Once you find out you’re expecting a baby, the race is on to get organized! There’s a lot to do and sort before your little one makes their arrival, and with good planning you can make sure to spread the cost and reduce stress. Ideally, you’ll have pretty much everything sorted and in place by the time you bring them home, so the first few months especially you don’t have anything to worry about except looking after your baby. Here are a few things to consider!

Your Home
First things first, is the place you currently live in suitable for a baby? If you’re in a tiny apartment or have lots of flights of stairs to get to your home then then it might be worth rethinking. Maybe it’s the case that you want to move somewhere with a bigger garden, more space or better schools nearby? Moving while you’re pregnant isn’t the easiest, but actually it can be less stressful than waiting and doing so with a baby later on so it’s something to consider. Have a think about what you can afford, where you’d like to live area-wise and what sort of property you’d like to live in to raise your baby. If you’re able to make the move before they arrive and get yourself settled and organised then this can be well worth doing.

Your Car
If you drive, is your current car suitable for a baby car seat? If you currently have a tiny sports car with two seats for example this might need changing! If your car only has a small boot, you’ll need to think about upgrading for some extra space for things like a pram. You might just want to switch to a safer, more family friendly car knowing you have a little one on the way. Either way, considering your vehicle and working out if it’s worth changing or keeping is something to think about before your baby is born.

Your Finances
Getting yourself into a good position with your finances is never going to be a bad thing. In some cases, you might just need to switch up the way you’re doing things. For example, if you currently wait until your bills are generated and then phone up or go online to pay them, could you set up direct debits instead? That way you know they’re always being paid on time without any extra effort for you, which is handy when you’re about to become extremely busy as a new parent. Could you cut back on subscriptions and costs that you dont use so that you can free up some spare cash? Could you save a little extra over the course of the pregnancy so you have an extra chunk of money to use for unexpected baby expenses? Go through your budget with a fine tooth comb, make sure your finances are running as smoothly as possible ready for when your baby comes into the world.

Baby Equipment
There’s no denying that babies need a lot of ‘stuff’. They need somewhere to sleep- multiple places in fact. You will likely need to buy a moses basket, a bedside crib and then a cot for their nursery. Formula fed babies will need milk and bottles, they’ll need clothes, and as time goes on, books, toys and so much more. You don’t need to run out and buy everything brand new so there are ways to save money, but items like prams, car seats and nursery furniture will likely still be expensive. Make an extensive list of everything you need (there are lots of resources online to give you ideas) then tick of things as you buy them each week. If you’re having a baby shower, you might find some of these items are bought for you by kind friends and family. Having a list stops you from making accidental repeat purchases or ending up with too much of the same thing. For example, it’s easy to end up with lots of newborn clothes where you can get over excited buying them, but they’re not in them for long. Instead, aim to buy clothes in a variety of sizes up until they’re around age one. That way once they’re born, you dont have any extra expense of buying clothes for quite a while. Stock up on things like nappies and wipes too which you’ll need lots of.

Getting the House Ready
Getting your home ready is an important step when it comes to prepping for baby. By the time you’re in around your 8th month of pregnancy, chances are your nesting instinct will start kicking in and that can certainly make things easier as you have a ton of motivation! While you wont need to worry about things like baby proofing just yet, there are things you can do. First things first, clean and organise. That way it makes it easier to keep on top of when your baby is here and you have less time on your hands. Throw away clutter to make space, set up good storage systems and make sure any dust or mold or other hazards are removed.

Getting the baby’s nursery set up is a smart move too- while it’s recommended that babies don’t sleep on their own until they’re over six months old, a room is still incredibly useful. It gives you somewhere to hang up their clothes, store books, teddies and toys that they start to accumulate with gifts, somewhere to put nappies and wipes. If you put a chair in the room, it can be a relaxing place to sit and feed your baby during the night too. You might even want to decorate and make your home look its best ready for baby’s arrival and also so that your home is ready for guests too. Chances are you’ll have a lot of guests in those early months!

Another thing that’s worth doing is prepping some food for the postpartum period. It can be difficult finding the time to cook, but its more important than ever to stay healthy during this time. So batch cooking some meals, splitting them into individual Tupperware containers and freezing them is something you could do. That way you can pop them in the microwave as needed and you have healthy, homecooked food on hand.

If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that having a good job that you enjoy and that pays you enough to enjoy your life and pay your bills is vital. Of course, although that’s the dream, it’s not always one that comes true – a lot of people find themselves in careers they never expected to be in, doing work they don’t really like.

That’s why, if you have the opportunity to think carefully about your career and choose something that really appeals to you, you should take it. With so many options out there, it can be hard to narrow things down (which is why some people end up in the ‘wrong’ career), so it’s a good idea to think about the things you like doing and start from there. Perhaps you like working with makeup, for example, and in that case you could decide to become a makeup artist. With that in mind, here are some of the reasons that could be a great idea.

Plenty Of Training
Perhaps you spend a lot of time practicing your makeup techniques and learning how to do everything in exactly the right way, and that’s wonderful – it’s a fantastic start that really can help you boost your career as a makeup artist. In fact, it shows you’ve got the passion for the job, and it’s something that means you’ll be able to keep up to date with all the trends when it comes to makeup.

However, on top of all this, did you know there are hundreds or maybe even thousands of courses you can choose to go on? Some will give you formal qualifications, which is going to be very useful no matter what direction you want to take your career in, and others will give you more insight into one specific element of makeup artistry – there are some great eyelash extension courses, for example. The fact is that makeup is always going to be popular, which means there will always be training you can do and courses you can take to boost your skills.

Great Income Potential
We can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to earn a specific minimum amount of money as a makeup artist, especially as there are so many routes you can choose – you might decide to become self-employed, for example, or you might want to join a salon, or focus on wedding makeup, and so on. However, what we can say is that there is definitely great income potential, and that’s exciting.

People will always need makeup artists because people will always want to look their best for special events, for example, and makeup artists will always be needed in theatre, film, and TV too. You could say that anyone who knows how to apply makeup perfectly and creatively is invaluable. That means you could earn a very good income once you’ve honed your skills – the training we mentioned above will definitely help with that.

You Can Help People
As someone who understands how wonderful makeup can be, you’ll also understand how confident and happy it can make anyone who’s wearing it. People can go from shy and retiring to extroverted and ready to take on the world just by applying a little makeup. So imagine what a difference you could make to someone’s life by applying the best makeup in the most skilled way.

There are many jobs that can help people, but few will have the instant impact that a good makeup artist will, and that could be the best reason of all for choosing it as a career.

Making your money work for you is something you should definitely be aiming to do, no matter who you are and how much money you actually have to work with. Why? Because if you leave your money languishing then it will never grow and help to secure your future for you, but if you put it to work, it will start to multiply and your financial future will rapidly start to look a whole lot brighter too. It really is that simple!

That being the case, let’s take a look at some smarter ways to make your money work for you, than just the usual savings account, right now:

1. Pay Off Your Debts

Probably the smartest thing you can do to make your money work for you right now is, if you have them, to focus on paying off all of your debts. If you have money to spare at the end of the month, you might think you are being financially savvy by putting it into a savings account, but umes that account pays more interest than your credit card company charges you each month (which is pretty unlikely), this is actually a foolish decision.

Pour all of your spare cash into your debts and once they are gone, you will be able to really start building a nest egg for the future instead of throwing money away on interest. It’s that simple.

2. Real Estate Syndication

Investing in property has long been one of the smartest ways to use your money to earn money and build a nest egg for the future, and real estate syndication just makes the process even more accessible to many. Okay, but what exactly is it?

Basically, real estate syndication is a bit like crowdfunding for investors. A bunch of people are able to joining a syndicate and invest in a share of a property that they will earn money on. It makes buying big-ticket real estate more affordable and increases yields for everyone no matter how much or little they are able to invest. Pretty neat, right?

3. Peer-to-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending might not be something you have heard about when it comes to investing your money, but it is actually a really great way to see a return on your investment that is higher than the average savings account would be able to deliver.

Basically, peer-to-peer lending lets you lend your money directly to individuals or businesses, cutting out the middleman. Normally, you will get to choose which projects you give your money to, so you can minimize the risk or maximize the return depending on what you are comfortable with. This is a great way to invest your money because, not only do you get to make it work for you, but by lending some of your capital to a budding business owner, you can also help someone else to maximize their own potential and secure their own financial future too. It’s a really cool way to get your money working for you.

4. Invest in the Stock Market

Yes, it’s a classic, but it’s a classic for a reason! Investing in the stock market has traditionally been the best way to make a lot of money, if you are good at it, at least. So, if you are looking for a smarter way to make your money work for you, I would say that learning everything you can about the stock market and trading, and then putting that knowledge into action, is a really effective way to go about that.

5. Start a Side Hustle

Got a skill or hobby you’re passionate about? Turn it into a side hustle. Whether it’s knitting dog sweaters, creating digital art, or starting a blog about underwater basket weaving, the internet is a vast marketplace for just about anything. The trick is to find a niche that excites you and that others are willing to pay for. It’s work, sure, but it’s also potentially making money from something you love. Just don’t let your day job catch you crocheting in a meeting or your financial situation could actually end up being a whole lot worse, right?

As you can see, making your money work for you does not require you to have a financial degree or a rich relative who can guide you along the way, and maybe even throw you a few dollars too; it’s something, with a little effort, we can all do, so y’know, why wouldn’t you?

We can run the risk of complacency when we achieve a certain role or career. It’s more important than ever to understand how you can be indispensable in your particular role, but also when there are people who do not progress for whatever reason, they work at being a better version of themselves.

Those who have ambitions to progress up the career ladder but are stuck in a particular position confine themselves to becoming complacent, which can be detrimental in the long run. This is why it’s important to be proactive and identify the potential to learn inside and outside of the role. But how can you improve your learning capacity in your workplace?

Raise the Subject Internally
Many organizations can view workplace learning as a box-ticking exercise. There are many companies that set out e-learning courses on an LMS (Learning Management System), but they fail to engage, or they become something that gets in the way of employee development. Now might be the opportunity to raise these concerns with your line manager or go higher up if you’re not getting the right responses.

Workplace learning is not just about ticking a multiple-choice question, but about actively engaging people within the organization in methods that suit their learning style. We’re all different when it comes to absorbing information, whether it’s through kinesthetic (touch), auditory, or visual, and we should work towards improving our learning capacity through methods that suit us, but we have to phrase it in such a way to benefit the business rather than just ourselves.

Adopting a Growth Mindset
Continuous improvement should be the goal, and if you feel you’re being passed up for opportunities, is it because you’re not showing the powers that be that you have a growth mindset?

Abilities can and will be developed over time, but if we slowly incorporate our desire to better ourselves into a business framework by adopting and embracing a growth mindset, this will, over time, be noticed by the right people. It’s important to note that if you are struggling to progress or you are growing impatient, it could be either down to the attitudes you are displaying, but it might also be due to ineffective line management, which is a critical thing to address.

Learn From Somebody With More Experience
If you want to accelerate your skill development in the workplace, there are many ways to do this through active and passive learning. Active Learning is all about hands-on experiences and discussions to promote a deeper understanding of the subject, but you could also push for skills swap sessions or even ask for a mentor if there is minimal impact on your abilities to work.

When you want to make changes in your career, learning from somebody else doesn’t just show you the ropes in terms of the potential roles, but it gives you a better feel for what it takes to get to their position.

We are all works in progress, and it’s important to not grow impatient. But if you are looking to progress within your company, it might be time to improve your learning capacity.

Makeup really can be a fantastic tool. It can completely change your face, carving out features that you don’t really have and making you look extra glam- or it can just provide you with a little bit of natural coverage. You can use it however you want and it give yourself a confidence boost however you need it. If you have an area of your face that makes you feel a bit insecure (like under eye darkness or skin discolouration) a dab of makeup can hide these away, or if you have a feature on your face that you love like your eyes or cheekbones, then you can highlight these and really make the most of them. Maybe you’re going to an interview and want to look put together, or you’re going to a party or on a first date and want to feel like your best self. You might just want to look a little bit more awake with a swipe of mascara each morning! Either way, it’s so worth having a few products in your makeup bag, and practice using them so you can use them to your advantage if you want to.

If you have the basics down, there are a few extra ways that you can make your makeup pop and look even better- here are some ideas!

Don’t skip the prep and finishes
Prepping your skin before using makeup will make all the difference to how it looks, and how well it lasts on your face. Putting together a simple skincare routine will benefit the health of your skin, prevent premature aging and as a bonus your makeup will look better. Before applying makeup, give your skin a clean with a light face wash, add a light oil and moisturiser. If you feel inclined to, adding a primer will help your foundation apply more smoothly and will last longer as well, perfect if you’ve got a long day ahead of you. When you’re all finished, adding a setting spray will seal everything in- if you go with a chemical free SPF 50 makeup setting spray you get the benefit of added sun protection too with no added nasties.

Get your colours professionally done
You dont need to run out and buy all the most expensive products, in fact so many highstreet brands do brilliant makeup items that are similar to those that are priced much higher. But it is worth knowing what suits you and what kinds of shades and tones to pick. If you go to a beauty counter, they will match you to a good foundation and give you ideas on what sorts of shades work best with your skin and eye colour.

Practice
Finally, even if you don’t plan on wearing much makeup, it’s worth practising with it. Try using different brushes and sponges to see which gives your foundation the best finish, practice applying eyeshadow, mascara and other techniques. The great thing about makeup is it just washes off, so have a go and then wash it off if you dont like it! Keep practising until you can apply all of the steps in your routine quickly and efficiently,

When it comes to selling your home, there are many mistakes you can make. In fact, 84% of first-time sellers admit to making mistakes that have cost them money.

Selling your home isn’t an easy process, and there are things you need to do and things you definitely shouldn’t do when the time comes to place your property on the market so you have a better experience and get as much money as possible.

If you want to know what you should avoid, read on for some common mistakes homeowners make when selling their property.

Asking Too Much
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is pricing your home too high. Sure, you want to get the most money possible for your home, but pricing yourself out of the market will have the opposite effect. Around 70% of the interest in a new home on the market comes within the first three weeks, and with it taking anywhere between 10 and 25 viewings to find a buyer, interest will be drastically reduced if you put too high a price on it.

You want to remain competitive while not underselling yourself, so working with a good realtor who knows the area and has priced and sold similar properties can help you price your home accordingly.

Listing Too Soon
It takes time to get a house listed for sale, and rushing into things before you are ready will mean your house might not get shown off in its best light. To get your home ready for sale, you need to prepare it for viewings, which can take some time.

Before the listing, you need to consider aspects such as decluttering your home, depersonalizing it slightly, taking care of minor repairs and maintenance, freshening the decor, giving it a deep clean, and so on. If you’re wanting to get the best price, you want the place to look good, and minor repairs are vital, as is making sure your home is shown off in the best light and is clean and welcoming for people who come to view it.

Ignoring Curb Appeal
Your home’s curb appeal is one of the things that impact how easy it is to sell your home. These days, it’s not just the physical curb appeal you need to hide but the digital one too, which is where the above point comes into play too.

For digital curb appeal, it is the pictures and videos they see online. So once you have taken care of repairs and cleaned your home and you are ready to take pictures; you need to make sure you have a photographer or videographer who can take the right images to show it off.

Physical curb appeal is how good your home looks from the curbside. Seeing a property for viewing for the first time doesn’t begin inside. It begins outside. If your house looks messy, tired, worn, scruffy, etc., this won’t give off an excellent first impression and will put buyers off before they set foot inside.

You can remove clutter building up outside, give the patio a jet wash, de-weed and mow the lawn and flowerbeds, get that garage door repair and installation you have been putting off, you need to clean the windows and doors etc and make the outside of your property as pleasant as the interior for a good first impression. If you don’t make an excellent first impression outside, pulling things back inside will be hard.

Choosing The Wrong Realtor
You want a realtor solely dedicated to your interests and not working both sides of the fence trying to sell your home and sell to a buyer. This conflict of interest might be good for them, i.e., double the payments, but it won’t be good for you as they won’t just be thinking of getting the best deal for you as they will be trying to secure a good deal for the buyer, too.

Choose an agent who is experienced in selling homes in your area, has your best interests at heart, can offer you everything you need in terms of advice and support, and has a good track record.

Ask family and friends who they choose and look around at reviews to see what other sellers think of the service they received. Don’t be afraid to meet a few realtors before deciding who to go with. You want to be able to build a rapport with this person to help you get your house listed and sold for the best price, and you can’t find this person by going with the first person you come across.

Bad Timing
Now, timing the real estate market isn’t easy, nor should it be something you are doing. However, listing at the wrong time can be detrimental to your selling success. So what do you do?

You list when you are ready. Selling and then moving into rented accommodation simply to get the house sold or to wait for prices to drop before buying again will be a bad idea as this can mean you are in between homes and less likely to move forward quickly. It’s a risky game to play and one that might come off well for you.

Make sure you have all of your finances in a row, pre-approval for a remortgage if you need one to move forward, and you have options to move to should you sell quickly. You are actively looking for homes to move to and are ready to strike should the right opportunities present themselves instead of waiting for the market to change.

Over-Developing Your Home
Every single home has a maximum resale value regardless of the work you do to it. While it might seem like you can add anything to your home and recoup your losses when you sell thanks to property shows, it doesn’t always work like that.

There’s a certain limit people will pay for property in different areas, and over developing your home and making changes can cause your house to exceed the value you are willing to pay, make it harder to sell, or result in you selling for a loss.

If you are making changes to improve the home and your standard of living only, then it’s likely you were investing for the long term, and having to sell wasn’t on your cards. But carrying out extensive work simply because you think it will get you more money when you sell can be a dangerous game if you exceed the value people are willing to pay.

Showing Buyers Yourself
You’re the best person to show off your house as you know it so well, don’t you? Wrong. As you live here, there is every chance that you could become too emotional when selling the property. You could tell the buyers every single detail that they don’t even need to know and put them off.

Buyers want to be able to see themselves living in your home, and if you are there telling them stories about the house, they won’t be able to do this. You need a third party with no emotional attachment to the building to host the viewings to allow the buyers to gain just enough information but not too much to put them off making a decision. This is where an experienced realtor comes in as they will have the answers to the questions the buyers need to know and can present the house in a different light to boost the chances of making a sale.

Selling your home isn’t easy, and if this is the first time you are doing so, there are many mistakes you need to avoid for a successful experience. This post ran through just a few of them, but if you can avoid making these big ones, you will have a much better experience when the time comes to pack up and move on.