The Greene-Dreher Alumni Association recently presented more than $15,000 in college scholarships at its annual dinner. Scholarship recipients are: Amanda Darwich, $500 Ladies of Paupack Rebekah Lodge and $1,000 GDAA; Jonathan Gillen, $1,000 GDAA; Wade Gilpin, $1,500 GDAA; Molly Jansco, $500 Gross Family and $750, GDAA; Cassandra Killiany, $1,000 Pearl Blitz Smith Memorial; Zachary Krial $1,000 GDAA; Marc Minnick, $1,000 Jan Smith Burke Memorial and $500 Laurel Blossoms Senior Group; Shawn [...]
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الاثنين، 22 أغسطس 2016
Dress for Success program empowers women
SCRANTON — Dress for Success Lackawanna is announcing enrollment for the third session of 2016 of the Going Places Network by the Walmart Foundation. This specially-designed program sponsored helps unemployed and under-employed women gain professional skills, accelerate their job searches and build confidence through weekly training sessions, one-on-one career coaching and networking in a supportive environment.A free, 10-week program helping unemployed and underemployed [...]
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5 Jobs for Stay-At-Home Parents Who Don’t Want to Put Their Careers on Hold
If you’ve left a developing career to stay home with kids, you understand the financial impact it can have.
While you enjoy the freedom to be there for your kids, you also know it puts a strain on your family’s budget and can affect your ability to return to the workforce in the future.
We know there are plenty of ways to make extra money, so you can avoid going broke after you leave your job. You can even take on part-time work or start your own side hustle if you want to keep your income up.
But what if you want to avoid the dreaded career break?
These five skilled work-from-home jobs allow you to continue working in your field, but offer the flexibility to make your own schedule and build a career around your family’s needs.
1. Online Tutoring and Teaching: $20+/hour
Are you academically inclined and passionate about helping kids succeed?
If you want to work in education — but don’t want to be tied to a district — virtual teaching is a great option.
You’ll find a slew of tutoring sites online, where you can connect with students of any age on any subject or test prep. You can even teach English as a second language without leaving home!
It can be tough to know which opportunities are worthwhile, so we found five online tutoring jobs that pay at least $20 an hour — and are hiring.
If you’re certified to teach K-12 in any state, you could take it a step further and apply for a virtual teaching job.
2. Remote Writing and Editing Jobs: $50-$60K/year
Freelance writing is a wonderful way to earn money working from home. You can set your own schedule, take on as much or little work as you want and often dictate your pay.
You can get into freelance writing at varying levels of expertise. If you already have writing experience and want to earn what you’re worth with a flexible schedule, check out these positions:
Technical Writer: $58K/year
In addition to writing skills, technical writing usually requires some experience and expertise within a specific field. Pay is significantly higher than many writing jobs, with a national average of $58,000 per year, according to Glassdoor.
You’ll be writing guides, reports and other internal documents to help your team succeed.
Type “technical writer” in any search engine to find a job in the field of your choice. Check out these current openings:
- GitHub is hiring a full-time developer platform content writer to create guides for showcasing GitHub products and tools for developers.
- Grant Street Group is hiring a business analyst to help communicate to customers how to apply its cloud-based software applications to their businesses.
Freelance Editor: $55K/year
Grunge, a website for “learning about fascinating, mind-blowing and just plain weird stuff,” is hiring a freelance editor to manage content and oversee writers.
If you have a bachelor’s degree and/or a minimum five years’ experience writing and editing online, and you enjoy content about weird news, food, gaming, history, pop culture, science and sports, this contract position could be a good fit.
Editor pay varies, so be prepared to negotiate. Glassdoor reports the national average salary for a freelance editor is about $55,000.
3. Developer: $75K/year
Have experience with software development? Trello has remote work opportunities for you!
All Trello employees have the opportunity to work from anywhere with a flexible schedule, or on-site in the company’s downtown Manhattan office. Jobs also come with:
- Competitive salary (national average: $75,000)
- Free gym membership
- Health insurance and 401(k) with matching
- Generous parental leave policy
- Four weeks of paid vacation
- All-expense-paid technical conferences
Current openings for developers include:
- Developer Advocate: Help developers use Trello’s API to build on the Trello platform.
- Site Reliability Engineer: Help Trello build a strong, scalable infrastructure to support millions of new users.
- Growth Engineer: Help the team build site features to improve acquisition, engagement, retention, revenue and virality.
4. Virtual Recruiter: $30-$40/hour
If you have experience finding, screening and interviewing job applicants, consider working remotely as a recruiter.
Employment firm WorkPuppy is seeking virtual recruiters for contract positions.
In this work-from-home position, you’ll be responsible for recruiting, sourcing and interviewing job seekers, and matching them with employers. You’ll also work on outreach to develop new client relationships.
You should have an associate’s degree and at least two years’ related experience. Similar positions pay between $30-$40 an hour, Glassdoor reports.
To apply: Fill out the application online here.
5. Healthcare Outreach: $25-$30/hour
If you’re a registered nurse looking for a career change and more flexibility, consider becoming a patient outreach specialist with 83bar.
The company connects patients in need with healthcare companies that may provide the care they require. Your role is to call patients who’ve requested information and set appointments with 83bar clients.
While this is basically an appointment-setting position, the company points out it’s not a sales job. Your healthcare expertise and empathy as an RN allow you to offer patients the care they’re looking for — not just persuasion.
You’ll receive base pay plus commission, up to $25-$30 per hour. Plus, you’ll set your own hours, with a minimum of 20 hours per week.
To apply: See if you qualify for the position by taking the recruitment quiz online here.
Your Turn: Are you a stay-at-home parent looking for flexible work-from-home jobs?
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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7 Simple Steps to Start Getting Your Finances Under Control This Week
You know your finances could use some serious TLC, but you’ve been putting it off… and off… and off.
When you finally do sit down to think about it, you immediately become overwhelmed. Which goal do you attack first?
You need a budget, a savings plan, a debt repayment strategy, a better credit score, a plan for retirement, and… oh, you’re running away again, aren’t you?
Calm down, and come back. To tackle big goals, you have to start small.
Here are a few simple steps you can take today to get your finances under control and start working toward a healthier financial future.
1. Open a Separate Bank Account
Aleksle/Getty Images
The first step we recommend for organizing your finances and boosting savings is opening a separate bank account.
Operating everything out of one checking account can make your finances muddy and contribute undue stress to your money management.
To simplify, open a second account for a dedicated purpose. One of our favorites is Aspiration’s Summit Checking Account — there are no fees and you’ll earn up to 100 times the interest rate of other banks.
This online-only checking account comes with a debit card and free ATMs, so you can easily access your money when you need it.
After you open your Summit Checking Account, use it to split your income:
- Automatically deposit a portion of your income into your existing bank account, and use that to cover basic expenses like rent and bills.
- Deposit what’s left into your Summit Account to use for fun stuff, like eating out, shopping or going on vacation.
2. Join a Savings Challenge
gchutka/Getty Images
One of the best motivators for achieving major goals is, simply, success. Once you see how much you can achieve with just a little effort, the next steps become easier.
The Brightpeak Financial $500 Savings Challenge offers a great start to tackle your savings goals.
Boost your financial health with this challenge to put away $500 in seven days. Sign up for free to get a week’s worth of daily saving activities and expert advice delivered straight to your inbox.
Along with this savings account injection, you’ll also learn tips and tricks to develop smart saving habits, so you can build on this week’s success.
3. Get a Handle on Your Credit Score
Petesaloutos/Getty Images
Now that you know you’re capable of healthy money habits, let’s take a look at the bigger picture: What is the state of your finances?
To plan for the future, you’ll want to understand your existing debt and borrowing power.
You can check your credit score for free on Credit Sesame — you don’t even need a credit card to sign up. You’ll also get a free credit report card to show you exactly where your credit shines… and where it could use some improvement.
If you discover your credit score is less than ideal, then it’s time to create an action plan. Maybe you have outstanding debts marring your credit report, and you need a plan to pay them off.
Or maybe your score is higher than expected! Applying for a new credit card or higher credit limit could raise your score even more.
4. Take Steps to Pay Down Student Loan Debt
Xavier-Arnau/Getty Images
Like many people, you might find the strongest negative mark on your credit report is student loan debt.
Student loans can strain your budget every month, making it harder to save. They rack up interest, costing you thousands of dollars over time. When you can’t afford payments, your credit score suffers.
If you’re struggling to pay and out of options, refinancing could help you pay down student loan debt faster.
CommonBond is an online lending company that can help you refinance existing student loans to find a lower interest rate and/or lower monthly payment.
Refinancing with a private lender could mean a simpler repayment process and savings over time. CommonBond reports borrowers pay an average $14,581 less over the life of their student loans after refinancing.
5. Start a Passive Income Stream
Pamela Joe McFarlane/Getty Images
We’re at no loss for smart ways to earn extra money without doing extra work, but here’s one you can actually start right now.
Install these apps on your smartphone, and earn money every month you keep them installed — $400 or more per year!
The apps collect data from your phone to help companies understand web and mobile usage, like when people are more likely to browse or how long they stay in apps or on websites.
- MobileExpressions for iPhones: After one week, you can play games for instant rewards. Everyone wins something, from a $25 Amazon gift card, to big prizes like iPads and Samsung TVs.
- MobileExpressions for Android: This is the same as the iPhone version, but exclusively for Android!
- SavvyConnect: Just install this app on up to three mobile devices, and earn $5 per device for each month you keep it installed. You can earn up to $180 per year total.
- Media Insiders Panel: If you’re male, or 44 years of age or older, and enjoy watching TV, this company will pay you $5 a month to keep its app on your Android smartphone or tablet. You can also participate in surveys about shows you watch for additional rewards.
6. Sell Your Old Stuff
Jupiter Images/Getty Images
Another simple way to boost your savings with a quick injection is to sell off some of your old stuff. You probably have more than you think!
Clear your shelves of unused video games, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays, and sell them on Decluttr.
Do you really need to hold onto your dusty copy of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” for another year?
Decluttr is a lot easier than selling direct through an online marketplace. You can unload all your old media at once, ship to Decluttr for free and get paid cash within a day, once they accept your order.
Similarly, get rid of old college textbooks and earn extra money using Direct Textbook.
Direct Textbook helps you find the best-paying and most reputable textbook buyback companies online. Just type your book’s ISBN into the search, and you’ll see which companies will offer you the most for it.
Most buyback companies offer prepaid shipping, so you won’t have to worry about that. And you can choose how you’ll be paid, usually via PayPal.
7. Start Investing Without the Hassle
Fang Xia Nuo/Getty Images
Are you ready to start growing your money, but intimidated by the stock market?
So were we.
But we found this smartphone app called Clink, which lets you start investing with as little as $1 per day.
Plus, new users can get a $5 sign-up bonus right now when you download the app.
Clink is automated, so you don’t have to learn how to actively manage investments. You’ll link your bank account and decide how much you want to invest and how often — daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
Alternatively, you can link your credit card, and Clink will invest a percentage of what you spend — so every splurge also means more savings!
To get the $5 bonus, download the Clink smartphone app and set up your account with the same email address. Be sure to use the promo code: PH2016
Your Turn: Will you take the challenge to boost your savings this week?
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Adding these links helps us keep the lights on in The Penny Hoarder HQ, which makes it a lot easier to play shuffleboard after a long day of deal-seeking!
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6 Long-Term Savings Plans that Make Good Financial Cents
According to a survey released by the Federal Reserve earlier this year, up to 46 percent of American adults don’t have an extra $400 to cover an emergency.
While this worrisome statistic is partly due to poverty and low wages, poor spending and saving habits are also to blame.
When we don’t save enough money in the short-term or the long-term, we are bound to struggle when it comes to covering an emergency home or auto repair, unexpected medical bills, or any other financial “surprises” that arise.
That’s why everyone – and I mean, everyone – needs to make saving money a priority. You might think you can’t afford to, but I can assure you that you can’t really afford not to, either.
While workers from previous generations were able to rely on pensions to cover their retirement, today’s employees are largely on their own. And although social security is still solvent, I wouldn’t count on receiving full benefits by the time you reach retirement age.
Plus, we all need a certain amount of cash on-hand – cash to cover a car repair so you can make it to work next week, cash to pay that medical bill so your daughter can have surgery, and cash to pay for college, help pay for a wedding, or cover myriad other financial responsibilities we all face.
How Much Money Should You Save to Fund Your Long-Term Goals?
But, how much should you save? Years ago, it was commonplace to assume we should all save at least ten percent of our incomes for retirement and the future. But nowadays, it’s pretty standard to work towards saving at least 15 percent and hopefully more.
As a financial advisor, I always tell my clients to save at least 20 – 25 percent of their incomes across their retirement accounts and cash savings. Saving that much might seem crazy to some people, but in my eyes, this is what you need to do to prepare yourself for the harsh realities of today’s world. If you’re not saving for yourself and your own future, who is?
Hands-down, the best way to formulate – and stick with – long-term financial plans is to set goals and review them frequently. I’m a big believer in having lifetime, three-year, one-year, and 90-day financial goals. I tend to review my 90-day goals every quarter in order to make sure I am on track with my longer-view goals.
If you’re trying to boost your savings rate, creating goals you can “check in with” is a smart move. If you’re saving 10 percent of your income across retirement accounts and cash and want to boost that over time, you can start by shooting for a 15 percent savings rate within 90 days. Within one year, try to shoot for 20 percent or 25 percent.
An easy way to do this is to boost your work-sponsored retirement account contributions incrementally over time – say, every 60 or 90 days. You may not even notice the extra percentage taken from your paycheck, but those extra funds will add up and grow your wealth in a big way.
When it comes to cash savings, you’ll need to take a slightly different approach. Since it’s easy to squander extra money you have in your checking account, I always suggest having automatic monthly withdrawals moved over to long-term savings account on a regular basis. By paying yourself first – and making it automatic – you can grow your nest egg over time without being tempted to spend or waste your extra cash.
Long-Term Savings Plans that Make Good Financial Cents
If you’re a long-term reader of this website, you already know how important your retirement savings are to your financial future. Without a properly funded retirement account, you are destined to work longer than you want and struggle financially in old age. With plenty of money invested, on the other hand, you can potentially retire early, reach your lifetime “bucket list” goals, and retire with less stress and more peace of mind.
Beyond retirement though, you’ll need cash savings for all of life’s challenges – and life’s expenses. Here are some awesome long-term savings plans anyone could benefit from:
Long-Term Savings Plan #1: Pay Off Consumer Debt
While paying down debt isn’t necessarily “saving,” there are huge benefits that come from dumping your high interest consumer debts for good. While nearly any debt you have should be on the chopping block, you should start by focusing on high interest credit card debt and personal loans first, then other debts like car payments and student loans.
{Bonus Tip: If you’re struggling with debt at an extremely high interest rate, look into zero percent balance transfer credit cards that let you pay no interest for up to 21 months.}
Regardless of which debts you need to tackle, paying them off for good will help your finances tremendously. Without those monthly debt payments, you’ll have more money to save and invest each month.
And with more capital available to save and invest, you’ll be able to grow wealth at a much faster rate. Plus, you’ll avoid the real wealth-killer on the table – credit card and debt interest payments you’re making.
Related:
Long-Term Savings Plan #2: Build Your Emergency Fund
Remember how almost half of Americans can’t afford a $400 emergency? Trust me, you don’t want to find yourself in that camp. When an emergency hits and you don’t have the money to cover it, it’s easy to wind up falling behind on your other bills, or worse, taking on new debt. The best way to avoid these problems altogether is to have an emergency fund to fall back on.
Most financial advisors suggest keeping 3-6 months of expenses on-hand for emergencies, and I tend to agree. As you launch your long-term savings plans, make sure to add an emergency fund to the list. To get started, figure out how much you need to save. Then, come up with a dollar figure you need to set aside every month. Lastly, make it automatic and keep saving until you reach your goal.
Let’s say your monthly expenses sit at around $3,000 per month. If you want to save up three months of expenses ($9,000) within the next 24 months, you would need to save $375 per month.
Whatever your goal is, the best way to achieve it is to get started sooner rather than later. And when it comes to long-term savings plans, there are few strategies that can beat having a fully-stocked emergency fund.
Long-Term Savings Plan #3: Save Up the Down Payment for a Home
Another long-term savings plan that can help you get ahead is saving up the down payment for your own home. Doing so can help your finances in more than one way. First, saving up a large down payment for a home can help you reduce the amount of money you need to borrow. And when you borrow less for your home, you’ll enjoy a lower monthly payment and pay less interest each month.
Secondly, saving up at least 20 percent as a down payment for your home can help you avoid costly private mortgage insurance, or PMI. This “insurance coverage” can cost up to 1 percent of your home’s value each year, but without any real benefit to you. As an example, PMI on a $200,000 home can cost up to $2,000 per year, or $166 per month. By putting down at least 20 percent, you can avoid PMI altogether and save that money instead.
Long-Term Savings Plan #4: Save to Upgrade Your Vehicle
While you may already have a car you love, we all know it won’t last forever. If you’re looking for another long-term savings plan to get excited about, having a “new car fund” is an additional option to consider.
By establishing this fund, you can save up for the inevitable – the day your car dies or the cost of repairs becomes unsustainable. With a car fund growing in the bank, you won’t have to stress when it comes to replacing your ride with a new or used vehicle.
In addition to your new car fund, you can also consider signing up for a rewards credit card that makes it even easier to save. The GM BuyPower card is an obvious example of a card that could really help in this respect. With this credit card in your wallet, you’ll earn 5 percent earnings on your first $5,000 spent every year.
Beyond that, you’ll earn 2 percent back on every purchase you make. Your earnings will never expire, and your points are redeemable toward an eligible new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac vehicle. Read here to learn more about the GM BuyPower credit card.
Long-Term Savings Plan #5: Save Even MORE Money for Retirement
If you’re funding your work-sponsored or personal retirement accounts religiously and have even more cash to stash away, you might consider opening a traditional or Roth IRA. With a traditional IRA, your contributions are likely deductible on your taxes. However, you’ll need to pay income taxes on your withdrawals once you reach retirement age and start using your account.
With a Roth IRA, on the other hand, the contributions you make today are made with after-tax dollars. On the flip side, your money will grow tax-free until retirement and you won’t have to pay income taxes on your withdrawals after age 59 ½, either.
As an added bonus, you can withdraw your Roth IRA contributions at any time before retirement age without paying a penalty. You’ll notice I said contributions and not earnings. If you want to withdraw your earnings before retirement age, you’ll have to pay a penalty and taxes to boot.
By and large, I think the Roth IRA is a smart idea for anyone whose income allows them to contribute. After all, having some tax-free income in retirement will probably make you feel like a genius down the line!
Related:
Long-Term Savings Plan #6: Get Your “Freedom Fund” in Order
If you have the rest of your long-term savings plans in order, a “freedom fund” should be the next goal on your list. While this fund will look different for everyone, it should be filled with enough cash to give you the freedom to do what you want in life.
Remember how I suggested you list your lifetime goals? Whatever they are, your freedom fund is what will allow you to achieve them. Once your finances and savings goals are in order and being fully funded each month, you can use your freedom fund to start saving for whatever you want in life – whether that’s the freedom to take a chance, the financial freedom to quit your job, or the freedom to take an amazing trip of a lifetime. When it comes to your freedom fund, you are only limited by your dreams and the amount of money you can save up!
Final Thoughts
While figuring out where to invest your long-term savings can be a challenge, there are plenty of different goals to save for if you really think about it. And with money in the bank to fund those goals, you’ll be in the best position to cover an emergency expense, retire earlier, and live the life of your dreams!
If you’re struggling to figure out how to allocate your long-term savings, don’t forget to sit down and create a list of short-term and long-term goals. Once you do, the right plan for your money will likely come together on its own.
Don’t forget – this is your life and your money we’re talking about. When it comes to how you should spend and save, there is nothing more important than your own goals and dreams!
Thank you Capital One for sponsoring this post! This is a paid endorsement. All opinions are my own and were not directed by Capital One. Learn more about the BuyPower Card from Capital One.
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IHOP Wants to Give You Pancakes for Only $1
Breakfast is hands-down the best meal of the day.
My go-to option is eggs, but this deal is a great incentive to switch things up: On Tuesday, IHOP will offer a short stack of buttermilk pancakes for just $1.
Here’s how to get a ridiculously cheap breakfast.
How to Get $1 Pancakes on Aug. 23
All you have to do is show up!
Whether you’re looking to start your day off right or are craving breakfast for dinner, IHOP has you covered; the deal runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., giving you plenty of time to indulge.
The offer is available for dine-in only at participating restaurants, so be sure to check with your local IHOP before heading in.
More Than Just a Meal
Just when you thought this deal couldn’t get any better, it does — 100% of your payment will go toward a good cause.
IHOP has partnered with the No Kid Hungry campaign to help provide every hungry child in the U.S. with a healthy breakfast. The company’s goal is to sell 1 million pancakes on Tuesday to support the cause.
Yep, I think I’ll have pancakes for a change!
Your turn: Will you be heading to IHOP for $1 pancakes? Tell us in the comments below!
Kelly Smith is an editorial intern at The Penny Hoarder and a student at The University of Tampa. She’ll take pancakes over waffles any day.
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A Killer List of 200+ Startups That Hire Remote Workers (and 4 Open Jobs!)
I know you want to work remotely. And I know you want to work for a cool company.
So I know you need this list of more than 200 startups that hire remote workers.
The team behind Remotive created it, and they know their stuff: Remotive is a newsletter filled with remote working tips and job postings — totally worth the free subscription.
Many of the startups’ jobs are for the technically-inclined, but there are occasional openings for customer service and other support positions.
Like these…
4 Non-Tech, Remote Startup Jobs Available Now
Here are four non-tech, work-from-home jobs we found at the startups on their list:
1. Customer Support Specialist for TED
Are you as obsessed with TED Talks as I am? Then apply to be one of the organization’s customer support specialists.
You can work from anywhere, and you get to attend at least one conference per year. You’ll also receive a new MacBook, health and retirement benefits and a continuing education allowance.
To be eligible, you need two to three years of customer support experience, plus excellent writing skills.
2. Help Desk Support for CivicActions
In this help desk support role, you’ll use “fantastic organizational and communication skills to review incoming requests” and “manage the backlog of issues.”
You’ll need prior experience working with help desk software, as well as a strong desire to help people.
Benefits include health insurance, a 401(k), parental leave, a professional development stipend and unlimited vacation. You’re also encouraged to spend 5% of your working time giving back to your community.
3. Benefits Client Analyst for Paylocity
As a Paylocity benefits client analyst, you’ll be responsible for the “configuration, testing, data analysis and delivery of new Enterprise Benefit client implementation.”
I don’t actually know what that means, but hopefully you do if you’re applying for the gig.
To be eligible, you must be skilled with Excel, analytically-minded and have at least two years in a customer-oriented role.
4. Writer for Upworthy
If you love sharing meaningful stories, then apply to be a writer for Upworthy.
You must have strong communication skills, as well as two years of experience in journalism, copywriting, performing, marketing or activism.
In return, you’ll receive equity, unlimited time off and parental leave, as well as health and retirement benefits.
Didn’t see any work-from-home jobs that were a good fit?
Don’t fret: Here are 32 legitimate ways to make money at home.
In the meantime, I’d also scroll through the list and subscribe to the newsletters of companies you find interesting. You just might find out about future openings before everybody else.
Your Turn: Did you find this list helpful?
Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
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Questions About Roth IRAs, Savings Bonds, Mattresses, and More!
What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Old savings bonds
2. Attacking spousal debt
3. Wedding cost cutting strategies
4. “Backdoor” Roth IRA?
5. Mattress buying advice
6. Are we ahead or behind?
7. Stocks at all time high
8. Time cost of bargain hunting
9. Purchase-generating media and socializing
10. Family calendars
11. Best online hotel finder
12. College organization tips
My wife and I just spent a weekend with one of our oldest friends (dating back to pre-high school days) and her husband. We see them about once or twice a year, given that we live states apart and they actually have more children than we do.
It’s funny, though. When you have friends that have lasted that long, your relationship fits like a glove. You haven’t seen each other in many months, yet you sit down at a table and start talking about things as though you were just conversing yesterday.
Those are the friendships you don’t want to let go of. The other “friendships,” the ones where you want to keep vague tabs on how someone is doing but you haven’t had a real conversation with them in years, aren’t real friendships any more. They ended at some point in your past and they’re really not worth much of your time and effort today.
The best thing you can do is to spend your time building friendships that fit like a glove. The more of those you have in life, the better life is.
Q1: Old savings bonds
Hi, I’m an avid reader of Simple Dollar and your posts specifically. I’m on my way to financial independence at a young age, but I do have many questions for you.
1) I have savings bonds from my grandparents from birthdays and Christmas’ growing up. My parents had these bonds in their possession, but have misplaced them. Is there any way I could still cash these out without having the actual savings bonds?
– Alexis
Unless you have more information about the bonds, they’re probably not recoverable.
The usual route for recovering lost or stolen savings bonds is to fill out this Treasury Department form. They ask a lot of questions about the bonds and unless they’re pretty sure that you’re describing a legitimate lost bond and they can actually find it in their records, they won’t issue you a new one.
It’s worth trying, but you may not have enough info for them to verify your claim.
Here’s the second of Alexis’s questions.
Q2: Attacking spousal debt
2) I’m getting married in a year and am super conscious of how I spend my money. I have no debt besides a mortgage in my name. My fiance is in about $80,000 of debt and I want to get this paid off before we have kids so we aren’t tied down to these loans. Do have suggestions for the best way to attack this? I have about $10,000 saved up on my own, but want a portion to go towards fixing up the house I own before more damage can be done. Is it smart to do repairs on the house with my money or just focus on paying off his student loans?
– Alexis
It depends on what the home repairs are all about. If there’s a problem that’s actively damaging your home, then it should be repaired as quickly as possible or else the costs are going to multiply.
In other words, is the cost of the home repair growing faster than the interest on the loan? If you let the home damage sit, how quickly will the cost of repairing it increase?
As for spousal debt, once you are married, you should consider it just as much your own debt as your spouse’s debt because it will impact your life. Even if you try to keep things “separate,” it will reduce the amount of money that your husband can contribute to shared expenses, which reduces your collective options as a couple. I usually encourage couples to drop the notion of separate incomes and debts because, outside of serious wealth, your partner’s debt impacts you.
And here’s her final question.
Q3: Wedding cost cutting strategies
3) Speaking of weddings, we are trying to stay within $15,000 but still have a beautiful day in mind that we have both dreamed of. I think prices are insane for weddings, but do you have any suggestions on how to keep this to a minimum, while also getting the day we want? We have a lot of good friends and don’t want to lower the number of people we invite. Have you heard of any great ideas for inexpensive weddings?
– Alexis
My wife and I were married several years ago for far less than $15,000. We were married in a small local church with my wife and bridesmaids wearing modestly priced gowns. Our reception was in a local community hall that we decorated ourselves, and some of my wife’s relatives gave us a “wedding gift” that centered around having those family members “cater” a meal at our reception.
What do I remember from our wedding? I remember that. I remember people who were there. I don’t remember the specifics of the decoration or that we had the “perfect” DJ or “perfect” photographer or the “perfect” meal. I remember dancing with my wife. I remember talking to some unexpected guests that I hadn’t seen in many years.
My suggestion to you is this: ask people you care about what they really remember about their wedding day and what they carry forward from it. Don’t skimp on the things that are repeatedly mentioned. Skimp on everything else. If you do that, you will come in below budget and have every great wedding memory that you can possibly imagine.
Q4: “Backdoor” Roth IRA?
What exactly is a “backdoor” Roth IRA? I’ve seen it mentioned on a lot of investment forums but never really seen a clear discussion of what it is. Also, why don’t you talk about it as a retirement strategy?
– Bill
A “backdoor” Roth IRA is simply a tax loophole that currently allows people above the income limit for a Roth IRA to contribute instead to a traditional IRA (funded with already-taxed money) and then convert that traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
The reason for doing this is so that a person who is earning more than the income level allowed to take advantage of a Roth IRA can still get into a Roth IRA because they believe it will have a long term tax advantage for them. This paper from Vanguard spells out the benefits, but it’s not all cherries and ice cream: it can sometimes end up costing you more in taxes.
I tend to view the “backdoor” Roth and the “mega backdoor” Roth (which is just a variant on the “backdoor”) as tax loopholes, and I generally don’t talk about specific tax loopholes as loopholes open and close constantly. I’m far more interested in lasting principles of personal finance than whatever the loophole of the moment is.
Q5: Mattress buying advice
So my wife and I decided to switch to a queen bed in our bedroom. The bedframe was easy and straightforward to buy. Shopping for a mattress has been a nightmare. There are nonstop “sales” and what seems like prices that change from day to day and all kinds of crazy claims from manufacturers. I can’t find any sort of guide to what’s legitimate and what isn’t that doesn’t seem to be written by someone in the mattress industry. Where can I go to just buy a decent queen sized mattress for a reasonable price?
– David
The mattress industry is so full of misrepresentations and shady salespeople that it’s really hard to figure out what mattresses work well and what ones are junk. I tend to trust virtually nothing that I read regarding mattresses, and I don’t believe a word that a mattress salesperson tries to tell me.
If you have access to your local library, check out the May 2013 issue which has a very comprehensive discussion of mattresses. The article recommends the Siemens BeautyRest as the best overall pick and the TempurPedic “memory foam” mattress. I tend to trust the Consumer Reports reviews pretty well.
Your best approach is to find a model you’ve decided on and shop around for that model. In this case, I’d go to a mattress store, lay on a BeautyRest (for example) for 15 minutes, and see if you like it. If you do, shop around for one and see what the best deal you can find for it.
Q6: Are we ahead or behind?
My wife and I live in a pretty small apartment. We are trying to save up for a 20% down payment before buying a home and to do that we are putting aside about 30% of our take home pay each month. We think we can hit our target near the end of 2017.
We have friends younger than us that have homes and are starting to have kids and so on. We’re starting to feel like are lives are “behind” them which is a weird thing to say.
We know that we’re probably way ahead of them in terms of finances, but it doesn’t shake the feeling that in order to be ahead with money we are choosing to be behind in other aspects of life.
– Charlie
Don’t worry about anyone else’s journey. Worry about your journey.
Consider the journey of the people who already have a home. Likely, they either had to finance the whole thing themselves (which means they have a huge mortgage and are paying mortgage insurance to boot, which means that they have a huge debt weight around their neck) or they had financial assistance from their parents (which, likely, you can’t match). In either case, you shouldn’t be trying to do the same thing that they’re doing, because the first one puts you in a financial hole and the second one means you’re making financial decisions based on what someone else’s parents did, which is just as ludicrous as it sounds.
You have a great plan. Stick with it. Don’t worry about what other people are doing, because you can’t see what’s going on in their life when their doors are closed.
Q7: Stocks at all time high
I don’t see how you can seriously tell someone to invest in stocks when they are at an ALL TIME HIGH. It’s like you’re begging people to put money in and watch them lose it. How pathetic.
– Stephen
This is my response to this question, in visual form.
To put that into words, there hasn’t been a bad time since before 1900 to put money into the stock market. That includes all of the times when the stock market is at an all time high.
Why? Worker productivity keeps going up. It has since the dawn of civilization. That’s the real secret behind all of this. A worker hired today is about twice as productive as a worker from thirty years ago. That extra productivity means more earnings per worker for the company, and that money goes into a lot of places, but one big place that it goes into is paying more dividends to the shareholders of the company. As long as that happens, a share of that company’s stock is going to keep going up and up and up.
To say that the market being at an all time high is a sign not to invest is to both ignore the long term growth in worker productivity and to believe that worker productivity will never be higher than it is right now. Worker productivity has been going steadily upwards since humans were gathering berries from bushes on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Since then, we have become steadily more and more efficient at the tasks of everyday life and at sharing information, and there’s no reason to think that will slow down.
Q8: Time cost of bargain hunting
So, shopping around for a better deal. I can get doing this on expensive items like a new car or TV or something, but how can one justify “shopping around” for the best bargain on a gallon of milk? It takes time to go to different stores and price compare each item you might buy and even if you do that for your whole grocery list you’re not saving very much and burning hours to do it. How do you decide when to comparison shop?
– Nina
I absolutely agree with you. Bargain hunting to save $0.50 on a gallon of milk is not really an effective use of one’s time. Time has a cost – if nothing else, you could use that time to earn more money doing something else.
My strategy here is to stick with a discount grocer as my primary grocery store. We’re lucky enough to live close to a Fareway, which has stellar prices on groceries of all kinds. We do almost all of our grocery shopping there.
They might not have the absolute lowest price on everything, but they’re pretty strong in terms of pricing overall and often have the lowest price on things. Plus, they’re close (no other grocery store is within fifteen minutes) and I don’t have to really think about shopping around. That saves me a lot of time, which I can use for other things in life.
Just find a good discount grocer in your area that has consistently good prices and shop there all the time. Don’t worry about shopping around unless you feel like there’s a new store on the block that’s doing far better on prices.
Q9: Purchase-generating media and socializing
You made a really interesting comment recently about how much online media for hobbies is focused on generating purchases in that hobby and that one way to cut back on spending on that hobby or at least the desire to spend is to stop engaging in media related to that hobby.
That makes sense completely. The problem is that I often use that very media to maintain friendships with people in the same hobby. My main hobby is collecting and playing generation 1-3 (Atari, NES, SMS, SNES, Genesis) video games. We have a meetup about once a month that devours a whole Saturday, but aside from that, most of my socializing with other people in the hobby comes from a handful of websites that have that very “pressure to purchase” that you mention.
The good is having these connections to friends. The bad is that most of our conversations are centered around or loaded down with things to buy. Thoughts?
– Jim
Rather than sitting around reading about the latest purchases and chatting with friends online, actually engage in the hobby and invite people over to engage in it with you.
I love boardgames. I can easily get caught up in online media and the latest reviews of those games and talking to my friends about the latest stuff. So, what I do if I get sucked into it too much and find myself desiring tons of new games is that I check out and actually play the games I have. I host some game nights. I play more games with my kids. I reorganize and clean up my collection. I play solo games. I actually participate in the hobby instead of hanging out in online forums. What happens? My desire for new stuff drops to the floor.
The same thing is true for books. Rather than hanging out in online forums about the latest books, I get involved with book clubs to scratch that social itch while engaging in my hobby. I actually read books and talk about the ones I’ve read with people who have also read the same book rather than getting sucked into the hype of books I’ve not read yet. I have plenty of books to read, after all.
Try as much as you can to do things rather than just buy things or hype things.
Q10: Family calendars
For the last several years, my wife and I have maintained Google calendars and just shared them with each other so that we could see what each of us has going on, making planning meals and other things easier. We now have children that are old enough to start having activities and they also need to be able to see the calendar, too, and maybe add events. Suggestions?
– Ogden
If they’re old enough to use an electronic device, teach them how to use their own calendar and then share it with you guys. There’s no reason not to share your own calendar back with the child, either. This is honestly what we plan to do with our own children when they reach a point of needing their own calendar tool.
If they’re not old enough to be doing this, I suggest using a whiteboard. Have them jot down important events on that whiteboard, and then add every event by hand from your own calendars that they might need to know about.
We’re currently in the “whiteboard” stage of things. We have a family whiteboard that lists everything of note that’s happening in the next several days. Our oldest child sometimes adds to it and, occasionally, our middle child does, too.
Q11: Best online hotel finder
Got any recommendations for finding/booking hotels online for a longer multi-city trip or just in general?
– Claire
Honestly, most of the online tools end up giving you very similar prices on things. I have not found radical price differences on online hotel or plane ticket bookings in quite a while. One site might have a couple of hotels that are lower, while another site might have lower prices on a few different hotels, but there’s nothing radically different.
Instead, I’ve settled into using hotels.com for two reasons. One, their customer service has been absolutely stellar for us multiple times, including once where they basically helped us reschedule several nights of our vacation in one phone call even after the deadline for rebooking had been reached. They also helped us greatly during a family emergency. Two, we get a free night’s stay after every ten nights we book through hotels.com. Add the two together and that’s more than enough for us.
In the past, I’ve used Priceline and Expedia, among others, and they’re both fine. I have no real complaints about them. We’ve just stuck with hotels.com after they were incredibly great at service during some really rough vacation emergencies. For me, service goes a long way, and they earned a faithful customer because of it.
Q12: College organization tips
You had a really stuffed schedule in college. How did you keep it all straight w/out electronic tools? Did you use a paper planner?
– Kelly
I kept a paper planner back in my college days and, honestly, I still would if I were in college again. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it did have a full page devoted to each day.
What I almost always did that really helped is that I gave myself “homework” after the first day of class. I would go through and mark out every class session for the whole semester in my planner, along with the topic of that session and the reading assignment for the next session. Then, at the end of each session, I add any assignments to the next session (or whenever it’s due).
I also used to block off about 2 hours of study/homework time for each hour of classroom time for each class. I’d often find later on that some classes needed more than that and some needed less, but 2 hours per 1 hour of classroom time was a good average. I usually plotted that out in my planner, too. I tried as hard as possible to keep my evenings open each day, so my days usually involved going to classes, then going to the library between classes to do homework and study. On weekends, I would study early in the morning (I’ve always been a morning person), so I would block off chunks of time starting as soon as I would wake up and I’d be done by mid-day.
This is just what worked best for me. Your mileage may vary. I just found that treating it as much like a job as possible, with my tasks actually scheduled and my days looking as much like a workday as possible, really worked well for me.
Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.
The post Questions About Roth IRAs, Savings Bonds, Mattresses, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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9 Psychological Insights I Use When Designing a Pricing Page
Let me be upfront with you.
I’m not a web designer.
I work with some amazing web designers. I know a few things about web design. But when it comes right down to it, I’m not a designer.
What am I? I’m a marketer.
Why am I talking about designing a web page, specifically a pricing page?
Here’s why. Web design and marketing overlap. A lot.
When you get into a discussion about web design, you can’t help but talk about psychology. And when the page being designed is a pricing page, psychology plays a huge role.
What kind of psychology? Customer psychology.
Customer psychology is the study of the way people think, act, decide, and make purchases.
It has everything to do with motivation, mind tricks, color, placement, filtering, eye tracking studies, and, yes, web design.
That’s why I’m confident in my ability to design a great pricing page.
I constantly A/B-test my pages to make sure I’m choosing the most optimal design, and most of the design choices you see throughout my web properties is based on simple psychological principles.
Psychology is common in marketing and design, regardless of the industry. Look at a casino, for example.
Every inch of that building, from the carpet and floor designs to the signs and turns was designed to psychologically keep people in the building spending money, not focusing on time and outside responsibilities.
Web design is the same way. And when it comes to the pricing page, these psychological principles are extremely important.
Here are a few of the tactics I use when designing pricing pages—one of the most important steps in your conversion funnel.
1. Devalue money in the viewer’s eyes
Since we’re on the subject of Las Vegas… Another trick casino owners use is the idea of mentally devaluing money.
When you step up to a table, they exchange your money for chips.
Why? There are several reasons. One is that it makes it easier for dealers to count, but it also detaches people from the value of their money. It’s easier to gamble away two chips than $2,000.
A lot of people are in debt, and, while it’s great that you run a business, you need to get people to stop thinking about their bills.
The average user who looks at your pricing page might have in the back of their mind their consumer credit card debt.
Maybe you’re not running a casino. How do you get people to stop thinking about their debt problems and instead focus on the value of your product, regardless of the price?
Let me give you an example.
Cornell researchers recently partnered with the Culinary Institute of America to research this concept of devaluing money on restaurant menus. Two different study groups were given two different menus, one with a dollar sign next to the pricing and one without.
The group given the menus without the dollar sign spent more money. Why? Because they weren’t put off by the high $ price.
One example I’ve shown elsewhere is this pricing page. Notice the small dollar signs?
That’s not a mistake.
The same thing is happening here:
The dollar sign serves as a trigger to remind people of the value of money. What they should be thinking about is the value of your product.
A simple removal or minimization of the dollar sign will make your pricing page more compelling, more powerful, and more psychologically potent.
2. Color-coordinate everything
Research from the US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health indicates colors are perceived in different ways by different people based on experiences, genetics, context, and other factors.
Still, there are brands of every kind that use specific colors within their logos.
If you’re at the beginning stage of building your company, choose a color scheme that matches the emotion you’re trying to evoke.
There was a time when Geocities ruled the web and websites commonly looked as though they were drawn by crayons. Thankfully, we’ve progressed, so basic black text on a white background is considered standard for text (with a few exceptions).
Headers and buttons, however, can vary greatly. Amazon uses a yellow color for the “Add to Cart” button on its pricing pages.
Walmart uses a red-orange.
Best Buy utilizes bright blue and yellow for different options.
Whatever you choose, make sure it speaks to your brand and is consistent all the way through to avoid confusing customers at a crucial step.
3. Size matters
Size does matter when designing a pricing page.
Here’s the simple truth. You want people to see the important parts first because that’s what needs to stick with them the longest.
Let me go back to this pricing page to show what I mean:
What’s the first thing you look at when you see this page?
Probably the center column, focusing on the “Growth” package at $400 a month.
Why? Because it pops with a vivid blue against a very light gray backdrop.
Plus, it’s bigger than the others. Size is important. It’s also centrally located.
All of these are key differentiating features that psychologically emphasize the importance and superiority of that plan.
Where exactly does size matter?
- Headlines
- Call-to-action buttons
- Price boxes (as pictured above)
As explained in Psychology in Action, larger fonts make messages enter our brains faster as we don’t have to struggle to see them.
This split-second difference of time and attention puts the page into a logical and cohesive, Feng Shui-like, order for browsers.
4. Limited time offers
If someone thinks their time to act is limited, they’re more likely to take action quickly rather than delay it.
Several studies have looked at how limited time offers affect our brains. Sites such as eBay and Groupon have practically built empires on the concept.
Essentially, it boils down to supply and demand.
When you create scarcity, the perceived value of an item goes up. It’s called a theory of psychological reactance, which explains why we hate to miss out on a golden opportunity when presented with it.
You’ve probably heard of fear of missing out, or FOMO, right? Same idea, different angle.
Amazon uses this technique to great effect with constant inventory reminders on every item: “Only 10 left in stock – order soon.”
It’s a great call to action.
Even though we know one of the world’s largest fulfillment centers will definitely replenish its supplies of literally everything, will it happen soon enough? Can we wait and will it be more expensive next time?
Dr. Eldar Shafir, from Princeton, and Dr. Sendhil Mullainathan, from Harvard, explored how people’s minds work when they feel they’re lacking something. The perception of scarcity leads them to make mistakes or bad financial decisions, spending more money than they should.
Psychology Today’s author Shahram Heshmat notes,
Scarcity orients the mind automatically and powerfully toward unfulfilled needs.
It also motivates us to prioritize our choices, e.g., we’re more frugal with toothpaste when the tube is close to empty, and we rush to purchase a product or service to obtain a deal.
5. Discounts and VIP membership
People love feeling like they belong. Costco, Sam’s Club, and AAA are just a few of the memberships you can get these days to feel like you’re part of a country club.
Everyone wants to be a VIP, so offering VIP membership bonuses and discounts encourages customers to keep spending money at your business. Instead of buying just one roll of paper towels, you can subscribe and save.
Or buy 10 and get one free.
These promotions increase clicks because, as Ian Newby-Clark explains in Psychology Today,
We are social creatures who yearn to be included. We want to be a part of the group and strive for goals set for us.
It’s like a drug: belonging to something bigger than yourself provides a sense of purpose and meaning to our lives.
Marketing Profs has a great article describing how the inclusion of fans into a community motivates them to support a brand both as customers and ambassadors. I suggest you take a look at it as it’s a great read.
As psychologists point out, our social identity is defined by the groups we belong to. This is why Xbox and PlayStation fans, for example, are so prone to debating their platform’s superiority.
The NFL, along with all other major sports organization in America, uses this psychological principle to its advantage.
Fans show up sporting their team’s colors and mascot costumes because it makes them feel like they belong.
Above: Seattle Seahawks fans surround a Cleveland Browns fan Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003, at Seahawks Stadium in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
6. Offer tiered pricing
Tiered pricing opens the door to all sorts of psychological techniques.
Hyperbolic discounting occurs when different pricing models provide different benefits, allowing us to personalize our shopping experience. Dropbox employs this technique:
Choice-supportive pricing, anchoring effect, and the decoy effect can also be employed to your advantage. With tiered pricing, anything is possible.
Amazon has about a dozen varieties of Prime combined with rewards cards, affiliate bounties, and subscription services to give you payment options beyond just “cash or credit.”
Tiered pricing is becoming even more popular these days with the growth of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model.
By subscribing for longer terms, people know they can often save money and thus seek out these types of deals.
Rational choice theory is a framework to model social and economic behavior. It states individual actors choose the option that maximizes their interests and provides the greatest benefit.
A tiered pricing model provides customers with purchasing options that are all, ultimately, with you.
7. Doorbusters work
Retail has long utilized doorbusters to get people in the doors. These savings are responsible for Black Friday leaking further into Thanksgiving every year. Once you have people in the door to buy a low-priced item, you can upsell them better, more expensive products.
Any pricing page should also have a “recommended” and “similar” section. These personalized offers help lead consumers to buy the right item for them, increasing trust in your e-commerce brand along with the ROI.
It should be noted, however, you should avoid the classic bait-and-switch scam that will get you in trouble with the FTC and ruin the reputation of both you and your brand.
It’s also worth mentioning that many analysts think Black Friday is about more than just the doorbusters.
Professor Jane Thomas at Winthrop University says:
It’s more of a tradition than anything else. People ritualistically line up at brick-and-mortar stores the Friday after Thanksgiving while a growing number wait for Cyber Monday the following week online.
There’s also a psychological difference in the way we perceive prices such as $13.99 vs $14.00. The item priced at $13.99 is more likely to sell because even though it’s only a penny short, it’s $13 and change instead of $14.
Although consumers initially hit a website looking for a cheap deal on SEO services, soon they realize they’re also missing social media, video, CRO, PPC, and many other aspects of marketing.
They want more.
That’s the value of the doorbuster.
The initial doorbuster brings them to you for a killer deal. You get them in and then convert them to buy more stuff.
8. Get smaller yeses first
Much like with the doorbuster sale, you want to lead people by convincing them to agree to smaller things before hitting them with the big ask.
Zendesk does a great job of leading customers through smaller yeses first:
While the option is there to buy, Zendesk wants you to try the free version first because they’re confident you’ll come back as a paying subscriber once you’ve experienced the platform.
Who doesn’t like free stuff?
By convincing customers to say yes to the smaller ask first, you make saying yes to the bigger ask much easier.
It’s all part of the psychology of negotiation,
explains Heidi Grant Halvorson, PhD.
Making the pie bigger for everyone increases the maximally efficient outcome 79% of the time.
You don’t have to necessarily give out anything for free either. As explained above, even month-to-month subscriptions are a smaller ask than a year-long contract, so providing different levels of the same offer will do the trick.
9. Provide choices
As explained above, offering both payment and product choices is a great way to improve revenue on pricing pages.
A customer is buying a TV, do they need a warranty? Cables? A stand or mount? A DVD Player, home stereo system, or Chromecast?
Give people options for bundles, add-ons, and other available sizes, colors, and brands. But don’t give them so many options that they get overloaded.
In 2000, researchers S.S. Inyengar and M.R. Leper conducted a study allowing supermarket shoppers to sample the different flavors of jam available for purchase. The test compared the impact of having 24 jam flavors to choose from versus having only 6.
Only 3% of those who sampled the 24 flavors went on to purchase the jam, compared to 30% who sampled only 6 flavors.
Too many options will inhibit your customers’ ability to make a clear decision.
Conclusion
Psychology is important in web design and marketing. How people perceive a brand is directly impacted by the appearance of every landing page, including the pricing, checkout, and confirmation pages.
By A/B-testing different versions of those pages, while implementing the psychological principles discussed above, you’ll be able to optimize conversions and revenue streams from your online marketing.
What psychological techniques help you design your web properties?
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Asda launches 2% cashback credit card, but is it any good?
Asda has launched a new cashback credit card, paying up to 2% interest on certain spending, though people considering the card will need to decide if it’s worth the £3 monthly fee.
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Friends dedicate memorials for two former public officials at Big Pocono State Park
Friends and family dedicated a memorial in Big Pocono State Park to a pair of colleagues Friday, with a view as expansive as their visions.The memories of former State Sen. Joe Battisto and longtime Monroe County Commissioner Jim Cadue were honored late in the afternoon with two benches that sit at the top of the Pocono Township park. From that spot, you can see the Delaware Water Gap, Mount Pocono, and even the Catskills, on a clear day."You couldn’t put a [...]
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Source Business - poconorecord.com http://ift.tt/2bpCzO0
How Frugal are You? See How You Stack Up Against Other Penny Hoarders
How frugal can you be?
Could you get by with half of what a typical American has?
The author at Freedom Is Groovy (known only as “Mr. Groovy”) posed the question and proposed the Half-Normal Challenge… and as Penny Hoarders, we love a good challenge.
So much so, in fact, we wanted to take it even further.
Could you get by on half of half what a typical American has — a Quarter-Normal Challenge?
Let’s look at what that would mean.
The Penny Hoarder Quarter-Normal Challenge
How Can You Achieve Quarter-Normal?
We have good news for frugal living folks: All of these expenses vary.
You have a lot of control over how much many of these common purchases will cost. You can make changes to cut costs, or even completely eliminate something from your life.
Save Money on a House
On housing, your family may be able to easily get by in a space smaller than the average. For example, the ranch-style house my family lived in when I was in high school was just about the half-normal size.
If you live alone or with a partner, you might not have trouble getting by in a small, one-bedroom apartment to hit the quarter-normal mark.
If you’re buying a new home, check out these 10 tips to save money on your mortgage — or buy in cash!
Save Money on a Car
There’s an obvious way to cut the cost of your car from the average listed: Buy used.
Even at a quarter-normal price, you can get a pretty decent pre-owned vehicle. To save even more in the long-run, check out our list of the most- and least-expensive cars to maintain.
And if you don’t like haggling, here are five strategies to help you save money on your next car.
Cut the Cost of College
When it comes to paying for higher education, this challenge is a little tricky. Instead of looking for colleges with lower tuition, look for ways you can cut your out-of-pocket costs on high-value colleges.
Because of need-based grants, colleges like Princeton or Harvard might actually be more affordable than you think.
Plus, you’re probably missing out on free money for school — check out our list of 100 college scholarships and 100 weird college scholarships.
Or apply to one of these nine schools that will cover your entire tuition.
But even if you’re stuck with tuition and leave school in debt, you can use these strategies to eliminate your student loans — some without even making a payment!
Save Money on Your Wedding
To start, the average cost of a wedding is up for debate. You shouldn’t feel like you’re skimping if you don’t pony up a year’s salary to celebrate your matrimony.
If you want to ring in your special day on a budget at or below the quarter-normal cost, check out these resources:
Or keep it simple, and match your tiny budget with a “tiny wedding”!
Save Money on Cable and Utilities
Our favorite way to save money on cable is to cut the cord altogether. We even have a trick to help you get Netflix for free, so you don’t have to sacrifice entertainment!
If you’re hanging onto cable because it’s part of your internet service package, try our tips for negotiating your monthly bills so you only pay for what you need.
For other utilities, try these 23 creative ways to slash your utility bills.
We even have four ways to save on your water bill every time you flush the toilet. Or you could try peeing in the shower to squeeze out a few extra dollars in savings.
Get a Cheaper Cell Phone Bill
Think you can cut your cell phone bill to less than $20? It’s quite a challenge!
We know one Penny Hoarder who pays just $30 per month using Google Fi. But you can do better than that.
Buy your phone from FreedomPop, and your monthly plan will be FREE.
Your Turn
Are you up to the challenge? Tell us how you save money on these common expenses.
Find out where you could save even more money to hit the Quarter-Normal costs, and check back in with us when you do!
Good luck, Penny Hoarders!
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 How Frugal are You? See How You Stack Up Against Other Penny Hoarders appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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