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Whether it’s shopping around for a bargain or cooking at home instead of eating out, we often try to find ways to either spend less or make every penny stretch. Budgeting is one way of making sure that you properly monitor your monthly spending, but let’s talk about three habits that you can adopt to ensure that you get value for money:
We all love a good deal but sometimes spending less can cost you more. Those shoes may be cheap, but you’ll probably have to buy the same pair five times! Or, that preowned car may be cheaper, but it will require a lot more repairs which means more money out of pocket, as oppose to buying a new vehicle, which in most cases has a warranty. When trying to get value for your money, it’s important that you factor the quality and ask yourself, will spending more allow you to save time, energy, and peace of mind?
What better way to make the most of your money than to put each dollar to work? Whether you’d like to prepare for your medium to long term goals or leverage against inflation, investing has allowed many to get value while maintaining and enjoying
quality of life. Stocks, unit trusts and US equities are just a few of the many ways that you can invest. Irrespective of how much risk you’re able to manage or how much you can afford to invest, there are options available to you! Just reach out to a VM Wealth advisor if you’d like help with making the right choice.
Spending money is something that we can’t avoid. So, if you must spend, why not get rewarded when you do? With discipline and proper money management, credit cards can be used as a tool to your benefit. When used properly, credit cards will help you to build a good credit score, and a good credit score puts you in a better position to access specific financial solutions, such as loans. Credit cards also offer rewards in the form of cash back and travel rewards. Our VM Visa Credit Cards are great options for those looking to be rewarded when they spend!
As you strive to make every dollar count, be open to the different opportunities that can provide value in the long run, even if that means spending a bit more in the present in preparation for future benefits. Purchasing quality items, investing in assets, and making purchases with credit cards responsibly, are a great start!
It’s Sunday and this is usually the day dedicated to unplug and indulge in a bit of selfcare and “me time”. This is also when the reflection mode is turned on to go over the past week or month and even generally, to set goals. One of which could very well be selling real estate.
Owning real estate plays a large part of the adult dream, and when you get to the point of deciding to sell, it is important that you take into consideration some key steps before making that move. And one highly recommended step is to conduct a property valuation.
Here is what you need to know about property valuation:
What is Property Valuation - Property or land valuation is largely about developing an accurate opinion about the market and insurance value of a property. Property valuation is necessary for helping individuals to make more informed decisions when handling any real estate transactions.
The Value in Valuation – If you’d like to strike the right deal for a property through a fair and competitive rate then property valuation is worth
the spend. Here are some reasons why this is an important part of the process:
• Thinking of property mortgage? If you decide on taking out a mortgage whether for the initial purchase of a property, construction, addition, renovation or acquiring a further interest in a piece of real estate, then the lending or financial institution will require a property valuation to ensure the property being valued is good security for the loan. This will of course help you and the lending institution to learn more about the property and influence the loan amount.
• Buying or selling a property: A property valuation can help individuals thinking about buying or selling a property to understand what the market value of the property is to inform the negotiations. The Valuation Surveyor will take various factors into account such as location, building and or land size, amenities, market conditions, among other things.
• Property rental: Let’s say that you’ve bought your property and decided on renting it, then
a valuation can be very helpful in the process. The property valuation will help you the owner to determine the most competitive rental price for your property. In addition, tenants can also procure their own valuation report to aid the negotiations of the rent, which is more commonly done for commercial properties.
• Want to transfer your property? If at any point you decide on transferring your property to someone else, you’ll be required to know the estimated value of that property, and this is where the property valuation comes in. If an attorney-at-law is handling the transfer, usually their fees are based on the value of the property being valued and the valuation will prove useful. Furthermore, the valuation also helps in expediting the process of determining the calculation of transfer taxes done by the Tax Administration of Jamaica’s (TAJ) Stamp Office.
• Property Tax: It’s key to note that in Jamaica property taxes are only charged on the unimproved land value which means no site improvements such as fencing and building are factored into the valuation done by the government. If, say someone is dissatisfied with the value assigned to their property by the government, by way of property taxes, they can secure a valuation report from a Licensed Valuation Surveyor to launch an objection.
The Valuation Surveyor: Do you need them? Short answer, yes! Your Valuation Surveyor is critical in making the entire process come together seamlessly. They do the deep dive into all property related matters, well that’s how we do things here at the VM Group. When assessing a property, a valuation surveyor appraises and gathers information on things such as the location of the property, the condition, the construction quality, design and layout, the age of the property and even seemingly simple things such as the type and condition of fixtures or disrepairs. They bring all these details together along with market analysed data of the properties in the immediate or comparable locations.
We get that adulting can be demanding and reviewing that list with your extrinsic goals can be even more frightening, especially when things seem to be ticking off slower than anticipated. But when it comes to the big-ticket items on your list, such as real estate or property ownership, VM Group is able to transform the panicking into possibilities. From competent, capable and caring valuation surveyors to real estate agents, our commitment to bringing your property to you remains resolute. For more on VM property services click here.
VM Money Transfer knows that your time and money are valuable, and so we’ve got the perfect solution for you to make the best of both. Skip the long lines and extra travelling costs by sending money straight to your local account using our Direct to Bank online solution. When you sign up at vmmoneytransfer. myvmgroup.com you can send money directly to your local accounts, to either fund your savings and investments accounts, pension plan, or collect your NHT refund.
Your loved ones can also receive money from the comfort of their homes, when you send money to their accounts through MoneyGram and our other remittance partners: Xoom, Ria, WorldRemit, NCS Money Services and Choice. However, if they love to feel the hard cash entering their pockets, we have over 8 Money Express Locations islandwide for cash transactions.
VM Money Transfer values your time, your money and the moments you create with it!
VM Money Transfer Services
You can send money directly to your local accounts.
The strides you’re making now should be rewarded with a life of relaxation in your autumn years. Add value to your whole life by starting an Approved Retirement Scheme today with VM Pensions Management (VMPM).
We make funding your retirement convenient, as you have the flexibility to pay your contributions based on what works for you, so you never have to skip payments. Your contributions are also tax free, which will see your money growing as you get older.
And, with the opportunity for you to get up to 25% of your total contributions and earnings as a one off lumpsum payment, you can cover debts or maximize on investment opportunities at retirement.
VMPM gives you present and future benefits, so you can
enjoy the good life for your whole life. Visit vmpensions. myvmgroup to apply today or send an email to ars.myvmgroup. com for more information.
VM Pensions ManagementWe make funding your retirement convenient, as you have the flexibility to pay your contributions based on what works for you, so you never have to skip payments.