New blow for ‘illegal’ Uber drivers

UBER may have more than a million fans in Australia but it can not escape controversy. The ride-sharing service is under attack from authorities yet again.

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3 Essential Steps to Recover After a Financial Screw Up

We all make mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes seem insurmountable. However, there is no reason to admit defeat just because you’ve made a mistake.

When I first started college, I let a $75 parking ticket almost ruin me.  Initially, it (and other reasons) was the catalyst to me dropping out of school.  Thankfully, I got my act together and got my degree which led me to being a financial planner.

In being a financial planner, I’ve seen plenty of screw ups similar to mine and many much worse.  Many of these screw ups had devastating consequences because the person didn’t think it was a priority to get it fixed.

I’m here today to prevent that from happening to you.

While you may have set back your finances due to your financial screw up(s), the good news is most of the time you can fix it.

It’s probably not going to be easy and most likely it’s going to suck; there’s no magic solution to a financial mess up. However, there are some steps you can take to fix your retirement after a financial screw up:

1. Acknowledge Where You Went Wrong

Your first step is to identify what went wrong. Understanding your mistake is the first step to tackling the actual problem. If you are in deep debt, don’t identify debt as the problem. Realize that debt is the symptom. What caused the debt?

This was something my father struggled with for much of his adult life. When I first learned how serious his debt situation was, it shook me.  To this day I regret not asking him what kept him from breaking the vicious debt cycle he was in.

If you struggle with debt, I implore you to dig deep and find out what prevents you from breaking free.

Whether you have you withdrawn money from your retirement account, or whether you have racked up too much debt, you need to know what’s wrong. Be honest about the problem, and then try to avoid repeating that mistake.

2. Get Back to Financial Basics

When I was in boot camp, our drill sergeants were relentless in training us the basics we needed to survive as soldiers.  It was the constant drilling that would be the backbone for the rest of our military career.  Even when I was deployed to Iraq, it was “the basics” that allowed us to do our jobs effectively.

Now that you know where you need to improve, it’s time to get back to financial basics. These are the basics we all know, but just fell out of routine of doing.   This means returning to good financial habits like:

• Spending less than you earn
• Paying down high interest debt
• Building up your emergency fund
• Having retirement contributions automatically deducted from your paycheck

It’s essential you look at where you are right now, and go from there. Take steps to stop digging your debt hole deeper. Even if it’s only $25 a paycheck right now, have money put into a tax-advantaged retirement account.

Start following the basics associated with responsible finances. Once you are back on track in that way, you can start taking other steps to really fix your retirement.

3. Super-Charge Your Efforts

Once you know where you went wrong (and avoid falling back into poor habits), and once you are back on track with the financial basics, you have a good foundation to super-charge your efforts and really kick your retirement fixing plan into high gear.

Look for ways to cut your expenses. Even if you are living within your means now, are there still expenses you have that may not be necessary? If there are, it’s time to cut them out. Rob from DoughRoller.net shares 14 ways to lower your electricity bill which is just one of many ways you can save money around your household.

First step is to write down everything you spend your money on in a week.  You would be surprised how much money is leaving your cozy checking account for no reason.

Use that money to pay down debt and/or boost your retirement savings. Downsizing now can also get you used to a certain lifestyle so that you will need less money in retirement.

Another way to super-charge your efforts is by finding ways to earn more money. This might mean a second job, selling stuff you don’t use anymore, starting a side gig, or finding some other way to earn money.

If that isn’t extreme enough, follow a page out of Deacon Hayes‘ debt free journey. Deacon and his wife paid off $52,000 of debt in 18 months.   How did they do it?   By being different.

They sold both of their brand new cars to drive beaters, stopped going on vacations, and Deacon even delivered pizzas on the side to earn more money to pay off their debt.  Moral of the story is sometimes I takes a little extra mojo to get out of debt and work on saving again.

You can use the results of your efforts to pay down debt faster, or build up your retirement savings quicker.  Both of which get your financial mojo back on track. 

Get In Order

In the end, the best way to fix your savings after a financial screw up is to combine efforts to reduce high interest debt obligations and build up wealth in a tax-advantaged retirement account.

Concentrate on these activities after you get your financial house in order, and you can salvage your retirement — no matter how big your financial screw up happened to be.

Have you experienced a financial screw up?  How did you recover?

This post originally appeared on DoughRoller.net.

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Is this Australia’s Facebook moment?

THE two founders of this Aussie software company are already worth $1.1 billion each. That’s about to skyrocket as they head to the US.

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Coles beats Woolies with ridiculous special offer

COLES has one-upped Woolworths again. If you thought the 1 cent discount from Woolies was bad, its rival has managed something even sillier.

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Hot Deal! Use this Promo to Get FREE Diapers, Laundry Detergent and Shampoo!

Awesome deal! Have you heard of EverydayHappy? They’re a new, premium brand of baby products that prides itself on being non-toxic and eco-friendly.

To gain some extra publicity, they’re running one of my favorite promotions right now – FREE STUFF!

Fill out their form here and they’ll send you a free box of products (detergent, face lotion, hand soap, shampoo, and diaper rash cream).

You’ll need to pay $5.95 in shipping, which isn’t bad considering all that you get.

Here’s what to do:

• Click this link.
• Enter your name and email address.
• Enter your mailing address and payment information.
• Submit your order.

This is a trial offer, so you’ll need to decide within 7 days whether you want to cancel or not. But, no matter what you do, you get to keep the free box of products.

Good luck Penny Hoarders!

The post Hot Deal! Use this Promo to Get FREE Diapers, Laundry Detergent and Shampoo! appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Retail tycoon S.S. Kresge recalled locally for business savvy, frugality

Children who visited Sebastian Spering Kresge at his 26-acre hill top estate in the village of Mountainhome in Barrett Township would always receive a penny and financial advice.“He would say` this is only a penny now, but if you live your life saving pennies, you will have many, many dollars,” recalled Paul Nauman, 87, of Cresco, who first met Kresge as a neighborhood boy and then as an adult did excavating work for him - digging out a swimming pool and restoring the [...]

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The Power of Not Caring What Anyone Thinks

Who cares what they think? Worry about your family and your own goals first, not what other people say.

Just last month, I said yes to a speaking gig at a Chamber of Commerce meeting a few towns away. I said yes even though I am a true introvert, and even though I am terrified of speaking in front of others. And even though I have no presentation ready and very little time to create one, I said yes without batting an eye.

When my logical mind screamed, “Noooooooooooo!” I shut it down and said yes instead. And now I wait; terrified and stressed, but extremely excited.

You might wonder why I would force myself to do something I am afraid of, and I wonder the same sometimes. The thing is, I know deep down that improving my speaking skills will be good for me in the long run — it will be good for my career.

And I have good reason to believe so.

A few years ago, I was a commentator on a national news program — a talking head, an “expert guest.” After writing an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, I was there to defend my case. And I knew exactly what I wanted to say; I took notes, wrote up arguments, and practiced them in front of a mirror.

Unfortunately, my “performance” didn’t turn out as I planned. With headphones in my ears, I could barely hear what the TV host was saying. And without a screen or person to look at, it took me far too long to process the other expert’s words. I suppose I did OK, but I didn’t perform the way I would have hoped.

Ever since then, I vowed to do better. I promised myself I would seize any and all opportunities to improve myself — even if I was scared and didn’t want to do it.

And if I embarrass myself, so what? If you want to get better at something, you have to practice, right? And if you’re too afraid to practice, you’ll never get better. That’s an unfortunate truth, but it’s one I’ve made my peace with. So I keep putting myself out there, even when I am pretty sure I’ll fumble things or mess them up.

The Power of Not Caring What People Think

Just a decade ago, I wouldn’t have dared to sit in front of a camera on a national news program. And I certainly wouldn’t have been able to get up in front of a crowd of my peers and give a talk on my own.

Come to think of it, I probably couldn’t have written for national audiences like I do now — not with the prospect of critical comments, the hate mail I receive almost weekly, or the thought of those I know laughing behind my back.

But something happened to me along the way. At a certain point, I just quit caring what other people thought about, well, anything. I stopped caring if I made a fool  of myself, or if I was misunderstood. I quit worrying whether someone would criticize my efforts, and focused my energy on my own goals instead.

This transition began when my husband and I were paying down debt in our late 20s. We had car loans, student loans, and personal debts and made some tough decisions along the way. We canceled our cable TV service, for example, and quit going out to dinner or spending money on things that weren’t entirely necessary.

• Related: Five Things I Was Willing to Give Up to Save Money

When family and friends balked at our choices, we were confused at first. Why wouldn’t they want us to get ahead? And why would anyone care how we spent our money?

After a while, we realized that what other people thought didn’t matter at all. We knew what we needed to do, and exactly how to make it happen. So we kept budgeting. We kept saving. And once we became debt-free, we held our heads high, knowing that we had made the right move.

That is the power of not caring what anyone thinks. When you let go of the worry, you can do your best without any fear. You can experiment with new things. You can really put yourself out there. You can try and fail, and get right back up and try again. And when others laugh or roll their eyes, you can stand confident in your decision to keep trying in spite of them.

Four Reasons to Stop Caring What Others Think

If you’re tired of caring what other people think, now may be your time to shine. Here are four reasons you should let go of the worry and start putting yourself first.

1. You Can Reach Your Potential

By far, the worst part about caring what other people think is that it stunts your  growth. When you’re afraid of what people will say, it’s easy to shy away from new opportunities — to shrink away in a corner and avoid pushing yourself or making yourself uncomfortable in any way.

In a post Trent Hamm wrote on trying new things, he shared some insight that rings true in this regard:

“Human beings are creatures of routine,” he said. “Even the most spontaneous among us stick to a lot of routines and habits in life. For us, it is challenging to try different approaches to the problems in our life.”

As human beings, we are hard-wired to stick with whatever is safe. We are prone to taking the path of least resistance; we are fearful. Unfortunately, that fear can hold us back and keep us from finding our true and best selves.

But when you stop caring what others think, everything changes. You can push yourself; you can try a little harder. You can experiment with a new career, start a new business, or work to improve yourself in a multitude of ways.

And you can do it all without worry of what your friends, neighbors, or colleagues will say. Because, if they don’t want to help, then they are merely standing in your way.

2. You Can Stop Keeping Up with the Joneses

When it comes to money, not caring what other people think can actually make you rich. Think how much more money you would have if you didn’t feel compelled to buy brand-name clothes, get the latest tech device, or if you had chosen your home based only on your family’s actual needs.

Now imagine how much more cash you would have if you quit worrying about how much money you look like you have, and focused that attention on what was in your bank account ––if you took every ounce of energy you spent trying to look rich, and used it to become rich instead.

When you stop caring what other people think, that’s exactly what can happen. When you focus your attention on improving your life in tangible ways instead of superficial ones, you might find that the stars align in your favor.

When you stop worrying about others, you can spend less on your wardrobe and wear clothes that are actually comfortable. You can spend your free time doing the things you love, and you can spend your money in ways that help you reach your long-term goals. In other words, you can put your needs and your family’s needs first — which is exactly where they should be.

3. You Can ‘Live Like No One Else’ Later

Dave Ramsey is famous for his words and lessons on frugality and putting your family first. And one of my favorite sayings of his falls in that category as well:

“If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”

While his message is somewhat cryptic, what he means is that, when you sacrifice today, you can often reap greater rewards tomorrow. When you live well below your means, it’s a whole lot easier to save for the future. And when you make the sacrifices it takes to stash away that money now, it will be waiting for you.

Unfortunately, part of that can mean doing things a little differently. It might mean telling your children “no” a little more often, or forgoing some luxuries in favor of your long-term goals.

Either way, living like no one else later requires putting in the work today. And that’s a whole lot easier when you don’t care what other people think. When you’re willing to put your family first no matter what, you’ll be that much closer to creating a life you are happy and content with.

4. You Can Put Your Family First

In the flashy and materialistic world we live in, it’s easy to spend family money on wants and desires while neglecting your personal savings. No matter where you look, you can find examples of this phenomenon — kids who have $300 tennis shoes but no college savings, families with giant, empty houses but no healthy food in the fridge, and parents who waste thousands of dollars (and Saturdays) on their kid’s sporting events with the hope of them getting a small scholarship.

A lot of times, we’re not even doing it for ourselves, either; we’re doing it because we want to impress others, appear to “have it all,” or simply because our priorities are messed up.

If you truly want to put your family first, stop caring what others think. Recognize those $189 designer jeans and expensive sneakers for what they are — overpriced status symbols that stand between your family and your family’s financial goals. Help your children recognize that the approval of others is fleeting, and that real freedom means doing what makes you happier, wealthier, and more fulfilled in the long run.

Recognize the Power and Seize It

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from American businessman Bernard Baruch. In a saying that is commonly attributed to Dr. Seuss, he said:

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

This quote embodies the essence of this lesson: The idea that we should all pursue the best of ourselves and the best for ourselves – without worrying about those who might laugh at us, tear us down, or stand in our way.

We each have one life to live on this earth; we have one chance to do it right. We have a handful of years to raise our children with the values they will carry for a lifetime, and to put away the money we need to live the life of our dreams — maybe not today, but in the future.

When we stop letting others dictate our actions, and rely on our own intuition, courage, and strength, amazing things can happen. But it has to start within.

So, figure out what you really want in life — whether that’s getting out of debt, retiring early, or simply living your best life without a care in the world. But don’t stop there; once you find out what you want, pursue it with wild abandon.

Those who might criticize you never mattered anyway, so don’t let them decide what you do or say. Put yourself and your family first, and most of the time, everything else will fall into place.

When did you stop caring what other people think? Have you changed your mindset since then? Are you taking the steps to be where you truly want to be?

The post The Power of Not Caring What Anyone Thinks appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Want Free Coffee? Celebrate National Coffee Day on Tuesday

Coffee lovers, prepare to get your buzz on!

If you missed out on any of this year’s “National [Food] Day” deals like National Donut Day, National Pretzel Day or National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, there’s still time to get your hands on your fair share of freebies — like the gallons of free coffee on offer for National Coffee Day this Tuesday, September 29th.

While you’ll also want to check whether your favorite local coffee shops are celebrating with deals, here are some of the promotions running nationwide.

Dunkin’ Donuts

It’s the one-year anniversary of Dunkin’ Donuts’ Dark Roast, and they’re celebrating by offering customers one free medium cup of Dark Roast Coffee (hot or iced) on September 29th.

Krispy Kreme

What’s a coffee break without something to nosh on while you sip?

Krispy Kreme sweetens the deal by giving you a free Original Glazed Doughnut along with your free 12-ounce cup of coffee on September 29th.

Cumberland Farms

Cumberland Farms is giving away one free coffee of any size, hot or iced, if you have their mobile coupon. Just text “FREECOFFEE” to 33733 to get yours.

The national chain extends the freebies through October with their “Free Coffee Fridays.” Starting Friday, October 9th, you can get a free cup of coffee — any size, hot or iced — every Friday during the month of October. Choose from one of their signature blends or make your own creation with their choices of espresso, flavor shots and more.

Whole Foods Market

It’s National Coffee Day all month long at Whole Foods Markets, where U.S. customers can get a 25-cent 12-ounce cup every day in September. Get it before the month’s over!

Coffee Culture Café & Eatery

Get a free small coffee of any variety from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. on September 29th at all participating Coffee Culture locations.

LaMar’s Donuts and Coffee

This chain, which has locations in six states, is offering customers a free coffee and a free mug to put it in. Visit their Facebook page to learn how to claim your free 12-ounce cup of coffee and LaMar’s mug on September 29th. Supplies are limited, so get yours while they last.

Peet’s Coffee & Tea

Peet’s been teasing on its Facebook page that something’s in store for National Coffee Day, and word has it that something is a free coffee with the purchase of any breakfast item.

(Getting some non-doughnut food into your system may not be a bad idea, given all the free java you’ll be chugging today.)

Eight O’Clock Coffee

The company hasn’t officially announced anything yet, but rumor has it if you log onto Eight O’Clock Coffee’s website on September 29th, you’ll be able to request a free sample of their new Coffee Thins edible coffee treats.

Coffee Beanery

Select Coffee Beanery locations around the country will be offering a fresh-brewed coffee of any size for $1, as well as $2 off any pound of coffee. To find out which locations are participating, see here.

Pilot Flying J

If you’ll be on the road for National Coffee Day, stop by any participating Pilot Flying J travel center to claim a free 16-ounce cup of coffee.

Just visit the company’s Facebook page to find the coupon you’ll need to redeem. (It wasn’t up as of this writing, so keep checking as Coffee Day gets closer.)

Sheetz

To celebrate the launch of its new premium self-serve coffee line, Sheetz Bros. Coffee, the convenience store chain will be offering a free coffee starting at 12 a.m. on September 29th. You may also be able to snag a free reusable coffee mug (while supplies last).

Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co.

You can get a free “Cold Brewsta” with the purchase of any menu item on National Coffee Day, but that’s not all.

For the whole month of September, a 12-ounce hot coffee is only $1 Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Caribou Coffee

Sometimes it’s just as nice to give as to receive. Caribou Coffee will offer customers the chance to pay it forward this year, according to Parade.com.

On September 29th, the company will donate a cup of coffee to nurses and families in cancer centers across the U.S. for every customer who buys a cup of “Amy’s Blend.” Caribou created the roast in honor of one of its original roastmasters, Amy Erickson, who died of breast cancer in 1995.

Panera Bread

It’s not exactly related to National Coffee Day, but some MyPanera rewards members report they’ve received a deal for a free hot or iced coffee every day during the month of September.

If you haven’t logged into your rewards account in a while, it can’t hurt to check — there are still several days left in the month and if you don’t get the free coffee offer, you may earn something else (like free soup every day of the month).

You Turn, coffee lovers: How many of these spots will you hit up on September 29th (and what are you going to do with all that extra caffeinated energy)?

Kelly Gurnett is a freelance blogger, writer and editor who runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. Follow her on Twitter @CordeliaCallsIt.

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