Standard costs serve as benchmarks that represent expected future costs required to achieve an objective or goal. In business, these costs are mainly used for decision management and decision control. The same control applications can be employed for family finances. The related concepts that are exercised in business prove beneficial to several areas of family finance described below.Families operate very similarly to businesses, working together to reach common family-related objectives through setting goals. Similar to businesses maintaining mission statements, families develop unofficial, unwritten family standards and themes. Within the overall family objective are many smaller objectives that change with time, economic demands and other internal or external factors. Standard costs provide businesses with a mean for decision management and control in order to assist them in reaching their objectives, and thus, the principles can be applied to family finance in the same manner to achieve common objectives.Family SavingsThe application of standard cost systems provides businesses with the incentive effect to achieve costs less than or equal to the standard costs required to achieve the business objectives. When these costs are used as a basis for performance evaluation, incentives are created for management to control their costs. With this incentive comes the possibility of discouraging cooperation when individuals are not rewarded in the same manner as the whole unit.Let us examine a family of four attempting to save money to reach a family objective: going on vacation to California next summer. This objective is set when the parents have a discussion on how to spend more time bonding as a family, equivalent to a board of directors setting a top-down objective. In order to reach the objective, the family realizes that they must save $5,000 in the next year and that they must achieve this through decreasing their family spending since there are no anticipated increases in family income. In order to achieve the objective, the family must work together to achieve increased savings. In a business, if an individual is rewarded based only on what they produce then they may not be motivated to work with the other individuals in the department to ensure they are also attaining the same levels of productivity. However, if the same individual was rewarded at multiple levels, both individual and departmentally driven, then there would be more incentive for cooperation. The same must occur for the family in the example. In a case where the vacation itself is the only reward, if the children are not as excited with the family vacation destination then they may not be as motivated to work towards the family’s savings. If other individual level rewards are set (i.e. stickers, one on one time with the parents, or an hour extended curfew for teenagers) then the unit would be working together more cooperatively to reach the overall objective of the family vacation.Family BudgetFamily budgets have a direct impact on the savings available for the family. In discussing the same family of four with the objective to save $5,000 to acquire enough funds for a family vacation, cost concepts can be applied to the family’s budgeting function. The family should use the basic concepts of a standard cost system to set an overall budget for the year. The budget should then be drilled down further to set costs that must be met in each budgeted category. For example, if the family calculates that it can only spend $300 on groceries bi-weekly then they should apply standard costs to each grocery item to ensure that overspending does not occur. If the family sets a standard cost for cereal at $2 then the concepts should be applied so that cereal is not purchased if it is above $2. If purchasing were to occur above the $2 cost then the vacation may be sacrificed.Another incentive effect can be applied to this situation; building inventories when price discounts occur. The recently popular occurrence of extreme couponing illustrates this incentive effect. Extreme couponing is a pop culture hobby with the goal of stocking up on items when they are below the standard cost. This strategy involves meticulous planning and monitoring of standard costs for household items, clothes, groceries and even vacation packages. Utilizing this strategy to stock up on goods or build inventories when prices vary below their set standard cost range can assist the family in reaching its end objective. Prices and costs can change because of inflation, demand, resources and many other economic factors. Therefore, it is important to mention, especially in the case of long term objectives, that standard costs should be constantly examined and updated.Standard costs concepts are a beneficial approach for families that function similarly to a business where they are one unit working towards a common objective. Many related concepts can be applied to family finances. If these concepts are understood properly by the family the overall family’s finances including short and long term objectives will be improved.

Photography interest is wide, but having the ability to capitalize on the photos you take by finding financial gain is rare. The photographer’s inability to market photos to clients or quite often their inexperience are the leading causes for this rare occurrence. A great way to capitalize on the photographer’s life is to seek the advice of experience and search for landscape photography tips online. Landscape photography is one of the most sought after types of photography currently affecting the photo market and finding landscape photography tips can help turn your mediocre skills into the skills of an expert.When researching landscape photography tips to pursue the photographer’s life one of the top tips is to find a new perspective to an old photo. Photographs often in high demand include images of national treasures and monuments where companies are seeking a new angle or perspective of the aged image.Visiting these popular hot spots can help you capitalize financially as you discover the new angles or perspectives that purchasing companies are seeking. In many cases a new angle can capture shadowing or a background that is relevant to the original image, strengthening the imagery of the photograph. When pursuing the photographer’s life remember to take a great deal of photographs at a variety of angles since you never know which photo will appeal directly to your potential client.It is important to identify the various patterns of tip familiarity when searching for landscape photography tips due to their great abundance on the internet. Remember when trying to find the character of a photo that a great deal of importance should be placed upon the play of light and shadow. The time of day plays a tremendous role in the imagery that can be found in a photo. Never find satisfaction with the first photo you take when deciding on a area to photograph. Photographing various shadows, play of clouds and revealed location images can on occasion take the length of a day and play a large role in the photographer’s life. Patience in photography can help in capitalizing on discovered landscape photography tips to maximize your photography earnings.Nature is unpredictable in regards to the conditions that are available to the photographer. One of the top landscape photography tips is to find new perspectives when nature thwarts your original effort. Close a single eye to assist in finding the new scene you hope to capture. This method will help you see how the flat image of the photo will develop as closing an eye reduce the depth that dual vision provides. If you hope to take a photo of majestic mountains but the shadowing is wrong then use that background to capture the beauty of a new feature. On many occasions the beauty of a single flower stands out the most with bleak surroundings. Maximize your experiences in the photographer’s life by seeking new perspectives and never to accept photographic failure.

Light Emitting Diodes, more often pronounced as LED light bulbs, are small size, solid light bulbs that are highly energy efficient and are vastly replacing standard Incandescent bulbs. They are very energy efficient and consume, relatively, less energy than traditional bulbs. They are very simple in use and have a long rated life.As Led light bulbs are expensive they were not in frequent use until recently or were used as a single bulb application in lighting pens, remotes, electronic items etc. But as technology is getting improved day by day, the cost of led light bulbs is also getting lower and resulting in their use in applications where clusters of bulbs are used like battery items, flashlights and headlamps etc. Their applications are getting expanded day by day and the day is not far away when they become an inseparable part of everyday consumer electronics and would be used in a bunch without much thought required.Traditional bulbs have a housing of glass to avoid oxygen around the flammable tungsten filament but led light bulbs have a housing of plastic that makes them easier to maintain and much more efficient. As Led light bulbs are energy saving bulbs, they consume less electricity and this results in higher cost savings. Also, as they generate less heat, they never get that hot and are far cooler.Led light bulbs are used in applications indoors or outdoos and are vastly used in Modern Electronic Items, Traffic Lights, and Digital Clocks etc. They are also used in commercial and industrial works where maintenance and replacement cost are more important factors than operative cost. But, although led lights are replacing the other lighting technologies by leaps and bounds and revolutionizing the way the world uses lighting systems, they are still expensive and this factor cannot be avoided.Led Light Bulb vs. Incandescent and halogen BulbLed light bulbs have a longer rated life than fluorescent and Incandescent bulbs. They last around 130 times longer than Incandescent bulbs and 10 times longer than compact fluorescent bulbs. Also as they are made up of plastic, they do not get damaged as easily as Incandescent bulbs. Due to the plastic surface, they sustain grating and bumping.As they last longer, the maintenance and replacement cost is reduced. Their batteries also have a longer life. They consume far less energy and do not get heated up as traditional bulbs, making them easy to maintain.The only negative factor they have is their cost. They are still expensive but that can definitely be offset against low electricity bills and longer life of batteries.12v DC led light bulbs12v DC led light bulbs are normally not used to light up the house or in any household item or fixture. They are used in porch lights, accent and reading lights, solar or battery powered systems and other 12 voltage setups and equipments.6 volt Led Light Bulbs for Vintage Cars6 volt led light Bulbs are much brighter than incandescent bulbs and are used in Automobiles like cars, trucks etc. They have an easier charging system and are polarity sensitive.Led Tail Light BulbsLED Tail Light bulbs are the wonderful after market tribute to any car. The LED tail light bulbs are custom built units. Their prices must be standardized in order to make them more popular as they have custom built prices in the market depending on the type of assemblies.12 Volt Led Light BulbsThese led light bulbs are high energy saving, energy efficient and are small in size. They offer a brighter light than any incandescent bulb and have a low replacement and maintenance cost. They can be installed in any household lighting fixture due to their compact size.

The pre-construction purchase process or PPP is structured a lot differently than purchasing a property that is already in existence. With pre-construction real estate you are essentially purchasing off a floor plan. This can prove to be a complicated task as you cannot essentially experience the product. Even though many condo sales offices in Toronto have managed to create model suites to reflect what certain units look like, you still don’t get the true effect as you would purchasing an already existing unit.Once you have chosen the pre-construction project you would like to purchase in as well as your floor plan, it is time to sign your life away! The agreement used for pre-construction condos is much different that your standard resale agreement. Don’t be scared when you see the agreement as it is significantly longer than a resale agreement. Some can run up to 30 pages long. What is unique to the pre-construction purchase process is that the builder gives you a 10 day “cooling off” period. It is in this time frame that you will have your lawyer review your agreements on your behalf. Once this 10 day period is over and your lawyer has given you the ok, you must submit the remainder of your post dated deposit checks to the builder. This normally accounts for approximately 20% of your total purchase price.A few years later…….By this time the building has started construction and you will get called in for color selection. It is at this time that you will start choosing the colors of your finishes and features of your condo. Most developers also give purchasers the opportunity to pay for upgraded materials at that time if that is something they would like to do. Approximately a year (or so) after the color selection process, you will be given the keys to your brand new suite. In real estate terms this is called interim occupancy. Even though you don’t have title to your unit, you are living in it and paying what we call “occupancy fees” to the builder. This number reflects a portion of your taxes, maintenance fees and interest on the remaining of the balance owed. You are allowed to rent out your unit during the occupancy period, but be aware that you will not be eligible for your GST rebate if you choose to do this. Occupancy can last up to one and a half years. Once the condo building registers with the City of Toronto your lawyer will make the arrangements to exchange title to your new condo for the outstanding payment as agreed in your agreement of purchase and sale.Unlike purchasing a condo that is already in existence, the pre-construction purchase process is a long one. The majority of the time you are purchasing some 2-5 years in advance. Even though it is a long waiting period, the benefits can be very rewarding financially when you purchase in the right location, with the right builder and at the right time.