Ikea’s $150m plan to war with Harvey Norman

IKEA has unveiled a massive investment paving the way to roll out online shopping, home delivery and pick-up locations across Australia.

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How to avoid these 12 scary money scams

Scammers have been around since the beginning of time. As long as there have been vulnerable people with money, there has been someone looking to steal it. To avoid becoming another unwitting victim and putting your finances at risk, keep an eye out for these 12 increasingly common money scams.

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JB Hi-Fi lashed: ‘I’ve never been so disgusted’

VICTORIA says she’s never been more angry than when her brother was refused entry to JB Hi-Fi. The backlash against the store has been swift.

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JB Hi-Fi lashed: ‘I’ve never been so disgusted’

VICTORIA says she’s never been more angry than when her brother was refused entry to JB Hi-Fi. The backlash against the store has been swift.

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Down syndrome man denied entry to JB Hi-Fi

THE family of a Down syndrome man have been left in shock after he was refused entry into a Brisbane JB Hi-Fi store yesterday.

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Are Aussie kids no longer Weet-Bix kids?

YOU’VE changed Australia. The old image of us having Weet-Bix in the cupboard, VB in the fridge and a Holden in the garage is being replaced by something different.

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Titus urges discussion of updating U.S.-China air pact

With an eye toward clearing the way toward nonstop flights between China and Las Vegas, Rep. Dina Titus has co-written a letter to President Obama, encouraging him to discuss updating an air transport agreement between the U.S. and China with President Xi Jinping.

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Nevada, other states reviewing daily fantasy sports legalities

The number of states exploring the legalities surrounding the booming daily fantasy sports business is growing as fast as the business.

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Officials break ground on $30 million motorsports complex

When tourists roll in from California next year, they'll get a glimpse of cars traveling up to 120 mph. And they won't even be on Interstate 15.

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Is It Enough to Have Life Insurance Through Work?

Even if you have life insurance through work, you should give serious consideration to getting a private policy on the outside. As the saying goes, never have all of your eggs in one basket, and that’s absolutely true for life insurance.

“I Don’t Need More Life Insurance – I’m Covered at Work”

This is a common response to the question of life insurance by people who have life insurance through work. Usually, not much thought goes into determining if this cliché is even valid.

For example, most employer life insurance policies fall far short of the amount of coverage that you actually need. Your employer may offer you a $50,000 or $100,000 policy at no cost. But that will be totally inadequate if you have a young family and actually need something closer to $500,000 or more.

Some employers do offer supplemental life insurance coverage where you have to pay the premium for the additional coverage. While this may sound like a good option on the surface, it will still keep all of your life insurance with a single source.

And that presents a number of problems…

What If You Lose Your Job?

You may plan to stay on your current job for the rest of your life, but reality probably won’t cooperate. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average stay on a job as of 2014 is 4.6 years. Considering that a career may span 45 years, that’s what (?) – ten jobs over a lifetime?

An important factor that the BLS statistic doesn’t account for is the not-so-unusual practice of employers to reassign workers from employee-with-benefits status to unbenefited sub-contractors. It’s called “cutting payroll costs” and it plays well with Wall Street analysts and investors.

Then there’s also the possibility of experiencing extended periods of unemployment in between jobs. This becomes even more likely during recessions, when you may find yourself without a job or insurance coverage for many months.

Whether by separation or by reassignment, your current employer provided life insurance policy will come to an end at some point, and likely a lot sooner than you think.

Though you may simply assume that you can get a private plan at a later date when it becomes absolutely necessary, there’s a not so minor complication…

What If You Develop a Health Condition Before You Lose Your Job?

The standard advice when it comes to purchasing life insurance is to do it while you’re healthy. If you develop a health condition, and later lose your job, the option to purchase a private policy could disappear.

Certain health conditions can make it impossible to get a life insurance policy, particularly if that condition is fairly recent. And even if you can get policy, it will come with a risk adjusted premium, that will make it cost much more.

Keep Your Life Insurance Through Work – But Add a Third Party Policy

You certainly want to keep a life insurance through work policy, particularly if it’s one that you don’t have to pay for. But any additional coverage that you need should be through a private policy purchased outside of work.

Are you familiar with diversification as an investment strategy? It’s also valuable when it comes to purchasing life insurance. Your financial situation is more secure if you maintain policies through two or more completely separate entities.

As a life insurance agent, I can help you purchase a private policy. There are several reasons why this is better trying to buy a policy directly from a life insurance company:

• My services will not cost you any more than buying the policy directly from the life insurance company.
• I can handle all of the paperwork and nuances that are part of the life insurance application process – which you are probably totally unfamiliar with.
• I can get you the best policy for your needs, at the lowest possible premium rate. In this way, using a life insurance agent will actually save you money on your policy.
• I know who the better companies are, and will place your application with those, so that you don’t waste time and application fees applying to companies that won’t be a good match.
• In the event that you need to add additional insurance or even change policies in the future, I will be there to help you through the process.

Give me a call and I’ll get to work getting you the right policy for your needs. I’m 100% service driven, and I promise that I don’t bite! Well, not as long as I’ve had my breakfast that morning

Why You Should Lock in Your Rate on a Private Policy As Soon As Possible

Earlier I talked about the risk of developing a health condition before you lose your job, and how that can complicate (or even eliminate) your ability to get a private life insurance policy. But there’s another much more common reason why you should want to purchase a private life insurance policy, and do it right now:

Your life insurance premium will never be lower than it will be today.

That’s due to the simple fact that age is one of the major factors in determining life insurance premiums. If you are 30 years old right now, the premium on a private policy will be much lower today than it will be when you’re 40 or 50.

By locking in the premium rate on a long-term term life insurance policy now, you will spare yourself both the higher premiums that will come with age, and the possibility of being declined for poor health.

I’m ready by the phone any time you’re ready to move past “I don’t need more life insurance – I’m covered at work”. That assumption could be hazardous to your family’s financial health.

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Ferrari dealership at Wynn Las Vegas to close

The Ferrari dealership inside Wynn Las Vegas will close sometime before the end of the year as the casino looks to bring in a different type of attraction.

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Marketing Day: What’s New With Gmail Ads, Twitter Emoji Hashtags & SMX Is Almost Here

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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Tips for Opening a Bank Account for Your Kids

Are you trying to teach your child the value of a dollar — and the importance of saving up for special items — by stashing away some of his or her birthday, holiday, and gift money?

If so, it might make sense to open a savings account for that extra money. With a bank account, your child can start socking away money they receive from relatives, cash they earn by completing chores, and dollars you contribute on their behalf — and watch it add up.

And unlike your child’s piggy bank, a savings account may also offer interest that helps their little nest egg grow. So, what are you waiting for? The following guide can help you figure out when the time is right.

When Should I Open a Savings Account for My Child?

There is no right or wrong time to open a savings account on your child’s behalf. On the other hand, when your child starts to accumulate small sums of money, you’ll know the time is right.

For some families, that might mean opening an account when their child is an infant, and stashing away all of their gift money or making regular monthly contributions. For others, it might mean waiting until their child is in school, and perhaps starts earning small amounts of money on their own.

What Type of Bank Account Should I Choose?

Unless your child is a young entrepreneur who’s actually writing checks to pay bills and expenses, you’ll want to start off with a savings account, which will typically offer higher interest rates and fewer fees. The best savings accounts for kids (and adults) meet the following criteria:

• No minimum balance requirement. Since your child won’t have a lot of money saved at first, it’s important to choose a savings vehicle with no minimum balance requirement. That way, you can save small sums of money without worrying about falling short.
• No monthly maintenance fees. Monthly maintenance fees can eat away at a small savings balance in a short amount of time. To preserve your child’s net worth as much as possible, choose a savings account with no monthly maintenance or account fees.
• Online account management. While you may want to use a bank with a local branch to better illustrate the concept of a bank, it’s also important to have online access. With online account management tools, it’s much easier to keep track of your child’s growing nest egg for them until they are able to do it on their own.
• A high interest rate. Since your child’s savings account will likely be in place until they reach adulthood, it’s important to choose an interest-bearing account. For some of the best options out there, read this related post: How to Find the Best Savings Account in 2015.

How to Open a Savings Account for Your Child

If you opt for a bank with a local branch, opening a new account is easy as pie. Bring the following documentation:

• Your child’s Social Security number and date of birth
• Picture identification such as your driver’s license
• Personal details such as your address, email address, and date of birth
• Your initial deposit, including cash or checks

Since your child won’t be able to open the account without a parent or guardian present, show up ready to help. Also be prepared to sign the required legal documents on your child’s behalf.

How to Use a Bank Account to Teach Your Kids about Money

Once you’ve opened an account in your child’s name, you’ll find plenty of new opportunities to teach your child about money.

First and foremost, make sure they understand that the bank is simply holding the money for them, and that it is earning interest and growing. Here are some other ways to use a savings account for simple, child-appropriate money lessons:

• Register deposits and watch the money grow. Each time you or your child make a deposit into their account is an opportunity to show them how their savings add up. Take time to add the deposit manually in their paper register, and have your child do the math if they are able. Over time, they will see how the little deposits you make together add up.
• Sign into online account management to keep track of interest payments. In addition to deposits, you should also keep track of interest payments. This helps your child realize the value of interest on their savings, and how the magic of compound interest works. If you have online account access, log in to see how much money your child’s account is earning each month. Then, add it in your child’s check register along with any deposits.
• Make it fun. If your bank offers suckers and stickers to its pint-sized visitors, make sure to take advantage. You want your child to see bank visits as a fun and rewarding experience, and making the process enjoyable is one way to reach that goal. With any luck, your child will start to look forward to their bank visits in no time.

The Bottom Line

It makes sense to open a bank account for your child as soon as you’re ready. With plenty of years ahead of them, and compound interest on their side, you could help your child’s small savings grow into something they can benefit from over time. But to make the most out of these early years, the best time to get started is probably now.

When did you open a savings account for your child? How did you know the time was right?

The post Tips for Opening a Bank Account for Your Kids appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Leave Your Wallet at Home: How to Shop at Kohl’s With Only a $10 Coupon

A couple of times a year, I open my mailbox to find a postcard-sized coupon from Kohl’s.

“$10 on us!” it announces. Challenge accepted, I say. My goal with these coupons is to get in and get out without spending a dime of my own money.

Since there’s no minimum purchase when you use the coupon, as long as your total is less than 10 bucks, you don’t need to take out your wallet to (legally) leave the store with merchandise.

Like all coupon distributors, Kohl’s sends these deals your way to get you into the store, where you’ll inevitably spend more than $10 on items you wouldn’t normally buy. And I’m not mad about it. It’s a legitimate marketing strategy that’s worked on me plenty of times.

However, these days when I get snail mail from Kohl’s, I know exactly which sections of the store to hit for items that’ll keep me under the $10 limit. Here’s my game plan for snagging a little something I actually want, using nothing but a coupon.

Skip the Clearance Rack

I know, it sounds crazy. But the clearance racks at Kohl’s tend to be pretty picked over.

And I’m not convinced there was much there to begin with. The items that find their way to clearance tend to be the more out-there fashion choices and the poorest quality options. I’m not willing to invest the time it would take to weed through all of the misses for a single bargain.

Get Ready to Go Back to School

It’s that time of year, and the little humans need gear to help them learn.

For the under-$10 game, my money is on smaller supplies, like pencil boxes, lunch boxes and tablet cases. If your kids wear uniforms to school, you can get a handful of suitable polo shirts for under $10.

But in all honesty, if you take your kid to the store with you, you’re coming out with something related to a favorite animated character. For better or worse, Kohl’s carries merchandise depicting everything from the Minions to Minecraft — and much of it comes in under the $10 mark.

Check Out the Fitness Section

Kohl’s has a pretty decent selection of activewear from some recognizable brands — who knew they carried Nike?

When all else fails, you probably need a pair of track shorts or a workout tank top. I’m pretty sure my last two Kohl’s coupons resulted in new sports bra purchases (TMI?).

Stop by the Jewelry Case

You’ll find lots of under-$10 choices in the jewelry section, either for yourself or to give as a gift. The majority of Lauren Conrad’s trendy line is coupon-friendly, and you’ll find tons of dainty earrings and statement necklaces.

Meanwhile, Vera Wang keeps it classy with more grown-up options. If all else fails, basic silver posts will never go out of style.

Stock Up on Gifts

Sometimes it pays to have a few all-purpose items on hand for last-minute gifts. Kohl’s has a respectable selection of scented candles, bath stuff and pretty scarves. You’ll find coupon-able options in all of these areas.

Or consider getting a gender-neutral baby gift to keep at the ready. A good portion of the baby section is under $10, including baby-related trinkets to stick on top of a wrapped gift as you head out for the next baby shower.

Scan the Beauty Products

A $10 coupon might be just the nudge you need to try something new. I’m only half kidding when I suggest testing out faux eyelashes.

On a recent trip to Kohl’s, I spotted smallish, under-$10 Bliss brand products (which are also carried by Nordstrom). They have Essie nail polish, too. For 10 bucks, you could also pick up a couple of those cute EOS chapstick balls.

Swing by the Housewares

Last year, I got a pretty sweet rag rug with my coupon. Those things are ridiculously cheap, washable and having a trendy moment.

Other options include bathroom accessories (soap dispensers, toothbrush holders, etc.), picture frames and smaller décor items for around the house.

One of these coupons will also cover all manner of small kitchen gadgets. Before you head to the store, scan your kitchen drawers for anything you might need to replace — whisks, spatulas, wooden spoons.

Or maybe you’ve been pining for something super specialized and hard to justify, like a cherry pitter or an avocado slicer. Now’s your chance to live your dreams!

Your Turn: Will you take the Kohl’s Coupon Challenge next time you find that little postcard in your mailbox? What are your top department-store picks under $10?

Note: This post was not sponsored by Kohl’s, which should probably be obvious since we’re discussing how to maximize free stuff and avoid spending money in the store.

Lyndsee Simpson is an editor and writer living Washington, D.C. She’s wearing a pair of (free) Kohl’s earrings right now.

The post Leave Your Wallet at Home: How to Shop at Kohl’s With Only a $10 Coupon appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Will Facebook’s “Empathy” Button Be Good News For Marketers?

Marketing experts weigh in possible impact of Facebook's plan to test a way for people to express shorthand emotions other than Like.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Webinars: Social Media Compliance (Tues); Global Content Marketing (Thurs)

Two opportunities to learn from digital marketing experts.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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SMX East Is Next Week! Connect With The Best & Brightest.

Learning cutting-edge, proven SEO and SEM tactics is what makes SMX East a must-attend event. But connecting with others who share your interests and challenges is just as valuable. At SMX East, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with more than 1,500 others like you, whether you work in-house or...

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Shhh. Your Email Program Should Be A Secret Weapon

How do you gain a competitive advantage with your email program? It's all about differentiation and leveraging your data to drive results, says columnist Jose Cebrian.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Judge orders $1M bail for mother of dead Boston toddler

The mother of the 2-1/2-year-old girl whose remains were found on a Boston Harbor beach three months ago was ordered held on $1 million bail on Monday, while her boyfriend was ordered held without bail.

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4 Things the Pope Needs to Tell America

My profoundest prayer is that the Pope's mission on his visit is to save souls, not the planet. Here are four messages I hope he communicates to the American people.

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Working Parents, Want to Live Well? Maybe You Should Move to Tennessee

If you have kids, you undoubtedly want to give them the best life you can.

But with rising costs of everything from diapers to education, it can be tough to do so — even when both parents work.

Your quality of life depends heavily on your income potential, cost of living (including childcare and other necessities) and the caliber of schools and the community — all of which differ vastly depending on where you live.

Keeping these factors in mind, where are the best places to live in the United States?

NerdWallet recently analyzed 961 cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 to determine the best small cities for working parents.

The result? If you want to live a good life as a working parent, head south. More specifically, head to Tennessee; The Volunteer State had an impressive three cities in the top 10.

The Best Small Cities for Working Parents

Brentwood, Franklin and Germantown, Tennessee came in at numbers one, four and seven, respectively. They all boast excellent schools and good income-to-affordability ratios.

Other states with cities in the top 10 were California (2), Alabama (2), Arkansas, Missouri and Ohio.

Eager to move, but don’t know what to do about your career? Here are a few ideas:

Go Location-Independent

See if your boss will let you work remotely.

If not, don’t worry; you can choose from a growing number of legitimate work-from-home jobs.

Cut Back to One Paycheck

If your partner has a mobile job, you could rely on his or her income while looking for a job in your new city.

Remember that if it has a considerably lower cost of living than your current location, it might not be as hard as you think.

Change Careers

If you’ve felt stagnant in your career, now might be the perfect time to switch it up. You can go back to school, cobble together some side gigs or start your own business.

If you and your family are struggling to afford your town’s cost of living, don’t take it as a given. Moving to another city or state could provide just the boost you need.

Cruise over to NerdWallet to read about the top 100 cities — with details on everything from average commute time to annual cost of childcare.

Your Turn: Where do you live? Is it a good place for working parents?

Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Connect with her on Twitter: @susan_shain.

The post Working Parents, Want to Live Well? Maybe You Should Move to Tennessee appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Refugee isle may actually happen

IT’S so crazy it might just work. The billionaire offering to buy an island for refugees is in talks with two owners and has met the UN.

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Cars We Remember: 1974 Chevy Laguna Type S-3

Q: Hi, Greg. First I want to tell you I enjoy your articles on the older cars and your auto experiences. I still have my 1974 Chevy Malibu Laguna Type S-3 that I bought brand new from the Ferrario Chevrolet dealership in Wysox, Pennsylvania, back in 1974.I am hoping you can give me some history on this car and its current value. The car is original with 52,000 miles on it. It has the 350 V-8 engine with an automatic transmission. I need to buy some parts for the car [...]

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Silvio Calabi: Explorer raises the SUV bar to Titanium

There was a moment outside Ouray, Colorado, when I forgot what I was driving. Yes, this is stupid. But we’d been waiting an hour and a half for a road crew to clear away that day’s rockslides, and my brain was elsewhere. When it finally came time to fire up the motor and move ahead, my eyes dropped back into the cockpit and . . . wow, look at this brushed-aluminum trim and these stitched-and-quilted cowhides, the warm fabrics, the rich wooden wheel with its pebble-grain [...]

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What's Worse for Your Career: Boredom or Stress?

Tips to combat both, so you can achieve workplace equilibrium. 

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Gmail Ads: What’s New (And Not New) With This Native Ad Type

Gmail Ads, formerly known as Gmail Sponsored Promotions, are now a standard part of the AdWords toolbox. Columnist Susan Waldes explains how they work so that you can start taking advantage of them.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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How I Generated $332,640 in 3 Months From Instagram

Who would have ever thought that you could get a direct ROI from social media? But hey, if there wasn’t potential…companies such as Facebook wouldn’t be worth 200 billion dollars.

So, what’s the key to making a lot of money from these social media sites? Well, over the last year, I’ve figured it out.

The trick I’ve learned is that you have to find popular social profiles that aren’t monetizing but are willing to promote your products and services for a quick buck. I know that sounds simple, but there is actually a bit more to it.

Let’s see how a few companies, including mine, are making money using this model and how you can do the same. 

Uwheels case study

One of my friends, Dan Fleyshman, co-founded a company called Uwheels. You may have seen it on Instagram:

Can you guess how much revenue they’ve generated by having popular Instagram models and celebrities post about their product?

If you guessed a few hundred thousand, you’re wrong. They’ve actually generated over a million dollars.

That’s no too shabby, considering that the company spent only $61,200. “How?” you may be wondering.

Here is how.

Dan’s girlfriend, Jessica Killings, was able to recruit a lot of famous rappers, singers, athletes, and Instagram models to promote the product. She worked out deals where they either received the Uwheels product in exchange for posting something about the product or they were paid money in exchange for posting about Uwheels.

In addition to that, she did a few other key things to make the campaign work:

1. She got multiple accounts to post about Uwheels right when the product first came out. In essence, she created a “blitz” with everyone talking about the product at the same time.
2. She knew the space was competitive as it wasn’t the only product of its kind, so she focused on the messaging to separate Uwheels from the crowd. The message she had everyone use was, “Got my @Uwheels with the alarm and the bluetooth speaker system. @Uwheels.” You can see an example of this post in the image below.
3. She made sure people kept posting about Uwheels in the coming months after the launch of the product to help ensure that it continues to do well and stays at the top of people’s minds.
4. In addition to Instagram, she leveraged Facebook pages of popular models, who were also her friends, and paid them a few cents for every click they drove to the Uwheels product, which is much cheaper than paying for ads. This worked extremely well as many of her friends have over a million Facebook fans with high engagement, and they aren’t currently monetizing their Facebook pages.

Uwheels is not the only company making money using social media. Here’s how I replicated Jessica’s success using Jessica’s contacts…

How I generated $332,640 in 3 months from Instagram

I have a few landing pages that look like this on my personal site:

Here are the stats for the landing page I use just for Instagram traffic:

As you can see from the screenshot above, I generated 2,570 email opt-ins from Instagram.

Once people opt in, they receive an email about a webinar they need to watch if they want to convert more visitors into paying customers.

The webinar is 2.5 hours long and isn’t relevant to most of the people who see it, but it is still relevant to some business owners who are using Instagram. Within the webinar, people are pitched on a training package that costs $5,940 a year, but it is charged to them at a monthly rate of $495.

As you can see from the screenshot above, I’ve generated 56 sales in less than 3 months. I’ve spent $75,000 on Instagram ads that typically stayed up for 3 hours.

I had Jessica help me with the campaign. She recruited people with large followings and paid them money to post about me and keep the posts up for 3 hours. After 3 hours, the posts got deleted.

I don’t mind the posts getting deleted as Instagram images usually get the most engagement within the first 2 hours and cost a lot less than the ads that stay up forever.

Typical posts that these power users would put up on their accounts would be images of me, like the one below, with the caption: “If you want to learn how to skyrocket your business, you have to follow my friend Neil Patel. He’s the smartest entrepreneur and marketer I know. Click on my bio link to learn more.”

Sure, 56 signups from 2,570 emails doesn’t seem like a lot, and it isn’t. It’s only a bit more than 2%, but when you consider that the audience isn’t 100% targeted and I’m spending significantly less than what I am generating, it’s pretty good.

I’ve also tested more professional messaging that included mentions of my awards from Entrepreneur Magazine and Forbes, but it didn’t convert as well as the other ad because it didn’t feel as “organic.”

And when you consider that I’ve only been doing this for just under 3 months, it’s pretty good. I could have sold even more, but I had to suspend my advertising campaign for 3 weeks because my team couldn’t scale the fulfillment side fast enough.

The beautiful part about this model is that it works with a lot of sites.

How Firstslice scaled with this model

Over the last 30 days, Firstslice has been able to generate over 3 million visits and 20 million pageviews—all from Facebook traffic.

They used a similar model to what Uwheels and I used. Jessica helped them leverage popular Facebook profiles that have over a million organic fans and high engagement. She convinced people to post updates about Firstslice on a pay-per-click model, which is significantly cheaper than utilizing Facebook’s ad network.

From there, Firstslice ran an arbitrage play: they are getting paid more money from the ad networks to run ads on their site than what they are paying per visitor. The model has worked so well that they have generated over 150 million pageviews in less than 1 year.

How can you replicate this model?

Fair warning: it’s not as easy as it may seem. You need a good product, service, or viral content for this model to work. In addition, you have to optimize your page for conversions.

For example, the webinar on the NeilPatel.com homepage is well optimized for conversions, and if you take the time to watch the whole webinar, you’ll see why.

And Firstslice is optimized for maximum ad revenue.

Plus, you have to give it time and effort. You can’t just pay someone like Jessica and expect amazing results. You have to:

• Be patient – you typically won’t get great results within the first 30 days. But once you tweak and test, the results will get better.
• Be willing to test – from Instagram copy updates to testing which posts and pages perform the best on Facebook, it is all about testing. From headlines to images, certain captions will perform better than others. Without testing, you won’t get great results.
• Be okay with small errors – Jessica and the people she has access to aren’t entrepreneurs or marketers. They don’t deal with people like you and me. They don’t always move as fast as we do or communicate as well, and sometimes they may make small errors that you wouldn’t make. But because the cost is so low versus the results, it is worth it.
• Be analytical – if you aren’t measuring every little thing, you can lose your money. You have to watch your ad dollars like a hawk and continually tweak your landing pages.
• Be ready – don’t just dive into a campaign because you see people like me making money. I’ve spent months fine-tuning sales funnels and getting video sales letters ready.

Conclusion

There is a huge opportunity right now in the social media landscape to make money. You just have to think outside the box.

When you think about leveraging social profiles, you usually think about spending money on Facebook or Twitter ads. Although there isn’t anything wrong with that, you are better off taking creative approaches, similar to how I found someone who can get me access to popular social profiles.

The model works so well that I’ve been scaling it out, and I now have 3 full-time people who continually build relationships with social media power users who have thousands, if not millions, of followers with high engagement.

So, what do you think of the model?

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Weird Boss Behaviors You Shouldn't Overthink

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Many stocks are trading 5 percent lower than where they were just a few weeks ago.


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Questions About Extra Pantry Items, Robots, Halloween Costumes, Podcasts and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Percentage budgeting and taxes
2. Solar PPA agreements
3. Saving enough for retirement?
4. Security deposit question
5. Rich on paper
6. Financial independence in automated future
7. Mortgage payment to savings account
8. Unused generic products
9. Cheap Halloween costumes
10. October has three pay periods
11. Children’s “dress up” chest
12. Podcast recommendations

One of my splurges each year is paying for the Major League Baseball Gameday Audio each year. For a fairly small fee, you gain access to live streaming of every single Major League Baseball game. There are many days when my working afternoons are spent listening to the audio feeds of afternoon baseball games.

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I often listen to the Cubs very attentively early in the season, wane as they inevitably fall off in the middle parts of the season, and then listen to the playoff teams in September. It’s fairly rare that I get to do both with the Cubs.

Not this year. I haven’t had this much fun with baseball in years. It’s not exactly a secret that the Cubs have been undergoing a massive rebuilding project over the last several years, but I don’t think anyone really expected this year would see a big payoff for that rebuilding. They’re one of the best teams in baseball.

But why do I love baseball so much? Part of it was growing up with the game being a part of my life. I watched and listened to games with my father and my grandfather. In fact, some of my best memories of my grandfather involve watching baseball with him. Because of those many years of watching the game together, I’ve just built up my own love for it.

My grandfather never got to see the Cubs win the World Series. The last time they were even in the Series, my father was a toddler. I can’t tell you how much I hope that they get to play in the World Series before my father passes away, just so I can watch a game or two with him.

Q1: Percentage budgeting and taxes

I sometimes see guidelines showing the percentage of income people should be contributing toward various things to stay financially healthy. How does a work retirement plan fit into this? Is the employee portion (and/or employer portion) of the contribution to my pension considered part of my retirement savings or is it only the amount I am able to save from my paycheck? And are the percentages based on before-tax or after-tax income, or before or after the pension deductions are taken from my check?
– Carl

Whenever I look at percentages like that, I’m basing it on my pre-tax income (with one exception, which I’ll mention in a minute). I look at my annual salary before taxes and use that as a baseline to judge things like 401(k) and 403(b) contributions.

The exception to that is Roth contributions, for two reasons. One, you’re always contributing post-tax money to those accounts. Two, you’re going to be receiving post-tax money when you take money out of those accounts.

So, for me, it really depends on the kind of account that you’re contributing to.

Having said that, it is really important to keep in mind that this kind of percentage is a purely “back of the envelope” calculation. When I’m doing it quickly and don’t know all of the details, I compare everything to pre-tax income just to be on the safe side. You are always better off contributing too much to retirement than not enough.

Q2: Solar PPA agreements

I read your (9/14) article about solar panels with either an option to buy or lease but, what is your opinion of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)? There is a company that I have been talking to that offers PPAs but I have never heard of the concept before.
– Bill

When it comes to solar power, a power purchase agreement (PPA) is an arrangement between you and a solar power company in which they place solar panels on your roof and hook it up to your house’s power supply. After that, you essentially have a second energy bill that comes from them. You don’t have any costs associated with the solar panels up front, but you do usually have some basic fees on your second energy bill akin to the basic fees on your normal energy bill.

Why do this? Usually, the energy costs from the solar bill are much cheaper per kilowatt hour, plus you can feel good that you’re taking action to help our nation towards energy independence.

However, the energy cost savings may or may not add up to enough to actually save you money each month as compared to just using your normal energy company. It depends a lot on your own personal usage, the square footage of your roof, how much of your roof receives direct sunlight, and so on.

Over the long run, it’s usually better to just buy the panels instead of entering into a power purchase agreement, but buying them usually has an up-front cost associated with it.

Q3: Saving enough for retirement?

I am 30 years old and married for 6 years. My wife and I didn’t sign up for our 401(k) plans because we didn’t think we could afford to pay the bills if we did. Now we have realized the “folly” of our ways and signed up for our plans. We both are contributing 10% of our income. Her employer does not match. My employer is adding 5%. Are we saving enough to retire at age 65-70?
– Stephen

Collectively, you’re probably pretty close. I can’t say for sure whether you are because I don’t know your respective salaries.

However, you should both be thinking about your individual outcomes. What would your retirement look like if, say, you were no longer married. Would your individual retirement savings support you?

Based on the percentages you gave, I’d say that you would be safe but that your wife might be lagging a little bit. My suggestion, then, would be for her to bump up her contributions just a little bit more, to, say, 12% or so.

That way, you’ll be in even better shape together and you’ll both be in pretty good shape individually.

Q4: Security deposit question

I moved into this apartment in 2011 and when I moved in I paid a $750 security deposit. I started tracking my net worth a few months ago and then I remembered this security deposit. Should I add that amount to my assets or wait until I receive the money when I move out in a year or two?
– Mario

Do not count deposits as an asset of any kind until the moment occurs when you receive that check. As long as it is a “security deposit” in the hands of your landlord, any number of things could happen that would result in that money never being returned to you.

This is true in the future if you pay another security deposit. As painful as it is, count it as a loss on your net worth for now. Then, when you receive it back, count it as a gain and your net worth will bounce upwards that month.

Why do it this way? Getting that money back is far, far from a guarantee. It is also not an asset you can possibly use in any way until you receive the check from your landlord.

Q5: Rich on paper

Right now, my house is worth about $200,000 and I have about $800,000 stowed away in my 401(k). That makes me a “millionaire” in theory. But it is all on paper. I still live day to day on my normal salary. The problem is since I realized this I feel like I should be a “millionaire” and my drive to buy more stuff has really kicked into overdrive. I’ll tell myself “I am a millionaire! I should be able to buy this!” and sometimes I do. Naturally that isn’t helpful for my finances. I used to have a big buffer in my checking account but it is dwindling but the “millionaire voice” won’t shut off. Suggestions? How do I keep good frugal sense now that I am a “millionaire”?
– Danny

For me, I’ve kept that drive under control by asking myself questions that are unrelated to my financial standing. I don’t ask myself whether I could afford an item, because most of the time I could afford it if I really wanted to.

Instead, I ask myself things like whether I would actually have time to use and enjoy this item. Do I have time to properly devote to this item given my current life? If the answer is “no,” even if I think I could probably rearrange things to find time, then I don’t buy it.

I also ask myself whether this item is really doing anything new compared to what I already have, and, if so, whether or not just those new features are worth that money. For example, if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 5S to an iPhone 6, what are you gaining that’s worth the hundreds of dollars? It’s not the feature set of the iPhone 6 that you’re buying, but the features of the 6 minus the features of the 5S you already have. It really makes a lot of upgrade purchases look silly.

I also consider my living space. Do I really need to put more stuff in there? Where would I actually put this stuff?

In the end, those non-financial questions do a powerful job of keeping me from spending. It’s not just about the money.

Q6: Financial independence in automated future

Not sure whether this is a mailbag question or not but I would love your take on this. We live in a world that’s clearly headed toward zero blue collar jobs. One only has to look at things like fully automated warehouses to see it coming and AI and robotics get better every day. Soon you’ll have to have exceptional technical skill and ingenuity to get a job. That means that there will be a lot of people unemployed. What will happen to those people at that point? Won’t society just collapse?
– Frances

This is a tough question to answer, and my answer is going to run long. I agree with you that we’re heading toward a society where there are virtually no blue collar jobs available and it will only take a few specially-trained people to run a whole warehouse or a whole factory. What happens to those hundreds of people on the warehouse or factory floor?

People envision a lot of outcomes from that situation. Your picture is one of them. Another picture is that a lot of people get involved in purely service sector jobs where they work with customers… but even that’s going to eventually be replaced. Look at airports that can now check you in easily with kiosks. It’s really not that long before entire fast food restaurants are automated in that fashion, with you placing your order at a kiosk and the food being assembled and delivered to you in the back.

I agree with you that probably within fifty years or so, we’re going to be in a situation where there aren’t many blue collar jobs, period. I also agree with you that there simply aren’t going to be enough jobs available, even if you assume that everyone can be trained to do a highly skilled job. Trust me, not everyone is cut out to be a computer programmer or an entrepreneur. Those things take special attributes and personal characteristics that can’t be trained.

So, what do we do then?

The easiest solution is to simply give everyone enough money to live on as a basic income. If a company can suddenly go from employing 500 people in a warehouse to employing just 5 people due to better machinery, suddenly they’re saving the income of 495 people. It’s not unrealistic to expect that such a company could afford higher taxes at that point to help pay for that expense.

But shouldn’t they work for a living? Sure. I don’t see any problem with having someone on basic income do some amount of community service for their basic income. They could do things like clean the roadsides of trash, keep parks mowed, and so on. It’s important to note that there will be a lot of people who are quite willing to work at that point who just don’t have the opportunity to be employed.

Keeping people busy and making sure their needs are met is going to be key to keep them from getting deeply angry and starting a revolution. If you have the attitude that if someone can’t find a job then they should just not eat, you’re going to have hundreds of millions of homeless people, they’re going to be angry at the whole system, and it’s not going to go well.

I think at that point there will be strong financial incentive for people on basic income to not have children, along the lines of receiving a cash bonus if they agree to some form of contraception. It would be far less expensive for society to do things this way. Continued population growth would be disastrous in this kind of situation and so we need to provide incentives for people to freely choose not to have more children.

All of this stuff is in the realm of science fiction at that point. It’s impossible to say for sure what the future holds. That’s just what I envision for the future.

Q7: Mortgage payment to savings account

My husband and I have decided to make double payments on our mortgage in order to pay it off sooner. It’s a 30 year mortgage and we read that double payments mean that we’ll pay it off in nine years, which sounds great to us.

My father in law says that’s a terrible idea and that we should instead make our extra payment to a savings account. That way if we are hit with an emergency we will have money on hand. If we put those extra payments toward our house the only way we can get at that money is through another mortgage. I am not sure but I think this method will take longer to pay off our house.

Which route is smarter?
– Jenny

If you don’t have an emergency fund, your father-in-law is correct that you should have one. I would try to have at least a couple months of living expenses in a savings account somewhere, and if you don’t have that, you should make your “extra” mortgage payment into a savings account until you do have it.

When you do have a big, healthy emergency fund, you should switch that extra mortage payment toward your actual mortgage. After a certain point, extra money in an emergency fund ceases to be helpful and your money is better off elsewhere. A mortgage is a completely reasonable place to put it.

If you’re hit with emergencies that devour more than multiple months of living expenses, it’s probably going to be impacting your living situation regardless of how much you have saved up.

Q8: Unused generic products

We have been trying all of the store brands at our local grocery store and found that most of them are great! The problem is that we have found one or two that we hate. We ended up buying other versions of that product and that leaves us with some stuff in the cupboard that we’re just not going to use like a package of toilet paper with two rolls removed. What can a person do with that stuff? We asked a food pantry if they wanted it and they said they only want sealed stuff.
– Dana

Honestly, I’d put it out by the curb on a cheap table with a sign that says “Everything on this table is free for anyone who wants it.” It’s likely that your table will be empty within an hour and then you don’t have to worry about it.

Of course, I wouldn’t do that until I had exercised other potential uses for the stuff. I don’t know what kinds of items you have on hand, but there’s usually a second use for everything. Look around for ideas online if you don’t have any yourself.

For example, that rough toilet paper works great for things like cleaning up bugs. If you kill a spider or something, several sheets of that generic rough toilet paper is great for getting rid of the remains. Just keep it in a place where you’ll remember it.

Q9: Cheap Halloween costumes

Do you have any suggestions for cheap Halloween costumes for kids? The cheap ones at the store just look awful.
– Andrea

Just make a costume yourself! There are countless ideas out there for simple homebrewed Halloween costumes that require very little additional materials.

I’ll give you my favorite example. Get some white makeup or paint that can go on skin, then have your child dress up in their best clothes (like a suit or a dress) and paint their face and exposed hands a pale white. They’ll look extremely creepy, making for a wonderful Halloween effect. It works even better if you make their lips bright red and maybe use a bit of eyeliner to make their eyes look dark.

Need more ideas? Here’s a giant list of fairly quick and inexpensive Halloween costumes. My youngest son is thinking of being a container of Easy Mac this year.

Q10: October has three pay periods

Several months ago I started a job where I get paid every two weeks. Because of that, I started a bill paying routine where I would pay certain bills with the first paycheck in a month and the rest of the bills with the other paycheck. In October I’m getting paid ont he 2nd, 16th, and 30th. It’s the first time I’ve been paid three times in a month. How should I handle this? Should I just bank that third paycheck minus a little for living expenses like food?
– Saul

Yes, you should absolutely bank that third paycheck. During the two years or so after my financial turnaround before I moved to working on The Simple Dollar full time, I worked at a place that paid every two weeks and, like you, I moved to handling our bills with just two paychecks per month. That meant that twice a year I had an “extra” paycheck.

What did I do with it? Once, it filled our emergency fund. Another time, it paid for moving expenses. Another time, it turned into a big extra payment on our mortgage (which we’ve long since paid off). I don’t think we ever used it for “fun” and we never relied on it for our regular bills.

So, yes, bank it. Make an emergency fund if you don’t have one. If you do, maybe use it to fund a Roth IRA or else use it to save for your next car or a home down payment.

Q11: Children’s “dress up” chest

I just wanted to share a really good frugal idea for clothes that you might otherwise get rid of. Save some of them especially the interesting and unusual ones and put them in a tub somewhere. If you ever have children, a bunch of interesting clothes makes for a great “dress-up” tub. I pull mine out for my grandchildren when they come to visit and seeing my granddaughters dress up in some of my crazy old things is just as fun for me as it is for them.
– Margie

I think this is a really good idea if you have children in your home with any regularity. Our children have a giant dress-up tub in the basement that they used to play with all the time (they’re starting to get a touch old for playing “dress up” any more, which is honestly a bit bittersweet).

It’s a great place to put any and all interesting clothes that you no longer want. Your old t-shirts would probably be an odd addition, but things like old hats, old suits, and old dresses are perfect for a container like this.

I’ve found that between the ages of about three and seven, our children absolutely loved the dress-up tub, which at our house contained older Halloween costume bits, some interesting random pieces of clothing, and lots of costume add-ons like jewelry.

Q12: Podcast recommendations

What podcasts do you listen to these days? Always looking for new ones to listen to at work! It’s amazing how many great audio programs are available for free!
– George

Here are the ones I listen to with regularity. Many of these are actually rebroadcasts of NPR programs.

This American Life is an hourlong weekly show produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. Each week focuses on a specific topic – faith, fear, love, a specific event, and so on – and is mostly journalistic nonfiction, but also includes things like essays, memoirs, field recordings, short fiction, and found footage. You never know for sure what you’ll get with each episode.

Serial is a spinoff of This American Life hosted by Sarah Koenig. This podcast is released in “seasons,” of which a bunch of episodes focus on one topic to tell one larger continuous story. The first season was essentially an in-depth report on a crazy murder case in Baltimore that cast a lot of doubt on the verdict that the jury originally made in the case and is worth listening to from the start.

Planet Money is a short finance and economics podcast, about fifteen minutes in length, that pops up about twice a week. It’s hosted by a rotating cast of people, but it shines because it takes one specific financial issue and digs in deep. My favorite ones that they’ve done were when they dug into the details of the housing crisis in the late ’00’s, but almost every episode has been great.

TED Radio Hour is a weekly show hosted by Guy Raz that, much like This American Life, focuses on a specific theme each week, like happiness or money. That theme is explored mostly through short talks given by a variety of people who usually have interesting insights into some angle on the theme. It’s always thought-provoking.

The Moth is a fascinating spoken word podcast where people simply get up on stage and tell stories about their lives. Almost all of the stories in this podcast are about ordinary people and some of the exceptional challenges and circumstances they’ve found themselves in.

Radiolab is hosted by Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad. Each episode, they dig into some sort of question that a curious mind might ask, like whether or not it was possible for horns to produce enough sound to knock down the walls of Jericho, or why the periodic table is laid out like it is, or what is actually the best way to protect an endangered species. They hook you with the question in the first minute and then answer it in an entertaining fashion throughout the episode.

Good Fortune is a podcast hosted by Matt Van Natta about stoicism and what it means to be human. I try lots of different podcasts, listening for an episode or two, and dropping them. This one has made me think a lot and has stuck around since almost the beginning.

The rest are related to specific hobbies and interests of mine, which may or may not overlap your own.

The Pen Addict is hosted by Brad Dowdy and Myke Hurley and focuses on pens and other writing instruments, the paper upon which the writing happens, and different ideas and methods for organizing written thoughts.

Sword and Laser is hosted by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt and focuses on science fiction and fantasy books and, occasionally, short stories and other media.

The Dice Tower is hosted by Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer and focuses on board games of all kinds, going quite deep into the emerging market of designer board games.

Basic Brewing Radio is hosted by James Spencer and focuses on the art of home brewing beer. Most of the episodes are in interview form, where home brewers and other people related to the hobby appear.

Happy Jacks RPG Podcast is hosted by Stu Venable and a rotating array of co-hosts and focuses on tabletop role playing games, especially on how to be a better player and better game master.

These podcasts make up most of the audio I listen to each week. Hopefully you can find something in there to enjoy!

Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.

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