Multi-Age Home Schooling can be a much more expensive choice for the family than Public Schooling, as there are a lot of expenditures that need to be made.This hasn’t stopped families to home school their children, realizing this way is a much more effective and flexible option. That being said, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways you can reduce costs. Here are a few tips that will help you do just that:You don’t have to buy the textbooks and all the other materials – just the ones you can’t borrow from the library or from local schools where you should be able to lend them or buy them at a cheap price. Other materials you can just download from the internet and print them at your convenience.Visit the online multi-age home based schooling communities and just ask where you can find free or cheap learning resources.Another great way to teach your child at a very low price is to simply go to the zoo, botanic gardens or if you want to teach history you can easily visit museums or historical sites. Culture can be taught by visiting various cultural locations or by going to the theater. Many of these are free, and the others cost very little.Every neighborhood has its home based schooling community. By joining these home based schooling communities, you can learn from other homeschooling parents by sharing experience.The community can ask the local public school for donations of used textbooks, and other useful materials. The home based schooling community can develop a fund together and negotiate with publishers for cheaper prices.You should take these tips into consideration and reduce multi-age home schooling costs so you can use the money for other pleasurable activities for you and your family.
Business Loans In Canada: Financing Solutions Via Alternative Finance & Traditional Funding
Business loans and finance for a business just may have gotten good again? The pursuit of credit and funding of cash flow solutions for your business often seems like an eternal challenge, even in the best of times, let alone any industry or economic crisis. Let’s dig in.
Since the 2008 financial crisis there’s been a lot of change in finance options from lenders for corporate loans. Canadian business owners and financial managers have excess from everything from peer-to-peer company loans, varied alternative finance solutions, as well of course as the traditional financing offered by Canadian chartered banks.
Those online business loans referenced above are popular and arose out of the merchant cash advance programs in the United States. Loans are based on a percentage of your annual sales, typically in the 15-20% range. The loans are certainly expensive but are viewed as easy to obtain by many small businesses, including retailers who sell on a cash or credit card basis.
Depending on your firm’s circumstances and your ability to truly understand the different choices available to firms searching for SME COMMERCIAL FINANCE options. Those small to medium sized companies ( the definition of ‘ small business ‘ certainly varies as to what is small – often defined as businesses with less than 500 employees! )
How then do we create our road map for external financing techniques and solutions? A simpler way to look at it is to categorize these different financing options under:
Debt / Loans
Asset Based Financing
Alternative Hybrid type solutions
Many top experts maintain that the alternative financing solutions currently available to your firm, in fact are on par with Canadian chartered bank financing when it comes to a full spectrum of funding. The alternative lender is typically a private commercial finance company with a niche in one of the various asset finance areas
If there is one significant trend that’s ‘ sticking ‘it’s Asset Based Finance. The ability of firms to obtain funding via assets such as accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets with no major emphasis on balance sheet structure and profits and cash flow ( those three elements drive bank financing approval in no small measure ) is the key to success in ABL ( Asset Based Lending ).
Factoring, aka ‘ Receivable Finance ‘ is the other huge driver in trade finance in Canada. In some cases, it’s the only way for firms to be able to sell and finance clients in other geographies/countries.
The rise of ‘ online finance ‘ also can’t be diminished. Whether it’s accessing ‘ crowdfunding’ or sourcing working capital term loans, the technological pace continues at what seems a feverish pace. One only has to read a business daily such as the Globe & Mail or Financial Post to understand the challenge of small business accessing business capital.
Business owners/financial mgrs often find their company at a ‘ turning point ‘ in their history – that time when financing is needed or opportunities and risks can’t be taken. While putting or getting new equity in the business is often impossible, the reality is that the majority of businesses with SME commercial finance needs aren’t, shall we say, ‘ suited’ to this type of funding and capital raising. Business loan interest rates vary with non-traditional financing but offer more flexibility and ease of access to capital.
We’re also the first to remind clients that they should not forget govt solutions in business capital. Two of the best programs are the GovernmentSmall Business Loan Canada (maximum availability = $ 1,000,000.00) as well as the SR&ED program which allows business owners to recapture R&D capital costs. Sred credits can also be financed once they are filed.
Those latter two finance alternatives are often very well suited to business start up loans. We should not forget that asset finance, often called ‘ ABL ‘ by those Bay Street guys, can even be used as a loan to buy a business.
If you’re looking to get the right balance of liquidity and risk coupled with the flexibility to grow your business seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor with a track record of business finance success who can assist you with your funding needs.
Finding The Right Home School Program
There’s no turning back now! We joined the ranks of the home school movement! We actually left behind the traditional brick and mortar school system. We did? Yikes! How the heck did I do this alone AND find the right path or “home school program” that was perfect for our family?The biggest question was can I do this? Eek! I realized I was about to embark on a colossal voyage; full-time employment, full-time teacher, full-time mom! I’m so glad I didn’t think how massive this thing was at the time (risking I’d chicken out once I realized the scope of this task all by my lonesome). I just decided to move forward and wing it. I had a “Mom the Builder” attitude. Once I made my mind up, I declared “I CAN do this… yes I CAN!” I was determined to move forward full speed and damn the torpedoes! I was resolved to stick with this as long as we were achieving positive results. We’d give it a year and make an assessment after that as to whether to continue.LOGISTICS AND RESEARCHA big factor we didn’t consider, were the people in our life and whether they would support or interfere with this decision. We had to keep those who were unsupportive at bay. I was wise enough to understand, if we failed, we would have learned a valuable lesson and would be stronger from the experience. If we succeeded… all the better!The next thing I needed to address were the “physical logistics.” Where to set up the “classroom” and a comfortable workspace, while keeping “distractions” to a minimum. We opted to convert the master bedroom into a home office/classroom. It was spacious enough for both our needs. I could set up daily lessons and continue on my own work. Plus, I would be right there to give guidance and aid when it was needed. A perfect fit!With the initial concerns tackled, next was finding the right program. I conducted extensive research to see what was available. Wow! I had no idea there was so much information out there on home schooling and home school programs. So much so, that it was a bit overwhelming. I didn’t know which direction to head! I didn’t know anyone PERSONALLY that home schooled their children. In fact, many of my friends and family thought I was insane! Their valid concerns were about “socializing”. But it didn’t stop us, because it felt right and I was open to implementing extra curricular activities to cover the “social” aspect.I also contacted other families who had home school experience to get the pros and cons from their own journey. My internet research yielded all sorts of home school programs, including free and tuition programs, as well as Christian based curriculum programs. I had no idea there would be so much to choose from. I certainly had my work cut out for me!After I concluded my research, we decided to try out the K12 program to see if it was the right one for us. It is an “accredited” chartered public school that provides all the tools found in a traditional brick and mortar public school arena. Over the years, they provided us (since the first grade) with a computer, printer, textbooks and the tools for each subject (science, math, literature, spelling, history, art and yes even music!) When we received our first shipment, it was like Christmas! The support we continue to receive from the school is commendable AND because we had to relocate from Arizona to Nevada (for employment reasons) we did not have to change curriculum. K12 is available tuition free in both states! Needless to say… this was a great choice for us.. big time! My child excels in school, is a grade ahead of her peers and an honor roll student at the top of her class!