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7 Smart Guide Plans To Buy And Sell House At The Same Time

Looking at potential new homes while attempting to sell your current home can be pretty daunting, and rather exhausting. From staging your home to attending open houses, from hiring estate agents to applying for a pre mortgage approval, there is so much to do! If only there was a housing selling guide coupled with a house buying guide to make the process of buying and selling seamless. Well, here are 7 tips and guides to buy and sell your house at the same without any hassle. 

1 Plan everything in advance

In order to seamlessly sell your current house and buy your new house, all at the same time, you need to be very organised and systematic. To do that, you need to start planning well in advance. For one, you need to keep some money aside for the down payment of your new property, just in case you do not manage to sell your house in time. Also, you need to apply for a pre mortgage approval or you need to transfer your alter your existing mortgage, depending on the status of your mortgage repayment. Also, you need to keep some money aside for repairs, cleaning, inspections, surveys and so on. Essentially, you need to do all your paperwork in advance and have a fair idea of how you want to go about the process of buying and selling to make sure everything is systematic and easy.

2 Make sure your current home is ready to sell

If you’re planning on buying a new house while selling your existing house, you need to make sure that your current house is ready to sell. That means you need to clean the property, repaint the interiors and the exteriors, stage the interiors, hire professionals to take good quality photographs, hire an estate agent and make the required repairs. Once everything is in order, you can easily list your home on the property market while you look at potential new properties. That way, as soon as you find a potential new buyer who is offering you a good price, you can close the deal. The sooner you start getting your home ready to sell, the better.

3 Start decluttering

The process of decluttering can take days, if not weeks. And then, to actually pack up all your personal items and shift houses will take its own sweet time. So, in order to quicken the process and to make the move easy, consider decluttering. Get rid of utensils that you do not use, give away old clothes and toys, get rid of broken furniture and throw away anything that you no longer require. Once you have decluttered your home, it becomes much easier to pack up your remaining things and move them into your new home. If you end up selling your home before you find a new place, you can always move your things to a storage unit until you are ready to shift into your new home. 

4 Always factor in the cost of your new home

If you are selling your current home for £270,000 and your new home will cost around £290,000, you only need to cover a few thousand pounds. But, what if your current home doesn’t sell for more than £250,000 and the property you love is priced at £300,000. That can be a game-changer. So, always make sure you factor in the cost of buying your new home. Otherwise, you might be stuck buying a house you cannot afford! 

5 Timing is everything

To seamlessly sell your current house and buy your new home, you need to get the timing right. It is always a good idea to sit down with your estate agent, financial expert and legal advisor to figure out when you should sell and when you should buy. For instance, once your home is ready to sell, you should start looking at potential new properties. Once you have found a property that you like, hire a property inspector and a property surveyor to thoroughly check the property. After that, you need to make a good offer so that the odds of your offer getting accepted are higher. Once the negotiations are complete, you need to decide on a date of purchase. Meanwhile, ask your estate agent to sell your current house by that time period. That way, you can literally sell your new house in the morning and purchase your new home in the evening. 

6 Get ready to buy your new home   

First and foremost, you need to make sure that your finances are in order. Will you be using the money from the sale of your home to make the down payment or will you keep some money aside to make the payment? Get in touch with multiple banks and lenders and figure out the best mortgage options for you. If you are still paying the mortgage on your current home, then you might want to figure out your finances before you apply for a pre mortgage approval. Meet multiple estate agents and shortlist the ones that are right for you. You do not have to use the same estate agents to buy and sell, but you need to figure out what works best as per your circumstances. That way, once you find a property that you are ready to call your new home, all you need to do is make a good offer.

7 Look at short term rentals

Image, you manage to sell your home within one month of putting it on the market but you have not found any property that you like. Now, you need to move out as the deal is done, but you do not have a place to move into. Staying in a hotel isn’t always an option. Well, life isn’t perfect and sometimes things do not go according to plan. In that case, you need to have yourself covered. So, while you are putting your home on the market and you are looking at new properties, make sure that you also look at some short term rentals. In case your home sells but you are unable to find a new home, you can always move into a short term rental for a few weeks or months. 

OUTDOOR OR INDOOR HOT TUB – WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE?

A hot tub is a great way to get a hydrotherapy experience for the family, either outdoor or indoor, depending on the users. It’s also an ideal way to relieve stress, and arthritis severity, relax the muscles and increase blood circulation. When looking at hot tubs for sale, one needs to consider some factors like the material used, tub controls, tube installation, massage jest, tub lighting, and some entertainment features to use during the bath. The hot tub will be such a memorable experience with the above quality. 

When the family seeks to accessorize the backyard, create something fun for the family, and provide health benefits, getting a swim spas would be great. Self-soaking in a swim spa regularly is accompanied by some health benefits like alleviating insomnia and causing one to sleep well. It relaxes the muscles eliminating the occurrences of tiredness and fatigue. Patients who have arthritis have a therapeutic way to soothe the paining joints. A Swim spa also helps hasten the recovery process for people recovering from surgery. It also improves a person’s mood and increases happiness.

The following article outlines the pros and cons of indoor and outdoor hot tubs to help the reader choose one that suits best.

Indoor Hot Tubs Pros

Some of the Pros of indoor hot tubs are;

Promotes Privacy – Privacy is essential when in a hot tub. It allows one to soak comfortably in the hot tub without the interference from intrigued looks from passersby that may make one feel uncomfortable. When the hot tub is outdoors, it may attract curious neighbors and passersby unnecessary attention. 

Enhanced Conveniences – an outdoor spa may have access limitations like the need for a robe over the swimming suit or require sandals when walking there. It may not be the case for an indoor spa within the house; hence can access it at any time without weather or dressing restrictions.

Protection From Weather Elements – when using an indoor spa, one does not have to use sunscreen during summer since the house offers protection from the weather elements like the scorching sun, downpours, and strong winds. It also protects the spa user from other airborne diseases.

Utilizing Unused Spaces – sometimes, the house is made to accommodate more family members like children who may outgrow their room. Installation of a spa can aid in maximally utilizing the under-utilized rooms or other spaces in the house.

Indoor Hot Tubs Cons

Some of the Cons of indoor hot tubs are;

Construction Issues – hot tubs are heavy when empty and when the water adds weight, becoming heavier than the floor is made to support. For this reason, the foundation needs to undergo a significant restructuring to accommodate it. The wall and doors need to be protected from moisture effects.

Proper Ventilation – the hot tub emits a lot of moisture bond to settle on the walls, windows, ceiling, and floors. A slippery floor can cause accidents. It may be necessary to involve the HVAC technician in installing fans and dehumidifiers to mitigate the accumulation of moisture and vapor.

Flooring Repair – the floor is essential to part of the hot tub and needs to be taken care of during the indoor hot tub installation. The moisture from the hot tub condenses and falls on the floor, making it slippery. Installing an anti-slippery floor and proper drainage goes a long way in keeping it safe.

Outdoor Hot Tubs Pros

Some of the Pros of indoor hot tubs are;

Convenient Installation – the delivery and fixing of the hot tub is easy since everything is created from scratch, considering foundation and Electrical Installation. The hot tub delivery must be facilitated through a clear path and avoid expenses like breaking and rebuilding the wall.

Sufficiently Ventilated – the outdoor spa does not require Installation of Ventilation since there is free air movement blowing away the rising moisture. There is no extra cost for redoing the walls and doors so that the excess condensing humidity will not erode.

Beautiful Setting – an outdoor spa bath creates a natural feeling where one can watch the sunset, and the stars, listen to the bird’s evening melodies, feel the evening or the night breeze, and many other beauties that nature offers.

Outdoor Hot Tubs Cons

Some of the Cons of indoor hot tubs are;

Lacks Privacy – out there in the open attracts the attention of neighbors and passersby, some of who may gaze. The curious onlookers can feel uncomfortable as they soak themselves in the hot tub. The outdoor seems to be a total no for people living in the urban areas.

Less Convenient – an outdoor hot tub requires one to have sandals and a gown to avoid attracting an unwanted audience while in a swimsuit. Also, the cold weather may pose a health risk and becomes suitable on sunny days. On sunny days, sunscreen is needed to avoid sunburns. 

In Conclusion

The location of installing the hot tub depends on the owner. Deciding the pros and cons for each set-up is now easy. The critical consideration should be the space available and the installation budget. Conveniences and comfortability should be the core of choosing the best location.

Tips for investing in crypto

Cryptocurrency has brought the dawn of financial changes in the global economy. It is the cornerstone of the development expected in the line of digital currency. Most countries have accepted cryptocurrency. The divisibility of cryptocurrency is one of the most advantageous things about it. You can buy a fraction of a cryptocurrency and diversify your portfolio. Here are a few tips that can help you when you are looking to invest in cryptocurrency.

Tips when you are looking to invest in cryptocurrency

Find a reputable and trustworthy source of news

Like the stock market, the ups and downs of crypto are rarely discussed in the news as soon as they occur. This is why you need a trusted source that can report the fluctuations in the crypto market. The debate around cryptocurrency will never stop and it is important to tune out the unnecessary noise and focus on hard facts when you are looking to make an investment. If you are looking to be successful while investing then keep looking at the facts and do not focus on opinions.

Provide for losses

The crypto market is aptly known for its volatility. Measure your risk-taking capacity and your financial backup before investing. Under extreme circumstances, it is possible that the best cryptocurrencies can fall due to unforeseen circumstances. Even experienced crypto traders have lost money due to unpredictable patterns.

Look into altcoins

Diverge from the main parts and diversify your portfolio using various old coins. Keep tabs on the ones that are cheaper but have real-world applications and have shown growth. Do your research by reading about various altcoins online. There is plenty of reading material available regarding these virtual assets.

Pick a good exchange platform

Picking an appropriate exchange platform is one of the most important things when you are looking to invest in cryptocurrency. Your exchange platform should protect you from pump and dump schemes and provide you with all the information necessary for informed decisions. Look at the transaction fees and the ease of trading while picking a good exchange platform. Imagine if suddenly one-day Binance coin to INR drops and everyone is hurrying to buy or sell this cryptocurrency. In such cases, your exchange platform should cater to the requirement not crash which can cause heavy losses in a matter of seconds.

Be alert and verify facts

Cryptocurrency is the buzzword on social media. There is a lot of chatter among businessmen and celebrities are like. Be alert and follow the chatter to unearth facts. They could be indications of a rise or a drop in the value of certain cryptocurrencies. At the same time, they could just be baseless statements that can be cast aside. When you’re investing in cryptocurrency you are making yourself vulnerable to a number of problems and you should be prepared for the same. Whether you use a hot or cold wallet there are chances of physical damage or a hacker getting into your wallet.

Distribute your assets

When you own cryptocurrencies worth a lot of money it is essential to distribute these in various wallets. Cryptocurrencies you have bought as a long-term investment should be stored in a cold wallet whereas cryptocurrencies that are purchased for daily trading can be stored in your hot wallets. Distribution of assets shows that in case of loss or damage, you do not end up losing all of your cryptos. Also, if you store all your cryptocurrency in a cold wallet price of using it as payment or trading at any time of the day can be inconvenient.

Factors affecting cryptocurrency

There are many factors that can affect the value of cryptocurrency overnight. Right from socio-economic to geopolitical factors try to gauge the upcoming changes depending on the situation. These incidents are sure to be covered in global news and you may get a head start when you are looking to offload certain virtual assets. For example, when you are looking to buy polygon in India, consider whether you will see it rise or fall in a few days.

Cryptocurrency is most people’s go-to investment plan due to easy access and no regulatory authority. Anyone with internet and a phone can start investing irrespective of their age and access to banks.

Commercial Uses for Artificial Grass

Authentic, durable, and easy to clean and maintain, it’s no surprise that artificial grass has grown in popularity over the past few years. Aside from retaining that neat look of a freshly mowed lawn in your outdoor space, it also frees up time that would have been spent on cutting and upkeep, allowing those who make the switch to spend more time enjoying their garden in the first place.

It’s not just individual homes and apartments that are making use of artificial turf, however, and there are an increasing number of commercial ventures making the most of its benefits over traditional grass.

Interested to learn more about the potential commercial uses and benefits of artificial grass? Here’s a quick look at three different examples of how it might be used.

Exhibition Spaces

Businesses looking to add a unique and memorable twist to their exhibition space set up (at corporate events, fairs, shopping centres etc.) often opt for artificial grass ranges where relevant.

Not only can premium ranges handle the high traffic and footfall seen at these sorts of events, but they’re easy to roll out and install in a pinch, making them a great choice for those needing to set up their area in a short space of time. Pet-friendly artificial grass ranges also mean that businesses don’t need to worry about pets running around damaging their installation.

Rooftop Bars and Event Areas

You might have already seen this use in popular bars and restaurants across city centres, and it can be a great way to enhance a theme for corporate event hire, too. Provided that you select the right style, grass is comfortable and bounces back into shape, making for an excellent finishing touch when trying to impress in a luxury mezzanine or balcony area.

Worried about adverse weather conditions causing trouble to your businesses’ rooftop area? Built-in UV protection guarantees with good quality artificial grass products (from suppliers such as Grass Warehouse) mean that they will keep their vibrant colour long term and can be easily dried following rain – or wiped-clean in the event of food and drink spillages.

Modern Office Renovation

Different styles and thicknesses of fake grass often make for popular feature pieces and elements in new offices. The materials are also quite adaptable, meaning you can get creative if wanting to make a statement with your office’s interior. Wall art installations and indoor walkways are just some of the things you can do with this modern solution.

For something even more exotic and exciting, coloured artificial grass styles are also available, allowing brands to make a specific statement while maintaining durability and comfort during day-to-day activity.

Letting out a rental property to tenants? Opting for an artificial lawn can be a great way to minimise regular maintenance, and a way to impress potential tenants that you’re looking to attract. In the long term, you can also potentially save money on pesticides and chemicals you would have previously used in the garden. Again, opting for a higher-end range will ensure that you achieve a premium level of comfort.

What is involved in CRM Implementations- Steps for Success

Learn More about customer relationship management system and How You Can Achieve Success

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With today’s markets overflowing with choices, it becomes extremely hard for businesses to attract and maintain a steady rate of customers. So, how can you pull customers/ clients and urge them to stay?

The most explicit way to improve customer retention is to give them exactly what they need. This suggests that personalized attention works best.

Through CRM implementation, you can procure your customers with the products or services that they’re truly looking for in the market. Let’s learn more about CRMs and implementation strategy.

What is CRM?

Customer Relationship Management or CRM refers to a combination of technologies, strategies, and practices that help a company in analyzing and managing customer interactions. Not only this, but a CRM implementation also allows access to customer data throughout their customer journey with your company.

Through customer relationship management, business executives can learn more about their customers and their expectations from the business. Understanding the needs, preferences, and buying patterns with CRM strategies and technologies can help gather loyal customers that stick by for years to come.

Steps for Successful CRM Implementation

A CRM system works by compiling customer data from different mediums and channels to create a single source of truth. It may also use points of contact between a company and its customers like telephone, live chat, website, social networks, direct mail, etc.

CRM implementation is also helpful in obtaining detailed information such as personal details, buying concerns and preferences, and purchase history.

But implementing customer relationship management is not so easy and requires you to follow a few steps.

Understand the Needs of Your Business

It is incredibly necessary to first understand your own organization before trying to achieve successful CRM implementation. Gain as much knowledge relating to what your company does, why it does it, and how. Map each and everything, including departments and workflow, to find what your business needs.

Understand the Needs of Your Customers

Do not forget why you’re using a CRM in the first place. CRM implementation is about more than just creating an efficient platform that keeps track of sales performance. Your CRM should be a business tool. When used effectively, you can manage marketing activity, communicate closely with customers, and improve customer retention.. So make sure to examine and evaluate your business’ customer profile.

Train Your Team

It is impossible for your CRM implementation to obtain success if you do not have a trained team of professionals working to make it successful. Give your employees detailed information regarding the advantages of the system along with hands-on training. And don’t forget to put someone in charge of the organization of the system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still looking for more info? We’ve compiled a list of FAQs – check them out!

What is CRM?

CRM or customer relationship management refers to software that helps businesses in keeping track of communications between their company and customers. This way, they can foster and nurture relationships in a much better manner.

What Can You Do with a CRM Platform?

Through collecting data with the help of customer relationship management, you can send the right messages to leads and customers at the right time. CRM implementation also allows you to shorten sale cycles and focus the sales teams on the latest, most trending prospects for improved results.

Chamco Digital: “Migrating Your Datacenter to the Cloud?”

Is your organization planning to migrate data and applications to the cloud? Well, you’re not alone says N. Jude Nwosu in Los Angeles, CTO of Chamco Digital, the dynamic US-based cloud services firm, teaming up with an as-yet-unnamed technology giant to expand cloud technology offerings.

According to O’Reilly’s 2021 study of cloud adoption, approximately 48% of companies surveyed plan to migrate at least 50% of their applications to the cloud by the end of 2022.

These figures are no surprise. In times where market uncertainty is the norm, cloud computing offers scalability and efficiency, which generally translates into better adaptability to changing conditions.

These benefits are largely made possible by containers, or rather, containerized applications.

Having said that, it’s clear that the way forward is to containerize your applications and then migrate them, be it to the private cloud, public cloud, or to a hybrid cloud.

This begs the question that has inspired this article; “which is the best solution for managing your containers: Kubernetes or Docker?”

Docker Ecosystem

While Docker did not invent containers, it’s fair to say that it was the company that popularized them in the IT industry. In just two years since its launch in 2013, Docker already had strategic partnerships with giants such as Red Hat and OpenShift, Microsoft, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, IBM Cloud, and Oracle Cloud.

Today Docker has a rich ecosystem of tools that includes Docker Engine, Docker Compose, Docker Swarm, and Docker Volumes. It’s also worth mentioning Docker Desktop, an application focused on local development that makes life easier for software engineers, regardless of whether they use Windows, Linux, or macOS. Possibly thats the main selling point of Docker currently, its ease of use and implementation.

The above is more important than it seems. Until recently, Docker was synonymous with containers. However, that is no longer the case. The widespread use of containers made a suitable container orchestration tool necessary. It was the beginning of the Kubernetes era.

You can think of Docker Swarm as the answer to Kubernetes, Nomad, Apache Mesos, and other container orchestrator platforms. The problem however is that Docker’s simplicity is also its greatest weakness. Docker Swarm turned out to be only a viable solution for small clusters.

Docker Pros

  • Both on-premise and cloud deployments are extremely simple
  • It has a rich ecosystem of tools and services that facilitate the development of cloud-native applications.
  • Supports CI/CD pipelines natively which speeds up development significantly

Docker Cons

  • Relatively limited scalability
  • Faces competition from other container runtimes such as containerd, CRI-O, and Mirantis Container Runtime

Docker Ideal Use Cases

  • Running simple applications that do not require high scalability
  • Local development environments
  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Learning/training in container technology

After reading the above, you may be wondering if Kubernetes is a better solution. Short answer: not necessarily.

Kubernetes container orchestration system

In retrospect, the Kubernetes story resembles that of Docker in several ways.

After its launch in 2015, Google, the company behind the original K8s code, partnered with the Linux Foundation to form the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and encourage the adoption of Kubernetes. This move proved to be a success, to the point that today Kubernetes is the de-facto container orchestration tool in the industry.

It’s necessary to stop at this point to emphasize that Kubernetes is not a container runtime. Kubernetes is responsible for taking containers (whether based on Docker Engine or not) to the next level by allowing great scalability, flexibility, and high availability to applications and services. In fact, Kubernetes requires a container runtime to work, so it would be fair to say that Docker and K8s complement each other very well. Put another way, far from being competitors, you can think of Kubernetes as a great tool for managing Docker containers at scale.

That said, Kubernetes was built to be enterprise-ready from the start. That makes it an excellent solution for large-scale deployments. Another key aspect of Kubernetes’ design is its flexibility. Kubernetes can be customized to fit almost any use case. Moreover, K8s support hundreds of tools and services that extend its functionality.

However, as you might expect, this flexibility comes at a price.

Kubernetes is usually more complex to configure and implement than Docker. While projects like K3d, Minikube, and even Docker Desktop have made it easy to deploy Kubernetes locally, learning K8s’s inner workings generally takes more effort.

Kubernetes Pros

  • Great scalability
  • Over 200 Certified Service Providers are available
  • Has a rich ecosystem of tools that increase its core features
  • Unsurpassed reliability

Kubernetes Cons

  • Harder to implement than Docker (unless you opt for a managed K8s service)
  • It can be an overkill in many cases

Kubernetes Ideal Use Cases

  • Running complex applications/services that require high scalability and high availability
  • Customized solutions that require cloud-native network functions
  • Use cases that require resource-hungry tasks (Big Data, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence)

Final Thoughts

Kubernetes or Docker? What is the best solution? There is no simple answer to that question. This is because each use case is unique and requires an in-depth study to design a strategy that guarantees a successful migration to the cloud.

Fortunately, Chamco Digital offers end-to-end advice to companies that want to take the big step into the cloud-native future. Contact today to share ideas on how we can help your organization.

Cost-of-Living Crisis: UK worker’s earnings lowest since 2013 ONS finds 

New research shows this is hitting those with financial dependents hardest, with 1-in-4 Brits now admitting their biggest mental health strain is managing family finances 

Money management experts – HyperJar – reveal how financial burnout is hitting people hardest when the buck stops with them 

  • 25% of Brits say their biggest mental health strain comes from the pressure of being responsible for their family’s finances
  • 11% of Brits feel their children have missed out on experiences because they’re unable to budget effectively
  • 15% of UK adults are concerned they aren’t teaching their kids positive money skills
  • 1-in-5 Brits state the responsibility of financial dependents means their own desires for how to spend money comes last 

As the UK experiences the worst cost-of-living crisis seen in over a generation, households of every type across the nation are feeling the financial pinch. It’s been announced by the Office for National Statistics that the average Brit’s take-home earnings are the lowest they’ve been since 2013, with inflation on track to reach at least 10% by the end of the year. Paired with the rise in government taxes and talks of the economy potentially entering into a recession, consumers are facing an unprecedented decline in their disposable incomes.

The pressure is now on the government to do more to support those hit hardest. From the 14 million unpaid carers and the 3 million single-parent families to the 2 million multi-generational households, Brits who are responsible for their family’s finances are coming under insurmountable pressure to provide the bare necessities whilst also budgeting for fulfilling life experiences. With 43% of the UK population dependent on their loved ones or guardians to remain financially stable, the impact of the current financial climate is impacting both their mental health and financial futures. 

In a new national study from the UK’s most awarded personal finance startup, HyperJar, the cost of financial burnout experienced by UK families has been brought to light. The data has unveiled that 1-in-4 Brits admit their biggest mental health strain comes from the pressure of being responsible for their family’s finances, whilst 1-in-5 Brits state the responsibility of accounting for financial dependents means they’re unable to stretch their own budget for the things that make them happiest. 

With roughly 28 million families across the UK navigating these changes balancing their family’s financial responsibilities with their work-life, now more than ever the pressure to provide is coming to the fore. As the current economic climate continues to cause families to assess their financial futures, HyperJar’s research unveils that 1-in-10 parents in Britain feel their children are missing out on experiences as a result. In addition, 15% of UK adults have expressed concerns that they aren’t teaching their childrenpositive money skills that they can carry with them later in life. 

Key Statistics

  • 25% of Brits say their biggest mental health strain comes from the pressure of being responsible for their family’s finances
  • 20% of Brits state the responsibility of financial dependents means their own desires for how to spend money comes last
  • 15% of UK adults are concerned they aren’t teaching their kids positive money skills
  • 11% of Brits feel that their children have missed out on experiences because they’re unable to budget effectively 

 What HyperJar can do to help

Taking inspiration from the simple saving mechanism of the jam jar, HyperJar provides a visually engaging saving app that empowers users to control their expenditure and reorder how they use their money. From nurturing sensible spending habits for children, to being rewarded for committing expenditure with household name retailers with a 4.8% annual growth rate, HyperJar’s digital Jars represent an easy method for managing personal finances. 
 
Helping Brits get in control again, HyperJar’s simple toolkit of clever tech puts us one step ahead, one jar at a time, helping our reaction to ‘money’ transform from being a trigger of fear, to a source of feeling in charge again. Whether it’s teaching your kids to budget their pocket money, putting a collective jar together to save for your summer holiday, or keeping track of how much you spend on the weekly supermarket shop, HyperJar is here to help you use your money in smarter ways. 
 
HyperJar CEO and founder Mat Megens is able to comment on the following: 

  • How personal finance troubles affect our mental health 
  • How Brits can budget and save more effectively amidst the cost-of-living crisis
  • What HyperJar can do to help those who need support managing their family finances 

Awards and recognition

HyperJar’s innovative product has resulted in the company winning Startup of the Year 2022 and Personal Finance Tech of the Year 2022 at this year’s UK Fintech Awards. It also currently holds the Most Disruptive Payments Technology of the Year and Money Management App of the Year titles from the 2021 Payment Awards. They also took home ‘Best Personal Finance App’ and ‘Innovation of the Year’ at the 2022 British Bank Awards and the award for  ‘Best Payment Industry Newcomer’ at the Card & Payments Awards 2022.
 
The Technical Stuff
HyperJar Limited is a UK-based tech company bringing its money management app to market with an aim to turn saving funds into an easy, digital experience. Money paid into HyperJar accounts is kept in the Bank of England, managed by Modulr FS Limited, an authorised Electronic Money Institution regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Modulr is a directly connected participant to the Faster Payments and Bacs schemes.
 
Mastercard, the world’s fastest payment processing network, provides the payment rails for the HyperJar prepaid card. Carta Worldwide receives and processes all the Mastercard transactions. Monavate Ltd, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, issues the HyperJar card. TagNitecrest produces the HyperJar Mastercard.

APOCALYPTIC FOOD PRICE WARNING: BEAT RISING COSTS WITH THESE 7 SUPERMARKET SAVING TIPS 

The governor of the Bank of England has described the possibility of food prices rising even further as a “major worry”. Andrew Bailey, who apologised for sounding “apocalyptic” with his comments, cited the war in Ukraine and food supply issues as some of the reasons for surging prices. 

The development signals another blow for millions of UK households, who find their finances stretched due to the ongoing cost of living crisis. 

With food prices going up, it’s vital to slash costs and save wherever you possibly can, especially with your weekly supermarket shop.

James Andrews, Senior Personal Finance Editor at money.co.uk, said: “Food prices are rising, with everything from global supply chain issues, European war and soaring energy costs making goods more expensive. 

“While none of those are things you can control, if your normal weekly shop is starting to look unaffordable there are ways you can make significant savings at the supermarket – as long as you plan ahead and shop smart.
 

  1. Use loyalty schemes to get ahead. Sainsbury’s Nectar and Tesco Clubcards let you collect points as you spend, which can be redeemed for discounts. Tesco has also introduced ‘Clubcard Prices’, with members paying less for some products on the shelves. As both are free to sign up to, there’s no reason not to take advantage of the savings on offer.
  1. Vouchers and discount codes can also be used to shave valuable pounds and pennies off your bill. They’re often made available to parents and caregivers to help with food costs at major stores. Check with your local authority or your child’s school to see if you’re eligible. 
  1. Discount codes and introductory offers can also cut your bill. Look for them on supermarket websites or in the store magazines at the shop’s entrance and exit. Grab a copy while you’re there and scour for any deals.
     
  2. If you shop online, you can compare prices more easily. By putting together a basket on the main sites, you can compare the total bills (before paying) to see which is cheapest. Just make sure you include any delivery costs.
     
  3. If you can vary the time of day you shop at, ask in your local store when they generally start putting out discount stickers. By heading to the store then you could end up getting big reductions on what you need.
     
  4. Before going to the shop, do a full inventory of your fridge and store cupboards to check what you already have and what’s close to expiry. Use these items as the basis of a meal plan for the week and get the rest of the ingredients at the supermarket to cut down on waste.
  1. Our final tip sounds obvious but it’s too important to overlook – make a budget. Figure out how much you can afford to spend before arriving at the shop and plan your meals with a list, then tot your items up as you go along. If not, it’s easy to end up spending an additional £20 or £30.

“While these methods can help you save, it’s important to remember that no amount of savvy shopping or clever cooking can feed a family for £0. 

“If your finances are stretched to the point that you’re struggling to afford food, you need to find your local foodbank. The largest foodbank organisation in the UK is the Trussell Trust, with over 1,200 centres across the country. Use their website to find your local foodbank.

“For more tips and tricks on chopping the price of your weekly shop, use money.co.uk’s handy guide: https://www.money.co.uk/guides/10-ways-to-cut-the-cost-of-your-weekly-shop.htm.”

How can Fraud Rings Harm your Business?

Most online frauds thrive on merchant complacency, and fraud rings particularly look for merchants who are naïve to fraud rings’ threats and have a weak payment solution.

Before moving forward, let us understand what fraud rings are. Fraud rings are an organized circle of notorious fraudsters and criminals. These professionals use the same tactics as smaller scammers, but they do this on a larger scale. 

Though most fraudsters specialize in one type of attack, they often overlap with cyber and general criminals.

Threats from fraud rings often arise unexpectedly, and that’s why it’s essential to understand how it can harm your business.

Let’s dive in!

How can fraud rings harm your business?

Here are a few ways in which a fraud ring can harm you and your business:

  1. Be watchful for identity fraud rings

You might be surprised to know that identity fraud rings work like an organized corporation. In one such example, the fraud ring purchased valid social security cards, then sold these cards to customers to obtain driving licenses and other identity proofs.

Interestingly, these fraud rings helped their fake customers build a high credit score by adding them to existing credit card accounts.

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Once customers with fraudulent activities obtained a good credit score, they opened fraudulent bank accounts and credit cards. Frauds like these can cost credit card companies and banks millions of dollars.

The ability to uncover fraud ring methods is the key to success and can prevent your business from getting targeted.

  1. Be alert for SIM swap fraud ring

In a SIM-swapping fraud ring, these sophisticated fraudsters replace a target’s legitimate SIM card with one that belongs to the fraudster. These attackers then initiate password resets for bank accounts, emails, cryptocurrency holding, and other financial sources.

With complete control over the SIM card, these professionals can reset passwords by accessing text messages the account provider sends. In 2019, a SIM-swap fraud led to $1.8 million in cryptocurrency theft.

As a business owner keeping an eye on these activities can prevent you and your customers from falling into the trap of fraud rings.

  1. Be mindful of credit card fraud rings

A credit card fraud ring might occur when real customers receive fake credit card bills for purchases they never made.

Fraudsters use synthetic identities to commit credit card frauds and never pay the bank holdings their debts. These sophisticated criminals mix and match real customer names, their date of birth, and social security numbers to create fake identities. They apply for a genuine credit card and start charging the bank money.

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These fraudsters might use shell organizations to write checks in bogus accounts to enhance the credit limit of ill-gotten cards.

Such frauds can affect brick-and-mortar stores, online stores, and any company that accepts the card not present (CNP) scenario.

How does a fraud ring operate?

As clear from the above examples, fraud rings create fake claims, print counterfeit currency, and steal the identities of genuine customers. While some fraudsters prefer targeting ecommerce websites, government agencies, and charities, many might focus on identity theft.

Usually, a fraud ring tests software against the company’s payment solution and tries to use their fake gift and credit cards.

When they successfully penetrate the first line of defense, they’re more adept at committing larger frauds. These sophisticated professionals can then hack into your company’s database, steal your customers’ personal information, and make larger purchases.

How do you catch these notorious yet sophisticated criminals?

Here are three tips to help your business detect and prevent these fraud rings from entering and jeopardizing your business.

  1. Know your customer characteristics

To prevent such events from occurring, construct a customer profile using data from social media networks and various online registries. Know your online shoppers’ age, gender, location, and interest. 

This can help your business identify irregularities. For instance, knowing your customers are not purchasing electronic items online is key to detecting the technical support fraud ring.

  1. Try linking orders to understand the anomalies in real-time

Another fruitful way to prevent fraud rings from entering your business is to cross-verify new transactions against the previous ones.

When the data from the previous order matches the new order, it’s more likely that the same customer makes the purchase. Regularly comparing data can help you identify anomalies.

Some basic elements to track can include credit card information, device type, shipping and billing details, email address, and IP address.

  1. Hire a technical fraud detection service provider

Hiring a technical fraud detection service provider like SEON can help you keep a hawk-eye on fraud rings. Professionals working in SEON can improve compliance, reduce the fraud rate and help a business run smooth operations.

Another great software to consider is Castle, which helps stop fraudulent activities by making better use of data. 

These tools keep fraudsters miles away from your business by providing services like phone analysis, module, IP analysis, and phone analysis.

Best Ways to Organize Your Move

Moving to a new place is always exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. The only way to keep things in perspective is to organize every step. Doing so can prevent you from feeling anxious and overwhelmed. Organizing your move is a hefty task, especially if you have a car to transport. Below are some of the best ways to organize your upcoming move.

Research Car Shippers in Your Area

Doing your homework can give you a shortlist of the most reliable car shipping companies and home movers near your current home. Your search can begin online. See if the shippers and movers can meet your schedule. Check their business histories. Read customer reviews and see how the companies resolve any problems. More experienced companies will be worth your time and money even if it means paying a little more. 

Credible home movers should visit your current home. Their quotes will depend on the size of the move and other specifications you may need. Having a clear breakdown of the moving costs can give you a good estimate for your moving budget. From here, you can plan the succeeding days before moving day. 

Prepare Early

Starting your moving tasks weeks or even months before moving day is ideal. This can help eliminate your stress and anxiety. Purging can start about two to four weeks before you start packing. Doing this one room at a time can prevent forgetting things. It will be easier to fill the moving boxes once you remove the unwanted items. Packing should start five to seven days before the big day. This will keep you from living out of your moving boxes for weeks. 

Keep Things in Order

Keeping things organized in your present home can make your move easier. It can save you time and effort. Place the things under your sink in a bin. Put your toiletries and grooming supplies in separate drawer inserts. Pack your shoes in individual bags before putting them in the bin or box. These helpful tips can make unpacking and reorganizing faster when you arrive in your new home. 

Knowing the dimensions of the storage areas in your new home can help you get the right-sized containers that can double as storage units. Labeling them can guide the movers to put them in the right rooms of the new house. All you need to do is remove the lids. Then, insert them in their corresponding spaces. 

Be Thorough While Decluttering

Accumulating many things is natural when you stay in one place for a time. That is why decluttering is important before moving. Doing this can help lighten the moving boxes on moving day. Declutter one room at a time. This can help you focus on the room alone. Check every space. 

Choose the items you can exclude from the moving boxes. The unwanted items may go to charity or your garage sale. Selling some of your belongings can add to your moving budget. Decluttering can reduce your moving costs as well. 

Pack Belongings by Room

You can do this right after decluttering. Get one or two moving boxes for each room. This can prevent over-stuffing one box with items. Avoid placing items from other areas of the house. That way, the moving people can unload the boxes faster. You can then unpack more easily. 

Document Items

Photograph your items. Doing so can help you keep track of them. This is important for placing moving insurance claims in case of loss or damage. Taking a video of your electronics can help you figure out how to assemble the connections again. This form of documentation can also help make your car shipping less complicated in case you place a claim. 

This is important when packing your expensive belongings as well. Having electronic copies of your important documents can prevent you from traveling back to your city to get them again. You can upload these to the cloud for future reference. That way, you can just download each when you need to. 

Prepare Your Vehicle

It is important to remove unnecessary items from your car before the shippers arrive. This can reduce the weight of your vehicle and lower the costs of your transport. It can also prevent unnecessary damage to your car’s interiors. Taking off the removable accessories outside your vehicle can prevent their loss or damage. Placing a small amount of fuel in your car will be enough to let the shipper move your car on and off the transport truck. 

Label Boxes, Folders, and Envelopes

This is a good way to secure your belongings. List down the labeled boxes and their contents. Labeled boxes, folders, and envelopes can prevent you from rummaging through each moving box to find one or two items. It can save you time and effort. You can avoid unnecessary frustration on moving day as well. 

Select the Right Moving Boxes 

It can be tempting to go to the neighborhood grocery store to ask for some free boxes. This may not be a good idea. The boxes you get may have holes or wear spots due to insect infestation and exposure to the elements. Using them may cost you when moving day arrives. Your items may fall through the bottom. They may even lead to damage to your belongings during transit.

Purchasing proper moving boxes can help secure your belongings better. These boxes may cost you more, but they are designed to withstand the elements and minor trauma. You can be sure to have your belongings intact by the time they arrive in your new home. Just remember not to overfill them. This will prevent your items from damaging each other during the move. 

Discontinue Services in Advance

These include credit card companies, banks, cable, gas, water, and electricity. Letting these companies know that you will be discontinuing your subscriptions can make the transition smoother. This will give the companies time to transfer your subscription to your new address. It often takes one to two weeks to do this. Your arrival at your new home will be smoother if you already have your utilities running by then.

An Organized Move Is a Stress-free Move

Keeping things in order can be challenging when you are busy. Even so, it is important to keep things in perspective. Doing so can help you finish tasks according to schedule. Planning ahead and starting early will allow you to cover everything that you need to do. You can then prevent headaches. You could even prevent financial losses during the huge move. 

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