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You’re not alone if you’re asking the million dollar question; “How am I going to make more money?”! In fact this question is on the minds of so many of us. Now some of us are thinking about it, because we are strapped for cash not able to make ends meet and get by every month without landing ourselves in the read. While others ask themselves this question as a way of improving their financial status and security.

Discovering new ways to make more money can be really exciting, especially if you’re thinking creatively and out of the box. But before you jump the gun, take a look at your money earning strategies that you currently have and see how those can be improved, before adding more to your repertoire!

Sometimes we get so comfortable in our jobs that we lose track at what our markets offer in terms of salary, and we forget about other opportunities that could improve our income. Perhaps it’s time to give some thought into changing your job. When you have a job and you’re looking for a new job, you have the luxury of being picky and asking for exactly what you need! When you’re hired for a new position, after demand an increase on your previous income, you have automatically changed your earning potential for future positions, as you continue to move up the ladder. If you’re too nervous to jump ship, then see if your boss is willing to bump up your salary. A raise in dollars can go a long way!

So often, we have a full time job which is our primary focus, that we lose track of other money making opportunities, because we aren’t really looking for them. If you’re looking to make more money, then you need to change your mindset and actively seek out opportunities that will help you to do this. With every job we have we own a set of skills, and things that we do well. So why not use that to your advantage and try to find so freelance work in your free time, to add to your already steady stream of income.

Adding onto that idea, is to really give some thought, if you haven’t already, to the things that you are good at doing. Offering services, either locally or online have shown to be the quickest way to increase your cash flow. People like to hire others for short term projects, to help them do things that they aren’t so good at themselves. When you find what you’re good at, offer that service to others, or offer an online course to help others gain the skills that for you are so simple. In our society today we are taught not to brag and it’s sometimes seen as egotistical to say that you’re good at something. But when it comes to making extra cash, it’s important to be clear on what you’re good at and to not be afraid to publicise it.

Overview

Mutual funds are one of the best ways for people to enjoy a high rate of return over the long term. A mutual fund is generally a collection of stocks that are chosen by the fund manager. There are some fees associated with investing in a mutual fund, but generally the rate of return that is offered will offset the higher fees. One of the most important things for any investors to do is to reevaluate the mutual funds that are owned every year. Over the long term, this can be a great way to take a look at the overall strategy that is in place with your investments. Here are several reasons why this is so important.

Diversification

Having a diversified portfolio is one of the most important aspects of earning a solid return over time. There are many people who have too much of their portfolio invested in one type of mutual fund. Spreading out the capital that is invested in various mutual funds is a great way to diversify the funds that a person owns. Over the long term, a diversified portfolio generally has lower rates of risk than portfolios that are not diversified.

Better Selection

Over time, an investor can have a better selection of funds by looking at them every year. Although the past is the best way to gauge the future, there are some funds that have performed well in the past that are not performing well now. This would only be noticed by taking a hard look at the funds that are owned by a person. By taking an unbiased look, an investor can decide to reallocate his or her funds into different sectors of the market. This can make a huge difference over time in the rate of return that is offered by the investments.

Rate of Return

The rate of return that an investor earns on his or her portfolio is one of the most important metrics to follow. There are many different ways in which the rate of return can be increased. Always make sure that a portfolio is diversified over the long term. In addition, there is a correlation between risk and return. Younger investors can afford to take on a higher level of risk because they have more time to recover from the risk. This is important to keep in mind for those who are just starting out investing. By looking at all of your funds every year, this is a great opportunity to invest in those funds that will go up more in the future. Over the long term, this will help to boost the rate of return that is earned.

Final Thoughts

Mutual funds are a great way to have a diversified portfolio that has a proven track record of success. However, it is important to choose the correct mutual funds to invest in. There are many different sectors and funds for investors to choose from. One of the best ways to keep a portfolio working over time is to constantly reevaluate the investments that are made. This is one of the best things that any investor can do in order to have a high rate of return over the long term.

Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who focuses on personal finance and other money matters. She currently writes for Checkworks.com, a leading supplier of personal and business checks.

Buying a car is not a simple decision to make and you have probably spent quite a bit of time thinking about it. From choosing the type of car you want to thinking about how to finance it, you need to put a lot of serious thought into the decision you are making. Once you have settled on make of vehicle that you want, it is time to start thinking about how to pay for it. So which is the best financing option for you?

Buy in cash or savings?

Buying your car on your savings is the best option when interest rates are low on your savings account yet you have enough savings. It is much better than keeping the savings with a low interest rate and borrowing a personal loan at a higher interest rate to buy the car. You can also combine your savings with a personal loan that covers a partial cost of the vehicle.

It is advisable to only use your savings when you have enough to leave some for emergency costs after paying for the car. If you do not have enough savings to pay for the entire price, you can use it to give the biggest deposit possible and reduce the car loan repayment amount.

Personal Loans

Personal loans are the cheapest way to finance a vehicle if you have a great credit score. Personal loans are available from banks, building societies and other finance providers. Avoid securing personal loans against your home as you will be at risk of losing it if you do not make your payments on time. You can shop around for personal loans from the different institutions available. The only challenge with taking out personal loans is that it may take some time to receive the funds and it will affect your other borrowing options.

Hire purchase

This is a way of buying certified pre-owned cars through paying in installments. You need to put down a deposit and make the rest of the payments for the vehicle between 12-60 months. Hire purchase programs are arranged by the vehicle dealers and can be very competitive for brand new cars. You do not own the vehicle until you make your last payment.

Hire purchase is a great option for you if you are in a rush to purchase your vehicle and cannot wait for finance provider protocols. The deposit can be as low as 10% with flexible repayment terms and competitive interest rates. The only challenge with hire purchase is that it may turn out be more expensive for short-term agreements.

Personal contract plan

A personal contract plan is a special car financing option that is a variation of the hire purchase option but with lower monthly payments. This personal contract plan is where you agree to pay the difference between its sale price and price for resale back to the dealer based on a forecast of annual mileage. It is a short term plan usually with a maximum of 36 six months after which you can give back the vehicle to the dealer at no extra cost, trade in the vehicle for another one or pay the resale cost of the vehicle and keep it. This payment plan is great if you do not want to settle on one type of vehicle, it is also much cheaper with a choice of what to do at the end of the payment period.

Grace Malloy is a loan officer with a lending firm. You can read more about your car financing options at Ideal Auto USA.

The business environment in most cases is extremely dynamic and fiercely competitive. It is not unusual for business to fold up even after making a great start. Many retail businesses need to keep on experimenting with location, and hence may be found to be closing down one store only to open up another one somewhere else. The reason for wanting to terminate commercial property leases can be varied; the business at that location could be bleeding money, or the demographics may have changed substantially, or the competition may have been too hot. Businesses need to enter into commercial leases for property all the time and may also need to foreclose them a lot many times too. Before walking out of the lease, you should carefully consider a number of things:

What Do You Really Want?

Closing a business at a particular location could often be the solution that is obvious but one that is not necessarily always right. Before even attempting to discuss the lease termination, be sure that you have considered every option available to you. If the reason for moving out is a need for more space, then your landlord could come to your rescue with offer for a fresh space and facilitate the lease termination. It is also important to evaluate if the necessity of terminating the lease is born out of personal circumstances rather than commercial ones. It is important for you to understand the real reasons for the change as this will give you a platform for effectively negotiating with the landlord.

Quantify Lease Termination Benefits

The option of terminating your lease can only be beneficial if the savings you get out of it is more than the compensation required to be paid to the landlord. The only way you can arrive at a rational decision is if you can quantify the value accruing to you so that you do not end up paying more than what you are benefiting by. One way of calculating the benefit is by finding the difference between the net profits expected to be delivered by the new location over the old one. If the reason for lease termination is to get time to attend to personal issues, then you would need to establish if the monetary loss on account of the termination is more than offset by what you are trying to achieve after you close down your business.

Identify the Landlord’s Financial Impact

To ensure that you are able to negotiate to good lease termination it is also necessary for you to establish the impact of the termination on the landlord. The most obvious is that he would lose out on the lease rentals till such time he can get a new tenant to occupy the space and start paying the rentals. If the business environment is down, then he may not get the same rental as what you had been paying, however the opposite could be equally true if the space is commercially attractive. Lease termination negotiation goes better of you can get an idea of the redeployment opportunities available to the landlord.

Compensate Your Landlord

Among the ways you can add value to the solving the landlord’s predicament is find creative solutions to what the landlord could do with the space becoming available. If you have been able to assess the location constraints that led to your business failing and how other business can thrive in the same property, you may be able to convince the landlord to change the usage of the space and get a better income stream. You could also tap the local real estate brokers for market information, including the duration that the landlord is likely to take to find a new tenant and the sort of rentals he can expect to derive out of his property. You could also try and identify a prospective tenant for him who can take over your lease. There are a number of internet resources that you can take the assistance of to locate a prospective lessee.

Nancy Mulligan is the senior business reporter at one of the top financial dailies. She periodically writes on trends in commercial real estate and financing. She also consults for leasequit.com.