All Posts By

Mamma Fairy

Fairy Travels

A weekend in Luxembourg with kids

cobbled street

Pic Credit: Mamma Fairy Blog

No surprises here – another Ryanair bargain flight and we were off to Luxembourg at the end of January.  Having got good flight deals on Gothenburg  and Eindhoven I was very excited to add another country to our travel list. I booked the flights end of November for January at €9.99 each. It was a very short pleasant flight around an hour and half long which was perfect for a weekend break.  We landed in Luxembourg around 7pm to really dense fog, I literally could not see the bus stop when we stepped out of the airport!!

The first thing you will notice is how clean everywhere is. The airport was immaculate. We jumped on the bus number 29 which departs outside the airport main door straight to the city every 15 minutes and takes about 20 minutes.  Again so efficient. We were very lucky as the bus stopped quite literally outside our hotel door.  We couldn’t wait to get a visual of the city but the dense fog and pitch dark meant that would have to wait until the morning.

Where we stayed

cobbled street

Pic Credit: Mamma Fairy Blog

We stayed at the Novotel Luxembourg Centre which claims to be a family friendly hotel and hand on heart it was one of the most family friendly hotels we have ever stayed in.  It is evident from the moment you check in.  There have a fussball table in reception and my kids were hyper about the next bit… a kids corner with an xbox. It was just perfect for us. I would be very remiss of me not to say a special thank you to Caroline on reception. The kindness and professionalism show to us was some of the best we have had in all the hotels we have stayed. She had endless patience with the kids and their questions and xbox requests and so much knowledge on things to do locally.  I hope Novotel realise what a gem they have with Caroline.

The room we had comprised  a double and sofa bed  – again ideal for our needs. The breakfast was really and I mean really good. The kids were borderline obsessed with the pancake maker and pretty much hogged it the entire breakfast each morning! I find a good breakfast when you are travelling really sets us up for the day of exploring. Thanks to the Novotel for the lovely personalised welcome to our room, absolutely made our day.

Temperatures hovered around zero and it was quite damp so kids were glad to have their Reima  which was kindly gifted to us for our Lapland trip.

What we did

Luxembourg is a stunningly beautiful city, the old buildings and walls and narrow winding streets. The fog was still pretty bad making visibility quite poor so we decided to head walking to get our bearings. Interestingly the old fortification walls of the city are designated UNESCO  sites. Its not hard to be wowed by the contrasting architecture. The old walls are just stunning.  The city also very uniquely have over 17km of underground tunnels (Bock Casemates)  which unfortunately were closed during our stay but can be accessed at two points in the city. The kids are begging to go back just to see the tunnels.

Continue Reading

Features

How to Rebuild Your Credit with Bad Credit Payday Loans

It’s perfectly normal to make financial missteps occasionally, but make them too often and it may negatively impact your credit score.  With the ongoing cost of living crisis and increasing inflation, many are dealing with financial difficulties leading to a poor credit score. However, while you cannot hope to rebuild your credit history overnight, the good news is that it’s possible to improve it gradually. 

By taking certain measures and building a reliable strategy,  improving your credit can become so much easier.  One such measure is leveraging payday loans from bad credit direct lenders in the UK. I know what you’re thinking, “how can a “payday loan” from “bad credit lenders” help me?”

Well, let us preface this by saying, you don’t need to take this loan, especially for improving your credit score. However, when you do find yourself in a financial emergency and are struggling to get help from traditional lenders, these payday loans can not only offer relief but also help rebuild your credit score.

How? you ask. That’s what we’re here to discuss. In this guide, we will demonstrate how bad credit payday loans can help you improve your credit score and rebuild your creditworthiness.

What does ‘Bad Credit’ mean?

Bad credit doesn’t sound very positive and much like its name suggests, it is not.  To identify someone with a poor credit history or score, you say they have bad credit. This label is given to someone who is of high risk to a lender during the borrowing process.  The term “Bad credit” comes from the credit score system, a system used by many lenders to determine how much risk is involved in any loan.

Here, your credit score is calculated based on your credit history. As such, it accounts for all the debt-related transactions you have made in the past. If you have repeatedly failed to make payments or defaulted on loans, you will have bad credit or a bad credit score. Your bad credit then acts as a roadblock when applying for loans and credit cards.

What is a Bad Credit Payday Loan?

Bad credit payday loans are for people who have had problems regarding their finances and struggle with bad credit histories. 

They are temporary loans that are to be taken out if sudden financial emergencies arise. As a result, these loans are a big relief and provide quick money to people denied credit by traditional lenders.  When compared to normal loans, bad credit payday loans offer smaller amounts for relatively shorter periods. Often, until your upcoming payday, proving very helpful in a time-sensitive financial crisis.

How Taking Out a Bad Credit Payday Loan Can Rebuild Your Credit History

If used correctly, you will be able to take advantage of bad payday loans to rebuild your credit score. Moreover, they also help get your finances under control.

Bad credit payday loans provide you with quick cash to take care of unexpected expenditures. For example, car repairs or sudden home improvements. As a result, they help solve liquidity problems.

You could use bad credit payday loans to pay off any previous debts and consolidate them. If you already have debts with high interest, use payday loans to make the repayment easier. They significantly reduce the cost of debt, allowing you to begin rebuilding your credit history.

Furthermore, given that this is a type of debt that will be recorded in your credit report, repaying it can lead to a positive effect on your score.

Can a bad credit payday loan impact my credit score?

Yes, it definitely can. You might not be aware of this, but taking out a bad credit payday loan does impact your credit score. By ensuring you make all your monthly loan repayments regularly and on time, you show that you’re a reliable borrower and can handle credit responsibly. As a result, this in turn will have a positive effect on your credit score in the long term.

3 Tips To Build Up Your Credit Score

Your credit score is a vital part of your financial background. It is possible to get approved for a loan with a bad credit score, but you still have to try to improve it to be able to access other forms of credit.

There are many ways to improve your credit score and transform your credit history, such as:

1) Paying your bills on time

If you make late payments on loans, it negatively impacts your credit score. As such, you have to ensure your monthly loan repayments go through on time to improve your score.

2) Paying off your outstanding debts

Getting rid of any outstanding debts can positively impact your credit score. As such, try starting with smaller loans to close loans more quickly.

3) Analysing your credit report

It’s vital to assess and evaluate your credit report regularly. Sometimes there may be errors in the report. These errors may harm your credit score without any fault on your end. 

To Wrap Up

Payday loans are not an instant solution for improving your credit score, but they are helpful. If you can make repayments as per schedule, you will be able to significantly boost your credit score. 

Bad credit payday loans are quite easy to acquire irrespective of your credit score. Yet, your credit score still matters.  With bad credit payday loans, ensure that you’re taking only what is needed. More importantly, make sure you repay the loan on time to preserve your credit score.  With our help, we hope that you take action towards fixing your credit score and improve your credit moving forward.

Note: This is a collaborative post 

Mamma Musings

Is Buying Gold Nuggets a Good Investment for Your Family’s Future

Gold nuggets are widely considered to be excellent investments for the future, so the short and simple answer to the question as to whether they are a good investment for your family would be yes.  Investing is a minefield and unless its an area you are very familiar while the potential for returns is high so is the potential for huge losses. If you do need the help of an expert there are many of them out there however my advice is if you are investing your hard earned money and don’t personally have the expertise yourself, financial consultants like Jason Vanclef are the way to go.

It is too risky to try to do this without some expert input.  A Financial Consultant is an experienced, trained professional who can help you either personally with investment decision or in the corporate world they can be the ones advising on for example mergers and acquisitions or improving the overall return for a companies shareholders.

Back to gold – which I find totally fascinating….I have pulled together the following at a basic level to help with initial decisions.

How Do You Know What You Are Buying is Original?

gold nugget

Pic Credit: Pixabay

There is only one way to be absolutely sure if a gold nugget you are buying is really genuine and not some man-made, artificial lookalike, and that is that there is a requirement for the nugget/nuggets to have a Certificate of Authenticity from Orocal accompanying them.   Just in case you are not aware, Orocal is the premier name in the natural gold industry, which is why its certificates of authenticity hold the highest value in the business.

As all gold Nuggets by Grant come with the Orocal Certificate of Authenticity, buying from them directly would definitely be a way to make sure that whatever you are buying is genuine and will have actual investment value down the line.

Nuggets By Grant is able to source its gold directly from mines in Alaska, Canada and Australia, mainly due to the close connection Grant has with Orocal, which is another reason why the company has managed to maintain an excellent reputation in the business.

Nuggets By Grant has a very dependable and friendly customer support team, so talk with them first to know what size and kind would be right for you, before investing.

The Grades to Avoid

When you are investing in gold nuggets, it is important that you pay attention to the grade. Common grade and melt grade nuggets are the ones to avoid, even though they are certainly not duplicates.

The problem is that whether the gold price is appreciating or depreciating, the common grade and melt grade nuggets do not fare nearly as well as jewellery-grade or investment grade gold nuggets.

What are Collectible Grade Gold Nuggets?

Aside from the common, melt and jewelry/investment grades, gold nuggets also come in collectable grades, which is an inbetweener grade with variable value.  Collectable grade gold nuggets have slight mineralization from the host rock, which gives it an aesthetic appearance. While they are not as high-value in terms of pure gold price, they do have excellent collectors’ value, setting them only next to jewelry grade nuggets in terms of price.

When you see a gold nugget which is so beautiful, big and rare that it looks like something that should belong to a museum, it probably already is in a museum! If by any chance it’s not a fake, and you can afford one, rest assured that you have landed on a gold mine, in more ways than one.

Museum grade nuggets appreciate both with the value of gold, as well as in their potential collectors’ value, as long as they are authentic of course. Have the nugget lab tested if you are making a significant investment in one though, just to be sure.

 

Note: This is a collaborative post
Mamma Musings

Benefits of Sleep to Students

“I should be studying, not asleep…” This is probably what I’m thinking as a student trying to gauge the momentary necessity of sleep versus studying. After getting involved in daily student activities, including co-curricular and socializing, the last thing I want to do is study. However, with a test coming up, I can’t risk a failure. I know how hard my parents worked to get me into that school, especially after getting the school catchment areas explained to me. It was so much sacrifice, how could I let them down?

Facing such a state is typical for students, and many times I will trade the sleep for an extra hour of study when I feel like failure is not an option. Although this is an unlikely piece of advice to students, we need our sleep to be in the right mind to pass exams. This leads us to the question of the day, how is sleep beneficial for students?

1. It Boosts Memory

My brain needs to process all the facts I collect in the day and arrange them accordingly. If I keep taking in information without enough time to process it, a lot is lost. Since this processing happens best at night, I need my sleep to ensure my memory retains important data and sets away irrelevant information.

2. For Better Grades

One of the most significant misconceptions we have is that we need to study hard through the night to get good grades. However, being a top scorer is more about studying smart than studying hard. Many pieces of research now reveal that sleep deprivation affects students significantly, even those with irregular sleep cycles.

As already explained above, good sleep boosts my memory, which leads to better grades. In any case, not everyone understands best when studying at night.

3. It Boosts My Immunity

During sleep, the body releases cytokines, a protein used to fight infections and regulate stress. Cytokine is an immune booster, and if I lack sleep chronically, I reduce its production significantly. This could expose my body to viruses and also increase my stress levels. Being in distress is a lead cause of illnesses today, which adds to the risk of infections I expose myself to.

4. It’s a Mood Booster

sleep

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Other than reducing stress, enough sleep improves my general well-being. People who barely sleep will often be highly irritable, sad, or sluggish during the day. This is no shape to study in, and not catering for it early could lead to other mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Ever realized that sometimes we do not feel like doing anything, but after a nap, we are back to our best mood? Yes, sometimes, all we need is a sound sleep to cure a bad day.

5. Better Behavior Patterns

We need to be in our right minds to make sober decisions. If I am not well-rested, I probably feel too tired to think critically about anything. All I’m thinking about is when I get to rest. College students are not always the best in judgment, and a significant cause of this is their overwhelmed mental space.

By sleeping adequately, I ensure my mind is clear to start a new day. I can comfortably decide when to wake up, get to class and attend to other matters during the day. My mind is clear enough to make mature decisions, leading to better decision patterns.

6. Reduces the Risk of Obesity

A healthy student needs a right mind and a healthy body. Lack of enough sleep is a common cause of obesity, among other factors that expose one to other health risks. Proper sleep provides enough time for food processing at night and good metabolism to keep the body’s fats regulated.

Quality Sleep for Quality Grades

Life forces us to make sacrifices, and the more we grow into adults, the more we come across tough decisions. However, when it comes to sleep and study, learning to balance the two healthily will do students a lot of good. As I commit to improve my sleeping hours, I should also think about my sleep quality. This involves sleep latency, how deep I sleep, and how often I wake up in the middle of the night. All these counts for quality sleep, which leads to quality grades and a happier lifestyle.

 

Note: This is a collaborative post

 

Fairy Travels

Our Lapland 2019 Adventure

I have written this post so many times in my head but couldn’t grab the time to give this post the justice in needs.  We first visited Lapland in 2018, following this I wrote my Lapland DIY post which has consistently been in my top 10 read posts which I think it a testament to just how popular it has been as a destination.  In 2018, our youngest wasn’t well and added to that we have limited snow. I felt I needed to go back to experience Lapland in all its snowy glory.  So on the day of the EasyJet Winter sale release, I set my alarm and for £17.99 each way we were off to Lapland again!

Where we stayed

As with last year we stayed at Santa Claus Village. My kids just love it here. I know its expensive but for us there is just some sort of magic there. Wandering around the village when the tour groups of gone, playing with kids in the neighbouring chalets. Its almost like exactly as how id imagined it would be.

Breakfast each morning was at the Christmas House restaurant. We had drinks a couple of evenings in the Three Elves Restaurant and a dinner another evening at Santa’s Pizza, both on site at Santa Claus Village .  We loved the Three Elves but wasn’t 100% on Santa’s Pizza. It was manic and you got your chips first and then pizza and burgers were cooked to order it seemed and arrived 20 mins later.

We had a standard cabin which has a double, a double sofa and a little kitchen which was perfect for us.

What we did

Where do I even start. We packed so much into the 4 night visit.  I know this sounds so cliche but it was magical.

Huskies

  • We visited Husky Park located at Santa Claus Village. We did the 500m husky in -8 temperatures which was ideal length for the boys (ages 4 and 7).  A total bonus for us was the the husky hugging – oh-my-god. I was in love. We saw the most adorable pups.  We loved this experiences and could clearly see the love, care and attention the dogs get at Husky Park.  Kids absolutely loved this experience and cant wait to see their favourite dog – Batman again

Reindeer 

  • Also located at Santa Claus Village is Santa Claus Reindeer We didn’t get to experience a reindeer ride in 2018 so this year we could not wait to do this. We arrived at 10am and it was really quiet, no queuing so we were straight on. We did 2 on each sleigh and it was breathtaking. It was quite bright and the snow glistening as we were leisurely pulled around the woods.  Definitely a memory I will cherish.

Elfs Farm Yard

  • I understand Elfs Farm Yard  is a new edition to Santa Claus Village and we were very excited to give this a go. This for us was a very surprise hit. How many people can say they skied across the Arctic Circle on traditional  Lappish skis or feed reindeer on the Arctic Circle. This place is very deceptive, there was so much to do. We cooked hot dogs (available to buy in the on site shop), we skied, we fed reindeer up close and personal, we used sledges up and down the man made hill there. We waited for the sun to set and sat around the fire pit chatting to other families. Magical and in terms of prices in Lapland, so reasonable. A true hidden gem not to be missed, definitely a surprise highlight for us.

Kids Snowmobiles

  • This was top of my kids wish list particularly the 7 year old. From September onward he stalked accuweather to see if there would be enough snow this trip for him to go on snowmobiles. He was not disappointed. He spent time each day at the Wild Nordic kids track at Santa Claus Village and just loved it. I have to thank the very lovely 2 female staff members who were incredibly kid to my pair, im sorry I didn’t get your names.  This was such a good option as it was contained, felt very safe for the kids and the kids felt they were getting independence. Just brilliant and I think if im honest the snowmobiles even topped Santa for my oldest!!!

Snowman World

  • Snowman World opens each year in early December, its also located at Santa Claus Village. It consists of the Ice Restaurant and Ice Bar and the “winter zone” the winter zone consists of a pretty epic snowtubing slides. There was also a separate smaller one for kids which was ideal for my pair. They must have went up and down a million times! We enjoyed a drink in the Ice bar we didnt do lunch this time but hopefully on our next visit.

Santa Park

  • Santa Park is located 2 km from Santa Claus Village and is all located inside which can prove a nice days respite from the cold. This was my youngest favourite morning. There is loads of cool activities to do here, crafts, gingerbread decorating, ice bar, train ride, crossing under the Arctic Circle, visit Santa and the highlight for all of us I think was the elf show. Its on a number of times during the day and its quite mesmerising. We had lunch at the buffet there while watching the show. I think the location in a underground bunker really adds to the charm here. We got there for the opening and it was nice and quiet. We took the bus between Santa Park and Santa Village which was ideal. There are large cloakrooms to store your winter gear also.

Pilke Museum

  • We were kindly gifted Culture Passes which offer entry to the top 3 museums in Rovaniemi. Its €20 per adult and €15 for children over 7 and under 7s free.  We had decided to spend a morning have a nosey around the town and make use of the card. In the end we only made to Pilke as we has so much fun in the snow at Lordi Square and also at the Irish Bar!!!  We decided on Pilke which is the forestry museum as boys really love this type of thing.  Its beautifully laid out, relax, lots of different activities. I found it so interesting learning all about sustainable forestry. Another ideal way to spend an afternoon out of the cold!

Continue Reading

Features

Why Do You Need A Copywriter?

Copywriters are a set of people with specific skills – and it can take many years of experience to reach a professional level. This is why hiring a copywriter who knows how to use words is such a good idea. Trying to do it yourself may produce copy, but is it good enough?

notebook pencil

Pic Credit: Pixabay

It is more than just acquiring a skill that dictates whether you should hire a freelance copywriter. Another reason is time. A copywriter will be able to write your website contents or brochure copy much faster than you can, as you will have business elsewhere to attend to. A copywriter can focus solely on creating the copy you need, whether this is content for contracts using platforms like https://www.templafy.com/ or it’s guest blog posts on the web.

As well as this, using a copywriter means that you are getting a truly unbiased and outside view of your work and business. If you do it yourself, you may find you’re too close to the company to be able to talk about it properly, explaining things carefully. Plus, someone who understands how their business works might write in technical, hard to understand terms – a copywriter can write in plain English. 

There are, as with every skill, some ‘tricks of the trade’ that copywriters use to ensure the copy they are writing is good enough to do the job you want it to do. This includes using SEO and writing in the correct tone. If you don’t know those tricks, you could be losing potential sales by writing your own content. It’s better to hire someone who has done it before and achieved demonstrable results.

The Difference Between A Copywriter And A Content Writer

Website copywriting services can make the difference between a satisfactory website, and one that brings in new customers on a daily basis. The more people who are looking at your website, the more likely you are to sell – and grow. But do you need a copywriter or a content writer?  

A freelance copywriter might be both a content writer and copywriter. The terms can be interchangeable and often are. However, there are differences. The biggest difference between a content writer and a copywriter is the purpose behind what they are writing. Copywriting is about writing for a promotional reason; it is advertising for marketing, in other words. Content writing is more about entertaining the reader. However, there is some crossover since copywriting can be (and should be!) entertaining, and content writing should keep people on your website for as long as possible – in order that they then buy something. 

Despite this, it can be said that copywriting is more specific, writing about one item or service, whereas content writing is a broader subject, which could – and most likely will – incorporate products and services in a general way. When it comes to branding, this is where copywriting really makes its mark, using words to set your business apart. With copywriting, the end result needs to be a sale for it to have been a successful campaign. With content writing, it should be about engaging customers and prompting more people to visit the shop, business or website. So their purposes may be slightly different, but content writing and copywriting services also share similarities.

Note: This is a collaborative post
Features

When should a patient visit a minor injury unit?

heart rate line

Pic Credit@ Pixabay

We are all aware that A&E departments are under huge capacity and financial strain. Of course, if a patient is seriously ill or in pain and requires the services of emergency staff then this will always be the best course of action. But sometimes patients have minor illnesses or injuries (such as occupational or sporting injuries in particular) that are not life threatening or severe enough for a trip to A&E.   As competent healthcare professionals it’s vital that they can recognise minor ailments quickly in order to treat – or redirect – patients appropriately. So what steps should they take?

Contact their GP surgery

If they are able to, patients should ring their own surgery for an on-the-day appointment. If it’s after hours they can still ring, but they may be directed to an out-of-hours service. This is usually the case between 6.30pm to 8am on weekdays, as well as on weekends and bank holidays.

Call NHS 

Patients who call NHS 111 will be able to receive advice over the phone, or they will be directed to the local service that’s best suited to their needs. This could be a hospital, an MIU or elsewhere.

Minor Injuries Units (MIUs)

If a patient’s injury is not serious, they can visit a minor injuries unit (MIU) for help, rather than going to A&E. This will free up much needed time and resource to A&E staff so they can focus on people with serious, life-threatening conditions – plus it can save patients a long wait.   Every year, around 7 million people used type 3 A&E services (UCCs, WiCs and MIUs) in England. MIUs are generally led by nurses and patients don’t need an appointment.

Some walk-in centres and MIUs do not have facilities to treat infants and toddlers, depending on the capacity, skill levels and resources available at that particular location. Therefore it’s recommended that patients contact their nearest MIU or walk-in centre beforehand to check whether their child can be treated there.

What can MIUs treat?

Minor injuries units can usually treat things like:

  • Broken bones
  • Sprains and strains
  • Injuries to the back, shoulder and chest
  • Wound infections
  • Minor head injuries
  • Minor burns and scalds
  • Minor eye injuries
  • Insect and animal bites

In recent years there has been a move towards more natural remedies so it might be worth discussing this with your health care provider particularly for ailments like back pain and inflammation.

What can MIUs not treat?

Minor injuries units cannot treat:

  • Breathing difficulties and/or chest pain
  • Major injuries
  • Stomach pains
  • Problems usually dealt with by a GP
  • Pregnancy/gynaecological problems
  • Overdoses
  • Allergic reactions
  • Mental health problems
  • Alcohol/drugs related problems
  • Conditions that are probably going to need hospital admission

Are you on the front line when it comes to dealing with minor injuries?

If you’re a nurse, junior doctor or other allied health professional who regularly sees patients with minor injuries then you may find this Minor Injuries Essentials CPD course helpful. It’s accredited by the Royal College of Nursing and focusses on community practitioners who are required to carry out effective basic injury review and care.  It’s a 3-day course worth 21 hours of CPD with dates available in   March 2020.

Personal Injury attorney

While not something any of us want to think about, sometimes injuries can have a serious albeit short term impact on your life and you may need to enlist the help of a specialist such a personal injury attorney in this area to help you secure the best outcome, for example loss of wages, medical expenses and what attorneys refer to as human cost such as the hurt caused by the pain and suffering and mental anguish. Having been unfortunate enough to have been in this position before I can tell first hand how stressful it is.  Therefore seeking out help early is ctirical.

Note: This is a collaborative post
Features

A trip to Melvin Brewing is on our list

I’m guessing it must be our Irish blood but we seen to end up visiting brewing companies/ breweries quite often on our travels!! We did in Iceland and on our visit to Niagara Falls also.  Next stop this year we are aiming for to visit friends of ours near Alpine, Wyoming. I must admit, to my shame I knew so little about Alpine. So turned to Wikipedia to learn that Alpine is located at the southern end of the Snake River Canyon where the Snake River enters Palisades Reservoir. The town is also known as Alpine Junction since it marks the point where US Route 89 and US Route 26 turn in opposite directions.  Wikipedia, also tells me that Wyoming itself   is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The state is the 10th largest by area, the least populous, and the second most sparsely populated state in the country. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho and Montana. I have a look on line and Insta and the places looks very picturesque, exactly like the kind of holiday we enjoy.

beer vats

Pic Credit: Pixabay

We haven’t booked our flights yet but my friend seemw to thing the lure of Mevlvin Brewing Company will be enough to entire us all over! I had a nosey on line and loved their story. According to their bio Melvin Brewing was born in the back of a Thai restaurant in 2009, when owner Jeremy Tofte decided to bring beers from the future to Jackson, WY. Their 20-gallon brew system quickly grew into a 3 barrel system, and they served our award-winning beers — the original Melvin Brewing IPA, 2×4 Double IPA, and Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb — with sides of Asian street food, kung fu movies and old school hip-hop.  Their mantra appears to be  “that when they engage through music, beer, and fun in a safe environment, Melvin Brewing will create lasting impressions for their current and potential customers.”

Beer, Beer, Beer

My love of all things Asian is no secret and nobody where we go my heart always long to go back to experience some of our Asian adventures. Back to beer! I understand from history.com that beer can trace its origins back over 12,000 years. Wow that’s pretty incredible. What’s also pretty incredible is how Melvin Brewing win “Best in Show” in pretty much every Brewfest they enter. Who doesn’t love accolades!!

I also see Melvin Brewing have done some pretty cool collaborations too:

  • A collab with Arc’teryx who are an international pioneer in the technical outerwear industry.
  • A collab with a fellow brewhouse – Melvin hosted Dankhouse in Wyoming to brew a beer exclusively for the folks of Ohio. The result….a  West Coast Style IPA, with added hop juice via Mosaic, Ekuanot and Southern Star
  • A collab with another brewhouse – Artifex. The result was a dry hopped modern West Coast DIPA with two experimental varieties with bold flavors of mango, papaya and lychee. Sounds very interesting.

Note: This is a collaborative post

 

 

Home & Interiors

6 Things You Need for Your Home Renovation Project

Whether you’re extending your house, converting the loft, or just giving it a bit of a spruce up, there are lots of things to consider when renovating a property. Home renovations projects can be overwhelming at times but they’re also extremely rewarding once complete and let you put your mark on your home. What’s more, if done well, a home renovation might even increase the value of your property. On the flip side though, in my experience getting a loan to finance the work can be very stressful especially if like us you has to seek out self employed loans. The good thing is there is a huge amount of resources out there to help with your research, take for example Associates Home Loan  who have produced a really handy guide on self employed loans.

 Here are five things you might need when doing up your home based on our own recent renovations:

Storage

A renovation project is a great opportunity to install some of that storage space you might have been lacking. If cupboards won’t look right in the space, some simple shelving is another good option, especially if you have lots of books!

Lighting

light bulb

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Think about what you want to use the room for as this will help determine the type of lighting you install. For instance, if you plan to use the room for relaxation, an oversized floor lamp might be your best bet because it will create a warm, cosy glow. Bear in mind that LED bulbs are your most energy efficient option. 

Windows

If you are installing new windows, make sure they are double glazed as this is a more energy efficient option as it prevents heat from escaping and cold air coming in. Advice from organisations such as SEAI is to choose the most sustainable type your budget allows – opting for triple glazing if you could. The windows were the item we did spend the most on as we felt that we would get the best return buying the best our budget would allow. Speaking of budget, if yours isn’t looking very promising, you could consider looking at refinancing – companies like SoFi should be able to help you weigh up the pros and cons as they have lots of information on this. There’s a lot of implications as you could expect, but it could really help you out in the long run.

 Flooring

Regardless of whether you’re laying a new carpet, laminate, tile or solid hardwood, it’s wise to install it once all of your other jobs (especially painting and decorating) have been done so that you don’t damage it.

Sockets & Switches

Upgrading your sockets and switches to something a little more modern will really tidy the place up. You might even want to consider a dimmer switch because that will allow you to alter the ambiance and set the mood. One of the best decisions we made as part of our renovation project was to install usb port plugs. I wasn’t convinced at the start – now I love them!

Money

 You cannot commit to something as significant as this without dipping your hands into your bank account. You will have a choice between expensive options and cheaper options, but even the cheaper options will burn a hole in your pocket. You won’t have the luxury of builders insurance most of the time, so you won’t be able to get the backing you crave financially should anything go awry. Make sure you have enough money to look after yourself before, during, and after this large project. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: This is a collaborative post
Mamma Musings

The People Your Company Needs

We think it really is pot luck whether your business makes it through or not. A business becomes successful because the right idea is backing it, and the right processes have been put in place to make sure that a business can be successful. But as a small business who is just starting out in business, how are you ever going to know what is the right and wrong thing to do? This is exactly why we think it’s far harder to run a business than it is to do any other job. Although you might not see it as a job, it’s a job that you’re stuck with for the rest of your life. If the plan you have doesn’t form success, you’ll have wasted all the time and money you put into it. This alone is enough for someone to be so motivated to make their business be one of the ones that’s successful. So if you feel like you’re not making all of the right choices for your business at the minute, it might be that you just need to know who the right people are to bring into your business. The right people can mean the difference between finding success for your business, and finding a new job to do. We want to make sure that your expenses are as small as possible so that your income is as big as possible. If you keep on reading, the following people might help you to do just that. 

Your Employees

laptop

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Your employees are your biggest asset without even realising it. Your employees are the bread and butter of your company, but we know that they’re going to be people who you take for granted. In fact, you might spend most of your days having a good moan about something silly an employee has done, because of course you can do it better. But the reason you started hiring these employees is because you couldn’t cope with the work that your company was throwing at you. So, without realising it, you have this group of people, or perhaps just one person at the minute, who is readily available to do anything that you want them to do so that they can get their paycheck at the end of the month. There will no doubt be an employee improvement area that you need to focus on. You would be a fool to think that they go through every day without doing something wrong. Perhaps they’re coming in with the wrong working attitude. Perhaps they’re coming in and getting parts of their job wrong, delaying a customer’s order. Or perhaps they’re not gelling with the team that you have. All of which might not be their fault. It’s so easy to jump to blame the employee for being poor at their job, but how much have you supported them? Have you given ongoing training? Have you simply asked them if they were OK at the start of the morning? If you can say you have done everything and more for your employees and they’re still not thriving, they might not be right for the job. You are well within your rights to get rid of employees if they’re not right for the role! 

Marketing Specialists

Now to someone who is external for your company, but almost just as important as any other person that you could utilise for your company. Marketing is pretty much the most vital part of your company if you want to focus on growth. Marketing is the way that the rest of the world sees your company. You can reach out to parts of the world that you would never have hoped to, if you market right. For example, trading between countries to Australia is far harder than it is for the UK and the US to trade between Europe, for example. Australia is at a disadvantage is the sense that it is on the other side of the world to most of the countries it could trade with. However, marketing bridges that gap. People in the UK would not have the connections they do to Australia if it were not for marketing. Making use of marketing is done by using a range of different techniques, rather than just focusing on the cheapest. For example, so many small businesses only use social media as a way of connecting to the world, when methods such as SEO and PPC can give such a better reach than just focusing on social media. Social media marketing is effective but we truly believe it’s only effective when used in conjunction with other methods. In todays media driven word numbers matter and often firms utilise companies like Twicsy Instagram likes to give a boost to help beat the algorithm and get your post shown to wider audiences. 

To make sure you’re using the right marketing methods you need to be able to work with a company you can jel with. Flicking from company to company prevents continuity. If you can get the same company to work for you they will be able to understand your needs and create campaigns that are far better for you. 

Investors 

money

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Investors are key if you feel like your business is going downhill. Investors are someone you might have reached out to when starting up your business. You will usually come to a deal with how much money they’re going to give you, and the percentage stakes that they’re going to take away from it. There’s no reason why you can’t reach out to investors again if you need ways of boosting the income of your business. Perhaps you have a new project that you need funding. Or perhaps you know your company is on the brink but you need to have some money invested to follow through with an idea that you know will boost profit. You need to be careful with this one because there’s always going to be the chance that you won’t be able to give the investors back what they have put in. You’re signing a contract which promises them their money back and some more on top of that, which is just like taking out a bank loan. So, if you know the investment is going to boost the profit of your business, you need to make sure you have a good pitch to put forward. You need to sell yourself and your business in order for them to want to put their money into your business! 

Business Analysts 

A business analyst might be essential if you really feel like there is no way out for your business. If you have been struggling for a while now and you can’t figure out why, bringing a business analyst in can help you to see a side to your business that you didn’t know existed. You can get tunnel vision when you spend the whole day thinking about the different elements of your business and why they might not be working. It’s literally enough to drive you mad. Because what’s worse, it’s hard to admit the faults in something that’s your own. If you truly believe in what you’re doing it can be hard for you to admit what might be wrong. Business analysts are impartial people who can bring a business back from the brink. They have built their own expert skills in business and are ready to share that knowledge with you. All you need to make sure is that you can find one that has expertise in the area that you specialise in. For example, if you can get a business analyst who used to be a fitness instructor running their own personal training business, and you now run your own gym, they’re predisposed to be a good analyst for you. 

Note: This is a collaborative post