Smithfield Gateway project aims to retain community character

A remnant of local history might take on a new role in a major development project in Smithfield Township. Developers on Wednesday announced tentative plans to preserve part of a former farm near Routes 209 and 447 as part of a massive business complex.Legend Properties Inc. last year acquired the 81-acre former Mosier’s Farm site to build the Smithfield Gateway. The multi-phase project will create a residential and retail center, bringing with it more than a thousand jobs and [...]

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Tenant estate bill awaits Wolf's signature

A bill which unanimously passed the House this week and would mostly absolve loved ones of the rental obligations of a deceased individual awaits the signature of Gov. Tom Wolf.HB 447 mandates that if a deceased tenant is the sole tenant of a residential unit, the executor or administrator of the estate of a tenant who dies during the term of the lease would have the option to terminate the lease within 14 days of given notice to the landlord.It would allow family members to [...]

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Monroe County Trick-or-treat times

Monroe County townships and boroughs will host trick or treating on Monday, Oct. 31. Hours will vary by township.• Borough of East Stroudsburg: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Information: 570-421-8300.• Barrett Township: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Information: barretttownship.com or 570-595-2602.• Chestnuthill Township: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Information: http://ift.tt/2eh0X8o or [...]

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Happy Hour: This App Will Give You Cash Back for the Booze You Buy

I didn’t realize this until I moved out of my home state of Wisconsin — but alcohol is expensive.

Unless you’re a pro at finding nightly specials, know a lot of bartenders or are willing to choke down well cocktails all night, an evening out is going to be hard on your wallet.

Until now… We’ve found a way to actually save money on drinks at bars, restaurants and liquor stores.

BevRAGE is a fun rebate app that lets you get cash back on drink deals. And it’s available all over the country.

Here’s how it works:

1. Download the app for free and browse drink deals in your area.

2. Choose the deals you want, and buy the items.

3. Click “Redeem” on the offer in the app, and take a picture of your receipt.

4. Cash will be deposited into your PayPal account within 48 hours.

What Kinds of Deals Will You Find?

BevRAGE is always updating with new deals, so check back before you go out.

For example when I checked, the latest deals included:

• $2 off Columbia Crest wines

• $3 off a 1.75L “handle” of Captain Morgan rum

• $6 off a 1.75L bottle of Ciroc vodka

Offers in bars and restaurants near me included:

• $2 off a Gosling’s rum cocktail

• $3 off a Stoli cocktail

• Thirsty Thursday App-y Hour special: $2 off any beer on Thursday

Redeem these anywhere — you’re not restricted to specific locations. However, you do have to be 21 or older to take advantage of these deals!

Note: These deals aren’t yet available in Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.

Your Turn: What do you think? Will you use this app to save money on alcohol?

Disclosure: What would Abe do? Probably pat us on the back for placing affiliate links in this post. Thanks for helping us fill The Penny Hoarder’s beer fridge!

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).

The post Happy Hour: This App Will Give You Cash Back for the Booze You Buy appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Kunkletown girl appears on kid's network election coverage

Juliana DeLuzio is as confident, poised and charismatic as any top model in the entertainment industry.The only difference is that Juliana is an adorable 8-year-old Pleasant Valley Elementary School student from Kunkletown.And, what might give her age away is certainly not the sophistication in which she speaks nor is it the straight-forward responses about her political views, but the unmistakable tone of a girl who has come to understand at such a young age the nuances of [...]

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16 Ways to Invest $100

You have a crisp, new one hundred-dollar bill in your wallet.

While it’s not $1,000,000, $100,000 or $10,000, hey, at least it’s something!

Listen up. Just because you don’t have much money to invest doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest it.

Want to know the most difficult part of investing? Starting.

You read that right!

Just starting is rather difficult, and once you accomplish that challenge, investing going forward is pretty easy.

For those of you who are discouraged because you only have a little bit of money to invest – don’t fret!

One hundred dollars is a great way to get your foot in the door and start a habit of investing that could very well lead to a bountiful harvest down the road.

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It’s Not About How Much You Invest, It’s About Actually Getting Started. #investnow
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I’ll tell you from the start that it isn’t easy to find ways to invest just $100 or even how to invest 1000 dollars. Many brokers have account minimums.

Additionally, sometimes you might find yourself being charged, for example, a $50 annual fee which can cut your account in half. That makes no sense.

However, there are a few ways you can invest $100 dollars and have it be worth your time and effort. I’ll show you how.

I also invited a plethora of other financial experts to lend their advice for this article. You’ll get a big helping of financial advice along with some unique ideas I didn’t even have in mind. Really, these guys are smart and creative – pay attention to what they have to say! If you are feeling a bit more ambitious, check out a great read on the best way to invest 20000 dollars. One step at a time!

Investments Worthy of Your One Hundred Bucks

1. Lending Club

Lending Club is a peer-to-peer lending service. Peer-to-peer lending is just what it sounds like: it’s lending to someone else. Ordinary folks lend and borrow from each other to make a profit. Lending Club is actually the world’s largest online marketplace for connecting borrowers and investors.

Sandy Smith at YesIAmCheap.com says:

I’d take the $100 and split it in four investment sources on Lending Club and then reinvest the profits. Simple, boring and so not rock star.

You can actually make some pretty sweet returns at Lending Club and the good news is you can invest with as little as $25. Plus, there’s no account minimum currently at Lending Club.

I wouldn’t recommend that you invest all of your dough at Lending Club going forward, but it’s a great way to start investing and you’ll learn the ropes of peer-to-peer lending.

2. Scottrade

Scottrade is an online broker that allows you to trade for only $7 a pop. That’s not a lot, folks. E*Trade, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity all have higher trading fees.

And here’s the deal . . . you can fund an IRA or Roth IRA with as little as $100. That’s right, there’s no minimum at Scottrade, so you have no excuse not to get started investing.

Another great thing about Scottrade is that there are no monthly or yearly maintenance fees – and no inactivity fees! That means if you decide you want to invest 100 bucks and aren’t sure when you can invest again, you won’t pay any penalties for waiting.

You should keep in mind, however, that certain other types of non-IRA accounts do have a minimum: $2,500. So if you’re looking to invest in a non-retirement account, this could pose a problem. But hey, you should probably be investing for your retirement first before you start investing for other purposes.

The bummer about Scottrade, like many other discount online brokers, is that they don’t provide investment advice for most accounts. However, they do offer a portfolio manager that will help you find new investments based on your risk tolerance.

3. EverBank – MMA

EverBank offers an online high-yield savings account that is pretty standard, but their money market accounts are one of the few that get really good rates these days.

Currently, their high-yield MMA account offers 1.1% APY for the first year. While that’s certainly a fraction of what you could potentially make with the previously mentioned ways to invest $100, it’s a great way to guarantee that you won’t lose your money. Your deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor.

If, by chance, you have more money to invest than $100, you may want to check out more ways to invest with confidence.

How do you decide if you should invest in something safer but with lower rates, like a EverBank MMA account, or something riskier but with potentially higher rates, like Lending Club? There are many factors that go into making this kind of decision, and I’d like to take a minute to explain how you can make the appropriate one.

If you don’t have at least eight months of emergency savings, it’s probably best to start by investing your $100 into a money market account. You’re going to want liquidity if an emergency arises and, while many of the other types of ways to invest $100 might allow you to pull out your money quickly, there may be some drawbacks like pulling out of the market too early or needing money in the middle of a loan term.  A money market account can even come with limited check writing capabilities to make your money accessible at any time

Once you have a fully-funded emergency fund, it’s a better time to do some riskier investing.

4. Robo-Advisors

Robo-advisors are a class of investment adviser that provides portfolio management online without the need for much human interaction.

Peter Anderson at BibleMoneyMatters.com believes Betterment to be a good option for those who want to continue investing more than $100, you can learn more about them by looking over this great Betterment Review:

I’d take that $100 and invest it in an investment service like Betterment or WiseBanyan in a diversified, low cost index fund portfolio. Use Betterment if you plan on additional investments, and WiseBanyan (where there are no fees) if you don’t plan on additional investments right away.

An anonymous investor and writer at Investopedia.com said:

I put my first $100 investment into an Acorns account.

Janet Tyler Johnson at CorporateHostageNoMore.org thinks Acorns is a great option:

Acorns. I’ve tried it myself and it’s amazing how quickly your rounded purchases add up. The money is invested in a well-diversified way which is hard to accomplish with small sums of money. It also shows you how easy automatic saving can be.

5. Your 401(k)

This is the easiest way to invest your money.  You can have money taken directly out of your paycheck and deposited into your 401(k), starting with your first $100. This is so simple to do, yet so many people don’t. And hey, if you have a 401(k) match, why not take advantage of it?

Mario Ben Bonifacio at DebtBLAG.com commented on what he’d do with his $100:

If this were my first $100 ever, earmarked for investing, I’d increase my 401(k) contribution to $100, where it would get matched dollar-for-dollar by my employer. Pretty tough to beat an instantaneous 100% gain.  

Keep in mind, however, that you better know what you’re investing into within the 401(k) – don’t you even think about target date mutual funds!

6. Yourself

Yes, investing in yourself is one of the best ways to enrich your life – financially and otherwise.

Michael Kitces MSFS, MTAX, CFP^® at Kitces.com/blog/ commented for this post on the ROI of investing in yourself:

Invest in yourself. The ROI on investing in your own earnings potential is radically higher than “just” buy stocks-for-the-long-run in a Roth IRA. It’s not even close! For young people, investing into human capital crushes the return potential for investing into financial capital.

Joseph Hogue at Crowd101.com explained that crowdfunding might be the best way to invest the $100 for education:

Would love to spend it on education and skills but $100 isn’t going to get you very far or very fast. Use it for a pre-launch party for a crowdfunding campaign to pitch support for raising money for a more detailed educational course!

He goes on to say:

Invite your closest friends and family to a dinner party where you pitch the idea of how far their support can go to help you becoming a better person. A crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe costs nothing to set up but really reaching out to people is the key. By hosting a dinner party, you can personally connect with the people that are most likely to support you. Enlisting just a few people to help you with your campaign could yield donations many times over the amount you spent for the party. With the funds from the crowdfunding campaign, you can afford a more detailed educational course or curriculum to really turn that $100 into a new life!

Crystal Hammond of SophisticatedSpender.com says to learn from the wise:

Sophisticated Spender would use that money to take her mentor out to lunch and pick said mentor’s brain on how they invest – and turn that into a brainstorming session!

I absolutely love the idea to pick a mentor’s brain. Sometimes, just talking with like-minded individuals can really help too.

In fact, I happily pay $7,900 a year for Strategic Coach, but believe me, I was once skeptical that going through a coaching program would actually produce results.

When I finally realized that something was missing from my business and life, I talked it over with my wife. She thought I was already pretty motivated in my business and life and didn’t really see a point in coaching so I could become even more motivated. She had a good point.

But amazingly, after a lot of discussion, she gave me her blessing to move forward and be mentored in the coaching program, and I’ve found it to be hugely beneficial.

The bottom line is that you shouldn’t overlook investing in yourself. And if you don’t believe me, just continue reading all the advice below from these financial experts . . . .

Kate Dore at CashvilleSkyline.com believes online courses are the answer:

I’d invest $100 in improving my skills through online courses on sites like Coursera, Udemy, Lynda, or Code Academy. A more diverse skill set will offer returns for life.

Elle Martinez at CoupleMoney.com agrees with Kate:

I would use the money to learn a new skill. Sites like Lynda or Creative Live can offer you a good return on your investment.

Grayson Bell at DebtRoundup.com thinks online courses are better than his original idea – to invest in a Roth IRA:

While investing in a Roth IRA is good, it’s only worth it if you keep investing. Instead, I’d rather take $20 and invest in a knowledge course on Udemy. I’d sharpen my skills in a specific area, then take the rest of the money and advertise my new service to my customers and new customers. If all goes well, that $100 could end up earning me $1,000 in a month or more. That new skill could keep me earning more month after month, which is an excellent way to spend $100. Don’t try to learn something from scratch, just sharpen a skill to make you marketable.

Lee Huffman at BaldFinance.com likes the idea of investing in online courses, too:

The best investment you can do with only $100 is to invest in yourself through some online courses, like Udemy, that will build skills that will take you further in your current job, prepare you for the next job, or help you to start a side hustle. Building these skills will make you more valuable, thus increase your earning capacity, which will result in more money to invest on a regular basis.

Julie Starnes Rains at InvestingToThrive.com says not everyone has the opportunity to achieve a high income over the long-term:

I believe that not everyone is in the position to earn a high income consistently over a lifetime but they can find opportunities for stock-market investing, generate unearned income, and build wealth over time. Plus, the earlier you invest, the earlier you’ll learn about investing and develop your own style, whether active or passive.

Notice that by jumping in and doing a little investing, you can learn about investing and “develop your own style.” Very true. Sometimes, we just need to start small. Great idea Julie!

Martin Dasko at Studenomics.com encourages learning from friends:

Buy a book, a bottle of vodka, and take a buddy out for lunch. The boom should be a biography so that you study someone who has done what you want to do. Vodka should be a for wild night out on the town. Take a successful friend out for lunch and pick their brain.

Martin, this is a great idea. I mean the taking a successful friend out to lunch, part.  

Speaking of buying books, that’s my next tip . . . .

7. Books

Books can change lives – why not invest in them?

Want two on my reading list? The Art of Work by Jeff Goins and People Over Profit by Dale Partridge.

Want a few classics that will improve your finances? Here are my picks:

• The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

Alan Steinborn, founder of the financial education platform, Real Money, recommended one book and to invest the rest:

I’d take $10 and buy the book Your Money or Your Life. Then I would take $90 and invest in a fund like Betterment or Acorns.

And if you’re looking for bonus points, check out Soldier of Finance by yours truly, Jeff Rose.

To increase his odds of being included in this article, Steve Chou at MyWifeQuitHerJob.com gave me some props by saying:

To increase my chances of actually being mentioned in the post, I’d have to say go out and buy Soldier of Finance.

Boom. You made the article Steve.  

Steve isn’t alone about my smarts:

@jjeffrose taking smart people out for coffee and ask them questions.

— ValueInvestorsDaily (@ValueInvestorsd) May 28, 2015

I’m flattered guys, really.

Okay, Steve Chou’s first recommendation was as follows:

I’d buy a year’s worth of Bluehost and start a website.

But, I’m sure he actually likes my book, too.  

Speaking of starting your own business though . . . .

8. Your Own Business

Starting your own business can be one of the best things you ever do. The higher up the ladder you are, the more you get paid, and the more control you have. And you can’t go any higher than owning your own business.

Greg Johnson at ClubThrifty.com says starting a business would be a great way to invest your bucks:

I’m gonna take that $100, invest it in a leaf blower and a rake, and start a side business that will make me beaucoup bucks!

True, you can build a business from scratch! Looks like Greg isn’t afraid of hard work!

Lauren Greutman at MarkandLaurenG.com would start a business too:

I would spend it on something that I could sell for more, then continue the process. For instance, buying something at an estate sale that you can turn and flip on eBay or Craigslist.

Jennifer E. Garza at ISaveA2Z.com agrees with Lauren:

I can’t tell you how many things I’ve purchased at garage sales for $10 and turned a $100 profit. I ended up buying a piece of property for $8k with all my profits by the end of the year.

Greg Go at WiseBread.com thinks starting your own business is the best way to invest your $100:

I’d totally invest in entrepreneurship. Lawn mower –> five neighbors as customers –> at $5 / month each –> $300 for 1st year. 300% return on first year.

The entrepreneurially-minded have much greater chances of financial success. Even if you think you’re not the entrepreneurial type, give it a shot. You don’t know how you’ll do until you try.

9. Prosper

Prosper is another peer-to-peer lending service worth checking out. Like Lending Club, you can make some pretty nice returns.

In fact, a couple years ago I put Lending Club and Prosper head-to-head in an experiment. Take a look at this article to see the results: The Prosper Vs. Lending Club Experiment.

Again, like Lending Club, you can invest as little as $25 and there’s no account minimum.

10. Loyal3

Loyal3 is an interesting option that allows you to buy and sell stock for free.

“Whoa, free?”

Yes, free!

But there is a catch. They only offer a few big-name stocks such as Apple, Best Buy, Coca-Cola, and other names you’re sure to recognize. Don’t expect to find diversified funds in the mix.

However, they do let you invest small amounts like $100. In fact, Loyal3 is one of the few brokers that let you buy fractional shares. For example, if a company’s share price is $350, that’s usually the minimum you can invest. But with Loyal3, you can feel free to invest a fraction of that price (and get a fraction of a share).

Here’s what Julie Starnes Rains at InvestingToThrive.com said:

I’d start investing in a favorite company through Loyal3 for no fees.

She also mentioned she invests with Betterment – more on that company in a moment.

So, if you are in love with a particular company and you’d like to place your bets on them, Loyal3 just might be the ticket.

11. Travel

If you travel a lot, spending your Benjamin on making your trips more efficient can help you save a bundle of money and time.

Jim Wang at WalletHacks.com gives this tip:

Buy something today that will save you money or time over the long run. If you fly a lot, maybe it’s the Recheck program ($85) so you can breeze through airport security much faster, which will save you time and money (and stress).

That’s a good tip, but make sure your airlines will honor that if you’re flying internationally – we had to learn that the hard way on a recent trip.

Paul Ivanovsky at IHeartTheMart.com shows you how you can stay accountable and fund your vacations:

I would show my kids that I was investing that money for a family chosen purpose. They will keep you accountable and depositing into that account, especially if it is for something like a vacation.

One last tip on traveling by air . . . invest in some blankets. Coming home from a trip we had to sleep on nasty airport carpet because our flight was canceled. Maybe invest in some small pillows too.

12. Index Funds Baby!

Index funds are a pretty popular choice for investment managers, and for good reason. Hey, even Warren Buffett chimed in on the glories of index funds in one of his recent letters:

My advice to the trustee could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund (I suggest Vanguard’s). I believe the trust’s long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained by most investors – whether pension funds,  institutions or individuals – who employ high-fee managers.

Many of the financial experts I found had the same advice . . . .

Eric Rosenberg at PersonalProfitability.com said index funds were the way to go:

Open a Roth IRA and invest in a low fee S&P 500 index fund. Watch it grow.

Jay Monee at BudgetsAreSexy.com agreed:

 Index fund FTW.

Deacon Hayes at WellKeptWallet.com put in his vote for index funds:

Invest the money only in what you understand. Take the time to understand the different account types and different investment options. For a beginner, index funds are a great way to go because they offer built-in diversification since you are buying into hundreds if not thousands of companies.

Philip Taylor at PTMoney.com mentioned index funds (and Betterment, too):

Given that a beginner likely has a 401(k) already set up and going, I would recommend the newbie investor use it to start a Roth IRA with either Vanguard or Betterment. For Vanguard, just go into a cash fund until you reach the minimum required to get into their index funds. Take the extra time you would use looking for a good stock and use it to learn about diversification and asset allocation. Good luck!

Todd Tresidder at FinancialMentor.com expands on the above advice:

There’s a life cycle to building wealth, and having just $100 to invest says you’re right at the beginning. That means the most important thing is to figure out how to increase your savings rate because your savings rate as a percent of the amount you spend will determine how long it takes to achieve financial security. It is only late in that cycle once your savings are firmly established that investment return becomes important. For that reason, simply invest it in cash or low cost, passive index asset allocation approaches (many already mentioned here) so you don’t waste critical time focusing on unessential issues. Also, place it in an IRA or other tax-deferred legal legal structure so that you put a fence around it so that you face a penalty if you feel tempted to spend it. The 80/20 rule says focus on saving in the early stage of your wealth curve, and focus on return on investment in the latter stages once savings and essential personal finance habits (like saving) are firmly established.

Speaking of saving . . . .

13. Save it to Save More!

Saving money and using it at an opportune time can be a great investment. There’s nothing quite like cash in the bank to take advantage of some great opportunities.

Lena Presley Gott at WhatMommyDoes.com says:

I’d invest it right into my yard sale fund – put it in my glove compartment and keep it there for when I happen upon a steal at 75-90% off! Instant money duplication!

Alan Steinborn, founder of the financial education platform, Real Money, left another comment and said:

I would buy $100 worth of toilet paper in bulk with a coupon found online. The return on this investment will be somewhere around 50% and is tax-free!

Joshua J. Sheats, MSFS, CFP^®, CLU^®, ChFC^®, CASL^®, CAP^®, RHU^®, REBC^® at RadicalPersonalFinance.com believes those with only $100 should save their money and get deals:

Don’t invest it. Period. Keep it in $20 bills in your wallet and have it in reserve in case of emergency or opportunity. (I’m thinking of an opportunity like bulk buying or discount buying for cash.) It’s absolutely crazy to think of investing at all until you have at least a few thousand bucks in reserve. If someone is that broke, they’re better off using the money to smooth their consumption habits and focus on getting deals with bulk buying.

14. Your Debt

Having debt is like having an investment that goes poorly every moment you hold onto it. If you want a guaranteed return on investment, paying off your debt is a great idea.

Gary Foreman at Stretcher.com understands this when asked what he would do with $100:

Put it on the highest interest rate debt you owe.

15. Charity

Why not invest in others and what it does in their lives? I’d argue there’s nothing quite as rewarding as investing in people.

Long Pham at BudgetForWealth.com encourages people to invest in others:

$100 isn’t going to be effective at all unless you plan on following up with additional investments. I think that money would be better spent while mentoring a child or teenager who needs a good role model.

Long Pham also knows me all too well and also suggested investing in something I love:

In-N-Out gift card? : )

You could always send me some of those gift cards – I’d say that’s pretty charitable.  

16. Your Thrift Savings Plan

Doug Nordman at The-Military-Guide.com has some advice for military folks:

Military version: Contribute your $100 windfall to the military’s Thrift Savings Plan, and try to save even more there!

Doug has a great idea here, but it’s also important to make sure the Thrift Savings Plan is the right choice for you.

Now, here are a few investments you shouldn’t put your money into – they’re sneaky and dangerous! Once you are ready to move forward with more investing, check out some of our great reviews such as our Lending Club Review to help you know what will work best for you.

Investments You Should Avoid

Cement these bad investments in your mind now. Seriously.

These investments either have a high probability of you losing your money or probably won’t yield much of a return.

1. Penny Stocks

Penny stocks – also known as over-the-counter stocks – are dangerous. In other words, you can lose your money in a hurry – and that’s what I did.

Yep, your very own Jeff Rose made a mistake by getting caught up in penny stocks.

Think of penny stocks as the “wild, wild west” of trading. Just because the stock trading is at $0.80 doesn’t mean you can buy at $0.80. When you put in your order to buy at market, the price can jump up much higher before the order takes place. That’s a problem.

2. Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

If it sounds too good to be true . . . .

You know it usually is!

Be careful anytime anyone says there’s a “secret” way to get rich that hardly anyone knows about. Be careful when the sales pitch offers returns that are astronomically high. Be careful when everyone around you is saying it’s a get-rich-quick scheme!

Follow that advice, and you should be okay.

3. Anything from a Late-Night Infomercial

“Buy now, and you’ll get our investor’s guide worth $1,000,000!”

Yeah, right.

Infomercials are super long commercials that claim to give you valuable information. Many times, these infomercials are pretty cheesy and so are the products. What they are great at is sucking you in.  The people who pitch infomercials are trained and experienced at putting something in front of you that you would never pick up off the shelf in a super store and then convincing you that you cannot live without that product.  They are the modern day equivalent of the pet rock sales man. Beware.

4. Gambling

Gambling is the ugly sister of investing. Don’t do it people!

But if you’re going to do it, you might as well have some fun . . . .

Kathleen Celmins at StackingBenjamins.com says:

If you only have $100, put it on red in Vegas. If you’re right, you’ll double your money. If you’re wrong, you’re only out 100 bucks.

Risky? Yeah. Fun? Could be.  

5. Investments You Don’t Understand

John Rampton at JohnRampton.com makes an important point:

Only invest in something you know. Don’t throw money at something that you don’t understand or haven’t done before. Most of the time it’ll be throwing it into the garbage.

He could say that again. Have you read how one woman paid over $3,500 in variable annuity fees and didn’t even know it? It’s pretty amazing how much you can pay in fees without even knowing it.

Even Steven at EvenStevenMoney.com reiterates the point of investing in what you know:

Your first $100 should be invested in something you know and like. If you like sports you could invest in Nike, favorite lunch spot is Chipotle then make that your investment, love social media then maybe Facebook or Twitter are for you. I think it’s more about learning and having an interest in your investment.

If you’re going to use this approach, make sure that you own enough companies (domestic and international) to diversify your portfolio. The last thing you want is to own just a few companies and see your investments crash. I think Even Steven would agree that it’s best to own a lot of companies you love.

6. Keepsake “Investments”

I remember when I was a little kid I invested way too much into baseball cards. Their worth today? Not much to speak of.

Eric J. Nisall at DollarVersity.com says:

Whatever you do, don’t buy your favorite player’s rookie card and store it in a safe deposit box to protect your “investment.”

Oops. Well, I was a kid, so who could blame me?

Want to Invest More?

If you have a little more money to invest – about $250 – then you can start investing with Motif, learn more about them by looking over this great Motif review– it’s what I’m using during the Grow Your Dough Throwdown 2.0.

I had a chance to meet Nick and Saquib who work at Motif and they expressed interest in doing another throwdown. I was interested, but as soon as they told me they could get together a whole bunch of financial bloggers on a leaderboard, I was sold.

In fact, you can even buy my very own Motif! Fun stuff, eh?

Keep on Investing!

Listen up people. Investing $100 (or even $250) isn’t enough investing to build a nice nest egg. You’re going to have to continue investing. Duh, right?

Teresa Mears at LivingOnTheCheap.com said it best:

The best way to invest $100? Repeatedly.

Yep, I agree.

But hey, you have to start somewhere, start at $100 and one day you will see yourself investing 500000! Keep big goals in mind!

You might be wondering how much money you’ll need to have to retire. Well, I recently put up an article on Forbes that seeks to answer the question if $2 million was enough for a couple to retire. The truth is that you’ll need to run specific numbers for your situation in order to answer this question for yourself.

Or, I could help you.

Either way, here’s my final advice:

• Start investing as soon as possible
• Start investing even if you don’t have much
• Keep on investing

Invest, have fun, and let me know how it goes!

Save

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7 Bank Accounts That Will Help You Avoid Paying ATM Fees Ever Again

Enjoying an ATM’s convenience gets more expensive every year — literally.

ATM fees have hit a record high for the 10th year in a row, according to Bankrate’s annual survey.

Between a $2.90 charge from the bank that owns the ATM and a $1.67 charge from your bank for using someone else’s machine, the average cost to withdraw cash from an out-of-network ATM is $4.57 this year.

That’s more than 20% on top of the $20 you were about to withdraw for one last round at the bar.

How to Avoid ATM Fees

Thankfully, a number of banks are catching on, and you can find accounts offering free ATMs — not just in-network, but all ATMs.

These seven bank accounts all waive ATM fees to some extent — some better than others.

I listed them in descending order, starting with those that offer the best combination of ATM rebate options, the lowest barrier to entry and overall good benefits for account holders.

The best account for you depends on your situation and money goals, so don’t discount those lower on the list!

1. Aspiration Summit Checking Account

Aspiration’s Summit Checking Account is an online-only bank account with no fees, no minimums and an interest rate up to 1%.

I actually use this checking account, but that’s not why I mentioned it first. It hits all the criteria I’m looking for in this list:

• It’s easy to set up.

• You don’t have to have a ton of money to qualify for the benefits.

• You’ll get free ATMs anywhere in the world.

You’ll never pay a fee for using SUM surcharge-free ATMs, and Aspiration reimburses you at the end of each month for fees you pay for using any other ATM.

The minimum deposit to open this account is just $10. Instead of a monthly fee, all of Aspiration’s services work on a “pay what is fair” model. You choose your price and pay as a “tip” — up to $6 a month and as little as $0.

The Summit Account offers 1.00% APY on a full balance of $2,500 or more, or 0.25% on a balance below $2,500.

2. State Farm Bank

A close second, State Farm Bank is a good option if you prefer an institution with physical locations.

State Farm’s basic Checking account requires a minimum opening deposit of $25, and offers free ATMs with a few stipulations.

To receive unlimited ATM rebates, you’ll need to have at least one direct deposit to your account per statement cycle. Without a direct deposit, you’ll get ATM rebates up to $10 in that statement cycle.

State Farm will reimburse you for fees charged by other banks at the end of each statement cycle, and it won’t charge fees to use its own ATMs or those owned by other banks.

If you work for an employer that offers direct deposit, the requirement should be easy to hit. But if you don’t have that option, or your income isn’t stable, you may miss out on this account’s benefits.

3. Bank of Internet USA

Although Bank of Internet USA contends with the benefits of the first two accounts, it only offers free ATMs within the U.S.

As its name suggests, this is another online-only bank. It offers several checking accounts with ATM reimbursements and other benefits.

A BofI representative told me all its checking accounts require a $100 minimum opening deposit, but after that require a minimum balance of only $1.

Bank of Internet’s Essential Checking account comes with no monthly or annual fees, no overdraft fees and cash-back rewards for debit card purchases.

BofI will reimburse you by the end of the next business day for unlimited ATM fees within the U.S.

For ATM use in another country, you’ll pay a 2% service fee, according to NerdWallet. So even though this online bank account is flexible, it isn’t ideal for international travel.

4. Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account

Schwab Bank is one of the first that comes to mind when looking for a bank account for international travelers. The account offers unlimited ATM fee rebates for cash withdrawals at ATMs anywhere in the world.

The Penny Hoarder’s resident travel guru, Susan Shain, uses and loves it.

“I’ve had Schwab for years and recommend it to every international traveler I know,” Shain says.  “I used to take out huge wads of cash at once, just so I could avoid paying fees every time I needed more — but that’s not a safe way to travel.

“Now, because Schwab refunds fees charged by other banks, I can take out cash every few days. Win-win for sure!”

Schwab’s online-only High Yield Investor Checking account must be linked to a Schwab One brokerage account. There are no fees or minimum deposits to open, either, as long as you open them together.

Neither account comes with monthly fees or a minimum balance, but “other account fees, fund expenses and brokerage commissions may apply” to the brokerage account once you begin investing.

5. Ally Bank

With Ally’s free online Interest Checking account, you can use any Allpoint ATMs in the U.S. for free, plus Ally will reimburse you up to $10 — three average transactions per statement cycle — for other ATM fees within the U.S.

An Ally representative told me this checking account has no required minimum deposit to get started.

6. Chesapeake Bank

Chesapeake Bank’s online-only Clear Sky checking account will waive up to $20 — six average transactions — in ATM fees per month.

You’ll also get free basic identity theft protection when you open an account!

7. Credit Unions

If you’re eligible to become a member of a local credit union, check their ATM policies. Credit unions often don’t have large ATM networks, and make up for it by reimbursing fees charged by other banks.

Your Turn: Does your bank waive ATM fees?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. By checking out this featured content, you help us bring you more ways to save!

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).

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This Company Will Actually Pay You to Write About Your Chocolate Obsession

I get it from my Mimi — my chocolate addiction, I mean.

In fact, Hershey’s Kisses always reminds me of her. When I was being an ornery kid, she’d dig through her cluttered purse to find a few. Even when melted, I savored each one’s flavor.

And you can’t eat just one, which is probably why I still have an issue.

So when I stumbled upon this mouthwatering job, I really needed to share it with my fellow chocolate-lovers.

Delysia Chocolatier is looking for freelance chocolate writers.

Can it be?

More About Delysia Chocolatier

Delysia Chocolatier is an Austin-based chocolate shop — but it’s a bit more fancy than Willy Wonka’s.

It specializes in chocolate and Parisian-style, handmade truffles (my mouth just spritzed) made with “only the finest ingredients.”

Up against hundreds of other chocolatiers, owner and chocolatier chef Nicole Patel was voted a Top 10 Chocolatier and Confectioner in America by International Chocolate Salon and TasteTV.

Sold.

Almost as beautiful as the chocolates themselves is the company’s blog. Recent articles range from a Q&A with Patel, entertaining tips for fall and a guide to supporting local farmers.

Even so, Patel aims to amp up the content — with your help.

More On Writing About Chocolate

As a freelance blogger, you’re expected to work independently and set your own deadlines to maintain the blog.

“The successful candidate will research and write articles in a conversational, engaging style,” the Freelance Writing Jobs listing states.

You have the freedom to write about anything and everything chocolate, including product highlights, food trends, holiday trends, historical stories and even weddings.

Pay rate is listed as TBD. I reached out to Patel for more information, and I’ll update this when I hear back — and when she’s washed the chocolate off her hands (ugh, the life!).

How To Become A Chocolate Writer

Email Patel at nicole@delysia.com with the subject line “Blog Writer Application.”

You’ll need to include your resume, links to three published blog posts (preferably from different sources — food blogs are a plus!), five blog ideas relevant to Delysia Chocolatier, a Facebook profile and Twitter handle and a website URL, if you have one.

The gig is pretty sweet, so be sure to apply before the opportunity melts away — or I eat it, probably.

For more work-from-home, money-making opportunities and freelance writing jobs, stop by our Facebook jobs page.

Your Turn: What’s your favorite chocolate treat?

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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Here’s How to Get a Month’s Worth of Lyft Rides for Just $29

How many rideshare trips do you take each month?

If your finger-counting goes past one hand, you might be interested in this deal.

During the month of November, Lyft is offering a pair of discount passes for its “Line” rides — that’s the cheapest, carpool version of the service.

But is it actually worth it? That all depends.

Should You Sign Up for Discounted Lyft Line Rides This Month?

The Lyft Line passes offer members a month of discounted carpool rides when they pay up front.

You can choose between a $20 pass that reduces the price of each Line ride you take to just $2 — or you can fork over $29 for up to 20 free Line rides (up to a $20 value each) over the course of the month.

The deal’s valid in Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and Washington, D.C., several of which are not exactly well-known for their effective, or even existent, public transit systems.

So if you live in one of these cities and face a mid-length daily commute, the deal might just pay off. Priced as low as $1.45 a ride, it may even be cheaper than the bus.

That said, pooled rideshare trips can involve lengthy detours to other passengers’ destinations before your own… even if yours is right around the corner. Add in traffic — they’re still cars, after all — and it might not be the quickest way to work, even if your subway system is the pits. (See what I did there?)

You’d also have to take quite a few Line rides to make it worthwhile. So if you’re only an occasional ride-sharer, like me, you might want to think again.

Not sure where you stand? Let’s do this English major’s favorite thing — math! — to figure it out.

With the first pass ($20 + $2 per ride), five rides would cost a grand total of $30. So if you know for sure you’ll take more than five rides, it’s worth springing for the second option.

Only you know your individual situation, and whether or not you’d use this deal enough to get your money’s worth.

Only a limited number of each pass is available for purchase in each city, and the sale period ends on Oct. 31 — so if you think the deal works for you, don’t hesitate.

Your pass will kick in automatically and is good from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30.

We’ll see if Lyft offers the passes again in December, or later on — and whether or not it ends up being worthwhile for you, the rider.

Your Turn: Will you purchase a Lyft Line pass?

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.

The post Here’s How to Get a Month’s Worth of Lyft Rides for Just $29 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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GFC 072: 7 Ways to Invest to Protect Your Principal (IMAGE ADDED – MK)

A few weeks ago, I did a podcast with the Director of Financial Planning of Alliance Wealth Management, Andrew Rogers. Our main topic of the day was principal protection – as in, choosing investments that protect your nest egg from losses while promoting at least some growth.

Even though it’s been a few years, the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 in still fresh in everyone’s minds. And as the Dow Jones flirts with all-time highs, it’s important for investors – especially those nearing retirement – to avoid a loss of capital due to regular market fluctuations.

This is where principal protection comes in. By and large, investing for principal protection is the best way to avoid the catastrophic losses that come with any market downturn. The notable downside that comes with this strategy is the gains you’ll sacrifice in exchange for more security.

7 Investment Options for Principal Protection

But, how do you invest to protect your principal? At the end of the day, the best option for your money depends on how much time you have, how much risk you’re comfortable with, and your overarching investment style.

Although I have my own opinions, I spoke to several financial advisors to get their take on your best options as well. Where can the average investor stash their money without losing their shirt? And, how does someone approaching investing for growth with reduced risk? Here’s a compilation of the many responses I received:

#1: Online High-Yield Savings Accounts

According to San Diego Financial Planner and founder of Define Financial Taylor Schulte, high-yield savings accounts opened online can be a smart option depending on your situation.

“Your money is liquid and it’s protected by FDIC insurance,” he says. When Schulte speaks of FDIC insurance, he’s alluding to the fact that Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures individual bank deposits up to $250,000.

While the average annual interest rate is only around 1% – 2% with online savings accounts, it’s still much more than you are getting at your brick and mortar bank. And since inflation is low, earning just 1-2% won’t leave you that far behind in term of your money’s value, either.

Related: Top 9 Best Online Savings Accounts

#2: Money Market Accounts

A Money Market Account is a hybrid bank account that offers some of the benefits of a savings account, but the potential for higher returns and better access to your money. By opening a money market account at your local bank or online, you might score a better interest rate, get access to checks you can write against your account, and protect your principal in its entirety.

If you don’t want to use a traditional bank, you can open a money market account with TD Ameritrade or another brokerage firm that offers online account management. Like with any other bank account, there are a ton of options at your disposal.

You can open a Money Market account with TD Ameritrade, Scottrade, and E*TRADE or with the same banks that offer high interest savings accounts. You won’t earn a lot of interest on your investment, but you won’t have to worry about losing vast amounts of your principal, either.

#3: Certificates of Deposit (CDs)

According to Joseph Carbone, Jr., CFP Founder and Wealth Advisor of Focus Planning Group, Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are another option to consider when you’re interested in principal protection.

“In today’s environment, they are really one of the only true vehicles that is protected because the issuing bank is backed by FDIC insurance,” says Carbone.

The tradeoff, says Carbone, is the fact you won’t earn a lot of interest on your money. It is possible to improve your average return, however, if you’re willing to buy CDs with a longer term.

Many experts also suggest laddering your CDs to increase your potential for greater returns down the line. With laddering, you buy CDs of varying lengths with the goal of having your investments mature at regular intervals. This way, all of your money isn’t locked up at once and for the same stretch of time, making it possible to purchase new CDs with higher interest rates if they are available.

#4: Municipal Bonds

Municipal bonds are yet another option for investors who want the potential for growth, but principal protection above all else. When you purchase a municipal bond, you’re actually providing income to your state or local government. And since most state and local government agencies exempt income taxes on these bonds, you’re also saving money on taxes.

If you trust the government to repay monies borrowed, you can consider municipal bonds a fairly safe bet. Some municipalities and state governments have declared bankruptcy and defaulted over the years, but it’s extremely rare.

Interest rates for municipal bonds vary, but you can usually earn 3% or more on your money. All things considered, the benefits and reduced risk municipal bonds offer make them a smart option for any investor who needs principal protection.

Related: The 11 Best Low Risk Investments for High Return

#5: U.S. Savings Bonds

There are two main types of savings bonds to consider – Series I and Series EE. While each bond type works in its own way, both offer principal protection with little risk of default.

With Series I bonds, you’ll get a fixed interest rate return and an adjustable inflation-linked return. While the fixed-rate never changes, the other component of your return is adjusted every six months – sometimes up and sometimes down.

With Series EE bonds, you have a fixed rate of return that is added to the bond automatically each month. While rates are low right now, the U.S. Treasury promises to double the value of your bond if you hold it 20 years until it reaches maturity. If you don’t hold a Series EE bond to maturity, you’ll get the fixed rate of return minus early withdrawal fees.

Either bond option can be smart for anyone angling for principal protection with some potential for growth. You can purchase both types of bonds directly through TreasuryDirect.gov.

#6: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)

The U.S. Treasury offers another low risk bond option to choose from. Treasury Inflation Protection Securities – also called TIPS – offer a fixed interest rate that doesn’t change throughout the life of the bond plus built-in inflation protection that is guaranteed by the U.S. government. The second component of this investment – the built-in inflation protection – kicks in each time inflation grows to bring your investment’s value up to match the rising inflation rate.

You can purchase TIPS individually or as part of a mutual fund that invests in a basket of TIPS. If your goal is principal protection, then investing in TIPS individually is likely your best move.

Want to protect your portfolio from inflation? Purchase TIPS through a great broker like E*TRADE, TD Ameritrade, or Scottrade.

#7 Annuities

While annuities have gotten a bad rap, at least one financial advisor advocates annuities for principal protection in certain situations. Joseph Carbone of Focus Planning group says he is a big proponent of immediate annuities – mainly because they guarantee an income stream for a certain period of time. The trade-off, he says, is that you lose access to the lump sum of your investment for a specific (and long) stretch of time.

“If someone is not looking for income but is not willing to take any risk, then you could look at a fixed annuity,” says Carbone. “A fixed annuity pays a guaranteed rate of return for fixed amount of time.”

Again, the main problem with annuities is that you are locking up your funds in a historically low interest rate environment, plus any back end sales charges you might face. As with any investment, you should read the fine print and understand all charges and fees before you pull the trigger with an annuity.

Final Thoughts

Protecting your retirement savings from losses may not be a priority when you’re young. When you’ve got twenty or thirty years before retirement, you should actually expect the value of your investments to rise and fall over the years.

But, as you get older, you learn you no longer have that luxury. Where you once had decades to build your nest egg, you’re now down to a few precious years. This is where principal protection comes in, and why it’s so important to begin with. When you only have a few years to retirement, it’s crucial to protect your money.

As you look for ways to protect your principal, consider some of the options on this list. Ask yourself which investments can help you grow wealth while minimizing your risk, then move forward once you’re ready. And if you need help, make sure to ask a financial advisor for their take on principal protection. When you speak with your advisor, make sure to ask them what they would suggest if you were their parent.

At the same time, you should watch out for self-serving advice from financial advisors who might line their own pockets at your expense. In other words, be wary of financial advisors that push expensive life insurance and annuity products without mentioning other options first.

“Beware of other financial advisors suggesting high-cost, commission-based principal protection products,” says Minnesota Financial Advisor Jamie Pomeroy. Principal protection means actually protecting principal at all costs, not offering a chance at principal protection if the markets behave, and after you factor in absurd costs, he says.

How do you invest to protect your principal? Are there any other investments you would add to this list?

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How to Use Humor to Power up Your Content Marketing

When I write content, I’m usually not that funny. My written jokes don’t go over too well, so I stick with solid, meaty stuff that helps my readers solve problems and achieve marketing goals.

But I know humor is important.

Some of you reading this article are funny people. You have a knack for creating content that makes people laugh.

I’m here to tell you that’s awesome. Humor is a powerful tool.

Have you noticed that more and more brands are incorporating humor into their marketing these days?

Old Spice, Geico, and Dollar Shave Club are just a few companies that come to mind.

Well, there’s a good reason for this trend. Humor sells. That’s why I applaud you if you’re able to insert humor into your content.

In many cases, making your audience laugh is the key to winning them over, boosting your brand equity, and creating the perception of authenticity.

There’s even hard data showing the appeal humor can have.

Nielsen conducted extensive research on which marketing themes resonate the most with a global audience.

Here’s a breakdown of how advertising appeal differs around the world.

As you can see, the European and North American audiences respond most favorably to humor at 51% and 50% respectively.

So, at least theoretically, throwing humor into your campaign should help you win over half of your audience.

If you do it right, you can use humor to propel your marketing and branding to epic heights.

Why is humor so effective?

The way I see it, there are three main reasons why humor works.

First, it forces people to lower their defenses.

Let’s face it. Many people are skeptical when it comes to advertisements.

And it’s easy to see why.

Because we’re so used to a constant barrage of ads, we tend to close ourselves off from hearing their messages.

Humor works well because it catches people off guard.

It’s like hitting them with a right hook. All of a sudden, they find themselves laughing, amused with the hilarity of a situation.

In turn, this often reduces their skepticism, and there’s a bit more openness to hearing your marketing message.

Second, you can use humor to connect with your audience.

Numerous studies have shown that humor acts as an inherent social bonding mechanism.

In an experiment, Dr. Robin Dunbar found that:

…laughter not only plays an important role in social and non-verbal communication, but it also provides evolutionary qualities that encourage group bonding and protects us from physical and psychological pain. 

In other words, humor brings us closer together and can make your brand more relatable to your audience.

Third, humor often leads to sharing.

Think about it. What’s some of the most shared content on social media?

It’s stuff like crazy cat videos and ridiculous memes.

Take Grumpy Cat, Condescending Wonka, and First World Problems, for example.

If a person comes across something that elicits a legitimate laugh, there’s a high probability they’ll share it with others.

If you play your cards right, a humor-infused content marketing campaign can go viral.

Leveling the playing field

In my opinion, humor is also a great equalizer and has the potential to bridge the gap between small companies and their much larger counterparts.

Just take Dollar Shave Club, for example.

This is a fairly small company specializing in razor blades and shaving accessories.

It’s a drop in a very large bucket of the shaving industry, and it’s up against mega competitors such as Gillette, Remington, and Bic.

But somehow they’ve been able to carve out a nice niche for themselves and, as of mid-2015, had a net worth of $615 million. Not too shabby.

I would say that a large reason behind the success of Dollar Shave Club is their humor.

Although they didn’t have the massive budget of their huge corporate competitors, they understood how to capture the attention of their audience with humor.

One of their most notable slogans is “Our blades are f**king great.”

Do some people find it offensive? Probably.

But guess what? The company crushed it.

As of October, 2016, this ad was viewed over 23.5 million times on YouTube.

This just goes to show that even obscure brands who are up against seemingly insurmountable odds can claim their piece of the pie (and more) by weaving humor into their content marketing.

Now that we’ve established why humor works, let’s talk about how you can use it to amp up your campaign.

It all starts with YOUR demographic

Humor is subjective. What may be funny to a high-schooler may be offensive to someone in their 60s.

For this reason, it’s critical you fully understand your audience and come up with an approach they’ll find legitimately funny.

You need an angle that makes sense and that will hit its mark.

What you don’t want is for your message to come across as being overly offensive, crass, or distasteful.

This obviously won’t do your brand reputation any favors.

The key is to come up with an angle that your specific audience is likely to respond to.

You don’t need to worry about pleasing everyone, but it’s absolutely essential to create (or curate) the right humorous content that’s going to stick.

Humor needs to align with your brand identity

Authenticity is another key ingredient in the success of humor marketing. It needs to reflect what your brand is all about.

Let’s look once again at Dollar Shave Club.

You could consider their brand of humor as edgy, blunt, and non-conservative.

They don’t fit the traditional mold of razor blade suppliers, and they’re totally fine with that.

In fact, they fully embrace their brazen and brassy behavior.

That’s why their humor-centric ads hit just the right note. The ads align perfectly with their brand identity, and people have responded positively.

To recap, you first need to know exactly whom you’re trying to reach and then align your content around your brand.

If you can do these two things, your chances of success will increase exponentially.

Keep it simple

The more complex and complicated your humor is, the more likely it is to miss the mark.

If it needs to be explained, it immediately loses its effectiveness.

In other words, people shouldn’t have to think too much about it. Why it’s funny should be obvious.

Keeping it simple and to the point is your best option if you want your message to resonate.

What kind of humor works?

Perhaps the most straightforward way to evoke laughter is to simply make a joke or snide comment about something.

Take this cynical blog post from The Onion, for example.

Most people immediately get the fact this is mocking the 2016 presidential candidates. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out, and it’s quite humorous.

In fact, The Onion is an expert at being satirical—humor is woven into its very fabric.

If you’re looking for inspiration on how to be funny in a classy, sophisticated kind of way, this is a good resource to check out.

Another option is to utilize a casual, tongue-in-cheek style.

Maybe you use ludicrous images or snarky pop culture references to grab the attention of your audience and form a bond.

Here’s another example from Wait But Why that pokes fun at the presidential race.

Notice how the simplicity of their content and their ridiculous hand-drawn image instantly resonates with readers.

Going this route typically requires a little more brainstorming than simply making a joke or comment but can have a really big impact when you do it just right.

A third possibility is to shock your audience into laughter.

This is where you create content that catches people off guard by being over the top.

It’s a technique that doesn’t necessarily require a lot of thought or effort. It’s more about taking things to extreme and being so ridiculous that people can’t help but take notice.

A good example of a company who does this well is Skittles with their “taste the rainbow” commercials.

Most of their ads are pretty far out there, e.g., a teenager confessing that he has “Skittlespox.”

A final note

Keep in mind that you don’t have to be a standup comedian to inject humor into your content marketing. You don’t have to leave your audience rolling on the floor laughing.

All you usually have to do is get them to smile and “get it.” That’s enough.

The key is to keep it simple while being authentic and relatable.

If you can win them over with humor, this should allow you to make a genuine connection and leave them more open to exploring your product or service.

Conclusion

Humor is no joke when it comes to content marketing.

It can be very potent and potentially help you win the hearts of your audience.

There’s even firsthand proof that humor can catapult a small, no name company into the upper echelon of its industry, allowing it to compete with big name titans in a way that would otherwise be impossible.

But in order to capitalize on this tactic, you need to do your homework and come up with a game plan that allows you to hit the sweet spot.

By taking the right approach, you can achieve some highly important goals, including building valuable rapport, boosting your brand reputation, and generating a high volume of leads.

Can you think of any other companies who have nailed it by being funny?

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One Little Square

Quite often, big financial changes (or other life changes) can feel absolutely overwhelming or even impossible. When you have debt that’s bigger than your salary, it can just feel like this mountain that you’ll never overcome. When you read about the retirement savings that you should have in order to be able to retire, it can feel like you’re trying to cross an ocean in a kayak.

That sense of impossibility and feeling overwhelmed by the big picture often convinces people not to even try to achieve financial goals.

Here’s another way of looking at it, though. Instead of imagining $100,000 in one place, imagine instead a big bunch of little steps, each one of which saves you $10. Every time you make one of those little choices, you put $10 in your account. All you have to do is take some number of steps – a number less than 10,000 because of the power of interest – and you’re at your goal.

I like to envision giant goals like this as squares on a piece of graph paper. In fact, I often use graph paper to help. I’d take a piece of graph paper with 100 squares by 100 squares on it and I’d simply mark out one of those squares every time I did something that saved $10 and I put that $10 aside in an account somewhere. Whenever that account earned $10 in interest or dividends or growth, I’d add another square. Then, over time, I can watch that square fill in. Maybe your goal is even bigger and it requires a 500 by 200 piece of paper – that’s okay. It’s still just made up of little steps and little squares.

Each step matters. Each little square on that piece of graph paper matters. Each step is a real, tangible movement toward that big goal. At the same time, each step is something small enough that you can easily grasp it in the normal course of your day.

One little square. You can fill in that square countless times in a given week, and with each little square you fill in, your success grows larger and the distance you still have to go grows smaller.

Filling in one little square is a small one time change. You can simply choose to do something different today and you’ll save ten dollars, and 10 dollars is enough to fill in a square.

Filling in one little square is something you can repeat over and over again if it works. If you find that the simple step you took is actually not a problem, you can always repeat it again later or find something similar to do.

Filling in one little square doesn’t require a radical life shift. You don’t have to become a frugal master. You don’t have to start pinching every penny. You don’t have to become a bodybuilder. You’re just making a single choice on a single day to do something better.

Filling in one little square might be easier than you think, or perhaps even fun. You might find that the thing you thought would be the tougher choice is actually the more enjoyable choice, which means that it’s actually the better choice. You won’t know until you try.

So, what are some examples of “one little square” changes that you might make? Here are several financially-related examples mixed in with examples from other gigantic goals people might have.

Choosing a few store brand items over name brand items. You’re in the store trying to decide what kind of laundry detergent to buy or what kind of crackers to buy. Instead of buying the familiar name brand, you choose the store brand that’s a couple of dollars cheaper. Do that several times during a grocery store visit and you’ve saved $10 – that’s a perfect little square.

Doing a short one-time exercise burst. Do a hundred jumping jacks until you’re panting and your heart is racing. Do anything until your heart is pattering along and you’re out of breath. There’s no need to make yourself miserable, just do enough so that you get the blood really pumping and flowing. That alone is good for your health.

Choosing to eat at home rather than eating out. Doing so will likely save you at least $10 if you’re an adult. For our family of five, choosing to eat a meal at home usually saves us about $30-$40 because our meal at home is so much cheaper than eating out. That’s three or four little squares on that piece of graph paper.

Doing a Duolingo lesson. If your goal is to learn a foreign language, a single lesson on Duolingo is a perfect “little square.” It takes about 10 minutes, exercises your vocabulary and sentence construction, and forms just one little step in a long language learning journey.

Going somewhere free (or super cheap) for entertainment rather than paying for it. My wife and I used to go on dates to the “dollar theatre” when we were younger because the movies were still pretty new and it saved us about $10 in ticket prices compared to the full priced theatre. Maybe you’ll go to a free concert by a municipal band or an unknown band rather than paying $20 to go to a paid concert – that’s two little squares.

Drink water instead of soda. When you’re tempted to pop open a soda, drink a glass of water instead. When you’re tempted to order a soda at a restaurant, order water instead. Each time you do this, it’s not only a little square for your health, but several choices like that add up to $10 in savings, so it’s a little financial square, too.

• Related: How a Commitment to Drinking Only Water Saves More Money Than You Think

Spending an afternoon air sealing your home instead of doing something fun. You’ll probably spend about the same amount on a few odds and ends at the hardware store for air sealing your home as you would on whatever you might do that afternoon, but here’s the difference. After you air seal your home by installing weatherstrips around drafty doors and putting caulk around windows that might be leaking air and putting some insulation in your attic anywhere where you can see daylight, you’re going to see a permanent drop in your energy bill. If that change saves you $10 a month, you can now fill in a square each and every month for as long as you live there because of that one afternoon you spent.

Eat a vegan meal. That’s right – eat a meal composed entirely of vegetables and fruits. That single meal is almost always going to be cheaper than a meal with a big cut of meat involved (probably saving you half a square in the process) and it’s going to be a lot healthier and lower in calories, too. If vegan is too hard, try a vegetarian meal – you can use things like milk and eggs and cheese with a vegetarian meal.

Check out a movie or a book from the library instead of buying it. If you’re about to buy a book or a DVD, stop. Check and see if it’s at the library first and check it out from there. You’ll get to read that book or watch that DVD and you’ll save (at least) $10 in the process, too.

Turn off your cell phone and do something focused for an hour with your child. Let yourself not be distracted by your cell phone for a while and instead get lost in time spent with your child. If you find yourself getting distracted, intentionally bring your focus back to the child you’re playing with. You’ll find yourself making your relationship just a little bit stronger and you’ll also find that your ability to focus is just a little bit better.

Change your own oil instead of going to the oil change place. Doing it yourself isn’t hard and it’ll probably save you $20 (two little squares!). It’s one of those things that’s intimidating the first time, but then it’s simple thereafter.

The big key here is to not waste that square once you’ve claimed it. If you save $10, actually put that aside in a savings account or a retirement account somewhere. If you make a good dietary choice, don’t eat a huge meal to “make up for it.” Life reverts to normal, not to a splurge.

The beautiful part? Every time you claim a square, the goal gets smaller. When you claim a financial square, the amount of money you still need to save shrinks a little bit. Ever so slowly, the goal becomes less and less scary.

You can do this, one little square at a time.

Related Articles:

• The $15 Retirement Plan
• What to Do When Your ‘Retirement Number’ Seems Impossibly Big
• Big Changes vs. Little Changes: Which Have More Impact on Your Finances and Your Life?

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