Working From Home Is Good For You And Your Boss

As a Winter Storm Juno ravages the Northeast, many employees are skipping their daily commutes and office 9-to-5, and instead getting comfortable with their living rooms and laptops.

This remote work may be something we should be doing more of, according to two new studies. Working from home can be good for your health andproductivity. Not only did people who worked from home report greater work satisfaction and less "work exhaustion," they also got better sleep. Separately, researchers found that the highest performing workers were the most likely to cultivate and excel in a "WFH" environment.

Researchers from Stanford University recently conducted a study on 255 employees of a large Chinese travel agency, all of whom had been employed with the agency for at least six months. Half of the employees worked from home for a period of nine months, while the other half of the employees acted as a control group, and continued to work out of the office. Both group worked the same shifts at the same time.

While the performance of the group that stayed in the office remained stable, the performance of the work from home group increased by 13 percent, as measured by their sales rate and interactions with customers. They were also more productive per minute. The researchers cited less noise distraction, fewer breaks and fewer sick days as some possible reasons for the boosts in productivity, Harvard Business Review reported.

But they found something else that was interesting. After the test period was over, the employees were given the choice whether to continue working from home or to return to the office. Roughly half the work-from-homers decided to return the office, and three-quarters of the group who remained in the office decided to stay there -- and typically, it was the highest-performing employees who chose to work from home, likely because they were not worried about getting distracted.

"Our advice is that firms — at the very least — ought to be open to employees working from home occasionally, to allow them to focus on individual projects and tasks," the study's authors wrote in Harvard Business Review.

Another way that working from home may improve employee productivity and satisfaction is by improving sleep quality, according to an unrelated new study. Research conducted on nearly 500 workers found that employees with a more flexible work schedule are less sleep-deficient than those with less control over their time.

The study, recently published in the journal Sleep Health, found that employees who were able to decide when and where they work enjoyed an improved quality and quantity of sleep.

"Work can be a calling and inspirational, as well as a paycheck, but work should not be detrimental to health," one of the study's authors, Orfeu M. Buxton, said in a statement. "It is possible to mitigate some of the deleterious effects of work by reducing work-family conflict and improving sleep."

Some previous research has supported these findings. A 2007 meta-analysis of 46 studies found that working remotely improved productivity by both objective measures and supervisor evaluations. Remote work was also found to reduce stress and increase job satisfaction, but on the negative side, was correlated with a lower quality of relationships with co-workers.

A 2014 University of Calgary study also found that when it comes to work-from-home productivity, personality matters. Workers who were honest, conscientious and satisfied with their jobs were productive at home, while (unsurprisingly), workers who had a tendency to procrastinate were less productive at home.

source Working From Home Is Good For You And Your Boss

Why Investing in Stocks This Year Was Not a Financial Mistake

In a matter of weeks, I saw my portfolio erode at a rate that I thought was only possible in months/years instead days/weeks. The other day, I was looking at the disastrous performance of my stock investments through financial statements and asked myself one question: “Did I make a financial mistake by investing in stocks this year?”

These “after-the-fact” type questions usually does nothing but make me feel worst but I felt the need to give an honest attempt at answering because being invested this year was by far the most detrimental to my wealth.

As my thoughts race through my brain, the answer became increasing clear to me that starting to invest in stocks was not a financial mistake. The decline was definitely something I wish I avoided, but to call it a financial mistake was just not correct.

To carry on the discussion further, let me share with you some of the notes I took in my imaginary wall:

We Decide Based on Possible Outcome, Not Results.
When I chose to pour my savings into the stock market, it was based on the rational decision that:

1. Stocks outperformed other asset classes in any 20-year period
2. I was young enough to have many years of income to cover any potential losses
3. My time horizon was long

Due to the fact that we can’t predict the future and there’s no “undo/retry” in life, we decide the path to take based on all the facts present.  My investing approach was based on past history and my circumstances. My wealth took a disastrous dive but short term performance was simply not part of my consideration. I’m looking for long term gain, and these types of short term decline was what I was willing to tolerate and should be expected.

I Actually Made the Choice
Indecision is always the worst mistake that one can make.  If I did not decide to begin investing during the good times, there would be no way that I would start now when everything looks dark and gloomy.  As a result, I may never start investing.  It would preserve my capital this year, but earning 3% a year (and being taxed every single year) is definitely not advisable over the long run.

What I Do Consider a Financial Mistake
Let’s face it, many of us lost more money this year than any other. However, financial mistakes should be left for those decisions that we make when the facts points to the likelihood of financial disaster (Taking payday loans, splurging on credit cards without the funds to pay them off immediately, buying a new car just to keep up with your neighbors etc come to mind).

Deciding to start investing in stocks will never be a financial mistake. Ever.

source Why Investing in Stocks This Year Was Not a Financial Mistake

Avoid Credit Card Traps

Laura Rowley from Yahoo Finance wrote a great article titled Five Credit Card Traps to Avoid. Here are some quotes from the article along how we need to interpret them.

…more than 9 in 10 Americans don’t know how long it would take to pay off their credit card bill if they made only the minimum payments.

I am actually one of these people and I bet most of us are on the same boat. The actual answer is 7 to 8 years which is very long. The total amount of payment after 8 years is even more frightening.

There is a need for everyone to understand that the minimum balance due does not mean “the only charge I need to worry about”. Everyone needs to practice responsible spending when they have access to a credit card. If we cannot pay it in full each month, we probably should not use it.

…credit card disclosures were “written at a level too difficult for the average consumer to understand. …

This is probably well understood, so many of us do not bother with the disclosure when we apply for the credit card. At the very least, we should attempt to read this at least once and jog down key information like interest rates.

The following are the five credit card traps people most easily fall into when they don’t read the fine print.

your card company can jack up your interest rate and change the fees whenever it wants to, for any reason.

This means that if we owe money, credit card companies can start charging us unlimited amounts of money because it can raise rates at any time. This reinforces the fact that we need to avoid credit card debt at all costs.

…94 percent of cards charged over-limit fees of $20 to $39 — and they can be assessed monthly until the balance falls below the limit.

Never go above your credit limit, and stay responsible. It’s really as simple as that.

If you typically pay on time and get hit with a late fee, ask the company to remove it.

As the saying goes, it never hurts to ask. If we do not ask, the late payment fee won’t be waived automatically.

…method of calculating credit card interest up until the day full payment is received. It’s based on two billing cycles, instead of determining interest only on the immediate billing cycle.

I never knew this, but it seems like many banks employ this practice. For example, let’s say we borrowed $5000 before the first bill and paid $4000 when the bill arrived. On your next bill, the interest calculated will be based on $5000 instead of $1000…

Imagine you have a credit card with a 3.9 percent interest rate, which you pay on time and in full. Then you pay another credit card bill late. It’s not unusual to see the card with the 3.9 percent rate skyrocket to 28.9 percent

This is not fair since they won’t automatically lower my rates if I pay every credit card in full each month. We have to think like a selfish credit card company in order to look out for ourselves. The important thing here is to check our credit cards regularly and make sure we are on top of our finances.

Just remember, avoid credit card debt at all cost.

source Avoid Credit Card Traps

5 Reasons Why People Can’t Get Out of Debt

Debt-free people aren’t debt-free because they make a lot of money. They’re debt-free because they make smarter, more educated decisions.

A person who makes $250,000 per year and is undisciplined and disorganized is much more likely to run up debt than a person who makes $50,000 per year and commits to living within his or her means.

Here are five traits of people who struggle to get out of debt, and recommended changes they can make in order to become debt-free.

1) They don’t closely monitor credit card and bank statements.

If there’s a mistake or a new fee, the only person who will question it is you. People who can’t get out of debt don’t pay close enough attention to their statements, or they completely ignore their statements all together. Don’t let the mistakes or deception of other people create debt for you.

If you’ve missed a payment or incurred some type of late or interest fee, ask for forgiveness. Many lenders will waive such fees if you’re not a repeat offender. If you notice a suspicious fee, demand an explanation. If you’re not satisfied with the explanation you receive, explore other options and don’t be afraid to take your business elsewhere.

2) Their budgets are too tight.

If you’ve added up your monthly expenses and they equal your monthly take-home pay to the dollar, this is no reason to celebrate. You’ll probably struggle to break even each month.

Assume you make at least 10 percent less than you actually do, round up your expenses, and create a line in your budget for unexpected miscellaneous expenses. For example, if you make $75,000 per year, base your budget on no more than a $65,000 annual salary – minus all deductions, of course. If you spend $225 per month on gas, allow for at least $250 when you create your budget.

3) They don’t do their homework.

Every financial decision should be researched. Debt-free people know how much they should be paying for certain products and services, and they know what language to look for in their agreements. If they do incur debt, they know why and plan strategically to pay off that debt as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, people who can’t seem to shake their debt aren’t taking enough responsibility for their financial decisions. For example:

• They haven’t determined where their debt lies (credit card, loans, etc.) and what purchases led to that debt.
• When they buy a car, they don’t know how to calculate financing and don’t question the math of the salesperson.
• If they’re not familiar with a financial agreement, they just sign it to get it done instead of having a qualified professional review it.

4) They only plan for the short-term.

Purchases and spending habits shouldn’t be based on what you have in the bank right now, and they shouldn’t be based on expenses you’ve forecasted for the next week, the next month or even the next six months.

Are you planning to move, buy a car, look for a new job or have a baby next year? Did you just get a “save the date” for a wedding in California next summer? Are you hoping your child attends college in 15 years? You better start saving now.

5) They don’t change.

You’ll never get out of debt if you don’t change your lifestyle and the spending habits that created your debt in the first place. Debt-free people are capable of cutting back, avoiding impulse buys and showing restraint.

Do you really need to spend $250 on a new smartphone as soon as you’re eligible for a “discount” when the device you have is just fine? Do you need a new car as soon as you’re done paying for the one you have? This also involves the little things, like making lunch at home, using coupons at the grocery store, and turning the heat down while you’re at work during the day.

Recognizing that you have debt is the first step. If you don’t adjust how you live and spend, your debt will only get worse.

source 5 Reasons Why People Can’t Get Out of Debt

What Should You Do If You Can’t Make Your Credit Card Payments?

Being short on cash is stressful, but most of the time the solution to a dwindling bank account is cutting out a few social events and trips to the mall. This isn’t exactly fun, but the situation is temporary. But what if you’re so cash-strapped that you can’t make the minimum credit card payment? If you find yourself in this situation and aren’t sure what to do, take a look at the information below for the five steps you should take right away.

1. Get creative

If your usual paycheck isn’t enough to cover your credit card payments, try scraping together some extra cash before taking further steps. This might take a little creativity, but it’s worth it to avoid the consequences of missing a payment.

Try selling unwanted items from around your home, babysitting your neighbor’s kids, or returning some of the things you’ve recently purchased to come up with extra money. You’d be surprised how much money you can come up with when you really need to!

2. Fess up

If you’ve already tried earning extra money but there’s still no way for you to make your credit card payment this month, the next thing you should do is call your credit card company and tell them the truth. This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s important to be honest with your card issuer because there might be options out there that you’re not aware of.

For example, many credit card companies are willing to extend your due date or allow you to make modified payments if you find yourself in a bind. If there’s a particular reason that you can’t pay this month – for example, you’ve lost your job or are facing a serious medical crisis – be honest about this, too. Be sure to ask the customer service representative what they typically do for customers facing your situation, because you’re certainly not the first one.

3. Bargain

When you’re on the phone with your credit card company explaining that you can’t make your minimum payment, another strategy to try if you have at least a little bit of money to spare is bargaining. For example, if you can’t make your whole minimum payment but you can make half of it, offer them the reduced payment. This might be enough to avoid getting your missed payment reported to the credit bureaus.

Another tip, assuming you’ve been a good customer so far, is to point out that you’ve never made a late payment in the past and have always paid at least the minimum. These factors might make it easier for the credit card company to show you some leniency.

If you can’t make your payments, banks will usually prefer to work something out with you than bring in the debt collectors. If a bank sells your debts to a collection agency, it only gets pennies on the dollar. It would prefer to recoup more than that by arranging a payment plan with you directly.

4. Prioritize paying

Once you’ve worked something out with your credit card company, make it your first priority to pay the bill as soon as you have the cash. Most credit card companies don’t report late payments to the credit bureaus until you’re 30 days past the due date, so you may be able to avoid a ding to your credit score if you pay as fast as you can.

5. Don’t let it happen again

We all overcharge sometimes, but if your spending is so out-of-control that you can’t make your minimum payments, it’s time to take a look at your money habits and make some adjustments. Missing multiple credit card payments is a recipe for disaster when it comes to your credit score, so follow these tips to keep your finances in order in the future:

• Track your spending carefully and make sure you don’t charge more than you can afford to pay off in one month
• Make a budget so that you know where your money is going
• Set an alert on your phone or calendar to remind you of your bill’s due date
• If you’re not earning enough to keep up with your bills, get a second job or ask for a raise at your first job
• Reduce other monthly expenses so that paying your essential bills is easier

The bottom line: not having enough cash on hand to pay your credit card bills is scary, but there are steps you can take to minimize the damage. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the problem, and make sure to make adjustments so that this doesn’t happen again!

source What Should You Do If You Can’t Make Your Credit Card Payments?

This is a guest post by Linda Bustos, an editor for CreditorWeb, where you can learn about using credit cards wisely.

People who find themselves in credit card debt may take serious measures to prevent balances from creeping higher. Often this includes transferring large balances from older, high interest credit cards to a brand new credit card with a 0% or very low introductory interest rate.

To remove the possibility of ever using the original card with the big, bad interest rate, one may make the mistake of closing down the higher interest credit card(s) and just sticking with the new card.

While shifting the debt load to save interest is often a wise decision (provided you actually have a plan to pay off the majority of the balance within the introductory period), closing the original card is not. Here’s why:

Credit History
Even if it’s bad history, you don’t want to make it disappear. If you held a job for 10 years, even if you got fired, the work experience is relevant and valuable on your resume. You wouldn’t want to remove it from your resume, it could hurt your eligibility or attractiveness for future jobs.

Same goes for credit accounts – even if they have stains on the record, the record is still valuable.

Debt to Credit Ratio
Older accounts often have higher credit limits than new cards. Credit lenders will look at your debt:credit ratio (% of your total credit you are using) to assess your risk and what interest rate they should charge you. Closing an old account with a high limit can have a dramatic impact on your debt:credit ratio.

For example, if you “max out” a $15,000 limit on Credit Card A, your debt:credit (not counting other forms of credit) would be 100%. You are using 100% of your credit available.

You open Credit Card B with a low introductory rate and a limit of $15,000. You transfer $15,000 from A to B, and you have $15K:$30K debt:credit, or 50%.

Close Credit Card A and you’re back to 100% debt:credit.

Just Chop ‘Em Up
Instead of closing your credit card account, leave it open, and cut up your credit card. Don’t use the new card until it’s fully paid down, and keep reading MoneyNing to stay motivated on frugal living and debt freedom.

source Drowning in Debt? Don’t Make This Credit Card Mistake

Paying Credit Card Interest Is Like Throwing Cash Into the Fire

This is a guest post from Tisha Kulak, a writer who writes about credit card offers, personal finances and credit card matters.

Credit card interest can be a financial killer if you are not handling your credit cards correctly. If you are only paying the minimum amount of money on your cards each month, you are setting yourself up for a large financial downfall. Imagine you carry a balance of $5,000 in credit card debt with an average interest rate of 16%, it would take you at least 12 years to pay off the balance. The balance would increase about $2,500 with interest fees, leaving you with a total bill of $7,500.

$2,500 could afford you many other things in life. That amount of money would pay for home repairs, a nice vacation, or an excellent deposit into a savings or retirement account. Paying that amount of money as an interest payment on credit cards is like using your cash for firewood.

There are steps you can take to help getting your credit card debt under control. Here are a few tips to keep you paying down your balances and not wasting your hard-earned money.

Stop Making New Purchases
You can never expect to pay down a balance if you keep adding new things to it. Use credit cards only for emergency purposes.

Get a Handle on What You Owe
Debt can be overwhelming and embarrassing; however, you will never be able to recover from debt without knowing how much you owe. Sit down with all of your bills and tally up your debt. Get a real picture of where you stand financially, no matter how bad the situation is.

Pay Card with the Highest Interest First
The cards you have with the highest interest rates will cost you the most over time. Start making your budget to include more than the minimum payment each month of the cards with the highest interest.

Keep Away from Penalties and Fees
Getting momentum to pay down your balances on high interest cards can be ruined if you are late. Being late or going over the limit on your card can cause your interest rate to skyrocket and therefore will thwart your plans for paying off your balance.

Consider a Transfer
If you have a low or 0% balance transfer credit card that can handle a balance transfer, it may save you a lot of money by transferring the high-interest balance to a card with a low or no interest.

Once you begin to realize the effect your effort makes on your debt, it will become easier to see the light at the end of the financial tunnel. Planning your family budget will be more realistic and you can anticipate a time period when your balance will be paid off. Once you have paid a balance in full, continue to use the amount you’ve been paying and pay towards the new balances of the other cards. If you do not have any other cards to pay off, take the payment amount you’ve been used to paying and stash the cash away in a savings account or other investment that is right for you.

source Paying Credit Card Interest Is Like Throwing Cash Into the Fire

7 Financial Moves to Make in Your 20s

We know that public education today is short on the subject of financial literacy, so unless parents are teaching kids about finances, many youngsters are finding out about good financial decisions the hard way — through making mistakes. I just turned 30, and I wish I had done quite a few things differently. The following are 7 financial moves to make in your 20s that I wish I had made. If you want to increase the chances of prosperity down the road, do it, and remember to teach your kids:

1. Live Within Your Means: This seems terribly obvious, but for many, it isn’t. I know. I spent the first three years of my 20s engaged in instant gratification, using my credit cards so that I didn’t have to limit myself on food, clothes or fun. Cleaning up that mess took almost the rest of my 20s (until I was 27), and set me back some. Start now to live on a budget that allows your outflows to remain smaller than your inflows.
2. Pay Down Debt: The average college student has $4,138 in credit card debt, according to Sallie Mae. This doesn’t include car loans, student loans and other debts. If you have debt, work now to begin paying it off. (Here are 25 tips to help you pay down debt)
3. Develop a Savings Habit: If you haven’t been saving money since high school (I have my seven-year-old son saving part of his allowance now), your 20s is a good time to develop a savings habit. Consider the money that goes into a savings account an essential part of your budget (tip: you can even make it automatic by diverting a monthly amount into savings). Start with an emergency fund and go from there.
4. Begin Investing: I know people who opened an IRA in high school, once they got their first jobs. Sadly, I am not one of those people. I did, however, open a Roth IRAin my mid-20s, even though I didn’t put much into it to begin with. The earlier you start investing, the more money you will have down the road, thanks to the awesome power of compound interest. If I had started just five years earlier, I could have thousands more in my retirement account than I do now.
5. Cultivate Marketable Skills: Your 20s is a good time to cultivate skills and education that can benefit you down the road. Consider what skills will be in demand in the coming years, and consider what you enjoy. I am fortunate enough to have earned a degree in Communications, and go on to acquire a M.A. in Journalism. These skills allow me to work from home as a freelance writer, supporting my family while my husband works on a Ph.D. — so that he can enter a field with growth-potential: the environment and public health.
6. Establish Credit: While you don’t want to get out of control with the credit cards, it is important to start establishing credit while in your 20s. Be careful, though, that you work towards establishing the good kind of credit. A credit card, for example, can be one of the most effective ways to do this, but only if you pay off the balance each month. You can also get a small auto loan or other small obligation that you can make monthly payments on. This will help you in the future as you buy a home, and even as you look for good deals on auto insurance.
7. Choose Your Life Partner Carefully: While you don’t have to see eye to eye on every financial issue, you should still choose a life partner that has the same goals and values as you. Even if your partner has issues now, you are on the right track if he or she is working toward financial improvement, and you can support and encourage each other. If you plan on combining your finances with your spouse, communication and honesty are especially important.

Finally, don’t forget to live a little. Money is supposed to be used, in part, for your enjoyment. There are many frugal travel ideas (consider Peace Corps, teaching English abroad and similar opportunities), as well as low-cost entertainment (camping, discount movies, going to the park) options. If you are paying tuition by the semester, and have room in your course schedule, take a class just for fun. You want to learn how to use money so it benefits you now and in the future, rather than letting it make you a prisoner.

Saving money is about freedom, and doing it early in your 20s will get you there that much quicker.

source 7 Financial Moves to Make in Your 20s

My Dad Quit After 50 Years of Smoking and So Should You

Recently, my dad quit smoking after years of us encouraging, motivating, persuading, yelling, and cussing (you name it, we’ve done it). It was a struggle for so many years, but the fear of sickness finally convinced him to quit smoking. Many of us smoke (in fact, one third of all male in this world do), but none of us ever think about the harm it has on our body and our wallets. From experience, I won’t dare try to convince anyone to quit smoking, but here are some financial facts we should all consider every time we light a cigarette.

• At $5 a pack of cigarettes, my dad could’ve accumulated $1.6 million in investment and savings. This is assuming that he would invest or save the money weekly for 50 years earning 10% annually. 50 years ago, the cigarettes were not $5, but my dad smokes more than one pack of cigarettes many days of the year too. This also does not include the cost of lighters or matches.
• His life insurance is much higher because of his “experience” in smoking. Actually, we were told that his insurance would probably be 1/4 if he never smoked.
• His health insurance is the same thing, read the life insurance point again.
• Non-smokers receive home owners insurance of about 10% less because there are fewer chances that they will burn down their home.
• Non-smokers usually perceive a better image than smokers which indirectly lead to a higher salary. This is due to smokers potentially having yellow teeth, bad breath and smelly clothes.
• Those extra packs of gum, extra trips to the dry cleaners all add up in our lives.

The list goes on and on. Smoking ranks as one of the most harmful activities we can do to our physical and financial health. If you read this blog because you want to live financially free, why don’t you quit smoking too?

Pass this on to your smoking friends.                

source My Dad Quit After 50 Years of Smoking and So Should You

by DAVID NING

Don’t Quit Your Job Without Making These 5 Financial Moves

Quitting your job is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s a big risk to leave the certainty of a consistent paycheck, for the uncertainty of the unknown. But quitting  your job to start a business, stay at home with the kids, or salvage your health can be such a rewarding experience.

I know just how scary and rewarding quitting can be. I quit my job last July to be a full-time freelance writer, and it felt absolutely crazy at the time. I have gone through all the ups and downs — paralyzing fear and insecurity, jam packed months, losing clients, and more.

It’s a roller coaster for sure. But there are ways to lessen the financial risk of quitting your job, by making swift and calculated actions for your future.

Here are 5 financial moves to make before taking the leap.

1. Chat With a Financial Advisor

Before you make the bold move of quitting your job, you need to have a chat with a financial advisor. Even if it’s just a brief consultation, they can make you aware of things you may not know that could potentially derail your future plans.

They can put you on the right path by reviewing your budget and see where there are any leaks. Is something in your budget that you know you won’t be able to afford once you quit? Can you lower your food or entertainment budget? Living on less now will make the transition less jarring.

A financial advisor will help figure out what your bare bones budget is — or what you need to survive each month. Knowing your bare bones budget can help you prepare your emergency fund and also give you a keen understanding of what you need to be bringing in.

2. Build an Emergency Fund

I know, I know. Nearly everyone in personal finance suggests that you need an emergency fund before quitting. But it’s true! It’s not a matter of if an emergency will happen but when.

Some experts recommend that people in debt should have at least $1,000 in an emergency fund, while the general consensus seems to believe that having three to six months’ worth of expenses is a good buffer. But what if you’re quitting?

The answer is: the bigger the better. If you can save up a years’ worth of expenses, that’s ideal! You’ll be able to relax and not rush into something or make hasty decisions. You have to remember why you’re quitting your job and be able to cushion yourself financially.

If there is one thing I have found, the amount you have saved is very personal, and is something your financial advisor can help you figure out. I saved up three months’ worth of expenses as I am currently in debt and am fairly low-risk — I don’t have kids, a house, a pet, or a car. I also have regular clients and am willing/able to hustle when need be.

In theory, it would be nice to have more, but I feel my money is well spent on repaying debt instead of keeping it in an emergency fund. Whatever you do, make sure it feels right for you and that you can sleep at night.

For me, going below three months’ of expenses starts to feel a bit like the danger zone. So remember, it’s up to you, but the more you have saved the better.

3. Plan to Rollover Your 401K

While you may be ready to run for the hills and leave your job, don’t leave everything behind — especially your money! If you contributed to a 401K at your job, then make plans to rollover it over to a new account.

You can roll it over to a traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or to a new employer’s 401K. If your plan is to quit then start your own business, you can open up aSEP-IRA or a Roth IRA.

According to the IRS;

“A SEP plan allows employers to contribute to traditional IRAs (SEP-IRAs) set up for employees. A business of any size, even self-employed, can establish a SEP.”

A Roth IRA is a great investment option too, because you’re contributing after-tax dollars, which means you won’t owe the government anything when you withdraw the funds at retirement age. It’s important you continue to fund your future after quitting your job. While your present may be uncertain, you will want to contribute to your medium and long-term goals — even it’s only a little bit.

You will no longer be receiving a company match, and you’re responsible to pay your own social security and medicare taxes. So your retirement is entirely your own responsibility now.

4. Research Health Insurance Options

After researching a good financial advisor, your next important step is to start researchinghealth insurance options ahead of time. Employers typically pay a good portion, if not all of their employees’ health insurance, so once you jump ship you’ll be on your own.

You’ll want to research now to assess what your health insurance premiums will cost you. Depending on your situation, you could be in for a steep bill. I was able to easily find health insurance on the exchange without much hassle.

It’s amazing though how many solopreneurs I have met who are fearful of quitting their job because of the health insurance aspect. While it is a process to find a plan on your own, it’s not so difficult that it should deter you from quitting your job to pursue your dreams.

5. Pay Bills in Advance

One great way to financially prepare for quitting is paying bills in advance. If you are able to pay your rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, etc. in advance, you’ll be in a solid position after you quit. The main thing people need to worry about when quitting is their cash flow.

So give yourself enough cushion to pay bills late,  or keep your cash flow solid, by paying your expenses in advance. Your bank account will thank you later.

And you don’t want to wonder if you will be able to make it to the end of the month, so while you are still gainfully employed consider putting extra money towards your bills.

The Bottom Line

Quitting your job may be one of the scariest things you’ll ever do, but take these steps to mitigate the risk, and give your new career path a fighting chance.

You’ll be able to be a smart spender and saver, while pursuing your dreams. Prepare now, so you can have a carefree transition when you actually quit.

Reference: Don’t Quit Your Job Without Making These 5 Financial Moves

How The Cloud Is Changing Building Design

When you think of building design, the image that most comes to mind is that of an architect at their designing board, using pencils, protractors, and rulers on huge rolled up blueprints. But this is the twenty-first century, and just like so many other industries and professions, architecture is benefitting from tech advances, in this case Building Information Modeling.

Building Information Modeling, or BIM for short, is a new approach in the design, construction, and maintenance of building projects. It’s the process of generating and managing the digital form of physical and functional information, which can be easily shared between individuals and agencies that are involved in all stages of the building project, from first inception to its continued operation.

Cloud-based BIM gives designers and builders the full picture, from inception to post-construction operations

A Closer Look At BIM

Is it a virtual model? Is it software? Or is it just a process? The answer is “yes”. Unlike traditional blueprints or CAD, BIM models and manages information on the building, in addition to the usual design graphics. You just don’t get the building rendered in three dimensions; you get information on things like geographic information, light analysis, building materials and systems, and utilities. In other words, BIM gives you the full picture.

And as if BIM by itself isn’t an amazing enough design tool, it is getting even stronger thanks to the advent of the cloud.

The Cloud’s Role Regarding Building Design and BIM

If you stop and think about it, designing a building is the result of a massive collaboration. Consider all of the different variables, the many components, involved in the design and construction of a building. In order to design the best possible structure, it takes a team effort.

BIM’s biggest strength is that brings all of this data together in an organized structure, for the purposes of making sure that all of the team members have access to it and can use it to make the best possible decisions. After all, informed decisions are the ones that stand the best chance of success.

Now let’s add the cloud to the equation. Cloud data storage has a big advantage in that it provides a central storage area for vast amounts of information, and grants easy access to the correct parties. A cloud-based platform adds to the versatility and scope of BIM, a point driven home by this piece that announces the launch of a connected BIM product by a cloud collaboration platform called Aconex.

Practical Application Of Cloud-Based BIM

By pairing BIM with a cloud-based platform, it becomes possible for a building design project team to maintain close contact with the clients, making sure that last-minute changes can be seamlessly implemented.

Better communication and collaboration between all of the teams and designers also means fewer mistakes, which in turn results in faster construction time and less likelihood of having to waste time correcting flaws that weren’t discovered until after the building opened.

How Amazon Transformed Our Daily Lives

Amazon.com is well-known for being one of the most major retailers on the Internet. The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, and he initially handled everything out of his garage. From these humble beginnings, an international success was born. In fact, Amazon.com now has a physical presence in 12 countries, including France, Slovakia and China.

The company’s profits have been steadily increasing, and they reported a revenue of $13.2 billion in the first quarter of 2012.

How did Amazon.com become such a Big Company?

When Amazon.com first launched online in 1995, Bezos’ company only offered books. This quickly changed, however, and movies and music were both added in 1997. In addition to expanding their catalog, Amazon.com also had their initial public offering (IPO) in 1997. Although the IPO started at a robust $18 per share, the price skyrocketed to almost $24 within one day. The IPO earned Amazon $54 million, and it enabled them to move forward with several changes, including the 1998 launch of their first international websites in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Important Moments in Amazon.com’s Timeline

In addition to the moments listed above, Amazon.com was able to get an even bigger hold on Internet shoppers in 2001 when they introduced the “Look Inside” feature for books. Now in addition to reading the synopsis and reader reviews, customers can actually sample a few pages from most of the books that the website offers. This function pleased hardcore readers who preferred to peruse their local bookstore’s shelves in order to find new books.

Amazon has spent a lot of time and money acquiring websites and businesses all over the world, including the Internet Movie Database, Audible.com and CreateSpace.com. These acquisitions, along with Amazon’s other investments and subsidiaries, have helped the company have access to a wider product selection and increase their overall profits.

The launch of Amazon Prime in 2005 helped the company compete on a larger scale with local stores. Not only did it enable customers to receive their purchases within two days, but an Amazon Prime subscription also began including free access to Amazon Instant Video in 2011.

The company entered the competitive world of tablet manufacturing when they released their first Kindle in 2007. Because Amazon.com has been selling books since the beginning, it made sense for them to tackle the growing consumer desire for high-tech e-Readers. According to a report from Amazon.co.uk, eBooks are now selling at a higher rate than traditional books.

Why are People so Enamored with Amazon.com?

Even though it is often quicker to go to a local store to pick up the latest book, DVD or video game, Amazon.com typically offers the best prices. The website also enables customers to pre-order highly anticipated titles at a greatly reduced rate. In addition to saving money, Amazon.com offers free sales tax in many area, and the site can also help people find items that are not available locally. When you tie all of these factors into the convenience of shopping from home, it is no wonder that Amazon.com is the top ranked Internet retail store.

What does the Future Hold?

Amazon.com will soon be charging sales tax in most areas, but they are planning to combat this by offering same and next day shipping to almost anywhere in the country. Even though customers will be disappointed by the added cost of sales tax, Amazon.com is still likely to offer the best prices on most items, and if you can get anything delivered within 24 hours, there is truly no reason to go to a brick and mortar store.

Travis Leary is a freelance writer and blogger based in the great city of Seattle, home of Starbucks, year-round rain clouds, and very possibly a new NBA team. Travis focuses his efforts on technology, gadgetry, and business. Lately he has taken a particularly strong interest in high-end espresso makers. Truth be told, espresso makers form a powerful market in the ecommerce world; to learn more click to view a top ecommerce outfit in the home espresso maker market right now.

Best Free Tools For Home Business Accounting

In this modern world, the ways of doing business totally change with the advancement of internet technology. There are many businesses run from home now days. For these types of businesses, free tools are working as employees. Free and user friendly tools gives a platform in which people can easily plan, manage, organize and execute our business without any hurdle. In this article we discuss about the best tools that are useful for the purpose of accounting in home business.

Fresh-Books

Fresh-books is a program in which user can easily generate our business invoicing and also use for time tracking facilities that is useful to organize your business. It is a free and effective tool for accounting. Almost every home base business user uses this tool to manage our accounting activities. It provides unlimited reporting, file sharing, invoicing and smart phone integration for business users. Here are some of the advantages for fresh books user

Easy to use

Work anywhere

Save time billing

Automatic free upgrades

Amazing Customer support

Zoho Invoices

Zoho Invoice is software in which user can do online invoicing easily. It has a platform where time tracking help to send invoices in your clients’ expenses and projects. It is also used for the purpose of receiving payment and executes your business efficiently and effectively.

Home based business users like its features. Zoho Invoice delivers a service of online transaction, paper invoices along with electronic invoices. It has provided an application of smart phone. Invoicing is the major use of this tool and allows five invoices each month. Some advanced features of this tool are

Gmail Contextual Gadget

Credit Note

Accessing Multiple Organizations

Snail Mail Credits

Outright

Outright is a business application that executes your business accounting job by containing all of your business data in a place and managing them in a proper manner. This tool provides much easy accounting option that is very effective to run a business. It is a good and effective accounting classification is developed for small business with no need for inventory or payroll.

Online Quick-Books

Quick-book provide an interface where you have online streamlines and exact time taking tasks such as bills, estimates, invoices, checks and reports, hence you can monitor your business properly.

This tool is very famous for the micro business accounting task. It provides scalable and robust options that you can use according to your need. It gives you a platform in which you can execute and generate online invoices and banking.

Simply Accounting

Simple accounting is a software in which user can control our micro business financial payments and simply handle our cash flow, invoicing, expenses and bill payments without any technical abilities of accounting. In the free version of this tool, users can use for particular work for our business.

Finally, these tools have created a way that helps for home based business users. They can easily manage and control our financial activities without any hurdle. For the use of these free tools, people spread our business quickly and execute our business without hiring a big staff.

Author Bio

Marry Maddy has a home base business in the United Kingdom. She is a professional writer at Research Paper papa as well. She writes many articles on different topic. Currently, she is researching on different tools that are useful for business. (source)

6 Tips for Presenting to and Winning New Clients

When you are trying to win the branding project of a new client you need to present to them. It is not good enough to send over a file by email telling them what you can do, you need to engage with them. Presenting a project to clients is about ensuring they understand your rationale for your decisions, and getting instant gut feedback from them. It is a dynamic process of you finding out what they want.

Mastering the presentation process is not difficult. Once you get the hang of things, you will be amazed at how well your clients receive your introduction.

Here are six tips to use that will help you present to clients.

1. Make Your Brief Short and Simple

When you are pitching to a client you need to outline the project as you see it. The brief should not be as long as a full project presentation. The brief should not exceed 20 minutes, and should immediately interest the client. You may be able to do this brief over videoconferencing tech in order to get your foot in the door with them, before they commit to you coming to present fully to them. Use the brief to capture client project before delving into the project in detail.

2. Be Prepared and Organised

There is nothing more important than being prepared and organised. Divide your presentation into a few sections and create an outline to follow. The presentation needs to flow as smoothly as possible. First, you will open with a summary. The next part of the presentation should consider the problem, the solution to the problem and the market. The presentation should tell a story.

3. Grasp the Client’s Attention

The initial 30 seconds of the presentation are surprisingly when most clients decide whether they are interested or not. It is important to state facts, stick to the point, and present one or two solutions to the problem. Give them confidence and build rapport.

4. Substance is One Key to Success

A project plan without substance is meaningless. There are five steps you can take to ensure the project has substance. This is just one suggested format of many, but works very well.

The first step is to define the market and the potential the market has.

Next, you need to solve a problem, and turn the problem into an awesome opportunity.

You should then discuss and analyse the competition. Michael Porter provides a good competitor analysis model.

Then discuss the advantages you have over the competition.

Near the end, discuss, describe, and define the business, and explain the brand strategy you plan to use.

5. Expose Your Management Expertise

Clients love to know what you know. Explain the project and your expertise within the project. Knowledge is power, and it keeps the client’s attention. According to Steve, Business Tech Specialist at Videonations ltd, “one of the best ways to showcase your expertise is by talking through previous work while displaying it on presentation systems. With crystal-clear images, dynamic video and a clear narrative, your client will gain confidence in your ability”.

6. Make Your Conclusion Exciting

The conclusion to the branding project is similar to closing a deal. Use the conclusion to summarise the facts and other information you have presented, and get feedback. Good questions to get them focused on the positives include:

“What did you like about what you saw today?”

“Are there any projects that we looked through that resonated with you?”