الثلاثاء، 22 مارس 2016
Pocono Raceway expands Spectra's hospitality role
Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/1ZpTiAO
New iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch unveiled: how much do they cost?
Apple has unveiled its latest product suite, launching its cheapest ever iPhone, an updated smaller version of the iPad Pro, and a range of new straps for the Apple Watch, which will also become cheaper.
Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1Ppt3CY
The Hillary Recession
In a supremely weird election season the latest weird twist is the consensus emerging on Wall Street that Hillary Clinton would be better for financial markets than Donald Trump. But the financial gurus may have gotten it wrong this time...
Source CBN.com - Finance http://ift.tt/1RxEfVM
Source CBN.com - Finance http://ift.tt/1RxEfVM
Buy as you View rent-to-own customers to get £939,000 redress
Around 59,000 people will be paid redress worth almost £1,000,000 after a rent-to-own company agreed to refund customers who were treated unfairly.
Buy as You View, a company that offered rent-to-own schemes for furniture and consumer technology, was criticised by regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for:
Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1UiperP
A third of retirees will live for more than 30 years
However, research from the company finds that retirees are highly likely to underestimate their life expectancy, with 25% of adults expecting to live between 16 and 20 years after retiring at 65 and 20% expecting to live for between 11 and 15 years.
Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1Rh2zrO
Think Your Last Job Interview was Stressful? Look What This Guy Had to Do
What’s the toughest job interview you’ve ever endured?
I bet this is worse.
When 18-year-old Devin Washington went into Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in eastern New Orleans last Saturday, he was prepared to impress his potential future employer.
But he probably wasn’t prepared for just how far he’d go to do it.
During the interview, a man walked into the restaurant and asked to “make some change,” 60abc.com reports. When the cashier opened the register, the man reached over “in an effort to steal the money.”
Assistant manager Dominique Griffin tried and failed to grab the man. Restaurant manager Danyanna Metoyer blocked the man from leaving, then Washington stepped in.
“The job applicant grabbed the suspect from behind in a reverse bear hug,” the New Orleans Police Department reported in a statement. “Realizing he was overmatched, [the suspect] threw the cash on the floor and surrendered to the manager and the applicant.”
With one of the cooks, Washington held the thief until police arrived and arrested him.
But … Did He Get the Job?
With such a hullabaloo, you can probably guess the managers didn’t have a chance to complete the formal interview with Washington.
Imagine the stress! You just manhandled an attempted robber, and you’re on pins and needles over whether you’ve got a new job?
Thankfully, once the commotion settled down and the suspect was arrested, he got his answer.
Crime-fighting abilities aside, the managers had already decided to give Washington the job.
They hired him immediately, saying he “righteously earned the position.”
Your Turn: What’s the most bizarre thing you’ve experienced in a job interview?
Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).
The post Think Your Last Job Interview was Stressful? Look What This Guy Had to Do appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Money and Social Acceptance
Just the other day, I came across this great section on pages 45 and 46 of the current paperback version of Your Money or Your Life:
Some of us operate from the myth that money is social acceptance. The urge to be part of a group is a deep one. To be excluded is experienced, on an unconscious level, as a threat to survival. The desire to keep up with the Joneses may not be grounded solely in ostentation and competition, but also in a profound desire for acceptance by others. Our advertising industry capitalizes on our epidemic low self-esteem by promoting products to make us more tolerable to our fellow humans: we can smell better from head (shampoo) to toe (foot powder), have slimmer bodies and the right car, and learn how to dance – for money. Even friendship seems to cost money. Do you need to spend money to enjoy the company of your group of friends?
Let’s look at another form of social acceptance: dating and mating. Historically and cross-culturally, we know that money (or cows or goats or plots of land) almost always figured in the marriage contract. But what about our liberated society? Does money play a part in romance? Do we, on some level, still hold some belief that money represents success with the opposite sex?
As with the other misconceptions about money, operating from the myth that money equals acceptance seems to have some merit. After all, enjoying the company of other people while dining, seeing a movie, or running on a beach is a pleasure you wouldn’t want to eliminate simply because it costs money. It becomes dangerous only when we lose sight of the fact that companionship, friendship, and intimacy are all available free of charge to people who sincerely extend their love to others. It’s when we equate money with social acceptance that the distortions begin. It’s like going to a fine restaurant that serves many delicious entrees and eating the menu rather than the meal. There’s no joy in that, just as there’s no joy in spending money to gain acceptance but never experiencing true intimacy.
Boy, there’s a lot in those three paragraphs to unwrap. The thoughts that the authors – Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin, and Monique Tilford – combined into that handful of sentences are well worth digging into.
So let’s do it.
“The desire to keep up with the Joneses may not be grounded solely in ostentation and competition, but also in a profound desire for acceptance by others.”
When I read that sentence, I immediately think of the social groups I’m involved in.
I participate in a couple of board gaming groups in my area. They meet on various nights and on various schedules, but they all revolve around people bringing a few games with them for people to play.
When people bring new games, those games often get a lot of attention. People are interested in playing them and it can give a quick boost to one’s self-esteem by bringing those new games. You have this sense of feeling more accepted and liked when you do so.
But that sense of acceptance, that sense of being liked, is very fleeting. Someone else may show up even that very evening with a new game and they suddenly have that fleeting attention, and that will definitely happen before the next meeting or two.
It doesn’t last because, frankly, it’s meaningless. It’s fully about the item, not about you.
Yet we fall for that feeling all the time because, deep down, we want to feel accepted. We want to feel like part of the group. We want to, at least on occasion, feel the respect and care of others.
Yet the kind of attention that we buy, the kind of attention that we feel like we get when we try to keep up with the Joneses, it doesn’t last. It’s about as fleeting as it can possibly be.
I like to think of it as throwing newspaper into an already-roaring campfire. It will burn brightly for a few seconds, but before long it’s gone and you’re left with the same old campfire and no more newspaper.
“Our advertising industry capitalizes on our epidemic low self-esteem by promoting products to make us more tolerable to our fellow humans”
So, why exactly do we need that fleeting sense of acceptance so much? I think the above quote is really onto something – it’s low self-esteem.
Many of us feel as though our own merits are not enough to make us be accepted by others most of the time. Perhaps we’re ashamed of our appearance or of our lack of knowledge or culture. Maybe we feel as if we don’t know anyone and don’t have any healthy pre-established relationships with anyone. There are a lot of reasons that feed into this.
Quite often, the self-confidence we see in others is practiced by them or simply an aspect of their personality, but not necessarily indicative of a high self-esteem, either.
It’s my belief that a lot of modern culture feeds into this. Advertising definitely feeds into this – it either uses unrealistically positive images of people to sell their product (people we are supposed to feel as though we pale in comparison to) or else show people with obvious failings turning themselves around due to that product (people we are supposed to think of as like ourselves). Beauty magazines and websites definitely feed into this, as do most celebrity magazines and websites. Many television programs and even some movies do this as well, showing “glamorous” lives that aren’t actually reality at all but serve the purpose of making us think that our day-to-day lives aren’t very good – and, lo and behold, there’s an ad or a product placement pitching us with the very thing we need to fix it.
It is no wonder that many of us have a low self-esteem, and it’s also no wonder that we make a mental connection that particular products will solve some of the “problems” we think of when we think of ourselves.
It’s really troubling, to say the least.
One of the biggest reasons that I encourage people to reduce media consumption – especially television – is to reduce that negative mental connection. If your choice is between watching a television show or going on a walk in the woods, there’s almost no doubt that the walk in the woods will have drastically more positive impact on your self-worth while also reducing the influence of product placement and advertisements in your life.
The end result is that you’ll be less compelled to spend money, for several reasons, of which I’ll name three. One, you simply won’t be aware of as many products as you otherwise would be. Two, it won’t be reinforced in your mind that you need particular products to live the image of a great life. Three, simply being outdoors and getting some exercise will naturally lift your self-esteem and your long-term health, too.
Spend less time viewing media that encourages you to feel bad about yourself and encourages you to buy products, whether directly or indirectly. Spend more time doing mentally and physically active things, preferably with other people and preferably outside, at least some of the time.
“Even friendship seems to cost money. Do you need to spend money to enjoy the company of your group of friends?”
This is an interesting point, one that matches up wonderfully with my own experience.
During the latter part of my college years and the first few years of my professional life, I could count the people I was close to in my life on my fingers and toes. They really fell into two groups – the people that were in my peer group of “young professionals” who worked for the same group of employers in the same town, and everyone else in my life.
The “young professionals” group was essentially an expensive group to hang out with. Everyone always had the latest gadgets. People were constantly going out for drinks and often for dinner. There were many rounds of golf played. Many people drove rather nice cars. The conversation often steered toward these things as well. People would give some fleeting respect to whoever had the shiny new thing, but that attention moved on pretty quickly.
The other people in my life largely didn’t care what I owned. They’d spend time with me no matter what, whether it was a meal we made at one of our homes and a lazy evening playing cards or a night out on the town. For them, the stuff and the actual activity didn’t matter nearly as much as the people and the shared experience of whatever it was that we happened to be doing.
Today, I essentially have no connections whatsoever to that “young professionals” group. I’m still “Facebook friends” with a few of them; I have no contact at all with most of the rest of them. We simply didn’t have anything “real” in common other than talking shop or talking about the stuff we each had.
On the other hand, I’m still close with every single other person I was close to ten years ago that’s still living. My closest friends are still my closest friends.
To them, it didn’t matter what car I drove or what gadgets I had or anything else. What mattered is that I was a good, helpful person who was there for them in moments of trial (and vice versa). What mattered is that we helped each other when it was needed and provided friendship and companionship when that was needed, too.
I find that it does cost money to maintain a group of acquaintances, because those acquaintances often want to do things like constantly go out or compare the possessions that everyone has. On the other hand, it often costs very little or nothing to spend time with genuine friends and loved ones.
I’d far rather spend the time and effort to cultivate a true friendship than throw money at fleeting “friends.”
Genuine friendships are available free of charge. Photo: Bernard Oh
“Do we, on some level, still hold some belief that money represents success with the opposite sex?”
I think this is absolutely true, for many reasons.
Look at the traditions of courtship that still persist. The idea of an expensive dinner and expensive dates. The idea of the ludicrously expensive engagement ring. The idea of the ludicrously expensive wedding.
Having money underlies all of that stuff. Many dates are expensive. An engagement ring is expensive. A wedding is often really expensive. A honeymoon can be really expensive. That adds up to a small mountain of cash for the process of two people coming together in marriage.
Even if you’re never going to get married, you still have the cycle of the expense of dates, and even if you go on cheap dates, most people still buy things like perfume or cologne or makeup as tools.
All of this relies on having expendable income. That’s not to say people with little money can’t date, but that frequently the cost of dating tends to expand to fill one’s disposable income.
Why do we do that? To impress those we’re romantically interested in, of course. We try to bring as many signs of success to the table as possible because we’ve seen it work as an attractor, and this isn’t just something that can be laid at the feet of the media, either. As you can read in the long quote at the start, it’s a cultural tradition: “Historically and cross-culturally, we know that money (or cows or goats or plots of land) almost always figured in the marriage contract.”
Here’s the thing, though: Most of the money spent in modern situations to improve attractiveness to the opposite sex is spent on fleeting things. Makeup and rings and weddings and so on are things that are fleeting or extraneous.
I think a much better route to show your value to a potential partner is to do financially responsible things. Buy a late model used car and keep it in good shape – while it might not be the glossy thing of the month, it can still look really good for a long time if you take care of it. Be careful with your money and buy a house, which is a sure sign of financial responsibility.
In other words, you can’t always completely avoid the need to show financial success during the dating rituals, but you can choose smarter ways to do it by choosing signs of financial success that aren’t actually financially disastrous.
“It becomes dangerous only when we lose sight of the fact that companionship, friendship, and intimacy are all available free of charge to people who sincerely extend their love to others.”
In the end, this is the real key to everything. Companionship, friendship, and intimacy are available free of charge to those who sincerely extend their love to others.
When I think about my board game group and the people who bring in a new game and receive that fleeting attention, I quickly see that the real lasting friendship and connections actually go to the people who sit down and teach the games, the people who are friendly to everyone who shows up, and the people who are willing and happy to play almost anything anyone else wants to play.
The people who act in a kind way toward others, in other words, are the ones who end up building strong connections and relationships with everyone.
The same is true in virtually every social group I’ve ever been a part of. The people that have great relationships with everyone are usually not the people who are buying a lot of stuff. It’s the people who take the time to interact with each other in a caring manner.
It’s the mentors. It’s the teachers. It’s the people willing to do the dirty jobs sometimes. It’s the people who are kind. It’s the people who aren’t negative. It’s the people who go out of their way to make others feel welcome.
It’s not the people who treat everything as a quid pro quo. It’s not the people who get angry when you’re not perfectly convenient for them.
It’s the people who give their love freely to others without expecting anything in return who become accepted by the group and build lots of relationships.
The thing is, you don’t have to be perfect to find that acceptance. You just have to open up and give of yourself. Be a part of the conversation. Don’t be negative. Find ways to be kind. Greet people – especially those who seem to be a bit on the outside. Be willing to teach when there’s something to teach.
Sure, there are positive things you can always do, like being clean and wearing clean clothing, but those are normal behaviors in society and violating those kinds of simple norms can ensure that you won’t find social connections.
“[T]here’s no joy in spending money to gain acceptance but never experiencing true intimacy.”
I think it’s that intimacy of a good friendship or other relationship that we’re seeking when we spend money for acceptance. We hope that by spending that money and buying that thing and having that thing that, somehow, it will make the rest of it easier.
Here’s the truth, though: Buying stuff might be a shortcut toward initial acceptance, but it’s not a shortcut to the type of richer relationships that people truly crave.
The only way to build those relationships is to love others, to treat others well, and to give it time. Great friendships and relationships are built out of lots of positive interactions, not a few flashy purchases.
If you’re hoping that going to your game night with the hot new game will buy you that kind of friendship, you’re going to be disappointed. It’ll buy you acceptance, but not anything lasting or meaningful.
The same thing is true in virtually every aspect of adult life, from buying someone’s lunch to having an amazing new gadget in your pocket, from buying drinks to wearing an expensive cologne. They build a fleeting level of acceptance, but no real closeness.
You have to build that closeness yourself, and it takes real time and real effort. Money isn’t a substitute for that and never will be.
Final Thoughts
The simple truth is that money will never buy you lasting social acceptance. It can buy you fleeting social acceptance, but that acceptance fades away quickly. What’s left when that acceptance fades? You.
It’s up to the person underneath to build lasting social acceptance and friendships and relationships. No amount of money will change that.
If you want to become someone who is more socially accepted and better able to build friendships and relationships, close your wallet and work on yourself.
For starters, work on caring for others as much as you wish they would care for you. Accept that, yes, sometimes it’s going to backfire and you’re going to be hurt, but that the upside is worth it. Force yourself to break out of your shell and talk to people – I find it easiest to start with people who already are kind of on the outside at the moment. Give what you know freely. Help others when they need it. When you’re feeling down in the dumps, don’t respond to others with negativity.
If you feel bad about attributes of yourself, work on those attributes. Get more exercise. Get more sleep. Eat a better diet. Work on your hygiene routines. Read more about the topics you feel you should know more about. Be positive about the good things you have to offer – and believe me, you do have good things to offer.
If you do those things, you go from a person who has to buy fleeting social acceptance to a person who has to spend nothing at all to have genuine acceptance, friendship, and relationships. That’s a huge life upgrade.
Related Articles:
- The Power of Social Indifference
- Frugality, Financial Independence, and Social Situations
- Can Money Buy You Happiness?
The post Money and Social Acceptance appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Here’s How This Family of 3 Lives Well on a Single Income
Parents in America face a lot of hard choices regarding family leave and child care. My husband and I are no different.
Like any young couple, we discussed our plans for a family from the very start. We always agreed when we had kids, I’d become a stay-at-home mom for a few years until the children went off to kindergarten.
However, this dream seemed almost impossible. Could a family still manage to live on one income in the 21st century? That was the question we had to answer
Our first (and only, for now) child was born in 2013, but we started planning to transition to one income when we got engaged in 2010.
We’ve now been living the one-income dream for three years. Though I can’t speak for everyone, I can tell you how our small family is flourishing on a public school teacher’s salary, which averaged about $56,000 in 2013.
Living on One Income
A lot of time, effort and planning went into making it possible for us to live on a single income. We accomplished our goal by doing the following:
1. We Planned Ahead
We were both working full time when we purchased our home, but we knew I’d stay home one day.
We bought accordingly, selecting a house and mortgage well below what the bank offered us.
We also had a target number in mind for all housing-related monthly expenses, one we knew we could pay on one salary. The mortgage payment, homeowner’s insurance, property taxes and HOA fees all had to come in below this amount.
We showed restraint, but we were still able to buy a brand-new home.
2. We Paid Down Debts
There’s no way I could stay at home if we were drowning in debt.
Before I quit my job, we paid off my husband’s student loans ($250/month) and both our car loans ($480/month) for a total budget reduction of $730 a month.
I also paid off about $3,500 in credit card debt after our daughter was born by picking up extra classes as an adjunct professor.
We aren’t completely debt-free – we still have my student loans and the mortgage – but we’re on our way.
3. We Shopped Around
We shopped around and switched our car insurance, homeowner’s insurance, cell phone and health insurance plans in order for me to stay home.
The savings really add up.
4. We Budget
We make a budget each month and use an app called Goodbudget to track our spending.
Since we pay most of our bills automatically, we only create three envelopes in the app: groceries, gas and incidentals, which covers haircuts, oil changes, prescriptions, birthday presents and other randomness.
We both have the app, which syncs regularly so we can see our spending in real time.
5. We Make Sacrifices
I know many women want to work full time and many other women have absolutely no choice but to work.
That being said, sacrifice is part of the equation for every stay-at-home mom I know.
For our family, this means driving older cars, going out much less, taking fewer and shorter vacations, searching for free entertainment, and planning and saving for anything that’s not a necessity.
How We Thrive on a Single Income
It isn’t all work, no play at our house. Here’s how we keep the fun going with less money.
6. We Have Supplemental income
We actually live on about 1.25 incomes.
When I was working full time, I made $41,000 per year. I now work 10-15 hours each week teaching and freelance writing. This supplemental money — about $10,000 per year — is usually gravy to our budget.
The “wiggle room” lowers tension and keeps our worries at bay (as does our emergency fund).
7. We Use Co-op Babysitting
We trade babysitting services with another couple to lower the cost of going out.
They watch our daughter once a month for free. The next month, we babysit their kids for free. We also use our parents and siblings whenever we can!
8. We Have a Date Night Envelope
During the 10 months I was pregnant, we asked for gift cards to restaurants and the movie theater for every birthday and gift-giving holiday.
By the time the baby was born, we had an envelope filled with enough gift cards for us to go on a date each month, and we continue to add to the envelope.
We get some peace of mind knowing the dates will come and they’re already paid for. We can look forward to alone time together without having to worry about stretching our budget for date nights.
9. We Joined the YMCA
Joining our local YMCA has been one of the best things we’ve done.
We pay full price for a family membership ($79 a month). It’s a bargain for what we receive in return: access to the gym, a variety of fitness classes, computer lab and a pool. I challenge you to find another place offering so much for so little!
Additionally, our daughter can be in the Kids Zone for an hour and a half each day while we’re there. This means I can take her for quality play time with new toys and new friends — and I can get some “me” time whenever I need it.
This has done wonders for my sanity as a stay-at-home mom.
10. We Have Personal Fun Money
In our marriage, money is combined and we make money decisions together.
But we also budget for what Dave Ramsey calls “blow money.” The amount changes depending on our expenses, but my husband can do whatever he wants with his fun money without consulting me, and I can do the same without consulting him.
We feel this gives us the best of both worlds: We’re on the same page as a couple about our financial future, but we individually have an outlet to spend autonomously and blow off steam.
Living on a Single Income was an Adjustment
I’ll admit, there was a little bit of financial culture shock the first year I stayed home.
It was hard to adjust our lifestyle at first, but now we’re thriving in our “new normal.” We appreciate each dollar more and make wiser decisions.
Whenever we feel like giving up, we refocus on the prize of experiencing day-to-day life with our little one.
And we’re excited about the idea of continuing to live on one income once I go back to work. Then we can use most of my salary to achieve some big-picture financial goals, while adding a few more luxuries back into the picture.
Most importantly, we’ve learned we can work together and make our money work for us to create the life we want.
Your Turn: Has your family ever lived off one income? Share your experiences in the comments below!
Leah Baacke is a stay-at-home mom, adjunct professor and freelance writer. She is a Florida native and currently lives in the Tampa Bay area.
The post Here’s How This Family of 3 Lives Well on a Single Income appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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How to Save Up to 50% on Groceries Without Clipping a Single Coupon
Life can sometimes seem like an endless cycle of picking up and dropping off kids, going to work, throwing together a quick dinner and somehow fitting in laundry and a glass of wine — on your good nights.
Clipping coupons? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
But food is expensive, and if you’re not doing anything to save on your grocery bills, you’re saying goodbye to money for college funds, retirement or a much-needed vacation.
To help you cut back on this major expense, we’ve rounded up five quick ways to save money on groceries — no coupons required.
1. Earn 5% Cash Back on Food
Wanna earn cash back on groceries? We’ve got a simple solution: Apply for the Chase Freedom® card.
You’ll get $150 for signing up and making $500 worth of purchases in the first three months, plus an extra $25 when an authorized user makes a single purchase in that same timeframe. The card also has no annual fee.
Even better, you’ll earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 worth of purchases in specific categories each quarter. On all other purchases, you’ll earn 1%.
From April 1 to June 30, 2016, the card’s bonus categories include grocery stores — except Walmart and Target — as well as wholesale clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco.
In other words, you’ll automatically save 5% on your normal grocery costs just for getting this card.
Potential Savings: 5%
2. Get Paid to Shop
Yes, you read that right: You can actually make money grocery shopping.
One of our favorite strategies is becoming a mystery shopper. For each shop you complete, you could earn $10-$20.
If you’re spending an average of $100 per week, that’s a savings of 10%-20%!
Our founder Kyle has done a lot of mystery shopping in his day, and has compiled a list of the best mystery shopping companies to work for. Don’t get scammed — only sign up with reputable companies like the ones on his list.
Potential savings: 10%-20%
3. Go Organic — Without the Cost
Buying groceries is expensive no matter how you spin it — and buying healthy groceries, even more so.
That’s why we love Thrive Market. This site allows you to purchase organic food for up to 50% less than what regular stores charge.
You won’t be able to get everything on your list, but you’ll be able to make a healthy dent in it (pun very much intended!).
Potential Savings: 50%
4. Shop Online to Earn More Cash Back
Another clever way to earn cash back on grocery purchases is shopping online, then picking up your items in-store.
For example, if you frequently buy groceries at Target, you could earn 2% cash back making purchases online instead.
Shipping to the store is always free, and in certain locations, they’ll even bring it to your car for you!
Sound like a plan? Sign up through a cash-back site like Ebates, then shop like you normally would. You’ll even get a $10 welcome bonus just for signing up!
Potential Savings: 2%
5. Catch Big Savings at Walmart
Because it’s so confident its prices can’t be beat, Walmart has created an app allowing you to quickly compare prices and get money back if a lower one is found.
It’s called the Walmart Savings Catcher.
Once you download it, all you have to do is scan your Walmart receipt.
The app automatically searches the advertised prices of nearby competitors. If it discovers something is cheaper elsewhere, it automatically sends you an e-gift card for the difference.
How easy is that?
Potential Savings: Totally depends — these reporters saved 13%
Saving money on groceries doesn’t have to be complicated — or time-consuming. Follow these tips, and you could be saving up to 50% before you know it!
Your Turn: What’s your favorite way to save money on groceries?
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The post How to Save Up to 50% on Groceries Without Clipping a Single Coupon appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Yes, You CAN Travel the World for Free. Here’s How I Did It
Traveling for free. It’s the ultimate dream, right?
It might sound impossible — but it’s not.
Combine travel hacking with a dose of seasonal jobs, a sprinkle of creativity and voila: You really could travel for free.
I know, because I did it for many years.
For the better part of a decade, I trotted the globe by using frequent flyer miles, teaching English abroad, volunteering in several countries and working a variety of seasonal adventure jobs.
All these strategies allowed me to travel for much less money than you can imagine — and often, for free.
Since I want all of you to experience the magic of exploring somewhere you’ve never been, here are 10 ways you can start traveling for free.
1. Get Free Plane Tickets
Transportation is one of the most expensive parts of travel. Without a doubt, the quickest and easiest way to get free flights is to rack up points with a rewards credit card.
My personal favorite is the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, which is offering a 50,000 point sign-up bonus right now. That’s enough points for one or two free flights with dozens of different airlines.
To get the bonus, you need to spend $4,000 on the card within the first three months.
If that’s more than you regularly spend, don’t fret; you can always pick up the tab for your friends’ big purchases and have them pay you back in cash.
Two other perks? You’ll earn two points for every dollar you spend on travel and dining, and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year.
2. Play With Polar Bears
Due to retreating sea ice, polar bears have become classified as a threatened species.
Though we’ll hopefully figure out ways to reduce climate change and bring their numbers back up, now is still the time to see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat.
And if you spend the summer working at Deadhorse Camp in Alaska’s arctic, you’ll get to do it for free.
In addition to an hourly wage, you’ll get free lodging, three meals a day and a $1,000 end-of-season bonus to cover the costs of your plane ticket.
3. Squirrel Away Money into a Travel Fund
Everyone wants to save money for travel, but few people manage to do it — which is why you should make it automatic.
One of the best ways to do so is with an app like Acorns.
Once you connect your credit or debit card, Acorns rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and puts the “change” into a savings account. You don’t even notice the money leaving, which makes for truly painless saving.
Using this innovative platform, one of our writers will save over $400 this year. That could buy her a flight to the Caribbean or Central America — how nice would that be?
4. Join the Cartel
Traveling for free takes a lot of work — otherwise everyone would do it. So sometimes it’s smart to get help from the experts.
Chris Guillebeau, one of my personal heroes, has visited every country in the world. Lucky for us mortals, he shares his secrets through the Travel Hacking Cartel.
As a Cartel member, you’ll receive several emails each week with promotions and tips to help you earn more travel rewards.
Membership only costs $1 for the first 14 days, and $15 to $39 per month after that. It also comes with a unique guarantee: Earn 100,000 miles — enough for four plane tickets — in your first year of membership, or get your money back.
I’d say that’s a bet worth taking!
5. Sleep With Strangers
No, not in the same bed — get your mind out of the gutter!
In case you haven’t heard of it, CouchSurfing is a sweet service connecting you to like-minded people across the globe. These fellow travel lovers let you sleep on their couch for FREE.
All they ask is a bit of reciprocity: that you offer up your couch to another CouchSurfer once back in your hometown.
6. Move to Antarctica
Want to live in one of the most remote corners of the planet?
Get a job in Antarctica.
You’ll get free housing and food — plus a decent income — for spending months on the bottom of the world.
Since you won’t have anywhere to spend the money during your stint, you’ll also leave with a significant chunk of change…
Not only that, but Antarctic employers also pay for your transportation down there.
Since you can attach your own frequent flyer account, these round-trip flights will earn you enough miles for a free ticket to a different destination during the off-season.
7. Eat Out at Restaurants
Cooking at home is an excellent way to save money, but sometimes you just can’t be bothered.
If you do decide to eat out, make sure you sign up for travel rewards programs first.
For example, United Airlines is offering 1,000 bonus miles when you sign up for its United MileagePlus Dining program — plus more miles when you eat at one of its thousands of participating restaurants.
8. Cuddle With Baby Goats
This is a real thing that exists. Trust me, I’ve done it.
Through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), you can get free room and board in exchange for four to six hours of work per day. Gigs range from crushing grapes in New Zealand to cuddling goats in North Carolina.
And WWOOF is far from your only option; here are several more types of work exchanges that’ll help you travel for free.
9. Shop Online
If you do any online shopping, please tell me you’re using a shopping portal.
If not, you’re pretty much throwing money away.
Before you buy anything online, check a site like Cashback Monitor to see which travel partner offers the most bang for your buck.
For example, if you shop at Sierra Trading Post — one of my favorite stops for travel gear — you can earn two American Airlines miles per dollar spent.
That’s on top of the miles you’ll earn by using your rewards card. Woohoo!
10. Set Sail
Is there any better way to see the world than by boat?
Probably not.
But #yachtlife is never gonna happen for me, unless I happen to marry a millionaire.
Since that’s looking fairly unlikely, I’ve often considered joining the crew for a sailboat or cruise ship. These travel jobs cover room and board, and allow you to see many different locations within a single season.
Don’t be like the countless people who wish they could go places — but don’t want to put in the effort travel hacking requires.
From experience, I can tell you: It’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it.
Instead of sitting around wishing you could travel, follow these tips and explore the world for free.
Your Turn: What’s your favorite way to travel for free?
Editorial & FTC Disclosure
This content is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.
UGC Disclosure: These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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 Yes, You CAN Travel the World for Free. Here’s How I Did It appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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