Kalahari Waterpark Resorts and Conventions is in the midst of a major expansion that will, it claims, make it America’s largest indoor water park.That would eclipse the current record holder, Kalahari Resorts’ location in Sandusky, Ohio, according to the company.The 120,000 square foot expansion will bring its total waterpark area to 220,000 square feet. Kalahari is also adding 520 rooms and suite to its hotel, bringing the total guest accommodations to 977. [...]
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الأربعاء، 30 نوفمبر 2016
Ask GFC 021 – What’s the Best Option to Rollover My 401(k)?
Welcome to another Ask GFC! If you have a question that you want answered you can ask it here.
If your questions get featured on GFC TV or the GFC Podcast, you are the lucky recipient of a copy of my best selling book, Soldier of Finance, and a $50 Amazon gift card.So what are you waiting for? Ask your question now!
With so many people moving from one job to another, losing their jobs, or working for employers who are bought out by others, this has become a common and important question. Since there are several good options, the answer isn’t always clear.
I received a question on this topic from reader Dionicio F., and I want to tackle it since it’s a similar question that so many others have:
Hi Jeff:
The company where I work had been sold and I need to move my 401(k). What is the best option to move my 401(k)? To a Traditional IRA, ROTH IRA or leave the 401(k) account active? What are the tax consequences of moving it to any of those accounts?
Thank you Jeff, I really enjoy your blog.
Dionicio is facing the increasingly common situation where one employer is merged into another organization, causing a change over in the previous 401(k) plan. It’s likely that the new owner has offered the option to employees to roll their plans over into the plan of that organization, but it’s also possible that the new owner does not have a retirement plan. Either way, Dionicio is at a crossroads as to what to do with his existing plan.
Dionicio has listed three options:
- Move the plan into a traditional IRA
- Move the plan to a Roth IRA, or
- Leave the account exactly where it is
There are positives and negatives with each option, so let’s take a look at each individually and see if we can provide Dionicio with some direction.
Option 1: Roll the 401(k) Over to a Traditional IRA
Rolling over a 401(k) plan to a traditional IRA is probably the most common option used, and there are plenty of good reasons for this.
First, by rolling over the 401(k) into a traditional IRA, no tax liability is created. This is unlike the rollover into a Roth IRA, where you have to pay ordinary income tax on the amount of the rollover (we’ll get into the details of that in the next section).
Second, you will be moving money out of the 401(k) plan – where it is probably being directly managed by a third-party – and into an IRA, which is self-directed. That will give you more control over how the money is invested.
Third, investment options within IRAs are close to unlimited. This is particularly true if you roll the money into a typical investment brokerage account, which will offer the widest variety of investment choices. By contrast, 401(k) plans typically have very limited investment options. They may restrict you to just a few mutual funds or ETFs, and even prohibit you from investing in entire asset classes, such as real estate investment trusts, commodities, or options.
And fourth, you will effectively be the administrator of the plan. That means that you will be able to transfer the account to another broker, or even take distributions at your own discretion. A 401(k) plan generally has specific requirements and restrictions in order to take distributions, and never gives you the option to change trustees.
In Dionicio’s – or anyone else’s for that matter – it may also offer an opportunity to consolidate various retirement plans. For example, if he already has a traditional IRA account setup, he can eliminate the 401(k) plan by rolling it over into the IRA. This is much easier to do with an IRA than it is with existing 401(k), were such consolidations are usually not permitted.
Be sure to do a direct rollover between retirement plans. Mechanically, there are two ways to accomplish a retirement transfer – direct and indirect. Under a direct transfer, the trustee of the original plan transfers the funds directly from the old account into the new one. Using the indirect method, the money is distributed to you, and you then have 60 days to deposit the money into the new plan, or the distribution will be subject to ordinary income taxes, plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty (if you are under age 59 1/2).
You should always want to do a direct transfer in order to avoid the tax bite. First, most trustees will require a withholding amount for taxes on an indirect transfer. If the trustee withholds 20% of the plan balance, you will only be rolling over 80%, which means taxes and penalties will be required on the amount withheld. The alternative will be to cover the amount of the withholding out of other assets so that you can complete the full transfer. But you can avoid that whole mess by doing a direct transfer instead, since there will be no withholding and no chance for creating a tax liability.
Option 2: Roll the 401(k) Over to a Roth IRA
Not surprisingly, rolling over a 401(k) into a Roth IRA has basically the same advantages as doing a rollover into a traditional IRA. There is one major exception, and that’s in regard income taxes. And the news here is both bad and good.
Let’s start with the bad news.
Whenever you roll over funds from any tax-deferred retirement plan into a Roth IRA – which is referred to as a conversion – you will incur ordinary income taxes on the amount transferred. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, and you do a rollover of $100,000 from a 401(k) plan into a Roth IRA, you will incur a tax liability of $25,000.
In fact, it may be higher than that since the amount of the distribution will be added to your regular income, and will probably push you into a higher tax bracket. Worse, the amount of the tax will be due in the year when the rollover takes place. This happens because you are moving money from a tax-deferred account to what will ultimately become a tax-free account.
But this is where the bad news turns into good news…
Roth IRA accounts are funded with after-tax income. That means that there is no tax deduction for the contributions that you make. But similar to all other retirement plans, investment income on a Roth IRA accumulates on a tax-deferred basis. However, once you reach the age of 59 1/2 – as long as the Roth IRA has been in place for at least five years – withdrawals from the plan are taken tax-free. This includes both your contribution amounts and the cumulative investment earnings on the plan.
In effect, the rollover amounts from other plans into a Roth IRA are treated like contributions. That means that there are no tax advantages to making those contributions. But since the amount in, say a 401(k) plan, was accumulated with pretax contributions, the rollover from the 401(k) to an Roth IRA is treated like a distribution from the 401(k). That means that ordinary income tax will be due on the amount of the rollover. However, no 10% early withdrawal penalty is imposed, even if you are not yet 59 1/2.
Tax-free distributions are the powerful advantage that Roth IRAs have over virtually every other type of retirement plan. The taxes that you pay in order to do the conversion from the 401(k) plan to the Roth IRA are the price that you pay for the tax-free status of the account once you begin taking withdrawals.
There’s one other advantage that’s completely unique to Roth IRAs. They are the only retirement plan available that does not involve required minimum distributions, or RMDs. All other retirement plans require that you begin taking distributions once you turn age 70 1/2. The distributions are generally based on your life expectancy at that time. But Roth IRAs do not require RMDs, giving you complete control over the plan for virtually your entire life.
Option 3: Keep the Plan Exactly Where it is
This is probably the least desirable option. That’s because 401(k) plans offer you the least amount of account control, and the most limited investment options.
But there’s still another disadvantage. Once you leave the employer, or particularly if the plan is no longer associated with an employer, the plan can become even more distant. For example, if you have a problem with the account, or you want to access the money, there is no employer acting as an intermediary. You will have to deal directly with the plan trustee, which removes the leverage that an employer has. In cases where the employer no longer exists, the 401(k) plan could become something of an orphan plan for the trustee that manages it.
However, if you are happy with the 401(k) plan as it is, there may be no compelling reason to move it. This is particularly true if you have no interest in managing the investments in it, or you have no immediate need to withdraw any money.
Keeping the plan where it is will also make it easier to roll it over into the 401(k) plan of another employer. Most will not permit you to roll over IRA funds into a 401(k), but nearly all will permit a direct 401(k)-to-401(k) rollover.
For Dionicio – or anyone else facing a decision to move a 401(k) plan – it’s a matter of considering what is most important to you, and which rollover option will work best within your own preferences.
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Your Netflix Account Just Got a Binge-Enabling Free Upgrade
It’s happened to the best of us.
You’ve watched five or six episodes of a show, and you’re totally on a roll. But unfortunately, the outside world beckons — and your data plan isn’t that into the idea of streaming the rest of the season.
If this sounds familiar, you’ll want to keep reading, because Netflix just made a totally game-changing announcement.
You can now download your favorite Netflix content to your mobile phone or tablet and watch it offline later.
Even better? This new capability is rolled into your current membership price, no matter which Netflix plan you’re on.
Download Netflix Shows and Movies to Your Phone or Tablet — for Free!
“While many members enjoy watching Netflix at home, we’ve often heard they also want to continue their Stranger Things binge while on airplanes and other places where Internet is expensive or limited,” reads the Nov. 30 press release.
To satisfy that demand, Netflix enabled download capability for phones and tablets on both Android and iOS — a service freely included in all existing Netflix plans.
Not all shows and films are available for download (yet), but many are, including hits like “Orange is the New Black” and “Narcos.” Netflix will continue to add download capability to more content over the coming weeks.
How Netflix’s New Option to Download Saves You Money
Well, first of all, it doesn’t cost anything — it’s part of your existing membership fee. Heck yeah, free upgrades!
And since you’re a savvy Penny Hoarder, you’re already getting your Netflix membership for free, right?
Further, the new option to download saves you money on data if you’re already willing to stream shows on a mobile device in a location without public Wi-Fi. (Having once watched — and paid for — several episodes of “Breaking Bad” while being tattooed, I can relate to this struggle.)
The new deal is also a great option if a friend or family member wants to watch something else at the same time, but you don’t want to shell out for a multi-screen plan.
Just have that person download a few episodes or movies to their favorite device and watch them offline. You can still stream live from your computer or TV just fine!
So go ahead and take your Netflix to exotic new locations. (But keep the “chill” part at home, please!)
Your Turn: Where will you continue your next Netflix binge?
Jamie Cattanach is a Netflix-obsessed 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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Here’s How Much Student Debt the Government is Going to Forgive
The government just figured out how many billions worth of student loans it’s going to have to forgive as part of income-based repayment plan agreements, and it’s not exactly pleased.
The Government Accountability Office released a report on Wednesday that explains it will have to forgive at least $108 billion worth of student debt when borrowers who started paying back their loans between 1995 and 2017 reach the end of their income-driven repayment plans.
While Congress approved these programs over the past two decades, President Obama has encouraged new graduates to enroll. The report was commissioned last year after a sharp uptick in borrower enrollment, which The Wall Street Journal notes has tripled in the last three years.
What is Income-Based Student Loan Repayment?
Income-based repayment plans, which are only available for federal loans, typically offer lower loan payments over a longer period of time. As your income increases over the years, you pay more toward your loan balance.
You must apply to participate in this program and recertify your income and family size each year so your loan servicer can recalculate your payments.
When your repayment period ends — usually after 20 years — the government forgives your remaining balance.
How Much Could Income-Driven Repayment Help You Save?
The Federal Student Aid office of the Department of Education provides a few examples of what you might pay — and save — under these plans:
Say you have $30,000 of undergraduate loan debt when you graduate, and your starting salary is $25,000. If you apply for income-based repayment, your starting payments would be about $60 per month, eventually rising to $296 per month over the course of 20 years.
At the end of that term, the government forgives the balance, which would be somewhere between $24,000 and $27,000.
Why does the government get left with so much? It’s because those loans, spread over a longer repayment period, still accrue interest.
The report made recommendations to adjust the program’s expectations, but says it may not know the full costs of the program for 40 years.
Your Turn: Did you enroll in an income-based loan repayment program? How much do you expect the government to forgive after 20 years?
Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder.
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Did a Retailer Send You Something You Didn’t Order? You Can Keep It
Have you ever ordered something from an online retailer, only to open the box to find something completely different? Or maybe you ordered one item, but the company sent you two or three?
Because you’re a good person (we’re assuming), your first instinct would be to return the item, right?
But in this case, you can actually keep whatever you were sent — it’s your right.
Consumerist posted this reminder after a reader submitted a question about how to deal with getting two iPads in the mail from Target. But since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) forbids a company billing a customer for something they didn’t order, the rule is pretty simple: If it’s the retailer’s mistake, you get to keep the item in question.
What If You Don’t Want the Thing You Received by Mistake?
If you hate clutter or the item the company sent you by mistake does not bring you joy, you can return it. The FTC says that’s legal as long as the merchant pays for the return shipping.
Otherwise, it’s all yours — to donate to charity (get a tax receipt!), give to a friend or even sell on eBay.
How Much Does This Really Happen?
I wondered if any of our 50 staffers had encountered this scenario before. And apparently, it happens more than you’d think!
I was surprised to see several confessions of the weird stuff people originally ordered — and what they really received. Below are six shining examples of finders, keepers.
More Lights!
“I ordered a light kit from B&H camera supply; they sent me two of the same kit a week apart. I offered to return it if they supplied the shipping but considering the size, they just told me to keep it. ”
-Michael House, video manager
An Extra Lazy Susan
“Crate & Barrel sent me two of the same Lazy Susan once in two separate shipments. I gave one to a friend.”
-Lizabeth Cole, director of media relations
Socks?
“I once ordered rings online from Forever 21, and they also sent me men’s socks? Kept them, super comfy, just a little weird.”
-Kristy Gaunt, graphic design intern
More Shirts
“I received a pair of shirts when I ordered just one. I called the Amazon seller, and they said to keep it.”
-Justin Cupler, assistant editor (Author’s note: Office gossip revealed the shirt said “World’s Best Farter… I mean, Father,” therefore limiting the regifting options for this mistake.)
“I had a T-shirt subscription through Wired Magazine and they sent me two of the same shirt in separate packages. Apparently they did it to everyone, cause they sent out an email about it that was something like ‘Bet you were surprised when you got another shirt. We were too.’”
-Kelsey Buxton, Facebook advertising copywriter and creative designer
Dr. Who Gear
“I got a Dr. Who thing — a sonic screwdriver? — when I ordered a Christmas gift last year. They’d sent the wrong package. They ended up overnighting the correct item and letting me keep/regift the mistake.”
-Colleen Rice, email marketing specialist
Your Turn: Have you ever received an incorrect purchase by mail? What did you do with it?
Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder. She orders a lot of stuff online, but this has never happened to her.
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This Company Lets You Buy Gift Cards for Stock, and It’s Brilliant
Trees are decorated, snow is on the ground in a lot of places and the Thanksgiving turkeys are almost completely eaten. The holidays really are only a few weeks away.
That means it’s time for me to figure out what to buy for all the people on my list.
I have four sisters with five kids among them. We adults have forgone gifts for a few years now, but we still want presents under the tree for the kids when we all gather at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Christmas.
I’m not great at giving gifts. I never know what anyone wants. Or the difference between a toy for a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old. Or whether kids are still into “Frozen.”
Also, what if they already have one of everything?
This year, I think I’ve found a solution.
Investing in Their Future
As a personal finance blogger, I know I can do better for these kids than to buy them one more plastic toy they’ll forget about by spring.
As a non-parent who’s not keen on responsibility, however, I don’t want to delve into complicated stuff like contributing to a 529 college savings fund or some other investment when I have relatively little money to give.
This year, I’ll buy gift cards for stock.
Yep. Someone out there knows about aunts like me, and they’ve made it just that easy.
Through Stockpile, you can purchase fractional shares of stock in major companies like Nike, Apple or Tesla. Or maybe the kids want to own a bit of Barbie, Disney or Dora the Explorer!
(Are kids still into Dora? What’s cool right now?!)
Here’s How it Works
Stockpile’s mission is to make buying stock as easy as buying groceries or that stupid scented candle you were about to buy for your office Secret Santa exchange.
To gift stock in your loved one’s favorite company:
- Start here, and decide how you want to wrap it: an e-gift or physical gift card. You can either find a store near you to pick up a physical gift card, or — if you’re planning ahead like this awesome aunt — order it online.
- Choose the company you want to buy stock in. With an e-gift card, you can choose any stock. Physical gift cards will be limited to a selection of most popular stocks, or you can buy a generic one that will allow the recipient to choose any company.
- Choose how much money you want to spend. With an e-gift card, you can spend any amount, as little as $1. Physical gift cards come in denominations of $25, $50 or $100.
Regardless of how you gift it, your purchase will also include a few dollars in fees — $1.99 per gift under $100, $1.99 + 3% per gift card over $100 — to cover trading commission and transaction fees. That keeps the recipient from paying anything when they redeem the card.
- To redeem, the recipient will go online or download the Stockpile app to sign up. They’ll enter a redemption code from the card and buy their stock.
If they don’t like the stock you chose, they can invest in another. If they don’t want stock at all, they can trade the gift card for a merchant gift of their choice.
You and I can still take comfort in knowing we tried to be the responsible aunt and invest in their future.
Bonus: No time wasted trying to figure out which doll is Anna and which is Elsa.
(Seriously, though, am I way behind? Please tell me what kids are into these days.)
Trying to save money this holiday season? Follow The Penny Hoarder Deals on Facebook to keep up with latest shopping tips, tricks and sales!
Your Turn: Do you know of any clever gifts for kids this holiday season?
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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13 Free Tools to Help You Learn a New Language — Without Going to Class
I’m envious of those who are bilingual or trilingual — heck, even quadrilingual.
Learning a second language has just never been my thing. I think I was scarred by the puppets my kindergarten teacher broke out in an effort to teach us basic Spanish vocab.
Or maybe it’s due to the fact that I solely passed my required foreign language classes in college because I sucked up to the professor. (Yeah, and I’m not ashamed either.)
But now that learning a language isn’t mandatory, it’s appealing to me. So I’m taking on Italian, so I can at least order another glass of wine when I travel there next year.
The Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language
In addition to the more obvious reasons (travel and attractive mates with great accents), learning a foreign language can pay off.
You can earn about 2% more each year if you know a second language. It doesn’t sound like much, but could add up to nearly $70,000 by time you retire (think: compound interest).
And if you know German, you could earn 3.8% more (versus that 2% average).
Freelancer recently ranked the top 10 fastest-growing online job sectors of 2016’s third quarter, and jobs that require German language skills made the cut.
Part of the reason? Brexit. Apparently Berlin Senator for Economics, Technology and Research Cornelia Yzer warned British companies about the aftershock of leaving the European Union.
“[Berlin] is very much now the focus of many European businesses, cementing the recent confidence in Berlin and Germany as a European hub of innovation,” Freelancer concludes.
13 Resources to Help You Learn a New Language for Free
Perhaps the best news out of all of this is you don’t have to schmooze your college professor (and pay loads in tuition). Instead, you can use these free resources to tackle your desired foreign language.
We found 13 ways to learn a language for free — and boost your earning power.
1. Bussuu
Bussuu claims to be a globally-leading, language-learning app with more than 60 million users learning 12 languages through interactive exercises.
You can access free flashcards and writing exercises.
However, if you’re willing to splurge, it offers a premium membership starting at $5.41/month. You’ll get all of the above, plus access to quizzes and official certificates, travel courses, mobile apps, grammar exercises and a vocabulary trainer.
It boasts that 22.5 hours with the premium version equates to a semester of college classes — which sounds a lot less painful than going to an actual class.
With more than 800 ratings on the iTunes store, the app has a 4.5-star review.
2. Duolingo
With a motto like “Learn a language for free. Forever,” Duolingo (also available in app form) captures my heart. In fact, several of my co-workers recommended this app.
You can learn on your own or with friends. Either way, the learning part is gamified.
That little fire emoji at the top keeps you motivated by showing you how many days in a row you’ve spent learning your language of choice. And the hearts symbolize your lesson lives; when you’re out, you have to start over.
Each lesson provides you with speaking, listening and translating challenges. You’re graded instantly — and given feedback for improvement.
It’s your game, so jump into one of the 21 languages.
3. Italki
Italki stands out from the others in that it connects you with native speakers. So rather than talking to yourself, you can talk with a real person.
You can also opt to pay for a tutor. Or you can utilize the free chat service where you’ll still be able to connect with native speakers.
To do this, just sign up (I used Facebook), then select your languages, time zone and preferences. Make sure to click “No,” not interested in finding a paid teacher or tutor. Select community in the top toolbar, and navigate to discussions. Here, you can practice and/or ask for advice.
4. iTunes U
The idea of iTunes U is to “bring your classroom together on iPad” and professors use the online platform to deliver lessons to students.
However, you can have access to these lessons, too — for free — if you have an iPhone or iPad.
Download the app (if it didn’t already come standard on your device). Search the language you’re interested in learning, and up pops free podcasts, videos and educational materials.
You might even have access to homework assignments, which allows you to closely follow the courses — but at your own pace and without a looming grade on your transcript.
5. Meetup
When you get tired of reciting words to a screen, check out Meetup.
Search by your location and interest to find a group of people in your community with similar interests. In this case, you’ll want to search by “Language & Culture.”
“When we get together and do the things that matter to us, we’re at our best,” the website states.
In my area, I find “The Saint Petersburg Italian Language Meetup” with 77 Italian speakers. Perhaps it’s bold, but once I nail down some basics, it could be fun to check out!
6. Memrise
Memrise — also available in app form — boasts at least 200 languages and over 300,000 courses.
Each course has a fun garden theme. When you start out, you’ll see an empty pot with a seed. As your language skills grow, so will the little flower.
Because I’m set on learning Italian, I select a “Learn Basic Italian” course. I’m presented two words: “hello” (caio) and “I would like” (vorrei). A man says them aloud. I click through, and, after those two words, I’m quizzed.
If I’m struggling to nail one down, I can click “Help Me Remember.” I’m given a variety of ways to remember it, submitted by users. I like this one, which reviews the basic words I’ve learned so far:
horray (vorrei)!
that coffee (del caffè)
please do my favor! (per favore)
Eventually, I’m asked to type the words out — so I know I can’t do this too mindlessly.
I enjoy the instant feedback of the lesson and the game-like nature of it all. A little vine grows each time I get something correct. I’m hooked.
6. My Languages
No matter how obscure the language might be, you can probably find it on My Languages. The website hosts 95 languages, including Armenian, Icelandic, Mandarin and Yiddish.
Each language is broken down by lessons, which vary, but some examples include adjectives, alphabet, colors, food (very important), numbers, phrases, time and weather.
Inside each lesson, you’ll find various words. For example, I click on Cantonese “body” and find various body parts: head, hair, ear and others. The English word appears above an icon, then I see the Cantonese word. I can click the icon and hear a voice repeat the word to me.
There’s also a radio option that allows you to listen to a live Cantonese broadcast.
7. Open Culture
This website is a little different than the ones above because it aggregates a whole bunch of free resources for you to check out.
Open Culture is host to resources for 48 languages and contains a goldmine of information. For example, one of the resources under Japanese linked to a free video series on iTunes U where a college professor teaches you how to draw more than 150 kanji characters.
The site is less structured than the others, so perhaps this is a fun resource to browse once you feel as though you’re getting the hang of a language.
8. Podcasts
Listening to a language is a huge part to conquering it. For example, I could easily mispronounce ciao. Then what happens when I get to Italy? I sound like an idiot.
“Podcasts are one of the first places I turn when I’m starting in a new language,” writes Benny Lewis on his website, Fluent in 3 Months. “Podcasts give the opportunity to listen to your new language being spoken. As you listen, you’ll learn correct pronunciation.”
Lewis is known for his ability to become conversationally fluent in three months. He recommends these free language-learning podcasts.
The Guardian also put together a list of 10 podcasts it recommends.
Lately, I’ve been listening to Coffee Break Italian from Radio Lingua Network, which features various languages.
9. Public libraries
I can’t guarantee your public library will have the resources you’re looking for. And you’re going to have to leave your house. But as a former English major, I feel obligated to give public libraries a nod.
You might be able to find language books, audio CDs and DVDs. If your library doesn’t have what you’re looking for, ask your librarian to search your district’s catalog. You should be able to take out an interlibrary loan.
Also ask about free access to online platforms such as Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur.
10. TalkTalkBnb
This is real adventurous. TalkTalkBnb is similar in concept to Airbnb. Except it’s free — and language focused.
You can choose to travel or host, but either way, the idea is to meet — and talk with — locals.
“We’re hoping to create a large international language-learning community, based on practice and sharing. Our ambition is to connect thousands of people from all countries, for cultural exchanges and travel,” the company’s site states.
The relatively new community covers more than 100 countries and 80 languages.
11. Word Reference
Word Reference is a solid online translation dictionary. It’s similar to Google Translate, but you might find it more reliable.
You can search simple words. For example, I translate “run” from English to Italian and find the correct word, plus various tenses — as well as how it’s used in a sentence.
This site won’t necessarily teach you the language, but it’s a good reference if you just want to look up a word.
12. The Yojik Website
Although The Yojik Website is not tied to any government entity, it hosts more than 600 Foreign Service Institute courses — which is a government entity.
These are the courses the U.S. government uses to train foreign affairs employees. According to the website, the “old” courses are all public domain — which is good for you.
However, you might notice some missing languages. Either way, it’s a neat place to check out.
It might be especially helpful if you’re traveling since some lessons cover the country’s culture and government.
13. YouTube
Our editorial intern, Jacquelyn Pica, is a student at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She desperately wanted to learn Japanese, but found out she couldn’t get credit for the course, so she opted to learn a different way — and for free.
She uses YouTube.
“YouTube videos are always free, and it’s important to hear your language actually being spoken as well,” she says.
Pica discovered the Innovative Language Learning Channel. It has 35 channels, each dedicated to a different language.
She also recommends Easy Languages, which teaches you phrases via interviews with native speakers.
“It’s an awesome way to hear how native speakers say certain phrases,” Pica explains.
And if you’re like Pica and want to learn Japanese, she used the Japanese Lesson channel to teach herself both Japanese character systems.
“It can be scary for beginners to learn all of the characters,” she says. But this resource helped her do it.
Your Turn: What’s your favorite, free way to learn a new language?
A big grazi goes to editorial intern Jacquelyn Pica, who shared her language-learning experiences with me and helped with the extensive research. She plans to hold me accountable in my foreign language endeavors.
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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Stop Building Traffic, and Start Converting It. Here’s How
I’ll let you in on a little marketing secret.
In the grand scheme of things, building massive amounts of traffic doesn’t really matter. What matters is converting that traffic.
Everyone talks about building traffic. That’s fine, but it’s not the end of the story. If you don’t convert your traffic, building it is pointless.
Building traffic is like building a shopping mall. You can easily get people to come through the doors, but if you have only a few lackluster stores, none of those people will turn into customers. You have to give them a reason to stay.
I’ve seen tons of sites fail miserably because they didn’t convert their traffic. A site can have the best idea in the world, but if it doesn’t focus on conversion, it’ll flop.
Funnily enough, that’s what happened to me with my first website experience.
The first site I ever built was a job board called Advice Monkey. I spent over $5,000 to create it and hired three lousy marketing firms. In the end, I learned how to market it myself, but the site still failed because it wasn’t set up to take payments.
Had I spent less time marketing and more time optimizing the site for conversions, the site would have done much better. Sure, I probably wouldn’t have made millions, but I would’ve converted more of my traffic and made more than $0.
Take a lesson from me: don’t worry much about getting people through the doors while forgetting to build the stores.
Here’s how to take all that traffic you worked so hard to build and successfully convert it.
Getting the right mindset
I firmly believe that conversion is an attitude, not just an action. It takes focus and dedication. You have to internalize your goals until they’re second nature.
I realize this sounds a little philosophical, but stay with me. You need to see conversion as more than just a bunch of numbers. Why? If you become obsessed with converting, you’ll fail.
Here’s an example. Say you’re hyper-focused on converting. You include a few popups and some social buttons, and before long, your site looks like this:
Okay, it’s probably not that bad. But you get the idea.
It’s easy to go overboard, and I get that. But as Social Triggers’s Derek Halpern points out, going too far can actually become your conversion rate’s worst enemy.
You should definitely focus on conversion, but don’t get a death grip on it. Conversion is a long-term strategy, not a short-term win.
Now that you’ve understood the conversion mindset, let’s take a look at how to convert all your traffic.
Publish the right content
If I had to pick a favorite form of marketing, it’d be content marketing.
Great content is wildly powerful. The converse is true too: horrible content is wildly destructive.
In fact, your blog can (and will) fail if you get the content wrong. If you create too much content, you’ll fail. If you create content that’s not relevant to your readers, you’ll fail.
So it’s imperative you get the content right.
First, you have to decide on the type of content you’ll provide. There are many options to choose from: blog posts, webinars, and podcasts, to name a few.
How do you know which type of content is right for you? You have to know your audience. I know my readers are looking for thorough guides, and that’s one of the many reasons I use blog posts.
On the other hand, there are people like Tim Ferriss who use podcasts as their medium of choice.
Tim knows his audience loves interviews with experts, and that’s what he gives them.
The lesson: Study your audience until you know them as well as you know your friends. Find out what type of content they respond to the most.
You also have to get the length right. I’ve found that longform content works best. You might be surprised to know that 3000+ word blog posts get more traffic than shorter posts.
Make conversion easy (but not annoying)
If you want people to convert, you need to make that process easy. If your readers love your content but can’t find an easy way to sign up for your list or buy your product, you’ll lose out.
There are a few elements you have to get right if you want to boost your conversion rate:
1. Make an irresistible offer
First things first: If your offer itself doesn’t amaze your readers, you’ll get zero conversions.
To create an irresistible offer, you have to know what your readers want. Delve into your psychographics to find out what drives your audience and why they behave the way they do.
SumoMe’s blog post called “The Definitive Guide to Content Upgrades” adds a sweet offer:
Everyone who’s reading this post wants to learn more about content upgrades, so SumoMe offers a free e-book. It’s specific, relevant, and valuable.
On the other hand, if your offer is not specific, relevant, or valuable, your readers will have no reason to take you up on it. Don’t beat around the bush with general offers like a cheat sheet on being a better marketer. Your offer should be targeted specifically to your readers.
When you’re working on creating an irresistible offer, make sure it’s specific, relevant, and valuable. Your offers build the foundation on which you’ll build your conversion.
2. CTAs (calls-to-action)
If your CTAs are boring, your conversion rate will be low.
One of the best ways to write a great CTA is to be specific. “Buy now” could refer to anything, but “download your free e-book” reminds the reader what they’re getting.
Your CTA needs copy that’s exciting. It should feel like you’re inviting the reader on an adventure. It should not feel like you’re selling something.
Optimizely uses a straightforward and effective CTA:
There’s no hard sell here. It’s an invitation to test out the software free. Plus, it’s a breeze to fill out.
Design matters too. Your CTA needs to be highly visible so people can find it and click it. It’s so simple, right? But many blogs get this wrong.
Brian Dean from Backlinko uses a yellow box for his CTAs:
The yellow box works because your eye is naturally drawn to it. For Brian, that means higher conversion rates.
Find out what your yellow box is. Don’t forget to A/B test to figure out what’s working the best (and what you should ax).
Put in the time and effort to create an eye-catching CTA that engages your readers, and you’ll be rewarded.
3. Popups
Quiz time: How are popups like Justin Beiber?
As Hunter Boyle of Aweber puts it,
You either love ‘em, or hate ‘em, but lately you see ‘em everywhere—because they still pull in big crowds.
You might find popups annoying, but they work wonders. We successfully used popups on Kissmetrics to double our conversion rate.
Popups play a vital role in converting your traffic, but you shouldn’t go overboard. By tastefully using popups, you can skyrocket your conversion rate.
First, you need to decide which type(s) of popups to use. The days of random popups are gone. Instead, opt for triggered popups.
Let’s talk about two of my favorite types of popups:
- exit intent overlays
- scroll-triggered scrollboxes.
You’re probably familiar with exit intent popups that appear when your mouse moves to close the tab. An exit intent overlay is a full-screen popup that appears when a user gets ready to leave the site.
Smartblogger uses an exit intent overlay with a cunning strategy:
This popup immediately engages the reader. Instead of being presented with just one option, you get two. And one of them has to be applicable to you. At the very least, it raised your eyebrows, right?
And here’s the best part: There are two different lead magnets for the two answers.
You don’t have to copy this popup, but I hope it gets you thinking about using exit intent popups. They perform well, but you have to put the work in.
Next up is scroll-triggered scrollboxes. These are the little boxes that pop up on the lower right-hand side of the screen. Usually, these popups appear after you’ve scrolled down the page.
For example, when you scroll to the bottom of any Crazy Egg post (like this one), you’ll see this:
These are great because they’re not intrusive. They take up a small amount of real estate, and they’re far less annoying than random popups that cover up half the screen.
The most important takeaway here is that popups should not distract from the user experience of your site visitors. Don’t cover up the content or make closing the popup difficult. Respect your readers.
Conclusion
You’re probably drawing in plenty of traffic.
Remember, however: what matters most is what you’re doing with that traffic.
Create an irresistible offer, and make it accessible to your visitors. People are willing to check out your offer, but it has to be worth their time. So, add as much value to your offer as possible.
I won’t lie. Conversion optimization isn’t a walk in the park. But it pays off.
And if you nail conversion, you’ll have a bunch of satisfied customers in no time.
What are your biggest problems with converting traffic?
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Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and He’ll Take a Free Photo With Your Pet!
Remember getting your photo taken with Santa at the mall when you were a kid?
Whether you went willingly or had to dragged by your hair (see: yours truly), photos with Santa are a time-honored Christmas tradition… for human children.
But if your only babies are furbabies, you can still participate in this slightly awkward Yuletide ritual. And it won’t even cost you a thing.
Santa Claus is coming to PetSmart on Dec. 10 and 11, 2017 — and he’ll pose for a photo with your pet, free of charge.
Head to PetSmart Next Weekend to Introduce Your Pet to Santa Claus
If you want a Christmas keepsake photo of Fido or Sassy on Santa’s lap, it’s easy to participate. All you have to do is head to a participating PetSmart on Dec. 10 or 11 between 12 and 4 p.m.
Santa will gamely smile while holding your furry companion… but word’s still out on whether or not he’s granting any wishes. (He’d have to speak pet, after all!)
Better yet: The Facebook event doesn’t specify that the animal in question need be a dog or cat.
So I don’t know about you, but I’m considering heading to PetSmart next weekend with my betta fish in tow, bowl and all.
I mean, why not? You’ve got to admit: Santa photos are already pretty darn weird.
Your Turn: Will you bring your pet to visit Santa this year?
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 Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and He’ll Take a Free Photo With Your Pet! appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Balancing Your Financial Success and the Luxuries of Your Friends
We’ve all been there at some point or another.
We meet up with a friend and discover that he or she has acquired some sort of luxury good or had some sort of expensive experience. Maybe that person has a brand new car that’s shining in the sun. Maybe that person has the latest smartphone. Maybe that person just got back from a trip to Rio.
Whatever it is, they’ve just enjoyed some luxury, one that’s well outside the borders of your budget.
And you’re jealous. At least a little.
It’s not a question of whether or not their luxury is something you’d actually want for yourself. It’s that a friend of yours has a luxury in their life. They have access to something luxurious that they personally desired at a time when you don’t have anything luxurious yourself.
You look at your ordinary routines and then look at the luxurious item or experience that your friend has and you simply feel jealous of it.
It’s at that point that you’re primed to make some awful financial choices. You might instantly decide that you need some sort of luxury for yourself and then, within the next day or two, find yourself making a purchase that you wouldn’t have otherwise made. You might dwell on that luxury, letting it swell in your mind and convincing yourself that your current life is denying you so much that you just abandon your financial principles for a while and start splurging. You might even begin to doubt the entire reason that you make good financial choices.
After all, if you can’t have that luxury, what good is it?
Here are some vital things to think about if you find yourself in that mindset.
First of all, you’re actually in the process of buying one of the best luxuries in the world. You don’t have the latest smartphone or a shiny new car, but you do have financial stability in your life and you’re probably building to a state where you can quit working many years before your friends and family while enjoying all the free time in the world to do whatever it is that you enjoy most in the world.
To me, there is literally nothing better that I could be doing with my money. I cannot imagine anything else I’d rather have in this world than endless amounts of free time with enough financial security to not have to worry about day-to-day needs. There are so many things I’d love to explore or try or dig deep into, and the only way to be able to do that is to maximize my control over my time, and the best way to do that is to build a financially secure foundation for my life.
What I often do is transform that luxury item into that free time. My friend might have that shiny car while I have a fourteen year old SUV that I bought off of Craigslist (seriously, I drive an old Honda Pilot that I bought off of Craigslist), but when I look at that shiny new car, what I actually see is about a year‘s worth of days where I have the freedom to choose whatever I want to do with my time. I would way rather have that year – and I think a lot of people, if they really thought about it for a while, would prefer that year, too.
Second, you probably don’t want that luxury anyway. There are many “luxuries” that I have witnessed my friends purchase that I honestly wouldn’t own if I had a billion dollars. It’s just not me. Although I can see that the item is clearly a luxury item, it’s not something I would want.
I have a friend who purchased a Jaguar several years ago. I genuinely have zero interest in owning a Jaguar. I can appreciate that it’s beautiful and so on, but that doesn’t mean I want to own it or use it as something to get back and forth.
That doesn’t mean that I view the person who bought that item with disdain. I understand why someone would want a particular item, but I simply recognize that it’s not for me. I understand why my friend wanted a Jaguar and I understand that my friend is likely to get a lot of enjoyment out of a Jaguar, but I recognize that I wouldn’t get nearly the same enjoyment out of owning one.
Third, you have a friend in front of you that’s probably very happy about this luxury, so share in that joy! Even if you feel immensely jealous of that item that your friend just acquired or that experience that your friend just had, check that jealousy for a moment and switch shoes with that person. Imagine that you just bought something you’ve always wanted or taken a fantastic trip or something and you can’t wait to share it with a friend. How would you want that friend to react? With joy? Or with jealousy, bitterness, and negativity?
Be the friend that you want in your own life. Even if you feel insanely jealous of the purchase. Even if it’s clear it’s something that you wouldn’t buy for yourself. Even if you think the purchase was financially disastrous. No matter what, check the negative feelings and be happy for your friend.
It can be really tempting as well to swing into judgmental talk about finances. Don’t. You can save the financial talk for later. Even if you can’t muster a single ounce of joy related to the item, focus instead on the joy of your friend and be a part of that.
What I’ve found, almost every time, is that by sharing in the joy, my own desire to get something luxurious actually fades away. I begin to realize that it’s not about the luxury item, but about my friend doing something that brings my friend joy. The luxury item could be anything – it doesn’t matter.
Fourth, you likely have things already in your own life that bring you joy, so make sure you always have room for them. I’ve found, over and over again, that I become more jealous of the luxuries that my friends have when I’m feeling negative about the state of things in my own life. If I’m unhappy with some big aspect of my own life at the time my friend shows up with a luxury, I’m going to end up with negative feelings of jealousy. Negativity feeds on negativity, after all.
What’s the solution, then? The solution, for me at least, is to do my best to maintain a life balance. If I feel negativity creeping up in my life, I do everything I can to address it head on. For me, addressing that negativity usually comes in the form of consciously setting aside time and energy for things that are important to me that I’m currently neglecting. Whether it’s a relationship or a hobby or something else, I make sure that I’m setting aside time for that thing, giving it the attention that it needs so that it is no longer a negative.
Letting a bad situation limp along in your life because you believe “it’ll get better soon” or “I can deal with it next week or next month” isn’t a solution because those outcomes never happen. If there’s something in your life that’s bothering you, deal with it now because the longer you let it sit, the more likely it is to become a lasting pattern that you just can’t get rid of.
Finally, give it time. Many of the solutions I describe here require time more than anything else. You might still feel jealousy in the moment, but if you don’t do things in response to that jealousy and instead give yourself some time to reflect on the state of your own life, why you feel that jealousy, and what areas of your own life are feeling negative right now, you’ll probably end up coming to some valuable conclusions that don’t involve spending a dime.
For me, a strong jealous response to something means that something is out of whack in my current life. Those things can be hard to figure out, especially in the moment. So, if you feel jealous, recognize that jealousy, but don’t act on it. Give it time. Try to figure out why you’re feeling jealous.
You may just find that the answer you needed was right there all along.
The post Balancing Your Financial Success and the Luxuries of Your Friends appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Bank of England upsets vegetarians with new note
The Bank of England (BoE) has confirmed through Twitter that the new polymer five pound notes contain tallow, which is made from animal fat.
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Look out for fake banknotes this Christmas
In the lead up to Christmas, the independent crime-fighting charity, Crimestoppers, is warning the public to watch out for counterfeit bank notes.
Whilst less than 1% of notes in circulation are fakes, this is not a victimless crime. Many retailers, businesses, school, charities and the elderly have been conned out of money using fake notes.
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Want to Get a Better Deal Online? Abandon Your Shopping Cart. Here’s Why
On Cardpool, I clicked on a $100 Home Depot card for sale for $94.
Buying discounted gift cards for places you plan to shop anyhow is like buying money on sale, and I had a lot of shopping to do at Home Depot. But a minor household emergency kept me from completing the order.
The next day, I received an email from Cardpool encouraging me to complete the sale. It included a $5 coupon, almost doubling the original $6 discount on the card.
This has happened many times since with other retailers. I’ve learned to routinely abandon online shopping carts and complete my purchases a day or two later — often with a discount.
It’s basically a new form of the classic “walk away from the table” negotiation strategy. The idea is to get the other side to offer something to get you to come back.
Ready to give it a try? Here are some tips, along with a list of vendors known to offer a coupon or discount of some sort to win over reluctant shoppers who have abandoned their carts.
How to Properly Abandon Your Shopping Cart
You can try it with any online vendor or start with the ones listed below. But in order for retailers to send you that email begging you to return (and offering a discount), they need your email address.
Set up an account before you start shopping (if you don’t already have one), and be sure you’re logged in when you close your browser on your incomplete order.
At least one report suggests some companies may target only new customers with bribes for returning to complete their orders. So try this trick the first time you buy from a retailer: If you’re already a regular, the site may treat you as a new customer if you open a new account with a different email address.
Finally, marketing practices change often, and companies individualize their efforts according to your profile.
In other words, your results may vary.
In any case, it generally costs you nothing to try.
Retailers That Offer Discounts
Chicago Tribune, Shopify, Consumerist, Digiwonk, This Is Money and Rather-Be-Shopping.com have all reported on this strategy.
Here are some of the retailers that offer discounts, along with notes on what they’ve offered in the past.
- ClothingUnder10.com: 10% off (sometimes 20% off)
- 1-800-Mattress: Various discounts
- Babies ‘R’ Us: Free shipping offer sent the next day
- Bass Pro Shops: $20 off a minimum $100 purchase
- Bed, Bath and Beyond: 20% off
- Best Buy: No specifics
- Birchbox: 20% off minimum $35 purchase
- Cafe Press: 20% off
- Coastal: Various discounts
- Crocs: 20% off
- Dick’s Sporting Goods: 10% off
- Dorco: 5% off
- GoDaddy: 30% off
- Guitar Center: Various discounts (possibly sent days later)
- Home Depot: No specifics
- JCPenney: Coupon codes sent if you leave after just viewing a few products
- J. Jill: $20 off a minimum $80 purchase
- Kate Spade: 15% off
- Land’s End: No specifics
- Levi’s: 20% off, and sometimes 25% off up to two days later
- Macy’s: 15% off coupons
- Nieman Marcus: 10% off
- Nomad: 15% off
- Office Max: Free shipping
- Overstock.com: Various discounts
- Princess Cruises: Large discounts offered when abandoning the cart after going through travel agencies
- Pro Flowers: 10% off (and possibly a free vase)
- Purity Products: 30% off and free shipping
- Sierra Trading Post: 35% off
- Shutterfly: 20% off
- Talking Tom and Friends Shop: 10% off
- ThinkGeek: $10 off minimum $50 order
- Toys ‘R’ Us: Free shipping offer sent the next day
- Urban Outfitters: 20% off
- Virgin Media: Various discounts
- Williams-Sonoma: Free shipping
- Zappos: No specifics
- Zazzle: Various discounts
Be Patient
I opened an account on Udemy and took one of the free classes. Then I considered some interesting classes that cost $40 or more, but abandoned my cart because I was too busy to commit fully to completing them.
Two weeks later, I started getting regular emails from Udemy offering a variety of classes for just $10 — some of which normally cost $100 or more.
I’ve received emails offering discounts within an hour after abandoning my shopping cart with some retailers, but it’s more common to see them the next day or even after several days. So, be prepared to wait.
Also, try again if this trick doesn’t work the first time with a given website. Some retailers change their policies often.
Your Turn: Have you ever received a coupon or discount for abandoning your shopping cart? Which retailers were they and how much was the discount?
Steve Gillman is the author of “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s been a repo-man, walking stick carver, search engine evaluator, house flipper, tram driver, process server, mock juror and roulette croupier, but of more than 100 ways he has made money, writing is his favorite (so far).
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I Bought My First House at 26 While Making $40K a Year. Here’s How I Did It
Three years ago, I became the proud owner of a 2,000-square-foot single-family home in southwest Atlanta.
It was my biggest purchase to date and has been the source of endless content for my own personal-finance blog. And I bought the house as a single, 26-year-old woman making less than $40,000 a year.
Even though I write about personal finance every day, it wasn’t money magic or any type of hack that allowed me to achieve this important financial milestone. I bought my first home by leveraging good, old-fashioned personal-finance basics. Here’s how I did it:
I Saved (Super) Consistently for 12 Months
If I’m being honest, since I bought my house three years ago, I probably haven’t saved as consistently as I did before the purchase. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t had any super personal goals to achieve.
Looking back on it, I followed two big “rules” to make sure I hit my savings targets each month.
First, I automated savings from my paycheck (around $400 per month) into a separate account. This was the only way I could make sure the money made it into my savings, rather than going toward other expenses.
Second, because the goal was something I really wanted (my first home), I was able to stay incredibly focused and motivated, even when temptation called.
It’s also important to save for a certain amount of time (e.g. six months or a year), so your brain can conceptualize the realization of the goal. There’s science behind this.
In the end, I saved around $8,000 for the down payment on my first home.
I Made a Concerted Effort in My Early 20s to Pay Down Debt
I didn’t have a lot of student loans when I graduated school, but I did have mountains and mountains of high-interest credit card debt. I knew the debt was always going to be the “monkey on my back” if I didn’t get rid of it.
Right out of school, my primary focus was paying off my debt once and for all. To make this happen, I had to put my dreams of being an actor on hold, take a desk job I hated (but that paid well) and stick to my budget like a maniac.
Sometimes, to get to where we want to go, we have to do things we don’t want to do.
Homeownership is absolutely achievable if you have debt, but a healthy debt-to-income ratio helps you qualify for a mortgage and get a lower interest rate. Paying off debt before buying your first home is particularly crucial if you make a lower salary.
I Bought Well Within My Price Range
I qualified for up to a $140,000 home, but I didn’t even get close to that price point. Instead, I bought a fixer-upper for $65,000.
After investing another $58,000 from a 203k renovation loan into fixing it up, I owed $123,000 total on the home. This put my mortgage around $850 per month, which was only $50 more than I was paying to rent my apartment at the time.
While Atlanta is absolutely an affordable place to live, it was important to me to get into a home that didn’t inflate my bills each month. After all, I still only had $40,000 in income each year, so I couldn’t upgrade my lifestyle too much.
To do this, I had to play around with a lot of numbers, but all the extra math worked to my advantage as I didn’t have to sweat my mortgage payment and increased utilities each month.
I Researched Down Payment Assistance Programs
At the time, a non-profit in Atlanta was giving qualified buyers a $15,000 down payment assistance credit. Because my income was so low, I qualified and gladly took the $15,000 to help with my closing costs.
Although down payment assistance programs can vary widely depending on your city and state, you never know what you might qualify for unless you ask. Talk to your mortgage broker about your eligibility based on your income and location.
My biggest advice to potential low-income homeowners is to start preparing your finances six to 12 months before you even begin looking for a home. The financial component is crucial, but many overlook it in their haste to find their dream home.
Homeownership is possible for anyone; it’s just important to look at what you can afford versus what you feel your homeownership journey should look like.
Your Turn: Did you manage to buy a house while earning a lower-than-average salary? We’d love to hear your tips!
Lauren Bowling is the blogger behind the award-winning personal finance site L Bee and the Money Tree and author of The Millennial Homeowner: A Guide to Successfully Navigating Your First Home Purchase. Blogging since 2012, Bowling is now a recognized thought leader in the millennial finance space with her expertise featured in the pages of Redbook and Woman’s Day magazines and on leading online financial news sites including Forbes, The Huffington Post, CNNMoney and U.S. News and World Report.
The post I Bought My First House at 26 While Making $40K a Year. Here’s How I Did It appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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London's Generation Rent can't afford to start a family
Renting a home in the capital is so expensive that couples are spending 55% of their combined average monthly salary – that’s £2,460 – on renting the average three-bedroom house, new research has revealed.
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How to Make Money From Home with Resume Writing
By Holly Reisem Hanna According to an article on Business 2 Community: The average time a recruiter looks at a resume is 5 to 7 seconds 76 percent of resumes are discarded for an unprofessional email address There is an 88 percent rejection rate when you include a photo on your resume With these sorts […]
The post How to Make Money From Home with Resume Writing appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
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Almost half of women under 40 don't pay into a pension
More than two in five women under 40 are not paying money into a pension, according to new research from Zurich.
An estimated 2.56 million (41%) women aged between 25 and 39 have not saved any money for retirement. This compares to 30% of men in the same age group.
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What Are My Student Loan Repayment Options?
Graduating from college takes determination, hard work, and fortitude — but so does paying for your education. Picking the right student loan repayment option is so hard because you often enter into the process before you have a real idea of what your future will hold. And while you can change the terms of your loan down the road, you can’t change the amount you borrowed.
“Many students just borrow loans without thinking about what the payments will look like, what their job prospects will be, and how they will handle their finances in the future,” said Betsy Mayotte, director of consumer outreach at American Student Assistance, a Boston-based nonprofit. In other words, if you’re drawn to a career that typically pays $35,000 a year, it may be unwise to take on $200,000 of debt to pay for a private school education.
And when it comes to private loans, tread lightly! It’s important to remember that unless you have a well-established credit history, you’re going to need a cosigner to take out a non-federal student loan — private lenders won’t take on the risk. And private loans don’t come with the protections and flexible repayment options of federal student loans: Once you have a private loan, your only real option for changing the terms of it is through refinancing.
Federal Student Loan Repayment Options
Don’t panic, though: When it comes to your federal student loans, you have options. The Department of Education’s (DOE) website lists a number of federal loan repayment options meant to cater to borrowers’ needs. There’s also the Federal Student Aid Repayment Estimator, a great tool for estimating repayment for all of the federal plan options available, including how much you’d pay per month, overall, and if there is any forgiveness available.
But while you’re here, let’s take a look at the two primary types of federal loan repayment plans: Basic and Income-Driven Plans (IDP), and what they encompass.
Basic Repayment Plans
Basic loans are not driven by your post-graduation income. There are three types of Basic plans: Standard, Graduated, and Extended.
Standard Plan
- Definition: This is where you start, a 10-year plan at a fixed amount. If you’re consolidating with other loans, be sure to review this repayment schedule, as your term may be longer.
- Who should consider: Those who are confident that a lucrative post-college career will allow them to pay down their loans without trouble.
Graduated Plan
- Definition: Same style as the Standard plan, except your payments start small and grow every two years.
- Who should consider: People entering into careers with regular promotions that lead to increasingly larger paychecks.
Extended Plan
- Definition: Similar to Standard, with lower monthly payments spread out over a longer period of time. The borrower must have $30,000 in outstanding direct-loan debt, and no outstanding debt from previous loans; check here to see if you qualify.
- Who should consider: People who need longer periods to repay their debt, but don’t necessarily want their repayments to be calculated based on their income.
Income-Driven Plans (IDP)
Most of us fall into the income-driven spectrum. There are a few different flavors of Income-Driven Plans, but they all share many of the same traits:
- Repayment is based on a percentage of your discretionary income—usually 10% to 20%. Discretionary income, according to Mayotte, is “your adjusted gross income minus 150% of the poverty line for your family size.”
- The loan periods are longer than basic plans — 20 or 25 years.
- More money is paid in the form of interest over the life of the loan.
- With Income-Based and Pay-As-You-Earn plans, it’s your discretionary income at the beginning of the payment schedule that counts. These loans will never become more expensive per month than the Standard Plan. With Revised-Pay-As-Your-Earn and Income-Contingent Repayment plans, your monthly repayment schedule changes based on your income. These loans could get more expensive per month than the Standard Plan. More information is available on the DOE website.
- IDPs feature loan forgiveness at the end of their terms — however the forgiven balance is treated as taxable income. That means if you have $50,000 in student loans after 25 years for an Income-Based Repayment loan, that balance will be forgiven — but will be considered taxable income.
Speaking of forgiveness, check to see if you’re eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which wipes out your balance after 10 years of governmental or accredited non-profit employment. PSLF is not taxable.
Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
- Definition: Your monthly payment is limited to 15% of your discretionary income (10% if you have no outstanding Direct or FFEL loan balances). There are income level and family size requisites, so check to see if you qualify. Outstanding balances are forgiven after 20 years.
- Who should consider: People not earning enough based on their debt to pay off a loan under the Standard plan. With this plan, married borrowers should file their taxes separately.
Pay As You Earn Plan (PAYE)
- Definition: Repayment is capped at 10% of your discretionary income. There are income level and family size requisites — check here to see if you qualify. Outstanding balances forgiven after 20 years. The main difference between IBR and PAYE is that with IBR, you pay 15% of your income if you aren’t considered a new borrower.
- Who should consider: People with high debt-to-income ratios. As with the IBR plan, married borrowers should file their taxes separately.
Revised Pay As You Earn Plan (REPAYE)
- Definition: Like PAYE, payment is capped at 10% of your discretionary income. Outstanding balances are forgiven after 20 years (undergrad loans) or 25 years (grad school loans).
- Who should consider: Pretty much everyone qualifies for this plan. People interested in but not eligible for the PAYE plan usually consider REPAYE.
Income-Contingent Repayment Plan
- Definition: Monthly payments will be either 20% of your discretionary income or the amount you would pay based on a 12-year fixed payment plan, whichever is less. Outstanding balances forgiven after 25 years.
- Who should consider: Any borrower with an eligible loan can access this plan, including parents.
When it comes to student loans, remember to consider the “long game,” as Mayotte says. “It’s not about paying the least amount per month–it’s about paying the least over time,” she says. If you take a close look at the DOE’s website, talk with your loan servicer, and consider your future career, you’ll make the right loan choice for you.
Related Articles
- Ultimate Guide to Paying Off Student Loans
- Nine Employers That Will Help You Pay Off Your Student Loan
- What I Wish I Knew Before Taking Out Student Loans
- Federal Student Loan Forgiveness: Four Ways to Wipe Out Your Debt
The post What Are My Student Loan Repayment Options? appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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