This Deal from Hulu and Visa Gets You 2 Months of Streaming AND an Extra $4

Would you like to get paid to sit in front of your TV for two months?

It’s not that simple, but this deal is almost that good.

When you sign up for a new Hulu subscription, you’ll receive a $20 Visa gift card. And with plans starting at $7.99 per month, you could essentially make a profit on your first two months flipping through Hulu.

Even if you’re a former Hulu subscriber, you may be able to take advantage of this offer.

How to Get a Visa Gift Card for Signing Up for Hulu

Sign up for any Hulu subscription. The cheapest option, the “limited commercials” plan, costs $7.99 per month, plus tax, depending on your location. Create an account and enter your payment information.

And you’re done! About 45 days after you subscribe, you’ll get a $20 Visa gift card at your billing address.

Follow me on the math here: Pay $15.98 for two months of streaming TV and movies. Before the second month even ends, you’ll receive $20. That’s a profit of $4.02.

You could cancel your subscription at that point and run off with your extra $4.02. But winter is here.

Maybe splurge on a third month of Hulu and put that extra four bucks toward it.

Your Turn: Will you sign up for Hulu to get a Visa gift card?

Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at the Penny Hoarder. She used Hulu to stream all nine seasons of “The X-Files” during something way too early to be a midlife crisis.

The post This Deal from Hulu and Visa Gets You 2 Months of Streaming AND an Extra $4 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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GFC 077: How to Protect Your Portfolio From a Stock Market Crash Without Buying an Annuity

 

WealthGuard™ is the first and only complete portfolio monitoring system. It watches all of your money, including accounts not managed by FormulaFolios, to help protect your money from market risk.

The simplicity of WealthGuard™ is what also makes it so powerful.

As an investor, you are able to set a WealthGuard™ Percentage. This is the maximum percentage you feel comfortable seeing an account decline from it’s highest closing value before having your advisor make a change to a more conservative investment mix.

This creates a defined plan, one that is specifically designed to help investors avoid making ill-timed mistakes, and truly protect the money you’ve worked hard to save.

WealthGuard™ is provided to all FormulaFolios clients, on all their investment accounts, at no additional cost. We even provide it for free on accounts you want to have monitored and protected that are not managed by an advisor, like your 401k, self managed investment accounts, and college savings plans.

How Does WealthGuard™ Work?

WealthGuard™ is one-of-a kind in that it does 3 things automatically to help protect your money.

1. Gain Clarity.
   Get a single point of reference for protecting your entire net worth, the WealthGuard number. This simple reference means you always know where you stand, and that you’re always on track.
2. Take Control.
   WealthGuard allows you and your advisor to set your exposure to market conditions and automatically trigger processes to adjust to the market.
3. Increase Confidence.
   It’s easier to sleep at night knowing WealthGuard is automatically monitoring all your assets to help you protect your gains and guard against losses.

With WealthGuard, you and your advisor are better able to work together, to protect your complete financial picture.

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Test Drive: 2017 Chevy Cruze

Entry Price: $16,975Price As Tested: $26,475This week, we’re driving the 2017 Chevy Cruze in its first-ever hatchback design. Cruze in either Sedan or Hatchback is a compact car loaded with mid-size amenities and impressive EPA fuel mileage numbers. As for history, Cruze replaced the Chevy Cobalt back in 2011 and became an instant best seller for General Motors (GM) featuring low entry price, reliable mechanicals and room for five in a pinch. Consumers from [...]

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Tools of the Trade: Espresso machine

Cafe Duet can't do it without its espresso machine

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Here’s Why You Might Want to Give Your Kids Paperback Books This Year

Ebooks are awesome for a whole host of reasons.

We have more access to a wider variety of content today than ever before — and we can carry it all with us in a small machine that weighs less than a pound.

After double majoring in two reading-intensive subjects (English and philosophy), and dealing with the residual back pain to prove it, I can definitely jump on board to say: Thanks, technology.

But it turns out paper books still have a lot to offer — and in some ways, simply can’t be matched by their electronic counterparts.

And in case you’re still figuring out your holiday shopping list, here’s why you should consider buying good old, paper books for someone you love this year.

Paper Books vs. Ebooks

Do you remember the bookshelf-lined study in your childhood home? Remember what a whole library of books smells like — paper, leather and age?

It’s a special kind of seduction, being faced with so many stories just waiting to be picked up, flipped open and read.

Many more stories are available to kids today, but they might not hold as much mystique sitting on their pixelated shelves, even if they are accessible at the touch of a finger.

What’s worse? A lack of paper books might spell failure in your child’s career.

Why Paper Matters for Penny Hoarders

In his eloquent and thought-provoking essay, novelist Teddy Wayne examines the repercussions of our disappearing collections of non-digital content.

Wayne points to a scientific study that found the second-most important predictor of reading success was the quantity of books in one’s home.

As we all know, good reading skills are essential for high performance in the classroom — and grade point average has been shown to have a direct correlation with earnings later in life.

What’s more, reading paper books has been shown to improve comprehension and retention of material — even more reason to go the old fashioned route.

Looking for Some Books to Buy This Holiday Season?

Newsflash: You can still buy paper books through digital venues!

Amazon usually has great prices, but don’t be afraid to hit your local bookstore and feel the seduction you might be missing in your contemporary home.

And if you want to give a kid the gift of curiosity, excitement and yes, long-term earning potential, check out these educational kids’ books.

They might be great options to set under the tree this year.

Your Turn: Do you read paper books or ebooks? Will you give the gift of paper this holiday season?

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

The post Here’s Why You Might Want to Give Your Kids Paperback Books This Year appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Here’s Why the “Whipped Cream” Shortage Isn’t a Problem at All

If you’re a fan of a delicious dollop of cool whipped cream on your holiday pies and hot toddies (and who isn’t?), you may have heard some disturbing news.

We’re facing a whipped cream shortage, right at the best time of year to eat the stuff.

But before you get your long johns in a twist, I have a secret for you: It’s not the actual whipped cream we’re missing — it’s nitrous oxide.

And that means whipped cream is actually well within your reach, if you’re willing to put in a modicum of effort.

Better yet? Homemade whip costs just about the same amount as the pre-made stuff.

And it’s so much better, I promise you’ll never go back.

It’s Only a Whipped Cream Shortage If You Don’t Eat Real Whipped Cream

The shortage stems from an August accident at an Airgas chemical plant in Florida, where two gas tankers and a nitrous oxide holding tank exploded, according to the Washington Post.

Nitrous oxide is pumped into a pressurized can of cream to instantly make it airy, light and — *shudder* — squirtable, if you’re into that sort of thing.

And since Airgas is a major supplier of food industry giant Conagra, this snafu spells curtains for the nation’s instant whip supply.

I have to admit, my first reaction to the news was to scoff. Reddi-wip is to whipped cream as Cheez Whiz is to actual cheddar, as far as I’m concerned.

But if you’re an unapologetic fan of the canned stuff — or if you’ve never operated an electric mixer — let me lay down some numbers that may change your mind.

At my local Publix, a 13-ounce can of Reddi-wip costs $4.79 and claims to contain 74 two-tablespoon servings. And according to those laws of supply and demand we learned in high school, if anything, that cost will go up in the face of the shortage.

A 32-ounce carton of heavy whipping cream, on the other hand, costs $5.19.

Those 32 ounces translate to four cups of liquid cream. And one cup of liquid cream doubles up into at least two cups of whipped cream, for a total of eight cups of whipped cream out of the carton.   

There are 16 tablespoons in a cup, or eight of Reddi-wip’s two-tablespoon “servings” — though I defy you to only eat two tablespoons of whipped cream at a time.

That means you’ll get a total of 64 two-tablespoon servings out of the carton.

So no, homemade whipped cream isn’t technically more cost-effective…

… but you’re talking about a difference of just 2 cents per serving. (One serving of Reddi-wip costs 6 cents; one serving of homemade costs 8 cents.)

And the difference in quality? Totally priceless.

All you have to do is apply a little bit of elbow grease.

Plus, you can make your homemade whip as sweet (or not) as you like, or get creative and add in your favorite flavor. Try a bit of coffee to make espresso whipped cream for your chocolate cake or a dash of nutmeg to spice up that pumpkin pie.

Not to mention the difference in texture. While canned whipped cream is fluffy and thin, homemade whip is mouth-coating and densely luscious, transforming even plain old berries into a decadent dessert. You’ll want to eat it with a spoon.

Anyway, I’ll stop gushing. Suffice to say: If you’ve never had homemade whipped cream, you’re missing out.

And if you want any whipped cream at all this holiday season, you’ll probably have to break out your beater.

As more nitrous oxide becomes available, companies purchasing it for medical applications — surely a better use for nitrous oxide than “whipped cream” — will get priority access to the goods.

And if you’re still devoted to your Reddi-wip (why??), don’t worry: There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

According to a statement by the Purchasing Association of Private Clubs, Conagra should return to its normal supply, and therefore canned-cream production, by mid-January 2017.

Your Turn: Seriously, why are you still eating canned whipped cream?

Jamie Cattanach is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’ll try not to judge you for the Reddi-wip, but come on, really?

The post Here’s Why the “Whipped Cream” Shortage Isn’t a Problem at All appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Dominating Any Keyword You Choose

Page one, position one.

It’s the ultimate goal of every SEO marketer.

But of course reaching this goal can be difficult, and there is a seemingly infinite number of variables that determine how your content ends up ranking.

And let’s not forget about Google’s fickleness.

Their unending updates can leave you scratching your head as to what your next move should be.

I know that I’ve found myself frustrated more than a few times.

But what if I told you that there was a specific formula you can follow to dominate any keyword you choose?

What if you could knock it out of the park every time and continually outrank your competitors?

Well, there is!

Not to sound like a sleazy used-car salesman or an obnoxious motivational speaker, but there’s definitely a recipe for crushing it with your keywords.

During the years, I’ve experimented with nearly everything under the sun and have come up with a surefire formula for dominating the SEO game by targeting the right keyword and tailoring your campaign to reach your audience.

Here’s how to do it step by step.

Target descriptive phrases

Your first order of business should be to go after long-tail keywords.

As you may already know, it’s extremely difficult to gain any traction by targeting broad phrases.

There’s just too much competition out there, and the top spots are usually filled by the usual suspects—big-name companies with deep pockets and massive brand equity.

But long-tail keywords level the playing field significantly. They’re what lets the little guys hang with the big boys.

I like to think of them as the low hanging fruit of SEO. A top spot in the SERPs is there for the taking.

My general rule for long-tail keywords is that they should be a minimum of four words.

This should ensure that you have a realistic chance of breaking through and at least getting on page one (if not in the top three spots).

Here’s a nice graph that illustrates long-tail SEO and keyword length:

Notice that the more words you include in your keyword phrase, the more your competition, cost, and risk shrink while your probability of making a conversion increases.

The best part is that there are plenty of long-tail keywords to choose from.

In fact, they account for roughly 70% of all keywords.

Here’s how the “search demand curve” breaks down overall:

And I know what you might be saying.

Hardly anyone will be searching for super specific keyword phrases. It’s going to negate the entire purpose of going this route if there’s a low volume of users who actually find my content.

But as I mentioned before in another article on Quick Sprout, “long-tails don’t have a lot of search volume. But you shouldn’t worry about this. You’re not going for high volume—you are going for focused intention.”

The trick here is to find a long-tail keyword phrase with minimal competition that still receives enough searches to justify you targeting it.

Let’s go back to the example of long-tail keyword SEO. You would be much better off targeting “red Nike mens running shoes” than “mens shoes.”

Finding low competition keywords

If you’re looking for a shortcut, there’s a simple one on Google’s Keyword Planner.

Here’s what you do:

Click on “Keyword filters” located on the left-hand side of your dashboard.

Then click on “Low,” and it will leave a checkmark indicating that you want all your results to have low competition. Then save.

Your results will be populated only by keyword phrases with low competition.

Note: Sometimes there may be pretty slim pickings for low competition keywords. In this case, you may want to also search for medium competition.

This will save you a lot of time from having to manually sift through the results to find something relevant.

If you’re using some other type of software, just look for a similar feature to streamline the keyword research process.

Ideally, you’ll find a keyword phrase that receives a reasonable number of searches but isn’t completely saturated with competition.

Understanding user intent

Intent is everything.

When creating content, it’s vital that you understand precisely what your audience is looking for and deliver the goods.

Let’s look at two slightly different keyword phrases as an example.

Phrase 1: buy red Nike mens running shoes

Phrase 2: red Nike mens running shoes review

Although both phrases are geared toward the same thing—red Nike men’s running shoes—the user is at two very different stages in the sales funnel.

People searching for the first phrase are further along the sales funnel and ready (or at least close to ready) to make a purchase.

In this case, it would probably make sense to incorporate a call to action (CTA) in your content.

However, people searching for the second phrase aren’t quite there yet and are looking for information to help them decide whether this is a product they actually want to buy.

In this case, you would simply want to provide them with the information they’re looking for and warm them up rather than straight up trying to make a sale.

For instance, you might want to point them to other resources on your site, get them to sign up for your newsletter so you can get them to buy later, etc.

Keep this in mind when creating your content because it will influence your approach and how quickly you go for the sale.

I think this graphic breaks down user intent quite well:

The bottom line is that Google’s mission is to provide users with content that best matches their intent.

If you’re able to do that effectively, you have a high probability of achieving a favorable ranking.

Create epic content

Okay, so you’ve selected long-tail keywords with a reasonable number of searches and minimal competition, and you have an understanding of what your audience is looking for.

The next step to dominating the search results is to create epic content that vastly exceeds anything that the competition is doing.

This is perhaps the most important step in the process and your ticket for getting the results you’re looking for.

In fact, I’ve based my entire marketing campaign on this concept.

And not to toot my own horn, but my ability to consistently create in-depth, insightful, and valuable content has been a large part of my success.

How exactly do I go about this?

Well, there are several things that make content stand out, but from my experience, you should focus on the following:

• Longform content – just over 2,450 words is the average length of content that ranks number one on Google.

• Use plenty of high-quality visuals for maximum aesthetic appeal
• Incorporate videos
• Sprinkle in data-driven charts and graphs
• Throw in external links to credible and relevant third-party publications
• Make it scannable (e.g., use short paragraphs, sub-headers, and bullet points)

But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I don’t have time to fully launch into all the components that make for epic content here. But you can learn much more by checking out this other post I wrote.

I actually prefer to think of each piece of content I write as “an ultimate guide” instead of just another post.

Having this kind of mindset helps me ensure that I go above and beyond the status quo and increases the odds that my content gets shared, receives mass exposure, etc. so that it inevitably ranks highly.

Circulate your content

Let’s assume your post is in fact epic.

That’s great. But you can’t just sit back and wait for good things to happen.

You need to take action.

But what should you do?

For starters, you’ll want to post it on relevant social media accounts to generate some initial buzz.

If you’ve got a considerable number of followers, that right there should have a decent impact.

But what I really recommend is reaching out to influencers to see if they will link to your content.

If you can make this happen, the number of shares your content receives can skyrocket.

In fact, a study from OkDork and BuzzSumo found that “just having one influential person sharing your content resulted in 31.8 percent more social shares.”

But look what happens as more influencers link to it. The number of shares continues to increase.

Getting five influencers to link to it could be considered the tipping point with a dramatic spike in the number of shares.

For more information on creating content that influencers will link to, just check out this post I wrote.

Conclusion

Let’s recap.

There is a wide array of factors that determine where content gets ranked. However, there is definitely a degree of predictability to the process.

When you use the formula I discussed, you should be able to target the right keywords that you have the best possible chance of competing for.

Then, by building your content around those keywords and following my recipe, you can surpass your primary competitors.

This ultimately translates into a great ranking within SERPs and plenty of highly targeted, organic traffic that’s likely to convert.

What successful tactics have you used to dominate a keyword?

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Questions About Space Heaters, Engagement Rings, Insurance Company Failure, and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Space heaters
2. Selling off engagement ring
3. Site layout help
4. Planning for health care
5. Challenges of cooking at home
6. Money talk with new wife
7. Legality of personal finance blog
8. Life insurance if insurer fails
9. How I use Evernote
10. Credit card utilization questions
11. Spending now versus later
12.

One of the strangest parts about a Midwestern winter is in the weather forecasting. The weather forecasters will tell you that a huge winter storm is heading your way and you’ll want to prepare for it with lots of supplies… and then the storm completely misses you.

At other times, there’s a huge storm that’s forecasted to go a state’s length north of you or south of you and it gets almost no mention on the local weather until it shifts direction six hours before the storm hits and you wake up to an unexpected foot of snow on the ground.

The best solution? Just assume there might be snow at any time and be prepared for it. Have your shovels and snowblowers ready for the worst.

Q1: Space heaters

Keep reading conflicting information about utility cost of space heaters. Thoughts?
– Eldon

Space heaters are cost effective if you primarily stay in one room in your house and turn your furnace down very low. It’s cheaper to use a space heater to heat a single room than it is to use a furnace to heat your whole house.

However, if you’re using a space heater to heat two or three rooms, it quickly ceases to be cost-effective. Your furnace is much more efficient than a space heater, though how much more efficient depends on the heater and the furnace.

So, are you willing to live in a situation where one room is heated by a space heater and the rest of your house is cold? If you are, than a space heater saves money. If you want several rooms to be warm, then just stick with your furnace.

Q2: Selling off engagement ring

I’ve been married for 3 years and I no longer wear my engagement ring.

It sits really high. It spins around. It snags on sweaters, gloves, etc. I’m afraid to lose it. I’m afraid to hurt it. It gets in the way.

I now wear a flat ring that I found on the internet that was super cheap.

When we picked out my engagement ring I thought it was the best thing ever and that I’d wear it always and bla bla bla. I was one of those girls that valued a big engagement ring. We spent ~4k on it.

My values have changed a ton since then. I now value paying off student loan debt and becoming independently wealthy and saving for retirement and not ever having debt again. (we are getting there thanks to your blog and blogs like yours and Dave Ramsey’s baby steps. So thank you!)

Here’s the deal… I want to sell it and use the money to pay down student loans. It sits in my jewelry box being sad. I am not attached to it in any way.

What’s the best way to sell it?
Should I do it?
– Jessica

Talk it over with your husband first and make sure that you’re not trampling on any emotional issues there. Then let it sit for another month and really think it over, and if you’re still sure you want to sell it, sell it.

The thing to remember is that an engagement ring is just a thing. It is not your engagement. It is not your marriage. It is a ring, a physical object that, if you’re not using it, you might as well sell it.

Another option to consider is whether you want to get the ring remade into something that fits you better and doesn’t snag on everything, perhaps with the jewels embedded in the band in a size that fits you well.

Q3: Site layout help

Hello! I love The Simple Dollar and want to create my own blog to promote you guys and add my own personal financial tips and tidbits! I love the layout of your site and blog and wanted to know which web hosting site you guys use as well as which website creator do you use? I want a similar layout that allows me to create a blog but have previews on my front page!
– Kevin

The layout for The Simple Dollar is a custom layout made by our team. However, there are many layouts that are similar to it; they’re typically referred to as “magazine” layouts.

Since I don’t know what specific software you’re using for your site’s back end, I can’t point you to any specific templates, but if you do some searching for magazine layouts within the template options for your site, you’ll find something that works.

Q4: Planning for health care

I love your thinking and approach to $ management, perhaps because it mirrors mine. However, I think you and Sarah missed one point in this post. It is the one that bedevils the best of us and is the least manageable: HEALTH CARE

This is the one expense we cannot adequately predict or accommodate. More families are brought to bankruptcy by this expense than any other thing. No one can predict the entire future or cost of healthcare. So, unless you are a Trump or CEO with unlimited resources, it is very unwise to rely on self-pay schemes to keep your family afloat financially. With Obamacare, flawed as it is, the ordinary family at least has a chance at self-financing insurance; with the Republican plans to repeal national-type healthcare access, and return it to the for lots-of-profit sector, we all stand to lose our shirts as the result of an accident, an epidemic, or simple arbitrary rising medical costs.

So, my question is: how do you plan to work this problem out? If you are young, healthy and active, it might not be much of a concern at this point. But the first time your son neglects to wear his helmet and gets a concussion falling off his bike, your family might be in deep do-do. With pre-existing conditions back in the insurance rate and approval mix, you might be priced out of the market. If you manage to escape high cost insurance or simple bills until you and your family are older, you may be denied [remember Obamacare required acceptance; the coming plans are oriented to guarantee profits for the companies and thus will be denying more applications as well as renewal of policies] Oh yes, arbitrary policy cancellations will most certainly occur, and you may well be left with nothing.

Murphy’s Law always seems to come into play. So, just when your son needs million-dollar surgery and follow-up, there may be no teaching positions available for Sarah, or there may be a general downturn in employment possibilities. Boom! there goes everything!

People in Canada don’t face this scenario and are much more free to plan because they can reasonably manage their lives, predict and control for future expenses. How can we in the States plan better?
– Stacy

Many studies have shown that national healthcare (like what Canada has) is much more cost-effective for the average citizen than the system we have in place here. It is a fact that the United States spends far more on healthcare per citizen and as a percentage of GDP than almost all other developed nations. We lag far behind nations with nationalized health care, simply because including all health care services under a single bureaucracy makes things more cost-efficient.

America has, and has always had, a strong independent streak that tends toward small governance and hard work and individual independence, which is a big benefit in some ways and a drawback in others. This helps us in terms of building a steamroller of an economy, but it hurts us in our resistance to adopting the most efficient solutions to broad concerns.

I feel that for every American who’s not exorbitantly rich, healthcare is like playing roulette with ever-changing rules. I feel like the Affordable Care Act was a flawed step in the right direction in terms of guaranteeing coverage for all, but the rules are likely to change again.

The only real solution I can recommend is to consistently spend less than you earn, stay out of debt, put away money for the future, have the best healthcare insurance package you can afford under the current rules, take advantage of things like COBRA if you have to leave your employer, and just cross your fingers.

Q5: Challenges of cooking at home

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article of November 29, Figuring Out a Great Life on a Limited Budget. One fact mentioned in the article is that Americans now eat out more often than they eat at home due to a growing lack of comfort in the kitchen, and because of the time and planning it takes. I can’t help with time and planning, but have some thoughts about people thinking they can’t cook.

I have noticed this trend among younger friends, and every one of them tells me that they were taught to cook by their mothers and grandmothers, but the recipes just don’t turn out for them. When I ask for examples, they almost invariably mention cookies coming out of the oven either raw, burnt, or both. They are all using ranges about 2 to 8 years old.

When we moved to our current home 10 years ago, we bought a new range. And another, and another…until finally we had replaced the range SEVEN times in as many years. Whirlpool, GE, Kenmore, and the other usual brands. Gas, electric, dual fuel. Not one of them worked properly, and none of them were ‘cheap’. All came from Sears simply because I bought an extended warranty with the first one and all subsequent ranges.

I finally broke down and bought a Bosch dual fuel range with an electric oven and gas (propane) stovetop. It is expensive–about $3,000–but it works beautifully. It really didn’t cost me that much since I kept moving up a notch in price with each return under warranty, but it’s still a bit pricy.

It is my unproven theory that Americans are being led to think that they cannot cook because of the trash that is being foisted off on them as cooking appliances. They simply do not work, and the problem is often vast temperature fluctuations caused by the thermostat going bad–frequently in ranges with convection ovens. My nice repairman told me that. We have become fast friends.

So my advice to families who would like to eat at home but think that they can’t cook is to get a good range. You probably can’t say not to get one supposedly made in America. You know – the ones that arrive in boxes clearly marked “made in Mexico” or “China”. But you could recommend dual fuel stoves. Gas ovens are notoriously bad, but the gas stovetop is extremely economical and much more effective to use.

Consumers should also check the return, warranty, and repair policies. Sears, for example, will not replace a range unless it has had four repairs for the same defect within a year. But when you call for repair, they will schedule that repair 6 weeks out. I have spent literally weeks on hold with their customer service. And gone through two perfectly good phone handsets. The phone was fine, my temper not so much. Many smaller, local companies offer better warranties and service.

After cooking with several younger friends in my home with a good range, they are amazed that what they made turned out so well. Bosch needs to put me on commission.

With regard to Crockpots, some work just fine. But the stainless steel ones (the ones at Costco, thankfully) cook WAY too hot. I’ve had two. The enamel-coated, old-fashioned looking ones work fine.
– Alice

I actually think there’s a lot of merit to your theory that one obstacle today to learning how to cook at home is cheaply-made appliances that don’t heat evenly and tend to break frequently. There’s probably some truth to the idea that my obsession with finding tools and appliances that are reliable and long-lasting has led to success in our ability to cook most meals at home, and I agree with you that many tools and appliances in the kitchen are not well made or consistently made.

Part of the problem is that “family recipes” are often specifically written to match the nuances of the appliances where they’re cooked. Your grandma might make biscuits at 350 for 10 minutes in that old stove she’s had since the 1960s, but it does not heat the same as the new stove you just bought. Yours is going to heat differently, which might produce very different results. I know that our current oven has a coil in it that is about 5% warmer than what the temperature actually says on the display, something I only learned through trial and error and seeing some things inexplicably burn.

I am in complete agreement with you that fewer kitchen tools is better and having good tools is the best. I’d far rather have nothing in my kitchen but a few glass bowls, one good knife, a mixing spoon, one good blender, and a reliable stove and microwave and a toaster (and maybe a slow cooker with an actual crock in it) than tons and tons of specific tools that often don’t work. Get good kitchen tools! One good tool is worth ten junk ones.

Q6: Money talk with new wife

This August, I got married to a wonderful woman and the first few months of marriage have been wonderful. But there is a money problem on the horizon and I want to figure out how to handle it now rather than later.

When we first started dating, I was a pretty free spender as was she. We went on expensive dates, trips together, bought lots of stuff, and so on.

In the few months before our wedding, I started to have a lot of second thoughts about the expense of our wedding. We paid for all of it ourselves, but a lot of it went on credit cards. Right now, we have about $24,000 in combined credit card debt.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that I didn’t want that kind of debt hanging over my head. I still have student loan debt and a car loan and there will probably be a mortgage at some point. That kind of debt holds you in place. So I started searching for personal finance sites and found yours. I’ve read through a lot of the archives and I greatly value your thoughts.

My question is how I approach this change of heart with my wife. She does not seem to mind our growing debt and is more focused on her career. We have made a decision to not have children for at least five years at which point we’ll both be 32 and we’ll revisit the question then.

Looking forward to your thoughts.
– Stephe

I would approach it from the perspective of wanting to have your lives in the best possible shape when you’re 32 no matter whether you choose to have children or not.

Simply say that your primary focus of the next five years is to put you both in a place where you have limitless choices of what to do next when you make the ultimate decision as to whether to have children or not. You want a stay-at-home parenting decision to be an easy one if one of you chooses to make it. If you don’t, or if you choose not to have children at all, then you have the resources to pretty much follow any career avenues you might want.

Don’t focus on cutting back. Focus instead on building freedom, because that’s what you’re doing when you unshackle yourself from debts.

Q7: Legality of personal finance blog

I am a regular follower of your website and I truly enjoy your posts. The content is rich and useful in my life. It has inspired me to want to create my own personal finance website with a slightly different niche.

I was curious on the legality of starting my own personal finance blog. I recently graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance but I do not hold any professional certifications or designations. I want to provide educational finance information on budgeting, debt, and investments but I would not ask for any compensation from the visitors of the site. Instead, I would receive payments from advertisers and affiliates, similar to your strategy to help keep the site running.

I was wondering if you could provide me information on the legal requirements your site had to go through to be able to provide this information to the public legally. Thank you for the great advice and inspiration.
– Arthur

The rules that the Department of Justice operate under concerning financial advisors contains a pretty clear exception for advice given to the general public. This is the umbrella under which all financial blogs operate, as well as podcasters and radio hosts such as Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard and TV hosts such as Suze Orman and Jim Cramer.

Beyond that, each and every page on pretty much any financially-themed blog you’ll find makes it very clear that the site is for entertainment purposes only and that, if you want financial advice based on your personal situation, you should go to a certified financial advisor.

The only area where you might be grey is if readers email you and ask about specific investments and you don’t answer them in a public forum, which is why my reader responses to mailbag queries are completely public.

I never claim to be anything more than a guy who has worked to figure out my own financial issues. I am not part of the financial industry, nor do I claim to be, nor do I ever want to be.

Q8: Life insurance if insurer fails

I have read many of your insurance articles on your website and am very thankful for all the information you have shared in these articles. My question is, have you written any articles regarding what happens to life insurance reserves if a life insurer closes its business, not because of insolvency, but just closes its business (retires). My belief is in this instance, all life insurance reserves should go into a constructive trust for the policyholders until a new insurer is found, but I am trying to find literature to support that statement.
– Maxwell

Insurance companies have to go through a lot of regulation to be able to sell insurance to the public. One part of that is that they have to contribute to an insurance guarantee fund in every state.

So, if an insurer fails in your state, the first thing that happens is that in the short run, your insurance is backed by the money in that insurance guarantee fund. That fund then tries to find another insurance company to buy or take over your policy, at which point you basically function as one of their customers and then you pay them going forward. If they can’t, then the state fund continues to insure you for the length of your policy (but that doesn’t happen).

However, it’s worth noting that each state has a limit as to how much the insurance guarantee fund will actually back up. Many states have a cap of $250,000 for payouts from their insurance guarantee fund, so if something were to happen to you while the state was running your policy, that’s all you’d get.

You can use Google to find out the specifics of the state guarantee fund for your state by just searching for the name of your state plus the phrase “insurance guarantee fund.”

Q9: How I use Evernote

I see that you are an Evernote user I recently upgraded to the plus membership for 18 months and have put a lot of documents for work that I can access off-line also some personal info as well. I would be interested to know how you utilize Evernote or if there is a past article I missed about it.
– Jim

First of all, Evernote is a simple tool available for smartphones, Windows, Mac, and the web that lets you keep and organize notes of all kinds – written notes, images, sound recordings, and mixed media. They store all of the notes for you in an account.

My biggest day-to-day usage of Evernote is in a single note, actually. I have an ongoing “Things to Think About and Remember” note that I access constantly to add notes, quotes, images, things I need to remember, ideas, and all other miscellany. Once a day (at least), I go through that note and process everything in it. I used to make a note in my “inbox” for each of those random thoughts, but I’ve actually found it more efficient to just use one note for it. Many of the items are things I can take action on immediately, like adding something to my bigger to-do list or adding something to my ongoing grocery list or launching a new document for a new article idea. Some of them are things I want to hang onto for later, so I have a note system so I can retrieve those notes at a later date. I don’t use Evernote for storing everything like I used to because I found that there were too many “junk” notes in there that I had no interest in seeing again, so I started only saving stuff that I think I might genuinely want or need in the future.

I was tempted to turn this into an article on its own but I condensed it down to this single answer. If you’d like to see a full article on how I use Evernote, “>let me know and if I get a healthy handful of responses I’ll write one.

Q10: Credit card utilization questions

While I have been a faithful reader for some time, this is the first time I’ve written to you with a Mailbag question regarding how credit card usage affects credit scores and hope you might be able to help me with an answer.

I have 6 credit cards which have limits which total $54,450 and have about $11,521 balances on 2 cards with 0%.
-Card 1 – $9,800.00/$9,521;
-Card 2 – $17,000.00/$2,000;
-Card 3 – $10,800.00/$0;
-Card 4 – $8,600.00/$0;
-Card 5 – $5,500.00/$0; and
-Card 6 – $750.00/$0.

For months I was making it a point to use each of the cards at least once per month thinking it would help my credit score and make sure that the cards are not deactivated by the respective companies. Recently, however, I checked my credit report and, while the good was pretty darn good, it was noted that my credit score was negatively affected by using too many accounts. Question 1 is what is the sweet spot of minimal use/amounts charged of a given card per year? When should I use each card?

Also, when discussing credit utilization ration, I often see writers mention that credit scores will go down if you are using, say, $9,500 out of a $10,000 credit limit on a given card. I don’t know whether it is for ease of example, but it seems like everybody always talks about the credit limit of one card rather than the limits over all cards. Is credit utilization percentage calculated per card or by overall credit limits? In my case, Card 1 is almost maxed out (95% use of Card 1), but the others are not used (0% use of Cards 3-6) or not nearly used (15% of Card 2). Is Card 1’s 95% utilization going to hurt my credit more even though, overall, I am at about 20% credit utilization overall? What I guess I am wondering is which numbers matter most.
– Maxwell

First of all, the exact mechanism of credit score calculation is a trade secret, meaning that the exact formula is not known to the general public. All that is known is what Fair Isaac (the company that calculates the FICO score) has said along with observations.

In general, credit utilization seems to include all credit cards at once, so your credit utilization in terms of your credit score is at about 20%, as you noted. This is a pretty good number for building a good credit score. On the flip side of that, having too many lines of credit, as you’ve noted, can actually hurt your credit score a little.

A FICO score is made up of five parts:

35% – Payment history
30% – Credit utilization
15% – Length of credit history
10% – New credit
10% – Credit mix

You’re probably seeing a slight negative push in the “credit mix” area, one that’s probably being counterbalanced by the “credit utilization” area. If you were to cancel two or three of your unused cards, your credit score would probably go up a little. Your “credit utilization” would go up, but not enough to get into an area where it would have a big negative impact, and it would also likely boost your score in the “credit mix” area.

Yes, it’s not transparent, but it’s in that lack of transparency that Fair Issac Corporation has a product to sell.

Q11: Spending now versus later

Seems to me that the idea of financial independence has it backwards. Why would you not spend your money now when you know you’re healthy and can enjoy it?
– Daniel

Right now, when I’m healthy, is the best opportunity I have in my life to earn money, but not necessarily the best time to spend it. If I’m very happy with my life without spending a lot of money, why should I spend a lot of money?

The thing with financial independence as a goal is that you’re stacking money up in savings at a pretty fast rate. If I ever decided that something had changed in my life and I no longer wanted financial independence and wanted to spend my money on something else, not only do I have a lot of breathing room in my current day-to-day finances (because we’re spending a lot less than we earn), but I also have a bunch of money saved up that I can tap, too.

I have money there and I could spend that money… but why? It wouldn’t buy anything that contributes significantly to the joy in my life right now. Sure, I could get a few bursts of pleasure that fade pretty quickly, but, again, why? I get a lot more baseline lasting joy in my life from having some money in the bank and knowing that I’m heading toward a life where I don’t have to work for a living at a relatively young age. That actually makes me feel quite happy.

If that ever changes, well, I can always start spending more money.

Q12: Dollar Shave Club tip

If any of your readers use Dollar Shave Club you might want to be aware that their razors are supplied by Dorco, who sells razors from their own website. You can get the same exact razors for cheaper there without the monthly subscription since you can just buy them when you need them.
– Frank

Dorco does seem to be the razor supplier for Dollar Shave Club, so if you’re in it mostly for the razors, you can probably save money by buying from Dorco directly.

The Dollar Shave Club / Dorco razors, in my experience are of perfectly good quality and comparable to most cartridge razors on the market.

Personally, I believe the best bargain in shaving is to use an old fashioned safety razor like this one and replaceable individual blades. The upkeep cost on this is a tiny fraction of the cost of cartridge razors and gets a very close shave every time, though you kind of have to “relearn” how to use it after using a cartridge razor for a while as the most effective strokes are very different.

Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.

The post Questions About Space Heaters, Engagement Rings, Insurance Company Failure, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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7 Tricks Every Budget-Conscious Beauty Junkie Needs to Know

“I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and… I believe in miracles.” — Audrey Hepburn

Hear, hear, Audrey! I agree every woman should feel beautiful, but I also believe beauty shouldn’t break the bank.

After all, those manicures and luxury lipsticks sure add up over time, and fitting beauty into your budget shouldn’t require a miracle.

Here are a few ways I save money on hair, makeup and personal care products:

1. Look Outside of Brand Names

Most beauty products are made from the same types of ingredients, regardless of their manufacturers. This means many drugstore products are equivalent to department store products, and vice versa.

Paying more often only buys you a brand name — not necessarily a superior product.

2. Look for More Effective Packaging

While the ingredients might be similar, packaging makes a big difference — it has a huge impact on the product’s effectiveness over time.

For example, squeezable tubes are better than jars for insulating ingredients against harmful elements. Choose tubes instead of jars to stretch your beauty bucks.

3. Make the Most of Your Purchases

If there’s a specific brand of makeup or personal care product you absolutely have to have, consider buying a discounted gift card for that store or product at a site like Gift Card Granny.

Maximize your savings by shopping for your products online using a rebate portal like Ebates.

If your favorite companies have loyalty programs, make sure to sign up. In many cases, you will receive exclusive discounts and free store credit or bonus products as a frequent shopper.

4. Comparison Shop Before Buying Recommended Products

What seems like a hair care or beauty bargain at your local salon may not be a deal at all. Do some comparison shopping and check all stylist-recommended products for customer satisfaction ratings online before purchasing from your pro.

In many cases, you’ll find something that does the same job as the product your stylist is peddling for significantly less cash.

5. Buy Generic Essential Items at the Dollar Store

Purchasing everyday essentials like cotton balls, makeup remover pads, applicators, hair clips or bobby pins at a dollar store can save an average of 30-40% compared to buying those same items from a department or big box store. (Like this idea? Click to tweet it!)

6. Try Beauty Schools to Save Money on Haircuts

Instead of paying high prices at your normal hair salon, consider visiting a local beauty school for your (and your family’s) routine trims. Typically, you will save up to 50% off salon prices when you opt for a beauty school hairdo.

Google “beauty school + [your town]” to find one near you.

This is also a great way to get a special occasion ‘do at a fraction of the price. I went this route for my sister’s wedding and paid only a fraction of the $60+ my regular salon charges.

7. Learn the Sales Cycle and Take Advantage of Big Sales

Beauty Brands holds a “Liter Sale” once per year during which you can purchase liters of salon brand shampoos and conditioners for just $12.99.

This is a great deal — in some cases, you’ll save over $40 per liter. Imagine the savings if you stocked up on enough shampoo and conditioner to last you an entire year, until the next Liter Sale.

Beauty Brands holds their big sale around July. Philosophy also holds a Summer Sale during which you can save up to 50%. During the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale, it isn’t unusual to save up to 75% when you use coupons along with the sale prices.

Almost every brand and online beauty merchant has one or two big sales each year. Mark these sales on your calendar and stock up for big savings.

Also, summer is a great time to look for local sidewalk sales in your community. Save big as your mom-and-pop shops move last season’s inventory.

If you spend less money on beauty products, you’ll have more money to spend on other things.

Shop smarter, save more and look fabulous while you do it.

Angie Nelson is a beauty product junkie who believes every woman deserves to look and feel good — regardless of your budget! Connect with her on MyBeautyBoxReview.com.

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Rip off ticket resales to be investigated

Rachel Lacey

Music-concert.jpg

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to investigate whether consumers are being ripped off when they buy secondary tickets online.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to investigate whether consumers are being ripped off when they buy secondary tickets online.

Its investigation seeks to uncover whether consumers are getting all of the information that they require when they purchase tickets for events including sports, theatre or music, on the resale market.

read more

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Low savings rates top Moneywise users’ list of financial concerns for 2017

Helen Knapman

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Nearly a third (27%) of Moneywise.co.uk users say their biggest financial concern for 2017 is poor savings rates as a result of interest rates staying low.

Nearly a third (27%) of Moneywise.co.uk users say their biggest financial concern for 2017 is poor savings rates as a result of interest rates staying low.

read more

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EE customers to be hit with broadband price hikes in the New Year

Helen Knapman

broadband.jpg

EE home phone and broadband customers will see the price they pay for line rental and out of bundle calls rise in the New Year.

EE home phone and broadband customers will see the price they pay for line rental and out of bundle calls rise in the New Year.

From 23 January 2017, the price of line rental will increase by an average of £1.50 a month – or £18 a year.

read more

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Here’s How I Went From Zero Experience to Full-Time Freelancer in 2.5 Years

Home-Based Franchises For Moms

By Holly Reisem Hanna Are you at stay-at-home mom? Do you want to launch your own business, but you’re not sure where to start or what to do? Do the logistics of a business plan, marketing, sales, human resources, customer service, accounting, and legal compliance sound overwhelming? Well, I’ve got good news! There are businesses […]

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10 Actors, Comics and Musicians Explain How They Actually Pay the Bills

Five Investing Resolutions for 2017

How can you make better investment decisions in 2017? Decisions that increase your odds of success and get you closer to reaching your goals?

Here are five investment resolutions that will put you on the right track.

Resolution No. 1: Increase Contributions

Nothing you do will have a bigger impact on your bottom line than increasing your contributions. And honestly, it’s not even close.

It’s a lot sexier to debate which mutual funds to invest in, which retirement account is best, or whether now is a good time to get in or out of the stock market. But none of those things will have anywhere near the impact as simply saving more money.

Saving more money now is the best way to ensure that you’ll have more money later on. Which, it turns out, is the entire point of investing.

So, what’s the best way to increase your contributions for 2017?

First, check to see whether you’re taking full advantage of your employer match. If not, increasing your contribution there will often have double the impact of contributing elsewhere because of those extra employer contributions.

Second, if you have the room in your budget, see if you can max out your various retirement accounts. The maximum allowed contributions for 2017 are $18,000 for a 401(k), $5,500 for an IRA, and $3,400-$6,750 for a health savings accounts. (Yes, health savings accounts are fantastic retirement accounts). These limits are even higher if you’re age 50 or older.

Third, if you can’t make a big increase, commit to making small changes over time. Increase your contributions by 1% now and set a calendar reminder to increase them by another 1% every six to 12 months going forward. If you do that consistently, you’ll be ahead of the game in no time.

Resolution No. 2: Cut Costs

Here’s another unsexy topic that has a big impact on your bottom line. Research has shown that cost is actually the single best predictor of future investment returns. The less an investment costs, the more likely it is to outperform.

It may sound a little counterintuitive at first, given that we’re used to paying more for higher quality products. But think about it this way: Every 1% LESS you pay in fees is 1% MORE you earn in returns — every single year for the rest of your investment life.

That, plus the fact that higher-cost investments typically underperform anyways, is why reducing your costs is so effective.

So, now is a great time to find out what you’re paying for your investments and slash costs wherever possible. Here’s a guide that will help you do just that: Eight Investment Fees to Watch Out For.

Resolution No. 3: Rebalance

A good investment strategy is aggressive enough to earn reasonable long-term returns, and conservative enough to not risk more than you can either afford to lose or feel comfortable losing.

That means finding a balance between investing in high-risk, high-return investments like the stock market and lower-risk, lower-return investments like bonds. The specific balance you want to strike is called your asset allocation, and you can learn more about how to find that balance here.

The problem is that even if you set your investments up to perfectly match your desired asset allocation, they will slowly drift out of balance over time.

Let’s say that you want 70% of your investments in stocks and 30% in bonds, so you set it up just like that. If, over the course of the year, stocks do well and bonds do not, you may find that you’re now 80% invested in stocks and 20% in bonds, simply because stocks have increased in value and bonds have decreased.

And that’s where rebalancing comes in.

Rebalancing is the process of bringing your investments back in line with your desired asset allocation. You can do it by selling some of the investment that’s increased in value and using that money to buy more of the investment that’s decreased in value. Or you can do it by contributing more money and putting it toward the investment that has decreased in value.

Either way, rebalancing brings your investment portfolio back in line with your desired balance between risk and return, and now is a great time to do it.

Resolution No. 4: Simplify

How complicated is your investment portfolio? How many different mutual funds do you own? How many different accounts do you have? How many different companies are they with?

Investing doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, simplicity often lead to better results and complication often leads to confusion, mistakes, and lower returns.

Consider simplifying your investments in any or all of the following ways:

• Using an all-in-one mutual fund, like a target-date fund.
• Automating your contributions.
• Rolling over old 401(k)s into your current 401(k) or an IRA.
• Moving all of your investment accounts to a single company (be careful about taxes, though, if you’re moving a brokerage account).

My guess is that the simpler you make things, the more success you’ll have.

Resolution No. 5: Relax

Investing can be stressful. There are lots of ups and downs that can make the future feel very uncertain. And there are a lot of decisions to make, which can lead to anxiety over whether you’re making the right ones.

Here’s the thing:

• As long as you’re saving (see Resolution No. 1), you’re most of the way there.
• If you’re saving into tax-advantaged accounts – whether they’re Roth, traditional, or whatever – you’re almost all of the way there.
• If you’ve also minimized costs and have a reasonable balance between stocks and bonds, you’ve done all the important things and you’re now ahead almost every other investor out there.

Don’t worry about finding the “perfect” investment strategy. It doesn’t exist. Worry about doing the important things well enough and get on with your day.

Oh, and yes, the stock market will decline from time to time. Sometimes pretty significantly.

When it does, it’s your job to take a deep breath, remind yourself that investing is a long-term exercise, and stick to your plan.

That’s the difference between success and failure.

Matt Becker is a fee-only financial planner and the founder of Mom and Dad Money, where he helps new parents take control of their money so they can take care of their families. His free book, The New Family Financial Road Map, guides parents through the all most important financial decisions that come with starting a family.

Related Articles: 

• Seven Big Investment Mistakes You’re Probably Making
• Four Reasons to Invest That Have Nothing to Do With Retirement
• New Year’s Resolutions: Six Ways to Hack the 52-Week Money Challenge

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