Secure Your Home on a (Really) Tight Budget

The following is a guest post from Joe Fortunato, a freelance writer based out of Tampa, Florida. He enjoys writing on whatever issues life may throw his way, long walks on the beach, bass fishing, and coaching youth baseball. Find him on Twitter @joey_fort.

In today’s economy, you might find it difficult to shell out tons of cash to make your home more secure. But a tight budget doesn’t have to be an excuse for leaving your home unsafe. In fact, there are many home security measures to take that will cost you close to nothing or nothing at all. 

Measures to Take When Away: 

One of the easiest times for a burglar to break in is while you’re away for an extended period. At the same time, it’s one of the easiest times to make more secure without spending a dime.

First, don’t let your mail and newspaper pile up while you’re away. Stacks of envelopes are a clear sign that no one’s home (and probably won’t be for a while). You could suspend delivery while you’re away. Even better, ask your neighbor to pick everything up for you. Seeing regular deliveries tricks a would-be burglar. Likewise, have someone cut your lawn or shovel snow if you’re gone for a long time.

Don’t announce on Facebook, Twitter, or any social media site that you’re away. Sure, it’s tempting to put up that excited status—but anyone who sees it knows they have a clear house. 

Day to Day: 

Of course, you spend most of your time at home. There are countless ways to secure your home on the cheap while you’re there. Always lock your deadbolts when you go out, and don’t hide a key outside. If you’re afraid of losing your key, leave a spare with someone you trust.

Don’t allow anyone you don’t know inside to use the phone. If you really feel like doing something for them, offer to make the call yourself.

Purchasing security equipment always goes a long way. So make sure you hide any security alarm panels that may be located outside to avoid tampering. 

Tags and Labels:

Tags and labels are easy for you to overlook but ideal signals for a robber. Don’t permanently label your luggage with your home address—it’s an open invitation.

Likewise, don’t program your home address in you GPS. If someone breaks into your car while you’re out, they can continue straight to your house. Instead, put in a nearby public address, like a local police station. 

Bring in the Reinforcements:

Now that you’ve taken simple measures to deter burglars, you still can reinforce your home for the chance that someone makes it to the house anyway. An unused 2 x 4 (which is just a piece of wood) abandoned in your attic or garage makes a great wooden jamb. Just place it under the doorknob to prevent someone from kicking open a door.

A wooden dowel or that good old 2 x 4 also are perfect for securing your sliding door. Stick it into the track to stop it from opening. This works for windows too!

The Bottom Line:

A tight budget doesn’t mean that you can’t secure your home. Common sense and simple tricks will keep your home safe without hurting your wallet.

Photo By: Peter Madsen 

How to Promote Your Website or Blog

The following is a guest post from Margaret. Margaret is a writer/blogger. She loves writing, traveling and reading books. She also contributes on Neil Kozokoff. 

So you have just begun your new eCommerce web site?

Whats next? 

Contemplating your marketing approach is essential for your business to succeed. There are many options available to cover some of the best eCommerce promotional approaches. The following clever ways will bring targeted customers to your online store.

Apply SEO: Search Engine Optimization is an effective tool for getting targeted audience to your eCommerce website. It‘s easy for search engines such as Google and others to find search engine optimized websites. Allow keywords to flow naturally in your content so that they get attracted to the search engines. 

For example, if you sell sports accessories, use keywords and phrases like “online fitness equipment store” and “buy sports goods.” Avoid overuse of Flash and Javascript as this makes difficult for search engines to find the content.

Create and Follow Your Blog: Blogging is not limited to writing; it is also about building relationships. 

Your blog should have informative content that attracts your targeted clients and help them know more about your service or product offerings. You can also ask other bloggers of your niche to write for your product or customer reviews. Accept guest posting on your blog. Add links to related content on your webpage in your blog. Connect your blog to your webpage. Respond to your readers’ queries and comments on your blog regularly. This will build trust in your customers.

Email Marketing: If customers and visitors are satisfied with your site, they would have left email addresses and requested to be informed of future developments and offers. This list of names serves as a valuable resource. Send email alerts to everyone on this list about news about your business or a new offer. This is an excellent way to spread the word. It also helps to connect to your customers.

Banner Ads: First-impressions are the best impressions. If you can afford, create attractive, high-quality banner ads and post them on sites that are likely to draw a similar customer base. You can also purchase banner directly from the owners of your targeted sites.

Use Social Networking Sites: Use the power of social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word. Create your company page on Facebook and encourage your customers to follow you. Use twitter to tweet about your latest promotions, sales, special discounts or any new service related to your site.

Business Cards and Pamphlets: Design business cards and pamphlets that have your e-commerce URL printed on them. Hand them out to people in your circles.

Participate in Forums: Use Google search to find forums that are relevant to your e-commerce website. You may come across forum members who have queries about your product and services. Participate in forum discussions and answer their queries. It does not only promote your e-commerce website but also get you a good amount of back links.

Photo By: Aray Chen

Sign of the Times: The "Sharing Economy"

Ever heard of Airbnb?

If not, perhaps its time to pay some attention. In April, the company received a valuation of $2.5 Billion. 

About Airbnb:

Airbnb was founded by Joe Gebbia, Brian Chesky, and Nathan Blecharczyk in the living room of Joe and Brian's San Francisco loft in 2007.

During a conference in 2007, during which the city's hotels were booked solid, the men decided to offer up their place, along with tasty breakfast and local hospitality, to a few friendly strangers attending the event.

Two air mattresses, a thousand dollars, three new friends, and many high fives later, the entrepreneurs realized an opportunity.

What began with three guys and airbeds has now evolved into a thriving business. Offering a diversity of accommodations - from private homes to private islands in over 33,000 cities in 192 countries - Airbnb unlocks the doors to unique spaces around the globe. 

Sign of the Times? 

What is shocking to me is not the company's $2.5 Billion valuation, but rather the changing market forces that have caused what is essentially a room for rent service to explode in value. 

Airbnb didn't create anything new. Bed and breakfasts, rooms for rent, boarding houses... These are not new inventions. 

What Airbnb did was merge the old with the new, filling a need and streamlining processes within the new "sharing economy".

What is the "sharing economy"? There's a great article at Fast Company discussing what the "sharing economy" is and how it is changing the face of consumerism, travel, and self sufficiency in America.

The so called "sharing economy" was essentially a product of the great recession. 

For many it was the difference between staying afloat and losing their homes, cars, or dignity. Home sharing, ride sharing, even tool sharing sprung to the fore, all of which allowed people to bring in a small amount of supplemental income. 

Airbnb served a need for homeowners and visitors alike, and in the process has become a market darling. 

Does this mean traditional hotels are going to go out of business? Doubtful.

Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton. They're safe. 

Peachtree Hotel Supply will still see demand for hotel supply online. When I drive to Atlanta for the Braves game, there will still be a need for Atlanta hotel supply and hotel bar supplies. Particularly if I'm having a couple of beers at the game. 

But the "sharing economy" is here to stay. 

In fact, it never went anywhere. The online advent of the "sharing economy" can really be linked back to sites like Craigslist. But what sites like Airbnb have done is taken the sharing economy mainstream, and more importantly, made it profitable. 

Here at compounding returns, we are always looking for an edge on the market. And perhaps we missed the Airbnb investment. This article from Bloomberg would seem to suggest so.

But Airbnb is not the only player in the "sharing economy". 

Players in the "Sharing Economy":

Looking to get in on the advent of the "sharing economy"? We've talked about Airbnb. But you also may want to look into other players including Kitchit, Rent the Runway, Uber, and Getaround. 

Of course, if you know of any other players in your area of the country, we'd love to hear about them. After all, they could be worth a few Billion dollars some day. 

Photo By: The Living Room in Kenmore

What to Ask a Personal Injury Lawyer

The following is a guest post from Sam Payn. Sam is a reputed blogger who specializes in writing topics related to law and finance. In this article, he shares the top four questions that should be asked while hiring a personal injury lawyer. Thanks for the great article, Sam. 

Have you experienced a personal injury due to the fault of someone else or at the company where you work? 

If the answer is yes, it is imperative to hire an excellent personal injury attorney as soon as possible in order to be justly remunerated by those who have caused you damages. If you don't you might be offered no compensation at all. Too many attempt to fight the legal battle on their own and end up losing to the insurance companies.

Some succeed. But even those who do are often given amounts insufficient to cover all your expenses and lost wages. Since it is a must to hire an injury attorney in this situation, you need to know how to find the right professional for your needs. 

Here are some questions that you should ask your lawyer. 

Have you Dealt with These Cases in the Past? 

At times, lawyers give advertisements claiming their specialization in a particular field of law in order to attract more clients. But don't consider these ads to be absolutely true. Check if the lawyer has actually dealt with cases similar to yours in the past and what the results were.

If possible, ask for a list of his former clients and contact some of them to know if they got satisfactory results by working with him. Make sure you are not intimidated or unduly influenced by your lawyer. 

Remember, you are the one who has undergone the accident and going to pay his/her fees.

What is the Contingency Fee? 

The agreement for most of the personal injury cases depends upon the contingency fee, meaning you don't have to pay any legal fees until you get a monetary recovery. 

If your case is strong enough, it is most likely that a personal injury lawyer will take up the case on a contingency agreement. Though this fee is negotiable, usually it ranges between 25% and 40% of the total payout that you finally get.

Do I Need to Pay Case Costs in Advance? 

At times, the lawyers charge some up-front costs added to the contingency fees and usually it is deducted from the share of the client. Make sure your lawyer agrees upon a term that you won't be responsible to pay the costs, even if you are not successful. 

When Will You File the Suit? 

Most of the lawyers don't prefer to work on cases that don't have a deadline. However, there are many instances of feasible cases waiting for a year or two as no pending statute of limitations was there. If you see that there is no justified reason in delaying the filing of the case, ask your attorney if he can file it within two weeks. 

He/she might ignore your query and won't give a proper answer, but make sure he gives a specific response regarding when he can file the case.

Photo By: StockMonkeys

Simple Ways to Cut Car Insurance Costs

If you are a car owner, it is mandatory to have car insurance coverage (at least, if you plan on driving on roads built by the Government.)

But just because it is mandatory to have insurance doesn't make it cheap.

At compounding returns we believe the best way to cut expenses over time is to focus on the small, recurring costs that add up. Car insurance falls into this category.

But rather than slashing coverage, here are five ways you can significantly reduce your car insurance costs.

Shop Around: One of the best things you can do is shop around for car insurance quotes online. By researching your options before committing to any provider, you can source the cheapest car insurance that will suit your lifestyle.

While this may seem like a time-consuming activity, it may end up saving you hundreds of dollars in the long run while providing you with peace of mind. And that’s what car insurance is all about.

In the market? Learn more about IFA and other online insurance options.  

Be Smart with Modifications: Modifications to your car will affect the premium. Anything that will enhance your car’s performance or appearance is considered a green light for thieves, and you are more likely to make a claim for a stolen or damaged car.

However, installing a factory-fitted car alarm will significantly reduce your car insurance costs as your vehicle will be much harder for vandals to steal or damage. Following on from this, when you park your car, ensure it is in a well-lit area or garage to avoid these situations occurring.

Raise Your Deductible: Offer to pay a higher deductible. If you have confidence in your driving ability and obey all road signs and rules, then you are less likely to be involved in an accident that you will need to claim. By paying a higher deductible, you will save a lot of money in premiums. 

Bundle Your Insurance: Try to have more than one insurance policy with the same insurance company. If you can manage to insure your car and your house with the same company, it’s more likely that they will offer you a discount on one of your policies.

Keep an Eye on the Competition: Car insurance quotes are constantly evolving, so don’t stop looking around for better offers from competing companies to always have the cheapest policy. Make sure you compare car insurance policies. 

The Bottom Line: 

By being a smart consumer, it is likely that you can save a bundle on auto insurance. Just following the five tips above is likely to get you started saving today.

Photo By: Adrian 8