This Simple Month-By-Month Strategy Could Help You Save $5,000 This Year

How much money would you like to have saved for the holidays? Or your next vacation? Or your emergency fund?

Whatever your goal, the number probably seems overwhelming.

Trying to figure out where several hundred or a few thousand dollars might come from is tough. Instead, break it down. Find ways to set aside just a little bit at a time — you’ll be surprised how quickly you can move toward your goal!

To help you get started with that first step, here’s a 12-month strategy. Try just one of these ways to save money each month to work your way up to $5,000 in savings this year!

Month 1: Open a New Bank Account and Set Aside $5

Kevin Krejci under Creative Commons

Open an online savings or checking account and deposit $5. Heck, roll your quarters if you have to.

There are a bunch of great online banks, but one of my favorites is Aspiration because it offers an interest rate that is around 100 times what a normal bank offers, with no monthly fees.

You can open a savings account at your local bank, but my suggestion is to go with an online bank — you’ll be less likely to withdraw the money.

I know it doesn’t seem worth it to deposit only a few bucks, but getting started is an extremely important first step! Just trust me.

Balance: $5

Month 2: Get Paid $225/Month to Watch Movie Trailers

People images/Getty Images

Most of you already know about Swagbucks, but did you know it will pay you to watch movie previews, along with dozens of other videos? Plus, you’ll get $5 just for signing up.

You need to watch all of the shows in a specific playlist to earn your bucks, so be prepared.

Swagbucks lets you know how long the playlist runs before you start watching, and playlists range from a few minutes to about a half hour.

And it’s possible to earn up to $225/month watching these videos! Max out your video-watching potential and you could earn a full $225 this month.

Balance: $230

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

Barcin/Getty Images

We know you’re not going to get rich taking paid surveys, but I’ve been 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 VIP Voice and Ipsos Panel. Sign up for both to start receiving invites to surveys matching your profile.

Balance: $410

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

elenaleonova/Getty Images

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.

Balance: $1,310

Month 5: Uber Your Way to an Extra $2,400

Jason Tester Guerrilla Futures under Creative Commons

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-partner 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 get some extra cash in the bank.

Pay depends on your location and a number of other factors, but I 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.

Balance: $3,710

6. Rate Your Local Businesses

Paul Beattie under Creative Commons

As many of you know, I was a professional mystery shopper for many years (I got my start conducting liquor audits all over the Southeast).

One of the most popular types of mystery shops is for pizza companies — both Papa John’s and Pizza Hut regularly conduct mystery shops at all of their locations.

Who wouldn’t love $5 and free pizza?

Other audits pay even more — between $8-$25 each.

It’s pretty easy to do and you can do it several times a year. If you’re interested in giving it a try, here’s a list of my favorite mystery shopping companies.

Going all-in, I was able to earn between $400-$500 per month as a mystery shopper! If you conduct just one or two each week this month, you could easily bank an extra $50.

Balance: $3760

Month 7: Earn $400 in Passive Income From These Apps

There are a number of companies, including Google, that will pay you to install their apps on your cell phone. They’ll pay you for every month you keep them installed

The apps collect data from your cell phone and help companies better understand web and mobile usage better — what times of day people browse, how long they stay on websites and use apps, and which types of sites and apps are popular (or not).

These are my favorites. Install all of them and earn $400/year or more:

• SavvyConnect — You can earn $5 per device (phone, tablet or computer) for each month SavvyConnect is installed. That’s a total of up to $180 per year to help rank the most popular sites and apps. Make sure you keep it installed at least a month to get your first $5 per device.

• MobileExpressions for Android or iOS – After you’ve installed this app for one week, you get to play an instant rewards game for a prize (everyone wins something). I won a $25 Amazon gift card, but some of the other prizes include iPads and Samsung TVs.

• 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 phone or tablet. Plus, you will be invited to participate in simple surveys about those shows you stream, DVR or watch live for additional rewards.

• Smart Panel – This panel is open to everyone and once you’ve downloaded the app, you will get $5. If you keep it installed for at least two weeks, you’ll earn another $10. Then for every month you keep the Smart App installed, you’ll get another $5. All total, you can earn up to $75 for the first year!

Balance: $4,160

Month 8: Sell All Your Stuff With These Apps

If you’re like me and have a closet full of stuff you don’t wear, you could bank some cash selling your clothes. My favorite platform is Poshmark — the app is super easy to use!

And it’s not just clothes; you can clear all the clutter from your life by selling stuff online.

For my old books from college, I use Direct Textbook. Just type your book’s ISBN into the search bar, and the site will connect you with more than 25 of the best-paying and most reputable buyback companies online.

And for virtually everything else, I use letgo. This intuitive app lets you snap a photo and upload your item in less than 30 seconds. Not only does it remove a lot of the hassle of selling things online, but it’s also 100% free to use.

So, what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time to let go of all that superfluous stuff?

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

Balance: $4,210

Month 9: Earn Money for Your Healthy Activities

Need extra motivation for your daily workout? The health app Achievemint lets you earn money for completing healthy activities.

Connect Achievemint to workout apps like Apple’s Healthkit, Fitbit, MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, Rundouble C25K, Twitter or other apps you already use to track your health and fitness goals. You’ll choose which data to securely share with Achievemint to earn cash for your activities.

For example, you can earn points for logging your weight with MyFitnessPal or hitting step goals with Fitbit.

You can earn cash in $10 increments in cash or an Amazon Gift Card when you reach 10,000 points, and there’s no limit on how much you can earn.

Plus, you’ll earn 10 points just for signing up with Achievemint and connecting an app today!

Balance: $4,220

Month 10: Earn Cash Back on Everything You Buy

Anytime I shop online, I use a cash-back rewards site like MyPoints. It’s a smart way to earn cash for the shopping you’re doing anyway!

And it works at most of my favorite retailers. Once you sign up for a free account, you can get 1.4% cash back on purchases at Target and a whopping 5.4% at Walmart.

There are more than 1,000 stores on the list, so you can purchase nearly everything you need through the cash-back site.

Plus, when you spend your first $20 through the portal, MyPoints will give you a free $10 Amazon gift card.

Try to average at least $10 in cash back for the last three months of the year.

Balance: $4,250

Month 11: Sell Your Gold and Silver

Do you have silver or gold coins and jewelry you don’t mind parting with? You can sell them for quick cash to add to your savings.

Our resident expert, writer Steve Gillman, warns against going with the buyers you see advertising on TV. They’ll probably send you an envelope to mail in your precious metals, you’ll wait a few days for an offer and even longer to get paid.

Instead, look for a local coin shop and storefront silver and gold buyers. They tend to pay better prices and you’ll get the money today.

Of course, make sure your items aren’t more valuable as-is before selling them to be melted for their metals. Stop by a local jeweler for an appraisal — you might sell it there, or you could list it on Ebay.

Can you find $250 of gold or silver to sell?

Balance: $4,500

12. Write Letters to Legislators

If you’re a good writer or editor, you can make $12 to $15 an hour writing letters to members of Congress. You’ll be able to learn more about the issues available before committing to writing a letter, so if you want to stick with your own political views, it’s easy to pick and choose.

Before you apply, make sure you have the required computer equipment. For example, I can’t do this job because the software the companies use doesn’t work on Macs.

Work just a few hours this month, and you could earn more than $500.

Balance: $5,000+

Your Turn: What are you doing this year to beef up your savings 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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These 6 Medical Studies are Open Right Now — Some Pay Over $1,000

When I was in college, I needed all the extra money I could get.

So, in addition to waiting tables, I sometimes answered those ads stuck to the sides of telephone poles — looking for willing participants for medical studies.

Contribute to the advancement of medicine and get paid? They were a student’s dream.

Some required nothing more than a quick survey; others were clinical drug trials to treat various ailments.

And although the ads are now displayed online — rather than on telephone poles — they’re still a great way to earn extra money.

Here are six paid clinical trials and studies for…

1. Migraines

If you’ve never had a migraine, be glad and just take my word for it: They really, really suck.

Local research studies may offer payment/compensation up to $625 (learn more here). These studies help doctors discover better ways to treat — and hopefully eliminate — migraines.

2. Rheumatoid Arthritis

Do you wake up really stiff in the morning? That’s one common sign of rheumatoid arthritis, which affects more than 1.3 million Americans — 75% of whom are women.

If you have rheumatoid arthritis in the knee and/or hip and are otherwise healthy, you could qualify for a study that offers up to $625 compensation for sharing your thoughts and opinions.

3. Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic joint condition. Approximately 27 million Americans suffer from this condition — and half of all adults will develop symptoms in their knees during their lifetime.

If you’re suffering from osteoarthritis and qualify, you may earn up to $1,000 for participating in this study.

4. Psoriasis

M3 Global Research is recruiting psoriasis patients to participate in paid online surveys.

This isn’t a clinical study. You don’t even have to leave your couch.

Register here to get started. After you register, the company will start sending you surveys that pay $10-$100 each if you qualify (they take about 20-30 minutes to complete).

The surveys are tailored to you, ensuring you won’t be spammed with irrelevant emails.

5. Sleep

Yes, you could get paid to nap: Jillian Shea, a Penny Hoarder contributor, earned $12,000 from two sleep studies in Boston.

The first step is filling out surveys with information about your sleep patterns and overall health. If you qualify, you’ll be required to complete both physical and psychological exams — and then it’s time to get down to snoozing, er, business.

Though it might sound like a perfect gig, Shea notes “it’s not all comfy pillows and sweet dreams,” and cites challenges including isolation, unusual positions and needles or other medical devices.

Interested in sleeping on the job? Follow this link to find sleep facilities near you.

6. Other Stuff

Even if you’re healthy as a horse, some studies might still apply to you.

One place to look is Covance, a company that “recruits for a variety of patients to participate in paid medical studies, ranging from healthy volunteers to smokers.”

When we looked, Covance had 17 studies open in four different states. Or check out Parexel, which has a range of studies available in Baltimore, as well as this list of seven places to find open clinical trials.

Being a human guinea pig isn’t for everyone — but if you want to make some extra money without a degree or specific training, they might be worth a shot! (Pun very much intended.)

Your Turn: Would you participate in a clinical trial or study?

Disclosure: A toast to savings! Thanks for allowing us to place affiliate links in this post.

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The Best Payday Loan Alternatives of 2016

I don’t like admitting it, but I’ve used payday loan services. Like a lot of journalists who specialize in personal finance, I began writing about consumer financial issues after having my own. I know the feeling: You need money, and you need it now, which is why you’re thinking of going to a payday loan store.

If that’s where your mindset is, it’s understandable. You probably either need money to cover basic living expenses, or to cover one major, unanticipated expense, like your furnace breaking down in the winter. And you know that you can get cash from a payday loan store fast. There’s a catch, though. The interest rates are absurdly high, and the repayment period is alarmingly short. No matter what your situation is, odds are you’ll be trading a short-term crisis for a long-term nightmare. Take it from someone who has taken out a payday loan before; there are far better ways to get a quick loan, no matter what you need the money for.

The Simple Dollar’s Top Picks for Payday Loan Alternatives

• Chase Freedom Unlimited℠
• Credit One Bank® Unsecured Visa® Credit Card
• Springleaf Financial Services
• Lending Club
• Prosper

How to Choose the Best Payday Loan Alternative

First, try to find a way — any way — to not take out a payday loan.

Don’t worry, we won’t spend much time on this, but it is important to point out, since the simplest answer is often the best answer. But have you checked the sofa for coins? Recycled everything you have that could possibly make you quick money, and considered the whole garage sale idea? Have you thought about selling unwanted items on eBay? Do you have unused gift cards that you could sell on a website like Cardpool or GiftCardGranny.com? Have you considered going to your friends or family for a loan? Have you looked at your expenses to see if you can cut any of them?

While some of these options may not be long-term solutions, you may be able to drum up the amount you need, or at the very least decrease the overall amount that you need to borrow and the corresponding interest amount you’ll have to pay too.

Second, apply for a credit card.

If you’re cash-poor, but have a steady paycheck, and this is a situation where you only need some temporary financial help to get you back on your feet, then applying for a credit card is a perfectly reasonable way to get money. This is assuming that you don’t have other credit cards that you’re maxed out on, of course. Look into applying for a personal loan instead.

But let’s assume that you don’t have problems with credit cards. If you need your money fast, you’ll be interested to know that it typically takes a week to get a credit card in the mail. That said, some companies (if you’re willing to pay for it) will ship you a card overnight, and with most, once you’re approved, you should be able to do any shopping or bill paying immediately. So if you need money fast, a credit card may be the way to go.

As for what card to get, I’ll make a couple suggestions:

Chase Freedom Unlimited℠

Apply Now on Chase.com’s secure website

Highlights

If you have one large, unexpected expense and have good credit, the Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ has a 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months, and you can earn 1% cash back on all your purchases automatically. If you anticipate being able to repay your debt within 15 months (and you use credit responsibly), this is a great option. Additionally, you can earn some money in the process too. Let’s say you have to purchase a new water heater for your house for $2,000. If you purchase that with this card, you’ll earn $20 with cash back.

But while the 0% introductory offer for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers is very attractive, the standard variable APR ranges from 14.24% to 23.24%. So, if you don’t pay off any of your water heater in the first 15 months and are eligible for the lowest APR (14.24%), you’ll end up spending $384 in interest. Not eligible for the lowest APR, then you could end up spending $663 in interest with the highest (23.24%).

Credit One Bank® Unsecured Visa® Credit Card

Apply Now on Credit One Bank's secure website

Highlights

If you have bad credit and don’t have money on hand to make the deposit for a secured credit card, the Credit One Bank® Unsecured Visa® Credit Card is eligible for those with less-than-stellar credit and has no out-of-pocket costs to open. It’s also one of the only unsecured credit cards for bad credit that offers a rewards program — you can earn 1% cash back on gas and groceries. Another perk: It offers flexible payment dates to help you make your payments on time.

The APR is higher — 15.65% to 24.15%, depending on your creditworthiness when you open the account. The APR for a cash advance is 17.90% to 25.15%, and I’m only telling you that so I can say — do not take a cash advance on a credit card. Just don’t. If you’ll notice, it’s a higher APR for cash than purchases, which is typical for all credit cards. Only in an emergency (like, you’re stranded on the road without money) can an argument really be made that a credit card’s cash advance is a sound idea.

Finally, apply for an online personal loan.

If you can’t get a credit card that lets you pay little or no interest on your debt for a short period of time, applying for a personal loan from a reputable bank or financial institution can be a smart way to get some quick cash, too. It differs from a payday loan in two important ways: You’ll generally have a longer window in which to pay it back, and you’ll likely be paying it back in installments. Two main caveats, of course: A personal loan is only a good idea if you get a loan with a reasonable interest rate, and — as with credit card debt — if you know you can pay it back.

Where to get the loan? Obviously, try your bank first, where you’re a known quantity. A local credit union is also a good idea. But if you have shaky credit, then you being a known quantity may work against you. It becomes harder to get a loan from a traditional bank or credit union when your credit is banged up. So if that’s the case, here are a few options you may want to explore.

Learn More on Springleaf.com's secure website

Springleaf Financial Services (soon to be named OneMain) offers personal and auto loans from $1,500 to $25,000. As you might expect, the more you want to borrow, and the lower the interest rate, the better your credit score needs to be.

The interest rate that Springleaf offers is between 16% and 36% APR. Even 16% isn’t an awesome rate, but compared to the average percentage rate of a payday loan (around 400%), this is a bargain. That being said, if you’re offered a loan for 36%, just say no. As bad as your situation may be, you’re about to make it much worse. For example, if you take a loan out for $1,500 at 16%, and you pay it back over 24 months, which it’ll let you do, you’ll pay $73 a month, coming out to $1,752 (so it cost you $252 for a $1,500 loan). But if you borrow $1,500 at 36%, and you pay it back over two years, you’ll end up paying $85 a month, and you’ll pay the company $2,040. That’s $540 you’re paying to borrow $1,500.

Learn More on LendingClub.com's secure website

Lending Club is a peer-to-peer lending service, which offers personal loans of up to $40,000, and its rates range from the low 5.32% to the not-so-low 30.99%. Lending Club has a good reputation — earning an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and has been an accredited business since 2008. It also offers fixed payments and rates, so you can count on your monthly amount to not change each month. And, if you can pay off your loan early, it won’t charge you a prepayment penalty or fee for it.

Just for “fun,” I checked to see if it would loan me $2,000, knowing what the answer would likely be, and sure enough, it turned me down flat. With my checkered credit history, I don’t blame the company in the least. In fact, shades of Groucho Marx’s famous quote (“I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member”), I respect the Lending Club more, instead of less.

Learn More on Prosper.com's secure website

Prosper is another peer-to-peer lending service that offers personal loans ranging from $2,000 to $35,000 with interest rates ranging from 5.99% to 36% for first-time borrowers (the lowest APRs are reserved for those with the most creditworthiness). Like Lending Club, Prosper has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and has been an accredited company since 2012.

You can choose between a fixed term of 3 or 5 years and it has no prepayment penalty fees for paying off your loan early. The money is quickly direct deposited in your bank account, so you can use it right away. And, for those who live life on the go, it has a mobile app (both Android and iOS) where you can view your loan details and track what’s influencing your credit score.

Online Personal Loans At A Glance

Lender	Borrowing Limits	Minimum credit score requirement	Annual Percentage Rate
Springleaf Financial Services	$1,500 - $25,000	Upper 500s	16% - 36%
Lending Club	Up to $40,000	660	5.32% - 30.99%
Prosper	$2,000 - $35,000	640	5.99% - 36%

A word of warning about personal loans…

It isn’t only a matter of finding an interest rate that is reasonable. Be careful that you borrow only what you really need. If you get greedy and borrow far more than you need, simply because the lender is willing to give you more, and then have trouble paying the loan back, a visit to a payday loan store can seem like a trip to Disneyland in comparison.

Also, use common sense and really look at the terms and consider whether this is a loan that you can easily, or relatively easily, pay off. And I’m not trying to be condescending. When you need money fast, to keep your financial world from imploding, it’s easy to rationalize a bad decision. I’ve done it plenty of times. After all, you could easily think, “Hey, if a $500 loan would solve a few problems, think what a $10,000 loan will do.”

When You Should Consider Bankruptcy

If you’re considering getting a payday loan, that’s not necessarily a sign that you’re financially doomed. It’s simply a sign that you’re tapped out. But if you are in a cycle of debt, where you have thousands of dollars in credit card debt, and that’s why you’re turning to payday loans, then, sure, bankruptcy may be a good option for you. In fact, I look at my bankruptcy as one of the smartest financial decisions I’ve ever made.

What led to it was a small loan (I think $300) that my then-wife took out with a predatory lending institution. I’m not blaming her. I knew the company was bad news, and when she couldn’t make the payments on her own, and I got involved, I ended up paying off the loan and taking out my own loan to do it. We wound up owing over $20,000 that we couldn’t pay, all from what started out as a $300 loan.

Bankruptcy is such a personal decision that I can’t pretend to know when one should wave the white flag, and I’ve met plenty of people who were in far worse shape than we were who managed to pay off their debts without declaring bankruptcy. But if you’re so deep in debt that you know it’ll probably be decades before you can pay it off, and that staying in debt threatens your chances of paying for your kids’ college, or paying for your retirement, or both — well, that’s when I would begin mulling the idea over.

You can read more about filing for bankruptcy here.

Some Other Options We Don’t Actually Recommend

Home Equity Loans

Home equity loans can be an attractive way to get a loan – LendingTree.com is a good place to start looking – but in this case, this is a strategy that you should probably stay away from. If you were thinking of getting a payday loan, I assume you need money now, for things like groceries, or because your car broke down. It’s generally smarter to use a home equity loan for, say, a major home improvement – especially if you’re trying to sell your house.

Sure, home equity loans can be attractive because the rates are often low. But this is your house. If you go into deep debt thanks to a home equity loan and can’t pay it off, you could lose your home. Unless your finances are rock solid, I wouldn’t do this.

Have a Family Member Co-Sign for a Loan

In most cases, I wouldn’t do it. If you’re young and starting out, having your parents co-sign a credit card for you will likely help you get a better, low-interest rate credit card than you could get on your own. But I still wouldn’t recommend it, and I would never recommend co-signing for a car (even though this is fairly common) or for a house. Co-signing is a big risk, and everyone goes into co-signing with the best of intentions. The parents want to help their kid, and the kid is confident he or she will pay off the loan. But you can’t know what your financial future holds, and if you don’t want to drag your family members into your financial morass with you, well, don’t.

Car Title Loan Services

With car title loan services, the APRs are also as ridiculously high as payday loans, and you’re using your car title as collateral. Now, these companies know that you absolutely don’t want to lose your car, which means you’re going to do everything in your power to pay off the loan. This means you’ll likely keep paying off the loan and re-borrowing. And if one day you aren’t able to pay off the loan, well, there goes your car.

Why are Payday Loans so Bad?

If you’ve never taken out a payday loan, you may understandably wonder: Are they really such a terrible idea? After all, people use them. There must be a reason. There is. Payday loans are generally easy to get, provided you have proof of employment and paperwork (like a utility bill) showing where you live, along with some references.

What’s dangerous about payday loans boils down to two things:

1. They have high interest rates. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the cost of a loan can range from $10 to $30 per every $100 borrowed, although typically it’s $15, which was my experience. That comes out to an annual percentage rate (APR) of 400%, which means that if the loan was stretched out for about a year, you’d pay close to $400 to borrow that $100, according to the CFPB. The payday lending industry would say that it’s pointless to look at the APR because the companies are asking you to pay the money back in two weeks and not 52 weeks. OK, fine, but it’s this second reason that makes payday loans so unpalatable.
2. You have to pay the loans back quickly. Typically, it’s two weeks (sometimes a month, but then you’ll pay more than $15 per $100), and therein often lies the problem. It’s just two weeks. In fact, they’re called payday loans because you’re expected to pay back the loan on your next payday. Now, if you’re going to pay $115 on a $100 loan in two weeks, that may not sound bad at first, but realistically, you’ll borrow more than $100. You’ll ask the payday lender for, say, $400, which means you’re paying the lender $460 in two weeks. That still may sound reasonable if you’re worried about your electric being shut off right now, but keep in mind: If you don’t have $400 now, will you really have $460 to spare in two weeks? If not, you’ll pay back the $460 loan and then will probably feel like you have no choice but to borrow another $400, or worse $500, since you’re now $460 in the hole. So if you borrow $500, in two more weeks, you’ll have to pay back $575. You can see how crazy this can get.In fact, according to research the CFPB released in 2013, the average person who takes out a payday loan remains in debt for almost 200 days. So that debt you think you’ll pay off in two weeks is likely going to stick around for the better part of a year; maybe longer.And keep in mind that while paying back a payday lender does nothing to improve your credit score and history, if you don’t pay one back, they will report you to the credit bureau, and that will damage your credit.

The Bottom Line

If you can avoid taking out a payday loan, please do. If you need money, try finding it in another way; like through either selling items you no longer use, or asking friends or relatives for temporary financial help. If that doesn’t work, consider borrowing through a credit card or a personal loan before going to a payday loan store. However you eventually get your loan, always look for low-interest rates and the best terms you can find.

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This Bogus IRS Phone Scam’s Ripping People Off. Here’s What to Look Out For

Last Friday, my boyfriend got a voicemail from the IRS. (Or, rather, the “IRS.”)

The voice on the other line told him he hadn’t paid enough in taxes, and that he had to call back within 24 hours or possibly face extensive fines — and even jail time.

The same thing happened to my best friend a few months ago. And an acquaintance last week.

If you or someone you know has received one of these calls, listen up…

What You Need to Know About This IRS Phone Scam

My boyfriend and friends are savvy millennials who wouldn’t normally be swayed by scammers.

No Nigerian prince is going to swindle them of their money — but these calls from the “IRS” got them going.

Why?

Because the IRS is scary, and because very few people understand their taxes. So the possibility you screwed up your bill taps into a very real — and very reasonable — fear.

I can’t promise you’ve adequately paid your tax bill, but I can promise you those calls are scams.

The IRS will never call you without sending a bazillion letters first. Unfortunately, I know from firsthand experience.

And calling the IRS back will never go straight to a human (also known from, unfortunately, lots of firsthand experience).

On Aug. 2, 2016, the IRS issued a warning about the “increase in ‘robo-calls’ where scammers leave urgent callback requests through the phone telling taxpayers to call back to settle their ‘tax bill.’”

“These fake calls generally claim to be the last warning before legal action is taken,” the website says.

Though the IRS notes the specific nature of these scams are frequently changing, it emphasizes it will never:

• Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.

• Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

• Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

• Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer.

• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

It says knowing these “telltale signs” is the “best way to avoid becoming a victim.”

To help you stay vigilant, here’s a sample voicemail that, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), contains “all the signs of an IRS imposter scam.”

What to Do If You Get a Call From the “IRS”

Did that recording sound familiar? Here’s what to do.

1. Don’t Give Any Information

If you answer a call like this, don’t give out any information — and hang up right away.

2. Don’t Call Back

If you get a voicemail, it might be tempting to give the jerkfaces a piece of your mind… but for your sake, don’t do it.

“Even when you call them on the scam or whistle in their ear, you lose: scammers are likely mining all kinds of data from these calls,” explains tax attorney and Forbes contributor Kelly Phillips Erb (who, ironically, received a call herself).

3. Report the Scam

To help the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) crack down on these scams, fill out its (very brief!) IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting form.  

You can also report the scam to the FTC using its Complaint Assistant; be sure to add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the notes.

And, if you’re worried you might actually owe the IRS money, call the agency directly at 800-829-1040.

Your Turn: Have you received a call like this? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.

The post This Bogus IRS Phone Scam’s Ripping People Off. Here’s What to Look Out For appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Olive Garden’s Pasta Passes Can Still Be Purchased — for a Hefty Markup

If you missed out on buying Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Pass — and you probably did, because it sold out in one second last week — you have another chance to carb-load.

But it doesn’t come cheap. The original pass, which grants unlimited Never Ending Pasta Bowl entrees and sides to the designated cardholder from Oct. 3 through Nov. 20, cost $100. Now eBay listings show passes selling for anywhere from $200 to $400.

What’s Never Ending Pasta Worth to You?

It’s not as exciting as Marketwatch makes it sound — there are listings for passes priced as high as $4,500, sure, but they haven’t sold yet — but it’s true that there’s a definite reselling market for the promotion.

But what about the personalization of each pasta pass? Lucky purchasers during the lightning-quick sale specified a name that Olive Garden will print on their passes, which the Italian eatery will mail before the event starts.

Some eBay sellers say they’ll ask Olive Garden to transfer the pass to the auction winner, while some are noting that the buyer takes full risk — no refunds if you’re asked for ID while you’re chowing down.

We contacted Olive Garden to get the official scoop on whether passes can be transferred. We’re still waiting on a response.

Olive Garden Has a Heart, Too

Olive Garden even got in the on the resale game for a good cause. The restaurant offered 21 passes on eBay, with proceeds going to Feeding America, which oversees a nationwide network of food banks.

Olive Garden guaranteed a minimum donation of $21,000. As of Monday, all passes had been auctioned for a total contribution of $23,378.

I’m not sure what was so special about the one pass that sold for $10,100 — most sold for between $550 and $900, which may be tax deductible (Olive Garden’s eBay listings advise you to check with your tax professional).

Your Turn: Would you pay $100 for seven weeks of unlimited pasta? Would you pay $10,000 for it?

Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer for The Penny Hoarder. She doesn’t trust anyone who doesn’t eat pasta.

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This Company is Hiring Part-Time, Work-From-Home Marketing Coordinators

Finding a quality part-time, work-from-home job can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

OK, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration.

But if you don’t necessarily want a job that involves answering customer calls all day, then check out this rewarding gig we found for you.

Worldwide101 is hiring part-time, work-from-home marketing and social media coordinators — yes, more than one! — in the U.S. or Europe.

Marketing and Social Media Coordinator Responsibilities at Worldwide101

In short, Worldwide101 helps small business founders and executives find quality virtual assistants. As “a market leading business,” it’s growing fast.

Cue you. Worldwide101 needs marketing and social media coordinators to keep expanding. “We offer flexible hours, a positive company culture, and an opportunity to grow with a forward-thinking organization,” the job listing reads.

As the marketing and social media coordinator, you’ll work your magic on the company’s social media accounts (think: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and possibly Snapchat, Instagram, Vine — the possibilities are endless).

It has a good start: 779 likes on Facebook and 2,098 followers on Twitter. But the company needs you to create content, engage in discussions, run social promotions and campaigns, connect with other media outlets and journalists, as well as build and manage email lists.

You’ll also be responsible for managing webinars and helping with any event planning.

I reached out to Worldwide101 about the job’s salary. I left a message with a human representative — refreshing! — and will update this as soon as I hear back.

Are You Qualified to Work for Worldwide101?

To snag this job, you’ll need three to five years of experience in a marketing-related role. The listing does not state any education requirements.

You should have time-management skills, be able to juggle multiple tasks and know your way around online tools and software — or learn how to use them quickly.

You need strong verbal and written communication skills, must be outgoing and a team player. You can reside in the United States or Europe, but you need to know how to fluently speak and write English.

You can find more information about this job on The Muse.

Not qualified? No worries. Look into becoming a virtual assistant for the company.

Follow our Facebook Jobs page to find more work-from-home jobs.

Your Turn: Are you applying to this job?

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. After recently completing graduate school, she focuses on saving money — and surviving the move back in with her parents.

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Savings update: The five top paying easy-access savings accounts

Sylvia Morris

the-best-piggy.jpg

Rates for savers continue to fall on both easy-access and fixed rate accounts.

Rates for savers continue to fall on both easy-access and fixed rate accounts.

The top easy-access account comes from French-owned RCI Bank at 1.2% before tax (0.96% after tax).

read more

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The Best Bank Bonuses and Promotions of 2016

Ready for a new bank account?

You might be after you see these bonuses.

We found these awesome checking and savings accounts that each will give you huge sign-up bonus — just for creating your account.

1. TD Bank – Earn a Free Galaxy Phone When You Open a New Checking Account

• Visit this TD Checking® page and enter your city and state (note: this account is not available in every state)

• Click the orange “open account” button and follow the instructions.

• There’s no minimum to open an account, but if you maintain a $100 daily average balance, TD Bank will waive the monthly fees.

• Checking account must be opened online from this web page only. Offer valid while Android Smartphone supplies last. All Android Smartphones must be redeemed within 60 days of the submitted application.

2. Chase – Earn a $150 Bonus When You Open a New Checking Account and an Additional $100 Bonus When You Open a Savings Account*

Visit this Chase Total Checking® page and enter your email address to get a unique coupon. You’ll need this coupon in order to get the bonus.

• Just bring your bonus coupon to any Chase branch to take advantage of this offer. It expires on 10/15/16, so you’ll need to complete the application before then.

• Get a $150 bonus when you open a new Chase Total Checking® account and set up direct deposit. You must make the direct deposit into your account within the first 60 days.

• Get a $100 bonus when you open a new Chase Savings(SM) account, deposit a total of $10,000 or more in new money within 10 days, and maintain a $10,000 balance for 90 days. You’re not required to open the savings account to earn the $150 Chase checking bonus.

3. SunTrust – $250 Bonus Offer

• Visit SunTrust for all the offer’s details.

• Open a new checking account and deposit at least $100 before September 19.

• Within 60 days, make at least $500 in direct deposits.

• A $125 bonus will be deposited into your account within eight weeks.

• Earn an additional $125 for maintaining monthly direct deposits of $500

Good luck, Penny Hoarders!

Your Turn: Have you found any great bank sign-up bonuses in 2016? Share them in the comments!

*Chase Fine print:

Checking offer is not available to existing Chase checking customers, those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance. To receive the $150 checking bonus: 1) Open a new Chase Total Checking account, which is subject to approval; 2) Deposit $25 or more at account opening; AND 3) Have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening.  Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. After you have completed all the above requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 10 business days. You can only receive one new checking account-related bonus per calendar year. Bonus is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.

**Account Closing: If your checking account is closed within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount at closing.

*Aspiration Fine print:

Rebate and “ Do Good Dollars” applies to anyone who signs up for the Aspiration waitlist through the Penny Hoarder by Sept. 30, 2016, activates debit card by Nov. 31, 2016 and is in good standing through the date of payment on Dec. 10th, 2016. Funding failures will render account illegible.

Editorial Disclosure

This content is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.

UGC Disclosure

These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

FTC Disclosure

This site may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on certain links posted on this website.

The post The Best Bank Bonuses and Promotions of 2016 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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First Responders Can Eat Burgers and Wings for Free at Hooters This Tuesday

First responders, listen up: Hooters wants to let you know how much it appreciates your everyday heroism.

So, you can head to your favorite location and snag a free meal this week — just by showing your ID.

Because what better way to say “thank you” than a steaming plate of hot wings?

Free Food at Hooters This Week for First Responders

If you’re an active EMT, firefighter or police officer, you can get free food at Hooters this Tuesday, Sept. 20, so long as you dine in and purchase a beverage (alcoholic or not).

Choose from the following menu options:

• buffalo chicken salad
• buffalo chicken sandwich
• Hooters burger
• 10-piece traditional wings (of course)
• 10-piece boneless wings

I’m not nearly cool enough to be a first responder, but if I could take advantage of the deal, I’d obviously go with the wings. Hooters is famous for them for a reason!

The deal is part of Hooters’ support of National First Responders Day, which, shockingly, doesn’t yet exist. You can read more about the movement to create it — and sign the petition — here.

Meanwhile, grab all of your favorite first responders and head down to Hooters for some free eats. You deserve it!

Your Turn: Mild, medium or hot?

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

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Questions About Checklists, Birthday Parties, Firewood, Shaving, 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. Working two jobs at once
2. Checklists?
3. Birthday party gifts
4. Building professional network without spending
5. Uses for old tablets
6. Cold brewed coffee?
7. Depressed after financial turnaround
8. Retiring lean or not?
9. Dealing with greedy adult child
10. Cheap sources for firewood
11. Dollar Shave Club thoughts?
12. Garden update

I find that the older I get, the more and more I see my parents in my own behaviors.

When I was little, I used to think it was kind of goofy how my father used to read a book in bed until he literally fell asleep still holding the book some nights. I find myself doing the same thing.

When I was little, I often thought my mother was overly cautious about simple things like crossing the road or walking through a parking lot. Now I admonish my own children in almost the same exact way as my mother.

When I was little, I thought it was weird how my parents sometimes reacted with even stronger emotions than I did to my childhood successes and failures. Now my heart melts when I see a great picture that my daughter has drawn or see my son set a personal best in the 5K and earn a trophy in his division.

When I was little, I never understood why my mother or father would spend hours on weird little projects like cleaning out the refrigerator or caulking windows. In the last few months, I’ve spent hours cleaning out the refrigerator and caulking windows.

When I was little, I didn’t understand at all why it was such a big deal to my father when I would get involved with his hobbies as it always seemed to fill him with joy. Now, I don’t share all of his hobbies, but I share some of them, and I’m personally filled with joy when my children share in my hobbies with me.

During my teens and early twenties, I wanted to believe I was really different than my parents. Now, I see that I’m very, very much like them, in a lot of ways.

Q1: Working two jobs at once

I currently have an IT job where we work in bursts. Most of the time we don’t do much, but if bad things happen we get very very busy for a while. During the downtime we’re allowed to do whatever we want – no restrictions on computer or internet use on our individual workstations.

I have the opportunity to pick up a second job of sorts that involves some programming that I can easily handle. It’s very project oriented meaning they don’t really care too much when I work as long as I meet deliverable deadlines.

Is it ethical to do work for the second job while at the first job?
– Andrew

If your company has a clear policy of doing whatever you want during downtime and you think that the downtime plus time you use at home is enough to fulfill the demands of the second job, I’d say go for it.

My sincere suggestion is to keep living exactly as you are and take the entire proceeds from the second job and bank them for the future, whether it’s paying off debts, saving for a big future expense (like a car or a house), saving rapidly for retirement, or some other goal like going back to school or launching your own business.

This isn’t to say that at some point your primary employer won’t change policies. You may find yourself with a contract that’s difficult to fulfill if you suddenly have more responsibilities at work or the usage policy on work computers changes.

Q2: Checklists?

In a recent post, you mentioned using a personal checklist for developing daily habits and you’re rolling these out to your kids too? Could you talk more about them?
– Stephanie

A little over a month ago, I printed off a personal checklist of basic things I want to achieve every day. Most of them were geared around establishing a few new positive habits, such as keeping my office organized and getting more exercise.

My “reward” for completing that checklist each day is that I add $2 to my hobby budget for the month. I started this by reducing my hobby budget each month by $40, so in order to get back to my “normal” budget, I have to nail the checklist for at least 20 days, and if I do it every day for the full month, it means I have an extra $20 for hobby spending. It’s a really minor motivation, I know, but you’d be surprised how much it really helps.

I actually laminated this personal checklist and I check off the items with a dry erase marker each day as I do them. They’re simple things, like go on a mile-plus walk three times a day (three checkboxes), do my fitness ladder twice a day (two checkboxes), properly put away five items in my office (five checkboxes), and spend fifteen minutes on a household cleaning project that’s been neglected (one checkbox).

Since this has helped me greatly in establishing a daily routine, we’re in the process of rolling out a similar checklist for our children. Rather than a financial reward, though, the idea will be that they don’t have free play time until the list is complete. The list won’t be long enough to deny them significant free play time each day, though.

Q3: Birthday party gifts

We live in an area where there is a strong custom for children to have birthday parties and for the invited guests to bring a small $10-15 present for the birthday child. I don’t mind spending the money for the gifts, but when it comes to hosting our own party, my husband and I are pretty uninterested in having our child receive a pile of cheap unwanted gifts. Most of them will never get played with and it encourages greed.

First, what’s the easiest way to get this message across to parents? Second, how do we talk to our child about this?
– Janine

There is a similar custom in our area, but we simply don’t worry about it. Our method for keeping it sensible is to have very small birthday parties with maybe 3-4 close friends who are actually good at picking sensible gifts that our children would like because of that close friendship.

If you’ve decided to have a “gift-free” birthday, my suggestion is to find a way for children who are coming to not come empty-handed, as that can cause some real awkwardness in a family that’s used to a gift-giving culture. Put a note on the invitation saying something like “in lieu of a gift, please bring a handmade birthday card!” or something to that effect so that the children coming to the party don’t arrive empty-handed if that’s outside the local cultural norm.

As for talking to your child, focus on all of the stuff your child already has and whether or not it makes sense to get any more things, especially when it’s stuff that he/she may not even like or want. Our children understood that train of thought pretty clearly when parents in our area have chosen to have “gift-free” birthday parties.

Q4: Building professional network without spending

So I’m trying to follow the usual career advice of building a professional network of people in my career path in my area. I’m also trying to pay off my student loans as rapidly as possible.

The problem is that everything everyone else does outside of work is ludicrously expensive. They go to $25-30 lunches and go out to this really expensive bar after work sometimes. A lot of them seem to go skiing on the weekends and have tons of ski equipment and go to ski resorts together.

This all just seems incredibly expensive to me. How can I build some strong professional relationships with these people without abandoning my student loan progress?
– Jim

The answer is that you probably don’t.

My gut reaction is that you’re looking to build relationships with a fairly small subset of the people in your field in your area. These are probably your workplace’s version of a clique, a group of people who socialize together and probably invite newcomers to the workplace to join them in an effort to build their networks.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that these people are the be-all-end-all of people in your field or even in your area.

I’d suggest looking around the office for people who work in your field but maybe aren’t a part of that expensive routine and try to connect with them. Look for professional groups in your area and meet up with them. Try to find people on LinkedIn or other such social networking sites who live in your area and work in your field and connect with them.

Instead of paying a huge admission fee to connect to the “easy” group, put in some legwork and connect with other people. You’re likely to build strong connections there because you went out of your way to make those connections.

Q5: Uses for old tablets

Do you have any suggestions for uses for an old tablet computer? Our newest cell contract gave us a free new tablet so I upgraded mine and now I have an old one (iPad Mini 1) just sitting around. It doesn’t have much secondary value. Looking for uses for it.
– Monica

One great use for it is to put it in “picture frame” mode, as shown here. Plug it in and put it on a side table somewhere and you have yourself a great little digital picture frame. Just load it up with pictures you want and let it sit there showing them off.

Another option is to simply load it with recipes in your preferred recipe app and leave it in the kitchen as a slender cookbook. You could also throw a music or podcast or audiobook app on it for something to listen to while cooking.

You could also put a home security app on it and use it for home security purposes. You can monitor your home while you’re away to make sure it’s secure.

Those are just a few options, of course, but I’d be happy with a tablet for any of those purposes.

Q6: Cold brewed coffee?

Could you explain the cold brewed coffee thing in detail pls? I don’t understand how you can have coffee without a coffee maker of some kind.
– Nancy

It’s pretty easy. All you need is a water bottle and a fine mesh sieve. You also need a coffee grinder if you want to grind your own coffee from the beans, though already-ground coffee works okay, too.

All you do is put 1/2 to 2/3 cup ground coffee into the water bottle along with 2-3 cups cold water (the exact amount varies depending on the type of coffee bean you’re using and how strong you want it – the less water and the more beans, the stronger it is). Let it sit in there for at least 12 hours – I often leave it in there for longer than that.

When you’re ready to drink it, get a couple of large glasses and put the sieve on top of one of them, then slowly pour the coffee mixture out of the water bottle through the sieve into the cup. Clean the strainer real quick, then put the sieve over the other cup and strain it again. You can strain it as often as you’d like, but I find that two usually does it and further strainings don’t really help. You can also use a coffee filter here for the straining or a cheesecloth.

The coffee you have there is really concentrated, so you’ll want to dilute it with equal parts water. You should have enough for several ordinary cups of coffee when you dilute it.

After that, just add whatever flavorings you want. Add some ice if you want it cold. Heat it up if you want it hot. It’s coffee – and good coffee, if you ask me. I honestly prefer it to coffee from the coffee pot.

Q7: Depressed after financial turnaround

In 2014 my hubby and I decided that we were sick of nonstop bills and started turning our finances around. We cut back hard on all of our spending and sold some stuff and paid off a lot of credit cards and now we are almost debt free except for our mortgage and a bit of student loan which will be gone by the end of the year.

But before this we had an exciting life. We went on trips and did stuff with friends and we stopped doing all of that to save money. Now we don’t see any of our friends hardly ever. We mostly just sit around the house and it’s depressing after a while.

I see the benefit of financial turnaround but it was not worth losing our social life. I want my life back.
– Angela

For starters, even when Sarah and I were being as tight as possible with our spending, we never just “sat around the house.” We were constantly going on walks, going to the library, going to community events, and so on.

We did have to reboot our social circles during that process, but we maintained at least a few friends and found a lot of new ones. We actually have a larger social circle now than we did when we were young professionals spending without a care in the world. It just took longer to find them.

Just try doing stuff. There are countless things to do outside the home that don’t involve spending money that do provide a great opportunity to meet people.

Q8: Retiring lean or not?

I’m 55. I was recently offered an early retirement package at work that if I couple it with my 401(k) and Social Security starting at age 67 should allow me to “retire” with about a 35% drop in annual “income.” I live pretty well and could cut a few things. Trying to decide if this is right move.
– Leon

First of all, remember that if you retire, you’re going to cut out all expenses related to work. You won’t have a commute, so you’ll spend a lot less on gas and wear and tear on your car. You won’t have to buy work clothes, either. There are probably other work expenses depending on your job, too.

Second, even though your income drops by that much, your take home income won’t drop by nearly that much. You won’t pay as much in income taxes, nor will you have to contribute to your retirement plan any more. I wouldn’t be surprised if your take home pay is just a small drop from where you’re at right now.

Not only that, if you decided you wanted more money, you can always get another job.

Given all of that, I’d probably retire now if you think you can pull it off. Retiring “lean” doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me to be honest.

Q9: Dealing with greedy adult child

I’m 72 years old. Right now my will has my entire estate going to my only son. He has basically cut me out of his life. I have seen his children twice in the last ten years and I’ve only seen him twice in the last few years and both times the visit seemed to mostly be about checking on my financial status. If I call him he tries to get off the phone as fast as possible.

I don’t want to give him a dime. How do I change my will without him knowing?
– Nathan

If I were you, I’d contact an estate lawyer with your situation. Explain what’s happening and talk to that lawyer about a plan that will ensure your money goes elsewhere.

You’ll want a plan for what you’re actually going to do with your money, though. Maybe you want to give it to a charity of some kind or set up a scholarship fund of some sort. Have a plan in mind for what you want to do with the remaining value of your estate.

I know of an older couple gave their entire estate to a trust for a little girl who lived across the street from them who visited them every day. The girl was given almost $2 million which was put into a trust for her. No one knew for sure why they did this, but the speculation was that the little girl had brought them a lot of joy in the last years of their life and they wanted to repay it. Is there anyone young in your life who is kind to you and could really use a helping hand in life? That person might be a good recipient.

You’ll also need to pick someone you trust to help make sure that your wishes are fulfilled after you pass on, and I’d strongly suggest not using your son here. Who in your life could handle this? Give that some thought, too.

One final thought: talk to your son. Part of this might just be two people who don’t know how to communicate very well. It is often hard for fathers and sons to talk openly about things, and that can sometimes lead right to a narrowing of a relationship over time.

Q10: Cheap sources for firewood

Do you have any suggestions for inexpensive places to get firewood? The price for wood around here is crazy expensive. We have a wood fireplace in our new home but we don’t have any woods of our own to cut and everyone charges so much for wood! It’s crazy!
– Janine

First of all, cutting a cord of wood and delivering it is a lot of work, no matter how you slice and dice it. A full cord is 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet of almost solid firewood, which means someone had to fell the trees, cut them up, load the pieces up, and then deliver them. It’s also a resource that takes a long time to replenish. If you add in the additional cost of seasoning the wood (meaning the wood fills up space on the land somewhere while it dries out), you’re talking even more. For comparison’s sake, a typical pickup truck can carry about 2/3 of a cord of wood in a full load.

Depending on where you’re at, wood can easily go for $300 per cord delivered these days, and more than that if there’s a seasoning guarantee of some kind on the wood. That’s a lot of money, especially considering that if you’re using the wood furnace for heating, you can burn through that cord in 2-3 weeks.

What’s the solution? There isn’t one, sadly. With prices in that range, you’re hitting the point where it’s not really profitable to go much lower, and if you find substantially lower prices, it’s probably “black market” wood that likely came from someone’s wood storage.

What you really have to decide is whether it’s worth it for you. Is that crackling fireplace every night worth, say, $15 in wood costs?

Q11: Dollar Shave Club thoughts?

Do you have any thoughts or recommendations about Dollar Shave Club and its competitors?
– Marcus

I think they’re generally a better deal than buying cartridge razors at the local department store. I think they’re a worse deal than using a safety razor and buying individual razor blades.

Shaving with a safety razor is very different than shaving with a cartridge razor and offers a lot of risk of cutting yourself if you’re not careful. However, if you are careful and learn new techniques, that is probably your best bargain in shaving.

Having said that, I’ve tried both Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s and both offer good products. I felt that Harry’s offered better razors and DSC offered better shaving products (like shaving cream and butter) and better shipping options. The two offered fairly comparable prices. I honestly shave in the shower using shower soap, so I would choose Harry’s out of the two services (though both are good).

Q12: Garden update

How did your garden do this year?
– Tony

In a single word, disastrously.

Here in Iowa, May is really the month where you want to plant your garden and our May was a complete disaster from beginning to end, with overstuffed schedules, personal emergencies, weddings, special events, and so many other things. It was so bad that Sarah and I have jokingly described it as the “lost month.”

Our planting was haphazard at best and we didn’t really prep our garden very well. We’ve managed to get some things from what we did plant and our perennials did fairly well, but our garden – and garden output – was simply tiny this year.

We’re going to plan a lot differently for 2017, that’s for sure. I don’t want to repeat this gardening experience.

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 Checklists, Birthday Parties, Firewood, Shaving, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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The Only Checklist You Need for Launching Your Startup’s Website

Ah, website launches.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are something every business needs to do.

I’ve been through a ton of website launches, so it’s kind of a ho-hum process now.

But even if I go into a website launch with a nonchalant attitude, something usually happens—something unexpected.

• In one website launch, the webmaster forgot to turn off the disallow on the robots.txt
• In another website redesign, the developers forgot to add the subdomain to 200k pages.
• In another website redesign, the developers accidentally used the wrong footer for all 1.1m pages.

I could go on and on.

Here’s the thing—website launches are important. And more often than not, there’s something wonky that happens. These wonky surprises can destroy your SEO and cause your entire website to flounder from the start.

Even if you’re fairly experienced with the process and have built multiple sites, launching a new website can still be overwhelming and stressful.

There are a lot of components involved in a website launch, and there’s a lot of potential for hiccups along the way.

Overlooking even a few subtle elements can have disastrous consequences.

What if there are blatant typos? Or what if your visitors get the dreaded “page not found” error?

It’s going to be a poor reflection on your company and could send would-be customers running.

The bottom line is that no one is perfect, and even the top professionals can overlook a few details.

What I’ve learned from launching multiple sites is that it’s crucial to follow a formula that forces me to leave no stone unturned. This way I can cover myself and ensure that the entire process goes off without a hitch.

The best way to accomplish this is to follow a checklist and work your way through it step by step.

Here is the only checklist you need for launching your startup’s website.

Layout

First things first. You’ll want to cover the basics in terms of web design to ensure your site looks great and is easily navigable.

Visitors should have a seamless experience without needing to think too much about how to get where they need to go.

Here are things to attend to at this stage:

• Your homepage includes your business’s logo.
• The logo is appealing and professional.
• Visitors should be aware of the product or service you’re selling upon landing on your site.
• Images are optimally positioned.
• Images can be viewed on mobile devices.

Compatibility

Today’s Internet users access websites from a variety of devices and browsers.

In particular, the use of mobile devices has become increasingly common: 80% of people are using smartphones, and 47% are using tablets.

That’s why it’s crucial to avoid fundamental glitches that can create compatibility issues.

Make sure that:

• your site is compatible with all major browsers, including Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc.
• your site is fully optimized for mobile users. There are multiple ways to create a mobile-friendly site, but responsive web design (RWD) is regarded as one of the most effective techniques.
• you’ve optimized cascading style sheets (CSS) across your site.
• all coding has been done correctly, and there are no glitches that can ruin the user experience.

Functionality

It should go without saying, but users expect a fluid experience.

Any glitches or malfunctions can increase your bounce rate, and it’ll be much more difficult to nurture leads.

With 55% of visitors spending fewer than 15 seconds on a website, you need to cover all the bases and optimize your site’s functionality to keep your visitors browsing and minimize your bounce rate.

Make sure that:

• You’ve corrected any issues that could potentially slow down your site’s load time.
• There are no broken links.
• There are no 404 redirects.
• All internal links point to the intended page.
• All external links are working correctly and point to authoritative, relevant sites.
• You’re not linking to resources that offer no value.
• Links open in a new tab. (It can be annoying for users when they lose their place because a separate tab isn’t opened after they click on a link).
• You’ve set up a favicon icon so that users can easily identify your site when they bookmark it. (This is crucial for proper branding).
• You’ve optimized navigation by adding pages either to the top or to the sidebar so that users can quickly find what they’re looking for.
• You’ve added a search bar to expedite the search.
• Your site isn’t clogged with annoying ads or popups.
• Popups can be closed with ease.

Site speed

Time is of the essence when your website is loading.

The longer it takes your site to load, the higher your abandonment rate will be. If it takes longer than three seconds to load, you’ve already lost 40% of your visitors.

That’s no good.

Here are just a few other eye-opening stats. A one-second delay in page load time yields:

• 11% fewer page views
• A 16% decrease in customer satisfaction
• A 7% loss in conversions

That’s why I can’t stress enough just how crucial it is to check the speed of your site and do whatever it takes to optimize it. Ideally, you’ll be able to get your loading time under three seconds.

Here are some specific things to look into:

• You’ve checked the speed of your website using the Pingdom Website Speed Test. This will let you know the precise speed and provide you with some performance insights to indicate problem areas.
• You’re using high-quality servers capable of keeping up with heavy website traffic at times.
• You’ve enabled browser caching.
• You’re not using an excessive number of images, videos, or other media that could potentially slow down your site.
• You’re not going overboard on plugins. (These can make your site sluggish).
• You’ve ensured that above-the-fold content loads quickly. (This should be a priority over below-the-fold because it doesn’t matter all that much if below-the-fold content takes a few seconds longer).

This should cover the basics, but you can get a lot more ideas about speeding up your website by checking out this resource.

Content

It’s been said time and time again—content is king.

Content is arguably the lifeblood of your website. Any lack of professionalism or mediocre quality will hurt you in the long run.

Providing A+ content is important not only for maximizing average session duration but also for your overall conversion rate.

That’s why you need to be borderline obsessive about dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s in this department.

Make sure that:

• You’ve used a light background with dark fonts to make text easily readable.
• You’ve thoroughly proofread every landing page, blog post, etc.
• You’ve corrected every single spelling and grammatical error.
• You’ve created engaging and captivating titles.
• You’ve broken up content into digestible chunks by incorporating H1s, H2s, H3s, and bullet points.
• You haven’t used massive blocks of text that are ugly and difficult to read.
• You’ve given proper attribution to external sources you’ve cited.
• You have plenty of visuals to make your content appealing to the eye. (46% of marketers say photography is critical to their current marketing and storytelling strategies).

• Images are high-definition and professional in appearance.
• You’re not infringing upon any copyrights with your images.
• Images are correctly formatted and can be viewed on any device.
• You’ve added videos where appropriate.
• Videos are correctly formatted and viewable on any device.
• Downloadable content, such as whitepapers, e-books and slideshows, are working properly.
• You’ve added your business’s contact information in a visible area.
• Visitors can find answers to FAQs.
• Pricing information can be easily found.
• There are calls to action in relevant locations.
• You’ve added social share buttons.
• You’ve implemented SEO

Understanding and implementing the fundamentals of on-site SEO is incredibly important.

This is your ticket to getting found in search engines and driving a consistent stream of organic traffic to your site.

When it comes to SEO, a lot of elements need to be covered.

• You’ve created an XML sitemap.
• You’ve performed keyword research to identify which keyword phrases to target in your content.
• You have chosen longtail keywords so that you have a legitimate chance of outranking the competition.

• You’ve peppered those keywords throughout your content but without keyword stuffing.
• You’ve incorporated targeted keywords into your URL.
• You’ve included targeted keywords in your meta description, titles, and headers.
• You’ve added relevant tags to your content.
• Alt tags have been added to images.
• Tags have been added to videos.
• URLs are brief and user-friendly. (They’re not long and ugly.)
• Meta descriptions are a maximum of 160 characters. This ensures they’re not truncated in search results.
• Meta descriptions are engaging and summarize what your content is all about.
• You’ve set up internal and external links.
• You’ve practiced hyperlink optimization where links don’t contain your targeted keywords. (Targeted keywords in hyperlinks can result in penalties from Google).

Analytics

Right from the get-go, you need to be diligent about keeping tabs on your traffic.

You want to be able to analyze visitor behavior, ways you are acquiring your traffic, length of time visitors are staying on your site, your bounce rate, and so on.

Doing so is essential for spotting patterns and trends and ultimately making key adjustments to optimize conversions.

That’s why I recommend setting up some type of analytics platform when launching your startup’s website.

I think that Google Analytics is sufficient for generating the basic data needed for most startups, especially during the initial stages.

However, you may also want to utilize a more comprehensive platform such as Crazy Egg so that you can visually see where your visitors are clicking. One of my companies, Kissmetrics, is another helpful tool for better interpreting your data.

Here are some essential analytics-related steps to cover:

• You’ve properly inserted your analytics code into your website.
• You’ve checked to make sure that it’s set up correctly with no formatting/coding issues.
• You’ve set up conversion goals.
• You’ve set up e-commerce tracking.
• You’ve set up event tracking.
• You’ve linked Google Analytics and AdWords if applicable.

Security

Did you know that “the number of U.S. data breaches tracked in 2015 totaled 781?”

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, “this represents the second highest year on record since the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) began tracking breaches in 2005.”

Website security is no joke, especially for companies in the business sector, health/medical industry, and banking/financial/credit sector because these industries have reported the highest number of data breaches on average.

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, the catalyst for the majority of cyber attacks was hacking.

It’s important to remember that no one is completely exempt from an attack. If it can happen to big name companies like Sony and Target, it can definitely happen to a small startup.

I’m not trying to freak you out, but website security has never been more essential than today.

If your data is ever compromised, it can quickly open a can of worms. It can tarnish your reputation, lead to costly downtime, and even result in costly penalties from the government.

Some specific points you’ll want to check off include the following:

• You’re running your site on a secure host.
• You have a business continuity plan in the event of system downtime.
• You’ve made sure that your website is properly backed up in case of data loss.
• Your site utilizes a secure login system.
• All passwords are stored in a secure location.
• You’ve made it so that users are denied entry after a certain number of login attempts. You can use a WordPress plugin like Login LockDown for this.
• You haven’t shared login information with unwanted third parties.
• You’ve instructed team members to not share sensitive information through unprotected channels such as unencrypted email.
• Login pages are fully encrypted.
• You’ve protected your site against Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. This is a common type of attack that hackers use. Although it’s nearly impossible to prevent these types of attacks altogether, utilizing a Cloud mitigation provider can help dramatically.
• You’ve implemented a secure payment processing system that will protect financial information of your customers.
• You’ve created a plan to continually test your website security.

Conclusion

This checklist should serve as a way to foolproof the process of launching your startup’s website. By having a systematized sequence of steps to follow, you’ll know for sure you’re not missing any important details.

Once it’s actually time to launch, you can rest easy, knowing your visitors will have the best experience possible.

Your site will load quickly and have plenty of aesthetic appeal; visitors will be able to navigate your site with ease; and security won’t be an issue.

When it’s all said and done, you can keep visitors on your site longer, efficiently move them through the sales funnel, and, most importantly, maximize your conversion rate.

Which elements do you think are the most important to address when launching a new website?

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