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5 Clever Finance Tricks for Large Purchases

Big purchases like boats, homes, and cars are not just for the rich. Instead, if people learn how to save and finance such purchases, it is possible to afford luxury. Really, people need to be focused on their goals to find the best deals and figure out how to finance this purchase. The following are some tips for how to buy such items.

Look for 0% Finance Options

0% finance means that people will not have to pay interest on a loan for quite some time. This helps one buy everything from cars to boats. The low monthly payments and 0% interest makes big ticket purchases more attainable. This is why it is important to not only look to see how long the 0% interest lasts but how much the rate will go up upon expiration. There are specific 0% car finance options available from many dealerships.

Check Dealerships and Businesses for Sales and Promotions

Often, dealerships and businesses will have sales and promotions. Another great way to finance a bit ticket item like a new boat or piece of machinery is to take advantage of such deals. This could mean no down payment will be needed, that mail-in rebates could save people hundreds of dollars, and there will be price cuts as the seasons or weather change. Buying a boat during the winter is smart since they are used far less than in the summer.

Compare Area Rates and Negotiate

New cars are sold in a number of places. This is why it is important to look at the going rate for a vehicle and to see which dealership has the lowest price. You can always use the given Blue Book amount plus local deals and promotions to negotiate better deals. After all, a dealer wants business. This is why educated shoppers can grab great deals if they know that the market looks like.

Consolidate Debts

One of the best ways to afford a big purchase is to apply for a consolidation loan. Thus, old debts are paid off, monthly bills are lower, and people have a better chance at affording finance options on big ticket items. This not only means lower monthly payments but also means people will have to pay fewer interest rates, too.

Use Direct Transfers

When saving for a big purchase, be smart about saving money. Often, one can direct a certain percentage of his or her income to be automatically placed into a savings account. This means that one can save without having to put much effort into it. Smaller options, too, can help: adding a change jar at the office and at home and using coupons. Every little bit counts when trying to invest in a big purchase like a car, boat

Click Your Way to a Photography Diploma with an Online Course

With a City & Guilds Diploma in Photography you can learn the skills and techniques of the professionals and take your interest in photography on to the next level.Using today’s modern cameras anyone can produce impressive results with relative ease, but if you want to go one step further and really learn how to get the most out of photography, a City & Guilds Photography Diploma is the ideal way to begin. City & Guilds courses are comprehensive and inexpensive, and lead to qualifications that are recognised throughout the industry, making them ideal if you’re looking to begin a career in photography.City & Guilds Diploma in PhotographyThere are two main City & Guilds Diplomas in Photography available:
City and Guilds Basic Photography
City and Guilds Black and White Photography
Each one can be studied through an online course, allowing you to work through your studies in whatever way suits you best, taking as long as you like to gain your diploma.An online course gives you a degree of freedom in your studies that traditional teaching methods simply cannot match. With no need for lectures or classes you can pick and choose where and when you work, fitting the online course around your existing lifestyle.Many City & Guilds Photography Diploma course providers offer extensive online support for their students, with the very best providing forums, tutor support and online learning resources.Photography Diploma – Subjects CoveredAll City & Guilds Photography Diplomas provide extensive instruction in photographic equipment, professional techniques and the principles of composition. Some of the areas you’ll learn about include:
Camera and lenses
Film, light and techniques
Composition, picture design and presentation
Final portfolio techniques
Taking a City & Guilds Diploma in Photography enables you to capitalise on your interest and develop a set of professional skills built on real practical knowledge. Whether you want to pursue a rewarding career in photography or just want to learn how to get the most from your hobby, gaining a City & Guilds Photography Diploma through an online course lets you fulfil your ambitions with the minimum of inconvenience and expense.

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Augmenting the Marketing Competencies Can Help Pave the Path to Senior Management Roles

Climbing the success ladder and standing atop the management hierarchy is every professional’s dream. If you are too a working professional, don’t you aspire to be one among the senior management one day? Don’t you want to be on the other side of the table – commanding, leading from the top, and setting an example for many to follow? It’s not easy definitely; getting there requires immaculate efforts, and of course, the requisite skills.One among such most vital skills is marketing. Does not sound very common when it comes to senior management roles, right? But yes, it’s a skill that’s highly valued by employers today across organisations. It is, in fact, one of the pivotal competencies of a strong senior manager. We, at Times TSW, will help you explore why and how marketing skills form an inevitable trait for senior management roles, in this article below.Marketing Skills Form the Core of the Senior Management’s ResponsibilitiesIf you thought that marketing is a task restricted to the creative marketing department of your organisation, it’s time to rethink. Competition in the corporate world has brought marketing competencies right to the lap of every employee therein. And, once you start working on augmenting them, you’d soon start treading the path of success.This is because managers must know how to promote their specific product/idea in the market amid cut-throat competition. For this, they need to polish some of the basic marketing competencies such as:Effective communication
Communication is the lifeblood of a team lead/manager. That’s common knowledge. But it shouldn’t just be restricted to interpersonal or in-house communication. Marketing is a type of professional communication that happens between organisations (B2B), as well as with potential and existing customers (B2C). If you exactly know how to market your service idea outside the four walls of your enterprise, you’d be doing immense good to the latter as well as to yourself.Out-of-the-box approaches
What’s the most impactful quality of a senior manager? Their ability to think out of the box for the most trivial or critical issues at hand; to offer creative solutions when needed. Marketing skills require you to develop analytical thinking towards project goals and requirements and present innovative ways to achieve them, both to your team as well as your customers.Keeping pace with technology
Technological changes have seeped into every phase of work functions today. You may be part of any domain in your organisation, be it IT, marketing, finance, HR, or any other, you do need to adapt yourself to fast-paced changes all along so as to surpass the competition.Moreover, you need to keep an eye open for cues all along. For instance, keep a check if the traditional means of advertising the project idea are failing to attain desired results? See if digital marketing is the new trend in the market that can put across your message more effectively? Figure out and work on your marketing strategies in accordance with changing technologies.Efficient collaboration
Marketing competencies also involve effective coordination with other departments of the organisation as you work on your product. This may require you to sit with the design team to prepare your product design/logo for promotion, or spending time with the research team to analyse consumer survey data.Since all of these activities form a part of marketing, it’s a good idea to have a working knowledge of all these essential skills so as to qualify for senior management roles.How Can Executive Education Help?Marketing is the backbone of any company today. Your product literally has no value until it’s promoted effectively in the market. And this is exactly why each department needs to possess marketing skills to stay in and beat the competition.To help the ambitious professionals of the 21st-century sharpen their marketing skills and make their way to the senior management roles, the prestigious IIM Kozhikode has introduced its Executive Post Graduate Certificate in Marketing Management (EPGCMM) programme. The one-year Interactive Learning course is aimed at providing specialised marketing management training to executives, helping them grow into senior management positions in their respective organisations. The Executive Post Graduate Certificate in Marketing Management (EPGCMM) programme can be attended in any of the Times TSW centres across India, and the sessions are delivered live via a technology platform by none other but the senior faculty from IIM Kozhikode. So come and join the EPGCMM programme to augment your marketing skills and rise as the best in the field.

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