RSS Feed
My wife and I needed to reduce our overall monthly expenditure due to a change in our personal circumstances. We sat down with a list of our monthly outgoings and a clean sheet of paper and tried to come up with ways that we could achieve the savings required to live within our means. Ideally our plan would save us three hundred pounds a month and we would aim to renegotiate all of our policies plans and utilities and any shortfall would be made up by cutting back on our holiday plans and social lives. We started with our direct debits and logged onto the internet to get a life insurance comparison, mortgage costs and utilities. The savings it’s possible to make were substantial although we weren’t able to save the entire amount we were virtually there and our lifestyle will not suffer tremendously, so we’ll be able to enjoy our lives as much as we did before. With hindsight it’s clear that those who put off carrying out such an exercise are being stupid and wasting money unnecessarily, money that most people can ill afford to give away. It’s not as if there isn’t enough adverts on the television telling us to log onto our computers to compare the price of our car insurance, home insurance and so on.
Tags: Austerity, Car Insurance, Direct Debits, Exercise, Free Life Insurance, Hindsight, Holiday Plans, Home Insurance, Insurance Home, Internet Insurance, Life Insurance Comparison, Lifestyle, Money Free, Mortgage Costs, Outgoings, People, Personal Circumstances, Shortfall, Three Hundred Pounds, Wasting MoneyWith financial austerity beginning to bite save money with a free life insurance comparison
Savings Accounts – Professional Advice
When it comes to savings, you may well find yourself daunted by the sheer variety of ways to invest your money. Particularly if you find yourself with a substantial amount to invest, and are less than confident at dealing with things like the stock market, bonds and trusts, youre likely to gain from professional expertise. The main issue here is trust you want to be sure your money is being used to its full potential and whoever you entrust it to must be someone you have total confidence in.
If you have a basic understanding of how savings and investments work, however, it will be a lot easier to make judgements about the reliability and efficiency of individual advisers.
Independent Financial Advisers
Usually you will not be charged for general advice, but the adviser will gain commission when he or she sells you particular products. Dont be afraid to ask about commissions a good adviser should be open and transparent about such matters. They are duty bound to find out all relevant information about you and then give best advice which means selling you the products that are most suitable for your situation.
Accountants
Accountants normally advise on book keeping and tax, but sometimes also give advice about investments. If involved with investing, they must belong to one of the Recognised Professional Bodies responsible for regulating their business. These include the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Stockbrokers
If you are dealing on the stock market, you will need to buy and sell your shares through a broker. If you want advice on your investments, choose a traditional stockbroker. On the other hand, there are brokers that offer a dealing-only service, and this is a cheaper way to buy and sell shares. Stockbrokers charge a commission on deals, and a traditional brokers service should include advice. www.londonstockexchange.com provides detailed advice and ways to locate a broker.
The Financial Services Authority regulates all these professionals if you are unsure about the credentials or dealings of someone check with them to verify that they are legitimate and are operating fairly. The FSA website also has details of what to do if you are unhappy with the service youve received from a finance professional check www.fsa.gov.uk. Once again, the governments advice site has sound information on the basic principles and links to other information sites. www.direct.gov.uk
Tags: Adviser, Association Of Chartered Certified Accountants, Book Keeping, Brokers Service, Chartered Certified Accountants, Commissions, Financia, Independent Financial Advisers, Institute Of Chartered Accountants, Judgements, Professional Advice, Professional Bodies, Professional Expertise, Sheer Variety, Stock Market, Stockbroker, Stockbrokers, Sure Your Money, Traditional Brokers, Ways To Invest Your MoneyRelated posts
Your Home Business – Saving Money & Cutting Costs
Running a home business is the ideal path for some entrepreneurs who just want to have more flexibility in their lives. But, in the initial stages money can be tight so how do you ensure that you have a lean, mean fighting machine?
Make Your Home More Energy Efficient – Lag your boiler and insulate your loft. It is actually frightening how much heat is lost through the roof. Buy some thick curtains and close them when the sun goes down. Many local councils offer grants to make your home more energy efficient. Why not give them a call today?
Buy energy saving bulbs & turn the thermostat down by just one degree. Just doing this could save you over a hundred dollars a year. Always turn the light off when you leave the room and never leave appliances on stand by.
Shop around for the best utility suppliers as some offer great deal if you buy all your energy from one place.
Cut Costs on Your Office Supplies – buy basic items in bulk and you could save quiet a bit of money. Ordering your stationary online and receiving credit could also aid your cash flow.
Use price comparison sites when replacing old equipment and look for the most energy efficient models. Printers use a lot of ink so buy one that you can buy cheap generic ink cartridges for.
Save Money on Your Phone Bill – the market for telecommunications has never been so competitive and you could save a bit of money by just changing your supplier. If you make a lot of national calls pay a little extra every month, and get all your local and national calls free.
Use companies like Skype to make and receive free calls. They provide this service by allowing you make calls through your internet connection rather than more traditional means.
Send and receive faxes via your computer rather then printing them out and using an old fashioned fax machine. Better still do all your communication via email!
Most of the tips above are very quick and easy to implement for most home businesses. Some could start saving you money straight away whilst others reduce costs over the longer term and make your business a lean mean fighting machine!
Tags: Boiler, Cash Flow, Curtains, Energy Saving Bulbs, Fax Machine, Faxes, Fighting Machine, Free Calls, Generic Ink Cartridges, Home Businesses, Initial Stages, Internet Connection, Local Councils, Loft, Lot Of Ink, Price Comparison Sites, Saving Money, Skype, Thermostat, Utility SuppliersRelated posts
Virtual Call Center Software: Saving You Money!
One of the chief complaints heard by consumer experts these days is the lack of quality customer service available to them. Unavailable or poorly trained staff have been cited as two of the more egregious annoyances experienced by customers, a problem that isn’t about to go away any time soon. For companies seeking to hire and retain quality workers they are faced with a double dilemma: finding competent staff to serve their customers and justifying the funds to pay and house employees. Fortunately, there is another option worth exploring: virtual office support. Yes, by selecting a virtual office contact center companies are able to save money and still offer the professional services their customers deserve. Please read on to learn how businesses are saving thousands of dollars per month thanks to the services provided by one phone system provider.
Virtual customer service is loosely defined as a tool whereby businesses can utilize the expertise of human staff without the extensive overhead normally incurred. When it comes to a company’s traditional phone system, one or more staff would usually need to be present on site during regular working hours resulting in labor and facility costs incurred. Add these costs to the price of the phone system and most businesses would find themselves paying thousands of dollars monthly for this service, no minor charge particularly for small businesses.
Thanks to the rise of the internet, phone calls can now be routed by means of VoIP (voice over internet protocol), saving customers money. For example, the Packet8 Virtual Office provides a hosted iPBX solution which reduces telecommunication costs dramatically. Add in the virtual call center option and deeper savings can be realized.
With a virtual call center option selected, companies can utilize off-site staff without worrying about training costs, salaries, sick days, holidays, office rental, and other expenses. This option is particularly attractive for companies with offices or personnel scattered across the country, indeed the world. No need to set up a brick and mortar office simply to house a telephone operator and equipment — with many providers the equipment and the call center is remote and handles all calls as required. You share personnel without incurring all of the expenses and headaches of managing staff.
Some service providers even take the virtual call center option one step further by offering email and web chat capabilities that expand the ways customers can contact your business. Granted, for some of your customers phone access will suit them, but for others email or chat access would be preferred, if available. Now, you can have more options to stay in touch with your customers, services that can give you a leg up on your competition.
With a virtual call center in place, you can manager your customers through online tools that provide contact information and real-time reporting. Whats more, this system is fully scalable to fit your companys specific needs and not to be subjected to some generic one-size fits all plan.
Yes, the 21st century is bringing more choices to companies designed to help them save money. With a virtual customer service solution added to your robust business VoIP plan, your customers will no longer complain about inadequate service and your accountant will be pleased to see the savings in telecommunications and personnel expenses.
Tags: Call Center Software, Center Option, Chief Complaints, Competent Staff, Contact Center, Customers Money, Human Staff, Internet Phone Calls, Option Worth, Quality Customer Service, Quality Workers, Rise Of The Internet, Sick Days, System Provider, Telecommunication Costs, Virtual Call Center, Virtual Office Support, Voice Over Internet, Voice Over Internet Protocol, Voip Voice Over Internet ProtocolRelated posts
Used Laptops A Money Saving Idea For College Students
Used Laptops A Money Saving Idea For College Students
In recent years, laptop computers have become much more popular than desktops, especially among students. It is estimated that well over 90% of college students that own a computer will buy a laptop instead of a desktop. The advantages of portability and the growing number of available wireless internet hubs make this an easy choice.
The downside of buying laptops is that they are generally much more expensive than desktop computers that have the same amount of power and memory.
Fortunately, this is one area where college students can easily save a lot of money. Many laptop computer manufacturers, such as Dell, HP, and Gateway, all have a wide selection of used laptop computers which are refurbished and resold at prices much lower than you would pay for a brand new notebook. Although they are used, they have been refitted and re-inspected by the manufacturer and even given a warranty that usually covers the first 90 days after purchase.
At todays prices, its hard to find a new laptop computer for less than $750, and even then you are buying the cheapest model with the smallest screen size and minimum amount of power. To get a bigger screen, more memory, and more processing speed, you can easily end up paying from $1,000 to $2,000 or more for a new laptop.
With a used laptop, you can get the same power and screen size of the pricier new laptops without paying the higher price. The lower-priced used laptops can range from $300 to $800, and these arent weak little Celerons or Semprons. At this price range, you could be getting a Pentium M, Centrino, Core Duo, or Turion 64 with 512MB to 1GB of memory and at least a 14 screen. Used laptops in the $300 to $800 price range also typically have a hard drive with 30 to 120 gigabytes of space, plus a preloaded operating system, such as Windows XP or Vista. Brand new laptops with the same specifications would easily cost two or three times the price of a similarly-equipped refurbished model.
So, if youre looking for areas to save money as you head off to college, start by buying a refurbished used laptop instead of a brand new one. Youll be walking around campus with a very capable computer for your college studies, except youll have a few hundred extra dollars left over for other expenses.
Tags: Buy Laptop, College Students, Computer Laptop, Computer Manufacturers, Dell, Desktop Computers, Desktops, Downside, Easy Choice, Gigabytes, Hard Drive, Internet Hubs, Laptop Computer, Laptop Computers, New Laptops, Pentium, Portability, Three Times, Turion 64, Wireless InternetRelated posts
Travel Money Saving Websites On The Internet
The Internet seems to have been made for ferreting out travel savings. So many sites that offer information on hotel and transportation vendors exist that there really is a need for a way to compare these offers. And that exists too. There are several websites that will compare tours and individual transportation and hotel rates to any given destination by price and customer rating.
Our site is an especially useful website that helps you to create your own travel itinerary. It allows you to store the destinations, hotels, attractions and restaurants you have uncovered and other information for your trip. It is then an easy matter to print this information out and take it with you. Custom maps and driving route plans can also be generated for your trip.
Other great travel websites are Expedia, Cheap Trips and Price Line. These are websites that offer comparison shopping par excellence and their resources for discounted transportation and places to stay are vast and all encompassing. Some of these are booking agents that get vacancies from the hotels and airlines and broker them to the public. Others work by buying up a certain number of flights or hotel rooms at a bulk price and reselling them to their customers. In either case, they offer savings that the average traveler would not find on his or her own, or at least not without a considerable number of hours spent searching.
Using a travel agent can sometimes represent a savings in travel. They have connections with transport companies and hotels and keep an ear to the ground for bargains. Even more likely to provide travel savings is a travel booker, who works with the airlines, car rental agencies and major hotels to turn their un-booked or under booked vacancies into real savings for the travel consumer.
When looking for travel savings, dont omit going directly to airlines websites for specials they may be offering. Cash in your frequent flyer club miles if you have them, dont forget you may have been accumulating these all along through your credit card. Just 10,000 miles will get you a domestic, round trip economy class ticket. If you are short of this number, most airlines allow you to purchase miles. For a few hundred dollars you may have the transportation segment of your travel solved.
This strategy also applies to hotel booking. It is possible that you can apply your airline miles to the cost of a hotel room, or your credit card companies may be offering an incentive with a partner hotel chain that will result in getting great accommodations at an equally great savings.
Bear in mind that the Internet is a terrific source of travel savings and the amount you save will probably be proportionate to the amount of research you put in. But, as you leave for your holiday with the knowledge that you have saved enough to take another, or at least a long weekend, you know your hard work was well worth it.
Tags: Booking Agents, Car Rental Agencies, Cheap Trips, Comparison Shopping, Custom Maps, Driving Route, Ear To The Ground, Frequent Flyer, Great Travel, Hotel Rates, Hotel Rooms, Own Travel, Transport Companies, Travel Agent, Travel Consumer, Travel Itinerary, Travel Money, Travel Savings, Travel Websites, Vacancies