Chemist Warehouse slammed for selling sex toy

THE popular chemist has been labelled a defacto sex shop for selling a male sex toy that has a “realistic hymen just waiting to be popped”.

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

‘We’re not asking for the world’

THEY’RE the backbone of Australia and they’re seething mad at Coles and Woolworths. And they’re gaining a lot of support against the supermarket giants.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/20sOJHP

The one force Star Wars fans should fear

IT’S arguably the most anticipated movie in history, yet fans of the upcoming seventh instalment in the Star Wars franchise are facing a scary possibility.

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

Amazon opens its first real life bookstore

LEAVE the Kindle at home: online retail giant Amazon has gone retro on us and opened a bookstore.

Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1PkEyQ6

How to Achieve Important Long-Term Financial Goals

Long-term goals aren’t easy to achieve. But why?

Could it be that motivation wanes over time? Perhaps external circumstances change. Maybe it has to do with the feasibility of the goals.

Many people have trouble sticking to something over the course of a single year let alone several years or decades.

Perhaps that’s why long-term goals – like most financial goals – are so difficult to achieve.

How do we fight against whatever it is that holds us back from achieving these financial goals? Is it possible to win?

Yes. It is.

Today I’d like to share with you some ways you can achieve your long-term financial goals. I won’t claim it will be easy, but it will be worthwhile.

So whether you need to pay off debt, build an emergency fund, save for your kids’ college education, or invest for retirement, here are some ways you can make it hap’n, cap’n.

1. Capture your long-term goals in your to-do list.

Long-term goals of the financial sort are usually more like projects than individual tasks.

For example, if you want to pay off your debt, chances are that you don’t just have one credit card to pay off – you might have three credit cards, a vehicle loan, and a student loan to overcome (if not more).

“Pay off debt” would be the project. “Pay off Visa #1” would be the task.

The truth is that without writing down your projects and tasks within a task management system of some type, you’re much less likely to accomplish your long-term goals.

There’s just something about seeing your long-term goals on paper (or on a screen) that makes them real. The very act of writing them down is a type of commitment.

Give it a whirl. Write down your long-term financial goals and review them on a regular basis.

2. Don’t bury your long-term goals.

It’s not enough to write down your long-term financial goals. Additionally, you need to make them readily available to your eye.

One idea that I’ve found works well is to write down your goals on a whiteboard where you can’t help but see them. But that’s not for everybody.

The point is that you need to find a way to see your long-term goals in the context of all your other goals (namely, your short-term goals). If only your short-term, urgent goals are displayed for you to see, you’ll tend to focus on those instead of kicking butt on your long-term goals.

Don’t bury your long-term goals. They’re important too!

3. Dedicate certain days of the week to long-term goals.

One helpful tip I derived from Strategic Coach was to dedicate certain days of the week to certain goals. This has proved to be very helpful in my own life, and I believe it will in yours, too.

For example, you could dedicate a certain day of the week to managing your finances and brainstorming ways to improve your financial future. Perhaps you have a day off of work that would work best for you.

Now, I can hear you saying, “Oh Jeff, if I only had a day for such tasks – I’m way too busy with other stuff!” That’s fair.

But here’s the thing, you don’t just have to make this day about finances – you can make it about your other long-term goals too. Add in health, family, and other areas of responsibility. Consider this day (or these days) of the week to be all about bettering yourself and your life. Can’t you make time for that?

4. Prioritize your long-term goals properly.

When it comes to long-term financial goals, you need to properly prioritize them. There are some preliminary goals that should only take you less than a month, like setting up a budget and cutting expenses, but we’ll leave that for another article.

What are some common long-term financial goals and in which order should you complete them? Generally, I recommend you complete the following long-term financial goals in the order they are displayed below:

Build Your Emergency Fund

Think of your emergency fund as the foundation of your financial future. Without some liquid money, you’re going to be out of luck when financial disaster strikes. Believe me, they happen.

Your car engine might explode. Your kneecap might explode (ouch). Your water heater might explode. There are so many things that can explode . . . and it’s not easy to just walk away from those explosions while keeping your cool. It’s stressful!

But you know what would make those situations a little less stressful? You guessed it: an emergency fund baby!

Wipe Out Your Debt

Once you have your foundation in place, it’s time to knock out that debt. This can take several years or a few months – it depends on how much debt you have and how quickly you can shovel money at it.

Write down all of your debts and attack them one by one. It’s easier that way.

Start Investing for Retirement

Now it’s time to start investing for your latter years. Why? It’s possible that your earning potential can go down when you’re physically unable to work. Who knows, you might have a self-sustaining business upon reaching retirement age, but don’t count on it. Invest for the future!

Helping people retire well is what I do. Work with me and let’s see what we can do together!

Start Saving for Other Long-Term Goals

This might include saving for your kids’ college education, purchasing a new vehicle, saving for a home renovation, or another goal that will take some time.

By prioritizing your long-term goals in the proper way, you can ensure that should you experience a slump in income, you aren’t wiped out due to a lack of financial planning.

5. Discover and focus on your motivations.

I’m convinced that one of the main reasons people don’t accomplish their long-term goals is because they really haven’t discovered their motivations.

For example, everyone knows it’s a good idea to pay off debt. It’s a financial goal that’s been embedded in our minds by countless financial advisors. But unless you discover your motivation for paying off debt, chances are you’ll give up before you achieve your goal.

In fact, if you’re paying off debt for the sake of paying off debt, you might as well give up now. You’re not going to be motivated enough to get the job done.

Instead, focus on some common motivations that can become your motivations. Here are some great reasons why people want to pay off debt:

• To not have to pay interest on their purchases
• To free up money for vacations
• To free up money for investing for retirement
• To not have to worry about those bills
• To reduce the amount of stress in their lives
• To free up the time it takes managing debt to focus on family

These are just a few of the motivations of others. What’s your motivation?

Assign a motivation for every long-term goal you have. Otherwise, you’re just trying to accomplish your long-term goals for the sake of accomplishing them – that’s not a real motivating factor if you ask me!

Long-Term goal examples

Knowing I’m not the only goal-setting freak that exists in this world, I asked fans from the Good Financial Cents Facebook page what their long-term goals (big shout to the Fincon community for contributing, too!).

Here’s a great list of examples of long-term goals:

What are your long-term financial goals?

Posted by Good Financial Cents on Monday, November 2, 2015

Here’s your homework

I want you to implement at least one of these strategies for reaching your long-term goals over the next year. When the year is over, write me. Tell me how well the strategy worked out for you. I want you to put your heart and soul into one or more of these strategies.

Why? I want you to see success.

Make it hap’n, cap’n!

Need some more long-term goals? Check out The Top 10 Good Financial Goals That Everyone Should Have. If you’re a baby boomer, check out 5 Financial Goals for Baby Boomers.

Source Good Financial Cents http://ift.tt/1Nc8Wb9

What Is a Limited Liability Company, or LLC?

When my husband and I created our first WordPress blog, we did it as a hobby. But once we started earning a real income from our website, we began to think of it as a profitable business endeavor. As such, we realized we needed to begin treating it that way — and not just in our own minds, but in a professional and legal sense as well.

With that in mind, we decided to open our first limited liability company, also known as an LLC.

What Is an LLC?

A limited liability company is a business entity that offers certain legal protections and rights to its owners. An LLC is neither a true corporation or a sole proprietorship/partnership. Actually, LLCs combine some of the best aspects of both.

Like other corporate entities, the owners’ personal liability is limited — meaning an LLC provides a layer of protection over the members’ personal assets. In theory, this means only the assets of the company could be exposed to a lawsuit if one were to arise — not your personal savings or possessions.

Meanwhile, LLCs are not very restrictive, easy to form, and provide pass-through taxation benefits to their members. Since the government views the company and the owner as one taxable entity with this business setup, members are also allowed to pass LLC profits through their personal income taxes. In this sense, creating an LLC offers the perfect trifecta of advantages — ease and simplicity, legal protection, and potential tax savings — all in one fell swoop.

Unlike most business entities, laws regarding LLC structure and formation rest entirely with the states. This means that, while forming an LLC is relatively easy, 50 different sets of laws govern them in the U.S. That doesn’t necessarily make the process of starting an LLC more complicated, but it does mean you have to pay attention to your local laws and regulations above all else.

Why Should I Form an LLC?

There are many reasons why you might choose an LLC for business purposes. Here are some of the most important:

Limited Liability

By forming an LLC for your business, you can effectively protect your personal assets and keep them separate. That way, if your business is sued, the plantiffs are not able to go after your personal funds or possessions.

Of course, it works the other way around as well. If somebody is injured at your house, they can’t turn around and sue your LLC — unless, of course, the LLC owns your home.

Pass-Through Taxation

One of the biggest benefits that comes with forming an LLC instead of a corporation is that the profits from the business are only taxed once. Those profits can be “passed through” to members’ personal income taxes, saving huge amounts on taxes over time.

Ease of Formation

Rules and regulations governing LLCs are far less restrictive than those governing corporations. In general, LLCs are not held to the same standards when it comes to record keeping, nor are they restricted in size — although it is advised that an LLC operate as a corporation, regardless of its tax classification. LLCs are also permitted to own sole businesses, own stock in corporations, or own other LLCs.

Save Money on Self-Employment Taxes

Operating as a limited liability corporation can also save you from paying more in self-employment taxes than you need to, which we’ll explain in detail below.

LLCs and Taxes: How Do They Work?

Because limited liability companies are governed by the states, the IRS does not recognize an LLC as a taxable entity. Therefore, LLCs must elect how they wish to be taxed.

By default, single-member LLCs are considered disregarded entities while LLCs with more than one member are considered partnerships. If an LLC chooses to be taxed as either a partnership or disregarded entity, the members will owe 100% of the self-employment taxes on all profits.

However, LLCs may elect to be taxed as either an S-Corporation or a C-Corporation. In this instance, members must pay themselves a “reasonable” wage, on which the payroll taxes are paid by the LLC. The other profits may be retained or distributed to the members without them having to pay self-employment taxes on all profits made by the company.

In order to elect S-Corp status, an LLC can choose to file IRS Form 2553. In this case, the members will still enjoy all of the major benefits of an LLC (limited liability, ease of formation, and pass-through taxation), but the LLC will now be considered a taxable entity, potentially reducing the amount of self-employment tax owed on the company’s profits.

How Various Business Entities Work

Confused yet? The following chart compares several business setups in terms of owner recognition, flexibility, and tax liability:

	LLC	Sole Proprietorship or Parternship	S-Corp.	C-Corp.
Owners are called...	Members	Owner(s)	Shareholders	Shareholders
Limits liability?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Double taxation?	No	No	No	Yes
Flexibility	Flexible requirements for record keeping, management, and meetings	Most flexibility	More restrictive record-keeping, management, and meeting requirements	More restrictive record-keeping, management, and meeting requirements
Number of owners or shareholders	Unlimited	Unlimited	1-100	Unlimited
Can be owned by another business?	Yes	N/A	No	Yes
Can deduct business losses on personal taxes?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Who Should Form an LLC?

Small-business owners concerned about personal liability: The best reason to start an LLC is to protect your personal assets from business liabilities. With the ease and low cost of formation, there are very few (if any) reasons to operate legally as a sole proprietorship or partnership without the liability protection of an LLC.

Business owners seeking flexibility: If you’re looking for a flexible business entity, look no further than an LLC. Limited liability companies are extremely flexible. They can be owned by one or more members, own real estate, and choose their preferred accounting method. In most cases, they are not held to the stricter standards of record keeping, annual meetings, and management required of corporations — although it is always good practice to stick to those standards.

Business owners who want to avoid double taxation: An LLC is a great way to protect your personal assets while still avoiding the double taxation experienced by C-Corps. LLCs allow their members to pass the company’s profits (or business losses) through to their personal taxes. This can have a significant impact on the amount of taxes paid by the owners of an LLC.

Who Shouldn’t Form an LLC?

Certain types of businesses: Not all types of businesses are eligible to operate as an LLC. Typically, businesses such as banks, insurance companies, and trusts are not allowed to become LLCs. Furthermore, some states restrict certain professions from operating as LLCs. Be sure to know your state’s requirements prior to forming your LLC.

Business owners seeking a more formal distinction: Because corporations tend to have more formal requirements, it may be easier to distinguish between a business structured as a corporation and an individual. In this way, your liability protection may be stronger than it is with an LLC. If you choose to form an LLC, be sure there is a clear distinction between your personal assets and your business assets.

Businesses that wish to offer publicly traded shares: Although LLCs may be traded publicly on rare occasion, businesses wishing to offer publicly traded shares should avoid forming as an LLC. Because LLCs are governed by each state, trading LLCs publicly is extremely difficult. Entities governed under federal law, like C-Corps, are much easier to take public.

Basic Steps to Forming an LLC

Since LLCs are governed by state laws, forming an LLC is different in each state. However, the basic process is typically the same, and you may not even need a lawyer to do it. Here are some of the basic steps to forming your own LLC:

1. Choose the name of your business: Before forming your LLC, you must first choose the legal name of your business. This can be anything you like, typically followed by the letters “LLC.” Of course, you need to make sure nobody else is using your business name first. You should run a simple trademark search through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well as a business name search through your state’s Secretary of State’s office prior to formalizing your business name.
2. File the ‘Articles of Organization': Next, you need to file the Articles of Organization with your state. This is the document that will make your LLC official. Although they sound like they’d be pretty cumbersome, most of the time they are super-easy. Usually, all you’ll need to file is your legal business name, the address of the business, and the contact information for a representative of the business. Many states allow you to do this online. Of course, you’ll also have to pay any applicable fees. These vary by state, but they typically run anywhere from $75 to $250.
3. Create an Operating Agreement: This document outlines what your business does, its corporate structure, and rules of operation. Essentially, it is a contract among the members that delineates responsibilities, how ownership percentage is determined, and the process for cashing out or liquidating the business. While most states don’t require this document, you should always keep your Operating Agreement updated and on file.
4. File any DBAs with local governments: If you’re doing business under any other names, you must file those with your local and/or state governments. For example, if the legal name of your business is Red Flowers LLC, but you also do business as Pete’s Florist, you need to let your state — and possibly your county or city — know.
5. Get an Employer Identification Number: Now that you have an official LLC, you need to let the IRS know about it. An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is like a Social Security number for your business. Even if you’re running a single-member LLC, it’s good practice to apply for a separate EIN. Again, this provides a clear distinction between the owner and the business itself, which helps establish the corporate veil of limited liability. As we stated before, the default tax classification for an LLC is either a disregarded entity or partnership, depending upon the number of members. You can elect to be taxed as a corporation if you think it will benefit you. Once you have your EIN, you can use it to open a bank account or business credit card for your business.

Wrapping It All Up

Forming an LLC is a great way to protect your personal assets from your business liabilities without having to pay any more taxes than absolutely necessary. Setting one up is easy and relatively inexpensive, and can help you limit liability when it comes to potential problems or lawsuits that could affect your business enterprise.

Since our LLC provides us with legal protections and helps us create a barrier between our personal and business lives, the move was a no-brainer. If you find yourself in a similar situation with a side hustle or small-business endeavor, you may also want to look into creating an LLC to protect your family.

The post What Is a Limited Liability Company, or LLC? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar The Simple Dollar http://ift.tt/1Pk4QSy

Make $50,000 a Year in Passive Income by “Frontloading” Your Life

Can you imagine a life where you didn’t have to work every day? Instead of needing to work, you could work because you wanted to, or you could just choose not to work.

Conventional wisdom tells you the path you’re supposed to live looks like this:

• Go to college
• Get a good job
• Get married
• Take out a loan for school, your wedding, a car, furniture, a house
• Work hard for 30+ years to pay off all the debt you accumulated
• Maybe you’ll have enough to retire, and then again, maybe not

The truth is that there IS another way to live. You don’t have to go the traditional route. After all, you’re the one in control of your life. You can do anything you want.

Isn’t that a freeing thought? To know you’re in the driver’s seat of your own life? For me, it is.

One thing that has been on my mind a lot, and that I have begun to work toward, is creating passive income so my limited time isn’t constantly being exchanged for money.

And because I’ve always had a fascination with passive income, I’ve been drilling down on it lately and not only learning more, but also taking action.

I think most people could happily live on $50,000 per year (provided they had no debt), so I thought it would be a good idea to explore some ways to make $50,000 per year without working.

How This Works: Frontload Your Life

Frontloading your life is working hard now so you don’t have to work so hard later.

It’s kind of like making a snowball. At first, you’re packing the snow and rolling the ball around to make it bigger. After a little work, your ball starts to roll down a hill and gets bigger and bigger and bigger all on its own.

At this point, the snowball’s momentum starts to work in your favor.

That’s what frontloading is all about. That, my friends, is exactly how you can earn $50,000 per year without working.

You have to work hard up front, and in anywhere from 10 to 30 years (depending on how much you invest and how smart you are about the way you invest), you’ll earn a good amount of passive income.

Here are just a few ideas for earning $50,000 per year without working.

Own 10 Rental Properties  

Net: $4,200 per month

Ten rentals properties that provided you a net income of $420 per month, after figuring in things like vacancies, maintenance, repairs, property management, taxes and insurance would bring in $50,400 per year.

Depending on the locations and types of properties you have, it may take more or less properties for you to reach that $50,000 per year mark.

One successful real estate investor I’ve enjoyed learning from is Paula Pant. Paula has a total of 7 rental units that net her around $40,000 per year.

If you’re wondering what to look for in rental properties, here’s an excellent post from Paula on why she purchased her latest rental property. It includes how she evaluated the neighborhood and the math she uses to figure out if a particular rental is a good investment.

If rental properties are something you’d like to get into, I’d highly suggest you start doing research now. Real estate is something that has always interested me, and from my research it seems like everyone has different goals and different criteria for how they choose their investments.

That means you’ll need to create your own path and consider your risk tolerance to reach your particular goals.

Invest $1.25 Million in Dividend Stocks

Net: $50,000 per year

This particular method appears, at first glance, a little harder to achieve than the rental property scenario, but stick with me, please. These methods are actually very similar. With both, you’re buying an asset that provides you cash flow.

Dividend stocks are great because, while they pay dividends, they can also appreciate (or depreciate) in value. This means you’ll still get to take advantage of compound interest of the value of the stock. Plus, you can reinvest your dividends until you reach your desired amount.

The cool thing about dividend stocks is when you need the dividend checks to live off of, you don’t have to touch the underlying assets. In other words, you don’t have to sell your stocks in order to get money. The value you have in stocks still has the chance to compound and grow without you ever adding anything else to it!

And because you get to take advantage of compound interest and can reinvest your dividends while growing your nest egg, you’re not actually contributing that full $1.25 million.

Build a Business and Outsource the Work

Net: $4,200 a month

I don’t want to sound all 4-Hour Workweek here, but outsourcing a business is possible.

My dad owns three businesses: two department stores and one greenhouse. He works at one of these businesses.

The other two are outsourced to different family members. There are also managers for different departments and, of course, employees.

There’s simply no way that he could run all three businesses by himself. Quite frankly, he just doesn’t want to.

I’ve tried copying this method into my own online business, and so far am headed in the right direction.

For instance, there are a couple parts to my businesses. First, there’s freelancing. Freelancing is very much active and requires my direct involvement. I can’t hand this off to other people.

The other side is blogging. My own blog generates around $2,500-$3,000 per month and I normally spend around five to seven hours a week on it.

I used to spend much more time on it, until I started to outsource. I hired out social media and brought on a writer to help with the workload. My expenses rarely exceed $500 per month.

This means I’m now netting around $2,000 to $2,500 per month from a blog I enjoy running while only spending 20-28 hours per month on it. That’s around $75-$100 per hour.

While it’s not completely passive, it’s headed in the right direction and sure beats my old day job that paid $11.50 per hour.

It is completely possible for you to build a business in any area you enjoy and then outsource once you get systems in place. This doesn’t happen without a bunch of initial hard work, though – it’s all about frontloading.

Your Turn: Have you tried any of these strategies to “frontload your life”?

This post originally appeared on The College Investor. The College Investor helps millennials get out of student loan debt, earn more money, start investing and build real wealth.

The post Make $50,000 a Year in Passive Income by “Frontloading” Your Life appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1MapTTh

Groupon’s Already Offering Black Friday Deals! Find Out Whether They’re Worth Your While…

You probably haven’t purchased your turkey yet, but retailers are already starting their holiday sales.

Amazon launched their Black Friday deals site yesterday, and today we’ve learned about another sale: From now until Friday, Nov. 13, Groupon is offering Black Friday online deals with “12 Days of Doorbusters.”

The best thing about these doorbusters? No early alarms or long lines: You can score all the deals from behind your laptop.

Are Groupon’s Doorbusters a Good Deal?

Though all of the prices on Groupon are already discounted, many of the Doorbusters deals help you save up to $10 more. These additional discounts change each day, so if you see an item (and price) you like, act quickly.

To determine whether the deals are worth your while, we checked into a few:

Beats Solo HD Drenched Headphones with Mic: $99.99

Time to rock out! Most other sites list these for $119.95, so it’s not a 44% discount like Groupon claims, but it’s still a great price for a new pair. You’d save $20!

Our rating: Grab this deal

Little Giant 17-Ft. Multi-Use Ladder with Ladder Rack: $169.99

Need a ladder to hang your Christmas lights? With the extra $10 discount offered today, this is a pretty good deal.

The next cheapest price we found was $197 — on Overstock, which doesn’t charge sales tax in most states. Even when taking that into account, though, you’d still save around $15 by buying it on Groupon.

Our rating: Grab this deal

NFL Sheer Chevron Infinity Scarf: $16.99

These scarves would be a great gift for any NFL fan, but don’t tackle this deal. The price is similar to what many other websites offer, even when you take into account the limited-time $7 discount.

Our rating: Skip this deal

As with all online shopping, we urge you to do your research before clicking purchase.

Just because something’s listed as a “doorbuster” doesn’t mean it’s an awesome deal — but with a little sleuthing, you might find some really good prices on Groupon over the next few weeks!

Want to get ready for more Black Friday online sales? Here are 10 steps experts say you should take now.

Your Turn: Which of these Groupon deals looks most appealing to you?

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!

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 Groupon’s Already Offering Black Friday Deals! Find Out Whether They’re Worth Your While… appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1Om0ITI

The Brilliant (and Simple) Way This Family Teaches Their 6-Year-Old About Money

Raising kids is probably the biggest responsibility you’ll ever have. Raising financially savvy kids is even more challenging — especially when even you don’t always have control of your finances.

But teaching kids about money doesn’t have to be complicated. If you show them the importance of saving and budgeting at an early age, they’ll hopefully grow up into smart Penny Hoarders.

The Wall Street Journal recently profiled one couple who’ve already started their kindergartener’s financial education. The Yeagers live in suburban Georgia and have a 6-year-old son named Kellan and a 3-year-old daughter named Riley.

How the Yeagers Are Teaching Their Kids to Budget

Kellan started showing an interest in how much items cost over the summer, so the Yeagers “decided it was time to start an allowance system at home to help [him] better understand the value of money,” the WSJ reports.

They came up with a clever solution — one very similar to the budgeting jars method endorsed by personal finance experts like T. Harv Ekers.

They labeled three jars with “Spend,” “Save” and “Give.” Each Sunday, the Yeagers give Kellan four quarters: two go in the Spend jar, while the other jars each get one.

“It seemed like a logical budgeting pattern,” Ms. Yeager told the WSJ. “We wanted him to really understand that all of your money isn’t to be spent.”

Smart, right? Not only are they teaching Kellan about saving, they’re also demonstrating the importance of giving back. (Kellan hopes to eventually donate the coins in his “Give” jar to a pet shelter.)

You may be wondering if Kellan’s allowance is tied to chores — it’s not.

“He already understands that if you’re part of this family, there are things we expect you to do,” Ms. Yeager told the WSJ. Things that aren’t tied to money or “external reward[s].”

To assign chores, the Yeagers have another unique method: popsicle sticks. They write out different chores on each stick, and every week, Kellan picks two — without seeing what they are. His sister Riley picks one.

“Letting Kellan choose the jobs helps him feel (like) he’s in the driver’s seat … and changing them up each week keeps things interesting,” the article says.

Raising kids is far from simple — but with a little creativity, teaching them to be responsible with money doesn’t have to be as difficult as may seem.

We covered the article’s salient points in this post, but WSJ subscribers can access the full story here.

Your Turn: Do you believe in allowances? What do you think of the jar system?

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 The Brilliant (and Simple) Way This Family Teaches Their 6-Year-Old About Money appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1Om0GuM

Why Investing in Brazil Will Remain Difficult

A potential powerhouse, Brazil is beset by both financial and political problems.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1M9UaBz

British Gas deal could save consumers £289 on energy bills

Tom Wilson

gas hob.jpg

Households are now able to knock £289 off their annual energy bills, thanks to a new collective deal available via MoneySuperMarket.com.

Households are now able to knock £289 off their annual energy bills, thanks to a new collective deal available via MoneySuperMarket.com.

The deal is powered by British Gas and is its cheapest deal in over four years, costing £805 a year on average. That’s £289 cheaper than the average big six standard monthly direct debit bill.

British Gas set to save consumers £289 on energy bills

Feed Copy: 

Households are now able to knock £289 off their annual energy bills, thanks to a new collective deal available via MoneySuperMarket.com. The deal is powered by British Gas and is its cheapest deal in over four years, costing £805 a year on average. That’s £289 cheaper than the average big six standard monthly direct debit bill. Stephen Murray, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket said: “The British Gas one year collective fixed tariff is currently the cheapest fixed rate deal available. Even existing British Gas or Sainsbury’s Energy customers can take advantage of the collective switch without being charged any exit fees from their current tariff.” The deal is a fixed tariff, which confusingly doesn’t mean a set bill, but instead a set price for each unit of energy used (rather than a variable rate that could change at any time). In July a report by the Competition & Markets Authority found that the ‘Big Six’ energy providers collectively overcharged consumers around £300 million a year, due to lack of competition in the market. David Sheridan, founder of bill management service Onedox, says: “In the UK energy sector alone, 70% of consumers are overpaying by £160 a year because they are automatically moved on to more expensive tariffs once their initial contracts run out.” Customers signing up for the MoneySuperMarket dual fuel offer should be aware there is a £30 early exit fee for people signing up to the deal who subsequently leave within a year.

read more

Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1MvNf56

8 Smart Ways to Invest in Metal Stocks

The mining industry is expected to see a turnaround, and these metal stocks should benefit.

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

How to Navigate Holiday Shopping at the Big Box Stores

Planning your purchases around the best deals will save you money.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1M9P3kZ

Why Do Some People Take Stupid Risks With Money?

If any of these behaviors ring true, you're not alone.


Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1Q8yJ9g

Retire in Historic La Villa De Los Santos, Panama

This quiet town with a long history provides the best of Panamanian country life.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/20qQ01O

Got Computer Skills? Use Your Powers for Good — and Get Paid

Computer hackers constantly find vulnerabilities in computer codes, breaking into corporate systems and databases, and wreaking havoc.

Your identity or account might even have been collateral damage in an attack, like Target’s fiasco that resulted in the theft of 40 million people’s credit and debit account numbers or LinkedIn’s password theft.

And these breaches cost companies an average of $3.8 million a year, according to a Ponemon Institute study reported by CNBC, up from $3.5 million last year.

To combat these attacks, many companies offer bounties to “white hat hackers,” who can uncover weaknesses and vulnerabilities before ill-intentioned hackers. And this can be a very lucrative industry. Facebook once paid $33,500 to a hacker who found a single bug.

A minor bug can pay as little as $25, but some discoveries net five-figure checks, CNBC reports. Below are a few resources to help you use your computer skills to cash in as a bug bounty hunter.

BugCrowd

BugCrowd is a platform that partners with more than 160 companies to help find their vulnerabilities. Check out this list of their current “bug bounty programs.”

It offers two types of work.

White Hat Hacker Side Jobs

If you don’t want a full-time job, work a side gig as a white hat hacker.

You’ll have to be good to make the big bucks. Typically, you register for a program and start searching for bugs. But you don’t get paid until you find them — and you generally have to be the first person to do so.

The program list outlines how much you can earn reporting bugs for various companies. You can make up to $1,500 reporting bugs on Indeed.com, up to $5,000 for Western Union, $2,500 for Jet.com and up to $4,913 for bugs on Dropbox.

Tesla is another company on the BugCrowd list and you can earn up to $10,000 finding the company’s bugs. Bounties start at $25 for minor bugs, but it has a complete list outlining how much you can earn for reporting different types. SQL bugs, “command injection” and “vertical privilege escalation” command the highest bounties.

Tesla also pays for finding sensitive data exposure, security misconfiguration and a host of other items. Of course, you have to follow all the rules and responsible disclosure guidelines to get paid (and stay out of trouble).

These guidelines include providing enough information so the company can replicate the bug, not publicly disclosing information, not delving into private information and not being a destructive hacker.

Full-Time Careers

If you’re looking for a full-time gig, BugCrowd is hiring. As of this writing, the open positions include product designer, senior software engineer, sales engineer, senior application security engineer and customer success specialist.

Senior software engineers make up to $180,000, plus up to 2% equity in the company. If you have the skills, this could be a lucrative job for you.

Hacker One

Hacker One is another bug-finding site that works with top companies and researchers to disclose security issues before they become a problem.

HackerOne hackers have received $3.48 million in bounties for the more than 10,500 bugs they’ve discovered, CNBC reports .

To try your hand at working with this team, set up an account with the company, pick a program and get started.

HackerOne works with a variety of companies, including Dropbox, ownCloud, Coursera and many more. While they don’t list maximum bounties, they do list minimums, including $216 per-bug from DropBox.

Full-Time Jobs

You can also apply for a full-time job with the company. As of this writing, it’s hiring software engineers, product designers and others.

Facebook Bug Program

Facebook forks over big cash for people who discover their bugs. Reginaldo Silva earned $33,500 for discovering a single bug in Facebook’s software.

Since they started their bug bounty program, Facebook has paid more than $3 million in bounties. In 2014, it handed out $1.3 million to 321 researchers worldwide. The average 2014 reward was $1,788.

If you’re the first to find the bug (including bugs on other Facebook products and acquisitions, including Instagram, Parse, Onavo, Oculus, Moves and OSQuery) you’ll be eligible for a minimum $500 reward.

To report vulnerabilities, you use Facebook’s form and provide enough information for the team to be able to reproduce the bug. You can’t interact with other accounts without the account owner’s consent and you must be the first person to share information about the bug. Facebook only awards one bounty per bug.

“There is no maximum reward: each bug is awarded a bounty based on its severity and creativity,” the website says.

To learn more about the rules and procedures for reporting bugs, check out their dedicated “white hat hacker” page.

Your Turn: Do you have the skills to make money as a white hat hacker?

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

The post Got Computer Skills? Use Your Powers for Good — and Get Paid appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1NoIek2

How to Save Money When You’re Eating Well

You can be healthy without breaking your food budget. 

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

4 Tweaks to Rev Up a Stalled Job Search

If you've been applying without success, try these fixes.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1XM0RkH

Options for Parents Helping Adult Kids Buy a Home

Gifting a down payment is a popular way to help adult children buy a home, but there are alternatives.

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

3 FinTech Startups Making Saving and Investing Easier

Digit, Acorns and Society of Grownups hope to change your financial behavior for the better. 

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1Q8jJIx

5 Steps to Prepare Your Car for Winter

Protect your vehicle and passengers in the sleet, snow and ice.

Source U.S. News - Money http://ift.tt/1RNNP2d

Being Judgmental on the Path to Financial Independence

It’s been more than nine years since Sarah and I hit our financial bottom and started to turn things around.

Along that path, many good things have happened to us. We’ve paid off all of our credit card debt. We paid off both of our car loans, then went through a full car replacement cycle, and are still free from car loans. We paid off all of our student loans. We bought a fairly nice house, then paid off the full mortgage on that house. I switched to a freelancing career. And somewhere along there, we started saving so intensely for early retirement that we basically live off of Sarah’s salary and invest my income.

At this point, we are pretty happy with all of those financial changes. We feel secure against disasters that could befall us. We feel as though we’re on a path to actually retire before retirement age. And we’ve done it without feeling “miserable” or giving up the core things we care about.

Naturally, those are thing that we’re proud of. But when does that pride cross the line into being judgmental of others?

In my heart of hearts, it’s hard not to feel at least a little confused, if not judgmental, when I see people doing things like spending money on incredibly frivolous items or trading in a 2015 model car to get a 2016 model. I’m baffled when I hear that people have saved nothing for retirement or that they have no emergency fund.

I have witnessed the huge positive benefits of things like these in my own life. Cutting out the spending on frivolous stuff, buying older cars and driving them into the ground, saving for retirement, and building an emergency fund have all been big positive steps for us, enabling us to do things that we never would have dreamed of doing before, and it turned out that they weren’t very painful moves, either.

Why shouldn’t I feel judgmental about people who make such mistakes?

Well, for starters, being judgmental poisons your social relationships. As soon as you start judging others as not being worthy, you cut yourself off from that person and often, by extension, everyone who is close to that person. If you’re judgmental about a lot of people due to things like their spending habits, their politics, their chosen mode of dress, or pretty much anything else that doesn’t involve your personal safety, all you’re doing is walling yourself off from a surprisingly large portion of the community, as you’re not only losing those people you’re judging, but the people that are close to those that you’re judging.

Another problem is that by its very nature, being judgmental is based on limited information. You can jump to a negative conclusion about someone based on a very small set of observations or even based on secondhand stories that may or may not be true. Your observations are often not representative of the whole person and the gossip definitely isn’t, so passing judgment on an individual based on those things will often lead you to an incorrect conclusion.

Not only that, being judgmental is a crutch that keeps you from trying to improve yourself. If you buy into the idea that the other person is somehow flawed and you are somehow not flawed, then it gives you permission to spend less time and effort examining and improving yourself. After all, you’re already better than that other person, right?

But, still, why not? To put it simply, being judgmental costs us money, costs us opportunities, and costs us relationships. It costs us money by causing us to assign negative feelings to tactics that could really be helpful to us. It costs us opportunties because we turn away from people and connections that could be beneficial in our lives. It costs us relationships because we choose not to engage others because we’ve already deemed them to be failures.

Being judgmental costs us again and again and again in life.

We’re still humans, however. In day to day life, we are constantly making small judgments that guide our ordinary behavior. How can we keep those judgments from building up into being judgmental, something that I’m often at risk of doing against people for their financial choices?

Here are the best strategies I’ve figured out.

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

When I see someone making a really bad spending mistake or I hear about someone digging a big financial hole for themselves, it’s really tempting to jump on the bandwagon of judging them. After all, they’re making a mistake that seems really obvious to me. How can they not see this?

But then I stop for a minute and actually think about it. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was making really poor financial choices simply because the lessons of personal finance had yet to click in my life.

Did that make me a bad or flawed person back then? Nope. It just made me a person that hadn’t really integrated the common sense of good personal finance into my life yet.

Not only that, there are many people who are stuck in financial situations where doing so is impossible. I might also be witnessing the rare splurge of someone else who has their financial strategy all together.

There are many, many reasons why a good and reasonable person might be acting in a way that isn’t strictly in their best financial interests.

In the end, I try to imagine sympathetic situations for this person. I try to put myself into their situation by imagining how I viewed finances a decade ago, or how I might act if my singular hobby or passion involved the thing that person is spending money on, or if that person is struggling in a way that I don’t initially see. I look for indications of those other things in their behavior and when I see them, it suddenly becomes a lot harder to judge that person.

Reflect on Your Own Mistakes

It’s easy for me to identify a financial mistake that someone is making and almost cringe in response to it. I’ve been down that path before and I know where it can lead – to a place of pain and confusion and stress. Sometimes, I’m stunned that people can make such basic financial errors.

Yet, at the same time, I make lots of mistakes in other areas of my life. I’ll eat too much or waste time on something really frivolous or not exercise or not be friendly in a social situation. I even sometimes make financial mistakes myself.

I am far from a mistake-free person, so why exactly am I judging this other person for his or her mistakes?

The truth is that I shouldn’t be judging that person at all. Every single human being, including myself, makes mistakes in life. Sometimes those mistakes occur due to a lack of knowledge, sometimes they occur due to different but understandable sets of values, and sometimes they simply occur due to a slip-up.

Regardless of the reason behind the questionable choice, simply having made a mistake doesn’t mean that the person is bad or flawed. It means that the person is human, just like you are. (And sometimes, it’s not actually a mistake at all.)

You can, in fact, associate with someone who makes mistakes, because you make them, too. You can, in fact, respect someone who doesn’t do everything perfectly, because you don’t do everything perfectly, too. You can, in fact, learn from people who aren’t paragons of virtue in every aspect of life because you’re not perfectly virtuous in every aspect of life, either.

You make mistakes. Does that make you a bad person that deserves harsh judgment from others? Of course not. So why does someone else who makes mistakes deserve harsh judgment from you? They don’t. It’s as simple as that.

Ask Lots of Questions

The best approach to getting over being judgmental about someone else is to simply get to know them and their situation a little better, and the easiest way to do that is to let them tell you about it.

Introduce yourself to someone when the situation is appropriate and just start asking that person questions about their life and what they think. Let that person tell you as little or as much as they want about their life.

I’ve found that the vast majority of people open up and talk a lot about their own life if they find that they have a willing audience, and I almost always find that people are more normal and rational than you usually expect them to be.

That’s because, when you observe someone doing something that you interpret as behavior worth judging, you’re often only seeing one tiny facet of their whole situation from one specific angle. By simply sitting down and asking a few questions of that person in a friendly “getting to know you” way, you quickly begin to see lots of facets and angles. That person goes from being represented in a very shallow way by the “mistake” that you perceived to being a fully fleshed out person with lots of attributes, values, interests, and successes.

The next time you feel yourself being judgmental about someone, whether it’s about their spending choices or their politics or anything else, spend some time talking to that person and ask that person a few questions about their life, then actually listen to the responses. You’re likely to find out a lot more about that person, which enables you to put that “mistake” in a context that you never had before.

Look for Areas of Common Ground

When we see someone espousing a viewpoint or behaving in a way that we don’t like, we often only see that specific viewpoint or behavior, and we see that viewpoint or behavior as alien. That person is acting in a way that’s nothing like us, thus it’s easy to judge that person in a negative fashion.

The truth is that, as humans, we have many more things in common than we think we do. We often care about the same core things, even if we come to different conclusions about them. We often do many of the same things every day, even if we happen to notice only the handful of things we do differently. We all laugh. We all cry. We all love. We all feel lonely. We all feel temptation.

For me, I’ve often come to see aspects of myself from a decade ago in people that are making financial mistakes. I see what my life was like before I hit financial bottom. I wasn’t a fool. I wasn’t ignorant. I simply did not have the necessary life experiences for me to turn things around yet.

Looking at others through that lens lets me actually find many areas of common ground with people that are big spenders. I feel like, on some level, I understand where they are coming from, and by understanding that, I can see that they’re not bad people making bad choices. They’re just people who haven’t had exactly the same experiences as me.

When you find areas of common ground with someone, that person quickly begins to seem much more rational and much more real than they once did. Suddenly, that “flaw” you initially spotted and wanted to use for judgment doesn’t seem so devastating and worthy of judgment.

Look for Positive Attributes, Too

When we see someone making what we perceive to be a mistake, whether it’s a spending error or a social misstep or something else, it’s easy to quickly snap into an overall negative view of that person, especially when we don’t know that person well. It’s also sometimes difficult to apply the other strategies in this thread, as those take time that we don’t often have in order to get to know that person a little better.

One solution to that is a very simple one: just keep watching. You might see that person who buys something frivolous go outside and celebrate in ecstasy because of the one thing that person’s been able to buy for themselves in a very long time. You might see someone who drives a big SUV open up the back door to let three children out, all of which grab hands together and walk together in a safe and loving way.

It is so easy to just judge quickly and then look away, but when we do that, we intentionally cut ourselves off from the bigger picture of what is happening. We stop as soon as we witness what we perceive to be a negative attribute, but we don’t give ourselves time to see the positive attributes, too.

Like it or not, the most mistake-riddled people you know are mostly making good choices and have a lot of good attributes. By choosing to limit ourselves and look only at the negative attributes and to judge them by comparison does us a disservice, because we miss out on some of the things that make those people great.

Stop Worrying About Always Being Right

One of the key elements of judging others is the sense that you are somehow right and that other person is somehow wrong. This comes from a natural desire to believe that we are on the right path in life, and when we see others on a path that goes in a different direction than ours, it is a natural response to see that as the wrong path.

However, the truth is that we’re not always on the “right” path. Not only that, it often doesn’t matter whether or not we are actually on the “right” path (or whether that other person is on the “right” path) when it comes to relating to others. It honestly doesn’t matter much.

The easiest way to catch yourself here is to notice whenever you think someone else’s thinking is “wrong” or that someone else is doing things “wrong.” The implication there is that your thinking is “right” and that your way of doing it is “right.” For starters, that might necessarily be true, and for another, it often just does not matter in the least when it comes to whether that other person is a good and worthwhile person.

It honestly does not matter most of the time whether you’re “right.” It doesn’t matter when you’re arguing politics. It doesn’t matter when you’re recalling an old memory. It doesn’t matter when you’re comparing your methods of doing a common task. “Right” and “wrong” rarely matter much when it comes to respecting others and building human relationships.

Where “right” and “wrong” come into play is in guiding your own behavior and your own choices. You might feel as though being smart with your money and your spending choices is “right” – I know I do – but that doesn’t mean it is “right” for others in their situation.

Focus on what you can control – your own choices. Don’t worry about or judge the things you cannot – the choices of others.

Step Out of Your Own Comfort Zone as Often as Possible

When you’re trying to improve yourself, one of the most powerful ways around to jumpstart that improvement is to surround yourself with people who exhibit that improved trait. This naturally pulls you toward that trait, and that can be a wonderful thing. Similarly, there are some real uses to associate with people who share many social norms with you as it makes it easier to socialize without being unintentionally hurtful.

However, there’s one huge drawback to this. When you surround yourself with people who behave in a similar fashion, you often find yourself believing that the way everyone behaves in that group is simply a human norm and those that behave differently are somehow outside of that norm. That kind of mindset makes it incredibly easy to judge others.

The easiest way to get past this is to step outside your comfort zone on a regular basis. Go to social events you wouldn’t normally go to. Talk to people you wouldn’t normally talk to. Try out activities that you wouldn’t normally try out. Go places you wouldn’t normally go.

When you’re there, don’t try to judge things by your usual standards. Instead, watch what other people do and try to join in. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” as the old saying goes. Try new foods. Try new activities. Talk to people from different cultures.

Yes, it’s going to be uncomfortable, especially at first. There is a lot of internal pressure for people to stay in their own comfort zones.

But by breaking out of those comfort zones, you begin to see that there is actually a wide variety in normal human behavior. There is a wide variety in what can be considered “good” behavior. People who do things that you might otherwise consider “wrong” might be acting as perfectly normal members of the social groups to which they belong.

Those ideas make common sense, but it’s only through meeting new people, diving into new situations, trying new activities, and visiting new places that you get to witness this and see it in action. It’s only by doing it that it becomes real and knocks down some patterns of judgment.

Final Thoughts

Being judgmental is incredibly costly. It costs us money. It costs us opportunities. It costs us time. It costs us relationships.

When we’re successful in a particular area – like personal finances, for one – it’s easy to become judgmental of others who haven’t found that success, even though that judgmental attitude is a costly one for us.

However, it’s something we can control. We choose to be judgmental, even when it feels like a reflex. We can choose to break those patterns through the strategies described here.

Don’t expect perfection. I work on not being judgmental, but I’m far from perfect at it. All I can do is try to not do it and to be better each day than I was the day before.

Over time, if you can reduce the judgmental aspects of your personality, you’ll find yourself open to more opportunties and relationships than ever before.

Good luck!

The post Being Judgmental on the Path to Financial Independence appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar The Simple Dollar http://ift.tt/1Ol4KeS

Share Your Black Friday Stories to Be Featured on The Penny Hoarder

We want to hear from you, Penny Hoarders!

We’re celebrating the culture and history surrounding Black Friday.

Do you have a family tradition around the shopping day? Do you have memories from your childhood, or stories about shopping with your kids that you’d like to share?

Email your story to dana@thepennyhoarder.com, and you might see yourself featured on our blog!

The post Share Your Black Friday Stories to Be Featured on The Penny Hoarder appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1NoE3Vm

Walgreens could sell up to 1,000 stores for Rite Aid deal

Walgreens says it's willing to divest up to 1,000 stores to win regulatory approval for its Rite Aid purchase, although it expects it won't have to sell more than 500.The country's No. 1 drugstore chain announced the $9.41 billion deal last week. Walgreens has about 8,100 U.S. locations and it's combining with the third-largest chain, Rite Aid Corp. of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, which operates about 4,600 drugstores nationwide. [...]

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/1M9n7h0

AA launches top cashback and balance transfer cards

Tom Wilson

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 11.59.40.png

The AA has launched three new credit cards, offering cashback on fuel, a large fee-free balance transfer facility or a low-rate card.

The AA has launched three new credit cards, offering cashback on fuel, a large fee-free balance transfer facility or a low-rate card.

Its FuelSave credit card pays 2% cashback on all fuel, rising to 4% if the user spends more than £500 in a year. It also pays 0.5% cashback on other spending. There’s a £42 annual fee, and the interest rate on purchases is 14.9%.

AA launches top cashback and balance transfer credit cards

Feed Copy: 

The AA has launched three new credit cards, offering cashback on fuel, a large fee-free balance transfer facility or a low-rate card. Its FuelSave credit card pays 2% cashback on all fuel, rising to 4% if the user spends more than £500 in a year. It also pays 0.5% cashback on other spending. There’s a £42 annual fee, and the interest rate on purchases is 14.9%. Spending £40 on the card a week on fuel will earn £41.20 a year after fees. £80 a week on fuel will generate £124.40 cashback a year. That’s before considering the value of the other benefits. Cardholders who are not AA members will also get a year’s free breakdown cover and annual MOTs while they hold the card. Existing AA members will receive free MOTs while holding the card. Kathryn Thomas, director of AA Financial Services, said: “The AA FuelSave card is, if you like, our ‘hero’ card. It’s an exciting proposition that resonates well with drivers, whether they are already AA members or not. It helps them to get something back from what is – for most people – their biggest expense after their home.” Balance transfers and low rates The AA Balance Transfer Card offers 0% on balance transfers for 22 months for no fee. This is the longest fee-free balance transfer deal on the market, knocking Tesco Bank off the top spot. The card has a 19.9% APR representative. The AA Low Rate Card is 6.9% APR representative, and has no balance transfer fees. Both balance transfer and low rate cardholders can get 40% of European Breakdown Cover with the AA. The Moneywise Verdict These cards compare very favourably to the rest of the market. Despite the £42 annual fee, the FuelSave card is arguably now the best cashback card on the market if you’re a driver. The low rate card is good if you’re looking for a simple product, but even without the transfer fees, if you’re looking to move a balance you’d be better off with a 0% deal. The balance transfer card is the best in its class – you’ll pay no interest for 22 months, providing you make at least the minimum payment each month.

read more

Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1Q86kAh

Making the MOST of Your Social Media Time

By Deb Bixler If you are networking in the social sites for your party plan business, and I am sure you are, it is not just about marketing. Below are a few social media tips but the most important one to remember is to provide VALUE! Most Important Social Media Tip = Add Value! In social […]

Source The Work at Home Woman http://ift.tt/1NOxhGw

If You Sell These 6 Items at a Yard Sale, You Won’t Make as Much Money as You Could

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. That’s true. But how much that trash is worth varies depending where you sell it.

While some things — like your tattered copy of Catcher in the Rye or your old Indiana Jones DVD collection — may sell quickly at your garage sale, other items would fare better on the Internet than on a rickety plastic table in your front yard.

Here’s a look at what you should sell online, rather than at your next garage sale (or anywhere else).

1. Textbooks

I took four English classes my junior year to satisfy requirements for my major. Each course required me to buy 10 or more books, and I racked up a bill that felt almost as high as my tuition.

At the end of the school year, I tried to make some of the cash back by selling the books to the campus bookstore — and I was only offered a few dollars.

I thought about selling my books at a yard sale, but with specific editions for different classes, finding a buyer would be a nightmare. You’ll find a much larger market for your Psychology 101 textbook online than in your local neighborhood.

Consider posting your books on Craigslist, in a student-focused Facebook group or on eBay to find another student who needs them. Or you could try one of these textbook-buying sites.

2. Furniture

If you live in or near a big city, you can be sure that there are at least a dozen new transplants desperately scouring the web for specific furniture items. And when they want a specific item, like the perfect “15-by-15 black kitchen table with rounded edges,” they’re usually willing to pay a bit more for it.

No more putting your wardrobe out on the lawn and hoping that the right person drives by. Head to Craigslist, type in the necessary keywords and wait for the buyers to come to you.

3. Electronics

Let’s face it: Nobody is going to buy an old iPhone with shards of glass dangling off of the cracked screen at your yard sale.

But that doesn’t mean you should toss it in the trash or let it wither away in your junk drawer.

Companies like USell and Nextworth will pay cash for your old cell phones and accessories. If you want a gift card instead, Amazon and Best Buy both have trade-in programs for your unwanted electronics.

4. Collectible Antiques

One morning, my friend stumbled upon a large, antique Coca-Cola bottle at a yard sale.

After trying (and failing) to haggle with the owner, who demanded $20 for the bottle, he left… only to return 20 minutes later after a little online research showed him it was worth more than $200.

The moral of the story? Google your knickknacks so you know what they’re worth. That way, you can sell your old Beanie Babies and GI Joes for the most money.

5. Designer Purses

The purse business is fickle. Just when you’ve grown comfortable with one purse, the market changes, “forcing” you to swap out a “spring” purse for a “fall” purse and amass a mountain of hardly used designer bags.

Rather than shove them all into one pile at a yard sale and call it a day, why not try to sell them online?

You’d be surprised at how many people collect designer bags or lust after a particular model. Instead of tossing them in a box at a yard sale, list them on Tradesy or another consignment site.

6. Coins

My grandmother is a yard sale guru.

Every Saturday, she leaves the house at the crack of dawn with her yard sale listings and her fanny pack of “tools,” including a small magnet she uses to test if certain coins are real or fake, a little trick that helps her earn about $50 a trip.

Many sellers empty their coin collections into a bowl and name a set price without considering the value of each piece, which can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Rare coins can carry high price tags, earning sellers up to $1,000 per item.

If you find yourself with a bucket of change hanging around, don’t be so quick to throw it on your front porch where market-savvy grandmas can snatch it up for cheap. Do your research and sell it online — you never know what’s in your wallet until you check.

Your Turn: Are you guilty of selling any of these items at a yard sale? Will you sell online next time?

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!

Tyler Vendetti is a recent college graduate who hopes to win the lottery and lead a carefree life, or if that doesn’t pan out, work in television. When she’s not traversing the world or liking cat pictures on Facebook, Tyler can be found on Twitter @HeyThereFuture. You can also reach her via email (tyleravendetti@gmail.com), if you feel so inclined.

The post If You Sell These 6 Items at a Yard Sale, You Won’t Make as Much Money as You Could appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1koGU4L

REI to Customers: We’ll Be Closed on Black Friday, Go Outside

Outdoor retailer REI is closing its doors on the biggest shopping day of the year and encouraging its customers and employees to go outside instead. Sure, it’s a marketing gimmick — but so is a $99 HDTV. Photo: REI via Facebook

While most retailers are pulling out all the stops to prepare for the biggest shopping day of the year – Black Friday — outdoor and recreation outfitter REI is preparing to shutter its doors the day after Thanksgiving.  This is in stark contrast to other big retail players who plan to open their doors earlier than ever – including many who will open on Thanksgiving Day itself for the second or third year in a row.

REI President Jerry Stritzke will have none of that this year, he says. And in a bold stroke of marketing savvy that could cost the company short-term sales but has nonetheless earned the chain plenty of praise and publicity, he made the case for closing on Black Friday in a special announcement last week.

“We’re a different kind of company—and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we’ll be spending our day a little differently,” said Stritzke on the store’s website. “We’re choosing to opt outside, and want you to come with us.”

Opting Out of Black Friday Comes at a Cost

More than 87 million people hit the racks in search of Black Friday deals in 2014, notes the National Retail Federation, and the industry trade group expects overall holiday sales to tick up another 3.7% this year.

Last year, an improving economy and a slew of early sales and promotions drew shoppers into a holiday spending frenzy even earlier than in prior years, according to the NRF, and this year may be no different. According to Deal News, which publishes advertised and estimated opening hours for the biggest retailers, many stores – including Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Macy’s, and Target – will open their doors on Thanksgiving evening while most families are still digesting their turkey dinners.

Still, REI isn’t worried about lost revenue — despite the fact that Black Friday has been one of the store’s top-10 sales days in past years, according to CNN Money. Unlike publicly traded competitors such as Columbia Sports, which answer to shareholders, Recreational Equipment, Inc. is held as a consumer “co-op” — owned by a consortium of customers who pay a one-time fee in exchange for an annual dividend.

That vested customer base is responsible for 90% of the store’s sales, according to Stritzke and the company’s books. With loyalty like that, it’s no wonder REI isn’t worried about losing too many Black Friday dollars.

“This business centers [on] the outdoors,” Stritzke told CNN Money. “Thus, we can do something like close our doors on Black Friday, and we’ll have the membership that’ll think that’s cool.”

Closing on Black Friday: Start of a Trend?

While REI is encouraging its customers to spend Black Friday outdoors — and close to 800,000 of them have already pledged to do so — the trend at other retail giants still seems to be heading indoors.

Sears just decided to open on Thanksgiving Day for a second year in a row, CNBC reports, with plans to close for just three hours before opening again for Black Friday.

And while many retailers have taken a stand against opening for business on Thanksgiving Day itself – a practice many shoppers find horrendous – REI is the only big retailer to date who has announced its intention to stay closed on Black Friday as well.

With so many frantic shoppers to go around, it’s doubtful that other big chains will follow suit and close their doors on Black Friday. And really, why would they? As the National Retail Federation’s 2015 holiday spending survey recently revealed, consumers plan to spend more than $800 each this holiday season, with much of that up for grabs during the busiest holiday shopping weekend of the year.

The Bottom Line

Should REI be commended for their selflessness in this situation? Perhaps, and especially when you consider the fact that REI employees will enjoy a paid day off on Black Friday – instead of a day of hurried panic, frantic shelf-stocking, and unprecedented stress.

In a world where the almighty dollar is everything and retail workers are required to work longer and worse hours over the holidays with each passing year, REI’s Black Friday decision is a fresh breath of air.

It’s too early to tell what REI will gain or lose by closing on the busiest shopping day of the year, but at least they’re standing behind their principles. And hopefully, employees at REI’s 143 stores will heed their CEO’s advice and head outdoors instead of spending the day at the local mall like nearly everyone else.

And remember, there are plenty of ways to save money on Black Friday that don’t involve shopping anyway.

If you want to get involved and spend Black Friday outdoors instead of in a stuffy, crowded mall, REI encourages you to get outdoors and share your experience with the world with their #optoutside hashtag campaign. Visit REI’s Opt Outside page, upload or share a photo of your planned experience, and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. Or just share a photo on social media yourself with the hashtag #optoutside.

Do you plan to shop on Black Friday? What do you think about REI closing its doors on Black Friday?

The post REI to Customers: We’ll Be Closed on Black Friday, Go Outside appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar The Simple Dollar http://ift.tt/1MuMZmN

Candy Crush Saga parent company sold

US VIDEO game producer Activision Blizzard announced it was buying King Digital Entertainment, best known for “Candy Crush Saga”.

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