UK Personal Finance Blog – A personal guide to UK finance.

Financial Skills That Most People Are Lacking

by admin

Being financially stable and secure is a dream come true for most people, and many often wonder how others do it successfully. In reality it’s not such a difficult mission, as there are only a couple of mistakes that need to be avoided. If you want to learn how to be at least a little bit more responsible with your personal assets or you just happen to be in a difficult situation financially, read along, so you can understand what you’ve probably done wrong and how can you correct your mistakes eventually.

Saving Properly

Probably the most common mistake that people tend to do is not setting aside a part of their income for more troubled times. However, emergencies are part of real life and can happen to everyone, so nobody is truly safe, no matter what the current financial situation looks like. This is important to keep in mind for the next time you find yourself with some extra money on your hands. It would be best if you put them in a saving account or just don’t spend them in the spur of the moment. If you do, you would most likely regret your recklessness over time.

Using Loans Responsibly

Unfortunately, living on credit cards is now quite common. However, what many people don’t seem to realize is the fact that when you purchase something on credit, you will pay much more for your bought item than its regular prize just because of the high interest rates that usually come along with the credit. As a result, it is often the case that people tend to spend much more than what they have earned and at the end of the month they are left wondering where their salaries have gone. Loans are a useful tool, but also one that has to be used correctly and with a responsible attitude. Otherwise, you’re risking a lot – and make no mistake, there’s no shortage of things that can go wrong if you’re an irresponsible borrower.

Shopping Smartly

Even though all of us know how sensible shopping should be done in theory, in reality a lot of us don’t do it. Normally, we tend to spend our income on various small things that we don’t really need and many of us suffer from our unhealthy spending habits. For some it is frivolous shopping, without comparing the prizes in the store before buying, for others it’s not cooking at home, but preferring to dine out and thus spending more on food. Whatever the reason, if you don’t take all those small things into account, you may be at a loss why you cannot save enough for something more important like a car or a holiday at an exotic destination.

Identifying Lucrative Side Opportunities

Quite a lot of people hold the opinion that in order to earn additional monthly income, one needs to be a financial wizard with a deep understanding of the way the market works. However, this is not the case and you definitely don’t need to be professional to start investing successfully. If you have an idea for a side business, do not hesitate to act and don’t be discouraged by what others say about your ways. What’s more, if you ever feel unsure about yourself or your abilities, you can always consult a financial advisor before risking certain investment ventures. Once you’ve got all the information you need, you can decide based on your personal situation what risks you are ready to take and how much to invest.

Avoiding Scams

Everybody’s heard of money scams, but unless you have experienced it personally it is very likely that you’d underestimate the danger of this type of fraud. However, scammers employ many different techniques to deceive the innocent and naive. Thus, you can never know who to trust online and it is better to be prepared for the worst. For example, never pay in advance for an item or a service without guarantee that you won’t be scammed. You can stay in touch with the most common types of frauds by doing a quick Internet research so you at least know what to expect.

Also, don’t despair if you happen to have made one or more of the mistakes that are in this list at some point of your life. What’s important is that you keep learning from your own faults and move forward. Just remember to be consistent with your finances and always keep track on what you spend versus what you earn. When you stray from overspending and save anything you can regularly, you’ll be fine when it comes to material matters for the most part.

Getting Started with Your First Side Business

by admin

Even if you happen to be an individual who gets along just fine financially with your full-time work, you may have the desire to achieve something more outside of your main job. There is nothing wrong with that, as having a side business to earn extra money can be indeed very rewarding if you make all the right steps. After all, with the right business moves you can indeed develop your side occupation into a full-time source of income. However, the idea by itself is worth nothing unless you make some preparations and know what you are getting into, especially when even one innocent mistake can turn out to be devastating for your progress.

Choose Your Niche Carefully

Naturally, before setting off to start a new business, you need to have a clear idea of what exactly you ae going to do. Besides choosing the type of services you’ll be offering, you also need to be aware of the time you can dedicate and whether or not your future business would collide with your primary job. Choosing to start a side job is not a decision that can be taken without some serious consideration. It would be best if you do some research to see what business ideas tend to be more successful and most importantly, if you have what it takes to realize them.

Analyse the Market with Advanced Tools

It is never easy to start something new on a tight schedule. Since you risk not only your personal time, but potentially other means as well, it is well worth it if you try to be as much informed as possible. You don’t have to be a financial expert in order to know how the market works, as you can get some insight with the help of specialized tools. By learning more about the preferences of your potential clients, you can make the required adjustments in your planning, so your business attracts a bigger audience.

Funding Considerations

One thing that you really need to plan through is how much you are willing to spend for you passion. Even though the goal of starting a side business is earning money, sometimes this may require an investment from your side just to get things going. Plan carefully and if you ever feel unsure about your intentions, it might be best to consult an accountant or a financial advisor. Don’t forget – the more means you pour into your side business, the greater the risk you are taking if something goes wrong. Because of this, it is a must that you prepare yourself as much as possible without rushing. A loan might often be required to make things work, so be prepared for that as well.

Stay Flexible

When you already know how your business model will look like, you need to fit your plan in your probably already tight schedule. This may not be so easy, as it means you might need to cut back on some of your normal activities so you could have the time you need. Since you already spend most of your days working, you will need to think when you can develop your side business. You will probably need to give up on some of your hobbies, such as playing video games or watching TV, but after all, you are doing it for a good reason.

Plan for Expansion

If everything goes according to plan, you may soon find yourself profiting from your business idea. However, even if you are earning well enough now, this may not be a constant thing. Unless you always try to improve and pursue new goals, you risk your business becoming stale. Try to see if it is possible for your business to grow and see if you can do anything to make it better. It is vital that you stay focused and continue to be active in the development of your idea, because after all, there is nobody else to do it beside yourself.

Realize When You Need to Scale Down

After you’ve done your research and finally having started the real work, you may be already wondering if you can take your idea even further. Expanding your business may sound tempting, but unfortunately it is not always the most suitable move. What you need to remember is to stay realistic about your abilities and how well you are doing with your life, now that you are working two jobs. Since your time to spare is already very limited, you may want to think if you can take any more responsibilities and tasks to do and don’t forget about your health too.

Being able to think clearly about what you are capable of is a very crucial point when it comes to being your own boss. Therefore it is vital to stay focused and always try to stay informed about the newest trends on the market. Launching your own business requires a lot of hard work, time and dedication, but once you do it properly, it can turn into a very rewarding experience and it will be well worth it all the trouble and the sleepless nights you went through.