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الأربعاء، 23 مارس 2016

Silvio Calabi: 2016 Jeep Cherokee is the same, but more so

Already in its third year, the revived Cherokee, Jeep’s mid-size crossover ute, hasn’t changed much in 12 months, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t made the news lately. More on this later; for now, here are the touchpoints:Since 2015, the base price of a Latitude 4X4—our sample Cherokee—has dropped by $705, to just $27,195 (plus $995 shipping). I haven’t studied the specs to see if the ashtray was stripped out; let’s just figure [...]

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How Much Do We Hate Doing Our Taxes? According to This Study, A LOT

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner for your in-laws.

Changing a baby’s diaper.

Painting your house.

Breaking your arm.

What do these all have in common?

People would much rather do any of them than prepare their taxes.

People Would Go to Incredible Lengths to Not Do Taxes

In a recent study, WalletHub surveyed 1,000 taxpayers to discern their feelings surrounding everyone’s favorite upcoming due date.

And some of the findings aren’t just interesting — they’re hilarious.

If you think the activities above sound rough, 13% of folks surveyed would rather spend a night in jail than prepare their taxes.

And 32% would rather fold 100 fitted sheets.

I’ve watched this video at least 10 times, and I still can’t even fold one.

When asked what they’d do to never have to file taxes again, respondents really raised the stakes: 11% would scrub Chipotle toilets for three years, 10% would stop talking for six months, and 8% would name their firstborn child “Taxes.”

Equivalent numbers of those surveyed — 4% — would be willing to spend an entire year in jail… or kill someone.

Uh, guys. Taxes aren’t THAT bad.

Need Tax Help?

If you’re one of the people who’d rather miss a connecting flight (*shudder*) than do your taxes this year, you’re in the right place.

We’ve found eight places to file your taxes for free, and we’ve got you covered on avoiding filing errors, too.

If you’re a parent, check out these nine credits or deductions you might be qualified to receive this year. What better motivation for filing than free money — am I right?

And if you’re scratching your head as a freelancer, whose taxes are infinitely more confusing, we’ve got resources for you, too.

Still confused? Here’s where to get free tax filing help.

And besides, there’s always a silver lining. Who else is looking forward to that refund check?

Your Turn: What would YOU rather do than file your taxes?

Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She also writes other stuff, like wine reviews and poems. She finished her taxes in February because… free money!

The post How Much Do We Hate Doing Our Taxes? According to This Study, A LOT appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.



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How to Make Smart and Generous Financial Decisions

how to make smart and generous financial decisions

This post brought to you by American Century Investments. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Good Financial Cents.

Our lives are filled with financial decisions.

Sometimes, these decisions are made instinctually – without much thought. While instinctual decisions might turn out to be the right ones, they can also be the wrong ones.

Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to take a step back and examine our financial decisions. Are they smart? Are they generous? How do we make smart and generous financial decisions? These are important questions to ask.

Take a few moments to think through these questions.

How to Make Smart Financial Decisions

For some reason, high schools don’t seem to teach students how to make smart financial decisions. I certainly didn’t grow up learning how to make smart moves with my money. I had to go to college for that . . . and I still had a lot to learn over the years.

Let me give you a few shortcuts regarding how to make smart financial decisions.

1. Don’t make big decisions quickly.

I once had a client tell me that they wanted to take an enormously large chunk of money out of their retirement account because they wanted to buy a truck. Uh, bad decision.

I doubt that my client had given this idea much thought, because if they had, they would have chosen to keep the money in the retirement account.

Don’t make big decisions quickly. It might cost you.

2. Take educated risks.

It’s okay to take risks. But if you’re going to take them, make sure they are educated ones.

For example, it’s reasonable to diversify your investments for retirement throughout the stock market. Is it a risk? Yes. Is it an educated one? You bet. This kind of risk is reasonable because you’re nearly betting on the entire stock market. Unless armageddon happens, you’re probably going to do fine over the long-term.

Some people are afraid to take even educated risks. Too bad for them, they’ll most likely lose out on a lot of opportunities.

For example, I took the educated risk of spending time and money on creating a blog and made over a million dollars from it. It was a risk in that it could have been a waste of time and money and turned out to be a flop, but it worked out!

3. Get the advice of many.

Before you sign up for that variable annuity, it might be best to talk with more financial advisors to see if it makes sense.

I remember a woman who paid over $3,500 in variable annuity fees and didn’t even know it. Had she sought my input and advice before she signed on the dotted line, she probably would wouldn’t have paid those fees because she would’ve known the details about that crummy financial product.

If you would get the opinion of another doctor, why wouldn’t you get the opinion of another financial advisor?

Make smart financial decisions.

How to Make Generous Financial Decisions

It’s easy to think about me, me, me. But what about the we, we, we?

Our financial decisions not only affect ourselves, but they also affect the people around us.

Here are some ways to make generous financial decisions.

1. Define your purpose in life.

Many people are living day to day. Sometimes, they’re working dead-end jobs that don’t accomplish their life goals.

Sometimes, they don’t even have life goals!

Don’t let this be you. Define your purpose in life.

Here are some questions that can help you define your purpose in life:

  • “How would you like to leave the world a better place?”
  • “What influence do you want to have on others?”
  • “Why are you doing what you’re currently doing in life?”

2. Focus on your needs.

The challenge for all of us is to not live in surplus. This is difficult to accomplish, but it’s the most generous way.

By focusing on our needs and meeting those, we can find ourselves more willing to give our surplus to others. The truth of the matter is, stuff only makes us happy for a short period of time. True happiness, friends, is found elsewhere.

3. Educate yourself about others’ needs.

Once we’re willing and able to be generous, it’s important to educate ourselves about others’ needs.

If you’re going to give to the homeless, find the best organizations to give to that are focused on helping the needy instead of their own wallets. This is just one example.

Make generous financial decisions.

How American Century Investments Represents a Smart and Generous Investing Option

Every once in a while, you might run across a great company. American Century Investments is one of those companies.

I believe that investing with them is not only a smart choice, but it’s also a generous one. Here’s how.

More than 40 percent of American Century Investments profits have been distributed to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a non-profit basic biomedical research organization. The Institute is the controlling owner of American Century Investments and has received dividend payments totaling over $1 billion since 2000. This institute is a 550-person, basic biomedical research organization focused on improving their understanding of fundamental biological processes.

I don’t know about you, but when you can accomplish a higher purpose while investing at the same time, that makes me feel good. Asset management companies that donate to worthy causes get the “thumbs up” from me.

Now, did this company come up out of nowhere? Of course not. It was due to the generosity of a couple: James Stowers Jr. and his wife, Virginia. Both cancer survivors, they understood the need for medical research and founded the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in 1994.

Here’s what they said about it:

Virginia and I are both cancer survivors and we know first-hand the fear and loneliness that come with the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease. So it was natural to think about how we might offer help and hope to others facing cancer and other diseases.

This couple is an inspiration. Instead of hoarding all their wealth, they actually dedicated their personal assets to create the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. What a powerful example.

Health and finances seem to affect each other. My dad, for instance, had so much debt that it stressed him out – which I believe was a contributing factor in his declining health and death. Therefore, a campaign to better both the financial and medical health of people is, in my view, a worthwhile and meaningful campaign.

Not only is American Century Investments a worthy asset management company because of their distributions to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, but they have some unique characteristics as an investment company.

For example, investment management is their sole business focus. They have had performance focus for more than 55 years and have the goal of delivering superior, long-term, risk-adjusted performance.

Concluding Thoughts

You can make smart and generous financial decisions. And you know what? Those decisions will affect every other area of your life.

The truth of the matter is that our health affects our finances, our finances affect our relationships, our relationships affect our job performance, and so on and so forth.

Aim to improve your finances. Other areas of your life are sure to benefit as well.



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This Mom Found a Clever Way to Teach Her Millennial Son About Money

living at home invoice

How much does it cost parents to support adult children living at home?

One Toronto mom decided to find out — and prove a point to her “unappreciative” son.

The son, known only as Chalipo, posted the story to Reddit, saying “Mom gave me an invoice for supporting me for 13 months. Charged me $1,000 for being an unappreciative ass****.”

He shared a photo of the invoice, which detailed 14 lines of products and services his mother said she has “delivered free of charge for the last 13 months ALONE,” plus one line for five years of tuition amounting to $23,550.

What Were the Charges?

“We got into a discussion that it doesn’t cost a lot for him to live here,” Chalipo’s mom, told ABC News.

He didn’t seem to get it.

She was fed up, and in a moment of motherly frustration, she drew up the invoice to show him just how much it cost her to support him.

The invoice’s grand total was $39,254.17.

If we remove the five years of tuition, the $1,000 ass**** charge and sales tax (yes, she included that), 13 months of living expenses for the 23-year-old add up to $11,838.20.

That’s $910.63 per month.

It’s hard to see those charges adding up when you don’t pay the bills each month. But, as Chalipo admitted, the invoice was a wake-up call.

“This was a very effective parenting technique and it has helped me to realize what an entitled little sh*t I have been,” Chalipo said in response to comments.

Mom Gets the Last Word

As they’re wont to do, Redditors tore apart the invoice in the comments.

Their questions demanded an explanation for the invoice they were never meant to see.

To their surprise, Mom was there to defend herself!

Warned by her son that the invoice was going online, she created an account on the site as momknowsbest64. Well played.

“Oh my goodness,” she replied to the scrutiny. “I was mad. Do you think I really meant to send this and have 3,000 [sic] people scrutinize the format? It was to make a point.”

We think her point’s been heard — loud and clear.

Your Turn: Are you an adult living at home with your parents? Or are you a parent with an adult child living at home?

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 This Mom Found a Clever Way to Teach Her Millennial Son About Money appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.



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Reacting to Metrics: How to Use Data to Make Concrete Social Media Marketing Improvements

Metrics aren’t perfect.

But if you can’t measure something, you have no idea whether it’s working or not.

While metrics don’t always tell the whole story by themselves, together, they can provide you with the whole picture.

This allows you to spot problems as well as opportunities for improvement in all areas of your business, including your social media marketing. 

There’s one issue I constantly see:

Marketers record metrics but never do anything with them.

Just recording metrics won’t do anything. You need to record and analyze them so you can take action to improve your processes, which will then lead to positive results.

That’s what I want to talk about in this post. 

By the end of this post, you should understand what to look for in your social media metrics and how to respond to that data and improve your marketing.

We will look at metrics on both social media sites and your business’ site because social media is only the top of most conversion funnels:

image06

1. Valid subscribers/followers

One thing you’ll certainly want to track on social media is your subscriber (or follower) growth over time.

If your social media plan is working well, chances are your subscriber count will grow at an increasingly fast rate.

You can track this metric manually, using a simple spreadsheet. Just remember to record your follower count every month for all your social channels.

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Alternatively, you can use analytics of many social media tools, which will typically include your follower growth.

One example is Buffer, which tracks new followers as well as many other social metrics:

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Reacting to changes in follower growth: Each month, you could face three different scenarios.

1. Your follower growth may repeat itself in the last few months, which is good. Your process only requires a change if you believe there is significant room for improvement.

2. Your current follower growth may exceed your past follower growth. In this case, you need to analyze your social media posts carefully and figure out what went right.

If you understand the reasons behind the growth improvement, you should be able to sustain it.

3. Finally, your follower growth may be very low or significantly worse than in previous months.

That indicates a problem that needs an instant response.

There are two possible scenarios here, but one is easier to solve than the other:

1. If your follower growth was and still is very slow, you need to go back to the classroom.

Learn more about an effective social media plan as well as individual social media tactics. Here are some resources to help you get going:

2. If your follower growth is much slower than usual, you need to analyze what went wrong.

If you tried a new strategy and it didn’t work, it’s obvious that you need to either try a new one or go back to an old one.

But if the reason for the drop isn’t obvious, create a spreadsheet with the following columns:

  • month
  • number of social media posts
  • number of posts in category 1
  • number of posts in category 2
  • number of posts in category 3…and so on
  • changes within the social network

Fill this out for at least the last 3 months.

Your goal is to find the reason that caused the drop in follower growth.

It may be because you made more posts about a certain topic, which appears not to perform well on social media.

It may also be something out of your control. For example, Facebook has lowered organic reach in the past, which may reduce your follower growth.

In the end, you want to identify the reason for the drop and then fix it if possible.

2. Post reach (impressions)

Next up is post reach, which tells you how many users (mostly your followers) saw your posts.

Again, you can measure this with any advanced tool, but all this information is provided on all the main social media networks.

For example, in Twitter analytics, click on “Tweets” at the top, and you’ll get a detailed breakdown of your overall impressions as well as impressions per tweet.

image09

On Facebook, go to your analytics panel for you business’ page, then go to your page stats, which show you the same sort of breakdown:

image01

Obviously, a higher reach is better, so that is what you should always be looking for.

There are a few things to do here.

First, export this data into a spreadsheet, and then sort it by day.

Calculate the average reach for posts on each day. This will tell you what the best and worst days to post are.

Next, create a new column for all the posts, and put the time it was posted into the new cell.

Then, plot this time against the reach for the post.

On some networks, like Facebook, this is already done for you, and looks like this:

image05

Now you know the best time to post as well.

Start scheduling your social media posts at your peak impression times, and schedule more on the days that get the most impressions.

Finally, analyze post impressions by type of post: You need to create one more column where you manually fill in the type of post.

For example, you might create the following categories:

  • question posts
  • image posts
  • video posts
  • a link to an article

Feel free to make your own categories if needed.

Then, calculate an average number of impressions per post in each category, and compare them.

You’ll likely find that your followers respond better to some types of posts than to others. Start using those post types more often.

Just by analyzing your impression metrics, we’ve identified three ways in which you can substantially improve your social media marketing strategy.

Keep in mind that you should do this on a regular basis because the optimal times, dates, and types of posts may change as your audience grows and changes. It may happen slowly, but it can happen.

3. Engagement and click-through rate

Now that you have as many people seeing your social media posts as possible, it’s time to look at metrics for the next step in a typical funnel.

Engagement tells us how many users are interacting with your posts. It varies depending on the network.

For example, engagement on Facebook could be a click, like, share, or comment.

All of these are important in their own way.

The value of a click: shares, likes, and comments are valuable, but ultimately, you need to find ways to drive social followers to your content on your website. Otherwise, you’ll never generate revenue.

That’s why measuring the number of clicks you get on each post is so important. You should also measure your click-through rate—the number of clicks divided by the total impressions for each post.

Some networks provide this information in their analytics, but you can always use a tool such as Buffer:

image03

Clicks (and click-through rate) tell us one huge thing:

Does the user care enough about the post to click through?

On the other hand, shares tell us something different:

Does the user think this content is interesting enough to share with their followers?

It’s a small but important difference.

If a post has an above average click-through rate, that means your headline/post was enticing.

Study it, and learn why your audience thinks so.

However, if that post has a low share rate, it means that either sharing the post would make your user look bad to their followers or that they clicked through and were disappointed.

Usually, this won’t be clear, which is why we’ll be looking at more metrics in the following sections to identify the true cause of this problem.

The opposite can also happen. You might see that some posts get a lot of shares, but hardly any click-throughs.

This tells you that the users think your post makes them look good to their audience (and they know you well enough to expect good quality), but it’s not interesting to them.

This may or may not be a problem.

If that user is your business’ target customer, it is a problem. Why? Because your goal should be to create content that is useful to your customer, not your customer’s followers (who likely aren’t your target customer).

On the other hand, if that user isn’t your target customer but their followers are, it’s a great thing.

For example, if I follow a fellow marketing blogger, I’m probably not their target customer. However, my followers, who are business owners and marketers, probably are, so a share without a click from me is a good thing.

Are clicks and shares equally important? It’s hard to quantify the value of both of these metrics, but they are both very important.

Shares help you get in front of new social users, which will lead to more followers.

Clicks help you get those users further down your conversion funnel.

Both are necessary for a thriving social media account.

4. Time on page

If you’re getting followers to your site, the next step is to ensure they love your content.

One of the best metrics to judge that is the average time they spend on your page.

There are many places to find this data in Google Analytics, but the simplest is to navigate to:

Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium

image04

This will divide your traffic by source, and one of the columns will show you the average time per page.

On top of that, you can click each name and then set a secondary dimension to the landing page so you can see whether any pages have a much better or worse time than others.

Reacting to average time on page: There’s no perfect time-on-page target to aim for. It depends on factors such as your topic, writing style, and length of content.

However, your average user should spend at least a minute on the site for most types of content (unless it is really short).

If your time-on-page metrics are low across all your content, you may have one or more of the following problems:

  • poor loading time
  • distracting ads/bad layout
  • poorly created content (reader quickly realizes they don’t like it)

Start by getting second opinions from anyone you can about your layout.

Then, evaluate your site speed.

Finally, if that reveals no problems, you may need to learn to create better content or to write better. It’s hard to admit, but it’s necessary if you want to improve.

What if you have low time on page only on certain pages?

In that case, the same factors as we discussed above might be responsible for that (maybe you have too many images slowing down load speed), but there’s also a new one:

  • you have a confusing headline (it may not match up with your post on social media)

Do your best to consider the viewpoint of your visitors. Would you expect to see your content after clicking through from your post? Or would you be somewhat confused?

This is an iterative process, and each time you iterate, you’ll learn more about the way your audience thinks and what they enjoy.

5. Conversions

No set of metrics is complete without conversions.

If you aren’t converting social media traffic into customers, then it’s worthless or, at the very least, not effective.

Luckily, Google Analytics makes this pretty easy to track.

If you go into “Acquisition > Social > Conversions,” you can click the button to set up goals (if you haven’t before).

image02

These goals work just like others.

You can set up a goal that tracks when someone becomes a new email subscriber (counts if there’s a new visit to a thank-you page) or when they buy something from you.

It’s up to you, but you should attempt to put a value on each conversion because this will help you quantify the value of your social media marketing.

Once you have a goal plus some data, you can come back to see the number of conversions you’ve made by network:

image07

Conversions are one of the final stages of your funnel.

If you’re getting a good number of click-throughs and your visitors are enjoying your content—but not converting—you have a problem.

Unfortunately, it could be many things. Perhaps your store isn’t obvious enough, or your content is attracting the wrong audience for your products.

Or your email autoresponder may need work.

There are too many factors to spell out here, but here are some resources that will help you investigate the issue and find the answer:

Conclusion

Metrics are an absolute necessity if you want your social media marketing to be effective.

But you have to take action.

We’ve gone over the most common social media metrics as well as ways to react to several different scenarios to improve your social media marketing efforts.

To close off, I’d really like to hear from you in the comment section below:

If you’ve ever made an improvement to your social media strategy based on the metrics you recorded, please share with me and everyone else what you’ve learned.



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How a 30-Minute Phone Call Saved Me $240/Year on Homeowners Insurance

Homeowners insurance

We’ve all been there.

That moment when you realize your credit card debt has piled up (again). And unless you don’t mind the increasing mound of debt, you probably do what we’ve all been taught to do: Figure out what you’re spending money on and start making cuts.

But what if cutting all your “wants” isn’t enough?

It happened to us when we made the switch from being a two-income family to living off a single income. It was a huge blow to our budget — and it kick-started my journey to finding creative ways to save money.

A Savings Strategy I Hadn’t Considered

I turned to The Penny Hoarder for advice on reducing food costs through couponing, and got a better handle on how to track our expenses.

But I wasn’t sure we could do much (if anything) to reduce our mortgage. We’d already refinanced our home in 2015 and had an excellent interest rate.

Then I recalled we’d recently installed a monitored fire alarm and thought it might help us qualify for a reduction on our homeowners insurance.

I called our insurance company to check. Not 30 minutes later, I knew more about homeowners insurance than I’d ever wanted to.  

Once the insurance agent understood we were trying to save money, she was forthcoming and helpful in suggesting other ways to lower our costs. I was surprised how willing she was to lead the conversation and explain each section of our policy. 

More importantly, I was surprised I’d reduced our annual premium by 20% — or $240.

Turns out there are several ways to reduce your homeowners insurance that have nothing to do with raising your deductible or botching your coverage.

How I Saved Money on Homeowners Insurance

Here’s what I learned about potential savings. Your company may offer similar options — it’s worth calling to find out!

1. Rebuild Valuation

Make sure the insurance company has the correct rebuild valuation for your home. That’s the cost it would take to rebuild your home if it burned to the ground.

Most (if not all) insurance companies use automated computer software to calculate this. Every year, the software automatically raises the valuation to account for increased material and labor expenses.

Our insurance company hadn’t checked or verified the rebuild valuation since we bought our home in 2007, and I discovered it was listed at $32,000 higher than it should’ve been! By adjusting our rebuild cost, we dropped our premium by $105 per year.

2. Personal Property

The typical default personal property replacement coverage is 75% of the rebuild cost.

We were covered for $230,000 worth of personal property — a ludicrous sum of money we’d never come close to reaching.

Unless you have luxurious furniture and closets full of high-end designer clothes, your personal property is probably worth 50% or less or your rebuild cost. We dropped our coverage to 50% and saved another $33 per year.

3. Security System

Did you know having a monitored security system can actually increase your homeowners insurance?

Apparently, it’s due to the cost of replacing complex wiring in the event of a rebuild. After running the numbers, we found out our insurance would cost $7 less per year without a monitored alarm system!

However, if the alarm system also included fire monitoring — which we had — the cost would be $12 lower per year.

By the way — we were able to get this installed for free, so be sure to check with your security company for deals.

4. Other Structures

Similar to personal property estimations, insurance companies typically default the “Other Structures” cost to 25% of the rebuild cost.

“Other Structures” is a broad term used to describe the cost to rebuild structures separate from the home, such as a detached garage, tool shed, driveway, swimming pool, patio or gazebo.

If you don’t have some (or any) of these items (we don’t!), then you don’t need coverage for them. We reduced our coverage to 10% of the rebuild cost and saved another $90 per year.

Check Your Insurance

The bottom line: Stop paying for insurance you don’t need!

Two culprits lead to higher insurance premiums: inflated rebuild valuations calculated by automated software (and left unchecked by an actual human), and excessively high defaults for other categories such as personal property and other structures.

At a minimum, get your rebuild valuation checked on an annual basis.

Use common sense (which may be different from the insurance’s defaults) when determining the correct estimates for personal property and other structures.

How much personal property do you really own? What structures would have to be replaced if you needed to rebuild your home?

The answers to these questions could save you hundreds of dollars each year.

Your Turn: Do you know any other ways to save on homeowners insurance?

Meredith Gracey recently switched from full-time chemical engineer to full-time mom of twins, and is slightly obsessed with saving money. She loves to travel, exercise, write and read in her free time.

The post How a 30-Minute Phone Call Saved Me $240/Year on Homeowners Insurance appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.



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Here’s What to Do If You’re in an Auto Accident

You’re driving along minding your own business when suddenly you smash into another car or into some other obstacle. Your car is damaged and perhaps other cars and maybe even other people or buildings or other items are damaged, too. Perhaps someone is hurt. You’re immediately upset. You’re immediately frustrated. What do you do?

This is a situation where making the wrong move can really cost you. It can cause fines, criminal charges, higher insurance rates, loss of driving privileges, and so on. This is a situation you need to handle right.

Personally, I’ve only been involved in one accident in my driving career that involved another car (and another where I wound up in the ditch during extreme winter weather). My choice to follow most of the strategies here, while the other driver did not, caused me to avoid any charges whatsoever in the accident, which helped not only with keeping legal fees low but also helped with insurance costs down the road.

Here are ten things that you should do if you ever find yourself in an automobile accident, starting off with a bonus tip that involves something you can do right now to prepare for that potential situation.

Before you’re ever in an accident, make sure you have a few things in your car. These are items you should always have in your glove compartment and/or trunk. First, have a first aid kit, in case there are minor injuries that you can easily address. Road flares ensure that you’re clearly seen along a busy road, particularly at night, which decreases the chances of getting hit by oncoming traffic. A pen and a little notebook is vital for writing down information (which I’ll discuss a bit further down in the article). A medical info sheet for everyone in your family can be vital in case someone is seriously hurt. Having these things on hand can be vital and most of them can easily fit in your glove compartment.

Count to ten and breathe steadily. Your body is going to have a pretty strong response to being in an accident. Emotions are going to flood through you – fear, anger, jitters, and so on. One of the worst things you can do is jump out of your car while on an emotional wave and confront the other driver.

Instead, sit where you are for a minute and count to ten slowly. Breathe in deeply and breathe out before counting the next number. Focus on calming down and reducing your heart rate. That way, when you do get out of the car, you’re not going to be angry or emotionally disheveled and you can handle what needs to be done with calmness and rationality.

Turn on the hazard lights in your car and light a road flare (especially at night). The purpose of these things is simple: you want to make it as easy as possible for oncoming traffic to see you and to avoid you so that no one else is injured and the accident isn’t made any worse.

If you don’t know for sure how to turn on the hazard lights on your car, take a moment to learn. It’s usually incredibly simple and the explanation is clear in your car’s owner manual.

Take photos of all plates involved, as well as lots of photos of the scene and any damage. This doesn’t include just your car. Take pictures of every other car involved, making sure to include the plate numbers of all cars. Make sure that you thoroughly capture the damage done to your car as well as damage done to other cars and damage to any other nearby objects.

The purpose of this is documentation. The more clear it is, the easier it will be to establish exactly what happened in the accident, which is likely to help everyone involved to be made financially whole and also ensure that any appropriate charges and fines are levied.

Take notes on the accident as well – your recollection, names of people involved, insurance numbers, license plate numbers, and so on. This is why it’s handy to have a pen and a notebook on hand. If you have that in your glove compartment, you can quickly start jotting down these kinds of notes.

The more detail you have, the better, because you’ll be able to provide more detail on the police report and to the insurance agent. The best thing you can do in such a situation is to be as accurate and honest as possible, because anything else will likely backfire on you.

Call the police immediately, then call your insurance agent. These are the first two calls you should make. In fact, you should have your insurance agent’s number already on your cell phone – you can get it off of your insurance paperwork that you keep in your car. Obviously, if there is a major injury, call 911 immediately.

You’ll want to call the police first, as they’ll make sure that the roadway is clear and accessible for others, but don’t delay in calling your insurance agent, either.

Move your car to a safer place if possible. If your car can still easily move, don’t hesitate to move the car to a safer place that’s out of the way of oncoming traffic. This is for your own safety as well as the safety of everyone else involved.

Doing this does not mean it’s fine to leave the scene of an accident. Don’t do that or else you’re begging for legal trouble. Instead, just try to get your car off the road without incurring further damage.

Don’t sign anything unless it is given to you by the police or the insurance agent, and even then, read it and know what it is. This is especially true if the other people in the accident want you to sign something. Don’t sign it, period.

The police will likely want you to sign a report describing the accident. Make sure that the document describes the accident in a way that matches your notes and recollection. The report will likely try to match the facts while taking into account the stories provided by everyone involved, so it may not perfectly match your notes and recollections, but it should be close.

Do not admit fault, even if you think it was your fault; let the police and insurance determine that. Admitting fault, even if you really think it was your fault, does you no favors. Just simply don’t say anything if anyone is trying to get you to admit fault and certainly don’t offer any admission of fault.

The reason for this is that admitting fault will put you in an unfavorable legal position, and even though you think you might be at fault, a neutral observer (the police, for example) might see things completely differently. You’ll want to trust the neutral observer here.

Share only the facts of the accident. Share your license plate number and your insurance information, but only do so when the other people share that information as well. Don’t share your impressions of the accident or other things like that, as others may change their story to match your impressions and make it appear as though you are more at fault than you might actually be.

If other people are pressuring you to share more than those key facts or to alter your recollections of what happened by telling the story in a way that’s skewed toward them, don’t hesitate to return to your car. You have no reason to share any information other than those basic facts.

Don’t leave the scene without okaying things with the police first. Leaving the scene early can get you in legal trouble, which you don’t want. Stay at the scene until the police arrive and don’t leave until you get the okay from a police officer.

Not only will leaving the scene early potentially bring legal trouble from doing that, it also can cause the reports to be skewed in favor of whichever people stay behind to talk to the police. Make sure before you leave that your account has been given to the police.

These tactics boil down to a few key principles. First, be safe. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you can be hurt. That means contacting police and/or 911 immediately, getting out of the way of traffic, and avoiding other angry people. Second, be honest and factual. That means keeping your opinions and ideas of fault to yourself and documenting as much as you can about the accident while it’s still fresh. Third, protect yourself. Don’t admit fault, get ahold of your insurance agent quickly, and avoid any direct confrontation.

Following those key principles can go a long way toward ensuring that any auto accident that you’re involved with doesn’t wind up with a bunch of additional expense and legal trouble for you.

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Switching mobiles set to be easier under new plans

Switching mobile phone provider is set to become easier under plans announced by the telecommunications regulator today.

Switching mobile phone provider is set to become easier under plans announced by the telecommunications regulator today.

Currently, mobile users face different processes for switching provider depending on whether they want to keep their existing mobile phone number.

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Three Painful Bank Fees (and How to Avoid Them)

We’ve always known that banks make major money off fees. Just how much has often been tricky to say, but for the first time last year, the nation’s largest banks were required to start reporting profits from fees in greater detail. Unsurprisingly, the results weren’t pretty.

In 2015, 628 banks subject to the new reporting rules revealed that they made more than $11 billion in overdraft and nonsufficient funds fees, accounting for 8% of their total net income. The nation’s three largest retail banks — Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America — made a whopping $6 billion in overdraft and ATM fees in 2015.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to look specifically at overdraft fees, which disproportionately affect younger, poorer, minority consumers, according to Pew Charitable Trusts, to assess whether new regulations are needed. In the meantime, it’s up to you to know which bank fees can leave the biggest hole in your wallet, and how best to avoid them.

1. Overdraft fees

When you initiate a transaction that requires more money than what’s in your account, your bank will may float you a loan to cover it. But you’ll pay dearly for this convenience. The granddaddy of bank fees, overdraft fees cost a median $35 a pop, according to Pew.

One of the most insidious things about overdraft fees is that you may not realize you’re in the red, meaning you could get hit repeatedly. A simple day out shopping — a shirt here, shoes here, a coffee at Starbucks — could set you back more than $100 in fees when you may not have even spent that much on your transactions.

Fortunately, there are several ways to avoid or reduce overdraft fees:

  • Opt out. You’re not required to participate in any sort of overdraft program. This way, you’ll simply be denied when you try to initiate a point-of-sale or ATM transaction that overdraws your account. Beware that you still may have to pay a nonsufficient funds fee on check transactions or certain recurring transactions such as automatic bill pay. These fees are usually around the same amount as overdraft fees.
  • Choose overdraft transfers. Overdraft transfers let you link a second account, such as savings or a line of credit, to your checking account. Then, the next time you overdraw your account, the bank covers your request with funds from the other account. Generally, the line of credit will be the cheapest option; you’ll typically just pay a one-time annual fee plus interest on the charge. A transfer from a second account may cost roughly $5 to $10 at some banks, but others, such as Ally, offer the service for free.
  • Police your spending more carefully. Ideally, you’ll keep enough of a cushion in your checking account to avoid worrying about overdraft fees, but this might not be realistic for everyone. In that case, make sure you take advantage of customizable account alerts. Practically every major bank will let you receive an alert when your account balance dips below a designated amount. Getting tipped off can save you from a potentially pricey overdraft.

2. Account maintenance fees

This vague monthly fee exists to cover administrative costs on your account. Maintenance fees average $13 a month — not quite as insidious as overdraft fees, but they certainly still add up over the course of a year.

Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid monthly maintenance fees if you do your homework:

  • Find a free checking account. Yes, Virginia, free checking accounts do still exist. Nearly one in four checking accounts are still maintenance-fee free. For instance, Ally’s Interest Checking account has no monthly fees — and it even offers a free overdraft transfer service, too. For more options, check out our guide to the Best Free Checking Accounts.
  • See whether you can get the fee waived. Many banks offer several ways for customers to avoid the monthly maintenance fee. For instance, Chase waives the $12 monthly fee on its basic Total Checking account for customers who (1) make direct deposits of $500 or more, (2) keep a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more, or (3) average a balance of $5,000 or more across certain Chase accounts.

3. ATM fees

Since they’re low-dollar, ATM fees may seem innocent enough. But if you find yourself using non-network ATMs often, a few dollars here and there can add up quickly.

You’ll shell out an average of $4.52 — a 21% rise in the past five years — every time you need cash out of network. That’s the combined total of the fee your own bank charges for going out of network, plus the one charged by the bank that owns the ATM you’re using.

If you don’t feel like shelling out almost $5 next time you need a quick $50 or $60, here are some common-sense strategies that will help you avoid ATM fees:

  • Go with a bank that reimburses ATM fees. Some banks (many of them online) do this as a matter of practice in order to attract business. Ally, Bank of Internet USA, and Charles Schwab are among them. USAA Secure Checking reimburses up to $15 in ATM fees each month. Other banks may offer this perk on higher-level checking accounts that require you to carry a heftier balance to avoid the fees. For instance, Chase Premier Plus Checking reimburses Chase fees at non-network ATMs four times a month, but you need a whopping $15,000 balance to avoid a monthly $25 maintenance fee.
  • Use your bank’s branch/ATM locator. Every major bank has one of these on their homepage and mobile app. Use it. There’s no sense in paying out-of-network fees when your bank has an ATM you didn’t know about just around the corner.
  • Cut down on ATM use. Duh, right? But if you find yourself hitting an out-of-network ATM a couple times a week for small amounts, withdraw a larger amount once a week instead. Better yet, get cash back at a store register when you’re making a purchase. Just make sure the store doesn’t charge any fees for the service first.

Keep an eye out for other sneaky fees

We focus on overdraft fees, monthly maintenance fees, and ATM fees because they’re among the most common (and lucrative for banks). But you’ll want to keep tabs on other ways your bank may force you to pay up: Wire transfer fees, paper statement fees, check-cashing fees, returned deposit fees, excess transaction fees, minimum balance fees, and foreign transaction fees are among the most common on a lengthy list of ways your bank can profit off of you.

Remember: If you’re charged a fee that you feel is unfair, you have nothing to lose by heading to the bank and chatting with a manager to see whether you can get it refunded. This is an especially good tactic if you have multiple accounts with your bank — they may prefer to keep you happy in the long run instead of forcing you to pay a few bucks for a one-time slip-up.

To learn more, check out these related articles on The Simple Dollar:

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6 Things That Cost Way More for Millennials Than They Did for Our Parents

If you’re a Gen Xer (or a millennial) you may face criticism from your baby-boomer parents for your debts and financial troubles.

And the statistics seem to back their arguments.

Gen Xers are more likely than baby boomers to choose “enjoy and live for today,” over “save and plan for tomorrow” as a financial philosophy, according to a study by Allianz Life Insurance.

But Gen Xers struggle with the “enjoy today” part because of the “plan for tomorrow” part. The study found them “overwhelmed about their financial future.”

And no wonder! Look how much more debt Gen Xers have compared to baby boomers:

  • Mortgage debt: 60% more
  • Student loan debt: 140% more
  • Credit card debt: 33% more

Yes, you may need to work on your money attitudes and habits.

But before you beat yourself up too much for your financial situation, consider the other contributing factor: In many ways, life is now more expensive.

Here are six things you’ll pay more for than your baby-boomer parents did, and possible ways to reduce those expenses.

1. A College Degree

The real cost of education continues to climb.

Measured in 2015 dollars, the average cost of attending a four-year private college in the 1975-76 school year was $10,088, compared to today’s $30,405. The average cost for a public four-year college went from $2,387 to $9,410 per year.

In other words, the real cost to attend college more than tripled — and those figures include only tuition and fees, not room and board.

That might explain some of the additional student loan debt, right? Here are some resources to help you reduce the cost of an education:

2. A Home

There are many ways to measure home prices, but the research all agrees the long-term trend is higher.

For example, one recent chart shows today’s median home price is at least 33% higher than 40 years ago, when adjusted for inflation. It may partly explain why Gen Xers have more mortgage debt than baby boomers.

But what can you do about it?

Start by looking for a smaller home.

There’s been a clear trend toward larger homes, which explains much of the increase in average price. Here are some other things you can do:

3. Health Care

Since 1980, health care spending has doubled in the U.S., as a percentage of GDP.

Forbes recently reported health care expenditures per person are projected to reach $10,000 per year this year.

And if you don’t have employer-provided health insurance, you get to pay for it all out of pocket (directly or through insurance premiums).

Here are some things you can do to spend less on health care:

4. Food

Grocery prices have risen faster than the general rate of inflation, according to the USDA.

And if you want to eat healthy, you’ll definitely pay more than your parents did. Fresh fruits and vegetables cost about 40% more than 30 years ago, while the real prices of dairy products, fats, sweets and beverages have actually dropped.

Here are some resources to help you reduce those grocery bills:

5. Child Care

Maybe your parents hired cheap babysitters when you were young, or left you with relatives.

But even if they paid for regular child care services, they paid less. The US Census Bureau says average weekly child care costs went from $84 in 1985 to $143 in 2011, adjusted for inflation.

What can you do to reduce the cost? Start by reading these posts:

6. A Car

Look at new car prices 30 years ago and now, and then adjust for inflation.

The trend is clear: Cars are more expensive. Part of the reason for those higher prices is that today’s cars are higher quality and come with more extras.

So, one thing you can do to spend less on a car is to look for ones with fewer extras, as well as those that are simply cheaper.

To save even more money on cars (and operating costs), be sure to read these posts:

So, Is Life is More Expensive?

Even in non-essential areas, some items’ prices have risen much more than inflation.

For example, the average price of a ticket to the Super Bowl was $91.52 in 1970 (adjusted for inflation), which is expensive enough. But by 2014 it had risen to $1,250!

There are exceptions. TVs, for example, have become better and cheaper over the years. And the inflation-adjusted price of electricity to power TVs has fallen, too.

Perhaps there are too many ways to measure prices and too many things to measure to have a truly accurate picture of the cost of living.

But some things clearly cost more. Fortunately, you can start your search for cheaper alternatives right here on The Penny Hoarder.

Your Turn: What could your parents afford that you can’t?

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

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You’re Probably Storing These 21 Foods Wrong… and It’s Costing You Money

We Penny Hoarders focus a lot on how to save money on groceries.

After all, they’re one of the most malleable line items on your budget. You could spend as much as $1,156 per month on them… or as little as $256!

But if you don’t have a lot of time, waiting until specific days to shop, planning trips to multiple stores to get the lowest prices or clipping coupons might not seem like attractive options.

They can be time-consuming, and sometimes your time is worth more to you than the few cents you’ll save.

But everyone can take advantage of this sure-fire way to save money on your groceries: Stop throwing them away.

How to Store Food to Keep it Fresh for Longer

Americans waste a lot of food.

In fact, 31% of our food supply goes uneaten, according to a 2014 USDA study. That’s almost a third.

It’s easy to understand why.

We’ve all been there — you go grocery shopping with great intentions. Then you come home, only to be seduced by the convenience of pizza delivery or takeout Chinese.

But if you store your groceries properly, they’ll last longer — and you’ll have a better opportunity to cook them.

Not only will you contribute to ending food waste, proper food storage will help you save a ton of money, too.

Here’s how to properly store 21 common grocery items in your kitchen.

Fresh Produce

Most of what you’re throwing away is probably fresh produce.

Shelved items usually have a pretty decent, well, shelf life. And most of us know how to quickly freeze up the meat from the grocery.

But produce is a fickle mistress.

Different items need to be treated in surprisingly different ways for the best results. Here’s how to store your fruits and veggies.

1. Apples

Apples

Although they look lovely in a basket, apples are actually a great fruit to put in the fridge!

In fact, they only stay fresh a few days on the counter. They’ll do best in the crisping drawer.

Make sure your fridge isn’t cold enough to freeze them! All of their cells will rupture, leaving you with mealy apples — yuck.

Also, because apples produce a gas called ethylene while they ripen, never store them with potatoes. The gas is harmless, but it can make your potatoes go soft and sprouty well before their time.

(Your potatoes shouldn’t be in the fridge, anyway! But we’ll get to that.)

2. Avocados

AVO

This is a fun one, because you have so much control over the ripening process!

If your avocados are still hard and green, leave them at room temperature on the counter to ripen.

If you need to speed up the ripening, stick them in a brown paper bag so they’re trapped with their ethylene gas — they’ll be ready for guacamole in no time.

But if you’re trying to keep a ripe avocado around longer, the solution is simple: Stick it in the fridge.

The cool atmosphere slows the ripening process, so you can keep your avocado’s freshness level right where you want it for a few extra days.

3. Bananas

bananas

If you want to keep a whole bunch of bananas fresh for a longer period of time, here’s a secret: Wrap the stems in plastic wrap.

You can either leave them in the bunch and wrap all the stems together, or separate the bananas and wrap them separately — which might make them last a little bit longer.

Why does this work?

It’s ethylene gas again — and by wrapping the stems, you trap the gas and keep it from reaching the rest of the banana so you can take your time eating them.

You can also peel your bananas and freeze ‘em. I love using frozen bananas as a healthy base for my morning smoothie!

4. Broccoli

al1962/Shutterstock

al1962/Shutterstock

No matter how many times you’ve seen broccoli tightly wrapped in plastic at your local grocery, it’s not the best way to store it — unless you’re eating it tonight.

Raw broccoli requires airflow and moisture to stay fresh.

One ideal way to keep it is something you probably don’t do: Put it stem-side down in a vase with water in the fridge!

By making a broccoli bouquet, you’re providing water and still letting the bushy tops get the oxygen they need. Your head of broccoli might last up to a week this way!

If that seems a little intense to you, you can also loosely wrap your broccoli in damp paper towels and refrigerate. It’ll keep this way for up to four days.

5. Berries

Berries

If you love fresh berries, but hate how quickly they go moldy in your fridge, here’s the secret: Give them a vinegar bath.

Then store them on paper towels to help soak up moisture.

White vinegar kills the spores fresh berries accumulate before they arrive in your kitchen, giving you some extra time to snack on them before the fuzzies set in.

And if you rinse them well, they won’t taste a hint like vinegar, promises Allrecipes’ Vanessa Greaves.

One caveat: This treatment might be a bit much for raspberries, which are quite delicate.

Just rinse before you eat them — and do so quickly (which shouldn’t be hard! Raspberries are so good…)

6. Carrots

carrots

Slice off the green tops, which seep moisture from the carrots, making them wither more quickly.

Then place them, unpeeled, in a sealed plastic bag in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer for up to two weeks.

If you buy pre-trimmed carrots, like baby-cut, here’s a hint: They last longer if you submerge them in water in a tightly-covered container!

Just be sure to change the water frequently.

7. Citrus Fruit

Oranges

Today in “stuff this Florida girl should’ve known:” Citrus fruit should be refrigerated!

Apparently, the vegetable drawer is the best spot — and don’t enclose oranges in airtight bags or containers.

8. Cucumbers

cucumbers

These guys shouldn’t be in the fridge, which is definitely news to this salad-eater!

They’ll go soft days in advance if they’re stored below 50 degrees.

They’re sensitive to ethylene, so keep them away from other countertop dwellers like bananas and tomatoes.

9. Fresh Herbs

Herbs_600px

Fresh herbs can be one of the biggest problem items when it comes to throwing groceries away.

Recipes always call for so little, and they’re sold in such big bunches!

Having trashed a phenomenal amount of cilantro and parsley in my time, I won’t even pretend to be an expert on this.

Fortunately, J. Kenji López-Alt over at Serious Eats is.

The short story? Rinse herbs and dry thoroughly in a salad spinner, then transfer to paper towel rolls or stand upright in mason jars of water depending on the herb.

The long version? Click through for the full details.

10. Leafy Greens

greens

If you’re trying to get more of these nutrient powerhouses into your diet, good for you!

But they can be a little intimidating to clean, prepare and store.

To keep leafy greens like spinach, chard and collard greens fresh longer, wash and dry them well, then wrap them in paper towels.

Keep the bunches whole, unless you plan on using them soon. Then place the paper towel roll into a perforated, unsealed plastic bag.

If you’re dealing with salad greens, dumping washed leaves into a paper towel-lined plastic storage container is your best bet.

11. Onions

Onions

First things first: Don’t store onions in direct sunlight, unless you’re trying to grow some new ones.

Keep your onions in a cool, dark, well-ventilated and dry place.

Some people store them in tied-off pantyhose, and hang them on the back of a pantry door. It allows them to breathe, while evaporating any moisture they come in contact with quickly.

Properly stored onions can stay fresh up to six months!

12. Potatoes

potatoes

Potatoes do best in a cool, dark, dry place — but not too cool.

If potatoes are stored under 50 degrees, their starches can convert to sugar, which sounds maybe good, but is actually (really) bad.

Potatoes exposed to too much light may sprout. They’re still safe to eat, but you should cut the sprouts off first.

P.S. You may notice potatoes and onions like similar environments, but you’ll want to find two different cool, dark, dry spots in your house. If you store them together, they’ll both go bad more quickly.

13. Tomatoes

toms

You’ve probably heard that putting tomatoes in the fridge ruins their flavor.

But if you’ve come into an abundance of tomatoes you can’t quite keep up with, stick the overripe ones in the fridge to keep them from rotting for a few more days.

Just bring them back to room temperature before you consume them.

14. and 15. Dairy and Eggs

dairy

This one’s pretty obvious — keep them cold!

But one trick you might not know? Don’t put your eggs or milk on the fridge door!

It might not seem like much, but repeatedly opening that door does increase the heat these items are exposed to, making them degrade more quickly.

16. Meat

meat

You probably already know meat won’t keep indefinitely in the fridge.

Unless it’s going on the dinner table tonight or tomorrow, you’d do best to freeze it.

One tip: Keep fresh meat on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator or freezer, where it’s less likely to contaminate other items if it leaks.

17. Bread

bread

Rule number one: Never put bread in the fridge!

The cold, dry atmosphere will almost instantly transform your moist, fresh bread into a brick.

Place fresh, rustic bread (like a homemade sourdough loaf) in a bread drawer, brown bag or perforated plastic wrap so air can circulate. This’ll help the bread retain its moisture, but also keep its crust crisp.

Never slice more than you need right now — leaving the loaf intact helps preserve freshness.

If you’ve bought a loaf at the grocery store, store it in the plastic bag it came in.

If you’re not going to use all the bread you bought within two days, slice it up and freeze it! Fresh bread will go moldy and stale quickly at room temperature.

Plus, bread freezes very well and doesn’t take too long to thaw, especially if you do it by the slice. Pop it in the toaster or under the broiler to get it all crispy again!

Shelf Items

rice

18., 19. and 20. Rice, Pasta and Dried Beans

Make sure these items are in airtight containers!

They can keep for years this way.

21. Nuts

nuts

Nuts are a little different since they contain such a high amount of oil, which can turn them rancid in a warm pantry.

After about a month, transfer nuts to an airtight container, which you can store in the refrigerator for up to six months or up to a year in the freezer.

To revive them, stick them in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes on a baking pan.

Need Some More Help in the Kitchen?

Now that you know how to store all those healthy, whole foods you’re buying, you’ll need to figure out what to do with them.

Check out these awesome (and free!) cookbooks to help you get started. One author even promises delicious, healthy meals for just $4 per day!

Your Turn: Do you have any food storage secrets we missed? We want ‘em! Tell us about them in the comments.

Jamie Cattanach is a junior 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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