Hond Financial

Posts Tagged ‘recession’

Earning extra cash during a recession

With the economy in the doldrums and the holiday season fast approaching, many people are looking for ways to make a little extra money on the side. While decreasing spending and taking on extra work are the most logical actions to take, this is often not enough for many people. Some of these people are exploring the wealth of get-rich-quick schemes to be found online while others are looking into more unusual opportunities. Here are three unusual opportunities that at least some people have had success with and might be worth considering.

Donating your reproductive cells

The idea of being a sperm donor has been the subject of endless crude jokes for years, but believe it or not there is real money to be made by selling your sperm or eggs. Female reproductive cells, the ‘eggs’ or ovum, are worth more than sperm from males, because they are far harder to obtain. A woman can get up to $ 3,000 to $ 8,000 for her eggs, whereas a man will only get $ 1 to $ 200 per sperm donation. To successfully donate, you’ll have to be physically fit, free of disease, and well educated. Further, you will have to undergo a series of medical examinations and psychological tests before any reproductive center will pay for your cells. Women also have the option of becoming surrogates, or carrying the fertilized eggs of another woman until birth for women unable to carry their own children. Surrogates usually get about $ 25,000 for carrying the child to term.

Becoming a clinical trial subject

Like sperm donors, many jokes – and even several television comedies – have been based on the idea of volunteering to be the test subjects for medical experiments. Nevertheless, this is a legitimate way of making money which can also leave you free to do other work at the same time. A clinical trial usually runs between ten and ninety days and can pay anywhere from $ 50 to $ 5,000 apiece depending on the clinic, the drug being tested, and the risk factors involved. Although you will be asked to provide a comprehensive medical background before taking part in a clinical trial, you do not have to be in perfect health or shape to participate. Some trials look for people with specific pre-existing conditions, so having asthma or high blood pressure might actually pay off with a clinical trial.

Selling your hair

Believe it or not, your hair may be worth more than you know. There is a whole industry that uses human hair to make wigs and hair extensions and if your hair is long and healthy it might be worth quite a bit of money. A good parcel of hair might net the seller in the neighborhood of $ 300 to $ 900, and if you have hair that is considered desirable, ie long and pretty, you might get even more. Generally the key factor is length, the longer the hair the more it is worth. Hair having vivid color or that is untreated and healthy tends to be worth more. You can find businesses online that will buy your hair, and the process is simple and direct.

There is one thing you need to think about before you even get to asset tracking and that is of course asset management and this is the thing that every single company needs to do.

So what is asset tracking? Asset tracking is actually more software that helps out the companies using it, basically it will track the assets so it is important for both big and small companies.

For the large companies

It is very important for larger companies as many managers do not have the time to go and check every single asset they have to look on how long the depreciation will be for each new asset which is why using inventory management software is something that can be crucial to a big company.

For the smaller companies

It can be very costly indeed to get someone to actually come in and look at all your assets every other week and this is especially as important for the smaller companies which is why software may help you out a lot more in the long run. So basically you get a system in to track all of those fixed assets. This is something that is seriously going to help you out when it comes to the early years of the business.

Why is it important?

There have been many companies both this year and last that havent been too bothered about their assets and these include MFI, XL and Woolworths. Can you think of anything in comming between these three companies I have listed, well they are no longer running.

One of the major things to take into consideration is that you need to be taking regular checks on your assets so make sure you are doing this. Better yet, you can always invest in the system that is out there to help companies out and it will certainly help make your life a lot easier.

Payday Loans Prove Reliable in an Economy that Isn’t

The best thing about payday loans is that they are reliable. In a post recession period, a lot of people are finding that the credit industry isn’t what it was before. The past year saw consumers rethink using credit to make purchases, as they had done in the past. Due to the recession, Americans cut back drastically on discretionary spending. This isn’t good news for industries that have business conditional to consumer spending,like credit card companies.

Fitch Ratings recently reported that income of U.S. credit card companies will “continue suffering because of the lousy labor market, bankruptcies and bad loans.” They also cite that the unemployment rate over 10% is expected to last for most of 2010. “As a result [of the unemployment rate], the losses of credit card issuers could worsen further,” they stated.

The Consumer’s Relationship with Credit

Consumers have had a good relationship with credit card companies over the past few decades. Though it was ideally to benefit card companies, consumers were able to make purchases they couldn’t have made without it. The credit card companies have become lackadaisical, however. According to an economic analyst for Fitch, Justin May, “Lending companies were like fat and happy old men thinking their feast would last forever… What they didn’t realize was that nothing lasts forever. Even their bread and butter.”

From 2006 to 2007, credit companies were handing out credit left and right. They didn’t study an applicant’s history or present situation, never mind if they were able to repay the debt. After so much credit was extended, and little return was realized, credit card companies found that they were in dire straits. Companies had little recourse when the recession peaked because a lot of people simply couldn’t afford to pay their debts. A lot of people fall into bankruptcy, foreclosure, or just ignored their obligations. All three were bad news for credit card companies who at one time had a strong tie to the consumer market. Suddenly, consumers in need of quick cash started looking to payday loans, friends and family and other alternative ways of finding funding. No longer were credit companies the only viable option for consumers in need of help.

What the Recession Has Taught Us

Now that the recession is officially deemed “over,” there are some lasting concerns. Credit card companies are still writing off debts and reeling. It’s estimated that there is about $ 3.5 billion in debt that companies admit they probably will never see. Consumers are still hard pressed to find available funds. Though the market is somewhat stabilized, there is a lingering conservativeness with spending. People aren’t running out to use what little credit they have and credit companies aren’t extending new credit. A lot of people have less desirable credit reports and can’t qualify under lender policies, which have tightened. May added, “Credit card companies don’t want to risk any more than they have to and aren’t extending credit to those who need it. Though that is what they have been accused of doing for years, if they don’t extend credit soon, they won’t have a business.”

In the end, it will be up to the consumer to get the market rolling at full-steam once again. Though family lending and alternative credit sources, like payday loans, have proven as more resilient and reliable options than credit cards, but they’ll hopefully change their ways. Lending companies are hopeful that people will start using available credit and get the industry back on it’s feet.

Believe it or not something like Asset Management is actually very important for a business and this doesn’t matter if your business is small or large although it is of course more beneficial to a bigger company.

So why do you think companies are in need of something like this? It really can help you save on those pennies in these troublesome times. This is because companies are always looking to replace things that they personally think are looking a bit old. It can be very useful as you can take a look and find out that things are not in need of replacing for another 6-12 months. This is where Asset management comes into it as there are many pieces of software out there that will tell you when exactly you will need to replace bought items in the company.

Loads of information is given out to you on one database and each bit of information is just as important as the last which is why asset tracking is so important.

The system will tell you exactly when you’re purchased the asset and can also tell you the date in which the warranty is up and more importantly, insurance value!

But in all seriousness it can come in handy because you can dive in and see that the old computer’s you thought were on their last legs were actually only purchased a couple of months ago which means you can get them replaced on the warranty which of course is an added bonus!

Do you really need all of this? Well believe it or not if you are in charge of a business it is actually a legal requirement for the balance sheet and having some form of asset inventory saves you the trouble of dong it manually in a frantic rush at the end of a financial year.

If you want to do it manually you can do but you will certainly have problems when it comes to fixed asset accounting if you are a larger company.

When Will This Credit Crisis Ease?

They talk about the green shoots of recovery; well I have not seen any, have you? I personally think that it is a form of increase confidence trick; an attempt to make people believe that the worst of this current recession is over; I work within the cost reduction specialists sector and things are still quite tough here.

They, and when I say they I am talking about the Government and business leaders, are no doubt hoping that this new confidence (false as it undoubtedly is) will spur people on to start spending money again; to start buying houses etc. Until these so called “leaders” realise that this crisis will only start to ease when the banks and building societies start to lend money again, the better. Already we hear stories of the bankers going back to their bonus culture, will they never learn? The bigger question is why are the Government allowing them to make the same mistakes again when we, the taxpayer, are the major shareholder? There is a real lack of leadership at the moment and it is about time somebody at the top started to crack the whip.

Now I am not some financial whizz kid who thinks he has all of the answers. I am in fact just an average working class guy from the UK who runs a web promotion company and who also has a partnership in a company that offers a professional DVD replication. I do however watch and listen in amazement at times when I see what some of the politicians and greedy bankers say – they really are not in the real world – they probably would have absolutely no idea as to the average cost of a pint of milk or loaf of broad – they are complete jokers and a waste of space.

I personally believe that this current credit crisis will last until the end of 2010, at least. I know that this seem rather negative but it is just my opinion on the situation. I may well revise my opinion if we were to change in Government or a new stronger, dynamic leader? Bring in Vince Cable I say as the new Labour leader!

One of the reasons that people are not going out to buy new cars is because they are just becoming so damn expensive to buy and the VAT rise will add to that. yes cars are going to get a bit more expensive next year but there is no difference in this to a time before the recession so people do need to remember this.

With fuel rising more and more every year there have been thousands of families that have sold all of their vehicles apart from one in an attempt to save a bit of money. Although this does effectively reduce your fuel bill by half and sometimes more it is often not practical.

At the moment if you are looking to buy a certain car then you may actually have a bit of support from the government. However the government are giving people money for their old cars if you scrap them to get something that is better for the environment, then again they are bringing in taxes for people with green cars?

Well of course it is, you are starting to save the planet from the mess that previous generations have inflicted on it. The government are slime that need to stop putting taxes on things that do not need to be taxed, they are thinking about putting tax on people that are going on holiday. So are you telling me that Mr Brown pays to go on holiday, I do not think so?

However until such a green car comes out that is actually worth going after something a bit less greener so why not look into the new Audi or of course a Audi TT Roadster

Failing this you could even look into getting Used Cars however it is really up to you on what you do on this but I would say the best thing to do is just wait and see if things are actually going to get worse before you do anything.

The UK has recently been privy to news that the Financial Services Authority has increased it’s authoritative input, increasing awareness of our collective abuse of consumer credit systems. A continued rise in the rate of consumer credit attained has been witnessed, with the financial services regulating body now tightening controls and implementing specific restrictions on lending.

What effects are we likely to experience, particularly for those who did not abuse credit prior to the recession, and what are the ramifications for those already with a burden of debt?.

In contrast to seeming common sense, the FSA have announced a ban of the providing of self-certification mortgages which has been seen as a move countering the timidly recovering mortgage loan market. These mortgages, according to the The Telegraph, were identified as being one of the many products abused throughout the boom prior to the recession.

Justifiably, the FSA have ordained this in retaliation to individuals finding themselves incapable of maintaining their repayments of credit approved under these loans. The body’s aim is now presumably to impose analogous restrictions on the UK’s larger economic issue of being able to calculate credit card debt and effectively pay it off.

The economic situation has witnessed banks polarise in their lending behaviours which has ultimately resulted in the average consumer suffering. It would appear that as a result of a select few unable to effective manage debt, those with sensible attitudes to credit have been penalised by the new measures.

There has been a significant increase in the figures of individuals both applying for Protected Trust Deeds; and joint IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) and whilst this suggests an honourable approach to meeting debt repayments it also supports the forecasts of a larger crisis within personal finance. The FSA’s increasing control over credit cards especially may produce an increase in debt management cases though it is yet to be witnessed as to whether this will precede a change in attitude in institutions and consumer markets.

The recent news that the economic recession is being experienced with more vigour than ever is providing us with little hope that a recovery can feasibly be forecasted. The property market, an frequently relied upon measure of the economy, is projected to start enjoying a fragile recovery while several analysts are asserting that there will be a reduction in levels of personal debt.

Is there any reliability in judging trends in consumer behaviour when they reflect a heavy reliance upon credit? This article looks at the reasons for our attitudes towards credit cards and explores what experts predict for 2010.

The statistics that have been released thus far during 2009 have given a depressing insight into the influential effects that the recession has had on the area of personal finance. Whilst the figure of average household debts has risen to £52,290 with the inclusion of mortgages, the growth of total personal debt decreased.

It is worth noting that although the overall figures given for personal debt were documented to have increased to £1,457bn by September, 2009, tighter regulations on consumer credit facilities and general lending continue to be enforced. As identified by many analysts, there has been a worrying increase in the trend of relying upon credit in order to sustain untenable standards of living.

Experts have provided figures that document a 100 per cent increase in borrowing between the second and third quarters of 2009, and many remain worryingly uninformed about the risks of accepting unfeasible amounts of debt. The popularity of debt websites, dealing with IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) and debt consolidation, that provide tools that enable you to calculate and consolidate credit card debt indicates that there is a widely recognised crisis in the sector of personal finance.

Widespread disquiet is also prevalent in projections on figures of consumer debt in 2010. Concern over the UK’s predicted 2.4 per cent increase in the figure of consumer debt has been raised by the International Monetary Fund as it stands in direct contrast to a projected 2 per cent decrease in the USA, whilst there is also concern about a projected rise in default rates on loans increasing to 3 per cent.

With this increase and evident disregard for lessons presented by the recession and its consequential effects, it would appear logical to predict a future crisis within the personal finance sector, with repercussions experienced in outlying financial areas. There will be a fresh increase in the requirement of debt, bankruptcy and IVA advice, with consequences that will place an increased strain on lenders.

Though many sectors have been privy to difficult and harsh lessons subsequent to the economic recession, it would seem that even stricter restrictions on consumer credit have yet to positively influence our behaviours towards credit and debt. Experts may be correct in predicting recovery within the property sector however until attitudes to debt are altered, the fragile and tentative efforts in rebuilding the economy could be abruptly halted by our own insufficient credit management.

We all know that getting married these days is going to set you back a fortune. Whether you want a small do or a massive do you are going to end up paying a big fortune. Even if you don’t opt for a horse drawn carriage to a castle hotel, the costs soon mount up. This is why a huge amount of people have employed a new trend of instead of receiving wedding presents they would much rather have money given to them.

There are a variety of costs involved in getting married in this day and age.
1) Buying the perfect dress and suit
2) Organising and booking reservations
3) Catering
4) Transport
5) Flowers

But this does not stop there, because even after the wedding you have to pay for the honeymoon and anything else that comes along with that, including spending money, eating out and the transport around the destination and too and from the airport.

So I believe now is the best time to look at getting married, as we already know we are in the midst of a huge credit crunch, therefore one industry that will be suffering is the wedding industry. People will definitely be holding back from getting married at the moment, but I feel that is totally the wrong decision to make, because now in my opinion is the best time to get married.

With companies struggling, everywhere has lowered their rates and you could in fact get married for around 40% cheaper than usual. With the flux of weddings abroad you could also get a good deal on getting married in a different country as flights and hotels have also been dramatically lowered. In fact there are more places to get married than ever before, as lots of hotels and venues that previously did not offer marriage services, have opened their doors to happy couples in order to benefit from additional revenue streams.

So if you believe that the credit crunch is all bad then think again as for some lucky few getting married on a budget is a dream come true.

We all know that getting married these days is going to set you back a fortune. Whether you want a small do or a bigger do you are going to end up paying an arm and a leg to tie the knot. Even if you don’t opt for a horse drawn carriage to a castle hotel, the costs soon mount up. This is why a huge amount of people have employed a new trend of instead of receiving wedding presents they would much rather have money given to them.

There is a lot of costs involved when getting married.
1) Buying the perfect dress and suit
2) Organising and booking reservations
3) Catering
4) Transport
5) Flowers

But this does not stop there, because even after the wedding you have to pay for the honeymoon and anything else that comes along with that, including spending money, eating out and the transport around the destination and too and from the airport.

So I can say that now is the greatest time to look at getting married, as we already know we are in the middle of a huge credit crunch, therefore one sector that will be suffering is the wedding niche. Alot of people will definitely be worried about getting married at the moment, but you really should not be.

With businesses struggling everywhere has put down their rates and you could in fact get married for around 40% lower than usual. With the increase of weddings abroad you could also save on getting married in a different country as flights and accommodation have also been dramatically decreased. In fact there are more places to get married than ever before, as lots of hotels and venues that previously did not offer marriage services, have opened their doors to happy couples in order to benefit from additional revenue streams.

So if you think that the credit crunch is all doom and gloom and bad then think again as for some lucky people getting married on a budget is a dream come true.