Archives for April 2020

Why you need to hire an estate attorney

April 29, 2020 by

The usual happenings of life can catch up with you unexpectedly if you don’t plan well. A perfect example is failing or forgetting to update estate planning documents. You have to keep on checking your will, trust, power of attorney, and any other useful tool to ensure your last wishes are fulfilled. The process of estate planning is a complex one, and rushing to online service providers may not be a solution. They may not prepare your legal documents as you wish, which may frustrate you and even spend more looking for other solutions. Avoiding such may require you to hire an estate planning attorney to take you through the process of preparing legal documentation to keep your assets safe. Keep reading!

Necessary documentation updates

Any document that has to do with your assets needs regular reviews to ensure proper updates are made when required. Documents that need frequent reviews or updates include wills and trusts. Your financial situation can change any moment, thereby requiring you to make some adjustments to your will to fit your current status. This is why san antonio estate planning lawyers review documents keenly to determine if any necessary changes should be made to fulfill your plans or wishes. For instance, you may have mind changes on where to distribute your assets, forcing you to re-evaluate your estate plan.

Current law should favor your documents.

The documents should match with your current plans. If you want to fail thoroughly, contradict your ideas with what’s included in your will or trust. Estate planning is a process that needs careful review and knowledge when it comes to what an online form provider is asking. You don’t want to overspend and have regrets later when your documents do not reflect your wishes. Failing to update your records regularly presents with errors when you die. You need an estate planning lawyer to periodically check any area of your document that may require drafting to reflect your goals.

Asset and beneficiary titles

Don’t fall to the belief that wills cover every asset. For example, retirement accounts or life insurance go individually of your trust or will. But if you want them to work together, it may force you to hire an estate planning attorney to assist with retitling your accounts and assets. You have to ensure your estate plan covers each of your assets through an attorney to avoid costly and timewasting probate proceedings when a person dies.

Seek future answers from reliable resources for your loved one’s benefit

It is paramount to have an honest relationship with your estate planning attorneys. This will give you confidence and peace of mind knowing that they will be there for you when in need. Attorneys have the experience when it comes to handling your loved ones if you die or you become helpless. Also, they ensure a smooth run in your estate settlement.

Bottom Line

Estate planning attorneys are vital if you need your will or trust documents to reflect your final wish. Even though it is a complex process, their professionalism provides value for any step required to ensure your estate plan runs smoothly.

Filed Under: Money Talk

How To Keep Morale High At All Times

April 28, 2020 by

Keeping morale high is an ongoing challenge that all business leaders face. The importance of morale should not be overlooked as it has a direct impact on individuals and team performance, the workplace atmosphere, staff loyalty and much more. This all, in turn, impacts the success of the company, so it is an area that needs careful consideration, plus keeping morale high can make coming into work each day much more enjoyable for everyone and create a positive atmosphere. Here are a few ways that you could always keep morale high in the workplace, which could make a big difference to your company.

Allow Open Communication

You cannot expect people to feel happy in the workplace if they feel that they are unable to communicate as they wish. Therefore, you should allow and encourage open communication in the workplace but just emphasize that work needs to come first and that they always need to maintain a professional image.

Feedback

It is hard to know where you stand, and if you are performing well or not without regular feedback. Providing regular and honest feedback to staff can help them to know how they are performing, how they can improve and help them to feel valued. Hence, you need to make sure that you are communicating with staff often without micromanaging them.

Team Building

Morale will naturally be much higher when employees are surrounded by those that they trust, work well with, and enjoy their company. This can be achieved through regular team-building events and activities, plus social events outside of work can be highly effective at bringing employees together.

Monitor Employee Engagement

You can use change management tools from places like inpulse.com, which will allow you to survey and monitor employee engagement levels during periods of change. This will help you to track emotions across each department, identify any issues which need to be managed and take action to keep morale high during what can be difficult periods for staff.

Role Variation

People tend to get bored and frustrated if they are performing the same task day in, day out. Therefore, it is smart to provide role variation from time-to-time to keep employees challenged and to develop new skills, such as giving them a special project, increasing collaboration, or developing a new skill.

Know Their Goals

Following this, a good leader will be aware of what the goals are for employees and find ways to help them to achieve this. The majority will want to progress and take their career forward, so providing training, identifying opportunities and promoting from within the company can all help improve morale while also maximizing the value of your team.

Combine the above strategies, and you should notice a sharp uptick in employee morale. This is an area that needs constant attention, and there will be inevitable dips at times. Still, by taking action to improve morale, you can improve employee wellbeing and create a positive working atmosphere for all.

Filed Under: Business & Growth

Job Spotlight: Operations Manager in Manufacturing

April 27, 2020 by

A career in operations management (OM) for a manufacturing organization can be both challenging and rewarding. Learning what the typical workday looks like can help you decide if it’s a good fit for you. Find out what to expect in this detailed guide.

Duties of the Operations Manager

The operations manager of a manufacturing facility is responsible for a range of activities relating to the creation and delivery of products or services. While the traditional definition would likely have focused solely on physical goods, modern thinking usually includes services as well.

Specifically, the manager’s role is to produce the product or service at:

  • The right price, from the customer’s perspective
  • The correct amount
  • The best quality
  • The specified time of completion

Meeting these requirements to be successful in their position involves managing not only daily operations, as their title suggests, but also the design process, the strategy behind these activities, and determining ways to improve on performance.

Thus, the major areas of responsibility are:

  • Designing an operations system
  • Managing operations
  • Improving operations

Taking a product from an idea through the manufacturing process to delivery to the customer involves many activities and many people. There’s no mistaking that OM is a distinguished career!

Why the Operations Manager Matters

The operations manager of a manufacturing facility is the person who connects people, activities, and equipment to provide the most value for the goods that are for sale. In this role, the person at the helm can drive the organization into a globally competitive space.

In a world where consumers have plenty of choice as to where they buy products and services, creating a value-laden product is vital for a manufacturing firm. To stay competitive globally, OM must consider:

  • Quality of the goods
  • Cost of the product to make
  • Purchase price for the customers
  • Flexibility of the operations
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Innovation of the product

All these dimensions hinge on the effectiveness of OM methods and technologies. Lean manufacturing techniques are more critical than ever, especially in the face of current challenges. Take the time to learn more about overcoming these obstacles in a future job in operations management.

Meeting competitive challenges is part of the job scope of the manager. Brainstorming and carrying out strategies to combat globalization and other issues is part of ensuring the future success of the organization.

Education Requirements

A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement usually. Gaining an edge against the competition to get hired involves taking a specialized program, such as an Operations Management Degree from Kettering University Online.

As well, some managers seek advanced education in specialty fields, such as engineering, to give them detailed knowledge of the sector they work in. In addition to getting the educational background, practical work experience will help make someone more likely to get picked for the OM job.

Many professionals start their careers in a lower position within the organization. For example, they might work on the production line. This experience can qualify them to work in a more senior role later.

What Skills Make a Great Operations Manager?

As with a manager in any other field, a manufacturing operations manager must have good communication skills. They need to supervise teams, as well as explain processes and policy updates.

For a well-run manufacturing business, the manager of operations must be an effective leader. Their goal is to be supportive of those who need help but also to encourage those who are doing well to help them do even better:

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.” – Jim Rohn

Coordinating departments is also necessary. Only in this way can the organization ensure that processes are not redundant or ill-timed. Coordination is imperative, too, for quality control.

Managers must solve any problems that come up too, such as longer than normal production times, to help increase the organization’s productivity level. They must also adhere to any standards and processes set out by their employer.

The Planning Part of Operations Management

The decisions made in OM have the potential to impact a manufacturing organization for a long time to come. Managers must make decisions about the processes, with consideration of what their marketers want to achieve in the future.

For example, does the manufacturer want to be competitive cost-wise with their product or to be known more for exceptionally high product quality? Maintaining a high-quality standard may not be possible for a manufacturer who offers a large variety of products, just as a low-cost product may not be offered alongside a top-quality product.

The manufacturing operations manager also must decide where the facility will be located for making the goods and how to set it up safely. When planning where to set up the manufacturing plant, some key considerations are:

  • Whether there are skilled workers in the location
  • Will workers and their families enjoy living in this area?
  • Locations close to suppliers are favorable to minimize shipping costs
  • Facilities close to customers are advantageous too

Finding one location that meets all these criteria rarely happens, which is why it’s a decision that involves weighing the benefits against any faults with the physical area. Determining which item on the above list is the most important one to the business is a good starting point for picking the location.

Becoming an Operations Manager in the Manufacturing Industry

The overarching role of OM in the manufacturing sector is to transform materials and other resources into goods. A successful manufacturing process involves many key decisions on the part of the operations manager.

Building the skillset to be an effective operations manager for a manufacturing firm typically comes from a combination of education and experience. Specialized programs such as those available from Kettering can build expertise, as can on-the-job experiences.

In this career, a manager must overcome challenges and motivate teams regularly. It is a position that requires excellent communication and brings personal satisfaction at the end of the workday.

Supporting an organization, helping to achieve its mission, is what an operations manager dedicates their career to do, and it is an important role.

 

Filed Under: Business & Growth

Here are three reasons why your wooden décor is damaged

April 24, 2020 by


Wood is a very dependable and durable material. Of course, a lot depends on the particular variety of wood, but for the most part, people can rely on wooden structures and items to last long and look good. With that being said, it is important to note that timber has a few very dangerous enemies that could damage it. Some protective measures can be taken to combat that. Here are three important reasons why wooden décor is damaged.

No. 1 – Rot

The No.1 and No.3 reasons on our list are quite related to one another, but they are very different nonetheless. Rot appears when the wood comes in contact with excess moisture for an extended period of time and a special sort of fungi appears.

Rotting isn’t an accident; it is a complex issue that takes time to develop. Sadly, it is mostly irreversible, meaning that if your wooden furniture or objects stay wet for too long and begin to rot, you’ll likely need to replace them.

No. 2 – Pests

Pests are not the most widespread cause of wood damage, but they are persistent and quite difficult to exterminate. Someone like a termite could chew wood and destroy an entire piece of furniture or an integral part of the building carcass.

Termites are more abundant in warmer environments, but if you notice them, quickly call the exterminators. Replacement of damaged goods could also be necessary.

No. 3 – Moisture

Moisture causes rot, but it can also damage wood in other ways. If water gets into gaps and under the surface, it can cause bumps and lumps which deform wood. A deformed piece of wood is not just non-aesthetic, it can also be a ticking timebomb which could cause the item to disintegrate and fall apart at any second.

If the moisture has caused lumps – it’s too late to fix and needs replacement. However, if you notice a leak and are able to prevent moisture damage, you can try and fix it before it gets out of hand. Otherwise, choose something waterproof, like charred wood from Degmeda which is breathable yet waterproof.

Filed Under: Home & Decor

Key Areas To Reinvest Profit For Business Development

April 22, 2020 by

In order to succeed in any industry, you will need to spend money on the company, but when you do this intelligently, you will be able to recoup this through greater success. There are a few areas that will deliver high ROI. As a business owner, you need to focus on these areas so that you can succeed, grow the business, and compete with the bigger brands in your industry. It is not always easy to know what these areas are, and it will depend on your particular company, but here are a few of the main areas where it is always worth spending money.

Technology

Technology has evolved at an alarming rate in recent years and can be used to help a business to succeed in many different ways. You will want to reinvest money back into the company by spending on new technology so that you can streamline, make work easier for your team and stay competitive. A few of the best types of technology to look into include:

Cybersecurity

It is unfortunate, but you need to spend money on cybersecurity in order to protect your business from digital threats and cybercriminals. This is the biggest problem that modern day businesses face, but spending money on cybersecurity products and training can help to protect the company and provide peace of mind.

Equipment

The equipment that your business uses will have a direct impact on efficiency, staff performance, and the overall success of the company, making it an area where you must spend money. Businesses in many industries use conveyors to transport material, but the belts can become damaged over time, which could be holding the company back. Specialists like Fluent Conveyors can provide high-quality replacement conveyor belts, which could get the operation back on track and streamline work processes.

Marketing

There is always more that your business could do to promote itself, so investing more in marketing is always intelligent. It could help to increase brand awareness, boost sales, and improve your reputation. Digital marketing from an experienced agency will be the best way to get results online, but do not forget about more traditional forms of marketing, such as sponsorship, print ads, and getting involved with the community.

Staff

Investing in human capital is also intelligent because a business can only succeed with a team of hardworking and skilled employees. Reinvesting profits into new hires to bolster the workforce is key for growth. Still, you should also remember to train existing staff to improve their abilities, to keep them motivated and so that you can promote from within.

These are the key areas that a business owner should focus on when reinvesting money back into the company. Investing in these areas will help to take the company forward and allow you to compete at a much higher level, plus you can often recoup the money spent by improving the business in critical areas and increasing sales.

 

Filed Under: Business & Growth

3 Reasons Why the Latte Factor is Wrong

April 16, 2020 by

The silky-smooth latte with just enough caffeine to jolt you awake in the mornings has a bad rap. But how could something with adorable latte art have such a disastrous effect on your budget?

Woman Holding Cup of Latte

Ask David Bach, the millionaire and financial guru behind The Latte Factor. This financial principle exposes just how much money your daily cup of Joe costs you in the long run.

Bach casts it as the bad guy in your finances; it’s the reason why you don’t have savings and need to rely on an online personal line of credit when something goes wrong unexpectedly.

All in all, he says it swallows up $2,000 of your hard-earned money each year. He also claims that you could save $1 million for your retirement simply by skipping the latte and investing the money.

Sounds too good to be true? You’re onto something! Here are three reasons why the Latte Factor may not work.

Reason #1: It’s Bad Math

It’s easy to trust a talking head in a video hosted by CNBC and CNN who claims to have all the answers. But sometimes, it’s worth fact-checking what they have to say.

According to Bach, a $5 latte purchased every day for an entire year would cost you $2,000. But punch these into a calculator and you’ll see he’s fudged the numbers.

$5 x 365 = $1,825

Now let’s look at a Starbucks menu. Even accounting for the latest price hike, a Venti latte costs $4.15.

$4.15 x 365 = $1,514.75

That’s a difference of nearly $300! Admittedly, this may be a big boost to your budget. It would be a solid start to an emergency fund, a considerable payment against your online line of credit balance, or a way to knock out a loan from an online direct lender.

But when it comes to investing, a $300 difference may affect how long it will take you to reach $1 million.

Reason #2: It’s Unrealistic

However you invest it, $1,514.75 a year is a considerable sum. But no matter how you slice it, it’s not $1 million.

To reach this savings goal, Bach’s calculations rely on snagging an interest rate of 11 percent. Other financial experts think a rate of return this high in unlikely, and they may be right. The average 401(k) offers an annual return rate ranging between 5 and 8 percent.

Reason #3: It’s for Rich People

People are only poor because they aren’t working hard enough at budgeting. That’s a common belief underlining a lot of financial advice you read on the Internet.

While it’s true, some people are living paycheck to paycheck because of overspending on splurge items, most are in this position because they don’t earn enough for their immediate needs. They aren’t spending $5 a day (or $4.15, more accurately) on a latte because all their money goes towards rent, utilities, and other essentials.

Telling people they can solve their financial problems simply by eliminating what Bach calls “the daily extravagances that drain your resources” only works if you have the resources to make these luxury purchases in the first place.

For everyone else, the fixed costs of hard-to-change expenses (things like rent and healthcare) are what’s more likely draining your finances. Giving up an occasional latte won’t fix these chronic issues.

 

Filed Under: Money Talk

Cheaper and faster money transfers: The Money Transfer Revolution

April 7, 2020 by

There are many activities we engage in daily that are important, necessary or for fun. In the past, doing some of these was very expensive, difficult and slow. However, people have continually brought up innovative solutions that aided the speed and ease of carrying such services while bringing down the price. All of these have made it easier to get a lot of things we want that we would not have known about or had access to at our standard of living a few years earlier. One of such things is money transfer services. Not too long ago, transferring money implied going to the bank, joining long queues, filling forms and the recipient getting the money days later. However, it is now possible to transfer money and the recipient will get the money within a few minutes. Here are the steps to enjoying these cheaper and faster transfer services.

Select a Money Transfer Company
 Many companies provide money transfer services including those that provide such services locally, internationally and both ways. They also often have some features that could be slightly different as well as their charges. In most cases, you would want to either find the fastest companies or the cheapest companies as long as they are reliable. You could read more about finance companies to know which finance companies provide which services, at what price and at what speed. From here, you could choose the companies that you are most comfortable with and do further research on them by visiting their site and probably contacting their customer care if you have further questions till you settle for the one you are most comfortable with. Examples of the companies you might want to research include ripple, n26 and Transferwise.

Open an account
 Once you know the one you are comfortable with, you would have to visit their platform which could be their website and/or their app to open an account. For most of these companies, opening an account is usually free. You would need to fill their form and in most cases, provide some form of verification that would be an official document from your country. Once you have properly and correctly filled the form and you are verified, you would be able to start using the account.

Sending money
 To send money, you might be required to credit your wallet or link a credit card. If you are crediting your wallet, you would often have the option of crediting the wallet from your card and other alternatives. Once you have done that, you can easily select the amount that you want to transfer and it would be sent to the person. A major reason why the services of these money transfer platforms are cheaper is that they convert the money that you want to send to local currencies of the country of the recipient. Thus, the money enters the account without extra charges from the bank or a lower exchange rate that the bank will be using. The platforms strive to use the exact exchange rate, which most local banks would go a bit below.

 

Filed Under: Money Talk

3 Worst Spending Habits and How To Fix Them

April 2, 2020 by

 

Despite having the best intentions with your money, sometimes it’s not always easy to know how to best spend it. Over time it’s easy to find yourself struggling to pay the bills if you aren’t careful. It’s in your best interest to eliminate financial stress from your life, if possible.

Curbing your bad spending habits can not only bring more peace to your life but will also pave the way for a more comfortable future, like being able to buy a home. If you’re ready to take control of your finances, then take a look at some of the worst spending habits you should get rid of first.

 

Impulse Buying

 

If you frequently find yourself seeing something you just can’t live without buying, then you may be guilty of impulse purchases. Impulse buying is an impractical way to spend your money based on emotion. Stores know that people are susceptible to impulse buying; that’s why they put enticing products next to the cash registers. People who are smart with their money know how to purchase with a good head on their shoulders rather than buying something just because it sounds good.

 

If you suffer from an impulse buying problem, the best way to fix it is to recognize your triggers. Before you buy something for yourself, ask yourself whether you really need it. Unless you’ve been anticipating buying it for some time, force yourself to reflect before buying it. Giving yourself time to think about your decision will often lead to you realizing that you never really needed it in the first place.

 

Failing To Budget

 

A lot of people would rather not bother with the budget; however, the truth is that taking some time to create a budget for yourself can have a huge effect on your spending habits. One of the reasons you may be living hand to mouth is because you don’t have a budget to live off of.

A budget allows you to see exactly what’s coming in and going out of your bank account. It forces you to take a look at how you’re spending your money and make changes where necessary. It doesn’t have to be something that takes a lot of time out of her life. Nowadays, there are plenty of apps and automated spreadsheets that can do your accounting for you.

 

Using Your Credit Cards Too Much

 

There’s something to be said for credit, and it’s undoubtedly a part of modern life whether you want it to be or not. In fact, not using credit is the same as having bad credit. However, it’s important that you don’t rely on your credit cards too much.

 

Not only do you have to pay your credit cards back, but you have to pay interest on top of whatever you spend. Over time, you could end up getting yourself into unmanageable goodnight debt.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Money Talk

3 Ways to Boost Your Credit Score Starting Today

April 2, 2020 by

Having poor or non-existent credit can be a distressing and crippling situation. Not only do you fear having to go before a loan officer, but having poor credit could end up costing you a position or getting access to basic amenities in some cases.

However, you should know that there are concrete things everybody can do to improve their credit situation. Some of these only require a minor effort on your part, and many of them won’t cost you a thing. Here are some ways that you could start fixing your credit starting today.

Get Your Credit Report

This is the very first thing that you should do. There’s nothing worse than getting rejected for a loan or card application because you had an error on your report or an account you’ve paid off that is still showing.

Make sure that you get your hands on your credit report. All UK citizens are entitled to a free copy of their report from one of the three major agencies: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.

You are then free to report any issues and have them corrected within 28 days. Each service will have an easy to follow the procedure to dispute false information. It is your right to have these issues straightened, so make sure that you order your copy today and see if everything is in order.

Take Some Good Debt

First of all, you have to know that debt isn’t inherently bad. In fact, there are plenty of ways that you can improve your credit using debt. It’s also the only way that you can start building a credit history.

One of the ways that you can do this is by getting a secured credit card. This is a card that is backed by collateral. This collateral is usually a sum of money that you will be asked to deposit. This will eventually be the credit limit on the credit card.

The other option is to get a short-term loan. There are plenty of short-term loan providers in the UK that will allow you to borrow anywhere from £100-£1500 and pay it back over a short period of time. You can get short term loans UK from providers like Bingo Loans for instance, who will pay more attention to your current income when deciding if you’re eligible. So, this could be an option to consider if you have a steady income.

However, in order for both methods to be successful, you have to behave responsibly. Just one late payment could be enough to ruin your efforts, so make sure that you can handle the debt and pay on time each month.

Become an Authorised User

Another way that you can start improving your credit is to become an authorised user on someone else’s account. A lot of people don’t know this, but being an authorised user will allow you to benefit from the main user’s activity, and it will show on your report. On the other hand, any bad information will also show, so that could be a double-edged sword.

Just using these few tips could be enough to start turning your credit report around and slowly start rebuilding it. Make sure, however, that you follow through with some responsible spending and budgeting if you want to keep your good name.

Filed Under: Money Talk