When you are single, you're possibly too busy living the life instead of thinking about serious things like savings or investing because anything related to finance and money doesn't hold much weight to you. But you should also consider investing your money for the future.

Deep Blue Group Publications provided some important financial tips below for singles.

Begin having a budget

Without a budget, you will never find out how much you have overspent and how much you actually need to stay out of debt, so make an effort to start budgeting as soon as possible. Since almost everyone nowadays has a mobile phone or smartphone, there are a lot of mobile applications to help you monitor your finances. Alternatively, you could also use a notebook to track your finances.

As soon as you begin tracking your finances, you will realize what you really need and not want, and reduce spontaneous purchases.

Save and invest now

Some single individuals put off savings for later. However, the sooner you start, the better it is for you 10 years later, as you would have a significant amount in your bank, and this will only continue to grow until you retire. So take action and do it soon.

As Albert Einstein pointed out: "Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it... he who doesn't... pays it." He also referred to compound interest as "the most powerful force in the universe". The magic of compound interest lies in the way that today's investment returns will generate gains in the future.

Discuss your finances

In case you are not knowledgeable with the fundamentals of finance, you can speak to your parents or seek a financial adviser to discuss about your finances, and get an advice on why it's best to invest your money for the future. After you get an understanding of what investments works best for you, then you can make your own decisions slowly but surely.

Build an emergency fund

Start your emergency fund even if you can only save a few dollars monthly. Any emergency savings is better than none.

It is necessary to have a small amount of saving in case of an emergency so you will not be caught off guard. Put your emergency funds where they can be utilized quickly and without penalty if you need them. High-interest savings accounts and money market accounts are great options.

Treat yourself every now and then

You don't have to be a penny pincher constantly. Remember that you are allowed to treat yourself on specific occasions, and appreciate the treat instead of feeling guilty about it. However, keep in mind the budget you create for yourself and spend wisely.

Here, law firm Brecher looks at the mistakes entrepreneurs typically make at the start of their experience.


Entrepreneurs are, by definition, driven and ambitious and usually have an excellent grasp of their industry, gained either through experience or thorough research. Despite this, many are surprisingly unsophisticated when it comes to identifying the legal pitfalls associated with starting and growing a new business. Shared horror stories reveal surprisingly common mistakes being repeated across the sectors.

1. Not choosing the right vehicle
Avoid the tendency to use a particular vehicle merely because someone else does. The structure of each business is unique to that business: while a limited company may be a popular option it can be tax inefficient, whereas LLPs are tax transparent but have other drawbacks like the offsetting of group losses. Make time for proper tax and structuring advice at the outset to avoid leaking profits later in.

2. Getting the equity structure wrong
At the outset of a new venture, an informal agreement as to who should be entitled to what may seem sufficient, but informal agreements are difficult (if not impossible) to evidence should there be a disagreement later down the line. Even without disagreement, deferring the formal allocation of equity until a later date can cause a plethora of issues, including the trigger of tax and causes nervousness among funders. Discuss and resolve at the outset who owns what, and make sure that structure is formally documented to avoid confusion and disputes.

3. Buying an off-the-shelf constitution
Adopting pro-forma articles, or doing away with an LLP agreement, may seem a great cost saving in the short term, but can leave you exposed later down the line. Take the time to put in place appropriate mechanisms and protections to make sure you have adequate control over the equity and management of the new venture. If confidentiality is a concern (eg in terms of sensitive profit shares, control issues or exit rights) shareholder agreements are a useful tool as they do not appear on a public register.

4. Not considering all the finance options
Contrary to popular belief, finance is still freely available, but it remains a lender’s market and investment of any form undoubtedly comes at a cost. While institutional lenders remain risk averse, the secondary lending market has seen huge growth over recent years, and many providers are now willing to consider spreading their investment between traditional loan and equity. The options are endless, complex and come at a cost, so make sure you understand the small print before committing.

5. Not getting the right professional advice
Getting the right advisers on board at the outset can be a huge competitive advantage. As well as giving structuring advice on set up, the right team can add real value not just in pre-empting issues but also in proactively advising on how to resolve them. Professionals used to acting in this area will be an excellent sounding block as to what works and what doesn’t, and their ability to make introductions and open doors should not be underestimated. Where a business has no track record, entrepreneurs are often judged on the quality of their professional team so take time to shop around and find the right team for you.

6. Not protecting your crown jewels
It is surprising how often this ‘basic’ is overlooked, but the value of the business will be depend on the value of its assets. So protect them. If the business is reliant on intellectual property rights, register them. If it is contract based, document those contracts. If the information is reliant on information, make sure it is not released without robust non-disclosure agreements being put in place, and if it is dependent on key employees or consultants, ring fence their terms of employment with suitable non-complete obligations. Without these, the faster the business grows, the faster its inherent value will be eroded.

7. Using the wrong incentives
Don’t give away the equity too early or too lightly. Shareholders, however small a stake, acquire additional protections at law, and (if not structured correctly) can cause a real headache in terms of administration and decision making. If you do give away equity, consider creating a new class of share with limited voting rights, and consider ‘good leaver/bad leaver’ provisions that oblige an existing shareholder to sell his shares when he leaves, with the price he receives varying depending on the circumstances of exit. As an alternative to allotting shares immediately, why not grant options the exercise of which is dependent on performance related targets. Phantom share schemes can be a useful alternative, as they reward an employee by tracking the increase in value of the business without diluting the equity. There are a large number of alternatives, many of which have tax consequences, so take proper advice to make the most of these and avoid making a costly mistake.

8. Having unrealistic objectives
It is always tempting to present rosy figures to potential investors, but don’t promise more than you can achieve. Excessively optimistic statements can erode trust and credibility, and making a statement you know you can’t deliver is fraud. Investors can (and do) sue on that basis.

9. Getting lost in the here and now
Getting that first development, or that first contract, underway is critical and can be all consuming, but it mustn’t allow you to take your eye off the pipeline three, six or nine months down the line. If you don’t have resources, and cash flow, in place to fulfil the commitment, the business will fail. Run conservative projections, and keep an immaculate trail of outgoings at all times. If finance isn’t your forte then don’t be too proud to bring in someone with suitable expertise who can help you keep up to date and pre-empt issues before they arise.

10. Leaving the legals to the last minute
It’s really tempting when finance is tight to see lawyers’ fees as an unnecessary cost to be deferred. That view can often be short-sighted, as issues that would have taken an hour to address at the outset can take several days to unpick later on. Lawyers don’t have to cost the earth, and finding the right adviser at the outset will pay dividends in the long run.

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At the recent Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, I had the pleasure of appearing on a panel, "Competitive Edge in Today's Sales World," led by sales guru Jill Konrath who is known for her innovative strategies and thinking.

Jill's latest book, Agile Selling, is a must-read for sales people looking to succeed in today's competitive landscape. She talks about how it took more than basic sales skills to be successful, and tells how she dealt with fear, mastered a "never-fail mind-set" and learned to see things from her customers' perspectives. She realized how important these traits were to her "agility" -- her ability to rapidly acquire knowledge and develop new strategies.

The panel discussion was lively and informative, and it struck a chord with me because I've long adhered to many of Jill's beliefs. We were each asked four questions on the panel, and I'll share my answers in the hope they'll help people understand how crucial agility is in today's market.

Question #1: How are you staying agile? What are you focused on learning right now?

My husband likes to joke that I can't keep a job. I have had a number of roles in my career and I like to think it's because I have demonstrated the ability to be an agile learner. Whenever a new task or project is at hand, I work to come up to speed quickly and swiftly execute a plan.

As Chief Content Officer at Thomson Reuters, I seek to learn everything I can about our vast content operation, which is at the core of what we do as a business. It sometimes feel like I'm drinking from a fire hose when it comes to understanding important trends such as big data.

Whenever I take on a new role I immerse myself in a 30-day deep dive of interviews with key stakeholders, including employees across the business, customers, partners, and thought leaders. I ask lots of questions: What are our strengths? Our biggest challenges? What are the key factors affecting our customers? And perhaps the most important question (because the answer can be so informative): What would someone else focus on if they were in my role? All of this helps me learn--and respond with agility to any challenge.

Question #2: What do you view as the number one competitive edge?

We live and work in a data economy where the key to success is information and knowledge. Competitive advantage rests with companies that know how to unlock data to drive their businesses.

But taking the idea of data down to an individual level, the most important skill--one that truly unlocks the power of knowledge -- is curiosity. Curiosity about your own company's products and businesses motivates you to see resources, product briefings, information days, etc. not as a task but as a tool.

Curiosity about your customers can transform a meeting with them from a pitch session to a listening session. I believe 80 percent of the first meeting with any customer should consist of the customer talking about their business -- and what they need. I prefer to leave our product pitches for later meetings, where they are more likely to be successful because we're more prepared to respond to what the customer wants. Curiosity is at the heart of this process.

Question #3: What would you recommend individual companies do to help their learning agility?

In the world of information overload, the key to learning agility is determining how to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and focus on data that counts. That's what we do at Thomson Reuters, but it's really what all successful sales people do.

I meet with customers all the time, and our sales teams expect me to be helpful in opening doors to senior client executives. The challenge arises from the fact our clients are all over the world, and in a diverse range of businesses. Remaining credible as one tries to meet the needs of an Australian bank, the Chief Risk Officer of a London investment firm, and the Head of Oil Trading at an Asian commodities house can be a challenge.

I use what I call a 3x3 planning tool for my meetings. I provide the client with three pieces of insight about what we see across the industry and at their peers; I ask three questions about their business and their industry; and I create three opportunities for follow-up engagements. I prep for each meeting this way, then treat it like a conversation. It rarely fails to be worthwhile for everybody involved.

Question #4: What piece of advice would you give women to help them in their careers?

As I've said before, the key is to conquer the "imposter syndrome." This is the insecure feeling that you are out of your depth, too "far over your skis," that you will be seen as a fraud. I've felt this at times throughout my career, and most other women have as well. The surprising thing is that many men also experience it. The difference is that women seem to have less risk tolerance than men. We let imposter syndrome overpower us and stop us from taking on the kind of challenging assignments and roles that might advance our career. Here again agility comes into play, since the key to not being overwhelmed by fear is to embrace the learning and curiosity skills that are the hallmark of agile sales people.

I want every woman and man to embrace the feeling of "Can I really do this?" and know that it is normal -- and a sign you are stretching your potential, taking it to new heights. Keep at it.

Newly established businesses can run into a lot of mistakes particularly in accounting which can be expensive for the company. Avoiding them by learning from professional accountants can give business-owners a head-start.

According to expert accountants from the FreshBooks Accountant Network, the most common accounting mistakes committed by small enterprises are the following:

1. Fumbling with Receivables

Getting money into your business is definitely good. However, it Is not enough that you receive payment; you have to reconcile your invoices (records of who owes you how much) with your customer deposits or payments. Leaving them unreconciled will result in so much waste of manpower hours. A regular monthly process to avoid this mistake will save any company time and money in the long run.

A good way of easing up your accounting work is to receive payments online. You can also use cloud accounting software to automate and facilitate your work.

2. Failing to keep Expenses Receipts

Not keeping copies of business expense receipts can produce problems in tax, accounting and cash flow computations. Not knowing specific expenses in your bank account statement can result in high tax payments and other problems if ever you are audited.

The solution is easy: Keep your receipts. How do you do it?

- Use your business or credit card for business expenses
- Collect all your receipts in a bag or a box.
- Do a weekly or monthly filing of the receipts in your tax folder or keep digital copies.

The best tip, of course, is to add all those expenses as you incur them. You can use accounting software to make the task faster and simpler with the use of a smartphone.

3. Failing to Keep Cash Expense Records

Accounting is all about knowing what goes in and what goes out. Hence, not keeping records of your expenses is like going to war without counting your troops, not to mention those of the enemies. This holds true especially to cash expenses since other payments, such as those made through credit cards, debit cards or checks, are reflected somewhere in your bank account. Again, there are apps the business-owner can use with their smartphone so that they can keep track of those cash payments. But it all starts with asking for a receipt each time you make a cash-payment.

4. Failing to Connect with Your Account

Often accountants use jargon or technical terms the ordinary small-business owner cannot understand or does not have any idea how they affect the business. It is assumed that hiring an accountant means getting information or advice that is translatable into layman's terms so that any business-owner can make the necessary steps to translate the technical knowledge into practicable measures.

Financial professionals can communicate with their own kind, but not with the rest of humanity. Make sure your accountant understands this problem.

These actually seem like easy problems to recognize in the daily operations of any business venture; but, as with so many other things, the easy tasks are the most neglected or taken for granted. If you wish to succeed in your business and keep your shirt on your back, you cannot afford to leave these areas unattended.

Utlån regler muligens vil halvert standarder Ifølge en analyse av økonomer på Goldman Sachs, nesten halvparten av alle boliglån standardverdier fra bolig bysten kunne vært forhindret av kommende forbrukervern regelverket, men en annen 25% av lån som ikke standard kunne ha ikke blitt gjort. Goldman analysen forsøker å beregne effekten av kommende "kvalifisert boliglån" regelverket, disse var en del av 2010 Dodd-Frank finansielle-regulatoriske reparasjon. Loven endret utlån reglene dermed boliglån långivere vil være lovlig ansvarlig for en låntaker kan betale tilbake et lån. Skrive reglene for et"kvalifisert", forbruker finansielle Protection Bureau var tildelt oppgaven, regler sates som långivere kan gjøre som vil automatisk tilfredsstille ny evne til å gjengjelde mandat.