The Man Closet: How to Save Money on Updating your Wardrobe

Men typically don’t look at their wardrobe the same way that most women do. However, dressing well requires a versatile wardrobe. Unfortunately, a versatile wardrobe requires a lot of money...or does it? 

There are ways men can revitalize their wardrobe and keep it up-to-date without breaking the bank doing so. Follow these tips and your wallet will thank you for it.

1. Invest in versatility.

Rather than buying a number of different wardrobe pieces, find clothing that can serve a number of different purposes. For example, an oxford can be the central piece of your Sunday best, or it can be unbuttoned and have the sleeves rolled up for a smart, casual appearance. 

You also want to make sure that you have clothes that you are comfortable with when just lounging around the house or just going out in the general public. You will want to have T-shirts, jeans, dress pants, dress shirts, button ups, polo shirts, and winter clothes. 

With this versatile mix of clothes, you can learn how to combine different pieces to create different outfits.

2. Mix shades.

You don’t want to have too much of one color. A lot of men seem to stick to the primary colors. You need a nice mix up of colors. 

It will help you to not have a boring wardrobe and wearing essentially the same thing over and over again. When you shop for clothing, don't buy clothing that's in contrast to other pieces. Instead, focus on purchasing shades of complementary colors. 

White, grey, black and shades of blue combine well. Fashion is taking a turn towards more muted colors anyway; for a modern wardrobe, learn to mix and match the shades of your clothing.

3. Update the wardrobe slowly.

When it comes to updating your wardrobe, you don't need to switch out everything at once. It is a waste of money to do it all at once. 

Focus on purchasing clothing as you can afford it and trading it for other pieces in your wardrobe. Get rid of the pieces that you'll never wear again. You can sell or donate your old clothes as well. 

Focus on getting a few basic staple pieces until you can afford more. That tie bar can wait; get the white oxford first.

4. Shop the sales.

Keep an eye out for sales at your favorite stores, and make sure to take advantage of them. Sales will save your wallet. You might even consider to wait and start updating your wardrobe until around the holidays. 

There are a lot of great deals for clothes around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the coming weeks before Christmas. Buying clothing that has been discounted can be a great way to save money, especially if you're a bigger guy. 

Big and tall clothing tends to be significantly more expensive, but looking for sales and using Casual Male XL coupons can be a way to cut the cost of upgrading your wardrobe.

5. Check the thrift stores.

There are usually hidden treasures and a lot of cool articles of clothing waiting to be found in thrift shops. 

Don't be afraid to dive in and browse the shelves to find a unique wardrobe piece on the cheap. Designer clothing can usually be found at great prices, if you care about brands.

Updating your wardrobe can be a lot of fun and it doesn't have to kill your budget or your wallet. By employing these five tips, you can give yourself a fashion overhaul and look awesome without breaking your bank in the process.

Six Tips To Protect Your Business Financially

Every day, businesses close their doors. Most often, this is simply due to being overwhelmed with expenses far exceeding revenues.

If you want to survive as a business owner, you must take the proper steps to protect your business financially.

1. Purchase Business Insurance

One thing you certainly don’t want to cut corners on is business insurance. Insurance coverage may seem like an overhead expense you can easily avoid.

However, if something goes wrong and you don’t have insurance, your company can be put out of business instantly. Ensure your facilities and assets and obtain proper liability coverage.

2. Obtain Proper Legal Representation

Protecting your company from financial ruin requires properly addressing the legal aspects of running your business. The best way to do this is by acquiring legal software specializing in business law.

Other situations where expert legal services will be needed include completing a merger, purchasing real estate, implementing venture capital financing, protecting intellectual property, and more.

3. Separate Your Personal and Business Assets

As a business owner, one thing you should certainly do is make sure your personal assets and the business’s assets are not mixed together. If the expenses are hard to tell apart, you will have a harder time obtaining deductions on your taxes.

You should have separate bank accounts and credit cards for yourself and the business. This will also protect you if your company fails or your identity is stolen.

4. Secure Your IT

You also need to ensure your company is secure from a digital standpoint. Not having proper firewalls and security software installed on company computers could lead to hackers stealing your information and customer data.

You should also use a service to back up your information. You don’t want to lose it due to something like a power surge during a thunderstorm.

5. Diversify Business Investments

Like any portfolio, your business investments should be properly diversified. This is especially the case if you’re starting a new business that is in a risky industry.

One way you can diversify your business investments is by choosing different kinds of asset classes such as stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, and more.

6. Pay Your Tax Correctly

You need to ensure your business follows the law regarding your accounting procedures and how you pay your business income taxes to the government. Consult with experts instead of trying to go it alone. The consequences of making mistakes can be severe.

Overall, protecting your business means always staying on top of your finances. While it’s good to ask for help when you need it, don’t trust the financial livelihood of your company to someone below you.

You have to stay on top of each financial aspect of your company as a responsible business owner.

Events During the 1930's That Changed the World Forever

The 1930’s was one of the most historically tumultuous and eventful periods of time during the 20th century. Indeed, a lot of the modern world, as we know it, was shaped by many of the events that occurred during this fascinating decade. 

The stark contrast of some of the period’s events are extreme. While artists and entertainers like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were creating some of their best work on the silver screen, in Europe the most influential dictator in the history of the world was rising to prominence. 

This kind of dialectic was common in this time, during which certain things happened that forever altered the fabric of our society. Here’s a list of some events in the 1930’s that changed the world forever...

The Great Depression

The 1930’s was a decade marked by a long period of economic downturn that spread over the entire world. This event was called the Great Depression. And it set the stage for much of what would happen later on in this time. 

Towards the end of 1929, the stock market had crashed, which is when historians officially mark the start of the Great Depression. However, the stock market crash isn’t necessarily the cause of the Depression, but more of a symptom of it. Explanations for the economic decline are varied, and depend largely on one’s viewpoint. 

During this time, unemployment and poverty began to soar, causing great discontent amongst the populace as the standard of living began to drop. 

While this Depression affected the entire world, no country was hit as hard as the United States, which was never able to fully recover until it entered World War II.

This Depression created a great air of economic uncertainty that still persists in the world today. It showed that the United States, and other industrialized countries, that its economy was never really safe from decline, no matter how booming it might be right before it happens. 

This sort of uncertainty has bred government distrust that looms many political debates today. All of this eventually led to the creation of the New Deal, a group of stimulus programs meant to inspire the economy and put the country back to work. 

This fundamentally changed the purported relationship between government and the economy.

Rise of Nazism

Adolf Hitler, a man who needs no introduction, rose to power during the 1930s. In 1933, Hitler and his National Socialist party were elected all across the German government. Hitler himself was elected as the Chancellor of Germany. 

The Nazi Party established a government that was committed to reversing the Treaty of Versailles, creating a pure German society by removing minority elements (such as Jews, homosexuals, and disabled people), fighting communism, and expanding German territory. 

Unfortunately for most, the Nazis were incredibly efficient in carrying out this agenda. Germany quickly expanded territory by invading Sudetenland and Austria, without any opposition from the rest of Europe.

In 1938, after the assassination of a German diplomat named Ernst Vom Rath by a German-Polish Jew, the Nazi government carried out a large scale assault on the Jewish population, as a means of retaliation. 

At the hands of the SS, the Gestapo, and even Hitler’s Youth, around 90 Jews were killed, and 30,000 more arrested. This was a precursor for later events. In 1934, Paul von Hindenburg, the President of Germany, died. 

Hitler and his cabinet passed a law that moved all powers of President and Chancellor to Hitler, thus assuring a totalitarian government.

Keynes vs. Hayek

The 1930’s set the stage for the most influential debate that the world has ever had. This particular debate would come to greatly influence our modern world, and change the economic structure in which we all exist. 

This battle of ideology was between theories of economic interventionist policy and classical economic theory. In particular, this was a debate between the British economist, John Maynard Keynes, and an Austrian economist, Friedrich Hayek. 

During the Great Depression, there was a good deal of arguing on how best to handle the economy and its recovery. Keynes believed that the free market couldn’t revitalize itself on its own, and the inevitable contraction would cause any stabilization to be too weak to support the population, thus the only way to fix the economy was to use public spending to reinvigorate private investment.

Hayek believed the opposite of this. He believed that any increased spending would only serve to keep afloat the very financial groups that wrecked the economy. 

His proposition was to let the economy fall to its natural conclusion so that it could begin to enjoy real, sustainable growth. Ultimately, however, the world today looks much more like how Keynes had imagined it. 

His interventionist policies were largely accepted by leaders like FDR, Neville Chamberlain, and Winston Churchill. For more information on Keynes and Hayek, check out this blog post here.

Breaking Down VA Home Loans and How They Can Help Your Family

There's a lot of misinformation out there about VA loans. You don't have to be buying your first home, you can use the benefit multiple times, and, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, you don't even have to be active-duty military. 

Veterans, spouses of deceased veterans, and even long-time National Guard members are eligible for a VA loan. So what exactly can that loan do for your family that other mortgages can't?

Skip the PMI

Okay, you probably know that a VA loan can let you get a mortgage with no money down, but there are a number of other types of loan that will allow the purchase of a home for little or no cash up-front. 

The thing that sets the VA loan program apart is the fact that these other types of mortgages require something called Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI, on every loan with a down payment of less than 20% of the loan amount. 

Since VA loans, including everything from Lending Tree VA loans to car and land loans, are guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, though, lenders don't need to worry about getting their money, so they can forego the insurance. This can cut hundreds of dollars off your monthly payment, freeing up cash for your family to use elsewhere.

Make Sure You're Getting a Quality Home

Inspections for a VA loans are notoriously stringent. That can be bad news for the seller, but it's good news for you. 

Unlike some other mortgage guarantors, the VA won't approve a loan on a house that has structural or safety issues like missing handrails, wood rot, or even fraying carpet in some cases. A bit finicky? Maybe, but it'll prevent your family from ending up in a home with hidden defects.

Speed Up Your Re-Fi

There's no need to worry about interest rates dropping after you get your VA loan. The VA's Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, generally called the IRRRL or streamline loan, cuts out most of the time and hassle of a refinance by reusing most of the original paperwork from the home purchase. 

This can let you refinance your home in as few as 10 days with the help of companies like Low VA Rates with no appraisal fee and reduced underwriting costs.

Get a Bonus from the Seller

No, the seller won't be giving you cash directly, but under VA loan rules, the seller is responsible for miscellaneous expenses like broker fees and termite inspections that can really add up at closing time. 

It's also common for sellers to pay up to 4% of your closing costs under a VA loan, although the specifics of that will depend on what you and your agent negotiate.

With no money down, no extra costs, and some guidance toward getting a safe house, the VA loan is a no-brainer for anyone who fits the eligibility requirements. 

Keep it in mind to save you some money and give your family a little extra peace of mind when it comes time to buy your next home.