The ability to wake up, eat breakfast and take just a few steps in order to be at work is a dream that was previously held as something that would happen in the very far future. The truth of the matter is that having a successful home business online is a goal that can be achieved today. There are a number of distinct advantages that a home business has which traditional business does not. These advantages are also what make the idea of having a home business much more approachable by someone who may or may not already have a full-time occupation. This piece of writing aims to explore a good number of the advantages that coincide with having a home business.A home business can literally do anything. Most business owners who work from home created their business with the idea of extending a hobby into a full-fledged profession. The simplest example of this is a sketch artist or painter who takes orders for commissions online and then sends the finished product to a customer. This can further extend to custom parts for automobiles, devices that make home living easier and even something like home remodeling guides.The great part about having a home business online is that it doesn’t have to involve anything physical. In some cases, there’s no need for shipping a finished product. A number of businesses that are maintained from home deal with purely electronic media. An example of this is a woman who was passionate about gardening and started a website that sells gardening guides that are available in PDF form. Once again, the sky is the limit when it comes to home businesses.One of the most alluring benefits that a home business maintains is that it has minimal start-up costs. There is no need for a physical location to be purchased, no need to buy a franchise license, nor is there a need to employ any additional workers. Even a website and domain are unnecessary for some people in the beginning with the use of online classified ads. A home business can succeed with as much investment as the owner is willing to put into it.Another benefit of an online business is that if an employee does need to be hired, that employee can be hired from anywhere in the globe. This makes outsourcing a viable option for cheaper labor. It also makes hiring relative experts from other parts of the globe a much easier job to do. These employees can also be hired as one-time independent contractors. That means there’s no reason to actually have a payroll that is paid weekly or even monthly. It makes sense that employees get paid as they are needed.While an online home business has many advantages over a traditional business, there is still one more key feature that may make it more appealing over a brick-and-mortar business. That one feature is that a home business’s success lies solely upon the shoulders of its owner. Unlike other businesses where location is everything, an online business only needs to be advertised to the right group of people in order to attract customers, which should only further act to illustrate the point that an online business is dependent upon its owner for success more than anything else.
8 Ways to Lower Your Life Insurance Costs
REDUCE YOUR LIFE INSURANCE PREMIUMS BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER YOU PURCHASE A POLICYThere are number of factors that impact your insurance costs. The average Canadian spends close to $58 per month (approx. $700 annually) on e.g. Term Life insurance, which is a significant cost block. This article lays out the main approaches that can be taken to lower these costs.There are many explanations for the life insurance prices that you pay and it is important to understand what you can do to before and after you purchase your Policy to keep your premiums low without affecting your coverage.YOU PLAN TO GET LIFE INSURANCE: WHAT CAN YOU DO TO LOWER THE COSTS?Aside from the standard advice to shop around and get multiple quotes, there are number of things that you can do to get lower insurance quotes from life insurers.1. Apply for the policy while you are young – most Canadians apply for life insurance in their early-to-mid thirties when they are getting engaged or married, or begin having children. Applying for the policy earlier will often get you better rates in return. According to statistical data, Canadians pay an average of $40 per month for a Term Policy with a similar coverage ($250-500k) if they are 31-35 years of age, $47 per month if they are 35-40 years of age, and as much as $64 if they are 51-55 years of age.2. Be healthy when applying for the policy. Many insurance customers pay 25% more for their Policy because they are overweight. Staying in shape and maintaining a healthy lifestyle will not only eliminate this extra portion of the costs, but can also result in a discount of up to 25%.3. Stop smoking well in advance of applying for an insurance policy. Insurers will expect to see at least a year without smoking in order to be granted the standard premiums. Otherwise, prepare yourself for premiums that are almost double.4. Drive safely – Maintaining a clean driving record will be rewarded not only by your auto insurer, but also by your life insurance provider. You can avoid an extra 25-50% of additional costs that result from a poor driving record. Having a flawed driving record with several at-fault accidents can lead to a declining you by insurance companies.YOU ALREADY HAVE A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY: HOW DO YOU LOWER ITS COSTS?Surprisingly, many people are not aware of the ability to lower their insurance costs after purchasing a policy. The key is to improve your own risk profile, thus, making it less risky for the insurance company. Below are four simple approaches to enhance your risk profile:1. Stop smoking – If you are able to demonstrate that you gave up smoking and have not returned to it for at least one year, you may lower your insurance costs.2. Stop drinking – Limiting your alcohol consumption will positively impact your insurance budget. After one year of no drinking, it is time to talk to your insurance provider. Having a few glasses of wine each week is not a problem; however, drinking three to four beers a day will not reduce your rates.3. Lose weight – Improving your physical fitness and health condition can be positively reflected in your life insurance premiums. You not only have the opportunity to reduce your premiums to the normal level, but can also qualify for a ‘Premium Health Customer Discount’ of up to an additional 25% off your life insurance premiums.4. Keep driving safely – If you received your insurance policy with a poor driving record, there is a good chance it has increased your life insurance rates by as much as 25% to 50%. If your offenses are three or more years old, this becomes visible to insurers and you can get your insurance premiums adjusted accordingly.