Infographic-The Job Round-Up

This infographic has been created using information from various sources around the web. The Job Round-Up looks into the wonderful world of employment, giving you details of the best and worst jobs around the globe, including information about the highest paid jobs, the weirdest jobs, the most unpopular jobs and the most dangerous jobs. Did you know, for example, that zombies can earn up to £30k a year? And that the first female police officers were appointed by London Metropolitan?

Guest Author Bio:

JobZoo was created with the primary purpose of giving young people, school leavers, grads/post grads and first time jobbers the best chance of finding that dream job. They provide users with job listings, CV templates and much more.

Three Reasons to Refurbish Furniture

The number of vintage furniture stores, creative collectives and Etsy entrepreneurial endeavors is increasing for a couple of reasons: 1.) the economy and 2.) the desire to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. What follows is a discussion about how refurbishing furniture falls under both categories.

Defining refurbishment

Simply speaking, refurbishment includes everything from repainting and reupholstering to repairing and redesigning pieces for an entirely new purpose.  It is taking a piece of furniture that doesn’t look like you want it to and changing it to match your need or taste.

Learning to live within our means

In an economy in which many are unemployed or underemployed and most are trying to cut spending, we are learning to either live with what we already have or to acquire new things in significantly less expensive ways. In regards to furniture, you may have your grandmother’s old wingback chair for sentimental reasons. However, when you realize you need additional seating for an upcoming gathering you decide to use it instead of buying something new. Instead of spending $200 on a new chair, you spend $75 on upholstery fabric and do it yourself.

Other families may need something they don’t already own but can’t afford to pay full price for.  Craigslist and thrift stores become a shopper’s haven. Even if the items do not look exactly like you want them to, a coat of paint can do wonders. I sold a twin bed to a friend who was recently separated from her husband and needed a “big girl bed” for her little girl. The bed frame was a stained oak color with plenty of superficial scuffs. Nothing about it looked like a little girl, but the mattress was good and the bed was well built. I sold the frame, mattress and box spring to my friend for $50. She took it home, painted the frame yellow and found a cute matching comforter. For less than $100 she had a cute “new” bed for her big girl.

Keeping broken things out of landfills

It has been said that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. When a flat screen television that needs repairs is set out on the curb and listed as free on Craigslist by a family who doesn’t want to bother with finding a repairman, the young father with an electronics hobby feels like he won the lottery. He uses his skills to repair the television, paying only a few dollars for a needed part. A large item that might otherwise have been tossed into a landfill becomes a useful item instead. That broken table may be useless to you, but to a skilled handyman it might be a beautiful wedding present for his daughter. Keeping such items out of landfills does more than keep our landfills from filling too soon; it keeps us from having to continually produce new items to replace what we’ve thrown away.

Giving something old a new life

With the help of Pinterest, YouTube, Craigslist and Etsy, it is possible to make this refurbishment hobby a profitable business. When you decide to compete with that girl from Storage Wars who has a shop in Dallas, Quickbooks may become your new best friend. If nothing else, it will help you to calculate how much you spent, how much you saved and how much you made. Instead of just giving a piece of furniture a new life, you can give your bank account a new life, too.

Guest Author: Tiffany Marshall is a freelance writer from Texas. When she’s not refurbishing her own furniture, she writes about topics like Quickbooks, Dallas, DJs and flowers.

Planning the Perfect Holiday Party on a Budget

The holidays are right around the corner, and you know what that means – parties. If you’ve been honored with the task of planning one of them, it’s likely you have a budget to work with, and that can be a headache to deal with sometimes. In this article, learn some tips on how you can put together a banging holiday party that will only look like it cost a bundle.

Be an Early Party Bird Planner

As soon as Thanksgiving is over, people run around frantically trying to get a holiday party together. For this reason, many party service businesses will hike up the price. It’s just the way to prey on those waiting until the last minute. So, don’t be one of their victims. Instead, start planning the party as early as possible. If it’s before Thanksgiving great, but if it’s afterwards, do it right after. Once December hits, prices start to climb.

Shop Around and Around

Every business is different and that means they all have different rates. If one business’ rate doesn’t fall within your budget, don’t become discouraged. Simply go to the next business, and the next one, and the next one. After you’ve been to a few of them, you’ll have a better idea what you’ll really have to pay and you can adjust how much you spend on other areas of the party.

Cut Corners as Much as Possible

Do you have anyone in your social circle that can cook for the party? Catering businesses can take over a budget, so if you can find someone who will do it for free or much less than those pricey catering places, you’ll save a ton of money.

Same goes for decorations and decorating. Start shopping in party and discount stores. You’ll find many decorations you can use that will make the place look lovely.

Choose Entertainment Carefully

The most important part of any party is the music, so it should take up the greatest part of your budget. When shopping around for a DJ, ask what you’ll get for the amount of money you’ve allotted for the entertainment. Just like any service, DJs have their own prices, and many will work within a budget. Consider how many songs the DJ will play, what other fun things he can do, and his experience. You want the party to be a success, and that success begins with a good DJ.

Start Planning Your Holiday Party Now

You know how to cut down on the cost of a holiday party, so start planning now. No matter what your budget, you can find what you need to make the party fun and beautiful for everyone.

Guest author Marcelina Hardy wrote this guest post. She often plans holiday parties on low budgets, so she knows what to do. Since the DJ seems to take up a good portion of the budget, she always uses the same company, which works with her budget. She will use them for a Christmas party DJ in San Antonio and for a New Year’s Eve DJ San Antonio.