Disco Stu's Top Tips to help Students Save MoneyWritten by Stu Collins
The biggie, of course, is GO HOME. You can eat free there. And Mum will probably do laundry (if you crawl / look pathetic enough). It pays to save up your laundry till trip is worthwhile - you can even take in laundry from your richer student pals for cash and you mum will do that too, not realising it isn't your stuff. Plus, you will find that your dad has filled fridge with beer, expecting you to be away till holidays. Sucker! The downside, of course, is that they won't want you smoking around place, so you will have to hang out window with a rollie. But when you balance this with fact that fogies will act like an unpaid taxi service, and even give you a little 'pocket money' - well, hey, you can't go wrong now can ya?Can't go home? OK. Not a problem. Start by TRACKING YOUR EXPENDITURE. Where's cash going? You would be gob-smacked to see how much you spend on crisps and rizlas. If you keep a list of little things, you can start to weed them out. No one NEEDS a Snickers bar, do they? So why are you buying 15 a week??? I'm not saying you can't have fun, but you just need to BUDGET for it. If you always go out on a Friday night, make sure you have listed 12 pints of cooking lager you always quaff down student bar into your budget list. If you don't, then come Sunday you don't have enough for KFC and Fries. Use spreadsheets available for free on www.noDebtEver.com and you won't go far wrong. Budgeting properly is doubly important when you realize that most students run out of cash half way thru term. If you budget, you will still have some dosh left by last week, and won't have to hang around bins in car park looking for scraps. And don't imagine you can use your 'credit cards' to pay your way. Despite name, and what your friends say, they are actually 'debt cards', and you actually have to pay back money you take off them. Really. I know, I was gob-smacked too. But it's true. If you don't pay it back, they hassle you, and then your parents, so just stay away from them. Shysters. If you MUST use plastic (say, to impress girlies) set a strict limit and DO NOT go over i t. They charge you something called 'interest' which actually isn't very interesting, but does make final bill bigger, which is really naff - this is explained on www.nodebtever.com but you probably won't understand it cos I didn't either.
| | Introduction to Private Equity InvestingWritten by Murray Priestley
Private Equity Investing is investing into privately owned companies. A private investor can inject capital into a business that needs it. In return they will receive part-ownership in company. The principle is same as investing in stock market, however, there is much more room for growth if company you invest in takes off. Venture Capitalists are private equity investors on a large scale. They make big investments expecting massive returns. Even on a low budget you can be a private equity investor.In this article you will discover: * What is Private Equity Investing? * How Private Equity Investing plays a part in your portfolio What is Private Equity Investing? Private Equity Investing covers investments in unlisted companies at various stages of development. Private Equity Investment is often in form of funding but may include a combination of funding and debt. The major portion of investment return is realised when company or business is sold or listed on a stock exchange. This ‘sale’ date is normally determined before capital is invested. The two main kinds of Private Equity Investing are Venture Capital and Expansion Capital. Venture capital Strong Venture Capital candidates are normally ‘start-up’ companies that have innovative products that could result in outstanding growth and superior returns for investors. ‘Start-up’ or ‘venture capital’ investment is generally in form of equity into business with no security. Expansion capital ‘Expansion’ or ‘development’ capital candidates are established businesses that are capital constrained but have good growth prospects. Typically, these companies have a history of profitability but would benefit from additional finance to continue growing. Investment in companies at this stage of their growth is substantially less risky than that in start-up companies but prospects for growth are also far smaller.
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