Tag Archives: technology

How to save money on TV, Phone and broadband packages

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By Jeremy Dawson

(Sponsored Content)

Many people have made the blunder of subscribing to TV, phone or broadband packages without due diligence about the kind of service they are paying for. This leads them to pay hefty bills on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis without realising that they can actually save more on those subscriptions.

They only realise they have been getting a raw deal when a friend alerts them to a better service with which they have experimented. In most cases, these people still see adverts of cheaper subscriptions online or in the media, but they are skeptical to try new services with which they have no experience.

Before subscribing to any TV, phone or broadband services, it’s advisable to conduct thorough research, both online and offline. This will help you identify the service provider with the best yet affordable deal. Some people have the notion that a cheap service provider offers low-quality products and hence, they tend to stick to the overrated and sometimes inferior services. There are various factors to look for when shopping around for the best service provider for TV, phone and broadband, which can save you a considerable amount of money in the long-term.

Type of subscription

The first factor you may want to consider when choosing the best service provider for TV, phone and broadband packages is the kind of subscription. Different service providers have diverse types of subscriptions, depending on the kind of services they are offering. Continue Reading…

Easy Payment solutions for Home-based businesses

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By Cher Zevala

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

More and more people are striking out on their own and starting their own businesses. Whether they simply want the freedom to work from anywhere in the world or feel they have something worthwhile and valuable to contribute to the business world, today is the age of startups and home-based businesses and customers are flocking to them.

For the owners and managers of these businesses things can look a lot different when, all of a sudden, you have to be the receptionist, the accountant, the inventory manager, and virtually everyone else who staffs a business. However, most of these are one-person operations, which can be difficult to manage.

The end result of any business is to make a profit. While you need to direct your attention to all aspects of your new business the ultimate goal is to get paid;  if your company exists solely on the web you’ll need the tools to make it easy for your customers and clients to pay you. Here are few easy payment options that accomplish that:

PayPal

In many ways the dinosaur of online payment systems, PayPal remains an easy way to receive payments provided your customer has a PayPal account. Not as popular as it used to be, it’s still a wise choice to have a PayPal payment option on your business website.

The funds you receive can be transferred to your bank account but some people choose the option to leave money in their PayPal account and use it for other purchases that offer PayPal. The choice is entirely up to you.

E-Commerce Plug-ins

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House shopping for Millennials

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By Barney Whistance

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

In the wake of a new generation now growing up and planning to settle down, one of the biggest concerns for them is finding a place to live. Finding a house for you and your spouse to live in is one of the most important decisions that you will have to take. Therefore, it should not be taken lightly. There are a lot of factors for you to consider when you set out to purchase or get a house on mortgage.  You have to be certain about your choice as you will be the one living with it for a major part of your life.

Your financial situation is the biggest aspect you have to consider when making a decision like that. Once you know your financial point and how much you can afford, you must decide on where you want to live.  Planning everything step by step always gets the work done more smoothly and also makes your choice easier.

Finances

Talk about your finances with your partner, so in order to set a budget, you already know how much you both have. Once you have done the initial financial scrutiny, you can decide which plan you should be applying for. Continue Reading…

5 surprisingly smart Financial Habits of Millennials

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5-millenialsBy Maricor Bunal

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Millennials often get a bad rap for a lot of things. They are usually perceived as narcissistic, entitled, lazy, spoiled, and (perhaps the greatest stereotype of all) irresponsible with money. But having grown up in a sluggish economy, millennials may not be as bad with money as most people think. In fact, when it comes to personal finance, millennials are actually making some smart money moves that their older counterparts would do well to emulate.

Here are five surprisingly smart financial habits commonly used by Gen Y-ers that older generations should consider picking up.

1.) Use technology to manage finances

Millennials are a generation that grew up with technology, so it’s only natural that they would tap its power to help them with their personal finance. These days, Gen Y-ers rely on various mobile apps and tools to easily track and manage their money. Some of the most popular budgeting and finance apps today include Mint, GoodBudget, and PocketGuard. These apps are used to record and track purchases, monitor spending patterns, and even make automated, hassle-free payments.

2.) Choose experiences over material possessions

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Book Review: Blockchain Revolution

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9781101980132_Blockchain_final process.inddTechnology guru Don Tapscott, together with his investment banker son Alex, makes a bold claim on the subtitle of the pair’s just-published book, Blockchain Revolution (Penguin Canada, Toronto). They promise that the “technology behind Bitcoin is changing money, business and the world.”

Certainly Bitcoin and Blockchain technology are something anyone in the financial services industry needs to pay attention to. The first of seven chapters on Transformations is devoted to reinventing the Financial Services Industry, which the authors dub “the world’s second-oldest profession.”

The global financial system supports a global economy worth more than $100 trillion, making it the world’s most powerful industry and foundation of global capitalism, the authors write. And yet, with some of it still running on 1970s mainframe computers, close up the financial system is a “Rube Goldberg contraption of uneven developments and bizarre contradictions.”

If ever an industry were ready for disruption, this one would appear to be it. In an interview at the book launch, Alex Tapscott told me that true “fin tech” (financial technology) is based on the blockchain. And blockchain itself is what The Economist magazine dubbed “The Trust Machine.” Accordingly, the Tapscotts’ book begins with a chapter titled The Trust Protocol.

Distributed Ledger Technology

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