Hub Blogs

Hub Blogs contains fresh contributions written by Financial Independence Hub staff or contributors that have not appeared elsewhere first, or have been modified or customized for the Hub by the original blogger. In contrast, Top Blogs shows links to the best external financial blogs around the world.

How to stay safe while trading Cryptocurrencies

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Collection from different coins of crypto currency: ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin, monero, ripple.

By Emily Roberts

For the Financial Independence Hub

When you’re doing any kind of business online, we don’t need to tell you that security is paramount. While the security measures that software creators and the makers of our computers, tablets and phones are getting more sophisticated with each passing day, the techniques and scams used by cybercriminals are only matching them every step of the way.

Over the course of the last twelve months, we have all had to be even more careful as the crooks have taken advantage of the fact that people all over the world have had to conduct all their business online, and the cybercrime figures have skyrocketed.

Trading cryptocurrency is just like any other online activity involving money: you need to be extremely careful about the security measures you’re taking and any potential risks that you’re incurring. Here are a few tips to help you stay safe:

Make sure you have a Cold Wallet

If you are just getting into trading crypto then you may not be familiar with the phrases “hot wallet” or “cold wallet.” Simply put, a cold wallet is a place where you can store your currency offline, such as a drive or USB that you can disconnect. We do understand that this may seem like a slight case of overkill if you’re confident in the security measures installed on your device, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry, isn’t it?

Make sure you research and double check your leads

Things can move awfully fast in crypto, and just as in any other online trading, it can be tempting to jump on what seems like a good thing before anyone else gets there. However, you need to remember that this is an incredibly volatile market and if something seems like it’s too good to be true, then it may well be. Continue Reading…

A complete B2B SEO strategy for 2021

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Mike Khorev

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

What exactly is B2B SEO?

B2B SEO strategy comprises digital marketing tactics that aim to help B2B [Business To Business] websites to rank high for certain keywords and terms in search engines like Bing and Google. Unlike optimization for B2C [Business To Consumer], B2B optimization strategies focus on phrases and terms that key decision-makers in a company actively search for at work. This can include managers, team leads, CEOs, CTO, etc.

Why Does It Matter in 2021?

B2B SEO matters in 2021 because it’s the only form of marketing that yields compounded traffic over time coupled with long-term results. 

Here’s why: Any page holding top 10 rankings in Google carries an average age of over 2 years. It’s hard to think of any other distribution and marketing channel that can generate traffic for multiple years.

Here’s another reason: Over 53% of all website traffic across different industries is organic. For the B2B industry, the figures are even promising. Organic searches generate twice the revenue than social media or email marketing for B2B businesses. 

How B2B SEO actually works

At the heart of B2B SEO lies keyword research and understanding customer problems. After that, you have to understand 3 different parts of SEO for B2B industries: 

  • The first one is on-page SEO, which includes optimization of the site page with useful content. It also includes adding headings, title tags, meta descriptions, URLs, alt text, etc.
  • Off-page SEO focuses on link building and securing website authority.
  • Technical SEO helps with the crawling and indexing of a site by search engines. It works on the architecture of the website.

B2B SEO Strategy in 2021

Proper Keyword Research

At this point, you have to figure different queries across different stages of the sales process that people at managerial positions are using to search for similar businesses like yours. 

To get help with keyword research, you can use SEMrush. It will give you information about your target buyer persona and what kind of keywords they are using to find solutions to their pain points.

You must work on finding the most important keywords that align perfectly with different phases of a sales funnel.

In case you have trouble finding the right set of keywords to act as a starting point for your B2B research, asking these questions might help you: 

  • What problems are my target personas facing?
  • Where are they looking for the solution to their pain points?
  • How can you come up with a viable solution?
  • What are the key features of your service/product?
  • Which keywords are your competitors for organic traffic generation?

Find Top-of-the-Funnel Topics

The top-of-the-funnel topics are the most general topics that a broad range of users are searching for. As you reach the narrow end of the sales funnel, the range of topics also keeps getting smaller and narrower.

If you’re doing B2B digital marketing, it’s important that you strategically pick and write about the top of the funnel topics. These topics and keywords get several-fold search traffic than the bottom-of-the-funnel topics. If you write about the latter your outreach will be limited. Continue Reading…

 Life Insurance in Canada: Have you made the correct choice for your family? 

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By Hristina Nikolovska

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Life insurance is often something people put off until later. We understand: it’s not fun thinking about our mortality. Still, in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, it’s wise to start doing so.

You may be sure that others are. In 2017, the industry received $2.65 trillion in direct premiums. 

Not sure where to start?

In this article, we’ll give you a quick overview of the Canadian insurance market. From there, we’ll go through the questions you should ask yourself before taking out life insurance.

Current state of Canadian Life Insurance Market

Canada’s top three life insurers by assets are:

  • Manulife: Started in 1887, this giant had assets totaling CA$809.13 billion in 2019.
  • Power Corporation of Canada: Founded in 1925, PCC had assets totaling CA$23,627 million in 2020.
  • Power Financial: CA$22,286 million in 2020. 

How important is Life Insurance to Canadians?

Questions to Ask Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

How Much Coverage Do I Need?

There are a few things to consider when taking out your policy:

  • Are you the primary breadwinner? If so, you’ll need to factor income replacement into the equation. How much will it take for your family to be able to live in comfort once you’ve passed on?
  • Your financed assets: At the very least, ensure that any debt financing assets are repaid. Include the balance of your mortgage, car, and other valuable items that you’re paying off.
  • Other outstanding debt: Make provision for loans, lines of credit, and other obligations to be paid off as well.
  • Your children’s ongoing education: Hopefully, you’ll be there to see them off to college or university. If you’re not, life insurance might ensure that they’re able to attend.

Many Canadians see life insurance as a necessary purchase but underestimate the amount they require. Sit down with your partner or spouse and work out what your family’s future financial needs are.

You may, for example, wish to pay for your daughter’s wedding. Work out what your goals are for your family when you pass.

Is it a good idea to have a separate Mortgage Cover?

The finance company may insist that you cede a life insurance policy to them. These policies pay off the mortgage should you die. The finance company may offer you cheap cover, but these may not always be as good as they look.

Mortgage cover usually expires when you cancel the mortgage. It may also have a value linked to the balance in the home loan. In other words, your cover decreases as your mortgage does.

The problem with having such a highly specialized product is that it’ll cost you more in the long-term. To take out a new life insurance policy when you pay off your mortgage in 30 years will be expensive.

Should you die with these policies in place, the insurer will pay off your mortgage. There’ll be nothing left over for your family unless you have a separate policy. By sticking to one larger policy covering everything, you save on administration fees and get a better discount.

What about Funeral Cover?

Funeral cover is often unnecessary if you have sufficient life cover. It is, however, important to confirm how quickly your life insurer will pay the money out. If their claim processing takes longer than a few days, it might be prudent to have a small funeral plan as a backup.

How do I calculate how much parents will need?

Were you shocked to realize just how quickly expenses added up when your first child was born? Most people are. A good rule of thumb is to consider your current annual costs for: Continue Reading…

How to preach about Money

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By Emily Roberts

For the Financial Independence Hub

Many pastors struggle to preach about the topic of money. However, talking about money is more valuable than ever before. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a huge increase in the number of people finding it hard to manage financially. Thanks to this, it is important that pastors talk about money and what the bible has to say about it. Not only will this improve the spiritual health of your congregation, but it can also improve the health of the church. If you want to preach about money, then here are some of the things you need to keep in mind:

1.)  Don’t apologize for talking about Money

Money is an important part of the discipleship process. Jesus said that people’s finances and people’s hearts were connected. So, when you create your sermon, it is important to remember that you are preaching a discipleship sermon and not simply a sermon about money. You should never say sorry for encouraging your congregation to follow Jesus.

2.)  Make it normal to talk about Money

We talk about money daily, to our friends, our family and other important people in our lives. However, although money is an important topic that needs to be discussed, it is not a regular topic discussed in church. Pastors need to start talking about money with their congregation. They should talk about things like retirement, savings, debt, and insurance. They can also talk about giving money to people who need it.

3.)  Help people with their Finances

One of the best ways to preach about money and gain the respect of your congregation is to help your congregation improve their finances. Continue Reading…

An overview of Investment Real Estate

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By Matt Guenther

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Real estate investment is the process of buying properties as an asset. The goal is to generate income rather than use it for living purposes. Typical examples of real estate investments are: office building, a commercial plot, a house for rental purposes, or an office building for running and managing businesses.

In this post by Cash for Homes Arizona, we look at different types of real estate investments and best ways to invest in them.

Different Categories of Real Estate

Real estate investments have three main categories: residential, industrial, and commercial. Each one then further has sub-categories.

Commercial Real Estate 

  • Office
  • Retail
  • Industrial

Residential Real Estate

  • House flipping
  • Vacation rentals
  • Section 8 rentals
  • Single-family rental homes
  • Small multi-family homes

Industrial Real Estate

  • Land for mining
  • Residential development
  • Commercial development

How to obtain Real Estate Investment Financing

Hard Money

It’s called hard money for the reason that the lenders would use some kind of hard assets such as property as collateral to secure the loan. These loans are typically short-term so mostly borrowers who plan on house flipping generally seek it.

As a rule of thumb, hard money covers anywhere between 70 and 80% of the property’s purchase value before it goes through any kind of renovation or construction work.

That is why it’s important that the property is worth more than the loan’s value and that in case you default, the property should be able to liquidate the cost of the loan.

Attention must be paid to the fact that hard-money lenders generally charge high interest rates, so choose wisely.

Microloans

Microloans are mostly meant to help small businesses: typically startups that need capital to fuel initial growth. Because they are ‘microloans,’ the amount up for a loan is typically smaller than what you would get via a traditional financing route from banks. Because the amount disbursed is generally lower, terms of qualifications are usually less strict in terms of credit score, etc.

Therefore, microloans are ideal for those who have limited borrowing capacities. But it’s important to consider the overhead costs involved with microloans. Also, interest rates can be higher than those imposed by standard loan programs.

Real Estate Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a relatively new concept that allows people to raise money from the general public for any cause they support and believe in. While popular sites like Kickstarter and GoFundMe will allow you to raise money for any cause, some sites are designed for real estate crowd funding only. Sites like Feather The Nest and Hatch My House allow raising of funds for homebuyers and investors.

Best ways to invest in Real Estate

REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)

You can think of REITs as companies that own, operate, and derive money from the management of real estate assets. Most REITs are tradeable on stock exchanges so if you want you can also buy stocks of one of the companies online. Real estate ETFs and real estate mutual funds are also in this category.

Note that not all stocks related to real estate are classified as REITs. Also, some of these may only be accessible to eligible investors.

Use an Online Real Estate Investing Platform

There are many real estate investment platforms available for those who want to join hands with others who want to be part of a big commercial or residential property deal. Most investments are done online through real estate platforms. The capital investment requirement is less than is needed to complete the purchase.

The upside of online real estate platforms is that interested investors can diversify their portfolios by investing in multiple projects. It also has room for geographic diversification.

The downside is that the management fees can be high sometimes with overhead costs. Also, liquidation can be difficult due to high due to lockup periods.

Rent out a room on platforms like Airbnb

Today to rent out a property you don’t need to buy one separately. Continue Reading…