Savvier customers contribute to hot shopping season in the Poconos

This year’s hot sellers for the back-to-school shopping season includes a social conscience.While apparel, electronics and school supplies supplement the list of the usual suspects, a new local trend has emerged."There’s a big focus on more sophisticated water bottles that keeps the beverages cold, like those made by Hydro Flask and Camelbak, ” Dunkelberger's Sports Outfitter's Tricia Dunkelberger-Fritz said.The store, with outlets in Stroudsburg and [...]

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Bulletin board, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016

SATURDAY, AUG. 13Flea Market: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mountainhome United Methodist Church, routes 390 and 191, Mountainhome. Lunch will be served. Vendors welcomed. Cost: $10 per space. Information: Sharon at 570-676-5255.Community Yard Sale: Bushkill Fire Company Auxiliary sponsors this event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Middle Smithfield Elementary School, 5180 Milford Road, East Stroudsburg. Vendors welcome. Cost: $12 per space (the [...]

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West End Wire Friday, August 12, 2016

Summer reading programWestern Pocono Community Library’s Summer Reading Program will wrap up on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 1 p.m. and will include a bicycle parade, chalk drawing contest, sheet painting, outdoor obstacle course and other activities for all ages. These programs are free, open to all participants of the summer reading program, and weather permitting. For more information call the library at 570-992-7934.Historical [...]

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DEPG names development manager to focus on Pocono region

Engineer R. Douglas Olmstead, Jr. has been named development manager for DEPG Development, which has developed several Bartonsville commercial projects marketed through its leasing agent, Legend Properties.Olmstead will focus primarily on the Pocono region, working closely with James DePetris, managing partner of DEPG and Legend’s CEO.Olmstead will help coordinate several planned mixed-use developments including Smithfield Gateway, near the Marshalls Creek interchange of [...]

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How Professional Gaming Works

Dreams really can come true, gamers. Learn more about professional gaming from HowStuffWorks.

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How Professional Gaming Works

Dreams really can come true, gamers. Learn more about professional gaming from HowStuffWorks.

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Top 6 Best Cash Back Credit Cards for 2016

Despite what anyone says to the contrary, cash back credit cards really do let you earn “something for nothing.” If you’re able to use your card for regular monthly expenses and pay it off before interest is charged, you can earn anywhere from 1-5% back for every dollar you earn – and all with almost no effort on your part. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, huh?

And it is. Thanks to some healthy competition within the cash back credit card space, the top cash back credit cards now offer better rewards and sweeter benefits than ever before. In addition to a huge signup bonus, you can score everything from travel perks to a free FICO score on your monthly statement if you sign up for the right card. Better yet, many of the top cash back credit cards don’t charge an annual fee.

If you want to earn cash back rewards as a percentage of your everyday spending, you’re in the right place. This guide was created to introduce you to the best cash back card offers currently available with the goal of helping you find the best card for your needs.

Best Cash Back Credit Cards of 2016

Before we get into all of the details, here’s our list of the top cash back cards for 2016:

• Chase Freedom^®
• Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card
• Citi^®Double Cash
• Discover it^®– Double Cash Back your first year
• BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Credit Card
• Blue Cash Preferred^®Card from American Express
• Amex EveryDay^® Credit Card from American Express

Chase Freedom^®: Best Cash Back Rewards Program

The Chase Freedom^® card has earned a reputation as the top cash back credit card for good reason. Not only does it offer 1% back on every dollar you spend, but it also doles out 5X points in categories that rotate every quarter. For 2016, the 5x bonus categories include gas and transportation (Q1), grocery stores (Q2), restaurants (Q3), and holiday shopping (Q4).

The Chase Freedom^® card also offers a healthy signup bonus, which is not all that typical for a no-fee rewards card. And since the points you earn belong in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, you can redeem them for gift cards or cash back, or use them to shop on Amazon.com.

All of these perks, plus the fact that the card doesn’t charge an annual fee, keep pushing it to the top of its class. If you don’t already have the Chase Freedom^® card, it should be on your short list. Here are some additional details:

• Read here to learn more about the Chase Freedom^® card
• No annual fee
• Earn $150 in cash back after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months
• Earn 5X points in categories that rotate every quarter plus 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
• 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months – perfect if you’re carrying high interest debt (balance transfer fee applies)

Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card: A Different Way to Earn Points with Chase

If you love the benefits of the Chase Freedom^® card but not necessarily the way it doles out points, you might want to give the Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card some serious thought. With this card, you’ll earn an unlimited 1.5 points for every dollar you spend – and with no annual fee to boot!

Since the points you earn belong in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, you can redeem them for gift cards or cash back, or use them to shop on Amazon.com. Either way, getting 1.5 points per dollar spent on every purchase is pretty sweet when no annual fee is involved. And if you hate to keep track of rotating categories, this card is a definite contender.

• Read here to learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card
• Earn a $150 signup bonus after you spend just $500 on your card within 90 days
• Add an authorized user who also makes a purchase during the first 90 days and earn another $25 back
• No annual fee

Citi^® Double Cash: Earn a Flat 2% On Everything

If you don’t like keeping track of category spending or special promotional periods, the Citi^® Double Cash card might be the perfect alternative for your wallet. With this card, you’ll earn 2% cash back on all of your purchases – 1% when you make a charge and another 1% when you pay it off.

This streamlined rewards effort makes it easy to keep track of or figure out how many points you might earn during any given month. And you can earn the full 2% back without worrying about caps, limits, or category restrictions.

The Citi^® Double Cash card has surged in popularity since it was introduced in 2015, and the awesome rewards are the reason behind its ongoing popularity. If you want to know more, read through these important details:

• Earn 2% cash back on everything – 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off
• No caps, limits, or category restrictions
• 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months – perfect if you’re carrying high interest debt (balance transfer fee applies)

Discover it^® – Double CashBack your first year

Similar to the Chase Freedom^® card, the Discover it^® card offers 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases plus 5X points in categories that rotate every quarter. The big difference, however, is that the Discover it^® card is offering double cash back your first year for a limited time.

If you manage to earn 20,000 points worth $200 your first year, Discover will double that bonus to $400 after 12 months. That’s a pretty sweet deal considering the fact that rewards are so easy to earn and this card comes with no annual fee!

Another perk that sets this card apart is its generous terms for balance transfers. The current offer lets you transfer a balance and enjoy 0% APR for 18 full months, although a 3% balance transfer fee does apply.

Whether you want to earn a ton of cash back, transfer a balance, or both, the Discover it^® card can help you make it happen.

• Read here to learn more about the Discover it^® card
• No annual fee
• Earn 1X points on all purchases and 5X points in categories that rotate every quarter
• Double cash back after your first year
• 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months (balance transfer fee applies)

BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Credit Card: Low Minimum Spending Requirement

The BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Credit Card offers a sweet signup bonus and a user-friendly rewards program that is easy to understand. With this card, you’ll earn a $100 cash bonus after spending just $500 within 90 days! That’s why this card is perfect for someone who doesn’t spend a lot on credit, yet still wants to earn a signup bonus.

When it comes to ongoing rewards, the BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Credit Card isn’t lacking in that regard either. With this card, you’ll earn 3% on gas and 2% on groceries up to a combined $1,500 in grocery/gas purchases each year, plus 1% back on all other purchases.

Your rewards will never expire and there are no rotating categories to keep track of. And when you’re ready to redeem your rewards, you can take them in the form of a statement credit or as a direct deposit into your Bank of America checking or saving account. It’s as simple as that.

• Read here to learn more about the BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Credit Card
• No annual fee
• Earn 3% on gas and 2% on groceries up to a combined $1,500 in grocery/gas purchases each year, plus 1% back on all other purchases
• 0% Introductory APR for 12 billing cycles for purchases AND for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days (balance transfer fee applies)

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express: 6% Cash Back at Grocery Stores

The Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express is ideal for families who want to earn exceptional rewards on their everyday spending. With this card, you’ll earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 per year, 3% U.S. gas stations & select U.S. department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Even better, the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express offers a $150 signup bonus after you spend just $1,000 on the card within the first three months. That’s more than enough to make up for the $75 annual fee this card charges, and is really just icing on the cake when you consider the long-term benefits. If you took advantage of just the grocery benefit, for example, and put $6,000 in grocery spending on your card annually, you would earn 36,000 points worth $360!

Here are some more details on the rewards and perks:

• Earn a $150 statement credit after you spend $1,000 on the card within 3 months
• Earn 6% cash back on first $6,000 in grocery spending each year, plus 3% back at gas stations and select department stores and 1% on all other purchases
• Great for balance transfers! 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months (balance transfer fee applies)

Amex EveryDay^® Credit Card from American Express: No Fee, Sweet Signup Bonus

The Amex EveryDay^® Credit Card from American Express offers the potential for sweet rewards and no annual fee. With this card, you’ll earn 2x points at U.S. supermarkets on your first $6,000 in purchases, plus 1x points on everything else. Plus, you’ll get 20% extra points when you use your card for 20 or more purchases each billing period.

Although this card comes without an annual fee, it does offer a 10,000 point signup bonus after you use your card for just $3,000 in purchases within 90 days. And once you begin racking up the rewards, you can use them to pay for all or part of your flight, hotel stays, or vacations and cruises booked in advance. This is particularly tempting if you need the best airline rewards credit card for your personal or business travel, you could fly for free once you have racked up so many rewards.

• No annual fee
• Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend just $1,000 on your card within the first three months
• Earn 2x points at U.S. supermarkets on your first $6,000 in purchases, plus 1x points on everything else
• Earn 20% extra points when you use your card for 20 or more purchases each billing period.

Rules for Maximizing Cashback Credit Cards without Going into Debt

A lot of people worry how pursuing rewards might affect their spending, and they’re right to do so. With average household credit card debt coming in well over $15,000 in 2015, it’s easy to imagine how many people used credit with good intentions but would up in debt nonetheless.

To secure the perks of a cash back card without going into debt, you need to be as intentional as you possibly can. For most people, that means using their cash back card with a plan in mind – and only with a plan.

If you want to earn more cash back than you normally would, but with minimal risk, this list of rules for cash back cards can help:

Rule #1: Use your cash back card for all of your everyday expenses, but as part of a comprehensive spending plan.

The best way to maximize the amount of cash back you earn is to use your cash back card for as many expenses as you can. While that definitely means using your card for big expenses, it also means using your card for all of your everyday spending as well. Grocery spending, utility bills, gas, and supplies for work can add up fast and help boost the amount of cash back you earn if you get in the habit of using your card regularly.

If you’re using a monthly budget, or using your card as a business credit card, your cash back credit card can actually be a valuable budgeting tool. By signing into your online account management, you can see and track all purchases in the categories you spend the most. If you have limits on certain budget categories, you can stay on track by monitoring your credit card spending online.

You should also use this tracking to see which categories you spend the most in. For instance, if you are a frequent traveler, you may find that switching to a travel rewards credit card gives you the best bang for your buck. The same would go if you spent the largest amount on gasoline or groceries. Keeping track of your spending will help you have a better budget and make sure you get the most rewards possible.

Rule #2: Only charge what you can afford to pay back.

When you’re in pursuit of cash back, the last thing you want is a balance you can’t afford to repay. This is where the “budget” part of your plan comes into play. If you didn’t budget for an expense, you shouldn’t buy it…let alone use your cash back credit card to charge it!

To maximize cash back without getting into trouble, only use your card for regular planned expenses and bills you need to pay anyway. When you only charge what you can afford to pay back right away, you’ll be in the best position to earn cash back without spiraling into debt.

If you are using one of these cards as a 0% balance transfer card, make sure to pay of that balance as fast as you can. You do not want to be accruing massive amounts interest, since that defeats the whole purpose of having a rewards card.

In fact, you should not be pursuing any sort of cash back rewards until you get your previous debt under control.  You are only going to get 1%-3% of your spending back while credit card interest can peak at over 30%.

Rule #3 Always pay your bill in-full and on time.

When you take a look at how your FICO credit score is determined, you’ll see that 35 percent of your score is made up by your payment history. If you have been late on your bills in the past, your score will likely reflect that. Likewise, paying all of your bills on time is one of the best ways to boost your FICO score over time.

If you want to qualify for the best cash back offers, having an excellent credit score is crucial. With that in mind, you should pay all of your bills in-full and on time, and with no exception. The health of your credit is too important to do anything else.

Hidden Benefits Your Cash Back Card Might Offer

Your new cash back credit card will make it easy to earn points on everything you buy, but that’s not all. In addition to the obvious rewards you’ll earn every day, most cash back cards offer other benefits that can help you in a bind – or help you keep your credit in tip top shape.

While these “hidden” benefits aren’t as touted, they can be extremely valuable nonetheless. Want to know more? Here are a few of the benefits your rewards or cash back card probably offers:

Hidden Perk #1: Extended Returns

Did you know that some credit cards facilitate returns on items stores don’t want to take back? The Discover it^® card, for example, offers a “return guarantee” that can score you a refund of up to $500 on eligible items if the original store won’t accept your return with a receipt within 90 days.

This perk can come in handy if you frequently buy at stores with horrid return policies (Think: Best Buy, with its 15-day returns), and provide peace of mind when you buy an expensive product nearly anywhere else. To take advantage of this perk, you’ll need to keep your receipt and file your claim per your specific card’s rules. If you don’t know what they are, just ask!

Hidden Perk #2: Purchase Protection

Some cash back cards like the Discover it^® card also offer purchase protection on eligible items. With this coverage, Discover will repair or replace damage or stolen items (up to $500) if the event takes place within 90 days of your purchase.

Having purchase protection can be huge if you buy a new cell phone and it breaks right away, or if your brand new laptop has an issue and the store won’t take it back. Once again, you need to keep your receipt to take advantage of this benefit.

Hidden Perk #3: Zero Liability Protection

Almost all cash back cards, including the Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card, offer zero fraud liability. What this means is, you won’t be on the hook for fraudulent purchases if a thief steals your card or card number and makes any type of charge.

To take advantage of this protection, you’ll want to report any fraudulent charges right away. Start by calling the number on the back of your card and filing a claim. Most of the time, your card issuer will cancel your current credit card account and send out a new card with a new number.

Hidden Perk #4: Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver

Although primary auto rental coverage is only offered by the top travel credit cards on the market, a few cash back cards, including the Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card offer the next best thing – Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver coverage.

With this coverage, Chase says you can “decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card.” In the U.S., this coverage is secondary to your private auto insurance.

Hidden Perk #5: Fraud Alerts

The Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card also offers fraud alerts that can let you know if any suspicious activity posts to your account. This perk lets you monitor purchases made on your card, both by yourself and any authorized users. Plus, you’ll get an email or text if any strange or unusual purchases are made with your card.

To use this benefit, you’ll need to sign up and enter an accurate telephone number and email address. With the right information on file, Chase can contact you right away if something pops up.

Hidden Perk #6: Extended Warranties

Some cash back cards take their benefits a step further by offering free extended warranties on qualifying products. With the Discover it^® card, for example, you’ll get an extension on existing eligible warranties of up to one additional year on warranties of 36 months or less.

This type of coverage can be crucial when you make a large purchase such as an appliance or new computer. With an extended warranty, you’ll have your purchase replaced if it dies just outside of the standard manufacturer’s warranty.

Hidden Perk #7: Free FICO Scores

With a card like the Discover it^® card, you’ll have access to your FICO score at any time. Simply log into your account to see an estimate of your score, any recent inquiries on your credit report, and a general analysis of your credit health.

If you’re monitoring your credit in an effort to improve it, keeping track of your FICO score is definitely a smart move. Simply check in with your score a few times per year to keep track of your progress. And as a cardholder, you can do this for free.

How to Choose the Right Cash Back Card

With so many different cards to choose from, narrowing down your list can be a stressful endeavor. To find the right card for your needs, consider these tips:

Figure out your spending style.

To maximize the points you’ll earn, you need to figure out your spending style. Some people spend so much in certain categories they would benefit the most from cards that offer “bonus points” in that area, whereas others spend on everything and might be better off with a card that offers a fixed rate of rewards.

If you spend a lot on groceries, for example, it’s hard to beat the 6% back at grocery stores offered by the Blue Cash Preferred^®Card from American Express. But if your spending is all over the place, pick a card that offers a higher rate across the board and no matter what you buy.

Decide if you want fixed-value rewards or a card with “bonus categories.”

Where some cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ Card offer a flat rewards rate on all purchases (in this case, 1.5%), other cards like the Discover it^® card offer 1% back on all purchases, then an additional 5% back on your first $1,500 spent in categories that rotate every quarter.

While some people like earning a flat rate of cash back, others live for the bonus categories that let them earn up to 5%. There’s no wrong or right answer here, but it pays to get a card that lets you maximize rewards in respect to how you spend money each month.

Make sure your card has the right perks.

Remember how some cash back cards have hidden perks that hardly anyone knows about? It’s important to research which perks each card offers before you sign up. Why? Because some cards offer them all, while others just offer a few.

To find out which benefits you can get with each of the top cash back cards, spend some time reading this guide and each individual credit card review. If you need more information, click on “apply now” anywhere on this page, find the card you’re interested in, then read through every word of the fine print. The benefits each card offers are in there, but it’s up to you to find them.

Understand and compare rewards programs.

The right cash back card for each individual depends on more than their average spending; it also depends on the type of rewards they like. Make sure you understand your new card’s rewards program and how you can redeem your points before you sign up.

Where some cards let you redeem your points for cash back only, others offer additional options such as gift cards and purchases made through Amazon.com. Make sure the card you’re after offers rewards you actually value and can see yourself using. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time.

Consider pairing more than one card if you can’t decide.

If you are having trouble deciding between two really good cash back cards, don’t be afraid to sign up for both. Provided neither card charges an annual fee, you can utilize the benefits of more than one card without any consequences.

A lot of people will pair a card that earns a fixed rate of rewards with a card like the Discover it^® card that offers special “bonus categories” every quarter. With both cards, they can use the higher earning card for everyday expenses and the card with 5% bonus categories when it makes sense.

The Bottom Line

Cash back credit cards are a no-brainer if you want to earn rewards on your everyday purchases like groceries, gas, and utility bills. And if you’re spending plenty of money on credit regularly anyway, it would be a shame not to get 1-5% of your money back.

Research all of the top cards on this page before making a final decision. Meanwhile, you should also check out our other credit card guides for useful information and tips on the top credit cards for travel, business, and balance transfers.

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Love Teaching But Tired of Classrooms? Check Out These Remote Teaching Jobs

It seems like everyone I knew in high school went on to become a teacher.

Maybe it’s because I had so many friends who genuinely care about helping kids. Maybe it’s because when we were kids, teachers were our heroes. Or maybe it’s because a lot of my friends are artists, and teaching is a smart way to do the thing you love and still make money.

Whatever the reason, less than 10 years out of college, a lot of them are already fatigued by the profession.

Whether you’re disappointed with low pay, long hours, heavy demands, disappearing benefits, bureaucracy, standardized testing — or you just want to get out of the classroom — you can do it without giving up your career.

As homeschooling becomes more popular for families seeking affordable or flexible alternatives to traditional schooling, demand for remote K-12 jobs is growing, too.

Online teaching jobs are a great way to keep working if you don’t want to relocate for a job, need flexibility to be at home with young kids of your own, or want to make extra money while you travel.

Work From Home as a Virtual Teacher

Proximity Learning, Inc. is hiring part-time virtual teachers around the country.

You have to be certified to teach in your state, but you can work from anywhere — even outside the United States!

Open positions span grades and subjects. You’ll work set classroom hours, but have the flexibility to take on as many or few courses as needed to work with your schedule.

Similar to classroom instruction, your responsibilities will include:

• Creating and implementing lesson plans

• Maintaining and review student records and working with students to improve

• Selecting books, equipment and other educational materials

• Dedicating five hours per week for each course for nine months

Proximity Learning requires a master’s degree in education or equivalent experience. It offers a competitive salary based on experience, with the opportunity for bonuses based on student success.

For more part-time and full-time online teaching jobs, with varying requirements, browse more openings at Teachers-Teachers.com.

To apply: Fill out the “digital introduction” here, and attach your resume.

Your Turn: Do you know anyone looking for a flexible teaching job?

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).

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Want to Be an Air Traffic Controller? The FAA Has 1,400 Openings Right Now

Strange as this job is, I was pretty excited to hear this week that the Federal Aviation Administration is on a hiring spree for air traffic control specialists.

It’s not for my own sake. For some reason, my boyfriend has dreamed of being an air traffic controller since he was a kid. I think it has something to do with movies about airline pilots and NASA.

Persistent anxiety and a general aversion to full-time employment make him a terrible candidate — but you can’t fault someone for dreaming.

It does look like an exciting job, after all.

You’re “responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious movement of air traffic through the nation’s airspace.” If you’re keen on solid systems and good under pressure, it could be a great career for you.

Train to Be an Air Traffic Controller

The FAA is looking for more than 1,400 people to join a 13-month training program at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, CNN reports.

This is a full-time, paid “developmental” position where you’ll learn a range of duties, including:

• controlling and separating live air traffic within designated airspace

• highlights of Federal employment and familiarization with FAA organizational structure

• familiarization with aircraft, the air traffic control system and the aviation industry

During training, you’ll receive a salary of $22,888-$28,626, plus per diem and cost of travel to Oklahoma City.

Once you complete training and other employment requirements, you’ll be offered a permanent appointment at an FAA facility around the country. Base salary is $38,193, plus locality pay depending on the cost of living in your assigned area.

Median pay for air traffic controllers is about $123,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so you may stand to see a big jump over that base pay!

To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen, under 31 years old and meet one of the following criteria:

• Three years of full-time work experience

• Bachelor’s degree

• Combination of work experience and education (See the full job description for the formula.)

• Previous air traffic control experience or training

• See the job description for alternative qualifications if you don’t meet these.

To apply: Submit your application online by August 15.

Your Turn: What was your childhood dream job?

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 Want to Be an Air Traffic Controller? The FAA Has 1,400 Openings Right Now appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Vodafone scraps 'hidden' broadband landline fees

Tom Wilson

vodafone-sign.jpg

Vodafone has dropped separate line rental charges on its broadband deals, becoming the first major UK provider to do so.

Vodafone has dropped separate line rental charges on its broadband deals, becoming the first major UK provider to do so.

Vodafone launched broadband services in June 2015. But until this week, its broadband and line rental charges were listed separately – as is standard across the industry.

read more

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From FAFSA to Repayment: The Beginner’s Guide to Student Loans

It’s not news that student loan debt is a bit of an epidemic in the U.S.

The average graduate last spring faced more than $37,000 in loans. Many of us can expect a monthly payment of nearly $300 for 10 years.

Everyone assumed kids of my generation needed to go to college, but no one deemed it important to talk to us about how we’d pay for it.

I headed to college from a small town, where most of the parents hadn’t gone to college and most of the teachers had attended a nearby state university at a time when it was much more affordable.

Most of my peers just assumed student loans would be part of our adulthood.

When we applied for them at 17 or 18, the four or five years until we’d start to repay them felt like an eternity.

If my 18-year-old self could have understood how $50,000 in debt with 6% interest would impact the rest of my adult life, I might have worked harder to save money and earn scholarships.

The Perfect Student Loan Scenario

Sam Edwards/Getty Images

Ideally, you wouldn’t need loans at all.

You and your parents would spend your childhood saving for college and applying for scholarships, and you’d leave school debt-free (and, hopefully, with a killer job offer).

Lacking ideal finances, maybe you’d supplement your savings and scholarships with federal grants and student loans. But you would never take more than you need, and you’d make monthly payments whenever you could, even while you’re still in school.

You’d leave school with minimal debt and use the salary from your killer job to pay down that debt fast.

But let’s assume your situation hasn’t been ideal.

You needed help to pay for college, you applied for student aid, you took the checks as they came and you went about your life as a college student.

Maybe you’ve even been out of college for five or 10 years now, and you’ve been coasting along with minimum payments or deferment, or you’ve just neglected your loans altogether.

Does that sound more familiar?

If so, this guide’s for you. I’m going to help you answer:

• Do you need student loans?

• What kinds of loans can you receive?

• How can you apply for student loans?

• When do you have to start paying back your loans?

• How can you find out how much money you owe?

• What do “default,” “defer” and “forbearance” mean?

• What are your repayment options?

• How does refinancing and consolidation work?

Wherever you are on the path of student loan application or repayment, you’ll probably run into something complicated that raises questions. So we’ll start from the beginning:

1. Do You Need Student Loans?

muharrem Aner/Getty Images

Probably the most important question you can ask yourself before starting college is, “Do I actually need loans?”

If you haven’t yet applied for loans, ask yourself if you can pay for college some other way.

• How much can you earn in scholarships? Think outside the box.

• Can you balance a job with classes to pay tuition out of pocket?

• Can you cash in savings or sell any assets to pay tuition now?

2. What Kind of Financial Aid Can You Receive?

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Once you’ve exhausted other payment methods, what are your financial aid options?

Federal Student Loans

You’ll apply for this aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA, and you have to repay it.

• Direct Subsidized Loans help cover costs for undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. Payments are due beginning six months after you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. You won’t owe any interest for the time you’re in school, during that six-month grace period or any periods of deferment.

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans help cover costs for undergrad, graduate or professional students regardless of financial need. Payments are due beginning six months after you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment, but you’ll owe interest that accrues as soon as the loan is disbursed.

• Direct PLUS Loans can help supplement costs not covered by other aid. For undergraduate students, this loan is in your parent’s name. Payments are due beginning with disbursement of the loan.

• Federal Perkins Loans are made by some schools to undergrad or grad students with exceptional financial need. Payments are due beginning nine months after you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. You won’t owe any interest for the time you’re in school or the nine-month grace period.

Other Federal Financial Aid

You’ll also apply for this aid through the FAFSA, but you don’t have to repay it:

• Grants are almost all awarded to students with financial need, attending four-year colleges or universities, community colleges or career schools.

• Work-Study awards are available to full- or part-time graduate or undergraduate students. They include a set amount of money that you can receive for part-time work as a student, usually through the school and related to civic education and your course of study.

Private Student Loans

If federal aid doesn’t meet your needs, you may want to borrow more money from a private lender, like a bank or credit union.

These loans can be tougher to get if you don’t have any credit history yet, so you may need a co-signer. Remember, a co-signer is responsible for the debt if you don’t pay — even after you die or flee the country!

3. How to Apply for Student Loans

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Regardless of what you believe you’ll need or qualify for, the best place to start for financial aid is filling out the FAFSA.

This application will let you see which of the above types of federal aid you’re eligible to receive. The results may surprise you.

Keep in mind, though: Filling out the FAFSA doesn’t mean you have to accept the aid you’re offered.

You’ll be able to choose which awards and how much money to accept after your school sends your award letter (FAFSA results).

File your FAFSA online at fafsa.gov, download a printable PDF or order a paper FAFSA, or visit your school’s financial aid office to ask for assistance.

You’ll need to include your parents’ information if you’re a dependent student, generally defined as: under 24, unmarried, childless and not active duty or veteran of the armed forces.

How to Apply for a Private Student Loan

If the awards you receive in federal student aid and scholarships aren’t enough to cover your college expenses, you may apply for a private loan.

You can talk directly with someone at your local bank or credit union about your loan options, or try an online marketplace like Credible to compare offers from several lenders at once.

4. What NOT to Do With Your Student Loan Check

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Once you know what you’re eligible to receive, you’ll have to choose how much money to actually accept.

Here are two important warnings I wish I’d heard in college to avoid racking up so much debt:

A. Do NOT take all of the money offered if you don’t need it.

You can receive some of your financial aid without accepting all of it.

It’s tempting to take everything if you’re awarded more than you need — it feels like free money!

Putting yourself in debt, though, is sooo not free.

Decide how much money you’ll reasonably need to cover your tuition and expenses each semester and how much you’ll be able to contribute from savings or wages.

To meet your remaining need, accept financial aid awards in this order:

1. Scholarships and grants (free money)

2. Work-study (earned money)

3. Federal student loans (borrowed money)

4. State or school loans (borrowed money)

5. Private loans (borrowed money)

B. Do NOT use student loans for extravagant purchases.

You may be offered federal aid beyond what you need to pay tuition. Unless you need the relief, don’t consider this an excuse to avoid working.

If you can cover living expenses by working while you’re a student or over the summer, you’ll avoid a lot of hassle and cost in loans.

And if you do accept the money, only to realize when the check arrives you don’t need it… you don’t have to spend it.

Would it be nice to fund your friends’ Spring Break trip or go on a shopping spree? Of course. But you’ll pay for that extravagance exponentially down the line, and it may not seem worth it in retrospect.

(Or, maybe it will seem worth it. Your call. But at least someone’s telling you to think about it now, instead of regretting it later.)

5. When You Have to Start Paying Back Your Loans

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Ideally, you should start paying back your loans right away, because some loans will accrue interest while you’re in school.

When you must begin making payments on your loans depends on the type of loan (see no. 2).

Once your loan’s grace period ends — usually six or nine months after you leave school — you can start racking up missed or late payments, which can hurt your credit score.

If you miss payments for nine straight months, you’ll default on your loan and the government could start to collect the debt by garnishing your wages or income tax return.

Your private student loans may also have a grace period before you have to make monthly payments. Check with your lender early on to make sure you understand the terms of the loan.

6. Find Out What Kinds of Loans You Have and How Much You Owe

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If you’ve been out of school a few years, not making steady payments and ignoring emails or phone calls from lenders, you might not even know which debts you owe or to whom.

It may seem overwhelming, but the information is simple to retrieve.

For federal student loans, sign in at studentaid.ed.gov to see:

• Which grants and loans you’ve received

• How much you still owe on each

• How much interest you owe on each

• Status of each loan (in repayment, forbearance, default, etc.)

• Your repayment plan for each loan

• Loan servicer (to whom you make payments)

If you don’t remember the email address or password, you’ll have to enter some information about yourself and answer security questions.

If you still can’t get into your account, don’t give up! You can always call and speak with someone directly at (800) 557-7394.

For private loans, you may be getting updates from your lender (a bank or credit union). If that’s not helping, enter your information at creditsesame.com to see what you owe.

7. What Does It Mean to Default?

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To default on federal loan repayment means you’ve failed to make your monthly payment for 270 days (nine months).

The entire balance of your loan will become due immediately, and if you don’t pay it off, it can go to a collections agency. Plus, your debt will increase because of late fees, additional interest and any fees associated with collection.

The consequences of a defaulted loan are pretty far-reaching:

• You become ineligible for deferment or forbearance (see below) and other repayment options.

• You become ineligible for additional federal student aid.

• It will affect your credit rating.

• The government could withhold your federal and state tax refund to collect on the debt.

• At the government’s request, your employer could garnish your wages to pay off the debt.

Defaulting on a private student loan isn’t the same as doing so on a federal loan.

A private loan is generally defaulted after 120 days (three months) of missed payments.

When you default on a private loan, the lender, unlike the federal government, will have to go to court — and win — before enforcing measures like wage garnishment to collect on the loan.

Before defaulting on your loan, explore other options!

Even if you can’t afford to pay, federal loans come with a variety of options to help you keep your loan in good standing and protect your credit, including deferment, forbearance, loan forgiveness and income-based repayment.

Keep reading for details!

8. What is Deferment? What is Forbearance?

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When you can’t make scheduled monthly payments on your federal student loans, deferment or forbearance could allow you to temporarily postpone or reduce payments.

You’ll first apply with the lender for a deferment, which delays repayment of your loan. If you have a subsidized loan, you won’t owe additional interest accrued while it’s in deferment.

Unemployment, economic hardship, military service and several other factors could qualify you for deferment.

If you don’t qualify for deferment, your lender may grant a forbearance to allow you to stop making payments or reduce your monthly payments for up to 12 months. You’ll continue to accrue interest, but you can avoid default.

9. How to Repay Student Loans

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You have several options for repaying federal loans. Standard repayment has you paying off your loans over 10 years, but that might mean a monthly payment you can’t afford.

Income-driven repayment plans and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) limit your monthly payments to a certain percentage of your income and extend the period you have to pay.

Learn about these options to avoid default when you can’t afford your monthly payment.

For private student loans, you’ll have to check with your lender to learn your repayment options. Some offer forbearance options, and private loans are easier to discharge with bankruptcy than their federal counterparts.

Private loans don’t have income-based repayment options or much other flexibility.

If you have to choose to make payments on one or the other, pay off your private loans first. They usually have a higher interest rate, and the lack of flexibility means they’re easier to default when you can’t pay.

10. What is Refinancing? What is Consolidation?

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Refinancing or consolidating your loans will generally mean replacing your laundry list of loans with one (or a few) loans that include all of your student debt.

This could simplify your life with one monthly payment instead of several. It may also lower your monthly payment, improve your interest rate and/or give you more time to pay.

However, if you increase the length of your repayment period, you’ll potentially pay more in interest over the life of your loan. You may also lose some of the benefits of your existing loans that could save you money in the long run.

Be sure to do the math to understand the short- and long-term effects before jumping into refinancing or consolidation.

If you refinance with a private lender, you’ll lose all of the protections that come with federal loans, including income-driven repayment, cancellation and forgiveness options.

Learn more about private student loan refinancing here.

You can apply to consolidate your federal student loans with a federal Direct Consolidation Loan, which will help you keep some of the protections and repayment options of federal loans.

If you only need temporary relief from repayment and know you’ll be able to resume payments in the near future, consider whether deferment or forbearance would be better options before refinancing.

11. How Do You Qualify for Student Loan Forgiveness?

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In some cases, you can eliminate some of your student loan debt before you have to repay it.

Federal student loan forgiveness, cancellation or discharge is available for people who work in certain nonprofit or public service positions, including:

• Peace Corps or ACTION volunteer

• Teacher

• Member of the U.S. armed forces

• Nurse or medical technician

• Law enforcement or corrections officer

• Head Start worker

• Child or family services worker

Check with your loan servicer to find out if your position qualifies.

If you’re in the private sector, you could also look for a job with a company that helps employees repay student loans!

Contrary to popular belief, you can also discharge student loans in bankruptcy — but it’s rare.

12. Who Can Answer Questions About Your Student Loans?

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Whether you’re applying for the first time or you’ve been struggling with payments for a decade, student loans are a scary beast trailing millennials pretty much everywhere we go.

But they’re not a lost cause. We hope this guide helps you unravel the most complicated parts and get back on track.

If you’re still confused, do NOT ignore your loans for another decade and hope they’ll disappear!

(Trust me: I tried that. It does not work.)

Check out these additional resources to learn your options:

• Your college or university’s student financial aid office. They’re a valuable and accessible resource, even after you graduate.

• The articles at studentaid.ed.gov offer more in-depth information on all of the topics in this guide.

• Check out inspiring stories of how other Penny Hoarders have repaid thousands of dollars of student loan debt.

Your Turn: What is your biggest question about applying for or repaying student loans?

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).

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The Six Things I Care About Most When Looking at an Investment

For most people, one of the most intimidating parts of signing up for a 401(k) or a Roth IRA or another investment account is looking at all of the investment options. How do I know which one is right for me? How do I compare them?

I remember exactly how that feels. When I signed up for the retirement plan at my very first job after college, I was hit with a plethora of investment options. I had no idea what to pick, nor any idea of how to really compare them. It was intimidating and because of that intimidation I just chose the option that our retirement advisor suggested.

Luckily, the option he suggested was one of the best ones, but I didn’t realize that at first. Instead, I worried about it. Did I choose the right thing? Should I be invested in something else?

So, I started to do some homework. I actually read through several prospectuses (for those unfamiliar, those are the fairly long booklets that describe in excruciating detail all of the specifics of a particular plan). More importantly, I checked out some books on investing from the library and devoured them cover to cover.

The key thing that I learned? Investing can be an endless rabbit hole of complexity, but for most personal investors, it doesn’t need to be that difficult.

Today, I generally ask myself six questions about any investment that I’m considering. In truth, I don’t consider new investments very often at all, as I subscribe to a “buy and hold” strategy. Once my money is in an investment that survives these questions well, I don’t really have any reason to move it.

Here are the six questions I ask myself about any investment.

#1 – Do I Understand It?

For me, the threshold of understanding something is that I can explain it in one sentence and then answer follow-up questions on any aspect of that sentence. If I can’t do that, then I don’t understand it.

When I first started looking at investments, I really had no idea what they were at all. For example, my understanding of a “target retirement” fund was that it was something that you put money into if you were going to retire in a certain year, which is true, but any further understanding crumbled under any further questions.

So, what actually is a target retirement fund, then? It’s a mix of investments that’s designed to provide a high average annual return with low variance at the target date of the fund. How is that done, then? (Hey, look, a follow-up question!) It mixes several investment types in various amounts (depending on the exact fund, this will include stocks, bonds, real estate, possibly precious metals, and other things in varying amounts) so that it’s fairly high-risk and high-reward when you’re far from that date and it slowly shifts to lower-risk and lower-reward when you get closer so that you don’t lose those earlier gains at the last minute to a market hiccup.

If I cannot understand an investment to the point that I can explain what it is in a succinct way like that and also handle follow-ups, I won’t put my money in there.

Having said that, I don’t need to know everything about an investment. That’s actually impossible – you’ll just find yourself going down an endless rabbit hole of details. I just want to be able to understand it well enough to explain it simply and handle an initial wave or two of follow-up questions.

How do you get those follow-up questions? For me, the source of those questions is my wife. She wants to know those kinds of things and is always asking for details like this.

What if you don’t have an immediate person available who can ask those kinds of questions? Honestly, I’d look for the person in my social network who would seem to have the most experience with such things without also having a business motive and talk to that person. Take them out to lunch and then ask them for some insight into your investment plans. They’ll ask you questions and if you can’t answer them, then it’s a sign that you need to look into things more carefully.

#2 – The Expense Ratio and the Transaction Fees

This is basically the “cut” that the investment house takes each year out of your investment. It’s how they make money.

So, for example, let’s say that you have an investment that has a 1% expense ratio. That means that, over the course of a year, the company that runs that investment is going to take 1% of the value of that investment for themselves.

On the surface, in an investment that typically grows by 7% a year, that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it adds up to a lot of money over time. You’re essentially knocking that 7% return down to 6%, which means you’ve shifted the number of years it takes for that investment to double from 10 to 12 years (roughly). Over the long haul – say, forty years – the 7% investment will be worth about 60% more than the 6% investment. That’s likely hundreds of thousands of dollars just due to the expense ratio.

The transaction fees, on the other hand, are a one-time fee that’s charged to you as soon as you buy into a fund. This is often a commission to the person who sold you the fund or a brokerage fee of some kind.

Generally, when you have someone else invest for you, there are transaction fees involved; when you do most of the work yourself and go directly to the source of the investment, you eliminate transaction fees.

So, for example, if I went down to my local Edward Jones office and made an investment of some kind, there would be a transaction fee involved because the broker/investment advisor there would earn some money from the transaction. On the other hand, if I went to vanguard.com and invested directly with them into a Vanguard fund, there wouldn’t be any transaction fees.

I prefer no transaction fees and the lowest possible expense ratios. For me, this is perhaps the most important factor when buying into an investment. As I’ve stated many times, I don’t really believe that anyone can consistently “beat the market,” so what I try to do is look for investments (usually index funds) that “match the market” – something that I figure out from step #1 when I’m trying to explain the investment – and then I look for ways to get index funds without fees and with the lowest possible expense ratios. This is what Vanguard specializes in, so I tend to take my money directly to them and buy into their index funds for almost all of my investing needs.

#3 – The Average Annual Return

Honestly, the first two factors are the most important ones for me, but I do look at the remaining four factors when comparing somewhat similar investments.

The average annual return is simply how much that investment has returned to investors each year on average since the investment launched. While you can never perfectly gauge future returns based on past performance, the average annual return does give you a solid way of assessing differences between seemingly similar investments and it does give you a thumbnail sketch of what you can roughly expect from it.

I don’t simply chase the funds with the highest average annual return. I mostly just use it as a way to compare funds that seem similar to me, meaning that I describe them (remember #1) in a similar way.

As a very general rule, the higher the average annual return, the higher the volatility (which we’ll talk about in a minute). This is basically just a fancy way of saying “low risk, low reward; high risk, high reward.”

Let’s move onto volatility and talk a little more about that.

#4 – The Volatility in That Return

This is the one that’s perhaps the hardest of all to figure out here, and it’s the one part of all of this that requires real number crunching since most websites and online tools don’t really calculate this. If this section is a little complicated for you, don’t sweat it – it may be the least important factor of the six.

All I do is I go and get the closing balance of an investment each year over the lifetime of the investment, then I fire up Excel and do a simple calculation as described here:

To calculate volatility of a given security in Excel, first determine the time frame for which the metric will be computed. A 10-day period is used for this example. Next, enter all the closing stock prices for that period into cells A1 through A10 in sequential order, with the newest price at the bottom. In column B, calculate the interday returns by dividing each price by the closing price of the day before and subtracting one. For example, if a security closed at $5 on the first day and at $6.50 on the second day, the return of the second day would be (6.5/5)-1, or .3, indicating that the price on day two was 30% higher than the price on day one. Volatility is inherently related to standard deviation, or the degree to which prices differ from their mean. In cell C10, enter the formula “=STDEV(B1:B10)” to compute the standard deviation for the period.

I’m looking for that standard deviation, which essentially tells me how much the annual return could reasonably change from year to year. So, what I might do is take the closing balance at the end of each of the last ten years and use those numbers as described above. Let’s use the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index as an example. Here, I’m taking the end balance at the end of each year plus the yield for that year (the dividends that it paid out), and we’ll just look at the last five years to keep it simple.

12/31/2011 – $31.30 (plus 2.01% yield) – $31.93
12/31/2012 – $35.65 (plus 2.09% yield) – $36.40
12/31/2013 – $46.69 (plus 1.81% yield) – $47.54
12/31/2014 – $51.60 (plus 1.78% yield) – $52.52
12/31/2015 – $50.79 (plus 1.94% yield) – $51.78

The standard deviation of the annual returns over this period is 13.2% (calculated using Excel and the STDEV function, explained above), which is pretty high. (A quick note: in the real world, you should use as much data as possible to calculate the standard deviation, so I would actually use the full history of the fund and use the ending balance of each year to calculate the standard deviation, not just five years – five years is a simple example.)

What that means is that, in a given year, I can pretty confidently expect the average annual return to go up and down by 13.2%, which means that a return one year of 10% might see a return the following year of -3.2% and that’s completely normal – in fact, that’s as normal as it gets. Some years might see less change than that while others might see more, but 13.2% is the standard change. I can completely expect that investment to go up 13.2% or down 13.2% (or less) in a given year, and that occasionally it’ll be more than that.

I would then compare it to the same exact results from other, similar investments. What is their volatility?

In general, if an investment is very long term, I want the highest average annual return as I can get – that’s over the long haul of more than ten years. If I get to the ten year mark, I want the highest average annual return minus that calculated standard deviation for volatility. I want tha to be as high as possible for shorter-term investments.

This is a very simple calculation, of course, but it shows me what I need to know, which is a thumbnail sketch of how relatively risky an investment of mine is over the short term. Investment professionals use much more nuanced calculations to look at variance and change in stock prices over time, but this simple calculation is enough for me to get a rough idea of what’s going on, which is enough for my purposes.

#5 – Liquidity

The liquidity of an investment is simply how easy it is to turn that investment back into cash with minimal penalty.

Money in your checking or savings account is very, very liquid. All you have to do is make a withdrawal.

Money in the stock market is also pretty liquid. You can just sell those stocks through your investment house and have cash from that investment within a few days.

Money in a retirement account might be able to be retrieved quickly, but it usually comes with a stiff penalty for early withdrawal, so it’s a little less liquid.

Money in real estate might not be very liquid at all, as you need someone to buy the property in order to be able to sell it and that process can take a while. The same is true for things like art or other collectibles.

When you invest in yourself, such as through a college education, that investment isn’t liquid at all. You can’t simply sell your college education to get a return on your money – it’s now a part of you and can’t directly be sold.

In general, the more liquid an investment is, the better. The easier and faster it is to convert that money into cash with little or no penalty, the better it is for you solely due to convenience.

Remember, there will come a time where you need the money you’ve invested, and when that time comes, liquidity is going to be very important to you. It might not seem like a big deal initially, but that moment when it becomes a big deal, it’s a huge deal.

I tend to be wary of investments that aren’t very liquid unless I’m buying them for other purposes. For example, I wouldn’t mind owning a rental property because it’s returning some income to me while I hold it. On the other hand, I’m going to be very careful about investing in education because unless I can get a better job, it’s not going to be a worthwhile investment. (Sure, it might be good for personal enrichment, but that puts it closer to a hobby or entertainment.)

#6 – Tax Benefits

Whenever you sell an investment, you’re going to be hit with taxes on that investment, usually in the form of long term capital gains tax. If you buy an investment for $100,000 and then sell it for $250,000 a few years later, you’re going to have to pay capital gains tax on the $150,000 you earned, and that might be as much as $30,000 handed over to the government. Ideally, you want to avoid that tax (or minimize it) in order to keep that money right in your pocket where it belongs. There are several ways to do that.

The most common way is to save in a tax-advantaged retirement account, like a 401(k) or a Roth IRA. In general, Roth accounts are funded with money out of your pocket today but you don’t have to pay any taxes on the money you earn inside that account provided you follow the withdrawal rules (waiting until you’re at least 59 1/2 years old is the big one). Other accounts, like a 401(k), work in the opposite direction, meaning that you don’t have to pay any income taxes on the money you put in to begin with, but you pay upon withdrawing the money (when your income is likely lower and thus you’re paying less in income taxes).

There are other tax advantaged accounts out there for other situations, like a 529 college savings account (which is like a Roth IRA except the tax-free withdrawals occur when you use the money for education) or a health savings account (the same except for health care expenses).

There are still other investments with special financial benefits, like municipal bonds which can avoid some types of taxes depending on the offering, but they often have lower returns to begin with and that counterbalances the tax benefits for most people.

Taxes can take a real bite out of your investments if you’re not careful. The thing to always remember is this: unless you’re using a special account, you’re going to almost always have to pay taxes on what you earn, which eats into your returns. That’s why a Roth IRA is such a good deal.

Final Thoughts

For an individual investor like myself who isn’t incredibly wealthy, reviewing and understanding these basic factors tells me almost everything I need to know about an investment and gives me enough to go on to make decisions on my own.

If you want to understand these factors better, I recommend hitting the library and checking out some good books on investing, such as The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Larimore, Lindauer, and LeBoeuf. The more you learn about investing, the easier it is to make sensible investment decisions on your own behalf.

Good luck!

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How to Work From Home as a Career or Life Coach

By Holly Reisem Hanna I remember the day when I sat down with my career counselor to chat about my SAT score, colleges, and what I wanted to do with my future. Growing up, I never had an overwhelming desire towards one occupation. I enjoyed helping people, so I dabbled with the idea of teaching, […]

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Here’s a Super Easy Way to Send a FREE Care Package to Your Favorite Soldier

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, at least you know you have the right to hold the opinions you do — and to speak your mind about them.

That right, in large part, is secure thanks to our military service members. They risk their lives and work their butts off every day to protect and preserve the freedoms Americans enjoy.

That’s a pretty big sacrifice. What if you had a way to say “Thank you” that would cost you absolutely nothing except a few minutes of your time?

As it turns out, you do.

Send Free Care Packages for Troops Through Operation Gratitude

Operation Gratitude is a nonprofit organization whose volunteers send more than 250,000 care packages to deployed U.S. service members every year.

Each package comes with practical stuff like hygiene products and fun stuff like snacks and handwritten letters. A peek at the photo gallery reveals a lot of candy and Beanie Babies — and is almost guaranteed to make you smile.

Each box is valued between $75 and $100 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship, and no one doing the heavy lifting is paid for their time.

But despite all that, the packages are 100% free for you to send to a uniformed, faraway someone.

And it literally couldn’t be simpler.

To send your favorite soldier their very own care package, all you have to do is fill out this form.

Aside from your personal information, you’ll need to have the recipient’s APO or FPO address and rank, as well as an expected date of return.

Note also that the packages are reserved for soldiers who are “deployed at sea, in hostile environments overseas or on unaccompanied hardship tours.”

And that’s it — just fill it out and click submit.

Since the organization is trying to fill as many requests as possible, they’ll only accept one request per member within a three-month period. And if you’re requesting care packages for five or more soldiers at the same address, please use the Group Request Form instead.

Don’t personally know an eligible soldier? You can still get involved: Write letters to line the boxes sent to others’ loved ones, or if you’re in the organization’s Chatsworth area, volunteer to help assemble packages or do community service.

And if you have the means, we can think of no finer way to spend hoarded pennies than to donate some of them to Operation Gratitude.

After all, it feels good to say “Thank you” — for both sayer and soldier alike.

Your Turn: Who will you request an Operation Gratitude care package for?

Jamie Cattanach is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Her writing has also been featured at The Write Life, Word Riot and elsewhere. Find @JamieCattanach on Twitter to wave hello.

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UK housing market slows post-Brexit

Hannah Nemeth

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Property prices across the UK have slowed to their lowest level in three years, according to a poll of surveyors.

Property prices across the UK have slowed to their lowest level in three years, according to a poll of surveyors.

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Two in ten Moneywise users change holiday plans following Brexit vote

Helen Knapman

planning-a-holiday.jpg

Two in ten (21%) Moneywise.co.uk users have changed their holiday plans as a result of the pound plummeting following Brexit.

Two in ten (21%) Moneywise.co.uk users have changed their holiday plans as a result of the pound plummeting following Brexit.

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12 Strategic Steps to Save an Extra $5,000 for Retirement in 12 Months

Saving for retirement sounds overwhelming.

Whether you’re just getting started in your 20s or you’re in the final years of your career, setting aside enough money to live on after you leave the workforce is hard to imagine.

The best way to save is little by little over time, as countless experts will remind you.

But if you’re already past that point and looking for ways to save money in a hurry, here’s a 12-month strategy for injecting your retirement account with extra cash quickly.

Month 1: Invest Your Digital Change to Save $420 This Year

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If you want an insanely simple way to save and invest your money, try Acorns. You’ll be amazed by how much money you can set aside without even thinking about it.

Acorns is a smartphone app that connects to your bank account, credit and debit cards to save your digital change. It automatically rounds up purchases with your connected accounts and invests the difference in your Acorns account.

This Penny Hoarder accidentally saved $116 — about $35 a month — by connecting one debit card to the app and forgetting about it.

At that rate, you could spend 10 minutes setting up your Acorns account in Month 1 and put away $420 this year.

If you use your credit cards more frequently, your round-ups could amount to much more.

Month 2: Write a Blog Post for $100

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One commonly-overlooked way to earn extra money is to put your skills to use doing freelance work.

Even if you don’t want to turn this into your full-time gig, a freelance writing, design, photography or other creative gig you’re qualified for can be a simple way to earn money when you really need it.

Do you have a special story to share or a unique insight into a particular industry? Pitch an article or blog post this month to make money off of it!

Here are seven blogs that pay at least $100 per post. Write about everything from technology to traveling to finance.

Month 3: Earn an Extra $180 by Joining an Online Focus Group

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We know you’re not going to get rich taking paid surveys, but our founder Kyle says he’s able to pocket an extra $10-$20 a month this way, and that adds up.

Start in Month 3, and that be could up to $180 this year!

Our favorite survey sites are Swagbucks and VIP Voice. Sign up for both to start receiving invites to surveys matching your profile.

Survey sites typically pay in credits for each survey you complete. For Swagbucks surveys, you can cash these in for gift cards to major retailers like Amazon, or even PayPal.

VIP Voice gamifies survey-taking, so you can use your credits to enter sweepstakes and auctions to win gift cards, electronics and free vacations.

Month 4: Sign Up for a Clinical Trial to Earn Up to $900

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Do you live with a chronic condition like psoriasis, arthritis or migraines? They’re a serious pain in the neck… or wrists… or head…

But they may also make you eligible for clinical studies that can really pay off. These studies help medical professionals learn how to better treat chronic conditions.

Payment varies by study, but we found some that offer pretty killer compensation:

• Psoriasis: You can earn $5-$100 taking online surveys, so you don’t even have to leave home!

• Migraines: Local research studies may offer payment/compensation up to $625. Learn more here.

• Back pain: If you suffer from chronic back pain, you could qualify for a study that offers up to $900 compensation for sharing your opinions.

• Arthritis: For rheumatoid arthritis in the knee or hip, you could qualify for a study that offers up to $625 compensation for sharing your opinions.

Month 5: Rent Your Place for a Week to Make $400-$600

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Vacation rental can be an awesome solution for empty nesters or retirees with spare bedrooms or an unused home office that could house guests for a night or two.

List your space on Airbnb during high-demand times in your area.

Are there concerts, conventions, sporting events or other popular events happening in your town this month? Though there may be demand year-round, you’ll get the most out of your rental if you list it at the right time.

Even if you don’t make Airbnb a regular income stream, these occasional visits can be just as rewarding for you as it is for them.

Nightly rates vary by location and demand, so check similar listings in your area. You could make around $400-$600 for a week’s stay, but the rate could be much higher in larger cities and during major events — or lower if you’re way off the beaten path.

Month 6: Use Your Car for Ridesharing and Earn $2,400

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If you want to earn extra money on the side or even work for yourself full-time, signing up as an Uber driver-partner could be a great opportunity.

Sign up as a driver with the rideshare service this month, and you could have a new side hustle! Or, if you don’t want to keep it up long-term, you could at least use this opportunity to bank some extra cash toward your retirement fund.

Pay depends on your location and a number of other factors, but we know one Penny Hoarder who regularly grossed about $600 for a 40-hour workweek.

You could take it easy, work about 20 hours a week this month, and bank $1,200. Or, hit it hard for four weeks!

Work 40 hours a week for one month, and you could bank about $2,400.

Month 7: Automate Your Savings to Set Aside $210

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The best way we’ve found to save money is automating it. When you don’t have to think about it, that money can add up fast.

This month, connect your account to Digit, an auto-savings app that withdraws small amounts from your checking account into an FDIC-insured Digit savings account. The app monitors your balance and spending to set aside only what you can afford.

So, the more money you keep in your checking account, the more you’ll save with Digit.

For example, one Penny Hoarder saved almost $2,000 in 10 months — the app set aside about $7 a day.

At that rate, you could save $210 this month without even trying!

When you’re ready, move the money into an interest-bearing savings or retirement account to turn it into even more over time.

Month 8: Start Investing — With Just $1/Day

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If you want to start investing outside of your retirement account, but aren’t ready for a full-throttle education in the stock market, try Clink. It’s an app that allows you to invest as little as $1 a day.

Clink does the heavy-lifting for you, withdrawing funds automatically from your bank account and investing them across a portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs), which most sources consider ideal for new investors.

You can set the app to invest any amount you choose daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly — or link a credit card and invest a percentage of what you spend.

And you can withdraw funds back into your bank account at any time.

The smallest amount you can invest is $1 a day, so set aside at least $30 this month to get your feet wet!

Month 9: Sell Something on Ebay or Craigslist

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If you need money now, find something you can sell for cash.

You’d be surprised what people will pay for on Ebay!

You might be able to gather unique supplies where you live, like driftwood, sea glass or seashells from the beach; or pine cones and dried leaves from the woods. Sell them in lots to crafters.

For furniture and larger items that cost too much to ship, sell them locally Craigslist. And if you have absolutely nothing you’re willing to part with, browse Craigslist freebies for something you can flip.

How much you can earn will vary wildly, depending on what you find to sell.

Set a goal to make an extra $50 decluttering your place this month, and add it to your retirement account — every little bit helps!

Month 10: Sell Unused Gift Cards for Cash

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Check your purse, wallet, pockets and sock drawer… you’re bound to have an unused gift card or two lying around.

Instead of going on a shopping spree, sell your gift cards online to turn them into cash you can grow in a retirement account.

For example, you might have a gift card for $100 to a store you don’t love as much as the well-meaning benefactor thought you did.

List it on a gift card exchange site at a discount — say, $90. The buyer gets $100 to spend at 10% off, and you get, basically, free money you can actually use!

Invest that money in the right place, and it could grow more than you might expect!

Month 11: Babysit — Overnight — and Earn $800+

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If you already have child care experience from your own children or grandchildren, you could be a valuable babysitter.

Look for babysitting gigs on a site like Care.com. Or, when it comes to connecting with families, word of mouth may be the smartest way to spread the word, so stay in touch with friends or colleagues with young kids.

If you want to kick it up a notch, consider becoming a night nanny to bank some money this month. You’ll be responsible for caring for a newborn overnight — feeding and comforting them when they cry.

Pay varies, depending on your region and who you work with, but your infant-soothing skills should net you $100 or more per night.

Offer the service a few nights a week to give busy parents a break without overwhelming yourself. Do it two nights a week for a month, and you can put away $800.

Month 12: Make and Sell Holiday Crafts

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Do you enjoy making creative treats or crafting decorations? You could make money selling them!

If you’re just getting started, it may take some time to gain traction. However, holidays are a great time to supercharge a craft-based business!

Try these 12 winter holiday crafts to sell online and at craft fairs or (indoor) farmers markets this holiday season.

If you find a good deal on pumpkins this fall, try some of these pumpkin-based crafts and treats around Halloween and Thanksgiving.

How much you can earn depends entirely on what you produce, how you price it and where you sell it.

Set a goal to earn, say, an extra $200 over the holidays, and add that to your retirement account!

Your Turn: What smart strategies have you used to beef up your retirement account?

Disclosure: You wouldn’t believe how much coffee The Penny Hoarder team goes through. This post contains affiliate links so we can keep the grinds stocked!

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