To help ensure you don’t miss any crucial steps in building your website, follow the simple P.L.A.N. acronym to create a web presence that will help you reach your home business goals. What P.L.A.N.​ Stands For To help you understand what your website will need, use the P.L.A.N. acronym: Prepare – Identify your target audience, appropriate website tone, and goals. Landscape – Think through how you would like your website to be able to function....

It can be tempting to purchase furniture using a credit card or a payment plan, but that can take years to pay off and will cost you much more than paying cash for your furniture. Consider some easy ways to save on furniture for your first home or apartment. ​ Start With the Essentials Start out by buying the things you need immediately, like a bed or kitchen table. Make a list of what furniture you need, and organize that list from top priority to what you could do without for now....

How “Business Travel” Is Determined Business travel is a specific term determined by the IRS to describe travel away from your tax home. which is described by the IRS as “the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home.” You are traveling away from home if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home for a time that is at is “substantially longer than an ordinary day’s work” and that requires you to sleep or rest while away from home....

This ratio is important because it tells you how well your company’s operations contribute to its profitability. A company with a large profit margin ratio makes more money on each dollar of sales than a company with a small profit margin ratio. Formula for Calculating Operating Profit Margin Ratio To calculate your company’s operating profit margin ratio, divide its operating income by its net sales revenue: Operating Profit Margin = Operating Income / Net Sales Revenue In some cases, operating income goes by the name Earnings Before Income and Taxes (EBIT)....

Federal Housing Authority loans, or FHA loans, have mortgage insurance premium (MIP) requirements, but they have different terms for dropping it compared to conventional loans. When you get an FHA loan, your lender may require you to pay these mortgage insurance premiums permanently. It’s important to understand how FHA mortgage insurance works, when you can (or can’t) get rid of it, and more about your options for reducing your mortgage costs....

How You End up Without a Credit Score Nobody is born with credit. In fact, you won’t have a credit score at all until you’ve had at least one credit account within the past six months. This is the reason most teenagers and young adults often have no credit at all. Unless your parents made you an authorized user or joint account holder on their bank account when you were younger, you won’t have a credit history, and therefore, you won’t have any credit....

You can find good jobs on Craigslist, but you do need to be careful. Review these tips for finding and applying for jobs and for how to avoid scams. Job Search on Craigslist The easiest way to find jobs on Craigslist is to go to the city where you are interested in looking for jobs. You’ll see a directory of sites on the right side of the original Craigslist page, or you can go directly to the list of Craigslist Cities....

Preparing for Babysitting Work Before you can babysit, it’s a wise idea to learn basic safety and first aid as well as how to respond to common emergencies. Parents are trusting you with their most valuable possession, so you’ll want to be able to let them know that you’re trained and prepared for any crisis that might arise. Learn how to handle situations such as: ChokingMinor cutsFalls and head injuriesGetting locked out of the houseA fireAn intruderA child running off...

Having a Job Is Not a Credit Card Requirement Many credit card applications only ask for generic occupation or employment and income information. You may simply have to choose whether you’re a student, government worker, homemaker, self-employed worker, or unemployed. Some applications may ask the name of your employer, but allow you to enter “None” if you don’t have an employer. You may find that some applications do not ask for employer information at all....

A reverse mortgage can be a valuable resource for seniors struggling with expenses. But there are a number of reasons you may want to get out of one. Learn your options for getting out of a reverse mortgage. How Do You Get Out of a Reverse Mortgage? The rules for getting out of a reverse mortgage vary by the type of loan you have. Most reverse mortgages are home equity conversion mortgages (HECMs)....

In freelancing you’re self-employed, but the work is contracted by a business and can be steady and regular like in a job. One of the big benefits of freelancing is that you can usually charge more per hour in your freelance business than employers pay for the same work. What’s in this Freelancing Guide If freelancing sounds appealing to you, check out the guide below that provides an overview of freelancing, and offers six freelance business ideas....

While the intent of these questions may be to determine if you are a good fit for the job, it is important to know that only information relevant to your ability to do the job can and should be asked. Interview Questions That Are Illegal Federal and state laws prohibit prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not related to the job they are hiring for. Employers should not ask about any of the following unless it specifically relates to the job requirements because to not hire a candidate because of any one of them is discriminatory:...

First of all, stay calm and realize that this is a good thing. You have a choice to make, and you’ll be able to compare the jobs to determine which is the best fit. Get the Facts About Each Job Ideally, you will want to learn all there is to know about each opportunity so that you can conduct a comparative analysis with full information. You will also want to be careful not to turn off any of the employers or lead them to believe that you don’t place a high value on their offer....

Many employers expect to see numbers on your resume. Andrew Challenger, senior vice president, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., says, “Quantitative information is almost required these days to thoroughly describe the job candidate’s achievements.” The Benefits of Quantifying Your Resume Showing what you achieved in a quantifiable way is important for other types of jobs, as well. Why? Because incorporating numbers into your resume shows employers, at a glance, what you have accomplished at work....

As of 2021, about 6.2 billion people, or roughly 78% of the world’s population, lived in emerging market countries.Investing in these markets has tremendous potential for growth as these countries make strides in economic development, income, education, life expectancy, and expansion of the middle class. However, emerging markets are risky compared with investing in developed countries. In this article, you’ll learn how to invest in emerging markets, as well as the risks you need to understand....

If you’re struggling with too much student loan debt, you’re not alone. The good news is that there are resources to help you pay back both federal and private student loans. Options for Paying Federal Student Loans If you have too much student loan debt, examine all your options carefully. There are multiple ways to reduce your debt burden or monthly payment, but be aware, some may increase interest costs over the life of your loans....

When you become your own boss, however, there are some important things to take into consideration, such as managing your business finances, maintaining a budget, and planning for tax requirements. You often have more financial responsibilities than an employee with a regular paycheck. One of the best ways you can juggle all your responsibilities as a self-employed person is by opening designated bank accounts and managing them on a monthly basis....

There are many different kinds of budgets businesses may rely on including a master budget, a financial budget, a cash flow budget and the direct materials purchases budget. This is a budget needed by any business that makes its own inventory. Before we look at how to calculate and come up with one, it’s important to know what a direct materials purchase budget is. What Is a Direct Materials Purchases Budget?...

The site acts as an online marketplace for accommodation, allowing hosts to list rental space ranging from private rooms to entire houses. If you have available space, Airbnb could be an opportunity for you to bring in some extra income, or even turn it into a full-time business. The Popularity of Airbnb The diverse lodging options, competitive rates, and easy-to-use platform all contribute to the company’s success—apparent through its rapid growth....

What’s more is that starting a side hustle not only pads your income, but it also creates career-changing opportunities you wouldn’t have normally stumbled upon at your full-time job. Many side hustles have led to new jobs, surprisingly useful relationships, and lifelong friends. It’s also helped build the business I have today as a content marketing consultant. However, building a side hustle to profitability with a limited amount of time outside of your day job is never easy....