Why weird works at Aldi

ALDI is expanding its supermarket empire, which means more weird things to buy. But is there a method to the madness of the ‘special buys’ aisle?

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How to Build a Fidelity Portfolio With ETFs

Holding a brokerage account at Vanguard or Fidelity allows investors to buy ETFs without commissions.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1G38Chx

Black Friday Starts Now on Groupon! Save Up to 88% With These 11 Awesome Deals

Already jonesing for some holiday shopping?

You’re in luck! Groupon’s running a Black Friday preview sale, and you can find some of the items on your list for up to 88% off.

Groupon’s goods run the gamut from electronics to housewares to clothing and accessories. Plus, if you purchase your Groupon through SendEarnings, you can earn 5% cash back and rack up even more savings.

But make sure you shop quickly! Many of these Groupon deals only last through October 11.

The Best Deals

There’s something for everyone on your list on Groupon. (Not to mention a little something for yourself!)

Here are the 11 best deals we found on Groupon’s Black Friday portal.

1. 7” 8GB Kids’ Tablet with Screen Protector, Case, Stylus: $49.99 (down from $399.99) — save 88%

Dreaming of a mobile entertainment center for your kids, complete with books, movies and educational games?

Fifty bucks for one of these bright, beautiful tablets is a steal. The device also comes with a case, screen protector, stylus and earbuds.

2. Unlocked, Refurbished iPhone 6 or 6 Plus: from $479.99 (down from $999) — save up to 52%

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the new iPhone, but want it unlocked — look no further. Save half off the retail price and forgo frustrating carrier contracts with one of these refurbished models.

The price, of course, scales according to which model and how much memory you choose. But even at the highest end, you’ll save at least 35%.

3. Nature’s Sleep Cool IQ 8” Gel Infused Memory Foam Mattress: from $199 (down from $999) — save up to 80%

If you’ve been thinking about stepping up your bedroom game to include a plush memory foam mattress, now’s your chance.

This Nature’s Sleep model includes a layer of Cool IQ Gel over a denser foundational layer of memory foam to provide memory foam’s signature soft support without the “hot sleeping” its users often complain of.

Price will depend on the mattress size, but even a queen is less than $400. I know I paid a lot more for my non-memory-foam model — and that was almost 10 years ago.

4. Luminarc PureBox 10-Piece Glass Food-Storage Set: $29.99 (down from $59.99) — save 62%

You can never have too many food storage containers — from taking meals to work to saving leftovers for tomorrow night, proper food storage ensures your goods stay fresh and tasty.

Plus, since this 10-piece set is made of tempered glass, they won’t stain like some plastic versions. And they’re freezer-safe, so you can use them for freezer cooking, too.

5. Versace Abbigliamento Sportivo Collection Bags: $79.99 (down from $360) — save 78%

Love haute couture, but hate the haute price tags? For a limited time, you can get a genuine Versace bag at knockoff prices.

Hurry, though: A few styles have already sold out!

6. Earth Scaly Eco-Friendly Wood Watches for Men and Women: $49.99 (down from $250) — save 80%

These wood watches are splashproof, sustainable and handsome. Plus, they run on quartz and feature luminous hands, so you know they’re reliable and readable, too.

7. Dyson DC65 Multifloor Vacuum: $199 (down from $499.99) — save 60%

Getting my first apartment was cool and everything, but man — I didn’t realize how expensive vacuums were! I used my hand vac for everything for longer than I’m willing to admit.

Dyson vacuums have a great reputation, and this model is available in lots of pretty colors for 60% off! Although it’s not the sexiest holiday gift in the world, it’s one of the most useful you can give.

8. 24-piece Bedroom Decorating Comforter Set: from $99.99 (down from $350) — save up to 71%

If your bedroom needs a facelift, this set is perfect for you. Not only does it include the comforter and shams you’d expect, it even features matching curtains and tiebacks — so the whole room will be coordinated and cozy.

The king-sized set goes for $119.99, but you still save 66%.

9. MOTA High-Speed 3-Port 5.1-Amp USB Car Charger for Tabets and Smartphones: $6.99 (down from $19.99) — save 65%

Want to keep your gadgets alive on the go? With this car charger, you can charge up to three of your devices at one time — whether iPhone, Android or iPad.

Plus, you can save up to 70% if you go for the two-pack — one for you and one for a stocking stuffer!

10. Alpine Swiss Men’s Leather Wallet or Money Clip: $7.99 (down from $35-$45) — save 77-82%

I don’t know about you, but the men in my life would let their wallets fall apart if I didn’t get them new ones as holiday gifts.

These Alpine Swiss wallets and money clips are sleek and stylish — and crafted from genuine leather. Hurry! One model’s already sold out.

11. Advanced Platinum UltraSonic Electric Toothbrush with UV Santizer: $54.99 (down from $250) — save 78%

Even though my dentist demanded I start using an electric toothbrush, I put off the purchase for a long time — as a student, even the low-end model was prohibitively expensive.

I wish I’d known this high-end version would go on such steep sale! Even if $55 seems high, it’s worthy to invest in your teeth — you only get one set, after all.

Ready to Shop?

Be sure to check out the full collection of deals on Groupon — this is only the tip of the iceberg! And again, many of the additional sales prices are only valid through October 11 — just a couple of days to save!

Your Turn: Will you get a jump on Black Friday with these sweet Groupon deals?

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

Jamie Cattanach is junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. She’s passionate about learning, literature, chocolate and finding ways to live the good life as cost-effectively as possible.

The post Black Friday Starts Now on Groupon! Save Up to 88% With These 11 Awesome Deals appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Is Your State Stingy or Spendy? The Best and Worst States for Saving Money

Across the United States, the cost of living can vary greatly. But as it turns out, the state you live in can have a huge effect on your saving success — for reasons beyond high rent or gas prices.

Here’s what a new survey found about the way people spend money in different states.

Where do People Save the Most Money?

Personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly ranked states along a spectrum from stingy to spendy, based on four key statistics:

1. Bank deposits per capita
2. Average household credit card debt
3. Highest state marginal income tax rate
4. Number of coupons printed from Coupons.com

As you can see, the study focused less on the cost of living and more on differences in behavior — which populations get themselves into more debt or take the time to clip more coupons. While these data points can be related to excessive living costs, they also shed new light on the money ethics of different areas.

Using these metrics, Get Rich Slowly compiled some surprising data. Some states not stereotypically seen as “frugal” ranked higher than you’d expect.

For instance, New York is ranked #26 due to its high annual deposit rate ($65,490) — but neighboring New Jersey is in the bottom 10, with a tax rate of almost 9% and average household debt totalling over $7,000.

You can check out all the data over at Get Rich Slowly, but here are the top and bottom three states for savers.

States Where People Save the Most Money

Which states are most financially savvy?

1. South and North Dakota

I cheated a little and threw these neighbors together. But with high deposits, low income tax rates and credit card debt, and over $1 million in coupon savings per state, the Dakotas are prime real estate for savvy spenders.

2. North Carolina

Although their income tax rate is average at 5.8%, North Carolinians clip more coupons than almost any other state; saving up to $26 million annually!

If you’re looking for neighbors who don’t think you’re crazy when you head to the store with a pocket full of clippings, consider North Carolina as a potential home.

3. Nevada

You might be surprised to learn the casino capital ranks so highly. But its status as one of the seven states with zero income tax, as well as annual per-capita deposits of more than $50,000, make Nevada a safe bet (pun intended) for savers.

States Where People Save the Least Money

On the other hand, if you live in one of the following three states, you’ll find your effort to save a bit more challenging:

1. Oregon

A combination of low deposits (only $15,000 annually) and an income tax rate of almost 10% make this hipster haven a risky venture for the 20-somethings who flock there.

2. Hawaii

With the second-highest income tax rate in the nation — 11%, topped only by California’s 13.3% — Hawaiians have trouble saving.

In fact, they have an average $6,906 in debt — almost a thousand dollars more than the national average.

3. Alaska

Even though Alaska enjoys a non-existent state income tax and is notorious for its relocation incentives, its citizens don’t seem very concerned with saving: Each household carries $7,609 of debt on average, and the state ranked dead last in coupon-clipping.

Savings Start at Home — No Matter Where That Is!

Regardless of where you live, behavioral changes are the key to saving money. A little bit of effort can take you a long way toward your savings goals.

Your Turn: Where does your state stand on this spectrum of savings? Would you be willing to move to a thriftier state?

Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. She’s passionate about learning, literature, chocolate and finding ways to live the good life as cost-effectively as possible.

The post Is Your State Stingy or Spendy? The Best and Worst States for Saving Money appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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How Medicare Part D Has Changed in 10 Years

Retirees now have fewer options and more pharmacy restrictions.

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This Couple Paid Only $17K for More Than $200K Worth of Travel. Here’s How

If you grew up on a tight budget — or, like many of us, are still on one — you probably think travel is unattainable.

That’s what Emily Jablon thought. She always dreamed of traveling, but growing up with a single mother who worked hard just to make ends meet, she assumed it would never be possible.

Until she met Daraius Dubash. And it wasn’t that her now-husband was rich — it was that he had mastered the intricate game of travel hacking.

Since then, she and Dubash have traveled around the country and the world, often flying in first class and staying at luxury hotels. They’ve even treated their parents to extravagant vacations — all on frequent flyer miles and points.

Over the past eight years, they’ve paid $16,654 for trips worth $236,382 — a savings of $219,626. On their blog Million Mile Secrets, they share their travel stories and strategies.

We wanted to learn how regular people can start earning travel rewards, so we sat down with them to talk miles, points and money.

How They Got Started

As a tax accountant for a Fortune 500 company, Dubash traveled all around the world to perform audits, racking up frequent flyer miles and attaining airline elite status.

When he quit his job and went back to school, he didn’t travel as often anymore — and therefore didn’t collect as many miles and points.

“So he Googled something like, ‘how to travel cheap without flying’ or ‘how to travel on miles’,” explains Jablon. “He came across [a frequent flyer blog] and really just ran with it.”

Early into their relationship, he encouraged Jablon to join him.

“I remember six months after we met, he had asked me if he could apply for a credit card in my name,” she says. “I declined… but then he ended up taking me on my first flight.”

When he told her he’d gotten the first class flight essentially for free, she was in. It “was what really solidified my faith in the whole credit card rewards hobby,” she says.

And it hasn’t just been credit card rewards; they’ve done lots of crazy things to earn miles and points.

“I went for a balding consultation once when I was in my 20s, because they were giving 25,000 miles just for the consultation,” says Dubash. “I still get mail from them eight years later.”

He also drove round-trip to Illinois in one day (seven hours each way!), because there were no Chase banks where they lived. On that trip, he opened four different checking accounts and earned 100,000 miles.

“I’d say it was worth it,” says Jablon.

Their $27,000 Dream Trip

With these miles and points, Dubash and Jablon have traveled all over the world on next to nothing.

Dubash has been to more than 40 countries, and Jablon has been to 32 — though she’s quick to add, “It’s not so much about the number of countries; it’s about the depth of experience.”

In general, they travel from their home in Austin, Texas twice a month, to both domestic and international destinations.

One of their favorite trips? The Maldives, a series of exotic islands off the coast of India.

“This vacation was really amazing for many reasons,” explains Jablon. “One was that we brought both of our parents along with us, so it was a really nice family vacation. And then also just the sheer beauty of the Maldives; it’s got crystal clear beaches and the snorkeling was the best I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

If they’d paid in cash, their luxurious trip would’ve cost them a whopping $27,000. Instead, they redeemed miles and points and spent only $4,300. Though that’s not chump change, Jablon explains that the trip was “once-in-a-lifetime” — even for them. (You can read their full trip report here.)

Since they’re always “earning and burning” points and miles, Dubash wasn’t sure how long it took them to earn the points necessary for their Maldives trip.

If you’re just starting out, he estimates it would take a year to earn enough miles and points to book the trip, and then another year or so from booking to travel.

In other words, if you start now, you could be on your dream vacation in 18-24 months. For a less ambitious trip, he estimates it’d take 6-12 months from start to travel.

And the easiest way to quickly earn points? Through credit card sign-ups. “Banks issue more airline miles than the airlines themselves,” explains Dubash.

How to Start Collecting Miles and Points

If you’re new to the world of credit card rewards, you probably have a lot of questions. With Dubash and Jablon’s expert help, we’ve answered some common ones below.

Should I Get a Travel Rewards Credit Card?

Only if you can be responsible with it.

The number one warning Dubash and Jablon give — and I wholeheartedly second — is: Don’t sign up for credit cards if you’re not going to pay your balance in full each month.

If you can’t think of your credit card like a debit card, don’t get one. As I’ve said before, points and miles are never worth going into debt over. (Not to mention that interest charges negate the benefits of any rewards you might earn.)

How Many Cards Should I Apply for?

“Start with one credit card and then just gauge how that goes,” recommends Jablon.

“Are there any challenges completing the minimum spend requirement? Paying the balance in full every month?… If that goes well, then you can start applying for maybe two or three more,” she explains.

Though you may see other travel hackers going to extremes to earn miles, you don’t need to start out like that.

“Just do whatever’s comfortable for you,” urges Dubash. “You read a lot of crazy things happening online — perhaps folks signing up for 10 or 15 cards at a time or trying to manufacture spend… There’s no need to go overboard.”

Which Card Do I Apply for?

“Have a goal in mind,” says Dubash. “For example, if you want to travel to Europe, collecting Southwest miles won’t help — because Southwest doesn’t fly to Europe… Figure out which miles will get you there the most efficiently, and then start earning [them].”

To figure out who flies where, Dubash recommends reading their beginner’s guide and checking out some of the other miles and points blogs.

If you don’t know where you want to go — but still want to start — Dubash recommends a transferable point card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

“Something that you can transfer to a few different airlines or hotels can be a good start as you dip your toes in the water,” he says.

But… What About My Credit?

Concern about credit score is probably the biggest reason people avoid rewards credit cards. It is also one of the biggest misconceptions, according to Jablon and Dubash.

“When I first started this, I believe my credit score was around 660 or something like that,” says Jablon. “And eight years later, it’s gotten all the way up to around 760/780 — and that’s with applying for, on average, maybe 10 credit cards per year.”

That doesn’t mean you have to apply for 10 cards, though; just sign up for one and watch how it affects your credit.

“Monitor your credit score so you can see the impact to your credit score yourself,” Dubash says. “Initially you’ll see your score drop a little bit because you’ll have another credit inquiry, and then after a few months your score will usually increase.”

The crazy reason your credit score will actually increase after you get a new credit card? Credit utilization ratio, which is a big factor in your credit score.

It’s based on the percentage of available credit you’re actually using — so if you get more credit but keep your spending the same, this number will decrease, resulting in a better score.

What Do I Do With My Miles?  

Don’t give in to the temptation to hoard your points and miles — follow Jablon and Dubash’ lead and strive to “earn and burn” them.

“There’s no point in holding them, because airlines keep devaluing their award charts,” explains Dubash. “For example, a flight today is almost certainly going to require fewer miles than a flight five years down the road.”

Isn’t It a Lot of Work?

In short, yes.

“It’s a puzzle,” says Dubash. “And if you don’t like the details and if you don’t like being overly involved and you don’t have a lot of flexibility about traveling, this is definitely not the game for you.”

Though you can find some amazing redemptions if you’re patient and detail-oriented, Jablon and Dubash are aware it’s not for everyone — and that’s okay. You can still get involved on a casual basis.

“I’m a little more relaxed about miles and points, but I still definitely use them,” says Jablon. “I really like the Chase cards because all I have to do is spend on my credit cards, and I earn miles… So I don’t even have to apply for a lot of cards and I’m still getting a good amount of miles.”

One of her favorite ways to redeem those miles is through Southwest Airlines, which is a transfer partner through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program. Using their program, she’s saved thousands of dollars on flights to visit family and friends all over the United States.

When asked for her best of piece of advice for newbies, she says: “Start slow, have fun and never underestimate the power of research.”

Yes, You Can Travel on a Budget

Travel — whether out of your hometown or out the country — is an incredible experience, and with the power of miles and points, is not as inaccessible as you may think.

“My parents divorced when I was eight,” says Jablon. “My dad couldn’t really support us financially after the divorce, so my mom worked very hard for the both of us. We didn’t have extra money to travel. I always wanted to, but I never thought it was going to possible.”

“Travel with credit card rewards opened up a whole world to me… so I’m very passionate about sharing that possibility with others: Even though they might not earn a whole lot of money, they too can travel and see the world.”

“If you’ve always thought that you wanted to travel but you’ve been waiting to do it for retirement or because you didn’t have money, there’s a way to do it that doesn’t involve a lot of money,” adds Dubash. “It just involves a little bit of time and attention to details.”

For Jablon and Dubash, who now work on their blog full time, their miles and points lifestyle is a “dream come true.”

“I’m lucky,” Jablon acknowledges, with a giggle. She is — and with some hard work and savvy travel hacking, many of you could be, too.

Your Turn: What do you think of the miles and points hobby? Would you like to give it a shot?

Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.

The post This Couple Paid Only $17K for More Than $200K Worth of Travel. Here’s How appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Driving 10,000 Visitors a Month With Pinterest

Social media can be a great traffic source for almost any online business.

But which network is right for you?

For most businesses, it makes sense to start with the largest networks. No matter how narrow your audience is, it’s very likely you’ll find members of that audience active on these networks.

This means that most businesses should start with one of the following:

• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Although they are all huge, they are very different networks.

The best one for you will depend on your customers, your niche, and your marketing preferences. 

Pinterest is the second biggest driver of referral traffic by a large margin.

Despite that, it doesn’t get as much attention as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

This is mainly because it’s a unique network. Every single post on it is an image (with a short optional description).

Pinterest can be an amazing traffic source as long as you can create some sort of visual content in your niche.

And although it takes some time to learn how to use Pinterest effectively, it’s pretty simple once you understand it.

In this post, I’m going to show you how you can drive thousands of visitors a month to your website with Pinterest.

2 reasons why Pinterest is an amazing traffic source

The unique aspects of Pinterest are the reasons why Pinterest can be a great option for those businesses whose past social media marketing failed.

In particular, you need to understand two main reasons for using Pinterest to determine if it’s the right platform for you.

Reason #1 – Pins have great longevity: One of the problems with most social networks is that whatever you post stays visible only for a short period of time: anywhere from an hour to a few days at the most.

So even though you’re continually creating content on the network, you don’t benefit from it after you’ve initially posted it.

Seems like a waste, doesn’t it?

But Pinterest is different.

You can make a “pin” (share an image) that will continue to get views and shares over time.

It might not have the level of consistency that good search engine rankings have, but it’s much closer to achieving that kind of impact than any other social network.

If you’re active on Pinterest for a long time, the traffic will really add up.

For example, the food blog Pinch of Yum shared that they get about 500,000 visitors per month from Pinterest.

Even if they stopped being active on the network, they would still get a large portion of that referral traffic for the foreseeable future.

Compare that to other networks, like Facebook and Twitter, where your traffic would take a nosedive shortly after you stop posting.

Reason #2 – Pinterest was designed for sharing: One of the reasons why pins live for so long is that users are always looking for more things to share.

This is what a typical Pinterest dashboard looks like when a user logs in:

If a user likes a pin, they either “like” it or “repin” (share) it.

Good pictures can get hundreds or even thousands of repins.

Unlike other social networks, Pinterest isn’t about posting status updates about what happened during the day. It’s about sharing and consuming images and, by extension, content they link to.

Creating an account that attracts followers (3 key areas)

The first practical thing you need to know is how Pinterest works.

At first, it might seem a bit complex, but I promise that it’s fairly simple.

You start by creating an account, just like you would on any other social network.

When other users visit your profile, they’ll see something like this:

Your profile is composed of 5 main areas:

1. Your logo - If your logo is very plain, you might want to create a custom image instead.
2. Your brand name – It should reflect your business, but you could also use a personal account with your name.
3. Your website URL
4. A description – A one- or two-line description that explains what you do.
5. Boards – These boards act as silos for the content you share on Pinterest (your pins are kept inside, depending on how you tag them). You should create a board for each category of images you plan to share (you can do this later).

Setting up your account: To start with, go to Pinterest, and sign up for a new account. You’ll want to select “continue as a business” on the first screen (after you enter your email):

Then, fill out the fields as usual:

If at any point you want to change your profile, you can do so by navigating to your profile and clicking “Edit Profile” in the top right corner:

Using Pinterest is simple: Like I mentioned before, there is only one type of content on Pinterest – “pins.”

A pin always consists of an image. It also typically has a description, which can also include hashtags.

It’s a good idea to include keywords in your description so that you show up when people use the search bar on Pinterest (which they do quite often).

As you can see in the pin above, you can either “pin it” to share it or you can “like it.”

Users see a variety of pins all at once as small versions. They can click on those to see their full versions.

Users can find pins using the search bar or looking through their feed.

Their feed consists of pins that the users they are following have posted (more on this later).

And that’s really all there is to using Pinterest at a basic level.

How to drive insane referral traffic with pins

Because of how Pinterest is set up, driving traffic back to your website isn’t difficult.

Here’s the basic idea:

1. Pin attractive images from your blog content (or product pages)
2. Put URL of the blog post as the link
3. Get as many likes and repins on Pinterest as possible (more views)
4. Repeat steps 1-3 over and over again
5. Watch referral traffic grow exponentially

There’re obviously a few finer details in each of the steps, but that’s what the rest of this post covers.

Creating a pin the right way: The one part of using Pinterest that we haven’t covered yet is actually making a pin.

Depending on the popularity of your blog, you might find that your readers are already creating tons of pins for you.

You can check by going to:

http://ift.tt/1Ltb50L

Replace “quicksprout” with your domain name.

On top of those pins, you’ll want to regularly make pins of your own to add to your boards.

Unlike with most networks, you can get away, for the most part, with posting only your own content, but it’s still a good idea to repin content from other Pinterest users as well.

To make your own pin, look at the top left of any of your boards. You’ll see a grey “add a pin” button in the top left.

Click it, and either upload a picture or enter a link to an image.

If you only put in a picture, your pin will look very plain, like this:

If you click the pin (anywhere on the thumbnail), it will bring up the full pin.

Click on the “edit” button at the top of the pin:

This will bring up a pop-up that allows you to edit the key information.

You can choose the board where the pin should live as well as enter a description plus the URL that it should point to:

I know it may be tempting to link to a sales page, but always link to the most relevant to the image page. That’s what a Pinterest user is looking for if they click through to the URL.

After you’ve set the website address, users viewing your pin will have two different links that will point to that address:

Now that you know how to create a pin, you need to learn one more important thing about them: how to pick images that users love to share.

4 types of images that Pinterest users love

I’m a huge fan of using beautiful images to produce better content.

The typical Internet user prefers to get information via a picture rather than a long passage of text.

People also process images about 60,000 times faster than words, which means that images are a more efficient way to communicate certain types of information as well.

In general, there are 4 types of images that get the most likes and pins on Pinterest. You can choose any one or combination of them when finding or creating images to share on Pinterest.

Type #1 – Beautiful background + clear text overlay: You’ve probably seen this type of picture often as the featured picture for a blog post.

The left pin in the picture below is an example of one:

If you break the picture apart, it’s really simple to make.

First, you need a background image. Any high quality picture that’s vaguely related to your blog post will work, but remember that vertical pictures are best for Pinterest.

Then, you just need to put a slightly transparent box on top somewhere and add the title of your post.

I’ll admit that these types of pictures do look great, even if they’re simple to make.

If you’re not sure how to create this yourself, use my tutorial on creating your own custom images. I promise that you can make them in under 5 minutes once you learn how.

Ideally, create one for every single blog post you publish, and then pin it as well.

Type #2 – Infographics (or parts of them): Another type of image that you can use in many ways beyond Pinterest is infographics.

There’s no better way to summarize a lot of complex information in one image than an infographic.

A well-made infographic will drive traffic from Pinterest for years as it will continue to get repins and likes over time.

On top of the standard type of infographic, step-by-step instructions are also popular on Pinterest.

Take a procedure to do something, and create an image for each step of the process:

One big benefit of infographics on Pinterest beyond the fact that they are extremely shareable is that most users will click through to your site to see if there’s more background information on the image.

Here’s my guide to creating great infographics.

Type #3 – We all relate to other people: You’ll see a lot of well-made pictures in your feed.

One type of picture that always stands out from those is pictures of real people. Our eyes are naturally drawn to other people:

If you’re not shy on camera, you can take pictures of yourself for certain blog posts and then pin those images.

Alternatively, you can just customize stock pictures of models—although original pictures are always best.

Type #4 – Custom images always stand out: In one of my early updates about the nutrition case study site, I noted that custom-drawn images were producing great results on Facebook.

These types of images do well on most social networks, but they do especially well on Pinterest.

Pinterest users appreciate images with lots of useful information, but they also appreciate a great design.

So something like this, despite just being a custom image for a blog post, can get repinned over 8,000 times:

The downside of these images is that they’re going to cost more than the other types of images.

Unless you have the talent yourself, you’ll have to hire a freelancer from a site like Upwork. Depending on the quality you’re looking for, each image can cost anywhere from a few dollars to $100.

Get hundreds (or thousands) of followers with Pinterest contests

By now, you understand the basics of the network.

One key component of getting a lot of repins and likes is having a large following.

Your followers will see your pins in their home feed and will have the ability to repin them, which will show your pins to all of their followers (and so on).

If you have a really amazing picture, it can go viral even if you have a small following. But in most cases, it won’t happen.

If you have thousands of followers, I can virtually guarantee that you can get a few dozen of repins on any of your pins very quickly, which will expose your content to a new audience, leading to more views, repins, and followers.

In short: getting followers is important if you want to succeed on Pinterest.

I’m going to show you a few different strategies you can use to gain followers and get exposure for your content.

We’ll start with Pinterest contests.

The basic idea is to offer a prize for pinning something relevant to your brand, with the winner chosen at random. If the prize is great, the contest can spread to a wide audience, and you can pick up a lot of followers.

Unfortunately, these aren’t as effective as they used to be because Pinterest started to enforce some strict rules.

For example, you cannot ask users to follow you, repin, or share your images in order to get extra entries into the contest.

If you’re looking to get a lot of followers quickly, this is your best bet (but make the prize attractive).

Step #1 – Come up with a simple idea and prize: Ideally, the main details about the contest should be captured in an attractive image that you can pin.

And although you can’t tell users to do certain things, you can link the image to the Rules page on your own website (which is a good idea).

A lot of the success of your contest will be based on the prize. It has to be something that your target audience would be willing to create an image, or repin one of your existing pins, for.

On top of the prize, you will need to give the contest participants a specific task to do to gain an entry into the contest.

A common one is to take a picture with your product and add a specific hashtag that you create.

Or you can ask them to follow you and repin a picture from one of your boards.

Step #2 – Set up your landing page: It can be hard to quantify the value of a follower on Pinterest. Furthermore, we know that email subscribers are even more valuable.

So although you can use your contest to get new followers, you should also try to use it to get more email subscribers on your site.

When a Pinterest user clicks on your contest pin, it should take them to a landing page with the rules of the contest.

One of the rules could be that they must submit an email address in order to be contacted if they win.

Even if they don’t win, you could still offer them a consolation prize, like a discount, to try to encourage a sale.

Important note on contests: A successful contest needs to be seen by a lot of people. There’s no sense giving away a thousand dollars or a product worth that much if only 20 people enter the contest.

This is why you should wait until you start getting regular repins and engagement on your pins naturally, before you launch a contest.

You can also promote your contest on other social media channels.

The more followers you already have, the more repins you will get, which will lead to exposure to your target audience that you want.

The other benefit of this is that a contest will help convert existing followers on Pinterest into email subscribers, which is a better channel for marketing.

So, how else can you get more followers? Here’s an option you can use if you are starting from scratch…

Have spare time? How to get thousands of followers naturally

Social media is all about connecting to other people and brands.

And although Pinterest is a fairly unique network, it’s no different in regards to this aspect.

In order to get people to follow you, you need to make some sort of connection with them.

It could be through commenting on their pins or sharing their pins, but the simplest and most scalable option is to follow other users.

When you follow another user, they get a notification. Most of the time, they will check out your profile.

If they like your profile and like the content you post on your boards (which is why it’s important to be active), they’ll follow you back.

Depending on how good your profile is and how well you pick the people you follow, 1-10% of them will follow you back.

But there are limits. In order to prevent spammers, Pinterest imposed limits on the number of people you can follow within an hour. It’s currently at 300 people per hour.

If you go over this limit, you’ll risk getting your account suspended or banned.

It takes about 5-15 minutes to follow this many people, and it will get you anywhere from 3 to 30 new followers.

Although that sounds like a lot of work, imagine if you did that just twice a day. Even with mediocre results, let’s say 10 new followers, you’d pick up 600 new followers in a month, and 7,200 in a year.

That’s a pretty large following.

If you also consider that your following will grow from getting repins and likes, you can multiply that total by 2, 3, or more.

Yes, you’ll have to be dedicated, but this simple math shows that this strategy can work.

A lot of your success will be determined by whom you follow. If you run an account about home decorating but follow football fans, you’ll get a terrible follow-back rate.

To avoid this, use the following two different methods to find users to follow who are actually interested in your content.

Finding people to follow – method #1 (keywords): Pinterest has a pretty good search function. Type in your niche into the search bar, and press enter (it will divide it into separate words automatically):

This will bring up all pins relevant to those keywords.

Obviously, if someone pins or repins an image that is related to your keywords, they’re probably interested in the topic.

Next, you’ll have to click on the name of the sharer (at the bottom of each pin) one by one.

That will bring you to the board to which they pinned the image. Click their name and image once again on that page (on the top left) in order to see their main profile:

On their profile, click the “Follow” button on the top right in bright red:

Alternatively, instead of clicking on the sharer’s name, you can click the image of the original pin and scroll down to the bottom.

Just past the comments, you’ll see a section that says “saved by [Pinterest user]”, which has the “Follow” button right beside it for you to click:

This gets you some very targeted people to follow, but it is fairly time consuming. I’d recommend mixing this method with method #2.

Finding people to follow – method #2 (competitors): Instead of trying to find people who are probably interested in your niche, you can find people who are definitely interested in it.

How? By searching for your competitors.

For example, if I wanted to get more followers interested in social media marketing, I might search for “social media examiner” on Pinterest. If they have an account, it will come up in the suggestions bar under “pinners”:

Click their name, and it will take you to their profile.

Assuming they are a strong competitor, they should have thousands of followers, which you can see at the top of their profile.

Click the follower count in order to bring up a list of all their followers (from newest to oldest).

The nice thing about this option is that there is a follow button under all of the followers.

You’ll likely see that some followers have zero or very few pins or followers themselves. Or they might not have a display picture (just a red thumbtack).

These aren’t active users, so don’t waste your follow limit on following them.

What about automation? I understand that this is a pretty tedious task. But it’s also a very effective way to build your follower list with very little cost.

If you do look around on Google, you’ll find tools that allow you to automatically follow people using the above methods. You can set the limits to make sure the tool doesn’t follow too many people in a short time period.

Here’s the thing: If you get caught, your account will be banned. Any hard work that went into it will be erased in a second.

Bots can do strange things sometimes, or you might set the limits just a bit too high and set off triggers that get you into trouble.

I do not recommend using bots to get followers, but if you do, always err on the side of caution.

The better option, if you don’t want to do this yourself, is to hire a foreign freelancer to do it for you (you can find one on Elance, for example).

Create a quick video of what you want them to do, how many people they should follow in an hour, and how many hours you’d like them to do it in a day.

I would only do this at the beginning since there is a risk in giving someone else access to the account.

Ultimately, it’s a boring task but something that you should do yourself. Find a way to clear 20 minutes a day to do it, and get it done.

Hint: Make this change on your blog posts to amplify their reach

We’ve covered a ton already—just about everything you need to know about using Pinterest effectively for your business:

• how to create an account
• how to pin and repin images
• what kinds of images work best
• how to get followers

And if you do all that, you can be successful on Pinterest.

But there’s one really easy way to get even more out of your pins.

Since you’ll be creating most of your images for your blog posts first and then pinning them on Pinterest, why not let your other blog readers do that as well?

You can use a WordPress plugin to automatically add a “Pin it” button to all of your blog images, which will show up any time someone hovers over them with their mouse.

With the button, a reader can pin the image with just a few clicks.

Once you’ve installed the plugin, go to its settings to make sure everything is configured correctly:

The most important setting is the “Show Pin It Button On Image Hover” option along with the color and size of the button.

You want to pick a color that makes it stand out from most of your images and website.

Getting extra pins from your blog readers will help increase the longevity of your pins even more.

Every time an old picture gets pinned again, it will be shown to the pinner’s followers as well as at the top of any relevant searches.

Conclusion

Pinterest is a unique social network with a lot of aspects that make it a great marketing channel.

If you follow the steps in this post and stay consistent with the process, I guarantee that you will be driving thousands of visits to your website every month with minimal effort at that point.

Once you start driving a solid amount of traffic, you can work on increasing your email opt-in rate and eventually turning those subscribers into customers.

I know that learning an entire social network marketing strategy in one post can be a little overwhelming, so leave me any questions you have in the comments below.

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Why You Should Tackle Your Student Loan Interest Before You Graduate

Many students and families consider student loan debt to finance higher education. As a senior at the University of Delaware, I’ve seen billboards, banner ads, radio ads, television ads and even received a few direct mailers for different lenders.

Student loans are everywhere. But these ads don’t always paint the full picture for students and families. Student loans have a secret, and that secret is interest.

I talk with students every day who are unaware their student loan debt is currently accruing interest. The truth is, many private and federal student loans accumulate and capitalize interest while students are in school or during periods of deferment.

Unfortunately, not every student reads his or her promissory note in the age of online loan applications. I’d like to share a few tips to help you avoid compounding student loan interest, and hopefully put you on a path to beat your student loan debt.

What’s Compound Interest? What’s Capitalization?

I hate to start an article off with boring financial definitions. That being said, bear with me.

As a finance major, I’m pretty familiar with the concept of compound interest. At its simplest, when you borrow money you are charged interest.

Interest is a fee charged for lending you money. When you borrow money, you pay interest for access to the loan. Interest can be charged daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly.

When it comes to student loans, my interest is charged daily. If you fail to pay your interest as it accumulates, the interest you owe will be added to the principal of your loan. This is known as capitalized interest.

Simply stated, interest will be charged on both the loan principal and accumulated interest. The end result: Capitalized interest equates to a much higher total loan and education cost.

Federal and Private Student Loans

If you have student loans, odds are you have them through the federal government.

However, the rising costs of higher education have forced more and more students to use private student loans to fund their degrees.

The commercials I referenced earlier are from private student loan lenders. In contrast, federal student loans such as Stafford, Perkins and PLUS loans are offered by the Department of Education, which does not advertise directly.

Both federal and private student loans may accrue interest while you are in school.

• Unsubsidized loans do accrue interest
• Subsidized loans do not accrue interest (the DOE pays the accrued interest)

Federal unsubsidized loans are offered to every student who enters college and accrue interest while you are in school. Private student loans always accrue interest while you are in school. Before signing the promissory note, determine your types of loans and interest.

Private student loans typically have higher interest rates than federal student loans. Meaning, private student loans will accrue interest faster than federal student loans.

For example, federal unsubsidized Stafford loans have a 4.29% interest rate. Private student loan rates range from 2% all the way up to 12% or more. Most private student loan borrowers fall somewhere in the middle of this range.

The Benefits of Paying Student Loan Interest in School

Paying accrued interest in school will save you money. A lot of it.

For example, the average student loan borrower had about $30,000 in debt upon graduation this year. Say that graduate didn’t pay any of his student loan interest during his four-year education. This unpaid interest accrued and was added to the principal of the loan.

Assuming a 6.5% average interest rate and monthly capitalization, this graduate will expect to pay about $4,300 extra during the life of his loan. This is in addition to regular principal and interest payments.

And the more debt you have, the greater the cost of capitalized interest. So, how do you pay accrued interest in school?

Great question. In fact, most private student loan lenders offer an interest-only payment option for students in college. You can choose to be billed for your accrued interest each month (approximately $100-150). Some lenders even offer special discounts for students willing to pay their interest in school.

I was able to lower my interest rate by 0.50% because I chose to make interest-only payments. Even small savings can add up to thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

When it comes to federal student loans, it’s a little trickier. Depending on your loan servicer, you will need to make interest payments in different ways. Today, most federal student loan servicers will allow you to schedule recurring electronic payments. Simply calculate your monthly accrued interest, and set up a recurring payment for this amount.

Not only does paying interest in school get you a lower interest rate, it will also save the average student thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. That money could be put toward a car payment, mortgage or even spring break in Cancun!

Creative Ways to Earn Money to Pay Student Loan Interest

Making interest payments in college isn’t easy, nor fun. On the 14th of every month, I watch my bank account get a little lighter.

But I know I’m helping my future self, and I’ve managed to pay my interest each month since the spring semester of freshman year.

I know, I know: You’re a broke college student. Who isn’t? Here are a few ways I’ve managed to pay my student loan interest.

On-Campus Jobs

I worked at the finance computer center my freshman year of college. Many on-campus jobs can pay $9 an hour or more for work that feels like study hall.

Moreover, managers are usually students, too, and understanding your need to schedule work around your classes and other commitments.

Scholarships

Don’t stop applying for scholarships once you’ve entered school. Too many students believe scholarships are simply for incoming freshman and new students, which is a myth.

Scholarships exist for everything under the sun. Look for ones related to your degree, your passions and yourself. Here’s a list of 100 scholarships to get you started — plus another list of 100 more unusual options.

Are you a finance student? An LGBT student? A graduate student? Look for scholarships that fit your mold. I’ve earned them, and you can, too!

Freelancing or Online Jobs

I’ve always loved investing and finance, and I found three different financial media companies willing to pay me to write about my passion. Over the course of my college career, I’ve probably written well over 200 financial articles for freelance writing jobs.

The pay is good too: I’ve made about $75 per article. Here are a few lists of sites that pay you to write for them.

Writing not your talent? Try one of these other online jobs for college students.

Final Thoughts

Simply put, paying your student loan interest in college sucks.

But at the end of the day, you can save yourself thousands of dollars if you bite the bullet and pay your accrued interest each month.

Your Turn: Would you consider making interest-only payments on your student loans? What are some other creative ways you’ve paid down debt as a student?

Nate Matherson is a student loan borrower. He is also the Co-Founder and CEO of LendEDU, a marketplace for student loans and student loan refinancing. LendEDU helps borrowers find the best student loan quotes in one place. LendEDU works to create transparency in the student loan market.

The post Why You Should Tackle Your Student Loan Interest Before You Graduate appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Some Thoughts on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Shares and How to Maximize Their Value

At the start of this year, Sarah and I decided to sign up for a community supported agriculture (CSA) group in our area. We ended up selecting Heritage Hill Farms, because they offered deliveries and pick-ups that were convenient for us and our normal weekly routines.

Every CSA program is a bit different, but they all generally have a few things in common.

First, consumers buy memberships in CSAs called “shares.” A “share” usually provides a weekly basket of vegetables and other foods (and sometimes other items) that are in season, as the farmer running the CSA will usually do a picking for the express purpose of filling CSA baskets for the week.

A CSA will usually advertise locally when they have shares available for the coming year during the fall and winter months. I discovered our CSA through a local grocery store that actually hosted a “CSA fair” last winter. You can usually find them through Google searches or by paying attention to bulletin boards at grocery stores and the like.

A “share” basket usually contains a significant quantity of food for the week. The farmer in charge of the CSA can give you some guidance on what to expect, but the quantity of the food does vary depending on the quality of the growing season as well as the time of year and their growing schedule. My experience with this CSA and with similar experiences in the past is that the food they provide is usually in line with what they suggest.

Typically, you pick up your basket once a week at a local meeting point or a farmers market. Some CSAs do offer a delivery service to your front step but that usually requires an additional fee.

The produce is usually high quality and, depending on the CSA, is often organic certified. None of the CSAs I have been familiar with have ever offered baskets of low-quality food. The stuff in there, while sometimes unusual, is always high quality stuff. Most CSAs, at least in our area, are either already organic certified or well on their way to certification. Many CSAs also grow some heirloom crops, too.

The amount of food that you get from a share is a nice bargain compared to buying similar amounts in the store. This is true for our CSA as well as others that I have observed. If you stack up all of the food that you get over the course of a year, it ends up being less expensive than buying that food at the grocery store (provided that you can even find it at the grocery store).

However, you don’t get a choice as to what’s in the basket each week. You get some of whatever happens to be in season. If you’re picky about your vegetables, you might find that some of the CSA stuff goes to waste. On the other hand, if you’re willing to work with what you have, it can be interesting and end up being quite a bargain.

So, let’s talk about our lessons from our CSA experience, particularly in terms of maximizing the value.

Lesson One: Unless You’re Eating a Freshly-Made Vegetable-Oriented Dish Every Night, You’re Going to Have Extras

I eat vegetarian. Sarah nearly does as well. Our children often have vegetarian meals, though they eat a more varied diet. We cook meals at home the vast majority of the time. Even then, we still had an abundance of food coming in from the CSA. We actually couldn’t eat everything in the basket before the next basket arrived.

This is a common experience with busy people who get into CSA programs. These programs can dump a lot of vegetables and other items into your hands and unless you’re careful with what you’re doing, some of it is going to go to waste.

You need to be prepared for this if you sign up for a CSA, period. They provide tremendous value, but it can feel like the equivalent of buying a bunch of fresh foods in bulk. If you don’t use them effectively, they will go bad, and when that happens, you’re losing some of the value of your CSA. If this happens too frequently, then the cost-effectiveness of the CSA completely vanishes and it ends up being more expensive than just buying produce at the store.

Lesson Two: We Found Great Value in Reorienting Our Meal Planning Around CSA Day

After the first few weeks, we were struggling with the sheer number of fresh vegetables. Not only were we getting the CSA share, we were getting early fresh items from our garden (like asparagus, which typically comes in April), and so we were suddenly flooded with a lot of vegetables. We weren’t ready.

The first thing we figured out – and this was absolutely key – was to base our meal plans around our CSA share. We moved to doing our meal planning right after getting our CSA share for the week, as we would figure out what was in the share and what was coming in from our garden, figure out a meal plan that utilized that stuff as well as a few additional items that were on sale at the grocery store, and then do our grocery shopping the next day after the CSA arrived.

This allowed us to start using the fresh produce the very next day after it arrived in our home. We also had a plan for using a lot of it over the next week.

Lesson Three: Unceremoniously Presenting Varied Dishes to Our Children Led to Them Trying Lots of New Things

One of the challenges of a CSA share is that you really have no control over what is specifically in the share. You might get beets. You might get kohlrabi. You might get sweet potatoes. You might get practically anything that could grow in your area.

We have young children, and young children are notoriously picky eaters. Having such a varied vegetable diet is pretty much a recipe for some negative responses, right?

Our solution is to simply prepare meals using this stuff, put it on the table, and make it very clear that this is our supper, like it or not. The only requirement we make of our children is that they try one bite of everything and decide for themselves if it’s tasty – we don’t force them to eat a thing and we don’t make it into a big battle.

Surprisingly, they are very willing to try all kinds of things, and they’ve discovered an enjoyment for some foods that you’d be shocked that a little kid would like. Have you ever heard of a five year old requesting more kale? It happened, and the reason for that was that we simply prepared what we had, didn’t give them the option of having more kid-friendly foods, but also didn’t force them to eat everything on their plate but merely try each item.

Lesson Four: We Also Found Great Value in Planning Make-Ahead Meals Out of Our CSA Bounty

Even with a meal plan that was oriented around our CSA share and our garden, we would still sometimes find ourselves with plenty of extras. For example, one week we found ourselves utterly drowning in bell peppers of different colors, and we went through a period in early August where we had more tomatoes than we possibly knew what to do with.

Again, after a while, we figured out a great solution. On various Sundays, we prepared a bunch of frozen meals along with our regular meals for the week. We would take our abundance of onions and tomatoes and bell peppers and cook them to make a great sauce for several pans of lasagna, eating one that night and freezing the rest. We took a bunch of extra vegetables from the CSA and made multiple batches of mulligatawny (which I call “mulligan stew”), freezing the extra batches in freezer containers for future use.

We have a bunch of make-ahead meals sitting in our freezer right now that were built on the back of CSA vegetables throughout the past summer. It’s going to be wonderful to have these dishes throughout the fall and early winter months.

Lesson Five: Having a Vacation Arrangement with a Friend Helped Us Both Greatly

During the summer, we were traveling a few times when our CSA was ready, so that meant that some of the vegetables would completely go to waste.

Again, we found a way to solve that problem. We found a friend who picked up our shares for a couple of weeks and, in exchange, we picked up their shares for a couple of weeks, as they were in a different CSA.

All you need to do is find a friend who is in a CSA program and agree to pick up each other’s shares while that person is traveling. This way, shares don’t go to waste. It will mean that you will have a few weeks of incredible abundance of vegetables, which is a great week to make a few make-ahead meals.

Final Thoughts

In terms of the cost of the vegetables over the course of the year, our CSA was a pretty good bargain. It provided us with a great quantity and variety of vegetables, even if we didn’t really have any control over what we received. Of course, with such a flood entering our home, we had to have a plan or else vegetables would be wasted, undoing the value of the CSA entirely.

In the end, that’s my recommendation to you. Have a plan that you can actually pull off for handling a flood of vegetables into your home. If you don’t have a plan you can pull off, at least some of your CSA share is going to go to waste, and if that’s the case, then you’re probably going to be better off not joining a CSA as the cost per pound of vegetables is going up for you due to the waste.

CSAs are absolutely wonderful, but only if you have a plan for the produce.

Good luck.

The post Some Thoughts on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Shares and How to Maximize Their Value appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Get Paid to Drive Without Picking Up Strangers: Amazon Flex Pays $18-$25 an Hour

Want to make money with your car, but don’t like the idea of picking up a bunch of strangers? Amazon might have just the gig for you.

The company is hiring drivers to deliver packages as part of its new Amazon Flex program, which lets people order and receive items from Prime Now within an hour. As long as you hit that delivery window and have a car and smartphone, they’ll pay you $18 to $25 an hour.

Interested? The pilot program in Seattle has already begun, and Flex will soon expand to nine other major U.S. cities.

How Does Amazon Flex Work?

As a driver, you’ll tell Amazon when you want to work, whether it’s two, four, eight or 12 hours in a day. During your shift, you’ll pick up packages at the nearest Amazon location and deliver them to people in your local area.

George Gracin III is a Houston man who signed up to be notified when the service comes to his town. He likes the flexibility it promises, and hopes to earn money outside of his full-time job.

“I’m interested because it seems like a way to earn a little bit of extra money on the side. similar to Uber,” Gracin said. “I by no means want it to become my full-time job, but I bet it’s going to be a fun way to make a little extra on the weekends.”

He also appreciates that he’ll only transport packages and won’t have to deal with potentially unruly or intoxicated strangers, like he might as an Uber or Lyft driver.

“Since it’s a delivery service, there’s no risk of having someone unfamiliar in your passenger seat,” Gracin said.

Want to Sign Up?

To work for Amazon Flex, you have to have a reliable vehicle, be over the age of 21, pass a background check and have an Android smartphone. (No, even the newest iPhone won’t help you qualify.)

And yes, the car is required — the company’s not accepting foot or bicycle messengers yet, though they might in the future. If you want to deliver by bike or on foot, you’ll have to stick with Postmates or Instacart for now.

How Much Will You Make?

The pay ranges from $18 to $25 per hour, according to the Amazon Flex website and emails the company has sent to potential applicants.

However, they’re not disclosing exactly how that wage breaks down or what determines where you’d fall on that pay scale.

“They say the wage depends on the area and scope of delivery,” said Gracin.

Where Can You Drive for Amazon Flex?

The program is live in Seattle, and it will soon expand to Manhattan, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Portland.

It may also expand to additional locations as it develops. The email sent out to prospective Amazon Flex workers states: “Since launching, we’ve had thousands and thousands of interested individuals sign-up to hear more about delivering for Amazon in locations ranging from Turin, Italy, to Wichita, Kansas.”

By signing up before Amazon comes to his town, Gracin’s hoping to get ahead of the game.

“In my city of Houston, Flex is not available yet, but I wanted to lock in my interest with them while it’s still new so I have a chance once it reaches [the area],” he said.

How to Apply

If you’d like to drive for Amazon Flex, sign up now and Amazon will contact you when it starts recruiting drivers in your town. You’ll receive periodic email updates as the program expands to new locations.

Your Turn: Would you be interested in driving and delivering packages for Amazon Flex? If you’ve already signed up in Seattle or one of the other cities the program will serve, we’d love to hear about your experience!

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

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

The post Get Paid to Drive Without Picking Up Strangers: Amazon Flex Pays $18-$25 an Hour appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Costs of half-term getaways soar

Rachel Lacey

Mother and child on holiday.jpg

Taking the kids away this October half-term is 11% more expensive than the same time last year, according to research from M&S Bank.

Taking the kids away this October half-term is 11% more expensive than the same time last year, according to research from M&S Bank.

The bank’s research found that the cost of getting some autumnal sun had risen in seven out of the 10 destinations covered by its survey.

Costs of half-term getaways soar

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Taking the kids away this October half-term is 11% more expensive than the same time last year, according to research from M&S Bank. The bank’s research found that the cost of getting some autumnal sun had risen in seven out of the 10 destinations covered by its survey. However, while costs were up overall, the fact that sterling is up 9.1% on the euro over the last year means that some European destinations are still offering good value to UK holidaymakers. According to M&S the most affordable destination is Malta where a family of four can get away for £1,872 – £84 less than the same time last year. Last year’s most affordable getaway, Menorca, came in second at £1,936 for the same family – up £124 on last year. The cost of holidaying in the Greek island Crete has fallen by 20% over the last year, and at £1,940 for a week it comes in as the third most affordable destination. But if sun is your priority you may want to jet off to Cyprus, which came in fourth in the survey and promises the best weather. Families can enjoy 10 hours of sun a day and average temperatures of 22 degrees for £2,588. For higher temperatures still, families will have to head further afield and fly long haul. During October the mercury is likely to hit an average of 27 degrees in Antigua and Barbados and so unsurprisingly these two destinations were the first and second most expensive in the survey. The cost of a holiday for four to Barbados was up by 47% to £6,336, an increase that was largely led by rising flight prices. M&S said it believed increased demand was driving up the price of a seat on a plane. Paul Stokes, head of products at M&S Bank, said: “Families that are prepared to be flexible in where they go this half term can still find some savings, particularly in Europe where the pound remains strong against the euro. “Taking exchange rates into account and shopping around for the best deals will help families get even more from their travel money.” Stokes has the following tips to help holidaymakers get best value: • Be flexible and consider flights leaving at less sociable hours • Use comparison sights to compare the costs of travel and accommodation • Plan a holiday budget factoring in all those extras like taxis, tipping and meals out • Do your research to see if advance booking will save you money on tours and activities • Shop around for currency and bear in mind that some providers offer different rates for those buying in store and those ordering online • Get your currency in advance – airport bureaux can be expensive and may not have a wide choice of note denominations.

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