Financial planning is an important part of being an adult. You spend money almost every day, and you work hard to earn the money you spend. You have bills to pay and dreams to live, and you can’t do either of those if you don’t have a solid financial strategy in place.

If you’re reading this article then you’re at least thinking about planning for your future, and that’s a great first step! No matter what you’ve heard about financial planning, It’s never too late (or too early) to sit down and figure out how to make your money work for you. 

There are three basic steps to financial planning: Evaluate, Set Goals, and Create a Strategy.

Evaluate

Before you can make plans with your money, you need to know how much you have to work with and where it’s already going.

First, look at all of your sources of income and figure out exactly how much money you have coming in each month, and when you receive it.

Next, create a detailed list of every monthly bill you are currently paying. Don’t worry about cutting costs yet, at this point you’re just giving yourself a solid understanding of your monthly cash-flow

Last of all, estimate your remaining monthly expenses. Things that you spend money on every month that aren’t bills. For example: groceries, gas, and eating out. Looking at your spending for the last 3-4 months can help you get an idea for how much you usually spend in each category.

Set Goals

Now that you know how much money you’re earning and where it’s all going, you need to set some goals. Your financial goals can be big or small, short or long term. If you’re new to handling your own budget, it might be helpful to start with something small and short-term so you can get a handle on setting the strategy to achieve your goal.

Some ideas for major financial goals could include buying a home, paying off debt, or investing for retirement. Short-term financial goals could include saving for a vacation, paying for a wedding ring, or buying a new car.

Whatever goal you choose, make sure it’s something you are dedicated to working hard to achieve.

Create A Strategy

Finally it’s time to figure out how to turn your current cash-flow into something that will allow you to achieve your goal. There are plenty of detailed guides out there for how to create a financial plan, but here are the basics. Your strategy will probably include a combination of reducing your current spending, and increasing your current income.

Reducing spending might mean cancelling some of your subscriptions, eating at home more often, or even carpooling to work. If you’re currently living without a budget, you will probably be surprised at how much you spend on things you don’t really need. Remember that reducing is good, but you should still leave yourself a bit of “fun money” every month to help you avoid going over budget in other areas.

Increasing your earnings could mean finding a side-hustle, working gigs, or just putting in a little overtime. If you work a 9-5 job, the easiest way to increase your income is to simply ask for a raise. If you’ve never done that before it can definitely be nerve wracking, but it’s worth it when you get the pay off. Remember that the worst they can say is “no” – and most employers are willing to give at least a small bump simply because you asked for it.

Handling Unexpected Expenses

Plan as you might, life can … Read the rest

Any hiring process takes some time and effort. Should you even deal with a background check that only takes up more time anyway? Stop that thinking right now- because background checks matter for several reasons.

1. Your Reputation is on the Line

Background checks matter because your reputation is ultimately being tested with the wrong hire. Your company isn’t just a logo or brand. Its professionalism is reflected in every interaction between your staff and customers.

Hire an inappropriate candidate, and those interactions are suddenly struggles. You don’t want unhappy customers! Word of mouth is still a powerful force. Use those screenings as a way to find responsible and experienced people in the world. They’re defined by consistent work in specific industries and high credit scores.

2. Protects Your Current Employees

Every new hire has a unique story to his or her past. Some individuals have a more colorful past than others. By using a background check, you’re picking people with a responsibility streak. People with criminal histories might bring negative habits and acquaintances to the workplace. As a result, your current employees feel uncomfortable.

Create positive energy and good chemistry with new hires who have a similar mindset to your staff. It makes a huge difference in the end.

3. Reduces Hiring Costs

Have you ever hired one person and let him or her go in the first few weeks? Almost every company has dealt with this issue. Hiring costs are expensive in the first place. Performing the hiring process twice for the same position in only a few months’ time is a huge dent in your profits.

Use the screening process to find the right candidate on the first try. Although there are no guarantees that the person will work out for the long term, there’s a better chance than without the background check.

4. Curbs Lawsuit Exposure

Some jobs require certain skills, such as driving a van or truck. Your new hire should have experience in these areas. What if the person had an accident on the job in the past? You’d want to know about it.

Curb your exposure to potential lawsuits with a screening. Checkr provides background checks that can include driving records. Hire only the people who have a clean record. Any accident-prone individuals might cause an accident in your vehicle. Lawsuits are inevitable at that point.

5. Prevents Loss

Fill your office with trustworthy people, and internal loss is quickly curbed. Questionable characters might steal from the office, from paper reams to pencils. The most concerning loss involve data.

Without thorough screenings, you might hire a person who’s adept at hacking your system. Data theft of proprietary information and worse is on the rise. You want to know that every person accessing your hard drives is on your side. Loss prevention continues to be a goal for every employer regardless of the industry.

Turn to a reputable company for your screening processes. Checkr provides background checks and user-friendly reports for your optimal analysis. Hire the best applicants from your pool with ease. Checkr’s reports will get you there.

… Read the rest