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The Savings Formula: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Sustainable Savings Plan

3 minutes to read

Saving from your salary

In today’s economy, have you come to wonder whether it would be possible to sustainably save and put away a portion of your wage but felt like it wouldn’t be comfortably possible without short changing yourself? Or maybe you have and are committedto doing so, but just aren’t quite sure how you should work out just how much would be a reasonable goal.

It would be difficult to give a specific answer to this question that would apply to all; simply because everyone’s financial situation is different. The amount you could potentially save depends on a variety of factors, like your age, your general financial goals, your outgoing expenses, and your debts – if you have any.

So, how much is just enough to save?

In general, it’s a good idea to save a portion of your wage each pay period. Experts recommend saving at least 20% of your income, but this could end up to be more or less depending on your financial situation. If you are just starting out and have a lot of debts, for example, you will likely need to save less than 20% in order to meet your monthly expenses and make debt payments without leaving yourself short. On the other hand, if you are in an older demographic and have fewer debts, it is quite possible that you could be able to save more than 20%.

How do I work out how much I can save from my wage?

There are several things that you can do to help determine how much you should be saving from your salary:

  • Set out a weekly/monthly budget: to do this compare your incomings and outgoings. This will help you understand how much money you have coming in each month and how much you are spending. You can use this to determine how much you can reasonably afford to save.
  • Set financial goals: Think about what you want to achieve financially in the short term (e.g., pay off credit card debt) and the long term (e.g., retire comfortably). This will help you determine approximately how much you need to save to reach your goals.
  • Evaluate your expenses: Take a closer look at your monthly expenses to see if there are any areas that you may be spending unnecessarily and where you could cut back on those spendinv habits. This will help to free up more expendable money that you can use to save.

Remember, it’s important to save for the future, but it’s also important to enjoy your present. Be sure to maintain a balance between saving and spending so that you can live a comfortable, fulfilling life without overly limiting yourself.

How to save on VPN costs?

2 minutes to read

In today’s world, unfortunately, we can never know just how safe our information is when searching or browsing, anywhere on the web. This is were a VPN (Virtual Private Network) comes in. In simple terms, a VPN acts as the “middleman” between a server and your device. In this article we will demonstrate several ways to save money when looking into taking on a VPN service.

The mentioned methods include the following:

  1. Look for discounts and promotions: Many VPN providers will often offer discounts for students, military personnel, and other specified groups. It it worth keeping an eye out for these promotions and special deals, as if you happen to be included in the target audience of the offers, then these can help you save a great deal of money on your chosen subscription.
  2. Choose a longer subscription: Alot of the time, most VPN providers will offer larger discounts for each subscription period that is longer than the last. For example, you could save money by choosing a 6-month or yearly subscription period instead of one that only covers a monthly subscription.
  3. Consider a multi-device subscription: Some VPN providers offer discounts for multi-device subscriptions, which allow you to use the VPN service on multiple devices at the same time. This can be a good option if you have multiple devices in your household that would benefit from this added protection.
  4. Look out for free trials: most of the time there will be an option to trial different VPN providers, which allows you to try out their service for a set amount of time, for free, before committing to a paid subscription. This can be a good way to test out a VPN service so that you can be sure if it meets your needs before paying to use that particular provider.
  5. Compare prices: This may seem like an obvious point to make, although many people may hear of a more well-known name and go straight to that service because they believe the more well known, the better a service must be. But bear in mind that just because a service is well-known, that doesn’t mean that it is guarunteed to meet your individual needs. There are many different VPN providers to choose from, so it’s a good idea to shop around and compare prices. This can help you find the best deal for what you need.

Financial Independence: How do I build wealth and get rich?

14 minutes to read
A happy woman smiles in the background while holding a fan of money in the foreground. Build wealth and get rich.

Can I gain financial independence? How do I build wealth and get rich? These are questions that many people could potentially ask themselves at any stage in their lives. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to find a concrete answer to this that would apply to everyone in most cases. It’s hard to give a straight answer because there is no quick fix, and it isn’t enough to just dream of becoming a millionaire; there is a lot you may need to do to achieve financial independence.

In other words, it’s never too late to start building wealth, nor is it ever too late to start gaining your financial independence. However, we can’t escape the fact that you will have more time and more potential opportunities to build wealth and get rich if you’re from a younger demographic. Regardless of your age, though, the sooner you start to make changes, the sooner you will see results in your life.

Did you know?

The majority of lottery winners will, quite often, return to the same financial level that they were at before they won their jackpot prize.

This is largely to do with the fact that most people don’t have the knowledge that is necessary to keep and grow personal capital.

So, How do I build wealth and get rich?

Build Wealth

1. Adapt your mentality

The first step to wealth is to change your way of thinking. If you do not have the right mentality, achieving your financial goals will be made that but m9re difficult for you.

If you find you look for different reasons for someone else’s success, yet you are always trying to find reasons for why you don’t have money, you will have a long way to go until you achieve the levelled mentality that is needed.

One of the biggest resources that any one of us can use to further ourselves in this field is reading books, especially those that focus on self-improvement and write about financial success.

Best Financial Books

These books are fairly inexpensive, no matter which way you look at it and they will tell you about different practices that will help you start working towards financial independence as well as how to achieve the ideal mindset for wealth building.

1 – Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, paperback and MP3 CD)

2 – Think and Grow Rich, Original 1937 Edition, by Napoleon Hill

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, Paperback and MP3 CD)

3 – The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, paperback and MP3 CD)

4 – The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S Clason

(Available on Audiobook and Paperback)

5 – The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, by Dave Ramsey and Thomas Nelson

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover and Paperback)

6 – The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel, narrated by Chris Hill

(Available on Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover and Paperback)

By reading these books you can learn many things, like how to get rid of debts, earn a passive income, and even how to better put away the money that you make.

2. Invest in yourself

This point is more of a continuation of our previous point. Investing in yourself requires you to spend time, and some money, on learning and self-improvement.

What does this involve?

  • Reading
  • Completing courses
  • Refining your skills
  • Building connections

Many people underestimate the importance of getting to know each other and building professional relationships. However, it should be more well-known that people with wealth are almost certainly guaranteed to have important business contacts now that the individual gained by building extremely valuable relationships during the early stages of their mission to build wealth and get rich.

The more skilled and experienced you are, the greater the opportunities you will have.

Get rich

Your first goal in wealth building should be to strive for a wage raise or find a new job that you want to do and can earn more money in whilst being able to do something that you’re genuinely passionate about doing. Ensuring you are in a job role that you can be proud of and earns you more income will prove to be a solid starting point for you. From this, you can create a more robust financial basis for yourself, bringing your financial independence one step closer.

“The most important investment is to invest as much as possible in yourself.”

– Warren Buffett

3. Save

As we hinted at, at the beginning of the article, there is no such thing as an A-Z guide to getting rich. Still, there are good habits that you could consider that will undoubtedly significantly contribute to your future financial success.

Saving should be considered a main priority if you are looking to build wealth as, without doing it even a little a bit, it is almost impossible to begin to make a more considerable fortune.

You can start saving with small steps:

  • Spend within your means and never more than what you expect to earn within any relevant time period.
  • Set a portion of your income aside at the end of each month. If your pay schedule differs from the changeover of the month, do this when the pay cycle refreshes, and you receive your wage. A good level would be around 10% of each wage packet you receive, but only ever save what you can afford to.
  • Investing the money you save is a wise way to store your savings as, if the market is in your favour, it will be working for you instead of lying stagnant in an account. In addition, some stocks can even earn you dividends, meaning you will receive an extra return as a shareholder from the company at a specified time.

Although, because of market volatility and some unpredictability, f you’re inexperienced here, don’t take on too much and revisit this later in your journey, as at least some market knowledge and a lot of due diligence are necessary.

Properly managing your finances is the first step to financial independence. If you regularly spend on unnecessary things and end up being left with very little at the end of your pay period, you probably wouldn’t be able to keep your wealth growing progressively.

Build wealth and get rich

4. Create a budget

Creating a budget to summarise your income and outgoings can be very helpful if you struggle to see where you can start to build wealth.

Keeping track of your expenses and calculating how much you can comfortably spend each month may be more straightforward. You can easily do this with the help of a phone app or even computer programs such as Microsoft Excel.

You may be surprised at how you spend most of your money.

At the beginning of each pay period, determine how much money you will need in different areas of your life (bills, other direct debits, etc.) and set aside an affordable amount of money for savings every month, or pay cycle. This amount will form the basis for the construction of wealth.

—

Budgeting in 3 simple steps

Step 1 – Assess your income.

You can’t skip this step, and you must determine precisely how much revenue you have each month.

Step 2 – Determine your expenses.

Create different categories relevant to the different types of spending that you will do in a month, then calculate how much goes towards each category. Classifying outgoings like this will simplify everything to read easily on a page, furthering your ability to determine where you could make changes in your spending.

Step 3 – Calculate the amount you can save.

Suppose you cannot yet pledge a set percentage of your income to savings every pay period. Any money you don’t need to pay mandatory expenses should be put away – still ensure you will have money available to you in an emergency.

—

5. Create a plan

If you want to build wealth, you will need a plan and this isn’t just made up of the previously mentioned budget; it will help you a lot to achieve your goal.

With the help of a plan, you can think more specifically about the smaller details and, therefore, more carefully map out the necessary steps you will have to take during your journey.

Your budget and the steps in your plan will undoubtedly adapt and change over time, but if you have a visualised plan, you’ll have a better chance of reaching the goals, further motivating you whilst you work towards the end goal every day.

6. Consolidate any debts

It is important to get rid of all debt as soon as possible if you have any. In addition, if you have previously taken out a personal loan, home loan or other product, it is worth prepaying them as early as you can.

When creating a budget, you also need to consider loans as, until consolidated, they will be an ongoing cost.

If you don’t pay the instalments on time, you will lose even more money due to the rising loan caused by interest. So spend as little as possible and spend as much money as possible to repay the loan.

Debt settlement loan

A debt settlement loan can help you, especially if you need to pay off several loans simultaneously.

With the help of the current debt settlement loans, you can redeem your old high-interest loans and repay the amount at a more favourable interest rate.

We spoke a little more in-depth about the methods that you can use to settle debts, in our article here.

7. Surround yourself with the right people

If you want to be successful, it is important to invest time in quality friends who have goals like you.

It is also necessary to be able to talk to these people about things that will help you move forward, energise you with positive energy and give you strength in difficult times.

If you have friends who encourage you, this can be a great help in difficult moments and difficult decisions.

“Great people talk about ideas, ordinary people talk about things, and small people talk about other people.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

8. Invest in shares and real estate

Passive income is one of the best ways to make money. You would find that, if you asked them, almost every wealthy person would likely have investments that make them money, even while they are sleeping.

If your only income is through working, you essentially have to sell your time to make ends meet.

You don’t need a lot to start and could begin investing with very low capital amounts today. If you already have a significant amount of money and just want to build on it, you can even invest in real estate when the market is in a period of stability.

Best investments?

There are many forms of investment, so before making a choice, it would be a good idea to compare the yield and risk levels of different methods before choosing.

Financial Independence

9. Start your own business

Setting up a business of your own can sometimes be highly profitable. Although success here relies on several factors that you will need to consider – for example, are you offering people a valuable and useful product or service?

It is not easy to create a successful business, but if you are willing to put in enough time and work and can cover any initial investments you may need to make, you can certainly earn a great income level over time. It is a sure thing that hard work will bear fruit here.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket

In the beginning stages of building your business up, if possible, only work for it in your spare time and definitely only leave your current job if your company reaches a stage where it can easily provide you with a secure livelihood.

10. Take risks

–

It is important to preface this point by saying always pay due diligence and be sure to always stay within your financial means.

–

Don’t be too afraid to take risks. If you always air on the side of caution, at least too much anyway, you will find it is a difficult way to build wealth and get rich.

Those who live too comfortably and find it difficult to do anything outside of their comfort zone will not try new things, even those that have the potential to put them in a better position.

People who know how to build wealth and get rich will dare to take risks, try new things, and learn from the mistakes they have made.

Do you want to invest, but have you always been afraid to make the wrong decision? The internet is full of free courses to help you get started on the path of investing. It is important to not feel like spending on paid learning materials is a bad thing or like it will set you back; it won’t: these resources often contain information that will serve a much higher value for you in the future.

11. Think about variety

Even though risks can prove to be a good move and have a good payoff, it’s not the best decision to just focus on only one area.

Although over-diversification can be a bad thing, don’t just strive to be good at one thing, try to improve in as many ways as possible.

If you focus on just one thing and ignore everything else, you can potentially lose out on a lot of useful information and opportunities. This could cause a lot of harm to you and your potential finances in the long run.

For example, say you did set up a business – you invested all of your money into it and it became very successful. What if, after a while, your circumstances change and you no longer have time to serve the business but don’t want to employ staff? this could cause you to have to give the business up and you would financially have to start building all over again.

However, if you have gotten to a stage in your mission to build wealth that means you can confidently accept any potential losses, investing some of your money in real estate, stocks and shares, means that your risk exposure would be divided. This means that the successes you have would compensate for any loss you may experience in another area of your portfolio.

Our article here looks deeper into the subject of Diversification. It talks about topics such as why it is a good practice and the different types of available investment products. Also, it discusses the subject of over-diversification and the adverse effects this has on a portfolio.

Create more sources of income and always have an asset that will passively generate money for you – this should be the main goal as a successful passive income will take you leaps ahead.

Find new opportunities and try out more new things to try and further yourself. This increases your chances to get rich and build wealth successfully.

12. Don’t procrastinate

If you postpone everything, you will never achieve your goals or find it more difficult than you should. We understand it is easy to think you have plenty of time left or you will do a particular task “tomorrow”.

This way of thinking can be seen a lot in younger individuals. You think you will have plenty of time to achieve your goals.

Unfortunately, this mindset will help you to get nowhere fast. You may realise in 10 years that if you had taken that first step today, you would have been miles ahead from where you ended up and much closer to where you want to be at that stage.

Conclusion

In summary, wealth can only be achieved through developing useful habits and attributing yourself to proper, invested work. Try to spend less from month to month and, once you would able to financially recover from any potential loss without too much difficulty, invest a large amount of your savings to increase your money’s value.

If you know your financial goals already, in order to have more money later, it is always best to take the first steps today rather than waiting and putting it off until later.

How to manage your finances like the top 1% for success

11 minutes to read
manage your finances

Have you ever wondered how rich people have come to have more money than most?

Commonly it is believed that those who are more financially well-off either just struck lucky, gained fortune from wealthy families, or somehow made their fortunes fraudulently.

This is most usually a massive misconception and those who believe this have to change a lot in order to be able to make a great fortune for themselves.

Most rich people have worked very hard to achieve their financial goals. Over time, these individuals have learned how to manage money and know what needs to be done to ensure that their passive income – if they have one – continues to increase their wealth.

In this article we will overview how to manage your finances

Table of Contents

1. 1. Tracking Costs and Creating a Budget

2. 2. Set up an Emergency Fund

3. 3. Repay Your High-interest Loans

4. 4. Invest in Yourself

5. 5. Invest in Shares and Real Estate

6. Act!

Money is an integral part of our lives because it affects all areas of it. If you don’t have much money, then you may find that at least one of the following applies to you:

  • You have to work very hard in order to make a living.
  • You don’t have any disposable income and so can’t spend on your own needs.
  • You don’t have the opportunity to travel abroad and see the world.
  • You find it difficult to create the right environment for your family.

How much of a relief would it be if you were in a position were all of these things could be done at any given moment.

There is no recipe for wealth

Everyone gets rich in different ways, this is because each method will suit different people differently, but rich people have many similar habits and qualities.

It is a fair suggestion to say that the top 1% share the same view of the benefits and importance of money and that these people live almost identically when you take most of their spending habits into account.

1. Tracking Costs and Creating a Budget

How can you change something you aren’t aware of?

You can only create a better financial situation for yourself if you know exactly where your money is going.

Richer people may have more of a healthy level of wealth, but they know exactly how much they pay, where they spent it, and on what.

Most people don’t pay much attention to a budget and in fact, most of us only know how much we get paid in a month and manage our finances according to that entire amount until we get the next payment, when we do the same thong all over again.

That’s not how successful people manage their money.

For the next two months, track your expenses, as well as your incomes.

You can do this with the help of a piece of paper, but then you will have a better chance of forgetting certain things. The easiest and most effective way to track your spending is to use a phone app that will track both incomes and outgoings for you. Note, this will require you to input data as you go.

Some useful income/expense tracking apps include:

By following these steps, you can also increase your savings:

Tracking costs

Step 1

Record all expenses and incomes

As well as noting what incomes you have within any given month, also keep track of all expenses that take place in that month, all the way down to the last penny/dime. This ensures that all of your money is accounted for and you know where it is all going, giving you a much clearer bigger picture.

Step 2

Assess each month

At the end of the month, work out what you’ve spent most of your income on and identify if and were changes can be made to your spending habits. This is a crucial part of how you will now manage your finances.

Step 3

Don’t buy because of sudden urges

Most people realize that impulse buying greatly increases spending. Despite this realisation, it may not occur to the same individual that, if you only buy what you really need, you can improve your financial situation a lot.

Of course this isn’t to say that you can’t treat yourself every once in a while, but just be sure to keep a handle on unnecessary spending as this can absorb a lot of your income if you aren’t careful.

Step 4

Work out how much you can reasonably save

Once you’ve gone through all of your expenses, you can then compare these figures to your level of income to be more able to determine just how much money you could set aside and invest into more useful purposes each month.

Try to continually work on this so that you can gradually increase it from month to month.

2. Set up an Emergency Fund

Every person with considerable wealth, and even as well as those with any level of disposable income, almost always have an emergency fund that allows them to cover their expenses for at least 3-6 months simply to have just in case their personal circumstances change.

So how do you go about building up this fund?

The answer to this is simply using an appropriate proportion of the money you can now regularly save each month to set up your own emergency fund and to then manage your finances so that you don’t use that money unless you find yourself in a situation when you really need to – for example, if you were to lose your job.

As we had said earlier, if you keep track of your expenses properly you’ll know exactly how much money you spend each month. It is then this figure that will help to determine how much your emergency fund needs to be in order to cover everything you will need it for when the time comes.

Your goal should be to save this amount as soon as possible.

Only use the money you save if you have unexpected, urgent costs. This will protect you from borrowing, which usually is a long-term commitment that may even take years to be paid off.

It can be a lifesaver

For example, when you have your fund mostly set up, should you have a large unexpected expense, you won’t have to make arrangements with your landlord to be able to afford your rent payment and you certainly won’t need to take out a loan.

If you have sufficient reserves for such an expense, you will be able to pay the amount without any problems and no sacrifices are necessary.

3. Repay your high-interest loans

Whatever credit you have, it is worth consolidating where possible and getting it paid off as soon as is reasonably possible. If you are paying off a long-term high-interest loan, in some circumstances, it may be worth replacing;

Debt settlement credit is beneficial

With the help of a debt settlement loan with a favorable interest rate, you can pay off your current loan and replace it with a cheaper, more affordable loan.

A debt settlement loan can be applied for at almost any bank and operates on similar terms as a personal loan.

Before entering any contract it is important to pay your due diligence, but you should certainly find out more about debt settlement loans before deciding to use one to try and help your personal situation, if you don’t then you may make it even harder for you to manage your finances, but as long as you listen to advice and don’t rush into anything, you should be perfectly fine.

If you do not want to apply for a debt settlement loan, you can also use one of the following methods to help make repaying your loan easier:

Avalanche method

This is usually the best way to repay your debt – especially when you have multiple loans – as it will cause the least amount of extra cost.

The essence of this method is to settle your loans based on the level of interest they carry. Put simply, when following this method loans with the highest APR are the first to be paid off.

Further to this, once you have then managed to pay this higher rate loan off, continue by paying off the second-highest until, eventually, you only have to pay off the last loan which has the lowest interest rate.

Snowball method

This method is similar to the avalanche method in the way that you pay your debts in a predetermined order, only here you will first pay off the loan that equates to the smallest amount of credit. This will certainly be easier to sort out, and so you should see the results of your work sooner.

As we have already said, in the snowball method, you do not take into account interest, only the total amount of credit to be repaid.

The advantage is that you will feel the success and therefore it will be easier to pay off the next loan.

The disadvantage of this method is that you will pay more on interest than in the case of the avalanche method.

4. Invest in yourself

Once you’ve set up your emergency fund, paid off your debts, you should invest in yourself and gain knowledge which will, in turn, help you to make more money looking forward.

What is considered to be self-improvement?

  • Reading new, informative books
  • Investing in learning a new skill (i.e. completing a course)
  • Starting your own business
  • If you already have your own business, you can invest in it to improve and develop it further

If you’ve done everything you can to create a better financial situation for yourself, for example, you now have savings, can effectively control your money, and money doesn’t dictate how you live, then you can now manage your finances well, and it’s time to consider the different ways to bring in new forms of income and start earning more.

You can’t completely create a better financial situation for yourself if you don’t take the opportunity to learn new, important ways to make money.

The possible result of having an open mind to these methods could be:

  • A raise in pay
  • A promotion
  • Movement into better, more well-suited job roles
  • Being able to start your own business

If you have money set aside and get rid of loans as we previously explained, you could potentially take on more risk, which is usually essential to successfully gaining more money.

5. Invest in Shares and Real Estate

Starting your own business is not an easy task: it takes a lot of perseverance to get started and for a company to succeed a lot of time, effort and general work is needed to be put into it. This also includes developing a portfolio of assets and, if you work hard enough, your business can be your most profitable asset.

If you are a person that aspires to be able to eventually live a quiet life whilst knowing that you have a secure job: there is a way to earn more income.

The most affluent people invest their wealth in different areas and diversify their investment portfolios. The most popular investments are usually stocks and real estate.

Investing safely

Before you invest, it’s good to identify the area that piques your interest the most.

It is important to note that, before you choose the area you are wanting to invest in, examine the different areas and compare their level of risk. Find an investment that suits you both in terms of capital and risk.

Remember, long-term investing is usually safer and more rewarding. For novice investors, it is not recommended to think in the short term.

The best way to manage your finances? Act!

These steps can seem very difficult, especially if your personal situation means you are currently still struggling with debt.

If you follow the aforementioned steps and feel like you aren’t getting anywhere fast, don’t be too concerned and carry on accordingly. It can sometimes take years for most people to turn their personal situation around and get to the point where they can begin to think about investing.

Try to complete the steps in sequence and begin developing the right habits. It is these appropriate spending and accounting habits that can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Synopsis

The top 1% live by strict rules and manage their money so that every penny/cent has a purpose

Investing is a very important part of collating wealth, so it is worth starting to manage your finances as soon as you can so that you can then begin putting your money to actual constructive use as soon as possible.

Read more about how to manage your finances and gain financial independence here.

BINANCE – A CRYPTO EXCHANGE ANALYSIS – Binance Review

8 minutes to read
Binance Review

Binance Review, Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in Hong Kong in 2017, and has rapidly grown into the world’s largest crypto exchange based on trading volume. The initial growth and popularity of the platform were so impressive that they had to temporarily suspend registrations in January 2018 so that they could keep up with demand. Today, it offers customers a highly well-established range of more than 40+ fiat currencies and 300+ cryptocurrencies with no deposit fees and highly competitive trading fees (up to 0.1%), all of this applies worldwide – where applicable.

The most important features and benefits of Binance

It has so many features that make it one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the world. Here’s a list of Binance’s best features:

  • Extremely low 0.1% fees, with discounts if you pay with BNB;
  • More than 300+ different cryptocurrencies for purchase, sale or trade;
  • Android and iOS mobile apps are available;
  • Advanced, classic and basic trading platforms to suit your needs
  • Do more with Binance Earn – increase your crypto;
  • Binance Visa Card – spend your cryptos anywhere with a card
  • P2P exchange – trade directly with others on your own terms
  • Binance Loan allows users to borrow crypto
  • NFT marketplace for buying and selling NFTs
  • Margin trading with leverage of up to 10x
  • Futures and derivatives trading

BINANCE REGISTRATION

What services does Binance offer?

If you’ve done some research on the best crypto exchanges, you’ve probably found that there are many options, making it difficult to decide which exchange platform to choose. With this in mind, we’ll help you work out the suitability of Binance by explaining the best services it has to offer to see if this is the right exchange for you.

More than 300+ different cryptocurrency purchases, sales or trades

Binance offers over 300+ different cryptocurrencies, making it one of the most comprehensive offerings in the world. As the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange based on trading volume, you know liquidity will be high, so you will be able to buy and sell (almost)any coin on their platform with ease. The native token here is Binance Coin (BNB).

Below are the latest figures:

Binance Review,
$BNB Chart

Android and iOS mobile apps

Binance has an excellent application, making everything easy for beginners. The ease that this platform affords its users also suits advanced traders by simplifying processes. Within their corresponding app, there are two versions that you can switch between at the touch of a button, these are as follows:

There is Binance Lite, which is excellent for beginners, and Binance Pro, which gives you access to many advanced features and trading tools. Further to this, according to the Google Play store, the app has more than 10 million downloads, with a high user rating of 3.7/5 stars – This rating is based on 617,000 user reviews.

Advanced, classic and basic trading platforms

Binance serves customers of all levels, from complete beginners to experienced day traders in the crypto investing world. If you want the easiest way to buy crypto, you only need to select the basic “Convert” option, which creates a straightforward interface.

Those who are more comfortable with the traditional market interface can choose the Classic method of buying crypto, which has much more information than the basic version. Experienced traders who want full access to all trading instruments can choose the Advanced option under the Trade tab.

Use Binance Earn to grow your crypto portfolio

Binance offers users various options to increase their crypto while leaving it on the stock exchange. If you plan to hodl (withhold/hold onto) your crypto, this is a potential investment opportunity. Instead of it lying dormant as available funds in your portfolio, you can work with it. The following sections below, explain the different bidding options.

Binance Visa Card

Binance works with Visa to offer a card that lets you spend your crypto with 60 million merchants worldwide. In addition, the card is free, has no administration or processing fees, and you can even get up to 8% cash-back on eligible purchases! This is undoubtedly a significant step in the right direction to make crypto a mainstream payment method.

P2P Replacement

Binance offers a peer-to-peer exchange that allows users to trade cryptocurrency directly with each other between their portfolios, on their own terms – in virtually any country!

Binance Credit

Anyone registered as a Binance user can access a loan if they wish to take one out on the platform. There are several credit conditions that you can choose from when borrowing; It is possible to make an early repayment and pay only for borrowed hours. The interest rate is calculated at 0.001667% (0.04%/day) per hour.

NFT Marketplace

NFTs have taken the crypto world by storm and are continuously gaining popularity. Binance has seized the opportunity to take part in the movement. Binance has its own NFT marketplace, where NFTs can be minted, bought and sold.

Margin trading with leverage of up to 10x

Margin trading is only available for a select few trading pairs; further to this, with some trading pairs, users can acquire leverage as high as 10x. Cross margin trading can be hazardous as users risk their entire account, while isolated margin trading only poses a risk to that trading pair.

Futures and Derivatives Trading

A relatively new feature is Binance Futures, which allows users to speculate on the price of Bitcoin and altcoins such as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and others. When trading futures, users do not actually buy or sell cryptocurrencies, but only take advantage of the price rise/fall to make money.

The futures interface is very similar to the trading platform itself. The only difference is features, such as the ability to view open positions and features that allow traders to control leverage. Binance Futures fees are up 0.04% for each trade. Fees are lower for traders with a huge monthly trading volume or, subsequently, if their trades often increase liquidity in the order book before they are executed.

Binance awards

It has extremely low fees, and it is in fact possible for them to be reduced further.

Deposit fees

If you put cryptocurrency in Binance, there is a zero fee. If you deposit fiat currency into Binance, the fee will vary depending on how you deposit and the currency. For example, if you pay Australian dollars (AUD) using PayID/OSKO, it’s free. However, if you deposit Hong Kong dollars (HKD) by credit card, the fee is 3.50%.

Payment Fees

The withdrawal of cryptocurrency from the Binance account comes with a flat fee that covers the transaction costs of transferring crypto to the wallet. The fee varies depending on each coin. In the case of fiat currency withdrawals, the fee varies depending on the withdrawal method and currency. For example, taking the Australian dollar (AUD) by bank transfer is free. Paying the pound sterling (GBP) by credit card comes with a 1% fee.

Transaction Fees

Fees for spot trading (buying and selling cryptos) start at a low 0.1% and you can get a 25% discount if you pay the fees with Binance’s own coin (BNB). This means that you only pay 0.075% for each trade!

Trading Fees Compared to Other Popular Exchanges

Binance – 0.075%

KuCoin – 0.10%

Coinbase – 4.5%

Bybit – 0.10%

If you’re a large-scale trader and hold a lot of BNB tokens, you can reduce fees even further, with the lowest fees with a 0.015% maker fee and a 0.03% taker fee, including a 25% discount using BNB.

Binance security

As a platform, Binance is a secure cryptocurrency exchange that keeps most of its digital assets offline in cold storage and also gives its users tips on ways to increase security. In line with their strong security ethics, there are account settings to enable 2FA (two-factor authentication), the whitelisting of devices, payment address management, the enablement of anti-phishing codes, and even U2F (universal factor 2 authentication) – which requires physical access to hardware to access the account.

Despite all of these efforts to keep the exchange safe in 2019 Binance fell victim to a cybersecurity breach and lost more than $40 million worth of Bitcoin. However, they reacted commendably to the situation; The resulting losses were fully subsidised and so users did not suffer any actual losses. Four months after the incident, they received ISO 27001 certification after passing an audit of information security management. This shows how committed Binance actually are to maintaining a secure platform for all customers. Further to this, Binance is constantly investing in ways to improve their cybersecurity protection.

Summary

In the world of cryptocurrency, Binance is certainly a big and popular name, this is no  accident. Based on trading volume, it is the largest crypto exchange with competitive fees and a platform designed for both novice investors and experienced traders. With over 300 different coin offerings and extra features like bets, margin trading, futures, and even an NFT marketplace, it’s an excellent platform to rely on for your blockchain activities.

Don’t have an account of your own? If you want to open one follow the link to get started: 

Binance registration >>

Read more analysis from us here

High Inflation! How should we invest if inflation remains high?

3 minutes to read

How should we invest if inflation remains high?

Those who expect persistently high inflation should think about inflation-tracking retail government securities centred around the US Dollar and the Euro. But, on the other hand, with the right timing, commodity investment funds and stocks also have the potential to perform well.

Inflation is likely to be only temporarily close to 6-7% in the US. From the second half of 2022, the consumer price index may gradually return to close to 2-3 percent, based on expectations.

If it is predicted that there will be higher inflation on more of a permanent basis, you may want to choose the following forms of savings.

Raw materials

If we turn to the universe of risky investments, commodity investment funds can perform well in a high inflation environment.

In the post-coronavirus period, many governments around the world are invigorating with improved infrastructure measures. Meanwhile, the supply side faces a capacity shortage and supply chains are faltering. After the closures, a significant demand hit the construction industry worldwide, but trade and geopolitical tensions also pushed up the price of raw materials.

Moreover, the supply chain is relatively inflexible. For example, it takes a good two years to create a modern sawmill, while opening a new mine may take up to a decade.

Through their bond-buying and liquidity-enhancing programs, central banks have injected huge sums into the banking system and economy on the demand side of things. This money is present as a demand, raising the price of commodities. This links to the increasing number of wage increases.

This environment has led to significant price increases in the raw material markets.

After the prices of many raw materials have doubled in recent times, the question is whether or not it’s worth entering trades or investments after such a significant increase and buying, for example, a commodity fund.

Suppose China could avoid a slump in its real estate market and a significant slowdown in its economy. In that case, commodity price increases may continue for some time to come, although the pace is likely to moderate. The significant price increases may be behind us.

Shares

Domestic, German and U.S. stock markets are at historic highs.  Stocks have traditionally performed well in higher inflation environments. If inflation is too high, it can be harmful. In this case, central banks will have to make significant cuts.

Higher inflation is particularly concerning for the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED).

In the United States, the rate of economic deterioration rose to a 13-year high of 5.4 percent. One-year inflation expectations jumped to 5 percent, and 3-year inflation expectations, which better capture longer trends, jumped to 4 percent overseas.

As a result, the FED could phase out its bond-buying program entirely by the middle of the year and even begin a cycle of rate hikes. However, this can trigger a negative correction in equity markets.

In light of this, it is advisable to buy shares in the form of several positions (known as dollar-cost-averaging), with more of a long-term view. This technique can reduce the risk at the time of purchase.

If a 10-15% correction were to develop in the equity markets, it could be another possible point of entry.

In this case, the extreme optimism in the markets could be tempered, investors’ cash holdings could recharge, while the pricing of equity markets would also return from the current very high levels.

Are Small Investments Useful?

11 minutes to read
Small Investments

Small Investments

We often find ourselves giving in to the common misconception that only more significant investments are where the main capital gains are achievable. Yet, against popular belief, even smaller savings are capable of profit-making, and even small investments can become profitable, especially if you do them regularly.

Many people think that there isn’t much to be done with the last bit of spare money leftover from their previous wage each month because, from some people’s perspective, this leftover amount doesn’t really equate to much value. However, considering that regular monthly investment can usually result in quite a nice return, the previously mentioned misconception is not a good outlook to adopt as that leftover money can most definitely go a long way, no matter how small.

As we had mentioned in our in-depth investing guide for beginners, it is now possible to invest with as little as $10 on the eToro platform.

To do this effectively, of course, you need to know which products are worth buying in small quantities on the market. Although, unfortunately, if you want to invest a small amount, you may not have as many opportunities as others.

Investing in eToro

eToro is one of the most popular and chosen online brokers. If you were to read the reviews about the company and get to know the services on the site, before long, you would soon come to realise how good of a platform it really can be!
Find out more about eToro: Here

When should I choose a small investment?

You should at least consider a small investment, if:

  • You have little savings, and you want to increase them.
  • You’re a beginner and don’t know the market very well.
  • You want to begin generating long-term returns
  • You want to try a new product
  • You don’t want the risk exposure associated with larger amounts of capital.

Benefits of small investment

  • You’re only risking a smaller amount of capital.
  • It helps give an understanding of how the market works.
  • It is easy to diversify with smaller holdings.
  • You can choose from flexible products.
  • With regular investment, your portfolio can achieve good returns.
  • There are leveraged products available.

Disadvantages of small investment

  • Patience is needed when it comes to developing the desired level of holdings.
  • Fewer options are available.
  • The risk is the same.
  • In the short term, potential yield production may be limited.

Shares

Minimum capital: $10 to $10,000

Possible profit: very high

Time horizon: 5+ years

Competence: very high

Risk: very high

Stocks are potentially one of the most popular investments. Thanks to the variety of shares, everyone has the ability to find a product that is perfectly suited to them and their portfolio types. In addition, since we are talking about an investment type that has high diversity potential, you can often find shares that can quite oftenly turn out to be a profitable choice even with very little capital.

Despite the previous point, nobody can forget that stocks are relatively risky. If you want to invest a small amount, it certainly means that you don’t have much savings. With this in mind, you should be especially careful when it comes to stocks because, with a wrong decision, the investor can easily lose even that small amount.

If you want to buy shares, we recommend that you think long-term and preferably not rely on the shares of just one company. When you spread your investments, you are in turn exercising risk management which will actually protect your capital investment should something happen to that one particular company that you would have originally placed all of your money in. This, in essence, means you won’t lose everything in one go.

Bank deposits

Minimum capital: $1,000 to $10,000

Possible profit: low

Time horizon: 0-1 year

Savvy: low

Risk: low

A bank deposit is generally a  safe investment, so it’s recommended especially for those who do not want to put too much risk exposure on their money.

Some may not realise this, but you will be required to have a bank account to deposit. The amount paid will be the bank’s property for a while, but, in return, you will receive interest from it. At the end of the term, you will receive the amount and the interest paid on it.

It is worth noting that, in the case of a bank deposit, we haven’t addressed and talked about is the sometimes high-interest rates. So, for example, you can get a higher return on a share, but you can choose a bank deposit if you want to be sure of reduced risk.

Also, remember that because you have protection when it comes to the deposited amount, you wouldn’t lose your money even in the event of bankruptcy.

Gold

Minimum capital: $1,000 to $10,000

Possible profit: low

Time horizon: 1-5 years

Savvy: low

Risk: low

Gold is an available investment option that has been present in the market for a very long time. It is the most popular investment among precious metals, and most of the time, investors will buy gold for diversification.

Another reason for gold’s popularity is that it can retain its value better than most other securities. An excellent example of this is that shares will decrease in value more than gold in the event of a crisis. Moreover, the value of gold will likely increase during a crisis; this is because many people will invest a portion of their money in gold as a portfolio safety net.

The value of gold is on the rise in the long run. Since we are talking about a rare and finite amount of precious metals, you can be sure that gold will retain it’s value in the future.

If you’re looking for a small amount of investment, gold can be a great way to counter inflation.

1kg Gold price between 2010 and 2020

Bitcoin

Minimum capital: $1,000 to $10,000

Possible profit: very high

Time horizon: 1+ months

Competence: very high

Risk: very high

Bitcoin could easily be the most popular and well-known cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are internet currencies that operate without a bank or other centralised body. Instead, blockchain technology allows transactions to take place exclusively between users.

Originally Bitcoin was created to keep people safe and allow them to store their money independently of any bank. In our current society, websites and big-name businesses are increasingly supportive of Bitcoin payments, although the future of cryptocurrencies remains in question.

For sure, Bitcoin is currently a very trendy product, and most people see it as an investment. However, the price can be very unstable, which is caused by market volatility, and this is why you can quickly lose your money.

Bitcoin is better recommended to more experienced investors, but – on the other hand – you don’t necessarily have much to lose if you only want to invest in small amounts and can then gain valuable market experience and knowledge at the same time.  The yield on leveraged products is likely the best to use to compare to Bitcoin’s yield.

Bitcoin growth graph

P2P loans

Minimum capital: $1,000 to $10,000

Possible profit: high

Time horizon: 1-5 years

Savvy: low

Risk: very high

Peer-to-peer loans can be a good source of income for the lender. If you want to invest, you can give credit to people who need it.

Since there is a demand for such loans, smaller amounts are utilised equally to more significant amounts. This point is important because banks usually don’t deal with options such as these less significant amounts. Moreover, when it comes to P2P loans, the borrower will pay interest on the money lent, so, like a bank deposit, you will earn a guaranteed return.

The borrower will also benefit, as they have access to a loan with a lower interest rate than they would be able to source from any bank.

Such lending isrelatively easy to source on most platforms. These sites can easily connect you with the borrowers that suit you.

! Attention !

The use of P2P platforms is prohibited in some regions. Therefore we urge you to DYOR and source the correct information relevant to your specific country orregion. Only if you find that it is not unlawful to do so, should take full advantage of P2P lending.

Commodities

Minimum capital: $1,000 to $10,000

Possible profit: very high

Time horizon: 5-10 years

Competence: very high

Risk: very high

As a term, “Commodity Products” is used to describe raw materials and basic products that are suitable for investment.

These products include:

  • Agricultural products
  • Commodities
  • Metal goods
  • Livestock goods

There are several ways that you can invest in these products. The, seemingly, obvious solution for some would be to buy and store physical product. Although, because of the sheer required storage space alone, this is far from a favourable or recommended method. Instead of this, in the majority of cases, it is more highly recommended over anything else that investors buy into an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) that is suited to their portfolio requirements.

Buying ETFs is much more straightforward and a much more obvious choice in the way that investors can implement them on almost any platform. If you are looking for another alternative, you can choose a suitable investment fund instead.

It is important to remember that when buying a product, you need to be thinking with a long-term mindset.

Invest in Yourself

Many people forget that self-improvement is one of the most important things in the world that you can turn your attention to. Often, learning a new skill holds a lot more value than any product you can find on the stock market. If you spend money on improving yourself, you will almost certainly be making the best decision possible.

If you aim to make more money, the easiest way to go about this is to further develop the skills that will better assist you in achieving these goals.

For example, if you want to invest in the stock market, you you may enrol into a course that will advance your knowledge in new investment methods.

Also, it is advisable that you ensure that you give yourself the opportunity to gain enough personal experience traversing the market, as well as market knowledge, to the point that you feel more comfortable and certainly confident in it processes. An example of a platform that accommodates this necessary stage in any investor’s journey, is eToro, it is one of the most popular investment exchange platforms and provides all newly registered users with demo accounts so that they can do just this and gain necessary knowledge and experience before needing to have true risk management skills.

With the amount on the demo account, you can invest without risk, therefore you can experience not only how to properly use the site, and its different features but also to see how the various different products behave.

How do I create an account on eToro? Guide to open an eToro Account

CopyTrading

For many people choose eToro because of its CopyTrading service. CopyTrading allows you to replicate the movements of more experienced investors. Commonly, individuals usually feel safer in their market movements when they have received this kind of assistance from an experienced party.

If you decide to choose CopyTrading, first compare different investors based on their eToro profile. On the site, you will find all the useful information about them that you will need to make a decision, including the recent profit/loss they have made on their portfolio.

Don’t forget the risk!

CopyTrading may be a good decision, but the risk is there with every investment. The functioning of the market cannot always be determined in advance and therefore experienced investors can also occasionally lose money too.

Pay attention to this when investing a small amount

It is worth taking a few tips of advice when it comes to small investments. This includes the following:

  • Don’t have unrealistic expectations. Since small investments are usually long-term, you will only generate true returns over time.
  • Don’t forget about the risk. There is also risk involved when you invest a small amount of capital. If you choose the wrong product, you may lose the entire amount of money.
  • Try to invest and diversify regularly. The more products you invest in, the safer your money will be due to portfolio diversification.

Synopsis

If you are a novice investor, starting by investing with smaller amounts is a wise decision. The market has many possibilities for you to choose from, all you have to do is be sure that the product(s) that you select suits you and your planned portfolio requirements as best as it can.

Remember, small investments also have pitfalls, so if you choose a risky product, it may be worth seeking an expert’s opinion. It is also always important to only risk as much money as you can afford to lose without being overly affected.

Disclaimer:

You make every investment at your own risk. Your money is at risk, and past performance may not be a reliable indicator of future results. You never know if an investment will pay off or not.

Horoscopes and Their Effect On Money Saving Part 2

5 minutes to read
Horoscope and money

In the first of this two-part series, we analysed the relationship of each Fire and Earth horoscope and money, and where some members of the zodiac might stand on the topic of money saving. 

So, what role does money play in your life and how do you behave with it? Let’s move on now, let’s look at the characteristics of the last 6 signs and see how accurate  your sign’s analysis is below:

Part II

Air Signs and Their Money: Unstable Financial Standing

Twins (22.05-21.06)

Gemini’s financial situation is usually rhapsodic. They easily embark on rather risky, fast-enriching, dubious businesses and are willing to trade money on the stock exchange. If this sign suffers a financial loss, they will re-create their possessions like a skilful gambler. Gemini doesn’t shy away from borrowing or real estate for personal purposes. This sign cleverly groups existing loans back and forth. They have a good financial instinct and handle values well. They are emotionally attached to the things they like, nurtures them and takes care of them. He demands the recognition of the outside world, he likes to be praised and admired for his abilities.

Libra (23.09-22.10)

Libra is a clever “moneymaker.” This sign loves prosperity and having a beautiful, pleasant environment, so no matter how much they promise against it, it is hard to resist the lure of shop windows. If you are of this sign, and uncertain about your investments, consider at length before making a decision. If someone convinces a Libra of a better financial opportunity, they can easily reallocate their entire fortune. With great natural taste, they choose true value over choosing cheap or tasteless things. This sign is able to fight for financial security with great spiritual strength and complete devotion. For them, money can mean power and strength.

Aquarius (20.01-18.02)

Aquarius is quite extreme and, sometimes, rather erratic when it comes to their finances. This sign can be either meticulous, prudent, sparing, or completely scattered depending on the situation. Self-realization is more important to them than money. If a business offers financial gain but limits freedom, if you are of this sign you likely won’t ever go for it. This sign has a developed social sense and financially supports people and organizations in need. If you are an Aquarius and have reasonable amounts of money, you may find that you spend it immensely and if you don’t, you live more modestly. This sign has a sophisticated sense of finance and can get a sense of good business.

Water Signs and Their Money: Excellent Intuitions in Financial Decisions

Cancer (22.06-21.07)

For Cancer safety, including financial security, is very important. Therefore, if this is your sign, you always have a reserve that you can turn to in an emergency. They take care of their family in the long term and in a prudent way (takes out life and home insurance, saves for their children, buys a property). For those of the Cancer sign, it is difficult to get rid of beloved objects and environments, and they would much rather collect and accumulate. It’s important to them that they are not to be considered poor, and may need things such as a credit card to ensure that feeling is kept at bay.

Scorpio (23.10-21.11)

Scorpio is generally a person of extremes who likes luxurious conditions but, in the event of financial difficulties, easily gives up a lot of these luxuries. They enjoy the risk of investing. This sign is an instinctive being, mostly listening to intuition instead of rationality, yet usually makes the right decision. They take great care of their own property and values, and should they find out they’re being tricked they will fight back fiercely. This individual is also distrustful of finances. Whatever the reality, you feel rich, satisfied, and believe that everything will be in the best of order. If able to, Scorpio is happy to support others and share their own wealth.

Pisces (19.02-20.03)

Pisces’ attitude to money which comes easily, also goes easily. In terms of materials, he is a true life artist, trusting their prosperity to fate. This sign lacks practicality and so, if this is yours, it is better to leave it to a competent person to manage your finances. It can sometimes be easy to be fooled, especially when asked for money to help those in need with a touching story. They will try to make it so that when it comes to paying, they don’t have to foot the bill. In the field of finance, conflicts are happily taken on. For Pisces, money means power and security.

This brings us to the end of the characterizations. We hope that you have found it interesting to read about your respective sign’s financial habit horoscope, and perhaps you have even recognised some of yourself in it. The ability to save is partly found in our character/horoscope but don’t be disheartened if you found some truths that are less than ideal, as your financial efficacy can be improved, especially if you know and understand your own limitations.

Horoscope and money

Read Part 1 of this article

Horoscopes and Their Effect On Money-Saving

5 minutes to read
Horoscopes and Their Effect On Money-Saving

Do you believe that there is a connection between the ability to save money and our horoscopes? There is a chance that there could be. Many people consider astrology to be hocus-pocus, yet others believe it to be 100% drawn from fact.

Of course, not everybody perfectly fits the characteristics of their sign. Still, we can often recognise ourselves in a particular feature of our respective sign.

Even if we didn’t want to go into too deep of an analysis of the topic, this knowledge helps challenge what we think we know and assists us in getting to know what certain traits we may be able to expect to see in people. If we know what sign a family member or colleague was born ‘into’, we may be able to learn to be more tolerant of natural qualities because we then understand that they react as a Leo or a Libra, or whatever their sign may be. Of course, no one is 100% suited to the general characteristics of their sign due to some effectual factors, such as the planetary positions or a domineering ascendant.

So, what role does money play in your life and how do you behave with it? Let’s look at it in the light of your horoscope below and see how correct your sign’s analysis is below:

Part 1:

Fire signs and Their Money: Generosity

Aries (21.03-20.04)

Aries can very suddenly decide to take risks with their money. It is not typical for this sign to save for retirement because they live ‘in the present’ and like to spend money. They don’t think about their future and believe that they will work things out somehow once they get there. They are attracted by investments that promise to get rich and make money quickly. The stock market, sports betting, and anything that promises unexpected twists and turns are favourable. There is no champion of savings found in this sign’s field. When shopping, they don’t like to pick and choose and will buy what is needed in the first shop, sometimes recklessly. Spending erratically, whimsically if they don’t have the money to make it look like they do, isn’t uncommon.

Leo (07.23-08.22)

The lion will usually live better than they can afford. This sign likes glamour and having a luxurious lifestyle, and is reluctant to give this up. Careful financial review and planning were not designed for the Leos of the world. If there are any financial difficulties, they won’t worry due to the belief that they will get what is owed to them from life anyway. The casino and gambling as a whole can be a weakness. Kind-hearted and generous. Will pay, even if they can’t afford it. It is common for a lot to be spent on entertainment, clothing, utility items and general self-comfort.

Sagittarius (22.11-20.12)

Sagittarius will immediately buy something if they like it. They spend generously and don’t pay particular attention to their financial situation, easily putting themself into debt this way. Nevertheless, they aren’t discouraged, trusts their luck and usually receives support from fate. Materialistically, they are a supporter of fair and legal business, but due to enthusiasm and naivety, they can sometimes enter into questionable business. Wealthier people certainly have an important planet in the name of the Archer. This sign may very well be the luckiest when it comes to money.

Earth Signs and Their Money: Planning for the Long-term

Taurus (21.04-21.05)

The Taurus is the most materialistic sign. Financial security is vital to them. They mostly keep their money in a bank or will invest it in valuables (real estate, art, gold). Whatever they invest in, the Taurus should take careful consideration; stick with your chosen bank, broker or financial advisor for the long haul. As a rule, this sign surrounds itself with high-quality, status products. Buying something that is of lasting value is essential. Saving is the strength of this sign, meaning anyone under it has got their money squarely in their hands.

Virgo (23.08-22.09)

Virgo is unbeatable in the field of financial planning!  They distribute money wisely, buying carefully and at reasonable prices. Money hardly gets spent on unnecessary expenses. This sign creates statements, tables and manages accounts and bank statements to remain as organised as possible. This sign never owes money for long and always pays on time. Whatever gets saved is set aside for any unexpected expenses meaning a broken refrigerator or required home renovation is no issue. At first glance, they may seem modest, but they love luxury and like to save for their dreams. Small sums of money are very persistently collected to keep anything possible.

Capricorn (21.12-19.01)

Capricorn has a great knack for managing finances. They will never spend recklessly, and treat money like everything else – responsibly. Unlike the ram, Capricorn plans ahead, always thinking about retirement savings at a young age. They are not opposed to significant financial investments but will never take risks, carefully considering all expenses and business callings. They look for quality in objects of use, living modestly, even if they possess a significant amount in their bank account. Walking instead of spending money on bus fare wouldn’t be an uncommon choice for this sign. Capricorn’s wealth is continuously growing thanks to discipline and perseverance, regardless of how quickly.

Couldn’t find your sign here? Don’t worry; it’s analysis can be found in part 2 of this article:
Read More: Horoscopes and Their Effect On Money-Saving Part 2

Key Crypto Market Trends for 2022

7 minutes to read
Key Crypto Market Trends for 2022

In this article, we use examples of some of the important cryptocurrency milestones of 2021, in order to preface and help explain the key crypto market trends for 2022 that we expect to see great development in. This will also include how cryptocurrency, and the DeFi community as a whole, has already surpassed simply ‘making a mark’ with the wider population and brand marketing.

The volatility of the cryptocurrency market ran high in 2021. The year had begun with a strong rally, which pushed the exchange rate to an all-time high, for some tokens, in the spring. Following this, in May the crypto market collapsed, throughout the summer it then tried to recover. Then, in November, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high. Unfortunately, this then turned around in December when a bear market ensued, despite previous predictions showing that it should have continued to rise.

Despite the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector’s development really picking up pace as early as 2020, adoption and innovation really started to pick up by 2021.

New DeFi applications (DApps) and services have allowed crypto users to begin to use their tokens in many diversified ways, such as taking out loans and earning returns using their coins. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have swarmed both the online marketplaces that were curated purely for digital art collections, as well as traditional auction houses.

 In November, the total crypto market capitalization reached $3 trillion. This is when Bitcoin and Ether reached their peak, which later slipped back to $2.5 trillion in December.

Key trends and forecasts for 2022

High volatility can sometimes make it more difficult to accurately predict crypto prices, but there are clear trends that affect the acceptance of cryptocurrencies and tokens, which in turn will effectually help to determine the direction that the prices will take.

Here are seven key topics that could dominate our cryptocurrency markets in the duration of 2022, building on developments that we had seen in 2021.

1. Web3 brings decentralization of the Internet

For those that may not know, Web3 refers to an ecosystem of next-generation Internet applications that will run via blockchains.

The first version of the Internet focused on static content, and the current version of the World Wide Web (Web2) is dominated by large companies that use the personal data of users in order to shape experiences for personalized advertising. However, Web3 is said to promise to return an individual’s control over their own personal data through decentralized applications. These will reward users’ attention with cryptocurrency tokens.

2. Financial service providers build ‘on-chain’

DeFi is one of the first decentralized applications to get off to a great start this year, as the blockchain infrastructure is well-suited for processing financial transactions. Several cross-border payment service providers, especially in developing countries, began switching their transfer services to blockchain platforms in 2021, and this trend is set to continue throughout the rest of 2022.

3. Tokenization of NFTs and real assets

As most will already know, in 2021, Collectible NFTs became one of the hottest topics and gained a lot of popularity very quickly. Collections of these digital arts, such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, have sold at neck-breaking prices. For example, Bored Ape #8585 at current is officially the most expensive of the BAYC collection, selling for $2.7M, and was sold via the digital art platform OpenSea.

Some of the most popular NFT collections add unique features through airdrops and additional token sales that allow users to further develop their artwork and build communities around them through various meetups, as well as social media and discord groups.

As the value of some NFT collections skyrocketed in secondary resale markets, they have also become popular with investors looking to profit from future sales.

It is even thought that it will also be possible to use NFTs in order to tokenize real assets (such as real estate or physical works of art) for sale, purchase, or to use as collateral for loans.

4. Multi-chain scaling

Multi-chain scaling will greatly promote the widespread adoption of NFTs. Most blockchains are independent networks designed to serve specific network uses. However, as the spread of blockchains increases, there is a growing need for different chains to work in tandem, i.e. interoperability.

There are already many blockchain interoperability projects (such as Matic and Polygon, or Polkadot and Cosmos) that work on ways to improve the communicative ability of different chains. Inter-chain functionality will allow users to transfer assets between various chains.

Further to this, due to Ethereum blockchain transaction fees remaining high, some applications and NFT developers are moving towards alternative blockchains such as Solana and Avalanche. However, with the emergence of Layer 2 solutions on the Ethereum blockchain, Ethereum continues to remain the dominant platform for smart contracts.

5. Play-to-earn increases among crypto games

Video game cryptocurrencies such as AXS and SLP (Axie Infinity), SAND (Sandbox) and ILV (Illuvium) skyrocketed in 2021. This created a huge amount of liquidity. In play-to-earn NFT-based games, players can use NFT-based characters to acquire cryptocurrency tokens as rewards in-game, which can then be converted into fiat currencies via exchanges.

As such, games like Alien Worlds, Axie Infinity, Sandbox and Splinterlands all became very popular in 2021 and in 2022 new games such as Illuvium, MicroPets and Star Atlas will have their official launches respectively.

As the number of players in these games gradually increases, in turn, the demand for tokens used to buy, sell and search for NFT characters will increase also. This in itself will support the rise in stock prices. The continuing development of the metaverse in 2022 will also increase the popularity of unique metaverses within games.

6. The Rise of the Metaverse

It wouldn’t be too farfetched to ponder the “Would the next ‘big’ cryptocurrency in 2022 be a metaverse coin?”

In 2021, technology companies and big-name brands had already begun to enter the world of the metaverse. For example, Facebook had announced in October that it was changing its company name to Meta, in reference to the metaverse. Then, in November, the government of Barbados made it the first country to establish a metaverse embassy in the virtual world of Decentraland.

Furthermore, MetaverseGroup.com – a vertically integrated real estate firm and a subsidiary of Tokens.com – has purchased $2.4 million worth of real estate in Decentraland. This was the largest metaverse land purchase to date and they aim to develop digital fashion shows and various dealerships here.

The trend around the metaverse could really intensify further in 2022. For example, Microsoft plans to introduce a workplace service, Mesh, as part of its Teams software. VR headsets will allow users to control their avatar and how they interact during the time they spend in the Metaverse. Games like Fortnite and Roblox have also evolved into virtual worlds where users can interact with each other in the digital space while playing.

Different brands also now have new and unique opportunities to expand their advertising activities which the Metaverse has afforded them. Nike, for example, has acquired the virtual fashion platform RTFKT, which was originally formed by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le and Steven Vasilev in 2020. Also, Ralph Lauren launched a digital collection on the Roblox platform.

Prices of metaverse-related cryptocurrencies such as Decentraland MANA, THETA, ENJ, AXS and SAND rose nicely at the end of November, whilst high-market-capitalized coins, such as Bitcoin and Ether, were losing value.

7. Layer 2 networks accelerate Layer 1 blockchains

Layer 1 blockchain networks provide the infrastructure on which other networks, protocols, and applications can build. These blockchains include Ethereum, Solana, and Algorand. Layer 1 networks use native cryptocurrencies for transactions, increasing liquidity as their use increases. The different consensus mechanisms used by Layer 1 networks have varying levels of security, speed, and decentralization.

As we mentioned, Layer 2 networks build on this, improving the functionality that is offered by increasing speed, reducing fees, and enhancing security measures. For example, using a Layer 2 network like Polygon helps developers reduce transaction fees and latency on the Layer 1 Ethereum network.

Layer 2 networks, such as Polygon, Lightning Network, and Starknet, use different scaling solutions. An example of such a solution would be zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups. These use a side block-chain to initiate transactions, this chain would then send these transactions, in batches, to the main blockchain in order to increase efficiency. Because of this, the value of cryptocurrencies of Layer 2 networks using ZK rollups is expected to increase greatly throughout 2022.

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