Avoid the Smartphone Plague As Much as You Can

I learned that I should never get caught up in the consumer market race involving smartphones and other mobile internet technologies because in the long run, they would have no value whatsoever. Not unless Apple says that it is shutting down will I ever consider buying a new smartphone from them. My iPhone 4S works just fine.

The smartphone is a plague not just in devaluing live conversations in exchange of digital ones, but because the public takes innovation taken for granted while manufacturers and distributors take all the credit. Anybody investing in smartphones or technology today should know that future innovations will involve the smartphone’s usability with other technologies, and my best bet, the self-driving car technologies, are still yet to arrive.

Cheaper innovation means manufacturers will get innovative ideas from designers and then render them expendable. A lack of innovators will mean a crashing market. As the market falls, so will the value of smartphones. If you’re making a business of buying and selling smartphones in your area, you might get in trouble in three or two years.

Investing in technology manufacturing is a better bet rather than investing in the entire project itself. There is a high risk in innovation as well, so be careful.

How to Avoid Paying High Taxes in the United Kingdom

UK benefits are certainly top-class in the world, which is why many politicians are quite frank about keeping some foreigners from “scrounging benefits” from the UK without contributing properly. However, UK taxes are also very high, which is why it is important that you take note of how to avoid high taxes.

1.    Starting a Family

Anyone has that friend who tells them that “I should have married so that I would have to pay less taxes.” Indeed, they’re right; allowances for married couples and children allows them to use dependents to reduce the amount of income tax they pay. Dependents are your children. If your partner pays a lower tax rate than you, then you could go through jointly-owned properties and switching income assets to your partner.

2.    Retirement Accounts

You could achieve financial independence through the use of retirement accounts and other forms of financial instruments. High tax allowances for ISAs, pensions and premium government bonds give you great profit that may seem to be very small when you begin, but they begin to increase in value given your yearly yields.

3.    Tax Code

An error with tax codes will cost you a high price in taxes. It is highly important that you know your specific tax codes because you might be overpaying your taxes. This is where accountants could help you in knowing your specific tax code for your area.

Reclaiming Complete Refunds from a PPI Claim

PPI is a policy designed to repay your loans, mortgages and credit cards in case you get sick or become unemployed. You actually lose £3000-3500 on average from a mis sold PPI. The only way to get back that money is through making a PPI claim. Here are a few things to know that will help you reclaim all your PPI refunds.

1.    Billing Statements

If you’ve collected all your bank billing statements for your loan or mortgage repayments, you could use them to have a rough estimate of how much refunds you are due. Confirm that these bills exist with your bank before you begin an attempt to reclaim your refunds.

2.    Compound Interests

In some cases, loan and mortgage repayments are tied together with the PPI repayments, and if you could prove that your interest rates increased because of the PPI repayments, you could be owed more than £3500. Compound interests can guarantee you a higher repayment rate, but you might need expert help. Claims experts are only the ones who could handle some details of PPI claiming involving compound interests.

3.    Settling

Contact your bank either by calling them or by writing a letter to them. Expect a response in a few days. Your bank can reach a decision about your PPI claim in two to eight weeks. If you are not satisfied with the response or you haven’t received a response, it is advised you seek help from the Financial Ombudsman.

An Investor’s Guide to 2014

The following year is a new world of promise for investors. With many new niche businesses that have potential great profits and technology lowering the risks involved, previously inaccessible terrains can now be approached with ease. Any investor should watch out for the following this upcoming year.

1.    Internet-based Businesses

Imagine if you had a large capital that could be broken down to smaller businesses that actually have a large ROI than your initial capital. This is what the Internet and small businesses actually can do for investors. The best thing about Internet-based businesses is that you gain less risk as every one of your business can go in different directions.

2.    Technology

Speaking of the Internet, the communications technology that connected the world is still improving and new technologies for accessing it, saving information and making business data easier to manage and assess are still going. App developers are also earning windfalls with more and more smartphones being produced each year.

3.    Oil

Oil’s value is to increase by 2014 as the supply of oil is gradually winding down. Oil might be expensive this 2013, but it will be higher by 2014 and the further years to come.

4.    Renewable Energies

As oil’s value is increasing in demand and decreasing in supply, it would be wise to invest in renewable energy technologies. Once the oil runs out, re-invest your money in renewable energy development. You could reap the efforts in the next few decades.

Debt Consolidation and Why it Can or Cannot Work For You

Increasing debts are a problem for the western world today with most of the economy strapped on credit. With people’s financing reaching high amounts, many turn to debt consolidation for help. However, will it actually guarantee you a better debt-free future?

 Debt consolidation could work for you if you want to take all your repayments and summarize them into one payment amount you need to pay regularly. This helps you stay organised and constantly address your debt. You would not even have to organise the highest to lowest interest rate loan.

You also get a lower interest rate because the entire debt is lumped together. This helps you get more for your personal and utility budget. This ensures that you could have an easy way out of debt.

However, it might not work for you because to lower some of your interest rates, you might need to use a home equity loan or other collateral. You may end up losing your home or other properties if you consolidate your loan.

Debt consolidation also does not guarantee that you will end your debt with a good credit score. Some debt consolidation companies use your monthly repayments to help in their negotiations with your creditors regarding the lower settlement on your account.

Accounting: Financial Frauds to Avoid

If you are running a business, never forget to inspect your accounting activities. Accounting is crucial because it allows regulators to ensure the quality and consistency of your businesses. It is highly important that you identify the following activities from your accountants before it is too late.

1.    Sales Revenue

All sales revenue must be reported and none of them should fall short from your list. Regulators will need to see all your sales revenue to ensure your tax deductibles are fairly distributed.

2.    Personal Expenses

Any undeclared personal expense that is not part of a business is considered illegal accounting. Even if you do not intend to, regulators will fine your company or bring a lawsuit if you include you or your employee’s personal expenses off the record and agreement with authorities.

3.    Kickbacks

Similar to the case of GlaxoSmithKline in China, getting kickbacks by having professionals endorse your products in exchange for favors or profit is illegal accounting. Businesses must also avoid accepting endorsements from sub-standard suppliers to get a cut in sales.

4.    Mysterious Fees

As much as possible, identify that all your financing and companies you are buying and selling from are properly named and identified on your balance sheets. Adding mysterious fees and illegal products in your roster could mean trouble for you, your accountant and your business.

Profiting from Tax-Free Investing

Investors face high Capital Gains Tax on profits they make selling stocks or assets. Tax-free investing ensures lower returns with lower taxes, but there are ways to profit highly from it.

1.    Cash ISA

Individual savings accounts are free of CGTs in the United Kingdom along with below £6000 worth of properties. You accumulate interest rates that are free from tax, allowing you to save up £5000 or more from your profits. Its high liquidity ensures that you have access to your money any time you need it.

2.    Stock and Shares ISA

Another form of ISA is an investment ISA account that allow you to hold stock shares and funds. Like Cash ISAs, you are free from tax. These include corporate and government bonds. The interest you get from the bonds will be free of income tax if an ISA holds them.

3.    Self-Select ISA

Self-select ISAs allow you to mix shares, funds and bonds using an ISA wrapper. However, you might have stockbrokers charge you a fee for fund trading and share dealing costs. However, be sure that you are a seasoned investor who knows the trade effectively before proceeding.

4.    Venture Capital Trusts

BCTs allow you to invest in unquoted firms who are only beginning. Most of these are listed in the Alternative Investment Market. Being high-risk investments, VCTs could provide income tax relief of 30%on their investments.