There was a time when only the most important of managers were given the privilege of working from home.  They got a company leased line, and enjoyed conference calls via the wonders of, at the time, sophisticated IP telephony.  Today, even the most average of broadband connections can support remote working, and almost everyone has a laptop, netbook, or desktop PC that they can use for IP telephony and document sharing.

The ubiquity of high speed connections and effective communication tools means that there are more and more work at home jobs out there.  Unfortunately, this means that there are a lot more scams out there too.  It’s easy to fall for a work at home scam.  All you have to do is spend a few minutes on a work at home board or a classifieds site, and you’ll have lots of work at home scam opportunities put in front of you:

Step 1: Look for Work From Home jobs – all you want to do is work from home, right?

Most scammers advertise their jobs as “work from home” jobs, and are vague about what the job actually entails.  You can be pretty confident of finding scammers if you look for opportunities to make money from home.  All the boring legitimate jobs (the ones that actually require work) advertise for people with certain skills, rather than just pushing the work from home side of things.

Step 2: Jump On an Ad Promising Big Bucks

After all those years slaving away in an office for just barely enough to pay your mortgage and keep your car on the road, I bet you feel like a fool now.  You could have been making thousands every day with just a couple of hours of work per week from the comfort of your own home.  If only you’d known sooner!

Step 3: Paying Money for Training

The guy that knows the secret to making a fortune isn’t just going to give it away!  He needs money from you to prove that you’re serious.  Yes, that makes sense!  It must be legitimate…

Step 4: Ignore The Haters

Your friends aren’t warning you about the scam you’re falling for because they’ve been there before and know it’s fake.  They’re warning you because they’re jealous.  They’re not motivated enough to quit their jobs and think outside the box.  You’ll be laughing at them when you’ve earned megabucks.

Step 5: Chasing The Cash

So, you tried one job and it didn’t work out.  It was the system that was bad. Definitely. You can keep trying, one day you’ll strike it rich.

All of the above, of course, is tongue in cheek.  If you want to work from home then you should prepare yourself for the realities of remote working.  There’s a good chance that you’ll end up doing the same job you’ve always done, only you’ll be using a leased line and relying on the wonders of IP telephony to support your job.  Don’t expect your income to be higher, and don’t expect the work to be easier.  There are perks to working from home, but it’s not a magic bullet for all of your work related problems.

Guest article by James Harper for leased line and IP telephony suppliers, Maintel. Photo by ishane.

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A lot of bad news has been coming for current and future pensioners, increasing Britons’ anxiety about how we will fund our retirement. Between falling annuity rates, “granny tax” grabs, and the news we will have to work longer and longer before we can get a state pension, many might have a gloomy feeling about retiring. However, while nothing beats regular life-long savings as a way to make sure you can retire comfortably, there are other things you can do to maximise your pension income from the state and make your state pension last a little longer.

The first thing to do is to make sure you are getting all that you are owed when it comes to retirement benefits. Each year there are millions of pounds left unclaimed that pensioners across the UK had the right to get, but didn’t claim. For example, you might be able to get help with heating bills, tax breaks, the additional state pension, or other additional income if your pension is small enough.

Make sure to check with your local council to be sure that you are getting all the help that’s available to you. Many of the benefits you might take qualify for are tied to the state pension or the pension credit portion of the state pension, so it is good if you have many qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.

Use the Internet

Many of our country’s older citizens don’t use the internet enough to their advantage. Besides being able to get news, talk to old friends, and all the other things the internet has to offer, it is an excellent way to save money and make sure you are getting the best deal.

On the internet it is very easy to compare prices and rates for everything you might want to know, which can help stretch your state pension income as far as possible. And at just £107.45 per week, anyone without savings will need to make the most of their full basic state pension.

For example, it’s easy to save money online when it comes to insurance. Whether it is for your house, your car, or anything else it is easy to compare different providers and options in your area, so you can see how much you are paying now and where you could possibly pay less. You can also easily compare prices of anything from vacations and motorcycles to where in the area it’s cheapest to get basic essentials.

Sell the Clutter

A way to get some extra income and increase your living space is to get rid of and sell old junk that’s cluttering up the home, garage, basement or storage spaces.

This can be done with a traditional yard sale, but many people choose to sell their items online, perhaps to reach a wider audience for less common items. Studies find that we all have too many things in our home we don’t use, and so selling off some old clutter is good both for the home and for the wallet.

Briant Grey from www.pensioncalculator.org writes about the state pension and other news that affects current and future pensioners.

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However, if you create a budget and document your spends, you can be prepared for life’s unexpected hurdles. Here are five tips to keep you motivated to stay on the savings wagon.

Focus on savings

Recognise how much of your income you can save each month and have it debited into your savings account on pay-day. This way, there will be little to no temptation to spend as it won’t be in the account you use regularly for long. Even if the amount you save differs each month, consistently putting money away will soon add up to a considerable amount of money.

Those who find it more difficult to avoid temptation than others, leave the card connected to your savings account at home – you’ll find it pretty difficult to dip into it on an impulse shopping spree if it’s not even in your purse.

Cut bad habits

We all like to indulge in a glass or 2 of wine on the weekends, but try cutting out alcohol consumption during the week or smoking altogether and you’ll soon start saving the pennies. Start putting your beer and cigarette money into a jar and put it towards your savings at the end of each month – when you see how much you’ve saved, you’ll have more motivation to keep bad habits at bay.

Stay away from plastic

Take your card to an ATM at the beginning of each week, take out enough cash to last you to Sunday and then leave your plastic at home for seven days. If you make a decision to use only cash for the things you can live without each week, you’ll be less tempted to buy those £60 heels – nobody likes seeing a wad of cash go down.

Work together

You’re not going to save very much if your partner and family are spending the pennies left, right and centre. Sit everyone down and decide on a family budget that everyone can work to – your goals will be much more realistic if everyone cuts down a little, rather than one person completely cutting back

Track your spending

It may be worth having a look at your accounts and trying to locate areas of spend that can be omitted. Think about ways that reduce costs such as only calling friends and loved ones free after a certain time, or cutting down on the amount of text messages you send.

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Re-Using Cleaning Items

Buying a bulk size carton of yogurt is not only considerably cheaper, but you’re not disposing of all that plastic of individual wrapping. It won’t even take long for your grocery savings (from buying the cheaper bulk items) will make up for the initial investment in re-usable containers. The larger cartons can serve as food-storage containers themselves, perfect for stowing left-overs in the refrigerator once they’ve been cleaned out.

John is a small business owner, and contributing writer for Ethosource.

When managing your finances it is important to look at income and expenses alike. Often times we are burdened by the enormity of our expenses and can become saddened when we watch the expenses grow while our income remains the same. Although increasing your income is easier said than done, it is possible. All you need is a little diligence and creativity.

Turn Your Hobby into a Business

If you are someone who has a hobby as a crafter, there is no reason why you can’t make a little extra money. You do not need to go into mass production of what you create, but you do need to ramp up the quantity. Start by making a few extra items and showing them off to your friends, family, coworkers, church members, parents of your children’s friends, and anyone else you come in contact with. You do not need to be pushy, just proud to show off what you do. When you receive a compliment, mention that you do sell these items for a nominal fee.
In addition to exposing those around you, you can list your product on the internet. There are wonderful sites like ebay, Etsy, Craig’s List, and the like where you can post your products for free. All you need is an email address and a PayPal account. Pretty easy to get what you have out there to the world.

Make Money on Your Skills

Do you have skills that others can benefit from? If so, get the word out. Just like if you are attempting to sell a product, tell everyone about what you can offer. Post flyers, market yourself on Craig’s List, make some business cards and distribute them everywhere. You would be surprised as to what others are looking for to help them in life. People want someone who can organize, proofread, type, run errands, do yard work, go grocery shopping, help them move, or whatever else you can provide to others.

Reduce Your Expenses

Although reducing your expenses sounds easy, it can be a very painful experience. Reducing expenses means that you need to cut out some things in life and that may be something that you just don’t want to do. If you have cut out everything that you possibly can (cable, internet, magazine subscriptions, unused gym memberships, and the like), it may be time to look at changing some of your expenses. Really examine where your money is going and see if a change in who offers you your services can help. Look at your cell phone carrier and see if you can get a better deal from elsewhere. Examine your insurance policies and call around to see if you can get the coverage you need for a better price. Often times you can get better deals from other companies.

Income Increased – Now What…

Once you have additional income coming in and/or fewer expenses going out, you will need to determine what to do with what you have gained. Most people simply spend what they have saved instead of turning it into something useful. If you were meeting your financial needs before you increased your income, you should consider putting your money away for debt payoff or for an emergency fund. More money should not equal more spending, so be smart with your increased income. Although you should be smart with your money, don’t forget to take a little and reward yourself for all your hard work.
Most everyone gets to a point where they desire more money coming in and less going out. This can be achieved if you take the time to examine your situation and determine what you can do for yourself. Be creative and you will surly find yourself with at least a few extra dollars in your pocket.

Jerry Edgars is a financial consultant and often recommends getting car insurance from Kanetix Canada.

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The economic recession has come with its set of hardships and lessons that will stay with us for a while now. Those who lost their jobs realized the importance of savings. So whether it is your proactive nature or tough financial situation that is forcing you to spend wisely, the following tips will prove to be helpful.

Coupons

Gone are the days when coupon cutting was considered cheap. So cut coupons from newspapers and hunt for them online too. The rise of major coupon selling websites such as GroupOn, Living Social and Retail Me Not have made people even more aware of the phenomenon and given them easy access to lower priced options. The trick to use coupons in a beneficial way is to plan ahead. Yes, today coupons are available for almost every product and service category so note down your needs in advance and search for coupons. Use them when required and you’ll end up saving up to 90%!

Dine ‘Out’

When eating out, what is that you restaurants, cafes and other eateries for? Food and? Ambiance is the answer. Yes, it is that need for a change in your daily mundane lifestyle that drives you to go to restaurants. Save money by preparing something different to eat and go out for a picnic with family or friends to a location such as a park. If there is a convenient location near your office, go there twice or thrice a week with your lunch pack and feel the difference.

Carry Less Cash and no Plastic Money at all

Some people have a very freehand. The more cash they have in their wallets, the more they end up spending on a trip. If you are one of them, admit it and stop carrying cash around that you think will get spent up unnecessarily. And don’t forget to forget your plastic money at home!

Monitor Transportation

Transportation is one of the things that have a lot of room for saving. There are a lot of factors that can help you save on transportation. If you do want to save up on conveyance consider the mode you adopt to travel. If you have two vehicles at home, prefer the one that consumes less fuel even if it is your spouse’s. If you travel to a certain location on a daily basis, consider opting public transportation instead. If you drive to nearby locations such as your college every day, consider walking to them instead. Not only will you save up on fuel, you might even be able to replace the walk by tread-milling at the gym, which means saying bye to another cost.

Travel Smart

When visiting new places such as a city or even a country, keep your back pack stuffed with all the things that you think you could possibly need. Certain locations such as airports and other tourist populated areas charge higher than usual prices. So it is better to keep in stock items that you know you’ll need such as camera cells and mineral water.

Allan has been writing about personal finance for a couple of years. His favourite topics include savings strategies, term deposits and savings accounts. When he is not blogging, Allan loves spending time with his family.

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When you go to college, you will probably not know anyone. You will have a roommate but you want to meet new people so that you can have someone to hang out with during the weekends or even have a study buddy. Meeting new people may seem scary at first but there are many ways to do it! When you go on campus, you will have the opportunity to break out of your shell. Want to know how to make new friends? It’s really easy!

Meet New People

When you go to college as a freshman, there are many ways for you to meet new people. Colleges offer on campus events for students to socialize with other new students. If you want to meet some new people, head out to one of these events. Highlighter parties are a great way for you to have a great time and make friends. There are many clubs on campus, so if you want to meet other students who like and enjoy the same things you do, you could join a club. If you enjoy skiing, you could join the campus ski club to meet other people who love to ski as well. If you want to make a difference, you could  consider joining a sorority or fraternity. By joining a frat or a sorority, you will be meeting new people, making new friends and having a support system for life. If you want to join a frat or a sorority, you will have to go to events during rush week, which is usually the first week of the new semester. You will meet the people in that group and see if it is a good fit for you. If you think it is, you will be able to apply to become a member and if the sorority or fraternity bids on you, you will go through the initiation process. Another great way to meet new people while you are away at college is to take on a job. You can work on campus or off campus. On campus jobs are available to students and you may be able to work in the library or even the dining hall. While you are working, you will get to talk to some other students working there and you may find that you have some things in common. Making new friends isn’t hard at all!

It’s Not Hard

When you go to college, you may find that it is scary to not know anyone, but meeting new people is not hard at all. When you think about it too much, it can seem intimidating, but all you have to do is go to some campus events and socialize. Join some clubs if you want to meet other people with the same interests as you. If you want to, you can get a job and meet people that way. All you have to do is break out of your shell and be yourself! You’ll make friends in no time.

About the Author

Jerry P. is a writer for AspiringNurse.com.Find out the difference between the midwife salary and the crna salary, with this helpful site.

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A pessimist is one who perceives a half-filled glass as being half empty, whereas an optimist perceives it as half-full. That may be a rather sophomoric way of describing a pessimist but you can get the gist from this example.

A pessimist tends to have buyer’s remorse before he purchases something, rather than after the fact like most of us, and as a result doesn’t buy it at all, which saves him money.

A pessimist possesses a negative streak a mile wide. He is full of doom and gloom and is certain the sky is falling, which isn’t a very pleasant way to go about life; however, this attitude may keep him from going broke.

It is more pleasing to be around an optimist than a pessimist, although the over cheerful person can get on your nerves and rub you the wrong way at times (Quit smiling!) There doesn’t seem to be much of a benefit to being a pessimist but, in fact, there is.

There are times when pessimism is far more beneficial than optimism. Pessimists tend to be more exact in their assessment than their life-is-grand, isn’t-everything-wonderful counterparts.
Because of this approach to life, pessimists tend to do well in business, and with money, because they are realists and have a strong grip on veracity. The world is never seen through rose colored glasses when you are a pessimist. They call it as they see it, which is sometimes doom and gloom, but they are often right.

When the country is in dire financial straits, the pessimist believes this is a permanent condition while the optimist thinks it is temporary. The pessimist plans accordingly, which means he is probably more frugal than the optimist.

When something good happens, such as a financial windfall, the pessimist is certain this isn’t going to last and, once again, reacts accordingly and takes very good care of that money unlike the optimist who thinks the financial boon is going to last forever and may be a bit more reckless with the cash.

We’ve all known someone who is absolutely certain that the stock market is going to crash, the banks are going to close their doors and another Depression is right around the corner. They’re the ones who keep their savings stuffed in an old athletic sock that is stashed in the back of their closet. This seems a bit histrionic and paranoid but, on the other hand, in the off chance that their pessimistic outlook is right, they will have access to money whereas the rest of us won’t.

Now about that optimist … Optimism is fine but it shouldn’t be taken to the extreme, according to Manju Puri, professor of finance, and David T. Robinson, professor of business administration, both employed at Duke University Fuqua School of Business. These professors are the authors of Optimism and Economic Choice (2007.)

They report that those who are excessive optimists fail to do long-term planning, don’t have much of a savings if any and rarely pay off their credit cards. However, when someone is moderately optimistic they are more likely to save money, pay off their credit card balances, work more hours than the extreme optimist and believe that their income will get bigger in the next five years.

Ironically, extreme pessimists often perform the same way that extreme optimists do but for dissimilar reasons. An extreme pessimist may think that everything is unequivocally going down the tubes and there is virtually nothing that anyone can do about it so why get ready for the future, and this includes saving money, so he doesn’t. Whereas, the extreme optimist is so convinced that things are going to work out that he doesn’t have any need, financially, for a safety net. Different approaches but the same result: No money when they need it.

A pessimist tends to zero in on problems and potential disaster while an optimist only sees what is heartening and does not recognize possible obstacles. In this respect, a pessimist may be smarter when it comes to making investments and in the way he spends his money. He is more cautious.

There is a need for restrained pessimists in the world because they are in tune with reality. A reasonable pessimist is practical and that is a good thing to be, particularly in business and when handling money.

It may be that the person who has found a healthy balance between optimism and pessimism does best when it comes to finances because he is realistic while also being hopeful.
Author Bio: Patrick Del Rosario is part of the team behind Open Colleges. It is one of Australia’s pioneer and leading providers of online TAFE courses and business management courses. When not working, Patrick enjoys blogging about career and business. Patrick is also a photography enthusiast and is currently running a photography studio in the Philippines.

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While relatively few countries’ pension funds have escaped unscathed from the current financial crisis the US seems to have taken the biggest hit over the last couple of years.

It’s not a huge surprise, given that pension plans in the US make up more than 60% of global pension assets. The ongoing financial crisis has left corporate pension funds hugely underfunded and many workers are seriously reconsidering their retirement plans, some more drastically than others. A number of people have already stopped paying in to their IRS pension plans, while a not insignificant minority have completely shelved their retirement plans and are exploring other options. Those who have opted out entirely have had to rethink not only their lifestyle after retirement but their retirement age as well.

Making matters worse is the job market, with high unemployment levels plunging thousands of people in to deeper financial difficulty and slowly eroding any security they might have built up over the years.

Many private companies have attempted to offset some of the financial strain by reducing their contributions to pension funds, with some of the most severely affected completely abolishing schemes. Sadly this looks like a trend which is set to continue for the foreseeable future.

California

California is a typical example of how states are being affected. The largest public pension fund in the country, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), has reduced its forecast for investment returns for the first time in 10 years. They have also requested that local school districts and local government increase their contributions, a move that could have a significant impact on the standard of services offered to residents in a time where cost cutting is already a top priority.

This means that around 4% of the state’s annual budget is allocated to CalPERS, at a time when almost every department is looking to make budget cuts wherever they can. Public sector pensions have already come under fire due to the substantial benefits they offer over those provided to those in the private sector. Many taxpayers are starting to question the feasibility of the public pension fund given the current state of the economy.

The state budget deficit stands at around $9.2bn and reductions to public sector pension benefits have already been proposed by Governor Jerry Brown, alongside increased contributions from workers and an increase in the state retirement age. The proposals, which have yet to be implemented, also support a plan for new employees to participate in a hybrid plan in which a 401(k) style system would be used to make the pension schemes more comparable to those in the private sector.

It highlights the significant steps governments have to take to deal with this huge issue, which will have an impact on millions over the next couple of decades.

Stuart produces content on behalf of cbonline.co.uk and contributes to a number of financial blogs

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CTFs were axed under the initial round of government spending cuts after Gordon Brown left office, leaving millions of children without the option of saving. Parents and savings experts alike are lobbying the government for a change in policies that would allow CTF babies into the generally higher-paying Junior ISA market, but lawmakers have thus far not rallied to the cause.

Specifics

The main difference between the Junior ISA and CTF is that the latter came with a government voucher to kick start savings, while the Junior ISA relies completely on parents, grandparents, other family members to top-up children’s accounts.

The children are able to have £3,600 saved in their name each year, though the limit is set to increase in line with the consumer price index for inflation in the 2013-2014 financial tax year. This £3,600 can be invested into a stocks and shares, or cash deposit account, or any mixture of the two. The option to hold both types of accounts is particularly good for parents who want to take advantage of the historically higher returns that a stocks and shares Junior ISA account offers, but want to mitigate risk to their child’s nest egg by saving partially in a potentially safer cash Junior ISA.

Over the course of 18 years, equity investments typically have a higher performance than cash, but this is a decision that parents should consider carefully.

Tax Efficiency

One of the main draws of the Junior ISA is that all money saved for the child is free of capital gains tax, and the child can withdraw it free from any further tax when they turn 18. Parents can circumvent the ‘pound;100 rule’ this way, as in normal taxable accounts children are taxed on any income over £100 that their investments earn, if the money was a gift from their parents.

The tax-free nature of the Junior ISA is also an attractive aspect for grandparents who are looking to transfer their wealth to future generations. A Junior ISA for each grandchild may not exclude them from paying inheritance tax entirely, but saving the maximum yearly amount for 18 years could shelter a huge slice of wealth from the taxman, completely legally.

Eva Schmiz of www.comparejuniorisa.com explains the best way to deal with taxes and Junior ISAs in order to save for your childrens.