savings Archives - Dad of Divas

Create A Second Income & Save!

March 30, 2021 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

When you are dealing with debt and a squeeze around your income, you immediately begin to search for other options that make sense for your finances. One of these options for some people is to get a second income stream set up and ready to go. The trouble comes when it gets to choosing what to do as a second income: where do you even begin?

The thing is, it’s not all that hard to choose something to do and create an income stream out of it. Whether you are able to spend time driving and you are searching for a truck load to bid on for delivery, or you choose to go door to door delivering leaflets, it’s not hard to find a job that fits in with what you want to do in life. You can add some income to your bank account every month around your job, and you will see the benefit pretty quickly! With this in mind, here are a few ways you can create that second income with ease.

Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava from Pexels

Invest. Whether you invest in stocks, shares, houses or gold, investing your money is a clever way to ensure that you get exactly what you want for your income. Take the time to speak to a financial advisor and get yourself educated on how investments work. You may even be told to go ahead and invest in Monthly Income Plans, which is great as an option if you don’t have the time to pursue something in which you’re interested. There are plenty of options out there and it’s a scheme that invests in equities, offering a regular income.
Consult. What are you good at? If you know you have knowledge that stands out in a particular field, you can take that knowledge and run with it by offering your services as a consultant. You can sell your advice and services both online and offline, helping other people and small businesses to solve their biggest problems. Developing and managing your website, referring students to a particular institute – you can outsource pretty much any skill if you know where to look!
Ecommerce. You can sell any old items and things that you create online on e-commerce sites and earn a crust that way. You can manage this around your current job in the evenings and still manage to enjoy a good income! You should consider what you’re selling and how others will benefit from it and then you’ll have a good option to add a second income securely.
Tutor. Similarly to consulting, you should consider becoming a tutor. You will be able to provide unbeatable knowledge either privately or via a school or college and earn a small income at the same time. You can enhance your knowledge and add to your income at the same time. You may have an excellent knowledge in a specific subject, and if you do, you can sell that knowledge to help others. No matter what you do, creating a second income allows you more stability with your income.

Tips For Investing For Your Family’s Future

November 11, 2020 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Everyone knows the importance of family, and when it comes to your family’s future, you want to do what’s best for them. There’s a lot that you can do and in many different ways but one of the most important things is your financial health. Investments are a great way of helping to potentially give your funds a bit of a boost and to hopefully set you and your loved ones up with a financially healthier future. But not everyone invests their money for fear of the unknown and potentially losing their savings. However, with the right attitude and approach, it could be something that you can provide for your family. Here are some tips for investing for your family’s future.

Photo by Emma Bauso from Pexels

Save, Save, Save

Saving is important to any individual in life, and the more you can save, the better. Regardless of your income, your age or position in life, it’s always good to be setting money aside for a rainy day, or in this case – an investment. In order to build your funds, having a savings pot is essential. A savings post is going to help you take advantage of all these potential opportunities and investments that will come your way throughout your life. If you’re saving money aside and plenty of it, you give yourself more advantage when it comes to spending it. Some of that money may go towards living in the moment right now, and another may go to spending it during retirement. It’s worth allocating various savings pots for different reasons because it’s going to give you the option of doing more in life. So if you want to invest your money, the first thing you’ll need to do is save it. Sounds like you’re doing the opposite of what you need to be doing but if you’re not willing to save, then you’ll have no money to spend on investing without investing your whole savings fund. And at the end of the day, you should only risk what you can afford to lose.

Do Your Research

As mentioned above, every investment has its risks. And when it comes to risks, a lot of us will shy away from taking them. That’s because no one wants to be in the position where they’re dealt the losing card, right? We all want that shiny pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but if there’s a whole host of obstacles in the way that could risk losing it, many of us will be complacent in doing nothing instead. Research is important when it comes to investments because, with very little knowledge of the thing you’re investing in, it increases your chances of it failing. So when it comes to any investment, look into it more.

Those questions that you have to confusing parts of the investment, seek the answers to. If you’re going into it blindly or with half the information, it can be difficult to get a positive outcome. You have to be very lucky in some cases, and that luck can often not always run in your favour. With that being said, do the research if you’re unsure and trust your gut.

Consider Buying To Rent

Property is a great investment to make, and one way in which you can take advantage of the property market is to buy properties to rent out. These would be something you can either buy outright if possible or to lend a loan in order to pay it off through those who rent from you. It can be a great way to generate a passive income, and that can be great for those times in life where you need a bit of extra money here and there. Look at what properties are out there and consider the potential rental yield that’s available with each property you look at.

A lot of lenders are going to look at the rental yield against what you’re borrowing to make sure that you’re going to be able to pay off this mortgage or loan with the money you make each month from the property. One thing to note is that when it comes to buying to rent, you may have dead months where the tenancy isn’t filled, and so it’s important to have a backup fund. This can cover you during those quiet times if you are unfortunate to have them. Be cautious when renting abroad to as a condo for rent Singapore might perform differently to one in your home country.

Look At Investing In Property Shares

Investing in property shares is important, and it’s certainly something that you want to think about as an alternative option. It might be that you don’t fancy funnelling all your money into the one investment where you’re completely responsible. It might be that you put a fraction of the money in to get a share of the investment pot. This can be beneficial to do and a way of doing something different to simply buying a house outright or with a loan.

Be Wary Of Timing

Timing is key when investing, especially in property. There’s no point in buying to let out a property just before you retire because, at that point, you don’t really need or want your money to be tied up to anything. Instead, you want to be cashing all your investments in so that you can enjoy the money you’ve earned over time. Look at your timing, and it’s ideal if you can create a plan or timeline to stick to when it comes to investing in properties.

Diversify Your Portfolio

And lastly, be sure to diversify your portfolio. Don’t just concentrate on the property market but explore stocks and shares too. Look to expand your portfolio and to have your eggs in several baskets than just the one.

Investing is a great way in hopefully making your money go further, so use these tips to help make that happen. Setting your family up financially can be a great relief!

Are Payday Loans a Good Idea?

October 21, 2020 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Are Payday Loans a Good Idea?

It can be really hard to make sound financial decisions when you feel like you have nowhere else to turn, which is why many people go to payday loans when their credit rating isn’t good enough for credit cards and short-term personal loans from banks. There has been much criticism about payday loans in the media, claiming that payday loan companies do not hold consumers’ best interests at heart. If you’re thinking of getting a payday loan, read this first.

A Potentially Dangerous Cycle

Payday loans are mostly for consumers who need an extra bit of money to make ends meet – normally this is for relatively small amounts, a few hundred dollars or so. These loans are due by the next time that the borrower gets paid, but the interest rates can make this payment difficult. The average payday loan in America comes with an interest rate of between 300% to 400%, which means that people who are desperate for money feel they have no choice but to take those high-interest rates.

If they can’t pay the loan back, they might have to take another payday loan at the end of the month. If their credit rating has gotten worse in the meantime, they will get even higher interest rates. If they can’t pay the next loan, they have to take out another, causing a dangerous spiral into debt. Roughly 25% of all payday loans are rolled over like that at least nine times, creating interest of over 1,000% on what was initially borrowed. This dangerous cycle is called a debt trap, and can ruin lives and cause large amounts of stress as the borrower receives intimidating letters and even visits from debt collectors.

No Alternative?

Many people turn to payday loans because they feel they have no alternative. In many situations, that just isn’t true. Some people can borrow from family or friends, but feel too proud to ask. There are also other loan mechanisms that don’t have such high-interest rates. Car title loans are such an example – they have an interest rate of about 96% and just require the borrower to own a car or have a car in the final months of payment. Read this: a fantastic article on how to get car title loans in Miramar, if you want more information on how the process works.

Demand Still High

The demand for payday loans is still high and expected to get even higher due to rising unemployment. Millions of Americans use them every year and nearly 5% of US adults take one out annually. This might be due to the fact that in 2019, 46% of Americans would not be able to cover an unexpected expense of $400 according to the US federal reserve. Although many would just pawn an item or sell some assets, payday loan companies don’t make most of their money from people who could sell items to pay for bills – almost three-quarters of American payday loan industry profits come from borrowers who need to take out over 10 loans a year, many of these stacked up on top of each other.

4 Ways Parents Can Make Money Online

March 13, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Whether you’re a stay-at-home-parent or a full-time worker, there comes a time when we could all use some extra money in the bank. The good news is that there are a vast number of moneymaking opportunities online, making it easier than ever for families to have a few extra dollars stashed away. So whether you’re looking to make a full-time income working from home or just some extra cash for your holiday fund, here are four ways you can make money online as a parent.

Blogging

Blogging is perhaps one of the most attractive ways to make money online because you can write about anything you like. As long as you identify a niche and create engaging content for your audience, there’s no reason why you can’t turn a fulfilling hobby into a source of income. Set up a professional-looking website, take high-quality photos in natural light and stick to a regular posting schedule and you will start to establish a subscriber base. You can write about anything from skateboarding to cooking or just life as a stay-at-home parent. The best ways to monetize your blog are through affiliate marketing, advertising, email marketing and sponsorships, though you’ll need to establish a following before you can make much money from your posts.

Sell Your Skills

If you have a skill, such as writing or web design, then why not advertise it online? You can sign up to freelance sites like Fiver and Upwork to find clients or set up your own website. If you’ve worked for a company or organization in the past, you can list this experience on your site to establish your credibility. Don’t forget: your website needs to be clear, concise and easy to navigate. Don’t cram it with ads or use too many different fonts and colors. If you want to be taken seriously, then your website needs to appear professional.

Sell Products

You can make money online by selling products through an e-commerce website. If your products are digital (such as e-books or online coaching courses), then you can sell directly through your blog and use email marketing to invite customers back. If you’re selling physical products (such as something you’ve made or a product from another manufacturer), then make sure you package the product with a logo and business card, so your customers know where to come back for more. For expert merchandising and product packaging design visit eventige.com. Over time, your business will grow, and you can start selling more products.

Take Surveys

If you don’t have much time and you just want to make a small amount of money on the side, you can complete online surveys and watch videos to make extra cash from the comfort of your own home. You won’t get rich by taking surveys, but it is a fun way to put some extra cash in your pocket. Just do your research to make sure you’re using a reliable survey site as some are only there to get your details so they can spam you.

How to Grow Your Savings Pot

August 18, 2017 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

How to Grow Your Savings Pot

Savings allow us to fulfill our dreams of buying a new home, enjoying the holiday of a lifetime or earning a college degree. What’s more, they can provide reassurance that we are financially protected for a rainy day. Find out how to grow your savings pot.

Open a High-Interest Savings Account

Maximize your finances and open a high-interest savings account. However, don’t rush into a decision. Research the market to identify the best savings account for your needs, as it could help you to reach your financial goals at a faster rate.

Sell Your Unwanted Stuff

Most of us have items that are adding unnecessary clutter to the home, such as books you will never read and gadgets you will use again. Don’t allow the items to collect dust and sell the items to receive a cash amount. There are many auction websites and phone apps designed to make the selling process as easy as possible, such as Gumtree and eBay. The money can then go directly into your savings account.

Start a Side Hustle

Add a little extra cash into your savings pot by picking up a side hustle. You will simply use one of your many skills to make regular money. For example, you could provide an ironing service, perform data entry tasks or walk other people’s dogs. Whatever your skills and experience, put them to good use to boost your savings. You can also take advantage of one of the many freelance websites online to find the right side hustle for you.

Sell Your Unwanted Gift Cards

Your loved one will have spent a great deal of time and money selecting the right gift card for you. Even if they haven’t picked the right store, you can trust they will not want their money to go to waste. That’s why you should consider selling the gift card at EJ Gift Cards, as you can trade the gift card and pin number for hard, cold cash, which will increase your savings.

Keep a Change Jar

Do you often have change rolling around in your pocket, purse or wallet? If so, add the coins to a change jar to watch the money mount up in no time. You’ll be surprised by how quick those pennies can accumulate, which you can then deposit into your savings account. It will also prevent impulse buying, so you won’t waste your money on things you don’t need.

Save Your Pay Rise

We all love a pay rise, but so many people waste the money unnecessarily. Instead, by adding the increased earnings directly into your savings account each payday, you can save quicker. You will not miss the money, because you are not used to having the extra cash. It will boost your savings balance substantially at the end of each year.

A savings account will provide peace of mind that you have a financial backup plan if you need it. It will also allow you to fulfil your hopes and dreams. You must, therefore, look for opportunities to boost your savings account, so you can live the life you dream about every day.

Shop.co Lets You Buy Any Product, From Any Store In One Place!

June 30, 2017 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Shop.co is a Universal Cart browser extension that lets you buy any product, from any online retailer: no more registrations, checkouts, or losing your cart.

This sounded like an extension that I would definitely like. If I can save money and time when it comes to shopping I am all for it. I downloaded the free extension and gave it a whirl and let me tell you, it is amazing!

With Shop.co you are able to purchase from multiple sites with ease and you can do it all from one checkout. No longer do I have to go from site to site to get the shopping done. Better yet, I do not have to scour the internet looking for coupon codes that actually work. Instead the bots in Shop.co search for you and find deals that you will want to use for yourself. Shop.co makes shopping convenient and simple and I find now, with the use of this extension I am completing more of my sales because I am not having to go from site to site!

Features

Shop Everywhere: Add any product, from any online store in the US, to one cart
Register Instantly: Shop.co ‘s bots take care of the entire checkout process, so all you have to do is click “Place Order”
Save It For Later: Keep products you’re still thinking about in one convenient spot.
Save Money: Bots scour the web for available coupons to be applied to your order
Manage Orders: Keep track of every purchase you’ve made with Shop.co with one simple login.
Free Your Inbox: Keep all order related emails in your Shop.co dashboard, so you can finally clean up your personal inbox.
Link Your Accounts: Use all your existing retailer accounts so you won’t miss out on points or perks.
Stay Secure: We secure your data with state-of-the-art encryption methods and two-step verification.

The Shop.co Universal Cart from Shop.co on Vimeo.

I have been really impressed with Shop.co thus far and in doing even a bit more research I was excited to see that the company can be used to checkout at every online store in the US – over 170,000 in total!
That’s close to 1 billion products available for online purchases.

The company states that the average amount saved per order using Shop.co’s automatic coupon and
deal finder is $5. In using this myself I found this to be true as well, and many times I found I could save even more than that.

This definitely does save time. The company did a bit of research and found that the average time saved by checking out with Shop.co versus manual registration and checkout is 12 minutes. If you buy online once a week, that’s 624 minutes saved per year – or long enough to catch up on a full season of Game of
Thrones with time to spare for reading spoilers.

I highly recommend that you try the Shop.co Extension for yourself! If you would like to try it, download it for yourself here.

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Get Unlocked This November With Best Buy’s Mobile Savings Event!

October 31, 2016 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

When I am looking for a new phone usually these days I am looking for an unlocked phone. Why? Unlocked phones are becoming a popular choice here in the U.S. because nothing beats the freedom of an unlocked phone when it comes to choice of models, carriers or plans.

Gone are the days of feeling stuck or trapped as with an unlocked phone you are not tied to a specific carrier or contract. Therefore, you have the freedom to shop for the latest phones and plans as often — or as infrequently — as you like. And when it comes to international travel, unlocked phones can’t be beat.

Are you looking for a new phone? Have you looked into an unlocked phone yourself? Best Buy has an Unlocked Smartphone savings event going on right now with sales on Samsung, Huawei, Moto, Sony, BLU, Alcatel and ZTE smartphones.

Here are some of the largest benefits of Unlocked Phones I have found:

They offer freedom and flexibility from carriers and contracts
Save money
Great for International Travel

Shop your favorite brand during the Unlocked Smartphone Savings Event.

Here are some of the offers I have found:

Moto:

Offer: Save $50 on Select Moto Mods with purchase of Moto Z Play
Valid Dates: 10/30/16-11/5/16

Huawei:

Offer: Save $50 on the Honor 8 by Huawei plus get a free case, selfie stick and extra charging cable
Valid Dates: 10/30/16-11/12/16

Samsung:

Offer: Save $100 on the Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
Valid Dates: 10/30/16-11/12/16

BLU:

Offer: Save $40 on the BLU Life XL
Valid Dates: 11/6/16-11/12/16

Sony:

Offer: Save $50 on the Sony XPERIA X Compact
Valid Dates: 10/30/16-11/12/16

Disclaimer for all offers listed: Offer valid 10/30/16-11/12/16. Phones, service and coverage not available in all markets. Available in New Jersey. No dealers. See a Blue Shirt for details. 4G/4G LTE not available in all markets. Products must be purchased on same receipt to receive bundle/package savings.

Saving Money With Shell Fuel Rewards!

April 10, 2016 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

I am the type of person that always enjoys saving money. I look for ways to save money in shopping, and lately I have found great savings program that keeps giving back to me every time that I fill up my gas tank.

Shell has an amazing Fuel Rewards program that not only allows you to save money at the pump but it also continues to add up savings with every fill-up that you do.

The best part is if you sign up between now until June 5, you can sign up for the Fuel Rewards Program and save 25 cents per gallon on your first fill up. Even better, an additional 3 cents per gallon will be taken off your fuel balance after each fill-up from there on out. I recently heard a story of one Fuel Rewards member that paid a total of 19 cents for 20 gallons worth of fuel, and even if they just saved the guaranteed 3 cents per gallon, that’s still almost a dollar off per tank!

If you are interested, send me the best shipping address for a delivery. In the meantime, learn more at fuelrewards.com and get some HUGE savings for yourself along the way!

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What are you looking for from Upromise?

November 30, 2011 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Upromise.com is a site that I have talked about in the past in regards to the great benefit that it offer parents in saving money for their children (or for themselves) for future education. I have been a member for some time and what I love about the program is that it works with you so that anytime that you use your UPromise credit card you have the opportunity to get a percentage back that is used to save money toward college. On top of this though there are great opportunities to go online and save money by purchasing or using the services of certain companies through the UPromise.com website.

All someone needs to do is go to the UPromise website and find the company that they are looking to purchase from and then you can see the percentage of give back as well as getting complete access to the company’s website as you typically would if you had gone directly to the business directly. Upromise has a huge number of companies represented, but they are always looking for more companies to add for all of their members.

What I am doing today is asking that each of you go to Upromise.com and check out the businesses represented. Once you do this, I would request that you come back here and let me know your thoughts are of the site as well as any businesses that should be listed on the site that are not currently there.

I really look forward to hearing from you and your thoughts on their great website and company!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Show Me the Money – Managing My Family Finances

February 10, 2011 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Thank you to TurboTax for sponsoring my writing about household finances.Learn more about how TurboTax can help you find every tax deduction you deserve. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I know that as a family I have struggled with both budgeting and figuring out the best way to manage money. I have always been frugal, but being frugal and know what to do with money are two different things in my perspective. I have read books, and I have tried numerous methods, many times to no avail.

I have been lucky though that my family and I have never gotten into financial trouble in the past. We have good credit scores and we stay on top of things. I think we do this by limiting what we do and being frugal with what we must have. This does not mean that we don’t have debt, far from it. Actually, we have college debt, car loans, etc, that we will be paying off for some time to come. What I am saying is that we have never gotten to the point where we have felt so lost that we didn’t know what to do, though there have been a few times where it has felt close.

Lately what I have been doing to try and keep track of expenses is that I track my receipts based on the budget that I set. I know that this sounds extreme to some but I find it lets me see where we are overspending and where we have saved money. In some of the books that I have read they recommend that you cash out your ceck and live off cash. We do not do this (though for those that do, I hear it is very eye-opening), but we slowly but surely have started to be able to do the things that we want to do, and not just the things that we need to do (if you know what I mean).

Managing your money is never easy and it takes time and discipline, but it can be done.

I am really interested to hear the tricks that all of you use to manage your finances? What has worked, and what hasn’t?

Look forward to your thoughts!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Terms of Use for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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