'Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth' leaves its imprint on Las Vegas

With dozens of the world's top tattoo artists and hundreds more up-and-comers slinging ink, the Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth made a resounding return to the Las Vegas Valley this weekend with a record number of artists and participants.

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I Just Got This Cell Phone Company to Offer Me Free Service. Here’s How

I know my smartphone isn’t a necessity, but most days I feel like I couldn’t live without it.

But my cell phone bills have been creeping higher and higher — the last one I paid was over $120! That’s crazy, considering there was a time when I survived just fine without a phone at all.

I can buy an entire month’s groceries with that $120, so I’ve been on the hunt for a more affordable cell phone plan.

To be honest, most of the cheaper options I’ve found are pretty awful. But, I just stumbled upon one company who is offering cell service for FREE!

Say, what? Here’s what I found…

Could FreedomPop Lower Your Cell Phone Bill?

My interest in FreedomPop was piqued a few years ago. But for a while, I was leery of their limited offerings. I think a lot of people were!

Until about a year ago, reviews of the service were mostly complaints about crappy phones and slow connections. But it seems like FreedomPop has stepped up their game.

With a shift earlier this year to Sprint’s 4G LTE network, FreedomPop added faster data speeds and a bunch of LTE phones to their lineup, making them a more viable alternative to pricey cell phone carriers… and, did I mention, FREE?

So What’s the FreedomPop Deal?

A free cell phone plan might sound too good to be true, so let me break it down.

First of all, why would a company offer free service? They have to make money somehow, right?

I’m not seeing any hidden fees or gimmicks here. It looks like FreedomPop makes their money by offering paid upgrades and premium options… in addition to their free plans.

If you want a truly free plan, here’s what they promise when you sign up:

• no contract
• Sprint’s 4G LTE network
• 200 minutes
• 500 texts
• 500 mb of data
• WiFi calling & texting
• 30-day risk-free trial

These limits would be too low for my needs, but I did find their unlimited talk, text and data plan for only $19.99. At that rate, I’d get a year’s worth of cell service for what two months cost me now!

They also offer other premium services and paid upgrades like data rollover, visual voicemail, wireless tethering, extended warranty and more.

You pay just for the features you need and keep your expenses at a fraction of the cost of the average cell phone bill. This FreedomPop customer, for example, gets unlimited talk, text, data and a Wifi hotspot for about $35 a month.

How to Save $150 on Your Phone

For a while, most of the negative reviews I read about FreedomPop focused on their limited selection of devices. But this year, they expanded their lineup of LTE smartphones.

They don’t have everything yet — for example, the iPhone 6 is not available.  But if you’re trying to save money, does buying a $650 phone really make sense?

As a cherry on top, FreedomPop wants to offer a special deal for The Penny Hoarder readers! You know I never turn down an offer that might save our readers money.

With this deal, you can get a certified pre-owned LG Volt LTE Smartphone for just $49.99 — that’s $150 off the regular price for a new one. You’ll also get a free trial of the Unlimited Talk & Text + 1GB of data, saving you that $19.99 for your first month.

Can You Get FreedomPop in Your Area?

Before you sign up, make sure to see if FreedomPop’s service is available in your area. It runs on Sprint’s network, which is available across the U.S., and  you can check your ZIP code to ensure you’re covered where you live.

If you travel a ton like I do, you’ll want to take a look at their coverage map to see whether you’ll have service when you’re on the road. If you find yourself needing your cell phone while visiting or driving through rural or less-populated areas, you might want to stick with higher rates for a wider network.

Bottom Line: This Could Be a Cool Way to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill

What really holds my attention is this: FreedomPop could save you a ton of money on your cell phone bill – over $1,000 a year.

It kills me to think that a cell phone could cost me nearly $30,000 over the next 20 years. That’s money that could go to my retirement account!

If you’re thinking about making the switch, don’t forget to check out FreedomPop’s offer for The Penny Hoarder readers. You might as well get $150 off an LG Volt LTE Smartphone — that’s a savings of 77% — and snap up a free trial of their Unlimited plan!

Sponsorship Disclosure: A huge thanks to FreedomPop for working with us to bring you this content. It’s rare that we have the opportunity to share something so awesome and get paid for it!

The post I Just Got This Cell Phone Company to Offer Me Free Service. Here’s How appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Four Signs It’s Time to Hire Help Around the House

If you’re so busy that you run out of clean socks, or find yourself spending more time scrubbing floors than playing with your kids, it might be time to at least consider hiring a bit of help around the house. Photo: Quinn Dombrowski

We all know how stressful and time-consuming everyday life can be when you have a home, a family, and a full-time job. With only 24 hours in the day, keeping the house clean, the groceries stocked, and the laundry moving can feel like an impossible feat.

And if you’re frugal, hiring some help might seem out of the question. After all, why should you pay someone to complete a task you can easily do yourself?

The Day We Hired a Housekeeper

My husband and I found ourselves in this exact situation late last year. With two full-time jobs, two kids in school and activities, and plenty of other responsibilities, we were struggling to keep up with basic household chores – but too stubborn (and cheap) to ask for help.

But, then it happened. After spending an entire Saturday night scrubbing bathrooms and mopping the floors while simultaneously crying, I finally snapped. And it was at that moment that my husband made the decision to hire a bi-weekly housekeeper – whether I truly wanted to or not.

Fortunately, it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. Now that we have someone to deep clean every few weeks, I can focus on the daily stuff – wiping down counters, picking up toys, laundry, and dishes. And for the first time in a really long time, I can say that I no longer feel overwhelmed by it all. Because, no matter how busy life gets, our housekeeper’s next visit is never more than a few weeks away.

Four Signs It’s Time to Outsource Some Household Tasks

With all that being said, it took me a while to realize that outsourcing household tasks actually made a lot of sense for us. Here are some signs to look for if you find yourself in the same predicament:

You’re planning your life around avoiding chores.

Working part-time or full-time can take a toll on your body and your mental health, and that’s especially true if you’re also running a household and taking care of kids. And sometimes, the “extra,” mundane stuff is enough to make you downright miserable.

If you find yourself wearing the same clothes for days in order to avoid laundry, or stopping by McDonald’s for dinner to avoid dirtying more dishes, it might be time to hire some help.

Your husband is down to his last pair of underwear.

This has happened to me more than once. After working several 12-hour days in a row, I realized that no one in the house had any clean dress socks or underwear for work the next day. So instead of coming home from a long day to relax, I had to spend some late night hours doing laundry instead.

This is a telltale sign that it might be time to outsource something – anything. When you don’t have enough hours in the day to keep basic laundry items clean, something has to give.

Your hourly rate is higher than what you would pay someone.

When you aren’t earning a lot, paying $20-$25 per hour or more for a housekeeper can be out of the question. But, what if you earn considerably more than what you would pay someone else?

This is an important question to ponder if you’re thinking about hiring help. Let’s say you pay $100 per month for a housekeeper to clean your house from top to bottom for four hours. If you invested that time into overtime at your job or your side hustle, could you make that much or more? If the answer is yes, then it definitely makes sense to hire some help.

You’re missing out on quality time with your partner, spouse, or children.

When you work full-time and have a family, sometimes the weekends are all you’ve got left. But, would you rather spend your Saturday afternoon doing something fun with your family – or watching life go by while you deep clean your kitchen and lint roll your couch?

The fact that there are only 940 Saturdays from the time your child is born and the day they turn 18 means you should spend that time making memories. If you spend that time cleaning instead, you could live to regret it.

The Bottom Line

While it’s important to save money for the future, it’s equally important to have a happy life today. And sometimes, that means figuring out what you can and can’t do — and hiring help when you can’t be everywhere at once.

So if you’re struggling to keep up with your to-do list, give yourself permission to at least explore the idea of hiring help. And remember, if always running on empty, it might actually make sense to hire someone to mow the lawn, clean your house, or deliver your groceries.

There are only 24 hours in a day, and it’s up to us to make the most of them. And sometimes, that means being smart enough to realize we need time for ourselves and our families more than anything else.

Do you outsource any of your household tasks?

The post Four Signs It’s Time to Hire Help Around the House appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Want a Free $10 to Spend at Walmart? Just Buy Trash Bags This Week

Raise your hand if you want to earn free money buying an everyday household necessity.

*All hands go up.*

That’s what I thought. Me, too.

And that’s why we’re excited when we hear about awesome deals like this one!

How to Get a FREE $10 Walmart Gift Card

Now through September 26, you can earn enough Swag Bucks for a $10 Walmart gift card just by buying Hefty trash bags.

Swagbucks is a site you can use to earn rewards (called “Swag Bucks”) for online shopping, searching, watching videos and more. Each SB is worth roughly 1 cent, and different tasks earn different amounts of SBs.

Most of the time, you earn SBs through online tasks, so this Hefty offer is a unique chance to get paid to do something you’re doing already — buying household goods.

Here’s How the Deal Works

Go to your local Walmart (or Walmart.com) and buy any pack of Hefty trash bags. If you’re online, make sure you select “free pickup in store” — shipped orders don’t qualify for this offer.

Send a picture of your purchase and receipt to Swagbucks, and you’ll earn 400 Swag Bucks. If you buy two or more packs, you’ll earn enough SBs to get a $10 Walmart gift card!

That means you can, for example, get a 20-pack of Hefty Renew Tall Kitchen bags for as little as $0.27.

Wait — Don’t Forget the Coupon!

This is already a pretty good deal, but we can’t stop there. We also found a coupon to make it even better.

Use this coupon to save $1 off one package of Hefty trash bags.

So, you can buy a 20-pack of Hefty Renew Tall Kitchen bags with the $1 off coupon for $3.27. Earn 400 Swag Bucks, which you can cash in for $4, so you get trash bags for free, plus make $0.63!

Buy two packs with the $1 off coupon for $7.54 and you’ll earn enough Swag Bucks to get a $10 Walmart gift card — so you’ve made $2.46 on top of getting free trash bags!

Each Swagbucks member can only redeem this offer once, regardless of how many packs of trash bags you purchase, so think about which makes the most sense for you (and how many trash bags you’ll use).

Your Next Steps

1. Sign up for Swagbucks if you haven’t already.
2. Grab this coupon for $1 off one pack of Hefty trash bags
3. Go to Walmart.com or your local Walmart and grab any pack of Hefty trash bags. Remember to choose free in-store pickup if you order online.
4. Take a picture of your purchase along with the qualifying receipt (the one that shows your Hefty trash bag purchase from Walmart).
5. Email your photos to iredeemedhefty@swagbucks.com with your Swag name in the subject line.
6. Within 60 days you’ll be credited with 400 Swag Bucks.
7. If you purchase two or more packs, you’ll earn enough SBs to get a $10 Walmart gift card.

Here’s the math: To get your trash bags for free, keep the retail price below about $5 for a single box, or about $11 total for multiple boxes. After that, you’re still saving money, but it’s not totally free.

Your Turn: Do you use Swagbucks? Will you be heading to Walmart for trash bags this month?

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We would have shared them with you anyway, but a true “penny hoarder” would be a fool not to take the company’s money.

Dana Sitar is a Staff Writer at The Penny Hoarder. She also writes about writing, work, life and love for blogs and books and sometimes things people care about, like Huffington Post and that one time she had an article published in the Onion. Follow along on Twitter @danasitar.

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