Mamma Musings

How far should you go when fixing up your home? Should you just get the basics done and leave it at that? Or should you take a more long-term approach and try to add as much value to your home as possible? These are questions most homeowners ask themselves, and there are arguments to be made for each of the options open to you. Or you could you turn it on its head and move home!

There is Always Room for Improvement

The fact of the matter is, there’s always room for improvement. No matter how great your home is, there will always be things that you can or even will want to improve. This can be a good thing and a bad thing, though. On the one hand, it means that there will always be new ways in which you can add value to your home and make it more appealing to future buyers. On the other hand, it might mean that you keep doing more and more, and the task eventually overwhelms you. You don’t want to spend all your time and money on home upgrades.

Your Home Should be Unique to You

On a basic level, you want your home to be unique to you. No one wants to live in a dull drab home that they don’t feel suits them and their personal preferences. And that’s the main reason why people spend money on improving their home. If this is the mentality that you’re bringing to the table, you will probably not be thinking about the value that can be added to the home or what future buyers might want. This applies to the vast majority of people who fix up their homes and make changes.

However, a Unique Style Might Put Off Future Buyers

On the other hand, making your home unique to you can be risky. When you create a home design that is specific to your own preferences, you could put off other people. You might be wondering why this matters. You don’t want to sell your home, so why does it matter what other people think of it? Well, you might not want to sell your home now, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t want to at some point in the future. When that time comes, you don’t want people to be put off by design choices that are a little out of the box.

It’s Going to Cost You Money

If you want to make changes to your home, you’re going to have to spend money on it. This is just the way it is, and you should try to make sure that you improve your home in an affordable way. Remember, if you can make positive changes, the value of the home will rise. But it may be worth considering if moving house would give you the requirements at a lower cost.  People are often surprised that the cost of moving can often be cheaper than undertaking major renovation work. One thing you could do is take a real estate education course. Doing a course like this from for example AstroFlipping can pay off hugely in the long run. By educating yourself in the area of real estate you can really make a very good long term investment. 

But Your Investment Might Pay Off

The investment you make in your home might pay off if you make the right decisions and do the right things. This will help you to get the most from your home when it comes to selling because you will have made the most of your asset. You should definitely try to make sure that the upgrades you make to the home are all things that add overall value to your property. Not all changes you can make allow that, but many do. Think about what matters to real estate agents and buyers.

Note: This is a collaborative post

The current normal if you could even call it that is almost surreal. If you told me this time last year in a years time I would be working from home full time, home schooling my kids as the schools are closed and delivering my lectures all online. I probably would have either laughed or fainted or both. Covid has turned the world as we know it upside down. We have had to quickly adapt to this new world and to be honest I have to hand it to my kids they are the unsung heroes of the moment. Not a moan or groan. They are getting on with life and homeschooling. Not every day is full of enthusiasm for it but we are all doing the very best with it.

I thought it might be handy to compile our favourite home school resources and share them in a post as they have proved invaluable for us in helping our kids continue with their learning in these strange times. Back in 2018 we did a huge renovation and I insisted on a home office which was fully kitted out including a HP Deskjet 3720 printer which may have been little used up to now but not lately!! It is quite literally in every day use. One of the things I will say is bookmark a link to your reputable ink cartridge site like Cartridge Save trust me you will thank me later.  Ink has been a very much used and loved commodity in this house.  We buy the HP Ink cartridges and on average get around 300 pages per cartridge. My printer has a double sided print function which we use all the time. Its very handy to to save on paper.

Our current favourites are below, but if you do know more leave them in the comments below and I can add them later:

Twinkl

I cannot speak highly enough of this resource. We use it every day and it is suitable for the whole school ranging from pre school upwards covering the entire spectrum of  subjects.  There are many options from printable’s to power points on certain topics. There has also been themed resources such as Easter or summer packs which cover a range of activities from colouring sheets, to word searches to quizzes. I would literally be lost without it.

The Gruffalo

My little man loves the Julia Donaldson books, I think I can quote many of her books off by heart at this stage.  Particular favourites are The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child.  The above link is a treasure trove of themed material so if you have a fan in your house this is a fantastic resource for printing themed worksheets. We have downloaded The Gruffalos 20th Anniversary worksheets to work on this week.

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When people use the term “getting your financial affairs in order” it is often thought what is meant is sorting your affairs in older age or a palliative care situation but its so much more than that and people need to be thinking of it as an ongoing thing not just a one off.  This is something that comes up often and over the years of financial services experience I have gleaned some tips in this area.

General tips

Pic Credit: Pixabay

This is going to sound like I am stating the obvious but keeping your documents such as policy documents, insurance details, mortgage and loan contracts all in an easily accessible place kept together is very important.  There is nothing worse than in a total panic trying to locate a policy documents or mortgage contract or statement. Its no harm to tell somebody you trust too as you just never know the circumstances you might need to locate them in a panic and it such circumstances remaining calm can be challenging.

Perhaps its the accountant in me but I do love lists and spreadsheets! I can’t stress enough how beneficial it is to know how much a typical month or week costs in your household. For example knowing the nice to haves versus the essentials. This really helps with planning.

Another thing I often do is keep a note of when my utility contract renewal dates are.  I do spend time researching to see if there is a good deal out there for example by switching provider or by signing up again getting a loyalty discount. I have been known to haggle too! With mixed success im afraid.

Cobalt Advisors

It is always important to seek the help of experts. They are experts for a reason, they have spent likely years learning their trade and can provide more advice and guidance than google ever could!  One thing that comes up time and time again is to be careful of high interest debt.  This type of debt can generally be accessed easily but the problem being it is often very costly as a result.  The general consensus is to pay off your  high interest bearing debts first, this is highlighted too by investor.gov. By removing your most expensive forms of debt it will pay off in the long run. Companies such as Cobalt Advisors  have dedicated phone lines where you can seek advice and assistance.

The importance of taking control and maintaining control of your financial affairs can’t be stressed enough. It will enable you to have such peace of mind.  Its not always easy and it can be hard not to get stressed in the face of mounting debts however taking a deep breath and taking time to seek expert advice and guidance will certainly help.  There tends not to be a quick fix when it comes to finances but patience yields rewards and in the long run you will be happy you did it.

Note: This is a collaborative post

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Its a very strange times we are slowly getting accustomed to. Life doesn’t feel like it will be the same for a very long time. The kids miss their friends, their sports and giving their grandparents a hug. In the wider economy things have changed too, unemployment is so high, many businesses have changed/ adapted or closed altogether. People are feeling it financially, it bound to impact. However, it is also import to thing long term. As tempting as it may be to opt for high interest credit cards to fund short term cash issue, it is important to consider the impact of this. According to debt.org the average  credit card holder in the USA has at least four cards. On average, each household with a credit card carries $8,398 in credit card debt. Total U.S. consumer debt is at $13.86 trillion.

These figures are staggering and in times like this is is so important to be cognisant of the future impact of it. In the event they you have found yourself in a situation where you are serving high interest debt I have compiled some tips to assist you in addressing this.

• I think at the outset you need to consider seeking the advice of a professional using an company such as Saxton Associates
• If you have savings in cash consider using some of this cash to pay off the debt
• Consider if switching cards could help. Some providers often run offers such as zero interest on transfers for a period of a number of months
• Budgeting – I know lots of people hate the idea of sitting down to analyze their spending but it does work. Small changes can have a very big impact. For example buying generic branded products, taking your lunch to work
  

  Pic Credit: Pixabay

• What I do each year is keep a list of all my utility providers and when each years contract is up I ring around to get the best deal. Some have discount for ebills, other for lesser usage etc. Do your homework it can really pay dividends over the space of a couple of months
• Plan, plan and plan some more. For example if its a holiday or a new car you are aiming for. Work out how much you  would need to save each month to achieve that goal. I know a lot of people have laughed at me when I suggest the money jar! I love this and make great use out of it. We put all our loose change in it and then prior to our holiday cash it in. We have had some lovely surprises over the years when it was counted and much more was in it than we anticipated.

Knowing the above re the average credit card debt. I was interested to see what the flip side of this was like. I saw a cnbc.com survey on this from 2018 which suggestions that the median amount of saving that the average American household has is in the region of $11,000. The thing about stat’s is that that they can hide a multitude. In fact millions of households could save little of nothing while at the opposite side of the spectrum the rich and famous may be saving plenty.

The important thing is not to neglect your financial health.

Note: This is a collaborative post

What to Consider when Starting from Home

You have a business idea and now want to move it online. However, you may be unsure as to how to successfully navigate onto the internet and where to turn to.

Let us take a look at where to start, where to aim for and where the best help is to successfully achieve your online presence.

Planning Ahead

Planning a document to translate your business to potential clients is a good start to successfully building a language for your client. Within this, you will be able to section your website plans and not have everything all muddled together.

Remembering that your clients will be looking at your website for an understanding of your business and service will serve you in adequately breaking down the language of how to speak to them. Have a third party look over how you are communicating and offer feedback on understanding aspects of it. 

Identifying a Free Domain

Utilizing sites such as Wix or GoDaddy, you need to check if the domain and URL are available for your ideal company trading identity. 

Suffixes such as .com, .co.uk and .net are options for registration, but if you find that all of them are available it is worth spending a little extra to register all domains to prevent identity mixups with anyone looking to register similar entities online.

Identify a Good Web Host Service

To make your website accessible on the internet you will need to find a suitable provider. Fasthosts and Wix among others offer a cost effective service, but you need to be sure whoever’s package you choose is suitable for your business.

Look into reviews on how each is rated on security, response and speed. How a provider responds to downtime in your website is of prime importance to make sure you don’t lose business during any loss of data.

Hiring a Developer

Being a business owner you may want to limit your time and effort on your websites design and maintenance. For those wanting to put their focus on the business side they can hire an external web development firm to handle all aspects from the beginning.

There are many benefits to having your website developed for you, including web hosting provided and programming to ensure you have the website looking and operating how you want it to. The cost of a web developer or web development agency  can be weighed against the time you take from your business to concentrate on building and maintaining the site, so it is worth paying for a respected and reliable developer.

Other options are to build your own website from the many free options currently on the internet. However, these options do not necessarily offer many areas for customization and some only offer limited pages. 

Figuring How to Trade Through your Site

The aim of your website can fall into two different areas when looking to use the space to sell products.

Shopping cart software is generally used to add to existing websites as an extra, whereas an ecommerce platform lets you build an online store from the ground up as a main focus.

Shopify is an established brand for ecommerce to get you up and running quickly, whilst others like Opencart offer full customization. Reviews and ratings for features and interaction with the software should be researched before committing to an option. Look into how clients have had experience with using the software.

Be Sure Before Being Live

Presentation is everything and, no matter if your site has been built externally or in house, you need to approve of every aspect before publishing to the internet.

Spelling and formatting of each page should be checked, as well as speed and engagement between pages. Test the website and allow for a third party to play with the functionalities to ensure it moves and feels right.

If you are happy then publish it and prepare to introduce the world to your new identity.

Showcase to Everyone

Having the website is not enough to draw a crowd. Now is the time to let everyone know you have one.

The easiest way is to market on your social media pages like Facebook and Twitter through business group posts and business pages. Make sure that your new URL is present on any marketing materials and business cards. 

Traffic to your website needs to be generated through marketing and other options to consider is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which is another service responsive web design companies can provide, such as experts in Stockport Website Development firms have perfected for their clients in Google search results.

Now you have a new website and tools to move successfully into online trading. There are many options to consider and many extra areas you can look into to strengthen your business going forward.

Note: This is a collaborative post

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Car wrecks are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. In fact, adolescents are twice as likely as adults to get into a wreck. The first 18 months after teens get their license are the most dangerous and during that time new drivers are four times more likely than adults to get into an accident. There is a very good reason to why this is the case though, and that is because they are inexperienced and tend to get distracted easily. It is no surprise that young people want a driver’s license though as this can often feel like the first step towards freedom and adulthood. 

However, in their haste to pick up their friends and go for a ride, inexperience can make them forget what they are doing, and this has the potential to be deadly if not done responsibly. Having said that, they still might get into an accident even if they drive perfectly. The accident might have been caused by somebody else (or another young inexperienced driver), if this is the case, then you should hire someone like this Los Angeles car accident lawyer to help you with your claim. Hiring a lawyer will help you with your case and will remove any stress. You won’t have to worry about a thing, as they will sort out getting any compensation that you are owed.

Driving Under the Influence

It is never a smart move to drink and drive, but unfortunately this is a mistake that a lot of people make, not just young people. However, having said that a quarter of all teen drivers were caused by drinking and driving.    DUI charges can have serious consequences for the violator; go here to learn more.  Although pretty much everyone can agree that drink driving is a stupid idea, due to peer pressure or other factors, teens are more likely to drive a vehicle whilst intoxicated.

Not only that, but they may also remain in a vehicle with an intoxicated friend, and this can also lead to an accident occurring. It doesn’t matter if the driver is intoxicated, or the passenger is, both could lead to an accident. If the driver is intoxicated, then that is an obvious enough reason why an accident could occur. But the reason that an accident could occur if the passenger is intoxicated is because it can distract the driver. 

Driving Recklessly

Pic Credit: Pixabay

When a young driver first starts driving, they might be safer than they would be a few months down the line. This is because as their experience increases, these young drivers become more likely to speed or drive recklessly. They are more likely to make phone calls or text whilst driving. Teens with risk-taking friends were most likely to engage in risky behaviours. Young drivers will see this reckless driving as fun, however, it can have dire consequences. This is just one reason why young drivers should have more training, even after they’ve passed their test!

Many young drivers will have to deal with a speeding ticket or two before they learn to calm down behind the wheel. However, this takes time and isn’t something that all young drivers will do straightaway. With regards to accidents, almost a quarter of all car accidents involve a young driver that was speeding. Most of these drivers were male as well, which is why insurance for males are normally a lot higher than for females. This is also partly because young boys are more prone to dangerous driving, such as street racing or stunt driving. 

Not Wearing a Seat Belts

A seat belt really is not an option, it’s something which can help save you from a serious injury (and even death). It’s not there as just an accessory, but as an essential thing that is a safety feature that is needed whilst driving. Many young drivers will willingly ignore the law that they need to wear a seatbelt, and although not wearing one is not a reason for an accident, it just means that young drivers are more likely to be seriously injured in an accident. 

The whole point of a seat belt is to help keep you safe, but unfortunately some young drivers think it makes them look cooler, so they decide to forego wearing one. This is a mistake. However, they won’t realise this until they get more experience, or end up in a car accident with severe injuries (something which could have been avoided if they wore a seat belt). Not all young drivers are like this at least and having experience does not mean that you are a perfect driver. Accidents happen for all sorts of reasons though, so you can never know when one might happen. If you’ve ever been involved in an accident, you might be wondering what you do next? Why not check out this handy checklist here to help you out! 

Note: This is a collaborative post

Kahlil Gibran, “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

Another week into this strange new norm and we are all adapting pretty well. I have to say I am really proud of how well the kids are handling all of this. They are missing their grandparents and their friends so much but are doing really well. I think we can learn at lot from them.

Its funny I have begun to look at this as more of a slow down rather than lock down and ive had some time to reflect on a lot of things. One of the things that has come to the fore with all this is we have vowed to spend much more time outdoors as a family and secondly sustainable living. I suppose I never really realised until now how much unnecessary stuff we buy for ourselves and the kids. I have been totally wowed by the concept of the Reima kids 100% recyclable jacket, the kids can even register the jacket with Reima and they donate €10 to the charity supporting saving the oceans and you can also track your jacket to see where it ends up once recycled. Its genius. It really is the way forward and if we all make small changes like this it will make a big difference.

Another thing  I have been terrible at is buying take away coffees. My love of coffee hasn’t changed but I have realised taking my Keep Cup with me or bringing it out full with me is just perfect. Also shopping bags!! I did try to take them every week but now I make sure I do. Small steps can make such a big impact.

Its funny I think we will look back on this period of our lives and hopefully realise it has taught us so much about ourselves and the way we live.

There are loads of phrases we see and hear when it comes to our smiles….”our smiles are the windows to our soul” or “smile and the world smiles with you” or my personal favourite “smile..its the prettiest thing you can wear“.

But you see for me for many and I mean many years I thought that this wasn’t the  case. I never smiled in photos, actually I deliberately avoided photos on nights out at events etc. On the rare occasion I did end up in a photo, I preferred to hide in the back and certainly never smiled showing my teeth. I always promised myself I would do something about it. They weren’t terrible. I just wasn’t happy with them and it didn’t matter what my friends and family said that was my opinion and that was that.

Last year I hit 35, a bit of a milestone in my own head and thought you know what.. im going to do this. So I began a treatment programme which used clear aligners. 

Thus beginning a journey I wanted to take for some time.  This is all done online, you take impressions of your teeth and they get sent off and a couple of weeks later your clear braces land in the door.  So so simple and efficient.

The name of the company I happened to work with is called Your Smile Direct, which is one of several new, online companies that  have made it possible to address minor teeth misalignments from home, without the dentist visits or big bills associated with  braces. Your Smile Direct has recently closed down, but there are other, similar options out there including SmileDirectClub and Straight Teeth Direct.

However in advance its important to have consultation with a dentist, do shop around as you may even be able to obtain a free dental consultation.

Following completion of the programme which took all in all about 8 months, I could not believe the different, each aligner change brought subtle but noticeable changes but it was only at the end when I saw the before and after pictures I realised just how far my teeth had come. But it wasn’t just my teeth. I lecture and I found my thoughts on my teeth really impacted on my confidence. I hid behind the podium, behind my hands or pages. Always aware and to be honest probably overly consumed by it. Now, its an entirely different story, I don’t mind getting into photos. I smile!! I actually truly smile.

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Pic Credit: Pixabay

A little know fact about me is that my area of specialism is white collar crime, more specifically prevention and detection.  According to wikipedia white collar crime is defined as “financially motivated, nonviolent crime committed by businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation”. Typical white-collar crimes could include wage theft, fraud, bribery, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, labor racketeering, embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery.”

Investopedia goes a little further with its explanation  explaining that white-collar crime should not  consider only offenses undertaken by an individual to benefit themselves but crimes including large-scale fraud perpetrated by many throughout a corporate or government institution

Prevention and detection of white collar crime is critical for any business and never more so in the current climate.  Many of us have heard of the Enrons, Andersons and WorldCom, even Bernie Madoff. White collar crime grabs headlines. Its the scandal, the human interest, we want to know, we are curious to know more.

A couple of tips I have gleaned from my 20 years experience include:

• Training is critical – educating your staff on what to look out for is paramount. You need staff buy in.
• Whistle blowing hotline – facilitate staff who are willing to make protected disclosures
  

  Pic Credit: Pixabay

• Empower your staff in a compliance/ regulatory role. They need to know they can follow through on action points
• Goes with out saying get good legal advice such as a good  Tampa criminal lawyer
• Be alert!!
• You need to monitor employees – look for red flags such as  logs on outside of designated times, round sum payments, staff who wont take holidays etc
• Familiarise yourself with the Fraud Triangle – knowledge is power
• This sounds really simple but keep an inventory of equipment held on site and review it regularly. Especially for example if you keep expensive IT equipment on site. Don’t give the fraudster the opportunity.
• Consult the experts! This is a minefield, if its outside of your area of expertise there are many people in this are who are experts and as the old adage says “prevention is better than cure”
• Be aware of the growing area of cyber crime.

The psychology of a fraudster is baffling and perhaps I watch too much CSI and Law & Order but this area of the human brain fascinates me so much. The collective thinking about this is that the drive to commit white collar crime can be driven by greed and dishonestly. Some fraudsters even cite a jealousy of their boss for example if he/she  is earning more as a motivation to commit crime. There is much research in this area and if its something that interests you, take my word for it you can get totally engrossed in this stuff.   Rationalization forms a big part of the psyche of the typical white collar crime fraudster…such as “ah sure it was the companies money”, “nobody is getting hurt here”. I suppose being able to rationalize it in that way helps them sleep at night!!!

Note: This is a collaborative post

Kahlil Gibran –  “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

During 2018 and 2019 I took part in the fabulous linkie run by Donna from What the Redhead said. It is inspired by the above quote and runs each week. I really love reading other peoples post in this linkie so despite vowing for months to get back to it, I have finally decided to get back to wring more on the blog. 

Our New Norm

It’s all a bit surreal isn’t it? Hard to know what day of the week it is. Working from home for the foreseeable, kids off school for the foreseeable, social distancing the new norm.  One thing I have learned so far is that kids are super resilient. Every day my pair wake up full of life, happy out. The roles have been reversed they are now teaching me how to live a “slow life” , to enjoy the little moments, to live in the present, to not be stressing about rush here and there.

Our days are filled with board games, socially distanced walked, facetime calls with grandparents. Very different to the rush and fast paced of the ‘norm’ for us. So rather than fret and worry, we are doing our best to embrace this new norm for the next while.

So take care, stay home, stay safe and we will meet on the other side of this when im guessing many of us will have a renewed appreciation of life and our loved one. We can and will do this. Lets learn from the example set by our kids.