The moment a couple becomes engaged is usually one of the most emotional and special times of all, it can be compared to events such as getting married or having a child. Of course that if you want to make this moment as extraordinary as possible for your future bride, you know that the engagement ring plays the central role in this movie.There are many different ways to obtain finance for the perfect ring. I assume that if you are reading this article, you are nowhere near rich. So exorbitant expenditures and millionaire bank accounts are out of the question. The average price for such gift ranges from $125 to $5000, depending of course on the carats, the choice on metal, the kind and quality of the stones, etc. This article focuses on finance possibilities for the ideal ring.Save, My Friend, SaveYou must be thinking this is some kind of joke. But it is not. Getting married is not a light decision. Not many people get married overnight. Most marriage proposals are planned with months of anticipation. So if you can plan a proposal, why not plan a monthly budget to save for the ring? It is nowhere near as difficult as it sounds. Only by cutting down on unnecessary expenditures and by saving at least 10% of your income, you will have a decent amount of money in a few months time. Here is an example, if you earn $3000 a month, and you decide to put aside let us say 15% of your salary, then in a six month period you will have saved $2700. Excellent!Plastic Money To The Rescue!Many soon-to-be grooms choose to pay for their fiancé’s rings with their credit cards. Even if you have to pay interest rates on your purchase, paying it back over six months seems a lot less painful than reimbursing 4 grand at once.Store Finance PlansMany jewellery stores have special repayment programs for customers. You should perform further research and find the store which offers the best finance program.Private FundingYou would have saved had you thought of it. Your credit cards are maxed out and getting a new one is totally out of the questions. Research on jewellery stores? No time for that. So what is there to do? Do not panic, applying for a secured or an unsecured loan can be the solution to your dilemma. Not only will you obtain the exact amount of money you need, but you can repay it over a long period of time (months or even years). Bear in mind that the interest rate depends on the loan type, usually unsecured loans carry higher interest rates than secured loans.Ask Your GrandmaFamily heirlooms are often passed on from mother to son, and they carry a lot of meaning and family history. It will surely be more significant for your bride-to-be to receive your mother’s engagement ring, than one bought at a store. Make sure to ask your mother-in-law regarding this issue as well.As you can see, there are many different ways to obtain finance for an engagement ring, some of them are quite obvious, others are more creative. You just have to find the one that best suits your needs.
Making Savings to Maintain Our Lifestyles
With ever rising costs and a need to maintain our lifestyles, consumers are looking at every way possible to save money, yet still maintain their standard of living.Not so many years ago a family with two cars, internet, satellite TV and at least one annual holiday abroad were few and far between, yet now it has become the norm for most families in the UK. But now we see fuel heading to £1.20 a litre, beer at £3.50 a pint and taxes being increased everywhere you turn.With unemployment so high and wages (outside of top banking) not rising to match the increased cost of living how can one pay for everything?The answer seems to be to shop around to get everything we need as cheap as possible, and then use the savings to maintain their current lifestyles. In the past few years we have seen growth in retail sectors for second hand items with the launch of things like Amazon Market Place online and the growth of stores such as CEX. eBay is being used as an option to try to get items as cheap as possible rather than paying retailer prices for them. Poundland, which was started in my home town, has seen phenomenal growth in the recession with new stores all over the country, based on the fact you can get anything from milk and stationary to screwdrivers and party decorations for £1. The quality for the price not being bad either has seen consumers defect from other high street stores where items can cost several pounds more, start shopping at Poundland.Another big thing is comparison websites. Using them for insurance and energy providers, finding the cheapest price and if it is better than what we are already paying, we play our current provider off against the one offering the best deal. This usually results in an even better price for the consumer as companies fight to keep their clients and maintain their market share.Consumer power is possibly the highest it has ever been, with the exception of in natural resources such as oil and gold. No matter how much we can save on certain items though, one thing is for sure. We will still need oil, have to pay taxes and not be willing to settle for anything less than we already have.
Tips About Common Minor Home Repairs
Most homeowners have some basic ability to perform home repairs on their own. Simple repairs that can be done in an afternoon require only time and the cost of the materials needed. Even some major house repairs don’t require you to wait until the weekdays in order to get a hold of someone who can come in to fix something. There is not only money saved, but there is the sense of satisfaction in knowing that you can maintain your home without professional help.Owning a house means that there will always be home repairs that need to be done. Some can be left for years, but others need to be done on a regular basis in order to maintain the beauty of the place of residence. One of the more minor repairs that can be done in a day is painting. Hallways get a great deal of traffic, and often scuff marks and scratches are seen on the walls from the kids, animals or things being bumped into the walls. All that is needed is a simple cleaning, patching and then painting of the area. While painting an entire room or a place of residence is a bigger job, it is still considered minor work. It is unlikely a homeowner would contract home maintenance services for simple painting jobs.Repairs on the house are often needed for small things like broken handles, knobs or levers. These items that stick out get a lot of use and are prone to a lot of wear and tear and so breaks are common. A quick fix with glue is often an easy solution, or a simple installation of a new part. Most people would avoid calling a handyman for hire for such a fix, and if they are not confident of their own abilities to fix the damage, they are likely to call on a friend or family member.Window repair is another concern that every homeowner has to face once in a while. Removing a pane of glass and installing a new one is the kind of job that takes very little time. A lot will depend on the type of window that is damaged, however. Certain windows may be very attractive, but extremely difficult to fix. A large window especially can be quite challenging in order to install properly. Generally speaking, however, window repair is not a major undertaking.There will always be home repairs that need to be done if you own a house. Some of these repairs are major home repairs and can be quite costly. Having a list of what needs to be done and keeping up with minor jobs is important. Some jobs can wait until you have more time and money, but some jobs are simple to do and aren’t very costly. Being aware of the cost of repair work, and learning as much as you can about repair work will save you money.