Hope for your financial life and beyond

A Reason to Look at a Career in Occupational Therapy

We have written many times about careers – how to find one and how to change one. One of the key aspects of finding a career that fits your life is to focus on what you enjoy doing. And, perhaps more importantly, how does the career fit your unique personality.

A desire to help other people is a characteristic of some personality types. The cool thing about this is that this characteristic can translate into your working life. A career that allows you to help people and make a great living can be very attractive to those with this trait.

Many people opt for careers that make them incredibly dissatisfied and unfulfilled. That is the last thing you want to do. Your career defines so much about you and takes up a great amount of your time. Why would you want a career that did not bring satisfaction and fulfillment?

Of course, one field that fits perfectly with those who like to help others is healthcare. Within this field, you may first only think about doctors or nurses. But beyond these traditional jobs, there are many career paths to choose from which are incredibly enriching. Not only that, but they can be very prosperous over the long term.

One such career you may not think of right away is one as an occupational therapist. Let’s explore that career a bit here today. 

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Solar Energy: Is It a Worthwhile Investment?

The history and development of solar energy is quite fascinating. It has been a viable option for electricity for some time. But for the consumer marketplace, it started to became affordable around 2005. 

In relationship to the cost effectiveness of solar energy for consumer, a growing awareness of environmental concerns has developed in recent years. Solar systems and the green energy movement have coincided with one another. Those considering “going green” often look to solar energy as a first step in those efforts.

Additionally, solar panels can have economic benefits to the consumer. Of course, people are looking to them to save money in their monthly budget. But others are also considering the investment side of solar energy. One, as an investment in their current home. And two, as an investment in which they can diversify their cash and make money in the long run. 

So is solar energy right for you as a cost savings measure or as an investment? Here are some beginning things to consider.

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6 Key Areas Small Businesses Can Save Money Today 

Small businesses, more than any other type of business, have been hit especially hard over the last year. In fact, the effects of Covid-19 have wiped some small business owners out. They have been forced to close their doors as a result in the disruption of their business.

zoom meetingSmall businesses often operate on small budgets. In contrast, big brands like the Walmarts and Apples of the world have more ability to throw money at whatever project or marketing campaign they feel like. Consequently, small businesses more so than big businesses must remain diligent and work within their budgets. If they don’t, it can result in financial disaster.

Financial problems are difficult to avoid any time but even more so in difficult economic environments. Quite simply, saving money is more important now than ever before for small businesses.

So what is a small business to do? What areas can they focus on to try and cut costs? What will help them stay within the confines of their budget, whether operating in good times or bad?

Here are six key areas where your small business can start saving money immediately.

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The 10 Best Summer Jobs for Teens and College Students

Memorial Day marks the official beginning of summer. For teens and college students that means one of three things. Either you are:

a) continuing school by choice (to get ahead) or out of necessity (because you failed)… summer jobs for teens

b) looking for a summer job to earn money or…

c) in for a really boring summer sleeping in and playing video games.

We all know that teens and college students love money. But we also know that some of them NEED money in a bad way. They have lots of expenses, from gas for the car, to eating out with friends, to paying for college tuition and expenses. Many times, parents are unable to fully fund (or refuse to fund) these expense categories. So teens and college students are left to support themselves. And the time to rack up the big money in a paycheck is over the summer when they are out of school.

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How to Choose a Company for an Excellent Moving Experience

My wife and I have moved five times in our adult, post-college life. Each one occurred at a different stage of our marriage and presented its own challenges. In the end, all the moves worked out well and we were glad we made the move.

Moving can be a hassle. Why? The answer is obvious – you are relocating all your earthly possessions. When you have a lot of things, the process becomes really hectic, sometimes overwhelming. And the last thing you want to have happen is to have a bad experience or for there to be damage to your stuff.

With that in mind, using a moving company may be the best alternative to make sure that your items will be safe. Additionally, it reduces the work load on yourself. It is hard work to move your own items, even if you have help from family and friends. 

However, there are many moving firms and choosing the best one can be a challenge. That is one reason many people just choose to do the move themselves. 

With moving companies, the charges will vary, so cost may be an issue. When signing the agreement, you will need to discuss your expectations with the company and let them know what you are looking for. To that end, the following points will assist you in choosing an appropriate moving company

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7 Ways You Can Monetize Your Instagram Business

Please enjoy this guest post today from Mary Kyle on growing your Instagram business. 

Are you spending more hours on Instagram every day? Have you ever thought about making it more than just a hobby? Perhaps now is the time then to make your time count and turn your effort into dollars.  If you are interested in starting a business on the platform, then this article is for you. 

Instagram is one of the most famous social media networks around. Users can post video content and photos to their followers and friends. With over 500 million monthly active users, Instagram also has become a favorite market spot to sell and promote products. It’s a great platform to make money in multiple ways. 

But how do you get started? More importantly, how do you go about growing your account? Here are some ideas to think about and concepts to follow when starting your business on Instagram. 

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4 Easy Ways to Get Your Finances Back on Track

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many in a financial ruin (or at least in less-than-ideal financial circumstances). People are reeling from what the shutdown and quarantines did to the economy and to their personal wealth. It’s important, maybe now more than ever, to make sure your finances are on track to meet your future goals. 

It’s is a good thing that businesses and travel have started to open back up. People are staring to get their lives back. Life is beginning to return to pre-Covid19 normal as vaccines are rolling out. With all this taking place, it brings additional incentive to look at your finances and see if you need to make adjustments to stay on track toward your goals. There is no better time than now to get started. 

There are many factors to consider with this. That’s why so many cannot and do not manage their finances well.  It simply can be a daunting task to know where to start and how to plan things out well.

It’s not overstating it to say that for many, finances can be one of the greatest causes of stress and anxiety. However, there are some simple tasks that can help get you started. Here are just a few easy ways for you to make sure your finances are on the path to success. 

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How To Land A Job In Healthcare

I have talked a lot on this blog about careers. There are so many directions a person can go with this, the possibilities seem endless. Of course they are not endless because not every career is right for you.

Some people won’t be able to get the necessary education. Some won’t have the discipline to pursue certain types of careers. Even personality comes into play. Some careers work better for certain types of personalities than others.

Job opportunities abound in all spaces and fields though. If you have an interest in something, you can more than likely find a job. And in some industries, there is an abundance of positions available. One such industry is healthcare.

Healthcare jobs are in high demand. The post-Covid19 years will prove to be a great opportunity for someone looking to get into this industry.

Working in healthcare can be a rewarding career, both personally and financially. However, it is not always an easy profession to get into right away. Although you may be smart, skilled, talented and educated, there are so many other job seekers out there.

To break into healthcare, you must be focused on the right areas. You have to know what it takes to land a job so you can give yourself a better chance of doing so. The following tips will help you know where to concentrate your efforts. This will give you a fighting chance to stand apart from the competition and secure a good job that you find satisfying.

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Three Loans that People Consider an Excellent Investment

Should you ever get a loan? Why not pay cash for everything? Is that even possible?

Technically the answer is yes, it is possible to pay cash for everything. And it is probably the prudent way to proceed. Why would you go into debt and owe all that money?

People often view loans as a negative thing in the modern world. It is proven that people get into trouble when borrowing money from a bank. You can also get into trouble if you borrow money from friends or family. And of course it matters what you borrow the money for. Some things may be helpful in the long run. Others, not so much. 

There are a lot of different loans on the market that are designed to meet your needs. In fact, some of these loans many people would actually call a good investment. Let’s take a look at several loans that many consider good and one that is a little more iffy. 

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A Beginner’s Guide to National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Real Estate Investing

There are so many new investing opportunities coming into the forefront these days. Most recently has been the rise of cryptocurrencies in the United States and around the world. These new forms of investing give investors a chance to diversify their portfolio. In the end, that is a good thing.  It spreads their money around so that one bad investment won’t ruin their financial life.

But what if your investment also went a long way in helping someone in need? What if you could make money but also help people at the same time? Well, one unique form of investing in this way has popped up in recent years in Australia.

It is known as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). NDIS is an innovative initiative by the Federal Government to provide better housing for disabled tenants (who are themselves known as NDIS participants). With this program, investors can earn up to 16% of gross rental income. You receive the chance at long-term rental returns together with the potential growth of your property value. 

So what is this all about? Here is a beginner’s guide to understanding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) real estate investing. 

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Is Investing in Collectibles Like Valuable Baseball Cards Worth It?

Like so many young boys, my love affair with baseball cards began in Little League. Each week our coach would give us a $1 to spend at the concession stand after the game. I spent my money on a cream soda and a pack of cards (none of which would become valuable baseball cards).

valuable baseball cardsIn those early days I didn’t have a lot of money so the collection grew slowly. I amassed several hundred cards and kept them rubber-banded together in a shoebox. I shuffled through them a lot so the surfaces became dull and the edges worn.

In 1986, I scrounged up enough money to buy my very first complete set of Topps baseball cards. I bought plastic card pages in which to insert each card and a three ring binder to hold all the pages. So began a decade of collecting the full sets and the update sets each year. By the time I ended college, I had amassed about 20,000 baseball cards.

Then marriage happened and grad school and buying a home and kids and a career and more kids. Through all that, the baseball cards spent years boxed up in the back of the closet rarely seeing the light of day.

My love affair with collecting baseball cards resurfaced about 10 years later in my early 30s. Some life events reinvigorated my love of the hobby. The best part was that I had more money than when I was 8.

I decided to do something different instead of purchasing individual packs or complete sets. My focus shifted to buying individual cards, ones where I could be more certain about their projected value. This can only be done by collecting those cards that are professionally graded.

This change of strategy required me to understand what I was getting into and why I was doing it.

How Do You Define Investing in Collectibles?

The above question is tricky to answer in part because it depends on your definition of “collecting” and “investing.”

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