July 29th, 2010 | Posted in Investment
Selling scrap gold to a metal refiner, you first may want to get prices from jewelry stores.. You have the choice to receive the greatest amount of cash for your scrap gold. For many people, a company like Cash4Gold is the optimal option because they purchase jewelry and gold of any kind. Damaged necklaces, single earrings, dental gold, and anything with gold and silver in it.But if you have a piece of jewelry which is valued much more than just the metal that makes it up? You assume you can get more money from a jewelry store for selling your items.But wait, here’s what you have to know so there aren’t any surprises!You Can’t Trust EngravingSkilled jewelers and special equipment can tell exactly what kind of gold makes up jewelry. Your piece of jewelry might not be as valuable as you think.The engraving on jewelry marks its karat, or gold purity level. Some countries have no rules and laws requiring that engraving be authentic, and some don’t require a 3rd party to verify jewelry’s gold content. It’s likely your piece of jewelry is wrongly imprinted to misrepresent the content for the seller to earn more cash.Retail Value Does Not Reflect the Scrap Metal PriceIt’s easy to assume that you sell to a gold refiner, you will get paid slightly less than retail for your old jewelry. Gold buyers only buy the intrinsic value of the metal within the jewelry, not its quality or appeal.Jewelry stores work on very large margins, and can mark up prices by three to twenty times their metal’s worth. Even jewelry purchased on sale will still be a lot higher than the metal’s value. The precedence is akin to buying a brand new car. As soon as you take it out of the store, the value of the automobile falls dramatically.Jewelers Use Appraising as a Marketing GimmickWhen you take your scrap gold and jewelry to a jewelry store for appraising, there is a likeliness that the appraised price is for trade-in only. This means that you will not get cash for your gold. Jewelry stores expect you to buy another piece that’s marked up three to twenty times its metal value.
July 29th, 2010 | Posted in Advice
Retirement is one of the most significant changes that any of us will ever experience.
Everyone approaches retirement differently and with a mix of emotions, some of us canât wait and others of us will be worried or even fearful.
Planning for retirement courses are more important today than they have ever been. We are much healthier, much more active and can expect to live much longer â a whole new phase of life and opportunity is opening up. Unlike other phases of life, this time there is less structure. For the first time we are faced with a period of maybe 30 years when we essentially write our own âjob descriptionâ. That requires plenty of thought and planning, to avoid pitfalls and to ensure we make the most of it and enjoy a balanced retirement.
You can take a big step by getting some expert advice through a retirement course on how to make the most of your retirement, thereby making your remaining time in employment as stress-free and productive as possible.
It is important to recognise that many retirement courses still focus far too heavily on just the financial side of retirement, even if lifestyle aspects are in theory covered. Although finance is important it should not be dominant because the lifestyle aspects of retirement and decisions about them are fundamental to making the most of retirement.
In the past many retirement courses have also focused too much on information giving. A good course will also include methods that cause the individual to examine each aspect of retirement from their own point of view and encourage discussion between delegates.
Value to the individual of Retirement Courses
A retirement course that provides the right balance will lead to a number of benefits for attendees including
⢠Overcoming concerns and fears, making retirement an opportunity to look forward to.
⢠Making attendees of the retirement course consider retirement in a way they wonât have done before and as a result clearly identifying both the issues that need to be addressed and the opportunities. Raising new areas to consider even for those who have done a lot of thinking about retirement. Making them aware of common pitfalls.
⢠Making the level of change they are about to undergo clear and the retirement course will enable them to produce a personal plan which makes their transition to retirement smooth
⢠Generating lots of ideas for enjoying retirement â their own, their colleaguesâ, and the tutorâs. Different perspectives help them develop their own plan.
⢠Understanding how their relationship with their partner and others may be affected and the importance of planning this together (ideally attending the retirement course together)