Meter maids threatened with jail

METER maids have been threatened with $10,000 fines or two years in jail as the Gold Coast’s glitzy Surfers Paradise beach becomes a battleground.

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Terrorism victims sue bank for $3.4bn

THEIR loved ones were killed and injured. Now the families of terror attack victims are suing a major bank for $3.4 billion, for doing business with the bad guys.

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Should Bunnings allow dogs inside?

HOME improvement chain Bunnings Warehouse has gone to the dogs. Customers have been informed they can now bring pets inside the store.

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Chemist Warehouse pulls sex toy from site

THE popular chemist has pulled a controversial “realistic hymen” sex toy from its website, after being slammed for “eroticising young girls”.

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What’s happening on this street affects us all

IT LOOKS like your average terrace. But this Sydney thoroughfare could be on the verge of doing something no other street has done.

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Union shopping spree at Tiffany’s

“OH MY God, oh this looks bad.” Union staffer breaks down as the royal commission hears allegations that she shopped at Tiffany’s on a union credit card.

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Taco Bell Lost a Bet and Now Everyone Can Get Free Breakfast on Thursday

If you’re among the many Americans who have been putting off trying Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu, now’s your chance.

Hit up your nearest Taco Bell between 7-11 a.m. tomorrow and you’ll get one free A.M. Crunchwrap, thanks to Kansas City Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain.

If you haven’t been keeping up with America’s pastime, here’s what you need to know:

• The Kansas City Royals faced the New York Mets in the World Series. (Spoiler: Royals won, 4-1.)

• As part of its promotional deal with Major League Baseball, Taco Bell promised a free A.M. Crunchwrap for all of America on Nov. 5 if any player stole a base in either the first or second game of the Series.

• In Game 1, on Oct. 27, Cain stole second base in the bottom of the sixth inning.

A reward for watching the longest Game 1 ever? Free @tacobell breakfast on Nov. 5! https://t.co/AFoiIun5NT http://pic.twitter.com/JFPp52Vbg8

— Royals (@Royals) October 28, 2015

(Don’t worry; I wasn’t paying attention, either, until someone mentioned free tacos.)

How to Get Free Taco Bell Breakfast

Other than a week-long wait that irritated some MLB and Taco Bell fans, this promotion is pretty straightforward.

Get in line at any participating Taco Bell between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. (local time) on Thursday, Nov. 5, and ask for a free A.M. Crunchwrap. Limit one per person.

And let us know how it goes!

TPH editor Kathleen will be up early to snag her free breakfast, and she’ll share the details of what we expect to be a madhouse via live tweet @thepennyhoarder #stealabreakfast. Don’t miss it!

Your Turn: Will you visit Taco Bell for free breakfast tomorrow morning?

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a Staff Writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, but this is the first time she’s been able to cover baseball and tacos in one piece.

The post Taco Bell Lost a Bet and Now Everyone Can Get Free Breakfast on Thursday appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Volkswagen’s worst nightmare comes true

IT’S a company on its knees, and now VW’s internal investigations have uncovered another problem that could take the global scandal to a whole new level.

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Want to Invest in the Next Facebook or Twitter? A New Law Means You Can

Remember the graffiti artist who is now a multi-millionaire because he opted to be paid in Facebook shares? Makes you wish you could invest in promising startups too, doesn’t it?

Well, a recent change in the law has now made that possible.

Before you get too excited, keep two things in mind: You need money saved for your initial investment, and the ROI is far from guaranteed.

(Don’t have extra money to invest? Keep saving those pennies, and you will someday! To get started, check out these smart ways to earn money on the side.)

If you’re looking for an interesting alternative to traditional investments like stocks and bonds, keep reading.

How to Invest in the Next Big Thing

Until last week, you couldn’t invest in a startup unless you had $1 million in assets or made $200,000 per year.  

But thanks to new regulations, “startups or small businesses looking for investors can go through brokers or online platforms to find them — and those investors can now be, well, anyone,” WIRED reports.

Yes — even you! However, there are limits on how much you can invest each year.

“People with an annual income or net worth below $100,000 can invest no more than $2,000, or up to 5% of the lesser of their annual income or net worth,” WIRED states.

It’s like backing a Kickstarter project, except you’ll receive a stake in the company rather than their product. That could mean a big payout if the company is successful, or a total loss if it flops.

So, we’d recommend only investing in startups you truly believe in — and only once you’ve paid off debt and have healthy savings and retirement accounts.  

If you dream of owning a piece of a startup, this is pretty exciting news. Sock away $100 each month, and when the regulations come into effect in 180 days, you’ll have $600 to invest in what could be the next big thing.

Your Turn: Would you like to invest in a startup?

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 Want to Invest in the Next Facebook or Twitter? A New Law Means You Can appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Retail Work Might Actually Be Worth Your Time This Winter. Here’s Why

OK, so picking up some retail hours might not be your ideal way to make extra money for the expensive holiday season.

Already low on the dream job list, retail work tends to get worse as the holiday shopping frenzy picks up.

As retail employee Savannah Hughes told the Wall Street Journal, “You are basically helping angry people buy sweaters.”

However, if you’re willing to face the madness a few hours per week, snagging a seasonal retail job might be a smart move this year.

Why Winter Retail’s Looking Bright

Here’s the thing: No one wants to work retail. And since the economy has recovered over the past few years, fewer workers find themselves forced into retail positions and unable to find a better job.

So those ex-cashiers are flocking to steady, higher-paying cubicle jobs — leaving the applicant pool light for retailers staffing up for holiday shopping season.

To encourage applicants, major vendors like Macy’s, Target and Toys R Us have sweetened their gigs considerably this year.

Toys R Us will double hours for seasonal workers this season, and Target will pay workers an extra $1 per hour during Black Friday or Christmas Eve shifts, according to the Wall Street Journal (behind a paywall, unless you’re subscribed).

Our take: If you remind yourself it’s not forever, working retail might actually be worth it this season.

Retail Overhaul?

If you’re already working a retail position (psst, check out these high-paying positions to get the most money for your time!) you also have reason for good cheer, even without these holiday bonuses.

The market crunch has led major retailers like Macy’s to convert more part-time workers to full time, and companies like Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch are waving goodbye to frustrating on-call scheduling.

So who knows? Maybe “retail” won’t be synonymous with “worst job ever” much longer.

Your Turn: Will you snap up a seasonal retail job this winter?

Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. As an English and philosophy double major, she’s worked her fair share of retail jobs.

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5 Reasons to Open a MyRA

The money you deposit in this retirement account is guaranteed never to decline in value.

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Why Your Teen Should Open a Checking Account

A checking account can empower your teen to develop good financial habits and a healthy independent streak.

My parents had me open my first checking account when I was around 13 or 14. I didn’t realize how valuable this simple step of “adulthood” was to the rest of my life until I started meeting with people about their money.

Based on my own experience, here are six reasons why I recommend having your child open a checking account in their early teen years:

Responsibility

I’m 36, so it was about 23 years ago when I opened my first checking account — yet it was one of those experiences I can still vividly remember.

Most specifically, I can still remember the banker leaning over the table at me, her eyes protruding over her glasses, and giving me a lecture about not spending more money than was in my account. Body language tells everything, and I could tell she thought this experiment was going to be a disaster.

I made it my mission to prove her wrong. I never once had an overdraft and I proved to the banker that I could be responsible with my money even as a young teen. Learning that responsibility with a checking account set me on an early path to financial freedom.

Good Habits

Walking out of the bank that day I also knew, in order to prove the banker wrong, I needed to form good habits and be organized with my money. I therefore taught myself how to keep a neat and organized check register and how to reconcile my register with my bank statement on a monthly basis.

Since I started those good financial habits as a young teen, they became ingrained as second nature. Most importantly, I immediately learned I could never spend more than I had saved. Because I formed this habit at an early age, it became so ingrained in me that it turned into one of those rules I would never think about violating.

That’s why, when I later opened my first credit card in high school, I never once thought about charging more than I could pay off each month. By that point, it was already a habit.

Those simple habits have also led to other positive side effects over the years. For example, because I still reconcile my bank and credit card accounts, I once caught instances of credit card fraud that would have otherwise gone undetected on my statements — several charges of $15 or less that weren’t mine. 

Expense Tracking and Budgeting

Because I had my “own” money as a young teen, it motivated me to track it. At first I kept paper ledgers, and then later developed my own spreadsheet system I still use today. Because I could only spend what I had saved, I quickly developed an appreciation of how much things cost.

For example, in my teens I was obsessed with golf and used to play in tournaments throughout my home state of Iowa. Because I could only spend what I had saved in my account, I had to budget tournament entry fees. Later, when I turned 16 and was driving to these tournaments on my own, I calculated how much gas and food money each tournament would cost me based on its location.

Developing those simple habits allowed me to graduate high school with my own net worth, allowed me to increase my net worth during college and graduate school, and set me financially free as an adult to pursue my own desires without money being a factor in my decision-making.

Education About Opportunity Cost

My checking account also taught me about opportunity cost before I formally learned what that term means. Going back to the example of my summer golf tournaments, I quickly learned I had a choice with my money: I could either spend it on going to a tournament, or I could keep it saved in my bank account for something else.

As my golfing skills in high school later leveled out and started tapering, my firsthand experience in opportunity cost made me realize during the summer before my senior year that the costs of all the tournaments were no longer worth it. Instead, I devoted more of my time that summer to literally growing my money via a sweet corn patch on our farm that I sold to grocery stores and at farmer’s markets.

That’s when the value of my own checking account really started to take off.

The Desire to Succeed and Be Independent

When I saw I could make my checking account climb dramatically through my own efforts, I wanted to grow it as quickly as I could. By the end of high school, I already calculated what I needed to “retire” and set goals for how fast I could be financially free.

It also led to a few decisions in my life that left outside observers scratching their heads. For example, as an undergrad I served as a teaching assistant for a well-known economist and lawyer. He urged me to apply for law school. I had excellent grades and a good LSAT score. My decision came down to going to an Ivy League law school, which would have cost me out-of-pocket around $150,000 at the time, or going to our public state school with a full-ride scholarship.

I sat down and calculated the future opportunity cost between spending that amount of money in the present versus being able to save and invest my money throughout law school and beyond. The difference in my financial future wasn’t even close, especially when I considered my own personal values of where I wanted to live and what I wanted to eventually do. I chose the state school.

I also learned having that kind of control over my finances set me free and didn’t allow anybody to “control” me. As I started my working career, I saw far too many people who were stuck to their jobs. They were so dependent on their next paycheck that they lived in constant fear of losing their jobs, even when they hated their jobs.

That’s also why several people I knew were baffled when I left a job a few years ago without any plans for doing something else at the time. I knew at the time I wasn’t doing something I was passionate about, I wasn’t going to keep doing it, and money had no control over me.

• Related: Financial Independence and Career Choices

Looking back on things, I firmly believe I have only been able to “pivot” my career and freely pursue my desires and passions because of the money habits I developed with that checking account as a teen. 

A Sense of Importance

Finally, my last reason for why your child should open a checking account is the sense of importance it gave me. I felt like I was conducting “business” when I needed to go to the bank to deposit a check or when I wrote out my own check for a tournament entry fee.

In fact, I still clearly remember writing my first checks. I felt important and independent. Even though checks are quickly becoming a relic of the past, I am sure your child will feel the same sense of importance the first time she pulls out her own debit card to pay for her own clothes.

I also clearly remember my first trip to my undergraduate college registrar’s office to pay my first tuition bill. That was by far the largest check I had written up to that point. It motivated me to a) not waste my time at college, and b) to pursue even more scholarships so that I didn’t have to continue paying those kinds of bills.

Setting Your Child Free

As parents, you also have to accept the freedom that financial independence gives your child. I’ve made several decisions in my life along the way that didn’t make my parents happy. The good part for them is that I’ve never moved in with them or asked for a single dollar since moving out of the house two weeks after graduating high school. The bad part for them is that they also never had any “financial leverage” over me once I moved out of the house to force me to alter decisions they didn’t like.

So I urge all of you parents out there to let your child learn the responsibility of opening that first checking account and allow yourselves to set them free!

Tim Van Pelt is a financial planner and registered investment advisor representative of Steele Capital Management Inc. The views expressed in this article are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Steele Capital or its management. You can reach him at tjvanpelt@gmail.com or (608) 577-9877. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, investing, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own investment, tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.

The post Why Your Teen Should Open a Checking Account appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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21 Side Jobs That Pay More Than $20 an Hour

With a bustling full-time job, it can be hard to find side gigs that pay well.

Sure, you could fold T-shirts at a local shop to earn a few bucks. But how can you find a part-time job that will really take a bite out of your bills?

Here are 21 flexible side gigs that pay over $20 per hour.

1. Freelance Writing

In August, Nicole Dieker earned $6,649 as a freelance writer. While she works full time, you can also make a nice chunk of change as a part-time freelance writer.

PayScale says the average rate for freelance writers is nearly $26 per hour.

Here’s a list of sites that pay $100 or more for a post, and another list of sites that pay $200 or more. You can even earn some cash writing about your favorite ways to save and earn money for The Penny Hoarder!

2. Landscaping

If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty and putting in some physical work, landscaping can pay quite well. If you can operate heavy machinery, you can earn even more.

In my area, landscaping jobs often start at $20 or more per hour. But many of these opportunities are offered through word-of-mouth, so be sure to ask around.

Check Craigslist and local online bulletin boards for one-off gigs, or contact a local landscaping company to see if they need an extra hand on weekends during their busy season.

Be sure you have all the licenses and insurance you need, and always be careful connecting with unknown clients.

3. Graphic Design

An eye for design can earn you over $22 per hour on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You’ll need good computer skills and a great eye for design to succeed at this gig.

Having a portfolio of your work or website and having recommendations from others are the best ways to get hired. Brush up on your skills with this tutorial, and learn about setting your rates here.

4. Massage Therapist

Earn your Certified Massage Therapist license, and then earn money on the side doling out massages and working weary muscles.

You may be able to get part-time shifts at a local health club or work as an independent contractor through a local massage studio. You can earn nearly $60 per hour, according to Payscale.

5. Interpreter

If you’re bilingual or multilingual, consider offering your language skills as a translator. You can be an on-call translator for legal and medical services, or set up steady gigs ahead of time.

Interpreters and translators earn a mean hourly wage of $23.71, according to the BLS.

6. Sign Language Interpreter

Many events provide interpreters for their hard-of-hearing clientele. If you know sign language, look into opportunities translating on stage at events, in courtrooms and in classrooms.

If standing on stage isn’t your thing, look into opportunities to translate at mediation hearings and other smaller meetings. You can earn around $36.50 per hour with this job, according to FlexJobs.

7. Tutor

I’ve tutored on and off over the years, and I was able to make well over $20 an hour. If you know your math, science and other subjects well, consider sharing your skills with students.

The more advanced and specialized the subjects, the more money you’re likely to earn. Advanced math and science courses (such as Advanced Placement Calculus, Advanced Placement Physics, etc.) typically earn the highest rates, which can be up to $75 per hour, according to Care.com.

8. Test Prep Instructor

Kaplan and other companies look for skilled test-takers to teach students how to succeed at important exams, including the SAT, ACT, MCAT, LSAT, GRE and GMAT, among others.

Generally, you’ll need to take a sample test to prove your testing prowess and perhaps even do a sample lecture to prove you can communicate well.

Instructors can earn $21 or so for an SAT course and up to $32 an hour or more for the GMAT exam, according to GlassDoor.

9. Personal Shopper

Busy people often need help shopping for gifts and other items. Working as a personal shopper and helping people select the best items is a great way to earn some extra cash. Plus, you can earn up to $33 per hour or more as a personal shopper, according to Payscale.

If you’re looking to be a personal shopper who also works as a stylist, having a fashion background is key. You can often get your foot in the door working in a department store or boutique and then gain the skills to work on your own — where you can set your own rates.

10. Etsy Seller

Cash in on your crafty creations on Etsy. One woman earns $70,000 per month with her creations (which she now outsources to a team).

While you might not make quite that much, more 30% of Etsy’s sellers make a living from their creative work.

11. App Designer

If you know your way around an app, consider designing one and cashing in. This can even be a form of passive income. This man earns over $6,000 per month from the Bible app he created.

12. Nanny

Kids always need loving caregivers, and working as a nanny is a great way to work with kids and make extra cash.

While some nanny jobs are full time, you can often find a part-time, weekend or nighttime gig, especially since school-aged kids may only need a few hours of attention in the afternoon.

Rates for part-time nannies in affluent areas typically start at $20-25 per hour, according to Care.com.

13. Personal Chef

Cook up a storm and fill your pockets with cash by working as a personal chef. Set up a weekly gig at someone’s house a few nights a week, cook a series of freezer meals for a client or work special events, crafting creations for individual tastes and needs.

Personal referrals are a great way to get these gigs, which pay an average of over $20 per hour (up to $45 or even more), according to Payscale.

14. Caterer

When people have weddings and other large events, they’ll need a crew to help set-up, serve and clean-up after the meals. Be ready to work evenings and weekends for this gig, and be prepared to work overtime for extra cash.

In my area, these gigs often start at $20 per hour, but they’re generally word-of-mouth. Ask around, check out Craigslist and ask local restaurants if they may need a hand with events.

15. Bartender

Pick up a few shifts a week as a bartender to round up some extra cash. Coveted weekend evening shifts are usually the most profitable and often go to employees with seniority, but you may be able to pick up a few.

Consider bartending at weddings and other events. You’ll need to have some experience and know how to mix drinks, and many states require bartenders to have a certification.

One New York City hotel starts bartenders at $26 per hour, which doesn’t include tips, overtime or other perks.

16. Personal Assistant

Drop off dry cleaning for your client, get their car’s oil changed, take their dog for a walk and pick up a birthday gift for their friend — these are just a few things you may do as a personal assistant.

But running these errands can pay off, with personal assistants earning up to $25 per hour, according to Payscale.

The best way to get the highest-paying gigs is generally through word-of-mouth. Posting an ad or answering ads on Craigslist and other job forums can also help connect you with people in need of assistance.

17. Server

Snag a gig in a high-end restaurant and you can have an evening or weekend job that will pay off in serious cash tips. Serving generally pays the best, but hostessing or other jobs can also pay well.

In the town where I live, many professionals will even pick up a night shift or two during tourist season; they can earn hundreds of dollars an evening at some of the high-end restaurants in town.

18. Yoga Instructor

Teach yoga to aspiring yoginis to earn an average of $24.37, which can go up to over $49 per hour, according to Payscale.

To get started, you’ll need to take a teacher training class. The most basic is typically 200 hours and includes training, instruction and a final exam. You can then advance your skills with higher-level courses.

19. Fashion Consultant

An eye for fashion and cutting-edge styles will get you far as a fashion consultant. Many high-end clients want somebody to help them look sharp and trendy.

Personal referrals are a great way to get these gigs, which can pay $50-500 per hour according to one industry blog.

20. Dog Walker

Take pups out for their walks and earn money up to over $20 per hour as a dog walker, according to PayScale.

You can either work for yourself or work for a dog-walking company. You should have plenty of experience handling all different types of dogs and be physically fit and able to confidently control the dogs when you’re out walking.

If you work for yourself, you can make the most at this gig. If you can handle a few dogs at once, you’ll be able to earn even more. But be sure to have all the insurance you may need.

A good way to start is to advertise your services at local pet-related businesses, such as groomers, boarding facilities, doggie daycares and pet supply stores.

21. Makeup Artist

Style bridal parties’ makeup, prepare theatrical stars for their big performances and get people ready for special events as a part-time makeup artist.

You can make $23.50 per hour or even more helping people get ready for their big event.

Your Turn: Have you worked any of these jobs on the side? Was the money what you expected?

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

The post 21 Side Jobs That Pay More Than $20 an Hour appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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10 Creative Ways to Cut Costs This Winter

If you think outside the box, you can trim your expenses as the weather gets chillier.

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9 Money Faux Pas to Avoid at Holiday Gatherings

Thanksgiving dinner is not the best time to interrogate a financial advisor.

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Got Extra Cash? Here’s How to Make It Work for You

My QDT editor, Alyssa, was recently talking to her best friend about a financial dilemma. Erica, who is 28 years old, has accumulated a lot of savings, but she has no idea what to do with it. So Alyssa told her to email me for an answer.

Erica says:

“I’ve saved up $40,000 over the past two years, but it’s just sitting in my checking account. I know there must be a better place for it, but I’m torn between investing, paying off student loans or saving for a house.

I contribute to a 403(b) retirement plan through work and have about $85,000 in student loans that charge 4% interest. Is there a rule of thumb for how much of my savings I should use for these different purposes?”

Here’s a specific strategy to follow any time you’re not sure what to do with your money.

What to Do with Extra Cash

First, I want to congratulate Erica for being such a terrific saver! There are worse problems to have than not knowing what to do with a flush bank account.

Nevertheless, it can be unsettling to have a lot of money sitting idle.

Whether you’re a good saver or you get a cash windfall from a tax refund, an inheritance or the sale of a home, it’s a major opportunity in your financial life. So I want to make sure you don’t squander it.

Maybe you’re like Erica and have extra cash that could be working harder for you, but you’re not sure what to do with it. You may even be paralyzed and do nothing because you have a deep-seated fear of making a big mistake with your cash.

In some cases, having money sit idle is exactly the right financial move. But it depends on whether or not you’ve accomplished three fundamental financial goals, which I’ll review in a moment.

To know the right way to manage your extra cash, you need to step back and take a holistic view of your entire financial life. Consider what you’re doing right and where you’re vulnerable.

To make good financial decisions, think about using a three-pronged approach. I call it the PIP plan, which stands for:

1. Prepare for the unexpected
2. Invest for the future
3. Pay off high-interest debt

Let’s examine each one so you understand how to use the PIP (prepare, invest and pay off) approach for your situation.

1. Prepare for the Unexpected

The first fundamental goal you should have is to prepare for the unexpected. As you know, life is full of surprises. Some of them bring happiness, but there are infinite devastating events that could hurt you financially.

In an instant, you could get fired from your job, need to travel to see a loved one, be the victim of theft, get an oversized tax bill, experience a natural disaster, get a serious illness or lose a spouse.

Being prepared for what may be around the corner is a work in progress. It should change over time, because it depends on factors like whether you have a family, your total amount of debt and your income.

While no amount of money can reverse a tragedy, having safety nets — like an emergency fund and insurance — can protect your finances. That will make coping with a tragedy much easier.

Everyone should accumulate an emergency fund equal to at least three to six months’ worth of your living expenses.

For instance, if you spend $5,000 a month on essentials — like housing, utilities, food and debt payments — make a goal to keep at least $15,000 in an FDIC-insured bank savings account.

While keeping that much in savings may sound boring, the goal for your emergency fund is safety, not growth. The idea is to have immediate access to your cash when you need it. That’s why I don’t recommend investing your emergency money, unless you have more than a six-month reserve.

If you don’t have enough saved, make a goal to bridge the gap over a reasonable period of time.

For instance, you could save half of your target over two years, or one-third over three years. Put it on autopilot by creating an automatic monthly transfer from your checking into your savings account.

If you’re like Erica and already have enough saved, consider moving it into a high-yield savings or money market account that pays slightly more interest for large balances. You can find the best federally insured banks and credit unions at sites like Bankrate.com and DepositAccounts.com.

Another important aspect of preparing for the unexpected is having enough of the right kinds of insurance. Here are some common policies you probably need:

• Auto insurance if you drive your own or someone else’s vehicle.

• Homeowners insurance, which is typically required when you have a mortgage.

• Renters insurance if you rent a home or apartment.

• Health insurance, which is legally required under the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

• Disability insurance, which replaces a portion of income if you get sick or injured and can no longer work.

• Life insurance if you have dependents or debt co-signers, who would be hurt financially if you died.

2. Invest for the Future

Once you start building an emergency fund and have the right kinds of insurance, begin the second goal I mentioned: Invest for retirement. If you’re like most people, you’ll need to work on both of these goals at the same time.

Here’s how to invest for retirement. Unlike your emergency fund, money in your retirement account should never be tapped until you retire.

Another huge distinction between saving and investing is safety. Remember to keep savings safe. However, safety comes at a cost because it gives you no or little return.

To beat inflation and earn enough to accumulate one or more million dollars for retirement, you must invest and take some amount of risk.

Use qualified retirement accounts, like a workplace plan or an IRA, to get extra tax savings that work in your favor.

Some employers match a certain percentage of your contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b), which turbocharges your account. So always invest enough to max out any free matching at work.

Erica says she’s contributing to her company’s 403(b), which is terrific — but she didn’t say how much. My recommendation is to contribute no less than 10-15% of your pre-tax income for retirement.

For 2015, you can contribute up to $18,000, or $24,000 if you’re over 50 years old, to a workplace retirement plan. And by the way, those limits apply to just your contribution. If your employer provides matching, you can exceed those amounts.

Contributions to a retirement plan at work can only come from your paycheck. In other words, you can’t move money from your savings into a 401(k) or 403(b). You must adjust your payroll deduction to increase or decrease the amount you invest.

3. Pay Off High-Interest Debt

Once you account for the first two parts of my PIP plan by preparing for the unexpected and investing for the future, you’re in a perfect position to also pay off high-interest debt, the final “P.”

Always tackle your high interest debts first because they’re costing you the most. They usually include credit cards, car loans, personal loans and payday loans with double-digit interest rates.

Remember, when you pay off a credit card that charges 18%, that’s just like earning 18% on an investment after taxes — pretty impressive!

Common low-interest debts include student loans, mortgages and home equity lines of credit. These three types of debt also come with tax breaks for some or all of the interest you pay, which makes them cost even less. So don’t even think about paying them down before implementing your PIP plan.

Let’s say Erica identifies the right amount to isolate for her emergency fund, purchases any missing insurance coverage and still has cash left over. She could use some or all of it to pay down her only debt, which are low-rate student loans.

However, because Erica is ahead of the curve, financially speaking, another acceptable option for her would be to work on other goals.

These are icing on the cake once you’ve put your PIP plan into motion. They might include saving for a house, car, vacation, a child’s education or any other goal that aligns with your values and dreams.

How to Manage Extra Money

When it comes to managing extra money, always consider the big picture of your financial life and choose strategies that follow my PIP plan: Prepare for the unexpected, invest for the future and pay off high-interest debt.

Review your situation at least once a year to make sure you’re still on track. As your life changes, you may need more or less emergency money in the bank or different insurance coverage.

When your income increases, take the opportunity to bump up your retirement contribution — even increasing it one percent per year can make a huge difference.

And here’s another important tip: When you make more money, don’t let your expenses increase as well. If you earn more but maintain or even decrease your expenses, you’ll be able to reach any financial goal you dream about much faster.

Your Turn: Are you sitting on savings you don’t know how to manage? Will you implement any or all of the PIP plan?

This post originally appeared at Quick and Dirty Tips, a network of podcasts and digital content offering short, actionable advice from friendly and informed authorities. Laura Adams, host of the free Money Girl podcast, is a personal finance expert and award-winning author.

The post Got Extra Cash? Here’s How to Make It Work for You appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Produce Great Content, Every Time: A Useful 11-Point Framework

How many articles have you read about creating great content? Quite a few, hopefully…

Creating valuable to your readers content is one of the key components of effective content marketing.

But here’s the problem:

How do you combine the lessons from all those articles?

They all teach you something valuable, but consolidating all those useful techniques and tactics isn’t always easy. For example, you might read an article about simple but effective copywriting techniques.

You get excited, and then you focus on practicing those in the next few articles you publish. But writing a few articles isn’t enough to establish a habit.

Even if you truly understand how to apply the things you learned, you might not remember to do them in the future. That is, unless, you have a way that forces you to remember them. A list of them.

Every time you write an article, you should make sure that you apply as many of the items on the list as possible.

You should make your own list.

However, I thought I’d create this post to get you a solid start. I’ve put together a list of 11 points that your content should meet if you want it to be effective.

It doesn’t matter if your content is text, audio, or video—most of these points will still apply.

It also doesn’t matter what the content will be used for.

Great content is necessary not only for your blog and any guest posts you make but also for other channels such as social media.

Finally, before we get started, I know that checklists aren’t really fun, but they’re effective and efficient.

Create the list once (or take mine), and it will raise the quality of your content for years to come.

Since 70% of marketers create more content each year, small improvements based on a checklist in a single article can result in a big difference overall. 

1. The headline hooks my target reader

Think about where you spread your content after you publish it.

Social media is probably one of the first stops.

You also probably email your list.

Then forums, groups, and other communities.

All of those have one major thing in common:

Success depends on your headline.

Your headline isn’t the only factor, but it’s usually one of the main things that causes people to click or not click through to your post:

We already know that most social shares come from people who don’t even read past the headline.

Even if you have a great article, it won’t matter if no one sees it in the first place.

It starts with the headline. Obviously, it doesn’t end with the headline. If your content sucks, no one’s going to share it after they click through.

Back to the headline…

Writing a great headline isn’t easy. It takes knowledge and practice. I’ve written many posts about how you can write great headlines for different situations:

• The Formula for a Perfect Headline
• The Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Powerful Headlines
• Headline Writing 101

But remember what we’re doing here.

This isn’t the time to come up with a headline—you should have done that already.

This is a point in a checklist. It’s asking you to evaluate a headline, which is much easier.

I can tell you if a painting is good or not (for the most part), but I sure as heck can’t paint a great one myself. Judging is almost always easier than doing.

Here, you want to consider two main factors…

Factor #1 is always relevance: The first question you should ask yourself when judging a headline is: “Is this relevant from my audience’s point of view?”

Basically, this means that your headline should contain keywords related to your niche.

And not just any keywords, but one’s that your actual target audience will recognize and probably care about.

Obviously, I write a lot about marketing on Quick Sprout. If you look at my headlines, you’ll see a lot of the following words:

• traffic
• leads
• content
• sales
• SEO
• autoresponder

These are common keywords contained in keyword phrases that I might target with my content.

But they are also widely used terms that almost all of my readers recognize.

So, when they see one of my headlines, they see at least one of the concepts they are interested in, which gets them to read the entire headline.

A common mistake: It’s easy to forget the perspective of your readers. Just because you might know an advanced term for something doesn’t mean your readers will. If they see a headline but are not sure if it relates to their interests, most will pass on it.

Factor #2 is curiosity: Once they see a keyword that is related to their interests, most readers will take a look at the whole headline.

Afterwards, they decide if it’s worth reading or not.

Basically, it comes down to this question: “Does it look interesting?”

If the reader is curious enough, they have no choice but to click through. That’s when you know you have a good headline.

Here’s an exercise you can do…

Go to a major news site or blog in your niche. In my case, for the sake of an example, I went to Search Engine Land, a major SEO news site.

Ideally, you want to find a list of their current most popular content or at least their most recent content somewhere on the homepage.

Next, you’ll replace one of the titles with the title of your content.

To do this, right-click on one of the titles while in Chrome, and choose “inspect element.” This will create a little pop-up.

In the left side of the pop-up, double click the title text (among the HTML code), and type in your headline instead:

When you’re done, press enter and close the pop-up.

The change that you made (to the highlighted part in the picture above) will now show up on your screen:

Now, do your best to get in the mindset of the reader you’re trying to attract.

Ask yourself in which order you would click on these titles (if at all).

If you choose your own article last, you have a big problem.

If you choose it first, you likely have a great title.

Obviously, it’s hard to be unbiased. If possible, get a second opinion from a friend or any of your fans who’d be willing to help you in this way.

2. Introductions have one main purpose…

Can you guess it? The purpose of an introduction?

This is actually from copywriting.

To get to the purpose of your introduction, let’s start with your headline.

A headline has one goal: to get someone to read the first sentence.

The first sentence is to get them to read the second sentence, and so on.

The introduction, as a whole, has one main purpose:

To get your reader to read the rest of the article (specifically the first subheading/section).

So, how do you do this?

Again, there are many ways, but here we’re just judging what you already have.

The key factor is whether your introduction is easy to read.

Readers should be able to feel like they are flying through it, understanding it, and moving down the page. It helps them feel like they are making progress.

Imagine reading a dense introduction that takes you five minutes to understand. Then, you look at the rest of the article and see that it’s 2,000 words long.

Chances are you won’t read the rest.

That’s why you want yours to be simple: to give the reader some momentum and to help them commit to reading the rest of the article.

You can look at the introductions written by any of your favorite bloggers to see this in action.

For example, here’s one from Brian Dean:

I can read those seven lines in about 10 seconds and move down to the first section.

Brian writes in short sentences and paragraphs and uses simple words. You should do the same.

Open your article again and time how long it takes you to read and understand the introduction (from your target reader’s point of view).

It shouldn’t be longer than 1-2 seconds per line. If it is, that means your introduction contains too much complex information and/or is formatted poorly.

3. Content is optimized for “skimmers”

Your most loyal readers read your every post.

They examine every sentence and every word because they love what you produce.

This makes up about a whopping 1-5% of your readers.

Be thankful for them; they are amazing.

But what about the other 95-99%?

They’re still important, but they either don’t have time or interest to read every post and every part of that post.

The average reader of a post only reads 20-28% of it.

In other words, they skim it.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. We all have a limited amount of time in a day to learn, and everyone needs to prioritize their own time.

I’d rather have someone skim my posts than not read them at all.

Element #1 – Clear and intriguing subheadlines: There’re a few things that skimmers look for as they skim a post.

Think about why they’re skimming in the first place. It’s to save time.

They’re not sure if reading the entire post is worth their time. If you’re producing longer content, like I obviously do, then this is even more of an issue.

A typical reader, as you can probably imagine, looks to see whether any of your sections contain useful to them information.

It makes sense.

Say, I published a post “8 Content Marketing Tactics to Do X.”

If someone already knows quite a bit about content marketing, not all of those eight tactics will be new to them.

So, what do they look at?

Subheadlines.

First, ask yourself, “Are my subheadlines easy to find while skimming?”

Just skim your post, and see which parts jump out at you. If your formatting is good, your subheadings will stand out:

At the same time, remember that the first point in this entire checklist was about your main title.

Similarly, you should ask yourself whether each subheadline is clear (as far as the topic goes) but also whether it creates enough curiosity for the readers to want to read the section it introduces.

That’s why I don’t use simple 1-3 word subheadlines very often, unless it’s for a specific reason.

(Advanced) Element #2 – Format backgrounds to indicate new sections: If you’re willing to invest a bit of extra time and resources, you can make your content even better for skimmers (and all readers).

If you’ve ever read one of my Quick Sprout advanced guides (in the sidebar), you’d notice that each section has a different background color.

Instead of having to scan for a subheadline, which can be missed, skimmers can easily find a new section based on the background color.

You will have to learn some basic CSS to do this. However, after you apply it once, you can use it over and over again without spending much time on it.

(Advanced) Element #3 – Custom CSS boxes for important parts: Another advanced formatting element you can take advantage of is a box around any particularly important or impressive content. Like this:

Imagine scrolling down a page and seeing a bright green box jump out at you.

You’ll probably pay some attention to it.

If there’s something new or insightful in that box, you might go back up and read from the start of that section.

I’d recommend putting expert quotes or impressive results (e.g., “ranked #1 in 5 weeks using X technique”) in them.

Again, you’ll need to learn some CSS. I walk you through a simple procedure in this post about advanced formatting.

4. Content is balanced between text and non-text

There are very few people who can read a long post that consists of nothing but text.

Unless you’re an amazingly entertaining writer, no one’s going to read your post if you don’t include good formatting principles.

We’ve talked about a few of them, but by far the most important is to include non-text elements such as images, lists, and quotes.

Can you go overboard with this?

Of course. In most cases, you need plain text to get your main points across. The images and other non-text elements simply support those points.

One analysis concluded that the ideal ratio is at least one picture for every 350 words. I wouldn’t go below that.

It depends on the topic and your niche, but you probably wouldn’t want to go above one image for every 100 words in almost any case. So stick to somewhere in-between.

You can group lists, quotes, and anything else that breaks up the text for the reader in this ratio.

If your post in question meets this criteria, check this item off the list.

5. It’s better than anything else out there (by far)

I mentioned that there are a few principles of content marketing that can’t be ignored if you want to see great results.

One of them is that your content needs to add something to the giant piles of content already out there.

It needs to be better in at least one way, by a significant amount, than all the other most popular pieces of content on the topic you are writing about.

If possible, improve it in multiple areas. That makes it even more obvious that it is something special that should be paid attention to.

To check this, follow this 2-step process.

Step #1 – Research the competition: Before you started writing your post, you probably identified one or two main keyword phrases that describe what you’re writing about.

If not, do it now.

Search each of those phrases in Google, and take a look at the top 5-10 results:

Click on each to see what they are.

Make notes on the strengths and weaknesses of each. A great post will fix any weaknesses found in those posts and build on their strengths.

For example, my top result above was this post:

Right away, I notice that it has a link to a podcast, which breaks down the post. This is a strength and a very nice feature.

I’m not so sure that it’s a huge benefit for this particular post (lists are typically better in text), but it still gives the reader the option.

But what I see from the rest of the post is that it’s almost all text.

On top of that, all the explanations are very short, with few examples or suggestions on how to fix any weak parts of a post.

I’d categorize that as a weak part. I can improve the post by simply adding detailed examples as well as resources to help my readers.

Step #2 – Answer these four questions: Once you understand what the competition has to offer, simply compare your content to them.

Here are some good questions that you should be able to answer:

1. Is your post clearer for the typical reader (more detailed)?
2. Is your post formatted as well or better?
3. Have you addressed all competitor’s weaknesses?
4. Do you at least match all competitor’s strengths (or a high percentage of them)?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, you’re good to move on.

6. Take it seriously: preview before you publish

This is an expected element of good content.

Your content should show up correctly, no matter which device or browser you’re using.

It should also have proper spelling and grammar. Granted, a few mistakes here and there are expected, but overall, your writing should be error-free.

So, this step is very easy. Just complete the following check:

• Load your post on your phone and any other mobile devices you have. Does it show up as intended?
• Load the post in all major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari). Does it show up as intended?
• Copy your post into a text editor (e.g., Google Docs, Microsoft Word, etc.). Use the spellcheck function to find any obvious errors.
• (Optional) Hire an editor to proofread your work.

Once everything checks out, you can move on to the next point.

7. Fluff has been eliminated

Fluff is the enemy of all good content.

It refers to those parts of the content that do not add any value.

Every sentence should either add new information or serve to clarify previously stated information.

If you ever want to see a perfect example of a non-fluff post, check out any of Seth Godin’s writing.

Here’s an example of one of his typical posts:

Yes, that’s the full post.

His brevity has to do with the types of things he writes about but also with his desire not to waste any words.

Most of us have some fluff in our posts, and that’s okay. Your goal is to eliminate as much fluff as possible.

A big help – the Hemingway App: If you’re new to cutting out fluff, it’s not necessarily easy. It takes time and practice to recognize what does and doesn’t add value.

Luckily, there’s an awesome free tool called Hemingway App that will spot most “bad” instances of fluff.

It looks at common patterns of “fluffy” writing to identify poorly written and wordy sentences.

Let me show you an example.

I put a small part of one of my guides into the tool, and this is what I saw:

You can see that many sentences are a bit hard to read, and they could be written more concisely.

This is what it looked like when I fixed those errors:

Right away, you can see that the readability level went down from grade 8 to 7. This means my content is now easier to read.

You can also see that the number of words went down from 189 to 171, which is about 90% of the original length.

In other terms, 10% of the original text was fluff. Apply that to a long post, and that’s hundreds of words you can do without.

Making those edits isn’t easy at first, but here’s a great resource on editing tactics to get you started.

If you’ve gone through your content and removed as much fluff as possible, check this off the list.

8. Great content flows…

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you just get sucked into an article?

You start reading, and before you know it, you’re at the end.

As the content creator, you should always aim to create this experience for your readers.

For that, your article needs to be cohesive.

It needs to flow from one section to another.

One mistake many content marketers make is trying to create a post that is as epic as possible and then including irrelevant (although interesting) parts.

If the reader has to stop reading and ask, “How does this fit with what I just read?”, you’ve ruined their immersion.

Here’s the basic way to check if your writing flows well.

Start by looking at all the subheadings of your article.

As an example, let’s use my Guide to Creating a Social Media Strategy.

The subheadings of the article are:

• Step 1: Dive inside your readers’ minds
• Step 2: Choose your most effective channels, and double down
• Step 3: Build a content bank of VALUE
• Step 4: Get followers or get ignored
• and so on…

The following is the test you can use for each pair of subheadings. Can you fill out this sentence?

I need to know [subheading 1 topic] in order to understand [subheading 2 topic].

And you go through each subheading like that, in pairs.

For example, do your readers need to know how to understand what’s in their readers’ minds (subheading 1) in order to understand how to pick their most effective channels (subheading 2)?

Yes, they do.

If they don’t understand their audience’s demographics and psychographics (from that first section), they might start on the wrong channel.

Next up, do they need to pick a channel in order to build a content bank?

Again, yes they do.

Each channel needs a different type of content.

Get it?

For your content, create a list of all your subheadings. Then, go through that process for each section.

If they all naturally flow from one to the next, you’re good to go.

9. Have you answered all of your readers’ questions?

Before you write a post, you should know which of your readers’ problems you’re trying to solve.

Then, you should brainstorm a list of questions they might have about it.

For example, if you were writing a post about installing a simple WordPress site for a small business, readers might have the following questions:

• How do I buy a domain name?
• Is WordPress the best option?
• What’s the simplest hosting option?
• What are the best themes for businesses?
• How do I optimize it for SEO?

You can also come up with this list after you write your post. You might uncover a few hidden questions while writing.

You don’t need to have a Q&A section in your content, but you should address all the questions somewhere.

It could be a section dedicated to it.

It could be a link to more information on a related topic (such as SEO optimization in our example).

Or it could be a brief explanation mixed into another section.

Go down your list, and once you’re sure that everything has been answered, check this item off the list.

10. Have you provided the best resources?

Unless you’re creating an ultimate, 10,000+word guide on a narrow topic, you can’t cover everything there is to know about that topic.

But you can link to additional resources.

You’ll notice that I link often in my posts whenever I mention something that I think a reader might be interested in.

For example, when I cite a research study or analysis, I link to the results.

If the reader wants more information about it, they can follow the link to get it. Considering only a small portion of readers will want to know more, a simple link is better than a detailed explanation in my article.

Another type of useful link is to related topics.

For example, if I’m writing about some aspect of SEO, I might be able to link to my posts (or someone else’s) about conversion rate optimization or content marketing:

While not all readers will be interested in those related topics, a healthy portion will be.

The point here is to always give readers the resources to learn more about any particular part of your content.

Go through your content, and pretend like you’re a typical reader (as well as you can).

Read every sentence, and ask yourself if there is anything related to that sentence you might like to read more about. If there is, and you haven’t included that resource, add one.

Once you feel like you’ve provided a great user experience with links, check this off the list.

11. What should the reader get out of this? Is it clear?

I think that just about every piece of content should have a conclusion at the end (maybe not necessarily with that title).

You can look at any of my posts for an example.

In this final section, you should sum up the main things that a reader should have gotten from the post and suggest where they should go from here.

For example, at the end of this post on writing a good welcome email, the author tells the reader how to use the information in the article:

In this case, he tells the reader to start with just one tactic and then combine it with one or two more to get even better results.

I do the same in many of my conclusions.

If you feel that you’ve summed up your content well, check this final item off the list.

Conclusion

Creating great content isn’t easy.

Creating it every single time is even more difficult.

But if you take care to include all the key elements of great content every time you write, you’ll be consistent.

The 11 points I talked about in great detail here form the basis of a list of requirements that all your content should meet.

From here, make your own list, including as many of those 11 points as you’d like (maybe all of them). Then, if you think I missed any, add those to your list too.

Get in the habit of going through this list after creating each piece of content.

Do you think I missed anything? Let me and everyone else know in a comment below.

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The Value of Doing a Monthly Financial Review – and Six Easy Steps for Doing So

I’m going to be blunt. It is really, really, really hard to succeed long term with your personal finances if you don’t know where your money is going. If you can’t clearly state where every dollar of your paycheck is going, then you’re begging for financial problems.

In my experience, a monthly financial review is the perfect sweet spot for keeping a grip on what’s going on financially in your life. It’s not so frequent that it feels like a burden; instead, it feels like you’re really learning something from the process. It can really help you see patterns in your spending that you might not see in your day-to-day life. It also helps you find errors and unauthorized charges.

Over the years, I’ve gradually adopted a system that works for me for keeping track of where my money is going, figuring out where my money leaks are, and . Whenever I have a transaction, I log it reasonably quickly in You Need a Budget and then… well, I basically follow the procedure outlined below.

However, not everyone has a copy of You Need a Budget or the inclination to log all of their transactions. If that describes you, here’s a great six step procedure for a monthly financial review. It only takes about an hour or so on a lazy weekend afternoon once a month and it will leave you with a much stronger perspective on your spending and the areas you need to focus on going forward.

Go Through Each of Your Bank and Credit Card Statements, Item By Item

It’s pretty straightforward. Just pull out the most recent copies of your bank and credit card statements and start walking through each transaction, one at a time.

What was that transaction? What exactly did you buy when you spent $41.87 at Target on the 23rd? Would you describe that as a household supplies expense or a food expense? Or maybe a mix of both?

Personally, I like to do this with several different colored pens. That way, I can mark each transaction type with a different color as I go along. Hobby spending might be marked with an orange pen, while food spending might be with a red pen.

What categories should you use? Choose ones that make sense to you. I like to use hobby and entertainment, food, household supplies, medicine, gifts, and utilities as my primary categories for going through my spending.

Dispute Any Unauthorized Charges

Of course, as you’re doing this, you have at least some chance of discovering unauthorized charges. These can pop up for any number of reasons – someone typed in a credit card number wrong, someone actually stole your credit card number, and so on. While retailers are pretty good at sniffing out bogus charges, they’re not perfect at it, and quite often a fake charge or two (or more) can slide right through.

If you do find a bogus transaction, call your credit card issuer immediately and get things fixed. If your card information has been stolen, getting a new card immediately will provide the best protection for you. If it’s simply a one-time mistake, the charge will be dropped. In either case, you’ll save money by not having to pay for that item that was fraudulently purchased in your name.

To find these fake charges and get them removed from your bill, there’s no substitute for the step-by-step walkthrough of your bill. Since you’re doing it anyway in order to categorize your spending, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.

Tally These Expenditures Up By Category

So, you’ve gone through your credit card bills and your bank statements. You’ve found and eliminated any and all false charges and you’ve marked the various expenditures by category.

The next step is to simply total up everything in each category. Walk back through your statements and just add up each category, one at a time. If you marked them with colors along the way, then this is another really easy task. Just look for things marked in red and add them up (and write down the total somewhere), then do the same for the orange ones, then the green ones, then the blue ones.

You’ll wind up with a list of numbers that represent your total spending for a month in each category.

Evaluate Each Category in Your Spending Picture

Now, look at those numbers. Do they seem realistic? Do they seem like they represent a healthy spending pattern?

This might be a good time to pull in other numbers, such as any savings or utility bills that didn’t appear on those statements. How do those things compare?

It can be hard to make sense of those numbers without some degree of context, but there are a lot of good budgets out there that can help with this. For beginners, I recommend using the 50/30/20 guideline.

In simplest terms, the 50/30/20 guideline means that 50% of your spending goes toward required bills (like rent, electricity, basic food, etc.), 30% goes toward wants (like cell phones, cable television, entertainment, eating out, etc.), and 20% goes toward saving for the future (401(k)s, Roth IRAs, emergency funds, etc.).

Look for Strategies for Cutting Down Your Biggest Problem Areas

The thing that most people discover when they do this exercise for the first time is that they’re often nowhere near where they should be regarding that balance.

I’m willing to bet that the first time I would have tried something like this, I would have wound up with a split along the lines of 35/60/5, meaning that 35% of my income went toward necessities, 60% went toward wants, and 5% went toward savings. In my head, I had no idea that it was that bad, but the actual reality was a train wreck.

The next step, then, is to look for specific ways to move from where you’re at to where you want to be. If your numbers look like something akin to 35/60/5, then that means that your necessary spending is looking really good. You should strive from there to have a 3/2 split between “fun” spending and saving for the future. In other words, you’re hoping to wind up with something like a 35/39/26 split, which is a great place to be.

How can you make that happen? The most powerful step is to automate your savings. Sign up for a 401(k) at work and start contributing a real percentage of your income. Maybe open up a Roth IRA and contribute automatically to that. You might even do something as simple as starting an emergency fund at your local bank as long as you can set up an automatic transfer from your checking to your savings.

Of course, that also means that your “fun” spending is going to go down, so start looking at the ways in which you spent money on non-essential things. I vividly remember looking through my spending back in the day and seeing things like 15 stops in a month at convenience stores or 10 stops in a month at a bookstore or 15 stops at a coffee shop. Cutting those things down to one or two visits a month made a huge difference in my life, because I came to realize that I was doing those things so often that I really didn’t appreciate them. They were just the “norm” in my life – but a very expensive one that I really didn’t value all that much.

Turn Those Ideas Into a Handful of Specific Things to Do in the Coming Month

The key thing to remember is that you’re not trying to have a “miserable” life. No one is expecting you to cut your “fun” money to zero – I wouldn’t do it, nor would most people. What you’re trying to look for are changes you can make that aren’t painful but will move you in the right direction.

For your first month, for example, your checklist might include things like signing up for the 401(k) at work, setting up an emergency fund, or tackling big spending holes like getting rid of a single expensive daily routine.

As you do this a few times, you may find yourself digging in and finding more specific things to do. Perhaps you’ll spend some time in the coming month finding ways to trim your energy bill (which might shave some money off of your required spending) or learning how to cook more skillfully at home so you’re less prone to eating out, which could shave a lot of money off of your non-essential spending.

Whatever things you come up with, make it into your checklist for the coming month. Strive to achieve those things in the coming four or five weeks, then add a review of those goals (and whether you achieved them) to your review next month.

Final Thoughts

This routine is really simple, and it’s something I do every month. It doesn’t take me all that long, of course, because I’m pretty adamant about entering my expenses into You Need a Budget throughout the month, but even while doing that, this kind of monthly review still helps me uncover areas where I’m weak and gives me ideas of things I can work on.

It’s such a simple way to integrate a financial review into your life and give you real steps that matter to your situation. If you’re having a hard time understanding where your money is going, try out this routine for a few months. If nothing else, you’ll have a far clearer picture of your spending.

Good luck!

The post The Value of Doing a Monthly Financial Review – and Six Easy Steps for Doing So appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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