What's Wrong With My Co-worker? Quiz

Your co-worker could be suffering something serious. We'll give you the symptoms, and you tell us what the problem is in this quiz at HowStuffWorks.

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What's Wrong With My Co-worker? Quiz

Your co-worker could be suffering something serious. We'll give you the symptoms, and you tell us what the problem is in this quiz at HowStuffWorks.

Source Business & Money - HowStuffWorks http://ift.tt/226wNT4

Do You Manage Money Better Than These 6 Millennials?

In December, the Guardian put out a call to American millennials ages 18 to 35 willing to share their spending habits — and the results raise some interesting questions.

This week, it shared responses from six people from around the U.S. and Canada in its effort “to illustrate the range in lifestyles of a generation that has been described as wasteful, wussy, freeloading and feckless.”

How Do Millennials Spend Their Money?

The Guardian presented the results in graphic snapshots showing each participant’s monthly income and the distribution of their biggest expenses.

For most of the six subjects, rent is the top expense. Each lives within their means, though, keeping the cost of rent below 30% of their income.

But costs consistently soar on food and debt.

Participants spend between $66 and $150 per week on food. To put that into perspective, it costs between $146 and $289 per week to feed a family of four, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Even the most frugal of these six millennials spends almost twice as much on food as the USDA’s typical thrifty American.

Four out of the six participants have monthly student loan payments between $250 and $1,400 per month. One man even pays more per month towards this debt than towards rent.

Other major expenses vary, including:

• Entertainment

• Pets

• Medication

• Hair appointments

• Child care

• Car payments

• Cigarettes and vape

• Travel

• Gym

Surprisingly, only one of the six listed a cell phone payment in their top expenses, and even that one is only $40 per month.

I wonder whether they’re using cheap cell phone plans, saving money by staying on family plans or leaving the payment to their parents? The report doesn’t clarify.

How Do You Spend Your Money?

However, the Guardian’s reporting doesn’t actually answer the project’s main question: How do millennials spend their money?

Even though it’s fun to look at the graphics and balk at the debt and feckless priorities of this confounding generation, a hand-picked sample of six people doesn’t support any conclusions.

What it can do, however, is point out the importance of tracking your spending.

If you’re totally honest about it, you might find a graphic of your own spending habits shocking, too.

A tool like Mint can help you create a budget and automatically track your spending. It also helps you create a pie chart to visualize your expenses, much like those in the Guardian report.

Here’s How We Stack Up

The pie chart above is from my co-worker’s Mint budget.

When she created the chart for this post, she sent it to me with the message, “My travel pie is so ginormous!”

As our resident travel expert, she wasn’t really surprised to have high travel expenses. But when you’re forced to look at your spending in such clear terms, it can still give you a bit of a shock!

Without a month to track my own expenses, I can’t say for sure how I stack up against my peers. But I can estimate it, based on my budget.

I’m 30, employed full time and am the sole earner in a household with one other adult.

My rent falls just inside “affordable,” at 29% of my income.

My food budget for two people is about $250 per month, falling in line with that of the USDA’s average thrifty American and well below the ones these millennials shared.

My additional top expenses include a $155 car payment, $191 cell phone bill (for two lines), and travel, which fluctuates month to month.

My monthly spending chart would look something like this:

 

How Do You Compare?

Do you know where your money goes every month? Even if you have to guess based on what you plan to spend, what does your chart look like?

If you don’t track your expenses, you might be surprised when you do see where your money is actually going.

Your Turn: Do you know your monthly expenses? How do they compare with your peers’?

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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These 5 States Guarantee Paid Sick Leave. Is Yours on the List?

Does your company offer paid sick leave?

It may be ahead of the curve if it does, as the fight to increase paid time off in the U.S. rages on.

A 10-year lobbying effort paid off in Vermont yesterday when Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a law requiring employers in the state to provide paid sick days.

Why Vermont Wants You to Get Paid When You’re Sick

Advocates consider the law a boost not only to individual employee benefits, but also to workplace and employee health as a whole.

“When Vermonters do not have access to paid sick leave, they often go to work anyway, putting the health of other workers, the workplace and all of us at risk,” Shumlin told WPTZ.

The Vermont law goes into effect in January 2017.

It will require companies, regardless of size, to offer three paid sick days to all part- and full-time employees, excluding temporary workers and those under 18 years old.

Starting in 2019, the mandate will increase to five paid sick days.

Most companies already provide a benefit at least as generous as this law requires and will be unaffected, reports WPTZ.

Do You Get Paid Sick Leave?

Vermont is the fifth U.S. state to pass a law like this.

Over the past three years, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon have each started requiring companies to offer paid sick leave.

Maryland and Washington have similar bills pending.

In addition, these cities have passed ordinances regarding paid sick leave:

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• New York, New York

• Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco, California

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane, Washington

• Washington, D.C.

If you work for a company that doesn’t clearly advertise its employee benefits, check into your state or city’s laws. You might be eligible for paid time off you weren’t aware of!

Parental Leave Advocates Celebrate

Advocates for increasing mandated paid parental leave in the U.S. consider these laws a win, as well.

Sharon Block, principal deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor, said of the Vermont law, “This new law is for the mom who has to decide if her son’s fever is too high that she should take the day off to care for him at home, or whether it’s better to keep that paycheck, put him on the bus and hope for the best.”

President Obama agrees.

“This action means thousands of families will no longer have to choose between losing income and taking care of a sick child,” he said in a statement released by the White House.

Your Turn: Does your city or state mandate paid sick leave? Should all states have similar requirements?

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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Costco’s New Starting Pay is So Good, You Might Want to Apply

We’re big fans of Costco when it comes to saving money — but what about when it comes to earning money?

Turns out, it might be helpful there, too.

The wholesale retailer just decided to raise its entry-level wages, The Seattle Times reports.

This is big news, because although Costco reviews its pay scales every three years, it hasn’t raised its entry-level wages since 2007.

When you see how much you could earn, you might be tempted to apply.

How Much is Entry-Level Costco Pay?

Costco’s current entry-level wage in the U.S. and Canada is $11.50 to $12 per hour, according to The Seattle Times.

But starting this month, it will increase to $13 to $13.50 per hour.

For an entry-level position, that’s pretty awesome. To put it in perspective, it’s more than 30% greater than Walmart’s starting wage of $10 per hour, or BJ’s $9 per hour.

Plus, the majority of Costco employees quickly move beyond that pay.

“About 60 to 65 percent of Costco’s employees make top-scale wages, which are in the $23 range,” Costco’s chief financial officer Richard Galanti told The Seattle Times.

And the journey from entry level to top level is fairly short: around 4.5 years, according to Galenti.

Starting at $13 per hour is already pretty good — and moving to $23 per hour within five years? We’d say that’s a career path worth checking out.

Click here to learn about open jobs at Costco.

Your Turn: Are you surprised by how much Costco employees earn? Would you work there?

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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Orange County Choppers' headquarters sells for $2.3 million

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The famous glass and steel “World Headquarters” of Orange County Choppers sold to an undisclosed buyer Wednesday after a three-day online auction that heated up in the final hour.The 61,000-square-foot building on Route 17K in the Town of Newburgh has been on the auction block since Monday, with a minimum bid of $900,000. After lingering at $1,115,000 until early Wednesday afternoon, it sold just before 3 p.m. for $2,275,000.The price [...]

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The Simple Way I’m Saving $720 a Year on My Cell Phone Bill

When I left grad school to start my first real job here at The Penny Hoarder (yay!), I took some time to craft my first-ever, line-by-line budget.

As I added each item, my budget seemed pretty reasonable. I found an Internet-only cable plan for $25 per month, set aside $100 a week for food and allotted $100 for electricity.

My high-ish monthly car payment wasn’t ideal at a starting salary, but since I took a tiny apartment with below-average rent, I could afford all of the necessities — and still set some aside for my savings account.

Then, I got to my cell phone bill.

It was $90 per month. For just me. To have a cell phone.

I had to do something. Luckily, I was able to find a cheaper solution — without sacrificing quality.

The Anatomy of My Old Plan with AT&T

If $90 for a single cell phone plan sounds high to you, let me break it down.

I had a single line through AT&T. I’d been grandfathered into their unlimited data plan, which cost me $30 per month. Unlimited text messaging was another $20 on top of my base rate of $35, the lowest-priced plan available.

Throw in some service fees and taxes, and you’re looking at a bill you might as well round up to $100.

I called AT&T to see what it could do about my bill, but since it had just rolled out a new set of plans with prices based on data usage, there wasn’t anything cheaper available.

I was using tons of data — somewhere around 5GB per month — since I was used to unlimited. That much would cost $110 on the new scheme.

I knew I needed a new phone anyway, so rather than re-up my contract with AT&T, I started asking around about my friends’ plans. Luckily for me, I run in tech-friendly circles, so I kept hearing one response again and again: Google Fi.

Why I Switched to Google Fi

Google Fi is Google’s revolutionary, bargain-priced cell phone service plan.

It isn’t really a network, per se. Rather, Fi piggy-backs on T-Mobile’s and Sprint’s networks, as well as available WiFi wherever you are. Your device automatically switches to whatever source of connectivity is strongest.

There’s no contract, and when I say cheap, I mean it. You pay one easy, flat monthly fee of $20 for unlimited talk and text, and then $10 per GB of data you use.

No more, no less: If you don’t use up all of your data, you get a reimbursement on your next bill.

And if you go over your projected data use? You won’t find any punitive overage charges — the same $10/GB rate, and they don’t even round up.

So if you sign up for 2GB and use 1.2, you’ll receive a credit for $8. If you use 2.6GB, you’ll only be charged the extra $6 — not a full $10.

Even if I continued to use the 5GB per month I was used to, I’d save $20 per month. And if I could find a way to cut back, I could spend way less!

What’s the Catch?

When I decided to switch, the service was invite-only. It only took about a week for me to get my invitation after I requested it, but it was still a barrier to entry.

But you won’t have to worry about this — this week, the service went completely public! That means anyone can sign up, anytime.

The only other thing that might scare you away? Fi is only compatible with Google’s Nexus line of phones, specifically the new models: 5X and 6P.

I’m an Android user who’d already owned a Nexus once and was planning to go back anyway, so this was actually a bonus for me. But if you’re an Apple user, you might not be so jazzed about making the switch.

But before you click the “Back” button and decide you’re done with this article, hear me out. You’d have to give up your preferred OS… but you can buy the 5X for just $349.

How Switching to Android Might Save You (a Lot of) Money

In fact, to incentivize the newly public network, Google has just released a deal that knocks $150 off the price when you activate with Fi before April 7.

That means you get a brand-new smartphone — free and clear, with no contract, lease or monthly installation plan — for less than $200.

And it’s not a crappy phone. It’s got 2GB of RAM just like the iPhone 6s, and it’s actually got an arguably better camera (0.2 more megapixels) and processor (quad-core as opposed to dual-core).

Or, if you want to get really premium, you can pick the Nexus 6P. It’ll cost you $499, but its octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM make it a much nicer phone than the iPhone 6s — even the Plus — which will run you darn close to $1,000 unlocked and without a contract.

Heck, the iPhone 6 Plus costs $399 with a contract — just $100 less than buying the Nexus 6P outright, which will pay for itself in monthly bill savings in no time flat.

Yeah, your iPhone’s pretty, but so is the Nexus line. And paying more money for a product with less impressive specs? No, thanks.

It’s pretty clear that using a Fi-friendly Nexus is a good penny-hoarding option on paper, especially when compared to buying an iPhone, even if you find the cheapest way to do so.

But is it actually a good deal? Will you be satisfied with your service?

How Google Fi Transformed my Phone Bill

I’ve had my new phone and Fi connection for three months now, and I’m happy to say everything’s working great.

The first month, I overestimated my data usage. Looking to tone it down (but not too much), I paid for 3GB — a total of $50.

Since I knew I was paying per GB, I started paying close attention to my data usage. Since I’m usually at home or work — and almost everywhere in between has a WiFi network anyway — keeping my usage down was as easy as asking for some network passwords.

I’ve actually turned it into a game to see how little data I can use, and how close to $20 I can keep my bill.

I only used 1GB of data the first month, so I got a credit for $20 on my next bill. Since then, I’ve happily been paying $30 per month or less for my cell phone service.

And even though it doesn’t have its own towers, Fi’s connectivity hasn’t given me any problems.

Every once in awhile, I’ll fall between coverage zones for a split second… but that happened on AT&T, too. The problem usually resolves itself before I drop a call or have to resend a text message.

And my phone? It’s awesome.

It’s got all the power I could ask for, and I own it free and clear. I haven’t run into a single consistent glitch.

During the past three months, I’ve been able to stash the additional $180 into my savings account… instead of giving it to AT&T.

By the end of the year, I’ll have saved $720. Hey, you could almost buy an iPhone with that!

Your Turn: Would you consider switching to Fi to save money on your cell phone bill?

Jamie Cattanach is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She also writes other stuff, like wine reviews and poems — you can read along at http://ift.tt/1RiB7sH.

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Big six energy suppliers overcharge seven in ten households

Tom Wilson

woman-checking-heating.jpg

Big-six energy providers are taking customers “for granted”, with 70% of their customers stuck on the most expensive variable tariffs, according to the interim findings of a long-awaited investigation into the energy market.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that those who don’t switch are typically being overcharged £300/year, compared to the best deals.

read more

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Dairy Queen is Giving Away Ice Cream: What You Need to Know for Free Cone Day

Spring is right around the corner, and Dairy Queen wants to help you usher it in.

The restaurant is turning last year’s “Fanniversary” success into a way to support a good cause.

In partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, DQ is hosting another annual Free Cone Day on March 15.

This year, stop into any participating Dairy Queen or DQ Grill & Chill location and make a donation to Children’s Miracle Network, and you’ll get a free small vanilla soft-serve cone!

That’s “with the signature curl on top,” CMN of Orlando notes, in case you needed additional incentive.

No donation is officially required to get your free cone.

But c’mon. Do it for the children.

Where to Go on Free Cone Day

DQ locations across the U.S. are participating, but we recommend getting in touch with your local store to confirm the promotion before showing up with your sweet tooth.

Free ice cream and the warm, fuzzy feeling of helping kids in need? The days are starting to feel a little brighter already.

Your Turn: Blizzard, brownie sundae or a Dilly Bar? What’s your favorite way to eat DQ ice cream?

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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This Study Might Actually Convince Your Boss to Let You Work From Home

Can working from home make you a more productive employee?

As technology improves to better facilitate remote work and connect employees in different locations, we’re starting to see reports of happier, more productive employees — working from home.

For example, of the 39% of people surveyed who said they work remotely at least once a month, 77% reported increased productivity, according to a 2014 ConnectSolutions survey.

Should We All Work From Home, Then?

While we agree this statistic points to an interesting trend, we do acknowledge issues with the study.

The most important: ConnectSolutions is a private cloud solutions provider, with a clear interest in promoting remote work. So we have to take their findings with a grain of salt.

Also note, this and other studies reporting on work-from-home productivity typically rely on a worker’s report of their own efficiency.

Even ConnectSolutions points out, “Whether remote workers are able to work with greater efficiency off-site or are more motivated to demonstrate off-site effectiveness…” — a crucial distinction.

An employee who enjoys the flexibility of working from home may report higher productivity in the interest of promoting remote work.

Or, it could be that remote workers do, in fact, work harder from home to assuage concerns their employer may have about their productivity while working from home. As remote work days become a more common workplace benefit, might that extra effort subside?

To determine whether working from home is as efficient as workers report, you have to study the actual productivity of a workplace with remote workers.

A study by Stanford University economists did just that.

Their experiment with one company did, indeed, yield higher productivity from work from home employees — almost a full extra workday per week, per employee!

Researchers suggest a work-from-home option for one or two days per week increases employee job satisfaction.

Remote work options attract better employees, which naturally improves the quality — and, therefore, output — of the workforce.

Is Remote Work Right for You?

Whether working remotely can increase your productivity or job satisfaction may always be subjective.

Let’s look at who tends to work from home — and why they might choose to. How do you compare?

Older Employees

Employees who work from home at least one day per week are usually older, with more than half between 35 and 54, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.

Nearly 60% of employees who work from home full time are over 45.

Also, 68% of work-from-home employees are married, compared with just 56% of overall employees.

Younger, unmarried employees, whose social life is more likely to include coworkers, may feel more isolated working from home.

On the other hand, married employees with children more likely enjoy the flexibility to work around their families’ schedules.

Low Wage Earners

Employees who work from home tend to be low earners, but live in high-income households.

Half of employees who work from home full time earn less than $25,000 per year.

Forty-eight percent report an annual household income of more than $75,000, with 35% at $100,000 or more.

The cushion of a partner’s salary might make it more feasible to take a flexible position that offers lower pay.

Workers in Service, Sales and Management Positions

The Stanford study followed call center work, which researchers admit is simple to do from home, the Harvard Business Review reports.

Census Bureau data confirms this kind of position is more likely to be done remotely, along with positions in management, business, science and the arts.

Stanford researchers suspect we wouldn’t see such an increase in productivity for creative work and positions requiring a lot of teamwork.

We do see a clear demand for flexibility in the workplace, though, especially as lifestyles change and roles within families shift.

Work-from-home days may be a smart solution for companies and employees alike. Time — and experience — will tell whether this benefit will stick around.

Your Turn: Do you work from home or think you would if you could? What benefits do you experience working remotely?

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 Turn Your Passion Into an Income Stream

Today, I’m going to talk about professional wrestling. In truth, professional wrestling is just a substitute for anything a person might be passionate about, but I’m using it as a specific example for a specific reason.

One of my old friends is incredibly passionate about professional wrestling. He’s been a fan of it since we were children. He’s attended more live events than I can count and seems to never miss a pay per view. Through him, I’m at least vaguely aware of what’s going on in professional wrestling and I watch the occasional match or clip that he sends to me, but his passion and excitement for it blows any interest I may have out of the water.

Over the years, he’s lamented to me that he’s spent a lot of money on the hobby. He’s received a lot of enjoyment from it, don’t get me wrong, and I don’t believe he regrets it overall, but I think he’s taken aback at the money he’s spent on event tickets, pay per views, online streaming, video games, and so on.

My friend, the rest of this article is for you – in fact, this article started as an email to you that I realized may have value to others. What follows is a recipe for how my friend could turn his passion for professional wrestling into something that could earn at least enough money to pay for his expenses.

The thing is, although I’m using professional wrestling as an example here for my friend, the advice here could apply to almost any interest a person might have. You can follow this recipe if you’re passionate about football or about vintage trains or about beer. Whatever your passion is, this recipe will work.

What You Need

You don’t have to be a professional wrestler to make money from professional wrestling. Similarly, you don’t have to be a brewer to make money from beer, or a board game manufacturer or designer to make money from board games.

All you really need are two things to earn some money from your passion: a willingness to share your knowledge and your viewpoints in a public way (and, ideally, in an entertaining and/or approachable way) and a small amount of technical skill and equipment to create content with.

Those two factors alone eliminate a lot of people for a lot of reasons.

Some people don’t have the self-confidence or personal desire to share their knowledge and viewpoints in a public way, even if it’s largely anonymous. It takes courage to put yourself out there, even if you do it in a way that’s very protective of your identity. You’re still putting your thoughts and your creative impulses out there for all to see.

Many others can’t stomach the criticism that inevitably comes from this. If you share something on the Internet, someone will criticize it. Usually, that criticism is anonymous and vicious. There are times when it can really hurt you personally. You have to have a thick skin and/or the ability to ignore that stuff. Some people can do it. Some can’t. (Trust me, what an anonymous person writes about you on the Internet says much more about that anonymous person than it does about you.)

Others find the technical skills to be a hurdle, even though the threshold is fairly low. Creating content and finding a place for it online does require at least some technical skill and that can scare some people off.

Still others simply don’t want to invest any time in doing it. It takes time to do this, time that many people simply don’t have any desire to invest. Sometimes, people don’t have the time to invest, though this is rarer than most people think.

Even more people are eliminated when you consider those who can’t focus over a longer period of time. These people might start off like gangbusters, but they’re unwilling (or unable) to stick with this through the long haul — and the long haul is where the magic happens.

When you eliminate all of those people, you’re left with a fairly small group. That group is capable of turning their passion into something from which they can make a solid side income and even a full living wage. Sometimes, it can even be more than that; you can build significant personal wealth making goofy content about professional wrestling. I know people who have made significant personal wealth making goofy content about many other things, so doing the same with professional wrestling isn’t even the slightest stretch of the imagination. You can substitute almost any topic with even the slightest bit of mass appeal into that sentence and it still holds true.

So, how do you get started? How do you turn those two key elements – a willingness to share your knowledge and your viewpoints in a public way (and, ideally, in an entertaining and/or approachable way) and a small amount of technical skill and equipment to create content with – into something of value that can actually put money in your pocket?

Here’s how.

Create Something

The best way to start – in fact the only way to start – is to make something.

Write an article. Write a draft of a book. Record a podcast episode. Record a video. Write an app for the App Store.

Here’s the catch, though. As soon as people create one single thing, they immediately want to share it. “I wrote one article! It’s time to start a blog!” “I wrote one first draft! Time to publish it on the Kindle Store!” “I made one video! Time to start a YouTube channel!” All of those things are mistakes, and here’s why.

First, your first attempts and first drafts usually aren’t very good. The first time you write something, particularly when it’s your first time writing an article on a topic, it’s probably not going to be very good. The same is true with making a video, writing a book draft, and so on. It’s not going to be a shining example of what you can produce.

The solution? Revise. Be critical. You may eventually get to a point where your first drafts are pretty good, but you’re not going to be there at the start. Step back, look at what you created, and look for what’s wrong with it and what could make it better. Have others look at it, too, and ask them to name both good and bad things about it. Then revise. Remake it. Do it again. Try to accentuate the positives and eliminate or at least minimize the negatives.

Second, it is far better to launch with lots of content than with one piece, because people who like your stuff will want to discover more of it. Sure, it’s tempting to share your first good creation with the world, but if you do that and there’s nothing else for them to see, the interaction stops there. The more things you have to show a person who is checking out what you have to offer, the more likely they are to stick around, to remember you, and to come back for more at a later date.

The solution? Shoot for having multiple pieces of content when you start sharing. I’d suggest having at least two finished e-books if you’re going that route. For shorter things, like blog articles or videos, try to have at least five and perhaps even 10 of them. That way, if someone likes what they see, they’ll be able to quickly find more.

Third, it is very, very useful to have a “routine” in place before launching. In other words, understanding the process that you go through in creating a piece of content, from finding the germ of an idea to the finished product that’s ready to share, and being able to replicate that process as efficiently as possible. This is actually trickier than it sounds.

The solution? Go through the routine of making pieces of content, whatever they might be, and focus on improving your skill at the various steps. At the same time, come up with something of a standard procedure for creating those pieces of content. Yes, this feels like “work,” but the purpose of this is to do it up front so that you’re much more efficient at producing things and thus there’s less “work” later on.

Work through each step that you have to take to produce content and make those steps as efficient as possible. That way, you have a pipeline in place for making more content, and you can spend more time on the fun part, which is actually coming up with ideas and executing them.

Need Content? Make ‘How-To’ Guides, Reviews, Commentaries, and Lists

For some, coming up with ideas for new articles or videos or even short books related to their topic is easy. For others… generating ideas for articles can be tough.

If you’re finding it difficult to come up with a topic, I strongly suggest falling back on one of four types of content. It’s easy to think up ideas related to these four areas.

The first type is “how-to” guides. A how-to guide explains to someone in detail how to do something related to your main topic of interest. For example, a pro wrestling fan might create a video on “how to find a particular match on the WWE Network” or “how to find inexpensive wrestling memorabilia.” If you’re creating material about cooking, you might want to create “how-tos” related to specific cooking techniques, for example, like how to sautee onions just right for any recipe. Almost every area of interest involves doing something as a participant or as a fan, and a “how-to” guide explains the basics for pulling that off.

The second type is the review. Take some item related to your hobby and give a detailed review of it. Sticking with the pro wrestling example, you might want to create a review of a classic wrestling event, walking through the matches and the storylines, or of a trading card series. If you’re into board games, like I am, you might create a review of a new board game, describing the ins and outs of the physical materials and the gameplay. Again, any area of interest that has physical objects you can use or pieces of entertainment that you can enjoy is ripe for reviewing.

The third type is the commentary. This is somewhat similar to a review, but instead of giving the ins and outs of a particular item on a whole, you instead actually share some of that content while giving your thoughts on it. For example, you might create a video of one of your favorite matches, stopping the video to offer comments and humorous anecdotes at key moments. If you’re into Starcraft, for example, you might make a video of a well-known match and offer up some of your thoughts on the key moments, perhaps from an instructional standpoint on how to play better or perhaps just from an entertainment perspective.

The final type is the sometimes-derided list. The old standby of the “top 10 list” can be very entertaining if done well and can also provide a way for others who are interested in the topic to discover new elements of that area of interest, plus such lists always generate discussion. Again, a professional wrestling content creator might make a list of their top 10 matches of all time, top 10 wrestling shows of all time, or top 10 gimmicks of all time. A movie fan might make a top 10 films of all time list, or a top 10 twist endings list, or even a top 10 actors list. The possibilities here are endless.

Each of these areas can provide an endless source of ideas for new content for your websites, books, videos, podcasts, and so forth.

Be a Part of the Community

While you’re making these things, whether it’s videos or written material or podcasts or anything else, it’s worth your while to become a more active part of online communities related to that area of interest.

There are lots and lots of online communities out there related to almost any topic or passion you can imagine. Seek them out. Get involved.

You can start with the usual social media sites. On Facebook, look for groups on there related to your topic of interest by simply searching for them, then joining those groups and participating. On Twitter, simply search for terms related to your area of interest and start following and talking to active users who comment on things related to your interest. You can take a similar approach on Instagram. You might also want to look at reddit and find specific sub-reddits related to your topic.

Once you’ve found these conversations, join in. Offer your input (but do it politely, or at least at a politeness level that’s relative to the tone you use in the content you’re making). Ask questions. Offer help in response to simple questions. Over time, you’ll make a bit of a name for yourself.

Why do this? There are two big reasons.

One, a community like this in which you are a member is a great place to share and promote your content. People welcome this when you’re a member of a group and have a positive reputation, but they’re very hard on it when you’re not a member and are just spamming your stuff. Get involved with the group now and people will be excited to see whatever it is that you create later on.

Two, such communities offer endless ideas for new content. From the questions that people ask to the interesting ideas that they share that might be something you can replicate, an online community is an endless source of great material that you can use to create your own great material.

Your job, for now, is to find communities related to your topic of interest and get involved in those communities. Make yourself known. Answer questions. Be helpful. Learn some things. Share some resources. Join in the conversation. Later on, you’ll have a great resource for showing the things you’re working on and for creative ideas to expand upon.

Share Your Stuff

So, you’ve got several things you’ve created connected to a topic you’re passionate about and you’re ready to share them with the world. You’ve also made yourself a part of a community related to that topic.

Now what?

Now it’s time to launch something. How exactly you do this depends on what kind of content you have. If you’ve made some videos, for example, YouTube is probably the place to go. If you’ve written some articles, you may be looking at one of these options. If you’ve written some books, you’re probably going to want to look at the Kindle Store. For podcasts, you’re going to want to check out one of these podcast hosting services. For photography, Flickr and Instagram are good places to start.

Since there are so many different ways you might have chosen to share your thoughts and insights about the areas you’re passionate about, I can’t possibly address all of them. Suffice it to say that there’s a solution out there no matter what you choose to be doing.

Once you have several pieces of content out there for the world to see, now’s the time to head back to those forums and communities where you’ve been involved for a while and have a positive presence. If you share what you’ve been working on in those places, you’re going to get some very positive feedback and little resistance, provided you don’t flood the place with your stuff.

I have one really powerful suggestion that’s worked well for me in the past. If you’re on social media or on a messageboard and you see someone asking a question that inspires you to make some piece of content (a video, an article, even a short book), go back to that person after you publish and share the content you made with that person specifically. You’ll almost always gain a loyal follower.

Worry About Revenue Later – It Will Come

Many people immediately start worrying about revenue as soon as they start creating content. The truth is that you should wait before worrying about revenue. Spending a lot of time worrying about revenue when you don’t have a big audience is a lot like spending a lot of time washing Ziploc bags – it’s not a very productive use of your time. Revenue decisions matter much more after you’ve built an audience, so focus on creating good stuff and getting it out there for people to see/hear/read it before you worry about revenue.

Having said that, some avenues make this easier than others. For example, YouTube allows you to have ads on your videos from day one, which means that even when you’re first getting started with videos, you’ll have at least a tiny trickle of income (and I do mean a tiny trickle at first). Selling Kindle books is also another obvious way to directly earn money. Other things are a little less obvious and require adding advertisements to websites you create or other creative angles, but they’re out there. Anything with an audience can earn some money for the creator.

Don’t worry about revenue until you have an audience large enough that it would be difficult to have one-on-one conversations with all of them. That’s my rough rule of thumb. When you have an audience that’s bigger than you can personally handle one on one, you’re likely in a situation where word of mouth is taking hold and growing your audience for you (in part, at least), so you should start thinking about making money. Until then, don’t sweat it.

Final Thoughts

As I said at the start of this article, this isn’t a path for everyone to follow. For many, many people, there are reasons why this avenue won’t work for them.

However, if you’re passionate about something and are willing to put yourself up there and be hit with a lot of anonymous criticism along the way, creating content about your passion is a fantastic way to stay deeply in touch with that thing you’re so passionate about while also earning some income.

I’ve done this very thing myself, and you’re actually reading the result of it. The Simple Dollar followed almost this exact recipe and it grew to the point where the income from the site sustained my family for several years and continues to provide employment for me. I’ve helped at least two friends launch things related to their interests that are each thriving and are each earning a pretty nice side income – in fact, one of them is considering doing it full time.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck.

Related Articles:

• How to Start a Blog: A Side Business Primer
• Turning Passion Into Income Via Youtube
• 11 Fun Things to Do That Actually Earn Money

The post How to Turn Your Passion Into an Income Stream appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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3 Credit Mistakes Young People Make (and How to Avoid Those Mistakes)

Remember that high school class you took on how to build your credit score?

No? Of course you don’t remember. You didn’t take such a class.

Unfortunately, this kind of education isn’t normally offered in high school. In fact, according to research released by Credit Karma and Qualtrics, only “one-in-four (28 percent) [young adults] had received any type of personal finance education before college.”

Um, yikes.

According to the same research, “68 percent of Americans made at least one major Credit Fumble before turning 30, with every form of major mistake common among people in their 20s.”

Um, double yikes.

What’s a Credit Fumble™? According to Credit Karma, it’s “the phenomenon where young adults, new to credit and many without any financial education, make largely avoidable financial mistakes.”

These credit mistakes could lead to years and years of consequences. It might be more difficult to get access to credit or services that depend on credit scores to price their services or qualify people for access to their services.

3 Credit Mistakes Young People Make

Today, I’d like to go over some of these credit mistakes so that you can avoid them and/or teach your kids to avoid them. These are some serious mistakes. Let’s do our best not to fumble the ball, people!

1. Racking up credit card debt that isn’t paid off within a year.

This is one Credit Fumble™ you should never make. Unfortunately, according to the research by Credit Karma and Qualtrics, over “half of young adults (54 percent) racked up debt on their credit cards that they were unable to pay off within the year.”

That’s horrible.

Credit cards might help you build up your credit score, but if you hold debt for an extended period of time, it’s going to hurt you.

While holding onto debt for just a few months might not do much damage to your credit score, you might want to reconsider holding debt longer than a month. Why? Well, my point has nothing to do with your credit score, my point has everything to do with making sure you don’t get into the cycle of debt that plagues so many Americans.

I recommend that you pay off your credit cards every month. And don’t use your credit cards unless you know you can afford to do so (that’s how you avoid this problem).

2. Missing payments on a credit card or loan.

This one is bad, really bad.

According to the research by Credit Karma and Qualtrics, over “forty percent of young adults either missed payments on a credit card or loan (47 percent) or had an account sent to a collections agency because they were unable or unwilling to pay their debt (44 percent).”

It’s a whole other level of bad news when you miss your credit card or loan payments. Sure, if you can’t pay the normal amount, you can’t pay the normal amount. But that doesn’t mean that you should just sit back and do nothing!

Call your credit card or loan company and see if you can negotiate lower, minimum payments so you can remain in some good standing with the company. Then, make sure to actually follow through on your commitments and meet (or exceed) the expectations of the company.

Sometimes, people just give up on their bills when they look at the total. Don’t do that. Proactively try to negotiate lower payments.

But don’t stop there. Once you actually have the funds to make higher payments, do so! Don’t let debt sit around like it owns you or something. Kick it to the curb!

3. Defaulting on a loan.

Look, there’s a ball of fire rising into the stratosphere!

Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But seriously, defaulting on a loan is one of the biggest credit mistakes you can make. And, unfortunately, a lot of young people have made this one . . . .

According to the research by Credit Karma and Qualtrics, “one-in-four consumers had defaulted on a loan before they were 30 (26 percent).”

This just keeps getting worse and worse. Again, the solution here is to not take out loans in the first place that you can’t pay off. Another great solution, again, is to call your credit card or loan company to negotiate some reasonable payments.

The Devastating Effects of These Credit Mistakes

You might be saying to yourself, “Well, it’s not so bad if I – or my kids – make one or two of these mistakes.”

Think again.

According to Credit Karma and Qualtrics, an “overwhelming majority (75 percent) felt that defaulting or having an account sent to collections had a negative impact on their quality of life. Roughly one-quarter of people who made a Credit Fumble had to move back in with their parents (26 percent), while slightly more than one-in-four had to move into a cheaper apartment (27 percent) and over one-in-five sold possessions.”

Moving back in with parents, moving into a cheaper apartment, and selling possessions . . . these don’t sound like fun activities to me. I’m sure you feel the same way.

Unfortunately, the bad news doesn’t end there. According to the same research, 61 percent of those who defaulted or had an account enter collections are declined for a credit card. Plus, 31 percent of them cannot get an auto loan and 16 percent of them were not approved for a mortgage.

These consequences are felt well past one’s 20s.

That’s why it’s so very important to make sure you take some steps right now to ensure you or your kids get on a solid financial path – a road that leads to financial success instead of credit mistakes.

Simple Steps to Avoid Credit Chaos

Here are a few things you can do to further avoid credit mistakes.

1. Take a look at Credit Karma’s article.

Read The Credit Fumble: More Than Two-Thirds of Young Adults Make Significant Financial Mistakes.

There, you will learn more about these fumbles and get to dive into some additional key facts. There’s also a lot of educational content over at Credit Karma, so I encourage you to take a look.

2. Get on a budget already!

I’ve said this time and time again, but it might need repeating: get on a budget!

A budget will save you from overspending on your credit cards and it will help you be realistic with your finances. Spending aimlessly is a highway to making a credit mistake. Don’t go there.

3. Take a look at my resource for young people.

Whether you’re entering college, in college, just out of college, or in your 20s, you can probably benefit from reading my resource page called Just Out of College. Parents, this is a good one for your young adult kids!

I’ll show you how to deal with your student loans, save your own skin by setting up an emergency fund, and even show you how to save for retirement (while time is still on your side).

4. Take a look at Credit Karma’s tools.

Credit Karma gives you free credit scores, reports, and monitoring. It doesn’t get much better than that!

See what Credit Karma has to offer and take charge of your credit today.

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10 Spiritual Work-at-Home Gigs

By Emily Belcher Have you ever been intrigued by the life of spiritual workers? Many people think that you must be born with an innate sense of psychic ability to work in the spiritual field. However, nothing could be less true. Like every other profession, spiritual workers have to practice their skills to be considered […]

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Holidaymakers hit by weak pound

Tom Wilson

pound-versus-dollar.jpg

Holidaymakers heading off for Easter are likely to see their spending stretched by a weak pound, caused by nervousness in the run up to the EU referendum.

The pound has fallen by 7.2% against the Euro over the last year costing someone with a £500 cash budget €50 when travelling to mainland Europe.

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