The Monroe County commissioners have again agreed to guarantee the $4 million local match for a federal grant to widen and improve Interstate 80 interchanges in Pocono Township.Six local businesses already have agreed to put up the local share needed to qualify for a $15 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration. The county commissioners voted Feb. 17 to formally guarantee the local funding for upgrades at the mile marker 299 interchange in Tannersville and mile marker 298 [...]
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الثلاثاء، 23 فبراير 2016
Wyoming Homes owner pleads guilty to bilking dozens of would-be homeowners; two are from Monroe County
WILKES-BARRE — The embattled owner of Wyoming Homes pleaded guilty Monday to charges he defrauded dozens of would-be homeowners who paid for homes and services that were never provided.David D. Valenti, 63, of Moosic, pleaded guilty in Luzerne County Court to 19 counts of theft. Six other theft charges were either withdrawn or continued to a later trial term, court records show.Valenti was accused of receiving down payments from customers and failing to deliver newly [...]
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Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/1TDRl3H
Wyoming Homes owner pleads guilty to bilking dozens of would-be homeowners
WILKES-BARRE— The embattled owner of Wyoming Homes pleaded guilty Monday to charges he defrauded dozens of would-be homeowners who paid for homes and services that were never provided.David D. Valenti, 63, of 321 Glenmaura Dr., Moosic, pleaded guilty in Luzerne County Court to 19 counts of theft. Six other theft charges were either withdrawn or continued to a later trial term, court records show.Valenti was accused of receiving down payments from customers and failing to [...]
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Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/1T4SJMY
Need Motivation to Start Saving Money? It Could Help You Win $500
Saving money is hard — and nearly impossible if you don’t have a goal in mind.
Personally, I can only get myself to set money aside by envisioning what I’ll do with it.
The vacation I’ll take. The gifts I’ll buy. The retirement I’ll enjoy.
What about you? What are you saving for?
It’s time to figure it out, because your answer could help you win $500.
Here’s what I mean…
How You Could Win $500 for Saving Money
We’re in the middle of America Saves Week, a national campaign from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) “dedicated to helping individuals save money, reduce debt and build wealth.”
It’s a great opportunity to start saving, and we encourage you to participate as fully as possible: Take the saving pledge, assess your savings plan and complete the saver checklist.
You can also educate yourself on personal finance issues by attending one of the associated Facebook events or webinars.
Last but not least, enter the #imsavingfor Photo Contest for your chance to win a $500 prize.
All you have to do is post a photo of what you’re saving for to one of the following social media platforms: Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, LinkedIn or Tumblr, and include the hashtag #imsavingfor.
Once you’ve done that, fill out this brief form, and you’ll be entered to win $500!
Though you can only enter once, you can get three extra entries by completing the savings pledge. After you’ve submitted your photo, look for an email with more information on the bonus entries.
The contest runs through March 7, 2016; on March 9, America Saves will pick one entry at random and contact the winner by email.
Even if you don’t want to participate in the contest, check out this page with all the entries — they’re sure to inspire you!
Some of our favorites:
- Tony is saving for GOATS. Yes.
- Kim is saving for her kids to go to college.
- Sam is saving for a ski trip.
- Luciana is saving for special education for her daughter, who has Down syndrome.
If you need some help getting started, these posts might help:
Don’t worry if you can’t save a lot right now; the important thing is to just start.
Get motivated by sharing what you’re saving for — after all, it could win you $500 toward that goal!
Your Turn: What are you saving for?
Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
The post Need Motivation to Start Saving Money? It Could Help You Win $500 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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7 Brilliant Ways to Beat Uber Surge Pricing
After a great night out, the last thing you want to do is fork over 10 times the regular Uber fee to get home safely.
“Surge pricing” frustrates many users because it’s hard to tell how much you’ll end up spending when rides are in high demand.
But you don’t always have to pay surge fares.
Savvy riders know how to get around price fluctuations and avoid peak times to spend less on their way around town.
Below are a few of their favorite tips for avoiding Uber surge pricing.
1. Time Your Uber Right
Kevin Adkins from Kenmore Law Group in Los Angeles uses Uber not only for his own travel, but also for clients.
“A way to avoid surge pricing is by planning your travels at times when surge pricing is not in effect,” Adkins explains. “Uber will not disclose its algorithm regarding when or how surge pricing comes into effect, but there is definitely a ‘demand’ factor to it.”
So when should you request a ride?
“In my experience, 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. are the worst in terms of pricing because there is high demand for Uber. If you can wait just 10 minutes, regular pricing may come into effect again.”
Another common peak time is when bars close for the night.
By waiting just a few minutes (or heading home a few minutes before the rush), many Uber users are able to duck the worst of the surge pricing.
2. Use SurgeProtector
Adkins also relies on an app called SurgeProtector.
It helps users locate areas where surge pricing is not in effect.
“Some people may think this is inconvenient, but it’s really not,” says Adkins. “The difference could be one or two blocks. So instead of meeting right by my office, I can walk down the street and catch an Uber and avoid surge pricing.”
3. Use Another Type of Uber
Harry Campbell is The Ride Share Guy.
He runs a blog and podcast for rideshare drivers and passengers, and he’s both an Uber driver and passenger.
He points out that different types of Uber services have different surges. Shopping around the offerings can often save you some cash.
“Each level of service surges independently,” says Campbell. “So, if you normally take UberX and there’s a 3x surge, you would actually save money by taking UberSelect (normally around 2.5x the price of UberX) and you’d get to ride in a nicer car!”
4. Hop in an UberPool
UberPool is another way Campbell saves.
It lets you share your Uber with other users looking for a ride in the same direction, and split the fare.
“Take UberPool or Lyft Line when it’s surging,” he says. “Many cities still have fixed pricing for these rides so when it’s surging you can still get a $5 or $7 UberPool ride and the driver will still receive the full surge fare from Uber.”
An added bonus of UberPool? You never know who you might meet.
Recently, Andre 3000 took the UberPool option (though he didn’t mean to select that particular service). He shared the car with a woman and ended up inviting her to join him at a recording studio where she met Kanye West and other music celebs.
Actress Kristen Bell also once took an UberPool (again, by accident). She hilariously live-tweeted the ride — including her carmates’ singing skills.
5. Sign Up For Notifications
If you’re not in a rush, sign up for notifications to find out when fares drop.
“Uber has a function that allows you to get a notification when surge goes down,” Campbell says.
“Unless it’s a huge event like New Year’s Eve, surge most often dissipates after a while since as demand goes down and drivers flock to surge area, the surge pricing goes down.”
6. Use Another Rideshare Service
Shopping different rideshare services can also help you save some money.
Campbell says using Lyft or other services can be a great way to save money during peak surge times.
“Lyft actually caps their Prime Time pricing at 200%, which is equivalent to a 3x surge on Uber,” he says. “Uber has no such cap, which is why you oftentimes see high surge rates of 5-8x like on last New Year’s Eve.”
7. Go Old School and Take a Cab
Of course, skipping Uber altogether can be a great way to save some cash.
Taking an old-fashioned yellow taxi may help you save money if fares are surging.
And, with a meter in the cab and clear policies, you won’t be surprised by an exorbitant fare.
Your Turn: Do you know of any other strategies to beat Uber’s surge pricing? We’d love to hear them!
Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The post 7 Brilliant Ways to Beat Uber Surge Pricing appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Portrait of a Millionaire
Who is the prototypical American millionaire? What would he tell you about himself?
In the early-to-mid-1990s, Thomas Stanley and William Danko conducted a long series of surveys and interviews with people who had a net worth of $1 million or above. They converted these surveys into a series of papers and, eventually, into a popular book called The Millionaire Next Door, in which they sketched out the picture of the “average millionaire” and illustrated how real millionaires are nothing like the pop culture idea of millionaires.
Early on in the book – specifically on pages 8 through 11 in the current paperback version of the book – the authors discuss a list of traits that millionaires have in common.
It’s worth noting that the authors chose to use gendered terms based on the people they surveyed, as at the time many of the families surveyed were older single-income families of one man and one woman where the man provided the single income (as was validated by the survey data). This doesn’t necessarily reflect the gender split today – marriages come in all varieties and, often, both partners are working today.
Still, most of the conclusions from the survey continue to hit home today. I thought it would be fun to walk through the details of this “average millionaire”‘s life and share my thoughts on it.
I am a fifty-seven-year-old maile, married with three children. About 70 percent of us earn 80 percent or more of our household’s income.
While I would imagine that this split between marital partners would be less today, I would also guess that in many wealthy homes, the income results in one partner “hitting it big” in some fashion. Sure, there are power couples in which both partners earn a great income, but they aren’t as common as couples with an income disparity, mostly due to one partner’s career choice. I can think of far more couples with a huge income disparity that I know than couples who are close in income.
This is true even in my own marriage. I have earned substantially more in my career so far than Sarah has, mostly due to career choice. That’s not to say our marriage isn’t equal, however. I “hit it big” in terms of income with several of my side gigs that I worked on over the years (including, yes, The Simple Dollar), while the things Sarah chooses to fill her spare time with were more beneficial to our home economics (such as our lovely garden, which is 90% due to Sarah’s efforts). Those things balance out in my eyes in terms of contributions to our family’s needs and our respective sense of well-being, but that doesn’t match up with the income column on our balance sheet.
I think, if you have a strong and stable marriage, it can make a lot of sense for one partner or another to “hit it big” while the other partner can help support that income or work at a more personally fulfilling career.
About one in five of us is retired. About two-thirds of us who are working are self-employed. Interestingly, self-employed people make up less than 20 percent of the workers in America but account for two-thirds of the millionaires. Also, three out of four of us who are self-employed consider ourselves to be entrepreneurs. Most of the others are self-employed professionals, such as doctors and accountants.
I agree that self-employment/small business ownership is probably the most powerful tool people have for making their income skyrocket. While you can absolutely earn a great living while working for others, there are natural caps on such earnings, even at the executive level. The real money is to be made by sitting at the top of the pyramid, however.
I have experienced all three avenues – owning a small business, self-employment (that’s where I’m at right now), and working for others. Working for others was certainly easier in terms of not having to worry about the big picture, it featured its own stresses and didn’t offer opportunities to multiply my income.
Many of the types of businesses we are in could be classified as dull-normal. We are welding contractors, auctioneers, rice farmers, owners of mobile home parks, pest controllers, coin and stamp dealers, and paving contractors.
Most careers and businesses that earn good money aren’t exciting. Very few people are movie stars or politicians or whatever career you might envision as being glamorous and exciting. I sit in front of a computer writing (mostly) personal finance articles (or spend afternoons at the library doing research). No glamour there.
The path to financial success doesn’t usually involve fame and glamour. It almost always involves a lot of hard work and time invested in what seems like a pretty ordinary field.
About half of our wives do not work outside the home. The number one occupation for those wives who do work is teacher.
It’s worth noting that the word “wives” here is essentially a substitute for “spouse,” as this situation could easily be gender-reversed. At the time, as noted above, the more common situation was for the male member of a typical marriage to be the one who earned a strong financial return on his own. Remember, from the first statistic, about 70% of millionaires at the time of the survey earned 80% or more of the family’s income.
While there are no statistics to guide this, my strong suspicion is that this percentage has dropped significantly over the years between this survey and now, and there are some situation where it is the male member of the partnership that stays at home (in fact, I know one family in that very situation).
Our household’s total annual realized (taxable) income is $131,000 (median, or 50th percentile), while our average income is $247,000. Note that those of us who have incomes in the $500,000 to $999,999 category (8 percent) and the $1 million or more category (5 percent) skew the average upward.
I found it very interesting that the people in this survey have enough tax deductions to account for half of their income. It reminds me of many of the family farmers in the community where I grew up who would reinvest almost all of their revenues back into their farm each year, resulting in a pretty low overall income on paper.
We have an average household net worth of $3.7 million. Of course, some of our cohorts have accumulated much more. Nearly 6 percent have a net worth of over $10 million. Again, these people skew the average upward. The typical (median, or 50th percentile) millionaire household has a net worth of $1.6 million.
At first, I wondered if these numbers would change with inflation over time, with all of them raising by 50%-100% due to inflation since the survey was done in the 1990s. However, I realized that these numbers would probably stay pretty similar for a different reason: inflation would raise people in the $500,000 range in the 1990s to the low millionaire range today.
Thus, I suspect that this phenomenon remains true: most millionaires have a net worth between $1 million and $2 million. Even among millionaires, multi-millionaires are not common.
On average, our total annual realized income is less than 7 percent of our wealth. In other words, we live on less than 7 percent of our wealth.
Think of it this way: imagine your net worth – the value of all of your assets – is $1 million. This would mean that, if you stick with this average, you’d live on about $70,000 per year. Compare that to the actual income of the average millionaire from above – $247,000, of which $131,000 is taxable – and you see how most millionaires are socking away a pretty significant portion of their income, no matter how you slice it.
That’s the key of building wealth. You have to spend significantly less than you earn and save the difference. There is no magic formula other than that.
Most of us (97 percent) are homeowners. We live in homes currently valued at an average of $320,000. About half of us have occupied the same home for more than 20 years. Thus, we have enjoyed significant increases in the value of our homes.
It’s worth noting here that, given that the average net worth of a family in this survey is $1.6 million, those families live in a home that’s valued at an average of $320,000. In other words, their home makes up only 20% of their net worth even after they’ve experienced major increases in the value of their homes.
Home ownership is great, but it is not the road to wealth. These people found wealth in areas substantially beyond their homes.
Most of us have never felt at a disadvantage because we did not receive any inheritance. About 80 percent of us are first generation affluent.
I do not know anyone who is financially successful who inherited significant money from their parents. I know several people who are millionaires, but their children are not going to inherit millions. Everyone I personally know who was financially successful was largely self-made, though almost all benefited from great childhoods.
Build it yourself. Don’t expect your ship to come in.
We live well below our means. We wear inexpensive suits and drive American-made cars. Only a minority of us drive the current-model-year automobile. Only a minority ever lease our vehicles.
It’s worth noting that at the time, American-made cars (at least, cars from American manufacturers) were perceived to be the ones that were built to last. Today, that perception has changed – I think, among entry-level cars, Hondas and Toyotas have that perception (though many of those are actually made in America, the companies are Japanese in ownership), and that perception is backed up by Consumer Reports and other publications.
However, the cycle of owning late-model-used cars remains true. Late-model-used cars from a manufacturer that has a strong history of reliability is the best “bang for the buck” one can get in automobiles. If I see someone driving a brand new car, I feel pretty safe in thinking that the driver is either extremely wealthy or is feeling a financial pinch in their life. Rarely have I ever found that not to be true.
Most of our wives are meticulous planners and meticulous budgeters. In fact, only 18 percent of us disagreed with the statement “Charity begins at home.” Most of us will tell you that our wives are a lot more conservative with money than we are.
I think that it is absolutely true that one member of a couple tends to be “in charge” of the finances. That matches up with almost every couple whose finances I’ve learned about in detail. For us, that’s usually me, though Sarah will occasionally pay a bill or two herself. I think that Sarah is more naturally frugal than I am, however, and I find that I am most economical with my money when I budget carefully, whereas Sarah will naturally make better spending choices that I do without budget constraint.
We have a “go-to-hell fund.” In other words, we have accumulated enough wealth to live without working for ten or more years. Thus, those of us with a net worth of $1.6 million could live comfortably for more than twelve years. Actually, we could live longer than that, since we save at least 15 percent of our income.
This, to me, is the real reason to seek financial independence. Financial independence is a “go-to-hell fund,” to use the term of Stanley and Danko. It enables you to walk away from abusive or unfair situations. It allows you to control your own destiny in life. It puts the power and control over your own life into your own hands.
We have more than six and one half times the level of wealth of our nonmillionaire neighbors, but, in our neighborhood, these nonmillionaires outnumber us by better than three to one. Could it be that they have chosen to trade wealth for acquiring high-status material possessions?
It took me a bit to realize what the authors were getting at here. They’re making the suggestion that people who live in the same neighborhood have approximately the same home values as everyone else, which is likely true, and that a certain level of income would need to exist to be able to afford those homes. To be able to afford a $320,000 home, you need to have a decent income, right? If you assume that a mortgage payment is at most 28% of a family’s take-home income, and that a person has a $320,000 mortgage at 4.5%, then they’re spending $19,452 annually on their mortgage, which gives them a take-home income of about $70,000 a year at a minimum. That’s a pre-tax salary of at least $100,000 a year.
In those neighborhoods where $320,000 homes reside, more than three out of four people have a net worth of under one million, but people need to have a six-figure household income. Where is that money going? The authors assume, and rightfully so in my opinion, that much of that money is going to high status material possessions, but things that don’t hold value well.
As a group, we are fairly well educated. Only about one in five are not college graduates. Many of us hold advanced degrees. Eighteen percent have master’s degrees, 8 percent law degrees, 6 percent medical degrees, and 6 percent Ph.D.s.
College education usually results in greater income. That’s not surprising. However, this next bit is…
Only 17 percent of us or our spouses ever attended a private elementary or private high school. But 55 percent of our children are currently attending or have attended private schools.
Most millionaires never went to a private school. That, to me, is very interesting, indeed. Private schools often have the impression as being training grounds of the wealthy, but it turns out that most millionaires actually come from public schools.
Yet, most millionaires send their children to private schools. Why is that? Obviously, the goal is to seek the best academic preparation for their children, but is it the best life preparation? To me, that’s actually pretty unclear.
We send our children to public schools, but we live in a state with a very strong public school system. I’m not sure what we would do in a state with a poor public school system, but my suspicion is that we would move elsewhere.
As a group, we believe that education is extremely important for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. We spend heavily for the educations of our offspring.
I’m absolutely on board with this. We believe highly in the value of education. Not only are the topics that our children are learning about a regular part of conversation at home, we also include them in our adult conversations about politics and literature and science (things that Sarah and I frequently talk about). We also spend time virtually every weekend doing something educational – just this past weekend, we spent most of a day at the Science Center of Iowa. Education is extremely important to us and we make that a big part of our family time.
About two-thirds of us work between forty-five and fifty-five hours per week.
This is pretty accurate for both myself and Sarah if you average it across the year. Many weeks, we will actually work more hours than this, but there are other weeks where we don’t work at all (during summer vacations, for example). We both enjoy the work that we do, however.
We are fastidious investors. On average, we invest nearly 20 percent of our household realized income each year. Most of us invest at least 15 percent. Seventy-nine percent of us have at least one account with a brokerage company. But we make our own investment decisions.
This also seems perfectly accurate. Unless you’re saving a notable portion of your annual income (and not bringing in debt), you’re never going to be able to build significant wealth. It simply doesn’t add up.
If you want to be financially independent, if you want to be a millionaire, it has to start with either making an absurdly high income or else saving a significant portion of your income. Those are the only two routes, and only one of them is actually under your personal control.
If you want to be a millionaire, time to start buckling down and saving.
We hold nearly 20 percent of our household’s wealth in transaction securities such as publicly traded stocks and mutual funds. But we rarely sell our equity investments. We hold even more in our pension plans. On average, 21 percent of our household’s wealth is in our private businesses.
Today, I’d assume that these numbers have shifted, with far fewer people holding onto pension plans and people instead having 401(k) and IRA plans instead that hold a significant portion of their wealth.
Still, the principle is the same. People build wealth by socking away their money and not spending it.
As a group, we feel that our daughters are financially handicapped in comparison to our sons. Men seem to make much more money even within the same occupational categories. That is why most of us would not hesitate to share some of our wealth with our daughters. Our sons, and men in general, have the deck of economic cards stacked in their favor. They should not need subsidies from their parents.
This is an interesting perspective, and one that I’ve seen borne out more than a few times. I personally know of families that are much more open to giving money to their daughters than to their sons. I know of many families where some children are blatantly favored with financial gifts over other ones.
Is this really a factor that “evens” things out over the long run? I don’t really know. I also don’t know what our support of our children will be like as they transition into adulthood. I have zero interest in giving them any money as they reach independent adulthood, though.
What would be the ideal occupations for our sons and daughters? There are about 3.5 million households like ours. Our numbers are growing much faster than the general population. Our kids should consider providing affluent people with some valuable service. Overall, our most trusted financial advisors are our accountants. Our attorneys are also very important. So we recommend accounting and law to our children. Tax advisors and estate-planning experts will be in big demand over the next fifteen years.
The idea of providing services to wealthy people as a model for building your own income is a smart one and the accounting field at least is a fairly strong one (my understanding is that there is something of a glut in the legal field).
It’s a good perspective to have in terms of choosing a career. What service do you think others will value? How can you build the skills needed to provide that service? I think this is great career guidance for anyone who is lost along that path.
I am a tightwad. That’s one of the main reasons I completed a long questionnaire for a crisp $1 bill. Why else would I spend two or three hours being personally interviewed by these authors? They paid me $100, $200, or $250. Oh, they made me another offer – to donate in my name the money I earned for my interview to my favorite charity. But I told them, “I am my favorite charity.”
You absolutely have to be frugal to become a millionaire unless you’re earning a huge amount per year. Without frugality, your spending is going to expand to fill up your income (and more), which makes it impossible to save for the future. You have to have the self-control and wisdom to not spend money now on wasteful things and instead put money away so that you can have incredible freedom and opportunity in the future.
It’s a hard choice. Most people don’t make that choice. That’s a big part of the reason why most people aren’t millionaires.
If you take no other message away from this article, it’s this: the path to becoming a millionaire almost always involves spending a lot less than you earn and working your tail off. That’s how the vast majority of millionaires made it to that state, and they’re rewarded for it with extensive personal freedom and opportunity. Are you ready to take up that path?
The post Portrait of a Millionaire appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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How to Get Around Amazon’s New $49 Free Shipping Minimum — Without Prime
We’ve got some bad news for online shoppers: Amazon quietly raised its free shipping minimum to $49.
That means you’ll have to add $49 of eligible items to your cart before qualifying for free shipping — a $14 increase from the previous threshold of $35.
(Thankfully, books are an exception; they ship free once you hit $25.)
To get around this new minimum, you could, of course, sign up for Amazon Prime, which offers free two-day shipping on millions of items. I did two years ago, and haven’t looked back.
You can try Prime free for 30 days — after that, it costs $99 per year.
Not interested in Prime? Try one of these tricks…
How to Get Free Shipping on Amazon — Without Prime
Here are a few ways to get around Amazon’s new free shipping minimum.
1. Try Amazon Student
If you’re in school, take a look at Amazon Student. It offers many of the same services as Amazon Prime — but the free trial period lasts a generous six months.
You’ll also get $5 for each friend you refer.
2. Use Subscribe & Save
Do you buy certain products — like diapers or dog food — month after month?
Then it might be wise to sign up for Subscribe & Save, which automatically delivers your chosen items on a set schedule. On your orders, you’ll not only receive a discount of up to 15%, you’ll also get free shipping.
3. Order Small Items
You may not know it, but Amazon offers free shipping on some small items that weigh less than 8 ounces, are smaller than 9 x 6 x 2 inches and cost less than $10.
These items are from third-party sellers and take four to eight days to arrive.
4. Meet the Minimum Without Overspending
Close to the $49 threshold? Use Amazon Filler Item Finder to find useful items at the exact price you need. No more overspending just to get free shipping!
Your Turn: Will this news change the way you shop online?
Disclosure: Our friends stopped inviting us over because we were always digging for loose change between their couch cushions. We use affiliate links instead so we still get invited to a few parties.
Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
The post How to Get Around Amazon’s New $49 Free Shipping Minimum — Without Prime appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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PPI still most complained about product with 500 new gripes a day
Payment protection insurance (PPI) is still the most complained about financial product, according to the latest figures from complaints arbitrator, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Back to the register
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How This Mom Saves Money Like a Freegan, No Dumpster Diving Required
When I moved out at 18 years old, money wasn’t a problem for my boyfriend and me… at least not until our early 20s when he was laid off from work.
As young parents, both working part-time jobs to get by, we learned the hard way how to stretch a dollar. I often found myself considering dumpster diving, which I’d tried as a high schooler testing out the “freegan” way of life, but I could never muster up the courage to do so.
Instead, I taught myself how to save money like a freegan without actually dumpster diving.
Wait, What’s a Freegan?
I first heard the word freegan, which comes from the words “free” and “vegan,” back in high school during my “anarchist punk” days. I surrounded myself with individuals who wanted to make the world a better place and one of the ways we learned we could do that was through dumpster diving.
The idea of eating food that’s been thrown out can be a little unsettling to most people. The truth is, a lot of people, restaurants and stores throw out food that’s perfectly safe to eat.
But the freegan lifestyle goes beyond dumpster diving.
Freegans do their best to boycott products from unethical corporations they believe are responsible for destroying the environment, violating human rights and abusing animals.
How to Save Like a Freegan — Without Dumpster Diving
With a young family, I wanted to make the most of every dollar, but I wasn’t quite willing to return to my old habit.
Here’s how these freegan strategies helped us save money on everything from groceries, to clothing, to household items.
Food
Our small family of three used to spend nearly $200 a week on groceries. Since we started getting creative to make our food last longer, we now spend an average of $60 a week.
Freegans save big money on their weekly grocery bills. Every day, grocery stores and restaurants throw out tons of food they consider unsellable. After the stores have closed, freegans go out back to their dumpsters to collect any food that’s still edible.
But if dumpster diving isn’t for you, you can still get your hands on this “expired” food that’s actually still good.
Look for a salvage grocery store in your area that sells past-date items that are still good. You can always ask the store manager if you can have it for free, or at a lower price. If it feels silly, claim it’s for your pet rabbit!
Like a freegan, I learned to stop following expiry dates and how to freshen up my food whenever it starts to look a little sad.
Fruits and vegetables are the easiest items on your grocery list to turn into savings.
Learn how to store your fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh. You can bring limp celery, lettuce, peppers and other vegetables back to life by simply adding them to a bowl of fresh water. Make bruised fruit into juice, smoothies, jams or pie filling.
Although most dairy and meat products can be dangerous to consume after they’ve expired, they’ll last a lot longer in the freezer.
Also, don’t forget to test your eggs after they’ve apparently expired. By placing them in a bowl of cold water to see if they float or sink, you will be able to tell if they’re safe to eat. If an egg sinks, it’s still good, but if it floats to the top, it’s gone bad.
Finally, I regularly rotate the food in our fridge, bringing items that are closer to their expiration dates towards the front where they’re more likely to be selected.
Clothing
We only spend about $100 on clothes for the entire family each season, instead of hundreds (plural) of dollars.
When I was a teenager I mainly dumpster dived to find things like clothes. I was a whiz on a sewing machine and often turned unwanted articles of clothing into something I enjoyed wearing regularly.
A lot of people throw away their clothes once they’ve been stained, ripped or even gone out of style. To save money by thinking like a freegan, consider learning how to fix your clothes, or at least how to upcycle your unwanted threads.
When I have clothes I no longer enjoy, but that are still in good condition, my friends and I will do a clothing swap or we’ll donate them to charity.
Having a yard sale is also an excellent way to turn your unwanted clothes and items into cash.
After my daughter outgrew her baby things, I decided to sell them. I got $40 for her high chair and $50 for her baby swing.
Just by selling her old clothes, toys and gear, along with some old books and DVDs, I brought in nearly $400 for my family.
Furniture and Electronics
Unwanted furniture often ends up on the side of the road come garbage collection days. Freegans regularly take advantage of these days to find new items for their homes.
If you find yourself feeling too embarrassed to grab an item and go, there are other ways to save money on furniture and electronics, and sometimes even ways to make money.
Instead of ditching your own furniture on the curb, why not consider fixing it up for yourself or selling it? Many freegans use freecycle.org, Kijiji and Craiglist. Kijiji and Craigslist both have free sections, and Freecycle is entirely free.
In the last year, my husband and I have completely redone our living room for less than $200, including a new couch, TV stand, coffee table, end table, two chairs, record stand and decor.
All of that was still cheaper than a new couch on its own, thanks to our openness to learn how to save money the freegan way.
Freegans are masters of finding ways to not only save money, but also ways to make money. There’s a lot to learn by living this way of life.
Your Turn: Are you a freegan? Will you dumpster dive, or do you prefer less extreme strategies? Share your tips in the comments.
Cole Nemeth is a writer, artist and amateur photographer. She has written multiple blog posts and articles for a variety of publications, including her own site, Peace and Chaos. Cole loves spending time with her husband and daughter, and their two pets.
The post How This Mom Saves Money Like a Freegan, No Dumpster Diving Required appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Does your home earn more than you do?
If you live in an area where house prices have soared – especially in London, the South East and the east of England – you could find your house has risen more in value than average net earnings in the past couple of years, according to a new report.
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Probate fees to be hiked under Government plans
Probate fees could rise from £155 to £20,000 for those in England and Wales who die with large estates, under plans announced by the Government.
The proposed fee regime will move from a flat to a banded fee approach, proportionate to, and rising with, the value of the estate.
The proposals are out for consultation until 1 April 2016.
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Are there any tax implications if I gift land to my son?
I own a small field worth around £25,000. Am I able to give the land to my son? Would there be any tax implications?
FF/West Hythe
"A gift of land or property is liable for capital gains tax just the same as if you had sold it.The base cost of the land will be deducted from the market value to assess the capital gain.
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42% of Americans Have Lied to Their Partners About Money. Has Yours?
Real talk: I’ve been cheated on.
I’m guessing many of you have, too.
My partners have strayed both physically and emotionally, and I know I’m not alone in thinking the latter hurts more.
But recently, I learned about a type of cheating I’ve never experienced: financial infidelity.
Though I bet the act itself has existed as long as relationships have, this particular term has grown in popularity the past few years; Google shows few searches for it prior to 2011.
It’s a big deal.
Money matters in relationships, and hiding financial problems or habits from your partner can lead to distrust, hurt, anger — and, eventually, breaking up.
I decided to do a little digging and see what I could learn about this specific brand of unfaithfulness.
Here’s what I discovered…
What is Financial Infidelity?
Financial infidelity involves lying to your partner about your income, purchases, bank accounts, bills or debts.
And it’s a growing problem here in the United States.
Recent data indicates 42% of Americans admit to committing financial infidelity, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
That’s up from 33% just a year ago.
Why It Matters
If you’re thinking, “What’s the big deal?”, remember that trust is paramount in relationships. Even if its breach doesn’t involve another person, it can be incredibly hurtful.
Of the people NEFE surveyed, 75% said financial deceptions had affected their relationships.
“Financial infidelity hurts regardless of its scale,” says Ted Beck, president and CEO of NEFE. “Hiding or lying about small amounts of money can damage a relationship just as effectively as a high-dollar deceit.”
More specifically, here are three reasons it matters:
It Reflects Your Money Habits
At its core, financial infidelity can mean you and your partner have different views of money.
And we all know that’s not usually the hallmark of a successful relationship.
“The way someone manages and spends his or her money is a direct reflection of his or her priorities,” writes Kayla Albert, who eventually ended a relationship due to financial infidelity.
“If this person’s concerns don’t align with yours, it’s important to take note of that now, not once you’re considering combining financial lives.”
Money Issues Usually Lead to Relationship Issues
I think we should replace the phrase “Happy wife, happy life” with “Happy money, happy marriage.”
Money is the leading cause of stress in relationships, and money arguments are the top predictor of divorce.
“We like to think that love transcends money, but money is a key player in our relationships,” writes Melanie Lockert of Dear Debt.
“People are scared to talk about it. Money becomes a symbol of power, oppression and privilege,” Lockert writes.
“People use it to fuel secret desires, hidden addictions and foolish hobbies. Money can be the demise of your relationship, because unfortunately, sometimes love isn’t all you need.”
It’s Sometimes About More Than Money
Though it’s not always the case, financial infidelity can sometimes be the tip of the iceberg — and can signify dishonesty in other parts of the relationship.
“We may all lie to some degree, but those who habitually lie about one area of their lives generally aren’t discerning when it comes to lying about other things,” Albert writes.
“His money lies were just the beginning… money was just a physical representation of the deceit present in all other areas of our relationship.”
How to Prevent Financial Infidelity
So, it’s clear financial infidelity is a problem. But what can you do about it?
Here are a few suggestions.
1. Communicate Openly
When you start to get serious in a relationship, make it a habit to talk openly about your finances.
“Set the pattern from the beginning,” writes Suzanne McGee for The Guardian. “Be open with your partner about your finances — and expect the same from him or her.”
“When you decide that you’re going to combine your lives, talk openly about what it means to combine your finances,” McGee writes. “That’s the point at which all the skeletons should come tumbling out of the closet.”
2. Combine and Conquer
Most experts agree you should have a joint account to fund shared expenses, but it might also be wise to keep some of your money for yourself.
That way, each of you still feels like you have the independence to buy the things you want — without judgment.
“Give each person sole control over a set amount of discretionary spending money,” writes Beck in the Wall Street Journal. “Keep all negative thoughts about how they spend their money to yourself.”
He also recommends setting a “maximum individual transaction amount.” Anytime you want to spend more than that, you must run it by your partner first.
3. Regularly Review Your Finances Together
One way to stay on the same page?
Set a monthly money date to review your finances together.
Travis Pizel, who racked up $109,000 of credit card debt without his wife’s knowledge, recommends including your credit reports.
“Those in committed relationships can build and reinforce their foundation of trust by reviewing their credit reports together,” he writes for MoneyNing.
“Not only will they ensure that there isn’t any fraud occurring, but it can help keep both parties on the same page with their finances as they build a future together.”
4. Allow for Mistakes
Both you and your partner are human, so it’s essential you create an environment that makes it OK to admit to mistakes.
“Agree on the terms of a ‘get out of jail free’ card to invoke when you’ve strayed financially — a safe zone for transgressions with relatively minor financial impact to the household,” suggests Beck.
“If you can banish the risk of disapproval and embarrassment from your household, you will find that combining finances is a powerful advantage for couples.”
What If It’s Too Late?
If you’ve already committed or fallen victim to financial infidelity, it’s vital you put all cards on the table now.
After assessing how much damage has been done, it’s time to create a debt repayment plan, says MP Dunleavey, former editor-in-chief of DailyWorth.
If you need credit counseling, she recommends the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.
And if you want to salvage your relationship, she suggests getting professional help.
“Few relationships can survive this kind of strain without counseling,” she writes. “If you’re both invested in staying together, then it’s worth spending some money on a therapist.”
I’ve never been a victim of financial infidelity, and after reading these stories, I definitely don’t want to be.
Heartbreak sucks — but at least you don’t have to pay anyone back for your partner’s mistakes.
So next time you get serious in a relationship, make sure open and honest money talk is a priority.
I know it’ll be one of mine!
Your Turn: Do you have a story about financial infidelity to share?
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 Power of Preferential Treatment in Your Small Business
By Dawn Berryman Building customer loyalty is something every business owner strives for. Establishing a company that will remain successful over time means you must attract repeat customers. One-time buyers are valuable but not nearly as much as those who frequently revisit you. So, what are some ways in which you can build your base […]
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