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Simple Steps to Restoring Credit and Paying Down Debt

It is all too easy to get into debt, fail to keep up the repayments, and end up with a poor credit rating that makes it difficult to get a loan or mortgage. We’ve all been through times that are financially challenging – perhaps being made redundant, for example – and the past couple of years have seen many people struggling to meet the demand for repayments. We want to give you a few helpful tips about how to start restoring your credit rating and also you should watch this YouTube video, so let’s talk about your rating first.

Keep an Eye on Your Rating

Your credit rating is determined by the way your past borrowing and repaying of loans and credit cards has been handled. If you have a past record of missing repayments, either on a loan, a card, or a mortgage, then your rating will be lower than if you have been regularly keeping up with the repayments.

But here’s the crunch: to have a credit rating at all, you have to have had credit! So, if you’ve never had a credit card, a loan, a mortgage, or any credit deal, you won’t have a rating! Check your credit rating now using one of the many sources and understand where you stand right now.

Apply for Credit Cards and Use Them

As we said above, you need to se credit to be rated. If you haven’t got a credit card and you are looking for a loan or mortgage, you may benefit by applying for one. If you have a poor rating, there are cards designed for you, but be aware the interest repayments will be greater. However, if you get a card and use it – and always pay before or on the due date – you are showing the lenders that you are a responsible borrower, and your rating will; improve.

Pay off More than the Minimum

The minimum payment on your loan or card will be a fraction of the balance. We recommend that to prove to lenders that you can handle your finances responsibly – which is what they want to see – you should always pay off more than the minimum. If you continually pay just the minimum the interest may well be greater, hence you will never pay off the debt. You should be aiming to reduce all debt to below 25% of the maximum in order to improve your rating.

Make Regular Purchases

Once you get a credit card be certain to use it. If you are buying a more expensive item – say a household appliance – use your card, and then pay off the entire amount by transferring from your bank account. This is a certain way to improve your rating in the quickest possible time. Use your card for regular purchases, and always pay off the balance, and you’re proving you are a worthy client for lenders.

We hope we’ve helped you understand the importance of a credit rating and how best to keep yours healthy.

Tips For Making Moving Less Stressful For Your Children

Moving house is an incredibly stressful thing to do for adults, but the addition of children can drive you to insanity. It’s not just the adults that get stressed out, though, as children can be affected by the whole thing. That is why we have put together this guide to moving when you have kids to consider.

Discuss Everything With Your Kids Before The Process Begins

It is not really enough to say you are moving to your children. It may be a hard concept for them to understand, particularly if they are very young. Therefore, it’s important to sit them down and talk them through the whole process, explaining what is going to happen and why. The more you can familiarise them with everything will help to alienate any worries, stresses or anxieties that may be developing in their mind.

Take Them With You To See The New House

Taking the above step further, it is a good idea to help everything real by taking them along to your new house. Even if they can’t be involved in the decision of whether to move there or not, you can take them to see it in person and maybe even go for a walk around the new area. You want them to be comfortable.

Most of us as humans have problems with change, and for kids, those fears are even more heightened.

Ask Them How They Are Feeling

It’s all very well talking to your children and walking them through everything, but it’s also crucial that you listen to them. Really consider and don’t simply just dismiss any issues they have about moving. Give them as honest answers as you can.

Although it seems like we have not covered any physical moving tips yet, that is because for kids the moving process affects them on an emotional and mental level.

Carefully Choose a Moving Day

A crucial part of ensuring you have as stress-free a move as possible is to choose a moving day. Remember to think about your child when making the decision. Some people prefer to move during the summer holidays or other times outside of term time, whereas others prefer to move while their kids are still at school and preoccupied, as it means they are not getting in the way or feeling bored.

There is no right or wrong way to do it, as you need to consider your own circumstances and choose the best option for all involved, including your children.

Get Them Involved

Okay, so they are not going to be able to do much heavy lifting. However, one way to make them feel less stressed or confused about everything is by getting them involved. Find small jobs that they can do. This could just be letting them pack away stuff from their own room or putting smaller things in one of the vans of the removal company in Tonbridge you hire. Whatever small things you let them do and have responsibility for will help them feel more part of it rather than bored or frustrated.

Benefits of Using Flashcards With Your Children

If you are thinking of ways to help with your child’s learning at home, to bolster what they are learning at school, have you considered flashcards? Flashcards are a great memory aid tool that could help your child learn new words, phrases, and concepts quickly. Although flashcards are primarily associated with teaching younger children, they can still be used with older children too.

Consider some of the great benefits of using flashcards.

They Are Cost-Effective

One of the biggest advantages flashcards have over other memory aid and educational tools are that they are very inexpensive.

They are Portable

Another key benefit of flashcards is the fact that they are small and lightweight. This makes them very portable, which means your child can take them anywhere with them. Even if you are at the park, they can still continue learning if they have flashcards.

They Are Efficient

Beyond their affordability and portability, flashcards are also extremely efficient tools. As they can be taken anywhere and don’t require a huge investment, your child will be able to learn whatever words, phrases, principles or themes and concepts they need to learn in a much quicker time because they will not be restricted by time or place.

Learning is Easier

Whether young or old, one mistake that is all too easy to make when children are learning something new is to try and take in as much as they can in a short amount of time. This can be incredibly detrimental. With flashcards, everything can be simplified to the most important points, so that your children can focus on the crucial aspects of the subject.

They Are Versatile

Although you may have the image in your head of flashcards featuring nouns, verbs, or pictures of different things, places and actions, the truth is that they are incredibly versatile. They can be used for teaching important historical dates, math formulas, and psychology terms. Really, you can take any subject and find some way to incorporate the use of flashcards into your child’s learning.

They Provide a Variety of Different Study Methods

You may feel as if flashcards encourage children to merely learn things by memorising the order. Since you can shuffle the cards, and change the order, you can help them learn to remember things out of order too.

They Make Learning Fun

When you use flashcards, learning stops being something boring and almost chore-like, it can become a fun game. Children love playing games and when you can combine games with education, the results can be amazing.

At Just Family Fun, along with lots of colourful flashcards, there are a variety of other educational tools and resources like maths worksheets, spelling worksheets and learning posters. The great thing is that rather than costing a fortune to access these amazing tools, there is absolutely no cost as you are free to download and print off as many copies as you want and need. Something that we are sure all parents will really appreciate.

Intuitive Life Coaching and How You Can Benefit From it

If you ever feel drained, tired, lonely, ashamed, unmotivated, lost, unfulfilled, resentful, angry, or simply don’t know what you really want to do with your life? If any of those words describe you and how you are feeling, intuitive life coaching might help you. What is the difference between an intuitive life coaching session and a traditional life coaching session and how can it benefit you? That is what we are going to discuss in the following post.

How Do Traditional Life Coaches Differ From Intuitive Life Coaches?

Traditional life coaches and intuitive life coaches use much of the same approaches. They guide you and help you overcome various challenges and to realize and fulfill your potential. They also use similar tools and techniques like daily habits and new skills development and goal setting.

The major difference is though that intuitive life coaches go a lot deeper. You can make real changes to your life with their help as they identify subconscious blocks that are stopping you from enjoying the life you really want to lead. This usually leads to significant changes in your life that will not only meet your expectations but exceed them.

When you work with an intuitive life coach you can help to change your mindset at a deep, subconscious level.

Another major difference between the two types of life coaches is that intuitive life coaches work at your life’s energetic aspects, focusing on subconscious reprogramming and emotional healing to help you achieve your goals.

Benefits of This Kind of Work

There are various benefits you can gain from intuitive life coaching, and it all begins with an intuitive breakthrough session. Some of the main benefits include:

Letting Go of Hurt you Suffered in the Past

All of us have suffered some kind of pain in the past. Trauma often starts for most people during childhood when we experience shame for the very first time. Shame causes us to adopt various survival strategies, that chip away at our personalities. This is often why we feel the need to act in a certain way to be accepted and loved. These strategies stay with us into adulthood. With intuitive life coaching, the emotional roots of these subconscious beliefs and blocks can be uncovered and as they are understood and corrected, you can start to move forward.

Discover True Passions and Purposes

A large percentage of people grow up having very preconceived ideas of what they should be in life. They often spend years and years chasing after the things they have been told and taught that will bring them fulfillment and happiness. However, when they achieve them, they realize they were not what they were looking for.

Intuitive life coaching can help to break down the various layers of conditioning you have had on a subconscious level to help you see what you actually want and what you have been programmed to want. When you gain that understanding, then you can start to realize your full potential and what you want to do with it.

Unlock and Tap Into Your Intuition

One of the biggest benefits of working with an intuitive life coach is that they have already gone through all the hard work and successfully accessed their own intuition. You want to do the same, and they are the perfect guides to help you do it.

The Top 10 Scams to Watch Out for This Valentine’s Day

As with all occasions and holidays, St Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity for scammers to do their work. Here are 10 scams to watch for not just on that date, but at all times.

Identity Theft

There are so many possibilities when it comes to identity theft scams as we blithely share information online that gives away a lot about us. In fact, it’s perhaps best to say that it will happen to you in some form during your life. Just be careful what you share, and who with.

Phishing

A famous and prolific scam, phishing is where unscrupulous persons try and get information out of people using social media. Those ‘questionnaires’ you see on Facebook that look like a bit of fun? Take a step back, as they are usually mining information.

Loan Scams

Persons with bad credit are a target for scammers, and if you’ve been looking for a loan – perhaps to take your other half away for a Valentine’s break – you will have seen many ‘guaranteed loans for bad credit.’ Walk away from them, as 99 out of 100 are not real lenders.

Fake Websites

Before you buy that item, you’ve been looking for at a knockdown price, remember this: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. There are many fake websites offering all types of products, so look for the padlock icon and check the status

Credit Card Scams

That email or SMS – or even a phone call – saying there is an anomaly on your credit card is likely to be a scam. If they ask for your account details don’t give them, and certainly don’t give them your password or even a hint.

eBay Scams

eBay is a great pace to shop for bargains, and there are many new and used items for sale that are entirely genuine. However, it’s also a hotbed for scammers as it is difficult to tell the genuine sellers from the fake offers. Always check feedback and ask the seller a question about the item.

Credit Repair Scams

Credit repair companies exist that can help you with your credit rating, yet this is a market that is rife with false claims. Always research the company carefully and use one of the many searches that tell you the authority of a website.

Debt Collection Scams

You get an email about a debt that you shouldered years ago, but you don’t remember it. These can be quite frightening and intimidating, and often the temptation to pay a usually small amount is too much. Don’t, as the debt more than likely isn’t real.

Fake Products

This one goes back to the ‘if it’s too good to be true’ adage. A Rolex for $100 is never going to be a genuine Rolex. It’s a simple as that.

Fake Competitions

Finally, Facebook and social media are full of fake competitions in which you will win nothing, but give away your address, email, phone number, and probably have to set up an account with a password – a password you use elsewhere.

Be vigilant and enjoy your Valentine’s Day.

The Pros and Cons of Paid Credit Repair Services

A poor credit score can be a hindrance when it comes to getting a loan. Perhaps you need a mortgage for a new house, or you want to buy a car or book a holiday? A poor credit score will either increase the cost of your loan vastly or mean you are not eligible for a loan. There are ways to repair a poor credit score. Credit cards designed especially for the purpose are available, but again, not if your score is below a certain amount. We want to talk about companies that you pay to repair your credit score, so let’s see what they are all about.

What is a Paid Credit Repair Service?

Put simply, there are companies that are finance housed dedicated to helping people with poor credit scores get back into the lending arena. They charge a fee for doing so but can be surprisingly effective. Most of us are not finance wizards, after all, and may not be aware of the methods required to get credit back on track. But are these paid services worth using? Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of using such a service.

Advantages of Paid Credit Repair Services

Before we list the advantages of using paid credit repair solutions you might want to check out this YouTube video that covers the subject in some detail. So, what are the benefits of using paid credit repair services? Here are the main pros:

  • Credit repair services may be able to help you reduce your score more quickly than trying yourself. They know what it takes to achieve the aim and will guide you through the process with expertise.
  • These companies will get to the root of what is causing your poor credit score and set about rectifying that. If you are unsure where to begin, they will be able to point you in the right direction and get the ball rolling.
  • It can be daunting thinking about your poor credit score and it’s something you likely have been putting off, so talking to a credit repair company will give you the confidence to begin.

Now to the potential cons involved.

Disadvantages of Paid Credit Repair Services

Using a paid credit repair service is not for everyone, so here’s our list of the potential pitfalls of using such a service:

  • The cost maybe excessively high and paying a monthly fee may simply add to your debt.
  • It can take many years to fix a poor credit score hence it will cost a lot of money.
  • You can do it yourself by looking at ‘How to’ guides on YouTube and online.
  • There are many scams in the industry that are easy to get fooled by.

Conclusion

Are paid credit repair services worth using? Each case must be treated individually, so we recommend that if you are looking for ways to repair your credit you talk to a reputable company in the first instance and see what advice they can offer you.

 

Benefits of STEM Toys For Kids

You have probably heard a lot about STEM. It includes elements of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and is designed to give children a basic understanding of those different subjects. Did you know you can buy stem toys for kids? Even kids as young as toddler age can take advantage of toys with a positive STEM slant.

If you need further convincing that STEM toys are worth investing in, take a look at some of the great benefits of incorporating them into your little one’s playtime.

Encourage Creative Thinking

When kids are young, one thing you want to do more than anything is encouraging them to expand their active imaginations. With toys focused on STEM concepts, even young children are pushed to employ creative thinking that in turn helps them to develop such skills as spatial reasoning, problem-solving and more. The overarching effect will be that your kid’s confidence is also built and will inspire them to keep pushing and learning more.

Great for Increasing Cognitive Skills

STEM toys can also help to enrich and expand your kid’s cognitive skills as they are being developed. This includes critical thinking, problem-solving and logical reasoning. STEM activities involving many of the toys available are less about just memorizing figures and facts and more about thinking about those facts and figures and assessing the evidence to determine the best course of action or solution to a specific problem.

Enhance Fine Motor Skills

Like all good toys should, STEM toys help to build up your child’s fine motor skills. Whether it is messing around with intricately designed puzzles or building with toy blocks and bricks, their hand-eye coordination and overall dexterity will sharpen in time.

Learning is Made Fun

Learning should always be fun. The bonus with STEM toys is that because toys are fun, it helps your children to associate those subjects that can often be difficult and challenging with enjoyment and excitement. You will find that children are more likely to find that math and science provide them with a world of discovery and freedom. Whether it’s when they are learning the most basic mathematics concepts or creating a complicated scientific concept, STEM toys are ideal.

Make it Easy to Enjoy Some Excellent Parent and Child Bonding Time

A lot of parents tend to forget that they have a crucial role to play in their child’s development. There have been lots of studies conducted that prove there is a connection between parents who regularly participate in the education of their children with kids who perform better academically. For some parents, admittedly, it can be a struggle to do this, because we don’t feel we have the skills or knowledge. However, when you invest in some high-quality STEM toys for tots, you have all you need to work with your children on the type of projects and concepts that will benefit them in later life.

Simply put, if you have not yet invested in STEM toys for your children, now’s the time to change that.

 

Why Spimbey is the Way to Go for Kids Play Spaces

Children love an exciting playground. It becomes a new world for them, one of adventure and innovation. Home playground equipment has been standard in terms of choice for many years, but Spimbey – a US company with a range of exciting and fresh products – aims to change things with a great selection of modular kids play furniture. Let’s a have closer look at what makes Spimbey special and why it is making waves in the market.

Where Did Spimbey Start?

Like many great ideas Spimbey was born from CEO Mark’s memories of his childhood spent growing up in Spain and in the Netherlands. Mark and his friend, like all young children, found their excitement in local parks and playgrounds where they imagined entire worlds as kids do, and playthings such as climbing frames became soaring castles in their adventure world.

As some of the most wonderful memories of his childhood Mark wanted to recreate the experience for his son. However, the outdoor play furniture Mark considered was all large, overbearing, and expensive. He set about designing his own and built what would be the inspiration for Spimbey in his back yard.

Soon, parents of his son’s friends began asking where they could buy this beautifully made, attractive and practical wooden playset. That’s when Mark realized there is a market for these products. What makes Spimbey different to other outdoor kid’s playsets?

What is Special about Spimbey Play Sets?

The basic element of the Spimbey innovation lies in the modular nature of each part. The range includes a playhouse, swings, slides, seats and more, and many parts can be bought separately – if you simply want an attractive playhouse that can be purchased on its own – or as one of many different combinations.

Each part of the Spimbey set can be attached to the others, creating an all-in-one integrated play area that will thrill children of younger ages. This allows for the perfect use of space and a cost-effective solution that will last for many years.

Spimbey and Ethical Sourcing

One of the primary aims of Spimbey is to ensure that all of its products are made from ethically sourced materials. Wood comes from 100% responsible mills and forest projects, which was one of Mark’s main focuses when designing the products.

What makes Spimbey even more impressive is that the roof and wall panels come pre-assembled to cut down on the time spent erecting the structure. Designed by a team in Switzerland, safety is also paramount with Spimbey products which meet all the relevant regulatory requirements for children’s playthings of this type.

Available in a choice of colors and with a lifetime warranty, all Spimbey modular parts are pre-labelled, drilled, sanded and ready to put together using the clear and simple instructions.

If you want to know more about Spimbey modular kids play furniture we recommend you check out the website where there are plenty of excellent images and detailed information on the full product range.

Solar System Projects For Kids

When teaching children, whether you are a teacher, home educator, or just a parent who wants to supplement your kid’s education with additional learning opportunities, it may feel as if enough is going on down here to worry about. Planet Earth is a vast and busy place planet and as it is where we all live, what happens here is of most concern to us all without adding the other planets in our solar system into the mix.

We appreciate that you may feel out of your depth talking about outer space. However, there are some huge benefits from making the effort to do just that.

Greater Understanding of Why Life on Earth is so Important

One of the biggest benefits of learning about the solar system for children, as it is for everyone, is helping to understand why life on earth is so important and needs protecting. There are currently no other planets in our solar system that can sustain life of any kind, let alone human beings. Therefore, Earth is our home. Although it is good to learn about this home, by learning facts about the other planets, stars, and bodies floating in space, your children will gain a better appreciation for why the Earth is so important.

Great For Teaching About Size and Distance

Considering facts about other planets can help children understand distance and size. Take Olympus Mons, for example. It is known as a shield volcano and not only is it the largest volcano in our solar system, but it is the largest mountain. Discussing the fact that it is 72.000-ft tall may go completely over the heads of your children. And rightly so. Just as it would if you told them that Mount Everest, earth’s biggest mountain, is 29,000-ft tall.

However, when your children know the sizes of them both and you point out that Olympus Mons is around 2 and a half times bigger than Everest, they might start to understand the difference in size.

Greater Appreciation About the Harmony in the Universe

Another important benefit of learning about the solar system is that your children will gain a better understanding and appreciation for the harmony that exists in the universe. How each planet and planetary body has a place and important role. This can help them to have greater appreciation too for the hot topic that is climate change.

Key to Understanding Life-Critical Cycles

Finally, when kids understand more about the solar system, they understand more about why things work the way they do on earth. They can also learn more about the position of different planets to Earth and how their position plays an important part in the cycles that keep the earth a habitable planet.

Although it may feel out of your comfort zone, it is incredibly beneficial for children to learn about the solar system, because even if they do feel small and insignificant compared to the large vastness of space, the planets and other bodies that make up our solar system have a hugely important role to play and keep the planet spinning and life living.

Take a look at these great solar system projects for kids.

Why You Need to Maintain these Areas of Your Home Exterior

Owning a home is something we all aspire to, but when we reach that achievement, it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the maintenance that is required. The good thing is there are professionals who can help with all areas of home and garden maintenance, although there are some jobs that could be done if you are competent at DIY.

We’ve looked at areas of the home that do need maintenance either every few years or more regularly and we’ll advise which you can do yourself and those that are best left to the experts.

Exterior Woodwork

The exterior woodwork on your home most likely takes the form of doors and windows, and other fixtures and fittings. It will also be painted with either a colour or a protective coating. The problem is that year on year of rain, wind, snow, and sun takes it out of the paint, and can damage the wood. This is a job that we suggest is best done by a professional as they will be able to fix any damage and also know the right paint or protection to use for the best results.

Roof and Gutters

One of the most common areas of damage to the interior of the house comes when you fail to maintain your roof and gutter. These work together to effectively get rid of rainwater in the most efficient way. If, however, your gutters get blocked – by leaves, other debris, even dead animals can be the cause – this will cause pools of water to rest on your roof. If left unattended to this will not drain away and will simply seep into the loft area. This is a professional job that should be done once a year at least and these people –  https://www.cleanproguttercleaning.com/atlanta-ga/gutter-cleaning-atlanta/ – come highly recommended by Atlanta residents and commercial businesses.

Paved Areas

If you have paved areas – perhaps paths and a drive – you will notice them become dirty over time, and some of the paving stones may even crack. To remove the dirt is simple: you need a pressure washer or a company that washes pavings and you will see an immediate and quite amazing improvement.

To replace broken pavings may be a professional job depending on how they were originally laid and what amount of repair work is required, so we recommend you talk to a local paving expert who will be happy to give you a competitive quote.

Garden Maintenance

Finally, there is your garden to consider. Not everyone is a keen gardener and in these days of busy working lives many people don’t have the time to maintain outdoor spaces. This is a problem because you not only want your garden areas to look neat and tidy, you want them in a state where you can use them when you need to without having to tidy up first. Local gardening service providers are your answer, so talk to one now and see what they advise.