4 Financial Benefits of Finishing Your Basement

When your home has an unfinished basement, you should know that there are financial benefits from renovating the basement so that it is more usable. Here is how experts believe that a finished basement can improve your financial situation.

Renting a Basement Apartment to a Tenant

If you create an entire apartment in your home’s basement, then you can rent the space to a tenant, helping to improve your financial situation each month. You must remember to create a usable space according to the local building codes for apartment rentals. 

In addition to having a bathroom and a kitchen, you may need to add a separate entranceway to the basement apartment along with making sure that there are fire exits available. You should determine how much you can charge for the apartment by checking the listings for similar rentals in your area.

Short-term Rental Income

Today, it is possible to offer short-term rentals to tourists. This is an excellent way to earn additional income if you live in a region where tourists are looking for places to stay. 



If you live in a city where it is difficult to find hotel rooms during major events, such as regional festivals, then you can offer the short-term rental basement to tourists only a few times a year. Again, you must determine what the local regulations are concerning short-term rentals to travelers.

Paying for Your Home Faster

If you finish your home’s basement, including basement waterproofing, then you can use the income from renting out the space to pay off your mortgage faster. Paying for your mortgage faster will improve your home equity, and this means that you will have a higher credit rating, making it easier to apply for other types of loans. 

You might not think that this is important, but when you want to apply for a vehicle loan or a student loan, having higher equity in a home can reduce your interest rates.

Improving the Resale Value of a Home

When your boss wants to transfer you to a job in another state, having a home with a finished basement makes it easier to sell the property. In addition, you can get more money from the sale of the house because it has an extra livable space. When you hire a real estate agent, make sure that the individual understands that the basement has bedrooms along with a bathroom and a kitchen.

Last, if your family is expanding, then renovating a basement to create space for teenagers or other relatives is less expensive than moving to an entirely new home.

4 Smart Investments for Your Large End-of-Year Bonus

There’s a lot of buzz about a recession on the horizon. This causes a lot of people to fear for their future. However, if you financially plan for the future, you won’t have to worry about a breakdown in your household. 

One of the best ways to financially plan for the future involves making wise investments. Consider some of the smartest ways you can use your large end-of-year bonus to invest in your family’s financial future.

Pay off debt

So many people spend a huge portion of their paycheck to pay off debt. Whether it’s credit card debt or a car note, find ways to quickly pay off the debt you have. If you have a large bonus from your job, consider using it to pay off the debt. Then, for the rest of the year, you can enjoy more money that stays in your bank account.

Start a business

There are more entrepreneurs than ever before. This is because more people are understanding how the tax laws are in favor of the landowner and the business owner. Consider starting a business that meets a need within the marketplace. Too often, people make the mistake of starting a business that surrounds a passion. 

If your passion and your paycheck come together for a lucrative endeavor, that’s great. However, focus on serving the community to meet an obvious need. This will help you remain profitable and relevant for years to come.

Purchase an investment property

An investment property is an excellent purchase. Use your bonus to make a real estate down payment. Once you purchase the property and get tenants in the building, your tenants will pay the mortgage and more. 

Let them pay off the mortgage while you cash the check each month. You can pass down investment properties to your children. Once the mortgage is paid off, you and your family can enjoy 100% of the rental income. It’s a great form of passive income.

Invest in the stock market

Though there are tons of people who are afraid of investing in the stock market, don’t be one of them. When it pertains to the stock market, the key is knowledge. If you take courses and learn the patterns of the market, this effort can be a smart place to invest your money.

While money is a commodity that you’ll want to use wisely, the same can be said for time. In fact, you can always make more money. However, you can’t get back the time that’s been spent. Use time as a commodity that’s on your side by using it wisely. 

For many investments, the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. Once you’re educated regarding how to make smart investments, begin to invest.

How Options Trading Can Supplement Your Retirement Savings Plan

Image via Flickr by Got Credit

What is Options Trading?

Options are contracts to purchase shares. Typically one options contract is good for 100 shares. When you purchase an option, you are buying the right to buy or sell shares of stock at a set price. When planned well, this can bring a high return on investment.

You have two types of options contracts, a call, and a put option. Call options are buying you the right to purchase shares at a set price. So if you are watching a stock and feel the value is bound to go up, you would purchase a call option, when that stock increases in value, you have the right to buy 100 shares of that stock, and sell it off at the market value.

Your second option contract is a put option. This is a contract granting you the right to sell for a set strike price. So if a stock decreases in value, you will still get the set strike price for your shares.

Why Are Options A Good Choice for My Retirement Plan?

Options are an excellent way to diversify your portfolio. By adding options to your retirement plan, you have another source of investments to pull from, and a bit of extra security when another investment is stuck in a low streak. When you're investing, its good practice to keep your money spread out. You never want to put all your money all in one basket. Choosing options and learning a strategy can add a sizeable amount of income to your savings and monthly budget when planned well.



The good thing about trading options is that they tend to be a predictable risk. Options are a safe alternative to diving into buying a stock outright. If you are unsure but have a good feeling, you can invest in options, and if your prediction goes the wrong way, you only lose out on what you paid for the options contract. This will be considerably less money than if you were to purchase 100 shares and take a hit.

How to Trade Options

The first part of options trading is identifying the top stocks for options trading. When you do this, you will get a better plan of how to go about your investments. With any type of financial trading, it is essential to do your research. Talk to your broker about adding options to your portfolio.

So if you are looking for more ways to supplement your retirement plan, options trading can be the extra income you are looking for.

Is StsRoyal a Good Place for You to Invest in Cryptocurrencies?

Now that the world has realized the importance of cryptocurrencies, more and more people are jumping into this market. They want to trade their fiat currencies to buy digital currencies. 

One of the reasons for this trend could be the understanding of cryptocurrencies, which was completely lacking when they were new. Now, when you want to invest your money in the cryptocurrency market and get some good returns, you have to pick the right platform to do so. 

That’s where StsRoyal comes in. Is this broker one of the best out there? Are there enough reasons for you to trade cryptocurrencies with this broker? Let’s find out.

Some Reasons Why It Is a Great Platform for Cryptocurrency Trading

1. You Don’t Have to Overspend

One of the biggest issues you face when you trade with online brokers is paying too much out of your pocket. Of course, the cryptocurrency industry is still new and many online brokers are looking for ways to make money from new traders. 

With this broker, you do not have to spend your money on things that do not benefit you. For example, the commissions on your trades are almost negligible. The spreads are extremely tight so you are the one who walks away with a major part of the profit.

2. You Have Plenty of Options

A huge issue with most online brokers is that they have limits on the number of cryptocurrencies that you can trade on their platforms. However, that’s not the case when you trade with StsRoyal. 

This particular broker has made sure that you get access to the complete cryptocurrency market with all the digital assets that are available. Pick from the most valuable and the volatile ones as per your trading attitude.

3. You Can Trade without Installing Softwares

It can be hassling when you have to download a software tool or trading platform to trade cryptocurrencies. If there is an issue with the software, hackers can get access to your computer as well. You will not have to face such a problem with this broker since there is no download required for you to use the trading platform. 



You have to access the broker to reach the trading platform. The best thing is that you can access this platform from any part of the world you want without worrying about any compatibility issues with your devices and the operating system you have on them.

4. You Can Pick an Account of Your Choice

The cryptocurrency market is new without a doubt. However, you should not be limited to the type of account that you can trade with. With most other brokers, you have to rely on one or two types of accounts. These accounts might not be suitable for you, your trading style or the budget that you are carrying with you. 

However, you will not have to deal with this issue when you sign up with StsRoyal. This broker has five different accounts with different deposit requirements and features. You can choose an account that matches your trading habits and style. 

The Right Time to Make Profits from Cryptocurrencies Is Now

As overly optimistic as it might sound, now is the right time for you to make any money from this market. Cryptocurrencies are new and that’s why there is not much saturation in this industry. 

However, the more people walk into this financial market, the more difficult is will be for you to get your hands on the most valuable currencies. It is, therefore, sensible to make an investment in this market right now. Today’s investors could be the potential millionaires of tomorrow without any exaggeration.

4 Ways to Ensure Your Home Construction Goes Smoothly

Homeowners that are hoping to find their own dream homes often choose to invest in building a new house from the ground up. While this is one of the best ways for homeowners to make sure their homes are everything they hope them to be, the construction and design process can take a considerable amount of time. 

Homeowners should consider the following tips to make sure this process goes as smoothly as possible:

Work with a Design Professional

The process of building a home must start before construction work begins. If you’re considering building a custom new construction home, the next step is to choose the best professionals to work with. 

Contractors, architects, and interior designers are all professionals you should choose carefully when making the decision of who to work within your new home. This decision is the most important, as your choice in employees will solidify a smooth process or make the construction process significantly more complicated.

Create a Plan

Though most new construction homes tend to follow the same modern design, it’s important that you start your construction process with a solid plan in place. After you’ve decided which design professionals to work with, the next step is to put together an effective plan. 



These plans should include layouts for the floor plan, and a sketch of the home’s exterior as well. This plan may take time to draft, but it will be an essential point of reference for contractors once construction begins. Expect to spend several months in this design phase.

Budget for Unexpected Costs

Though homeowners prefer to hope for the best, the process of building a home can be particularly daunting. Unexpected costs and emergencies can draw out this process even more. Make sure your upcoming construction process goes as smoothly as possible by budgeting for unexpected costs. 

Unexpected expenses like delays, replacing defective or damaged materials, purchasing new tools, and similar considerations are all additional costs that you may not think to include in your initial budget for construction.

Not sure how much money to allocate for these unexpected costs? Experts advise homeowners to set aside 10% of their budget to cover these additional expenses.

If you’re planning to begin construction on your new home, make sure the process goes as planned by keeping these tips in mind. With the most effective strategies and careful planning, your home construction process is guaranteed to go smoothly.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan

4 Ways to Save Money When You Need New Tires

Even though most modern tires are designed to be incredibly durable, that rubber has a finite lifespan. There will come a point when you need to purchase new tires, and you might want to plan ahead so that you can afford that future purchase.

Change All Four at Once

One of the easiest ways to save money when you need new tires is to pick up all four at once. Many tire companies offer relatively large discounts to those who purchase four at once because it is fairly easy to install additional tires once the vehicle is up off the ground. 

As an added bonus, the tires are all going to have close to the same lifespan as long as they are regularly rotated, and you won’t have to worry about keeping track of multiple tires during seasonal maintenance.

Have the Wheels Realigned at the Same Time

Having your wheels realigned while your new tires are being put on isn’t going to make this process any cheaper, but it will save you money down the road. Most experts agree that wheels should be realigned at least once every two years, but you might need to have them aligned as often as once a year if you have an older vehicle. 



Many tire companies offer free or extremely inexpensive realignments because they are fairly easy to carry out as long as the vehicle is already on the lift.

Wait for Seasonal Sales

Just like most other products, tires tend to go on sale at regular points throughout the year. As a general rule, many tire companies will offer discounts during the months of April and October. 

In April, the weather is starting to warm up and families are often thinking about upcoming road trips, and new tires will become a priority. Once October hits, many drivers consider buying new tires because of the icy conditions that are just around the corner.

Invest in a Warranty

While tire manufacturers almost always offer warranties that cover material defects, the company that installs the tires could have an upgraded warranty as well. A robust tire warranty is going to cover a wide variety of risks ranging from premature wear to certain road hazards. If one of your tires becomes punctured in the months following the installation, the warranty should cover the cost of replacing it.

In addition to these few tips, you must also make sure that you are properly caring for your tires so that they last for as long as possible. Regularly rotating the tires and keeping them out of the sun as much as possible could potentially extend their lifespan by a considerable amount.