Guest Contributor on Money Questions and Answers Blog

How To Prepare Your Diamonds For Sale

Whenever you’re selling a big ticket item, it’s usually a good idea to put in a little prep work before you show it to prospective buyers. There are ways that you can prepare your diamonds for sale. In the same way that you might repaint a house or clean out a car before selling it, there are some steps you can take before you sell your diamond.

These three steps can help a buyer see the full value of your diamond and hopefully will help you get a better offer:

1) Gather Documentation – Many people don’t realize that documentation might help get them a higher price for their diamond. Even though it doesn’t change the intrinsic value of the diamond itself, it can help make sure that buyers are aware of the diamond’s size and quality.

Documents that can help support your sale include appraisals, original receipts, and certifications from gemological laboratories. At the very least they will help the process go faster and smoother – and they might get you a little extra cash too!

2) Clean the Ring – You’d be amazed how much a difference a quick cleaning can make when trying to sell a diamond. Diamonds can get pretty dirty just from hand soap, lotion, and other effects of everyday wear. You don’t want a buyer confusing a smudge or dirt with an imperfection in the diamond itself. Giving it a quick clean can make its quality more readily apparent to a prospective buyer.

At the very least, purchase some over-the-counter jewelry cleaner and give it a quick rub with a soft brush or cloth. Or you can go one step further by bringing it to a jeweler and having them give it a professional clean with ultrasonic baths and steam cleaners. Most buyers will want to see how well a diamond shines, so cleaning it could really help you.

Save Money Investing In Software For Your Business

by Guest Contributor

The appropriate software is something that can not only help your company thrive and be streamlined, but it can also help your business save a great deal of money by investing in software. There are plenty of different software programs out there that can help companies maximize profits and have a much great return on investment.

The proper software can make the difference between a good business and a great business. In a world like we have today, keeping up with the competition is a more daunting task than ever.

The correct software can truly help your company thrive. Here we will share with you four different software programs that can help your business in different areas.

Accubuild.com

Accu-build is a great piece of software that can help those in the construction industry truly thrive with their business. While many construction companies have different software programs for financial management, workforce management, and document management, Accu-Build bundles that all into one easy to use software program.

Accu-Build construction software is a great example of a software program that is truly going to help any construction company be much more streamlined and profit minded.

Xactware

Xactware is another great software program in the builders industry that can truly help companies save money when it comes to repairs, remodels, construction, and more. The many different programs Xactware has to offer can truly benefit builders. The wide array of programs that Xactware has to offer will show builders potential cost so that over budgeting is a thing of the past.

How To Find A Reliable Buyer For Your Structured Settlement

by Guest Contributor

Choose a structured settlement wisely A structured settlement agreement can never be altered once it has been made, preventing you from getting a lump sum amount when required during an emergency. But the law does allow you to transfer the rights of receiving the annuity to a third person if you wish to do so; or in short, the law does not deny selling of the structured settlement and obtaining money for it.

So whether it’s a medical emergency, an opportunity to buy a high value real estate or for even funding college education, you can sell the structured settlement and obtain the appropriate money for it. Obviously here the question rises of where to sell the settlement and to whom. This article outlines everything you need to know about finding a buyer for your structured settlement, how they operate, what are the costs involved and the legal formalities involved.

The definition Of A Structured Settlement Reliable Buyer

In order to prevent the recipient of a settlement squandering money and again ending up in financial trouble, the periodic payment settlement act was established in 1982, which presented the option for defendants to pay the agreed settlement in the form of annuities. Though this was a boon in one way, it was quite restricting for the recipients as the economic condition was ever changing. To help people out in such cases, few financial companies started buying the structured settlement and paid the lump sum amount to the recipient in return.

But during the 90’s the business took off so well, that a lot of them started to make unreasonable profits out of it by charging extra fees and undervaluing the original settlement amount. Hence the reliability of the buyers became questionable and the government had to intervene to make the process more transparent.

How To Compete In The Current Job Market

by Guest Contributor

If you were to believe everything that you read, you could be forgiven for thinking that the UK is in the midst of a significant economic recovery. While Britain may well be benefitting from improving business sentiment and job market, rising consumer confidence and a diminishing rate of unemployment. However, there are negative undertones that continue to restrict the potential for long-term growth. So even as international trade and foreign exchange activity continues to boom, not everything is rosy in the British economic garden. The same principle applies to the national unemployment rate, which fell to a respectable 7.2% during March. Alongside a rise in the national earnings average, this has triggered widespread optimism among job-seekers and those who are … Read more

Why A Point of Sale System Streamlines Retail Businesses

by Guest Contributor

Small businesses have a host of problems facing them now that weren’t even remote considerations 15 years ago. The foremost problem that small businesses face is how to balance online marketing with retail outlets. What products do you want to sell online? What products do you want to combine with both your physical and digital location? These questions are just the tip of what a small business owner thinks about. Sales can become a compounded problem when you only have one true inventory. You don’t want to risk selling out of an item and leaving customers waiting. You also do not want items to sit on your shelves. Finding a robust point of sale system can solve many of these evolving … Read more

ECN Brokers: Who, What and Why?

by Guest Contributor

World economy The world of forex is dominated by jargon. With everything from currencies to broker formats having their own acronym, trying to navigate the forex world can be a bit of a minefield. Here, however, we’ve broken down one of the key acronyms: ECN.

There’s always a huge debate about who’s the best broker to use and why some types of broker are better than others. Many people swear by using ECN brokers, but why? Here, we try to find out:

What is an ECN?

Foreign exchange brokers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and forms. Due to the fact that the foreign exchange market is unregulated, there’s no set format for brokers, and many deviate from the norm.

ECN brokers are a great example of this. Instead of being a standard broker, they are an automated system that buys and sells orders, connecting major brokerages and individuals who can trade without the need for a middleman.

How do ECNs Work?

Instead of earning money from the spread, ECN brokers will make money by charging a small fee for every transaction they broker. In taking out the middleman, ECNs make it possible for investors from all over the world, in a variety of locations, to trade with relative ease and speed. To monitor the market, each ECN broker must register as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

What’s Good About ECNs?

An ECN will show you the very best bid and ask quotes available, scouring the market and multiple participants automatically and instantly matching and executing orders on your behalf. As well as being used at major exchanges during market hours, they are also widely used out of hours on the forex market by those with an online trading account.