Lexus Group Consultancy in Tokyo, Japan

Saving money and cutting costs is often as exciting as watching paint dry. But finance guru and Sugar Mamma founder Canna Campbell has revealed her seven top tips to get you enthusiastic and confident about growing your bank account. The Australian video blogger says getting yourself into a healthy routine with money is the best starting point for saving money and making every dollar count. In her latest YouTube video, Canna shared seven simple ways you can cut costs and squeeze every penny so you can sit back and watch your savings flourish.  1. Have a Deadline Canna says setting yourself a reasonable but clear deadline for your savings goal is the first step towards maximizing your money. If you have a goal of saving $10,000 in five months, the finance expert recommends pinpointing a specific date on your calendar for your deadline - which instills a sense of urgency in your mind every time you see it.  'That way you feel feel a lot more acc...

OLD age pensioners are the salt of the earth. Most soldier on, without complaints. They are not whingers. Most went through hard times where seeking second-hand goods were a habit as there was no money to buy anything brand new. They survived to become great, unheralded, true blue Australians. Luckily in those days, the only drugs were tobacco and alcohol, not the "killers" we see on the streets today. Now, on small pensions, they must learn how to top up those empty pockets. Below are some tips and information that could work for you. Be determined, be lucky. Catalogues First of all, don't regard the shopping catalogues that are shoved into your letterbox as junk mail. Far from it. They are valuable and your guide to cheaper shopping. We study them; make our lists and do our thrice-weekly shopping trip - what we call our "big shop". Because the big supermarkets are grouped together, it is not physically exhaust...

In the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of excited 18-year-olds will be heading to university. It is daunting for both the new generation of undergraduates and their parents. University will be a long list of firsts – and many of these will involve money. Having a bank account with an overdraft (and very likely the offer of a credit card, too) will be just the start. There will be rental contracts and deposits, student loan borrowing and, for some, the eye-opening experience of doing a grocery shop.  What is the most useful financial advice a parent or grandparent can impart? Here are five suggestions. Basic planning Many 18-year-olds will never have budgeted properly in their lives, and having to meet essential food, housing and other costs could come as a shock. Helen Saxon, the chief money analyst at moneysavingexpert.com, said: “They’ll need to sit down – and maybe parents can help in these remaining weeks – and work out how much cash they’ll have c...

1. Maintain three to six months of savings in your account. “As a contractor or part-time worker, your income will tend to ebb and flow,” Gugliuzza says. “Having an emergency fund with enough savings to cover three to six months’ worth of your critical expenses can help ensure you can pay your bills, even during times of low employment.” Figure out what this necessary dollar amount is and make sure your bank account is ready to go before you take the full leap into the gig economy. 2. Keep a handle on your debts. As part of the gig economy, you’re still responsible for paying taxes on what you earn, and bad news: You don’t have an in-house HR or accounting department to make that happen for you. “If you’re doing contract work and don’t want taxes withheld from your pay, you’ll need to make quarterly estimated state and federal tax payments,” Gugliuzza says. You’ll save yourself a lot of stress comes tax time if you are careful to put away a portion of each payment you receive ...

Money is something that individuals usually need more of but frequently find in short supply. People worry about money.... a lot. According to the YouGov poll for the Institute of Financial Planning and National Savings and Investments in Great Britain, nearly two-thirds of respondents worried about their finances, with 43 percent saying they worried about money "more often than not." Things aren't much different in the United States, where a recent survey from Lincoln Financial Group showed that 53 percent of respondents worried about having enough money for retirement. Taking charge of personal finances may seem like a difficult undertaking, but you don't have to make drastic lifestyle changes to grow your savings. Try these tips to save more and live a more financially-conscious life. · Keep financial records. It's hard to determine your financial standing if you do not prioritize record-keeping. Find a method that you can stick with consisten...

The equity market is on a high these days. The Sensex hit 31,291 on June 22 2017, rising about 17 per cent from a year ago and about 19 per cent year to date (YTD). Given the phenomenal rise, should investors continue to park funds in stocks?  Different people have different investing styles . While some follow aggressive styles with shorter investment horizons, most believe in investing for the long term with a minimum of three- to five-year outlook.  During a discussion at work, a colleague made an interesting point - his equity mutual fund SIP opened in January 2008 (the high point of that market cycle) has yielded him an annual compounded return of 12 per cent till date; he continues to hold on to the same.  While one may argue that this is no great feat as the return in absolute terms is not much to write home about, the key takeaway here for readers is that despite investing at a time when valuations and markets were at a peak, this particular in...

We are currently investing in an extremely noisy political and economic environment. While markets have remained remarkably subdued during recent times, it is inevitable that greater volatility will emerge. The question is: how should we respond? As investors, our natural impulse when faced with arresting news or growing uncertainty is to react. Our instincts tell us to take action to protect portfolios or to profit from a particular outcome. This adrenaline fuelled ‘fight or flight’ response is deeply ingrained within us and exists for good evolutionary reasons as early humans who did not have these instincts were less likely to have decedents. However, this impulse towards action causes a real challenge for investors. There is an abundance of great research on this topic; however one of the most relevant was a study by Barber & Odean which shows a clear link between portfolio turnover and the results generated by individual investors. Those portfolios in the high...