Budget

Kitchen remodels a significant investment for your home, and renovations can range from $10,000 up to $50,000 or more. If you are looking for a modest repair or total upgrade, you need to understand the budget for your kitchen renovation. Below are five tips for investing in your kitchen.

1. Determine Your Max Budget and Stick to It

Before beginning your kitchen renovation, you need to make sure you know the total amount you can spend. Everyone has a Pinterest idea of their dream kitchen, but you also need to be honest about how much you can afford on the kitchen upgrade.

If you have plans to sell your home in the future, your renovation should be focused more on an investment, which means that your budget for your renovation should accommodate items that will give you the most significant return on investment.

To stick to a budget, you need to thoroughly plan and be prepared for the unexpected that can happen, such as asbestos or lead, which need to be tested and carefully removed.

2. Do Your Homework First

Kitchen renovations can be complicated, and there are many questions you will need to ask before getting started, such as:

• How do you plan to use the kitchen? Does your family eat out a lot? Or do you love entertaining and cooking? It would help if you designed your kitchen layout for the use of the kitchen.
• How many people use your kitchen at a time? The layout of a kitchen is vital in design and planning. If you have a big family, you want a kitchen that feels open and can accommodate a lot of people gathering around.
• What type of food do you eat? If most of the food you eat is a fresh food, then you do not need a large pantry, you should invest in a larger refrigerator, instead of a bigger pantry.
• What are your kitchen must-haves? You need to know your must-haves, such as a farmhouse sink. You should budget for your must-haves first. Keep a nice-to-have items list in the back of your mind so you can plan accordingly for these items.

If you are making last-minute changes during the renovation, you will quickly increase the cost of your kitchen remodel. It is important to have a good plan and research layouts, material, etc. to be more prepared.

3. Choose Your Materials Wisely

Choose the materials on your own. Shop around for your big items that typically cost the most, such as cabinets, countertops, flooring, and appliances.

• Cabinets – pricing for cabinets can vary, its essential to not make rational decisions, take your time to find quality cabinets that are in your budget.
• Countertops – this is another item in the kitchen renovation that can vary greatly. Quarts or granite are extremely popular but are expensive. Shop around for other options that are equally as good but might fit your budget better.
• Flooring – prices range depending on the flooring you want to install or materials you wish to use, such as hardwood or tile.
• Appliances – get quality appliances that look nice, function, without being over the top.

4. Please get to Know Contractor Before Hiring Them

Before you decide on a contractor, you should follow things considered:

• You know the rough layout you want for your kitchen. Email your design to contractors to give them a visual of the work you want to do. Assigning a contract a plan of your design can help with them predicting timelines and giving a more accurate quote on the job.
• You supply the materials. Make sure you have the materials you want to use. Having them beforehand can help with the contractor completing the project on time. Providing your own materials will also save you contractor prices and can help keep your budget down.
• You understand the scope of work. It is essential to know how much work essentials are for communicating with your contractor. For example, you might only want cosmetic updates and do not want to change the layout of your kitchen.

5. Do Some Work Yourself

If you are able, you can help save money on your budget by doing some items in the remodel yourself. Kitchen renovations can be extremely complicated, but maybe save money on the painting by painting walls and trim yourself. Also, look at replacing cabinets or doors, painting, or replacing floors. If you have some experience, these are some jobs you can do yourself to help save money on the kitchen renovation.

 

Money-related issues are often very important because money runs the world. Money gives the power to do and undo virtually everything in the world. However, you would need to have enough of it for everything you want to achieve with it. However, this is often not the case as we are capable of spending millions every single day but only capable of making between tens and hundreds per day in most cases. Fortunately, it is possible to keep money by saving and grow money by investing.

What is Savings?
Savings is the act of keeping aside a particular amount or percentage from what you make intending to keep them for emergencies, future use or for use after retirement. Savings are important because they come in useful whenever we suddenly need money to take care of a problem. With savings, it would be possible to easily sort them out as opposed to looking for where to urgent raise money or loan money. You could get interested in money saved when you put it in a fixed saving account in the bank. However, the interest is often minimal and just a little percentage of the money saved. This is why investment is often encouraged.

What is an investment?
Investment entails the act of putting some money into a venture that is expected to yield money. There are many options for investing money. Money could be invested in other businesses that need financier in exchange for a percentage of the profit. Money could also be invested through finance companies that help people invest money and pay them back their capital along with some profit as agreed. However, things might not always go as smoothly as the finance companies could sometimes lose the money and would find it difficult paying back the money. This is why it is important to read customer reviews related to finance to know which companies have a track record of keeping to their promise and those that have a track record of helping their customers lose their money.

Why you should invest?
Investing allows you to make more money compared to when you save. With some investments, you could continue to make profits that could be transferred to your heirs for as long as the company continues to exist. The right investments are easily the easiest way to grow your money and become financially independent. With multiple investments, you could have multiple streams of income, whose proceeds you can channel into other types of investment. After some time, you would find out that you are making enough to sustain you for the rest of your lives.

Which is better: Saving or Investing
Saving and investing both have their advantages and their disadvantages. Saving allows you to keep your money such that you have a little amount added to it as interest and you can access it at any time. Investment, on the other hand, gives you the chance to make much more money, you cannot get instant access to the money and you might even lose the whole money. Thus, it is important to save and invest at the same time. If you have decided that you are going to be saving a particular percentage of your money, you could further divide that percentage into two. You can subsequently save one part in a reputable bank and invest the other. That way, half of it will be safe while the other half will go into other investments with the hope that they would also yield as they should.

Purchasing your first home is one of the most exciting events of a person’s life. But it can also come with some new responsibilities. One of the most important is choosing and purchasing a home insurance policy.

If you are about to become a first-time homeowner, you may not understand what an insurance policy covers. Read on to learn about home liability insurance, and how it differs from regular property insurance.

What Insurance Does

Just like when you get automobile insurance and health insurance, home insurance protects you — and your finances — in the event of a problem. For example, let’s say a tornado rips the roof off your house. Or there’s a fire that destroys your kitchen. In both these cases, homeowner’s property insurance will cover the cost of repairing the damage.

Most standard insurance policies will also pay for you to stay elsewhere while your home is being repaired if it is unliveable following the disaster.

But because your home is a place where friends and family can visit, you need additional coverage. That’s called home liability insurance.

Home Liability Insurance

This type of insurance is a little different. Its purpose is to help you in the event that someone gets injured while on your property. It may also cover damage to another person’s property that is caused by you, your family, your pets, or an object on your property. Let’s take a look at each type.

Personal Injury

A guest attending your annual Backyard BBQ Bash and Potato Salad Cookoff trips over a grill and breaks her leg. Or your sister-in-law slips on a loose throw rug and falls down the stairs, causing a concussion. Lastly, what about if a door-to-door salesman is bitten by your vicious teacup poodle?

In each of these instances, your insurance will cover the costs related to the victim’s medical treatment. Or, if they decide to bring a lawsuit against you, your coverage will extend to your defense costs to protect you from these liabilities. The insurance company will even assign you an attorney.

Damage to Another’s Property

A good example of this type of incident is your son’s errant baseball crashing through your neighbor’s window. Or maybe a big windstorm has caused that old maple tree of yours to fall — and crush the fence next door. The insurance payouts to the people whose property has been damaged can help you avoid a costly and emotionally difficult lawsuit.

Host Liquor Liability Insurance

Here is another common type of home liability insurance: liquor liability insurance. It is usually included in traditional homeowner’s insurance, but check with your agent to make certain. This covers you if a claim is made that you served alcohol to an intoxicated guest, who later caused an accident and injured someone else.

Why Take Chances?

Home liability insurance isn’t the most exciting purchase you will make. But it is one of the most important. Ensure that you have a “happy ever after” in your new home by taking care of this responsibility.

Looking to save some money after buying a house? Check out the Budget section of this blog for creative ideas!

We all would like to have a little extra spending money. It’s hard out there, after all! Wages aren’t what they used to be, and most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. You can’t be blamed for looking for a way to make a little money on the side.

There are a number of side gigs out there that can be an amazing way to make a little extra cash. There are so many different side hustles, in fact, that it shouldn’t be difficult at all to find something that’s perfectly suited for you.

Read on, and we’ll walk you through our favorite ways to earn extra money.

1. Start Pet Sitting or Dog Walking

Everyone knows that forming a relationship with an animal can be a pure and rewarding experience. Owning a dog can be a lot of money, time and responsibility. But spending a few hours with one once a week– and they PAY you for it? That’s a dream.

It may sound too good to be true, but pet sitting and dog walking can be a great way to make some extra cash. Responsible pet owners are always looking for help taking care of their animals.

They might need someone to check in on their pets while they’re at work, while they go on vacation, or in a variety of other situations. There are even services you can sign up for that can ping you when someone nearby needs their pet checked on or taken for a walk.

2. Rent a Spare Room

Never use that spare bedroom in the back room of your home? You can turn it into extra income. With Airbnb and other such services becoming so massively popular, it doesn’t have to be hard to find someone willing to pay for your room for the weekend.

Of course, you have to be comfortable with the idea of someone being around your house while you’re there (or while you aren’t). But most visitors just need a place to sleep and will be off being tourists or working for most of their stay.

In terms of the work you have to put in compared to the money you get, this one is hard to beat. All you have to do is set up the room nicely with some quilt covers and you should be good to go.

3. Participate in Some Studies

Data is king these days, and you’d be surprised to know how much people are willing to pay just to get your opinion on a number of things. There are a number of research centers where you can register your information and get notified about paid studies in your area.

While you won’t always be selected for studies, it can pay big for your time if you do. Often, a focus group will have you come in for somewhere between one and three hours. In return, you could be handed anywhere from $100 to $300.

Side Gigs to Make Extra Cash

Everyone could use a little extra cash, and the above side gigs can be the perfect low-stress way to do so.

Need more advice? Check out our budget page for more.

Budgeting and cash flow are topics often broached in the business arena. But these concepts are also useful when it comes to managing your personal finances. But why are they regarded as two separate things? How do they differ from one another? Let’s take a look at Cash Flow first.

Cash flow means precisely what it says – the flow of your cash. Just like the moon and the tides it waxes and wanes – changes from high tide to low tide dependent on at which point in time you look at it.

High tide is when you have plenty of money- usually, once your wages have been paid. Then there are all of the outgoing cash transactions, each of which decreases the amount of money you have left, as high tide becomes low tide.

A cash flow record is an early warning system

Compile your cash flow record in strict chronological sequence. By doing this and including all money transactions both in and out and extending the record forward by forecasting what will happen in the future, you will get a reasonably accurate picture of your personal cash flow. You can then use it to spot any problems that might be looming up in the future.

A budget is similar to cash flow in one way. It too should include all of your outgoing cash commitments. It doesn’t necessarily have to show your earning income, but it must show all of your forecast outgoings.

The importance of capturing all of your planned expenditure

The job of a personal budget is to capture and add up all of your expenditure. It is, of course, essential to include everything you expect to have to shell out for.

It should include your grocery shopping, cost of fuel for your car if you have one, and all bills such as electricity, gas, water, and rent, etc. If you have any loan repayments including any mortgage, these too must be included. In other words – your total cost of living.

Some people also include a contingency for unexpected costs. Things like car repairs or having to buy a new pair of shoes for example.

Once you’ve compiled your finite list, you will hopefully have captured all of your outgoings. It doesn’t really matter too much about keeping everything in chronological order because that is the job of a cash flow record.

Completing your personal budget plan

Your budget is not yet complete, however. Yes, you’ve hopefully logged all your predicted outgoings going forward. But the reason for creating a budget in the first place is to help you to manage your money; not just see how much you are spending.

The next stage is to establish what you are spending that money on with a view to controlling your money supply.

Once you’ve stripped out any non-essential expenditure, then you have your budget. You now need to compare it to your earnings to ensure you are not spending more many that you have coming in. You may want to go one step further and trim your budget a little more to allow you to set some money aside as savings regularly.

Budget plans and cash flow logs are complimentary.

The big difference between a budget plan and a cash flow record should now be obvious. A budget is a spending plan. A cash flow log is a record of actual and forecast expenditure.

However, in managing your money supply, both are complementary to each other. Click here If you would like some additional tips and guidance from Wonga on how to get started with using these tools.

Remember that your budget is all about ensuring you are living within your means. Your cash flow is a check that you are indeed doing so and more importantly, that you will continue to do so as long as you stick within your budget.

A cash flow log is an ongoing project. But so too should your budget be. Things change, and your budget needs to reflect any changes. Only when it does so will you stand a chance of controlling your money supply properly.

If you would like further help, why not take a look at the four best South African apps that are being used by many people to help them to get to grips with managing their money?

To read more on topics like this, check out the budget category

Most of us take for granted that we will always have a solid roof over our heads. It’s an essential part of feeling secure and protected from the elements. And, unless you’ve lived through a major roofing issue, you might not realize just how devastating it can be when your roof starts to fall apart.

Staying aware of the condition of your roof is a significant activity and should not be taken lightly. If anything seems amiss, you will need to take action immediately. Which begs the question, ‘How do I know when I need a new roof?’

Here’s a list of some of the tell-tale signs that your roof is in need of repairs. If you read it carefully, you’ll be prepared to stop a roofing disaster before it ever even starts.

1) Curled Shingles

Shingles curl in two ways and both are indicators of a failed roof that may begin leaking soon:

Clawing: This is where the edges of the shingles remain flat while the middle rises upwards.

Cupping: This is when the shingle edges curls upward. This exposes the boards underneath to the elements, which means it’s only a matter of time before they start to become vulnerable and deteriorate.

2) Missing Shingles

It’s fairly common to have a few missing shingles and this shouldn’t worry you since you can easily replace them. However, when you are consistently losing shingles or you notice that you can’t get a shingle that matches your old ones, this can be a sign that you need a new roof.

At the very least, you’ll want to have a roofing expert come by and take a look – make sure nothing more substantial is wrong. They will usually do this for free and give you an estimate of what repairs would cost if they find anything wrong.

3) Cracked Shingles

Shingles crack due to damage from strong winds. It’s normal for shingles to crack and you can replace them if not too many have been damaged – especially if the cracks are concentrated at one point.

However, if you notice that the cracks are spread all over the roof, then you should start planning on how to replace the whole roof. Once damages progresses to that point, it’s been going on too long and it is very unlikely that you’ll be able to salvage the roof.

4) Light or Water Penetrating the Roof

This should be an obvious one. If you can see sunlight through any part of your ceiling except a sun roof, something is seriously wrong with your roof. If the sunlight can get through, you can imagine what else can.

Similarly, if you get water stains on your ceiling or coming down the walls, then this is a sign of an active leak. The extent of the damage will determine if you will repair or replace the roof. You can repair small leaks but larger ones are a sign or aging and structural damage and can be very hard to fix.

5) Sagging Roof

A sagging roof is a sign that you need a roof replacement immediately. This is very dangerous and you cannot wait to take action.

It may indicate a problem with the foundation support or attic decking. It is likely a structural problems so you don’t want to take chances. Any time you notice a depression in your roof, call a professional immediately.

6) Missing Granules

You don’t have to get on to the roof to know that you need a new roof. Granules on the ground or in the gutters indicate exposed shingles. Granules shield shingle fibers so, if you notice that they are missing, this means that rain might be passing on to your roof deck.

Note that granules change their color with time due to weathering. That is a sign of wear but not a dire situation.

Conclusion

If you notice any of the signs mentioned above, then you should start preparing for a roof replacement or at least have a professional come take a look.

Replacing the roof is a complex process so we caution you against trying to do it yourself unless you have some kind of expert training and experience. It may seem easy but, once you get up there, you’ll quickly realize that it requires skills and experience.

It also requires extensive planning and should be done quickly. Your contractor will know how to plan for weather, materials and be better equipped to deal with any issues, should they arise. Don’t worry too much about it though. As long as you’ve hired the right roofing contractor (like Cross Country Construction in Rockford, IL), you’re going to be fine. Just don’t take too long to act!

To read more on topics like this, check out the budget category.

If you’re on the hunt for fuss-free foolproof money saving tips, which will help your bank balance grow, simply continue reading.

Money saving tips which will help your bank balance grow:

1. Go through each transaction which you’ve made at the end of each week

At the end of each week, print out your online banking statements in order to track every transaction which you’ve made. As you may be surprised out how much money you spend at certain stores such as your favorite coffee shop or cafe and may be inspired to cut down on the amount of money which you spend at stores where you often waste a lot of your disposable income.

2. Make sure that you’ve signed up to the right smartphone provider

Not all mobile phone plans are created equally so it’s a smart idea to shop around for a smartphone plan which best suits your monthly usage habits. As an example, if you hardly use your smartphone’s data, there is little point paying for an expensive smartphone plan which boasts gigs of data, which you’re unlikely to use.

3. Never pay full item for an item

If one of your goals is to save money, it’s well worth waiting until items which you are interested in purchasing go on sale, rather than paying full price for an item. As in today’s fast-paced world where stock is continuously moved, most items will be discounted within a month.

4. Invite your friends over for a meal, instead of organizing to catch up at a pricey cafe or restaurant

If you don’t want to spend upwards of $25 every time you socialize with your friends, it’s well worth inviting a few of your friends over to your house to enjoy a casual barbecue or a potluck dinner, instead of arranging to meet at an overpriced cafe or restaurant. If you’re lucky your friends may return the favor and may invite you over to their house to share a meal.

5. Shop for preloved items for your kids

If you’re a parent, chances are that you regularly spend hundreds of dollars on purchasing clothes, toys and sports equipment for your kids. If you’d like to decrease the amount of money which you spend on your kids each month, whilst still providing them with the items which they need or want, it’s well worth visiting yard sales and thrift stores in order to find good quality used items. Examples of which may include school uniforms, bicycles, and sneakers.

It’s also well worth purchasing preloved clothes for your kids, which are in great condition as children grow fast, so there’s no point spending hundreds of dollars on brand new clothes for your kids, which they are likely to outgrow in a couple of months.

6. Don’t throw items out, when they can be repaired

While you may be tempted to throw an item out, such as a pair of jeans when it has a small hole, it’s well worth learning how to fix or mend items which can be repaired, instead of hastily throwing them out and purchasing a replacement.

So what are you waiting for? If you want to see your bank balance grow it’s well worth trying out some of the money saving tips listed above.