finance

How to Make Sustainable Money from Home

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A man sitting in his office making money from home

Making a quick buck is something everyone looks to do. However, how many people think about making sustainable money from home? A steady stream that will keep you good for a long time?

If that’s what you’re looking for, you’re in the right place.

Earning money online asks for discipline, devotion, and the right mindset. Working remotely is a growing trend too that’s enabling the ability to earn money remotely. More and more people use remote incomes to pay their bills and college fees. 

But how do you do it sustainably? So you’re not only improving your earning potential, but you’re helping the environment and society in the process. Let’s talk about how to make sustainable money from home online. 

Best Ways to Follow a Sustainable Lifestyle and Earn Money 

1. Online Jobs 

Monetizing creative skills is as simple as you imagine it to be. You can have many online opportunities that you can try. First, learn the basics by choosing an area of interest. Then, get yourself on a platform – whether it’s a blog or a website. Once you’ve done that, you can earn greater revenues by getting audiences to click on ads placed on your website, blog, or videos. 

2. An “Eco-Friendly” Agency

Ever planned to venture out and let the entrepreneur in you out? Think about a business plan that not only brings you a good amount of revenue but also improves your quality of life. For instance, run your own biodegradable tote bag business, or start a blog on green savings or a side hustle that’s all about being organic. 

3. “Recycling” Is Your Best Friend

What if we told you that you could earn by recycling? You can help the planet and earn some bucks. Selling or buying your preloved clothes at good prices is something worth looking into. It will also allow you to recycle and declutter the things that you have lying around at your home. 

4. Grow Some Plants And Seeds

Make a sustainable living by selling your stunning perennials, ornamental trees, organic seeds, or whatever else you can come up with. Discover what might grow well and have the commercial sense to sell. 

5. Thinking Out-Of-The-Box

Sometimes, you feel stuck with messy thoughts and no solution to make a living. At such times, think outside the box and make a way out by using household items! You can have a steady income stream by turning your old clothes into bags, making jewelry out of unusual materials, and selling these online. There you go, greater inventiveness is on your way!

Bottom Line

What makes you stand out from the rest is the will to give back to the community. A sustainable future is possible if we bring in integrity, ethics, and compassion together. With a little research, you will find individuals and organizations like you out there who are dedicated to “green solutions.” Spruce up your resume and give your luck a try. A whole lot of dreams are waiting to be aimed at and fulfilled!

3 Ways to Make Your Business Eco-Friendly

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People in a meeting talking about eco-friendly business

Businesses across industries have been shifting to make eco-friendly businesses. Such changes can benefit your business financially and achieve your financial goals, while also enabling you to differentiate yourself from competitors. Reports by EY and Nielsen cite that more than 60% of consumers are more inclined to buy a product or survey if it’s sustainable.

To become an eco-friendly business, you have to focus on decreasing the negative impact of your business on the environment. This can be achieved through incorporating sustainable business practices, supplying more green products or services, and becoming greener than conventional competitors.

Embrace greener methods of transportation

In the U.S., transportation accounts for 28 percent of overall greenhouse emissions. To reduce your business’s carbon footprint, you can encourage employees to use green means of transportation.

The greenest transport methods available are bikes and trains, which cut emissions by circa 75% and 80% respectively compared to car trips. Moreover, car-sharing initiatives––which allow the renting of cars without owning one––can decrease the number of cars on the road, ultimately reducing carbon emissions as well.

There are several ways you can incentivize employees to use greener modes of transport. You can purchase public transport passes for your employees, enable (short-distance) business travels through car sharing, and offer gift vouchers for sports equipment to encourage employees to walk or cycle.

Use sustainable packaging

Green packaging makes use of materials makes use of sustainable materials that don’t require a lot of energy to produce (or discard). These often include recyclable and biodegradable materials––as opposed to more harmful packaging materials like plastic. You can also save money by switching to a sustainable lifestyle.

The use of sustainable materials can have many advantages for your company. These can help reduce your carbon footprint, make disposal of packaging materials easier, and ultimately improve the way your brand is perceived by consumers. A survey conducted by the Recycled Paperboard Alliance found that 81% of consumers felt better about purchasing a product whose packaging constituted of such materials. Moreover, a separate study found that one-third of consumers cited environmentally friendly packaging as their most important purchase criterion.

To implement this change, there are several eco-friendly packaging materials you can use as viable alternatives for your products. Biodegradable air peanuts, cornstarch packaging, recycled cardboard and paper, and organic fabrics are some environmentally friendly packaging options that can be used.

Integrate eco-friendly values into the company

For long-term change towards greener company practices, sustainability has to be engrained within your company’s vision. The best way to do this is by making a green mission statement as part of your eco-friendly business’s overall company culture. Creating an environmental mission statement involves establishing your ‘why’s’ and goals for your green mission statement, and implementing these within your core values, core purpose, and long-term vision.

A 2019 study has found that the presence of a green organizational culture predicts a company’s green performance as well as its competitive advantage. Additionally, a separate study conducted on Turkish companies found that factors influencing sustainable practices have a positive relationship with the presence of a green organizational culture. As such, having a company culture that invests in green practices can help you reap the benefits of eco-friendly businesses.

Making the change

As a business that seeks to successfully reduce its carbon footprint, making the shift to becoming an eco-friendly company involves more than just making the switch away from plastic coffee cups. It requires a sustainable change in company values, business practices, and supply chain operations. While this may seem like a daunting venture, taking small steps over an extended period of time can make environmental sustainability an easy and accessible process.

5 Ways to Make Money on the Side after Lockdown

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The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the lives of many. With it, people lost their jobs and sources of livelihood. Confined to their homes, one can’t help but feel trapped, helpless, and anxious. As the bills keep piling, we are constantly faced with the threat of coping with the over-cumbering stress of dealing with it all.

However, despite the way things are, you can still earn a decent amount of money from your home. In today’s article, we give you five essential ways to acquire money after the lockdown.

1. Online Tutoring and Coaching

There are many vacancies in the educational sector due to the lockdown of schools and educational institutions worldwide. High demand for capable individuals is required to fill in the roles of teachers and lecturers.

Furthermore, many parents will seek the help of trained professionals to tutor their children after the lockdown. Online tutoring is a lucrative opportunity, and one of the many ways to make money from your hobby at home.

All you require is a stable Wi-Fi connection and a webcam to host video sessions on zoom. Online platforms and freelance sites are great ways of getting into the job market and making decent money.

2. Proofreading

Do you enjoy spending time reading novels? If your grammar is impeccable or merely functional, consider pursuing a career in proofreading. Many publishers are willing to pay top dollar on edits simply because they don’t have the time to run through corrections. On average, you can earn up to $15 per hour and more, depending on your employment.

A good internet connection and a word processor/editor are all you need to get started in the comfort of your home.

3. Blogging

With the rise of Instagram, celebrities, influencers, and YouTubers, making a living on the internet is quite a popular trend. Even with entry-level skills, you too can start earning money from your website.

Blogging entails running your domain and writing exciting content to drive traffic and convert them into followers. Advertisement systems such as Google AdSense pay bloggers a decent amount of following daily passive income. Blogs ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 views a day can easily make up to $20 – $120, or more.

You can increase your income using affiliate links from programs such as Amazon affiliates, and earn commissions by advertising their products on your site. This passive income field is quite sustaining; the overall estimates of affiliate market revenue are bound to shoot up to $8.2 billion in the coming two years. 

4. Rent Your Car

With all that’s happening right now, driving is the last thing on your mind. Instead, you can consider leasing out your car to workers and healthcare practitioners who require a vehicle. You can easily post your vehicle online and have people reach out to you from the comfort of your home.

If that’s not enough, you can decide to lend your vehicle as an Uber and get paid daily. For this, you will need to have the required paperwork, such as PSV insurance, license, car check-up diagnostics, and road testing certifications.

5. Playing Video Games

For some, the years of playing World of Warcraft are finally beginning to pay off. The emergence of lockdown protocols has brought about a superb opportunity to lounge around and pass the time gaming.

Nowadays, video games have turned into a multi-billion franchise with the development of E-sports and grand tournaments. Games like Fortnite, PUBG, Overwatch, and Call of Duty warzone, to name a few are topping the charts in popular online games. To get started, all you would need is a

  • Fast internet connection with low ping
  • Screen recording software
  • A microphone
  • Headphones
  • Console or gaming pc.

Set up a Twitch and YouTube account and frequently post your gaming content. As you progress in numbers, more and more followers begin to subscribe to your channel and will even donate money. YouTube analytics is an excellent way to keep track of your traffic. Similar to blogs, the more views you get, the more you can earn passively.

In Summary

While the coronavirus has placed an enormous standstill in everyone’s lives, you can still support yourself and earn money. Our five tips will equip you with the knowledge to help you to make money on the side after lockdown.

Can You Practice Green Investing as a Currency Trader?

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As a Forex trader, your goal is to make money off of exchange rates and different types of money-related markets. For many people, not only do they want to be able to make returns off of this particular endeavor, but they want to take a green approach to their work as well. Understanding how to correlate your eco-friendly goals with your Forex transactions is an important part of building your portfolio.

What is Green Investing?

Green investing simply means that you have a focus on companies that either support or provide eco-friendly and sustainable services. For example, the company might base itself in organic farming, or it might be a company that has taken hundreds of measures to reduce their impact on the local environment. Another great example of green investing is choosing to buy stock in a solar panel manufacturer or an electric hybrid car company. It may take a bit of research on your part to figure out which companies and areas are practicing these environmentally-friendly methods so that you can make smarter decisions.

Is It Possible with Forex?

As a Forex exchanger, your goal is to buy and sell currency as it changes in value. This is one of the most popular options available, and it is why so many people have gotten involved in the monetary market to date. Rather than purchasing individual stocks, online Forex trading can be done as a way to avoid severe fluctuations in the market on any given day. If you’d like to become a green investor, this is definitely possible when dealing with monetary markets. It simply takes a bit of research to figure out which currencies to buy and trade that align with your goals.

How Can It Be Done?

There are several ways for you to take your love for the environment and blend it into your Forex trading. First, you’ll want to buy, sell or exchange currencies that are specific to countries that are more environmentally-friendly. These countries may be adopting sustainable practices, so you’ll be supporting their efforts by investing into their currency. Likewise, you can take the funds that you make off of your investments to put back into eco-friendly companies and sustainable manufacturers.

What You Need to Get Started

The first step is to find a Forex platform that works for you. Before choosing the company you’ll be using to do your trading, it’s a smart idea to see what efforts they are taking to lower their impact on the environment. Choosing an eco-friendlier platform will help you to achieve your goals of becoming a green investor. You will then need to create a portfolio for yourself to get started. Your next step is to buy and exchange currencies in order to start seeing a monetary return. While actively working, it’s a smart idea to continue to familiarize yourself with different currencies and countries. This will allow you to avoid investing in countries that are not practicing environmental conservation so that you can focus all of your efforts on ones that do.

How Bitcoin Can Evolve

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Everyone is down on Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has been hovering around $10,000 for a long time, occasionally popping up and then dipping back down below. The roller coaster valuation is troublesome, but it is more in line with historical commodities. The original cryptocurrency is just going through  what many financial instruments have gone through over their life spans, from invention to adoption to mainstream acceptance. The bubble fears could be real, but that can happen with any currency or security or financial product.

The key is to manage the short term volatility while still staying hip to the long game. The underlying value of Bitcoin is in the blockchain technology. And its uses will evolve greatly as we see the market create new uses for the tech and the tools emerge from behind the shiny new toys.

Blockchain can be a very effective tool for organizing and verifying digital rights management. That could offer a great new way of creating and monetizing media. When you combine private key cryptography with the right incentives and a shared, distributed ledger, you can keep track of ownership in a very secure and efficient manner. That has all sorts of ramifications for creating media, keeping the ownership benefits with creators and making sure that the network is protected from outside forces.

Bitcoin dreamers will believe till the very end. The idea of a decentralized currency with no fiat properties and a viable transaction speed may be a pipe dream. But the process of working towards that and the market doing its work will result in tools and technologies that otherwise would not have existed. That is the process that the growth of the world wide web and digital tech has revealed to us. There is always going to be a use that others did not think of.

Staying on top of the Bitcoin news cycle can be valuable for traders and for enthusiasts. If you are looking to take advantage of the ongoing volatility, you can keep track of the markets and how the various cryptocurrencies react against each other. That can give you profitable insights that might not hurt your bottom line. The key is to be familiar enough with the various exchanges and be able to move money around without incurring too many excessive fees. Day trading crypto is possible, but it is harder than day trading more traditional financial products.

Popular culture has a complicated relationship to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Many in the entertainment industry regard the markets with skepticism and thinly veiled contempt. That is often how people that don’t’ understand the nuances tend to regard new things. A popular comedian on HBO recently compared Bitcoin to Beanie Babies and gambling, capitalizing on the association with unsustainable valuation and improper risk management.

While that may be funny to some, the truth is that Bitcoin can be the beginning of something much more substantial. Learn as much as you can about the blockchain, so you can be ahead of the naysayers and the skeptics.

 

6 Ways to Save Money by Going Green at Work

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Tesla’s hyper-sexy cars and expensive solar roofs may have you believing that going green is only for the rich and famous. But don’t let Musk convince you that being environmentally-friendly needs to cost a fortune. Here are six simple ways you can go green whilst actually saving money for your business:

1.  Government subsidies

The government is trying to incentivize going green, and there’s a good chance you’ll get a rebate for being environmentally friendly at work. If you’re short on cash on a rebate approved investment, a good idea may be to get a small grant, or a cash advance from Cash Stop to install the technology required to go green. Considering how these newer and sustainable technologies are cheaper to operate, you can expect some considerable savings over time.

2.  LED costs less

There’s no doubt that LED bulbs cost more upfront. However, they are designed to last nearly 25x longer than other bulbs. Over time, these smart LED lights can cost nearly a third of what incandescent bulbs would cost you.

Switching all your bulbs to LEDs could save your business thousands of dollars each year, and the government estimates it could save the country a total of $30 billion by 2027. LEDs look better and are more customizable, so there’s really no good reason not to get them.

3.  Upcycle furniture

Used or recycled furniture will probably cost less to buy and is great for the environment. Old chairs and desks can easily be refurbished for use in your office.

4.  Save money on travel by working from home

A report from 2013 found that nearly half of all the staff at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) worked from home. This is because the department responsible for conserving the environment knows what’s best for it.

Working from home cuts out the single biggest pollutant – vehicular emissions. It also costs the business less to provide heating and lighting for employees when they turn up to work. Large firms like IBM and Microsoft have saved tens of thousands of dollars per employee who chose to work from home.

5.  Conserve Water

Even a relatively small office can save nearly $300 a year by using water-efficient appliances. You can probably go a step further and replace your toilet and heaters with the latest technology to conserve even more water each year.

6.  No More paper

Paper isn’t expensive, but larger firms use a ton of it and much of it is wasted. Over time, the costs add up. Digitizing completely means less waste and substantial cost savings, depending on the size of your business. Some large firms have saved millions in paper costs alone.

Going green isn’t always expensive. These are just some of the sustainable moves you can make to cut costs while saving the planet.

Here’s why it is important to document your finances for your family

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Life is unpredictable and being healthy today does not guarantee you the same tomorrow. Death and incapacitation are common occurrences that take place on a daily basis and thus one needs to have a plan. Documenting your finances does not mean that you are predicting own death as many people tend to think. It just shows that you are smart and responsible enough to direct others how to use your estates when you are gone. The following are reasons why you should document your finances.

  1. Appoint your beneficiaries

The government shares property among the immediate family members according to the laws and regulations regarding inheritance if there is no valid will. Such property is not given to charity or friends unless there is a will that directs so. You can distribute your finances among family, friends and other noble courses through writing.

  1. Avoid conflicts among family members

Family feuds and fights over property often happen due to lack of documentation. The government in such a case appoints a lawyer to handle the sharing. Inheritance disagreements can lead to enmity and mistrust among family members. The only way to ensure that family members protect and respect your decisions is putting it in writing.

  1. To cater for emergencies

Accidents are inevitable, and you can become ill or incapacitated such that you cannot make logical decisions. You can designate someone to handle your finances in such instances for smooth running. You can draft a Power Of Attorney to deal with all your legal and financial matters. You can also prepare a living will that dictates how to handle your medical health when you cannot speak for yourself.

  1. Avoid losing property to the government

The crown takes all the assets when someone dies with no valid will or family. The process of inheriting unclaimed assets is tedious because one has to prove that he/she is an entitled relative. Friends can also fraud your loved ones after your demise.

  1. Plan ahead for a decent send-off

You can direct the family members on how to conduct your funeral service, particularly if you want specific things to happen. The last thing you want is to lumber your family with debt. Paying into a plan will stop that problem from happening.

A proper documentation gives your inheritors an easy time when managing your estates. It is only through writing that you can direct your loved ones on how to use the property.