4 Tips to Grow Wealth

There’s no better time than now to start saving for the future. Retirement is becoming longer and more expensive with many costs likely to come out of your own pocket. Here are 4 investment strategies to get you on the right path and give yourself an edge toward meeting your retirement goals created by the team at Motif Investing.

Self-Directed IRA Rules Every Investor Should Know

Did you know that your Self Directed IRA cannot purchase property you as the IRA holder intend to live in? Regulations surrounding property are just a few of the rules that govern Self Directed IRAs. There are also rules surrounding what purchases your IRA can make, who can be involved or connected to these purchases, and who the investment benefits. Before converting your Roth or Traditional IRA into a Self Directed IRA, you should fully understand the IRS regulations that surround this type of account. Safeguard Advisors is here to explain these restrictions and help you make informed decisions that will grow your retirement account.

Of Love & Money: Valentine’s Day in the UK

It wasn’t that long ago that Valentine’s Day meant buying a card for your loved one and perhaps a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates. Not anymore. Exactly how much we British spend on Valentine’s Day varies depending on the survey you look at, but whichever one you choose, the days of a simple card and a box of chocolates being sufficient on the 14th of February seem to be long gone. On average, men spent £40 on their partner on Valentine’s Day, whereas women spent an average of £24.

The Real Cost of Christmas in the UK

To a lot of people Christmas is the perfect opportunity to get together with family, friends and loved-ones, spend time with each other and share the act of gift giving. In 2013, we spent a total of £72.7 billion, and this Christmas the figure is likely to increase to £88 billion.
Our seasonal infographic shows what the true cost of Christmas 2014 is expected to be.
Just over one-fifth of the total Christmas spend is used to buy food and drink for the holiday season, with an average of £161 being spent on the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and ‘all the trimmings’. Travel over the season accounts for 8%, and the final 3% on festive decorations.
The graphic reveals more than half of the money we spend over Christmas (67%) to be on presents. Top gifts for children are games consoles, cuddly toys and the perennial favourite; board games. Perfume, handbags and jewellery prove ever-popular presents for ladies, and gents can expect techie gifts such as gaming consoles and tablets, along with watches and of course aftershave, in their stockings this year!
Although Christmas doesn’t always have to be expensive, it often is, and two out of five people claim they feel pressurised to spend more money than they can really afford over the Christmas period. Also, the fact that Christmas involves giving presents to everyone at the same time along with buying those little extras to put around the house, or on the dinner table, can make it hard to manage financially.

Saving Money on your Home

If you constantly find yourself lost for change while trying to keep on top of costly household expenses, you might be surprised to know that there are lots of little things around your very own home that you can do to reduce your monthly costs. Have a look at our infographic called, Saving Money In The Home, which will give you hints and tips for things you can do to save a considerable amount and won’t leave you burrowing behind the couch for change. You’ll be wishing you’d been doing these things all along!

How Consumers Foot the Bill for Data Breaches

Major security data breaches have hit big businesses across the globe in 2014. Big names such as eBay, Target, The University of Maryland, and P.F. Chang’s have all been targeted. Most consumers shrug off these data breaches as a cost that is associated with e-commerce. Most consumers don’t realize that they will end up footing a portion of the data breach bill regardless of whether or not their personal information was compromised during the breach. Authentify has created an infographic that shows the average cost of an average data breach as it trickles down to the consumer.

7 Steps to get a Home Loan in India

Buying a property or an apartment is an important decision in a person’s life. For any average salaried Indian it is the biggest investment of his life. Before taking a loan for any residential property or apartment in India, some very important aspects like how much to invest, which bank to choose for home loans, interest rates etc. has to be taking into consideration to avoid any complications or problems in the future. Your home loan won’t cover 100 per cent of the house’s cost. You will have to pay at least 15 per cent from your own savings. Let not the home loan process bog you down. Here are 7 easy steps to get the home loan for your dream house.