Household bills are expensive, and along with your rent or mortgage chances are most of your wages are taken up by them each month. And while bills are an inevitable fact of life, it doesn’t mean to say you have to pay well over the odds. There are plenty of things you can do to reduce your bills, and free up cash for the things you’d rather be spending it on. 

Save on Your Gas Bill

Getting your windows double glazed and having wall and loft cavity insulation is a great start to saving money on your gas bill. But there are things you can do that don’t involve getting builders in- if like me you’re renting you can’t exactly start changing things like this and so have to work with what you have. So to save money on your gas bill, turning off radiators in unused rooms is a good idea (as well as keeping the doors shut to those rooms!) You could also have your heating on a timer so it’s not being left on all day, and get plenty of cosy throws for your sofa to cuddle up with in the evenings. That way you’re not having to put the heating up so high all night too. 

Save on Your Electricity Bill

So much electricity is wasted every day just from leaving products on standby. The Energy Savings Trust claims that up to £80 a year is wasted in most homes due to appliances left like this. It’s not difficult to switch something off properly when you use it, so try and get into the habit as much as possible. Another easy way to cut down your electric usage is to switch to energy saving bulbs. They're not expensive and it takes a matter of minutes to do, it's such an easy change to make but can massively help the environment as well as save you money. 

Save on Your Water Bill

In the UK the prices for your water bills are set, and there’s nothing you can do to haggle a lower price or ask them to reduce it. Between 1973 and 1990, the Valuation Office of the Inland Revenue put a valuation on all homes, and it’s based on these valuations that the water companies work out your bill. Of course this is crazy, the value of a property can change drastically in that time (for better or for worse). The Valuation Office no longer changes these rates either, and so you’re stuck with the water bills you’re given. However there are a couple of ways around this. The first one is to have a water meter installed, this means that you only pay for the amount of water you use instead of a set bill. However this does mean that your bill could end up being higher if you use a lot of water, and is only really worth doing if you’re a single person living in a property (or are a particularly thrifty household when it comes to water). The second way is to get your own private water supply. This can be achieved with borhole drilling, it saves you money and also means you’re not at the mercy of the water companies for things like hosepipe bans. Boreholes can be done even in small gardens, and gives you access your own clean private water source. 

Save on Your Shopping Bill

One of the key ways to save money on food shopping is preparation. Draw up a weekly meal plan, and then write a list based on exactly what you need. Then follow the list religiously, if you’re easily suckered into deals and things you don’t need at the supermarket then consider doing your shopping online. When you know what you’re eating for the next few days you can be prepared, you’re never caught short wondering what to make and won’t end up resorting to expensive and unhealthy takeaways. If you’re strapped for time during the week, batch cooking at the weekend can be helpful. Make a big meal and portion it into freezer bags or tupperware boxes ready to grab and reheat when it’s late and you’re tired. Another great way to reduce waste and make your money go further is to add some store cupboard recipes to your weekly rotation. The kinds of meals that can be made cheaply using the dried and frozen food you already have on hand- no need to run out to the shops to buy more fresh ingredients. Think things like chicken pasta using dried wholemeal pasta, frozen chicken breasts and homemade tomato sauce using tinned tomatoes and herbs from the storecupboard.

Running a beauty salon is incredibly rewarding, as you get to make people look and feel great about themselves. It's a great business for those who love speaking to and working with people, and you get to develop your creativity too. If you already have years of experience of working in beauty, starting your own business and becoming the boss could be the natural progression of things. But what does it take to get set up in the business of beauty? Here's a beginner's check-list that will help you to make a success of your salon business. Ready? Let's go!

Finances

First of all, you need to think about money. Now setting up a business is expensive, there's no denying it. If you set out a budget and have a small emergency fund set aside though, you won't be left with too many nasty surprises. There are ways that you can save money too. Finding a premises that needs renovating but which you can work on yourself is a great place to start. If you want to create a unique look for your salon too, check out markets, auction sites and second hand shops for some bargains too. Remember, we all have to start somewhere. Do your paperwork! Rules and regulations don't inspire much enthusiasm, but they are important. By staying on the right side of the law you won't run into any trouble. So make sure that you have all the correct licenses, have liaised fully with your local authority and have taken all the appropriate training before you even think about opening.

What Will You Offer Customers?

One of the main things you will need to decide is what services you will provide at your salon. A lot of this will be based on your skills and qualifications, but you can also hire others in the beauty industry to work in your salon to provide extras to clients. You could consider hair, makeup, tanning, nails, waxing, brow and lash treatments and much more. It can be useful to take a look at established and successful salons and see the route that they've gone down. For example, Mimosa Beauty, an award winning beauty salon in Chelmsford offer pampering packages for mums-to-be, think of what you can offer on top of your standard treatments. 

Marketing Your Business

Now, you're about to open for business and you want to drum up some publicity. So get yourself out there! Network with journalists from local papers, fellow business owners in your area and even reach out to some bloggers and ask them to come into the salon for a complimentary treatment. Getting to know a broad range of people will really help you get your name out to a big audience. Don't forget to set up a website and some social media accounts too. These are a great way to keep your customers in the loop about any special offers and upcoming events. You can also use them to build up a friendly rapport with people– vital if you're going to get people coming back again and again.

Here's To Your Salon!

So there you have it – your quick guide to getting your beauty salon up and running. Of course, you'll need to do much more in-depth research but this is a good place to start. If you've got the funds and plenty of enthusiasm, there's no reason why you can't make your business a success. So here's to 2017 – a beautiful new year where the sky is the limit!

Are you looking for attainable actions, that will enable you to achieve a more fulfilling nine to five?  Of course you are! All of us want to achieve success at work, and doing so is about more than just turning up, logging on and getting through your tasks. Whether you're a career girl or run your own business, here are five habits that all of us should work on getting right.

Most of us have to borrow money at one point or another in our lives. Whether it’s to buy a home, a car, to study or for something else- there’s no doubt that lending can be extremely useful if it’s done in the right way. But other forms of debt can be a slippery slope, many people can find themselves in a position of becoming over committed, ‘robbing Peter to pay pay Paul’ and with so much interest that their monthly payments aren’t even taking money off the debt itself. But what exactly is good vs bad debt? Here are some of the ways you can tell the difference.

Examples of Good Debt

Good debt involves lending money for an investment that will grow in value, or generate long-term income. If you get a mortgage for house for example, not only do you save wasting money on rent each month but houses tend to increase in value as the years go on. Your own home can give you financial stability and is a solid, worthwhile asset to have. Financing a car can also be an example of good debt, it allows you to own a newer and more reliable car than you could afford to buy up front. This means less repair bills, and in some cases can be the difference between being able to own and car and not having one at all. You car gives you independence and might also mean you can take jobs further afield, giving you better opportunities. Money for study is another perfect example. Education will increase your chances of getting a job (or a better paid job) so is a worthwhile investment. 

Examples of Bad Debt

Bad debt comes about when people spend money they don’t have. Luxury purchases such as holidays, clothes on store cards and general spending on credit aren’t usually a good idea. When you have access to a lot of credit, it can be tempting to buy things there and then rather than saving up your own money or waiting until payday. It usually starts off innocently enough, but can spiral quite quickly and land you in a heap of trouble.

Where The Lines Get Blurry

The problem in life is that things are never entirely black and white. There are definitely some grey areas and blurred lines when it comes to good and bad debt. Take the car mentioned earlier for example- in some cases financing a car is an example of good debt. But if you’re financing that car just because you want a better or newer model (or can get around easily on foot or public transport) then it becomes just a luxury purchase. Expensive holidays might seem like a frivalous purchase, but what about using credit to fund the holiday of a lifetime? The memories and joy it could give your family might justify it as good debt. Use common sense, work out a budget and a spending plan which will help you keep on top of your finances.

We're often told as women that it's not possible to 'have it all'- kids, career and sanity! However this simply isn't true, while of course there are challenges to overcome with hard work and dedication it's possible to raise a family while earning money, keeping your skills sharp and maintaining your career. Whether you choose to return to work full time or stay at home with your children is entirely up to you, there's no right or wrong answer and it all depends on your personal circumstances. However if neither of these seem like the right option then there are ways you can find the balance, here are some examples. 

Reduce Your Hours

One of the ways you can find the balance between kids and career is by staying in work, but reducing your hours. This could mean working half days, or only working certain days in the week. This allows you to keep your skills sharp while having more time to spend with your children and keeping up with your commitments at home. Speak with your employer and see if they're able to accomodate you with this. Otherwise you could look for a stop-gap type job with part time hours which will earn you money and teach you new things until you're ready to get back onto the career ladder full time. 

Women are increasingly prominent in international politics, and so it shouldn't be an issue if a politician, candidate or even a world leader is female this day in age. However despite countless protests and battles for women's rights throughout the generations, sadly prejudice is still very much present. The notion of a 'level playing field' when it comes to gender is still an ideal rather than a reality, however today's female politicians are paving the way to change that with their examples inspiring more young women to enter politics. These examples are some of the lesser-known women in politics who are nevertheless battling against the odds to do work that will benefit people in their country, regardless of gender. It's not just the fact of these women's successful careers that is inspiring, it's that they are also working tirelessly for causes they believe in, changing perceptions, and proving that they can make a positive difference in the world.

Fadumo Dayib

Fadumo Dayib was literally risking her life when she became Somalia's first female Presidential candidate. Despite four death threats to date, the Harvard graduate will stand in 2016 in the patriarchal and troubled country's first democratic elections since 1967. Dayib is highly articulate and extremely well-educated, despite being born to illiterate Somali parents and not fully learning to read and write until she was 14. After working for the United Nations in the field of public health, she decided she wanted to try to help her own country move forward. One of Dayib's main concerns is to change the culture of sexual violence in Somalia, where in 2014 the Human Rights Watch declared: "Here, rape is normal."

Jennifer Abubakar

The wife of former Nigerian vice-president Atiku Abubakar, Jennifer Douglas Abubakar founded the Gede Foundation in 2002 to provide high-quality treatment and care for HIV and AIDS sufferers, as well as training, advocacy and research. The foundation is considered pioneering in reaching out to underserved and highly stigmatised populations, and more recently has also made mental health problems in these communities a priority, despite cultural taboos around the subject across Africa. Dr Abubakar was also instrumental in the founding of the American University of Nigeria in 2005, the first American-style university to be established in Sub-Saharan Africa, following her own graduation from the American University in Washington, DC.

Emily Brothers

Courageous Emily Brothers is not only blind but also the UK's first openly transgender politician. Although the Labour Party candidate didn't win the seat she fought for in the 2015 General Election, she is winning her struggle against prejudice and discrimination. Her dignified response to disparaging comments about both her gender and disability in a national newspaper helped bring issues of LGBT rights into the spotlight, and the bold example of her embrace of personal qualities that could be seen as political liabilities by others makes Brothers one of the most inspiring politicians of any gender on the current landscape.

These are three very different women in different countries, fighting different circumstances, but all proving that politics is no longer a no-go area for women around the world. Whether they're fighting for women's rights or tackling wider issues of health and discrimination, these female politicians are determined that their voices should be heard.

Around nine thousand firms have been required to calculate their gender pay gap and publish their findings this year, and with big companies revealing their figures, the gender pay gap is a major talking point across the UK. The gender pay gap reflects the different average hourly salaries earned by men and women, with the percentage difference between average hourly earnings. Unlike pay inequality which compares the wages of men and women doing the same job - a gender pay difference at a company is not illegal, but could reflect the discrimination of women in the workplace in the modern day. The average gender pay gap across all medium and large-sized companies is now 8.2%, as measured by median pay. In other words men typically earn over 8% more per hour than women.

What is the difference between the gender pay gap and equal pay?

The pay gap isn't the same as equal pay. Equal pay means that men and women in the same employment who perform equal work, must receive equal pay. This was set out in the Equality Act 2010 and has been a legal requirement for 47 years. Under the Equal Pay Act 1970, and then more recently, the Equality Act 2010 it is against the law to pay people unequally due to their gender. The gender pay gap on the other hand is a measure of the difference between men’s and women’s average earnings across an organisation or the labour market. For example, a company might have a gender pay gap if a majority of men are in top jobs, despite paying male and female employees the same amount for similar roles.

When it comes to business, it's not just a case of 'build it and they will come.' Competition is fierce, regardless of what you sell you will have many competitors out there- all of which will be more established than you when you're first starting out. If you stand any chance of getting ahead and reaching your customers, you absolutely need the right marketing. Marketing costs can catch out new entrepreneurs, it's more expensive than you think to promote and get your name out there but it's vital for success. Here are some of the places you marketing budget will need to be spent on. 

Even if you find your work interesting and/ or rewarding, for most of us it's still not going to be the most fun and exciting activity in the world. When you work upwards or over forty hours a week, it's easy to find yourself bored or distracted at times, and generally losing focus. When you lose focus you affect productivity, and whether you're working on building up a business or reaching the next rung of the career ladder then this isn't ideal. We need to be working hard and working smart to get our daily tasks done, and so reducing distractions and keeping concentration is crucial. Distractions can come in many forms, if you work from home especially there are lots of things that can pull your mind away from work. This could be your tv, your kids bickering downstairs or traffic outside. Even if you're in a workplace, you can be distracted chatting to colleagues or browsing the internet on your computer. No one is perfect, and we're all going to have our minds taken off work from time to time, but follow these tips and you can massively boost your focus and productivity. 

Put Your Phone Away