Can You Believe It? These NFL Players are Penny Hoarders Just Like Us!

When you think of NFL players, you probably picture high rollers poppin’ bottles of Dom Pérignon and cruising around in Rolls Royces.

So it probably wouldn’t surprise you that more than 15% of NFL players declare bankruptcy within 12 years of retirement.

But, on the opposite end of the spectrum, some players are Penny Hoarders just like us.

A recent Bankrate article listed six of the most frugal players in the NFL — and in light of the upcoming Super Bowl, we wanted to celebrate a few of them and their penny hoarding ways.

NFL Players Share Their Frugal Ways

Alfred Morris: This dynamite running back commutes to the field by bicycle — or in a used 1991 Mazda he calls his “Bentley.”

John Urschel: This NFL offensive lineman lives off just $25,000 a year.

Rob Gronkowski: One of the league’s most famous players saves his entire NFL salary, only spending what he makes from marketing endorsements.

Pretty impressive, right? If I had money like these guys do, I don’t know if I’d be half as smart as them.

If you’re lucky enough to come across some extra money, here are some articles that should help you manage it wisely:

Feel Intimidated by Investing? Here’s an Easy Way to Get Started

How This Couple Saved $1 Million and Retired in Their 30s

4 Simple Ways to Save Money Without Thinking About It

How to Invest in Dividend-Paying Stocks: A Beginner’s Guide

Your Turn: Are you surprised by the frugality of these rich NFL players?

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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Shop at Publix? Make Sure You’re Getting This Freebie — You Just Have to Ask!

Few adults enjoy grocery shopping (though one of them is on our team here at TPH!)… but it’s even more of a chore for kids.

Maybe you remember following mom around as she wheeled the big cart, full of all kinds of stuff — except the boxes of bottom-shelf junk food you kept reaching for, to which mom (wisely!) said no.

It seemed like it took hours, right?

And now that you’re the grown-up in the situation, you know it’s not much better for mom!

Kids Get a Free Cookie at the Publix Bakery

Good news if you live near one of these southeastern grocers: Kids get a free cookie at the Publix bakery, just for being a kid on a grocery shopping trip.

Kids can choose from chocolate chip or sugar.

Just walk up to the friendly person manning the baked goods case and ask!

That makes grocery shopping just a little bit sweeter, doesn’t it?

Your Turn: Do you shop at Publix? Have your kids ever gotten a free cookie at the bakery?

Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s also a native Floridian who grew up munching on free Publix cookies weekly.

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Use This Simple Rule to Spend Less Without Giving Up Everything You Love

Even if you’re on a budget, it’s OK to spend money on things you enjoy.

Good to hear, right?

Of course, you have to be smart about it. That’s why I love this “Pick 3 rule” from Save Money Dammit!

The rule makes it simple to do something important: pinpoint the things in your life worth spending money on.

This method helps you manage your budget by directing discretionary funds into those areas, rather than spending them aimlessly.

Allowing yourself to splurge on the things you (truly) love is an important part of keeping a budget. I don’t think financial advice mentions that enough.

Get Your Spending Under Control

If you resolved to find ways to save money this year, one of your first steps is to stop spending so much.

As with any life change, take it in moderation.

Trying to abruptly cut off your spending will probably just make you feel like budgeting sucks — and probably make you want to give up.

This simple rule helps you ease into managing your budget and gives you a realistic chance for sticking to it.

What Brings You Pleasure?

Start by looking at the three spending habits that bring you the most pleasure.

These are the things you don’t have to spend money on, but would really miss if you gave them up.

Set aside things you do have to spend money on: rent, utilities, groceries, transportation and loan or credit card payments. Focus on the extras that make your life better.

Here are mine:

1. Travel: about $500 a month
   
2. Home entertainment (Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music, etc.,): $30 a month (I save money by sharing family plans.)
   
3. Technology (laptop, iPhone, etc.): $173 for my iPhone and service plan through Sprint + $100 savings per month toward a new MacBook

What Can You Live Without?

Next pick three spending habits that really hurt you. These are things you spend too much money on and won’t actually miss when they’re gone.

For me, one of the biggest problems with these is I don’t keep track of how much I spend. Tracking my spending and mostly eliminating these habits would go a long way.

Here are my best guesses:

1. Candy and snacks: $60 a month
   
2. Thrift store/discount junk impulse buys: $20 a month
   
3. Ice cream (There’s a frozen yogurt shop across the street from my building!): $20 a month

How to Use This Rule

The encouragement to spend on the things that bring you pleasure should come with a big caveat: Only spend the money you can afford.

It seems like common sense, but it’s easy to get into the habit of “treating” yourself — to the point of spending money any time you’re faced with the “treat.”

Using the Pick 3 rule will help you decide what you will and won’t spend money on.

Now you can add those things to your budget and determine how much money you can afford to spend on each of your “spending pleasures.”

Your Turn: What are your three spending pleasures and problems?

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more.

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How to Win on Facebook: 8 Lessons Learned From Analyzing 1 Billion Posts

If you want to know what works when it comes to marketing, you need to study the competition.

This includes the tough competition, but the weak competition as well.

By doing this, you can determine why the best succeed, and why the others fail in their efforts.

To do so effectively, you need to look at one particular area of interest.

The BuzzSumo team decided to compile as much data as possible on marketing on Facebook, and then complete an in-depth analysis.

Overall, they analyzed over 1 billion Facebook posts and came up with findings that will change the way you market on Facebook. 

They were kind enough to share their data with me, and allow me to walk you through it.

I’ll break down the findings, and let you know exactly how you should use them.

But first…

Why Facebook? Why not any one of the hundreds of other social networks?

While it would be worth analyzing other networks as well, Facebook is the place to start due to its size.

As of the start of 2016, Facebook has 1.59 billion active users per month. That’s over 20% of the global population.

This means that customers for just about every imaginable business are on Facebook.

Finally, no other social site drives even close to as much referral traffic as Facebook. It’s a unique platform because users are more than willing to click on links to visit content on outside websites (like yours).

Okay, so we have the right network, and a ton of data.

Let’s look at the findings.

1. The best time to post isn’t when you think it is

When you make posts on Facebook, they are shown to some users that have already “liked” or followed your page.

The exact number (or percentage) will depend on your organic reach.

Your organic reach is determined by a bunch of different factors. The most important ones are the amount of engagement you get on your posts, as well as how much competition there is from other posts.

Competition is a crucial factor. If there are tons of posts made from friends and other pages a user has liked made around the same time, Facebook can only show so many of them. The more competition, the less likely yours will be shown.

Intuitively, it makes sense to post when the most users are online, which is during the day. That way, a greater percentage of your followers could potentially be exposed to your posts.

But the BuzzSumo analysis actually found the complete opposite.

The red line in the following graph represents your competition; the amount of other posts being made around the same time.

The blue line shows you the engagement that posts receive at different times in the day. Engagement includes commenting, sharing, and liking posts.

The pattern is extremely clear.

Posts get the most engagement when the total amount of posts is at its lowest.

Conversely, there’s too much competition during peak times (during the day), which leads to low engagement.

The conclusion from this data is to post between 9 and 11 PM in the timezone that most of your followers lives in.

BuzzSumo mainly looked at U.S. pages, but you can apply the findings for any timezone.

Why? Because they tested it for another country – France.

They found that posts made between 11 PM and midnight had the highest average engagement (240.06 shares). Likewise, posts made from 10 AM until noon performed the worst.

Almost identical trends.

2. Certain types of posts perform over 5 times better than others

There are 6 main types of posts you can make on your page as a business:

1. Questions
2. Image posts
3. Videos
4. Links
5. Giveaways
6. Coupons/Discounts

As part of the analysis, BuzzSumo looked at the performance of each type. Note that interactions means the same thing as engagement (total number of likes, shares, comments).

There’s one type of content that isn’t on the graph that actually performs better than all of them.

No, I didn’t lie to you before, there are only 6 main types. But there are a few different subtypes of each of the types.

Most importantly, the BuzzSumo team dug in different types of question posts, and found something huge.

Question posts combined with images resulted in an average of 616.70 interactions. However, questions posts that were only text only received 144.45 interactions (terrible).

Finally, the analysis didn’t just look at the total number of engagements. It also included the breakdown by each type of engagement (comments, likes, and shares).

There’s a few interesting points of notes on that graph:

• videos get the highest number of average shares (83.87)
• giveaways get the highest number of average comments (33.91)

While the high number of comments is interesting, keep in mind that comments are usually required to enter giveaways, and are almost always low quality.

A more practical analysis would need to look at the average length of comments for each post type (maybe an idea for a future research project for BuzzSumo).

Overall, we can make the conclusion that images and videos perform best when it comes to overall interaction, while videos are best if you’re looking for shares in particular.

Additionally, combining questions with images (or videos) will yield the best results; do so whenever possible.

3. Sunday is a special day, especially for businesses on Facebook

Not all your posts will be as important as others.

You’re going to want to make sure that important posts (like links to your website or product announcements) are as optimized as possible, so that as many people see them as possible.

We’ve already determined a time range when you should post, but we haven’t looked at the best day.

The analysis revealed that posts on weekdays all receive nearly the same amount of interactions (on average).

However, posts on the weekend receive a significant amount more:

Sunday is the best day to post, with an average of 401.75 interactions, followed by Saturday at 365.30 interactions.

The research didn’t reveal the reasons why this happens, but you can take your own guess. Perhaps people use Facebook more on weekends, or businesses don’t post as often (less competition).

Regardless, you now know that posts on Saturday and Sunday will get more engagement than the weekdays. Save your important posts for the weekend.

4. The optimal length of articles for Facebook users is…

If you’re using Facebook as a business, you’re going to be linking to your content (you better be).

And as I mentioned at the beginning, most Facebook users are happy to consume content on other websites.

However, it turns out they have a preference for this content.

BuzzSumo found a strong correlation between the performance of a Facebook post and the length of the article that is being linked to.

As you can see, when a post linked to a short article (of under 1,000 words), it received the fewest number of interactions (171.65).

Posts that included 1,000-2,000 word articles performed the best (277.37 interactions), followed closely by 2,000-3,000 word articles (274.06).

The most interesting finding to me is that posts with articles of over 3,000 words performed about 18% worse than the other in-depth articles (225.02 interactions).

Since I use Facebook heavily for Quick Sprout, and most of my posts fall into this final category, I might not be getting the most out of Facebook.

This post (that you’re reading) falls under 3,000 words, do you like it better?

The bottom line is that Facebook users enjoy in-depth posts, but they also don’t want to spend hours reading one. Keep your posts between 1,000-3,000 words when possible.

5. Users aren’t on Facebook to read

There are 2 main components to a Facebook post.

There’s the description of the post (the blurb you type), as well as any link or media you attach.

It turns out that the shorter your description, the better the post will do.

It’s clear that posts with 0-50 characters (that’s about 0-10 words usually) get the most interactions by far (411.16).

The number of interactions a post get go down as the number of characters in a post increase.

The simple takeaway is to make your descriptions of posts as short as possible. Leave any detailed explanations in the content that you link to instead.

6. Whatever you do, don’t post YouTube videos

As we saw earlier, videos get a good amount of engagement on Facebook (and the most shares).

However, there’s a certain type of video post that far exceeds the others.

There are 2 popular options:

• Embed YouTube video:
• Directly upload/embed a video on Facebook:

You wouldn’t think there’d be a big difference, but the results from BuzzSumo’s analysis showed otherwise:

When it comes to the number of interactions that video posts get, embedding a YouTube video only gets an average of 140.75 interactions, a fraction of the 951.48 interactions that direct embed videos get.

You might suspect that there’s not a sufficient sample size of directly uploaded videos on Facebook, but BuzzSumo accounted for that.

For this particular segment of the analysis, they analyzed over 53 million YouTube video posts, but also over 25 million direct embed posts. While that’s not as many, it’s a great sample size.

The bottom line is that if you make video posts on Facebook, take the time to upload the source video onto Facebook itself.

When you’re making a post, click the “upload photos/video” tab at the top of the text area, then choose the file from your computer. Then fill out the options like adding the title.

7. Facebook users like Instagram

Facebook integrates nicely with other social networks.

If you use Instagram as well, you can check the Facebook option while posting a photo and it will also be posted to Facebook.

It looks like a normal Facebook picture post, with a small difference of saying (“from Instagram”).

You wouldn’t think this would make a difference, but the analysis proved otherwise.

Pictures that are posted on Facebook through Instagram received 23% more interactions than images uploaded directly on Facebook.

I honestly don’t know why this happens (theories welcome in comments), but the data is clear.

If you’re posting pictures on Facebook, and also use Instagram, use the post to Facebook option that Instagram offers.

8. The effect of hashtags probably isn’t what you expected

The final big area of the massive analysis looked at the effect of including hashtags in posts.

You know what hashtags are, right? Any tag that is preceded by a “#” is a hashtag (e.g. #QuickSproutisgreat, #GamesofThrones).

In the past, hashtags almost always improve the amount of engagement that you get on most networks.

Well, the research says otherwise on Facebook:

You can’t argue with data: Posts without hashtags received 34% more interactions than posts with hashtags.

Unless you have a specific reason to include a hashtag, leave them off  your Facebook posts.

Don’t apply these findings until you read this

There’s one key thing that you need to remember to apply these findings effectively.

Understand that these findings are correlations. They look at the average effect of different variables.

What this means is that the findings are best practices.

If your audience behaves significantly different than the average audience, your optimal Facebook posts may look different.

These findings are great starting points, but they may or may not be right for you. Start by implementing them, but then test other options as well to confirm if they are the best or not.

If you need help to do that, read through my guide to optimization.

Conclusion

Let me quickly summarize the 8 best practices that came from BuzzSumo’s research:

1. The best time to post is between 10 PM and Midnight of your audience’s local time
2. Posts with questions and images get the most engagement
3. The best day to post is on Sunday
4. Posts that link to articles between 1,000-3,000 words get the most interaction
5. Short post descriptions get by far the most interaction
6. Directly embedded videos get over 6x the interaction of YouTube videos
7. Images posted through Instagram get a 23% boost in engagement
8. Posts with hashtags get less interaction than posts without hashtags

These are all backed by an insane amount of data, and are great best practices to follow for your Facebook marketing.

If you have any questions about the findings or research, leave me a comment as usual below.

Source Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/1PZ76S2

How This Inspiring Girl Scout Took Down a Bully — With Thousands of Cookies

Is there anything better than Girl Scout Cookies?

How about a Girl Scout who used a bully as motivation to sell thousands of cookies?

Age 9, Stormi lives in Illinois with her foster mom, Kim. She joined Girl Scouts last year and was excited to sell cookies with the rest of her troop.

Stormi is transgender — and when she knocked on one man’s door, he told her he didn’t want to buy cookies from a “boy in a dress,” reports BuzzFeed.

What she did next? Pure awesome…

How Stormi is Winning the Cookie Game

This brave little girl wasn’t going to let the transphobic bully win. After moving her cookie sales to an online platform, Kim shared the story in a forum for parents of transgender kids.

The result? Cookie sales blew up.

According to Buzzfeed, Stormi’s now sold more than 3,000 boxes of cookies — even to customers in other countries! Her story is both inspirational and educational.

If you want to teach your kids about standing up for yourself, and about the value of hard work and finding alternate routes to success, then share this with them!

And, if you want to order cookies from Stormi, click here.

Your Turn: Will you use Stormi’s story to teach your kids about hard work?

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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The Secret Behind Financial and Entrepreneurial Classes and Seminars

I can’t tell you how often I see pitches for personal finance and entrepreneur and career seminars and classes of all kinds.

They all follow more or less the same pitch. They present this idea that they hold some kind of “secret” for finding success. Maybe it’s a secret “seven-point plan” or a secret “strategy” that will be able to cure all of your financial or professional ills.

Often, they try to present the idea that the person sharing this “secret” is already incredibly successful and is doing something exceptional in sharing this “secret” with you.

This is a business that a lot of financial gurus and financial bloggers eventually get into because, frankly, it’s really lucrative. I’ve seen the numbers behind some of these classes and seminars and I’m frankly stunned at the number of people who are willing to pay good money in order to learn some kind of “secret” or “plan” that will magically fix their financial state. I’ve even been approached to be involved in a system like this.

It’s all marketing. Every single bit of it is marketing.

I’m going to tell you the flat-out truth about my life.

In 2006, I was a pretty ordinary working professional. I had a job that paid me roughly the national average in terms of salaries for a single person at the time. I had what I considered a pretty secure job, but it was one that frustrated me in a few ways. I was married and had a young child at home, too.

However, I was in debt. A lot of debt. I didn’t have a mortgage, but I had a big pile of student loan debt, as did my wife. I had a car loan, as did my wife. I had a little bit of money saved for retirement, but it wasn’t an exceptional amount.

By 2011 – just five years later – my wife and I owned a four-bedroom home that we had completely paid off – no mortgage. We had paid off both of our automobiles, replaced them both, and paid them both off (in fact, we paid cash for one of the cars). Not only that, I had left my job and took on a more fulfilling but less certain career path as a freelance writer so I could work from home and be sitting on the front step when my children (yes, children – we had two more between 2006 and 2011) got off the bus.

Five years later, my wife and I are well on the path to complete financial independence, meaning we will be able to live off the income from our investments sooner rather than later.

How did we do this?

Did we come into a lot of money? No.

Did we suddenly start earning hundreds of thousands a year? No. I’m probably earning less in 2016 than I would have if I had stayed at my old job.

What was the secret, then?

That’s the thing. I could sell you a product based on that idea of a financial “secret” that I possess. I could make you believe in a myth that I have somehow mined some existential secret about how the financial world works that has made me a mint.

And some of you would buy it.

The truth is that there really isn’t any kind of “secret.” All I did was sit down, take a hard look at my spending, and cut it hard. We were spending everything that we earned, but we transformed that into spending way less than we earned.

At the same time, I started spending my spare time learning how to do the thing I’ve always wanted to do for a living – being a freelance writer. I stopped going home and watching television for several hours and instead went home and honed my craft as a freelance writer, teaching myself how to write quickly and also how to get people to read what I had written. I didn’t do anything secret or special there, either – I just went to where people were talking about personal finance, read the questions people had, and did my best to write articles to answer those questions based on what I had actually done in my own life and what I could figure out with a bit of research.

That’s literally all that I did to turn our financial ship around. We started spending way less than we earned by turning a critical eye to every dollar spent and seeking out fun in things that didn’t involve spending money. I started spending my solitaire free time learning new skills and figuring out how to make a living with them. That’s it.

There isn’t a magic trick or secret to financial success. You have to cut your spending — hard. Photo: TaxCredits.net

What about the details? I figured out all of the details of what I needed to do by reading informative websites and also visiting the library. Books like Your Money or Your Life helped me figure out the details when it came to my money, and books like Ready, Fire, Aim convinced me to just sit down and start doing whatever I wished I was doing with my life.

There’s no big secret there. There’s literally nothing that anyone else couldn’t do.

Yet, with a bit of marketing and clever promotion, I could make it seem like some kind of secret miracle. It’s all about wrapping up that little story – which is completely true – into some sort of package that makes you think that I hold some kind of special secret… when the truth is that I don’t have any kind of special secret at all.

All I have is a willingness to spend less than I earn and save the difference while being willing to put aside my spare time when I want to achieve something.

That’s it. That’s the big “secret.”

The thing is, almost every financial or entrepreneurial class or seminar that seems to be selling some sort of secret path to success boils down to a basic point that’s almost exactly like that. They might toss in something like a ready-made business template or some sort of psychology talk or bits and pieces borrowed from things like The 48 Laws of Power.

Here’s the reality about “seminars” and “classes” and “plans” that will teach you “secrets for success.” You don’t need to spend a dime to learn how to succeed in your career or succeed financially or to succeed entrepreneurially.

If you take those classes, all you’re getting is information that’s just a repackaging of the things you can get from your local library, all bundled up with some slick marketing but with nothing new whatsoever. You’ll probably also get a pitch to buy even more expensive classes and seminars.

I’m going to suggest a different approach. Don’t buy into those classes and seminars. Skip all of them. Keep your money in your wallet.

Instead, head down to your library and check out some books. I think Your Money or Your Life is a brilliant one that everyone should read, as it establishes a link between how you live your daily life and your financial state. Grab a few other personal finance books that look interesting.

• Related: Seven Books for Building a Whole-Life Perspective Regarding Your Money

Then, turn off the television or the Internet in the evening for an hour or two and read. Get lost in the pages. Try out some of the things they suggest.

Branch out from there. Get some books about entrepreneurship and read those. Dig into the archives of a personal finance site like this one and gorge yourself on useful information. There are mountains of information sitting out there for free. Just keep reading until you find the stuff that strikes a clear chord with you. Different people are going to find that different articles and different books and different videos hit home for them.

Then, take that stuff that makes sense to you and take action on it.

Take that money you didn’t spend on some well-marketed seminar or online class and instead use that money to pay down a debt or build an emergency fund or make a contribution to a retirement account or invest in something that will reduce your bills going forward (like a bunch of LED light bulbs or the equipment to air seal your home).

Leave the television or the computer off and spend your time working on a skill or building a small side business or working on projects around your house that will trim your food bill or your energy bill.

Get some exercise and start eating a little better so that you’ll feel more energetic and ready to tackle these things.

When you feel tired, don’t veg out in front of the computer or the television – go to bed instead and get a good night of sleep.

Everything else really is just marketing and details.

The post The Secret Behind Financial and Entrepreneurial Classes and Seminars appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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5 Things Every Freelance Writer Should Know Before Typing a Single Word

I’m always looking for ways to make extra money.

While working a full-time job, I’ve waitressed, babysat, been a secret shopper, participated in focus groups, answered hundreds of online surveys and been a guinea pig for online user testing.

Each of these jobs provides a decent amount of cash, but requires you to be in a certain place at a certain time. For someone already working a traditional 40-hour job, it’s sometimes not feasible — or the $10 for taking a survey or mystery shopping just isn’t worth it.

Enter freelance writing.

In the last two years, I’ve managed to add an additional $300 to $500 (and sometimes more) per month to my full-time income.

Sound interesting? Before you start writing hundreds of pitch emails, take a moment. Here’s what you need to know to get started as a freelance writer.

1. Where to Write

If you’re already writing the next Pulitzer Prize-winning piece, take a step back.

“It’s very important to identify the right publications” before you start writing, says Lizzy Schiffman Tufano, a senior editor at a daily Chicago news site, who freelances for Popular Science, The Huffington Post and others.

“Some people make the mistake of starting with the story. You’re going to have quicker success if you start by pitching smaller publications rather than Wired right off the bat.”

I like to reach out to local or regional publications because I’m a subject matter expert in something in this area. I can look appealing to an editor in some way — and they’re likely to hire local writers when they can.

Also, don’t ignore niche publications. If you have specialty knowledge in something, look for a related publication.

There’s a magazine or website out there for almost every topic, so do a few quick searches to identify ones you can pitch. You can even write for The Penny Hoarder!

Use Your Network

If you know even one person who’s connected to the writing industry, that person might know a publication looking for writers.

Check out Meetup groups for writers, freelancers or even young professional groups in your area and start going to events.

Remember to be genuine.

Don’t just network for the sole purpose of getting work. People will quickly pick up on your strategy and will close their doors to you faster than you can hand them your business card.

“Build connections for a lasting relationship,” Tufano says.

Use Your Extended Network

Did you graduate from college?

If so, your school likely has an online alumni directory you can search by city, job title, industry, etc. Type in some keywords and look for any alumni who work at publications that interest you.

Send an introductory email and ask if you can talk on the phone for 10 or 15 minutes.

Get an idea of how freelance submissions work at their publication. Once you develop a story idea, he or she will already know your name and hopefully pass it to the right person.

2. What to Write

After you’ve made your list of potential publications, start digging deeper into each of them and come up with one good story idea for each outlet.

Look through the archives. Make sure the topic hasn’t recently been covered. If it has, try a new angle.

Make your story idea as specific as possible, and make sure it fits with the publication’s style and focus.

Having trouble coming up with story ideas?

Writer’s Digest managing editor Tyler Moss, who also freelances for The Atlantic and Vice, says he often uses Reddit, the local news and a few Google searches for emerging studies (if you’re covering health or science topics).

It’s amazing how the local news can inspire an idea you can tailor for another publication.

It’s important to write about things you know about and enjoy. You may want to get a clip from Wired, but if you know nothing about science or technology, you’re going to hate the writing process and you’ll end up frustrated.

Adam Wren — who freelances for POLITICO, Entrepreneur and Inc. — says to write with the intention of building a solid portfolio.

This means writing what you’re passionate about. If you’re a master organizer, write about organization and all the topics that go along with it.

As your portfolio grows, you’ll start to become known as an expert on the subject matter. Plus, you’re writing about something you enjoy, so the process is that much easier.

3. How to Write Your First Pitch

Develop your story idea as fully as possible before even opening your email. Stick to just one idea to start.

“I’d prefer to see one pitch well detailed than five pitches,” Moss says of new writers.

Come up with a rough outline, identify a few sources you plan to talk to and present it in an organized format to the editor.

This is your time to convince the editor why this story needs to be written.

You also need to convince the editor you’re the person to do it. Include a short bio talking about your experience as it directly pertains to the potential article.

If you have any clips, even if they’re from college, include one or two. If not, triple-check your pitch email and have someone else proofread it to make sure it’s free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Nothing turns off an editor quicker than an unpolished email!

4. What to Charge

When you get your first assignment, the editor will either ask for your rate or tell you what they’re going to pay.

Most likely, they’ll tell you what they can pay. It’s your job to decide if you’re willing to write for their price.

“Calculate in your head how many hours it will take you to do it and determine if it’s worth it,” says Jeff Fleischer, a Chicago-based author, editor and journalist. “Or you may take a lower rate if it’s a good publication.”

I’d always take the first opportunity. You need to figure out if you even like freelance writing — and you need clips. For these two reasons, I’d accept an assignment if it’s offered.

As you become more experienced in the freelance world, you can start to negotiate rates or set a rate for yourself. Maybe you don’t want to write for anything less than 30 cents per word.

When an assignment comes through, do the math on the word count and fee they’re offering and decide if it makes sense for you.

5. How to Invoice

Once you submit your article, you’ll likely need to turn in some tax paperwork, a contract and your invoice.

If you’re just trying this out to see if you like it, you can use a free invoice generator to create a nice PDF.

If you’re more serious about freelance writing, Wren suggests Freshbooks or Quickbooks to keep invoices and finances in check.

Tufano, Moss and many other freelancers use a spreadsheet with organized tabs to track their pitches, works in progress, invoices, income and unresponsive clients.

Find the method that works best for you — and don’t forget to set aside about 25% of every check for taxes. Wren suggests setting up a separate business checking account solely for freelance money.

Don’t forget to maintain boundaries between your full-time job and your freelance job.

“Serve your full-time job before you serve any other client,” Wren says.

You need to honor your employer — so don’t use company time or property for freelance work. Structure your early mornings, nights and weekends for your side hustle.

Your Turn: Have you started a freelance writing side hustle? Share your tips in the comments!

Natalie K. Gould is the VP of Content Management at Advice Interactive Group, an award-winning digital marketing agency in Dallas, Texas. On her off hours, she’s a freelance writer and bourbon enthusiast.

The post 5 Things Every Freelance Writer Should Know Before Typing a Single Word appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Six Times You Definitely Want a Rewards Credit Card

There’s a reason people chase credit card points and miles: A solid rewards credit card can help you earn free stuff with almost no effort on your part, and nearly anyone with good credit can qualify.

Still, a lot of people opt for other means of payment, and that includes cash and debit cards – and even the dinosaur of personal finance, personal checks. In fact, the most recent Gallup poll on credit card ownership showed that 29% of American adults didn’t even own a credit card in 2014, and another 33% only had one or two cards in their wallets.

Those who shy away from credit cards may do so for good reason. Perhaps they’ve spiraled into credit card debt in the past and don’t want to go down that road again, or maybe they’re nervous to get involved in the first place. Using credit is definitely a personal decision, and it’s one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Still, there may come a time when you wish you had a good rewards card at your disposal. Here are six times in your life when using a rewards card makes a lot of sense:

#1: You’re preparing to make a large purchase – and have the cash on hand.

Most rewards credit cards offer lucrative signup bonuses to those who can meet a minimum spending requirement within a certain length of time — for example, you might have to charge $3,000 in purchases within three months to receive points worth anywhere from $200 to $500.

Spending more than you can afford just to meet a signup bonus is a fool’s errand. But if you have a large purchase or expense coming up, and you already have the cash on hand, a strategic rewards card or two can help you earn hundreds of dollars back on purchases you’d be making anyway.

So if you’ve saved up for a home renovation or your next vacation, you’re in a good position to earn a bunch of free stuff by charging those big purchases – as long as you pay your credit card bill in full immediately to avoid paying interest.

#2: You realize your debit card or bank credit card pays zilch on your everyday spending.

If you’ve never upgraded your credit card or switched from debit to credit, you might be spending tons of cash and getting almost nothing in return. Or you could be earning thousands of “points” that are worth almost nothing when you try to redeem them.

Most American families spend several hundred dollars a month on household bills, groceries, and other expenses. If you’re always putting those expenses on debit – or on a credit card that doesn’t offer rewards – you could be missing out on your fair share of cash back rewards or travel points.

#3: You desperately want to travel, but need help with airfare or hotel stays.

If you want to travel and don’t think you can afford it, a travel credit card can ease the financial burden. By using your card for everyday spending, you can rack up rewards points that are redeemable for hotel stays, train tickets, airfare, and other travel expenses.

The best travel rewards cards make it easy to earn points on everyday spending, and some even offer “bonus points” in certain categories like dining out, groceries, gas, or department stores. For example, with a card that earns triple points on groceries, a family that charges $600 a month at the supermarket can rack up more than 21,000 points in a year — typically enough to score a free flight.

The key to making the most out of these offers is learning to maximize your points and miles to the hilt, without making unnecessary purchases. The best rewards card for you will depend on your spending habits — e.g., do you tend to spend more at restaurants, or on gas and groceries? — and what kind of travel rewards you want to earn.

• Related: Hotel Rewards Cards for People Who Hate Hotels

#4: You’re having trouble keeping track of your spending, and want an easy, detailed record.

If you use cash for all of your spending, you’ll need to keep physical receipts if you hope to track your spending (a crucial part of personal finance). This can be a huge pain if you’re constantly on the go or simply forgetful about grabbing a receipt after each purchase. Not to mention the hassle of carrying a wad of cash in your wallet and busting out the calculator to add up each crumpled receipt.

Using a credit card, on the other hand, means all of your expenses and purchases get tallied up for you automatically. Most of the best rewards credit cards offer online account management tools that make it easy to track your purchases and expenses, even allowing you to filter and sort them by budget category. Just log in, analyze your spending, and you’re set – no receipts necessary.

• Related: How to Use Your Credit Card to Create an Easy Budgeting System

#5: You want to pay bills and order stuff online, but don’t want to use debit.

In a recent post, we highlighted several reasons using a debit card online is a bad idea. Most notable, however, is the fact that the risk and potential fallout of fraud is heightened when you shop with debit instead of credit.

Here’s how the Federal Trade Commission describes your liability when you use debit: “If a fraudulent transaction made with debit goes unreported for more than 60 days after your statement is sent, you could be on the hook for “all the money taken from your ATM/debit card account, and possibly more; for example, money in accounts linked to your debit account.”

Since most rewards credit cards come with zero-fraud liability, and even regular credit cards are legally required to limit your liability to $50 for fraudulent purchases, you’re much better off using credit for your online purchases.

While debit cards can leave your bank account vulnerable to online theft, most rewards credit cards come with zero-fraud liability.

#6: You want to build credit while earning free stuff.

If your credit profile is thin, using a credit card responsibly is a great way to demonstrate responsible credit use and get it reported to the major credit bureaus who determine your credit score. And if you ever want to purchase a home, take out a loan for a car, or borrow money to fund a business idea, a longer credit history will put you in the best position possible.

While any credit card will do the trick, a rewards credit card can help you earn free stuff while you build up your credit history. Most basic, no-fee rewards cards let you earn points that you can redeem for cash back, gift cards, or merchandise.

To build credit as quickly and safely as possible, you’ll want to make prompt payments on your card every single month. In addition, you’ll want to pay your balance in full to avoid paying interest on your purchases.

Over time, the monthly payments you make will be reported to the three credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — which can build your credit history and ultimately boost your credit score.

• Related: How to Build Credit

The Bottom Line

If you’re credit-averse, it makes total sense to avoid credit altogether. But if you’re simply unaware of the perks rewards credit cards offer, it might be time to take a closer look. The best rewards credit cards can help you earn free stuff, travel at a discount, and protect yourself online. And if you use credit responsibly, you can even improve your credit score and build a thicker credit profile that can help you down the line.

As always, the key to making credit work in your favor is paying your balance on time and in full every month. Because, as we all know, paying interest on your credit card purchases is not rewarding at all.

Do you carry a rewards credit card? Why or why not?

Related Articles:

• Eight Tips to Make Credit Cards Work For You, Not Against You
• Five Ways to Improve Your Credit Score Without a Credit Card
• Will Getting Multiple Credit Cards Hurt My Credit Score?
• Eight Hidden Benefits of Credit Cards

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Chancellor urged not to repeat Gordon Brown’s mistakes

Rachel Lacey

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Former pensions minister Steve Webb, is warning Chancellor George Osborne not to replace the existing system of pensions tax relief with a new, pension Isa.

Former pensions minister Steve Webb, is warning Chancellor George Osborne not to replace the existing system of pensions tax relief with a new, pension Isa.

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Water bills to rise from April

Helen Knapman

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Households will see water and sewerage bills rise from April by an average of 1% in England and Wales and 1.6% in Scotland, in line with regulators’ price caps.

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6 Secret Places to Find Coupons for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Healthy eating often comes with a hefty price tag. Even the most expert of coupon clippers grouse about how difficult it is to find bargains on fresh fruits and vegetables.

That is especially frustrating when you are trying to eat a more healthful diet. However, it is possible to save on delicious, nutritious produce — if you know where to look.

Following are six secret places to find coupons for fresh produce.

1. SavingStar

This free service gives you cash back for items you buy at major grocery store chains. You can even use it for online grocery purchases.

Every Tuesday, SavingStar presents a new “Healthy Offer of the Week” for an item of fresh produce. For example, the offer for January 12 was “Save 20% on any single purchase of loose tomatoes.”

Now that’s a healthy choice for your body and your bank account.

2. Earthbound Farm

Earthbound Farm sells a variety of fresh, healthy produce items, including salads, slaws, powermeal bowls and smoothie kickstarts. The company offers many nutritious frozen fruits and veggies, too.

When you sign up for their Organic Bound guide, which promotes “happier, healthier living,” you’ll receive “recipes, tips and exclusive coupons delivered straight to your inbox.”

According to the company, members can save as much as $50 a year.

3. Fresh Express Newsletter

You’ve probably noticed Fresh Express ready-to-eat packaged salads in the produce section of your local grocery store.

But did you know that you can get tips, recipes and — perhaps most importantly — coupons for these assorted leafy greens when you subscribe to the company’s newsletter?

You can also visit Fresh Express’ Salad Swap site to learn how to recreate your favorite recipes using healthier ingredients and access additional product coupons.

4. Driscoll’s

Join Driscoll’s Berry Community, and enjoy two ways to save on the company’s strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, which are sold at major retailers throughout the country.

As a Driscoll’s Rewards Club member, you will be eligible for special offers, including a birthday gift.

You can also elect to become a member of Driscoll’s Customer Advisory Panel, which provides an opportunity to earn additional product coupons for completing customer surveys. Talk about a berry sweet deal!

5. Target Mobile Coupons

Target sells practically everything, including fresh fruit and vegetables. And the popular superstore occasionally even offers produce coupons that can help you hit the bull’s-eye when it comes to better physical and financial health.

For example,Target recently offered coupons for $1.50 off when you buy $7 worth of produce, and $5 off $25 worth of perishable foods.

Download the company’s mobile Cartwheel app to access coupons when you’re on the go. Last week, customers with the Cartwheel app received offers for 5% off both fresh oranges and apples.

6. Organic Girl’s Email List

Fresh arugula, kale, romaine, spinach and spring mix… Organic Girl sells it all. You can save on the company’s top-quality fresh produce when you join its email list.

You’ll receive a $1 off coupon just for signing up — and be sure to keep an eye out for additional perks, promos and healthy recipes sent straight to your inbox. Can you already savor the savings?

Your Turn: Have you found any great places to spot deals or discounts on fresh produce?

This post originally appeared on Money Talks News. Since 1991, MoneyTalksNews has been producing both video and print to help you make more, spend less and avoid rip-offs.

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4 Tips For Starting Your Home-Based Fitness Business

By Amber Trimble Do you have dreams of turning your fitness journey into a business? A home-based health or fitness-related career is a great option to turn your personal narrative into a small business. For example, Maria Kang, founder of No Excuse Mom. She has used her fitness journey as a platform to launch a […]

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Flat owners warned against informal lease extensions

Hannah Nemeth

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Owners – and buyers – of leasehold properties need to watch out for unscrupulous freeholders persuading them to make an informal arrangement to extend their leases, an expert has warned.

Owners – and buyers – of leasehold properties need to watch out for unscrupulous freeholders persuading them to make an informal arrangement to extend their leases, an expert has warned.

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