All over the world, people are wrestling with debt and increased living costs. Buying groceries, paying rent, and purchasing necessary items for your family have all increased in price while at the same time wages have either decreased or stayed the same over many years. This makes raising a family and having everything that you need without credit cards or debt quite a challenge. Many families are so stifled by debt that they not only live paycheck to paycheck but they are also struggling to make debt payments on time. This article will focus on sharing a few ways to pay off debt in the UK.

1. Personal loan. If you have a credit card with a high interest rate, you should consider paying it off with a personal loan. Be sure to apply for a personal loan that has a lower interest rate than your current credit card rate otherwise you will be losing money. By paying off the debt with a lower interest personal loan, you will save money by paying less interest over the life of the loan. You can do this easily by applying online. Often times you can get an instant answer and work on paying off your high interest loan or credit card right away. Check out https://www.paydaypixie.co.uk for more information and to begin saving money today!
2. Balance Transfer. Many credit card companies will entice you to apply for their card because of their great balance transfer offers. Many offer a 0% APR intro rate for up to 18 months. With this great rate comes a 3-5% transfer fee that occurs one time. While this fee may cost you a few hundred dollars depending on your balance, you will save more money over time by avoiding the high interest on your credit card. If you do choose to do a balance transfer, be sure to close your credit card after the balance transfer has been completed. Otherwise, you might be enticed to purchase items on your paid off credit card which would leave you in even more debt.
3. Pay more than your minimum payment. Try to pay more than your monthly minimum payment as this could be reported on your credit score. Whether you pay your minimum payment or a bigger payment, your credit score will be affected. In addition, if you pay over your monthly payment, you will likely pay off your credit quicker as long as you don’t continue to make purchases with it.

Paying off your debt can be done. All it takes is some time, patience, and responsible budgeting. The key is to lower your interest rate and pay more than your minimum payment. Try to use any extra money towards paying off your debt. By doing so you will pay your debt off quickly and pay less interest over time. By being diligent with your debt payoff plan and following these tips, you will be able to pay off your debts and live a debtfree life in no time at all.

When you have young children to look after, going out to work can be very difficult. If you still need the money, you want to keep up your skills or you’re simply happier when you’re working, a home-based business can be a great solution. It will give you more control of your life, and you never know, it might turn out to be a big success. So what do you need to know to make a start?

Types of business

The first thing you’ll need to think about is what type of business you can run. If you are providing a service such as hairdressing or accounting, can you work from your home as it is or will you need to set aside a designated area, and how practical is that? If you plan to sell a product, will you be making it yourself, and if so, how will you manage your workspace? Will you need a lot of storage space for materials and finished items? If you will be receiving deliveries, can you be confident that drivers will always be able to reach and find your home?

Think about the specific skills that you’re able to bring to your business and make sure there’s a demand for what you plan to do, with not too much competition. You should also choose something that you enjoy and that you think you will be able to keep on enjoying, even if you’re doing it every day for years. To help you what business to start, you can refer to this list of business ideas in the Philippines.

Can you afford it?

Some types of business are more expensive to set up than others. It’s a good idea to look first at what useful items you already have, what you can get cheaply and what friends or relatives might be willing to donate to you. Not every business survives, so putting a lot of money in at the start is a risk – but then again, if you don’t invest you’ll find it much harder to start generating a decent level of income. Find out if you can save money by doing things such as buying secondhand equipment or using open source (free) software. Look around to see if you can find business or corporate loans or even grants available to help you. Beware of high interest moneylenders – it’s all too easy to get into trouble that way.

As well as thinking carefully about your finances, think about the cost of your business in terms of the time it will take up and the way you will fit it around childcare and other responsibilities. Can you afford this? Are there other people who might be able to ease the burden on you?

Success stories

Small businesses do have the potential to achieve big success. Limor Fried from Michigan in the US was a student who invested her tuition money to start Adafruit Industries, selling electronics kits and making the software free online. She now sells thousands of dollars’ worth of kit each day. Nigerian Ibukun Awosika set up a small business by bringing together local carpenters and tailors to make high-quality furniture, and she now owns the highly successful Sokoa Chair Centre.

Promoting your business

What do people like Limor and Ibukun have in common? The answer is threefold: they’re good at spotting opportunities, they’re good at managing money, and they’re good at marketing. People often treat marketing as an afterthought, but it’s really an essential or you’ll struggle to expand your customer base beyond people you personally know. Using social media is the number one way to work these days, but as you make yourself visible on the major platforms, don’t forget the importance of local forums, especially if you’re selling a service. Direct local marketing is also useful and can be combined with marketing aimed at getting happy customers to come back for more, so draw up some templates, find a good brochure maker and print up some posters. Even small flyers can be very useful if you have people willing to help distribute them.

What to expect

Getting a new business off the ground is hard work. You can expect to be putting in long hours and you may not make much money during the first couple of years, but if you’re getting the marketing right, more and more people will become aware of you, and if you’re providing a good quality product or service, positive word of mouth will spread. With patience, diligence and commitment, you can make it work. It could be the start of something big.

To help you what business to start, you can refer to this list of business ideas in the Philippines.