Tag: money

Why Business Sim Games Are Fun To Play

Collaborative post about money-related online Sim games.

I have mentioned before how much I love playing online games. They can be very entertaining and useful, especially when filling time, waiting for meetings or travelling from one place to another. If these games can reflect the real world, then that is even better. You may even learn something while playing them.

Money-related games

Imagine being able to play Sim games that are based on real life. Games that simulate financial things such as making investments and making decisions about trading. For me, these kinds of games are more interesting and relevant than racing games or wrestling simulations. My best friend would disagree. For him, you can’t beat an hour of Wrestlemania.

This article is my way of saying that business simulations can be just as fun, but while also being educational.

A Few Examples

I have become fond of a game which relates to trading stocks and shares (something which I do regularly, but not always well). Stocks is a game where you have to click to buy and sell your stocks as they rise and fall in value. It is quite fast and you have to be a rapid clicker to stand any chance of making money (not real money obviously – this is a game after all).

A screenshot from the Stocks game.

Housing Market Game

Real Estate Tycoon is also a lot of fun. I have been trying to get my head around this one which involves buying and selling houses as they increase and decrease in value. As each property is built, a green speech bubble appears showing the value go up or down. You have to make quick decisions about when to sell and the resulting profit or loss shows up in the top score bar.

A screenshot from Real Estate Tycoon

Entertaining but cost-free

There are so many games to choose from which are related to money and finance. If you enjoy activities which make you really think and make quick decisions, then these particular games will easily satisfy your needs. For me, they scratch an itch. The best thing about them is that they are free and you don’t lose any real money if you make the wrong decisions.

A lot of computer games do cost money these days. Even if they are free to begin with, you soon end up buying credits to progress further through modern online games. That is why I happily recommend free business Sim games, as they are easily accessible and you won’t be persuaded to pay for credits later on.

Final Thoughts

The idea of playing online games to pass time may be commonplace these days. However, having the chance to practise life skills while playing Sim games may be new to you. I learned about these types of games through blogging and previously wrote about them but this time I have focused on ones which I find most fun and relevant (especially for me, as a person obsessed with stocks and shares).

Thank you for reading my article about online games. Which do you prefer to play? If you are also looking for TV suggestions, check out Two TV Shows Worth Watching. Please drop a comment and consider following my blog for future similar content.

Saving Money – My Way

Collaborative post – All suggestions and opinions are my own.

Every penny counts (literally)

We all hear about just how much everyone seems to be struggling with money at the moment. In Britain, ‘the cost of living crisis’ dominates our news programmes and most people are looking for ways to make extra savings or earn more cash. Saving money is in most of our thoughts and we all need to share any good tips we come across.

For me, I have found that energy bills have risen massively and the cost of petrol has hit my pockets hard. As well as this, I have found the weekly shopping become more costly too. So I am definitely looking very closely at my finances and trying to make cuts wherever I can, without allowing my standard of living to slip unnecessarily.

Watching the Pennies

It is important to set yourself goals and these include when saving up for things. I always have holidays in my head, so before I begin playing around with my money, I usually work out what I will have to pay for in the next six months. I have also got possible repairs and emergency money in mind when I make long term financial decisions.

For working out how long it will take me to reach a certain amount, I now use online calculators such as SavingsCalculator.Org which allow you to work out how much you are likely to need to save per month to reach a target or how long it is likely to take to get to that figure.

A good tool for working out how to reach a savings goal.

As well as working out how much I need for future projects and holidays, I can also work out the shortfall in income or the amount of overspending I am doing. Once I have this sorted, I begin to look for ways to cut back.

Some of my favourite ways include:

– Go through my subscriptions to apps and TV packages. Which do I currently not use much or can I do without? Sometimes it can be painful but ditching a streaming platform for six months can make a real difference to my bank balance.

– Look for easy ways to increase my income, such as opportunities to sell a few bits and bobs on ebay. Again, it is not always easy to say goodbye to possessions but sometimes a good old clear-out makes you feel better as well as helping to inflate your savings a little.

– Use the round-up option on banking apps to save small amounts each time you spend. When I pay for something, the Nationwide Building Society asks me of I want to save the amount that would have rounded my spend up to the nearest pound. This then goes straight into my esavings. It is a Ninja way to save pennies without really noticing.

It is important though, to do some calculations and have some potential figures in your head. Then you know what to aim for and exactly how much to reduce your outgoings by, if you are going to make it work for you.

I have written about my suggestions of how to potentially boost your income in a previous post:

How To Boost Your Income – 5 More Ideas

In A Nutshell

Even though we are going through challenging times financially, there are several ways we can change our dealing with money to make sure our savings keep growing and that we don’t drown in debt.

Using a useful website you can change parameters and make predictions about how to build your savings. At the same time you can make reasonable adjustments to your outgoings or add additional income sources to top up your bank account.

Final Thought

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my article about how I prefer to save money and shave off my spending habits. Small changes have made such an impact on my own savings and helped me to continue to afford indulgences such as my recent trip to Antwerp to see the Christmas lights. For more of my suggestions about saving money, check out my other article.

Why Does Everything Happen At Once?

As much as I try to be organised, I sometimes find that things build up on top of me. This is one of those months where everything seems to be coming at me. Autumn is always busy for me but lately it feels like so many things are bringing added costs to my monthly outgoings. I find myself wondering – Why does everything happen at once? Do you identify with this issue?

First of all my car battery broke after I had got back from my wonderful holiday in summer. Luckily it didn’t cost too much but it felt like the beginning of car trouble for my trusty old vehicle.

Then I got a massive tax bill through the post which included tax owing from 2018 and 2019. None of this was my fault but was because one of my employers back then had processed my pay incorrectly. So that was £1000 I had to find quickly.

Now, to finish off a run of negative things, I woke up to discover that my water heater is broken. A cold shower alerted me to the fact that water is simply not getting hot any more. Even to get a plumber through the door I have to pay £60 and I know the bill will be large after the job is actually done. It always costs loads!

In a nutshell

So yes, they say the cost of living has gone up a lot. Now, my outgoings have risen ridiculously too. So I hope I get a few book sales and blog promotions to get me through this miserable period. Roll on Christmas…. Er maybe not… Let’s face it, that will only bring more expense. I hope that one day I will be able to stop asking – Why does everything happen at once? Instead, I’d rather say, ‘This year has been OK for once.’