| Date: March 28, 2009 | Source: Sources |
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Loading ... The summer schedule, which begins the last Sunday in March, is to advance the clock one hour, energy expenditure in question would amount to a reduction of 5% and a saving of 300 million euros annually. The important thing, however, is to maintain responsible behavior throughout the year, following a few simple guidelines that reduce the consumption of electricity in our homes.
As every year, during the last weekend of March we have to advance our clocks one hour, as required by the EU Directive governing the "time shift" and that affects all member countries of the European Union . The purpose of the application of daylight saving this one: make better use of sunlight and consume less electricity for lighting in our homes.
The directive, which applies as such since 1981 and renewed since then every four years, comes from a community initiative in 1974 when, during the first oil crisis, some countries decided on an individual advance their clocks for this purpose. And today, after the adoption of the Ninth Directive by the European Parliament and Council of the Union in January 2001 and is indefinite.
A 5% less power consumption and a saving of 300 million euros
The results of this initiative in the Spanish case are more than proven: a 5% savings in lighting electricity consumption, which in total would amount to EUR 300 million, as yield estimates of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving Energy (IDEA), public entity of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. Of that amount, about 90 million would be potential savings in the total consumption of households, while the 210 remaining come from the services sector and industry.
But keep in mind that the inconvenience of the time change would be useless if we do not responsible consumption in our homes when do without artificial lighting, provided it is not necessary. Responsible behavior, moreover, must be supplemented by the use of efficient technologies in lighting by use of natural light, such as light sensors and lighting controls in the rooms.
Save energy and lighting throughout the year
The period of daylight saving time ends on the last Sunday in October when we return to the initial schedule, delaying our clocks an hour. However, it is important that cost savings and light throughout the year, as recommended by IDEA and the Ministry. And, if we consider that may lead to a reduction of around 100 euros in annual bill, which add to the lesser impact of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere.
To do so, both institutions propose a set of guidelines to save on electricity consumption to everyone: Take advantage of natural light, because by now the sun is free, do not forget the lights when you leave a room, if you want see how it increases your energy bill later this month, replacing traditional light bulbs with low-energy, because it saves 80% energy uses the technique of "task lighting", with in addition to reducing energy expenditure will create comfortable and welcoming environments, and uses colors to decorate your home, as a light need less lights, regularly clean light sources, because the dirt makes the correct distribution in the room, using electronic regulators flow for halogen luminaires, with which you can adjust the light level to a specific need, used fluorescent tubes in areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, storage rooms or garages, and install detectors in high-traffic areas to the lights are lit only when someone is.
| Date: March 11, 2009 | Source: Economy @ 21 |
Go ahead and rate this post Loading ... The Euribor, the indicator most commonly used for calculating mortgages in Spain, fell today to 1.932 percent, a level not seen since June 2003, when he recorded the lowest daily rate of its ten year history.
After the further decline today, the indicator is close to 1.929 percent, which marked the June 16, 2003, the lowest daily rate in its history.
In addition, the March monthly average is now at 1.973 percent from 4.590 percent at March 2008, thus continuing and could also close the month with the lowest monthly average since the existence of this indicator.
As a result, Spanish families will save about 25,000 million euros in 2009 due to lower mortgage payments resulting from the decline in Euribor, to be located "probably" in a lower average annual rate of 2.5%, according to the Association Spanish Mortgage (AHE) . This drop in interest rates, he adds, will also back a "forced march" late payment.
This was said today at a press conference in Granada chairman of the AH E, Gregory Mayayo, who recalled that the estimate made a few months ago which put the savings at about 20,000 million euros was made considering that the Euribor would be at an average of 3%.
Mayayo explained that 2009 will be characterized by a decrease in interest rates, which affect "positively" to the holders of a mortgage loan, and that maintaining the current level of rates, all loans at variable and constant quota , which represent approximately 90% of the portfolio viva-hired before 2009 will be "payback annual fees less than or much lower than they paid originally."
However, he warned that while cutting interest rates will produce an improvement in the conditions of access to finance for the acquisition of home ownership in 2009 will be a greater inhibition of the increased demand for risk stemming from the deterioration of the economy, such as unemployment and bankruptcies.
Mayayo said the main risk factor stress and family budget will shift from the unemployment rate.
In this sense, the AHE considers that the current forecast of the future-that unemployment could reach five million unemployed, represent a "serious threat" to all families at risk of being affected.
By contrast, Mayayo predicted that people who have purchased a home in the last ten years and have no risk of becoming unemployed, referring for example to the officers or employees of strong-will have a "sweet year" as they will have more gross disposable income and strengthen their heritage.
Likewise, those who intend to buy a home and not at risk of becoming unemployed "find a really satisfactory mortgage scenario" will be available as a "historic property offer" in Spain and the interest rates for mortgage financing "lowest of the last 50 years."
The president of the AHE considered that this "dichotomy in society" will be worse this year as we move through the strike, and said he will remain for 2010.
Asked about the measures taken to overcome the current situation, opted for tax treatment "favorable" to allow the acquisition of more housing and legal reform to end the structural interest rate risk, so that there is greater co-existence between the types fixed and variable interest.
For simulation of your mortgage, click here .
| Date: December 7, 2008 | Source: Economy @ 21 |
Votes: 10 Rating: 4.60 / 5) Loading ... Can you reach the end of the month with a little money saved? Have you managed to survive without using your credit card? Plan your expenses? Keep track of expenses in your household income?
If you answered no to most of these issues means that 80% are living on the final day of the month comes to some difficulties. For you and for the remaining 20% who want to compare or improve its economy, is dedicated this post I write.
What I propose is to create our own formula for happiness from a few simple steps, tips.
To do this, first we must be aware of what our financial constraints, ie our monthly real income at home, that is, if you live alone, as your income, if you live in couple to both. This task while it is easy for most, it may be more complicated for people who have businesses, stocks, dividends, or any other asset that could be accrued income less constant. If you are an entrepreneur you probably savings culture is more developed, however, you should analyze if you do well or could do better through these simple steps that everyone should apply to your case. To cover all these scenarios in an easy, we will try to provide the tools necessary keys and simplified manner.
On the one hand, we perform a task analysis of revenues and expenses and try to classify them according to the groups that we will expose here. With this we have a more successful family of our economic reality.
Second, try to establish small comparative formulas between these groups to adapt to the current level of our particular economy.
Finally, we give the basics, guidelines for achieving economic happiness. Eye, not trying to define how to get rich, happiness is not about having more, but having to worry less, at least in appearance touches, economic, and this applies equally to millionaires income economies and economies of small income. Consider an economy with income also has debts millionaire millionaires.
We start with the definition of concepts.
a. I NCOME F ijos month (IF): These are easy to calculate, simply enter all income of the family unit that you consider more or less constant over time. The extra payments, for example, not considered in this section.
- Monthly payroll.
- Income from monthly deposits.
- Income from property rentals themselves.
- In general, any monthly asset performance is more or less constant (varies less than 15%).
b. I NCOME monthly ariables V (IV): Will those who can not be guaranteed in time, so they generally do not introduce assumptions made in our revenue-expenditure balance. If all of our revenues are variable, then surely we can set aside a minimum guaranteed rest we can consider that we have no guarantees made, at least we'll consider it fixed incomes.
- Sales commissions or other appropriate monthly income.
c. I NCOME E xtras (IE): We will consider in this section, the income produced but not constant on time every month, for example, bonuses, stock dividends, asset sales, returns, finance, ...
- Pay Extras.
- Dividends from shares or other assets monthly.
Well, we have classified all our income, so my total income (IT) are as:
IT = IF + IV + IE
Now for the expenses, these much more complex by the large number that are produced, but ultimately equally easy to simplify.
d. F G Astos ijos month (GF): Obviously the costs are kept more or less constant every month, and therefore easy to predict. This typically includes the following:
- H Mortgage Amount: The / s fee / monthly housing s / s, business, ...
- A lquileres: The monthly rental charges.
- Personal subtract P: Fees for purchasing the car, reforms, etc..
- A FEEDING: Although generally varies, this will consider fixed cost as it occurs every month and the amount is usually more or less the same. We take the highest monthly spending for the last 3 months for our planning. If you know, take the data from the last month or the next when we have controlled and we will add 15% in anticipation of which varies with another month.
- C ombustible Vehicles: also often vary, but his swing is relatively small (aside increases / decreases in prices), so we will consider fixed costs.
- Share of the residents.
- Receipts for telephone, Internet, ...
e. G Astos P ERIOD not monthly (GP): These are expenses that occur periodically but not every month. In the first months of starting work our formula for happiness is important to know when they are going to produce each of these expenses in order to have water available to cover them, because once shot the formula, we worry more about them. To calculate the pro rata monthly as appropriate, for example, is bimonthly, we expect 50% of this month, if a year, divide by 12 and that is what we must apply monthly. This group could include:
- Receipt of water (usually quarterly).
- Receipt of Light / Eelectricidad (usually bimonthly).
- Taxes Miscellaneous: Property Tax (IBI), garbage tax, road tax, ...
- Home insurance, life insurance, vehicle insurance, ...
- Clothing and footwear.
e. G Astos xtraordinarios E (GE): We will create an item as mattress costs on any expenditure which is not controlled or incorporated in the previous sections, which as far as possible we try to be among the formerly classified as appropriate. Meanwhile, as are unknown, we will apply a 5% of our fixed income.
- Will our contingency margin or cushion.
f. A horro O bjective (AO): We will set the level of savings that we want to achieve. It is important that we take it as if it were one more expense, it is the only way to go.
Astos g. O there G (OG): This section will include all those tangible and intangible costs that are not a priori necessary staple or subsistence.
- Leisure.
- Travel.
- Purchases of material things.
We have also classified all our expenses, so my expenses Total (GT) are as:
GT = GP + GF + GE + N + OG
Not classified all these categories, a typical housekeeping calculate its R esult (R) as the equivalent of:
R = IT - GT
Which can produce positive or negative balance for each month by not keeping tabs on when and how the costs will occur, so the positive month will spend more thinking that I had really positive and the negative balance will spend more for not having provided we will use available credit expenses, etc., which further worsens our economy.
Therefore, for something we have classified these costs, to improve our family financial planning and control. Firstly, our results should not be based on R = IT - GT, because even in a year, for example it is more true, if we look in part each month, we must consider the other aspects that can make us further into debt by It is therefore very important that we know our limitations and expenses in accordance with them.
For this, the R esult ensual M (RM) more conservative and therefore would bring us greater happiness by eliminating as many potential uncertainties would be:
IF RM = - (GF + GE + GP + AO + OG)
If MR> 0, ie, if the Fixed Income cover all our expenses, we will achieve good stability and therefore happiness regardless of the IV (Income Variables) and IE (extra income), so that everything that exceed RM to 0 we would have available to increase AO (Savings) or OG (Caprices). At the end of the day, IV and IE could also be considered extra savings.
If MR <0, we have several options,
1. Control when the IE (extra income) to cover the GP (recurrent costs) and GE (Extra Expenses). IE If the formula include fear a positive result, achieve economic stability but we will closely monitor small variations that occur in amount or time (the time when they occur).
RM1 = (IF + IE) - (GF + GE + GP + AO + OG)
With a positive outcome can choose to increase AO (savings), or try to reduce OG (Caprices) and thus can be omitted from the formula IE, which would reach the original RM (the optimal happiness).
2. Another option is to lower our claims savings, although this may not be less than 0, so would,
RM2 = IF - (GF + GE + GP + OG)
This solution also lead us to happiness, because even in the day to day can not save if we would do with the income variables (IV) and / or Extras (IE), which would have the intact and we might consider our savings .
3. We could also do a mixture of both, ie
RM3 = (IF + IE) - (GF + GE + GP + OG)
But consider that while RM3 is positive but we maintain the stability criterion eliminated the savings and also depend on the extra income. The truth is that everything RM3 is greater than 0 could be incorporated into savings.
4. Other options to find RM planteables positive or 0 would be:
RM4 = (IF + IE) - (GF + GP + GE)
Extras depends on income, no savings and do not have to Caprichos. This should be positive, but our happiness will be completely cut off. If we have given negative as RM5 last option is positive, but go into crisis.
RM5 = (IE + IF + IV) - (GP + GF + GE)
Depend on extra income and variable income, no savings and do not have to Caprichos. If this is negative, we must dispose of assets to search again reducing balance basis GF (fixed costs), GP (recurrent costs) to the extent possible, since GE (Extra expenditure) is a game we do not control , so we can not take it down ever.
In summary, according to the formula can be applied, our level of happiness would be as follows:
RM> 0: High Economic Happiness
RM1> 0: Economic Stability (Happiness Media)
RM2> 0: Economic Stability (Happiness Media)
RM3> 0: Risk of Financial Stability (Happiness Low)
RM4> 0: Risk of Economic Crisis (Happiness Very Low)
RM5> 0: High Risk of Economic Crisis (Happiness Very Low)
RM5 <0: Economic Crisis (Happiness Null)
I hope it was informative and easy to apply to your case. As you can see there is no magic formula, just trying to apply common sense and managed with discretion. I would appreciate any comments from you.
UPDATE JANUARY 23, 2009
You have available the formula for happiness checklist format of Income and Expenses.
