PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Amtrak will pay $265 million to settle claims related to a crash last year that killed eight people and injured more than 200 others when a speeding train derailed on a curve at night.The settlement allows victims to have their awards in hand by June instead of waiting years for a lawsuit to play out, their lawyers said Thursday. The deadline to join the settlement program is Nov. 21."The program basically allows for a judge, with help from two [...]
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الخميس، 27 أكتوبر 2016
This Work-From-Home Job Lets You Help Make Search Results More Useful
Want to work from home and make money improving the internet? (Yeah, the web could actually use a little work…)
Lionbridge is looking for personalized/social media internet assessors — people to help clean up search engine results.
This is a part-time, work-from-home contract position. You’ll work 10 to 20 hours per week, depending on project availability.
TPH writer Steve Gillman has earned money this way, and he reports rates between $12 and $15 an hour.
How You Can Improve Google’s Search Results
In this position, your job would be to review online search results to improve content and quality. The listing doesn’t name the specific search engine, but does make mention of several Google products.
You’d be assigned various search-related tasks, then provide feedback on what you find.
Are the results relevant to your search? Algorithms are getting pretty good, but we still need humans to tell search engines exactly what we’re looking for.
How’s the quality of the content that shows up? You’d have to review it for grammar, tone and cultural relevance, so you should be fluent in spoken and written English.
Does the information you find make sense for your query? You’d examine content for relevance, so you should be familiar with current and historical business, media, sports, news, social media and cultural affairs in the U.S.
You must also have lived in the U.S. for the past five years.
You’ll need both a PC and smartphone to test search results. Right now, the company is specifically seeking users with an Android 4.1 or higher device.
You should be an active user of Gmail and Google+, as well as Twitter, Facebook and other social media.
How to Apply to Be a Search Engine Evaluator
To apply, submit your application here.
Once your application is reviewed, the next stage is an online exam in three sections:
- Open-book exam with 33 multiple choice questions
- Seven practical questions on the quality of web pages
- Seven practical send-to-device questions using your desktop/laptop and smartphone
Speaking of search engine evaluator jobs in general — not Lionbridge specifically — Gillman says he’s taken several of these tests, “and they aren’t too difficult, but they can take a couple hours and you won’t be paid for this time.”
Wondering if this type of job is for you? Read Gillman’s full story on the pros and cons — and how much money you can earn.
Want to be the first to know about other fun and interesting jobs like this? Like The Penny Hoarder Jobs on Facebook to stay in the loop!
Your Turn: Would you like to earn money cleaning up search engines?
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 Work-From-Home Job Has Killer Benefits (Including Starbucks and Uber!)
Ever had a job that offered you monthly perks like Starbucks, Whole Foods, Uber, DashLocker and movie tickets?
Me neither.
If I did, I’d probably order an Uber, stop by Starbucks for a hot chocolate and swing by Whole Foods for some “healthy” candy before hitting up my local movie theater to see the latest Nicholas Sparks movie.
Then I’d cry and hail another Uber home, where freshly laundered sheets from DashLocker await.
This is all hypothetical, of course.
But it could be a reality because San Francisco-based startup Follow Up Boss offers all of these awesome benefits — plus some other, more pertinent ones (like health insurance).
And I wouldn’t be blabbering on if it wasn’t hiring. Right now, Follow Up Boss needs a work-from-home customer support champion.
What’s Involved with This Work-From-Home Job?
Launched in 2011, Follow Up Boss caters to real estate agents and helps them set up appointments and close deals.
Thousands of brokers, team leaders and solo agents have signed on with the startup, and now it needs someone to help these customers out.
Enter you. As a customer support champion, you’ll want to make Follow Up Boss’ customers happy. “Our customers love us, and we love them,” the job listing states.
So you’ll be an integral part of the company. You’ll work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Monday to Friday. No weekends.
You’ll be responsible for taking incoming calls, answering support tickets, setting up new accounts, creating relationships with key accounts and monitoring said accounts.
You’ll be the liaison between the customer and the company as you voice the customers’ needs.
This Startup’s Amazing Benefits
Working from home is a great perk, but it doesn’t stop there.
The job listing states the salary is competitive. I reached out to the Follow Up Boss team to get more details, so I’ll update you when I hear something.
You’ll also have an opportunity to snag performance-based, year-end bonuses.
There’ll be traveling, too — trips to conferences and company meetups — as well as on your own time.
“Time take off when you need it,” the listing states. “We expect you to take at least 4 weeks off per year.”
Plus there’s the important stuff, like health and dental insurance.
And, as I previously mentioned, you’ll get other awesome perks from Starbucks, Whole Foods, Uber and DashLocker.
Qualifications to Work at Follow Up Boss — and How To Apply
First and foremost, you need to actually like people.
Sure, you can hang out with your pup while you work from home, but you’ll be chatting with humans all day, so get ready to be empathetic and patient.
You also need superb written and verbal communication skills, but not in a robotic way. This will likely come from prior experience in a customer-facing role — which Follow Up Boss wants to see on your resume.
Applying for the job is straightforward: Name, email, phone number, location, resume, cover letter, plus a brief response to a sample customer service question. Apply via the internet.
Interested in more work-from-home jobs? We’re always finding new gems, so visit our Facebook jobs page.
Your Turn: What benefits do you value in a company?
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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How Much Does It Cost to Catch the Flu? We Did the Math
“This isn’t prison,” my doctor tells me. “I can’t make you do anything you don’t want. That being said, I highly recommend you get your flu shot today.”
He’s right to expect pushback: Consistently over the past five years, more than half of adults have declined to get the vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
I, for one, had never received the shot, even as a child. And I was all set to bolster the statistic this year, too.
That is, until I realized exactly how much my negligence might cost me… and how easy and cheap it would be to avoid a few days of couch-ridden misery.
Here’s How Much It Costs to Get the Flu
Newsflash: Being sick sucks. It feels horrible.
But in case you need more prodding to get poked, you should know the flu can deplete your wallet as quickly as it does your electrolyte levels.
Don’t believe me? Well, consider these costs…
Missing Work
The flu is contagious for a long time, sometimes before you even begin to show symptoms.
And once you do start to feel like death, your grim reaper status gets real: For five to seven days, you can easily infect those around you.
Since you’re likely to experience severe symptoms for at least two, maybe three, of those days, you’re almost definitely going to miss at least a day of work. And if you do the truly conscientious thing to avoid spreading your illness, you may miss up to five — and that’s assuming you’ve got a two-day weekend in there somewhere.
I’m lucky to work at a company with unlimited paid sick days, but if you don’t, your absenteeism could pull a lot of money out of your pocket.
If you make $10 per hour and work 8 hour days, your flu would cost you between $80 and $400, before accounting for taxes and other withholdings.
And if you drag your snot-infested self into work (DON’T DO IT), you could spread your illness to your co-workers or customers — at least the ones who also skipped the vaccine.
Doctor’s Visit
When the flu hits hard, sometimes it’s not easy to simply knuckle down, pound the Advil and “drink lots of fluids.”
You might find yourself schlepping to the doctor’s office for prescription-grade meds, or at least to have them confirm you’re not actually dying.
And even if all your doctor does is repeat the advice above, if your health insurance isn’t great (or existent), you might shell out more than $100 to get the “Why didn’t you just get a freaking flu shot?” side-eye from health care professionals.
Sickbed Supplies and Ripple Effects
Although it might not seem like much, you’re also spending money on that sick nest you’ve created on your couch.
Let’s say you go through two boxes of tissues and half a package each of Dayquil and Nyquil.
Even Walmart’s cheap store-brand tissues cost seven cents apiece, and if you’re like me, you’ll spring for the aloey, mentholated kind, even though they cost more than double.
Listen, it’s my face. Some things are just worth the money. Tissue cost: $6.99
And although it’s completely necessary, cold medicine still ain’t cheap. Medicine cost: $6.98
Plus there are other, less obvious costs to think about: Soup, whether canned or homemade; if you’re really lucky, the time your loved one puts into preparing it for you; blankets and air conditioning, and wear-and-tear on your couch.
At least you’re getting that Netflix you’re binging while you’re half-awake for free, right? (No? Here’s how — and yes, it’s totally legit.)
If you have kids, you’re probably going to pass on your germs to them, so they’ll have to stay home from school for a while. Maybe they’ll stay sick longer than you do, forcing you to hire a sitter so you can go back to work.
Maybe they’ll miss a fundamental math class in seventh grade and you’ll need to hire a tutor.
Or maybe you won’t, and they’ll grow up to be humanities majors instead of super-high-earning coders or computer engineers. Yes, this really does happen — trust me.
4 Free or Almost-Free Ways to Get Your Flu Shot This Year
Getting the flu is sounding worse and worse, huh?
Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easy way to avoid all this misery and financial waste?
Perhaps you see where I’m going with this.
Best of all, the health care community is behind me. Since they want you to just get your gosh-darn flu shot already, there are tons of ways to get it for free.
And no, it doesn’t hurt — or at least, not nearly as bad as your throat, head, body and wallet might if you don’t get vaccinated.
So now that you realize exactly how inexcusable it is to avoid the vaccine, here’s where to find them.
1. Your Doctor’s Office
If you have health insurance, your flu shot is more than likely 100% covered — so you can just head to your primary care physician’s office and get it there.
If your doctor’s anything like mine, it’ll put a smile on their face.
2. Your Local Grocery Store or Pharmacy
A quick Google search shows that Safeway, Publix, Albertson’s, Walmart, Costco, Walgreens and CVS all offer flu shots — which, again, are almost definitely covered with a $0 copay under your insurance plan.
If it’s not covered, it’ll run you about $15 at Costco and up to $39.99 at CVS and Walgreens.
Many of these stores even sweeten the deal — after all, they are sticking you with needles.
When you get your flu shot at Walgreens, the company will donate a vaccine to a child in need.
Albertson’s and Safeway give you 10% off your next purchase when you get the shot, and CVS offers a 20% off pass on a purchase of up to $50 worth of non-pharmacy items.
I took advantage of that last one myself, and now I’m stocked with toothpaste and deodorant for at least a year. Way better than the silly little lollipop they used to give you when you were a kid, right?
3. Your Workplace
Your boss knows the flu can cost money — both for you and for the company. If everyone in the office gets taken out at once, there could be a serious productivity lapse.
Check if your company’s offering free flu shots to employees. Sometimes, they’ll even bring in a nurse so you don’t even have to leave the office.
4. Your College Campus
Flu season and finals season… are the same season.
To avoid that disaster waiting to happen, lots of college campuses offer free flu shots. Most times, all you’ll need is your student ID.
Stay healthy this winter, Penny Hoarders! After all, with the holidays coming up, you doubtless have better stuff to spend your money on.
Your Turn: Where will you get your flu shot this year?
Disclosure: Even though we’re all getting our flu shots, sometimes the sniffles are unavoidable — and we’re not about to stop buying fancy tissues. By clicking the affiliate links in this post, you help keep us well supplied.
Jamie Cattanach is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder who totally got a flu shot this year. Her writing has also been featured at The Write Life, Word Riot, Nashville Review and elsewhere. Find @JamieCattanach on Twitter to wave hello.
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These 6 Medical Studies are Open Right Now — Some Pay Over $1,000
When I was in college, I needed all the extra money I could get.
So, in addition to waiting tables, I sometimes answered those ads stuck to the sides of telephone poles — looking for willing participants for medical studies.
Contribute to the advancement of medicine and get paid? They were a student’s dream.
Some required nothing more than a quick survey; others were clinical drug trials to treat various ailments.
And although the ads are now displayed online — rather than on telephone poles — they’re still a great way to earn extra money.
Here are six paid clinical trials and studies for…
1. Psoriasis
M3 Global Research is recruiting psoriasis patients to participate in paid online surveys.
This isn’t a clinical study. You don’t even have to leave your couch.
Register here to get started. After you register, the company will start sending you surveys that pay $10-$100 each if you qualify (they take about 20-30 minutes to complete).
The surveys are tailored to you, ensuring you won’t be spammed with irrelevant emails.
2. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Do you wake up really stiff in the morning? That’s one common sign of rheumatoid arthritis, which affects more than 1.3 million Americans — 75% of whom are women.
If you have rheumatoid arthritis in the knee or hip and are otherwise healthy, you may qualify for studies offering compensation up to $625, depending on the study.
3. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic joint condition. Approximately 27 million Americans suffer from this condition — and half of all adults will develop symptoms in their knees during their lifetime.
If you’re suffering from osteoarthritis and qualify, depending on the study, you may earn up to $1,000 for participating.
4. Sleep
Yes, you could get paid to nap: Jillian Shea, a Penny Hoarder contributor, earned $12,000 from two sleep studies in Boston.
The first step is filling out surveys with information about your sleep patterns and overall health. If you qualify, you’ll be required to complete both physical and psychological exams — and then it’s time to get down to snoozing, er, business.
Though it might sound like a perfect gig, Shea notes “it’s not all comfy pillows and sweet dreams,” and cites challenges including isolation, unusual positions and needles or other medical devices.
Interested in sleeping on the job? Follow this link to find sleep facilities near you.
5. Migraines
If you’ve never had a migraine, be glad and just take my word for it: They really, really suck.
Local research studies may offer payment/compensation up to $625 (learn more here). These studies help doctors discover better ways to treat — and hopefully eliminate — migraines.
6. Other Stuff
Even if you’re healthy as a horse, some studies might still apply to you.
One place to look is Covance, a company that “recruits for a variety of patients to participate in paid medical studies, ranging from healthy volunteers to smokers.”
When we looked, Covance had 17 studies open in four different states. Or check out Parexel, which has a range of studies available in Baltimore, as well as this list of seven places to find open clinical trials.
Being a human guinea pig isn’t for everyone — but if you want to make some extra money without a degree or specific training, they might be worth a shot! (Pun very much intended.)
Your Turn: Would you participate in a clinical trial or study?
Disclosure: A toast to savings! Thanks for allowing us to place affiliate links in this post.
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5 Smart Money Moves Millennials Should Start Making Right Now
Congratulations, new grads!
Here’s your bill…
If not in so many words, this is certainly the sentiment college graduates are welcomed into the “real world” with now.
Debt practically feels like an inevitable part of becoming an adult.
Students graduating with loans this year owe an average of $37,172 in student loan debt, the Wall Street Journal reported in May.
If you took out federal student loans throughout college, you’re likely on a 120-month (10-year) repayment plan and could be debt-free by your early 30s.
But if you hit a rough patch or defer payments for any reason, you could extend the timeline for years.
Avoid letting debt loom over you into middle age by creating a plan early and managing your money well right now — before it gets the best of you.
Here are five strategies to help you wrangle your budget and pay back your student loans faster:
1. Create a Grown-Up Budget
The first step to paying off debt is to get your finances in order.
Map your income, monthly bills and spending on necessities like groceries to get a baseline of what’s coming in and where it’s going.
Where do your student loans fit into your budget?
If you’re already making monthly payments, can you actually afford them? Or are they a huge strain on your budget? What needs to change so you can afford them?
If you’re not already making payments, how much room is in your monthly budget to start paying down debt?
Write this information into a document or spreadsheet so you have it available to help you make decisions about your debt repayment.
2. Take Stock of Your Student Loan Debt
School’s out; you can’t avoid them anymore.
If you haven’t looked at your student loan agreements since you registered for your first semester of courses, it’s time to dust them off and put together a game plan.
You may have loans from several sources — more than one federal loan and possibly additional private loans. Multiple monthly payments and interest rates can make repayment cumbersome — and cost you money.
Revisit your loan agreements, and use the Department of Education’s student loan repayment estimator to find out just how much you’ll pay over the life your loans.
Then figure out how you can reduce that amount.
If you’re already struggling to afford monthly payments or you’re shocked by how much you’ll pay over time in interest, refinancing could help.
Student loan refinancing combines your complicated loans into one simple monthly payment. You may be able to reduce how much you owe each month and/or get a lower interest rate to save money over time.
Find a new rate and options at Credible.com, a marketplace that lets you see personalized rates from multiple refinancing lenders.
Seeing your offers on Credible won’t affect your credit score or share your information with lenders before you’re ready to proceed with an offer.
3. Check Your Credit Score
Do you know your credit score?
Do you know which of your actions affect it?
Improving your credit score could mean better repayment options and a lower interest rate when you refinance your student loans.
If you haven’t gotten one recently, credit reporting agencies Experian, TransUnion and Equifax each owe you a free credit report once every 12 months. Get those at AnnualCreditReport.com.
If you use a credit card (or cards), you could be eligible for a higher credit limit after graduation.
If you get a new job or a significant pay hike, try calling your credit card company to ask for an increase to your credit limit.
Cut your spending and pay off your card’s balance each month, and this can be a simple way to improve your credit score.
A higher credit score could mean a better deal if you refinance your loans. It could help you get a lower interest rate and favorable repayment terms — saving you money in the long run!
4. Start Saving (Again)
You may have spent the first 18 years of your life saving money for college expenses — and the past four years just scraping by.
But it’s time to start thinking about saving again. Start with a 401(k) through your workplace. If that’s not available, consider an IRA.
You may not be ready to think about retirement, but the earlier you start, the more money you’ll save and earn in interest before retirement.
With an average liberal arts salary, if you start saving at 21, it would take just $25 per week to save over $683,000 by the time you’re ready to retire at 65. At that rate, your annual retirement income would be over $78,000!
Then, automate additional savings through your bank or with an app to build an emergency fund and savings account.
Building an emergency fund of even a few hundred dollars can buoy you through a rough patch. It can ensure you don’t have to sacrifice debt repayment when money is tight.
5. Revisit Your Taxes
Since you’re no longer in school, make sure you know what you’ll be paying in taxes and what credits or deductions you qualify for.
To avoid owing money to the IRS in April, you may want to adjust the withholding on your W-4 from what you’re accustomed to.
Use the IRS Withholding Calculator to help ensure you’re withholding enough to cover what you owe.
While you pay off your student loans, you can also save money by claiming the Student Loan Interest Deduction. If you’re eligible, you can deduct the amount of interest you pay on student loans, up to $2,500 a year.
Save Money by Repaying Faster
Paying off student loan debt won’t only reduce your stress by getting rid of those pesky monthly payments — but it’s definitely a perk.
Paying faster will also likely help you save money.
While you enjoy the immediate effects of deferment or making minimum payments, your massive student loan bill continues to collect interest.
The longer you take to pay off student loans, the more you’ll pay in the end.
Enact these strategies now, and you could save thousands of dollars in unnecessary payments — and headaches.
Your Turn: What steps are you taking to pay off student loans faster?
Sponsorship Disclosure: A huge thanks to Credible for working with us to bring you this content. It’s rare that we have the opportunity to share something so awesome and get paid for it!
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 5 Smart Money Moves Millennials Should Start Making Right Now appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Driving for Uber: The Ultimate Side Hustle
If you want to earn more money but don’t have much upward mobility in your career, finding part-time work can be smart and profitable. When you get a job to fill your evening or weekend hours, you can earn money in your spare time and add to your bottom line.
Unfortunately, traditional part-time jobs aren’t nearly as sexy as they sound. The problem with most part-time jobs is the level of commitment they require. If you find traditional work at a retail store or restaurant, for example, you’re expected to clock in on certain days and commit to certain working hours.
If you have a family to support and already have a full-time job, adding yet another huge commitment is often untenable. And, let’s face it – part-time work with a traditional employer isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Fortunately, modern technology has made it easier for people to find part-time work that fits in with their busy lives. Websites like TaskRabbit.com, for example, connect job-seekers with individuals hiring out errands. Online hubs like Care.com, on the other hand, connect childcare providers and homeowners with would-be babysitters and house-sitters.
Then there’s Uber – the premier rideshare app that’s changing how public transportation works all over the globe. While it certainly has competitors (think: Lyft), Uber is one of the most flexible side hustles anyone can find. Keep reading to learn more about driving for Uber and how to get started.
The Popularity of Uber
As of September 2016, Uber had more than 8 million users worldwide. Approximately 160,000 people were active drivers for Uber as of early last year, and more than 2 billion Uber rides have taken place thus far. Uber is also active in more than 400 cities worldwide, although other cities and geographic regions are ripe for a mix-up in their local transportation scene, too.
All in all, Uber has dominated this industry and continues to grow in terms of reach and popularity. Why? Mostly because it’s so darn convenient for consumers.
Where our parents grew up hailing cabs and waiting impatiently on sidewalks, the younger generation will age knowing they can summon a car with a few clicks on a smartphone app. While this is bad news for the traditional taxi industry, this is excellent news for both side hustlers and consumers.
Why? Because Uber tends to be cheaper than a taxi ride, but also makes it easier for individuals to earn money part-time with their cars. Yes, Uber still serves as a middleman between driver and consumer. Still, the rules that define driving for Uber aren’t nearly as “taxing” as those a traditional cab driver might face.
Benefits of Driving for Uber
Where a traditional job might limit your hours and pay substantially, driving for Uber makes it possible to work more if you want – and potentially earn more. Here are some of the biggest benefits you’ll get when you rideshare as a part-time gig:
Uber requirements are fairly easy to meet, and you can get started quickly.
If you have a decent car, a clear driving record, and a smartphone, chances are good you’ll get approved to drive for Uber. You must also be at least 21 years old, have at least three years of driving experience, and be able to pass a background check.
When it comes to your ride, requirements vary depending on the level of Uber service you intend to provide (UberX. Uber XL, UberSELECT, or UberBLACK). With each, however, your car must be 2001 model or newer, and usually a 2004 or newer. In certain cities, like New York, your car model must be at least 2011 or newer. Make sure to check with Uber for model requirements in your city and state. No matter where you live, your car must have up-to-date tags and plates, with no exceptions.
If you don’t have a car that will qualify – or simply need a new one – Uber can help in that respect as well. Through relationships with Enterprise, Hertz, and Xchange Leasing (an Uber company), you can lease the car you intend to use for your Uber business. Best of all, these leasing agreements come with low deposits and flexible terms. Some (not all) also include the insurance you’ll need as a rideshare driver as part of the deal.
Create your own schedule.
The best part about driving for Uber is the fact you can absolutely create your own schedule. As an Uber driver, you never have to work specific days or hours. When you’re ready to work, all you have to do is turn your smartphone app on and wait for a job. And when you’re done working or need a break, you turn your app off to let the company know you’re no longer available. It’s as simple as that.
By and large, the flexibility this job offers is its biggest benefit. Imagine being able to work any hours or days or your choosing, without even having to decide ahead of time. Let’s say you’re extremely busy with kid’s activities and birthday parties one week, but have almost nothing on the schedule the following week. You could easily take a week off then double your hours the next week.
You can also turn the app on to work for a few hours then turn it off to eat dinner with your family or pick your kids up for school. In that respect, Uber really is the perfect part-time gig. You can earn $15 – $20 per hour on average, but only work the exact hours you want.
You don’t have a real boss.
Another real perk that comes with being an Uber driver is the fact you don’t really have a boss. You need to meet certain requirements to drive for sure, but you’re mostly left alone after that.
And really, the consumer you pick up is the only boss you’ll have to face. By providing a nice ride and stellar service, you can secure positive reviews from your riders and stay in Uber’s good graces.
Surge pricing can add up quickly.
While Uber offers standard pricing to consumers most of the time, high volume events create something called “surge pricing.” By picking up a few rides with surge pricing, you can earn a lot more per hour and add to your bottom line.
Surge pricing is considered somewhat elusive to some and can even be unpredictable, but it mostly occurs in areas around popular events – when people arrive or when an event ends. For example, a giant concert with 50,000 people in attendance might trigger surge pricing as hundreds of people pour out of the venue and call for an Uber car. If you position yourself to pick up riders during and after these events, you can earn a lot more money over time.
You meet new people and learn something every day.
Imagine working part-time at Walmart or a local restaurant. You drive there every day, clock in, and schlep away at your work until it’s finally time to go home. You might meet interesting people at times, but you’re stuck indoors with the same scenery day after day. Over time, this kind of scenario can get rather old – especially when you’re working part-time in addition to a regular 9-5 job.
As an Uber driver, on the other hand, you get to meet new people see interesting landscapes every day. Your first ride in the morning might take you into a brand new neighborhood you didn’t even know about, or introduce you to an area of your city you didn’t know existed. Plus, you’ll meet plenty of interesting characters and hear plenty of fun stories as you drive total strangers around. It’s inevitable.
What You Need to Know About Driving for Uber
While driving for Uber is a solid gig you can count on, there are a handful of downsides and specific details you should know about before you sign up. Like any other job, driving for Uber isn’t perfect. Here’s why:
As an independent contractor, you are responsible for taxes, collecting receipts, tracking mileage, and insuring your vehicle.
No matter how awesome driving for Uber might seem, there are notable downsides that come with working as an independent contractor. For starters, you’re solely responsible for your tax bill, including paying quarterly tax payments if applicable. Second, it’s your job to track the mileage on your vehicle and collect receipts for gas and vehicle upkeep. Last but not least, you’re required to purchase and maintain an adequate level of automobile insurance as required by your state.
Rides are never guaranteed.
Having the ability to work flexible hours is a huge benefit when you become an Uber driver, but that doesn’t mean your ideal work hours will always be flush with riders. While it may not happen all the time, there might be times when you’re ready to work but don’t have anyone to drive around. And when you’re not driving, you’re not earning money.
Bad reviews from riders can lead to termination.
While driving for Uber lets you earn money without having a real boss, employment does hinge on your ability to get positive reviews from riders. If you get enough negative reviews – or your rating falls below 4 stars – that can be cause for termination in some cases.
Vehicle wear and tear can be significant if you drive a lot.
In addition to paying for gas, upkeep, and insurance, Uber drivers will also experience significant wear and tear on their cars. This wear and tear is the common result of adding additional mileage to a vehicle over time. Add onto that a general increase in the cost of maintaining a vehicle due to a greater need for oil changes and tune-ups.
The Bottom Line
Unlike other jobs which require you to commit to certain working hours or days, Uber is extremely flexible. You can even try it out for a few weeks to see if you like it, then switch to something else if you change your mind. You have nothing to lose, and a whole lot of money to gain.
If you’re interested in driving for Uber, you can sign up to get started here.
Expert Interview with Harry Campbell of TheRideShareGuy.com
Interested in learning more? To get the inside scoop, we interviewed Harry Campbell from TheRideShareGuy. As the premier expert on all things Uber, Harry offers treasure trove of information for anyone considering driving for Uber.
Question #1: How much do Uber drivers really make these days?
A. There’s a lot of variability but most Uber drivers make around $15-$20/hr. I like to target the most profitable times and places to drive though so my earnings are usually higher. You can make a lot more by driving Friday/Saturday nights and during big holidays like Halloween and New Year’s Eve.
Question #2: What are some of the common misconceptions about Uber drivers, how they earn money, and how much they make?
A. Uber drivers might average around $15-$20/hr but they’re also responsible for all of their expenses, so that includes gas, maintenance and even taxes.
Question #3: What are some of the pitfalls of driving for Uber?
A lot of drivers get into this business looking to make a few hundred dollars a week but they actually have all the same reporting requirements of a small business. Since drivers are independent contractors, they have to worry about things like tracking their mileage, rideshare insurance and taxes. Fortunately there are lots of companies looking to help drivers with things like free mileage tracking.
Question #4: What are some of the biggest benefits of driving for Uber?
A. I like to tell people Uber is probably the most flexible job in the world. You can literally log on and off of the app whenever you want. Once you’re online you can do as many or as few rides as you want. I can’t think of a single other job in the world that provides that much flexibility. Whenever drivers are polled, flexibility is one of the top reasons why people say they work for Uber.
Question #5: Can an Uber driver also drive for Lyft?
A. Since drivers are independent contractors, you can and should drive for both Uber and Lyft. Many savvy drivers sign up for both services to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses but also to diversify their income.
Question #6: What are the insurance considerations for Uber drivers?
A. Personal auto insurers will not cover drivers if you’re using your car on Uber or Lyft. Fortunately there are more and more ‘rideshare insurance’ options coming out every day. These policies only cost a little bit more but provide full coverage whenever Uber isn’t covering you.
Question #7: What advice would you give someone looking into driving for uber?
A. The nice thing about driving for Uber is that it’s easy to get started. The Uber driver requirements are pretty simple and as long as you can pass a background check, have a smart phone and a car, you should be good to go!
Question #8: What does someone who wants to drive for uber need to get started?
A. You really just need a car and a smartphone. You can sign up for Uber online and have your background check going in short order. But even if you don’t have a car, Uber is now offering rideshare leasing options and rentals that are very flexible and come with unlimited mileage.
Have you ever considered driving for Uber? Why or why not?
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Co-op Energy to pay compensation to 260,000 customers
About 260,000 customers of Co-operative Energy are due a collective £1.8 million in compensation following problems with the firm’s complaints handling and billing processes.
Energy regulator Ofgem first got involved with Co-op in June 2015 following a steep increase in customer complaints reported both to Ofgem and to charity Citizen’s Advice.
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Craving a Work-From-Home Job? Foodler Is Hiring in 13 States
Hungry for a work-from-home job?
This one’s pretty sweet — and spicy, if you’re craving Chinese take-out.
If you haven’t heard of Foodler yet, hold onto your napkins. It’s an online restaurant ordering platform that lets those who don’t want to leave the couch order food from local eateries — for no extra charge.
Customers can order via its app or online. However, because technology is involved, the process doesn’t always go without a hitch.
That’s why it needs a few work-from-home customer service representatives — and pay starts at $13.50 an hour.
Side note: Foodler is only accepting candidates from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Texas and Virginia.
Your Requirements as Foodler’s Customer Service Rep
Because this is a work-from-home position, you’ll be able to perform these duties from the comfort of your couch, or antique desk, or bed or kitchen counter. Wherever the space, it must be consistently quiet.
You’ll work as a liaison between restaurants and customers, handling inbound and outbound calls. You’ll communicate with your fellow service reps via email, as well. Translated: Be able to talk and write in a coherent, friendly manner.
You should be tech savvy, as you’ll be required to troubleshoot tech issues. To handle that, you need high-speed internet, Windows 7 or higher or a newer Apple computer (OSX 10.8 or newer) and a USB headset.
If you’re good at picking up on tasks quickly and have an eye for detail, great. You should also be flexible since you might need to work nights and weekends.
More concrete: An associate degree is required, but a bachelor’s is preferred. You also need at least two years of experience in call center customer service. Money-handling experience is nice, too.
How to Apply to Become Foodler’s Newest Employee
The application is straightforward: name, email, phone number, cover letter and resume. (Avoid any wonky mistakes.)
And if you have a bit more experience than I’ve described, you should look into Foodler’s customer support manager position.
In the meantime, order your favorite pizza, and start applying.
Craving more work-from-home jobs? Visit our Facebook jobs page.
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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31 Days to Financial Independence (Day 11): Trimming Your Spending – Food
“31 Days to Financial Independence” is an ongoing series that appears every Thursday on The Simple Dollar. You might want to start this series from the beginning!
Last time, we started looking at the average American family budget, going through each category and examining how one could trim the cost of typical expenses in that category. Here’s the “average American family budget” that we’re looking at, along with links back to the earlier entries on those specific areas:
Housing – $10,080
Transportation – $9,004
Taxes – $7,432
Utilities – $7,068
Food – $6,602
Insurance (including things like pensions) – $5,528
Debt Payments – $5,252
Healthcare – $3,631
Entertainment – $2,564
Cash Contributions – $1,834
Apparel and Services – $1,604
Education – $1,138
Vices – $775
Miscellaneous – $664
Personal Care – $608
TOTAL – $63,784
Today, we’re going to take a look at food spending. As you can see from the budget above, the average American family spends $6,602 per year on food. That averages out to $550 per month. Remember, however, that this “average American family” includes single adults, married couples without children, and families with children, too. In other words, a single person is probably coming in below that, whereas a large family (like ours) is probably coming in above that.
The thing is, food is a budgetary area that’s extremely easy to cut back on without reducing the quantity of calories consumed or the quality of food. There are many, many things you can do to trim the cost of food.
Exercise #11 – Trim Your Food Spending
The rest of this article consists of a long list of specific tactics that you can use to trim your food costs. As with the other savings articles in this series, it’s important to remember that everyone lives a somewhat different life and thus some of these tactics are going to seem useful and sensible to you, while others will seem like a stretch to you, and still others won’t apply at all. That’s okay. Ignore the ones that don’t apply. Make an effort to adopt the most sensible ones. Then, give the others a trial run and see if it’s something that can work for you. Commit to some of the challenging ones for thirty days and see if they work, or apply them during the relatively rare situations when those costs come up.
Remember, your overall goal is to cut back hard on the areas of life that are less important to you – the shallows – so that you can afford the “deep” areas of your life both today and tomorrow. Keep that in mind as you read each tip. Is this tip cutting back on something that’s really important to me, that amounts to a core life value? If not, why not cut it so that I can afford those things that really matter?
Let’s dig in.
Make weekly meal plans based on the grocery store flyer before you go to the store. Just sit down with a piece of paper or a whiteboard or a blank document on your computer or phone and list out all of the meals you and your family will eat in the next seven days, then start filling in the blanks. You know that your family is going to have to eat supper next Monday – what will that be? What will everyone have for breakfast next Wednesday? With the aid of your calendar and the knowledge of how a typical week goes, you can start making those decisions now.
It’s a very good idea to go through this process with the aid of the weekly grocery store flyer from your preferred grocer (more on that in a bit). Use the ingredients on that flyer to plan your meals. That way, you know that when you buy the ingredients for that meal, you’re naturally going to be buying ingredients that are on sale at the store.
This saves money in a number of ways. For starters, it allows you to think in advance about your meal plans so that you’re not stuck making last-minute decisions about your meals. Last-minute decisions almost always wind up being expensive decisions. Second, you’re taking advantage of sales by incorporating the grocery store flyer. Third, by planning ahead, you’re more likely to choose meals made at home, which are substantially less expensive than meals eaten out.
Make a grocery list based on those meal plans and your actual needs at home. Once you have that meal plan, turn it into a grocery list. Look around your home for the elements of that meal plan that you already have and only add things to your list that you don’t have – ideally, just fresh ingredients and whatever perishable items you’re running low on.
This process of going through the items you have on hand to figure out which ones you actually need almost always results in a shorter grocery list than you might have expected. Occasionally, it might result in a minor change to your meal plan – “oh, hey, look, I have some instant oats in the cupboard, so I’ll just have that for breakfast on Wednesday” – that also causes your grocery list to be shorter.
The shorter your grocery list, the better. A short grocery list means an emptier cart at the store and a smaller bill at the checkout aisle, which means more money stays in your checking account.
Shop for groceries based on that trusted list. The next step is to head out to the grocery store with that list in hand and buy all of the ingredients you need. Since you planned that list based on a meal plan that was itself based on the grocery flyer, many of the things on your list are going to be on sale already. Couple that with the fact that you filtered the list based on what you have on hand and that list should be tight – it’ll have just things that you need and many will be on sale. That’s a list that’s going to save you money.
Not only that, having a list in your hand in the grocery store means that there’s no need to wander the aisles at all. You know what you need, so you just walk from item to item on the list, putting them in your cart and moving on as efficiently as possible. When you’re focused on that list, you’re much less likely to have your attention wander, and when your attention wanders in a grocery store, you wind up with unintended purchases in your cart.
A tightly focused grocery list gets you in and out of the grocery store as fast as possible with a minimum number of items in the cart. Not only will that save you a lot of money on your food purchases, it also recovers the time invested in preparing the meal plan and grocery list.
Settle on a regular discount grocery store that you trust. Of course, even the best grocery list strategy won’t save you a lot of money if you’re paying a premium price for everything in the store. The best approach to take when it comes to grocery shopping is to make a discount grocer your primary grocery store.
What’s a “discount grocer”? It’s simply a grocery store where the focus is on low prices on the shelves. Usually, such stores are organized and arranged very simply without a lot of extra amenities. Some examples of this include Fareway (my grocery store chain of choice), Aldi, and Trader Joe’s.
The advantage of using a store where the prices are normally quite low is that, no matter what’s on your list, you’re going to be paying less than you would at a typical grocery store. It’s almost like going to a normal grocery store only to find that literally everything is on sale.
Eat out less. Naturally, the idea behind such a focused grocery store strategy is that you’re going to be eating lots of meals at home. In truth, that’s the core of saving money on food – eating at home.
No matter how you slice it, eating out or getting food delivered or picking up ready-made meals is going to be far more expensive than making comparable meals at home. That’s because you’re paying those restaurants for the labor of actually preparing your food and delivering it to you. If you cook at home, you save that cost.
Isn’t eating out more convenient, though? Even if you’re eating at a fast food drive-thru, you’re still waiting in line, ordering food, waiting for the food to be prepared, and paying for it, which does add up. Eating out isn’t instantaneous and often has a similar time commitment to a fairly quick meal at home. That leads us to the next strategy…
Learn how to prepare a number of well-loved meals quickly and efficiently. If you have a repertoire of ten or so meals that you like and that your family likes, particularly when those meals can easily be varied to provide different flavors and textures, and you can prepare those meals quickly and with minimal effort and cleanup, you have little reason to eat out very often.
The trick, of course, is reaching the point where you can prepare meals you enjoy quickly and with minimal effort and cleanup. That only comes with practice. The more you prepare your favorite meals, the more efficient you become at every aspect of the preparation (and you also improve your efficiency at other meals).
This takes time, but it’s an investment of time that really pays off. Your first meals will be slow and messy and perhaps not perfect, but you will improve with each attempt until the process becomes second nature. At that point, preparing meals at home often seems like the most sensible choice.
Rely on low cost staple foods as much as possible. Some recipes are simply more expensive to prepare than others because of the cost of the core ingredients in that recipe. A meal that’s centered around a perfect steak, for example, is going to have a premium cost.
One great strategy for keeping average meal costs low is to fill most of your meal plan with meals that are centered around low cost staple foods. Dry beans, dry rice, chicken, peanut butter, eggs, cottage cheese – all of those things are inexpensive staples around which you can center a lot of different meals.
Make those low cost staples the centerpiece of a lot of meals and you’ll save a lot of money. You can buy the dry ingredients, like beans and rice, in bulk because they become even cheaper and they’ll last forever.
Use a slow cooker. A slow cooker is an amazing device. You can simply put a handful of ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning, hit a button or two, and then walk in the door after work to a delicious home-cooked meal that’s ready to put directly on the table. It’s absolutely perfect for busy families like ours; in fact, we use ours two or three times a week to allow for homecooked meals in situations where time constraints might force us to pick up food or get takeout.
Slow cookers excel at things like soups, stews, and casseroles – things that work really well when cooked slowly over several hours. Most of those meals, particularly soups, amount to literally adding ingredients to the cooker in the morning, turning on the heat, and enjoying it in the evening. It’s about as easy as can be.
Another great use for a slow cooker is for making broth or stock. Just save your bones and other scraps from meats and any vegetable scraps you might have and boil them together. A pot full of chicken bones and vegetable scraps, filled up with water and left to slow cook all day, turns into a wonderful broth that can be strained and saved for future soups and other meals.
Prepare multiple batches of meals and freeze them. If you’re already making a casserole or soup or stew for dinner, why not make two or three batches of the same thing and freeze the extra batches for later use? Doing so adds only a little work if you’re already preparing a meal.
Another strategy is to prepare a full second batch, cook it at the same time, and then divide it into individual meals for reheating. A pan of lasagna, for example, can be split into twelve individual pieces which, when placed in individual freezer containers, can provide many lunches going forward. A well-stocked freezer provides lots of meals that are ready to be pulled out and thawed in the refrigerator. These meals can then easily be heated at your convenience in the next few days.
The big advantage here is that it allows you to buy ingredients in bulk when it might not otherwise make sense to do so. If you’re making lasagna because the ingredients are on sale, for example, you can make a “cheap” pan by buying double the ingredients. Similarly, if you can get a much cheaper price per noodle on a jumbo box of lasagna noodles, making multiple pans at once can be a real money saving proposition.
Drink water instead of soda or other beverages. Water is an extremely inexpensive beverage, and it serves its key purpose incredibly effectively. It quenches your thirst. It hydrates you. It has zero calories. It’s also incredibly convenient and pretty much free.
Virtually every other beverage out there fails in at least one of those areas. Almost everything is more expensive than a cup of water, the cost of which is substantially less than a penny if poured from your tap. Many beverages fail to hydrate you. Many beverages are loaded with calories. Many beverages actually don’t quench your thirst at all.
Make water your main beverage. Not only will you feel better, you’ll also save yourself quite a bit of money along the way.
Buy nonperishable foods in bulk when they’re on sale. I touched on this idea above a few times, but it really deserves to be said on its own. If there are nonperishable foods that you use regularly in your meals, buy them in enormous bulk. Fill up your cupboards with rice if you use rice in a lot of meals. Fill up your cupboards with dry beans if you use dry beans all the time.
When you buy nonperishables in large bulk, you drive the price per pound down as low as you possibly can. Buying a twenty pound bag of dried beans, for instance, often reduces the price per pound for beans to about 60% of the cost of buying a pound by itself. If you’re going to use those beans, that’s a tremendous bargain – basically, the first twelve pounds cost you the same per pound as the one-pound bags, but the next eight pounds are free.
Look at the nonperishable foods you use all the time in the kitchen and then look into the possibility of buying those items in large bulk through warehouse clubs or other opportunities. You’ll likely end up saving a whole lot of money.
Buy dried beans and rice and prepare them in advance when it’s convenient. One reason that people rely on the convenience of precooked canned beans or on instant rice is because of the time involved in preparing dried rice and dried beans. When you’re trying to prepare a meal with beans in it, for example, waiting for beans to cook can just stretch out meal preparation too far.
The solution is surprisingly simple: just cook the rice or beans a day or two earlier and store them in the refrigerator. Let’s say you need some cooked beans for a chili soup in the next few days. Cook the beans now when you have some time. Bring them to a boil on the stovetop and let them sit in the hot water for an hour or two, then drain the beans and put them in the fridge. Boom – it’s actually easier at that point than using canned beans!
Every time you can take an element of a meal and prepare it earlier, do so. This makes the actual meal preparation even easier, and when meal preparation is easy, you’re more likely to do it instead of going out and spending more money on food.
Next time, we’ll take a look at how to save money on insurance.
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Learn the secrets of financial freedom in November’s Moneywise magazine
Uncover the secrets to financial freedom – from paying less tax to boosting your income to saving money at home – in the latest issue of Moneywise magazine on sale in WHSmith from today.
For just £3.95, we also reveal the best suppliers for your home as voted for by you in our Home Finance Awards 2016.
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Halloween Just Got Better: Chipotle’s $3 Boorito is Back
All geared up for Halloween? Listen up, because this most-loved holiday just got a little bit better.
Chipotle’s bringing back its Boorito deal, offering $3 entrees to customers who show up in costume.
No tricks. Just delicious, corn-salsa-filled treats.
How to Get a $3 Boorito From Chipotle This Halloween
It’s super easy (and fun): Just show up to Chipotle in costume after 3 p.m. on Oct. 31.
You’ll be rewarded with a cheap, delicious dish — and since Chipotle’s meals usually cost more than $7, this price is actually better than a BOGO deal!
Yes, Halloween falls on a Monday this year… but who doesn’t wear their costume to the office? And if you’re taking the kids trick-or-treating, this deal is a perfect, easy dinner.
Despite the promotion’s name, it’s not actually limited to burritos. Guests can get a bowl, salad or order of tacos for $3, too.
It excludes online, smartphone, fax (lol) and catering orders, so you’ve got to actually walk your costumed self into the store.
The promotion aims to fill your heart as well as your belly: Chipotle will donate up to $1 million of the proceeds from U.S. sales to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, which provides resources and promotes good stewardship to help create a more sustainable food future.
The only scary part? You’ll probably still have to pay extra for guac.
No big deal, though, since you totally DIY’d your costume and decorations.
That’s why we hoard pennies, after all: Some things are just worth the splurge.
Your Turn: Will you head to Chipotle on Halloween? What other freebies are you planning to get while you’re in costume?
Jamie Cattanach is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Her writing has also been featured at The Write Life, Word Riot, Nashville Review and elsewhere. Find @JamieCattanach on Twitter to wave hello.
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Barclays PPI claims: Redress fund rises by £600 million
Barclays is struggling to keep up with payment protection insurance (PPI) claims from its customers, adding another £600 million to its redress fund.
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Five Signs You Need a Career Change
Contrary to what you might have heard, no one is really sure how many careers the average person has in the course of a lifetime – in part, because many career changes are hard to define. If you start out your career as a Registered Nurse, become a Nurse Manager, and then later go on to work in hospital administration, have you had one career, or three?
Regardless of how you define them, careers are fluid, and most of us will have at least a few. The more important thing to know is when it’s time to consider moving on to the next phase of your working life.
These are all good signs that it’s time to start thinking about what comes next:
1. Your industry is dying.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook tracks occupations’ median pay, educational requirements, and growth rate. If you’re trying to figure out if your job will still exist in a few years, it’s a good place to start.
For example, if you’re Statistician or a Wind Turbine Service Technician, good news – both occupations are projected to grow at 30% or faster between 2014 and 2024. On the other hand, if you’re a Broadcast News Analyst or Medical Transcriptionist, it might be time to retrain, as both occupations are expected to decline.
2. You’re chronically burnt out.
When we think of job burnout, we often picture the behavioral evidence that someone is about to reach their breaking point – snapping at coworkers, for example, or becoming critical of the job. But burnout can manifest as physical symptoms as well, appearing as everything from insomnia to getting sick more often.
If you’re feeling not quite right, and your doctor can’t find anything wrong with you, the issue might be career-related. Engage in some self-care now, while you figure out what you want to do next. Your coworkers will thank you, and you’ll be able to embark on your next phase with a clear conscience.
- Related: ‘My Job Is Killing Me’
3. You don’t want your boss’s job.
There’s no rule that says that you have to climb straight up the ladder, but in many professions, if you don’t want your boss’s job someday, there’s really nowhere else for you to go. If you don’t love what your manager does all day, and there’s no other path forward or way to earn more money as your experience grows, you might want to consider whether it’s time to look into another career.
You don’t have to be a manager to be a success. But you do have to plan carefully to achieve a non-management track career that meets your emotional and financial needs.
4. You have the ‘Sunday Night Blues’ …all week long.
No matter how much you love your job, you’re going to have the occasional day where you’d rather be on the beach or the golf course instead of heading into yet another meeting. That’s perfectly normal. What’s not normal is dreading every day like it’s your annual review and you haven’t met your goals.
If you’re always dragging your feet as you head out the door, it might be time for a change. Consider the famous quote by late Apple founder Steve Jobs: “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
If the issue is what you do – as opposed to a problem with your boss or your employer – you might want to think about changing careers, and not just looking for a new job.
5. You’re not excited about your work anymore.
Sometimes, it’s not that you hate what you do for a living, but that it just doesn’t excite you. This isn’t to say that work needs to fulfill all our needs; many people earn a living doing one thing and feed their soul doing something else. But if you used to feel passion for your work and now you’re feeling ho-hum, it might be time to consider whether a change in scenery would reignite your excitement.
Related Articles:
- Why Taking a Pay Cut Was the Best Career Move I Ever Made
- Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Pick Your Career Off a ‘Hot Jobs’ List
- Unhappy Being ‘Locked In’? Here’s a Strategy to Build a New Career Path
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Londoners may need 121 years to save for their first home
A would-be first-time buyer on a median salary of £34,320 a year would have to wait 121 years to save 10% of their net annual salary towards the deposit on an average priced flat in London, new research has revealed.
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4 Money Tips for Teens From a Woman Who Started a Finance Blog at 16
“She’s making me do Crossfit, Jamie.”
So began my phone call with Eva Baker, the mastermind teenpreneur behind Teens Got Cents.
When I dialed the number on her “contact” page, I actually got her mother, Charlotte, on the phone — which is unsurprising, since Eva started the blog at the tender age of 16. (The page has since been updated.)
Today she’s 20, and a full-blown, professional personal finance blogger.
I even ran into her at FinCon, the community’s seminal event — which she attended after hosting her own conference. And, apparently, while doing Crossfit.
In short: Eva Baker’s not scared of hard work and no stranger to success.
And as the de facto expert on teenage personal finance, we knew we’d learn some key tips for young Penny Hoarders by chatting with her — whether you’re a teen yourself, or teaching your kids.
How This Smart Teen Became a Personal Finance Blogger
Like many, Eva’s dream career started a little bit by accident.
Eva’s stay-at-home mother Charlotte, a homeschool teacher, was going through a divorce — and struggling to regain her financial footing.
A friend recommended Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover,” and in her “new, frugal mindset,” Charlotte hit the library to pick up the book.
“Unfortunately for 15-year-old me,” Eva says, “the library only had the audiobook available.” Suddenly, she was “stuck listening to this old dude talk about money” every time she got in the car with her mom.
But for some reason, Ramsey’s words struck a chord with teenage Eva, who started saving toward $1,000 emergency fund — and soon surpassed that goal.
At the same time, she was busy brainstorming the major high school project she’d need to complete for her junior and senior year.
Her mom wanted her to choose something that focused on communication and people skills, and would be applicable and meaningful in the real world. Since her brother had started a non-profit for his project, she had a tough act to follow.
That’s when it hit her.
She realized her new money knowledge “wasn’t the norm” for people her age. In fact, quite the opposite: Personal finance is conspicuously absent in the American classroom.
And despite the plethora of free financial resources available online, Eva found none of them were specifically directed toward teenagers.
So with her mom’s help, she set up a blog to fill that space, a resource “by teens, for teens” — and Teens Got Cents was born.
How to Teach Financial Literacy for Teens
You may wonder what a 16-year-old girl had to say about personal finance.
It’s a fair question. Even Eva says that, “as a teen,” she was “not an expert on anything.”
Instead, she wrote stories other teens could relate to: buyer’s remorse after purchasing a cute but out-of-budget pair of earrings; the process of buying her first car.
Soon, her storytelling skills started translating to opportunities.
Teens Got Cents attracted attention from local businesses and press in Eva’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and she started saying “yes” to opportunities to bring her business offline.
She soon landed brand ambassador gigs, took public speaking engagements and wrote for local financial companies under her own brand. Today, her blogging business is her full-time job, and earns over $5,000 a month. And she still attends part-time college classes to work toward her A.A.
In her unlikely career as a personal finance guru, Eva’s learned a ton about what’s missing in financial education.
Here are some of her best takeaways for teenagers hungry for better financial sense — and parents eager to teach it.
1. Teens do care about finances.
Sometimes, teens get a bad rap when it comes to issues of responsibility. And Eva admits “a lot of times, teens do just blow it off” when it comes to finances.
But she’s found it might have more to do with missing resources than lack of interest.
Eva often connects with teens in underserved communities, who have big dreams. They want to save up for a car or a college education.
They understand they need to learn how to handle their money to achieve those goals. And they see the financial mistakes their families and neighbors are making, and want to avoid the same pitfalls.
They just don’t know how to do so — or where to get help.
“If you take the time to be purposeful with [teens], they are interested,” Eva says.
“It really is a problem of just education,” she explains. “If someone would step up and take the time with them, things would be really different.”
So the very first step? Don’t neglect teaching your own children about personal finance.
Until our educational system improves, you might be the best resource they have — and if you ignore the topic, it could be devastating for your child’s financial future.
2. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Charlotte was a business major in college, and she knew the importance of teaching her kids about money. So she started training them young — and simply.
She broke out good, old-fashioned envelopes to teach Eva about budgeting at the ripe age of 5. Eva’s used the system throughout her life, saving for new clothes, Christmas gifts and even her car with paper envelopes. She only recently traded them for an app that digitally simulates the simple system.
Although it’s low-tech, the envelope method’s effective — so much so that Eva still brings actual, paper envelopes with her today when she’s teaching teens one-on-one.
3. Be open with your kids about money.
Eva believes a lot of parents “don’t feel qualified” to teach their kids about personal finance.
But it’s as simple as being honest about your own experiences with money.
Eva’s parents got the kids directly involved with household expenses.
“We would sit down and help with the grocery budget,” she says, “and even plan meals for the week.”
Plus, her parents weren’t afraid to bring their own financial foibles into the educational picture. They admitted when they made financial mistakes and discussed how they planned to fix them.
As a result, personal finance was a familiar topic, giving Eva a solid foundation for handling her own money — and the knowledge she needed to grow her eventual business.
4. Give teens real responsibility.
When Eva turned 14, her parents increased her allowance and made her responsible for purchasing all of her own clothing.
Charlotte went shopping with her for the first year, teaching her how to shop sales racks and find good deals. But when it came down to it, a whole budget category was in her own hands.
“That was real,” Eva recalls. And it was a learning experience that stuck with her, making money lessons tangible.
“I think that giving your child or teen that kind of responsibility… makes it real life,” Eva says.
“That’s what’s going to teach them how to manage their money well.”
Money Lessons for a Financially Literate Life
Considering money touches every aspect of our lives, it’s amazing how little we learn about it in school. It’s a serious problem, which can lead to a devastating lack of financial literacy in adulthood.
So if you have kids, it’s worth your time to spearhead their financial education. And if you need some brushing-up of your own, never fear.
We’ve got resources for everything from figuring out your net worth and starting your emergency fund to setting financial goals.
Once you’ve got your own finances in order — or at least on their way — get junior in on it, too. After all, the most important, fundamental money lessons apply whether you’re 5 or 50…
… and no matter your age group, you can probably operate an envelope.
Your Turn: What did you waste money on when you were 16?
Disclosure: We don’t hesitate to pick pennies off the sidewalk when we spot them. But the affiliate links in this post help our earnings grow even quicker. Plus, it’s a lot cleaner than sidewalk money.
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 4 Money Tips for Teens From a Woman Who Started a Finance Blog at 16 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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