Granny’s $1.1m revenge on her death bed

A GRANDMOTHER shredded her $1.1 million fortune on her death bed to spite her heirs. But the woman’s family members will have the last laugh.

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The Penny Hoarder’s Black Friday Giveaway: Win a FREE Prize of Your Choice

Hey there Penny Hoarders!

In celebration of the coming Black Friday weekend, we’re launching a giveaway. And, not just any giveaway… but a giveaway where YOU get to choose your prize. 

Yup! You read that right. The holiday season is much better when it begins with FREE!

So we’re giving 48 lucky readers a fun prize. Whether you want a brand-new blender, flat-screen TV, or an iPhone for yourself, you can request whatever prize you want, up to $50,000 in value. 

How to Enter Our Black Friday Choose Your Own Prize Giveaway

To enter the giveaway, simply complete our entry form with your name, prize of choice, and why you’re asking for that prize. The entry form is available here.

We will be announcing a winner every hour on our 48-hour Black Friday live blog, which will feature real-time updates on deals starting at 3:00 PM EST, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015 through 3:00 PM EST, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. 

Click here to enter and for official giveaway rules. The giveaway is only open to residents aged 18 or older who reside in the United States.

Questions? Please contact our Chief Giveaway Officer Maryann at giveaways@thepennyhoarder.com.

Good luck Penny Hoarders!

The post The Penny Hoarder’s Black Friday Giveaway: Win a FREE Prize of Your Choice  appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Seven penguin banter in hot water

A HARMLESS segment on morning TV notable only for some inane banter about penguins has landed its creators in hot water.

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This Woman Makes $40 an Hour as a Mom to Millennials

Do you offer sage advice? Want to lend a listening ear to millennials? Bake a killer pecan pie? Are you great at helping people shop for family members?

If you meet any of these qualifications, you might want to consider working as a “rent a mom.”

Nina Keneally, of New York, earns $40 per hour providing “mom services” to millennials in need of a little extra assistance.

Keneally has two adult sons and has worked as both a drug rehab counselor and a theatrical producer. She’s used to tough situations and improvisation.

Curious about her business — and how you could follow her lead? Here’s the scoop.

Why Would Someone Rent a Mom?

“When you need a mom… just not YOUR mom,” her website NeedaMomNYC.com says.

Keneally’s site says she won’t judge, compare clients to siblings, require them to remember her birthday or (and maybe most important) “keep you on the phone for 45 minutes talking about the neighbor’s cat or your uncle’s gout.”

Who wouldn’t like that?

Renting a mom can help you get advice and assistance without the judgment or lifestyle-choice assessments many parents make.

What Skills Do You Need to Be a Rent a Mom?

Any mom-related skills or talents are valuable for this gig.

Keneally listens to clients’ woes, bakes pies, helps shop for gifts for actual moms and even reviews resumes and irons shirts for job interviews.

Since you work for yourself, you can set your own “will” and “won’t do” task lists. While Keneally won’t clean a client’s oven or organize his closet, that doesn’t mean you can’t offer your own bathtub-scrubbing services.

Bring your own unique expertise and experience to your rent-a-mom business. Why not teach people to knit or change their own oil?

Whatever your skills, it’s important to be non-judgmental and able to lend a sympathetic ear, since a large part of the job will likely be listening to people’s problems and offering helpful advice.

What If You’re Not a Mom?

This business model isn’t limited to women and mothers.

You could quickly turn the idea into a “rent a dad” gig to share sound fatherly advice and listen to the funny sound someone’s car is making.

A “rent a sibling” model could also be popular when people need someone to listen and provide some good-natured ribbing or rivalry.

And we’ve already covered a few options if you simply want to brand yourself as a “rent a friend.” Have fun, and get creative!

Your Turn: Could you see yourself running a business like this one?

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

The post This Woman Makes $40 an Hour as a Mom to Millennials appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Use This Trick to Get a Free $1.03 and Huggies Baby Wipes

The most satisfying shopping trip is one where you make money.

Luckily, we’ve found this great trick to earn you $1.03 when you buy Huggies Wipes at Walmart!

Here’s how:

1. Head to Walmart and buy a package of 64-count baby wipes for $1.97 from Nov. 5-11, 2015.

2. Use your 50 cent coupon from the Smart Source insert dated October 5, 2015. Don’t have that coupon? Use this SaveInStore printable for $0.50 off (though the amount seems to range — sometimes it shows up as 35 cents, so wait a few minutes and refresh the page).

3. Next, submit your receipt to Checkout 51 by 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2015 for a $1.50 rebate (the amount may vary based on your area).

4. Finally, boost your savings to $2.50 by sharing the deal on Facebook and Twitter through Checkout 51.

Final Earnings: $1.03; $0.88 if you can only get the 35-cent coupon from SaveInStore

Plus, you’re stocked on baby wipes! (If you don’t need them, give them to a friend or donate them to a local charity.)

Your Turn: Will you take advantage of this savings hack?

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We would have shared them with you anyway, but a true “penny hoarder” would be a fool not to take the company’s money.

Jamie Cattanach is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. You wave hi to @jamiecattanach on Twitter.

The post Use This Trick to Get a Free $1.03 and Huggies Baby Wipes appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Here Are The 5 Worst Work-From-Home Jobs — And What to Do Instead

You brew a fresh pot of coffee, pour yourself a cup, flip on your favorite morning talk show and sit down at the kitchen table with your laptop. You’re still in your bathrobe, cozy after a hot shower. Your dog wags her tail happily at your feet.

You’re ready to start your work day.

Too Good to Be True?

Working from home is a dream for many of us: You save time, money and stress on your commute, and the dress code includes your favorite pajamas. Yes, the Spongebob ones.

But not all work-from-home jobs are created equal.

CBS News recently worked with FlexJobs and the Federal Trade Commission to put together a list of the five worst work-from-home jobs — the most tedious, most draining and least profitable.

The jobs, which include envelope stuffing, assembly work and multi-level marketing, mostly had one thing in common: The companies ask you to invest upfront. Hopefuls find out there’s little work available only after spending hundreds of dollars.

Jobs promising high earnings to those without specific skills are most likely bogus, noted FlexJobs founder Sara Sutton Fell.

It’s the same old story: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

However, there are legitimate work-from-home jobs — though many require training, time and effort, just like any other position.

Legit Work-From-Home Jobs to Try

Here are five suggestions for legitimate work-from-home jobs to try instead of the ones CBS recommends you avoid:

1. Instead of Stuffing Envelopes, Try Earning Passive Income

Companies often advertise earnings of up to $1,200 per week for envelope stuffing, CBS reports — a number worthy of enduring the tedious task.

But hopefuls are asked to pay an upfront fee, and often discover afterwards that there are few envelopes to stuff — so they won’t actually make any money.

Skip the papercuts and set up a passive income stream online. The money won’t be immediate and it’ll take some effort, but truck driver Matthew Allen of Dumb Passive Income makes $1,000-$6,000 per month — and he hasn’t even quit his day job.

If you took it full time, you could do even better.

2. Instead of Assembly Work, Try Crafting or Freelance Writing

Don’t fall for this one: after being asked to pay the price of parts, the creations you assemble might still be rejected as substandard.

If you’re creative, try making your own original handmade items and selling them on Etsy. This mom’s project took off and now makes her $70,000 per month.

If you have a way with words, try your hand at freelance writing. Lots of blogs pay for submissions — including The Penny Hoarder!

3. Instead of Processing Rebates, Try Being a Call Center Representative

Did you know you could be an AppleCare representative from your couch?

In the digital age, there’s no need to crowd telephone-based workers into costly offices, so lots of companies are moving toward hiring remote customer service reps.

And assisting with a variety of individual problems is bound to be more interesting than processing rebates, even if 70% of your job is asking callers, “Did you try a reboot?”

You’ll receive technical training, but some experience in technology troubleshooting would probably be helpful.

4. Instead of Medical Billing, Try Transcription

If you’re willing to codify treatments and add up medical bills, would you listen to a TV show or phone call on repeat and type what you hear?

You could make up to $25 per hour, and no less than an hourly $15 — a far cry from paying $6,000 for absolutely nothing in return.

If you’re familiar with medical terminology, you’ll be the perfect medical transcriptionist — a subcategory of the job on the higher end of the pay scale.

5. Instead of Multi-level Marketing, Try Udemy

It’s a real bummer to get an unexpected, excited phone call from a friend — only to discover she’s just trying to get you to sit in on her Arbonne webinar.

Selling Avon or Beachbody products might work for some, but it can distance you from the friends and family you need to recruit to make substantial earnings. And if you’re unsuccessful in your efforts at recruitment and sales, you’ll be stuck with a bunch of makeup or vitamins — and none of your investment cash.

If you like working with people and want to improve their lives, teach one of your skills to others on Udemy. You’ll be selling people a viable skill instead of lip gloss — and there’s no fee to get started.

Check out these great blogs for more information and inspiration on working from home — and don’t forget to check with your boss to see if you could take your current job to your kitchen table!

Your Turn: Do you have a legitimate work-from-home job we haven’t mentioned? Let us know in the comments!

Jamie Cattanach is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. She’s passionate about learning, literature, chocolate and finding ways to live the good life as cost-effectively as possible. You can send smoke signals (or, you know, friendly greetings) to @jamiecattanach on Twitter.

The post Here Are The 5 Worst Work-From-Home Jobs — And What to Do Instead appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Clipped: How to Make More Money as a Freelancer, Raise a Family on One Income, Work as a Virtual Assistant and More

Each Friday, we share some of our favorite posts that will help you make money — whether you work at home, want to get ahead in business or just want to make some extra cash on the side.

Love these posts? Let the authors know! Click here to tweet about it.

Here’s what we clipped this week:

1. 3 Ways You’re Probably Sabotaging Your Freelance Writing Business

Danny Margulies (@OmahaCopywriter ) at The Write Life

Six-figure freelance writer Danny Margulies shares three dangerous self-fulfilling prophecies freelancers make.

Are you sabotaging your earning potential by making these assumptions about your writing business? Read more…

2. The Ultimate Guide to Making Money as a Brand Ambassador

Kenny Azama (@brandambworld) at Budgets Are Sexy

Want to be your own boss and make between $15-50 per hour hanging out at events and using products you love? Kenny Azama does just that as a brand ambassador.

He shares his experience and tips to help you try it for yourself. Read more…

3. How My Family Makes It Work Living on One Income

Molly Triffin at Learnvest

This family of five survives on $50,000 a year! Read their story and learn how they adjusted to living on a single income, and their best tips for stretching a limited budget. Read more…

4. How to Start Offering Virtual Assistant Services Online

Angie Nelson (@thewahwife) at The Work at Home Wife

Becoming a virtual assistant is a popular work-at-home career choice.

Angie Nelson at The Work at Home Wife interviews VA Gina Horkey about how (and why) to get started in this industry. Read more…

5. 9 Sites You Haven’t Heard of for Selling Your Stuff Online

Maryalene LaPonsie at Money Talks News

Are your goods not moving fast on eBay or Craigslist? These nine sites may be better tailored to what you’re trying to sell. Read more…

Enjoy your weekend, Penny Hoarders!

Your Turn: Did you read any great posts on how to make money this week? Share them in the comments!

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.

The post Clipped: How to Make More Money as a Freelancer, Raise a Family on One Income, Work as a Virtual Assistant and More appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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What Is an FHA Loan?

You don’t have to be a first-time or low-income home buyer to take advantage of the forgiving terms of a government-backed FHA loan. Photo: House & Hammer

The term “FHA loan” is actually somewhat of a misnomer. That’s because the FHA, or Federal Housing Administration, doesn’t actually lend money to would-be homeowners. Rather, it insures the loans made by private lenders. So while we’ll use the term “FHA loan” for simplicity, an “FHA-backed loan” is more accurate.

An FHA loan aims to put homeownership within reach for many Americans who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a conventional, non-FHA-backed mortgage. You may be able to get an FHA loan with a lower credit score, lower down payment, and a higher debt-to-income ratio than you could have for a conventional mortgage.

Why are FHA lenders willing to relax their requirements? Simple: If the homeowner can no longer pay his or her loan, Uncle Sam is on the hook instead of the lender. That means the lender can offer loans to home buyers they would otherwise deem too risky.

Am I eligible to apply for an FHA loan?

If you’re a legal resident of the U.S., chances are you can apply for an FHA loan.

Perhaps you’ve heard that FHA loans are for first-time or low-income homebuyers. While helping first-time and lower-income buyers are certainly two aims of the program, you don’t have to be buying your first home or making under a certain amount of money to get an FHA loan.

You do, however, have to be seeking a loan for your primary residence — the rule here is that you have to live there for at least half the year. In most cases, that excludes investment properties, with one important loophole: You can buy up to a four-unit dwelling with an FHA loan as long as one of the units will be your primary residence.

You may even have more than one FHA loan — common qualifying circumstances include relocating to an area outside reasonable commuting distance from the first FHA-backed property, or a family simply outgrowing the first property.

Advantages of an FHA loan

Most of the benefits of an FHA loan relate to more lenient approval standards. Here are some specific advantages:

• You can make a lower down payment: This is the biggie. With an FHA loan, your down payment may be as low as 3.5% of the home’s purchase price. While you may be able to get a conventional mortgage with as little as 3% to 5% down, the closer you get to 20%, the more likely you are to be approved.
• Your credit doesn’t need to be perfect: FHA loans also offer a bit more wiggle room if your credit score isn’t top-notch. You can have a credit score as low as 580 and still nab an FHA loan with a low down payment. Some lenders even allow scores as low as 500 if you can make a larger down payment of at least 10%. Contrast that with a conventional loan, when approval becomes much less likely once your credit score drops below 700.
• You can have more debt: As with credit scores, you may be able to nab an FHA loan with a less-than-ideal (i.e. higher) debt-to-income ratio, or DTI. If the ratio of your monthly debt payments to gross income is higher than 45%, you may have a hard time getting a conventional loan. However, you may still be able to get an FHA loan at 50% or higher if the rest of your application is solid.
• Someone can gift you all the money for closing costs: Unless you put at least 20% down, you’ll need to use at least some, if not all, of your own money for the down payment on a conventional loan. In most cases, with an FHA loan, all of your down payment can come from a gift, though you will have to document the source.
• You can have a recent bankruptcy, foreclosure, or other serious financial hardship: These black marks make it all but impossible to get a conventional loan for several years after the fact, but the FHA has recently relaxed its own rules, which were already a bit more lenient. Its “Back to Work” program waives what was a three-year waiting period after foreclosure and two-year waiting period after bankruptcy. To qualify, you’ll have to meet several standards, including the ability to demonstrate full financial recovery, complete housing counseling, and document at least a 20% reduction in household income related to the financial hardship.
• Your FHA loan is assumable: Unlike most conventional loans, FHA loans are assumable. That means that when you sell your house, the buyer can take over your loan at its current terms instead of getting a new one. This can be a big selling point if interest rates have zoomed up since you received the loan.

Disadvantages of an FHA loan

The FHA loan program is enormously popular, but there are some downsides. Here’s what you need to know before you decide an FHA loan is your best bet:

• There’s an upfront mortgage insurance premium: When you get an FHA loan, you’ll have to cough up 1.75% of the loan amount, which will then be rolled into your payments. This isn’t the case with conventional mortgages.
• You’ll always have to pay monthly mortgage insurance: With conventional loans, you won’t be required to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI, if you have a traditional 20% down payment. Even if you don’t put 20% down, you may be able to get your PMI cancelled once you’ve paid enough of your loan and built up some equity. With FHA loans, an annual mortgage insurance premium is required every month — and this is in addition to the upfront premium — for a minimum of 11 years, though most borrowers will pay it for the entire mortgage term.
• There is a cap on how much you can borrow: You won’t be able to finance a palace with an FHA loan. That’s because loans are capped at a set limit that varies depending on where you live. In my case, it’s $271,050 in Knox County, Tenn. — enough for a nice single-family home, certainly, but not a mansion by any means. On the other hand, you can get a jumbo loan conventionally, assuming you can qualify for the amount you need.
• Inspection standards can be strict: All homes financed with an FHA loan must meet extensive FHA minimum property standards, which evaluate the safety, security, and structural integrity of a home. Your loan won’t be approved until any issues that run afoul of these standards are remedied.

What are the Interest Rates on FHA Loans?

There isn’t much difference between average interest rates on FHA loans and conventional mortgages. The rates may even be slightly lower, which many may find surprising given that they tend to go to less credit-worthy individuals and come with more forgiving terms.

Even if rates are slightly lower, though, remember to factor in the cost of mortgage insurance — typically pricier with FHA loans — to determine whether the FHA loan is truly cheaper. Your lender should be able to provide a detailed comparison to help you make a decision.

Alternatives to FHA Loans

If you’re considering an FHA loan, be sure to investigate your alternatives before pulling the trigger. There’s always a chance one of the options below will be a better fit for your situation.

VA loans

If you’re active-duty military, a veteran, a reservist or national-guard member, or an eligible military spouse, you’ll want to look into Veterans Affairs loans. The VA backs these low-interest-rate loans, which are actually made by private lenders.

Like FHA loans, borrowers don’t have to be first-time buyers, and they can benefit from the program more than once. The loans are also assumable. Unlike FHA loans, VA loans often require no down payment, and there is no mortgage insurance requirement. However, there is a funding fee of up to 3.3%.

USDA loans

If you’re hoping to buy a home in a rural area (or even a suburban area, in some cases), you may be able to benefit from an ultra-low-rate loan backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These USDA loans often require no down payment. You will, however, have to earn below a certain amount to be eligible for the program, unlike with FHA loans.

Limits are stricter for the USDA’s Single Family Direct Homeownership Loan, which is aimed at low-income buyers who truly can’t get a loan elsewhere. Another program, the Single Family Guaranteed Loan Program, allows up to moderate-income buyers. There is a 2% upfront mortgage insurance premium and an annual fee of 0.40%.

• Related: USDA Loans: Not Just for Farmers

Conventional loans with low down payments

Though this myth still lingers, you don’t need a 20% down payment to get a conventional mortgage. It’s simply the amount you’ll need to avoid paying private mortgage insurance every month.

So if you can qualify otherwise (for instance, you have good credit and a low debt-to-income ratio), don’t discount conventional loans. While most lenders will still require at least 5% down, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow as little as 3% for qualified borrowers through the Conventional 97 program — yes, that’s even less than the FHA.

Whether you’ll benefit most from a Conventional 97 or an FHA loan depends on several factors. The latter will be easier to qualify for if you have a lower credit score; if you have a higher score and plan to be in your home for awhile, Conventional 97 could be a good pick because your interest rate and mortgage insurance will be less costly.

It’s also worth remembering the benefits of conventional loans in general: Inspections may not be as rigid, which is important if you have your eye on a fixer-upper. You may also be able to borrow more, assuming you qualify. Finally, you won’t have an upfront insurance premium, and if you do have to pay private mortgage insurance, it may be for a shorter time than you would pay the annual mortgage insurance premium with an FHA loan.

Bottom Line: Is an FHA Loan Right For You?

Generally, you’ll benefit most from an FHA loan if you simply can’t qualify for a conventional mortgage, whether that’s because you have a lower credit score, skimpy down payment, or other extenuating financial circumstances. But the pricey upfront and annual insurance premium make it less of a deal for those who can qualify for conventional mortgage loans at decent rates.

To get an FHA loan, you’ll need to do business with an FHA-approved lender. This won’t be tough: Given the program’s popularity, almost every major lender has gotten the OK to issue FHA loans. The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers a searchable database of FHA-approved lenders.

Remember: Just because a lender is FHA-approved doesn’t mean they’ll offer you the same loan terms as another FHA-approved lender. You’ll want to shop around, just as you would with a conventional mortgage.

Related Articles:

• 10 Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
• Mortgage Rates: Current Trends and Historical Data
• Why You Should Buy Less House Than You Can Afford

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Where to Find Free Wi-Fi in Any Neighborhood

You don’t need to buy a $5 Macchiato to use the free Wi-Fi at Starbucks. Image: Mike Licht

Here are 12 businesses I look for in any neighborhood when I need free Wi-Fi to surf the Web or access something online. This additional service is a big draw for a penny-pincher like myself: I have no interest in paying for such access, so instead I look for businesses that offer free wireless Internet to their customers. Since chain businesses appear in many neighborhoods and are easy to find, I often look for these first, as I can just wander in, fire up my laptop, and get online.

Some people have suggested that I look into purchasing hotspot services, but I’m looking for free wireless. It’s no secret that cell-phone companies are making a fortune charging for data access, but why pay when you can get it for free?

National Chains with Free Wi-Fi

1. Starbucks

The coffee giant recently partnered with Google to bring free and unlimited Wi-Fi access to each of their 7,000 locations throughout the country. Finding a Starbucks near you shouldn’t be a challenge regardless of where you live, but remember: Just because you’re using the network doesn’t mean you have to shell out $5 or more for a latte or Caramel Macchiato. Stick to the basics (a tall cup of coffee is under $2) and surf freely.

2. McDonald’s

Over 11,500 McDonald’s locations offer free wireless access to customers…along with download speeds that are twice as fast as many other national chains.

Although their food can be questionable, the coffee is hot, the soda is cold, and you can often find a quiet corner to hide out in. To see if there’s a location with free Wi-Fi available near you, check their website and restaurant locator.

3. Panera Bread

I make Panera Bread a regular stop on lazy mornings when I’m on the road; their food prices are quite reasonable for the quality that you receive. Not only that, but nearly every Panera location in the United States offers free Wi-Fi to its customers. You can find details on their wireless access on their website, along with a restaurant locator.

Word to the wise: If you’re looking to spend extended amounts of time online, avoid Panera during rush hours when Wi-Fi access is limited to 30 minute sessions.

4. Dunkin’ Donuts

You’ve probably heard that “America runs on Dunkin’” but you may not have known that this doughnut and coffee chain also offers free Wi-Fi to customers at thousands of locations. Check this page to see if your local Dunkins offers wireless access.

5. Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings offers a pretty affordable happy hour, along with a free wireless connection at most locations. (And if you’ve been hesitant to cut your cable service because you love live sports, Buffalo Wild Wings offers all major games and free viewings of pay-per-view events.)

6. Apple Store

Many “upscale” malls have an Apple Store, which all have a wireless point in them. I often sit outside of these stores and access the wireless; they seem not to mind (or even notice) inside the store.

As with the other computer-oriented chains, they likely have such access so they can demonstrate and test wireless applications to customers. (Also note that many upscale malls have wireless in their food courts as well.)

7. Marriott Hotels

When travelling, I try hard to get into a Courtyard by Marriott if at all possible. Why? The prices are reasonable and every room has Wi-Fi access. If I’m driving on the interstate and my eyes are starting to get heavy, the Courtyard logo is one that I keep my eye out for because I know from experience that their service is good.

Other Marriott hotel locations, including Fairfield Inn and Springs, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites, also offer free wireless, as well as a good rewards program for frequent travelers.

Ironically, budget hotels and motels are more likely to offer complimentary Wi-Fi than more expensive ones. For a complete list of the best and worst hotels for free Wi-Fi, look at this report from HotelChatter.

8. Whole Foods

While you may know it as “Whole Paycheck,” this organic and health-food grocery store does offer value in providing a reliable and free wireless connection. Most locations have a cafe and dining area with reasonably priced organic coffee and tea so you can unwind online. (And don’t blindly rule it out for grocery shopping, either: Check out this list of food items that are actually cheaper at Whole Foods than at conventional grocery stores.)

9. Staples and Office Depot

Although they don’t offer the most relaxing environment, Office Depot and Staples locations almost always have wireless access available and work well enough for quick access when you’re trying to figure out a product to buy or just want to fire off an email. I find, though, that if I go to an out-of-the-way corner, I can usually surf and email for as long as I want and I’m left alone by the staff.

10. Target

Although you likely won’t be able to browse the web for an extended period of time at Target, you can save your data while shopping at the superstore by connecting to their free Wi-Fi hotspot.

Afraid of overspending? Many locations are now also building Target cafes, so if a store near you happens to have one you can enjoy the Internet and abstaining from shopping.

11. Barnes & Noble

Most Barnes & Noble locations have a Starbucks cafe, which offers complimentary Wi-Fi. Though this varies by location, the remainder of the store may not have an open wireless network. Still, if you can find a quiet nook near the cafe, you can enjoy reading your book and browse the web completely free of charge!

12. Best Buy

Although it’s inconvenient for sitting and browsing over a long period of time, using the free Wi-Fi at Best Buy works just fine for a quick stop to send an email or check a website, and their download speeds were, like McDonald’s, among the fastest at any big chain tested by OpenSignal.

The best part is that you don’t even need your computer or smartphone — wander in and go online using the latest gadgets without having to pay a dime.

Other Free Wi-Fi Options

I find it worthwhile to keep my eyes open for specific chain businesses for my wireless access. However, if you can’t find any of these chains, here are some alternative free Wi-Fi ideas:

1. Public Library

Using the free Wi-Fi available at the public library near you is an even more frugal alternative to connecting at a cafe or fast food establishment, where you will feel pressured to purchase something. At most libraries the most you’ll need to get online is a valid library card (if that!), which is very simple to obtain.

• Related: The Frugal Magic of Subsitution

2. Airports

Not all airports let you connect to their hotspot free of charge, but if you’re traveling through one of these hubs, you can kill time waiting for your next flight by browsing the Web at no additional cost to you.

3. Gyms and Yoga Studios

If you’ve decided to pay for a gym or fitness studio membership, opt for one that also offers free wireless to members so you can listen to a streaming music service like Pandora or Spotify without wasting data.

The local YMCA gym near me has a free open Wi-Fi hotspot as well as ample seating, allowing customers to do work and work out in the same space — it makes paying for the membership a better deal.

4. Trains and Buses

Megabus, Boltbus, and Amtrak are among the several transportation lines offering free wireless connections to their customers. Choose to ride with one of these companies (and if you book early enough, you may even be able to snag a $1 ride!) next time you have to do business and buy yourself free Internet access for the duration of your trip.

5. Public Parks

If you enjoy working or just spending down-time outside, you’ll be pleased to learn that many cities are now introducing free open Wi-Fi networks in public parks. To find out if there a park in your area with free wireless, check this list.

6. Hospitals

If the event that you have to spend any time at a hospital for whatever reason, you can take small comfort in knowing that most hospitals offer open free Wi-Fi access to patients and guests.

7. Museums

Going online probably isn’t why you went to a museum in the first place, but if you need to send a quick email or map your next destination as you’re touring a new city, museums typically have the wireless access to let you do so.

Public Wi-Fi Safety

Public Wi-Fi networks are great, but they aren’t always safe. Sharing a network with other people means that your personal information is in danger of being seen or accessed. Protect yourself by taking the following precautions:

• Don’t enter sensitive information. Do your banking and online shopping at home to avoid exposing yourself to identity theft or credit card fraud.
• Use ‘https’ (secure) websites as much as possible. While most frequented websites such as Facebook and email providers will automatically convert the URL to a secure connection, keep an eye on the URL to make sure. Chrome users can also install an extension that will encrypt your data with major websites to make your browsing safer.
• Forget the network. Unless you specify otherwise, your computer or device will likely remember the Wi-Fi network and reconnect to it whenever you are in range. Doing this can leave your information exposed while you’re not browsing. Avoid this by unchecking ‘Connect Automatically’ in your network settings.
• Enable two-factor authentication on frequently visited sites. By adding an extra layer of protection (i.e. entering your phone number or selecting an accompanying icon) to any password protected website, you are effectively reducing the likelihood of a hack.

More Online Safety Resources:

• Credit Card Fraud Protection
• Simple Steps to Avoid Identity Theft
• What Is Private Browsing and Can It Protect Me Online?

The post Where to Find Free Wi-Fi in Any Neighborhood appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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3 Ways to Add Tax Diversification to Your Portfolio

Investing in accounts with different tax treatments helps you control your tax bill in retirement.

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Starting from Scratch: 6 Steps to Your First Content Marketing Plan

Content marketing is amazing for attracting your target audience and building a relationship with it.

There is just one problem, though…

How do you do it?

I share a lot of content marketing tips in my posts, but those posts usually assume you’re already doing content marketing, at least to some degree.

But if you haven’t started yet, or are very new to it, you won’t get as much out of those posts as those with some experience.

So, if you’ve felt that my past posts about content marketing have been too advanced for you, this one will help.

I’m going to give you a step-by-step process to follow to create a successful content marketing plan.

I’m talking about a plan that is simple to understand and execute but that can be used to drive thousands of qualified visitors to your website every month (in less than a year). 

Why content marketing?

There are several dozen types of marketing.

They can all produce good results when applied in the right situation.

But I think we’re in a special time for content marketing.

Businesses and marketers are recognizing how effective it is in the modern consumer climate.

People have always liked to buy from businesses and people with whom they have relationships and whom they trust.

Until the Internet, it was hard for businesses to build those relationships.

But now, it’s easier than ever to deliver content to an audience.

This is important whether you’re selling straight to the consumer or to a business. A recent survey found that 67% of B2B buyers base their buying decisions on content.

And they don’t become just buyers—a large percentage of them also frequently share that content (most often in the form of a blog post – 40%).

Most marketers have just started recognizing all this.

Currently, 80% of B2B marketers have a content marketing strategy.

However, 48% (overall) do not have a written plan. In 99% of cases, this means that they really have no clue what they’re doing.

That’s good news for you. Why? Because just by putting in some effort to go through this post and writing a few things down, you’ll be ahead of over 50% of online marketers.

I’ll let you in on a secret:

Most businesses suck at content marketing.

Seriously, look at the blogs for most businesses—they’re a joke.

But still, 30% of marketers find content marketing “effective”, and another 44% get some results from it.

Don’t be in those bottom three groups…

There’s no reason why you can’t find content marketing very effective for generating traffic and, most importantly, qualified leads for your business.

Follow the six steps I cover in the rest of this post, and write down your notes as you go.

In the end, you’ll have a short, clear, and effective content marketing plan to base your future work on.

Step 1: Why are you doing this?

Before you can start producing content of any kind, it pays to do a bit of planning.

If you just produce content for a general audience, chances are you won’t get much in the way of results.

To really see great results, you need to:

1. Identify your target audience
2. Create content that resonates with those specific readers

When you create general content, it will never resonate with anyone, which is why it isn’t effective.

But it’s not enough to just target a specific audience. You need to understand their beliefs, problems, and desires so that your content matches them.

Part #1 – Who are they? Create a section in a blank document for Step 1. At the top of this section, you need to define who your target audience is.

For example, if you sell running gear, your audience may be “runners.”

But do you see the problem with that?

While “runners” is technically an audience, it’s not a well defined one.

There are many different kinds of runners:

• professional marathoners
• professional sprinters
• recreational joggers (do it for fun)
• runners trying to lose weight
• runners trying to strengthen their legs…

…and so on.

Do you think you could create content that would speak to both a professional marathoner and a random guy that’s just trying to lose his beer gut?

Not a chance.

Get as specific as you can. You want to identify an audience who would agree with your label.

A professional marathoner would say:

I’m not just a runner; I’m a professional marathoner who trains year round and races six times a year.

I’m not a running expert, so six times might be too many, but you get the point…

Once you have the name of your audience, write it down.

Now you can start to build a reader persona.

Give your average audience member a fictional name before moving on to part #2. This allows you to write to one person, which is an old copywriting trick for writing in a more conversational tone that is more likely to resonate with your readers.

Part #2 – What are they struggling with? Here’s where serious research comes into play.

You need to start profiling your reader.

In this part, you’ll identify as many problems your target audience faces as possible. If you can, classify them by severity.

Let’s continue with the running example.

How do you find out what problems marathoners have?

The best way to gather that information is to simply talk to them. I know it’s not the most comfortable thing in the world to do for some people, but if you can, chat with a few for 10-20 minutes.

Ask them about their biggest problems and obstacles.

If that fails, head to online forums and community sites specifically set up for your target audience. You want to find a place where they talk to each other about their problems.

If you have no clue where to start, start with Reddit.

You can find a subreddit (basically a categorized community) for just about any topic.

In this case, a simple search on Google reveals a couple of “marathon” subreddits:

Spend at least 20-30 minutes looking through the threads you find.

Record any problems you see people talk about as well as how often they come up and how serious they seem to be.

On the first few results, I already see two problems:

• beginner marathoners who are not sure about etiquette during a race
• runners having joint pain during a taper (when they reduce their mileage leading up to a race)

Ideally, get a list of over 100 problems.

It sounds like a lot, but it’s doable, and you’ll be set for content ideas for a while.

Alternatively, do a search for forums on Google.

In this case, these results are probably better.

They are geared towards experienced marathoners, whereas that first subreddit was focused on beginners (although it will have some experienced runners too).

You do the exact same thing here—look for problems.

Again, I see a few problems right off the bat:

• How do you set your pace for a marathon?
• What do you do if you start getting pain leading up to the marathon?

Write down your list of problems (in your document or in a separate spreadsheet) before moving on.

Part #3 – Where do they look for solutions? In order to provide your audience with solutions to their problems, you need to find a way to get those solutions in front of them.

Most of these places are online, so that’s what you should focus on.

You need to compile a list of websites they visit.

That starts with the forums and communities you just found in part 2.

Other than those, you’ll just have to search around.

I would recommend starting with:

• top (niche) sites
• top (niche) blogs

You should be able to compile at least 20-30 “popular” sites they visit.

If it looks like a site only has a few dozen readers, don’t bother recording it.

Record these sites as we’ll be coming back to them later.

Part #4 – How will you solve their problems better than anyone else? No matter what your topic is, there are already at least a few popular sites that cover it.

Readers need very good reasons to either add your site to the ones they already follow or replace one of them with yours.

And the way you convince them to do that is by giving more value.

If your content is clearly better than that of your competitors’, you will draw readers away from them.

Start by going to the most popular sites in your niche.

Look through their content, and note any weaknesses in it.

For example, I picked the first popular marathon site I found, which was a blog on a major running site.

The content is written by a true expert, but it’s quite basic, and it’s very anecdotal.

I would note under weaknesses:

• Not enough images, lists, etc.
• Could use more data supporting points
• Very short, doesn’t dive into the topic thoroughly

Then, I would move on to the next blog.

After 5-10, you’ll start to see the same things pop up every time. These are your opportunities.

Go back to your document. Your goal here is to create a concise description of how your content will be more valuable to your target audience.

For example:

Our content will include a lot of relevant visual content as well as data-driven answers. We will go deep into subjects to try to satisfy our target audience.

Having that description to guide you in the future will ensure that you focus on the right things.

Step 2: Here’s how you figure out the best type of content to produce

The “content” in content marketing can mean a lot of different things.

Pretty much anything that can possibly contain a message is considered content. That includes:

• blog posts
• infographics
• pictures (drawings, comics, photographs, paintings)
• podcasts
• videos
• e-books
• slideshows

and much more.

If you produce certain types of content for your audience, you’ll get better results than you would with other types.

To figure out what the best type is, you have to consider two factors.

What are your audience’s preferences? Some audiences prefer certain types of content over others.

For example, home decorators are mainly looking for visual content. Pictures and videos are the primary form of content in the home decorating niche.

On the other hand, a niche like nutrition mainly will have your standard text content with pictures mixed in.

The tough part is figuring out what is best for your niche.

To do this, we’re going to look at a few different indicators.

Start by heading to Buzzsumo. Create a free account if you don’t have one yet, and then search for your niche (you can choose a broader niche here).

What you’ll likely see is that one of the main social networks is much more popular than the others.

If Pinterest or Facebook are the most popular, image-based content is going to be crucial. Pinterest is a purely image-based network, while images are by far the most shared type of content on Facebook.

But that’s not a perfect overview of the whole situation.

What about things like podcasts?

That’s where you need to search individually. The two other forms of content you need to check for are podcasts and videos.

With podcasts, you can use two methods.

First, you can look at Stitcher’s top 100 podcasts in a relevant category.

In our example, I picked “sports” since that’s what running would fall under.

I looked through the top 100 and couldn’t find a single podcast about running. That tells me there isn’t a lot of interest:

Ideally, you’d like to see at least a few different podcasts about your niche as an indicator of some interest.

If you see 3-4 in the top 10, that tells you that audio content is huge in your niche and you should definitely incorporate it into your content strategy if you can.

Anther way you can check for podcasts is to simply Google “top (niche) podcasts”.

I found a few, run by some popular websites. Then, I looked them up on Stitcher and found that they had barely any reviews. This means they aren’t very popular.

In this case, audio content is out.

Finally, what about video content?

Well, that’s pretty easy to check for. Go to YouTube, and search for your niche. You can also try a few suggestions from the search bar.

This actually surprised me. There were many marathon-running videos with several thousand views.

I didn’t expect this, which is exactly why you need to check.

Look at the number of views on each video. You’ll have to decide what you’d consider a significant number, but I’d be looking for at least 10 videos to have at least 20,000 views to indicate serious interest.

If there’s only one video with a ton of views, it’s likely a one-off viral fluke and should be discounted.

What are your strengths and/or budget? The second main factor depends on your skillset. If you’re not a good writer, you probably want to lean towards a different type of content.

Often, you’ll find that multiple forms of content are equally popular in your niche. That gives you a lot of flexibility. You can use any combination of them.

But what if only one type of content is popular? Well, then you have no choice.

If you aren’t comfortable creating that content, you have a decision to make:

• learn how to create it
• hire someone to do it for you

If you have a healthy budget for content marketing, hiring is always a good option.

If not, you’ll need to develop those skills on your own.

Now, combine the two: Now you’re looking for the intersection of these two areas:

the type of content desired by your target audience and the type of content you can actually produce.

The type(s) of content that falls into both areas is the one(s) you should produce for your target audience.

Step 3: The key step to content marketing success

Let’s slow down for a second.

You now know your audience.

You also know the type of content you’ll produce.

So, now we can start looking at actually creating and publishing content.

But there’s one thing, one key concept, that you need to understand if you want to be successful:

Your success depends on one thing – consistency.

Content marketing will not produce results overnight.

It takes months of creating quality content for it to start getting any real traction.

Many businesses start off on the right track, but when they don’t see huge results in the first few months, which is expected, they get discouraged. 

Then, when they face their first big obstacle, they end up ditching content marketing. Maybe their budget is tight, or they have a lot of other work to do. Content marketing gets cut first.

If you’re going to do this, commit a certain amount of time that you know you can commit to content marketing for at least a year.

How often should you publish? There’s no magic number on the frequency of content publishing.

But as a general rule, the more content you publish, the faster you will get results (and bigger results).

This assumes that the quality of the content stays the same regardless of frequency.

One survey found that 91% of top bloggers blog once a week or more.

But that’s more of a correlation than causation.

There are plenty of outliers, e.g., Brian Dean at Backlinko who publishes once or twice a month at the most. He’s done incredibly well for himself in a short amount of time with this strategy.

What it comes down to is not quantity, but quality.

Always try to produce the highest quality content you can even if that means cutting back on how much you publish.

So the answer to how often you should publish is:

Publish as often as you can while maintaining the highest quality possible.

However, remember that you need to be consistent.

Don’t pick a frequency that you can’t sustain over a long period of time.

I can do three long posts a week on Quick Sprout without much of an issue because I’ve practiced over the years. If you don’t have the skills or resources to do that yet, be less ambitious to start.

How long will it take to produce content? Another question that is highly related to the last one is: how long do you expect it will take you to produce the content?

Depending on the type of content you’re creating, a single piece of it could take anywhere from 2-20 hours to create.

Obviously, you can’t post more than once or twice a month if it takes you 20 hours to create something.

You also have to factor in promotional time (which I’ll cover in Step 6). You should spend at least as much time promoting content as you do creating it.

This means that if you have 20 hours of time available for content marketing a week and a post takes 5 hours to create, you can only post twice a week maximum.

You might even want to stay on the safe side for now and choose one piece of content a week.

Step 4: How will you manage your content?

You’re committed to being consistent, right?

I hope you’re nodding your head right now.

In order to be consistent, you need to plan.

If you don’t plan ahead, it’s too easy to forget to write, publish, or promote your content when you get busy.

The key to planning ahead is having a schedule, typically called a “content calendar.”

How will you create a content calendar? Although the term might sound fancy to some, it’s really simple. All you need is some sort of a calendar that allows you to assign post ideas to specific days.

There are many tools that will help you do this, but I’ll go over three solid options.

The first one is Trello—a project management tool.

You can create lists for each week in a month (or the whole month) and then add “cards” for each piece of content you want to schedule:

One of the great things about Trello is that you can give each piece of content a due date.

You can customize your settings to get reminders about a piece of content that’s due in the next couple of days or that’s overdue.

The second option is to use this WordPress editorial calendar plugin.

It adds a calendar tab to your site’s dashboard, and you can see what you have scheduled in a typical calendar format at any time:

The plugin ties into your posts, so you can do things like change their scheduled time and date as well as edit post titles from the calendar itself.

And the final option you should be aware of is just a simple spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets.

All you need is a spreadsheet with a column for publishing dates and a column for post titles:

The biggest benefit of this option, aside from how simple it is, is that you can customize it easily.

You can add columns for due dates (to ensure you finish the post ahead of time), categories, or metrics like traffic and social shares.

It doesn’t matter which option you pick. Just choose something that’s simple for you and will help you keep your content creation schedule straight.

Step 5: Where will you distribute your content?

Another huge mistake that many beginner content marketers make is starting to blog with no audience.

If no one is seeing your content, it doesn’t matter how good it is—your blog won’t grow.

There are basically two different ways you can address this problem in the beginning:

1. Publish your content on other sites, leaving a link back to your blog.
2. Promote your content.

You should be doing both of these things.

As you grow your audience, you can publish solely on your own site if you wish.

I’ve covered how to promote your content several times in the past. Here are a few resources to get you started:

• Promoting Your Content To Increase Traffic, Engagement and Sales
• The Day After: 11 Things to Do After You Publish a Post
• 17 Advanced Methods for Promoting Your New Piece of Content

The most important part to understand at this point is the first one.

Remember those sites you identified before? The ones where your target audience gets their solutions?

Now, you’ll identify how you can get traffic from those sites to yours.

Important: Don’t just send visitors to your blog. Send them to a landing page on your site. Offer them a lead magnet for their email addresses. This way, you can drive these readers to your future posts.

Category #1 – Blogs: These will be the blogs on your list.

In order to get your solutions in front of a blog’s audience, you need to guest-post on a relevant blog.

Obviously, not all blogs allow guest posts.

To check, just Google: “(site name) guest post”, and see if anything comes up. Ideally, you’ll find some guest-posting guidelines or previously published guest posts.

If a blog doesn’t accept guest posts, take it off your list.

If it does, follow the steps I’ve laid out in my guide on guest posting to maximize your chances of success.

Category #2 – Search engines: Did you know that search engines can drive traffic to your site? They should call it SEO or something—just kidding…

SEO is a great way to get your content in front of your target audience.

However, it’ll likely take at least 4-6 months of solid work before you start getting any real traffic.

Focus on getting traffic from other sources first and SEO last.

Here are some of my best resources on SEO although there’s obviously a ton to cover:

• The Advanced Guide To SEO
• The Beginner’s Guide to Technical SEO
• The On-Page SEO Cheat Sheet

Category #3 – Social media: Another great source of traffic is social media. Almost every audience is active on one social media platform or another.

In addition, most social networks offer an easy way to funnel visitors to your website.

Remember that Buzzsumo search we did earlier? That tells you where you should be posting your content:

Typically, you’ll only be posting excerpts of your content, but you can do that to grow your following and drive traffic to your content.

You should combine this content posting strategy with a social media promotional strategy.

Category #4 – Forums/communities: Finally, you can post your content on forums and other online communities.

You can create content on your own website, but then reformat it for a forum. Leave a link somewhere before or after the content back to your own site (a landing page, hopefully):

Publish your content anywhere a significant portion of your target audience can see it.

While you will need a detailed strategy for this (using the resources I’ve linked to throughout this section), for now, write down the main places you want to publish your content on in your content marketing plan.

Step 6: The other side of the coin

Finally, no good content marketing plan is complete without content promotion, which is the other side of the coin of your content marketing.

Publishing content on other sites is one option, but there are other promotional tactics you can use.

Here are two main options you’ll want to consider.

Choose one or both, and record it on your document as your method(s) of content promotion.

Option #1 – Email outreach: Email remains the most effective way to build relationships with people online.

In particular, you want to use email outreach to get your content in front of influencers in your niche and related niches.

After you publish a piece of content, you’ll want to create a list of at least 100 bloggers, writers, and other type of influencers who care about that specific topic.

Then, you’ll email them to let them know about the content.

Your end goal is to get links or social shares from them, which will drive traffic and contribute to your overall SEO efforts.

Here are some great posts on email outreach:

• The Link Builder’s Guide to Email Outreach
• How To Create a Killer Outreach Email With 4 Quick Steps and 3 Simple Tips
• 6 Ways to Make Link Building Outreach More Effective

Option #2 – Advertising: This second option takes a lot less time than manual email outreach, but, of course, it costs more.

It’s traditional advertising: you pay to get people to visit your content.

There are three main areas where you can advertise:

1. Social media – Facebook ads are a good investment for most marketers
2. Search engines – You can set up PPC (pay per click) ads on Adwords or Bing
3. Native ads – You can also pay to have sites link to your content inside their content (it doesn’t appear like a typical ad)

You don’t need to use paid advertising to be successful. However, it can accelerate your growth, which makes it a good option if you have leftover funds in your budget.

Conclusion

Being a successful content marketer isn’t complex, but it takes a lot of knowledge and effort.

You’ll need to learn more about the areas I touched on briefly here.

In addition, you’ll need to practice. As you start producing content, you will learn a lot through trial and error.

That being said, if you follow the six steps in this post, you should have a clear content marketing plan that you can use to shape your content marketing in the months to come.

As always, if you have any questions, just leave them in a comment below.

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When Is the Right Time to Buy Your Child a Cellphone?

Answer these three questions before making a decision.


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7 Smart Spending Habits to Adopt for the Holidays

Buying in bulk can help cut costs. 

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Revealed: the UK’s most expensive dentists

Tom Wilson

overly white teeth.jpg

Milton Keynes has the highest cost of private dental treatment in the country, with the average price for a check-up reaching £62, compared to just £32 in Birmingham.

Milton Keynes has the highest cost of private dental treatment in the country, with the average price for a check-up reaching £62, compared to just £32 in Birmingham.

The UK’s most expensive dentists

Feed Copy: 

Milton Keynes has the highest cost of private dental treatment in the country, with the average price for a check-up reaching £62, compared to just £32 in Birmingham. Check-up costs are second highest in London, averaging £53, while Glaswegians pay £50. At the other end of the spectrum, residents of Manchester pay £34, and people in Cambridge typically pay £32. In individual practices, the costs can be much higher. One practice in London charges £185 for a check-up, according to a survey of 12,629 practices by WhatClinic.com. On average, private check-ups cost £46 in the UK, and have increased significantly in the last six months, according to the report. Despite the rising costs, the website has seen searches for private treatment rise by 115% in the last year. Emily Ross, director of WhatClinic.com, said: “These figures show the huge amount of savings that can be made by shopping around for dental care, even within the same city. Regular dental check-ups every six months are recommended for all the family, and as everyone knows, these costs can really add up. “It is important that patients are more aware of the options available to them, and that money can be saved. “As costs vary from city to city, savings can also be made by taking a short trip to a nearby town or city. Always be careful of special offers and discounts, do your research, and make your dental health a priority when choosing a practitioner.” An NHS check-up will cost £18.80 in England, £13.50 in Wales, and is not charged for in Scotland. Some people, such as children and people receiving benefits, are not charged for NHS dental treatment. Specialist treatment WhatClinic.com also reviewed the cost of veneers, tooth whitening, root canals and implants. Leicester has the lowest cost veneers at £318, compared to a UK average of £443. Tooth whitening in Plymouth costs £209, compared to £298 across the country as a whole. A root canal will cost just £185 in Glasgow, while it’s typically £267. Dental implants are by far the most expensive – average costs in the UK are £2,101, but they’re £718 cheaper in Newcastle. These treatments are also available on the NHS, where prices are capped at £185 in Wales, £222.50 in England and £384 in Scotland. However, these are subject to long waiting times – 12 month waiting lists for some types of treatment are not unusual in some parts of the country.

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How I Launched an Advertising Company With Only $50 — and Made $700 a Week

When I was a life insurance salesperson, I only had to report to the office on Tuesday and Friday mornings for brief meetings. The rest of my time belonged exclusively to me — it was a straight commission job, and whether I failed or succeeded was strictly on my shoulders.

Most people might feel terror at this prospect. But, for me, it reignited an entrepreneurial fire. Once I got a taste of this freedom, I began to yearn for total control over my time, my career and my financial destiny.

As a single parent, my number one priority was to make a decent living to support my family. My son had just graduated from high school, and while he received a few scholarships, he needed additional support to pay for college.

While most people probably would have stayed with the insurance business or secured a more stable job, I decided to start my own advertising company.

With only $50 in startup capital, I built a business that supported me for 10 years, fed my need for freedom and helped my son pay for college. Here’s how I did it.

1. I Acquired a DBA

After a bit of research, I realized I needed a DBA (Doing Business As).

If I wanted to sell under my own name, it wouldn’t have been necessary, but I wanted to appear professional to potential clients. A DBA is nothing like setting up an actual business or LLC; it’s simply a way to use an assumed name rather than your own name.

Once I filed the DBA, I officially became a self-employed sole proprietor in the eyes of the IRS. It was as simple as filling out a form at my local county clerk’s office and paying a $20 filing fee.

I was responsible for paying self-employment income tax and handling all of my own bookkeeping. I made sure to keep records of and receipts for all money I spent and received.

2. I Ordered Business Cards and a Portfolio

Having business cards was my second crucial step to appearing professional in my advertising business. I ordered 500 business cards online for around $10.

I also wanted a portfolio to hold paper, pens, business cards and even my cell phone while I approached and met with sales prospects, and found plenty of good options under $30.

However, this was in the early 90s — you may simply use your smartphone!

3. I Started Approaching Potential Clients

My first and most frequent project was selling ads on restaurant menus. I’d tell the restaurant owner I would give them free menus if they let me put advertising on the borders.

(Most owners were incredulous at this offer — people don’t believe anything is free. But I was professionally dressed and confident, and often received a yes.)

Once I got the green light, I would use one of the restaurant’s menus to create my sales tool layout. I would give the restaurant my business card and also ask if they had suggestions for small businesses that might like to advertise on the menu.

I’d also ask the owner to commit to using the menus for a specific period of time, typically 12 months). That way, when I sold the ads to small businesses, I could assure them their ad would be on the menu for a full year.

4. I Created a Menu Layout with Blank Ad Space

This was the fun part. I simply bought a white poster board and cut it to the size of the menu.

I made a copy of the inside of the menu — the actual food items — and pasted this onto the poster board, leaving its outside edges blank.

In this blank outer edge, all around the menu copy, I created blank ads spaces using a ruler. And bingo! I was ready to sell ads. I followed the same procedure for ads on the back of the menu.

5. I Sold Ads and Collected Payments

I found my best prospects for ad sales from several sources:

• Asking the restaurant owner about small business owners who frequented the restaurant

• Calling businesses near the restaurant, or at least in the same town or county

• Placing classified ads for small businesses in local publications

• Talking with small business owners I knew or had previously worked with

One word of caution about selling ads: Collect your money upfront.

At your discretion, you can set up a payment plan for a client, but get a substantial down payment first. If they’re not invested, people can easily change their minds.

6. I Finalized the Menu With the Restaurant Owner

When I finished selling all of my ads, I arranged a meeting with the restaurant owner to go over any menu or price changes, and choose colors.

I only offered one color to save money, as multi-color printing is much more expensive.

7. I Outsourced Typesetting and Graphic Design

Since I was not a professional graphic designer or typesetter, I chose to hire this work out. I found a professional designer, and paying her to do the typesetting and layout for the printer saved me a ton of headaches and time.

The cost of hiring someone to do this work can vary greatly. Try looking for someone on Fiverr or PeoplePerHour, or find someone in your neighborhood. My cost was usually around $300-$500, depending on the complexity of the menu.

8. I Built a Relationship With a Printer

I shopped diligently for a small but professional printer who understood my vision and what it meant to run a small business. This partnership lasted for 10 years, until I sold my business.

I usually paid around $500-$600 for 100 printed and laminated menus. The printing took a couple of weeks — time I spent lining up my next project!

I loved the final step of my current project, though, which was delivering those beautiful, free menus to the restaurant.

How Much I Made Selling Ads on Restaurant Menus

Most menus included around 25 ads and I sold them for $150 each. It usually took me about a month to sell them all.

Design and printing cost a total of $1,000.

That’s a profit of $2,750, or around $700 a week.

Not bad, huh? I could have sold the ads for quite a bit more, but it was much easier to sell at a price small business owners could reasonably afford.

I ran my company successfully for 10 years and ended up handling many other projects, such as brochures, event calendars and business cards. I even had a few commission-only sales people working for me by the time I sold the business in 2003 — for $40,000.

Thanks to my business, I was able to support myself comfortably and help my son with college expenses. These steps worked for me — could they work for you?

Your Turn: Are you interested in starting your own advertising business?

Denise Grier is an entrepreneur, freelance writer and pro blogger. She is also a creative writer and has written a book of poetry and a middle grade novel. Denise started college in 2015 at the age of 60, and is working toward a psychology degree.

The post How I Launched an Advertising Company With Only $50 — and Made $700 a Week appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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