A great spa day can make all the difference in our busy and often stressful lives. But how do you pick the right day spa package? It largely depends on what you are looking to get out of the experience. Are you looking to relax in serene silence, or are you more interested in a group retreat or couples spa? Do you want any special massage therapy treatments like a body scrub or deep tissue massage? There are a lot of factors to consider to find the best day spa for you. Here are a few things to ask yourself in order to pick the right one.
Atmosphere
When you think of a spa, you probably imagine a silent, tranquil environment and a soothing massage. Those types of spas definitely exist, but they aren't the only ones around. Sport spas, group retreats, and couples spas are fantastic options if you're looking for some social interaction along with your spa treatments. Perhaps you're planning a spa day for a bachelorette party or a birthday party. There are plenty of spas that allow you to book a private gathering for your group, with spa games, massages, activities, and most importantly, wine.
Special Treatments
Massage therapists offer a wide variety of services and special packages, from detoxifying treatments to acupuncture. To choose the best day spa package, you need to know what services you want. If you work on your feet all day, you may want to look for packages that include a foot soak and massage. Pregnant women can find special spa packages for them that include a foot soak, scalp and neck massage, and facial treatments. There are also specialists who perform acupuncture, hot stone massage, hair removal, and unique treatments like snake massage, dream therapy, and tequila massage. If you're looking for a basic 60-minute massage, your options are wide open. However, if you have a specific massage treatment in mind, you may need to do some research to find the best day spa package.
Goals
Perhaps the most important thing to consider is what you are looking to get out of your spa day. What is your goal, aim, or intention? Are you looking to de-stress, lose weight, or just boost your overall wellbeing? If you have health goals in mind, look for massage therapists who specialize in detoxifying cleanses or weight loss treatments.
Maybe you are looking for a rejuvenating spa day with anti-aging treatments. You may want to consider a spa day package that includes an exfoliating body scrub or wrap and hydrating facial treatment. Don't have a specific goal in mind? That's okay! No matter which spa package you choose, you are sure to boost your overall wellbeing with a good massage and deep relaxation.
Location
Destination spas are all the rage these days. Whether you are looking for an island getaway or a Middle Eastern retreat, the options are endless. If you have the time and budget, you could find the best day spa anywhere from Thailand to Hawaii.
Of course, you don't even have to leave your home if you don't want to. Home spas are more affordable than ever and you can customize them to fit your specific needs. Adjustable jets are strategically placed to provide the best massage and stimulate blood flow.
Choose a spa with swim jets and you can get a core-building workout and a massage all in one. Based on your preferences and finances, you could find the best day spa in the Caribbean or your own back yard.
Ultimately, choosing the best day spa package comes down to your personal preferences. Ask yourself what you are looking to get out of your massage — and keep in mind things like specific treatments, atmosphere, and at-home luxury. Creating the perfect spa day is entirely up to you.
The basic goal of a real estate investor is simply to buy on the low end and resell on the high end. This way, there are no huge losses in such an investor’s portfolio; rather, there are only profitable investments. Yet, while this is a simple strategy to comprehend, what is not so simple to initially grasp is where to find basement bottom prices on higher valued investment properties.
The following are four tips that should help a real estate investor find some of these lucrative deals.
Follow the Market
As with most markets, the real estate market has cycles and trends. It is rarely a good idea to purchase real estate in a seller’s market. Knowing when it is a buyer’s market is the first key to finding low-cost real estate investments because the prices of even higher-end homes are always depressed in a buyer’s market.
Grabbing Low Lying Fruit
Often the easiest way to pick up low cost, higher valued real estate is by learning how to buy homes in probate. A person who is deceased will often leave a home, a property that turns into a tax burden, to relatives.
To avoid this tax burden, often people will unload probate properties quickly at a lower than market assessed price point. This is an investor’s opportunity to purchase the house and sometimes everything left behind that may or may not retain value: furniture, jewelry, the car in the garage, and so on.
The Foreclosure Game
Sometimes a person simply has to unload a property, because they have fallen behind in their mortgage payments. In special cases, an investor will simply talk the home-owner into putting them on the title for a nominal fee and the promise that the investor will keep up the payments on the home to preserve the original owner's credit.
In essence, this can help a home-owner out of a bad financial situation while helping the investor obtain high valued property for little or even no significant money changing hands.
Becoming a Good Negotiator
When browsing through properties for sale, it is often easy to find that one higher valued diamond in the rough that needs some work. Listings will sometimes even call these properties a handyman special. The good news is that the more work that needs to be done to bring the home up to a livable condition, the more points that a good negotiator can bring up when making an offer on such a property.
By learning how to leverage the negatives of a property during negotiations, a savvy investor can often knock thousands of dollars off of the original asking price of the upper end, expensive homes.
As with investing in any asset class, there are always strategies for finding low-cost properties. The real estate investors' best strategy is to continue educating themselves in the methods that help them discover where the under market valued properties reside.
Alternatively, a smart investor will learn to make their own opportunities—especially when considering the best way to go about negotiating for a lower price on more expensive homes.
If you've decided that you want to own a house, then you're likely going to need a mortgage. At first, these may seem like a complex financial obstacle. However, learning more about what you need to get pre-approved for a mortgage can assist in easing your feelings regarding the subject.
Your Credit Score Makes All The Difference
When it comes to getting pre-approved for a mortgage, your credit score is the deciding factor. It will determine if you get approved and what your interest rate will be. For credit scores below the 650s, you're going to have trouble getting approved.
You may need to apply for a special program such as an FHA mortgage where lower credit scores are accepted. On average, a 720 credit score will qualify you for some of the best mortgage rates out there.
They're Going To Need Documentation
It's a good idea to round up your documentation ahead of time so you can submit it to the mortgage lender right away. In the pre-approval process as well as the homebuying process, gathering documentation tends to take the longest part.
By having your documents gathered, you can easily submit it to get your mortgage loans approved quickly. Some example documents you'll need are your last two pay stubs, past two years tax returns, and last two years of W2s.
You'll Need Steady Employment
Lenders want to ensure that they're putting their money into a great mortgage investment. They know that part of what makes a great investment is lending money to people who have steady employment.
Most lenders look for people who have been employed at the same business for at least two full years. This shows them that the person is bringing home a reliable paycheck to pay their monthly mortgage payment.
Pre-Approval Isn't A Guarantee
It's important to note that a pre-approval doesn't mean that you'll definitely be given the loan. It simply means that the lender has briefly looked at your file and knows that you meet the minimum qualification standards that they require. Once you get a house under contract, the lender may choose to not fund the purchase for a variety of reasons.
When it comes to getting pre-approved for a mortgage, there's a lot that goes into it. Understanding what you'll need prior to applying can help ensure that you don't get turned down for unavoidable reasons. The above are four of the major components that you should understand before ever applying for a mortgage loan.
COVID-19 has made many business operations much more complicated. As such, maintaining a proper customer experience can be difficult, to say the least. From adhering to new CDC recommendations to revamping your customer service to handle an influx of calls, juggling everything often feels overwhelming.
Thankfully, there are several ways to cater to your customers without compromising their safety or the well-being of any of your employees. All it takes is a bit of careful planning and some extra supplies.
Consider supplying face masks.
Like many United States entrepreneurs, you're likely encouraging your customers to wear face masks when they're in your store. A mask is a great tool to prevent the spread of germs and help flatten the curve. However, not all customers have access to a cloth face mask or cloth face cover. To encourage traffic to meet your business needs while also staying safe, you could consider providing complimentary face masks to those who are without. If it's one of your business's hard-and-fast rules, you can place a mask bin at the front of the shop and even leave another for customers to dispose of any single-use personal protective equipment (PPE).
As far as your employees go, consider providing them with custom face masks as part of their uniform. Your custom cloth mask can even have business branding on it to maintain increased visibility. You won't want your custom face masks to be as restrictive as a surgical mask, but they shouldn't be a one-time use mask either. If you have a washing machine on-site or nearby, you can also offer to wash the custom face masks on a daily basis. Happier employees often translate to better customer interactions. And above all, you want to make sure your employees feel safe.
Rethink your call center.
If you're not operating an omni channel call center, you're probably struggling to keep up with the heightened customer demands. If you want to increase customer loyalty, having omnichannel customer support can provide critical assistance. Whether you have a mobile app that collects customer data and can send text messages or phone calls or you use an omnichannel contact center solution that relies on artificial intelligence, live chat, and self-service options, having a contact center in place is critical. Your contact center can even extend to your social media channels.
Basically, the more digital channels you use, the better. An omnichannel approach allows your customers to contact you on their channel of choice. It's a simple way to boost customer satisfaction and increase points of contact.
Discuss workforce optimization.
Part of the customer journey is how all the pieces of your business mesh together. Customer journey management isn't as simple of a concept as it may sound, though. Leveraging an omnichannel approach is one part of a much larger puzzle. Workforce optimization can help you operate with limited staffing, reduced hours, or unpredictable weekly schedules. By optimizing and streamlining some of your key business processes, you're able to cater to customer demands much more quickly and effectively.
In the face of COVID-19, this may mean bundling inventory shipments to account for delays in your supply chain. Instead of multiple deliveries a week, you may want to select a single delivery day to attempt to get as much stock in as possible in one fell swoop. As far as employee management goes, you can consider training employees to be able to handle different functions throughout your business. A more well-rounded employee can accomplish more during each shift than a skeleton crew comprised of several individuals at different times.
Though the coronavirus pandemic persists, it doesn't have to dampen your customer service efforts and sales processes. You simply need to be flexible to pivot accordingly to ensure you're following safety standards, maintaining relationships, and pursuing continued growth.
Have you ever sent money to someone via a wire service or electronic payment? If so, you have made a remittance. In many cases, migrant workers make remittances when they send money to their families in their home countries. Workers transfer billions of dollars internationally each year to their loved ones.
Global remittances in 2019 reached a high of US $554 billion, but they fell in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced work hours or eliminated job opportunities altogether. Nonetheless, with large disaspora populations living in the United States, remittance levels still contribute significantly to a number of foreign economies. Governments make remittances to one another to import goods.
Remittances are also frequently made within the country, such as money transfers between parents and children or friends as well as online or electronic payments to merchants and contractors.
A number of specialized companies meet the needs of this financial niche, which has developed into a significant economic factor. Moving from the larger picture to focus on your personal finances, remittances could play a role in your future. Here are three important questions to ask.
How can you use remittance services when managing your own finances?
When setting up a personal budget, you need to know how much money you have coming in each month, each quarter, and each year, and compare that to expected expenses. You also need to put aside funds for emergencies.
These are the basics of budgeting, but every family’s situation is unique. Perhaps you are supporting a child or other relative in the United States or abroad. By using remittance services, you can quickly and easily transfer money at very low costs.
You can also easily make and even schedule electronic payments for many expenses, including household utility and telephone bills, internet services, and delivery services. Electronic transfers let you pay all your bills without leaving home. Service providers keep electronic records, so it is easy for you to keep a close eye on your transfer.
Are remittance services good investments?
The industry of money transfers or remittances is sizeable, and providers compete with one another. Transfer methods have advanced in the last few years so that remittances are faster and less expensive than ever before.
Remittance services have good investment potential. To determine the best options for investment, consider specific factors, including:
Global reach
Technological capabilities
Innovative services
Nature and speed of growth
This is an evolving, mercurial industry. You must stay informed about trends. Digital remittances companies offer specialized services at lower rates than traditional banks, especially for international transfers, and they are driving development in this sector.
Patterns seem to show this industry will be growing and changing for some time, making it a potentially worthwhile choice for informed investors.
What role will remittances play in the future of the global economy?
Remittances are an important factor in the economies of developing countries. On an individual basis, remittances directly help individuals and families. They fund life’s basic necessities such as food, but they also pay for improved quality of life by opening up access to education and health care.
Globally, international remittances boost national economies. They help smaller and developing economies grow and deepen by supporting the needs of one family at a time. Altogether, small remittances sent to individual families add up to significant amounts. This influx of capital helps stabilize developing countries, thereby strengthening the overall economic outlook for the planet.
While remittances may not initially seem to affect you personally, they in fact play a large role in the overall global economy. Remittances often refer to international money transfers, but domestic transfers are also a large part of this financial niche. Remittances affect your life daily, whether you choose to pay bills electronically or understand the value of a stable global economic system.
Retirement is an occasion to be celebrated after a life of hard work, planning, and saving. With so many options worldwide, the idea of searching for the best place can be overwhelming.
While most people stay in their current homes, others decide to relocate. Deciding where to live after retirement should involve a thoughtful process instead of just picking a favorite childhood vacation spot. Below are four things to consider when choosing a retirement home
Cost of living
Choose a city with an affordable cost of living; when you choose a retirement home, your cost of living will play a significant role in your day to day life. Find a city with an affordable cost of living that suits your lifestyle and budget. You should also ensure that housing cost is within your financial means. Do not just consider luxury homes without checking your budget.
Safety and Security
Always consider the safety and security of the area; as you grow older, safety should be your number one priority. Take a look at the economic data and crime statistics of the cities you are considering moving to and choose somewhere you can feel safe.
Crime varies from place to place, and some towns may not have available crime statistical data online. It would be best if you considered turning to the local police or the local people for answers. This will give you specific information making your decision ultimately more straightforward.
The healthcare services and amenities
Choose a city with available healthcare services; before moving to a new town, always consider the availability and quality of the healthcare system. Ensure that there are hospitals and available medical emergency services nearby in case you are in dire need.
Talk to the local people and do some research, inquire about hospital wait time, emergency response time, and local pharmacies. It would be best if you chose a city that will make you feel taken care of.
Weather and climate
Consider the climate of the area; weather should be factored in when selecting a retirement hometown. You will spend your retirement years in the weather of your choice. Whether you want to move to a warm climate area in a small beach town or a cold winter town in the south, it is yours.
Most times, retirees move to a warm-climate area to avoid the risks that cold weather pauses on their health. The real hustle of scooping snow from surfaces or the threat of slipping and falling on ice is less manageable for aging people.
When considering your final retirement home, you should ensure to explore all your options and find all the factors named above. Discuss with your friends, family, and independent advisors about this next chapter of your life. This will help with emotional preparation if you decide to move out of your current city. Acquaint yourself with the new area you are considering moving to.
