County to auction land near Laughlin for solar development

Clark County officials hope to spur solar energy development on thousands of acres of county-owned land near Laughlin, after a larger effort to boost development fizzled.

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17 creative ways to save money at Disneyland

The “happiest place on earth” is a top destination on many families’ bucket lists, though admittedly, it’s not the most budget-friendly vacation spot. However, if you plan ahead, this magical, unforgettable destination doesn’t have to put a large dent in your budget.

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Confederate flag controversy has rebel-themed items flying off shelves

As national debate swirls around the Confederate flag, Las Vegas business owners say products with its emblem are suddenly hot sellers.

Source Business http://ift.tt/1gfdkgy

Investing AND Borrowing Through Prosper

Want to know how to avoid your bank? If so, read on…..

Founded in 2005, Prosper is the first peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace in the US.

Since it began, it has funded loans totaling more than $3 billion to more than 250,000 members.

As a P2P platform, Prosper brings borrowers and investors together, in a lending arrangement that eliminates the middleman from the transaction entirely.

That “middleman” is the banker.

By taking that function out of process, Prosper allows both borrower and lender to come together to create a mutually beneficial financial arrangement.

Borrowers can take loans ranging from $2,000 to $35,000, and for terms of either three years or five years. Individual investors can invest as little as $25 in any one loan, which enables them to diversify their holdings over many different loans.

Prosper acts as the servicing agent on the loans, handling the technical details of each loan, collecting payments, and remitting repayments to investors. Legally known as Prosper Funding LLC, Prosper is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prosper Marketplace, Inc.

Is Prosper Legit?

In one word YES!  Prosper has been around for ten years now.  In the world of the Internet that is an eternity.  As we cover the reviews of Prosper for borrowers and lenders you will see that this is a well maintained and viable way to invest and borrow money.  Prosper is subject to state and federal regulations, just like any loan producing organization is.  To put an even more legitimate light on the company, all loans that are originated through Prosper.com are made by WebBank.  This is an industrial bank that is chartered in Utah and a member of the FDIC.

On a more personal level, I have personally been investing in Prosper for several years now.  A couple of years ago I started a comparison of Prosper vs. Lending Club and had very good results from both companies on my investments.  Lending Club is the number one competitor to prosper in the peer to peer loan market.  I have had very good luck with them and you can use my Lending Club review to do a full comparison of the two.

Investing Through Prosper

Borrowers come to the platform and choose a loan amount and a loan purpose, and then post their loan listing on the site. This gives investors an opportunity to review the loan listings to determine if it meets their criteria. Once a lender (or more likely, a group of lenders) agrees to fund a loan, the loan is formally created.

As an investor, your participation is very simple. You determine your investment criteria, choose the loans that you want to invest in, and borrower payments are then direct deposited into your Prosper account. You will have an opportunity to earn returns on fixed income type investments that are much higher than what you can find on fixed income investments like certificates of deposit or Treasury bills.

Open an Investment Account with Prosper

Investor Requirements

Prosper requires you to be a US resident, at least 18 years of age, and to have a valid Social Security number.

There are also various state requirements, that vary depending upon which state you live in. Typical requirements include a minimum income of $70,000 per year and/or a minimum net worth of $250,000. It’s also typical for states to require that you need to purchase notes in an amount that is no greater than 10% of your investment net worth.

Prosper IRA

You can use your Prosper investment account for an IRA, just as you would any other type of investment vehicle. You can either fund the account directly, or you can transfer money from another IRA into your Prosper IRA. You can accomplish either simply by completing the Prosper IRA input page.

Choosing Notes to Invest In

This process is made easier with Prosper’s Quick Invest feature. Using this tool, you can establish your specific investment criteria and in which you define what type of loans are acceptable to you. Quick Invest will sift through the list of potential loans, and identify those loans that most closely approximate your criteria.

Once the narrow list of loans appears, you will have the opportunity to either confirm the entire set of loans to invest in immediately, or you can do a deeper review of each individual loan and choose them one by one. This gives you complete control over which loans you will invest in.

To give you a good idea as to the types of loans that are available, you can check out the Browse Listings page and see what’s available.

Collecting Investment Returns

There’s one important aspect in which P2P loans are different from traditional fixed income investments, and that is that they are self-amortizing. While you will receive monthly payments on each loan that you hold in your Prosper portfolio, it’s important to understand that each payment comprises both interest and principal, and will pay off the loan completely in either three or five years.

What this means is that if you invest $1,000 into a single five year note, at the end of five years, the loan will be completely paid off. Unlike a certificate of deposit, the payments are not exclusively interest, and you will not receive your original investment back at the end of the term. Since it is paid off, the loan no longer exists.

This will also affect your rate of return. Unless you reinvest your loan repayments into new notes, your interest income gradually decline as the loan portfolio you’re invested in slowly amortizes. Reinvestment will be a priority if you want to keep your rate of return high.

Loan Types and Loan Grading

Loans are graded based on credit grading and loan term. AA is the highest grade, while HR is the lowest. Loan pricing is also based on the term of the loan, which is either three years or five years. A five-year loan will be considered to be higher risk than a three-year, and will require a slightly higher price.

Rates charged can vary from a low of 5.32% for a AA grade for a three year loan, to 35.97% for an HR grade on a three year loan. But just keep in mind that these rate ranges are the extremes, and not the averages.

Trading Notes Before they Mature

Prosper does offer you an opportunity to trade your notes before their respective maturity dates. You can do this through Folio Investing. For a fee of 1% of the face amount of each note, Folio Investing will handle the purchase and sale of existing notes.

In order to take advantage of this function, you’ll have to open up a brokerage account with FOLIO Investing through which you will handle your transactions. Folio Investing will return any money or notes that result from transactions, to your Prosper account.

This feature will enable you to adjust your portfolio position at any time you like, even after investing in a given set of loans.

Risks

When you invest in loans through Prosper, or any P2P platform, there is the constant risk of loan defaults. At virtually all loan grades, at least some loans will not perform. There is no FDIC insurance to cover loan losses at Prosper either. But nowhere is the correlation between risk and reward more apparent.

You can get a solid idea as to the performance of each loan grade level by checking out Prosper’s Marketplace Performance page. As you will see, the returns vary widely from one credit grade to another, in order to make a generous allowance for loan defaults.

As you can see from the first chart on the page:

• Seasoned Returns as of September 30, 2014 – For Loans Originated July 2009 – November 2013
• Actual Effective Yield (center column) averages 15.94%, with a range of between 7.09% and 26.81%.

But see also that the Actual Loss Rate in the next column averages 6.62% across all loan grades, with a range of between 1.61% for the highest loan grade (AA), to 16.04% for the lowest loan grade (HR).

The actual return that you will get on your investment is found in the Actual Return column – that’s actual effective yield, less the actual loss rate. This represents your true return. The average across all loan grades is 9.33%, but there’s a big spread between the highest credit grades and the lowest – and it favors the lower credit grades.

Notice that while the actual return on AA rated loans is 5.48%, the actual return on E rated loans is 11.35% – the highest net return of all credit grades, and more than twice the return on AA loans.

The moral of the story is that it f you plan to maximize your investment return, you will need to invest generously in the lower grade loans. Yes, there’s a greater risk of loan default, but rates are much higher to compensate, and will provide a much higher net yield to you.

Minimizing Investment Risks

Risk grades aside, there are ways that you can reduce your overall investment risk in a portfolio of Prosper loans. The first most obvious way to do this is through diversification. Since the minimum investment per loan is just $25, you could spread a $5,000 investment across as many as 200 different notes. That will minimize the fallout of any single loan going into default.

You can also set more conservative criteria in your loan selection. One way to do this is by favoring notes that represent the refinance of existing debt, rather than new loans taken for acquisition purposes. You can also establish criteria for employment that requires that a borrower has more time on the job. Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is still another possibility. By setting it below 30% or even 25% of stable monthly income, you can greatly reduce the chances of loan default.

The lower than your default rate is on your loan portfolio, the higher your net return on investment will be.

Investor Fees

Prosper charges no upfront fees in order to join the platform as an investor. They do charge an annual loan servicing fee equal to 1% of the outstanding loan principal balance of the loan prior to the applying the current payment.

In addition, in the event any of your loans becomes past-due, and a collection agency must be brought into the picture, the investor will be charged for the collection fee, but only in the event that the past-due loan proceeds have been recovered.

Overall, Prosper offers investors an opportunity to earn fairly stable rates of return that are much higher than what you can get with other fixed income investments, such as money market funds, certificates of deposit, or Treasury securities.

Borrowing Through Prosper

Just as you can lend on Prosper, you can also borrow. You may find that the rate and fees that you pay on a P2P loan is less than what you will pay with a traditional loan.

How the Loan Process Works

Applying for a loan is a simple multi-step process, that looks something like this:

• Create your loan listing – you provide basic information, then Prosper will obtain your credit score and determine your rate and terms.
• Based on your credit score and other information Prosper will obtain, you will be assigned a credit grade, from AA to HR.
• You then create a loan listing which is your request for a loan. You will add a description of your loan purpose and financial situation. It will appear on the platform to be reviewed by investors.
• Once the loan listing is fully funded and your information has passed Prosper’s verification process, you will receive your loan.
• The listing will stay active for 14 days, or until the loan funds.
• Loan funds are deposited directly into your bank account within days.
• You begin making your monthly payments.

Open a Personal Loan Account with Prosper

Loan Terms and Rates

As mentioned earlier, loan amounts range from $2,000 to $35,000, with terms of three or five years. All loans are fixed rate, fixed monthly payment, and no prepayment penalties. That part’s pretty simple. More complicated are loan rates, since they are based on your credit grade.

Credit grades can run anywhere from AA – the highest – to NR – the lowest. There are 26 levels within the range, and there is a rate associated with each level. Pricing can also be determined based on the term of the loan, as well as the number of previous Prosper loans that you have had in the past.

At present, the lowest rate on a AA loan grade with a three-year term is 5.32%. The highest rate on an HR loan grade with a three-year term is 35.97%. You can check out the rates for each credit grade on the Personal Loan Rates and Fees page.

Origination fee. When you borrow through Prosper, you will be subject to an origination fee. The fee is based on your risk grade, as well as the term of your loan, and look something like this:

• Risk grade AA – 1% to 2% for a three year term, 3% for a five year term
• Risk grade A – 4% for a three-year term, 5% for a five-year term
• Risk grade B – 5% for either a three-year or five-year term
• Risk grades C through HR – 5% for either a three-year or five-year term

Prosper Loan Types

Prosper offers loans for the following purposes:

• Debt consolidation loans – combine credit card debts into one, single fixed rate loan
• Get a home improvement loan – loan is not secured by your home
• Short-term and bridge loans – short term funds for any purpose
• Auto and vehicle loans – unsecured, and with no vehicle eligibility requirements
• Small business loans – these can even be used to start a new business
• Baby and adoption loans – borrow up to $25,000, unsecured, to cover expenses
• Engagement ring financing – get loan funds without using the ring as collateral
• Special occasion loans – for weddings, graduations, or even a birthday party
• Friends and family loans – use Prosper to set up a loan between you and a friend
• Green loans – use to install solar panels for heating, hot water, or electricity
• Military loans – use the proceeds for any purpose, and you don’t need to apply in person

While these are specific purposes for loans, the basic loan set up remains the same. Each loan is fixed rate, unsecured, payable over three or five years, and has no prepayment penalties.

If you’ve been having difficulty getting a loan from banks or other traditional sources, check out Prosper, and see if you can’t do better. I’m betting that you can.

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Love Vintage Clothes? Here’s How One Vintage Etsy Seller Turns a Profit

What if you could shop for a living? No, we’re not talking mystery shopping, or even working as a personal stylist. This job entails shopping at thrift stores, garage sales and even other people’s closets.

Vintage has long been back in style, especially because every piece is so unique. If you find a piece of vintage clothing from the ‘50s, ‘60s or ‘70s, there’s a good chance you’ve found the last one on Earth. And if you learn how to find those one-of-a-kind, highly sought-after vintage pieces in the wild, you can resell them online to make a profit.

Sound easy? That’s not entirely the case. Selling vintage clothing on Etsy isn’t a way to make a quick buck. But when you have a passion for paying homage to fashion of decades past, the work doesn’t (always) feel like a job.

That’s exactly the case for Lora Conrad, the owner of Hungry Heart Vintage. Over the past few years, she’s built her Etsy shop into a profitable business. Conrad sells about 20-30 pieces a month through her shop, as well as a few more through private purchases.

She gave us some insight into how she got started, how she finds and prices her pieces, and how she’s built her Etsy business into a job she loves going to every single day.

Scrounge High and Low

When asked how she finds her pieces, Conrad says, “Lots and lots of scrounging!” Estate sales, flea markets, garage sales, antique malls in the middle of nowhere, you name it.  Conrad is always on the hunt for new pieces she can breathe new life into and sell.

One surprising way she acquires new pieces is through private appointments. “People don’t realize that, much of the time, I get my inventory because someone has just passed away,” she said.

“Private buying appointments are by far my favorite ways of acquiring vintage,” she said. “I love taking the time to sit down with people as we go through their old clothes, or more often, their late loved one’s clothes. I get to learn all about the women who wore them, and when I leave I feel like I’m leaving with more than just dresses. I’m leaving their homes with bits of their family history that will live on through others.”

When she first started selling vintage, Conrad didn’t anticipate this would be part of her job. “But it makes me happy when I can help people through that time, even in such a miniscule way,” she said.

Embrace Seasonality

Swimsuit season arrived a couple months ago — including in Conrad’s shop. She constantly keeps her shop fresh and lists what’s in season.

That means swimsuits and party dresses in the summer, cardigans and scarves in the fall. If she finds a stellar vintage coat on a summer thrifting adventure, she won’t post it until cooler weather arrives. It’s not just that she can get more money when an item is in season. It also keeps her selling costs as low as possible.

Etsy charges $0.20 for each listing. If it doesn’t sell within four months, it costs another $0.20 to relist the item. By posting in-season pieces that will likely sell within four months, Conrad only needs to pay the listing fee once.

She also runs promotions, especially during holidays like Black Friday. Running a 20% off promotion during the already high-shopping holiday season brings more customers to her shop and moves more product off her virtual shelves. While this entails much more work — more shipping, more back and forth with customers, and more time to keep her store stocked — Conrad finds the extra revenue she makes during this time provides a nice buffer for the post-holiday shopping slump.

Build Your Brand

Conrad doesn’t spend all her time on her Etsy shop. She’s also active on Facebook and has 1,700 Instagram followers, where she shares not only new listings, but also sneak peeks of what’s coming soon and behind-the-scenes photos of her workday and “shop assistants” (a dog and two cats.) This puts a face on Hungry Heart Vintage, so her customers can get to know the woman behind the shop.

Though it’s more difficult to track the value of the time she spends building the Hungry Heart brand, Conrad does occasionally make sales through Instagram.

Conrad also blogs about how to blend vintage and modern style. She’s kind of like a vintage clothing advisor. “Vintage clothing isn’t just for vintage enthusiasts, and just because something is old doesn’t mean it has to be styled that way,” Conrad said in a recent blog post.

Dedicate Yourself to the Details

Glowing reviews attract more people to your shop. And on the other side of the coin, a bad review can turn someone away. The best way to acquire those happy customers, then entice them to leave you a five-star review? Go above and beyond their expectations.

To begin with, Conrad spends a great deal of time preparing clothes for sale. Cleaning and repairing is time consuming. “Some pieces need to be soaked and hand washed several times to get the decades of dirt out,” she said.

Then Conrad gets extremely detailed in how she describes each item. She includes measurements as well as information about fit, material, brand and condition. She always lets customers know about any imperfections and provides a range of photos for each item.

After the sale, Conrad artfully packages her orders and writes notes to thank her customers.

“Packing takes quite a bit of time, but that’s on me,” Conrad said. “I love packing up orders and making them look pretty, so I’m happy to spend a lot of time on that.”

With review after review from her customers thanking her for a pleasant shopping experience, Conrad has built the trust that will bring new customers to her shop.

Develop a Pricing Formula

One of the trickiest parts of selling vintage clothes is pricing. Some pieces are more rare than others, so are worth more. Some pieces Conrad finds for cheap, others she has to pay more for up front. Many require a great deal of time and money (dry cleaning, new zippers or buttons) to bring up to selling condition.

So how much does she make on the stuff she resells?

“It’s hard to say from piece to piece,” Conrad said. “Sometimes you find a treasure on its way to someone’s dumpster or in your neighborhood thrift. Other times, between the cost of purchasing the items, plus the cost of cleaning supplies or having it professionally cleaned, repairs, the mark up is fairly slim.”

Since so much wildly varies in how much she pays and invests in each piece, Conrad doesn’t aim for a certain margin every time. And she doesn’t even bother with trying to factor in her own labor hours. “The only formula I use to mark up items is, L=0. That’s ‘Lora pays herself no money per hour for her labor.’ “

Just like other successful Etsy sellers, Conrad does not deny how much work she puts into finding, preparing and selling her pieces. “I’ve never tracked the hours it takes to see a piece through from start to finish, but I know I’m done when my lower back hurts.”

But as a self-defined “independent, stubborn, loner workaholic,” she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Starting a business from nothing is totally terrifying, but the moment I made my first sale I knew I did the right thing.”

Your Turn: Do you sell vintage clothing online? What advice do you have for new Etsy sellers?

Betsy Mikel is a Chicago-based freelance copywriter. She loves biking all over every city she visits to find its best taqueria.

The post Love Vintage Clothes? Here’s How One Vintage Etsy Seller Turns a Profit appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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10 ways to save money in July

Climatologists agree that July 24 is the hottest day of the year, but the tenth of every month during the summer feels the hottest to me … that’s the day our electric bill arrives in the mail. Follow these tips to stay cool and save some cash this month.

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Protection for savers to fall by £10,000

Mark King

savingsjar.jpg

The safety net enjoyed by savers in the UK is to be cut back by £10,000, the Bank of England has announced.

The safety net enjoyed by savers in the UK is to be cut back by £10,000, the Bank of England has announced.

Currently, an individual saver's money is protected by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to the tune of £85,000 should the bank or building society they have their deposit with go bust.

Protection for savers to fall by £10,000

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The safety net enjoyed by savers in the UK is to be cut back by £10,000, the Bank of England has announced. Currently, an individual saver's money is protected by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to the tune of £85,000 should the bank or building society they have their deposit with go bust. But that level is to be reduced to £75,000 from 1 January 2016, the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority has announced. The FSCS says savers therefore have, "six months to spread their money around to keep within [the new limit]". The change comes under an EU ruling (known as the European Union Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive), the FSCS said, which is making a compensation limit of €100,000 (or local currency equivalent) standard across Europe. This itself comes as a result of a huge depreciation (16% at the time of writing) of the euro, largely brought about by the crisis in the Eurozone due to the Greek debt situation. Absurd decision Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Committee, blasted the decision, calling it "absurd". He added: "It makes no sense to fix deposit guarantees, which need to be stable to win public confidence and which should be providing certainty and predictability for ordinary savers, to a volatile variable like the exchange rate. "In this respect, the EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive is defective. It has been designed without adequate consideration for the requirements of those, like the UK, in the EU but outside the Eurozone. By one means or another, the Directive needs to be injected with a dose of common sense." Rhydian Lewis, founder and chief executive of peer-to-peer specialist RateSetter, said the FSCS was no longer fit for purpose. "Moving the goalposts in this way with a lower level of protection and higher charges while offering no improvement to the pitiful returns for savers only strengthens the case to refresh the FSCS," he said. "RateSetter is of the view that the one-size fits all approach of the FSCS is no longer fit for purpose and results in poor value. This is why we have put in place our own bespoke, self-sufficient system - a Provision Fund which has ensured that nobody investing in our market has lost a penny whilst allowing them to enjoy healthy returns." The FSCS did, however, announce that people with higher balances will be protected up to £1 million for up to six months, giving them a chance to better spread their cash around different institutions to achieve a greater degree of protection. Tyrie welcomed this announcement. The FSCS also said that large companies and small local authorities (such as parish councils) will now benefit from FSCS protection from 3 July 2015, up to the new limit of £75,000.

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7 Low-Cost Ways to Throw an Awesome Kid’s Birthday Party

My boys are still young enough — they’ll be one and three years old this fall — that birthdays don’t have to be a big deal. In an age where parents often spend hundreds of dollars (or more!) on birthday parties and elaborate, Pinterest-inspired themes, though, I feel pressured to put on a big to-do for the little guys.

Unfortunately, our budget doesn’t allow for extravagant cakes or expensive locations. Instead, I have to get creative. Here are seven ways I’ve found I can save money and still throw awesome birthday parties for my boys.

1. DIY Your Invitations

You don’t need to be a creative genius to make your own adorable invitations. Etsy shops offer a number of printable birthday invitations for just a few dollars that fit just about any theme.

Want to save even more? Use a site like Evite to send electronic invitations for free.

2. Find an Affordable Location

We have a tiny house and the idea of entertaining a dozen or more people in our limited space makes me want to cry. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a great party!

Community spaces, like firehouses, local farms and petting zoos, community centers, the library, and even pools and parks, offer affordable options for parties. Make some phone calls, ask around and find a location that fits your budget.

3. Cut Your List

It’s normal to want your entire family to be there when you celebrate your baby’s first birthday. And your social five-year-old may think she needs her whole kindergarten class at her party. But one of the easiest ways to reduce birthday party costs is to keep your guest list short.

Celebrate with your immediate family and make it a special, intimate party. Or let your child choose five to 10 friends to celebrate with. If you decide to splurge on an older child’s special event party like go-cart racing or bowling, limit the number of guests based on your budget. Tell the child to choose his two or three closest friends to share his special day.

4. Make Your Own Cake

Whether you make it from scratch or from a box, making your own cake can save you a lot of money. Those of us who aren’t professional bakers can find a lot of simple decorating ideas on Pinterest.

If a cake seems too hard, cupcakes are perfect solution! They’re just the right serving size for little ones, and they’re easy to decorate in most themes just by changing the frosting color and adding some decorations from the dollar store.

5. Skip the Goody Bags

These birthday party staples usually end up cluttering the guests’ houses with cheap plastic toys. Instead, give each child a small gift (bonus points for linking it to your theme) that you can find (or make) for a couple of dollars per guest. Some ideas: coloring books and crayons, matchbox cars, play dough or homemade cake pops.

6. Time It Right

Time the party between meals so you’re not obligated to provide lunch or dinner. Instead, offer a few fun finger foods as snacks.

If you’re the creative type, you can make snacks that follow your party theme. If not, cheese and crackers, a fruit plate and some veggies and dip will make most kids just as happy as a fancy spread.

7. Make It Quick

The longer the party, the more you’re going to need to spend on food, activities and entertainment. So keep things short and sweet to save yourself money — and headaches. Younger kids get overstimulated and overtired quickly. Keep their parties to a maximum of two or three hours. For older kids, four or five hours is a good limit.

This year, I’m putting these tips into action for our birthday celebrations. We’re planning a joint party for our boys, since their birthdays are only a month apart. We’ll have a few family members over for cake and ice cream after lunch. There will be balloons to bounce around, maybe a few streamers and some gifts from the guests for the boys to open. Then it will be time for everyone to head home.

It will be a short and sweet, but it’s still a celebration for the kiddos to enjoy! And as a bonus, I won’t be worried that we’ve busted our budget by splurging on unnecessary decorations or food for a huge list of guests.

If you keep these tips in mind when planning your next birthday party, you’ll be able to stick to your budget, too. Which means you’ll also be able to relax and enjoy the celebration instead of stressing about how much you’ve spent!

Your Turn: What tricks do you use to save money while still throwing awesome birthday parties for the kids?

Ami Spencer Youngs is a freelance writer and yoga teacher, raising her career alongside two boys under three. Learn more about her life and her writing at writingherlife.com or on Twitter at @writingherlife.

The post 7 Low-Cost Ways to Throw an Awesome Kid’s Birthday Party appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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13 Important Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Before Blogging

What’s the most important factor of every blog post?

Quality.

But sometimes, it’s easy to find yourself in a grind, cranking out content because you think you’re supposed to.

That’s when quality suffers.

When it comes to blog posts, it’s really all or nothing. A “good” post will get the same engagement and traffic as a “bad” post.

You have to create outstanding posts on a regular basis for your content to make a real difference.

Willpower can help you create these posts, but studies have shown that people have limited willpower.

Did you know that of 86% of marketers who use content marketing, only 30% have a consistent content strategy?

These marketers don’t have the systems in place to maximize the return on their efforts.

If you are one of the 70% of marketers creating more content this year than last year, you need to ensure you maintain a high quality writing standard throughout your content creation.

To help you maintain that quality, I’m giving you 13 questions you should ask yourself before and after writing a blog post.

Not all of these will apply to your specific business, but most will. Once you read through this article, download this simple checklist of questions to keep you accountable. Go through them for every post to ensure your continuous success. 

1. “Who is this post for?”

Have you heard that when you write a post, you should do it as if you’re writing to one specific person?

It’s true. That’s how you craft an article that really resonates with someone.

If you run a new or small blog, this is a fairly easy question to answer: write to your target audience. Before each post, think of your customer avatar, and write to him/her.

But what about once you grow?

All of a sudden, you’ve attracted different types of people with one or more shared interests.

For example, Quick Sprout readers are made up of many types of people. Some are beginners trying to learn about marketing; others are employed professional marketers; and yet others are trying to market their own small businesses. And there are a few more distinct types of readers on top of that.

When I write a post, I know that it’s likely not going to resonate with everyone—that only happens once in a blue moon. But that’s okay.

Most often, a piece of content will speak to one or two segments of my audience. As long as I change it up, they all will find at least a few articles per month they will enjoy. This is another reason why consistent content creation is important.

Let’s look at some examples from Quick Sprout…

How to Make Custom Images for Your Blog Posts Without Hiring a Designer

Many beginner marketers don’t have the budget to hire a designer. This post was for them. Some small business owners might also find this article useful.

How to Come Up with Winning A/B Tests Using Data

This post was not meant for newbie marketers. While they will learn a few things, they won’t be able to apply them right away. This post was for marketers working with a significant amount of traffic and looking to increase already substantial profits.

Is It Worth Speaking at Conferences? 

There is a very small portion of marketers who have the opportunity or desire to speak at conferences, and yet I wrote this post—for them. Some beginner marketers might find it interesting and consider speaking at conferences in the future, but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to apply any of the insights right away.

If you happen to run a blog with decent traffic, make sure you create detailed reader personas you can target with each post. Don’t let any important segment feel neglected as you plan your content schedule.

2. “What is the purpose of this post?”

Now that you know who you’re writing the post for, you need to decide what you want the post to accomplish.

In general, a post has 4 purposes:

• to entertain
• to solve a problem
• to encourage discussion
• to teach (not always the same as solving a problem)

Purpose #1: Entertain

Almost all posts contain entertaining parts, but their main goal is not entertainment. Conversely, some posts have a main goal of being interesting and entertaining, with only a small educational part.

Example: The $100,000 Challenge: May Update

You might learn a few things from each challenge update, but more than anything, they are entertaining. A large portion of Quick Sprout readers have never built a site that’s profitable, and they have a great interest in trying or seeing how it’s done. This post serves as an inspiration to help them move towards their own blogging goals.

Purpose #2: Solve a problem

The fundamental reason why most blogs are created in the first place is to solve a problem for a specific type of reader. That problem is typically large and complex. Each blog post has the opportunity to solve a smaller problem within that overall problem.

Example: How to Engage and Persuade People Through Storytelling

Most marketers know the power of storytelling but struggle to implement it. This is a problem. This particular blog post shows them how to solve this specific problem.

Purpose #3: Encourage discussion

In order to build a community, you need to get your readers to talk. There are many ways to do so, but the main ones are to pose a question or make an outrageous claim or observation.

Example: How to Make $100,000 a Month Within 1 Year

This is a very short post where I laid out the challenge. Not only did I claim the ability to reach a huge goal, but I also asked for your opinions to decide which site I should create. This post is one of the most commented on Quick Sprout with over 2,300 comments.

Purpose #4: Teach

Solving problems and teaching are closely related and often represented in the same blog post. I’d classify teaching as sharing general knowledge your readers need to possess before they can address specific problems. Both are important if your readers are to reach their overall goals (the reason you started your blog).

Example: How to Avoid a Google Penalty

In this article, my readers learn both what causes Google penalties and what precautions they need to take to avoid them. Technically, the reader doesn’t have a problem yet as they don’t have a penalty. In this instance, you could think of teaching as problem prevention.

Multiple Purposes

Some posts combine multiple purposes. For example, the post How Spending $162,301.42 on Clothes Made Me $692,500 is both entertaining and educational as it teaches how much looking your best really means (that sounds more shallow than it is!).

3. “Why will my readers care?”

There is a small but important difference between this question and the previous—“what is the purpose of this post?”—question.

The previous question is about the purpose of the post from your perspective.

This question, however, addresses your readers’ point of view. It will help you frame the blog post.

For example, you may solve a problem with a post, but the reader doesn’t care about the problem. They care about the pain the problem causes.

Why does that matter?

Because there are 2 types of pain points, and both need to be approached differently when writing a blog post.

Type 1: Acute

Acute pains are those that hurt now. You will go to great lengths to solve them. If you find a blog post that tells you how to solve those hurts now, you’re happy to read it. These types of pains (like fixing a Google penalty) are straightforward to write about.

Type 2: Chronic

We often live with a minor pain that comes and goes. It’s not always severe enough to seek out a solution. From a marketing point of view, for example, such a pain might be the stress that comes with a hectic publishing schedule and subpar results.

The problem with trying to solve these pains for people is that almost everyone underestimates how important they are (because they don’t hurt that much right now). Furthermore, we feel that we can live with these pains.

When your blog post solves a chronic pain, you must first focus on making your reader feel the pain before you show them the solution.

If I’m writing about creating a content schedule, for instance, I’m not going to start the post with jumping right into the step-by-step process. I might not even include it in the headline as some people might dismiss it, thinking “I don’t really need that right now.”

Instead, I’d start by illustrating the pain. I’d cite credible statistics about how the lack of a content schedule is the number one reason for failed blogs. I’d describe in detail that without a content schedule, you will never achieve the results of the blogs you admire.

Once a reader relives the pain they’ve felt before, then they are receptive to a solution you present. Then it’s your job to present a solution that actually solves the problem for them.

4. “What is my unique angle?”

Over 7 billion people live on this planet. Most are with reasonably similar points of view.

An original thought is rare.

Type in almost any topic in Google, and you will find hundreds of thousands of relevant articles.

Does that mean you shouldn’t bother blogging at all? No.

Just because a topic has been written about thousands of times doesn’t mean it’s been written in a way that can help your audience in the best way.

You may be able to connect personal experience, opinion, or other seemingly unrelated topics to offer a new perspective. And this perspective is valuable.

When I search for “How to write a good blog post,” I get 270,000 results. But even in the first few results, I can see different angles presented by different authors:

• how to do it when you lack motivation
• how to do it fast
• how to write so that people don’t just skim

In fact, I’ve written my own take on this topic in my guide to writing a data-driven post.

So, how do you find an angle that no one else has written on?

It starts with research

Before writing any post, read through as many of the best articles on the subject as possible. If you don’t, you might be repeating one of them without even knowing it.

This happens all the time in the startup community. Someone believes they have a novel idea—all because they didn’t research enough to see they already have competition.

Once you know what’s out there, you can put your own perspective on the subject in a number of ways:

• improve upon an existing angle – e.g., “write a good blog post as fast as a professional typist”
• add personal stories – all personal experience is unique
• add your opinion – while it shouldn’t be all about your opinion, your readers follow you because they value what you think
• combine two topics – e.g., What Einstein Taught Me About Death

Whichever you choose, find a way to present an original angle. The simplest, although not most comprehensive, way to double-check you’ve found a unique angle is to simply search for your headline in quotations. You have a unique angle if you can’t find any other results.

5. “What’s the best way to present my point?”

Throughout history, authors have expressed themselves through many different forms:

• poetry
• song
• plays
• books
• journals
• stone tablets…

Each form has its own advantages and disadvantages as a means of expressing a message. Some are more entertaining than others, while others are more informative. Some are great for long messages, and others are great for short ones.

When it comes to a blog post, you have a variety of formats to incorporate into your post:

• text
• images/gifs
• video
• infographics
• audio
• embedded social media (tweets, slideshows, etc.)
• formatting (bullets, bold, font size, etc.)

They each have a specific purpose, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Text

Almost all blogs are built on text. It’s by far the simplest, fastest, and cheapest way to convey a message. But it’s also often not very effective at getting messages across. Reading takes a lot of time, and people can process images up to 60,000 times faster than words.

Images

You can’t create a blog post with just standalone images, but they can be used to enhance your content. Images can quickly convey data in a clear way or provide simple instructions that would otherwise require complex text descriptions. There are many types of images you can use in your posts: charts, screenshots, animations, and more.

Sites, such as Buzzfeed, often base entire articles on images or gifs illustrating their points:

Video

Some things need to be learned visually, and images may not be enough to help with that. If you’re giving an overview of a tool, it can take several images to show what you need to show. In contrast, a video that’s 30 seconds to 2 minutes long can often show the features in an easier-to-understand way.

Infographics

If you know me at all, you know I love infographics. Not only do infographics generate more shares than regular posts, they also allow you to quickly highlight the most important aspects of a topic.

As a bonus, it’s very easy to write a post about a topic and then create an infographic with the key takeaways that can be used for another post.

Audio

Podcasting has exploded in the past few years. There were over 1 billion podcast episode downloads in 2014. But that doesn’t mean you need to create a traditional podcast if your readers like audio. On some posts on the Crazy Egg blog, we embed a short “podcast” that summarizes the content in the article. Anyone who doesn’t like to read can listen instead.

Interactive content

Interactive content is still fairly underutilized, but it’s a great way to get readers to engage with your blog post. If you can find a way to get a reader to take action on something you mention, it can help illustrate a point you’re trying to make.

Quizzes and calculators help readers learn and apply something immediately. For example, SilkRoad built a truly ugly calculator for their homepage to show prospects how much money they could save on their hiring and training procedures.

Formatting

Decide which points are most important and need to be emphasized. Format the post so that these are the biggest and bolded on the page. In addition, you can (and should) use formatting to make your article more readable to lower your bounce rate.

Overall, you can prove your point in many ways. Think about which ones you can create and which ones will get your message across more effectively. Don’t be afraid to combine them if you believe it will be most effective.

6. “Does any research need to be done ahead of time?”

The reason that most marketers “get away” with not having a content schedule is because most of the time, they can write a post last minute.

I still don’t think that’s a good idea for a number of reasons, but aside from that, you can’t always write at the last minute.

This means you’ll either have to publish a subpar post (useless) or postpone posting altogether, which can have consequences of its own.

The reason why you can’t always write a post at the last minute is because some of them require work before you even start writing.

Most posts don’t require too much work. I typically spend about an hour researching my topic and finding useful statistics that support my points.

But not all research is like that.

If you need to interview someone, especially someone busy, it can take weeks to schedule a time when you’re both available.

If you need to collect specific data for a post, such as the results of a split test, that also can take weeks or months. For example, Bryan Harris split-tested the effects of removing his sidebar on VideoFruit. He couldn’t have done that overnight.

What if you need to analyze that data? That can take even longer. For example, HubSpot, among other companies, frequently publishes massive reports of benchmarks. The team needs to spend weeks or months collecting the data and finding important trends that can be presented as statistics.

Ideally, you should ask this question when you first come up with the post idea. At the very least, ask it before you start writing so that you can complete all background work as soon as possible.

7. “Is my deadline reasonable?”

Before you start writing, you should always have a deadline—and a reasonable one at that.

If your deadline is too short, you’ll end up rushing the post and producing mediocre content. We all know how that goes: less traffic, less engagement, and fewer subscribers.

But having a deadline that’s too long isn’t good either.

Work fills the time allotted for it; that’s Parkinson’s law. Extra time gives you an excuse to slack off.

So what you really need is a reasonable deadline.

This means that this particular question has to be asked before you even start writing. It needs to be asked when you’re planning your content schedule.

Don’t have a content schedule? Make one. That’s the only way you’ll be able to produce great posts on a regular basis. It allows you to have a little buffer room in case a post takes longer than expected.

8. “Can I go the extra mile?”

To really stand out in the flood of content online, you need to write exceptional content.

Amazing content has to be many things:

• interesting
• useful
• actionable
• fun to read

Creating a great blog post is more like crafting a piece of art than simply producing a manual on how to solve a problem.

There are many ways to go the extra mile, but I’d like to highlight a few of my favorites.

a) Custom images

As discussed before, images can help you highlight and reinforce concepts. On top of that, they can be entertaining. Some blogs regularly use comics and images to illustrate key points:

b) Spreadsheets

If you’re writing a blog post that advocates using a spreadsheet to solve a problem, give your readers a sample or template. This will increase the chances of them taking action. You can even use this as a content upgrade.

c) Checklists

If you write a step-by-step guide, what’s more useful than a checklist? Create a simple checklist, and let your readers download it. Again, they will be more likely to use it and to associate any positive result that comes from its use with you.

d) Back up claims

When I write, I try to back up all statements with credible references. It’s the main principle of writing data-driven posts. References help readers trust you and your posts more than a simple opinion.

9. “How does this lead into my next post?”

At some point during the planning, writing, or editing process, ask yourself this question.

When you consider your next post, you have the opportunity to create cliffhangers. Make a note somewhere in the post about a related topic that you’ll be covering shortly in the future.

Additionally, knowing what you’ll be posting about next is extremely important if you’re about to launch a product. You need to write your post while keeping in mind what role it will play in your launch. It may be a case study, an educational post, or a post that highlights a chronic pain.

During the launch, you’ll email your subscribers a mixture of content and information about your product. It often makes sense to include links to recent blog posts to support your case studies or to educate subscribers—but only if you’ve planned relevant posts.

10. “How will I promote this post?”

Just like it’s a good idea to plan your content in advance, it’s also a good idea to plan your promotion.

Not all forms of content promotion need to be considered during the writing of your blog post, but some do.

One of my favorite tactics is to simply email everyone I mention in a post, letting them know that I enjoyed their particular post and that I linked to it in my article. Most of them will be happy to read it and share it with their audiences if they liked my post.

Before you publish your post, carefully go through it to see if you missed any opportunity to mention someone’s work.

Note that while you could mention someone for the sake of getting a bit of extra traffic, I do recommend linking only to posts and resources that add value to your post.

11. “Will I repurpose this post?”

Repurposing content is one of the best ways to bring down the cost of each individual piece of content you produce.

If you have a limited budget, this is how you can consistently publish high quality posts.

If you ask yourself this question before you start writing, it will make your life a lot easier.

How?

Imagine if you’re writing a blog post and also plan to turn it into an infographic. Instead of having to pull out all your stats and main points later, you can put them into a secondary text file as you’re writing the post.

In addition, you can paste the URLs that you’ll put at the bottom as your sources in that document instead of going through your blog post later to get them one by one.

12. “What do I want readers to do after reading this?”

Blogs can have many purposes, but each blog post should help you accomplish each one.

Let’s hope that by the end of a blog post, you’ve imparted some wisdom to your readers or discussed an important problem or topic.

There are two things you should include at the end of each post.

First, while you may think it’s obvious what your readers should do next, it usually isn’t that obvious to them.

You need to spell it out. Tell them exactly what they should do with the information in the post.

Secondly, include some sort of call to action (CTA). At this point, they’ve taken the time to read your whole post, so they obviously found it useful. This is your chance to ask for a small “payment” for the post.

Common CTAs include asking your readers to comment by answering a question (my favorite), asking them to share on social media, or asking them to sign up to your list.

You might find that one type of CTA is more important to your business than another, so focus on that, and mix in the others when appropriate.

13. “How will I measure success?”

One of the hardest things about blogging for a business is tracking the results.

Not all posts are created equal. Some take weeks to write, others take hours. Some have custom images, some don’t. And almost all posts address different topics, which makes them hard to compare.

While we generally look to see whether we increased the number of backlinks, comments, or shares over a long period of time, these metrics aren’t very useful when determining if a single post is successful or not.

But we also know that the vast majority of engagement or results come within the first week or two of publishing a post. That gives us a time frame we can use to evaluate the results of each post individually.

Before you write the post, and while you are editing the post, ask yourself how you will measure its success.

Some posts are made to generate links and social shares, e.g., roundup posts.

Others are made to generate discussion, e.g., my earlier example of my $100,000 per month challenge introduction.

Yet others are written to build relationships with influencers. A post can give you a reason to reach out and give them something of value.

You should regularly review the results of your past posts. The idea isn’t to deem each one a failure or success but to learn what does and doesn’t work for your business and your audience.

Conclusion

Nothing in this article is particularly complicated to apply—that’s the point.

These are simple questions you should ask yourself through your content creation process to make sure you don’t forget anything important.

I’ve put together a basic checklist you can print out and keep at your desk if you’d like: download it here.

I’ve said it before: consistency leads to success. Get in the habit of answering these questions for every post, and you will produce better content on a regular basis.

Now I have a question for you, which I’d like you to answer by leaving a comment below.

Which of the questions in this article is most important for your blog?

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The Power of Wi-Fi: Using Mobile To Drive Customer Acquisition And Loyalty

Columnist Allan Haims explores the benefits of in-store Wi-Fi for malls and retailers and how it can significantly boost customer engagement.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Win Free Money: Enter These Contests for $61,750 in Cold, Hard Cash

Everyone loves a good travel contest or two. But what’s even better than winning a dream vacation? Winning cold, hard cash.

Instead of coordinating with your honey to head to the Bahamas, squeezing a trip to Oregon into your already-packed schedule, or trying to mobilize the whole family to take advantage of the getaway you won, these contests simply reward you with cash.

Plus, as some have pointed out, when you win a trip, you’ll often need to pay taxes associated with your win. But when the prize is a check, you can easily cover those taxes before spending the rest on anything you please. And for those of you north of the border, some of these contests are open to Canadians.

Try your luck at winning some cash this summer through these contests.

1. Xome Home Remodel Sweepstakes

It might be called the “Xome Home Remodel Sweepstakes,” but you can use this prize any way you like — it’s a check for $25,000. What would you do with that money? Pay off your bills? Buy a new car? Go on an epic vacation?

Between now and July 31, you can enter Xome’s $25,000 giveaway sweepstakes once a day if you’re a U.S. legal resident aged 18 or older. To enter, just create a free Xome account. You can also earn two bonus entries per day by sharing the sweepstakes via Twitter, Pinterest or Google Plus, or downloading the real-estate-focused free Xome app (the link to download the app is on the entry form).

2. O’Reilly Auto Parts $10,000 Payment Payoff

O’Reilly Auto Parts is holding a $10,000 Payment Payoff Sweepstakes where they’ll give away $500 once a week for nine weeks, as well as a grand prize of $10,000.

The contest runs through August 25 and you can enter up to twice a day. Each day, you can earn up to six bonus entries by sharing the contest via Facebook or Twitter, referring friends or naming your favorite O’Reilly Auto Parts location.

You must be a legal resident of the U.S. (sorry, void in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) aged 18 or older. To play, pick up a game card at an O’Reilly Auto Parts store and use the code online to submit a registration form. Or, if you don’t want to get a code, you can enter by mail.

3. $5,000 Champion King of the Road

U.S. and Canadian residents aged 16 or older (except Quebec residents) can enter this contest for cash prizes. Enter by July 20 (one entry per person) for a shot at the $5,000 grand prize or one of 10 weekly $500 prizes. One hundred other winners will also receive a “prize pack” with a hat, T-shirt and decals.

To enter, you’ll need to take a photo of your ride and include a caption describing “why your vehicle is the King of the Road.” The public will vote on the photos and whoever gets the most support will receive the grand prize. Your vehicle must be “street legal” and only the owner can upload images of their vehicle (but no people can be in the photo — more details here).

4. $10,000 Kikkoman Asian Cool Contest

Enter to win a $10,000 grand prize from Kikkoman. You could also take home one of more than 1,000 “instant win” prizes, including silicone brushes, aprons, cookbooks and more.

This contest is open to U.S. and Canadian citizens (except for Quebec residents) aged 18 and older. You can enter once per day through November 27, so the sooner you start entering, the better.

5. $10,000 Michael’s Summer Sweepstakes

Craft retailer Michael’s is looking for photos of summer fun. Think beaches, lakes, fairs, flea markets and more.

Enter your photo in their Summer Sweepstakes in categories like Summer Fun, Beach/Lake, Fair, Main Street, Art/Music Festival or Flea Market for a chance at winning weekly $100 gift card prizes or the grand $10,000 cash prize (in the form of a Visa gift card).

Continental U.S. and Canadian residents (sorry, no Quebec residents) aged 18 or older are eligible to compete, and the contest ends August 1. Choose your photo carefully — you can only enter once. Your photos won’t be judged — winners will be selected randomly. Complete rules here.

6. $1,750 Back to Nature Sweepstakes

Enter the Back to Nature Sweepstakes for a chance at a $1,000 cash prize, plus a year’s supply of snacks. First place winners receive $250 checks plus snacks.

To enter, you must be a U.S. resident aged 13 or older. Go to Back to Nature’s website or Facebook page, click on the entry form and enter up to once per day, per device between now and September 18. You even get a $1 off coupon for Back to Nature products for entering.

Good luck, Penny Hoarders!

Your Turn: Have you found any great summer contests for cash prizes? Share them in the comments!

Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The post Win Free Money: Enter These Contests for $61,750 in Cold, Hard Cash appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Half of Americans Can’t Handle a Small Emergency. Here’s What to Do If You’re in That Group.

I was stunned earlier this week to read in the Report of Economic Well Being of US Households in 2014 that 47% of Americans would experience significant financial distress – taking out debt or selling something – in order to be able to handle a $400 emergency.

The survey that the report was based on, taken in October 2014, asked 50,000 Americans what they would do in the face of an unexpected “financial disruption” that would cost $400. Think of an airline ticket, for example, or a moderate car repair.

Let’s just quote the report for the results:

“To determine individuals’ preparedness for a smaller scale financial disruption, respondents are also asked how they would pay for a hypothetical emergency expense that would cost $400. Just over half (53 percent) report that they could fairly easily handle such an expense, paying for it entirely using cash, money currently in their checking/savings account, or on a credit card that they would pay in full at their next statement (referred to here as “cash or its functional equivalent”). The remaining 47 percent indicate that such an expense would be more challenging to handle. Specifically, respondents indicate that they simply could not cover the expense (14 percent); would sell something (10 percent); or would rely on one or more means of borrowing to pay for at least part of the expense, including paying with a credit card that they pay off over time (18 percent), borrowing from friends or family (13 percent), or using a payday loan (2 percent).”

Basically half of Americans would find an unexpected $400 expense “challenging to handle” and would have to either borrow money or sell stuff to meet that challenge.

Think about that question in your own life. What would you do if you were hit with a $400 emergency?

It’s likely that many of you would be able to easily handle that emergency. You could pay that expense without skipping a beat. You might have to transfer some money from your checking account, or you might have enough in your checking to simply handle it.

But what about the others, those that can’t handle such an expense?

Some of them might be there out of pure poverty. They may be unemployed or unable to find enough hours to really make ends meet.

However, only 14.5% of Americans are below the poverty line. That, of course, is a tragedy itself, but that also means that about a third of Americans are above the poverty line but can’t handle a $400 emergency.

This is the group of people I’m talking to. If you’re in that group – above the poverty line but unable to handle a $400 emergency – you need to make some financial changes immediately.

Cut expenses The first thing you need to do is start chopping expenses from your life. What bills do you have that aren’t essential? Eliminate them entirely, then restore them later if you come to realize you can’t live without them. Subscribe to Netflix? Eliminate it, then bring it back if you just can’t live without it.

For your other bills, cut back on some of the optional stuff you can really live without. Subscribe to HBO? Cut it from your cable bill for now. Have a huge data plan on your cell phone? Cut it down to the level where it actually meets your real usage. Live in a posh apartment? Move to a smaller one.

For variable things, like food, just be smarter. Make a meal plan and a grocery list before you go to the store. Eat out a bit less.

Get a grip on your wasteful spending Here’s a simple way to start. Whenever you’re about to spend money on anything, ask yourself this: will I be glad I spent this money a week from now? Will I even remember what I spent this money on a week from now? If the answer to either question is “no,” then you shouldn’t be spending that money, period. This has nothing to do with “being spontaneous” or “having fun.” It has to do with throwing money away on literally nothing. If you are spending money on stuff you actually won’t remember or won’t appreciate in a week’s time, then it’s the equivalent of throwing money out the window. Stop doing it.

Use that question as a litmus test over and over. About to buy a bottle of beer at the bar? Will you remember it in a week? Will you be glad you spent that $2 in a week? If not, pass. About to buy an awesome new blouse? Will you remember it in a week? Will you be glad you spent that $20 in a week? If not, pass. About to go out to a restaurant when you have food at home? Will you remember it in a week? Will you be glad you spent that $25 in a week? If not, pass.

Yes, there will be some fun expenses that you will remember and will still value in a week. Those are the ones that are truly worth it. The rest? Cut them.

Build a small emergency fund You’re going to be spending less now, so the next step is to start channeling that extra money into something productive. You need to be prepared for those $400 expenses no matter what, so start socking money away in your savings account.

The best way to do this is automatically. Let’s say you’ve cut $50 from your bills and are finding ways to spend $50 less each month. Have your bank start automatically transferring $100 a month – or $25 a week – from your checking account to your savings account. That way, you don’t have to see it or think about it.

Four months from now, you’ll have that $400 for an emergency. I wouldn’t stop there, as a $1,000 emergency fund is a really good place to start. It takes a big emergency for you to have to tap all of that. In fact, I’d just leave that transfer going forever.

Pay down the worst debts Another thing you need to do is start getting rid of any and all debts you have. Not only do debts come with interest rates which gobble up your money and give you nothing in return, they also require a minimum monthly payment, which eats away at your financial state no matter what. The good part is that you can get rid of those minimum monthly payments by simply paying off the debts, which is something you should assign as a top priority.

So, take all of your debts and list them by interest rate, with the highest interest rate at the top. Then, this month, make minimum payments on all of the debts, but then work hard to spend less and have some money left at the end of the month. You might even want to clean out your closet and sell some stuff that you never use when you’re in a calm state and not forced into it by an emergency.

Take that cash and make a big fat extra payment to that highest interest debt. Knock it down big time. Do that a few times and you’ll probably see that highest interest debt completely go away. Then start doing the same thing to the next debt on the list – the one that’s now your highest interest debt. Keep repeating all of this until they’re all gone. It takes time, but it changes your life.

Bring down bills in a lasting way Another key strategy is to cut your remaining bills in a way that will last by taking on one-time projects that will reduce those bills.

The big one here is your energy bill, as there are lots of one-time projects that will cut that expense. Try air sealing your home or apartment, as that will cut both your heating and cooling costs. Install LED light bulbs everywhere as your old ones burn out, replacing them one at a time (as LED bulbs are expensive initially, but eat a lot less energy and don’t need to be replaced for a LONG time).

You can cut down your water bill, too, by finding ways to use less water around the house. One way to do that is to fill a small soda bottle with water, put the cap tightly on it, and put it in your toilet tank. That reduces the amount of water used in each flush, which will add up little by little over time. You can trim your household supplies by doing things like filling your cleaning supply bottles with homemade solutions (baking soda and/or vinegar will basically clean anything in your home).

Just find little ways to cut down on your regular expenses, especially when those little ways only involve a one-time effort or no additional effort at all.

This is a clear route to financial stability that anyone in that “in between” group can follow. If you’re above the poverty line but are unable to handle any financial emergencies, you’re walking a dangerous tightrope that puts your future solely in the hands of luck and in the hands of your boss. Break free. Get responsible. Your future self will be glad that you did so.

The post Half of Americans Can’t Handle a Small Emergency. Here’s What to Do If You’re in That Group. appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Tax-free childcare scheme delayed

Rachel Lacey

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The introduction of the government's tax-free childcare scheme is to be put back until early 2017, following a legal challenge from providers of existing childcare vouchers.

The introduction of the government's tax-free childcare scheme is to be put back until early 2017, following a legal challenge from providers of existing childcare vouchers.

Tax-free childcare scheme delayed

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The introduction of the government's tax-free childcare scheme is to be put back until early 2017, following a legal challenge from providers of existing childcare vouchers. The new government scheme promises to pay 20% of working parents' childcare bills, offering savings of up to £2,000 per child. But the scheme was challenged by providers of childcare vouchers, which will be forced to close to new members once the government scheme is launched. Although the Supreme Court over-ruled the challenge, the government will not be able to get its scheme up and running in time for the planned Autumn launch. Lawful Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Damian Hinds said: "We are pleased that the government's proposals for delivering Tax-Free Childcare have been found to be clearly lawful. This government is absolutely clear on the importance of supporting families with their childcare costs." He added: "It is disappointing that some organisations involved in the existing scheme felt the need to take and persist in this costly and wasteful course of action, which has led to a delay in the launch of Tax-Free Childcare." The news will come as a disappointment to parents who are not eligible for the existing childcare scheme – for example they are self-employed or vouchers are not offered by their employer. However, because existing members of the current childcare voucher scheme will not be forced to switch to the government scheme, it does provide working parents with more time to work out which deal will offer them the greatest savings. According to Busy Bee Benefits, middle- to low-earning parents, families where only one parent works, those who only use childcare a few days a week and those who have children over the age of 12 may all be better off with childcare vouchers. Parents who joined the scheme before 2011 who pay higher rate tax will also need to think twice before leaving the scheme as they still receive 40% tax relief on their vouchers. Research conducted by Busy Bee Benefits suggests that 80% of parents will be better off continuing to use childcare vouchers. Maximum savings John Woodward, CEO of Busy Bee Benefits said: "With Tax Free Childcare, the Government will be subsidising 20% of a child's childcare, on costs of up to £10,000 per year. Therefore, to get maximum savings, parents must spend £8,000 per child, each year. To get the maximum savings using Childcare Vouchers, parents are only required to spend £2,916 each year." He added: "Both parents can use Childcare Vouchers; therefore savings could double to more than £1,800 at an outlay of only £5,832 per family to get maximum savings," he concluded. Parents who want to start buying childcare vouchers – which offer tax relief on purchases worth up to £243 a month – need to do so before the government scheme launches in 2017. If your employer doesn't offer childcare vouchers it is worth raising the matter with them. In addition to savings on your childcare bills they also offer employers National Insurance savings worth up to £402 a year per employee that signs up to the scheme.

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EE fined £1m for failing customers

Mark King

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Mobile phone network operator EE has been fined £1 million by the telecoms regulator Ofcom for failures in the way it has been handling customer complaints.

Mobile phone network operator EE has been fined £1 million by the telecoms regulator Ofcom for failures in the way it has been handling customer complaints.

EE fined £1m for failing customers

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Mobile phone network operator EE has been fined £1 million by the telecoms regulator Ofcom for failures in the way it has been handling customer complaints. The regulator found that between 22 July 2011 and 8 April 2014, EE failed to inform customers that, if they were not happy with how EE had dealt with their complaint, they could take their case to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme. EE, which includes its T-Mobile and Orange brands, failed to publish this information within its Customer Complaints Code and also failed to tell customers they needed a "deadlock letter" to access the ADR scheme. Moreover, some customers who had requested a deadlock letter did not receive one, with many told that EE simply couldn't issue the letters. ADR is an important part of consumer protection, Ofcom says. It allows customers to refer complaints that cannot be resolved with their provider to an independent body which can reach an impartial judgment. There are two bodies that take on the disputes – the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) and Ombudsman Services: Communications - though EE is a member of the former. Customers can only use an ADR scheme after eight weeks and once they are in possession of a deadlock letter that states a stalemate has been reached between them and the company. The £1 million fine – which must be paid within 20 days – will be handed to the Treasury by Ofcom. Claudio Pollack, Ofcom's consumer and content group director, said: "It's vital that customers can access all the information they need when they're pursuing a complaint. "Ofcom imposes strict rules on how providers must handle complaints and treats any breach of these rules very seriously. The fine imposed against EE takes account of the serious failings that occurred in the company's complaints handling, and the extended period over which these took place." Since Ofcom's investigation, EE has amended its Customer Complaints Code to include the correct references and has also amended the information that appears on bills.

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Which Cash-Back Credit Cards are the Best? We Review 6 Popular Options

Cash reward cards are everywhere these days. If you use credit cards on a regular basis, chances are you already have one (or two or three) in your wallet. But if you don’t have a cash-back card yet, or you’re considering upgrading, check out this guide to popular options.

In theory, cash-back credit cards are pretty straightforward – you spend the money, then the credit card company gives you a percentage back. In practice, there are a few more wrinkles to the system; not all cash reward cards are created equal.

Here’s a rundown of six popular cash-back rewards cards and what you can expect from each one.

1. American Express Blue Cash Preferred

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred card comes with the most eye-popping reward on the market: 6% cash back on the first $6,000 you spend at grocery stores each year, and then 1% cash back after that. If you hit that limit in a year, you will have earned $360 in cash rewards! The card also gives you unlimited 3% cash back at gas stations and select department stores such as JC Penney’s and Sears, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

These features make the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card quite appealing, but there is a catch. The card comes with a $75 annual fee, but if you’re using it on a regular basis, it’s easy to put aside a portion of your rewards to apply to the annual fee each year.

Where this card really suffers is the redemption process. There’s a $25 threshold to redeem your cash rewards, which is not uncommon. What makes me grind my teeth over this card is you can only redeem cash rewards in increments of $25. Last month, I had more than $40 in cash rewards, but since I didn’t pass the $50 threshold, I could only redeem $25. The remainder is still on my account, but I have no way of accessing it. This is the only card in this article with this restriction.

The other demerit this card earns is that an account credit is the only form of redemption — you cannot take your rewards in the form of a direct deposit or check.

This is still a great card — I’m able to easily meet the $25 threshold each month using it as my primary grocery card — but it doesn’t offer as much flexibility with cash redemption as I’d like.

2. Bank of America BankAmericard Cash Rewards Signature

I’ve discussed the BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards card and how to maximize its benefits on this site before, when we looked at how to get Netflix for free.

The BankAmericard Cash Rewards Signature card is a more traditional cash rewards card. It offers 3% back on gas and 2% back on groceries for the first $1,500 in combined gas and grocery store purchases each quarter, as well as unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

The card also gives you a 10% bonus when you redeem your rewards into a Bank of America checking or savings account. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean your 3% gas reward becomes a 13% gas reward — that extra 10% is calculated from the cash back amounts. If you take advantage of this program, that improves your rewards to 3.3%, 2.2% and 1.1% for the categories above.

This card also comes with a $25 threshold to redeem, but there are no restrictions on the amount you can redeem. That being said, it can be more of a struggle to reach that $25 threshold with the rewards limits.

3. Capital One Quicksilver

This card needs little in the way of introduction — Samuel L. Jackson has already raised its profile with his ubiquitous television ads.

This is the most straightforward of the cash rewards cards: 1.5% cash back on every purchase, with no rewards categories. Additionally, there’s no minimum to redeem your rewards, so you can get a check or statement credit in any amount at any time.

If you find it’s easier to automate the process, you can set up an automatic redemption preference for a set time each calendar year or when your rewards hit a specific threshold ($25, $50, $100 or $200).

This is a great card if you want cash back and don’t want to put a lot of thought into it.

4. Chase Freedom

The Chase Freedom card works differently from the cards above. In addition to 1% cash back on all purchases, Chase offers 5% cash back each quarter on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in that quarter’s bonus category. The bonus categories rotate throughout the year, and have included cash back at grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and Amazon.

A significant difference between the categories on the American Express and Bank of America cards listed above and those on the Chase card is that you need to sign up for each quarterly category — the 5% bonus is not automatic.

Chase does have a lower threshold for redemption — just $20 (or 2000 points) — which makes it easier to get your hands on your cash. The big drawback is that you have to chase (no pun intended) rewards throughout the calendar year. While it’s great to have a fourth-quarter Amazon reward bonus, 5% cash back on groceries for three months is less appealing when another card can give you 6% back year-round.

5. Citi Double Cash

At first, the Citi Double Cash card seems to have a clear edge against Capital One Quicksilver. After all, 2% > 1%, right?

While I do like the Citi Double Cash Card and use it as my all-purpose (i.e. non-gas and grocery purchases) card, it is the only card where your reward depends on you paying your bill.

With this card, you get 1% back when you spend, and 1% back when you pay your bill. So when you charge $100 on your card, you automatically get $1 in rewards, but you don’t get the other dollar until you’ve paid off the $100 charge.

This is a great cash-back card, but bottom line, it’s only worth it if you pay your bill in full each month. There’s a $25 dollar minimum to redeem cash, but there’s a convenient direct deposit option for when you do so.

6. Discover

Discover is the grandfather of rewards cards — the upstart card that started the cash rewards trend nearly 30 years ago.

Discover has a lot in common with Chase Freedom: a standard 1% back on all purchases, with 5% back on rotating, quarterly categories.

This card does have its own set of issues. I’ve had to wait multiple billing cycles for a quarterly bonus to appear on my statement, and and some retailers do not accept Discover.

My favorite part about Discover is that, like Capital One, you can redeem your cash in any amount at any time. Having access to my cash rewards is important to me, so I appreciate the flexibility Discover offers.

All six of these cards have their flaws, and what works best for you depends on your personal spending habits. Hopefully this has provided you some guidance with which card (or cards) is the best fit for you!

Your Turn: What’s your favorite cash-back credit card? What do you like about it?

Douglas Clinton is a New Englander, an AmeriCorps Alum, a Kentucky Colonel and a playwright whose work has been performed across the U.S and abroad. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina with his fiancee and three cats.

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