Telecoms giant TalkTalk has been issued a record £400,000 fine by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), after poor data security resulted in over 156,000 customers’ details being stolen from the company in a hack.
Wanna know my first word? Probably not, but I’ll tell you anyways: “Brie.”
Not because I loved the cheese — because it was my dog’s name.
That’s right: I said my dog’s name before “Ma” or “Pa.”
In other words, I’ve been o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d with animals since I was born.
If you or someone you know is riding that animal-lover train hard, too, you’ll want to listen up: A man is giving away his Australian wildlife sanctuary — for free.
Harry Kunz founded Eagle’s Nest Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland, Australia, more than 30 years ago.
Since then, he’s rescued everything from birds to cassowaries, emus and koalas, according to The Guardian, and has a 78% survival rate.
“Patients are commonly hit by cars, attacked by domestic dogs or cats, or made sick by indiscriminately used pesticides or poisons,” The Guardian reports. He cares for more than 1,200 animals each year.
And now, Kunz is ready to retire.
He’s received proposals (and money) to turn his five acres into other things, but Kunz wants it to remain as is.
“I’ve had a few offers but I said no, I want this continuing as a wildlife hospital because that’s what I’ve tried to do for almost 30 years now,” he told The Guardian.
“I don’t want to lose what I created and built up, every shred, with all my money,” he explained.
Think you’re the perfect person to take over?
The Guardian doesn’t specify the best way to get in touch with Kunz, but his website seems like a good place to start.
Then, as The Guardian reports: “Prospective successors would be invited to train at the sanctuary with Kunz… before he decides on the most suitable to continue his legacy.”
He’d teach you everything, from finding free truckloads of bananas to obtaining the grants that fund the AU$60,000 of annual upkeep (approximately $46,000 here in the U.S.).
And the only requirement?
“Love for our environment and wildlife, and common sense,” Kunz said.
Your Turn: Ready to move to Australia and take care of wildlife? Let us know if you get in touch with Kunz!
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 Wanna Cuddle With Koalas? This Guy’s Giving Away His Wildlife Sanctuary appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
As always, this month’s cover of Glamour features a pretty woman, some cleavage and shouty cover lines including “558 STYLE GOALS.”
But, what the cover doesn’t exclaim is something that (in my opinion) deserves the loudest coverline of all: GLAMOUR IS HOSTING A WRITING CONTEST, AND THE WINNER TAKES HOME $5,000.
(I really hope you internally shouted that as you read it.)
This writing contest is free to enter — and most importantly, the deadline is rapidly approaching: Nov. 1.
Your prompt? You can’t write about just anything, of course. Glamour wants stories about its female readers’ life-changing moments. (Sorry, boys.) The piece needs to hover between 2,500 and 3,500 words — typed, double-spaced, just like high school.
Your prize? Five thousand dollars, your name and story published in Glamour and a chance to speak with a “top” New York literary agent.
The fine print? The contest is open to legal residents of the U.S. who are 18 years or older as of Nov. 1.
Submission is simple. Visit Glamour.com.
You’ll type in your basic information and copy and paste your essay (formatted in paragraphs) in the open slot. (And ignore the part that says November 1, 2014. Looks like Glamour missed that one.)
If you’re old school, you can snail-mail your typed manuscript and address it to:
“My Real-Life Story” to Glamour, Essay Contest
One World Trade Center, 30th Floor
New York, New York
Be sure to include your name, age, address, daytime and evening phone numbers and email address.
You can only enter once.
Do note that once you submit your essay, it becomes property of Conde Nast and will not be returned. The copyright is still yours, but you’re basically giving Glamour permission to publish it — which would be awesome because that means you won!
You’ll find out if you’re the winner by May 1.
Scope out all the fine print at Glamour.com. Then, start writing — or polish up an old piece — and send it in.
Good luck, folks, and I’d like a portion of that $5,000 if you win.
Just kidding.
If you’re interested in other ways to make money, visit our Facebook jobs page.
Your Turn: What’s life-changing moment will you write about?
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.
The post This Glamour Magazine Writing Contest is Free to Enter (Winner Gets $5K!) appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
So, you’ve got an amazing idea for a new business. If you build it and market it the traditional way, they will come, right?
Not anymore.
It doesn’t matter what your niche is. There are bigger competitors in it, and traditional marketing has gotten them far. As for your business coming in and taking over? Good luck with that.
I tried that once. I created a product with my co-founder, Hiten Shah. It was pretty amazing.
But then we realized something disturbing.
We were competing against Google.
Ha-ha.
Google? You don’t compete with Google. Instead, you get squashed, obliterated, bought out, or ignored.
We had to do something different. And that “something different” turned out to be growth hacking, and that’s when I first developed my fascination with the field.
We still compete with Google, sort of, but our product is highly differentiated, incredibly value-added, and distinct in every way. (Business is booming, by the way.)
Let’s face it: The old way of doing things works reliably only for large, established businesses—companies that have huge customer bases and vast marketing budgets.
Enter growth hacking. Since the term was coined by Sean Ellis in 2010, the concept has been shown to deliver amazing results time and time again. If your business is floundering despite supposedly tried-and-true techniques, it may be time to get on board.
Speaking of time, though, you may not have much of it. Don’t worry. Right here, you’ll learn everything you need to know to become an innovative growth hacker in a single month.
Perhaps I’ve gotten ahead of myself a little. You can’t embrace growth hacking without knowing what it is.
At its essence, growth hacking is a method of quick product development and experimentation across marketing platforms. It aims to pinpoint the most efficient and effective ways to grow a company.
An affordable alternative to traditional marketing, growth hacking involves quickly testing and tweaking various marketing tactics to increase conversions while reducing the cost of customer acquisition.
Unlike with traditional product development, in which a product is fully formed before being tested, user testing begins during the earliest stages in growth hacking, and ideas are tested every step of the way.
One helpful way of thinking of growth hacking is with three overlapping circles. Marketing, experimentation, and automation or development of some sort all come together in a nexus of growth hacking.
Growth hacking is a modern alternative to traditional marketing, which has become increasingly ineffective for startups and small companies in the fast-paced digital era.
A hacker is more concerned with achieving an end than following a prescribed course of action and will cut corners to do so. Likewise, growth hackers’ goals are similar to those of traditional marketers—but achieved in innovative ways.
You can have different types of growth hackers. For example, one popular iteration of growth hackers is the content hacker, who looks like this:
So, why engage in growth hacking? You do it when you need to hit the ground running with a new product or concept but can’t afford to rely on traditional marketing efforts.
For example, with traditional marketing, you wait until a product is fully developed before subjecting it to user testing. This, of course, requires you to sink a ton of time and money into something that users may hate. Similarly, you may develop a traditional marketing strategy and follow it to a T only to discover that it falls flat.
With growth hacking, products are tested at every stage of development. Marketing techniques are continually tested and adjusted too.
Companies that benefit the most from growth hacking are ones that are willing to put intense effort and focus into marketing and launching a product in exchange for much faster growth.
Like many startups and small businesses, yours may not be able to afford the time and money it takes to do things the traditional way. By becoming an innovative growth hacker, you begin marketing and testing right off the bat and continue all the way through product launch and beyond.
The growth hacking process is actually pretty simple to understand. Once you have a strong grasp of how it works, you can dive right in.
That’s great news for you if you have an amazing idea for a new product and are eager to see how the market responds. By learning how to become an innovative growth hacker, you can watch your ideas either blossom or fall flat more quickly. And that allows you to move on to the next thing right away if need be.
Although it varies a great deal by company and circumstances, growth hacking usually unfolds as follows:
As a business owner, you probably already have a goal in mind for launching your new product. For example, perhaps you would like to see its website attract more than 250,000 visitors in a single month.
Attempting to achieve that goal in and of itself is daunting. Instead, break things down into mini goals to stay on track and to continually move toward reaching your ultimate goal. For instance, set a goal to attract at least 10,000 visitors to your website in a week.
Modern analytics provide information in almost real time, so there’s no need to wait around to see how various techniques are faring. Since your marketing strategy will likely kick off with online marketing, set up an effective system for analyzing traffic to your site and landing pages immediately.
Continually tracking the effectiveness of your various marketing efforts helps because you can address problems right away. When you try something and it doesn’t work, you can switch tactics virtually midstream.
When setting up your analytics, make sure to be tracking the right metrics. Whether you use Google Analytics or another app, set up advanced segments and goals. Keep an eye on KPIs like time on page and referral URLs. Don’t forget to track mobile usage too.
Be ready to pounce at every step of the sales funnel to keep prospects and customers moving right along.
For the acquisition stage, focus on content marketing. Amass a large library of high-quality content as soon as possible. Offer free webinars and e-books in exchange for email signup. Create and share infographics regarding trending topics in your niche, and maintain a PPC campaign from square one—even if your budget is small.
Growth hackers think quickly on their feet, which is why they are so successful at growing huge customer bases in short periods of time.
As soon as it’s clear you’re barking up the wrong tree with a marketing technique or product feature, scrap it. Better still, have backup plans ready to go so that you can seamlessly introduce them.
At the same time, make the most of techniques and features that do work. Leverage them for everything they’re worth. For example, if you discover Twitter is where you’re most likely to find your target demographic, intensify your efforts there.
Growth hackers aren’t wishy-washy. They are decisive. Don’t second-guess yourself if you need to abort what you initially thought would be an amazing idea.
For you as a growth hacker, A/B testing is one of your best friends. Use it extensively while designing websites, landing pages, and other aspects of your campaign to quickly zero in on features that deliver the best ROI.
The simple act of adjusting where a call to action is placed can have a huge impact on the effectiveness of a landing page. The wording you use is highly influential too, especially when it comes to headlines.
As you test what resonates with your target audience, you will also learn more about it. This information will further enhance your ability to grow your business.
Now that you know the basics of growth hacking, you’re probably ready to give it a go. Still, knowing which steps to take is merely the first step. True success lies in mastering subtler skills.
As you go about your growth hacking, keep the following seven tips in mind. When they become like second nature to you, you’ll really start seeing results from your efforts.
Thanks to the Internet and social media, feedback about anything that you offer is readily available. You don’t even have to create an official poll or survey.
Growth hackers know this and embrace it by being actively involved in online conversations regarding their company, products, industry, and niche.
Odds are that users will be commenting about things that matter to you and your business. By being there to hear it, you can implement users’ best suggestions to further enhance growth.
At the same time, offer suggestions to visitors to your site and elsewhere online to keep them engaged in your brand. For example, if someone buys or expresses interest in one product, suggest another one they may like.
Don’t assume your products will be used only one way or that those who want them will be found only in one place.
Instead, employ a multi-pronged approach by considering a variety of possibilities. In its infancy, Spotify offered streaming music across a number of different devices and platforms. In a wise move, Spotify also gave different ways for users to enjoy music.
Not surprisingly, the app has had a very broad appeal and has been a massive success.
Innovative growth hackers don’t focus solely on the here and now. They’re visionaries, so they always keep an eye on the future. Instead of putting all their eggs in one basket by implementing a massive, expensive technique, they start small and see how things go.
At the same time, they leave plenty of room for growth. After all, that’s what the process is all about. Facebook did this well early on by not sinking too many resources into any one particular thing. Instead, the company started small with new concepts and techniques, designing them to be scalable so that they could grow right along with the company.
Rapid growth is likelier to happen when prospects receive content at the right place and time. In other words, you must be ready to pounce with the perfect content at any given moment.
You only need to look to Upworthy to see this done properly, at least when it comes to getting your point across quickly.
Engaging headlines play a huge role in this, so take the time to craft incredible ones. Include plenty of visual elements to pique users’ interest.
Design your content to be easy to share. Viral marketing is a low-cost, low-risk venture you can integrate into your current efforts.
Don’t be afraid to branch out in different directions. Just make sure your content is provided at the right time and to the right people.
Just when it appears a new product has finally “made it,” its target demographic changes course, and interest peters out. Unfortunately, such is the way of the world. Change is the only constant, and as a growth hacker, you have to be able to roll with the punches.
Instead of fearing change, embrace it. Always be on the lookout for the next big thing in your niche, and be ready to bring it to your customers. Even if you design an incredible product, it won’t be perceived that way forever.
In the mad dash to grow a business, it’s easy to let viable prospects slip through the cracks. To be an effective growth hacker, you must have a strategy in place for nurturing leads to increase the odds of conversion.
First, you must know what your ideal customer wants in the first place. Once you do, figuring out how to appeal to them is somewhat intuitive. However, the method of doing so will vary depending on the prospect.
With that in mind, have plenty of tools in your arsenal. Ensure your content library is stocked with pieces that can be used to guide prospects along the path to conversion.
The most successful growth hackers are thought leaders within their industries. It’s almost always the case because they have focused on a specific niche and have become true experts.
Learn everything you possibly can about your niche. Use that knowledge to create compelling blogs, guest blogs, e-books, white papers, and other pieces of content. Conduct webinars, engage in email marketing, and be highly active on social media.
Eventually, you might even consider establishing a special forum for “insiders.” When they opt in, give them a login so that they can be among the first to learn about emerging trends in your industry.
Growth hacking has become so popular that businesses hire professional growth hackers. Luckily, you don’t have to outsource this particular task. Instead, become a growth hacker yourself.
By taking a more innovative, outside-the-box approach to growing your small business or startup, you’re more likely to get where you’d like to be in a timely manner. So, what are you waiting for?
How will becoming a growth hacker benefit your company?
It’s been more than twenty years since my now-wife and I started dating. Along the way, we’ve been on countless “dates” – nights where we’ve chosen some kind of activity and done it together. Some were memorable, some were not.
Whenever a date was particularly memorable for some reason – and there were memorable ones very early in our relationship and memorable ones in the last few months, too – I would write about it in my personal journal. Personal journaling – writing down the events of the day and, more importantly, reflecting on them and reflecting on the things that happen to be on my mind at the time – is something I’ve been actively doing almost every day for the last … 25 years. (Yep, I got my first “journal” and a basic guide to journaling as a Christmas gift from my grandmother in 1991.)
I actually really enjoy looking at my old journal entries. In about 2008 or so, I digitized all of them, but I still handwrite new entries (and scan them all into my computer every once in a while). This means I can easily search them for words like “date” and “Sarah” and see what comes up.
Recently, I was thinking about frugal dating. Dating is often seen as a pretty expensive thing to do – the expense of a nice dinner and other date activities can be really costly, especially on a limited budget. Yet, when I thought about it for a moment, I recognized that a lot of the memorable dates with Sarah that came into my mind were actually pretty cheap.
Here, I’m going to talk about six memorable dates that Sarah and I shared that were incredibly inexpensive. Many of these were basically free; I don’t think any of them involved spending more than $5 plus the cost of a few inexpensive food items that add up to maybe another $5 or $10.
It’s worth noting here that some of these date ideas won’t be impressive. If you’re trying to impress a potential partner with an inflated idea of your financial largesse, these ideas won’t help. However, I will say this: unless you want a relationship that’s fueled by constant spending, you shouldn’t be trying to impress with constant expensive dates. Sure, an occasional expensive dinner is fine, but if that’s your routine, it’s a routine that’s going to leave you cash strapped for life and stuck with a partner that expects that kind of constant spending.
Anyway, here are six memorable and very low-cost dates I had with my wife.
A local band of some renown at the time gave a free concert in the largest park in the city where we lived. Your “price of admission” was a donation of an item for the local food pantry.
We went to this concert, taking along a few items from my pantry to pay for the admission. I took a backpack with me, which contained a blanket and a simple picnic dinner. During the opening act, we spread out in a far corner of the park where we could still hear the music and enjoyed a simple meal together – nothing fancy.
Our plan was to eventually pack up the bag and get close to the stage for the main concert, but as the evening wore on and the sunshine gave way to the stars, we realized our blanket was pretty comfortable, so we just stretched out there, side by side, listening to the live music and looking up at the stars for hours.
I spent an entire day working in a cornfield, while Sarah spent that whole day working concessions at a country music festival (the 1999 George Strait festival, to be exact). It was about 11 o’clock at night, but we were both still awake and energetic and wanted to spend a few hours together doing something. We met up outside of the concert venue and walked home together, right by a grocery store.
On the spur of the moment, we stopped in that grocery store, bought a $3 frozen pizza and a $2.50 tub of ice cream of a flavor we both liked (peanut butter cup), and then we stopped by her apartment. Her roommates were out of town, so we both took showers while the pizza was cooking, snuggled up under a blanket with slices of pizza and that ice cream tub and two spoons, and watched Starship Troopers (which has long been our favorite “popcorn” movie). We both fell asleep under the blanket while the movie was still running.
It was so simple and ordinary, but yet that night sticks in my mind like few others.
While we are avid campers these days, it wasn’t all that long ago that we didn’t even own a tent. Our first real weekend together, in fact, involved a night of camping at a beautiful campsite – the Lake Red Rock Recreational Area in Marion County, Iowa.
We borrowed a tent and two sleeping bags from a friend, grabbed our pillows and a few random food items from around the apartment we shared, and drove the relatively short distance to go there. We reserved a campsite for the night for $8, found some firewood that had been abandoned, and started a cozy fire in the evening.
There are few things more romantic than just sitting together around a campfire on a night with just a bit of chill in the air, a clear night with a new moon in the country where you can see thousands upon thousands of stars. That was our night at Lake Red Rock. We sat out there next to the low fire until dawn, and it was that night that I became convinced I wanted to marry her.
Shortly after we were married, we decided to go on a long hike at Ledges State Park here in central Iowa. For those who may perceive of Iowa as a flat stretch of cornfield, Ledges would completely shatter that myth for you as it’s loaded with tall hills, sheer ledges, and a narrow valley in the middle. If you like to go on trails with lots of inclines and gorgeous views, Ledges is a great place to go in Iowa.
Anyway, Sarah and I decided to pack a few sandwiches and some cold drinks for lunch in a quiet backcountry area of the park, and that’s what we did, except that I packed an additional small surprise. Wrapped in the middle of the picnic blanket was a bottle of $2 Charles Shaw wine (some semi-sweet white variety) and two plastic wine glasses.
We hiked on the trails throughout the morning, taking pictures of the natural beauty and of each other (we both like unposed photographs of people). We eventually found this amazing lookout point over a small river, so we spread our blanket, ate our sandwiches, and sat there for a little while, just gazing out at the river. I then opened the wine bottle, poured both of us a glass, and she rested her head on my shoulder.
Eventually, we found our way back down off of the hill with hundreds of wonderful pictures taken and some warm memories of the day, and it cost about $3 for the sandwiches and $2 for the bottle of wine.
Sarah and I had made arrangements to go out to eat at a really nice restaurant in Des Moines. We had reservations and dressed up nicely and headed out on the town.
Yet, when we got to where the restaurant was, we discovered that it had gone out of business sometime in the previous few weeks. We talked about just getting back in the car and going home, but we decided to just wander around in the area on foot.
We got lost in conversation. We bought something from a food truck for dinner for $5 or $6 and split it. We walked through a park and watched some people setting up an art installation. We talked. We held hands. We laughed.
Eventually, we realized we were completely lost. We didn’t know where to go to find where we had parked our car. We ended up wandering around a several block radius, trying to figure out where we had parked and laughing at this misadventure.
We walked by three or four places with live music and stopped a bit to enjoy it and ask where the restaurant was. Eventually, someone kindly pointed us in the right direction.
The funny thing was, we got to see and explore a lot of things that we would have never seen if we just went to that restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company for several hours. It only cost us about $5 for that item from the food truck.
Getting lost turned out to be a really great date night.
Last year, on our anniversary, we told our children that Sarah and I wanted to have a date night… but we wanted the children to plan it using what they could find around the house. We gave them very little guidance in the matter and, while they planned things out, we spent a few hours outside working in the garden and doing other such chores.
The children planned a charming little candlelight dinner for us with salad and soup and sandwiches and cake. They picked out a movie for us to watch, made us sit next to each other, covered us up with a blanket, and turned off the lights. They brought us some popcorn and then a bowl of ice cream. After the movie, they played some songs for us and insisted that we dance together to those songs, then they chanted for us to kiss each other.
It cost us nothing, but I have never, ever felt an evening that was so full of love, both in the love Sarah and I share, but also in the mutual love that we have for our children and that they have for us.
All of these dates have a few key things in common.
First, the dates were memorable because they were more about Sarah than they were about the activity we were doing. The activities, while fun, became backdrops; the memorable part was being with her. I find that, on many expensive dates, the activity becomes the focus and not the other person and that’s a shame. If there’s real love there, the best dates are all about the other person.
Second, the dates were memorable because of the variety. Some took place in nature. Others in large cities. Some were planned. Others were complete happenstance. One even involved our children. The theme here is simple: try lots of stuff. Sure, some will be disastrous, but even those often turn out to be great (like getting lost after finding out that the restaurant you wanted to go to was out of business).
Third, the dates were memorable because they weren’t pressured. All of these dates weren’t highly scheduled. They were very much in a “go with the flow” mode, where we had maybe one single thing in mind to do together and the amount of time it took was quite variable and unpressured. We had time to let serendipity strike.
So, if you want a frugal and memorable date, try to do something different than the norm (look at the community calendars and to the services nearby for a good place to start), give it plenty of breathing room without strong time demands, and give your focus to the person and not the activity. If you enjoy the other person’s company, something enjoyable will always spring forth, even if you don’t spend a dime.
Good luck!
The post Six Cheap and Memorable Dates appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
Do you think kids today are growing up too quickly?
If you do, you’re not alone. A whopping 92% of American adults agree with you, according to a recent Harris Poll study.
Whether it’s watching racy movies, taking on financial responsibility or getting access to the world through unprecedented technology, Americans overwhelmingly think kids aren’t kids long enough anymore.
It may fly in the face of evidence showing adult millennials are living with their parents longer than any other generation. Maybe we’re growing up emotionally, but lagging behind financially?
In any case, The Harris Poll asked participants when they believe kids are old enough for the major milestones.
Here’s what they had to say.
The survey included 2,463 adults and 510 13-17-year-olds in the U.S. These results are the average of what both adults and teens believe.
On average, kids and adults think we become grown-ups and should stop relying on our parents about age 18 or 19. Older adults over age 65 favor a later age of independence than their younger counterparts.
On average, Americans believe we should start giving kids an allowance at age 10, and kids are ready for their first job at 15 1/2.
Aside from money, Americans also believe:
Personally, I got my first job at 16, around the same time as many of my peers in the early aughts (of the 21st century. ‘hem.) I also got my driver’s license and first car at the same age — my parents wanted me to drive myself to work.
My younger sister and I shared a cell phone when I was 16 or 17. Can you even imagine?
I don’t know any modern teenagers, and I’m grateful. So I don’t know what they’re up to these days. Pokemon Go, I assume?
Maybe you can get me up to speed.
Your Turn: What do you think? Do you agree with the average American, or would you lean younger or older?
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).p
The post This is When Americans Think Teens are Old Enough for Their First Job appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
Like an umbrella that protects you from the elements on a rainy day, an umbrella insurance policy can shield your personal assets from large liability claims.
Umbrella excess liability protection can help you avoid financial ruin if you’re found to be responsible for legal damages that exceed the limits of your homeowner or auto insurance policies.
“We live in a litigious society,” says Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. “It’s added protection to have peace of mind, knowing that your personal assets aren’t at risk.”
Umbrella coverage takes effect only after the limits of your underlying homeowner or auto policy has been reached. For example, if you have a homeowner policy with a limit of $500,000, you can purchase an umbrella policy that will pay claims greater than $500,000 and up to a limit you choose, such as $1 million.
This protection covers legal defense costs as well as claims against you. According to a report in USA Today, umbrella policies have a broader range of coverage than homeowner and auto policies. They include claims for such issues as libel, slander, and defamation of character.
Anyone who has accumulated personal wealth, such as a home, property, or an investment portfolio, can benefit from an umbrella policy. The more you own, the more you have to lose, says Walker.
Umbrella policies also protect people whose personal circumstances make them targets for lawsuits. This may include people who:
People who have a low tolerance for risk often are attracted to umbrella policies, says Amy Bach, executive director of the United Policyholders consumer group in California.
“If you have a lot of lose, you want to protect it,” she explains.
Here are some of the advantages of having an umbrella insurance policy:
Umbrella coverage has some disadvantages. Here are several:
Although umbrella liability coverage often is considered to be a tool for the rich, you don’t need to be wealthy to benefit from asset protection, says Jim Armitage, an insurance agent in Arcadia, Calif.
These policies are designed for anyone who owns their own home or has substantial financial investments, he says.
Related Articles:
The post What Is Umbrella Insurance – and Do I Need It? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
Petrol prices crept up again in September, while diesel has risen to its highest point since August 2015, according to the latest data from RAC Fuel Watch.
The average cost of a litre of petrol rose by 0.48p over the month to 112.07p, while diesel averaged 113.34p per litre at the end of September - up 0.42p over the month.
Only a third of over-40s have ensured their partner will still have an income in retirement if they die first, according to a new study from Prudential.
More than one in five couples have never discussed their retirement finances at all, while one in 10 last bought the matter up more than six years ago.
Half of parents rely on their own parents to look after their children, but three in ten grandparents say there’s no downside to looking after grandkids.
According to the latest poll of Moneywise.co.uk users, when asked “What do you like least about looking after grandchildren?”, 31% said there is no downside.
