Housing authority staff fight firings

The embattled director of an agency providing public housing in Clark County ordered senior staffers not to communicate with commissioners on its oversight board without his approval.

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Flight Centre wins price-fixing battle

FLIGHT Centre has won its long running battle against the consumer watchdog after successfully overturning a price fixing judgment made against it.

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Hobby Lobby opening second Las Vegas store

The arts and crafts store will celebrate its opening with a ceremony Aug. 10 at the 55,000-square-foot facility at 6361 N. Decatur Blvd.

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Allegiant investigation: Captain exercised sound judgment

Allegiant Air's in-house investigation of the emergency landing of Flight 426 in Fargo, N.D., last week has found that the flight crew operated within the bounds of all regulations and "our captain exercised sound judgment in the operation of his aircraft."

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Fresh & Easy closing 3 east Las Vegas stores

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is closing three underperforming grocery stores in east Las Vegas by Aug. 7.

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Woodside Homes, Summerlin's first builder, takes down pads in newest village

Summerlin's first home builder is also one of its newest. The master plan's developer, The Howard Hughes Corp., said Thursday that Woodside Homes was one of two builders to take down pads in The Cliffs, Summerlin's first new village in more than a decade.

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Proof about Uber that taxis don’t want you to see

A NEW report has shown just how much Australians are losing out by restricting the rise of Uber.

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Got a FuelBand? Nike Might Owe You $25

Nike and Apple have settled a 2013 class-action lawsuit over the accuracy of the Nike+ FuelBand fitness tracker.

Legal snoozeroo? Not quite — this settlement could mean a payment of up to $25 if you own a FuelBand.

The suit alleged that advertisements for the FuelBand, which is produced jointly by Nike and Apple, misled customers regarding how accurately the fitness device could track calories burned, steps taken and other metrics.

The FuelBand measures activity by NikeFuel, the brand’s method of measuring movement regardless of the FuelBand-wearer’s age, weight, or other factors. Nike and Apple deny the claims in the suit, but Nike will administer the settlement.

FuelBand Settlement: What You Get

It’s a settlement choose-your-own adventure: Pick either a $25 gift card to the Nike store, or receive a $15 payment.

You can redeem the gift card at any Nike store in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and on Nike.com. It never expires, according to the settlement website.

If you wound up with his-and-hers FuelBands or a family set, you’re in luck. Multiple members of a family can make claims so long as they each have their own device.

How to Get Your Money

If you bought your FuelBand between January 2012 and June 2015, you’re eligible to receive a settlement payment. But unlike some class-action settlements that track down affected customers, you’ll have to do the heavy lifting on this offering.

Make your claim through the FuelBand settlement site. If you bought your FuelBand directly from Nike or Apple, you may have received an email notice with a “class member ID.” This ID is optional, but you’ll need the serial number on your FuelBand. Then it’s just a matter of name, address and your payment choice.

Submit your claim by Jan. 4, 2016.

Peter Parkes under Creative Commons

What’s the Better Settlement Option?

Can’t decide between a gift card and cash? Let’s look at it in terms of brand loyalty.

If you love Nike products and shop at Nike stores regularly, the gift card may benefit you. While Nike Store locations are limited — you’re probably not going to happen upon one unless you live in a major metropolitan area — Nike.com is open all night.

How far can the gift card go? I’ll play guinea pig: As a lady, let’s look at what $25 can get me in Nike swag. There’s one shirt I can get, and a few more I can get if I kick in an extra $10 or so. I’m halfway to a tank top or running capris.

Nike’s prices aren’t bad — it just comes down to the fact most of the stuff I would want to buy (like running shoes) is going to require additional spending on my end.

So if you’re not already planning to buy a new pair of Nikes, it’s probably a better bet to spring for the cash. I can think of a lot of things I can get for $15: two happy hour appetizers with a friend, a nosebleed seat to a Washington Nationals game, a trim at the barbershop. You might want one of those things more than you want to shop at the Nike store.

If you’re feeling entrepreneurial, you could take the gift card and make something of it. There are lots of ways to sell gift cards online, and Nike gift cards on Raise at the time of posting tend to be listed for less than 5% off face value.

You could potentially make almost $25 cash by selling your settlement gift card. That’s three happy hour appetizers, at least.

The gift card, on the other hand, could make a nice gift for your fitness-fiend friends.

There is another option that most people probably don’t know about: opting out of the settlement. By specifying that you want to be excluded from the settlement, you give up your rights to the payment offered. Instead, you retain the right to sue Nike and/or Apple about the claims made in the case.

It’s not likely you have the inclination (or the big bucks) to set up another suit over your FuelBand, but it’s worth noting why these companies would agree to the settlement. It appeases the customer, and precludes anyone who takes the payment from trying to seek revenge down the road.

Your Turn: This concludes today’s legalese nerd time. What about you — will you make a claim in the FuelBand settlement? Which payment do you prefer?

Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!

Lisa Rowan is a writer, editor, and podcaster based in Washington, D.C. She remembers when Nike+ was a chip in your shoe that synced with your iPod.

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Marketing Day: LinkedIn Earnings, Google Home Services Ads & Content Metrics That Matter

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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LinkedIn Reports $712 Million Q2 Revenue, Up 33% YoY

Career-focused social network beats Wall Street expectations with a strong quarter. It now has 380 million registered users.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Caught on camera: Woman clips salon for $80 then parts

State Police are searching for the woman who they say stole money from a local salon. It was caught on the store's surviellance camera.Around 10 a.m. Wednesday, an unknown female allegedly stole $80 from the front desk at The Glow Tanning and More on Route 209 in Broadheadsville.Anyone that recognizes the woman in these photos is asked to contact State Police in Fern Ridge at 570-646-2271.

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GLPI grows revenue, but profits decline

Gaming and Leisure Properties grew revenue 1.9 percent in the third quarter but saw a slight dip in profits.

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Google Enters Home Services Market With New Ads Test

Ads for locksmiths and plumbers are now appearing on some queries in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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21 Best Small Business Apps

Time tracking apps can relieve you of burdensome time sheets or help you minimize distractions. Photo: Toggl

When you run a small business, you’re pulled in several directions every day. If the demands on your time feel overwhelming, take heart: There are thousands of productivity apps out there that can help you do everything from keep a neat to-do list to delegate tasks to employees and stay on top of your business expenses.

Which small business apps are best? That will largely depend on your business and your own preferences. If you don’t have the time to wade through an endless list of apps, we’ve plucked several tried-and-true options to get you started. Have a personal favorite to recommend? Let us know in the comments.

Best Small Business Apps for General Productivity

Before we jump to more task-specific apps, we wanted to touch on a few popular productivity apps that are useful for any small business owner, regardless of their business type or size. Here are a few apps that can be as helpful personally as they are professionally:

Evernote

With Evernote, you can clip bits and pieces of information from the web, tag them for easy searching, and alter any of them by adding to it, condensing it, or embedding pictures, tables, audio, video, and the like. You can also use Evernote for organic notes and journaling, to-do lists, recipes, contacts, and even storage for tweets or emails that you want to keep handy.

All of that is free in the basic version. Evernote also has a business version that costs $12 per user, per month with several added features including administrator controls and unlimited space for uploads.

Wunderlist

Simply put, Wunderlist is a to-do list, but a highly effective one. You can create an endless number of task lists and share them with whomever you want. Lists sync automatically so that others can see which items have been completed.

Wunderlist has even launched a higher-powered business app that lets you delegate tasks to team members, break them down into subtasks, add notes, set deadlines, and program reminders. Basic Wunderlist is free, while Wunderlist for Business is $4.99 per user per month.

Pocket

How many times have you run across something interesting, but you didn’t have the time to read it right that instant? If Evernote feels overwhelming to you, Pocket makes it easy to save videos, articles, and whatever else you find online so that you can peruse them later.

When you’re tired of social networking but still want to wind down at night with something interesting, Pocket might be your best friend. Even better, you don’t need an Internet connection to view what you’ve saved. Pocket is simple to use, and best of all, it’s free.

• Related: 10 Apps I Use Every Day to Boost My Productivity

Best Small Business Apps for Time Tracking

Whether you’re a freelancer who needs to track your hours or simply a small business owner who wants to keep yourself (or your team) more accountable, these productivity apps can help you see where your time is going:

RescueTime

If you know you waste too much time on digital distractions like Facebook, Twitter, or online shopping, RescueTime can hold you accountable. It breaks down where you spend your time by application and website and lets you set productivity goals. A premium version even lets you block certain sites, track offline activity, or set notifications (like if you’ve spent too much time on one activity, for instance).

The basic version is free, while premium will set you back about $9 a month. Though RescueTime is available for Mac, PC, and Linux, its app is only available for Android phones.

Toggl

With one click, the Toggl timer tracks where every second of your time is going, making it ideal for anyone who needs to log billable hours. You can track as many projects or clients as you want, view colorful graphs, export timesheets, and sync your numbers with several project management apps.

Best of all, all of your employees can use Toggl, and you can divide them into different groups to stay organized.

Toggl is free for up to five users, while a Pro version allows unlimited users and adds billable rates, subprojects, and other features for $5 per user, per month.

Eternity Time Log

Productivity extends beyond your work life, and Eternity Time Log recognizes that. Your day is first broken down into three broad chunks: Work, play, and sleep. Within those groups, you can further track your time with different labels and tags, even running multiple timers at once.

You can view the results using colorful pie charts and reports that can be exported to any device. Eternity Time Log will set you back $4.99. It’s only available for iPad and iPhone.

Best Small Business Apps for Project Management

Project management apps let you and your employees stay on the same page with your day-to-day tasks. These apps aim to streamline workflow and centralize communication so that you can spend more time actually working and less time figuring out what everyone needs to do. Here are three productivity apps that are worth a look:

Basecamp

Basecamp is the most well-known project-management app of this trio, and it might be the easiest to use of the bunch. The interface is streamlined and intuitive, and it’s easy to invite collaborators, chat within projects, attach files, create checklists, and track your progress.

However, this ease does come at the cost of some flexibility: For instance, you can’t do advanced reporting or budgeting, and it’s hard to see everything in one glance. If your projects are straightforward and you don’t want to devote much time to learning a new system, it could be a good pick.

With Basecamp, you pay per project instead of per user — users are unlimited. Plans start at $20 per month for 10 projects and go up to $150 a month for unlimited projects.

Trello

We recently switched from Basecamp to Trello to manage our content at The Simple Dollar. Trello’s main strength is that it’s highly visual: On any given board, you can create several lists, and move cards between them as the status of a particular project changes.

For instance, each article has a card, and we drag those cards from list to list depending on where they are in the writing process: assigned, writing, editing, ready to publish, etc. You can attach files, create checklists, and assign members to each card so they’re updated as the status of the article changes. Team members can chat directly on each card, too.

Trello is free for personal use, but starts at $3.75 a month per user for businesses.

Asana

Asana is more text-heavy than Trello, and if you love checklists, this app is for you.

Projects, or “tasks,” can be easily reprioritized within its flexible interface, and a dashboard charts your progress visually. You can chat with team members within those tasks, assign due dates, attach documents or other files, and choose what kind of notifications to receive.

The app integrates with an impressive number of other services, including Evernote, Google Drive, Box, Slack, MailChimp, WordPress, and ZenDesk.

The basic version of Asana is free for up to 15 users — a very nice feature for small businesses on a budget — while a premium version starts around $21 a month for five users.

Best Small Business Apps for Team Communication

Though project management apps let you stay up to date on who’s doing what, you may still need a more immediate way to get in touch with employees — especially if your email inbox is a nightmare. Here are a few options:

Slack

The Simple Dollar team has used Slack for quick questions and answers. Though it’s not the most intuitive app from the get-go, it allows for easy filtering and searching that make finding what you need a snap. You can create channels for just about any conversation theme: particular projects or clients, general water cooler chat, or whatever else works best for your small business.

Notifications are highly customizable, so you can stay in the loop when you need to and filter out unnecessary noise when you don’t. The best part is that basic Slack is free for an unlimited number of users. More advanced features, including unlimited searches and app integration, start at $6.97 per user per month.

HipChat

HipChat has a shorter learning curve than Slack, and it’s certainly cheaper — you can use the basic service for free, or pay just $2 per user per month if you want features such as video sharing and screen sharing.

HipChat organizes conversations by rooms, allows drag-and-drop file sharing, and archives conversations for easy searching. Emoticons and GIFs help keep the mood light, too.

Skype for Business

Skype is a familiar name to just about everyone who has wanted to make a free video call online, but Skype for Business offers meetings with up to 250 people, integration with Microsoft Office, chat, file transfer, and more.

Pricing starts at $2 per month per user. For $5.50 a month, you can add features including group HD video calls, meeting recording, and remote control of others’ computer desktops. And yes, if you don’t need all that, Skype-to-Skype video or voice calls are still free for up to 25 people.

Best Small Business Apps for Customer Relationship Management

Even if you’ve tamed your own to-do lists, many businesses need an in-depth system to help them keep their customers straight. Customer relationship management apps, or CRMs, help you keep track of everything related to your customers — contact information, past and pending purchases, and anything else it’s essential to know about a client. Here are a few solid bets:

Streak

If your small business uses Gmail or Google Apps, Streak is a great little CRM that integrates with both. Instead of organizing customers by contact, it lets you keep track of where you are in your business relationship.

For instance, perhaps you’re just beginning a pitch, or maybe you’re finalizing a deal. You can view all emails associated with each client directly within Streak, and a newsfeed can keep everyone on your team updated on the status of everything in the app.

Streak’s basic service is free for up to five users. Beefed-up plans range from $19 to $119 a month per user.

Insightly

Insightly is a relationship manager that also boasts a lot of project-management features, which could make it a one-stop shop for some small businesses.

You can categorize contacts with tags, integrate their social network profiles, and manage leads. You can also create tasks for team members, set up pipelines to track the status of those tasks, and create email reminders to keep everyone on time.

Though there is a free basic version, you’ll have to pay at least $12 a month per user for access to the app.

Nimble

If your business has a prominent social media presence, Nimble might be the CRM for you. It gleans data from your contacts’ social profiles, updating itself so that you don’t have to do it. It even analyzes shared interests and integrates with Gmail, Outlook, Hootsuite and many other services.

Nimble also learns what relationships you value as you continue to interact with it, making it more likely to highlight future opportunities. Pricing starts at $15 a month per user.

Best Small Business Apps for Accepting Payments

You need to get paid, and that’s easier than ever thanks to today’s payment apps. Whether you’re accepting point-of-sale payments or getting paid online, the market is crowded with apps that will help you get your money. Here are a few of the best options:

Square

If your business depends on point-of-sale purchases but you have a limited budget for payment systems, Square could be a life-saver. Plug in a small card-reader to your smartphone or tablet, and you can swipe credit cards and process payments just like any established retailer.

You don’t have to be connected to the Internet, you can use email or text messages to send receipts, and the system can even allow customers to leave a tip of 15%, 20%, or 25%.

There is no monthly fee; instead, you’ll pay 2.75% of each transaction, or a bit more if you have to manually enter payment information instead of swiping.

PayPal Here

PayPal Here operates a lot like Square — you use a small card reader with your device to receive payments.

Each swipe costs 2.7%, which is a bit lower than Square. However, PayPal Here has a few added features, including the ability to process checks, electronic invoices, and payments from a customer’s existing PayPal account.

One potential downside is that you won’t receive your payments directly in your bank account — you’ll get it in your PayPal account, and will then have to transfer that to your bank account, which can take a few days.

Dwolla

Dwolla doesn’t offer a card swiper, but if your business doesn’t rely on point-of-sale purchases, it’s a compelling way to accept payments via bank transfers. That’s because it’s free.

You can accept or request mass payments, set up recurring payments, and customize your fees. Dwolla’s basic services are free, while enhanced business versions with features such as faster transfers and higher transaction limits start at $25 per month.

Best Small Business Apps for Accounting

You’ve gotten paid, but you’ve also got expenses — lots of them. You need a way to keep track of cash that’s going in and going out, especially once it’s tax time. Here are a few great accounting apps that will let you stay on top of your numbers:

QuickBooks Online

If your small business is like a lot of others, you already use QuickBooks, or your accountant does. QuickBooks Online has a lot going for it, including a familiar, easy-to-navigate interface and integration with many other services. You can send invoices on the go, view balances, approve estimates, and link to many other services including PayPal.

The base version of QuickBooks Online is $9.99 per month. It includes invoicing, check printing, and bank integration. More expensive versions are $19.99 to $29.99 a month and include advanced features like bill payment scheduling, purchase order management, and inventory tracking.

FreshBooks

If you have a service-oriented business that doesn’t need a high-powered accounting solution, FreshBooks is an easy-to-use option that offers a lot of functionality on the go. Track hours, log receipts, and send invoices from your smartphone or tablet.

Tools are highly visual and intuitive, and the service integrates with several others including Basecamp, PayPal, Google Apps, and ZenPayroll. Note that FreshBooks does not offer double-entry bookkeeping.

The base plan starts at $19.95 a month, and allows management of up to 25 clients. More fully featured versions allow unlimited clients for up to $39.95 a month.

Wave

Say you’re on a tight budget and you really, really don’t want to pay for accounting software. There’s an app for that, and it’s called Wave.

As long as you have fewer than 10 employees, Wave is an easy-to-use platform that can take care of your invoicing, expense tracking, receipt scanning, and more. You can add links to your bank accounts and integrate with PayPal and other services, too.

The free version is ad-supported, so keep that in mind. You’ll also have to pay for certain added features such as payroll or premium customer support — both start at $19 per month.

Additional Resources for Small Businesses

Productivity apps are changing how small-business owners work, making it possible to stay on task and up to date away from the office. If you’re looking for more resources to help your small business, The Simple Dollar has you covered. Check out these other small business guides:

• Can You Get a Free Business Checking Account?
• Small Business Insurance Basics
• Best Small Business Loans for 2015
• Best Accounting Software in 2015
• Best Web Hosting Providers for 2015
• Best Cloud Storage Providers for 2015
• Best Project Management Software for 2015
• Best Email Marketing Services for 2015

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Agreement to keep Switch with Nevada Power approved

An agreement struck between Switch, NV Energy and state regulators that would keep the the data storage company as a customer of Nevada Power Co. was approved Thursday by the state Public Utilities Commission.

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Ever Been Bumped Off a Flight? The Airline Could Owe You $800

Traveling is full of adventure and fun — and often, headaches. If you’ve flown at some point in the past few years, you’ve probably experienced your fair share of delays and cancellations.

Though all are inconvenient, the most frustrating experience is being “bumped” off an overbooked flight, which happens most often around the holidays and other peak travel times.

You may have thought that getting bumped was just the price of admission for flying. In reality, though, it’s illegal for the airlines to overbook flights — and you’re entitled to compensation if it happens to you.

AirHelp, a startup based out of New York City, is here to help you with the process of getting paid when you’re delayed.

Who Can Use AirHelp

If you’ve been denied boarding, or your flight has been delayed or cancelled, within Europe or the United States in the past three years, you may qualify for reimbursement of up to $800.

As outlined by AirHelp, the laws vary greatly between Europe and the U.S.:

For flights to and from the European Union:

Unless caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline’s control, you must be financially compensated if your flight is canceled, overbooked or arrives late by three hours or more.

For flights in the United States:

If you’re denied boarding, you’re eligible for 200% of your one-way fare if you get to your final destination between one and two hours late, with a cap of $650.

If you arrive at your final destination more than two hours late, you’re eligible for 400% of your one-way fare, with a cap of $1,300. (You’re not eligible for compensation for delayed or cancelled flights.)

How AirHelp Works

If you think you might qualify for a reimbursement, fill out a simple online form on AirHelp’s website or in its app.

You’ll answer a few basic questions about your flight: airline, date and time, why it was delayed or cancelled, or why you were denied boarding.

Once you submit your information, AirHelp immediately notifies you whether your flight is eligible for compensation. If your flight qualifies, AirHelp starts to petition the airlines on your behalf.

The company has a “no win, no fee” policy, which means you only pay if it wins compensation from the airline. If and when AirHelp successfully receives compensation, it will transfer the money directly into your bank account, minus a 25% fee.

What It’s Like to Use AirHelp

It sounds like a great idea, but does AirHelp actually work? I decided to test it out.

Since I didn’t think any of my recent flights would be eligible, I entered the information for a friend’s Spirit Airlines flight that was more than 12 hours late. Since domestic flights are only eligible for compensation if you’ve been denied boarding, though, AirHelp said it didn’t qualify.

Trying to assuage my disappointment, AirHelp asked if it could search my email for old itineraries that might qualify. I synced it with my Gmail, and 15 minutes later, I received an alert that it had finished searching. Unfortunately, I once again came up empty handed.

Lauren Lowther, of Kansas City, MO, had better luck. This past holiday season, she’d paid a whopping $2,200 for a round-trip ticket to Paris to see her husband’s family.

When it came time to return home, she ended up sitting on the tarmac at Charles de Gaulle airport for five hours waiting for a spare part; eventually, the captain announced they weren’t leaving until the next day.

When they disembarked, the flight attendant told them they qualified for reimbursement and even gave them information about how to get it. But when Lowther submitted her claim through the online portal, it was denied.

“I thought that was odd since they told us at CDG [the airport] we had the right to be reimbursed,” says Lowther. “So I submitted again and was rejected again. I know I tried at least two times — I believe I also tried a third. It just said, ‘Unfortunately, we are unable to honor your request.’ I was shocked, because it was completely their fault.”

Understandably frustrated, Lowther enlisted AirHelp. Two months after submitting her claim online, the company wired €450 (about $487) into her bank account — her compensation after AirHelp’s 25% commission.

Kate May, a Hajoca Corporation recruiter from Philadelphia, PA, also received €450 thanks to AirHelp — as did her husband. The best part? Neither of them had to lift a finger.

On their way home from a vacation in Denmark, May and her husband were delayed by eight hours due to an engine issue. They hadn’t pursued any reimbursement when, six months later, AirHelp contacted her husband.

“Honestly, we thought it was a scam,” she says, “but after researching it and providing a little personal information, we got a pretty big refund.”

It took a little more than two months for her husband (who filed first) to receive his reimbursement of €450, and then six weeks for her.

Close to $1,000 for filling out a brief form? It sounds like a good deal, and May agrees. “While they do charge a service fee,” she says, “they did all the legwork and that was worth it.”

As for Lowther, would she use AirHelp again?

“Oh, completely,” she says. “I would’ve had zero compensation if it wasn’t for them.”

In a world of rising airfare and endless delays, it’s nice to see a company giving a little bit of power back to the consumer. The next time you’re bumped off a flight, you know who to call.

Your Turn: Have you ever earned reimbursement from an airline?

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

The post Ever Been Bumped Off a Flight? The Airline Could Owe You $800 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Falcon Social Is Latest To Offer Facebook Topic Data Access

Social media management platform partners with DataSift to give clients access to the pool of topic-based consumer data from the social network.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Casino operator Pinnacle reverses quarterly net loss

Regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment reversed a net loss in the second quarter, crediting results from the Las Vegas-based company's Midwest properties.

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9 Factors That Can Torpedo Your Home’s Selling Price

From a bad location to an inflated price, there are many reasons your home will sell for less.

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78,000 overpay student loans by £580

Tom Wilson

studentpounds.jpg

Tens of thousands of former students have overpaid their student loans by £580 on average.

Tens of thousands of former students have overpaid their student loans by £580 on average.

In the 2013/14 academic year, 78,800 overpaid their student loans, ending up £45.4 million out of pocket in total, according to a Freedom of Information request by accountants Baker Tilly.

78,000 overpay student loans by £580

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Tens of thousands of former students have overpaid their student loans by £580 on average. In the 2013/14 academic year, 78,800 overpaid their student loans, ending up £45.4 million out of pocket in total, according to a Freedom of Information request by accountants Baker Tilly. The value of overpayments rose 10% compared to the previous year, with around £191 million being overpaid in the five years to 2013/14. Under the current system, student loan repayments are collected automatically through the tax system. However, HMRC only shares payment information with the Student Loan Company at the end of the tax year, meaning people who do not pay by direct debit are at risk of continuing to be charged for their loans after settling the final amount. To avoid the risk of repaying too much, the company recommends that borrowers who are within two years of completing their student loan repayments ensure they are paying by direct debit. Lesley Fidler, associate director at Baker Tilly, said: "In this day and age it beggars belief that HMRC and the Student Loan Company can't develop a more efficient system which takes the right of money at the right time from people wanting to repay their student loans." People who believe they have overpaid a student loan through their company payroll should contact the Student Loan Company, or await notification of the refund process in due course.

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5 Ways Medicare Has Changed in 50 Years

Medicare had added prescription drugs and preventative care to its covered services.

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How to Waste Less Food and Money

You can save by throwing fewer items in the trash.

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Dating? 5 Financial Issues That Make You Look Unappealing

Watch out if you're wrestling with these issues. They can be deal breakers.


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Yandex Q2 2015 Revenue Reaches $250M, Up 14% YoY

Russian's largest search engine says text-based advertising accounts for 91% of its total revenue.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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4 Mistakes Seniors Make When Remodeling

Don't let your dream home turn into a nightmare. Avoid these remodeling mistakes that trip up seniors.

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The Missing Link Between Shopper Marketing And E-Commerce

Combining the insights of e-commerce and traditional shopper marketing can bolster your brand’s market share, explains columnist Benjamin Spiegel. He walks you through some ways to close the gaps between them.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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8 Career Tips for Young Women Who Want to Be the Boss

Promoting their achievements and using assertive language will help women move up in the workplace.

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What You Don't Know About Annuities

When buying annuities, beware of the small print and fees.

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How to Make Your Résumé a Diamond in the Rough

Three ways to create a unique, compelling résumé.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1LZAAfF

Frugality, Financial Independence, and the Bigger World

When self-motivated people achieve financial independence, it’s not like they go idle and stop contributing to the economy. Most – like Bill Gates, right – simply channel their time and energy into something they believe in. Photo: Steve Jurvetson

Fairly often, I give interviews to media sources – newspaper reporters, radio hosts, and so on – where I share my story of financial recovery and how I managed to achieve it. Most of the questions are pretty straightforward, as they’re simply related to the story of my own life and some basic financial strategies.

However, there’s one question I get asked pretty regularly that’s quite tricky. It usually goes something like this…

It’s great that you’ve managed to find financial success through frugality, but what would happen to America if everyone became frugal and spent a lot less than they earned?

My stock answer to that question is short and sweet. “America would go through a rough patch for a little while, but eventually we’d be better off than ever.”

Usually, that answer is good enough, but sometimes I’ll get a reporter who finds that answer interesting and digs in a little more, at which point I’m usually thinking on my feet and using my understanding of economics within my own head to give reasonable follow-up answers.

Those follow-up questions stick with me.

What actually would happen if everyone in America suddenly became frugal and spent less than they earned? Would it mean another economic depression? How would we ever rebound from that? What happens when lots of people retire early? Does America just become a nation of shoegazing slackers?

Today, I’m going to try to piece together my full answer to those questions and many others.

Financial Independence and Frugality for All?

The most important thing to point out in all of this is that a world in which everyone is frugal and spends less than they earn will never, ever happen. There are too many people in the world who hold a very short-term personal philosophy that they will never abandon, no matter what. There will always be people who choose to make the short-term choice, no matter how much obviously better the long-term choice is.

By default, humans are short-term thinkers. We were wired for survival in the savannah, in a hunter-gatherer state. That mindset is a short-term mindset that focuses on where to get food and resources in the next few days without any significant regard for the long term.

We’re all wired a bit differently. Some people are able to suppress those short-term desires and plan for the long term. Others simply aren’t wired that way. We’ve all experienced how different people think and act in different ways, and this is no exception.

What that means is that even if there was a mass movement toward saving more for retirement and retiring early, a lot of people would simply reject the philosophy and wouldn’t get on board at all. That’s just human nature.

Perhaps the better question to ask is this: what if frugality, spending significantly less than you earn, and financial independence became a large movement with a lot of adherents? How would that affect the economy and everyone’s day to day life?

A Simple Look at the Path

Before we go any further, let’s step back and take a really simplified look at the idea of frugality and saving for the future.

Let’s say that there’s a guy who makes belts. Each day, he makes 10 belts that he can then immediately sell.

A person who isn’t frugal and isn’t saving from the future might take the money from all 10 belts and spend it immediately on stuff he wants and needs in his daily life. He might buy a great dinner that evening, fill up his cupboard with other foods, go to the movies, fill up his car with gas, and so on.

What about a person who’s somewhat frugal and willing to save for the future? That person might spend the money from nine of the belts and put aside the money from one belt for the future. That person might be able to do that because they chose to eat a simple supper or they watched a movie at home or they drove a more fuel-efficient car.

A person who is able to do something like live off of the proceeds of five belts and save the proceeds of the other five would go even further. That person might not even own a car and gets around on foot. They might live in a small home and have a big garden that provides for their needs.

In the first case, that person won’t have anything for the future. When they need upgrades for their business, they’ll have to take on debt for it, and they’ll work until they can’t work any more.

In the second case, the person will probably be able to retire in their old age and no longer work, instead living off of the proceeds of the one belt’s worth of income and perhaps paying for their own equipment upgrades on their own money and without debt throughout their life.

The third case is the interesting one. That person will soon be in a situation where they don’t have to make belts at all if they don’t want to. That person will also have a ton of options. They might be able to afford to hire some people to make more belts for him to sell, which would be a route to take if he likes the sales aspect of things. They also might be able to automate much of the belt making thanks to expensive equipment that they can now afford. Or, that person might walk away from belt making entirely and follow another path that they feel is their true calling – maybe it’s writing a book or designing a better tool of some kind or perhaps working for a charity.

The point is, that third person has a lot of options after a few years of spending less than he earns. Sure, during those first lean years, life is rough, but their life opens up with options.

This is almost exactly what happens in the real world.

The person who spends all of their money has lots of short-term options – which are usually bent towards buying stuff – but very few long-term options.

The person who spends almost all of their money and saves only a little for the future has a slightly smaller set of short-term options, but they have added a little to their long-term options.

The person who spends as little as possible and saves as much as possible has a much smaller set of short-term options – they aren’t going to be spending much at all beyond buying essentials – but a much, much larger set of long-term options.

Today, most people are in that first group. What happens when a significant number of people move to the second and especially the third group? That’s the real question.

The First Group – the ‘Spend Now and Don’t Save’ Group – Shrinks

Right now, our economy is set up to serve the needs of the people in this group. It is focused on consumer goods and services for people who spend all or almost all of what they earn.

If that group shrinks, the immediate effect will be a pretty strong recession. That’s because the people that move out of this group are moving into the other two groups, both of which spend less money in the short term because they’re saving for the future.

Companies that rely on people spending money freely on goods and services are going to hurt – there’s no way around it. People will buy significantly fewer luxury goods and services and that’s simply going to hurt the economy, especially those companies that aren’t focused on essential goods.

However, that doesn’t mean that the second and third groups will stop spending. They’ll spend like they always have – on essential products and well-made products. Companies that have a reputation for producing true quality products won’t be hurt nearly as bad as companies that produce lower-quality goods at a cheaper price. Companies that pump out cheap junk will be in a real pickle, but companies that make quality products won’t be affected too much.

Another sector that will be fine is the banking sector. They’re going to receive an influx of cash thanks to all of these new savers, which will give them a lot of capital. What will they do with it? They’ll be able to make loans available – and we’ll get back to that in a minute.

What will be the impact on day-to-day life? There will be fewer jobs, for one, particularly at the entry level. It will feel like a pretty deep recession, much like 2008 and 2009 did, or perhaps even worse, but enough companies will be just fine through this transition that it won’t be truly disastrous.

The Second Group – the ‘Save a Little and Still Spend a Lot’ Group – Grows

This group is going to largely be putting their money in long-term investments. They’ll be hit somewhat hard by the shakeout in the business world as many of the service businesses struggle and the overall stock market tanks (because companies would have to start cutting dividends because of their tight business).

After a time, however, the businesses that provide more essential services and the businesses that produce quality items would do fine. Investments would stabilize and start growing again.

The people in this group would eventually find themselves in a secure retirement, much as they would if nothing changed. The only difference is that 20 or 30 years down the road, there would be a lot of people in their sixties and seventies who would be launching a very healthy retirement, one that would probably involve a second career not too different than the third group, which I’m going to discuss below.

The Third Group – the ‘Save a Lot and Spend Very Little’ Group – Grows

This is the interesting group, in my opinion.

These people will continue to spend money, but it will be at a relatively low rate and it will be channeled toward reliable goods and low-cost consumable staples. They buy a lot of generics at the grocery store. When they buy equipment, it’s usually good equipment that will last and that they can repair themselves easily.

These people are going to reach financial independence fairly quickly. Within several years, they will no longer need much of an income to survive in the world. They will no longer have to work.

It is during that period, when the third group is spending very little and saving a lot, where we’ll see an economic slowdown. That’s because a significant portion – but not all – of the economy isn’t spending money on consumer goods at a high rate, but that doesn’t mean the money has vanished. It means that the money is being invested elsewhere – in banks, in real estate, in other things.

Then what? What happens when these people turn the corner and are able to retire? Do we have a lot of people doing nothing?

Nope.

Self-Motivation Kicks In

Here’s the thing: If a person is self-motivated enough to commit to a path of financial independence, they’re not going to suddenly become completely idle when they achieve it.

They’ll channel that self-motivation into something – but what?

Most of them will move on to whatever they think their true life calling is. What is the problem in the world that they would most like to play a role in solving? Where and how can they actually make a difference with that problem?

Those are the kinds of questions that people start asking themselves if they’re self-motivated and self-directed and they’ve achieved financial independence – and you have to be self-motivated and self-directed to reach financial independence very quickly.

What will that look like?

Some will start businesses to make whatever product they’re dreaming of. Others will start non-profits – or join them. Still others may find a very solitary path.

The thing is, those people will start making stuff on their own terms without the motivation of a need to earn a living. Sure, they’ll want to make a little, but they’ll already have all of the financial wealth they’ll need for the rest of their lives. Their motivation will be something beyond profit.

I would expect, after a few years, to see a lot of brainpower and effort being thrown at the big problems on earth. How do we feed everyone? How do we start making steps toward exploring outer space? How do we cure cancer? How do we ensure clean water for everyone?

I would also expect a pretty big explosion in artistic creativity as well, along with some huge jumps in charitable work.

Why? Those are the kinds of things that self-motivated people do when you remove the requirement of earning a living from their efforts. They get involved with the things they care deeply about.

If you look around at the wealthy people in this world who have stepped back from the further accumulation of wealth, they don’t just sit around staring at the flowers. They find something useful to do with their time.

My primary case in point is Bill Gates and the tremendous work that’s being done through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He spends the vast majority of his time figuring out ways to solve the problems he perceives in the world, applies his sharp mind to solutions to those problems, and funds them appropriately when he can.

That’s what would happen if there were a “revolution” in favor of financial independence. You would have millions of people doing what Bill Gates does, though perhaps not with the same bankroll, and doing it in a variety of ways.

To Summarize…

Here’s what I think would happen over the coming decades if there were suddenly a change of direction in America and a large number of people started saving adequately for retirement and many went even further and worked for financial independence at an early age.

First, we’d have an economic downturn as the economy sorted itself out. Many businesses would run into trouble – particularly those that served the most unnecessary flavors of consumerism. Other businesses – those that made good products – would continue to do fine.

Second, the surviving companies would be flush with investors. That’s because there would be a lot of people who were spending less than they earned and that money would need to be invested somewhere. After a downturn, I’d expect a boom, at least in terms of the stock market.

Third, banks would be flush with cash and ready to invest in interesting opportunities. It would be a great time for people with ideas who are looking for startup money for their businesses, as banks would have plenty of money to invest. As this went on, lots of people would start becoming “angel investors” for great ideas as well as donators to nonprofits.

Finally, after several years, we would start seeing notable headway on many of the world’s problems. The brainpower and energy of people who were otherwise focused on financial independence would begin to turn their attention away from earning more money and towards solving the problems they see in the world. I’m actually doing this myself, to a certain extent, and I expect it to accelerate as we move toward that point. I see it in the stories of others who have reached true independence as well.

It is far more interesting and exciting to be working on solving a problem you particularly care about, after all, and if you’re self-motivated and have skills, you’re going to be pushing toward solutions. That basically describes the folks that would actually be on board with financial independence.

Overall, America would follow the same life story as the people who actually choose financial independence. America would have some very lean options in the short term, but as time moved along and people started actually achieving that independence, the doors would open wide, far wider than they ever have before.

I guess, in the end, it really does come down to that summary I offered up in the interviews. “America would go through a rough patch for a little while, but eventually we’d be better off than ever.”

It’s a nice dream. I’m trying to play my part. I hope you will, too.

The post Frugality, Financial Independence, and the Bigger World appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Sleeping on the Job: How I Made $12,000 From Sleep Studies

You mean you go to sleep every night and don’t get paid for it? Your luck may be about to change.

Turns out several million people in the United States suffer through sleepless nights, which many researchers agree greatly affects overall health. Numerous hospitals dedicate entire divisions to studying sleep — and they’re willing to pay you several thousand dollars just to watch you nap.

Most studies want healthy adults with consistent sleep patterns. I checked both boxes, and earned $12,000 participating in two studies in the same hospital. Here’s what I learned in the process, and how you, too, can get paid to sleep.

How to Qualify to Make Money While You Sleep

Some cities have a higher concentration of facilities that pay sleep-study participants, but it’s easy to find facilities in your area. I joined two studies in Boston at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

When you find a sleep center near you, you’ll usually see multiple studies running simultaneously. You won’t qualify for all of them, but you may qualify for more than you think.

Read the specifics of each study carefully so you only apply to studies you qualify for. You’ll often need to take a survey, sharing your personal information and confirming you understand the study’s goals and compensation. For example, the questionnaires I filled out included:

• An age window: Most studies look for volunteers in a specific age range.

• Length of in-hospital time: Whether it’s a few hours or several nights, make sure you know what you’re signing up for.

• Payment: You’ll want to make sure a study is worth your time and effort before joining.

• Specific lifestyle or medical requirements for study: Some studies look for volunteers with specific needs or qualifications, such as people with sleep apnea or those who work shifts outside the traditional nine-to-five.

• Comfort with the study methods: Recruiters want to make sure you’re up for the challenge, so while the questionnaire won’t tell you everything about the study for fear you’ll tailor your answers based on what you think they want to hear, they want you to know what they’re aiming to observe.

Don’t fudge your answers. Being honest is the only way to successfully get through this process, not to mention contribute to accurate scientific data!

One cool feature: You can start this part of the process remotely. I stayed in Florida while applying for studies in Boston, and I was able to get pretty far through the process before having to visit in person.

So if you’re planning a trip and want to turn it into an earning opportunity, consider looking for a study before you leave home!

What Happens After You’re Accepted

You have just become the recruiter’s best friend! She’ll want to talk to you and see you all the time.

Next, you’ll go to the hospital for a series of briefings and tests. You’ll likely meet the doctor conducting the research, who will give you a thorough explanation of the study and its processes.

At this point, you’ll likely take two exams:

• A psychological exam: The goal is to make sure you can handle isolation and a hospital environment in general

• A physical exam: Like a standard physical, a nurse will weigh you, take a small blood sample, ask you to pee in a cup, etc.

You won’t know right then and there if your blood and urine earned an A+, but you’re well on your way to completing the process.

The best part? This is paid time. If you get cold feet and decide to quit at this point, you’ll still get paid for each part of the process you’ve completed so far.

Compensation varies, but most researchers want to dangle a carrot so you’ll keep going. Most of the time you can expect a $25-$100 payment for each step you complete.

Most facilities are really good about the payout breakdown, but if yours doesn’t explain it at the beginning, ask. This is also your opportunity to discuss when and how you’ll be paid, as well as how your payment will be taxed.

After your exams, you’ll meet up with your new BFF, the recruiter who you will call every day for the duration of the study. At this point, I actually stopped calling her my BFF and started calling her “my mother.” She gave me a special watch monitor my light and activity patterns, keeping an eye on what I was doing.

You’ll also keep a physical sleep log documenting your progress as you wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, and you’ll call your new “mom” as you’re doing this to make sure what you say you’re doing is true.

That said, Mom has faith in you. She wants you to succeed, and if you blow curfew a few nights, you probably won’t be kicked out of the study.

What to Expect when you’re Ex… Sleeping

No, it’s not all comfy pillows and sweet dreams; researchers pay participants because these studies have a few downsides.

In my experience, they sound worse than they actually are. Here’s what you should be ready for:

Isolation

You will likely be completely cut off from the outside world during the study’s observation period.

You usually won’t have any time cues, meaning no clock, no computer and no phone. You also won’t have any windows to observe light patterns. While you’re in the study, the doctor determines night and day, which can be a bit unsettling.

I’ve taken part in studies as short as four days (for which I earned $4,000) and have seen others as long as 31 days (typically paying $10,000). Start small and work your way up once you’ve tried it once or twice.

Unusual Positions or Challenges

You may have to maintain a “constant posture” for part of the study.

In some cases you may have to sit in the same position for six hours, or you may be kept awake at a 45-degree angle in low light for two days. It depends on the study, but confirm you’ll be able to manage it before you sign up.

And no, for those of you wondering, I’m not kidding about the “constant” part — you don’t get to get up or change positions to use the restroom, so you might need to use a bedpan. This was the most difficult part of the studies I did!

Needles and Other Medical Devices

During at least part of the study you may wear an IV, a rectal thermometer and electrodes attached to your head.

Did you just say rectal thermometer?! Why yes, I did. There’s a reason they pay the big bucks.

The technicians and researchers make all of these procedures and measurements as easy as possible. The thermometer helps them make sure you’re maintaining a normal body temperature, and it’s not as big of a deal as it sounds.

The Rewards of Participating in Sleep Studies

No, it’s not all easy — but the rewards are great. I earned $4,000 for a four-day study and $8,000 for a seven-day study.

Plus, when you’re not giving blood or following instructions, you can do pretty much whatever you want outside of activities that would raise your heart rate.

If you want to relax, simply hang out in your comfiest clothes and listen to music, write letters, draw or paint. I never make time to create comics, but I completed three during one study, not to mention finishing several books that had been collecting dust on my shelves.

Or, put your time to work. Devise a business plan for a new venture, outline your new blog’s content calendar or even write letters to members of Congress. During one of my studies, a technician told me another participant worked on his architecture senior thesis during his time in the study!

Although you’re subject to frequent interruptions, if you can bounce back to what you were originally working on, it’s a great time to really hone in on any type of project. I suggest packing a bag with notebooks, art supplies, books and projects you’ve been meaning to work on, and seeing what you feel like.

You’ll enjoy a complete technology cleanse, you’ll interact with interesting technicians and researchers, you’re contributing to science, and best of all, you’ll get a big fat check. Not bad for a few nights’ work!

Your Turn: Have you ever participated in a sleep study? Tell us about your experience!

Jillian Shea loves obscure means of money and media. Read her blog at http://ift.tt/1fL5mLm

The post Sleeping on the Job: How I Made $12,000 From Sleep Studies appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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A New Era Of Digital Content: Engagement And Content Metrics That Matter

In a digital world oversaturated with content, how do you stand out from the crowd? Columnist Jim Yu explains why you need to know exactly how your content is performing and what will engage your target audience.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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8 Money Tips I Wish I Knew Before I Went to College

Follow this advice, and you'll graduate with few financial regrets.

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Act Now: Rates Increase Tomorrow. Register For MarTech Europe & Save £300

Attend MarTech Europe and acquire strategic solutions to successfully integrate technology-powered marketing. Register now to be a part of the most advanced marketing technology conference and experience: Twenty graduate-level presentations covering managerial, cultural and executional hurdles...

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Grab Your Crystal Ball: 3 Ways to Make Money Predicting the Future

Ever considered using knowledge of the future for financial gain?

If you knew what would happen tomorrow, you’d certainly find ways to capitalize on that, right? (And we’re talking legal ways, people!)

Hollywood uses this plot device in lots of popular time-travel movies. In Back to the Future II, Marty is advised to “put some money on the Cubbies” after their improbable World Series win. In Frequency, a young boy in the past is told to “remember the word ‘Yahoo,’” which was a high-flying stock tip when the movie aired in 2000.

Even though you don’t have the advantage of mentors from the future whispering predictions in your ear, there are still several ways to profit from your clairvoyance.

Let’s dust off those crystal balls and dive in! Here are three ways to make money predicting the future.

1. Motif Investing: Capitalize On Market Trends

Think of Motif Investing as a selection of micro-mutual funds organized around certain economic trends or industries.

Rather than investing in a traditional mutual fund that holds hundreds of positions, you might buy a Motif with 20-30 stocks all clustered around one idea like Obamacare, Cyber Security, Climate Change, or No Glass Ceilings (female-led companies).

Motif shows you the performance history of these various “motifs,” and like traditional stock investing, you can put your money where your mouth is and invest in the trends you believe in. Trades cost $9.95.

The top-performer year-to-date? Battling Cancer, up 46.5%.

And while the thematic investing element is cool, where Motif gets interesting is that users like you and me are allowed to create our own motifs. Through their Creator Royalty Program, you can earn $1 for everyone who buys or rebalances your motif.

The platform has 100,000 active customers and is growing rapidly, so these royalty earnings have the potential to add up fast if you can build a popular and successful collection of stocks.

Among the “Community Curated Motifs” I explored, the top-performers seemed to share the common threads of capitalizing on a current market trend and a clever name, like Phanatical Pharmas II, GoPro or Go Home.

If you have access to a blog, forum or other audience of people who believe what you believe, you could recruit them to join Motif and buy into your fund, then collect the royalty.

2. Instavest: Replicate the Trades of Top Investors

Like Motif, Instavest also plays in the stock market sector but with an even simpler proposition. Instead of investing in micro-mutual funds, Instavest just shows you single stock recommendations and one person’s reasoning behind their pick.

The platform will show their actual trades, performance history, and the size of their position. This level of transparency is designed to let you replicate the trades of top investors without having to do all the research yourself, and without the expensive overhead of a traditionally managed mutual fund or brokerage.

If you believe a trader’s logic to be sound, you can buy the stock through Instavest and set it to automatically sell or re-balance whenever the Lead Investor makes their next move. Trades are just $3.49.

If you make a profit and are happy with your returns, you have the option to “tip” the Lead Investor a percentage of your gain as a “thank you” for their advice.

And naturally, this is a two-sided opportunity as well; if you’ve got a knack for picking winning stocks and can make a compelling case to convince others, you may find yourself in the Lead Investor role and earning tips as the gains materialize.

Lead Investors can make up to $5,000 per successful strategy when others piggyback, according to Instavest.

That’s not bad, considering it’s on top of what you already made from your investment!

3. PredictIt: A Crowdsourced Prediction Engine

PredictIt.org is something of a crowdsourced prediction engine where you can make money predicting future events.

Some of the current predictions on the site:

• Who will win the 2016 Presidential election?
• Will Greece exit the Euro in 2015?
• Which woman will be featured on the $10 bill?

Here’s how it works. You buy shares in the outcome you think will happen. For instance, if you think Hillary Clinton will win in 2016, you could buy shares in that outcome.

All shares are priced between $0.01 and $0.99 based on market-driven probability and everyone else’s predictions. The current “price” to bet on Clinton is $0.57 per share, and will almost certainly fluctuate over time.

If you buy a share of Clinton’s presidential election at $0.57, you have several options. If things are looking good for her in the primaries, the value of that share (based on market demand from the rest of the PredictIt crowd) could increase to $0.67. In that case, you could sell your share for a $0.10 profit.

Alternatively, you can wait until the election actually happens. If your prediction comes true and Clinton wins, your share is now worth $1.00, earning you a $0.43 profit. In these types of zero-sum games, your profit is funded by everyone who predicted Clinton would lose… That’s the beauty of crowdsourcing!

PredictIt earns money by charging a 10% fee on your profit.

Ready to pull out the Magic 8-Ball and start profiting from predicting the future?

Your Turn: Would you try any of these futuristic strategies for making money?

Nick Loper helps people earn money outside of their day job. He’s an author, online entrepreneur, and life-long student in the game of business. His latest role is as Chief Side Hustler at SideHustleNation.com, a growing community and resource for aspiring and part-time entrepreneurs.

The post Grab Your Crystal Ball: 3 Ways to Make Money Predicting the Future appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Shopping is about to get a whole lot easier

ONE of the most frustrating things about shopping has been solved, as retail and banking giants promise the perfect, “seamless” experience.

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5 signs your parents are the victim of a financial scam

Although no one is immune to financial scams, older adults tend to be more susceptible. Nearly 30 percent of fraud complaints filed with law enforcement in 2014 were lodged by adults ages 60 and older, according to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. And Americans 65 and older who were targets of fraudsters were 34 percent more likely to have lost money than those in their 40s, according to a report by Applied Research & Consulting LLC.

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South West best for long and healthy retirement

Rachel Lacey

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Retirees seeking a long and healthy retirement should head for the South West of England, according to new research from Prudential.

Retirees seeking a long and healthy retirement should head for the South West of England, according to new research from Prudential.

South West best for long and healthy retirement

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Retirees seeking a long and healthy retirement should head for the South West of England, according to new research from Prudential. The insurer claims that six of the top 20 counties for ‘pensioner wellbeing' are in the South West, with Devon emerging top. The largely rural county enjoys below-average crime rates, longer pensioner life expectancy and better access to healthcare than other parts of the UK. Dorset took the second spot while Norfolk and Powys in mid-Wales vied for third position. Counties in the South East scored highly too, with East Sussex, Surrey, West Sussex, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire all featuring in the top 20. The only northern region to make an appearance was North Yorkshire. In separate research from Prudential new retirees in the South West of England also saw the biggest increase in expected retirement incomes, with those retiring this year anticipating to live on 19% more than last year's retirees. Save, save, save Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement income expert at Prudential, said: "For people hoping to have the most comfortable lifestyle in retirement the best approach remains to save as much as possible, as early as possible during your working life – but while being financially secure in retirement shouldn't be overlooked, issues such as safety, security and health play an important part in a pensioner's overall quality of life." According to Prudential 36% of new retirees in the South West believe they will able to leave their loved ones an inheritance, compared to a national average of 29%. Meanwhile, Dorset pensioners have the longest life expectancy – the average 65-year-old woman will live for 23 years, the average 65-year-old man, 20 years. Former Prudential research also dubbed Dorset town Christchurch the UK's retirement capital as it has more pensioners per head than anywhere else in the UK.

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Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1Db6NOf

Bakery cops backlash over anti-gay letter

SOCIAL media is in an uproar over comments by an Adelaide Hills baker criticising a local newspaper for “promoting gay and lesbians”.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1KBRTAe