I’m surprised the large number of entrepreneurs who continue to influence the opening of its business exclusively on the existence behind a government grant to support it. That is, do not ride the company and look if there is any subsidy eligible as a source of funding, but first seek public subsidies and tailor the business based on it, I know, is something that does not convince me.

I sincerely believe that this strategy is not appropriate, because on the final award of a public subsidy weigh several factors to take into account such as the multiple and complex requirements of departure or the excessive delay that occurs between time of grant and the final entry of the money in the account of the company. Delay that many employers cannot hold and that also is intensifying with the debt crisis experienced by government. If an employer does not receive grant money until a year after its issuance, which may well happen, and bases its business in this funding is likely to be doomed to close (the office rent, salary employees, payments to suppliers are not going to wait a year until they get public funds, much as they were issued in final).

After the business condition to obtaining the grant seems like a wrong decision, something else is to fight “hill to hill” to manage any grant or aid, which could be chosen, especially when they are non-refundable, it is clear that to. In addition, when applying for grants to various organizations take into account the possible incompatibility, to choose the best for the interests of the company.

The Department of Consumer Law in New York City has this bulletin on different ideas of how to take advantage of the refund you receive to complete your taxes. These tips also apply to any amount of money you receive might not be part of your monthly income: A panel, double salary, an inheritance, a raise, etc… Here goes:

A tax rebate puts money in your pocket that can help you pay your bills. If you are careful in handling the refund, you can also use it to achieve other financial goals.

Reduce your debt
Debt interest cost money, so if you cut it, eventually it will help save more. If you have loans or multiple credit cards, first pay the debt with the highest interest.

Start an emergency fund
Place a portion of their refund into a savings account to hold funds for emergencies or financial need. (more…)

A large part of the articles I write mention how important it is to have a budget for a financial life. There is talk of saving a life with manageable debt and have the exact amount you can spend (or you have to make) to achieve your financial goals. A client asked me:  “But I need a quote?” In addition, I replied with the following reasons. Then I asked colleagues about why the great need for a budget and they gave me other reason they are here too, do not forget to leave yours in the comments:

The budget helps you save.

If you do not know how much you spend, and how much you have left to your financial goals, it is very difficult to get money other than our income for saving. A budget will help to allocate an exact amount that you subtract from your paycheck and transferred to your saving account without having to first find out “how you left over.” L key to financial freedom is to pay yourself first. (more…)

If your debt is only $ 10.000 almost never recommend my clients to go bankrupt, but each case is different. Remember that bankruptcy will affect you credit for at least 7 years, but of course, if you cannot pay your debts also be affected. If you do not have any assets (house, car, etc…) In addition, the debt is only credit card I do not recommend that you come out. This decision is affected at the same time, if right now or you’re working on plans to return to work soon (and if the labor market allows).

The worst mistake a person makes is not to call the credit card companies and explain the situation. You have to call them and tell them you want to enter the plan of financial difficulties (Financial Hardship) for them perhaps you can reduce monthly payments so you can meet with them while they fix your situation. This same make the loan consolidation companies that can lower monthly payments.

If you still think your best option is bankruptcy keep in mind that it costs money (maybe more than one thousand dollars) which could be used to make monthly payments of up to one of your cards, and after one year could have good credit yet. If you have no future plans to do anything with your credit or if your credit was damaged in advance could also go bankrupt.

The important thing is that you learn from this situation and you start to have an emergency fund of at least 3 to 6 months of your monthly expenses. If your household spent, $ 1,500 per month should have at least $ 5,000 in a savings account. This seems very hard to do, but if you start saving $ 20 a month from your paycheck that could help you save at least $ 1,000 a year with minimum effort.

This metric based on profitability, tells us how much free cash flow a company generates in relation to what would comprise an investor buy the entire company.

Expressed in the simplest way to divide the free cash flow by enterprise value. The enterprise value is the market capitalization of the company over the long-term debt minus its cash.

The objective of this ratio is to measure how efficiently a company is using its capital (including debt) to generate free cash flow.

We can see a practical example (taken from data from Morningstar).

Coca-Cola in April 2005 had a market capitalization of $ 100 billion with a long-term debt of $ 1.2 billion. It also had the then $ 6.7 billion in cash on its balance sheet. (more…)