Alternative Ways to Fund Our Child’s College Education

When considering ways to fund a child's college education, we're often left thinking of the regular funding methods such as a 529 or similar structured college savings plan that may be administered through a financial institution. However, these typical options for college funding don't have to be the only ways to help a child financially as they prepare for or head off to college. And for many people who suffered through the financial collapse of 2007 and 2008, the thought of putting more of their hard-earned money into a stock fund style of savings plan might not be the most pleasant of ideas.

Here are a few alternative ways of funding a child's college education that we're considering for our kids' futures.

1.) Cost Splitting

The college cost split can be a great way to help fund a child's education without overextending any one party. This was the route my parents took with me. For example, a single parent might be able to split the costs with a child evenly. A married couple (or divorced as in my situation) could split the costs into thirds, both parents and the child sharing equally in the costs.

Whatever the situation, being able to split college costs among multiple parties can help alleviate some of the financial strain upon the college attendee.

2.) Government Savings Bonds

I've collected savings bonds since I was a teen, and I've held onto them as an investment. Over the years, I began to look at them as a possible source of funding for our kids' education.

Government savings bonds can be a great way to save for a child's education and one that often doesn't get the hype that 529 plans or similar college savings plans do. However, government savings bonds can be a safe way to save for college, are quite secure, could hedge bets against inflation by going with the series I -- inflation based -- bonds, and their interest earned over time could even be exempt from federal taxes if used for certain educational purposes.

To find out more about such bonds, consider taking a stop in at the government's website at www.treasurydirect.gov.

3.) In-state Tuition

These days, with tuition costs seemingly continuously on the rise, if our child isn't getting his or her education through an online institution, it might be worth taking a closer look at in-state tuition. Whether this means our child attends a school in the state in which we live or we move into the state in which our child is considering college, getting an in-state tuition rate could cut thousands or even tens of thousands of the cost of an education.

I've found that checking out the financial pages of the institutions in which we are interested in advance to making a final decision can help us find out just how much in-state versus out-of-state tuition rates are.

4.) Payment Swaps

An education can certainly take a bit in the way of self-sacrifice. Sacrifice not just in time and effort to obtain that education but in a little denial of self-gratification along the way, and this often applies to parents as well as the students working to get that education.

Whether it's through a few vehicle repairs rather than buying that new car, another year or two of renting rather than putting money toward the downpayment for a home, putting off the new windows or vinyl siding for the home, or cutting off a few of those extra holiday gifts in deference to putting more money toward a college education, doing some payment swaps on things we'd like rather than need could instead allow us to put more money toward our child's education.

Using ‘Free’ to Earn Profits for a Small Business

The idea of giving away 'free' items was one of the toughest for me to wrap my head around. I've been in sales and marketing for over 30 years and owned a small business for 6 years. To me, there are no free lunches. Somebody has to pay. So how then can you use to earn a profit by giving away free products or services?

Smart small businesses think strategically before using this costly approach to generating traffic. What is the outcome they want to achieve? How can they turn the traffic from giving things away free into a profit?

Once you determine what benefit your small business will get from giving products or services away free, the real challenge comes in. How do you ensure that the money you invested in freebies actually increases sales - and most importantly, profits?

7 Keys to Free Giveaways Boosting Profits

- Have a plan of action for those who get your freebies

- Offer to a targeted audience

- Follow up with additional invitations to buy, e.g. sale fliers, newsletter, tips

- Offer upsells

- Get customers to come back so they can see your news products and services

- Strengthen customer loyalty

- Expect most customers to take time

1.) Have a Plan of Action for Those Who Get Your Freebies

Plan out in advance how you are going to encourage prospects who receive your free sample or gift to become a customer. Some of the following points will help.

2.) Offer to a Targeted Audience
Make sure, as much as possible, that you are offering your free product or service to someone who fits your ideal customer profile. If they have no need for what you sell, you probably wasted your money.

3.) Follow Up with Additional Invitations to Buy, e.g. Sale Fliers, Newsletter, Tips

This is why getting people to join your membership program is so important. Buyers are far more likely to buy again so you want to be sure to ask them to.

4.) Offer Upsells

While Internet marketers think they own this concept, it has been a standard practice in retail for decades, if not for centuries. In fact, you have to be careful with upsells that you don't get accused of "bait and switch," which was an unethical business practice whereby the product people came to buy wasn't available or the sales people pressured them to buy a higher priced item.

5.) Get Customers to Come Back so They Can See Your News Products and Services

This was the purpose of Radio Shack's free battery card so you could see the new products you might want for yourself or for gifts every month. Starbucks has free music downloads if you stop in their stores.

6.) Strengthen Customer Loyalty

There are numerous ways to use freebies to enhance customer's feeling of being appreciated. Hotel/motel chains and airlines have frequently traveler programs to reward loyalty. Supermarkets too have programs to show their appreciation for their best customers.

7.) Expect Most Customers to Take Time

Naturally, some sales can happen quickly from giveaways or freebies and samples. For instance, impulse buyers and food court samples can result in quick sales. Likewise, you might get lucky. Otherwise, the rule of seven impressions before buying means that they won't buy right away.

To make giving away freebies a strategic business decision, you need to know what you want your small business to accomplish by spending that money. Then you need to have a plan to turn freebies into profits. These seven points cover key areas to ensure that your investment in giveaways result in profitable sales.

Pros and Cons of Owning a Cleaning Business

There are many pros and cons of owning a cleaning business. As I mentioned earlier, setting your own hours is a definite plus. Because you can work the days and hours that work for you, you can work around daycare hours, school schedules, bus stop times, appointments, etc. without getting in trouble or losing your job. For me, I could not work evenings or even late afternoons.

My children weren't good at being latchkey children and needed supervision after school. But with three kids, that could be quite expensive. I scheduled all of my cleaning times between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 pm that way I was home to see them off in the morning and home when they got home at night. Vacations were obviously harder to work around, but my older children would often watch the younger child on those days.

Another great reason to start your own cleaning business is lower start up costs. When I started I used my own cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaner. I waited to purchase cleaning supplies as I needed them or ran out. This allowed me to use the money that I already made to purchase supplies. We already owned a wonderful vacuum cleaner that I used for many of the jobs, but for some homes I used their vacuum cleaner. It is almost always an option to use the clients' cleaning supplies and equipment; however, you need to lower your rates accordingly.

I found that even in a down economy, many people still pay for cleaning service. It is one of the first luxury services that people will pay for to make their lives easier and one of the last services that they will give up. Most of my clients were either working full-time and too busy to clean their own homes or were elderly or disabled and needed the cleaning help.

Besides having low startup costs, a cleaning business does not require any special education or licensing. It is usually very easy to get the licensing that you need. As long as you are honest, trustworthy, hardworking and have some basic business savvy; owning and operating a cleaning business is comparatively easy.

Supplies, equipment, mileage and other expenses can be claimed on your taxes. Advertising is usually inexpensive due to referrals. You will make more working for yourself than working for another cleaning service.

Finally and maybe the best reason for cleaning for a living is how fit and trim it makes you. I lost several pounds and toned my arms, legs, gluts, and abs without doing any exercise other than stretching. The stretching was to help keep me from injuring myself more than it was for the need for more exercise.

There are some cons in operating a cleaning business. The flip-side of being in better shape is that it is easy to become physically worn out or injured. Cleaning is hard work and it can be tiring. It is also difficult to stay motivated to clean every day and almost impossible to clean your own house. Eating right, sleeping well, and relaxing can relieve some of the physical effects.

I discovered that some cleaning products triggered my allergies when using them often, natural or green products usually helps with any allergies. Cleaning can also be hard on your hands even when wearing gloves due to the constant gripping, wiping and scrubbing.

Insurance and bonding costs can be prohibitive especially at the beginning since you need to have these before starting.

Unfortunately some clients' homes are dirtier than others due to children, pets or for other reasons. It can be hard to clean for people who don't bother to pick up first or leave caked food on the stove or have tons of pet hair. Although, I did learn to watch out for these things when giving estimates and charge accordingly.

Working alone can also be isolating. However, there are many ways to lessen the isolation. You can clean while listening to an iPod. I often listened to books on tape. Since I am inherently frugal, I tended to only listen to free classics. However, you can purchase many books on tape or get them for free by checking them out through your local library if they have that option available. I also listened to all kinds of music usually choosing upbeat rock or pop to help with motivation.

Another way to lessen isolation is to work with a partner either by having a partnership, hiring someone or working with another cleaning business. Occasionally my teenage daughter or my husband worked with me, but I never expanded to hiring anyone.

Overall a small cleaning business can be flexible, easy to start and market and work well for people with small children, or other time commitments.

Are you consultant ? check out How to structure your payment terms.

Structuring your payment terms is an individual decision for every consultant, and the specifics can depend on the services you provide and what is customary in your industry of expertise. Regardless of the policies you choose for your business, this section is one of the most important in any agreement.

Payment terms can include:

1.Up-front payment :- 

Requiring some payment before you begin working is increasingly commonplace for consultants and highly recommended. In the case of a limited time project, asking for half of the agreed upon fee in advance is customary. For an ongoing monthly retainer, billing a month in advance is the preferred method for many. At a minimum, ask for a deposit before you begin.

2.Retainer vs. Hourly vs. Project :-

Depending on how you structure your client fees, you’ll want to define payment as a monthly retainer, an hourly wage or a project fee. No matter which approach you choose, be sure to set minimum and maximum hours, spell out deliverables and numbers of revisions, etc., to ensure that both you and the client can have clear expectations on what your labor costs include

3.Due date :-

Many successful consultants recommend stating that payment is “due upon receipt.” In some industries, 30 days is more common. You’ll see the phrase “terms net 30” used in contracts, which means payment is due within 30 days. Regardless of your terms, make sure the timeframe for payment is spelled out very clearly (or you’ll have limited recourse later)

4.Interest or Penalties :-

Another way to motivate clients to pay on time is to include language that stipulates late fees and/or interest charges. A common way to phrase this is, “Interest will be charged on overdue invoices at a rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum, or the maximum permitted by law, whichever is less.” So if you charge 12% interest per annum, that’s an interest rate of 1% each month of the total due.

Strategic Marketing: an important way of leading the competition

Running a business successfully is not an easy task. You need to plan your resources along with a strategy of marketing. The strategy helps concentrating their resources on adequate opportunities. Today, competition among all the businessmen in the market is increasing. Each of them has eagerness to get proper access over the market and win over their competitors. Though the area of operation and product quality of many traders are same, profit margin and popularity of some businessmen are more than others. It is just because of their marketing strategies.  With the help of strategic marketing, business can easily formulate long-term activities in the field of marketing.

Strategic Marketing

Facts on marketing strategy development

Marketing plans are very essential to formulate before executing the same. Research and development team dealing with the marketing strategy formulation will help getting the best strategy for particular product promotion in the market. The marketing team of a corporate house plans their marketing strategy for a year and formulates the steps one after another. Some organization and team also uses some important marketing tactics to win over its competitors in the market. Some of the strategic marketing are partly planned where as others are partly unplanned.

Environmental factors of marketing strategy

•    Marketing mix
•    Marketing mix modeling

External environmental factors

•    Target market analysis
•    Competitors analysis
•    Evaluation of culture, technology and economic environment

It is possible for the marketing team to construct a strategic plan as soon as a thorough environmental scan is completed. The next step will be to establish the challenging goals. The last step of the marketing strategy plan will be to monitor whether the organization is progressing or not with the particular strategic plan.

Marketing mix

Marketing strategy plan will be incomplete without a strategic plan. Budget is an important fact which must be considered by every businessman before planning for advertisement and marketing of products. With the help of marketing mix modeling, it is now possible to determine the optimal marketing budget. The portfolio as well as brand name can be considered to be other important factors on which the promotion of product and services provided by an organization is decided.

Varied strategies

There can be difference in marketing strategies based on the unique situation of each businessman.  But, today many generic strategies can be recognized in different ways.

Market dominance

One of the strategy is based on the market dominance.  You can also find four groups in a particular strategy named as Leader, Follower, Challenger as well as Nicher.

Market growth

Another strategy is based on market growth. The marketing manager of certain organization may also choose this strategy for the growth and development of business in a particular organization.

Market decline

Another type of marketing strategy is known as market decline strategy. Since there are ups and downs in a business, the graph at some point of time declines as soon as sales are approached as a result of which it exceeds the cost.  All the hidden cost cannot be conveyed by the financial accountant