and financial institutions. You earn a certain percentage on the funds you deposit. When purchasing a fixed GIC, you are basically taking a loan out from the bank to pay the premiums over the duration of the policy. If you don’t have enough money to pay the premiums, you are unable to sell the policy or receive a refund.

Variable GICs, on the other hand, are issued as a variable annuity at an interest rate that varies from month to month. You have the choice to adjust the interest rate—however, you are not legally obligated to do so. This is done because it costs the bank more money to purchase the insurance in a fixed rate policy over a variable rate. If you opt to purchase a variable GIC, you will be charged additional interest based on your initial interest rate. If you change your interest rate at the end of the month, the extra interest will be applied to the remaining balance of your loan. If you choose to purchase a fixed GIC, you have the option to adjust the interest rate and there is no additional interest charged if you change the rate. This option, however, is not available with the variable GIC.

Where do I Get a GIC?

When searching for a fixed GIC, you can search online for the different companies that offer them or look through a local newspaper. While there are many different companies offering this type of insurance, it is important to make sure that the firm is licensed to sell them. You should also read all the fine print on the company’s website and make sure that it is accurate. Some companies are less than honest about the benefits and conditions associated with their policies, so make sure you do your homework.

What will it cost you to provide cutting edge customer support via phone? It is bigger than you can imagine. A cheerful voice in addition to a warm greeting is almost not enough. 

Customer care reps have to be ready to provide answers to all kinds of queries about their company and the services they offer. Of course, they have to be appealing, but it will be necessary for them to be able to efficiently provide the information that customers or prospects need.

However, not every business can hire someone who can manage this role efficiently. So what can you do if your growing business does not have a budget that can cater for a customer care rep?

Well, what your business needs is an answering service.

This kind of service yields good results most times. It also helps you to reduce the amount of money you would have spent if you had to hire a customer care rep. Your customers are more likely to enjoy this service compared to if your business had a customer care rep.

Now, let us look at why your business needs to adopt an answering service.

1. Make More Money While Saving Money 

Your business will keep growing and the same can be said about your budget. But hiring a set of staff just to take business calls is expensive. Apart from paying the salary of staff, you need to add up cost of acquiring phones, computer, desk, and other things you need to set up the office. You also need to offer health insurance to your employees.

Furthermore, there are businesses that engage the entire team in answering phone calls from customers. But pulling your staff to undertake such task can be distracting and decreases productivity. 

However, an answering service will avail you the advantages of having a professional customer care rep and at a lesser cost. You will get excellent service as well as a well-informed person who will be answering the phones.

2. You Will Retain Your Valuable Customers 

Customers expect that your business should be open 24/7. So, they call in when ever it is suitable for them. Answering phones during work hours alone (which is usually 8 hours), means that during the remaining 16 hours, your customers’ calls will go unanswered. Most callers will not leave you any message or try calling again. In fact, some people hang up as soon as they discover that are not being answered by a real person.

Despite the fact that your business needs to focus on making more sales, building your current list of clientele is also of utmost importance. You can achieve this by partnering with an answering service. So when your customers call in after work hours, they will receive maximum attention. prospective customers also will not be unintentionally neglected. 

Furthermore, if your customer service is poor, you will lose customers. And you know how people are quick to give negative reviews when they do not get the value they desire. One bad review can make a customer choose your competitor over you. And it will take a lot of effort to amend that one negative experience.  

Watch this video to learn how to give great customer service.

3. Project Your Business as a More Professional Entity

Whether it is an intern or the business owner, whoever picks up the phone, becomes the business’ voice. And if the caller is a new customer or prospect, the experience they will have will form their first and probably, only impression about your business; depending on the kind of service they receive. 

However, if your business is affiliated to an answering service, you will have access to dedicated, well-trained receptionists who will make sure that your customers get a good first impression. Also, the calls will be answered on time, in a polite manner, and within a serene environment to eliminate poor network, dropped calls, or any kind of bad experience.

Additionally, customers can’t tell if an answering service rep is actually at your place of work when they call. They cannot also tell if it is a 2-man business or a 1000-employee kind of business. The kind of treatment they get when they call will either project your business as a more professional entity or not. 

4. Your Priorities Will Be Rightly Placed

The volume of calls a business receives every day, especially if it is a small business, might be difficult to handle. Imagine trying to have a phone conversation with one customer, while that is on-going, two or three more callers are calling but you can’t respond. One of the callers leaves a voice message and while you are trying to call back, another call comes in. You can now see that you will still lose customers when you try to do this on your own. 

You will be unable to handle other business activities in addition to all that stress. But if you use an answering service, you can focus more on your work while the customer care rep focuses on caring for your customers. That way, your priorities will be rightly placed, and you will be more productive.

Now that you know how your business can benefit from an answering service, take a step in the right direction. Click on this link: https://www.mltcom.com/answering-services/247-answering-service/ to get affiliated with a professional answering service.

Conclusion

Your business needs to grow and that can be achieved when you focus on making it grow. It will be quite tasking trying to attend to enquiries from prospective customers, generating sales, reaching out to returning customers to maintain the relationship, among other things you need to do as a business owner. 

The business world is quite competitive and if you need your business to thrive, you need to focus on what you are best at. So you and your business need an answering service that will be available on a 24-hour basis while you are busy meeting the needs of your customers. 

When it comes to controlling and managing our money today, we have many things to consider. For one, we have to think about kind of bank account we intend to be using for our personal (or professional) goals. For example, you might be considering, as a resident in Europe, opening a bank account. But is this going to be possible? Are you legally obligated to be allowed to open a European bank account?

At the moment, it depends on where in the continent you are based. For example, anyone who is based in a country that is within the European Union (EU) is entitled to a bank account. This is a legal right that is given to you as part of the wider EU regulations. If you are legally a resident in this country, then you are entitled to open what is known as a ‘basic payment account’.

A bank is not allowed to refuse your application if you wish to set up a basic payment account. Indeed, this is information worth keeping in mind when shopping around various banks to work with.

Do I have to use an EU bank in my own country?

Interestingly, as wider EU law looks to bring nations together under more complementary joint law, bank accounts are not protected by country. For example, you are allowed to open a bank account in any EU country so long as you are proven to have EU citizenship. This means that you cannot be refused access to a basic payment account just because you don’t live in the country that bank was actually established in.

This means that you could in theory go and open up a basic banking account in any one of the 27 EU nations that are part of the program today. However, you should take note that this is only for a standard bank account. You might have to go through a more strenuous vetting process, and would be permitted to be refused access, if you wished to open up a different kind of account.

For example, you might wish to open up a bank account for a savings account. While no EU-based bank can reject you for a basic account, they could choose to say no to you if you wish to open up an EU-based savings account.

Exceptions to the rule

However, please note that there are some very limited circumstances in which an EU-based bank could reject your basic account. The primary reason for being rejected would be a failure and/or inability to comply with EU laws and regulations with regards to money laundering and terrorist financing laws. These are very specific laws, though, and are unlikely to apply in the vast majority of cases.

However, you might also be refused access to a basic account if you already have a basic account with a bank in the same country. You are permitted to have access to one account, not multiple accounts. Also please note that most banks will still want to know why you wish to open up an account with them in the first place.

They might wish to know more about your living situation, and whether (or not) you will be residing in the nation for a period of time once you have opened up your bank account. So long as you have no other accounts of a basic nature with any other bank, though, they cannot refuse you outside of if your answers do not satisfy EU money laundering laws.

What about a merchant account?

Of course, not everyone in the EU banking industry is going to have enough access with a standard account. If that is the case, you might wish to open up another kind of bank account in the near future. For example, you might wish to open what is known as a European high risk merchant account.

This has become increasingly common today, as many professionals use such accounts. merchant accounts are quite interesting as they tend to come bundled with various payment processor programs as well as giving you the tools that you need to start accepting card transactions, handling online purchases, and various other factors.

Many buyers online will not use a trader if they cannot be given a guarantee of a totally secure connection. For that reason, the vast majority of buyers will look to set up a merchant account so that your customers will be more inclined to actually use your services.

Many forms of high risk merchant account exist, so it pays to invest time and effort into understanding what this means. Then, you can make a wise choice and make an investment with a bank that can provide you with the service(s) that you need.

Choosing a European high risk merchant account

While you are by no means permitted by law to have access to such an account, those in good standing should have no problem creating such an account. This will help you to start making trading easier, giving you all the tools that you need to take payments and ensure that your business can start trading online or offline if it so chooses.

The best European high risk merchant accounts will give you a highly specific service. Many generic services exist, but looking for something that comes with particular features and add-ons would be highly recommended.

You will normally find that the investment into such an account is a wise idea as it can give you the help that you need to get selling as a professional. High risk merchant accounts are often aimed at those with minimal or poor credit history, or who are engaged in a kind of high risk business that has a high volatility.

Keep this in mind, and you should find it easier to get started in the set-up of a European bank account. Whether for you to use personally on your travels or to give you access to merchant facilities, ensure you do your due diligence on any company you consider. 

Although most bankers in North America and Europe expect a longer recovery from the coronavirus crisis, they are already forecasting a recovery in lending next year and a relatively slight increase in bad loans. The most important are the findings of a survey conducted by Deloitte among 69 risk officers and heads of banking departments for solving credit problems in 12 countries in North America and Europe. The research focused on five main areas: economic recovery, credit dynamics, bad loans, and bad credit transactions, as well as restructuring and priorities in the area of solving credit problems.

In terms of economic recovery, 39.1 percent of respondents expect a U-shaped recovery curve. A more pessimistic L-shaped recovery scenario expects 21.7 percent. The respondents’ attitude regarding the application of the moratorium was positive like it was about JerkDolls, i.e., 75% of the respondents consider it an effective measure for preserving financial stability.

In such circumstances, it is not surprising that a (non) significant decline in the disbursement of new loans is expected in 2020 compared to 2019, while expectations are more optimistic for 2021. Disbursements of new loans may increase in 2021 due to fiscal and monetary measures aimed at stimulating banks’ lending activities. Stricter credit standards are expected for loans mainly to households and non-financial corporations.

However, respondents do not expect a significant deterioration in asset quality in the next 12 months. Almost half expect the rate of bad loans to households to increase by a maximum of three percentage points, while two-thirds expect the same growth rate for companies.

However, bankers are more pessimistic for the period after 2021. Almost half of them expect the growth of bad loans to households by three to five percentage points, while a third of respondents expect the same rate of decline in bad loans to companies. In any case, there is a dose of uncertainty from 2021 onwards regarding the actual capacity and readiness of debtors to service debts after the relief in the form of a moratorium ends.

The research highlights how banks have significantly improved their asset quality since the global financial crisis, established higher capital buffers, and strengthened their liquidity positions, leaving the economic downturn in better shape than in the previous financial crisis.

The moratorium on loan repayments imposed by several countries in North America and Europe may temporarily cover up the real damage that the economy may constrain. Therefore, it is not possible to draw reliable conclusions regarding the emergence of bad loans in the coming period since it is not as easy as playing teen porn games online.

Strategies for dealing with bad loans introduced before the COVID-19 virus pandemic now need to be adjusted, which could significantly affect debt service providers and the customer market. Namely, almost a third of the respondents believe that 5 to 10 percent of debtors in the household sector with liquidity difficulties will seek restructuring in the next 12 months.

It’s a question that you’ve probably asked yourself. Sadly, a considerable number of people consider life insurance more of a luxury than a necessity. And the payback for that is that if you pass away, your family plus the left-behind estates become fully liable for financing your debts, medical bills, funeral expenses, and other final expenses.

Though not a legal obligation, preparing to pass on is equally important as preparing to live. You may not feel the value for your money, at least not at the moment, but your family will direly need it when you’re gone. That is unless you want them to be homeless due to unpaid mortgages, face debt collection issues, live a sub-standard life, or give you an improper sendoff.

Let’s dig a little deeper into what happens if you pass without a life insurance cover.

Debt Responsibility

Usually, your immediate family isn’t responsible for your unpaid debts if you pass unexpectedly. But if you have an estate or unprotected assets like bank accounts without beneficiaries or investment properties, they’ll be liquidated to cater for your outstanding liabilities.

So if you have huge debts without life coverage, creditors might come knocking, forcing your family to sell your home and other assets to clear your debt. The good news is, with life insurance, your loved ones can use the policy’s proceeds to pay off any debts that you might have incurred in your living days, thus relieving them of any financial distress or the fear of being kicked out of your matrimonial home.

Funeral Expenses

How would you like it if your family takes out a loan or pleads with a funeral home for a discounted payment plan to give you a decent sendoff? That’s precisely what will happen if you leave without life insurance, and your loved ones don’t have enough cash to meet the funeral needs.

Getting your family into a double tragedy of coming to terms with losing you and lacking enough funds to cater for your burial is truly uncalled for. This is why we recommend purchasing life insurance to help meet the funeral, burial, or cremation expenses when you breathe your last.

Additional Final Expenses

Funeral and burial expenses usually are the priority when you pass away. But a few weeks or months after the sendoff, other needs start creeping in. For instance, if you were the sole breadwinner, your loved ones will find it hard to keep up with the same lifestyle or living standard as it were before. Your spouse may no longer afford the same schools for the children, pay off mortgage or rent, pay the utility bills, etc.

What’s more, if you had a strong family bond in your living days, your loved ones may struggle to come to terms with your loss, forcing them into a trauma. This raises the need for professional help, which may be too expensive without external assistance. While it’s not a guarantee that life insurance may cover counseling costs, your family may use the proceeds to pay a therapist for their services.

Medical Bills

Chronic illnesses can be devastating. Most people take their ailing loved ones to hospitals for medical care while holding the hope that they will recover. More often than not, critically ill people barely make it despite the advanced medical care, and to add insult to an injury, the hospital bills keep piling up.

If you pass away without life insurance, your family will be liable to meet all the accrued medical bills. This can be tough, especially if you’re the primary breadwinner in the family. That is why it’s overly essential to take out a life insurance policy to meet such unprecedented costs.

Good news: even if you contract chronic illnesses like cancer that may deny you the regular coverage, you can still purchase non-medically underwritten life insurance where you won’t have to undergo any physical examination tests. The same applies to those in perfect health but would like to acquire life insurance coverage in the fastest and most straightforward manner.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post helps you realize the importance of life insurance. Life’s uncertainty should be enough motivation to protect your loved ones financially should you pass away prematurely. You don’t want your family to be forced to sell your estate or take an emergency loan to cater for unpaid debts, property taxes, final expenses, and other expenses, do you?

Traders and investors are going crazy with the cryptocurrencies. Digital tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin are some of the cryptocurrencies. You can consider them as a currency that you change for goods and services.

The most notable feature of Cryptocurrency is its decentralized nature. That means it is independent and is not controlled by any institution. With centralized nature’s help, it helps the people with the peer to peer money transactions. The blockchain technology powers the transaction and provides security with the public ledger network.

The Cryptocurrency concept is fairly new, so it is hard for the people to accept it. A sense of    something new brings insecurities with the trust, which is what is happening with the cryptocurrencies.You can learn more from BitBolt Login.

Pros and Cons of cryptocurrencies

Even after being a new concept, it holds the upper hand against traditional fiat currency. Some traders think that Cryptocurrency has a future possibility to replace the fiat currency.

Pros

1. Valuable trading software

Thanks to all the hype created by the trades and the investors in the trade market, crypto trade marketing is getting popular among the younger generation. And to encourage their effort, several trading platforms and applications have been surfacing up recently.

Some of the trading platforms are given below:

• Coinbase.
• Bitcoin profit.
• Coin tracking.
• Bitcoin evolution.
• Kraken.

2. Easy money transfer

Cryptocurrency money transfer happens with the help of the peer to peer to connection. That means you do not need any third-parties or intermediaries. You can directly send the money to the people you want to send. The transaction process is swift and takes only a few seconds to be processed. Also, the transaction is down with the private and public keys’ help, which makes the transaction more safe and secure.

3. Anonymity

At every transaction, your digital wallet address, Hash, blockchain number, and the miner name are recorded, the transfer process is anonymous. Only the people who are sending and receiving the money can see the identity. This feature helps if you are wary of giving unnecessary information to others.

4. Accessibility

The best part of the Cryptocurrency is that it is accessible 24X7. Cryptocurrency is a decentralized currency; hence, you do not have to wait for the intermediaries to make a transaction. You can commence a transaction as long as the receiver is active. On the contrary, the peer to peer connection is not bound by the national boundaries.

5. Autonomy

In the Crypto trade, you have complete control over your digital assets. No matter how you earn it, where you spend it, or whom you send it, no one will ask you anything. You are responsible for everything related to your digital assets. Hence, you can think of this as one of your retirement plans.

Cons

1. Volatility

The volatility of the Cryptocurrency has been the problem. Though this volatility has given the profitable nature to the Cryptocurrency, it is far too unstable for everyone coming out of the trade with a profit. Though Cryptocurrency is not controlled by any institution, national external affairs, and media can affect the Cryptocurrency’s price evaluation.

If you are a high-risk lover who believes in “high-risk high gain,” then volatility is not a problem for you. I am talking about the other traders who want low-risk investment plans.

2. Complex concept

The concept of the Cryptocurrency is very tricky to understand. So technically speaking, crypto trade is not for the people who lack technological knowledge.

3. Theft risk

Even though Cryptocurrency has no physical form, there is a chance that all your digital assets can be stolen. Hackers have sophisticated tools and advanced software that they use to break through all the security.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency investments and trades have now become a significant strait forward. And all the thanks go to the trading software that you can easily access and place deals efficiently. Moreover, you also have complete control over your digital assets, and you can keep track of them with the help of the Digital cryptocurrency wallet.

Bitcoin, along with the thousands of cryptocurrency, is getting popular due to their offers and the stability they bring into the financial system. Most parts of the world have already experienced the benefit of using cryptocurrency.

The majority of the global population still relies on the traditional fiat currency issued by the government. However, cryptocurrencies are used on a large scale in the trade market. Remittance is also the field where the use of the crypto is on the rise.

Cryptocurrency VS Fiat currency

Fiat currency that we commonly know to us are in the form of paper money or the money that is being issued by the government, has always been the primary means element used for monetization. However, this legal tender is not backed by rare elements like gold and other precious commodities, but instead, it is backed by the government. And the value of the fiat currency depends on the economic stability of the nation.

The fiat currency comes with a physical form and is regulated among the people. As the government itself backs up the fiat currency, people trust its credibility and use it for financial transactions.

The way people need to improve, the financial system is also looking to enhance the transactional methods. In search of new transactional methods, people have come across a new currency called cryptocurrency.

As we speak, there are more than 5000 cryptocurrency presents in the world. And out of the Bitcoin stands at the top. The said number of crypto coins might increase in the near future.

Now that you know what fiat currency and cryptocurrencies are. Let see how fiat currency feels short in front of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Disadvantages of fiat currency

If we compare fiat currency and cryptocurrency, we will easily see that fiat currency holds the lead in most aspects. It is to be expected that the currency has survived thousands of years of regulation. However, new generations are looking for a more digital solution for the financial transaction. And this was fiat currency fell short of their expectation.

Here are the things where Fiat currency needs improvement to keep cryptocurrency at the bay of becoming the mainstream currency.

1. It holds value in its respective country

The value of the fiat currency is limited within the international borders. That means the value of the fiat currency is valid in the respective country. You will not be able to use the currency of one country into the other countries. This feature of the fiat currency had made the people go for the currencies that are not bound by the international borders.

2. Possibility of being damaged or theft

With paper money, there is also a chance to be torn apart with little extra force. There are natural elements as well that can directly catalyze to lose your fiat currency.

3. Issue off over issuing

The serious problem of the fiat currency is that it can be issued without any issue. And if the government is not careful with the over issuing the fiat currency, it can result in inflation.

4. Inflation

Over issuing of the paper can lead to inflation. Inflation can be an evil thing in the fiat currency system. It can give rise to the following:

• Steep price rises: This can affect the people at the lower level of the financial ecosystem.
• Affect exports and imports: Steep rise in the price of the things that directly affect the export and import.
• It can decrease your fiat currency valuer on the international platform: The global platform’s exchange rate will be lowered. That means you will be needed to pay more home money to buy foreign products.

Conclusion

If the government can think carefully and then issue paper money, there will be no problem whatsoever. If all of the issues that we have just mentioned above can be corrected, somehow, there will be no loopholes in the fiat currency’s uses. Due to this issue, most of the young generation are using platforms like https://1g-profitsystem.com/ for cryptocurrency transactions.

Cryptocurrency has given us a new payment system that brings some advantages over the traditional fat currency. To most people, Cryptocurrency is a high-risk investment. However, the concept of having a decentralized cryptocurrency that has certainly piqued the interest of the millennials.

Today, the existence of cryptocurrencies is known by most people. This is due to the advantages that you can get with the use of Cryptocurrency.

What can you do with Cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrency is not regulated as smoothly as you can buy them. Buying a cryptocurrency is far easier than finding a way to spend it. In this article, I will highlight some of the ways that you can do with cryptocurrencies.

1. Cost-efficient money transfer

Cryptocurrency gained popularity due to its cost-effective money transfer. Not only these money transfers are cost-effective but are faster than any other transactional medium. For instance, recently, a transaction was made between two companies; the amount was around $100 million in Litecoin. Can you guess the amount of time taken to complete this transaction? It was just over two minutes.

2. Invest in startups

The dawn of the digital token has allowed investors to invest in potential startups. With the ICOs (Initial Coin offerings), you can invest in any startup without thinking twice. The reason is that your investment will be safe with you and will be encrypted with private keys. So, you do not have to worry about your investment being misused.

3. Make private transaction

Today, financial transactions are one of the flourishing businesses. The reason is that people and businesses are relying on third-party applications to transfer money. Cryptocurrency has seen this as an opportunity to expand its uses. Now you can send and receive money with the help of digital wallets. And the best part is that every transaction is safe, secure, and anonymous.

This method is in the trends because you do not have to explain to anyone about the money transfer. That you usually had to do in bank transfer cases.

4. Send non-cash remittance

One of the most used areas of cryptocurrencies is the area of remittance. We have millions of overseas workers who send money to their families via international mediums. The problem with this traditional international medium is that they charge quite a hefty amount for a successful transaction. However, in the case of Cryptocurrency, there are no intermediaries. That means you can transfer money to your family without any transaction charges.

4. Travel around the world

In the last ten years, the ecosystem of the Cryptocurrency has seen explosive growth. Due to the improved regularities, you can now use Cryptocurrency to pay your travel expenses and cover up your hotel costs.

There are even cryptocurrency ATMs all over the world that will help you with cash problems. You can use these ATMs to dispense cash by converting your crypto assets into fiat currencies.

6. Get paid to post content

We all know about the social media platforms that reward their users for posting high-quality content. But what if I say that the rewards can be in the form of cryptocurrencies. There is a platform called Steemit that rewards its users in the form of Cryptocurrency to post and curate high-quality content. So, if you do not want to invest in the Cryptocurrency, you can post content on Steemit and gain rewards.

7. Buy Lamborghini

Buying a car has always been a dream of many. What if I say, you can buy a car with your crypto assets? And Lamborghini at that. There is a marketplace for the Cryptocurrency, De Louvois. It enables a platform “Crypto Rich” that helps people buy sports cars with the cryptocurrencies’ help.

This marketplace is not only famous for buying cars, but you can also buy different collectible products.

Conclusion

All the things that we have mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg. There are infinite ways in which you can use Cryptocurrency. You can even buy clothes, pay restaurant bills, utility bills, etc. you can find by Bitcoin Era Sign In.

The sales tactics and why they work is an important topic for any business that wants to increase sales. You have probably heard this before, but the secret is that if you use your sales skills correctly, you can get the results that you want for your business. So how do you know if your business can get more sales by using these tactics? Term paper prepared a few tactics for you:

One of the main sales tactic that a lot of businesses use is called the “cold calling” technique. This is where you call the sales people of your target market and talk to them about your business and the products and services that you are selling. You would be surprised at the impact that this can have on a person. In fact, the first impression that the prospect makes will last much longer than the one that is made after the call.

Another good sales pitch is to make sure that your product or service is available when they need it. When they use your products or services in their daily life, they will come back to see if you can provide them with more services and products in the future.

Offer discounts to your customers. Many companies have different offers to their customers depending on what they are looking for. For example, if they are looking for insurance, you might give them a discount if they purchase insurance from you. This will make your customer more comfortable with your company and it is more likely that they will come back to you again.

Another great sales tactic is to make sure that your products or services are well-liked. This is important because it helps your client find you again if they like your products or services. If you sell something that is not liked, you will have trouble getting new clients for the future.

One of the most important and great sales that you can have is the one that allows you to sell your products or services without having to spend a lot of money. One example of this is that you can do a free report or ebook with your products and just sell the report and the ebook to your potential customers. It is easier to make sales through this kind of sales tactic and you won’t have to spend as much money.

Finally, you want to make sure that you provide your customers with a sales package that will help them save time and money. This can be done by providing them with training, information or discounts to help them save money on their purchases.

These are just a few examples of how you can use the sales techniques and why they work. when it comes to helping you get the results that you want for your business.

You also need to make sure that you are keeping your current clients happy and they are coming back to buy more from you. If your business is not moving forward with its customers, they will begin to look elsewhere for solutions and that will ultimately hurt your sales.

A great way to keep your current customers happy and keep your current clients happy is to offer discounts on your products or services. If you are trying to sell a product that a large group of people are interested in buying, this is a great way to sell your product.

Also, this is a great way to make sure that you are building a relationship with your customers. This relationship will allow you to provide more services to them in the future so they will become loyal to you.

Last but not least, when you are using these tactics, you need to make sure that you are keeping your costs down. There are ways to cut the costs of running your business, but you need to make sure that you are making the money back. You can do this by offering discounts to your existing clients or by providing more discounts to your customers for new ones.

The tax code is over 4,000 pages long. Unless you plan to read each page and understand the tax code, you’ll want to have someone on your side who is a tax expert.

If you want to find the best accountant in your local area, you’ll need to know how accountants work. That will ensure that you get the right accountant to manage your taxes and make sure you’re not in trouble with the IRS and state tax authorities.

Read on to learn how you can hire the best tax preparer in your area.

What Type of Accountant Do You Need?

Not all accountants are the same. Some have different qualifications, levels of expertise, and designations.

You’re probably familiar with the terms CPA and accountant. Most people think that those terms refer to someone who can handle taxes. That’s true to a certain extent.

The fact is that there are major differences between an accountant and a CPA. A CPA is a designation that means they are a Certified Public Accountant. They have gone through the rigorous process to become certified including exams and continuing education.

They also are governed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the accounting board in your state. This ensures that your CPA operates according to the law and ethical standards set by these organizations.

An accountant is a person who went to school for accounting and understands some tax laws and most accounting principles. They can provide advice and prepare your taxes. They cannot file your taxes on your behalf.

As you start looking for accountants and CPAs, you may see that some call themselves IRS enrolled agents. An enrolled agent is either a former IRS employee or a CPA that passed a difficult IRS exam.

IRS enrolled agents can represent you if there are any issues with the IRS. This is extremely helpful because they can call the IRS on your behalf to resolve challenging issues.

You can verify the credentials of accountants and CPAs by asking for their PTIN. This is a Preparer Tax Identification Number, which is assigned by the IRS. You can also check a tax preparer’s credentials with your state board of accounting.

Make Sure They Use e-File

All tax preparers that handle more than 10 returns have to file their returns using e-File. This is the IRS’ system for filing electronically.

If the person you’re considering doing your taxes doesn’t use e-File, then it’s a sign that they’re not working on that many tax returns. They may not have the experience to handle your return.

How Do They Handle Back Taxes?

Your tax situation may be delicate because of old financial issues, or you did your taxes according to what you read on the internet. In both cases, you could wind up in a situation where you owe back taxes.

For example, if you lived abroad for a period of time, you may not have filed taxes for those years thinking that you didn’t need to. The truth is that all U.S. citizens have to file taxes, even if they live full-time in another country.

Another example is if you had significant financial hardship and you weren’t able to pay your taxes owed. That can lead to liens or levies on your bank accounts or property.

You’ll need to ask accountants how they handle these situations. The best CPA will know how you can reduce back taxes owed and get your financial footing again.

Understand Their Pricing

Accountants have different pricing structures that you need to know about. Some accountants and CPAs will use a flat pricing structure to do your taxes. This is usually for people that have a straightforward tax return and file a 1040-EZ form.

Accountants that have a broad range of clients find it easier to charge by the number of forms completed on a tax return. This is to ensure the tax preparer is paid according to the amount of work performed.

You’ll want to understand how much an accountant will cost. If they can’t give you a flat fee, then ask for a ballpark estimate for their services. You can then compare prices with others to find an affordable accountant in your area.

Support Beyond Tax Season

Sure, some might have summer hours, but that’s reasonable when you consider the long hours they work at other times of the year. You want to make sure that if you have questions or concerns outside of tax season, you can rely on their expertise and ask them.

For example, if you start a new business or have a major life change, you’ll need to understand how that change impacts your personal tax liability.

Interview Potential Accountants

Remember that the accountant may have the expertise, but you still have the power of choice. You don’t need to settle on an accountant that you don’t think is a good fit.

Part of that empowerment comes from knowing what questions you should ask potential accountants. You may want to take the opportunity to visit their office to see how they work.

You can get a sense of how organized they are and how they handle the massive amount of documents that go with the territory. Here are some questions you can ask in the interview.

• Do you have any specializations?

• Do you handle my tax returns or are they outsourced?

• How do you keep my information secure?

• Do you provide advice that will help me reduce my overall taxes?

These questions will give you a better understanding as to how an accountant works and how you can find the right accountant in your area.

Hire the Best Accountant in Your Area

How can you make sure that you hire the best accountant in your area? You want to make sure that you hire an accountant with the right credentials and experience to meet your needs.

This article showed you the steps to take to ensure that you hire the right accountant in your area. The best thing you can do is to take the time to research and ask questions.

Be sure to head over to the home page of this site for more personal finance tips.

It’s no surprise that millions of accidents happen every year with the number of cars on the road. Luckily, insurance companies offer a variety of coverage options to assist you in the event of an accident. These coverage plans are all priced differently, with many drivers opting to purchase a cheaper plan to save money.

When choosing a cheaper car insurance plan, there are pros and cons that come along with this decision. To learn more about what these pros and cons are, read the article below.

Pros

You save money

Obviously, with a cheaper car insurance plan, you’ll save money on monthly premiums. If you aren’t able to afford a high monthly car insurance payment, opting for a cheaper plan may be better. When searching for a new and cheaper car insurance plan, make sure you research the cheapest options available. Some insurance companies, such as Travelers Auto Insurance, are known for having more expensive plans.

It helps you to fulfill the law requirements

It is crucial to purchase an insurance policy as it is mandatory to have it in some states and countries. Driving without car insurance is not only illegal, but it also puts others at risk as well. With a cheap car insurance plan, you can at least have the minimum car insurance coverage required in your state.

You’re still covered

Having a cheap car insurance plan doesn’t mean you’re out of luck if you get into a car insurance plan. In the end, you’ll still have coverage to help you out with minor to moderate car accidents.

Cons 

Drivers can fail to get their car back after a claim

Drivers with cheap car insurance policies have high chances of remaining without a vehicle after filing a claim. A cheap car insurance plan may not cover everything in the event of a severe accident, leaving the policyholder to use their own money to cover additional repairs. Many people who have cheap car insurance can’t afford these repairs, leaving their car to be scrapped. 

Your coverage doesn’t cover more serious accidents

The liability coverage usually comes with very low limits. Although the experts recommend that you get at least $500,000 of each accident’s liability cover and $2 million for full protection, those cheap policies offer coverage ranging between $10,000 and $30,000 liability for an incident. Moreover, the small limits can easily be exceeded easily, even during minor accidents, with just a few passengers that need costly medical treatment.  

High deductibles

Paying high deductible is another way of lowering the monthly insurance premiums. Having a high deductible means more upfront costs out-of-pocket before insurance coverage begins. For many people with cheap car insurance, having such a high deductible can easily be more expensive than the money they save with a cheaper plan.

Bad customer service

Some insurance companies will only offer better customer services for people with expensive or higher premium policy rates than those with liability coverage only. In the end, a cheap car insurance policyholder will still get the customer service they need if involved in an accident, but they can expect fewer favors.

Cheap insurance policies are good for those who want to save money, but several disadvantages accompany them. If you are going to purchase a cheap policy, you should be ready to cater for the damages and repairs after an accident. This could be expensive, and in most cases, many drivers end up without a car because they won’t afford it.

Being an independent contractor or freelancer has its benefits: after all, you get to run your own business and retain control over your work day. You can become a digital nomad or create your own home office. However, it does have its drawbacks, and come tax time, you might find yourself struggling to make sense of your financial situation.

Determining Your Deductions

There are many ways you can minimize the amount of money you owe the IRS. Unfortunately, not everyone takes advantage of these deductions. Your tax deductions can include office space, office supplies, health insurance, travel expenses, hardware, software, internet and phone bills, professional development, and research materials. Essentially, anything you do that helps your job can be tax deductible. Consider hiring a tax professional if you’re unsure about how to approach your deductions.

Make Documentation a Habit

You might be accustomed to tossing receipts and other documents when you get them, but you should make record-keeping a habit. As previously mentioned, there are endless possibilities for deductions, but determining and proving those deductions is another story entirely. Have a filing and/or scanning system that accounts for all of your receipts and business expenses. If you don’t already have an accountant, now is a good time to start speaking to one.

Open a Health Savings Account

Independent contractors don’t usually benefit from health insurance offerings. Because of this, they’re responsible for handling their own health needs, and a health savings account is a great way to spearhead this.

A health savings account (HSA) is a great way for self-employed individuals to save for healthcare costs and pay for healthcare expenses without tax penalties or liabilities. However, an HSA is only available if you don’t have access to other insurance options. As an independent contractor or freelancer, your options for healthcare include the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, or coverage under a spouse.

Put Money Aside for Taxes

A traditional, pay-rolled employee pays their share of FICA, a federal payroll contribution that goes towards social security tax and Medicare tax. But independent contractors are responsible for handling their own taxes because they are paid for services directly, and therefore don’t have their taxes and other benefits removed from their income. You’ll always pay income tax like everyone else, as well as a self-employment tax.

Start off by estimating how much you’ll need to pay for taxes at the end of the year. You should put away between 25% to 30% of your income to go towards income tax and self-employment tax. Ideally, you’re sending in payments every three months and paying your taxes as you go.

No matter how much you make, at the end of the year, you’ll owe a certain amount of money in taxes. Owing the IRS can be overwhelming and intimidating, and even more so as an independent contractor. This can be very tough for independent contractors on low salaries. For example, if you only bring in $35,000 per year, forking over $8,000 of it can feel like too much at once. If you owe taxes, you can opt for an IRS installment agreement to help you manage your payments.

Start a Solo 401(k)

Bigger companies offer a 401(K) to their employees, but as an independent contractor, you’re tasked with doing this yourself. Starting a Solo 401(K) puts your retirement funds into your own hands. With a self-employed (401)K, you can put in high contributions and still benefit from tax dedication. Your spouse can also contribute to the account.

With this setup, you can put away large sums of money and benefit from much higher tax deductions. These plans also circumvent the the complex rules associated with traditional corporate 401(k)s, offering many investment opportunities Accountants can choose between after-tax Roth contributions or traditional tax-deductible contributions

55% of small business owners were motivated to open their own business because they wanted to be their boss. As the boss, you have to handle major responsibilities such as filing taxes. Tax preparation for small businesses varies, so it is important to know the facts.

Read our complete small business tax preparation checklist.

Know the Deadlines

To get ahead on small business tax preparation, you need to know the deadlines. Deadlines for small businesses can depend on the type of business and how you handle legal manners.

A lot of small businesses will have the same deadlines as individuals, but some have random dates. Those set up as an S corporation have returns due in March while C corporations have a deadline in April.

Get All of the Forms

The forms will also depend on the business you have. In tax preparation, you need to figure out what forms you need.

Generally, returns will include summary pages, schedules, and other details. These forms provide a look at the entire tax picture of your business. Small business finances will be considered with the forms.

These forms will help decide if the business qualifies for tax deductions. Some of the most common forms are Form 1040, Form 1120, and Form 1065.

Collect Records

You need to collect business records so that the IRS knows how much income the business brings in. The numbers you report will then be verified. This means you have to provide accurate information that can be physically documented.

The type of income will decide what documentation is acceptable. You should have gross receipt records, refund documentation, and interest and investment income. You can use a salary tax calculation to help you, see more here.

Get Business Expense Documentation

Your taxable income will decide what tax breaks are available. Small businesses have the opportunity to get a lot of tax breaks, but you need to prove you qualify.

Expense documentation can be receipts, but sometimes more proof is required. You may have to provide transportation, meals, entertainment, and insurance documentation too. Be sure this is done correctly to avoid issues down the road. Not all S corporations are corporations in the traditional sense. An S corporation is a tax classification created by the IRS which some small businesses can qualify for. An s corporation has the potential for tax benefits which can be calculated using this S Corp tax calculator.

Send Information Returns

The certain information you need to provide to the IRS needs to be sent on time. You also need to ensure your business is receiving the returns you need.

If you do business with other parties, you will receive returns from them. These returns will include interest on loans, fees for services, or rent.

Small businesses with employees will need a W-2 form or a Form 1099. These forms will provide individuals with their income and deductions.

Ask For an Extension

If needed, you can ask for an extension. For small businesses, there is no negative outcome of getting an extension. They provide more time to make full returns.

An extension does need to be filed on a certain date. This date is usually before the original tax return is due. The extension is not for paying taxes, but for filing the return.

Small Business Tax Preparation Explained

Small business tax preparation will be different from individual tax returns. Filing a return can be a confusing process for first-timers. Follow this guide to ensure the small business taxes are filed correctly.

Your small business is counting on you, so keep coming back for more informing articles like this.

Whether a business is small or big, every business and businessmen needed to handle the accounts appropriately. So that they always have security from any mishappening ever occur in the future. An accountant will help you to manage your finance in the most appropriate, effective, and efficient manner. Whether you are a company owner or entrepreneurs or any freelancers, you all need to manage your accounts which is a crucial task present era. The future of the whole business relies on the proper management of funds and an excellent financial position. For coping with going concern rule, a firm must go with a professional accountant who is like a rock. A balance between the company and its place in the market will be there. Not only this, but an accountant is also burdened with the responsibility of thinking for the betterment of the concern always this helps the owners to take bit rest and focus on other crucial decisions waiting further. So it’s better to find a professional and experienced accountant as it has countless benefits.

Here are some benefits of hiring a professional accountant:-

• Business planning and growth

Business is all about funds and financial requirements. A professional accountant will be proved as an asset when it comes to planning for the growth of the company. They know the channels of acquiring as well as investment better enough as they deal with the accounts of the organization daily. It just does not help the business to grow but also helps in good business plans to follow to acquire great results further.

• Comprehensive accounting knowledge

Whether you are having a small, mid-size, or large organizations or business, you still need to maintain your accounts, well as it is essential for everyone. When you hire a professional chartered accountants to handle your accounts, they come up with their excellent knowledge and expertise, which makes them do the job most beneficially. They help you from basic to general like from proper bookkeeping, tax management as well as business advisers too. It makes them professional enough towards their job, which is beneficial for the business owners as well.

• Expertise in taxation

For every business owner, the biggest hurdle or discrepancies that happen in their whole accounting system is improper tax knowledge and tax management. This hurdle can be rectified with the help of taking the professional help of an accountant who’s job revolves majorly around giving the best advice regarding taxation to its clients. They have excellent detailed knowledge regarding this which seems to be crucial for an owner.

• Save time

As a saying is “time is money” it is just not money; it is more an opportunity for every small and big business enterprise. The hiring of professional accountants is one step towards growth and grabbing tremendous opportunities as they reduce the burden from the owner’s head so that they can easily focus on other more important things and decisions. Accounts or accounting need so much of time, focus, and attention which can’t be possible for everyone to give every time giving a timely check is different than being indulged in accounts always.

Many young people are still trying to choose their ideal career paths. A lot of older people are considering career changes as well. Many people have narrowed their options down to those in the technology sector. The appeal of working in STEM is clearly understandable. The technology profession is growing exponentially. There are more career options available than ever and this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

However, selecting the perfect job in the technology profession can still be quite a challenge. Part of the problem is that there are so many technology jobs to choose from and opportunities vary considerably. The breadth of new employment opportunities in the technology field is growing every year.

If you are interested in working in technology, then you need to be informed about your options. You should focus on choosing a career with great job security and financial stability. These companies tend to be the fastest growing.

What Are the Best Careers for People Interested in Tech?

You need to do a lot to get a career in tech. You need to learn the right skills and master the best applications, such as JFrog. You also need to know your options and choose your career wisely.

Here are some of the fastest growing technology jobs for the next few years.

Database administrator

Indeed.com rates database administrators as one of the fastest growing technology jobs in the United States. The company projects that the demand for these jobs is going to grow 15% within the next two years.

One of the great things about pursuing a career as a database administrator is that you don’t have to be a technology genius. You obviously need some strong technology skills, but they are not as complex as those required by more advanced computer science professionals. You can get a career as a database administrator with just a bachelor’s degree in management information systems, which is not nearly as rigorous or mathematically intensive as a computer science degree.

You can get a career as a database administrator with just a bachelor’s degree in management information systems (MIS), which is not nearly as rigorous or mathematically intensive as a computer science degree. You don’t need to take calculus level classes for these careers.

Machine learning engineers

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are becoming far more important in the years ahead. Countless companies in every industry are investing in technology. The market for artificial intelligence is expected to grow by 42.2% between 2020 and 2027.

The market for machine learning engineers is going to grow even faster than the market size for the technology itself. The number of new jobs increased nearly 350% between 2015 and 2018. It is likely to increase it even faster rate as market growth accelerates.

Software developers

Software development is an admittedly broad career, which encompasses a wide range of job opportunities for people with various technology skills. Software developers have different career paths and opportunities, depending on the programming languages that they are proficient with.

However, people considering a career and tech can still narrow down their options considerably by opting for a career as a software developer. Without accounting for specialties or programming language proficiencies, job growth is expected to be 26% until 2026.

Computer systems analyst

Computer systems analysts have a variety of responsibilities. They play an important role in the design of information systems and the solutions that make them more efficient. They also address a variety of concerns, such as digital security.

These professionals are somewhat multidisciplinary. In addition to having competencies in computer science, they also have a background in business.

The market for computer systems analysts is growing considerably. It is expected to grow 26% in the next two years alone.

Pursue the Tech Careers with the Greatest Promise

There are a number of great career options as a technology professional. You need to focus on those that offer the greatest job security, which means that the demand will increase in the near future. The jobs listed above are some of the most promising.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with a bachelor’s degree is roughly half that for those with just a high school diploma. The implication is clear: the better education a person has, the better their chances of finding successful employment.

But college isn’t cheap. Whether you’re a high school student with big plans for yourself or a new parent with big plans for your child, it’s important to start building up a college fund sooner rather than later. It’s a daunting task, one that takes a lot of forethought and, often, a good deal of sacrifice.

Before anyone can help you learn how to save for college, though, it’s important you understand why saving for college is so important.

A College Education is Expensive

As mentioned above, college isn’t cheap. You may think you know that already, but you may not realize just how expensive it is. According to recent U.S. News data, the average yearly cost of attending a public in-state college is $10,116, the yearly cost of a public out-of-state school is $22,577, and the yearly cost of a private college is $36,801. Between 2019 and 2020, most college tuitions increased by about 3-4%, a trend not likely to reverse any time soon.

Why is a college education so expensive? In part it’s because of how important they are in ensuring good employment opportunities. This increases demand, which in turn increases cost. More students requires hiring more instructors and other employees. And state funding programs simply can’t keep up.

Financial Aid is Not a Sure Thing

Thankfully, for many students who otherwise would not be able to attend college, there are numerous state and federal financial aid programs available, most notably grants and work-study programs. But just as many students find themselves in an uncomfortable gray area: their family’s income is too high to qualify them for aid, but too low to afford tuition out of pocket.

Additionally, some economists believe in an idea called “the Bennett hypothesis,” an idea put forth in 1987 by then-Secretary of Education William Bennett. While still debated in political circles, Bennett’s theory—which blames colleges for inflating tuition costs expressly to take advantage of federal financial aid—may have merit. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for every dollar the government adds to financial aid programs, the average tuition increases by 65 cents.

Student Loans Are a Burden

For students who don’t qualify for other forms of financial aid, the most common option comes in the form of federal, state, or private loans. While the first two are significantly preferable to the latter, though, the truth is that none of them are very good options in the long run.

The main reason is the most obvious one. That is, student loans by design cost more money than they provide. It’s advantageous to provide student loans, because growing interest rates mean that the loan provider will likely make all their money back later, plus a tidy profit. You or your loved one, meanwhile, will be stuck paying off that interest for decades. The Department of Education estimates that, on average, it takes students more than 20 years to get free of student debt.

Putting money aside for a college fund now might seem like an unnecessary expense, but it can actually save a lot of time, stress, and cash in the future. Don’t wait. Start saving today.

Can we all agree that investing in real estate has always been and will always be a smart financial decision? I bet you won’t find a soul to disagree with this. It’s not surprising to see that real estate investment is becoming more and more popular. There are quite a few good reasons for that, as explained by this useful source.

I think we can all agree on another fact as well. Not investing is much better than investing poorly. In the first instance, you gain nothing and you lose nothing. In the second scenario, though, you definitely don’t gain anything either, but you can actually lose quite a lot. What would you prefer out of those two?

They say that there’s no profit without taking risks and I must agree with that. Still, this doesn’t mean that you should take reckless risks. Smart risks are what matters and I am more than certain that you won’t know how to take any smart risks when real estate is in question unless you go through certain training programs to teach you.

Yes, you have definitely read that right. There are training programs designed to help you actually learn what you are doing when investing in real estate instead of simply going into the whole process blindly and hoping that everything will work out in your favor. Why not use these trainings to your advantage?

While I cannot tell you why you shouldn’t use these trainings to your advantage, I can definitely tell you why programs such as the one at https://realestateinvestingtrainingprogram.com/ and similar places can be rather useful to you. In other words, I’m here to give you a few reasons why you should get real estate investment training before actually starting to invest. Of course, you can take the trainings even if you have already started and you now feel stuck. Read on to figure out those reasons.

You Will Actually Learn To Make Smart Moves

Let’s get one thing out in the open. All the moves that you are making, or thinking of making, right now in your real estate career without any education are probably not that smart a moves. Sure, you can very well get a few things right and I’m not claiming that you won’t get any profit whatsoever. You could definitely earn some money in the process.

But! If you take the time to do the trainings, you will definitely be able to make much smarter moves. That doesn’t only mean less losses, but also higher profits. That’s the whole point of doing these investments, isn’t it? You want to get great profit and lose as little as possible, and that’s exactly what the trainings are designed to teach you.

You Will Make Less Mistakes

If you’re just getting started in the world of real estate, you are bound to make some mistakes here and there. Hey, nobody can know it all and even the experts can make erroneous judgements and poor choices from time to time. So, don’t let your mistakes discourage you from proceeding down this rather profitable path.

Yet, every professional needs to work towards minimizing those mistakes. There are a lot of reasons to invest in real estate, but there are also a lot of reasons to refrain from investing at particular situations and if you decide to go through the trainings that are offered, you will learn to differentiate between good and bad investment choices. Simply put, you will make a lot less mistakes, which only increases your chances of success.

You Will Get Motivated

I can think of a large number of people just from the top of my head who have thought of entering the real estate market at some point, but they all gave up for one reason or another. Most likely, they lacked motivation. When you enroll in certain training programs, you will definitely get motivated enough to go through with your investment plans, simply because you will be more confident in what you are doing and because you will be eager to see the results of your next move. In other words, you will never lack motivation to earn a profit this way, once you learn how to do it.

Financial abuse inflicted upon older people is a problem that’s growing in scope and severity rather than improving. This trend is likely to maintain as the population of the U.S. ages.

Many studies have looked at the specific reasons older adults are more likely to be vulnerable to financial abuse and scams than younger people. There was one study with 26 subjects that found 13 had been the target of financial scams leading to loss of money.

Then, of those study participants, behavioral tests were administered looking at different areas of brain function like memory, personality, attention span, and mood.

Researchers also did MRIs on each study participant.

There were differences uncovered in the study participants who’d been the victim of financial scams and those who hadn’t.

For example, the MRI scans found differences in areas of the brain that could shed light on why some people are more vulnerable to financial scams as they age than others.

The following are things to know whether you’re an older adult or you’re concerned about your loved one being the victim of a financial scam or abuse.

Know the Different Types of Scams

Having an understanding of some of the different types of scams that may target seniors is a good starting point to protect yourself or your loved one.

A few examples include:

• Medical or health insurance scams may have a criminal posing as a representative of Medicare or a health insurance company to get someone’s personal information.
• Funeral and cemetery scams may take advantage of a grieving person who’s just lost their spouse. One example of these scams might involve claiming the deceased person had an outstanding debt that needs to be paid.
• Investment schemes often target older people who are planning for retirement and want strategies to best manage their savings. There are scams like the pyramid scheme perpetrated by Bernie Madoff, but there are others as well.
• Phishing emails don’t just target seniors—these scams are unfortunately very successful and pervasive. In a phishing email scam, you might be asked to verify personal information, and the email can look extremely legitimate. For example, the email might appear to be from the IRS. Then you provide your personal information which is stolen.
• Reverse mortgage scams or other scams targeted at homeowners seek to take advantage of most people’s largest asset, which is their home.

Older adults lose an estimated $36 billion each year to fraud and scams.

Beyond the overtly financial scams listed above, many scammers will try to take advantage of some of those things that can come with age, including loneliness. For example, romantic scams are increasingly common.

An older person might meet someone online, and that person might ask them for money to cover things like medical emergencies.

A topic that’s especially relevant right now is scammers pretending to be the government and asking for personal or account information so they can send out economic relief or stimulus checks. The government won’t ask you for personal information in those cases.

There is something called a grandparent scam in which criminals pretend to be the grandchild of the victim, and they claim that the child needs money right away to help with an emergency. Then, the idea is that the grandparent would wire money to help their grandchild.

Who Commits Elder Financial Abuse?

There are criminals who target older adults with scams, but perhaps even scarier than that is the fact that around two-thirds of financial crimes directed at older adults are carried out by people they trust including caretakers, family members, friends, and attorneys.

How Can Seniors Protect Themselves?

Having a social network is one of the best ways to protect yourself or to help your loved one stay protected from financial scams.

Everyone needs a social network they can rely on, but especially older people. The more isolated an older person is, the more likely it is that someone will take advantage of them.

When seniors stay socially engaged they have people to talk about different financial topics with, and that can then provide them with feedback that may help them recognize a scam.

If you’re an older person, before you ever come to a point where you need it, you should go ahead and have a few people or at least one person that you do trust to help you with your finances when the time comes that you need that help.

You can create a power of attorney for the person, or set them as the successor trustee of your living trust.

When you have a team of people already in place that you trust, it leaves fewer opportunities for someone to take advantage of you.

Other tips to protect yourself against financial scams or help your loved one do so include:

• Be aware of the risk from strangers, but also the people closest to you.
• Don’t isolate yourself and stay involved with the community.
• Never buy something from a company or organization you aren’t familiar with. If someone calls you and attempts to sell you something, ask them to send you information in writing.
• You can visit the Do Not Call site to stop telemarketers from being able to contact you.
• Be careful about the mail you receive. If you have a habit of letting mail sit in your mailbox, someone can steal it and use it to get your personal information in other ways.
• Use direct deposit for your benefit checks, so they aren’t stolen if they come in the mail.
• Don’t ever provide your personal information including banking, credit card, Medicare, or Social Security information over the phone unless you’re the one who made the call and you know you’re speaking to the right organization.

Finally, if you’re concerned about your loved one being the victim of financial scams, look for warning signs such as unpaid bills, or changes in the person’s accounts like sudden use of a credit card.

Sometimes real estate can be a hit or miss. The industry is either doing fantastic or, other times, it might be struggling, head barely above water. But one thing is for certain: real estate is essential, and it’s here to stay no matter what the industry currently reflects.

That being said, if you’re interested in investing in real estate, you must understand the ins and outs of the industry. We recommend starting off familiarizing yourself with the following real estate investment risks, whether you’re looking to invest in commercial property or even in a residence.

1. Asset-Level Risk

Often, the overall demand for different types of housing plays a big role in whether or not a specific real estate investment is going to be risky or not. For example, even in bad economies, the demand for housing in an apartment complex is generally good. As for other types of housing, this may not always hold true.

2. Credit Risk

How long and how solid of an income property has can definitely affect its value and, therefore, its overall price.

3. General Market Risk

The real estate market is always going to fluctuate depending on numerous factors including current interest rates, inflation, deflation, and other various trends that often occur in the market, some of which are difficult to control or are even inevitable.

4. Idiosyncratic Risk

This has to do with the risk factor of a particular property. As an example, if a property is currently under construction or poses the danger that must be restored, it will be difficult, or even impossible, to rent out the property as it’s not in a currently livable condition. In this case, this property would be considered a risk to invest in.

5. Leverage Risk

How much debt is on the property you’re looking to invest in? The more debt it has, the riskier it is. In the case of a high leverage risk, investors may find themselves in deep financial trouble if they take a leap of faith and invest if they don’t fully understand the risk and work extra hard to ensure return on investments are greater than the property’s interest payments.

6. Replacement Cost Risk

There’s only so much and so far a property’s value can be driven up by the market before the building eventually becomes old, worn, and rugged and requires reconstruction to keep up with its competitors. What goes up must come back down eventually.

7. Structural Risk

What investment financial structure (mix of debt and equity) does a property have? And what rights does it offer? Out of everyone, it’s the equity holders who typically experience the most risk.

8. Liquidity Risk

The number of market participants can greatly affect the investment risk of a property. Even with poorer market conditions, there are some cities (particularly, those that are more populated and/or more wealthy) that are actively willing to participate in the real estate market.

Conclusion

If you truly want to succeed when investing in real estate, you must understand what the risks are. The more you know about the upsides and downsides of real estate, the better likelihood you’ll adapt to its ever-changing market and, ultimately, succeed.