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Are you planning to make your first investment? If so, there are several things you need to consider to ensure that your venture is successful. As a first-time investor, you may face obstacles along the way, although these can easily be avoided if you stick to these guidelines.

Using capital you cannot afford

One of the biggest mistakes many first-time investors make is taking the approach of ‘go big or go home’, resulting in a significant investment that can bring with it financial difficulty. This is because they do not take all of their outgoings into account, as not only is a larger property more expensive, but it is also much more costly to manage.

The best advice for first timers is to start small with an apartment, or at least invest in a property you can afford. So, before choosing the property, you should consider every outgoing, including your purchase price, property management fees, renovation costs and more. You can then compare to this to your potential returns, which includes rental income and capital appreciation. This will allow you to work out your estimated net yield. First, take your expected annual income and minus your outgoings. You must then divide this calculation by the property price and multiply it by 100. This will help you establish whether your investment is worthwhile, or if your profits are not sufficient, you should look at properties elsewhere.

Lack of diversity

Once you’ve invested in your first successful property, you will most likely get the investment bug and want to expand your portfolio. This is when big mistakes are made, as many investors believe that because their first property was successful, they should invest in something similar. However, just because the first investment worked out well does not mean the same will happen for your second purchase. Instead, you should try your best to diversify, for example, if you invested in a semi-detached home the first time, why not consider purchasing an apartment next? This will cater to a completely different tenant market, and could even offer you even better returns.

To help you invest successfully, you should seek advice from property experts like RW Invest, who help their clients to diversify with their luxury apartments and off-plan developments, enabling an impressive portfolio. This allows investors to reduce their risk, especially if one type of property faces a decline, as they can fall back on their other investments and still reap lucrative returns.

Making impatient decisions

Whether you’re investing for the first time or the tenth, it is important to be patient and choose a property carefully. This avoids the issue of loss, especially with first-time investors who tend to go full-steam-ahead into an investment that they haven’t had the time to research.

Investors should remember to take the slow and steady route, especially in the beginning when you’re still getting to grips with the property market. Taking time to decide will also be more beneficial in the long-run, as being picky will allow you to benefit from both short-term and long-term financial advantages.

Economic freedom and a debt-free lifestyle is everyone’s dream. You can achieve financial freedom and increase your savings for future use through proper budgeting. No amount of money is ever enough to satiate your needs and irrespective of our income, you should always save money for rainy days. A carefully crafted budget and being disciplined in your plans will enable you to save money and get out of debts. The following are some money saving tips, which will lead you to financial freedom.

Planning

Proper budgeting is a critical step towards controlling your finances. You can quickly outline your expenses in a month to form the budget’s baseline. A reasonable budget should cater for some savings after allocating funds for all the expenses. Prioritizing your basic needs as well as other needs requires discipline. This will control your costs and enable you to live within your income.

Personal Savings

Coming up with a good plan will enable you to save at least 10% of your monthly income. Total expenses should not exceed your income, and in the case it does, you need to review the budget to cut back on the non-essential expenditures. You should make it a habit to set aside some savings for future use. For example, if you’re looking for English teaching jobs in Taiwan, you can use the saved money for your transport and accommodation expenses.

Account for your expenses

Every dollar spent should be accounted for to realize some savings. Keeping track of your costs can easily pick any wasteful expenditure, which you can quickly pinpoint and cut out. Categorizing expenses will help in meeting your needs and organizing yourself. Expenditures can be grouped in terms of monthly bills like electricity, gas, house rent to transport, food, and so on. Without a proper tracking mechanism, you may not be able to save money. Several tools can be used to track down your expenses like an Excel worksheet or mobile phone apps installed freely on your mobile device.

Never spend more than your income

This is the secret to achieving financial success, and without which, you will always be in debts. At no given time should your expenses exceed your income, and if it happens, you will have to borrow money with interest to cover your needs. Also, this will create a hole in your income as you have to cater to the loan and the interest amount. If the process becomes cyclic, you might take forever to pay up your credits.

Debts payment plan

To clear off debts, you should prioritize the debts to repay first. Outlining liabilities in terms of the highest debts, interest rate, or period of repayments can help you get out of debt faster. Doing secondary jobs will go a long way on your debt repayment plan as you will have some extra cash to pay for your debts.

Conclusion

The most important means of becoming financially independent is to spend less than you earn. Budgeting will help control your money. If you’re traveling to seek English teaching jobs in Taiwan, you can use your saved money for the expenses such as accommodation.

It’s undeniable that the construction industry is booming. Over the past years, the demand for construction services is continuously growing, making it one of the most lucrative industries today. For this reason, many entrepreneurs venture into the world of the construction industry. If you’re one of the many, then you know that you need construction business loans to survive in a cutthroat environment.

The best way to keep your business afloat in the midst of heavy competition is to secure financing and aggressively market your business. With that said, here are four innovative ways to do so:

1. Be a Part of an Industry Association

Industry associations usually have resource hubs where contractors can network and make quality connections that will eventually lead to success. This is especially true since building relationships and making connections are important in the construction industry. Additionally, members are often allowed to advertise or market their services at low or no cost.

2. Remember Your Existing Clients and Leads

Contractors are often caught up with everyday business operations that they tend to overlook the simplest marketing strategy: following up your current leads and clients. Failing to follow up on current leads means you’re possibly missing out on great business opportunities. Likewise, you should also contact customers a few months after doing business with them. Check in and ask them if you can help them with anything. A simple call or email would suffice. When customers are happy with your service, it can lead to more business and you can even ask for referrals.

3. List Your Business in Online Directories

When a potential customer searches for the best construction company in the area, search engines often show you online directories rather than individual websites. One way to market your construction business is to list it in online directories. When listing your business, include your name, address, contact number, business hours, etc. and leave no detail behind. The details you include can affect your ranking in the directory, so make sure to double check everything. Check your online listing regularly to answer questions and respond to customer feedback.

4. Be Specific When Advertising Your Business

It’s easy to be overwhelmed when advertising your business. Some entrepreneurs list every single service they offer in their ads, but this strategy can actually backfire. Telling your target market that you can do everything can actually be boring and it can even scare customers away. The most effective way is to advertise your skills one at a time. By advertising in small fractions, you can keep your target customers engaged, which increased the likelihood of them availing the services you offer.

The Best Construction Business Loans for Your Business

When running a construction business, you need working capital to stay afloat in a competitive industry. SMB Compass offers construction business loans for businesses throughout the United States. Our trusted financial advisors can help answer the questions you have in mind. Feel free to call us (888) 853-8922 or email us at info@smbcompass.com to know more.

While one takes a holiday to relax and get away from the grind of everyday life, unexpected can happen anywhere. Therefore, it is important that you invest in a good travel insurance policy before you fly out for the well-deserved holiday. But a lot of jargon associated with travel insurance can leave you confused. Worry not, here is a quick glossary to help you with the most common terms.

Annual multi-trip cover: A policy that is valid for a period of one year from the policy start date, and covers multiple overseas trips taken during this period. Typically, these policies have a limit on how long each trip can be, and they should start and end in India. If a medical condition arises during the policy period, the insurer needs to be informed even if it was when the insured was not on a trip.

Baggage and belongings: A baggage and belongings (or baggage and personal effects) cover protects you against loss, damage or theft of your belonging either while you are on holiday or during transit. Check your policy document to be sure of the maximum coverage provided. There could also be a single article limit. You should check this if you are carrying any expensive items (like a camera) with you.

Cancellation and curtailment: Two of the important events covered by travel insurance policy. If for any reason you have to cancel your travel plans or have to cut short your trip, the insurer would refund all your prepaid expenses. The cancelation/ curtailment can happen due to a number of reasons like a family member falling sick or your leaves at the office being canceled. Do check the policy wordings to be sure of the scenarios that may not be covered.

Delay: If your flight is delayed by over 6 hours, your travel insurance would pay you a compensation. The delay is typically calculated based on scheduled arrival time at the destination, and not based on departure times. The minimum delay for which the insurance cover is invoked varies from policy to policy. Some travel insurances also cover incidental costs resulting from the delay, so make sure to keep any spending receipts you get during the delay.

Geographical limit: This is the destinations for which your travel insurance policy is valid. For example, if the geographical limit for your policy is the United States of America, the policy will only cover loss events in the country and travel to and from the country. Make sure the geographical limit for your policy includes all the nations you plan to travel to. A dependable insurance provider such as Bharti AXA GI helps secure trips to more than 130 countries.

Hazardous activities: Any activities that increase the risk of injury to yourself or to others. Such activities are typically excluded from travel insurance policies. Before you book any such activity, check with your insurer if it is covered or not. You can always invest in an add-on to cover such activities include any adventure sports activity.

Maximum policy coverage: This refers to the maximum compensation that a policy would provide towards a given expense. Make sure you are comfortable with the limits put by the policy you choose.

Personal liability cover: This term is common across many different kinds of insurance policies. In the context of travel insurance, it means that if you cause damage to someone else on your trip the insurer will cover the costs if they make a claim against you.

Pre-existing medical condition: Any medical condition that was diagnosed or treated before you purchased the travel insurance is called a pre-existing medical condition. It is important to declare such conditions to your insurer as hiding them may lead to claims being rejected.

Repatriation: Repatriation means arranging for your return home for any reason. If you get injured or fall ill during your trip, the insurer will arrange for repatriation, if required.

Usual, customary and reasonable charges: The insurers typical refund only “usual, customary and reasonable charges”. This is nothing but the prevailing amounts charged for a service at a given location in a similar facility.

Running a small business can be incredibly stressful. Indeed, a study by Office works revealed that 45% of Australian small business owners feel that their stress levels have climbed in the last year.

Naturally, the problems often stem from a shortage of cash. Getting a good business loan can be a huge help, but which type should you be most interested in?

No Assets? Try an Unsecured Bank Loan

This is a traditional bank loan. It isn’t secured against any assets or property, which means that it is a fairly high risk option from the lender’s point of view. If you don’t pay it back they will need to fight to get back their money.

Because of this, unsecured loans are typically more expensive than the secured type. They can also be awkward to arrange since the bank will have strict lending criteria. However, if you don’t have any assets it can be a decent option.

Got Assets? Ask for Secured Bank Loan

In theory, a secured bank loan should be quicker and a little bit easier to sort out than unsecured borrowing. The bank has the security of your assets, so it should also offer a lower rate and might offer a higher loan amount as well.

If you have assets then this can be a good choice. Yet, don’t expect it to be exactly easy to arrange. Banks usually aren’t the best option if you need to get hold of some money urgently and with little paperwork to be completed.

Poor Credit History? Get a No Credit Check Loan

This is a fast and easy type of small business loan. You are using an asset such as a vehicle of machinery as collateral. So, a no credit check loan can be sorted out pretty much instantly if you are in a hurry to get some cash flowing into the business.

It is a smart move when you have available assets but your credit history is poor. There is no need to jump through any hoops at the bank either, so if time is of the essence you will have fewer worries.

Want a Modern Approach? Peer to Peer Lending

This is a fairly modern approach to business borrowing that is now made available from a number of different internet sites. On the positive side, interest rates tend to be lower than with banks.

On the other hand, the lack of financial regulation in this sector of the industry might be off-putting for some people. In addition, it is sometimes necessary to take the loan out as an individual rather than in the name of the business.

A Slow Period of the Year? Look at Invoice Financing

Some businesses go through periodic slow periods when orders dry up and funds get tight. Invoice financing is a type of business loan that has been created to deal with this specific situation.

It is a way of borrowing against the money that you are due to collect from customers. Some firms that offer this facility will even take over the responsibility for collecting the money due to you on outstanding invoices.

Summary

There are now sensible borrowing method for small business with varying needs and situations. It is always worth taking some time to consider all of the available types of loan first of all.