Cars We Remember: Edsel’s flop linked to gimmicks, Corvair quite different

Q: Greg, I really liked the Corvair articles you’ve written through the years, and am wondering how you feel about the Edsel? It was a new car, but failed miserably back in 1958. What are your thoughts when compared to the Corvair? — Walter S., Pennsylvania.A: Walter, first let’s separate the Corvair from the Edsel in one big way: the Corvair was a true innovation and an all new effort from General Motors in 1960. The Corvair featured a rear mounted six [...]

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Silvio Calabi: Kia’s Sedona SXL offers a moving experience

My kids are long grown and gone, so now instead of family road trips minivans have me moving furniture. Normally that’s right next to cleaning the gutters on the “tomorrow” list, but an enclosed vehicle with big doors, easy step-in and cubic yards of room makes all the difference. We’re cleaning out a big old house, and I’ve lost count of the bookcases, chairs, carpets, beds and boxes that we’ve relocated, sometimes by a couple hundred miles. Which [...]

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Lost Bag? Overbooked Flights? Passenger Rights You Should Know About (But Airlines Never Mention)

You’re at the airport, eager to get home, when you find out your flight’s been cancelled. Or, you arrive at baggage claim…but your bags do not.

It’s happened to all of us. Air travel mishaps abound, especially during the busy holiday season.

And the worst part? Not knowing what to do.

You feel like the airline should compensate you for your delayed flight, but the gate agent is saying it won’t. Who’s correct?

Airline passenger rights are complicated, and even frequent travelers don’t know all of them. (I sure learned a few things while researching this article!)

Don’t wait until you’re at the airport, fuming, frustrated and running out of options. Learn your rights now and know what you’re entitled to when — er, if — the airline screws up your holiday travel.

Airline Passenger Rights You May Not Know About

Having a problem with your flights?

Per the rules and regulations listed in the Department of Transportation’s Fly Rights, here’s what to do when…

Your Flight is Delayed or Canceled

Unfortunately, the federal government doesn’t require the airline to do anything for domestic delays or cancellations. If you’re traveling internationally, you may be able to file for reimbursement under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention.

Still, many airlines will offer some form of compensation in the name of good customer service. If the delay is caused by weather, they usually won’t give you anything — but if it’s a mechanical or scheduling issue, they might.

Here’s what to ask for:

• Vouchers: If you’re stuck at the airport for a few hours, be sure to request food vouchers so you can eat at the airport restaurants. If you’re delayed overnight, ask for hotel and/or taxi vouchers.

• Airline miles: If you have a frequent flyer account with the airline, ask for extra miles for the inconvenience. I’ve successfully done this on a few occasions.

• Lounge passes: If you have to be at the airport for several hours, ask the agent for a lounge pass. I don’t know if this works, but it’s worth a shot!

In addition to the airline, look at your credit cards for compensation, too.

If your flight is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, and you paid for at least a portion of it with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, for example, Chase will reimburse you up to $500 per ticket for reasonable expenses like food and lodging.

To avoid delays and cancellations in the first place, book flights leaving early in the day, and look for direct routes. If you must have a connection, stay away from airports that are really busy or notorious for weather delays (e.g. Chicago O’Hare!).

Your Flight is Overbooked

Airlines regularly overbook (sell more tickets than there are seats) flights to make up for no-show passengers. Though this isn’t illegal, it can cause problems if more people show up than expected.

When this happens, airlines ask for volunteers, offering incentives like vouchers and upgrades to entice passengers to give up their seats. If not enough people volunteer, airlines are forced to bump some passengers against their will.

Though it’s a huge bummer to get involuntarily bumped, keep cool and remember your rights; you could end up with a pretty nice chunk of change.

Here’s what you’re owed if you arrive…  

• Within an hour of your scheduled time: $0
• One to two hours late: Double the price of your ticket, up to $675
• More than two hours late: Quadruple the price of your ticket, up to $1,350

Some airlines may try to take advantage of you and offer airline credit in exchange for the inconvenience. Don’t accept this offer. And don’t sign any paperwork, as it could remove your right to further compensation.

Stand your ground and, if necessary, cite this DOT page.

Want to reduce the likelihood of being bumped before you even get to the airport? Check in to your flight early (you can do so 24 hours before your scheduled departure) and add your frequent flyer number to the reservation. The airline is less likely to bump loyal travelers.

Your Baggage Gets Lost

Standing at baggage claim and never having your bags show up is not a fun feeling.

Your first stop should be your airline’s baggage office. Sometimes luggage comes in on an earlier flight or is accidentally placed in the oversize luggage area.

Still not there? Time to ask for compensation.

Airlines are required to “compensate passengers for reasonable expenses for loss, damage or delay in the carriage of passenger baggage,” according to DOT rules.

Each airline interprets this differently, but in general, expect a stipend of at least $50 per day to spend on necessities like toiletries and clothing. Just be sure to keep your receipts so the airline can reimburse you later.

Also, if you paid for your ticket or fees with a credit card, check its benefits. The Chase Sapphire Preferred, for example, offers a stipend of up to $100 per day for clothing, toiletries and charging cables when your baggage is delayed by six hours or more.

If your luggage gets lost permanently, then you’ll need to file a second claim. The airline must compensate you for the value of your luggage, up to $3,500. To help prevent this, make sure put an address label in your bag’s clear external pocket and attach a luggage tag.

Something’s Gone Wrong, and You’ve Hit a Dead End

The first thing I do when I’m not getting the help I need? Jump on social media. I use Twitter to explain my situation — and @mention the airline — and often the company will address it right away.

You can also call the airline’s customer service line from the airport. Sometimes its phone reps will give you a different answer than the gate agents, which gives you leverage when resolving your issue.

Quick tip: To find the quickest way to speak to a live agent, simply Google “gethuman” plus the airline’s name.

And please, as difficult as it can be sometimes, always treat the gate agents with respect and patience. Airline mishaps usually aren’t their fault, and they have to deal with a lot of cranky people. Not only that, but you’d be surprised how far they’ll go to reward someone who’s nice.

If you do receive great service, don’t forget to return the favor by submitting a comment form on the airline’s website. Alternatively, you can submit complaints about rude or unhelpful agents. I’ve actually complimented and complained about different agents in the same message!

Be sure to write down information — agent names, dates and flight numbers — while it’s fresh in your mind. You can refer back to this if you need to contact the airline later; providing details always strengthens your case.

If your trip is over and your complaint hasn’t been resolved, try AirHelp, a company that lobbies airlines on behalf of passengers who were involuntarily bumped. Or check out Service, a startup that helps resolve customer service issues at no cost to the customer.

Whatever you do, don’t let this holiday travel season get the best of you. Stay calm, remember your rights and seek the compensation you deserve!

Your Turn: Do you have any airline compensation tips or tales to share?

Disclosure: We appreciate you letting us include affiliate links in this post. It helps keep the beer fridge stocked in the Penny Hoarder break room.

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.

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How to Get a Free $10 Cash Card at Macy’s on Tuesday, Plus a 20% Discount

Still have some last-minute shopping to do? If you’re willing to head to the mall on Tuesday morning, we’ve got a freebie for you.

Be one of the first 250 people in the door at your local Macy’s store on Tuesday, Dec. 22, and you’ll receive a $10 cash card.

“We have a lot of great deals on last-minute gifts, and now shoppers who come early will get even more value with a free cash card on us,” explains Martine Reardon, Macy’s chief marketing officer.

To take advantage, you must use the card in-store on Tuesday. So here’s a tip for saving even more: Before you go, print out this Macy’s coupon to get an additional 20% off your purchase.  

We also recommend checking local store hours to make sure you’re first in line, and calling your store to double-check it’s one of the 600 participating locations.

Click here to find the Macy’s nearest you.

Your Turn: Do you plan to shop early at Macy’s this Tuesday?

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.

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15 Unique Gifts Under $25 Parents Will Always Appreciate

Parents give so much each day, so a special occasion (holiday, birthday, etc.) is a perfect chance to show them some love in return.

And you don’t need a huge budget to do so.

It doesn’t matter if the parents are your own or good friends who’ve just had their first child. These 15 gifts under $25 range from sentimental to practical, and are sure to make them smile.

1. “Conversations with My Father and Mother” Journal — $13

“What did you think your children would grow up to be?”

“Who was your first crush?”

This keepsake journal is packed with thought-provoking questions for parents, and it’s a clever way to spend time getting to know your parents.

They’ll have a chance to share memories with you, and it’s a way to preserve family history for your own children.

2. Smartphone Stroller Holder — $16.99

This universal mount attaches to most strollers’ handlebars and fits a wide variety of smartphone models.

It allows parents to text and talk via speakerphone. You can even mount it facing the child to entertain them, as well.

3. Teething Necklace — $11.74

New moms know dangling jewelry is out of the question unless they’re prepared for it to wind up in baby’s hands — and mouths.

This accessory is organic, free of toxins, dishwasher- and freezer-safe and features a breakaway clasp — so no one gets hurt if baby tugs too hard.

It also comes in five color options to match any wardrobe.

4. Drawstring Play Mat — $24.99

Technically, it’s “for” kids, but parents are the real winners.

This pack-and-go play mat makes nightly cleanup a breeze — no more stepping on LEGOs!

There’s enough room for several young children to sit on it and play to their hearts’ content.

Plus, a simple drawstring pull turns it into a portable shoulder bag for play dates, picnics and more.

The smaller version ($19.95) is water repellent, wipeable and fits on most restaurant tables to keep kids entertained until their meals come.

5. Not-Safe-for-Kids Books — $10 to $12

There’s a new genre of parenting books all about acknowledging and revelling in the craziness that is childrearing.

It’s a perfect gift for the parent with a certain sense of humor (or those who could desperately use a laugh to relieve some stress.

Popular titles include “Go the F**k to Sleep,” “You Have to F*****g Eat” and “Toddlers Are A**holes: It’s Not Your Fault.”

If your parent friends are slightly more conservative, opt for titles like “Safe Baby Handling Tips,” “The New Parents’ Fun Book” or “The Inappropriate Baby Book: Gross and Embarrassing Memories from Baby’s First Year.”

6. Tile Item Finder — $24.99

Being a parent can be hectic.

The last thing a parent needs while herding everyone out the door is to lose a phone, keys, purse or other crucial item right when they need them.

With the Tile Bluetooth tracker and its accompanying app, parents can track and find lost items.

7. VHS-to-DVD Conversion — $24.96 per tape

You hated it when your parents brought out that clunky camcorder when you were growing up, but chances are they’d love to relive the days when you were younger.

And with most households phasing out their VHS players, converting old memories to DVD is a great way to preserve those memories for years to come.

And it won’t take up a ton of space on the shelves.

8. Crock-Pot 4-Quart Slow Cooker — $19.99

A slow cooker is a great way for busy parents to make warm, homemade meals without spending a ton of prep time each evening.

This snazzy-looking red model is twice the size of other slow cookers in its price range and gets 4.5 out of 5 stars with more than 700 customer reviews.

9. Family Portrait

Parents take tons of family photos when their kids are young, but the tradition can taper off as everyone grows up and scatters.

An updated family photo can be an especially touching gift for parents who’ve become partial or total empty-nesters. It reminds them no matter how old everyone gets, you’re all still family.

Check out offers at local and national studios like JCPenney Portraits and The Picture People

Pro Tip: If you go in on a gift certificate with siblings, you can get even more prints.

10. DIY Photo Keepsakes

Forget boring old frames.

If you’re willing to put in a little time and creativity, there are so many fun ways to help parents display their beloved photos. Maybe even the new family portrait we were just talking about.

Pinterest can provide endless ideas, but here are a few starters: these adorable bookmarks, this monogram collage and this cool photo luminary.

11. DIY Gifts That Make Life Easier

Don’t underestimate the value of cute but practical sanity-savers.

Check out this door muffler, mommy survival kit or a week’s worth of pre-made freezer meals parents can reheat as needed.

12. Streaming Service Gift Card — $15 to $25

Give parents some much-needed time to unwind and reconnect after the kids go to bed with a gift card to a streaming service like Hulu or Netflix.

They’ll be able to watch a movie or TV show whenever they manage to carve out some time.

You can also check sites like Raise, Gift Card Granny and CardCash to see if you can find them at a discount.

Pro tip: You could potentially spend less if you can find a deal on a discount site.

13. Spa Gift Basket — under $25

Take them away from their daily to-dos with an adorable spa gift basket like this one or this.

14. Massage or Spa Voucher– under $25

Keep your eye on daily deals sites — you could snag a professional R&R treatment for way less than the usual price.

For example, at the time of this writing, you can buy a Groupon for a 30-minute reflexology foot massage in Chicago for $15 (normal cost: $30) or a 50-minute Swedish massage in San Diego for $25 (normal cost: $90).

15. Babysitting

It’s not as glamorous as a gadget or other wrappable item, but time away from the kids was the number-one most-requested gift when we surveyed parents. Apart from sleep, which you could also grant them by offering to watch the little ones for a while.

You could even put together a cute DIY coupon book using templates like this one.

Your Turn: Parents, what other inexpensive gifts would you love to receive (or have you received) for a special occasion?

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.

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

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Waited Till the Last Minute for Family Holiday Photos? Get a FREE 8×10 Print and Waived Sitting Fees at JCPenney

Need a new family portrait this Christmas? A cute photo of your infant in a Santa hat? A fun shot with your pet?

Or maybe you simply want to reuse that Santa Suit you wore to grab a free Auntie Anne’s pretzel?

At JCPenney, you can get photos taken — and receive an 8×10 print — without paying a dime.

We know we’re not the only ones who left our holiday photos till the last minute, so we figured this was a deal worth sharing!

What’s the Deal on This Free Portrait?

When you present this coupon, the JCPenney portrait studio will waive your sitting fees, which normally cost $9.99 per person.

Then, pick your favorite photo and grab an 8×10 print, all for FREE.

If you find you can’t stop at just one family photo (whether it’s adorable… or awkward), here’s some good news: the coupon also gets you 40% off the photo package you choose — although some restrictions apply, including digital image files, so be careful there if you’re planning to turn one of your photos into a belated holiday card.

Posed for Savings

It’s easy to take advantage of this deal: all you have to do is head on down to your participating JCPenney with the coupon in hand. But before you go, wouldn’t you like to save just a little bit more?

That’s what we thought! So here’s an additional Penny Hoarder tip: Grab a $60 JCPenney gift card for just $50 on Ebay. The gift card code will be emailed to you, so bring your smartphone along on your holiday photography trip.

This freebie is only good through December 31. We’ve heard they’re selling quickly, so don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Your Turn: Will you grab this deal to score some updated family photos this holiday season?

Disclosure: We appreciate you letting us include affiliate links in this post. It helps keep the beer fridge stocked in the Penny Hoarder break room.

Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She also writes other stuff, like wine reviews and poems.

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Are You Making These 15 Common Couponing Mistakes?

My wife and I had a “buy one, get one free” coupon for lunch in a Mexican restaurant. When we sat down to eat, I noticed it wasn’t actually BOGO, but “buy-one-get-one-half-off.”

The coupon also said we had to buy two soft drinks to use it — and we usually drink water — and was also only valid off-season, which started in a month.

I could’ve argued for coupon justice, since I had just clipped the thing from a newspaper the day before.

Instead I did some quick calculations, threw the coupon away and saved at least $10 by just splitting an order of fajitas (which were delicious and filling).

I don’t normally miss details in the fine print, and hopefully you don’t either.

But there are many other ways to mess up when using coupons to save money. Whether you’re shopping for cheaper groceries, meals out, household items or anything else, avoid the following couponing mistakes!

1. Buying Things You Don’t Need

Who hasn’t been tempted to buy something just because it’s a good deal?

Of course, that means spending more money, not less.

It’s one thing to use a coupon to save money trying something new, but avoid buying things that are going to sit in the house unused. Also skip things with no real value (see the next mistake for an example).

2. Letting Coupons Change Your Healthy Diet

One problem with “extreme couponing” is the temptation to buy something just because you could save money on it.

A habit of buying whatever is the “best deal” is a slippery slope because, as one study shows, most grocery coupons are for unhealthy food.

Future health care bills may cost you far more than any savings you get now. Throw away junk food coupons.

3. Not Understanding BOGO Coupons

Many BOGO coupons don’t actually say “buy one, get one free.” Instead, they offer 50% off the second item.

So, it’s a simple 25% off coupon — and waiting for a sale might net you bigger savings.

BOGO coupons can also tempt you into buying two of something when you only need one. Other stipulations can also add to the cost, like having to purchase drinks at a restaurant.

Read that fine print!

4. Using the Coupon for a Large Size

You might buy a large tube of toothpaste or can of soup with the coupon, figuring you’ll save the same amount regardless of size.

But, as explained in our coupon strategy post, you often get a much lower unit-cost using coupons for the smallest qualifying sizes.

5. Buying More Expensive Brands

It is easy to imagine you’re getting a good deal when you have a high-value coupon.

After all, if you use that 50-cent coupon on a $2 box of crackers, you get a full 25% discount.

But if the store brand sells for just $1.25 and tastes the same, you’re overspending by 25 cents.

Coupons can easily tempt you to buy more expensive brands that remain more expensive even after the discount. Do the math.

6. Buying More Than You Need

Coupons can also tempt you to buy more than you need.

First, a coupon may require you to buy several of an item when you don’t need more than one.

Second, if you buy too many perishables because of coupon deals, you could end up throwing out food if you can’t eat it fast enough.

Buy only what you need, in amounts you can comfortably use prior to expiration dates.

7. Buying the Wrong Size or Variety

You get to the register and the cashier says your coupon is no good for the small size juice, or it’s only good for certain varieties of soup. Would you put the item back, or buy it anyway?

Again — read the fine print to avoid this mistake. See the next tip on our list to correct it at the register.

8. Not Watching the Register

Some cashiers won’t tell you when a coupon doesn’t work — and you may not notice until later.

To avoid this problem, watch the register closely as your items are rung up. Also, put your coupon items on the belt last, where you can easily monitor them and return them if the coupons don’t work.

9. Not Checking the Expiration Date

This is probably the most common coupon mistake.

Check coupons carefully. Throw them away as soon as they expire, so you don’t accidentally  try to use them.

10. Using a Coupon in the Wrong Store

Many stores have coupons for major brands you can only use in that store.

Keep these separate from manufacturer coupons that can be used anywhere.  

11. Being Disorganized

If you’re not organized, you’ll show up at the register with expired coupons.

Worse, you’ll probably pay full price for items even when you have valid coupons buried somewhere.

Create a simple coupon organization system that works for you.

12. Failing to Stack Your Savings

You usually can’t use two manufacturer coupons for the same item, but don’t overlook other opportunities to “stack” your savings.

You can often use a store coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon on the same item, or use a coupon during a sale.

You can also combine discounted gift cards with coupons to save big. I combined a sale with a coupon and an Amex Offer to cut a recent cat food purchase almost in half.

13. Not Signing up for Member Loyalty Cards

You won’t get the special price offers on many items if you don’t have a store loyalty program card. You may also miss out on extra coupons.

For example, when you enter a CVS store and scan your ExtraCare card at the machine by the door, it usually prints several coupons.

Store loyalty members often get coupons and offers by email — so sign up!

14. Forgetting to Look for Coupons Online

It’s easy to find the lowest price shopping online and make the purchase without further thought. Big mistake!

Open a new tab before you pay and search for online coupon codes. You might save another 10% or more by entering the right code at checkout.

15. Spending Too Much Time Couponing

If you enjoy couponing, you don’t need to think much about the time you spend on it.

But if it’s just a way to save money, don’t spend too many hours looking for the deals and organizing your coupons.

Keep it efficient and simple, or your efforts might be worth less than minimum wage for the time you spend.

Your Turn: Have you made any of these couponing mistakes? Are there any you would add to the list?

Steve Gillman is the author of “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s been a repo-man, walking stick carver, search engine evaluator, house flipper, tram driver, process server, mock juror, and roulette croupier, but of more than 100 ways he has made money, writing is his favorite (so far).

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5 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Page’s Organic Reach

I know you’ve noticed it…

Over time, your Facebook page’s reach has continuously gone down.

It’s not just in your head.

In just a few years, the organic reach of Facebook pages has plummeted:

And the stock price of Facebook just continues to go up.

Is it a conspiracy?

Decrease the organic reach in order to force businesses to pay for exposure?

Maybe a little bit, but there’s more to it than you might first think.

And while it’s obviously a bad thing to lose some of the reach, it’s not as bad as the numbers might make you think.

The current situation: Right now, the average page has an organic reach of about 6%.

The key word there is average.

Some pages get much more, some get much less.

Obviously, you want to reach as many of your fans as possible, so you want your page to be on the upper end.

And I can show you how to do that.

There are five main ways that you can improve your Facebook page’s reach.

I’m going to simplify them and walk you through the ways you can implement them to drive more traffic to your website and sales through Facebook.

What is your Facebook page’s reach based on?

Before you can attempt to increase your page’s reach, you need to understand what your organic reach is based on.

First, why do you think Facebook limits the organic reach of pages? Why not allow all users who have liked a page to see every single post?

There are two main reasons why Facebook limits organic reach.

The first we already looked at: it can help Facebook make more money because businesses with poor page reach will spend more on promoting posts through Facebook ads.

The second one is much more interesting to you and me.

Facebook wants to create a good user experience for everyone using the network.

What this means is every user needs just the right amount of new content in their feeds— not too much and not too little.

Too much, and they’ll miss important things. Too little, and they have less of a reason to return to Facebook.

As more and more brands hopped on Facebook, feeds started to get crowded.

By reducing the reach of pages, Facebook made sure feeds stayed within an optimal range.

This is going to be important throughout this article, so keep it in mind.

How reach is determined: Back in 2010, Facebook revealed the primary components of “Edgerank.”

1. Affinity Score
2. Edge Weight
3. Time Decay

At the time, Facebook used these three factors to determine whether a post should be shown to a user or not.

The higher the score, the more likely it was to be shown.

Say, 100 posts competed to be shown to a user who just loaded their news feed.

The posts with the highest scores would be displayed first. This means that if your page’s post isn’t in the top 20% or so, it’s unlikely to be seen.

Since then, the algorithm has grown to be much more complicated. It includes hundreds of factors now.

However, those main parts of the algorithm remain the same, with a few tweaks and additions.

All in all, the organic reach of one of your posts (calculated on a post-by-post basis) is determined by five main factors.

Factor #1 – A user’s previous interactions with page: If a user likes, comments, or clicks on every link each time you post on your page, it’s safe to say that this user loves seeing your content.

Therefore, Facebook needs to consider how a user has interacted with your posts in the past.

If they haven’t interacted with them often, your posts’ scores will suffer.

This isn’t perfect, but Facebook considers it a good indication of content worth.

Factor #2 – A user’s previous interactions with post type: In addition to preferring content from certain pages, users might also prefer certain types of posts.

If someone prefers videos, based on their past behavior on Facebook, videos that you post will get a higher score.

Factor #3 – The interactions from other users who saw the post: When you post something new on your page, Facebook shows it to a small group of people (maybe 25-100).

Then, if those users like the post (overall), it will give your post a higher score and show it to more of your audience.

Many businesses complain about having a poor reach while posting boring things. So even though they reach a small initial following, it never goes any farther because of this factor.

This feature can actually be really good for you.

If you see that certain types of posts or topics get a wide reach, you can post more of them.

Factor #4 – Any complaints or negative feedback: This ties into factor #3. When Facebook shows a user a post, the user always has the option to report the post (for inappropriate content) or say that they don’t want to see it.

For that particular user, Facebook will remember that in the future. They likely won’t see much more from your page.

In addition, if a new post gets a significant amount of overall negative feedback, its score is going to be lowered, and its reach will be low.

Factor #5 – When it was posted: Finally, this simple factor comes from the “time decay” component of the algorithm.

When a post is brand new, it’s likely going to be the most interesting that it’s ever going to be. Over time, the score of a post goes down as it gets older.

There’s no way to manipulate this factor; just be aware of it.

1. The best time to post probably isn’t what you thought…

Picking the right time to post on your page isn’t going to take your reach from low to high, but it can boost your reach by a few percent in some cases.

On most social networks, it makes sense to post when most of your followers are active on the site.

For Facebook, this is often not the case. Posting at peak times usually results in a lower organic reach.

Why does this happen?

During peak times, the largest number of your followers are likely online (it differs for some pages).

All the other pages that those followers “like” are also posting around that time, meaning that there is a lot of competition for news feed real estate.

If your content is consistently amazing and you’re beating all your competitors, this isn’t an issue. But that’s extremely rare and not even always possible depending on what niche you’re in.

So, when should you post? The first thing I recommend is checking your page’s analytics to see when your fans are online:

Facebook is nice enough to provide this data for all page owners.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to pinpoint which time will be the best without experimenting.

So for now, note down a few times:

• the peak time(s)
• the valley time (lowest point)
• the time in-between the valley and peak

This will leave you with 4 to 5 different times.

For the 40 to 50 posts you make (a few weeks to a month), post at different times (randomly) until you have at least 10 for each of these time periods.

At the end, average the reach you get from each time, and then post at the best time on a regular basis.

You can also continue to test times around your winning time to see if there’s an even better option (but the difference will usually be small).

Why non-peak times are usually the best: If you really want to save time on testing, it’s pretty safe to skip the peak times.

There are two main factors for this.

First is the competition. Fewer pages post during off-peak times, so you have fewer posts to compete against.

I’d rather reach a large portion of a small audience than a small portion of a large audience.

Secondly, just because you’re not posting during the peak time doesn’t mean your post won’t be visible at that time.

In fact, it can do better.

Posting before the peak time gives your initial small audience the chance to interact with your post. This gives your post the chance to get a higher score in the algorithm.

With this momentum, it’s more likely that your post will have a high enough score to top news feeds of users during the peak time.

2. Followers love one type of content in particular

I’ve said it loudly before:

people love transparency.

Yes, there are a few rules to using transparency effectively, but overall, showing your audience what’s going on behind the scenes is incredibly useful.

It’s more interesting and often more educating than regular content, which is why transparency is powerful.

But how can you be transparent on Facebook to increase your organic reach?

Here’s the general plan:

• post something personal, real, and interesting (transparent)
• get more likes, comments, shares (engagement) than usual
• that specific post will have a large reach
• that score will contribute to the scores of future posts, giving future content a larger reach than normal

This is why you should be regularly sharing transparent content since it has the most reach by far.

Buffer shared a great data-driven case study on this. They shared several pictures over the course of a few weeks from a trip to South Africa:

This is definitely transparent content. They’re sharing with their followers something personal about the people behind their business.

But it’s not even about social media—their main topic!

So, did this content have a good reach?

You bet. Buffer shared their results over that two-week period. As you can see, five of their top seven posts (in terms of reach) were about their trip (marked in orange):

This data shows you that reach is not always just about clicks and other forms of engagement although they are big factors. The second best performing post, for example, had a fraction of the clicks of the best post.

Transparent posts tend to perform better on all those other factors that determine your post’s overall score.

Example #2 – Don’t be afraid to show your face: Your followers want to know who the people behind your brand are.

The days of hiding behind a business name are gone as information about people behind companies can be sourced from a simple Google search.

But instead of making your followers hunt you down, give them what they’re looking for. It helps to build trust and relationships.

The best marketers today know this.

They share photos and videos that feature them so that followers can really connect with them.

A great example is Marie Forleo, who often shares videos on her page:

No surprise, these posts get hundreds of likes and shares and tons of comments.

Example #3 – Go behind the scenes at an event: Another way transparent content can be useful is if it reveals something exclusive.

Followers value unique content above all else, so when you reveal your personal processes or results of experiments, you give them something that no one can offer (because it’s specific to you).

I saw an example of this recently on the Marketing Profs Facebook page. They shared several pictures of their marketing manager at a rather large event—the B2B marketing forum.

As you can see, it got 11 likes.

And while that’s not particularly impressive, it is when you consider that the page usually gets 2-3 likes on a post.

As I mentioned earlier, improving the organic reach of individual posts on a regular basis (through transparency) can lead to long-term results. The key is being consistent with posting transparent content.

3. Use these 3 ways to encourage more interaction on your posts

Several factors that determine the reach of your posts are based on engagement.

To Facebook, if people like a post, they will interact with it in some way, whether that’s a “like,” share, or comment (or link click if an option).

It follows that if you increase the amount of engagement you get on your posts, you’ll increase your reach.

Ideally, you want to increase engagement on all posts, but even if it’s just every other post, it will still have a large overall effect on your organic reach.

There are three fairly easy ways to instantly start getting more interaction on posts.

Way #1 – Ask questions: One of the main reasons why people don’t contribute themselves, whether it’s on Facebook, your blog, or any other site, is because they don’t think their voices matter.

There’s a disconnect between what you think and what a huge portion of your fans think.

You love when you get comments and questions. It gives you a chance to interact with your followers on a more personal level and provide more value.

But the average follower thinks that you are some guru behind a business who doesn’t care about them.

Show that you care. One way to do that is to ask for their opinions.

Buffer regularly does this on their Facebook page, always generating several comments:

According to numbers published by Buffer, questions always reach an above average portion of their audience:

The key is to ask the right kinds of questions.

Don’t ask a general question like:

What’s the best social media tool?

It doesn’t work well because it addresses a crowd in general.

Additionally, it’s hard to answer. Who really knows what the best tool is? No one wants to look wrong on social media.

Instead, focus the question on something personal that only each user can answer. For example:

What’s your favorite social media tool?

Here, you’re asking for a personal opinion. Opinions can’t be wrong, so people are more likely to comment.

Also, you’re asking a personal question. Always include the words “you” or “your.” You want your readers to know that you care about what they think.

Bonus tip: Do this in any content even if it’s not on social media. I’ve written “you” or “your” over 100 times so far in this post.

Way #2 – Respond to comments: There’s something I often see that drives me absolutely nuts…

A business or marketer goes to all the trouble of creating good content and building a following on social media.

After a lot of consistent hard work, they start to get a comment on their posts here and there.

And then?

They don’t even bother to respond to the comment.

That commenter was probably one of your most loyal fans just trying to connect with you. By not replying, you’re basically telling them that they’re not worth your time.

They won’t be commenting again in most cases.

Not only that, but if other users see that you don’t respond to comments, why would they bother spending time and energy to leave one?

You can’t wait until you start getting several comments to start interacting.

Take any chance you get, and do your best to reply to every single comment:

I get it, you’re busy. But so am I, and I find the time to reply to hundreds of comments a day.

They may not all be lengthy, in-depth responses, but they’re something to show that I care about those who read my content and try to contribute.

Bonus tip: Try to tag people in your comments, which will give them a notification. They will be more likely to come back and continue the conversation.

Way #3 – Fill in the _____ (blank): Don’t be afraid to get creative with your posts to encourage engagement.

Instead of just asking questions, ask people to fill in the blank, for example.

For instance, you could post:

This Christmas, I want to get _______

Holiday-themed fill-in-the-blanks posts often perform best because there are a lot of emotions associated with holidays.

4. Organic post targeting can take your engagement to a new level

I understand that it’s frustrating to see your organic reach dropping.

It’s easy to say “screw Facebook” and move on.

However, I think that’s a waste of a great opportunity, at least for now.

And while the changes may have hurt some businesses, Facebook has also released a few tools that can help you combat the negative results.

The most important of which is organic post targeting.

What organic post targeting allows you to do is choose to what part of your audience you want to show your post.

This is incredibly useful, especially if you have a fairly large audience.

Here’s why:

When you can target a post to the most interested segment of your followers, it will naturally get a higher engagement reach. This leads to a higher overall organic reach immediately—and later, for future posts.

You target audiences when you run paid advertising because you don’t want to show offers to people who aren’t interested in them.

It’s a similar thing here.

If I’m promoting a post on the topic of social media, not everyone in my audience might care. But those who have demonstrated an interest in social media in some way (on Facebook) likely will.

The bigger your audience, the more it’s divided.

How to do it: Organic post targeting is really easy to do although it’ll take a bit of practice to figure out which targeting settings work best.

Start by going into your general page settings, and check the box to allow “targeting and privacy for posts.”

Now, when you go to post something on your page, you’ll see a little target icon on the bottom row of icons:

Click it, and it will let you pick from several different targeting options.

Depending on your pick, it should bring up a pop-up where you can enter your preferences:

Notice that as you add more targeting preferences, the “Targeted to” number changes.

Be careful not to target too obscure of an audience, or not enough people will see it. Keep your target audience as large as possible, as long as it’s composed of people you think will be highly interested in your post.

Let’s go through a few examples of targeting…

• Example post: “7 Ways to put on makeup better”
• Good targeting settings: Gender: Female; Age: Under 60

• Example post: “7 Ways get more shares on Facebook”
• Good targeting settings: Interests: Social Media Examiner, Amy Porterfield, Buffer

• Example post: “7 Ways to get more dates”
• Good targeting settings: Relationship status: Single

5. Go beyond basic images with these two types of highly shareable content

It’s not a secret that images and videos get the most attention on social media.

It’s important to stand out from the 20+ other things trying to get the user’s attention, and you just can’t do that with text.

But the type of image you use matters. You can’t just post a low quality picture of a lamp and get tons of shares.

There are two general types of media that work better than the rest.

Type #1 – Informational images: The problem with most social media advice is that it starts and stops with “use images.”

But news feeds are filled with images now, which makes it tougher for one to stand out.

One of the most effective ways to combat this is by posting informational images.

I’m referring to images that are more than pictures.

Here’s an example from Buffer, where the image clearly shows that the article involves social media and that it will lead to more social shares.

Having a relevant picture goes a long way.

But compare this picture with just a single Facebook logo that you could have used in its place.

It wouldn’t be nearly as attractive as the above example because it wouldn’t communicate extra information: that the post is going to be about using multiple social media tools together.

You get that just from a quick glance at the image, no reading necessary.

Here’s another example from the nutrition niche (from our case study’s Facebook page).

This post utilized two different tactics for increasing post reach at the same time.

First, it asked a question.

But beyond that, it added extra information to the question in an attractive image:

It shares an interesting tidbit about GMO products: they are restricted or banned in many countries but not Canada and the US—information that is highly related to the actual question.

This post received a ton of engagement and had a much larger organic reach than the average post on the page.

Type #2 – Videos usually get more shares: Those images are great, but videos can still crush them (if high quality).

The downside is that videos take longer to create in most cases and are often several times more expensive.

There are three main reasons why videos perform better than images in most cases:

The first is that they are less common. Look at your Facebook feed. Most posts consist of images, but only a small percentage have videos.

The rarer something is, the more it stands out. That’s why you should do the opposite of the masses.

The second thing is that people are lazy. You might already know this. You pour hours into creating content, and most can’t spend the time to read it.

But videos eliminate a lot of this problem.

With videos, the viewer doesn’t need to interpret what an image is saying—the narrator does that for them. All they have to do is click “play” and listen.

Finally, videos convey complex information as quickly as possible. Even though images are usually better than text, videos beat them by a large margin.

A short tutorial would take several images and still probably leave a few steps out. A video shows absolutely everything and takes a fraction of the time.

How you should use videos: I encourage you to, at the very least, test out videos. You don’t have to share them all the time, but start working them into your regular mix.

Videos are great in many situations, but in particular these three:

• connecting with your audience
• doing a quick tutorial
• educating (in niches like cooking)

There are certain posts that can help you build your relationship with your followers better than others.

Try to speak to your audience on topics that are especially important, controversial, or emotional on video:

As I showed you earlier, Marie Forleo excels at this.

The second option is to record a quick tutorial. This is great if you work in a niche that involves doing something on computers.

You can record yourself performing a task and creating a video in just a few minutes.

Finally, videos are a really effective way to teach people about complicated or boring subjects:

Everyone hates reading long pages of text, and infographics only work for simple topics.

With videos, you eliminate both of those problems. Videos are stimulating and entertaining, plus the visual imagery eliminates the boredom of having to read long technical content.

Conclusion

Your Facebook page’s reach is one of the most important metrics on your Facebook account.

The higher it is, the more of your following you can reach with your posts. This means more traffic, engagement, and ultimately sales.

I’ve shown you five different ways to increase your organic page reach.

Test and implement as many of them as you can. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, start with just one or two.

There’s one last final important lesson I need to leave you with:

Numbers are useful, but care more about the connections you make.

Having deep connections with a small audience is much more important than having a large reach with shallow connections.

So while you should track your organic reach and try to improve it, don’t obsess over it. Pay more attention to whether you get positive and thoughtful comments.

Finally, I have a question for you.

What Facebook tactics have you had the most success with when it comes to increasing your reach? I’d appreciate it if you left a comment below.

Source Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/1mwdOSC

Questions About Affordable Housing, Hidden Problems, Profitable Hobbies, and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Finding hidden problems with investments
2. Feeling bad about financial state
3. Finding a profitable hobby
4. People assuming that I’m rich
5. Affordable housing and jobs
6. Saving Christmas leftovers
7. Gift cards for unavailable restaurants
8. Thoughts on Dollar Shave Club
9. A path to moving out
10. Using leftover ham
11. Being happy with older car
12. Best books of 2015

For me personally, the week before Christmas is the most stressful week of the year. We’re filling in the remaining gaps in our Christmas wish list (“Did we completely forget to get a gift for that person? Oh… um…. any ideas?”). We’re trying to pull off a nice holiday meal and some interesting holiday surprises besides gifts. We’re cleaning like crazy. We’re usually traveling somewhere. We’re staying up late wrapping gifts and filling out Christmas cards.

And then Friday will come. Our children will come flying into our room at about five in the morning, jazzed from the adrenaline of Christmas morning. They’ll encourage Sarah and I to get up in a half-awake stupor to open presents.

Then we’ll spend the day enjoying our gifts, planning for an event with extended family over the weekend, preparing a really cool holiday meals, and (this year) trying to roast chestnuts.

In the end, the best part of all of it is simply being with those people. Seeing Sarah with her eyes still sleepy and a cup of coffee in her hand watching the children open gifts. Seeing our daughter crash at about eight in the morning because she actually woke up from excitement at about 2:30 in the morning and so she’s wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. Seeing my oldest son trying to convince us that he needs to go outside to try out his new outdoor sporting gear (and probably succeeding this year, as Christmas is supposed to see weather in the fifties), and then convincing me to go outside and help. Seeing our youngest son trying to sneak a cookie before dinner… and then trying to sneak another cookie.

Forget the presents or the meal or anything else. Those moments, right there, are the reason that even though it is so much work and often so stressful, I still look forward to Christmas.

Q1: Finding hidden problems with investments

Where do you start in finding any problems in your investments (outrageous hidden fees, the wrong investment style for your age group, etc.)? Is there a program you can enter this information into, or is it something I need to look at and research myself?
– Larry

The first thing I would do is visit a website that contains unbiased comparison info about mutual funds and other investments. Morningstar is a great example of this type of site and is my first stop for these kinds of comparisons. Just go there and look up your investments. I tend to give a fair amount of trust to Morningstar’s star rating for investments as a quick snapshot.

Now, if you’re asking questions along the lines of whether an investment is the wrong style for your age group, I’m assuming you’re saving for retirement. That kind of question is much more personal and much more difficult to answer because it ties into your target retirement date, your risk tolerance, what you’re contributing each year, and so on. In other words, it’s really hard to just find a simple tool that will tell you whether you’re good to go.

What options do you have, then? The best option is to simply learn as much as you can about saving for retirement. I’d recommend reading a good book like The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning in order to get a firm understanding of the ins and outs of retirement planning. It will also help you assess things like your own personal risk tolerance and the types of risks you should have at your age and so on so that you have a good grip on your own needs.

Q2: Feeling bad about financial state

Whenever I read about someone else’s success on a personal finance blog, I end up feeling like a giant failure. How can I compete? What’s the point? The advice is good I guess but I end up feeling like I can’t measure up and that my own finances are such a mess that I’ll never be in a good state like you or the other writers.
– Alex

If you’re simply using personal finance blogs as a comparison tool for your own relative success or failure, you’re doing it wrong. One of the key rules of personal finance success is stop caring about what other people think and how other people are doing. The only comparison that matters is the comparison to how you were doing a year ago. Are you in better shape than you were a year ago? If so, then you’re doing well, and the bigger the change the better.

The value of personal finance blogs isn’t in comparing your story to theirs, but in taking the advice that they have on offer and using it to improve your own successes. If you look at a frugal story and are blown away and intimidated by what those people are able to pull off, you’re wasting your time reading the site. What you should to is take a frugal story and ask what elements of that story you can apply yourself to improve your financial state.

Personal finance is personal. It’s about you. It’s not about anyone else. It’s not about comparing yourself to the Joneses. That comparison isn’t a fair one and is based on tons and tons and tons of assumptions that are mostly unrealistic. Just worry about yourself and improving your financial state year after year. The thing to take from blogs is the tips that you can use in your own life and the sense that you’re not alone in trying these things.

Q3: Finding a profitable hobby

Can you help me find a profitable hobby? I am looking for ways to make some extra income at my apartment. I am considering a second job but I need really flexible hours so I am looking for a hobby or really small business I can start that will earn some more cash.
– Danielle

If you’re just looking to directly convert your hours to money, I would look at things like Mechanical Turk, Fiverr, and eLance. Those sites give you quick tasks you can do to earn some cash in your spare time.

The problem is that such sites don’t really scale up. You’re going to earn several dollars an hour (maybe more, maybe less depending on your skills) at your complete convenience, but you’re never going to build beyond that.

The routes to building up to a better hourly rate, though, involve making almost nothing for the first few thousand hours you invest. Blogging follows that model, as does making Youtube videos, podcasting, and so on. At first, you’re not going to make much of anything at all. It’s only later on where you’re going to start making some cash.

So, you have to ask yourself if you’re content to make several dollars an hour in your spare time starting right now but never really rising above that, or whether you eventually want to make more than that per hour but make far, far less at the start. That choice is going to send you down two very different paths.

Q4: People assuming that I’m rich

How do you deal with people thinking that you’re rich when you talk about retiring early? I made the mistake of mentioning my plan to retire around age 50 when we were at Thanksgiving and since then several different family members have contacted me needing “loans” for things. I told them all that I don’t make that much money and what I do have is locked in a 401(k). Now I find out that they all think I’m being “greedy” and hiding all of my cash and someone even referred to me as Scrooge McDuck.
– Dylan

First of all, your family sounds incredibly greedy. No one that isn’t innately greedy would dream of doing the things you describe here. There’s a huge sense of entitlement for the things you’ve earned for yourself, a level that I’ve never seen in my own family and would be very disturbed to hear them engage in.

If this were my family, I’d tell them to get lost without even skipping a beat, and here’s why.

During your life and during their life, you each made choices about how to use your money. You chose to save some significant portion of yours for the future and live a less affluent life. Your family members chose to save less for the future and live a more affluent life. That’s fine – everyone can make whatever choices they want.

However, their choice to live a more affluent life does not entitle them in any way to the benefits of your choice to live a less affluent life. Just as you don’t have the right to walk into their house and take their television and their iPhones and their computers and their furniture and so on, they don’t have the right to walk into your life and start tapping your savings and investment accounts.

You chose different paths in life, and that’s fine. However, that doesn’t give anyone the right to jump in and demand the benefits of another path without having chosen the drawbacks for themselves. To do so is purely greedy and self-centered and isn’t even worth dignifying.

Q5: Affordable housing and jobs

Just read this GREAT article about how every place where there is decent jobs there is no decent housing nearby so you either have to have a very long commute or pay really high prices for housing.

http://ift.tt/1OcWVZp

Thoughts?
– Ellen

You’re absolutely right – that article spells out the difficulty in finding a really good paying job. If you do get such a job, the cost of living near that job is usually astronomical because the landlords know that people will be able to pay that high cost. Your other option, then, is to live far away and then watch a healthy chunk of that money get absorbed into the expense of commuting and the time invested, too.

My honest response to all of this is that you should try as hard as you can to find a good job in a lower cost of living area, even if it means a lower salary. Being able to live close to where you work makes a huge quality of life difference as you’re not spending untold hours commuting back and forth.

That’s basically what I did after college. I got a job in a college town and then chose to live in a small town relatively nearby, giving me a fifteen minute commute and really cheap rent. It ended up being pretty much the perfect solution for me and I think it would work well for many people.

Q6: Saving Christmas leftovers

Does it make sense to save leftover items at Christmas? Like the boxes that items come in and, if you’re careful, the wrapping paper on big boxes so you can reuse it next year? I have been doing this for years but my husband thinks it is silly and isn’t worth the effort.
– Lana

I think that it does save a little bit of money and it is certainly environmentally responsible, but I’m not entirely sure it saves enough money to make it worth the time involved.

To reuse the wrapping paper, for instance, you’d have to unwrap it really carefully, remove the tape from the paper, and then store the paper in a way that preserves it and so that you’ll remember it. Even then, the whole piece probably isn’t reusable. You’ll have to wrap something smaller in it.

For us, wrapped boxes that would be big enough to make it sensible to save the paper are usually wrapped in other means – usually a large plastic trash bag with a bow on it. That way, the trash bag can be reused for the other holiday scraps.

As for your strategy, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing it. I don’t think it’s a huge money saver but it certainly does save some money and it does create another use for wrapping paper.

Q7: Gift cards for unavailable restaurants

At our holiday get together last weekend I wound up receiving a gift card for Ruth’s Chris Steak House. I wouldn’t ordinarily mind that gift at all, but we live in North Dakota and the nearest Ruth’s Chris Steak House is in Minneapolis which is like five and a half hours away. I can’t imagine when I would ever use this gift card.

So what do I do with it? I thought about regifting it, but the only people that might receive it are people who also live in North Dakota and wouldn’t have much use for it.
– Charlie

This is one of the problems with gift cards like this. It’s a nice idea if someone happens to live near the particular business, but if they don’t, it’s truly a wasted gift.

Your best bet would be to sell it at a site like Cardpool. You’ll likely only get a sizable percentage of the face value of the card, but that’s better than getting nothing at all and seeing it go to waste.

Another option isn’t to directly regift it, but keep it in your wallet in a prominent place where you won’t forget about it and then pay attention to the people in your life. If someone you know or care about is going to Minneapolis or another city with a Ruth’s Chris, just hand them the card and tell them to enjoy a great meal.

Q8: Thoughts on Dollar Shave Club

Do you have any experience with Dollar Shave Club? Do you think it is a good deal or is it just another ripoff?
– Marcus

It depends entirely on what you’re comparing it to. If you’re comparing it to a cartridge razor from Gilette or another mass-marketed razor, it’s a pretty good deal. The blades and the razor are very comparable to a Mach 3 (a little cheaper as far as I can tell), for example, and the price is better and it just shows up at your door.

If you want something that’s comparable to a Mach 3 but higher in quality and shipped to you every month, you’d probably want to try something like Harry’s Shave Club. Their stuff is of higher quality, but the price is a little above what you’ll find on Mach 3 products in stores.

My recommended solution is to get a Merkur long handled safety razor and then order a box of double edged razor blades each month. If you shave daily and only use a blade once, a box will last for 200 days for $12. No “shave club” or cartridge razor can even come close.

Q9: A path to moving out

I am currently 25 years old and single. I have a degree in aerospace engineering from a decent school but have been unable to find work mostly because I didn’t make good industry connections when I was in school As a result I have been living with my parents and working a full time and a part time job ever since graduating, keeping my student loans paid up and saving a little for the future.

I have been looking at moving to several different cities where I could have a good chance of finding an aerospace engineering job, but that means that I need to be in a financial state to be able to move out. I am looking for some guidance there. How do I judge whether I am financially able to do that? What do I need to do to get there?
– Vincent

The first thing I’d do is identify which city you’re specifically going to move to. Maybe you’re considering Wichita, for example. Whatever that city is, start researching it in detail. What does it cost to live there? What kinds of entry-level jobs are available, both in your field and otherwise? What can you do to get your foot in the door with aerospace, mechanical, and systems engineering firms in that area?

Once you know what it will actually cost to live there, start looking at your current financial state. Could you make it there for, say, one year with a service job given your current state of affairs? If no, keep saving for now.

Remember, your goal isn’t to live there permanently while working in the service industry. Your goal is to find a permanent position in your field within a reasonable timeframe or else move to somewhere else that’s more financially sound.

If you find you’re ready to give it a shot, start planning for a move and apply for some entry level and service jobs there. Take whatever you can get, especially if the hours make it possible to get involved in career-related networking events. Maybe you can work a morning shift so that you can go to networking events in the evening, or maybe you can work nights and weekends so you can do an internship during the day.

The goal is to do everything you can to land the kind of job you want within that year timeframe, so don’t spend your evenings playing League of Legends. Spend as much time as you possibly can doing something that will help lead you into the career you want.

Q10: Using leftover ham

Every Christmas, we end up preparing a giant ham for our holiday meal. Every Christmas, we end up with a bunch of leftover ham.

I am always hesitant to do the obvious thing and cook a smaller ham because our numbers vary so widely. We have had as few as six at our Christmas dinner and as many as 30+ and we often don’t know the number until very close to the meal, sometimes the same day. We invite a lot of people and get a big mix of “yes” and “no” responses.

So most years we have a lot of leftover ham. What do we do with it besides fill up freezer bags with it?
– Jenna

In the past, we have saved leftover ham in the freezer, but we’ve first chopped it into tiny cubes and saved it in containers that contain eight ounces of ham apiece. We then would use those containers throughout the year for any recipe calling for ham.

For example, if we were making a recipe that called for a pound of cubed ham, we could just pull out two containers from the freezer and suddenly we have that ham on hand for the recipe.

The idea is really straightforward. We’re just making the ham as useful as possible throughout the year by making it as prepared as we can. That way, recipes later in the winter or the spring become really easy to pull off.

Q11: Being happy with older car

I know the financial advice on cars is to buy a late model used car and drive it until it’s not reliable, but I am having a hard time doing that. As soon as a car get around the 100,000 mile mark I start getting worried that the car is going to fail any minute. I’ll take it to mechanics whenever I hear any sort of noise (and most of the time it’s road harmonics) and I end up stressing and spending so much money on it that I just can’t see how it saves money for me.

I have a 2011 Honda that’s at 103,000 miles and I’m basically scared to drive it three hours for the holidays. I am going to have to trade it soon.

Other than the obvious “get over it,” how do you suggest saving money if I’m trading in my car at the 100,000 mile mark every few years?
– Kelly

As someone who is currently driving a Honda Pilot with about 160,000 miles on it and recently drove it from Iowa to Texas and back, I’m clearly of a different mindset when it comes to cars. To me, the time to replace a car is when it’s about to fail (based on the words of a trusted mechanic) or actually does start failing, to the point where repairs will exceed the value of the vehicle. I keep up with my maintenance schedule and ask a mechanic to look at the car regularly and keep me abreast of anything that may need attention. Because I have that word, I don’t really worry about it. A car has to show me it’s about to fail before I actually replace it.

I guess my best advice for you is to find a mechanic that you really trust, start letting that mechanic handle your car maintenance, and ask that mechanic to watch for anything that might be trouble down the road. Then, just trust that mechanic. When the mechanic tells you it’s time to think about big repairs, then trade the car.

It sounds to me like you’re a person who isn’t experienced with cars but you’re relying on that inexperience to judge whether it’s time to replace it. Trust a more experienced and knowledgable judge instead.

Q12: Best books of 2015

What were your favorite books of 2015? Your lists from past years have ended up helping me find a bunch of great books at the library!
– Kevin

The book that had the biggest impact on me in 2015 is hands down Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The book takes the form of a series of letters to his teenaged son. It is challenging and hard to read because it tackles racial issues in modern America in a very strong way. Some parts left me confused. Some left me bordering on angry. But all of it made me think about the world, and that’s the most powerful thing a book can ever do. A great book makes you see the world through different eyes and it makes you think about what you’ve learned from that experience, and if there’s a book in 2015 that pulls that off, it’s this one.

The book I perhaps enjoyed the most as a pure page-turner in 2015 was… well, I have to choose two of them. First, Jim Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass is an incredibly fun adventure set in a world that seems right out of a Jules Verne novel, with airships flying around in a crazy world much like Victorian England. It’s one of those books that’s just fun from beginning to end if you just let go and let yourself get sucked into the book.

The other one is Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell, who wrote perhaps the most haunting book I’ve ever read, The Sparrow,/em>, which I read almost in a trancelike state and has been in my thoughts ever since. Epitaph comes very close to matching that (it’s still in my mind after quite a while), but it’s set in a completely different world – it’s her retelling of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As with The Sparrow, she manages to make the whole situation incredibly, incredibly human and personal and yet so fascinating you almost can’t take your eyes off the page.

Those were the books I loved the most this year, at least of the 2015 releases I’ve read.

Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.

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