Pennysaverblog – Page 210 – Smart Finance and Money Saving Tips

Debt

Top Ways To Save Money On Your Mortgage

Homeowners all share one thing in common – their largest monthly payments go towards their mortgage. Without the shadow of a doubt, the majority of these homeowners would love to be able shorten the lifespan of their loan and cut the huge monthly premiums. Take a look at some of the most helpful and effective ways to save money on your mortgage.

Make An Extra Payment Each Year

This is one of the easiest ways to cut back on the cost of your mortgage – making an extra payment towards your mortgage every year. The great thing is that these payments are taken from your principal and not the interest. So as well as lowering the remaining balances on your mortgage, you also avoid having to pay interest every month.

March 25, 2013

Business

Wonga – An Advertising Case Study

Welcome internet users and potential business owners. This short post is going to serve as a vehicle for me to discuss some of the broader aspects of what makes a successful modern advertising campaign. The things I’ll be talking about are not specific to website advertising, but rather these principles will generally transcend most mediums and context barriers. The focal point of my case study is in brand recognition and memorability of an advertising campaign.

Select a Simple Logo

Okay so to begin please visit one of the Wonga sites. I’ve linked to their South African domain (you’ll see why in a moment.) But for now you should observe the iconic blue speech bubble graphic that forms the logo for ‘Wonga’. I feel like this simple logo is well on it’s way to becoming iconic. Of course it still needs the white text to make it 100% clear who is being represented but the Wonga team are pumping a lot of time and effort into reinforcing this logo. They’re spending millions of pounds on football team sponsorship, television, radio and online advertising. Although their advertising campaigns are through a diverse range of media, it is always the simplicity of their minimalist logo that people will be remembering. This will go from strength to strength and help to solidify their brand identity to the point where people will instantly recognize the brand.

March 25, 2013

Business

5 Ways To Save Money On Marketing And Promotion For Your Business

Whether you manage a small business or your large company has simply fallen on hard times during the ongoing recession, you might be looking for marketing and promotional strategies that will see you through to an economic turnaround. And you’re no doubt keen to save some money in the process. As it turns out, you’re not alone in this sentiment, and as such, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You can rely on the experience of others when it comes to penny-pinching marketing strategies that pay off big. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

Unified branding. Before you ever start down the path of marketing and promoting your business you need to come up with a branding strategy that aptly presents your image to the public. This could include a diverse array of elements, including a mission statement, logos, and even a patented color (think Coke red, T-Mobile pink, or the McDonald’s golden arches, for example). When you’ve developed a unified branding scheme ahead of time you’ll save yourself a lot of time, trouble, and money on updates later on.

March 24, 2013

Investing

5 Tips For Protecting Your Investments

Whether you are a seasoned investor or just starting out, there is no “easy switch” to make investing less of a challenge. Due to the volatility of the market place your hard earned money can disappear in the blink of an eye. While certain sectors are improving, the economy is still sluggish, despite slight signs of rebound. Yet, for anyone to have any semblance of longevity in the stock market, you have to play your cards right and protect your investments anyway you can.

Here are 5 tips for protecting your investments:

You never want to take irrational steps to withdraw all your money each time you see the market temporally take a dip. This is one of the biggest ways to lose money. It is recommended that you let your money “weather” the storm. Even if the stock market hits a record low, soon enough the high tide will come back in and you’ll be back on top. In the long run, letting your investments ride the multiple, daily waves of the stock market will have bigger returns in the long run.

Another important way to protect your investments is to find the lowest risk possible so that you aren’t left paying high taxes on possible losses. This might sound confusing, but one of the biggest mistakes newbie investors make is not considering the value of their returns after taxes. Depending on the sector you have invested in, what can look like a positive or winning reward on paper won’t look so great after the IRS takes a big chunk.

March 23, 2013

Money Saving Tips

Study Shows Energy Star Homes Less Likely To Default

If you live in an Energy Star home or you’re in the market for one, there are definitely some benefits that come with owning one. They have great insulation. Their windows come with protective coatings that block ultraviolet sun rays. Their energy-efficient central air systems are quieter while reducing the levels of humidity within the home. They also come with appliances that are Energy Star certified; many of which use 50-60 percent less electricity than other standard models. Plus, there’s the added bonus of the fact that all of these things combined can save homeowners an average of $200-400 in utility bills annually.

Perhaps that’s a big part of the reason why a study that was recently released by the University of North Carolina – Center for Community Capital reveals that another benefit of having an Energy Star home is that it is much less likely to default than other ones. How much less likely? A whopping 32 percent, to be exact.

This data was released after approximately 71,000 Energy Star single-family homes were compared to similar homes that do not have that certification. What was discovered was that no matter where the homes were located, the value of the house or the loaner’s credit history (among other criteria), consistently, across the board, Energy Star homes did not go into default nearly as much. Another interesting fact that was also published in the study is that the more energy efficient an Energy Star house proved to be, the lower the risk of default became.

March 22, 2013

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