Birthday Present Budgeting

Budgeting for Birthday Gifts

How much should you spend on birthday gifts? You could look at some of the surveys that are done to see what is the average spend on a birthday present, but you shouldn’t use this as a guide. Set and stick to a budget you’re happy with.

If you’re feeling generous then you’ll be able to spend more, and if you’re on a tight budget spend less. There’s ways of economising on presents so every birthday you celebrate can be fun!

If you’re on a small budget sometimes you can make it go further by buying several small items. This works well for children for whom there’s a lot of excitement in opening the present itself. For older children and adults this might not always work well. A subtle hint given the week before though will soften the blow for most people when you’ve got to stick to a very tight budget.

Buy the cheapest wrapping paper possible. Some people spend a fortune on ribbons and bows, and posh gift boxes. Buy cheap wrapping paper in bulk and use it for all your gift wrapping. Buy gift wrap that will be good for boys and girls, adults, birthdays and then Christmas too. Big rolls of cheap paper are a great budget saver. Buy cards in bulk too. Some shops on the high street have bargains where you can get several birthday cards for a pound! This makes them excellent value and if you keep them in a folder or drawer you’ll always have a card for that unexpected birthday too!

By ensuring the vast majority of the money is spent on the present and not the wrapping you get a much better balance.

To find innovative gifts on a budget you could look at making something yourself. A hand crafted gift can be a wonderful idea, especially if you have a skill like knitting or painting. Something personal can make a present so much more special. A hand-made gift might take a while to make though, so remember to start well in advance of the birthday!

Your Role As a Presenter

Think about your favorite restaurant, why do you keep going back? After all there are hundreds of different eating places within easy reach, all of which serve meat and vegetables.  So what makes you favorite the best?  Is it the raw materials, they way they are combined, the way they are cooked or is it nothing to do with the food, maybe it is the ambiance of the establishment, the decor, the level of service you receive, or there again it could just be the price, but I think that is unlikely.

In all likelihood it is a combination of things which make it your favorite; it is unlikely just to be the raw materials the chef uses, although this obviously has a role to play.

The same applies to presentations, it is not just the bare facts conveyed that make a presentation interesting and enjoyable. The basis of the presentation is important. You want to use the best ingredients for your presentation, but the effectiveness of a presentation has a lot to do with the way the information is delivered. When you are giving a presentation you need to behave like the staff of your favorite restaurant.

To start with, when you are planning the menu as the chef, you want to offer some variety which will make it appeal to a wide range of different people.  There will be members of your audience who are looking for a light lunch who just need an overview and those who are ready to tuck in and want the real meat of the subject.

When you are cooking your presentation add some spice and seasoning, plain food never won a Michelin star. Think how you can weave some stories around your subject, introduce some light hearted humor and make the contents of your presentation look interesting as well as tasting delicious.

When you are delivering your presentation, you need to be in the role of the amiable waiter. Start by looking like you are enjoying what you do, remember to smile. Nobody likes being served by a dour waiter. You want to be friendly but not over familiar, your role is to serve not to be part of the group who are dining. The customer is always right, so don’t talk down to the audience or start an argument with them.

For a business presentation the presenter should always be dressed as smartly if not more smartly then their audience. You don’t find many good restaurants where the waiters have dress down Fridays.

One of the first tasks a waiter always undertakes is to ask his clients what they would like to eat, and how they would like their steak cooked. The same hold true for presentations, if you don’t already know what your audience would like to hear and how they like their information presented, then ask them. Make the presentation interactive.

Remember that you audience are your customers and that you are there to serve them, to give them what they asked for not what you want to serve. Nobody would return to a restaurant that just shoved what the chef had cooked in front of the diners and expected them to eat it.

Finally, give the audience the time to enjoy the presentation, don’t rush them but be attentive and look out for any signals that you are taking too long. Talking too quickly makes it hard for your audience to keep up with you and some may switch off and stop listening. On the other hand you always want to make sure that you have stopped talking before your audience have stopped listening.

To make people come back for more remember to serve them well.

Credit Card Debt Negotiation Info – Could I Benefit From Hiring a Lawyer to Offer With My Lenders?

A simple reminder call from the creditor makes a debtor so much worried. When the debtor finds he is not capable to pay the entire amount in one go then he becomes more upset. Now if he pays that amount in small installments the debt keeps on increasing because of the rate of interest applied on this. At this, he start finds out the available options to get the maximum possible rebate and to pay the amount in one go as a whole. For gaining rebate, there are several alternatives available. One can choose as per his specification. In the available options he can go for debt settlement, debt consolidation, applying for bankruptcy and many more. Out of all these options, debt settlement is mostly chosen one. Debt settlement involves a healthy negotiation with the creditor.

To get the credit card debt negotiation info, there are several sources. Some organizations are particularly involved into this business only. These firms have professionals who have lot of experience in this. Since a successful negotiation has some parameters like the negotiator must have good communication skills, confident, knowledge of the current affairs and all the facts of the finance, patience, good interpersonal skills, motivating and dominating nature, and quick responsiveness, clever minded. With all their capabilities they will surely give you credit card debt negotiation info to you.

There are many discussion forums also available on net where one can register his query regarding debt negotiation and he will be responded by the experienced people of that firm. Hiring a lawyer for the debt negotiation may or may not be beneficial. As a lawyer has a very good ability to put his point of view strongly and he is capable enough to make the person understand his opinion but if the lawyer is not having much awareness of the financial terms then it can be problematic for him. There is no specification of the negotiator, anyone can do this. Even the debtor himself can manage all this but this is not an easy work and second thing is this also that everything depends the way negotiation is done. Once something has been decided on the basis of the negotiation, is very difficult to edit. Thus it is always recommended to get this done by an experienced person.