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No one ever wants to think that something terrible might befall them or their family, or even their car, flat or home, but unfortunately, these things do happen. Many wind up in quite large amounts of debt, or even bankruptcy, simply because something that they were unprepared for happened, be it an illness, a car accident, or even a home repair disaster.

In most cases, insurance will cover the necessary damages, but not always, and that is where the concept of having an emergency fund comes into play. An emergency fund, also called a rainy day fund by some, is basically just as it sounds a stash of money which has been saved and is to be used in the event of an emergency.

Many people stockpile their emergency fund for things like sudden car repairs, say on the way to the office the brakes on your automobile start squeaking, unless you have planned for brake replacements, or have your rainy day fund in place, it could be quite difficult to just reach into the wallet and fork over hundreds of pounds for an unexpected issue. Home repair problems are another big source of uses for any emergency fund, a flooded shower, a termite infestation, a hole in the roof, are all things that can put any sort of emergency fund to use quickly.

And in this volatile economy, building up an emergency fund is an intelligent idea for if another deep market fluctuation occurs and jobs are made redundant, getting sacked, while certainly an unexpected disappointment, might not be quite as terrible if a few months mortgage were sitting in the rainy day fund.

So how to get started, right then, first things first, take a look at your budget and determine just how much funds you will be able to put away. Next, set up an automatic withdrawal from your account, preferably right at the same time you might receive each pay check, then you won’t even know the money was ever there. Set up these withdrawals each month, or even every two weeks. After six months or so of saving, you will be pleasantly surprised to find such a tidy sum sitting in your emergency fund.

The goal of this fund is really to never use it. Do not borrow from the emergency fund to go on holiday, or buy the family Christmas gifts, the funds in that account are only be used in case of an emergency. Once this fund is set up, you will be able to rest easily that if any unexpected crisis were to occur, you would be able to finance it with the money in your emergency fund (or at least partially finance it), and not skip much of a beat in your regular financial life. It is a piece of mind that is relatively painless to set up and get going.

Many new business owners think their business credit score is just numbers that fluctuate. Well it is much more, your business credit score can make or break you financially. Your credit score is numbers that tells lenders how well you have been at paying your bills and helps them to determine if they would like to offer you a loan. A low credit score lowers your chances but with a high credit score you are open up great financing options to your business.

What is a Business Credit Score?

Your business’s credit score is number that shows lender just how well you have been at meeting your payments and how heavy your business debt is. Lenders or other agencies looking to do business with you can take a quick look at your business’s credit score and determine if they would like to offer you a loan or what type of loan you would qualify for. Your credit score lets these lenders know if your business is a good risk or not, if your worthwhile to invest in.

The Importance of A Good Business Credit Score

In our ever changing economy lending is not what it once was, today your business needs a high credit score just to be considered for a business loan. The higher your credit score the more financing benefits you will have such as low interest rates, better terms and conditions, larger loan amounts as well as better odds of approval.

How to Maintain A Good Business Credit Score

Keeping track of your businesses finances, not over borrowing and making large payments early or on time is great for your credit rating. Your credit score is based off your business payment history and borrowing history so if your business borrows beyond your means and makes minimum payments late or not at all your credit score is going to suffer. To keep a good clean credit score keep up your finances with on time or early payments for over the minimum amount, then you can sit back and watch your score increase as well as increase your businesses financing options.

It didn’t take long for social networking to hit the financial world in a meaningful way. No, it’s not a new app for your smartphone that lets you take a picture of a check and then deposit it into your bank account. As cool as that is, SmartyPig is at least twice as cool. Read on for proof.

What is SmartyPig?

SmartyPig (smartypig.com) is a goal-oriented internet-based savings account fully protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) just like the savings account at your local bank. What differentiates a SmartyPig savings account from traditional savings accounts is the unique social networking component attached to each account.

Set a goal for yourself

Aren’t all savings accounts goal-oriented? Sure, but not in the same manner as a SmartyPig savings account. When you setup a SmartyPig account you immediately identify a goal for the money. Want a new laptop computer? Make that the goal. Want to take a holiday cruise? Then that’s your goal.

After your savings goal has been identified, simply enter in the amount of your goal and the day you want to reach it.

Social Networking

What makes the SmartyPig savings accounts a zillion times more fun than a traditional savings account is that you get to share your goal with all your friends on Facebook! Just try and pretend that isn’t awesome.

But the Facebook fun doesn’t end there. Not only can your friends share in your goal by encouraging you to stay on track to achieve your goal, they can also contribute to your financial success. Just imagine 1,000 of your closest friends each contributing just one dollar each to your success. Okay, it’s probably not quite that easy, but you get the gist of how the social networking component works.

Retail Partners

Another exciting part of a SmartyPig savings account is the retailer shops that have jumped on board with cash-back savings of up to 11% on purchases, and it’s no small number of stores. Here’s a partial list:

* Amazon.com (3%)
* Banana Republic (10%)
* Gap (10%)
* Macy’s (11%)
* Old Navy (5%)
* Sports Authority (5%)
* Travelocity Hotel Gift Card (10%)

Here’s how this program works. Let’s say you have saved $1,000, reaching your goal for a vacation. When you transfer that money, as an example, to a Travelocity Hotel Gift Card you instantly get an additional 10 percent—$100 dollars—added to the gift card. That’s $1,100 to put towards your hotel. Sweet, right? Of course it is.

Interest Account

To top off everything you’ve read so far about SmartyPig savings accounts, they also pay a very competitive annual yield of 0.70% on any balance below $50,000. Accounts exceeding $50,000 earn an annual yield of 0.50%, making SmartyPig savings accounts among the most competitive in the industry.

So, what are you waiting for? Do you have a financial goal that could really get exciting with SmartyPig, your friends on Facebook, and cash back from great retail partners? Visit smartypig.com for all the details and set a plan into motion to reach your goals.

A career in finance offers a wide range of potential paths. From payroll and bookkeeping to major corporate investment strategies, the world of capital, expenditure and fiscal procedure is a varied one. However, there are some essential skills that anyone looking to forge a working life in finance would do well to master, and which will give an excellent skill base whichever route in the field they choose.

It may sound a little disingenuous, but the first skill anyone must master is a sound understanding of financial terminology and processes. Building on mathematical skills learnt at school, college courses in finance and business will introduce the financial tools utilized in areas such as taxes, estate planning, investments, international finance, and the legal ramifications in each area. Given that areas of the finance industry often intersect, a thorough grounding in a wide range of financial disciplines is a great start to your career.

Because finance relies on a clear understanding of figures and analysis how numerical values are related, a good eye for detail and the ability to focus on small elements are necessary skills. A single slip in a set of data may have severe ramifications. You must also be organized in your work so that you have information to hand and your workflow can be understood when exported to clients or colleagues.

Finance is often a specialized sort of field, one in which particular knowledge is accrued to make the employee a valuable asset. As such, communication skills are required so that you can easily assimilate information and present it to those who may not have the same level of technical understanding. This is particularly essential for those who choose to work in consumer finance, advising members of the public on pensions or investments, for example. Even those working within financial institutions will often need to communicate relevant information to other departments and individuals within the firm or to provide comprehensive details of their analytical framework and processes, so the ability to present clearly, comprehensively and concisely really helps. Individuals working in finance who wish to set up their own business or go freelance will need good communication skills to help network and forge industry links.

Project management is another vital skill to develop for a career in finance. You are likely to need to integrate with other departments, to work to deadlines and to collaborate with colleagues.

These days, the vast majority of financial work is done on computers. From simple accounting practices to international futures trading, computers and their software are the tools of the industry. Mastery of Excel will allow you to present data sheets and reports, while accounting programs vary between businesses, but may include programmes such as AME, GAAP, Intact and Quicken. With more and more of the financial industries processes migrating to external servers, a knowledge of Cloud computing and SaaS may also be useful.

Once you are in the finance industry, you may enhance your career prospects by specializing in a particular area, developing your skills so that you offer a unique service. Among the areas that are seen as today’s growth sectors are business valuations, mergers and acquisitions, benefits administration and tax planning.

There’s no one among us who would turn down more money. We could all use a little extra cash. Even though we’re all the same in that respect, what we’d do with any extra money would be radically different. All of us have different spending habits and personal finances, and not all of us are very smart with our money. Everyone needs to examine their finances from time to time and look for ways to improve, but some of us need more help than others.

The following are five essential questions you need to ask yourself. If you answer no to all of them, you are in dire need of a financial makeover.

Are you happy with your spending habits?

The first clue that you need a financial makeover is if you’re unhappy with the state of your finances. You might not be able to instantly increase your monthly income, but you can do something about your monthly spending habits. If you’re not satisfied with how you’re spending, it’s time to do something about it by taking a very close look at where your money is going.

Do you have a six-month emergency fund?

One of the best things you can do for yourself financially is keep a six-month emergency fund. This fund should have enough money to pay all your bills and cover your entire cost of living for six months, just in case anything was to happen and you lose your income. If you don’t have your emergency fund yet, or if you’re tapping into it now, you probably need to make over your finances.

Are you putting away some savings every month?

Even if you don’t have a six-month emergency fund yet, you should be working toward it regularly. After everything is paid for, do you have money left over? If you do, what do you do with the leftover money? If you aren’t saving any of it, you’re going to have to start. While you should be treating yourself and enjoying your money, at least some of it should get put aside every month.

Do you have a budget?

When your paycheck comes in, do you know where it’s all going? Do you have target dollar amounts for your spending in all categories, like food, clothing, and restaurants? If you don’t, the single best thing you can do for your finances is create a budget. You’ll need to really evaluate your spending habits. When you write everything down, it will be easier to find problem areas, and it will be easier to reach your financial goals.

Are you paying off your debt?

If you have debt, you should be working to pay off a portion of it every month. Hopefully you can afford to pay more than just the minimum payment, too. If your debt is growing, you are in desperate need of a financial makeover. It is possible for you to begin paying off your debt if you make doing so one of your financial priorities as soon as possible.

Alexander Wilson is a small business owner and freelance writer who loves to travel when he can afford it. After saving for a long while he is looking to book himself a trip at one of several hotels in Maldives. His fiance has a love for island resorts and if things go well on this journey he may consider a honeymoon in the Maldives one day.