Pilbara iron exports up, price drops again

IRON ore exports from Port Hedland, the world’s largest iron ore port, hit a record high in June as prices continue to fall.

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Bubble Wrap has been ruined for everyone

SORRY to pop your bubble everyone. But Sealed Air Corp, the maker of Bubble Wrap, is about to take away your fun.

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Qantas gives staff $90m bonus

QANTAS will give its workforce $90 million in bonuses following a dramatic turnaround in the airline’s fortunes.

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Report: Microsoft Mobile OS Share Drops, Will It Be Discontinued?

The US smartphone market is relatively stable; however Apple has seen an almost 2 point gain in the past few months according to comScore data. May 2015 smartphone market share figures show the iPhone with a 43.5 percent share vs. Android’s 52 percent share. By comparison, Windows Phone was...

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Texas congressman presses push to legalize online poker

At the World Series of Poker, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, is a celebrity. In the last five sessions of Congress, Barton has either been the primary sponsor or signed on to a bill that would legalize Internet poker in the U.S. His most reason version of the measure was introduced on June 25.

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Machabee Office Environment flourishes through changing times

As the nation emerged from the Great Depression and World War II raged abroad, Delbert Machabee and Frank Morrill opened a small office supplies and stationery store in downtown Reno. Seventy-five years later, the company is known as Machabee Office Environments, and Delbert Machabee’s grandson, Scott Machabee, is company president.

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Marketing Day: Facebook’s New Logo, Twitter Audience Insights & Yahoo’s New Smart Stream

Here's our recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Facebook’s “Friendly & Approachable” Logo Update Has Mobile In Mind

With subtle change, Facebook aims to modernize its logo and make it appear more clearly on mobile phones.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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The Four Stage Link Building Cycle + an Extended Q & A- July 21 Webcast

Are you forgetting the "marketing" in your content marketing?

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Twitter Updates Audience Insights & Introduces Persona Targeting

New features give advertisers more demographic information about their paid audiences and streamlines category targeting.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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5 Steps to Dump Debt During Your Senior Years

Don't spend your golden years chained to creditors. Here's how to ditch your debt for good.

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Investors: Don't Let Patriotism Rule Your Portfolio

It’s OK to have home bias – just not when it comes to your investment strategy.

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The Best Holidays for Deals: A Shopper's Guide

From July Fourth to Labor Day, what's on sale and when.


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3 Steps to Mapping Your Career Path

This exercise will help you determine who you are, where you're going and how you'll get there.

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Yahoo Aviate Adds New Smart Stream But Still Needs Breakout Features

The latest feature upgrade to Yahoo’s Android launcher and smart assistant Aviate is called “Smart Stream.” It’s a personally relevant and context-aware content feed throughout the day: Now Aviate assembles relevant information front and center so you can take action right...

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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How to Maximize the Value of Your IRA

IRAs allow you to reduce your tax bill while saving for retirement.

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How to Afford a Last-Minute Summer Vacation

You can still score the best deals on a getaway.

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What Does It Mean To Be Mobile First? And Why Should Marketers Care?

As millennials overtake Baby Boomers as the biggest demographic of consumers, marketers need to think more than ever about mobile first, explains columnist Aaron Strout.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Chick-fil-A America's Favorite Fast Food Chain

Chick-fil-A is way ahead of all other fast food restaurants for customer satisfaction, a new survey from the American Customer Satisfaction Index revealed.

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The High Cost of Higher Education

Do higher tuition prices translate to a better education and career outlook?

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How “Listening” To User-Generated Content Leads To E-Commerce Sales

How do you craft e-commerce content that results in conversions? Look to your consumers to provide insights and create relevant content, advises columnist Benjamin Spiegel.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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How Much Does It Cost to NOT Have a Baby Shower? For One Couple, $1,100

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage,” goes the traditional rhyme. But these days, the baby shower comes before the baby.

Are baby showers necessary, though? Freelance writer A.J. O’Connell doesn’t think so.

“The idea of throwing myself a party and inviting other people to give me presents always made me uncomfortable,” she writes in The Billfold. “And anyhow, sitting in front of a room and opening presents in front of all my female friends and relations at eight months pregnant sounded like my idea of hell.”

The Outrageous Cost of a Newborn

So O’Connell decided not to have a shower. And though her husband understood her decision, he worried about the financial repercussions.

Why? Because babies are expensive: On average, they cost a whopping $12,000 in their first year of life. Baby showers can help new parents offset this cost.

Despite warnings from family and friends, O’Connell stuck with her decision. When they continued to press her, she created a “modest” online registry with the things she thought she’d “really need.”

For the rest of her baby supplies, she relied on carefully researched purchases and hand-me-downs. “After going over the receipts, we probably spent $1,100, all told, on outfitting our home for a new baby,” she writes.

Could that money have been saved — or rather, borne by her family and friends — if she’d had a shower? Probably.

But for O’Connell, who doesn’t like “sitting inside on weekend afternoons” or “eating salad and drinking chardonnay while making small talk about labor pains,” it was a cost she was willing to bear.

Your Turn: What’s your opinion on baby showers? Did you have one?

Susan Shain (@Susan_Shain) is a freelance writer and travel blogger who is always seeking adventure on a budget.

 

The post How Much Does It Cost to NOT Have a Baby Shower? For One Couple, $1,100 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Not All Voices Are the Same: Ten Common Personal Finance Disagreements

Spend less than you earn.

Pay off your high interest debts.

Save for the future.

Many of the tenets of personal finance are essentially common sense. They just work in practically every situation.

Still, there are some areas where it’s not nearly as clear cut. Different people will make different arguments when it comes to some issues, often insisting that their path is the only sensible path.

Here are ten debates that I often see come up in personal finance writings, podcasts, and in other media. I’ll take a look at both sides of each debate and give you my own take.

Debate #1: Should You Ever Go Into Debt?

Some might argue…

Yes! Without debt, many people simply would not be able to afford things like a car of their own or a home of their own. Without debt, parents would be forced into very limited housing options without the possibility of building any equity for themselves. College education would be out of reach of most people simply due to the cost of tuition. Debt makes the lives of many people in America possible.

On the other hand…

No! Everything that people use debt for is simply a result of impatience. A college education financed by loans is one that is entered into by someone who doesn’t want to wait until they’ve earned the money to afford schooling. A home financed by loans is one that is purchased by someone who hasn’t yet learned how to save or is unwilling to buy a home that needs work.

My take is that, although many people overvalue home ownership and the value of a college education (issues we’ll look at in more detail later on), financing those things once you understand their value does make sense for most people. In both cases, however, people often dive in and borrow so much that it makes their life difficult in later years, so it’s always a good idea to think carefully about your future whenever you borrow money.

Debate #2: Do You Have to Go to College to Succeed?

Some might argue…

Yes! A college education is the most effective way for most Americans to improve their economic outlook over the rest of their lives. A bachelor’s degree represents about $300,000 in additional average earnings over the lifetime of an individual as compared to just a high school diploma.

On the other hand…

No! College degrees do help many people to earn more, but it is not the only route to success. The true differentiator is hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit, not a college degree. A college degree is merely the ticket in the door for some jobs, most of which exist to make other people more money than you’ll make for yourself. If you’re a self-starter and willing to teach yourself things, you can make a mint without devoting years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars to a college education.

My take is that people can succeed without a college degree, but that a college degree is a huge help. In general, it requires a lot more initiative, hard work, and self-direction to succeed without a degree. Of course, there’s also the option of trade school, which is something I recommend for many people to at least consider, as it sets you on a path to a solid earning career that will always be in demand.

Debate #3: Should You Ever Not Pay Off Your Debts As Quickly As Possible?

Some might argue…

Yes! It is often a mistake to pay off low interest debts early because you can use that money elsewhere for smarter purposes. For example, a diversified investment in the stock market can reap an average annual return of 7%. You might also use that money to start or improve a business, which can really amp up your returns.

On the other hand…

No! Debts come with minimum payments, which increase the amount of money that you’re required to come up with each month. That means you’re required to earn more income each month just to keep your bills covered. Eliminating debts lowers your total monthly bills, meaning you have more money not only for investing, but for life flexibility. If you hold onto debt just to invest or do something else, then your investment flops and you lose your job during an economic downturn, your life is now in the hurt locker. Don’t do it.

My take is that debt freedom is a strong low-risk personal finance goal. Holding onto debts so that you can use the money for other things adds risk to the equation – there are potentially greater rewards, but there’s also the potential for backfiring. Personally, I lean toward the low risk approach when it comes to debt. Get rid of it. That way, no matter what happens to the economy or to your job, you’re going to be okay.

Debate #4: Is It Always Better to Earn More Rather Than Spending Less?

Some might argue…

Yes! Your primary personal finance goal should always be to maximize your earnings, even if that sometimes means spending more and paying money for convenience and time savings. Investing your time and energy into earning more really has no ceiling – you can always earn more. On the other hand, there’s only so much you can cut before you get into the realm of diminishing returns where you’re investing a lot of time to “save” pennies.

On the other hand…

No! Most frugal strategies don’t involve spending more time. They just involve executing one-time strategies or being smarter with the time you’re already going to be using. Many money-saving strategies actually save time, too, like making meals in advance. Beyond that, frugality itself makes a huge amount of sense when it comes to getting ahead financially because it reduces your expenses immediately, enabling you to start paying off debts and investing now. Career and business strategies don’t pay off this month – frugality absolutely can.

My take is that you should be doing both. When you’re first realizing that you might be in financial trouble, your main focus should be on frugality as it will have immediate returns. If you’re starting to look at long term goals, you should be focusing on earning more. No matter where you’re at, though, you should always take advantage of opportunities to easily earn or save money.

Debate #5: Are Credit Cards Ever Worthwhile?

Some might argue…

Yes! Credit cards make purchases more convenient. They also offer buyer protections for purchases, and unlike debit cards, they’re not tied directly to your checking account. They also help you establish a positive credit history. They also help you in a pinch if something unexpected happens, keeping you from facing things like overdraft charges. They also offer you rewards programs that include things like large discounts on other purchases and, in some cases, a cash refund. In short, they’re good.

On the other hand…

No! Credit cards make it very easy to spend more than you realize, accumulating high interest debt incredibly quickly. That high interest debt just devours your bank account, as it represents money just given to the credit card company for your impatience. They also open the door to identity theft, which can have a disastrous impact on your credit history. There’s nothing that a credit card does that can’t be done with cash or a debit card.

My take is that credit cards make sense for routine purchases, like buying groceries, as long as they’re not financing extra purchases and you pay off the balance in full each month. The problem is that most people don’t do that. They use the card to finance purchases that they’ll pay off “next month,” and that leads to a situation where they’re handing their hard earned money to the banks and getting nothing in return on those nasty interest payments. To me, credit cards are like a sharp knife – they can be a powerful tool, but it’s really easy to hurt yourself with them if you’re not careful.

Debate #6: Do You Need an Emergency Fund?

Some might argue…

Yes! An emergency fund is the pile of cash you turn to when your finances go awry. It’s a bundle of cash that’s just sitting in your savings account for those moments when a car breaks down or someone loses a job or there’s an illness in the family or you have to fly somewhere for a funeral or any of the countless other unexpected events in life.

On the other hand…

No! A credit card serves the same purpose as an emergency fund without requiring you to keep a bunch of money in a savings account that barely earns any return at all. Put that money into better investments instead and rely on your credit card if things go bad – and you’ll still have the money in investments if things go really bad.

My take is that a credit card doesn’t suffice for a real emergency fund. The purpose of an emergency fund is to help you out when you need it most, and there are many emergencies that simply aren’t helped by a credit card. Identity theft. A stolen wallet. A job loss. A serious credit problem. Your credit card is likely to fail you in those situations. Cash is king. Build a cash emergency fund and don’t view it as an investment. View it as an emergency-only tool.

Debate #7: Do You Really Need a Budget for Personal Finance Success?

Some might argue…

Yes! A budget is an essential tool for personal finance. It enables you to clearly see – and to clearly track – where your money is going. It also allows you to make spending decisions up front, when you’re not in the heat of the moment and tempted to spend more money than you should on something fun or something that seems like a “good deal.” There are many forms of budgeting and, in the end, most people who are financially successful do it in some way, shape, or form.

On the other hand…

No! A budget is just a substitute for common sense. If you can simply get your non-essential spending under control and choose not to spend money on frivolous things all the time, a budget really isn’t necessary. For many people, a budget feels like shackles – it requires conformity to a rigid structure and will quickly create a feeling of resentment and a desire to “break free,” which sometimes creates even more problems.

My take is that the process of actually making a proper budget – which includes tracking your spending for a few months without a budget and then figuring out how you actually spend money and what you spend it on over the course of a month by sorting all of that spending into categories – is a powerful personal finance project all on its own. I believe it’s something everyone should do. If that process essentially shows you that you should be cutting back in some areas, then that budget has done its job, whether you stick with it over the long term or not.

Debate #8: Should You Combine Finances When You Get Married?

Some might argue…

Yes! The reality is that married couples are already financially dependent on each other whether they have chosen to merge their accounts or not. They’re sharing the bills that allow both of them to enjoy a modern life. If one of them starts making bad financial moves, then the other one will eventually be impacted by that and that person deserves to know that their partner is making such moves. Combining finances allows both parters to always be aware of their full personal financial state, and not combining them opens the door to uncertainty. Combine them and you’ll both be better off.

On the other hand…

No! Even in a marriage, one’s partner should not have complete control over one’s spending. Your individual finances are your own and as long as you take care of whatever financial responsibilities are yours, the rest of the money is yours, too. Besides, it is very difficult to surprise your spouse with anything if you’re just taking money out of a shared pool. Where’s the surprise in that?

My take is that couples are usually better off combining their finances. Like it or not, once you’ve reached the point of being married, you are financially dependent on one another, and the bad moves of one person affects both of you. The other person has a right to know if you’re making big spending mistakes that will eventually impact them, and the surest way to do that is to combine finances. For the purposes of gifts or surprises, it makes complete sense for both partners to have a small amount taken out of the shared budget for private spending.

Debate #9: Should You Give Kids an Allowance?

Some might argue…

Yes! An allowance is a great tool for children to learn the ins and outs of basic money management and spending choices. A regular allowance simulates the normal cash flow that a household has, so that children can learn how to plan ahead with their spending choices. Not having an allowance denies this lesson; having an irregular allowance confuses this lesson and adds unnecessary complexity. The point of the allowance isn’t just to hand kids money. It’s to teach them self-control and how to plan ahead with their spending.

On the other hand…

No! An allowance is merely a giveaway to children. They should be expected to perform tasks in exchange for that allowance. This teaches them how the world works – you work in exchange for your income. Without that lesson, a child comes to expect a handout without having to do anything, and the modern world really doesn’t work that way. An allowance is indeed a tool for teaching children about how the world works – the world requires you to work for your money.

My take is that both ideas make sense and both should be used. In our house, we give our children a very small regular allowance that they can rely on and plan with. Unconnected to that allowance, we have some basic household behaviors that we expect – clearing your plate after a mail and so on. However, in addition to that, we also give out chores with small financial rewards associated with them and encourage them to take on small entrepreneurial opportunities.

Debate #10: Should You Invest in the Stocks of Individual Companies?

Some might argue…

Yes! When you invest in a mutual fund, it is impossible to know the dealings of each individual company in that fund. On the other hand, by investing in individual companies, you can carefully follow their business practices and their financial reports and have a strong grip on the health of those specific companies that you’re invested in. When you invest in stocks, you’re investing in businesses, and you owe it to yourself as an investor to know what those businesses are.

On the other hand…

No! Ordinary investors generally aren’t privy to the most recent dealings of a company. Only insiders know for sure what is happening there, and they’re likely to take advantage of unfortunate situations well before you can get out. You’re never going to beat a big investment bank or an institutional investor when it comes to news on a specific stock – in fact, you’re likely to be left holding the bag. Instead, it makes sense to invest in a broad-based index fund that owns the stocks of lots of companies. That way, you’re not so much investing in specific companies but investing in the idea of American capitalism and ingenuity, an engine that’s been chugging along for hundreds of years.

My take is that you should invest most of your money in broad-based index funds, like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. If you’re compelled to invest in individual stocks, take a small amount of your overall money that you would be devoting to investing and use that to buy individual stocks. However, you should assume that any of your money that you choose to invest that way is at a very high level of risk, as you’re competing against groups with very large amounts of resource and influence.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, personal finance is far from a “cut and dried” thing. There are many, many issues on which good people disagree and, in many of those situations, there are good reasons for different viewpoints.

Often, those different viewpoints simply come down to different levels of personal risk tolerance. Some people are more willing to accept personal risk with their finances, while others are more conservative in their personal financial choices.

Sometimes, those viewpoints have more to do with a person’s own psyche. Is a person fascinated by detail and nuance? Or are they happy just looking at the broad picture of a situation? Again, neither one is necessarily right or wrong, as it varies from person to person.

In the end, though, all of these approaches still rely on the bedrock of a few core personal finance concepts. Every single one of these disagreements comes down to different ways of implementing the core idea of spending less than you earn and saving for the future. Virtually everyone agrees on the core message.

We all just do it a little differently.

The post Not All Voices Are the Same: Ten Common Personal Finance Disagreements appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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10 Ways Your Boss Knows You're Job Searching

Unfortunately, you're not as smooth as you think.

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Insider Tricks to Plan a Cheap Last-Minute Summer Vacation

Follow these three steps to cut the cost of your trip in half. 

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The Secret To Driving Revenues: Make It Easy For Them To Buy

Marketers have mere seconds to grab consumers’ attention. Columnist Brian Rigney offers tips on getting customers to engage in a world of glimpses and instant gratification.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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What's in store for next week's Blue Budget?

Michael Trudeau

parliament copy.jpg

Chancellor George Osborne has developed a reputation for delivering big surprises in his Budgets. But what could he have up his sleeve this time?

Chancellor George Osborne has developed a reputation for delivering big surprises in his Budgets. But what could he have up his sleeve this time?

We've rounded up expert predictions for next week's emergency Budget to try to give some indications of what to expect.

What's in store for next week's Blue Budget?

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Chancellor George Osborne has developed a reputation for delivering big surprises in his Budgets. But what could he have up his sleeve this time? We've rounded up expert predictions for next week's emergency Budget to try and give some indications of what to expect. Doubtless Osborne is holding back a couple of headline-making surprises, but it's possible to make educated guesses based on the Conservative manifesto. This is the first Tory-only Budget since 1996, and some say it's likely to be one of the toughest, from a new government that no longer has to moderate its policies to placate coalition partners. Pensions The Tories promised in their manifesto to crack down on pension tax relief for those earning more than £150,000. They could do this by reducing the annual allowance by £1 for every £2 earned over that limit. The result is a decreasing amount of tax relief as earnings rise. If someone earned £210,000, for example, they'd have an annual allowance of just £10,000. Tom McPhail at Hargreaves Lansdown worries that Osborne could introduce further restrictions on the annual allowance, possibly coming into effect on Budget day itself. "If they are contemplating change to the pension system then a move to a flat rate of relief of 30%, coupled with the abolition of the increasingly unpopular lifetime allowance limit, would be simpler and fairer for all," he says. The previous Budget included plans to lower the lifetime allowance from £1.25 million to £1 million in April 2016. Note that this limit includes investment growth, not just the amount contributed. Rob Burgeman, investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, says: "Why not put a simple cap on how much people can pay into their pensions? Otherwise they are essentially being penalised for a successful investment strategy." Inheritance tax The manifesto pledges to raise the inheritance tax (IHT) threshold substantially. From 2017 the current £325,000 tax-free threshold will increase to include a main residence allowance of £175,000, effectively increasing the total tax-free threshold to £1 million for married couples and civil partners. "I’d expect to see the IHT change introduced at the same time as the reductions in pension tax relief," says Hargreaves' Danny Cox; "however, a fairer and simpler incentive would be to increase the nil rate band for all assets." Cox's concerns were echoed by Brewin's Richard Harwood, who said there is a danger of making IHT "overly complicated". Tax and national insurance The manifesto pledges to increase the higher-rate income tax threshold to £50,000 by 2020, and possibly raise the personal allowance to £12,500. This is unlikely to come into effect before April 2016, says Hargreaves. "At the moment the tax system is prejudiced against families where one parent works and one is more active in childcare," says Brewin's Burgeman. "We would like to see a change... so that couples could elect to be taxed jointly, with two sets of all allowances and two sets of pension allowances." Capital gains tax Capital gains tax will be notable in its absence from the manifesto. "We would like to see a reform of capital gains tax," says Burgeman. "It is a very complicated tax that creates distortion. A big problem is that it does not make any allowance for inflation, so over long periods even modest amounts of gains can have a big impact." But Cox warns that tinkering may just prompt investors to "sit on their hands rather than realise gains", resulting in a lower tax take. "Investors should be rewarded through the tax system for holding an investment for a longer period," says Cox. "Currently there are no incentives to hold an investment for any period of time. Rewarding investors in the tax system either through a reintroduction of taper relief or indexation, will help them to make better decisions, rather than being forced to buy or sell based on the tax they might pay." Regardless of what experts predict, we won't know for sure until Wednesday 8 July, and making investment decisions based on such an uncertain outcome might not be prudent, argues Andrew Craig, founder of Plain English Finance. "I would argue that to make any kind of substantive investment decision around these kinds of events is to risk negatively impacting your ability to succeed as an investor over time." This article was written for our sister website Money Observer

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5 Zenful Tips For Working From Home

By Emily Belcher While most people have far more positive’s than negative’s when comparing their work at home life versus their previous traditional jobs, there are still those moments when life seemed so much easier on the outside. Many people face new obstacles that they are challenged with that could be helped with creating a […]

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8 Free Tools to Help You Learn a New Language

From expanding your dating pool to helping you more money and increasing your job opportunities, learning a foreign language has numerous benefits. You can communicate better when you travel, make new friends locally, keep your brain active and better understand the world around you.

Some jobs will pay you to learn a foreign language, and in many professions you may earn more if you are bilingual, including working for the government, practicing law and teaching or tutoring. Regardless of your job, recent research shows that learning a second language could help you earn about 2% more each year — which could add up to nearly $70,000 by retirement, thanks to compound interest.

Ready to start learning a new language? Enrolling in an intensive short-term program can be expensive and hard to fit into your schedule if you’re already in the workforce. The intensive, eight-week summer courses offered at Beloit College cost just under $8,000. Immersion experiences are a great way to learn the language like a native speaker, but you might not have the time to spend a summer in another country. And if you’re not sure which language you want to learn or aren’t sure you’ll stick with it long term, you probably don’t want to sink hundreds or thousands of dollars into home-study courses that will gather dust.

Fortunately, you can learn a new language without leaving your desk chair or sofa. Here are some of the best resources to help you learn a foreign language for free.

1. Live Mocha

With a free Live Mocha account, you get access to lessons in more than 35 languages. After you finish the lessons, submit your work for personalized feedback from other community members, including teachers, native speakers and language experts.

Besides encouragement to continue, this feedback may include information about the culture, extra exercises and mini lessons as well as speaking tips. When you master the content in the free section, you can choose to pay a small fee to access premium materials, or earn points by helping review other members’ work.

2. Learn a Language

Learn a Language offers more than 1,400 free interactive flashcards to help you explore 19 languages and learn the most important vocabulary. The flashcards include 350 verbs plus slang, greetings and survival expressions so that you can make a great first impression when you put your new skills to use.

3. MyLanguages

Want to learn a more obscure language? MyLanguages might be the place to start; the site offers free content for a whopping 95 languages. For each one, you’ll find pages dedicated to the language’s alphabet, numbers, useful phrases, common topics, grammar, audio clips and a dictionary.

4. Podcasts

When I ventured overseas to work abroad, I wanted to learn the language at my own pace and convenience. I found a free podcast I listened to while working out, cooking, sitting in my office and cleaning the house.

While a lot of these podcasts are tied back to a paid subscription, beginners can get a lot of value from the free content alone. A quick search in iTunes will help you find language-learning podcasts and general content one, in your target language.

Benny Lewis, who’s well known for his ability to become conversationally fluent in three months, recommends free language-learning podcasts from Innovative Language. For more options, check out this list of 10 podcasts, featuring both language-specific podcasts and those of interest to any language learner, from The Guardian.

5. Public Libraries

OK, you will have to go out of your house initially, but it’s a small price to pay for getting to use pricey language-learning materials for free for two or three weeks at a time.

Your public library probably has shelves of tangible materials including print books, audio CDs and DVDs. Granted, a small-town library won’t have as much to offer as one in a metropolitan area, but you’re not out of luck just yet. You can usually access the catalog for the whole library district and request materials through interlibrary loan. In addition, more libraries are beginning to offer online access to audio books and materials, including language-learning programs like Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur. Ask a librarian to help you register with the online catalog so you can download audio files to your computer or mobile device.

Language Apps

Study on the go with these language-learning apps for your smartphone or tablet.

6. Duolingo

Duolingo helps you learn one of 13 languages on your own or with friends. The team behind the app is working to add new languages as well, with seven currently in “hatching” mode.

This app is gamification at its best, since you’re working to complete levels and win competitions, making it very addictive. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing; a study shows that just 34 hours of studying with Duolingo is equivalent to an 11-week university classroom course.

7. Memrise

Memrise has nine languages plus computer and engineering courses. It has a fun garden-like theme; words you’re still learning are accompanied by a green stem, while those you’ve mastered have a fully blossomed flower.

Choose from a variety of courses in your target language, and then earn points as you work your way through the exercises. Accounts are free, though for a small monthly fee, you can get a premium account which analyzes your performance and provides extra exercises.

8. Busuu

Busuu says it has the world’s largest social network for learning a language, with some 50 million users worldwide learning 12 languages through interactive exercises. As you’d expect, their premium account offers a few additional features for a modest monthly fee. For languages the app hasn’t yet covered, there’s a forum for native speakers and learners to chat.

Your Turn: What are your favorite free or low-cost resources for learning a new language?

Charlotte Edwards is a freelance personal finance and parenting writer whose work has appeared in Incomes Abroad, International Living, Hawaii Parent and My Kids’ Adventures. She’s the wife of a great penny-pinching guy, and mom of two kiddos who are learning about saving and wise spending by earning commission for housework.

The post 8 Free Tools to Help You Learn a New Language appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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