Budgeting

There is nothing better than taking a hot shower or a relaxing bath after a long day, but if your bathroom isn’t the nicest space to be in, this can ruin the ambiance. In addition to this, a bathroom that looks shabby can also hinder the chances of you selling your home for a good price if you were to put it on the market, which is another good reason to invest in making this space as beautiful as possible. If you would like to create a spa-like, luxurious bathroom, here are a few ways you can do this.

Get a New, Stylish Bathroom Suite

A good way to improve the look of your bathroom is to replace your old suite with a new one. There are many styles to choose from, such as deep, vintage-style bathtubs that are perfect for soaking in or even an incredible walk-in shower. A gorgeous ceramic sink can also improve the look of your bathroom, particularly if it is resting on top of a beautiful stone or granite surface – some of which you can see examples of at granitetransformations.co.uk.

Add Some Plant Life

Houseplants can do a lot to improve the appearance of a room, and they can also add a slightly tropical feel to your bathroom too. It is also said that plants can improve the overall living environment and help to boost your mood, which is another good reason to introduce some into your living space. Some plants that would be ideal in a bathroom and make it look more luxurious are peace lilies, kentia palms, Boston ferns, and philodendrons. 

A Chic Color Scheme

Blues and whites are very traditional colors for bathrooms, and they do work well. However, if you want your bathroom to stand out and feel more upmarket, think about branching out and choosing bolder, chicer colors instead. Earthy tones are very popular at the moment, but they can also offer a timeless design that will age well. Neutral colors are also an option, and you can introduce bursts of color through artwork, plants, and other accessories in your bathroom.

Introduce Candles

Taking a bath by candlelight is the ideal way to unwind when you have had a stressful day, so keeping some at hand in your bathroom is always a good idea. It will help to create a spa-like atmosphere that will enhance your overall experience, and even when they are not lit, they can look pretty sitting on display. Investing in some scented candles can also be a good idea, as they can help to keep your bathroom smelling fresh and sweet, which can be useful when you have guests over to visit!

Improve the Storage

Cleaning your bathroom regularly is a must for hygiene purposes and to create a better environment for you, however, having cleaning products and other odd toiletries on display can make your bathroom feel cluttered and messy even when it has been cleaned. Investing in some cabinets can provide a better storage solution and keep your bathroom looking neat at all times.

If you want to make your bathroom feel more luxurious, consider these tips and use them to help you achieve the look you want.

What if I told you that the globe is in debt to the tune of more than $233 trillion dollars? That is an astonishingly high amount, and it comes as no surprise that our economy is in such trouble. The expense of living continues to rise, yet the earnings necessary to pay for it all do not keep pace with those increases. However, there are several easy actions you may take to reduce your monthly expenses, consolidate your debt, and save money. Take a look at this:

Pay off your debts

As soon as you find yourself spending money on debt repayment, you should seek expert advice. Debt management services are able to help clients with a wide range of financial difficulties. They achieve this by compressing your due money into manageable monthly installments so that you may keep as much money in the account as possible. If you still owe money after five years of following this repayment plan, you may be able to have up to 85 percent of it legally wiped off.

Clip coupons

Finally, a great way to cut down on how much money you spend on living costs is to clip coupons and use them for things like food and gas. Magazines, newspapers, websites, and brochures are packed full of coupons. It is likely that you have heard about those who manage to pick up hundreds of dollars worth of food for a few dollars. Coupons are the reason. Imagine how much money you could save! Take a look at the infographic below for more information about how coupons could help you!

Infographic by DealRated

After many, many years of hard work and saving, you can finally see the rays of hope of retirement beginning to show in the distance. The years going up to retirement, on the other hand, are not ones to take it easy and hope that everything works out in the end. No, you should be doing everything in your power to ensure that you have everything you need to live a decent retirement lifestyle. Consider your income and any assets you have well in advance of your planned retirement date. This will give you ample time to make any required adjustments before you reach your retirement goal.

It goes without saying that you should think about the type of lifestyle you wish to lead after you retire. Instead of quitting your job completely, you can decide to work part-time or volunteer your time. Others may choose to follow their passions and travel the world to fulfill their goals. Whatever course you select, you must ensure that you have the money to support it, which is what we will discuss in greater detail in this post.

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Sort out your retirement account

If at all possible, boost your retirement contributions to the maximum amount permitted by your IRA, 401(k), or other retirement plans that you may be a participant in. To be eligible for the maximum matching contributions granted by your company, you should have enough money in your 401(k) to cover your expenses. You should consolidate your accounts as you approach retirement age, in order to simplify your investment management and to get an accurate picture of what you have saved for retirement. It may also be worthwhile to combine IRAs of the same type with one establishment and to review any 401(k) plans you may have with former employers.

With retirement ahead of you, it’s important to make financially sound decisions so that you’re not spending unnecessarily. Ultimately, you need to look into your assets and get rid of anything that is causing you financial burdens that you no longer require. This Wesley Financial Group review will explain how they can help you to exit your timeshare agreement, which can be a long process if you don’t have the right support. When you find a way to reduce your outgoings when you’re edging closer to retirement, you will ultimately feel much more confident and secure in your future.

Clear your debts

Before you reach retirement age, you should begin increasing your mortgage repayments in order to pay off the loan as soon as possible rather than later. Paying with cash for large purchases will help you avoid accruing new credit card obligations in the future. By paying off existing debts and avoiding taking on new ones, you can reduce the amount of your retirement income that will be spent on interest payments during your retirement years.

Invest for growth

Stocks and shares, by their very nature, carry big risks, and it may be tempting, as you begin to wind down your financial life, to avoid this type of investment. However, the potential for growth that stocks may give can be advantageous. It is recommended that you keep a wide and well-balanced investment portfolio, including things such as bonds, real estate, and even Forex Trading and Cryptocurrency, since this will assist you in weathering economic downturns and potentially generating enough income to support you throughout your retirement – which will hopefully be long and prosperous!

When it comes to retirement planning, it is never too late to get a jumpstart on things. While a decade or more away, it may seem like a faraway occurrence, but it will creep up on you eventually. While time is still on your side, proper planning and setting realistic goals can help you achieve the retirement you have always wanted while still enjoying your working years.

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With finances being stretched further, it may seem like one of the most difficult things in the world to set aside any amount of money for emergencies. If you don’t know how to do it and you are already on a tight budget, how can you make sure that you do put money aside for a rainy day, regardless of your income? 

Make Saving a Priority

Many people wait to see how much they have leftover at the end of the month before they start saving. Instead, you need to get into the mindset of putting money towards your emergency savings before doing anything else. Once the money is in a savings account, you don’t have the temptation to spend it on anything else.

Don’t Spend Any Windfalls

If you have any extra money that comes in, you would be tempted to spend it on something nice. Instead, put it in an emergency savings fund. Because this money wasn’t factored in as part of your monthly budget, you won’t miss it. As nice as it is to buy something nice for yourself, if you’re trying to get towards your savings goal, you’ve got to make the most of every little windfall. 

Automate Your Savings

This is one of the best ways to make life easier for yourself. Because if you tell yourself you are going to start saving but unforeseen circumstances crop up, it will stop you from putting it into savings. Instead, setting up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings accounts will start to build up that fund. Regardless of how much you decide to contribute, this way you won’t forget about it or use it for something else. 

Letting the Money Grow

If you are not able to put much aside, you might wonder if there’s any point, but the fact is that any little fund is going to make a big difference when it adds up over time. Because there are plenty of ways for you to do this, such as a money market account or a high-yield savings account, you can get a big return on your investment. 

Do Top-Ups

Getting started can be one of the biggest challenges, and if you are already limiting your spending in many other aspects of your life, you may find it there’s a little something saved over that you would be tempted to spend on yourself, but similarly to the windfall approach, you can put any little top up into the savings account. You could use an automated savings app like Plum that does a top-up of putting any money aside which can be as little as a few cents. And because the amount is so low you won’t miss it, but you’re still increasing your savings ever so slightly. 

Making Changes to Your Budget

If you are trying to save for retirement, it might be time to start slashing your budget and trimming as much as humanly possible. Because if you’re used to a certain lifestyle just trimming it by 10% or so can make a big difference.

With finances being stretched further, it may seem like one of the most difficult things in the world to set aside any amount of money for emergencies. If you don’t know how to do it and you are already on a tight budget, how can you make sure that you do put money aside for a rainy day, regardless of your income? 

Make Saving a Priority

Many people wait to see how much they have leftover at the end of the month before they start saving. Instead, you need to get into the mindset of putting money towards your emergency savings before doing anything else. Once the money is in a savings account, you don’t have the temptation to spend it on anything else.

Don’t Spend Any Windfalls

If you have any extra money that comes in, you would be tempted to spend it on something nice. Instead, put it in an emergency savings fund. Because this money wasn’t factored in as part of your monthly budget, you won’t miss it. As nice as it is to buy something nice for yourself, if you’re trying to get towards your savings goal, you’ve got to make the most of every little windfall. 

Automate Your Savings

This is one of the best ways to make life easier for yourself. Because if you tell yourself you are going to start saving but unforeseen circumstances crop up, it will stop you from putting it into savings. Instead, setting up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings accounts will start to build up that fund. Regardless of how much you decide to contribute, this way you won’t forget about it or use it for something else. 

Letting the Money Grow

If you are not able to put much aside, you might wonder if there’s any point, but the fact is that any little fund is going to make a big difference when it adds up over time. Because there are plenty of ways for you to do this, such as a money market account or a high-yield savings account, you can get a big return on your investment. 

Do Top-Ups

Getting started can be one of the biggest challenges, and if you are already limiting your spending in many other aspects of your life, you may find it there’s a little something saved over that you would be tempted to spend on yourself, but similarly to the windfall approach, you can put any little top up into the savings account. You could use an automated savings app like Plum that does a top-up of putting any money aside which can be as little as a few cents. And because the amount is so low you won’t miss it, but you’re still increasing your savings ever so slightly. 

Making Changes to Your Budget

If you are trying to save for retirement, it might be time to start slashing your budget and trimming as much as humanly possible. Because if you’re used to a certain lifestyle just trimming it by 10% or so can make a big difference.

The retirement age seems to keep going up and up, but with some intelligent savings, many people can retire precisely when they want to. 

When we talk about saving for retirement, the best time to start saving is right now, or more than ten years ago (depending on your age). 

It is estimated that most people don’t know how much they need to have set aside for retirement, and with inflation, it can be tricky to know for sure. 

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Typically you are recommended your retirement income should be about 80% of what you earned yearly until your chosen retirement age. So if you have been making a round of $100,000 a year, you’re going to want to set aside $80,000 for each year of your retirement to live at roughly the same standard. 

So how can you prep your finances to make sure you can have an enjoyable retirement? 

Set a Goal

Setting saving goals is something that we need to do throughout life anyway, but when it comes to your retirement, you need to know how much to save – and make it last. The above example is relatively high since the average income in the US in 2019 was around $31,133. 

Something that is worth considering is, do you plan on traveling? Will you sell and downsize your home? Do you have multiple pensions? 

And a factor you might consider for your family is, have you got the proper insurance to take care of you when you die? Protecting your loved ones after you die should be in your goal planning and is possible with term life insurance. 

Once you set your total financial goal, you then need to work out how much of a % of your yearly income should go into your retirement savings. The later in life you begin to save, the higher the percentage is going to be. 

Retirement Account

If you are simply leaving your savings in your regular account, it can be all too easy to eat into them. Instead, it is a good idea to open a retirement account. 

Some accounts are better than others when it comes to retirement accounts, and while you can open a standard savings account, there are some government accounts that are designed for retirement savings. 

These types of special accounts come with some tax advantages, which makes them worth considering. 

Employer-sponsored retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts, are the two basic forms of retirement accounts (IRAs). These regular and Roth versions of both types of accounts are offered. Both provide tax-advantaged growth of your investment funds, but you get to choose whether you want a tax cut now or later.

IRA

You might have access to a retirement account through your work; then, you can either choose from a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA. 

You must have taxable income for the year in order to contribute to these accounts. Roth IRAs have higher income requirements. 

If you’re single, you must make less than $124,000, and if you’re married and filing jointly, you must make less than $196,000 to contribute the maximum amount to a Roth IRA.

Employer-sponsored retirement accounts 

Some companies offer this benefit to their employees, and most people have heard of the 401(k). You might have access to other plans like the 457(b) or the 403(b), SIMPLE IRA, or the SEP-IRA. 

What makes these accounts so brilliant is that they often have an employer contributions match. So effectively, with these, you can double your money, potentially reducing your time to retirement. 

Automation

There is no doubt about it that saving for years can feel like a lot of effort. So what can you do to help lessen the manual work? 

Automation of your savings means that you will not have to move your money from one account to another. Instead, you can set your saving parameters, and each month or week, the correct amount will be put into your accounts. 

If you like the idea of also having some smaller saving pots, there are automated saving applications too. 

Smaller side savings can be used to top up your retirement accounts at a later date or to cover any emergency expenses, so you don’t need to dip into any other savings. 

Here are some of the most used, reviewed, and ‘best’ savings apps to make automatic savings a snip. 

• Acorns
• Digit
• Chime
• Empower Finance
• Qapital
• B of A Keep The Change
• Plum

Each of these automated saving options has a range of different benefits, so you’ll need to read reviews to deice which is the best option for you. What makes many automated saving apps brilliant is that they work on an algorithm that tracks your income, your average spending, and your upcoming bills. It then only saves what you can afford. 

You can typically hook up your main bank account and enjoy most of the perks on a free account. 

Spend Less Now

While you are looking at your financial future, it is a great time to look at your current financial standing. How much are you spending and where? Could you be trimming some of the expenses each month so that you could save more? 

It is essential that you still enjoy your money, but when it comes to planning for the future, every little bit helps. 

If you are looking for some of the best places to save money from regular bills, this post can help you: 5 Common Bills You Can Make Savings On. 

Start Now

As mentioned at the start of the post, the most critical time to start saving if you haven’t already is right now. Take a look at what you have available right now, and even a few dollars can be the start of a fund that will help you enjoy your retirement to the fullest. 

Keep in mind that not many people can save up thousands in a few short weeks and that every cent that you put into your savings is going towards a healthier financial future. 

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A lot is often said about adults needing to learn how to budget. However, it is not just adults that need to learn how to budget the money they earn. Kids need to do so as well.

Helping your teenager to learn how to budget your money is a skill that will be beneficial to them as they go into adulthood. 

If your teenager is currently working at a part-time job or even if they are only getting their allowance, showing them how to manage their money effectively is one of those life skills that have tremendous value. Here are some tips for showing your teenager how to manage their money.

Look at Income

One of the things you need to look at is your child’s income. Determining the income of your child is the first step to helping them to manage their budget. 

After all, you have to know what you are working with to know how to manage the money. If your teenager gets money from a part-time job, an allowance, or money from relatives and friends on their birthday or special holidays all of this can be added up to create their budget. 

You can create a budget for every month of the year if the amount fluctuates.

Note All Expenses

The next thing you need to do is to make a note of all the expenses that they have during the month. If your child is an older teen they will probably have a cell phone bill that they need to pay every month. 

If they have a car they will probably need to put gas in it regularly. They may also have expenses for certain foods they like to buy for themselves. 

Creating a monthly tally of the expenses is essential because it will help them to know their income and expenditure.

You should show your child exactly how to go about subtracting your income from your expenditure. This will allow them to know if they are going over budget and even if they have any money left over for savings. 

If they find that they are spending more than they are earning this is the time when you will look at ways for them to start cutting their expenses.

Discuss Savings

The next thing you need to discuss is how they are going to save money. If your teen is completely over budget they will need to sit down and figure out how they are going to curb their expenses to save more money. 

Maybe they will need to carpool on some days or maybe they need to stop eating so much of their favorite foods. Teaching them how to make sacrifices so that they can save for long-term goals is necessary.

After they’ve done all of this work you can then show them how to create a balanced budget. Show them how to work the numbers until they balance everything. This is a skill that will stay with them for a lifetime.

Budgeting for Recreation

While it is important to teach your teen how to balance money for their expenses. It is also important for you to teach them how to set aside money for those activities that they enjoy. 

Life is about having a balance and teaching them how to save, balance their expenses and also use the money for recreation is essential.

Make sure that you show your child how to prioritize needs and wants. This will help them decide how best to spend their money.

It is important that you also show your teen examples of young people who have managed to make a name for themselves in one way or another and also have a high net worth. 

For example, millennial Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was nicknamed AOC. AOC is currently worth $200,000. This is just one example but you can find others too.

Start Wealth Building Now

Building wealth is something that you need to start teaching children from a very early age. Showing them how to effectively manage their finances from when they are young is something that will be ingrained in them as they become adults. 

This will lead to less frustration when they have to deal with their expenses as adults. It will also help them to start building wealth from they are very young. 

The earlier your child starts building wealth the more likely it is that they will have financial freedom as they get older.

Buying a gift for a loved one is a fun-filled process; you’ll likely enjoy the opportunity to choose something really special. Sometimes no matter how well you know someone, you just can’t think of the perfect idea. To help you out, consider these four sentimental gift ideas for someone special.

1. Photo Album 

A beautiful photo album is a perfect gift for a loved one. First, choose a cute album, and then put all your favorite photographs of the two of you inside. It can be a lovely touch to add descriptions and captions, to talk about the photographs. As well as this, you might like to decorate the photograph edges with crafty touches, (whether ribbons, sequins, or glitter). Let your creative side flow and create a nice homemade album that they’ll look back on for years to come. Sometimes it’s the gifts that we have made ourselves that are the most well-received.

2 . Jewelry 

A gorgeous piece of jewelry is the perfect sentimental gift for someone special. There’s something particularly special and luxurious about receiving jewelry as a gift. Most of the time, we don’t tend to buy ourselves jewelry, and so the offering feels that little bit more precious and unique! This is especially true when it comes to buying for a special man in your life. They may not even think about buying beaded bracelets for men when in truth, they’d actually really appreciate it as part of their ensemble.

The great thing about jewelry gifts is they are made to last. These gifts don’t tend to suffer much wear and tear, (so long as you choose a top-quality piece). It’s essential to consider the style closely, so you can choose something your giftee will just love. If your loved one isn’t a jewelry fan, a fancy watch is a perfect alternative, for example, a nice Audemars Piguet watch.

And if you really want to treat them to a sentimental gift, why not consider taking things to the next level? Take a look at what different moissanite jewelers have to offer when it comes to beautiful engagement rings, and treat your special someone to a gift they will never forget! Of course, make sure you’re looking for quality when it comes to such an important purchase. When looking for a high-quality ring, don’t forget to refer to the 4 C’s – Cut, Carat, Color, and Clarity.

3. Homemade Wall Decoration

Want to get even more creative? It’s simple to make a lovely framed wall decoration for your loved one. All you have to do is print out a line or two of their favorite song lyrics or a poem. Ensure that you choose a pretty font and go for big letters (so it can be seen when hanging on the wall). Choose an arty and bright-colored frame for the print, and then decorate the frame if you wish. You might even have an idea for a nice quote or poem that you can write to yourself?

4. Personalized Story

Looking to get super sentimental? Why not create a personalized story? There are several companies online that will create a cute illustrated story. An example of one company is ‘LoveBook’. You can use the platform to build your story and design the illustrations to look like you!  It might be a story about a memory you share, how you met, or the story of your first vacation together. Whether it’s a Christmas gift or for a birthday, a personalized story is just perfect.

Whether you’re looking to splurge or save, purchase or go-handmade, hopefully, one of these ideas will be just perfect for you! Be sure to set a rough budget in mind first before you get shopping.