4 Keys to Employee Happiness

Getting your employees to be happy in your company will have direct benefits in the annual results. We tell you what you must do to get an optimal working environment. According to a study, a happy employee is 12% more productive, while an unhappy employee is 10% less productive. There is no definite formula for having a happy employee since each employee is unique. However, certain variables will help your company and its overall culture be a happy place to work when applied to your employees. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Listen to Your Employees

Internal communication is essential to create empathy and to know how your employees value your company. The best way to know if your employees are happy or not is to ask them. Asking them will help you identify possible internal problems and eradicate them before it is too late.

Many companies use tools such as Typeform to develop small surveys and send them to their workers at the end of the week to identify possible improvements. In these surveys, they pose basic and easy to answer questions such as:

  • How was your week overall?
  • Have you had a lot of work?
  • What was the highlight of your week?

Employee feedback is essential in a company. We must consider your valued employee’s ideas and concerns. This is essential to make them feel that they are valued and that you care about improving the work environment. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Remember that happiness directly affects productivity and, therefore, the overall production results of the company. A happy environment benefits everyone from the top down.

In addition to surveys, continuous and open communication is essential. There are internal chat tools, such as Google chat in Gmail or Slack, that help improve communication between employees.

Delegate Work

Giving power and responsibility to an employee helps keep their motivation high. It gives them a reason to continue to strive and make sense of their day to day tasks and expectations. It also offers them opportunities to grow within the company.

But it is not enough to delegate responsibilities; you will also have to establish some objectives to achieve in a limited space of time. It is recommended that the achievement of these objectives has a reward behind them. Having rewards for doing good work will benefit both the company and employees when they feel fulfilled. Being recognized and rewarded will have a domino effect on productivity and a positive attitude contagious to other employees.

Care About Their Career Path

Often employees fill positions out of necessity and not necessarily because that is their chosen position. If this filling of the position is temporary, that won’t hinder growth or advancement. However, sometimes an employee gets stuck in a position that was not part of their dream job. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

It is an excellent idea to meet with your employees and determine their career and financial goals. Often we are unaware that they have ambitions or didn’t want to remain in their current position. Once you determine your employee’s ambition, it is your job to help them get any additional training and encourage them to sign up for courses, workshops, or conferences to expand their knowledge. Not only will they be better in their day-to-day tasks, but they will gain skills that will help them advance their career.

Celebrate Achievements

There is no doubt that celebrating makes us happy, and there are many reasons to celebrate: successes, new clients, the completion of projects. It would be best if you involved all the staff in the celebration of achievements. It is important that everyone feels they are part of the successes achieved and that their two cents have served as something to achieve important company goals.

Finally, as affirmed by an expert in the study of work happiness, the key to fostering an optimal environment is to look for what makes you enjoy your work and focus on the positive.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

5 Easy Ways to Boost Your Credit Score

Every financially responsible adult is aware of the importance of your credit score. Most credit scores linger around the good to poor range due to unpaid or slow paid debts. Even if you have a decent score when making large purchases such as a car or home, a higher credit score can be the difference between higher interest rates or lower payments. These differences could cost or save you hundreds of dollars. Here are five easy ways to boost your credit score and stay on top of it. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Find Out When Your Issuer Reports Payment History

For a major boost to your credit, you must know your credit cards’ reporting date. The reason is that your credit can receive a boost if you carry less than 10% of your credit card limit each month. Regardless of your credit limits or minimum payment requirements, you will always want to ensure your balance is under 10% of your credit limit.

The reason you must know the reporting date of the credit holder is that if you get your balance below 10% or even pay the entire balance, but it is after the reporting date, it will do nothing positive for your credit score or may even lower it slightly depending on what percentage of your limit you are holding.

For the best results, pay your bill down just before the reporting date, which can be a monthly boost to your credit score. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Pay Down Debt Strategically

To boost your score, you now know you need to keep your balance below 10% of your credit limit. So if you have more than one credit card, you will want to pay down the balances to get them all below 10% of their limit. For those cards already below this percentage, you can make a minimum required payment.

The other strategy you want to utilize is to pay more towards loans or credit cards with the highest interest. The more quickly you pay these down, the bigger the savings and the better the boost to your credit score.

Pay Twice a Month

While sometimes finances are such that even making one payment on a loan or credit card can be a challenge, if possible, it is suggested you attempt to make two payments. This will boost your credit score and help save you money by paying off interest, gaining debt far more quickly.

Raise Your Credit Limits

If you are a shopaholic, you may be getting excited about this option; however, raising your credit limit is not so you can spend more and get into more debt. In this case, raising your limit and keeping your ratio below 10% will boost your credit score.

Only ask for an increase in credit if you have been on time on all your payments with the creditor as if you ask for an increase and have not paid on time or at all, this raise of your limit request may alarm the creditor and in some cases, they may even lower your credit. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Mix It Up

While having diverse credit is only accounts for 10% of your overall score, having a mix will boost your credit. Having a mix means that you need different types of current credit that you are paying off. Suppose your only credit is revolving credit, such as a credit card or an installment payment on a long-term loan such as a mortgage. You will need to diversify your credit. If you can purchase something on credit, pay it off quickly to give your credit score a quick boost.

Conclusion

Your credit score should always be a financial priority. While you may never need it to make large purchases, your credit score is used to determine interest rates and, in some cases, can be used by phone and utility companies to decide on down payments or additional fees. It can also be a factor a potential employer considers before hiring you. Whatever the reason your credit score may be used, it is important to keep it as high as possible so use these quick boosts to raise your score. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

7 Ways to Pay for College

Not every person who goes to college has a scholarship or parents who started saving for their higher education when they were a baby. College, in some cases, can be so expensive that potential students don’t go. It’s sad to hear that finances could be the difference in an eager learner not getting to go after their dream of going to college.

It’s time to work on making that dream a reality for all who would love to further their education. Here are seven ideas of how a student can get a college education without scholarships or Mom and Dad paying for it. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

FAFSA

FAFSA is also known as Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This application gets you into the system of student financial aid. It connects you to the possibility of receiving aid in the form of student loans, state and school-based aid, federal grants, and work-study programs. You may not qualify for certain aid, but your chances of receiving financial aid increase with this application, so there is no downside to filling it out even if you don’t expect to qualify for any aid.

Scholarships

When most people hear the word scholarships, they think of full-ride scholarships based on sports or academics. The average student doesn’t qualify for this type of scholarship. However, there are so many scholarships out there if you know how to look for them and are prepared for the writing you will have to do to get them. Many businesses will benefit scholarship students through essays or other means of connection. Scholarship money is ideal as it is not a loan and doesn’t have to be paid back. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Community College

While some degrees require you to go to a specific college, many degrees can be obtained at a community college. Even if you have to go to a specific college to pursue your degree, community college is a great money-saving way to get the basic classes required out of the way for much less cost. The key is to be sure that your credits will transfer once you are ready to change to the college to get your degree.

Grants

Grants are free money usually given out through government programs. These grants are free money because you don’t have to pay a grant back like a student loan. Though they may be a little difficult to get, they are at least worth the chance.

Work-Study Job

Work-study jobs allow you to earn money and, in some cases, earn credits towards your degree. These jobs are community service jobs, jobs related to your area of study, or jobs on campus. These jobs can be obtained by seeking out jobs that are listed as work-study jobs. You can also fill out the FAFSA application and find out if you qualify for a work-study program. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Federal Loans

Suppose you don’t qualify for those means of paying for college that doesn’t have to be paid back or is attached to your job. In that case, you may need to apply for a federal student loan if you decide to take out this type of loan, only an amount that has payments that will equal less than 10% of your projected monthly income after taxes.

Federal student loans are better than private loans in that there are programs that can help you pay back the loans based on income and some other loan forgiveness plans.

Private Loans

Private loans can be great but expensive, and since they are not through the government, they will not qualify for any student loan forgiveness programs. You must shop for the most flexible, lowest interest loan you can get.

Many private student loans don’t require you to pay the money back until after you graduate. Though this could be a relief so that you don’t have to get a job during college and focus on your studies, these loans usually accrued interest while you’re in school. There are interest calculators that can help you determine how much your accrual will be and how much you will owe in total.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

7 Disadvantages to Small Business Loans

For entrepreneurs that are just setting up their startup business, acquiring a business loan might be the one method that transforms their fantasy of owning a business into a reality. Some new business owners may try to obtain capital for their small business from bank loans. Even though a small business may get a business loan to reach its financial goals, it has some disadvantages. Here are seven disadvantages to small business loans. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Not All Businesses Are Eligible

There are many severe rules and regulations that banks have set up concerning accepting or denying the application for a business loan. Not all businesses will be eligible to meet the criteria set by the banks. Moreover, banks always favor established businesses over startups. They lean towards operational businesses since they can check their productivity, profitability, and credit history before authorizing the loan.

 

Loans Secured Against Collateral

A lot of the loans are secured against a real estate property that the business owns. Banks may necessitate that the entrepreneur should set up some security to acquire the loan. Generally, one might put their property in danger if the business is not profitable. The uncertainty of this is that the bank can seize the asset if the entrepreneur neglects to repay the loan on time. It turns into a problem when the business is not making as many profits as one thought it would, and the business owners cannot meet the repayment requirements on time.

 

Tedious Application Process

The application process for a business loan is tedious. There are a lot more complexities when applying for a business loan as compared to personal loans. Banks check and validate every document that an entrepreneur puts in the application, and after that, the banks judge whether or not the business is eligible for a loan. The judgment of the loan’s eligibility is based on a points system that has to be balanced as new data keeps coming in. this is an unvaried and extensive process. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

High-Interest Rates

The interest rates for business loans from banks can be very high, and the amount of the bank loan that a business is eligible for is not adequate to address the business’s problems. The high-interest rate for the loan a business receives can stunt the business’s development and growth, as the business needs to gain profit from the loan and manage the extra cost of the high-interest rate.

If a business entrepreneur gets an irregular payment method, the interest rates change with the economic market. This makes it harder to calculate the particular amount of future installment payments. Subsequently, it also becomes difficult to make sound financial strategies.

 

Strict Repayment Schedule

Banks endorse an extremely strict repayment schedule to the debtor, which must be followed firmly. The inability to do so may lessen the debtor’s credit score and future credibility. The inflexibility to adhere to the repayment schedule creates problems for the debtor most of the time. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Processing Fees

To authorize a loan, most banks charge extra fees for the processing, which adds to the total sum of the money one has to repay the bank. Normally, it is charged according to the loan sum in terms of percentage. The higher the loan sum, the higher is the processing fees.

 

Difficulties in Acquiring Loans

One of the biggest disadvantages of bank loans is that they are extremely hard to acquire except if they have a considerable reputation or expensive collateral like property. Banks are cautious and accept the request of those businesses that they can see easily repaying their loans. Banks also ensure that the business can repay the loan even if the business suffers a loss. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Everything You Need to Know About Investment Diversification

When it comes to investments, there are many things to consider. Even if you hire a professional to help you with your investments, it is important that you understand them and how they work. The more you know, the better you can make decisions, whether on your own or with a professional’s help.

One of the main focuses that most investment experts focus on is diversification. Here is everything you need to know about investment diversification. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Diversification Explained

Diversification can be explained very simply with the following sentence, “Do not put all your eggs in one basket.” The saying indicates that if you have all your eggs in one basket and drop it, you will lose all your eggs, whereas if you separate them into several baskets, you will only lose a few if you drop one. The same thing is true when it comes to investing.

Investing can be risky in itself, so if you want to be a savvy investor, you have to look at ways to reduce risk while continuing to invest in ways that will get you the highest possible returns. Diversifying is the best way to accomplish this goal.

So using the eggs in one basket analogy if, instead of eggs, we are talking about money, losing everything can be a setback that will cost you a lot to recover and greatly reduce your profitability. Diversification applies in all areas of investment and also a business.

Consider Fanta, Sprite, Nordic, Aquarius, Powerade, Nestea, Minute Maid, Aquabona, etc. Do you know what they all have in common? All are brands of CocaCola. The company earns a lot of money selling Coke, but they know that this can change since nothing is static. Therefore, they constantly diversify and create and acquire new brands. They do not want to put all their eggs in the same basket, and they prepare for possible changes being in the largest possible number of markets within their industry. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Types of Diversification

There are three major types of diversification, especially when we talk about investments.

Geographic Diversification

Geographic diversification is investing in multiple geographic areas rather than all in one area. This could mean that you could invest in companies that are based in different states. This type of diversification could also mean taking your investments internationally and investing in companies from other countries. Going international can protect some of your investments if a country hits hard economic times or has a stock market crash.

Asset Diversification

Diversification of assets means that you have investments in several companies. To diversify even more, you could make sure your investments were in different industries: the more diverse, the better you are protected, and the lower the risk for the higher returns. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Temporary Diversification

Temporary diversification means that you buy several stocks for a short time with a quick turn around to sell. This investing can give you some capital to put towards longer-term investments.

Final Thoughts About Diversification

Diversification refers to the allocation of funds or investment in different assets. Another great analogy of what diversification does for the investor is the window analogy. If you have a window that is one pane of glass if that window gets broken, you will lose the entire pane of glass, and the cost to replace it will be high. However, if you have a window that is nine panes of glass, if one of the panes gets broken, the other panes are still protecting from the elements, and the cost of the one small pane is far less of a hit on your income.

The idea behind diversification is that you can take more risks in some of your investments because you have several investments working for you. You can also afford to invest in areas or industries you might not try because of the risks.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

8 Amazing Tools You Can Use for Social Media Marketing

With the arrival and rise of social media marketing, a huge cutthroat competition has broken loose. Everyone, regardless of the type of business, is trying to one-up each other. It is getting harder for a business to promote their brand and stay relevant due to all of this competition. Encouraging people to interact with a business takes a lot of effort through relevant images, videos, and attractive posts. There are also a few other tools a person can use that will help them get an edge over their competitors.  Here are eight amazing tools you can use for social media marketing. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Facebook

Due to its massive popularity, Facebook is considered one of the best social media marketing platform for businesses. The best thing about Facebook is that, even though it is a social platform, it still promotes business and provides analytical tools that a person can use to see how many clicks they got on their post and post reach. Facebook also offers paid ads marketing options that a person can use to attract a more targeted audience. This option also allows a person to target the market of a specific country if they choose. Facebook is the top social media marketing tool because of its affordable marketing options that almost anyone can use.

YouTube

If a person has a business or even a hobby related to making interesting, helpful, or funny videos, then YouTube is their perfect promotional tool of choice. YouTube also allows live streaming, and a person can also put paid ads on their video content and are paid per click. A person can also build a following on YouTube with content related to their business and other interesting stuff. It is so easy to post videos and maintain a channel on YouTube that almost anyone can do it. YouTube is one of the most effective and feasible free marketing tools there is out there today. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Pinterest

Pinterest is a platform that can market services and items through a visual plea. Pinterest can be the best add-on to promote products related to food, drinks, hand, and other craft, décor, men and women fashion, wedding accessories, etc. 

Twitter

If a business needs public exposure, Twitter is the way to go. Content posted on Twitter with proper hashtags makes it more viral and easier to connect with people. Also, Twitter offers paid marketing strategy options.

Google Analytics

This amazingly handy tool is mostly used by bloggers to analyze their blog or site through Google. It was launched back in November 2005 and is free of cost. Google Analytics does not tell a person how many hits they got on their blog or site; it only tells about actual visitors that a site or blog has had, where they came from, and how long they stayed. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Instagram

Instagram is the best way to promote a business through images. Instagram is a social media marketing tool that mostly charms people who enjoy sharing images. If used properly, it can be used as a promotional tool that almost everyone uses at this point.

Agora Pulse

Most minor business setup does just fine even with these social media marketing tools. However, using a marketing tool will surely aid their cause. Even though the Agora Pulse is the cheapest tool out there, it is one of the most effective and will surely be worth its price.

Bitly

Most people probably have never heard of the tool known as Bitly. The reason for adding Bitly to this list is because it simply works. Bitly is a URL shortening tool that can make a long URL short without damaging. This tool is mostly used to reduce the URL size for a platform, such as Twitter, that only allows the maximum 140-character post.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Ideas to Earn a Passive Income

Nowadays, many people have a passive income, which, added to their salaries, allows them to have a better lifestyle and a decent retirement. These possibilities are why it is increasingly popular to look for ways to earn a passive income. Passive income can be generated automatically without additional investment in time, money, or physical and mental total effort. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Among passive income, there are two types. The first is related to those in which money it generates money, regardless of redundancy. The second does not depend on the capital you own; this is obtained from creating a product or service that lasts over time. It becomes an automatic source of income, such as when you have a restaurant and do not depend solely on what you produce.

Here are a few ways you can earn passive income online:

  • Photographs and graphic pieces: If you are a good photographer, there are image banks that you can put your photos or graphic pieces on that will gain you royalties if the image is sold for use. If a company or individual wants to purchase a photo for exclusive use, the royalties can be massive in some cases.
  • An online course: This will require your effort only once. You can structure your class and upload it to a web platform that works best for you and the course you are offering. These platforms will charge a fee for people to take the course, and you will receive a percentage of the proceeds. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers
  • Publish an audiobook: If you know a lot about a subject, take advantage of this knowledge, and record an audiobook. You can upload your audiobook to platforms such as Audible or iTunes, or Amazon.
  • Publish ebooks: The most popular option is to publish a book as an ebook on Amazon. Almost half of the best-selling books there are self-published. If you can produce a lot of useful books, this can be profitable.
  • Social trading: It is an investment system that allows the user to replicate the largest experts’ movements in the stock market. It theoretically increases the chances of making money, although as in everything, nothing is certain.
  • Create audio tracks or jingles: If music is your thing, you can spend time creating a good jingle. You can also create an audio track and uploading it to Sound Cloud and Audio Socked or Song Freedom.
  • Invest in Crowdfunding organizations: There are platforms where people with business ideas seek resources to finance their ventures. If you invest in a good business, you can receive profits, or instead, you can serve as a lender to one of the entrepreneurs. Briq, Financial Borrower, Kickstarter, or Inedogogo are some of Crowdfunding’s platforms. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Each example has something in common: they require a special effort because once you have the service or product to offer, it can be monetized without the need to continue working on it. Experts recommend not to be blinded by promises of easy money. The best way to create a business that provides passive income is to do it without haste.

Outside of these online options, you can also invest in rental properties by purchasing a home and renting it out. You can charge a monthly fee that will be your passive income. If you don’t want to rent out the home for long-term home rentals, you can offer it as a vacation rental by fully furnishing it and using it for short-term rentals to travelers or others who only need a short-term and furnished rental.

You can generate passive income through the website as well. For example, you can make passive money through an affiliate marketing business. With this type of marketing, your customers will buy recommended products that you promoted through affiliated marketing. This type of passive income will take more work at the start but can eventually make you a healthy income once you build it.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Questions to Ask Before You Refinance

Home mortgage financing is not always that easy to handle, especially when it comes to lenders who have strict policies and lengthy approval processes, making it even more challenging to request a loan. The founder and CEO of LoanDepot.com, Anthony Hsieh, says, “Homeowners today need to be triathletes to qualify for a loan, with great income, great credit, and great value in their home.” Before choosing to refinance your home mortgage for a loan, you must ask yourself six critical questions. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Do I Have Equity in My Home?

Ideally, homeowners should have 20% equity in their homes to sign up for a loan request without paying private mortgage insurance. This lack of equity may adversely affect the benefit of refinancing and make homeowners owe more than their house’s actual cost. Home Savings’ vice president says that going for mortgage refinancing without sufficient equity only depreciates a house’s value. Another thing that impacts qualifying for the loan is the borrower’s credit score. To qualify for refinancing your mortgage to get a loan, you need to have a good credit score, much like when you obtained the original loan that created your mortgage.

What are My Financial Goals?

Most of the homeowners opt for refinancing to reduce their monthly installments. A good mortgage calculator may guide you in deciding your installment plans and reduce the interest amounts. The vice president of Home Savings says, “Some people are restructuring their loans to a 20-, 15- or 10-year mortgage, which works well for people with plenty of disposable income. But I worry that people are too focused on paying off their mortgage and not integrating this decision with their overall financial plan.” Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

What are the Terms of the Current Loan?

When refinancing your home, another important question you need to ask is about your current loan terms and conditions. When it comes to terms and conditions, interest rates and fluctuations are the biggest financial concerns for borrowing homeowners. Borrowers should stick to fixed-rate loans rather than variable rates.

 

While asking for a refinance for your home, you should be certain about the time you plan to spend in your home. In general, Mortgage professionals inform the borrowers that a refinance may cost them three to six percent more than the home’s actual cost. If the break-even tends to happen at fifteen months while you still plan to stay in that house for the next five or more years, then it is good to go for refinancing. However, if you have to leave in two years, then refinancing is not a good option.

Is My Credit Score High Enough?

A borrower’s credit score is an important factor that plays a vital role in getting a good mortgage rate. Any mortgage borrower needs to have a good credit score because it becomes nearly impossible for you to qualify for refinancing without a high credit score. Ideally, a borrower will have a score of 720 or more. Any credit score less than 620 may cause hassles in getting approved to refinance your mortgage. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Do I Have a Second Mortgage or Line of Credit?

Getting a second loan may cause the borrower extra stress. It comes with additional complexity, and borrowers might lose track of payment schedules. Borrowers have the option of paying off the first loan before entering into the second loan, or they can combine both loans by making them into one large loan. Having only one loan will make it easier to keep your payments in order as having more than one loan at a time can cause confusion.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that you need to know if you not only qualify to refinance your mortgage but if you should. Consider all six of these questions before making this important decision that will affect your financial future.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

5 Reasons You Should Hire a Professional Financial Advisor

The professional financial advisor plays a very important role in many business management decisions and consultation on day-to-day operations. We call a lawyer to clarify legal questions and hire a tax advisor to prepare our tax returns. However, there was no focus on the importance of hiring a professional financial advisor to advise us on business financial issues.

According to many magazines, the leading company in financial advising, hiring an independent finance professional ─ without linking to financial entities─ is an upward trend that can have multiple benefits for the personal economy. Here are some of the main advantages and five reasons you should hire a professional financial advisor. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Objectivity Towards the Information Observed

The financial advisor consultant’s only interest is to look for the best product or plan since it has no other interest than to benefit its client. Being free of a financial institution’s conditions, the advisor can focus solely on the client’s circumstances to offer a plan that suits them best.

We independently analyze multiple investment options existing in the national or international market to make the client a unique investment proposal according to their objectives. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Global Analysis of Economics

The independent professional financial advisor focuses not only on the investment but also on the client’s general financial situation. “We are a kind of ‘financial doctor.’ In the analysis of the financial health of the client, there are multiple analyzes. We study the life of the patient globally, the investor. We are not a buyer of products, nor a broker, nor an investor to use, but an adviser of the life of our client in the economic field that acts with previous knowledge of his family situation, the children, his expectation of future expenses, studies, etc. “, they indicate from the company.

Multi-Year Tax Planning

When the end of the year approaches, we are in a hurry to optimize the income statement that we will have to present in June of next year. Invite the client to be abstract from this slavery of the urgent and plan what is important, providing ideas, strategies, and advice so you can make a tax planning of your savings income, not only for this exercise but in a natural way and consistent, extended to several years. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Acquisition of Low-Cost Financial Products

For an efficient negotiation, each client’s personalized analysis is essential and, above all, establishing a “global negotiation” with the financial entities involved. This negotiation entails studying each item, mediation commissions, expenses for transfers, and custodies. “With this we seek to have more negotiation strength if we join more clients, resulting in a reduction of” bank costs “with an average of more than 50% and thanks to this intermediation, the portfolios obtained an increase in yield of 0.50. % annual. “, explain from the company.

Control of the Expenses of Financial Management

Many times, investment decisions are conditioned by what we read in the news or by friends and acquaintances’ comments. As mentioned in many famous magazines, the reality is that most people do not have a plan about what they want to do with their savings.

“From the EAFI Independent Financial Counseling Company, we guide the client to set their objectives, and we help them to fulfill them. It is about drawing up a long-term plan that is remembered quite frequently.” This plan includes a situation about the current value of our investment assets, the expenses and the possible financial costs of today and tomorrow, their future evolution, and how our heritage will respond to the current and expected level of life, “the experts declare.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

8 Ways to Optimize Breaks and Increase Productivity and Efficiency

It is common in today’s busy workplaces for employees to skip lunches and breaks to keep working. Working without breaks and focusing on a single task non-stop has been shown to affect the employee negatively. Some of the negative results have been exhaustion, loss of focus, lower productivity, and physical issues. Scientific studies have backed up these facts.

It has been found in a study by the University of Illinois that focusing on a single task for a long time decreases the productivity level of a person, hence, decreasing the performance too. If you want to enhance your productivity and efficiency, taking no breaks is not the correct answer. American scientist Ferris Jabr believes, “Maintaining unbroken focus or navigating demanding intellectual territory for several hours does burn enough energy to leave one feeling denied.” Here are eight ways that you can use to optimize your breaks and increase productivity and efficiency. LastPass – Family or Org Password Vault

Take a Social Break

The workplaces where employees have good social bonds are more likely to retain their employees. Employees at such a workplace are motivated to work efficiently and like to work productively. Therefore, it is usually advised to create a workplace where employees can enjoy social bonding in an office environment. This area could be a breakroom or a sitting area away from where production is taking place not to disrupt other employees who are working.

The 90-Minute Rule

A study on sleep patterns observed that taking a break after working for 90 minutes improves a person’s focus and concentration level. It decreases the frustration built up inside a person and enhances the productivity level. ADP. Payroll – HR – Benefits

Take Frequent Vacations

Work and tension can eventually lead to mental burnout, which prevents the employee from being motivated at work. It can cause frustration and irritability. To avoid falling into the same monotonous routine, it is best to take a vacation after every ten months. It enhances the productivity of an individual and reduces the risk of depression.

Have a Nap Time

Sufficient sleep has been linked to better learning and memory. It also helps enhance mental alertness and increases creativity and productivity, creating a good impact on a person’s health, similar to physical and mental exercise.

Keep the Blood Flowing

It is not healthy to spend long hours on a chair. Suppose you have a job where you have to spend all your time on a chair and a desk, keep on taking short breaks, to stretch your muscles. Exercise releases serotonin and dopamine in the brain, which helps in improving mood and memory. Download A Free Financial Toolkit

Nutrition

A person should pay attention to the kind of food they eat. After all, We are what we eat. When eating out, choose healthier options. Grabbing junk food from the vending machine would feel good to your taste buds, but it will end up making you feel lazy. Instead of unhealthy foods, go for vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and complex carbs as these are high in nutrients. Make the most out of your food breaks.

Outside Socializing

It is helpful for a person’s mental health to socialize with people around them. It motivates an individual and reduces feelings of stress and anxiety. If you can’t find a person to talk to at your workplace, then try calling your loved ones. You will feel the change yourself. It assists your mental health by improving your mood and reducing stress.

Enjoy Your Own Company

The most important thing is enjoying the work you are doing. If you are doing something which puts stress on you, change it. Don’t pick something that has a bad impact on your mental health.

CorpNet. Start A New Business Now About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Complete Controller. America’s Bookkeeping Experts