Magical Penny

From the outside, investing doesn’t seem to be one of the easiest things in the world. For so many people, investing may seem like a bunch of traders on the stock market floor, but when it comes to starting on the road to investing, it’s pretty straightforward, just as long as you know where to begin. So let’s show you how you can make it easier on yourself.

Robo Advisors

The secret weapon for many investors who don’t know how to invest! Companies like Targets Trader Pro use bots to determine an individual’s goal, risk tolerance, and then invests their money into a portfolio of stocks. It is all about the algorithm! And this is possibly the best way to get started in long-term investing. It requires a minimal amount to start, and many charge modest fees.

Start Saving With AI Apps

Another way to get started, especially if you don’t have much money, is to use the cookie jar method. Putting a little bit of money away means they will add up over a long period of time. And you can start by saving a little bit of money, but also using apps that can get you started by showing you how you can gradually accumulate your finances. An app like Plum is a chatbot used on Facebook Messenger and it can help you to put a certain amount of money aside based on your expenditure, but again, like Robo-advisors, it uses algorithms to determine how much you can feasibly put away. It’s a very simple way for you to put money aside without thinking about it. And the more advanced the apps get, the more sophisticated the settings. Plum gives you the option to set aside a certain amount of money, also known as top-ups, which amount to a few pennies here or there. And even if you have shrapnel, and nothing more, this is a fantastic way to get started.

Stock Market Apps

Anybody looking to get into investing needs to go to the stock market. And as intimidating as it can be there are a wide variety of apps. Many people find that the cost is a barrier to getting involved, but now there are a wide variety of apps that you can use to get started with very minimal money. The great thing about these apps is that they don’t just give you an entryway into the stock market, but also give you advice and even help you make trades using practice accounts. These days, getting involved in the stock market is easier than ever. And because there are so many resources out there, there are so many reasons to invest your money these days. 

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. You can dip your toe into the real estate market, or look at mutual funds, as well as cryptocurrency (but do the latter once last once you’ve got the basics sorted!). But investing is something that is becoming more essential, especially as the cost of living is rising, but the pay is not matching it.

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It doesn’t matter who you ask: everyone will agree that saving money is hard. All of the good intentions seem to fly out of the window when there is a bill to pay or a refrigerator to replace. Not just that, but it can take some effort to keep your savings going when there are things that you want to buy. Here’s the thing, though, you need to ramp up that savings game when you see the things you want! Such items like cars and houses are big ticket items, and they take a while to save up for if you’re not careful about your cash.

For your savings schedule to be successful, you need effort and discipline, and these are both qualities that don’t always come naturally when it comes to saving money. If you are already in contact with a mortgage broker and are trying to get your savings sorted for buying your own home, then it’s time to have the right tips and tricks to saving well. So, with this in mind, we’ve got five great tricks for saving that you desperately need to be successful.

• Keep Your Budget Going. When you know exactly where your money goes every month, it’s far easier to save money. You can make a list of yoru definite expenses (rent, bills, food) and then put a small amount to one side for your disposable income. With the rest, siphon this off into your savings account and leave it alone. If you have large expenses every year or quarter, divide those into smaller monthly payments and keep that money to one side, too.

• Enjoy Automation. It’s very easy to spend money when it’s sat right there in your account. The best thing that you can do is automate your savings so that when your salary goes in, your savings go out. You can have that money moved into a separate account with another bank if necessary. What the eyes can’t see, the heart won’t grieve for, right?

• Challenge Yourself. If you’re motivated with a goal for saving money, such as a deposit for a home, you’re going to find it easier to get it all done. If you have a savings challenge in place, you’re going to find it far easier to keep motivated to save your cash. You could even hold a contest with a friend to see who saves the most over two months – whoever wins buys dinner!

• A 24-Hour Rule. Enforcing a 24-hour rule for impulse buying is going to help you to curb that habit. Let’s say that you want something – like a really good pair of shoes. Instead of going out and buying the shoes, promise yourself that you will think about those shoes for 24 hours. If you still want them, buy them – but only 24 hours later!

• Add Some Income. If you want to increase your savings and boost your earnings, grab a second job. Whether this is delivering food or putting together furniture on the side, you can consider how much you can add to your savings pot with a whole second income!

Saving money isn’t easy at all, but if you want something, you have to work hard! Take as many tips to boost your savings as possible – you’ll be grateful to yourself in the end!

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Although some companies looking for business premises prefer to rent, the best choice may often be buying, which will provide more independence and versatility, which is necessary for an increasing business and investment. For small and medium-sized companies seeking to grow, the acquisition of commercial property is a sensible choice. It is not simple, however. It may take a large investment, both in time and in capital.

When purchasing a commercial property, there are a range of things to discuss, such as where you want your company to be situated, and how much money you can bring to the table. It is necessary, therefore, to do your research. Here are the things you need to remember when investing in a business premises.

Location

When purchasing commercial property, location is very important – just as important as when buying your own house. Make informed decisions about what you’re going to use the premises for, and ask yourself important questions, like:

1. How many workers do you need to think about?
2. Will clients regularly come for meetings?
3. Is the location conveniently accessible?

For the most part, because of convenient transport connections, a central location is desirable. However, if you spend much of your time communicating remotely with customers, a location set outside of the city could be a better choice, and much more cost-effective.

Safety

Is the area you’re viewing as a potential business premises safe in both terms of crime statistics and the age of the building? An older building is more prone to damage, and therefore may cause problems in the future not just financially, but also safety wise too. While it’s hard to predict these things happening, you can protect yourself with public liability insurance. Speak to some providers and get a quote to cover your back. In the meantime, look for issues with your desired properties that you could resolve immediately.

Parking available

If customers visit you in the store, you’ll need to think about how easily accessible your business premises are. For example, if your store is now situated on a main road with no public footpaths, then you could run into some issues with actually getting people to visit you. You should also think about nearby parking, and whether it’s worth the investment to buy land around the premises to install a car park. Not only will this be convenient for your clients to visit you, but your staff can safely park their car nearby and not have to worry about it.

Flexibility 

Finally, when viewing commercial property, it is important to look for versatile premises. When you are using the premises, it is likely that your company will grow and evolve, so it is important to find premises that can be changed over the years to accommodate your business. Depending on the type of commercial property, however, this could be limited. Read through the property deeds before buying commercial property to find out if there are any limits on improvements to the property. You may not be able to modify the usage class in some situations, and in some cases, it may only be temporary.

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Investing is so important for the future, and the great thing is that these days there are more options than ever when it comes to making sound and potentially lucrative investments. This is why you need to consider your options, and one of the key parts of the business you need to get right is to make sure you are planning for property investment, as this has so much upside. 

Making shrewd property investments can bring you an excellent long-term ROI, and this is definitely something that you have to work on moving forward. Try to focus on the right ways of being able to achieve this right now, and there are a lot of factors that you need to keep in mind right now. Here is everything you need to know when it comes to planning effectively for property investment this year.

What is Your Budget?

One of the first and most important things to keep in mind when it comes to making the right property investment is ensuring you have a budget in mind. There are a lot of elements to consider here, and it is important to make sure you set a realistic and affordable budget for yourself, and that you hunt for properties that fall within this budget range. This is an important step in the process, and one that you 

What Types of Properties Do You Want to Invest In?

You have a lot to consider here, and one of the key things is to make sure you assess the types of properties you want. There is a lot of choice, and if you are serious about developing a strong portfolio, then you need to make sure you come up with ideas that will help you with this. Whether you’re looking for Bangkok condos for sale, or your very own semi-detached in the North of England, it’s plain to see there is a lot of choice. And you need to make sure you choose the right kinds of properties to invest in right now. 

Are You Selling or Renting?

You have to make sure you think about whether you are going to be selling or renting your property, as this can make a big difference to the type of property you might choose. There are many things to consider here, and there’s no doubt that you should be looking at some of the best ways of being able to achieve this, and you might actually find you make more money by renting the property out, so this is something to consider. 

Do You Need Planning Permission?

A lot of the time people like to do work on their investment properties, and this is something that you are going to need to make sure you look into. However, you may need planning permission for certain renovations you want to carry out on the home. This is something you need to look into as much as possible, and there are a lot of things to consider with this right now. 

Property investment is one of the best ways of spending your money these days, and it is important to make sure you make the right choices. This can be tricky to get right, but if you can follow the right steps you should find that you are able to invest well in property moving forward. 

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Everybody is aware of how much real estate can improve your investment portfolio. And this is why it’s so important to get it right. When you are selling up, you can very easily fall into certain traps, or suffer from super mistakes, not just financially but emotionally. Let’s show you some of these key components, and what you can do to help yourself in the process.

Getting Emotional

It’s easy to get emotional about selling your home combat especially if this is your first one. Having spent so much time and effort creating memories, and finding the perfect home only to find that you’ve grown out of it, the act of saying goodbye is not always easy. But once you decide to sell up, you’ve got to have a business-oriented mindset. This is the one way to make a break with the past. And when it comes to the act of transferring the ownership of the property, working with businesses like online conveyancing services can help you to keep up a more business-oriented approach. This is something they do every day, and if you’ve had your fair share of brushes with real estate types, you’ve probably got the impression that selling homes is all about making a profit. And when you start to think about getting top dollar for your property, you can change the look of the property, which also helps you to create an emotional distance.

Expect To Receive the Asking Price, or Be Prepared To Barter

A very common mistake that house sellers make is expecting the asking price upfront. Any person looking to complete the sale has to be prepared to leave room for negotiation. And this works for both sides of the equation. If you put your home up for more than it is valued, the buyer can get the property for a perceived bargain, and you aren’t getting any less than you wanted for the property. It’s a fine art, but learning a few negotiation tactics can help you.

Redecorate Your Property (but Do Not Hide Major Problems)

You may think that a lick of paint can cover up a multitude of sins, but there will be an inspection. So you’ve got two options, you can either fix the problem, or price the property below the market value. Redecorating your property will help you to sell it, and this certainly improves the property stance in terms of the listing photos, but one of the biggest mistakes people make is not accounting for these problems in the asking price. When you set the wrong price, you have to look at the comparable homes in your local area. And if you’ve got specific problems with your home, and you do not have time to fix them up, get a quote for fixing them, and factor this in reducing the costs.

If you want to sell your property quickly, these are three components that you must consider. Ultimately, you’ve got to prepare for selling your home quickly. Sometimes the sale can whizz by. Financially and emotionally, you need to be prepared. 

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A ‘cloud’ based solution is any software which is delivered over the internet. This is something which is becoming more and more popular in all industries and businesses because it is affordable and efficient. 

There are many uses for such software. Some companies require it for health and safety, storing everything from their risk assessments to their latest EICR report. Others turn to cloud software for financial management and forecasting. The options are endless.

The only problem a lot of agencies experience is when it comes to deciding which cloud software to utilise. Because of the increase in demand for this software, there has been a wealth of new applications which have launched. The issue is that some of these versions do not provide you with the full solution you should be looking for. So, in order to ensure that you don’t get fooled and that you benefit from the best, look out for these key components when seeking cloud software…

First and foremost, you should not need to utilise your premises or pay for any infrastructure in order to utilise cloud-based software. As mentioned, the whole point of this software is that it is delivered and utilised over the Internet. This makes everything a lot easier and more efficient. Therefore, the only thing you should need is a wireless connection and a computer, which you are likely to already have. If the company is attempting to host the software at your business location then this is not a cloud software solution.

In addition to this, technology is something which is moving at a rapid pace and there are constant innovations. This means that your cloud software needs to move as the internet grows as well. Therefore, any solution you opt for should be regularly updated. After all, if you remain stagnant then you are only going to fall behind and your software will soon become out of date. It is also worth noting that you should never have to pay for updates so make sure that these come free of charge, otherwise this software solution will prove to be exceedingly costly.

Moreover, it is very important that you find software which can be adapted in order to suit your agency. After all, all businesses are different; they have different needs and they operate in different ways. If the solution was not configurable then a lot of companies would find that it would not be suitable for them. You need to ensure that you can utilise and change the software in a way which works well for you. Furthermore, the software may need to be adapted within different parts of your agency because your staff may have different needs from it.

And finally, it is also recommended that you seek to download your software from a company which provides good aftercare and support. After all, you need to be safe in the knowledge that should anything go wrong or you are having difficulty utilising the software then help will be at hand.

All things considered, if you take notes of the points mentioned in this blog post, then you should have no trouble finding the best cloud-based software for you. 

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If you’re looking for a new home, you might be wondering whether it’s worth building one, rather than buying one. There are, as with everything, pros and cons either way, and it will generally come down to your finances and your lifestyle. However, there are some excellent reasons for building your own home rather than buying one that already exists, and it’s a good idea to think things through carefully before dismissing anything outright. Read on to find out more. 

A Brand New Home – Without The Premium

It’s certainly easier to buy a brand new home that someone else has already created, but if that never-lived-in-before feeling is what you’re looking for, it will come at a price. New build homes will have a premium attached to them, and that means that firstly, you’ll be paying more than you would for an older property (generally speaking), and, when you come to sell, you won’t make as much money as you otherwise would.

This is why some people choose to build their own home. It’s still completely new, but it will cost less because you’re not having to pay a middleman to cover the building costs; you’ll be doing that yourself. And it’s not just cheaper upfront, but over time too. The newer a property, the fewer repairs you will need to think about making. Buy an older property and you might be walking into a home that needs your help straight away.   

Completely Customisable

One of the best things about building your own home is that it will be completely customisable, and you can make it entirely your own. You can start before it’s even built by speaking to expert architects such as Lowe Design Build who can ensure you are making the most of the land you have, and that your home is exactly what you want it to be.

Although it’s possible that you’ll eventually find an existing property that fits everything on your wish list and ticks all the boxes, that could take a long time, and you’ll be beholden to the current owners as to how much you spend on it. For a home that is absolutely yours and fits you perfectly, as well as a property that will cost less than buying something already built, there is nothing that works as well as building your own home.

Cost-Effective

Although there will be more initial costs involved in building a property than in buying one (you’ll need to buy the land, pay for thorough research, organise an architect, hire contractors, and so on), over time those costs will diminish, and by the time you’re living in your home, it will be much more cost-effective than buying one would have been. 

Of course, this will require you to have funds from the start, which is why this option isn’t attractive to everyone, but when you consider the long term cost savings and the fact that you could own your property outright in a very short amount of time, it is definitely an option worth thinking about. 

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As business ideas go, buying land and then building on it so that you can sell the new property and make a profit is not a bad one by any stretch of the imagination. If you do it right and put a lot of time, effort, and research into the planning of it all, then you can be extremely successful, and the more money you make, the more houses with land for sale you can buy, and the more profits you can build.  

Only, of course, it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. The main issue, once you have dealt with the funding and the contractors, is the planning permission. Planning permission is going to be required if you intend to build a new structure (and often even if you intend to change an existing structure), and if you can’t get it, then you can’t build. If you do build without planning permission, you run the risk of having to pull everything down, even if the building is complete. The fines and penalties that go along with this are just not worth thinking about; your little business would be destroyed. 

So it’s clear that planning permission is vital if you want to build any kind of structure. How then can you get it? Read on for some useful tips. 

Have Quality Designs 

The most important part of the planning permission process has to be the design. This is what is going to inform the planning committee about what it is you are intending to build, and it is this that will give them an idea about whether or not it is going to be allowed. 

A good design must include the right scaling, and it must be completed by a qualified architect. A few scribbles on a piece of scrap paper is not going to suffice. You must also be at pains to explain just how the new building is going to fit in with its surroundings. You might design the most beautiful house but if it’s entirely different from everything else in the street then planning permission is unlikely to be granted, for example. 

Hire A Planning Consultant 

Although hiring a professional planning consultant is going to cost you more money than you might originally have costed for, having one on board could be the difference between obtaining planning permission and not, so you should at least consider the idea. In the end, a planning consultant who knows what they are doing can save you time, money, and a lot of effort, and help you to get the planning permission you’re hoping for on the first application. 

Make sure that whoever you hire has plenty of experience in obtaining planning permission in your area. Local authorities differ from place to place, and what works in one area might not be allowed in the next. Just because the professional you want to use has had a lot of success in the past, if that success has never been in your specific location, then it’s wise to look elsewhere. 

Have A Backup Plan 

The best plan you can have is to be sure about your design before you submit it, having thought about all the different problems that might come up and dealt with them before they were even noticed.  

This is not always possible, however, and it might be that you submit your plans even though there were a few points you just weren’t sure about. 

It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan in mind if this is the situation you find yourself in. You can submit your original plans in the hopes that they will be granted planning permission, but you can have a second set of plans, the revised version, ready and waiting just in case. That way, even if the second set isn’t what you first wanted, at least there will only be a limited delay in getting the project started. 

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