forex fire

FINANCES: CREDIT CARDS AND LOANS

1. Create a budget and be realistic about all your incomings and outgoings. Make sure you know exactly what money you have and when you will have it. This will help you plan for events such as birthdays or holidays when you may need a little extra cash saved up.

2. Make sure you are getting the best possible interest rate for your savings, opening an online savings account could receive a higher interest rate than a regular current account.

3. Missing your credit card minimum payment dates will hit you with a big charge, so set up a direct debit payment to make sure you never miss the date by accident.

4. Lots of credit cards now offer cashback or points on your purchases or gift vouchers when you first sign up, so make sure you shop around before choosing your credit card. However don’t just choose a card because of a one off benefit, you have to look at the overall package.

5. Don’t be scared to transfer to another credit card with an interest free promotional period as lots of credit cards offer this now. However make sure you transfer to a different one before the promotional period is over as you could be charged with a higher interest rate once it has ended.

6. Keep your credit history healthy- this will make it easier to transfer to different credit cards when you need to.

7. Don’t sign up to department store credit cards even if they do offer you 10% off your first purchase, they charge you a very high interest rate, high late payment charges and are too tempting to have in your wallet while you are out shopping!

8. Don’t get yourself into a mess with paying your mortgage. If you are struggling to pay your monthly payments, speak to your provider about taking a mortgage payment holiday which is better than simply defaulting on your payments.

9. If you have a little extra money, pay more on your credit cards or loans instead of spending it on a treat. If you can pay your debts off quicker, you will pay less interest.

10. If you have been stung in the past by large bank charges, try to reclaim them by writing to your bank. If you think your bank charges are significantly higher than other banks, think about transferring your account.

11. If you travel a lot, use a credit card which doesn’t charge you for using it abroad. Some credit cards charge 2.5% for using it in a foreign country, however there are some that do not charge this fee if you shop around.

12. If you are worried about your finances, get free help from your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau, they understand what troubles you may be facing and are trained to help you think of solutions.

13. Make sure you are claiming any benefits that you are entitled to such as Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit. The forms can take a while to fill out and it can be confusing about what you are entitled for but you can go to your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help with any queries.

SHOPPING

14. Do you shopping online, this will stop you having to pay for buses or parking and you are more likely to buy what you need when you are online.

15. Join Internet Cashback to earn cashback while you shop online and get access to discount codes which aren’t available in the shops. Earn cashback on a variety of products including your food shopping, clothes shopping, credit cards, insurances etc. Download the Cashback Detector and you will never miss out on cashback while shopping online again!

16. Don’t buy everything from the usual high street shops; use a price comparison website before you buy anything to make sure you are getting the best prices, which could point you to an online shop you have never heard of before with the cheapest products.

17. Try not to impulse shop! Don’t buy something as soon as you see it; give yourself time to think about it so you can see if you really need it. This will also give you chance to shop around for the best price.

18. When buying your groceries try the supermarket’s economy range. You’ll find most of it tastes the same but is half the price, so don’t be put off by the packaging. Supermarket economy ranges are also good for toiletries, medicines and cleaning products.

19. Have a spring clean and sell anything you don’t want or use anymore on Ebay- it is really quick and easy to sell on Ebay now.

20. Do your grocery shopping at night if you can, as supermarkets such as ASDA or Tesco often reduce the price of food like bread, milk or cakes at the end of the day to make sure they sell it.

21. Before you go shopping, make a list of what you need and then stick to it, if you don’t know what you need, you’ll be more likely to overspend.

22. Don’t buy your daily cup of coffee from expensive coffee shops because they are too expensive. A £2 cup of coffee every day will cost you approximately £60 over the whole month! Take a flask out instead!

23. Take a packed lunch to work instead of buying it everyday, it will work out much cheaper especially if you’ve managed to get your bread reduced for your sandwiches the night before.

24. Don’t buy ready made meals; they’re expensive and not very healthy. If you get yourself organised you can cook a meal from scratch in about 20 minutes. It’s healthier and much cheaper.

25. Only buy what you need to eat, buying too much food means it’ll go out of date fast and you lose money on it.

26. Use the leftovers from your evening meals for your lunch the next day, as long as you keep in the fridge it will still stay nice and means you won’t need to buy your dinner out.

27. Always look out for special offers, coupons and discounts. Bulk buy if there is a special offer on something you regularly use, for example a BOGOF on toothpaste however don’t just buy something because it is reduced!

28. Don’t feel you have to be the first person to get the latest products, for example a mobile phone could cost £300 when first launched but could drop to only £50 in the next year.

29. Plan your family and friend’s birthday and Christmas presents in advance by buying them during the sales. If you have enough storage, you could buy your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.

EVENING ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE

30. Stop eating out at restaurants at evenings and weekends so often. It’s easy to get lazy and head out for dinner but you’ve got to remember that your meal will cost a lot more in a restaurant than it will cooking for yourself.

31. If you do eat out at a restaurant, try to skip the starter and only have two courses which will save you money without ruining your evening. Also, try to resist the coffee at the end of the meal, you can get one at home for much less.

32. Find a restaurant where you can take your own bottle of wine! These are quite common and will mean you are not paying restaurant prices for your drinks.

33. Take it in turns for you and your friends to throw a dinner party. This is much cheaper than going to a restaurant and is often more fun especially if you have themed evenings.

34. If you are going out for the evening, don’t go too early and have a few drinks before you leave. You will spend much less money but will still have fun!

35. If you have an expensive gym membership and do not use it then cancel it as it is a complete waste of money. Try walking instead or using your local leisure centre which will be much cheaper than a gym membership.

36. If you pay to go to a slimming club, consider starting your own with your family, friends and neighbours instead. You will still get the same motivation but will save on the weekly cost.

37. Don’t pay full price for cinema tickets as most cinemas offer cheap weekend or daytime prices, and if you know someone with an Orange mobile phone you can get 2-for-1 tickets on Wednesday’s with their Orange Wednesday promotion.

38. During summer holidays most council’s have free or cheap events for families and children to take part in, so make sure you hunt around to make the most of what is offered.

39. Libraries are a great place to take the children on a rainy day and are great for adults too as many now stock not only books but CDs , DVDs and magazines.

40. Share the cost of events with your family and friends, for example if you love football then buy a season ticket with your friends and take it in turns to go to the matches. This way you might miss out on some matches but that’s better than missing out on all of them.

41. Try and find a market research group in your area which will pay you very well for telling researches what you think of specific products or ideas. These are enjoyable to do and you are provided with refreshments while you are there.

FASHION

42. Aim to build your wardrobe up with classic pieces that match. This way you will be able to interchange everything, so you won’t have to buy as many new pieces.

43. Go to the factory or clearance shops; they’re much cheaper and give you big brands at low prices and chances are, nobody will know where you bought them from!

44. Try to save your shopping trips until the sales are on. Although make sure you don’t buy things just because they are cheap if you don’t actually need them and take them back if they don’t fit as many shops do not open their fitting rooms during busy sale times.

45. Go to your local charity shop for cheap clothes! Remember, the majority of celebrities shop in charity stores because that’s where all the quirky stuff is so you will be in good company!

46. Don’t splash out on designer clothes for your children. Hand-me-downs and supermarket clothing ranges are a great way to dress your children cheaply and they probably won’t even notice the difference.

47. Learn how to sew and fix your clothes, not only will you be able to sew any holes or rips, you will also be able to customise your own clothes to make one off pieces.

48. Return clothes for a refund that you have bought and then realised you don’t like, don’t just let them sit in your wardrobe with the tags on.

49. Don’t avoid the cheaper shops such as Primark, they are great to stock up on your simple wardrobe necessities such as t-shirts and nightwear.

UTILITIES

50. Only buy home appliances that have been certified as energy efficient, they may cost more to start with but you’ll save more over time on running costs.

51. Replace your old light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs as they last longer and save you money.

52. Lower your heating thermostat. If there are rooms that you don’t use in your home then turn off the radiator and close the door. If you live in a 2 storey house, you can turn the thermostat down even further upstairs because heat rises. By turning your heating thermostat down 10-20 you will be surprised at how much energy you will save per year.

53. Install more insulation in your attic, replace old curtain liners with new insulating curtain liners and seal any draughts. If you have a big enough budget, install double or even triple glazed windows, these are very efficient means of insulating your home, saving you money on heating costs. They also boost the value of a property significantly.

54. Turn off the lights if you aren’t in the room and make sure everyone in your house does the same. There’s no point in being charged for light that you don’t use. Simple as that!

55. Don’t leave electrical appliances on standby as they still consume electricity. Turn them off at the wall and you could save up to 10% off your electricity bills. According to reports, the UK government is bringing in legislation that will make it compulsory for all new appliances to not have a standby mode because of the huge waste this brings.

56. You can save a lot of money on your water bills very easily, always shower rather than bathing and spend as little time in the shower as possible.

57. If you have a big home with few occupants you could halve your annual water bill by installing a water meter.

58. Turn your washing machine down to 40. Unless your clothes are heavily soiled a wash on 30-40 will still bring them out sparkling clean!

59. Don’t be lazy by sticking with your current utility company, shop around and make sure you are getting the best deal; you can use utility comparison sites to help you see which company will be best for you and use Internet Cashback to earn up to 37.50 pounds for switching utility companies.

TRAVEL

60. Book flights early and save money. While many of the budget airlines will fly to a regional airport, it may actually cost less to fly into an airport closer to a city center (if you are going on a city break) as you won’t have to pay for a taxi to your accommodation.

61. Budget airlines such as Ryanair are now charging per bag checked into the hold in an effort to speed up their turn around times. If you can, pack what you need (minus scissors, liquids etc) into your hold baggage. This also means you don’t have to wait round to pick up your baggage at arrivals.

62. Book hotels online rather than walking in unannounced and being hit with the typically higher walk-in rate.

63. Buy your car rental online rather than arranging for it when you arrive. Car rental is a competitive market and there are plenty of money-saving offers available.

64. If you are planning a journey by train or bus then book early, look for offers and do not travel in peak times. If you buy your ticket on the day of travelling it will be significantly more money than if you book in advance.

65. If you are on a long train or plane journey, buy your refreshments before you board as drinks and snacks are always over priced once you are travelling.

66. There are lots of websites which will send you free samples or money off coupons so find the best one and keep checking it for the samples you want to receive. Shampoo and body lotion samples are great to take on weekends away!

COMMUNICATIONS

67. If you don’t use your landline phone often then change to a pay as you go mobile phone, it is silly paying for line rental if you don’t use it.

68. If you don’t use your internet broadband often then cancel it and make use of free wireless internet in most restaurants, cafes and bars. You simply take your laptop and connect to their wireless for free (although it might cost you a cup of coffee!). You can go to your library and use their computers for free and even have access to their printers and photocopiers for a small cost.

69. If you are on a monthly mobile phone contract, think about going pay as you go instead. You will have much more control over what you spend, and you’ll be surprised at how many people will call you instead of you calling them!

70. Send an email instead of phoning or texting people. Most customer services departments will answer emails now if you have a problem with a service such as your utility bill which means you won’t have to ring their premium rate customer services phone number. You can also send your family and friends emails instead of calling them and even send birthday cards by email to save on postage.

71. There are lots of websites which let you send text messages to mobile phones for free so you won’t use up your credit texting while you can get online and use a messenger service such as MSN Live to talk to your family and friends over the internet for free.

72. Get a Freeview digital box and cancel your SKY or cable TV package. Freeview has lots of free channels and you can now watch the majority of TV programmes on the internet, so you won’t be missing out on your favourite shows.

AROUND THE HOUSE

73. If you have a spare room, advertise for a lodger. There are lots of people who just want a room during the week while they are at work, so you would still get your privacy at weekends. If you live on your own a lodger can provide you with great company and will help pay towards your bills.

74. Don’t be wasteful with products such as toothpaste, body lotion or foundation. When you can’t get anymore out of the tube, cut it open and you will be able to use the bits you couldn’t get to.

75. Re-use old ice-cream tubs or take away packaging, you can use them for freezing food or taking your packed lunch into work.

76. If you have a pet, don’t go out buying expensive bedding from the pet shop, recycle the waste paper from your office or buy your own shredding machine at home and shred up your old newspapers.

77. Only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need, filling it up full wastes energy and takes longer to boil so you’ll have to wait longer for your drink!

78. When you use your washing machine, make sure it’s full every time, if you just have a few items to wash then hand wash them in the sink.

79. Instead of drying your clothes in the tumble dryer, hang them outside or in rainy weather hang them over a clotheshorse. This will also keep your clothes nicer for longer as tumble dryers tend to shrink your clothes!

80. Learn how to make your own cleaning products which are as effective as the products you buy in the shop and you can often use the ingredients you already have in your kitchen cupboards.

81. Grow your own fruit and vegetables in your garden or rent an allotment, especially if you give the vegetables to your pets. Seeds cost virtually nothing compared to the actual products themselves.

MOTORING

82. Downsizing your car could save you 100s of pounds each year in both fuel and road tax so if you are just making journeys to and from work you should seriously consider getting a smaller, more efficient car.

83. Don’t renew your car insurance without shopping around first. Use a price comparison site and you could save £100s every year by changing to a cheaper provider.

For a price comparison service go to CompareTheMarket.com.

84. If you travel to work on your own, try and start a car pool with colleagues who live in your area, not only will this save in petrol costs, it will also keep your car miles low.

85. Don’t jump in your car for all journeys, if you can, walk or cycle and you will save money and get fitter.

86. Start a school run with other parents in your area if you drive your children to school or consider walking them there instead if it is in a walking distance.

87. Don’t drive too fast, the RAC claim most car engines run far more efficiently at 60-70 miles an hour, compared to 80 mph or over.

88. Check your tyre pressure regularly; if your tyres are under inflated by 20% then you’ll use 10% more fuel.

89. Don’t pay to get your car cleaned as it is a waste of money, set aside 30 minutes each week to wash it yourself.

MISC

90. Instead of buying a daily paper, read the news online. Most newspapers have regularly updated websites which have all the news stories for free which could save you approximately 15 pounds per month.

91. If you smoke, try to stop or cut down. The NHS has lots of free services to help you do this and it will save you £100s each year.

92. Monitor how much alcohol you drink. If you are having a few glasses everyday, try to cut back and only have it for special occasions.

93. Don’t spend money you don’t have on gambling sites, especially ones online. It is easy to lose track on how much money you are spending and more often than not, you will lose this money. Try premium bonds instead if you want to try your luck as this way you will not lose your money.

94. It may be cheaper for you to pay for your prescriptions in advance with a pre-payment certificate if you pay for more than five prescription items in four months or 14 items in 12 months.

95. Buy generic medicines when you can, a 16 pack of Anadin costs approximately 2.99 pounds however a Sainsbury branded pack will only cost approximately 33p.

96. Cut and colour your own hair, or get your friends to help you. There are lots of great DIY colour kits out there to give you a new look for under 5 pounds and a pair of clippers won’t set you back much. Be careful though!

97. Pretend it’s your birthday on a night out and you might get a free birthday cake or glass of Champaign.

98. Don’t lose all of your loose pennies, save them up in a jar and at the end of the year you will be surprised at how much money you have collected.

99. Make saving money fun! Saving money doesn’t have to make you miserable! You can still see your friends, buy yourself treats and go on holiday; you just have the added advantage of feeling proud of your finances instead of hiding away from them!

The author of this article is a keen blogger regarding cashback deals for retailers’ such as for ASDA and affiliate marketing programmes.

Among one of the greatest and easiest ways to make money online is by being a freelancer. By definition a freelancer is a job you do on your own, sort of like running a business. You offer the service and choose the price and people pay you for it. Freelancers include many different people in many different services. These services can help you market your sites, help bring in traffic, help you build a site and more. Here are just a few great freelancing services out there:

SEO a.k.a. search engine optimization - As a service provider you could easily find people that need their sites optimized. The most important thing, may be to convince them why they need this service because a lot of people don’t even know what optimization is or why they need it. This is where you come in. Build a nice little professional website, and tell them why. List all your reasons. Make some affordable packages for individuals as well as bigger companies and corporations.

SEM a.k.a. search engine marketing - You can provide your all knowing search engine marketing techniques to people online. Or better yet you could teach people how to do it on their own. Most of us know that SEO and SEM are two very important processes but so many people don’t know how to market or optimize their websites. This is valuable information for the buyer.

Back links - You can easily start a business where you do back links of some sort. This can be done several different ways, from an actual back linking service, to writing articles for people and putting their URLs in the author box. I think the second one is the easiest and funnest way to do this (for the provider) especially if you know how to write and enjoy writing. Again you the provider charge a set fee and buyers will pay you for these back links. In my experience its best to have set packages the buyer can choose from.

Web hosting - If you own a web hosting business you can easily get people that are in need of hosting. Billions of people online have websites and need someone to host them. You could easily be this person.

Web Design & Development - These are two practices not everyone is good at. I can market, optimize, write do a ton of other things. But when it comes to web design or development the closest thing I know is Myspace html codes! I’m not the only fool like this! Again there are millions of people out there that either don’t know how to do this, or just don’t have the time. This is a great service to offer if you know how to do it.

Article Writer & Submission Services - If your a good writer, you can actually make money from it by providing articles to people. You will be provided with the URLs, keywords and anchor text. Then you the writer will do an article about the category of the site. Not the actual site, but the category of the site. People will pay good money for these services because you are providing them with back links and back links are the cream of the crop.

Content Writer - In my opinion a content writer and an article writer are two different things. But a content writer can be a article writer and an article writer can be a content writer! A content writer, writes for your website. It doesn’t matter if they have a professional type website, or a word press blog/website. You can find people that have websites about topics or subjects you have extensive knowledge about. You will write content for their websites and they will pay you per however you charge. Some people pay per page, per word, per day etc. Its your service, charge what you will but again, be fair and honest with your prices.

Of course there are MANY other ways to make money online as a freelancer but these are a few of the top ways I know of, and some of the top ways to make actual money online. Ive either provided these services before, have thought about it or know friends and colleagues that have are freelancers and have tried these types of services and they have always been successful, as have I. There’s a few things you should be concerned with when providing a service as a freelancer. And here are a few of them:

1- I cant say this enough. Be honest and be fair to your buyer. And always try to be as professional as you can.

2- Build yourself a website, and place a portfolio on that site along with a few paragraphs about why this service is important. If someone doesn’t know what SEO is, then they aren’t going to realize why they need it, which means no business for you. Don’t act like its a magic pill. Its not. But its an important attribute when having a website. Side note; if your a web designer or a developer and your selling this service you sure as heck better have a nice website. Ive gone to sites before where the person boasted about how awesome they were at web design, and their own site wasn’t working!

3- Make sure you advertise. Now if your doing a freelancing service you don’t necessarily have to pay for advertising. The best thing you can do is visit some forums and put out the word about your brand new service. Yes, your going to get a hard time from some people. But others will be more than willing to try out your service. And where one follows, two follows, and where two follows more follow. All you need is a handful of positive reviews (which is where those manners of yours come into play) and you will start receiving the trust of the people!

4- Repeat steps 1-3.

This author is a huge fan of Make Money Online

In a competitive world every employee seeks to increase his/her job success skills and thereby increase their promotional prospects. These seven success secrets will help you.

Be early or arrive 10 minutes before time!

Let your employer know you are valuable. Doing an excellent job is of no help if the boss who promotes you doesn’t know it, or thinks otherwise! It may even hinder your promotion. You’ll feel good to do a good job, but unless it’s backed by a promotion you’ll feel frustrated and let down. So let your employer know by volunteering for any problems in the office and let your boss know who did it. Collect the credit to your account!

Show initiative. Be the new idea bringer! And then offer to take charge and implement them. Show leadership qualities here. Go the extra mile, even the extra millimeter. It’s all sometimes you’ll need to stand out from the pack! And do this all with a smile, let it be a joy, not a burden. Come up with fresh concepts and ideas and convince your colleagues to support your ideas. Never shy from a good challenge and when your colleagues say it cant be done, show them its possible and do it. Believe and bet on yourself, but always be accountable. Value yourself. When your boss looks out for a new project leader, guess who he’ll choose!

Keep personal problems at home and personal. So if your boy/girl friend has dumped you deal with it outside of office hours and talk. Remember business is business and personal is personal. Some the most effective business leaders have been those who have successfully separated the two.

Never say words like “IT’S not my job” to a co-worker or the customer. Be prepared to work and when given a task give it your all, whether big or small. Be flexible and try to assist wherever possible to the best of your ability. This attitude will not go un-noticed in the long run.

Show an attitude of follow-up for all jobs undertaken. Delegate well to show good leadership skills. Collaborate with all the company’s methods, goals, new working policies and generally play the team man. Be a team player but an inspiring leader at the same time. Keep your inbox to a minimum and keep all pending jobs to an appropriate folder. No employer likes to see a huge “pending” tray.

Keep up with the latest by reading books in your field. Keeping abreast of new ways to work, operate will show your boss you’re seeking to improve your ‘on the job success skills’. Be like a sponge and always keep a open mind. Observe, listen, read and ask questions. Know all you can about your company, its history, and its mistakes. Know your brand how it’s made, what goes into its production. Otherwise, study you job in all its aspects. Above all know your goals or aspirations. Knowing them will give you a strong reason to excel in whatever field you choose and rise up.

When you deserve a promotion go to your boss with an updated list of proof and reasons to support your appeal. Don’t be afraid to show the progress you’ve made the projects you’ve put together and your accomplishments. Otherwise these may go unnoticed. In other words. SELL YOURSELF!

Sharon Alexander - Claim That Job

For more information on how to manage your career successfully, and to get a free job hunting report, visit Claim That Job at http://www.claimthatjob.com.

When looking for the next rising fine art photography stars today, one may need to look in untraditional places. In the past, the large galleries and institutions, like MOMA in New York, set the standards. Now, young fine art photographers are taking charge and promoting themselves and their colleagues.

The first place to start your quest for fresh fine art photography is the world of blogs. Some of the blogs are curated and feature different photographers daily, like iheartphotograph dot blogspot dot com, curated by Laurel Ptek. She features both a photographer of the day and longer features that highlight an artist with three or four pieces and minimal text. A majority of these photographers have their own personal websites and blogs which can be accessed by clicking on the pictures from I Heart Photograph. The photographers rely heavily on word of mouth, found as referrals from other similar blogs and sites, so once you get started on one blog, you are sure to find others. A good blog to start on is notifbutwhen dot com/2 by Chicagoan Brian Ulrich.

Next, head off to the organizations. Many fine art photography lovers have gotten together to keep the art they love alive, by giving young artists recognition. One of the best examples is Humble Arts at humbleartsfoundation dot com. They not only give others the limelight with monthly group exhibitions, they have expanded to sell work and give twice yearly grants.

Now, head to the world of publishing on demand. For most photographers, the dream is to eventually have work shown as a monograph book. The process is long and often involves raising funds from collectors. Today, many are taking advantage of the rise of on demand publishers, such as Lulu and Blurb. With some time and effort, one can make a book and offer it for sale to the public for as little as $19.99 depending on the size and number of pages in the book. Blurb has even started to court photographer, knowing they are making up a large portion of their sales, by starting a contest for the best fine art photography book which includes a cash price of $25,000 for the artists to make more work.

Now, if you are hooked on photography and want to decorate your home with your new love, there are many places to get limited edition prints for a low cost. The most extensive collection of low price prints is at Blindspot dot com in conjunction with their long running seasonal magazine.

The rise of the internet and self promotion can only help the world of fine art photography find a more diverse group of artists where geography plays little to no role and emerging photographers can be found at the click of a button.

Lucy Bushman is an accomplished niche website developer and author.
To learn more about fine art photography, please visit Photography Hobbyist for current articles and discussions.