Category: Adulting

Adulting

Buying a House? Here Are Four Experts You Should Consult

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Buying a House? Here Are Four Experts You Should ConsultImage credit

 Buying a house is one of the most significant financial decisions you will make in your lifetime. With a lot at stake, such a decision should not be made lightly or in haste. The best way to ensure that you get the house of your dreams is to bring aboard experts who will guide you and take you through the process. This blog post outlines the four experts whose services you will need the most when purchasing a house.

Financial Analyst (Credit Expert)

A good credit score has numerous advantages for home buyers; the most important being that It will significantly help you get a better interest rate and a lower down payment on your property loan.

Although you may be able to generate and keep track of your credit score on your own, seeking the services of a financial analyst is a smart move, especially when purchasing a house.  A financial analyst will generate your credit and advise on how you may improve your credit rating in the right way based on the current score. For example, they may suggest paying some of your debts or reestablishing credit to bump up your credit score as you prepare to purchase a house.

Real Estate Agent

A real estate agent who knows the local market well will help you navigate the complex process of finding the perfect house.  They will be instrumental in helping you browse through the listings available for purchase, arrange for house viewings, help you negotiate the best deal for the house of choice, and guide you through the process of closing in on the mortgage. Hiring your agent as a buyer ensures your interests are taken care of throughout the entire process. 

 Mortgage Broker

Unless you are purchasing your house with cash, you will need to take a mortgage for your home. A mortgage adviser will help you determine if you are prequalified for a mortgage. The mortgage broker will inquire about your earnings, savings, and other personal finance-related questions before they decide whether or not you qualify for a loan and advise you on the nature of loans available for you. Additionally, the mortgage advisor will advise you on where you will get the best interest rates, guide you on all the documents you need to get the mortgage approved, and answer any of your house purchasing queries.

Home Inspector

When buying a house, the services of a home inspector will help you make a decision whether to buy the house or not. An inspector will carry out an unbiased, detailed check of the house on your behalf and come up with a list of anything that will need to be repaired or replaced. They will assess the house’s structural components and check the walls, floors, roofing, and windows. They will also determine if the plumbing, AC, and electrical systems are in perfect working condition or if they need repairs

The home inspector works directly with you, so do not be afraid to request that you be present when they inspect the house.

The inspector’s  report will help you determine if you will ask the seller to carry out repairs or if you will decrease your offer amount as you proceed with the purchase.

Conclusion

The process of home ownership can be a long and complicated one. Many parties will come aboard during different times in the purchase process, and knowing what each one does will help you make the purchase easier. Although this is not a definitive list, the above four experts play the most significant roles in a house purchase, and knowing what they do and having them aboard will streamline the purchase process.

Adulting

Great Reasons Why You Should Live At Home As A College Student

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Living away from home and at your university can be exciting and add to your experiences. However, staying at home can be just as fun- and beneficial! Statistics show that UK universities had 1.9 million students living in both provider-maintained accommodations and private halls last academic year. This means rent prices are going up (as demand increases) amongst other accommodation issues. Yes, staying at home does sound cool, but there are so many perks you’d be gaining! Here are a few.

Save more money

As a college student, living on a budget is essential. Imagine how easier your time in school would be when you don’t have to worry about rent, paying for maintenance fees, or even food? Well, that’s what staying at home does for you. It is considerably cheaper and budget-friendly staying at home. You can save more money and avoid failing in debt like many college students.

Improve and keep healthy friendships

It’s a common misconception that college students who stay at home don’t make any friends. Even though you may stay at home, you can still meet and befriend many new people. It also helps you keep the friendship fresh and healthy as you can avoid more “bad” friends and limit your exposure to peer pressure. Additionally, it also encourages healthy space between you and them as you are not easily accessible- unless you want to be. 

So, don’t hesitate to take the time to make new friendships and build your existing ones; staying at home shouldn’t make a difference. 

Avoid flatmate troubles

If you’re staying out of the house, you are most likely going to get a flatmate. A flatmate or roommate is an excellent idea as they can help share the expenses and take away the loneliness you may feel if you were alone. But it’s usually not so rosy. Some studies show that the constant issues with roommates affect the academic success of students. Although this gives you an opportunity to learn to handle conflict and cope in stressful situations, they are often avoidable.

Stay close to family

Although the university is a time to explore on your own, you miss being around family occasionally. Having family close by makes you feel safe. Staying at home may be an excellent choice if you have a tough time with social anxiety or are uncomfortable constantly being around new people. It is also a good idea to stay at home if you deal with illness and need assistance from someone you trust. 

There are so many advantages to staying at home. However, it may not always be possible to do so- like if there’s a significant distance between your home and school. Fortunately, university accommodation options such as the University of Suffolk student accommodation offer students an accommodation experience that feels just like home! But if you do school closer to home, these four reasons should convince you to live at home.

Adulting · Money

How Does A Poor Credit Score Affect Your Day to Day Life?

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Everyone should know the importance of sound money management and the detrimental effects of having poor credit. Sadly around 18 million brits are currently thought to be actively harming their credit score and risking their financial future.

How Does A Poor Credit Score Affect Your Day to Day Life?

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Recently the economic downturn due to the Covid pandemic has seen the increased strain on people’s incomes and has resulted in more people missing payments or falling behind with their prices on credit accounts due to reduced revenues or increased bills eating into the money they have.

What Is A Poor Credit Score?

There are two main credit agencies in the UK and a list of variables that make up whether or not al ender accepts your credit application. On Experian, anything under 800 is classed as poor, and 720 and under is very poor. Equifax rates poor credit scores as those with a score of 420 or below with very poor from 0-279.

How Does Poor Credit Affect Your Day to Day Life?

Whether you realise it or not, having a poor credit score can affect more than a simple yes or no for applications you make. The effects can be wide-reaching and have an impact on many different things in your life. However, having poor credit now doesn’t mean this is it for you. You can always change your score and work to improve it by keeping on top of payments. You can follow money bloggers, listen to a credit risk podcast or join forums to get inspiration from others on how to improve your credit score.

This post looks at some of the ways a poor credit score can impact your life.

Renting Accommodation

If you have a good credit score, you can have your pick of homes to rent. Because many landlords and letting agencies conduct credit checks before allowing you to move in, having a poor credit history could jeopardise your plans to relocate.

The prevelance of ‘comprehensive’ credit checks from companies such as Experian has made it possible for landlords to check your financial history before you move in. Over six years, they look for any financial mistakes, such as a CCJ or defaults, that may have occurred in your life.

This isn’t just restricted to those applying for a mortgage now. Everyone is aware of how a poor credit history and bad financial mistakes can stop you from getting reasonable mortgage rates or even a mortgage at all. But a poor credit score also affects your renting ability too.

Buying A New Car

Buying a new car isn’t cheap. Many people consider financing their new vehicle with a personal loan to spread the cost over a more extended period. Personal loans are typically subject to a credit check. The same is true if you choose to go the traditional route and secure a PCP or hire purchase deal through a car dealership, in which case your credit would also be checked.

For the most part, if you’re entering a financial agreement with a company – whether it’s to finance a new car, a new sofa, or anything in between – you’ll almost certainly be asked to provide information about your credit history.

Applying for Jobs

If you apply for a job in specific industries – for example, if you’re involved in financial transactions or cash handling – the employer may run a credit check on you before extending you the offer. This is solely due to the nature of the employment you’re seeking, and it is not a common practice in the recruitment industry as a whole.

Careers that require good credit include;

  • Accounting
  • Police
  • Army
  • Legal

Higher Interest Rates

The better your credit score, the lower your interest rates will be. Lower rates and a good credit score means you are more likely to pay back what you owe on time as per your contract. A lower credit score is reflective of missing payments and bad financial decisions. So frequently, lenders will offer a higher interest rate to mitigate the risk of lending. Meaning, you are paying more money back as a buffer in case you default.

Insurance Premiums

Do you have household or car insurance? Or how about life insurance? All the insurance premiums you are offered will be based in part on your credit score. Much like with loans, the more chequered your history, the higher your payments will be. If you are paying a lump sum upfront, you can usually eradicate this. However, if you make monthly instalments, you are being credited the insurance premium you are paying back, thus accounting for the higher interest rates or increased premiums.

Household Bills

Whatever your mobile phone tariff or utility bills, if you’re looking to set up a Direct Debit to pay your bills, it’s likely that your credit report will be scrutinised as part of the process.

When it comes to paying your bills, you’ll most likely have no issues whatsoever. If, on the other hand, you have a poor credit history – for example, if you’ve defaulted on a loan in the past – your utility company may require you to have prepayment meters to avoid running up bills meaning you end up paying more than direct debits.

New Relationships

While this might not be a make or break topic for new relationships, it can impact budding relationships, especially if you haven’t gotten your financial situation under control. People want to know what type of person you are embarking on a relationship with and your credit history and money habits play a big part in this. If you have experienced financial difficulties you have recovered from, you may find this isn’t an issue. But if you are exhibiting poor financial choices and errant behaviour as far as your credit is concerned, this can be a warning flag in a new relationship.

On the face of it, a poor credit score can simply look like being refused credit. However, suppose you fail to make amends and improve your credit score. In that case, you may find that you are experiencing the effects of this in other areas of your life, such as getting preferable energy rates or being able to advance your career or maybe even pursuing a new relationship.

 

Adulting · Business · Parenting

How To Balance Business and Parenthood

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Working parents understand how difficult it is to juggle a career with child care. Parents who own their own businesses, on the other hand, face an additional layer of difficulty. To an extent, business-owning parents are trying to juggle two kinds of infants: the children they are trying to raise and the business they are trying to build. To be successful, both require nurturing and attention, especially in their early phases, and business-owning parents must learn to meticulously plan and prioritise their time to make sure that each receives the care they necessitate and expect.

Here we look at some tips to help you to balance parenthood and business.

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Delegate, outsource and learn to say no

As a business-owning parent, balancing your venture and family time can be tricky, as both require a significant lot of time and resources. The sooner you realise you can’t be in two places at the same time, the better. Prioritize the moments with your children that require your full attention, and make sure you have someone to stand in for you during those times. Outsourcing is a popular strategy for many small business owners, for example, paying a digital marketing agency to handle your online marketing or an SEO specialist to get your ranking up. This frees up valuable time for you to spend with your family.

Prioritize your health and wellbeing

Use mindfulness or relaxation techniques. Set your well-being as a top priority. When life becomes an unending demand on your time, the first thing to go is your self-care. However, with 40% of firms not having a succession plan in place, taking care of yourself is critical to the future of your business – as well as ensuring you are the best parent that you can be.

Create clear boundaries between home and work – and stick to them

Establish firm time limits. Define when you are and are not available, and stick to those boundaries. This is a good lesson for your kids to learn. When you are not available, you are not available – unless it is an emergency, of course. However, when it is time to be with your family, you leave work behind and be entirely present with them. Create home/work boundaries and stick to them.

Don’t expect perfect balance every day

If we believe that we can remain balanced every day, it is easy to fall into the trap of believing we are pushing extra hard or disregarding our business. Reassure yourself that your children benefit from seeing you work hard at times and that spending quality time with your children benefits your governance

Be in charge of your own calendar

One of the benefits of being your own boss is that you can control your own calendar and be in charge of your schedule. Arrange meetings with clients when the children are at school, switch off completely when they come home from school, and do your admin work when they are in bed, for example. Find a routine that works for you and your family.

Adulting · Home · Humour

The Day I Became a PROPER Adult

Jayne1 Comment

The Day I Became a PROPER AdultThe other day, I rang my Mum and said the following words:

“Mum. It’s official. I am a PROPER adult.”

One could argue that having two kids, a Husband, a job and various pets were a fairly good sign that I’ve been an adult for a while, or the fact that I’ve spent many a leisurely hour randomly browsing Rightmove or researching leak free shower cabins,  but the event that propelled me into proper adulthood was dealing with my very first flying ant bloom.

When I was a kid, I remember “flying ant day” happening once a year at my grandparents house. Every year, sometime at the end of July, a massive swarm of ants and flying ants would emerge from behind their gas fire in their 1960’s terraced council house and all hell would break loose. Nan would be vaccuming them up and throwing ant powder down with a speed to rival someone from Krypton, while Grandad would be swatting any escapees with a slipper in a manner that made me wonder why he wasn’t competing at Wimbledon. It was as horrifying as it was hilarious, seeing my ageing grandparents dealing with the infestation and it’s something I’d never had to deal with myself…until now.

According to The National History Museum ” This annual swarming event usually occurs in July or August and coincides with a period of hot and humid weather. Winged ants appear at different times around the country and local weather conditions are critical for the coordination of swarming activity. Ants tend to fly earlier in urban areas than rural areas, probably because temperatures are generally warmer in urban environments, known as the urban heat island effect.”

There are a number of options for dealing with flying ant blooms which don’t involve using noxious chemicals which can be dangerous to pets and other wildlife. Here are a few of them:

Pour boiling water into the ant hill

Once you have located the ant hill, pour boiling water over it. This should kill most of the ants and detract other ones from coming back.

Attack ants with an artificial sweetener

Certain types of sweeteners are very toxic for ants. For example, if you mix in the sweetener with apple juice, it forms a viscous paste that the ants will carry back to the colony. Once consumed there, it will kill off a portion of their population.

Spray with dishwashing soap

One household item can tackle flying ants and that is dishwashing soap. The soap attaches to the bodies of the ants and dehydrates them. You can use a spray bottle and fill it with water and two to three squirts of dish soap, and then spray it at any flying ants you see.

Use sticky tape to catch them

If you place some food on the ground to attract the flying pests, you can place some sticky tape down with the sticky side up. Put the tape as close as possible to the food, and the ants will land on it. This will then trap the ants in place and stop them from flying anywhere else.

Obviously, if the ants are outside and aren’t bothering you, you can just leave them in peace, as I would much rather have done, but having ants crawling up my legs while I’m trying to work is just too much to bear!

Do you have any tips for dealing with becoming an adult or dealing flying ants?