By Holly Reisem Hanna Do you love working with numbers? Are you detail oriented, and enjoy figures and spreadsheets? Then bookkeeping may be your work-at-home calling! Working as a bookkeeper is an excellent way to make good money and gain the flexibility and freedom that you crave. Plus, getting started is easy. There’s not a […]
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You know that saying “there’s an app for that”?
Well, in a marvel of modern technology, there’s now an app that will make ham suddenly appear in front of you.
OK, fine, so ham won’t really just magically show up on your dinner table — but you could be one step closer to a blissful ham-filled existence when you download the new HoneyBaked Ham app.
The real deal here? When you download the app and set up an account, you’ll get a free Ham Classic sandwich.
All you have to do to start reaping the savory rewards is download the free My HoneyBaked Ham app on your iPhone or Android device and sign up for a new account.
During the setup process, make sure to select the “Free Ham Classic Sandwich” option under “Select Your Sign Up Bonus.”
Then, simply open your app, and tap the “My Rewards and Offers” tab to redeem your sandwich offer in-store.
With the My HoneyBaked Ham app, you can earn points on every purchase you make, redeem points for rewards, and be the first to hear about promotions and surprise offers. (Like more ham, perhaps?!)
You’ll earn one point for every dollar you spend. Just enter your phone number when you order online, or have the cashier scan the bar code on your app at checkout.
For every 10 points you earn, you get $1 in rewards. Once you hit 50 points, you can start redeeming them. The app also throws in extra coupons once in a while, like $5 off a turkey breast meal.
You can also select and save your preferred store in the app or search for nearby stores wherever you go, meaning a last-minute dinner option is always just a few clicks away.
You’ll even earn points on gift orders, so you can be the hero while still collecting points to use on yourself later.
A free sandwich, easy dinner options and reward points for more free food?
There’s an app for that.
Your Turn: What’s your favorite thing to order at HoneyBaked Ham?
Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
The post HoneyBaked Ham Wants to Give You a Free Sandwich — Here’s How to Get Yours appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
So your wallet is stuffed with credit cards that are nearly maxed out.
You’re on a first-name basis with Chase, Citibank and Capital One.
When it’s time to pay for anything, you automatically whip out Visa, MasterCard or Discover like they’re tools in your personal financial Swiss Army Knife.
…and you’re hemorrhaging money on interest payments.
Absolutely. Hemorrhaging. Money.
The good news is, there are proven methods you can use to turn things around and get out from under that burden.
Here are five ways to start paying off your credit card debt right now:
Credit card interest rates often rise above 20% and can persistently gobble up so much of your income that you’ll never get ahead.
At that point, all you’re doing is paying off the interest, not the principal. Instead of financially treading water that way, refinance your debt by taking out a debt consolidation loan.
Here’s how it works:
You get a personal loan from a lender at a lower interest rate.
You use that loan to pay off the balances on your high-interest credit cards. Then you repay the lender a fixed amount every month for a set time period, usually two to five years.
An easy place to start is Even Financial, which can help you borrow up to $35,000.
Type in your info, and it compares interest rates from several lenders. There’s no charge for this.
The interest rates you’re offered on these loans will depend on your individual credit profile. Compare the lowest rate to what your credit cards are currently charging you. The average interest rate on credit cards these days is nearly 13%, or 16% for travel rewards cards.
This woman saved $12,000 by refinancing her $12,000 of credit card debt with a personal loan.
She’d been paying 15.24% interest to her credit card. She paid off that balance with a 5%-interest loan. Over the seven-year life of the loan, she’ll pay $2,000 in interest.
However, if she’d kept on making the minimum payments on her credit card, she would have paid $14,000 in interest over 25 years.
Two of the best-known methods to pay off credit card debt are “the avalanche” and “the snowball.”
Following the “debt avalanche” method (also known as “debt stacking”), you pay off your credit cards with the highest interest rates first.
Think of it as killing off your most toxic debt first — your most poisonous, radioactive, money-eating debt.
Rank your credit cards by their interest rate, from highest to lowest.
Here’s an example. (Note to readers: I am totally making these interest rates up.)
Each month, make the minimum required payment on each card.
Then, use all your remaining available cash to pay off the card with the worst interest rate. Once you’ve wiped out that balance, move your debt-killing sniper rifle down to your next target.
This technique requires patience, but can save you significant money in interest payments.
And the more interest you pay off, the more momentum you gain — like an avalanche rolling downhill.
Money management guru Dave Ramsey champions this method.
Here, you’re still focusing on eliminating one credit card at a time, but you’re getting rid of the lowest balance first.
With this method, you’d rank those same four credit cards in a different order:
Once again, pay the minimum on each card, and use your leftover money to pay off the smallest balance. Once you’ve knocked out that one, move on.
The downside: In the long run, you’ll end up paying more in interest.
The upside: Wiping out each credit card balance will give you a “quick win” and pump you up to keep tackling your debt.
Dave Ramsey’s take: “It’s more important to pay your debts in a way that keeps you motivated to keep going until you’ve wiped them all out. If you begin with the biggest one, you might think you’re not making fast enough progress, lose steam, and not finish the job.”
Which method should you use? Use the one that works for you.
I know, I know — get another credit card? What’s wrong with this picture?
In all seriousness, this could be an option for you.
If your credit is good, apply for a zero- or low-interest credit card. To entice you, these cards will offer you a super-low annual percentage rate (APR) — for a certain period of time.
Transfer the balance from your high-interest cards to your new card.
Obviously this step, all by itself, will not magically get rid of your credit card debt. (Presto! Abracadabra! Debt be gone!) No, your credit card debt is still stubbornly sitting there, occupying a different credit card.
The advantage you’ll be saving some serious coin on interest payments, freeing up cash to pay down your debt.
Major caveats:
You’re paying off your credit card balances with the same pot of money you’re using to pay your other bills.
Why not try to cut down those other costs so you’ll have more money to apply to your credit card debt?
Use a service like Clarity Money to take advantage of discounts you might not know you’re eligible for and to help you negotiate your existing bills for stuff like cable… without going through the headache of calling customer service yourself.
If Clarity successfully negotiates a bill for you, it charges you 33% of that savings — but only once, and only after those savings have gone into effect.
The absolute worst case scenario: Nothing changes, and you just keep paying what you’re already paying now.
OR, you could end up freeing up some money. You’ll never know unless you try.
Bottom line: These are five ways to start paying off your debt. It’s time to get serious about slaying the credit card dragon!
Your Turn: Do you know how to pay off credit card debt faster?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. We have to give credit where credit is due.
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
The post 5 Trusty Ways to Pay Off Credit Card Debt in a Hurry and Avoid Interest appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
So you’re a millennial and you want to get serious about adulting. Owning a home sure would be a major milestone.
No more paying rent. You’d be building equity. Besides being a good investment, your home would be a castle to call your own. Keep whatever pets you want, paint whatever rooms you like, etc.
But buying a home is a big deal. Can you swing it? It turns out that the state you live in makes a big difference.
A new report from Bankrate identifies the best and worst states for first-time homebuyers. The upshot: Millennials “may have to stick to smaller, interior states to find a hospitable home buying climate.”
Naturally, that’s less than convenient for a lot of millennials. Among the 10 toughest states for first-time homebuyers are those with cities that happen to be magnets for young professionals — places like California, New York, Texas, Colorado, Oregon and Massachusetts.
Not surprisingly, housing in those hot spots is super-expensive.
“The best-performing states in our ranking are mostly Western and Midwestern states with varying degrees of urbanization,” Bankrate says.
The top three: Iowa, Utah and Minnesota.
Iowa: A totally awesome place to buy your first house.
While you meditate on that, let’s take a deeper look at the numbers.
You might be surprised where your own state ranks.
(I know what you’re wondering: OK, where does my state rank? The ranking of all 50 states is here.)
The bottom five: California, Hawaii, New York, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Yes, Louisiana and Mississippi are ranked among the worst states for first-time homebuyers. That’s because they rank low in credit availability. Banks reject a high percentage of mortgage applications there, which is a roadblock for millennials who have relatively thin credit files.
That and a poor job market for young adults explain why other Southern states like South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama placed in the bottom half of the rankings, too.
Places like Hawaii and California landed in the bottom five because of their astronomical house prices. Conversely, the easy availability of affordable homes is why other states rose to the top.
The top five: Iowa, Utah, Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri. They’re immediately followed by both Dakotas and Wyoming.
“What we found was stunning: Principal and interest payments in the least affordable states consumed more than a third of household income, versus just 13 percent in the most affordable states,” Bankrate says.
Today’s real estate market is tougher than ever for first-time homebuyers, according to a CNN report on Bankrate’s analysis.
Rising housing prices are making it harder for newbie homebuyers to sock away enough cash to make that crucial down payment. That puts them at a disadvantage when they’re competing with current homeowners with built-up equity.
Don’t get depressed. You don’t have to start looking for a nice fixer-upper in Des Moines if you don’t want to. Hold off on calling that real estate agent in Cedar Rapids.
The Bankrate and CNN reports offer the following tips for first-time homebuyers:
Happy house hunting.
Your Turn: Are you thinking about buying a house? What’s the most intimidating part of the process for you?
Mike Brassfield, a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder, is a staunch proponent of home ownership. He can be reached at mike@thepennyhoarder.com.
The post California No, Iowa Yes: The Best and Worst States to Buy Your First Home appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
Do you have a keen photo editing eye? Do your friends call you the “Photoshop whisperer”?
Ready to get paid to indulge your love of looking at pictures all day?
Stock photography website Shutterstock and photo editing website Mendr are filling work-from-home photo editor jobs right now.
Shutterstock image reviewers are responsible for verifying that images meet the site catalog’s standards of acceptability.
You’ll check to make sure uploaded images aren’t fraudulent or infringing on copyrights, and that they’re in line with Shutterstock’s technical and editorial guidelines.
Image reviewers will apply metadata standards and edit metadata lightly as needed, including keywords and captioning. You’ll also provide feedback to contributors when appropriate.
Requirements include:
To be considered for this Shutterstock job, complete this questionnaire and then apply here.
Mendr’s photo editors lightly edit images in Adobe Photoshop, so you’ll do things like clean up photos, change the exposure, brighten smiles or remove objects.
Mendr is just getting ready to launch its mobile photo editing app, so you’ll also be on the lookout for bugs and issues with the new portal.
Photo editors are expected to communicate with other editors over the Slack messaging system and bring a positive attitude and spirit of community to the job.
Apply soon — Mendr plans to fill its vacancies by March 10. If you’re selected, you’ll need to attend a mandatory webinar.
Requirements:
Apply here to work with Mendr.
This isn’t the first time Shutterstock has posted jobs for image reviewers. But Mendr is a brand new company, so now’s your chance to get in on the ground floor of an exciting startup.
Want to find more work-from-home job opportunities? Visit our Facebook Jobs page.
Your turn: How are your photo editing chops? Could they land you a job with Shutterstock or Mendr?
Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s not great with cameras but takes passable pictures with her phone. Once in a while she even posts them on Twitter @lisah.
The post These 2 Companies are Looking for Work-From-Home Photo Editors Right Now appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
If you read The Penny Hoarder regularly, you’ve probably heard of mystery shopping.
If you haven’t, here’s a synopsis, courtesy of our founder and CEO, Kyle Taylor, who used to be an avid mystery shopper: “It’s a job where a company pays you to pose like a regular customer and then provide feedback to the company on things like how clean the store was or how well the employees interacted with you.”
Taylor began mystery shopping when was 16 and has completed more than 5,000 assignments. :scream:
Personally, I’ve never tried it, though my editor, Justin Cupler, has — and shared his fails.
But recently, we heard about a company looking for luxury brand mystery shoppers.
My inner Nordstrom fan-girl voice is squealing!
This opportunity is brought to you by Albatross Global Solutions, which describes itself as “a customer experience agency servicing premium and luxury brands.”
It works with more than 200 brands in more than 70 countries. Right now, it’s seeking store performance evaluators (aka mystery shoppers) in the U.S. and Canada.
Albatross’ marketing and communications manager, Rosalle Macaspac, said the company needs luxury shoppers in 42 cities. Because you won’t be able to find this information elsewhere online, here they are in alphabetical order, by state and ZIP code — because I had to.
In the U.S.
In Canada
Are you in one of these cities? Keep reading for more details!
First things first: If you live in one of these areas, you’ll need to register to shop. You can do so here.
Once you complete the registration, you’ll receive an automated email that lists opportunities in your area. You can apply for them online or by responding to the email, which is then forwarded to the appropriate party.
Said appropriate party will then get in touch with you to schedule “the mission.”
Macaspac offered a couple of examples of missions:
You can choose to accept or decline a mission once you receive the details. And some missions require you to buy items — though not many. If that’s the case, Albatross reimburses you for an agreed-upon amount.
Macaspac estimates shoppers can complete one to five shops a month, depending on their location.
You’ll get paid biweekly via PayPal. A shopper can earn $50-$100 per shopping trip.
If you want to check this opportunity out, read through the details, and apply through this link.
Your Turn: Have you mystery shopped? Tell us about your experience!
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She loves shopping.
The post Earn Up to $100 as a Luxury Mystery Shopper in One of These 42 Cities appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
The BHS pension scheme, which went into administration last April and has been at the centre of a media storm since,
Consumers who take a landline-only telephone service from BT are set to receive at least £5 a month off their bills.
This proposal has been made by regulator Ofcom which is looking at whether {consumers who only have landline services} are given a poor value deal.
Keeping the pensions 'triple lock' beyond 2020 will result in the state pension age increasing above the average life expectancy for men who live in deprived areas, a report from the Work and Pensions Committee has warned today.
So often, we think of investments as being purely about dollars in and dollars out. If you put $10,000 into an investment with an average return of 7% a year, how much do you make after ten years? Is it better to pay taxes on that money now when you put it in or when you start withdrawing later?
That’s great, of course, but I like to think of investment in broader terms. For me, an investment is when you spend some resource – money, time, energy, goods, personal capital, etc. – and receive something in return for that resource – money, time, energy, goods, personal capital, etc. In other words, almost everything we do in our daily lives can be perceived as an investment of some kind.
I tend to view a good life as being one that’s full of good investments. If you use your resources (money, time, energy, etc.) in a smart way, they’re going to give far more value back to you in return.
This post actually started as a conversation with my children, where I was explaining to them how some of the things you do in life have at least some value that comes back to you later on, and that the best things in life tend to happen when you’re reaping the rewards of having done a lot of those things and you can live in the moment on the crest of that wave. I’ll give you an example of that down in the conclusion.
First, however, I want to share a list with you of my ten favorite “investments” that I feel give me the best return on what I invest in them in my life. All of these involve spending some resource that I have, but the benefit I get out of spending that resource is far greater than the cost.
Investment #1: Getting a good night of sleep, one where you’re not awakened by an alarm clock
The best night of sleep that you can get is one where you fall into bed and sleep until your body decides it’s recharged and wakes you up naturally. That’s in almost direct opposition to the sleeping pattern of a busy person, which usually involves inadequate sleep and being awakened by an alarm clock that disrupts normal sleep patterns.
The cost: The cost of doing this is losing out on the last hour or two of your day. That’s generally time when you’re pretty tired anyway and aren’t doing anything particularly productive. You might miss out on a window of time to watch a television show or something, but it’s time where many people doze off on the couch or march through some household tasks at a really low rate of productivity.
The benefit: After a day or two of adjustment, you feel substantially better in terms of energy level, awareness, and clarity of thought. The way I describe it is that I swapped eighteen waking hours in a day for sixteen hours with almost double the energy and much clearer thinking. You also lose that miserable feeling of hearing an alarm go off when you’re really not ready to wake up yet, which means that days start off a little better.
Investment #2: Spending some time outside doing something where you move around
What I often do is go on a walk with my earbuds in my ear, listening to a podcast or an audiobook. I go outside, let a bit of sunshine hit my cheeks and hands and arms, and simply move around. I’ll just walk around the block at a steady pace, admire the environment, and then wind up back home half an hour or an hour later, usually having absorbed some of that podcast or audiobook, and feeling a whole lot better. If I can afford it, I’ll go to a park instead and go on a short hike in the woods – it takes more time but it pays even higher dividends.
Why? There are a number of factors. A small amount of sun exposure each day is very healthy as it promotes natural vitamin D production and good serotonin balance in your body. Mild exercise is also incredibly good for you – serotonin pops up here, but there are lots of additional biochemical and psychological benefits. Here’s just a taste of the benefits. You can spend that time learning and keeping your mind active, too.
If you actually have an outdoor task to take on, even better! Get to it! Mow the yard. Rake the leaves. Clean out the gutters. Trim the hedges. Plant something. Detail your car. Anything that gets you outside and moving a little bit each day is a good thing.
The cost: It burns thirty minutes or an hour where you could be doing something else. If that other thing is more valuable to you, then there is a cost to choosing this.
The benefit: There are a ton of biochemical and psychological benefits, as noted in the article above. Vitamin D production, eyesight benefits, serotonin production, improved sleep patterns, psychological health benefits, and the raw benefits of exercise in terms of losing weight and building muscle strength are all part of this. To sum it up: you’ll feel better in almost every way, especially if you make it a pattern, and there are some long term health benefits, too.
Investment #3: Eating simple but varied meals that are mostly fruits and vegetables
There are tons and tons of studies and theories out there on this topic, but there are a few essentials that they all agree on: eat a variety of foods, make the majority of them fruits and vegetables, and try to eat mostly unprocessed stuff. The arguments about whether to avoid wheat and about carb levels and so on are infinite and change all the time, but those core rules seem to stay pretty much the same. So stick to them.
It’s not real hard. Just eat something different at every meal. Switch it up a lot. Try new stuff sometimes to make your palate even bigger. Make sure you’re eating plenty of vegetables and fruits. You don’t have to eat stuff you hate, either. Try to avoid overly prepared or processed stuff, like fast foods or premade freezer meals, but you don’t have to go to absurd lengths to do it.
The cost: I’m hard pressed to think of a cost here. You can’t just endlessly repeat just one or two favorite meals, I guess? It can increase the length of meal prep if you mostly rely on takeout or fast food, too.
The benefit: Consumer Reports sums up the benefits really well: lower blood lipid levels and higher levels of short-chain fatty acids in the gut, which results in lower risk of heart disease, inflammatory diseases, and type 2 diabetes. There’s strong evidence of better brain health in a varied diet that includes fish, too. You’ll feel better and think better in the short term, in other words, and it’ll significantly improve your long term health outcomes.
Investment #4: Apologizing when you mess up rather than passing blame
Think about the last time you heard a blatant excuse from someone who had made a mistake and didn’t want to accept any blame or consequence for it. Did it make you think more highly of that person? What about the last time someone genuinely apologized for a mistake and put it squarely on their shoulders? How did that make you feel about that person?
Now, transition those feelings and imagine you’re the person who made that mistake. Your decision about whether to apologize for your mistake or not is going to decide how exactly they feel about you. Are they going to feel like you do when you witness someone blatantly passing the buck? Or are they going to feel the surprise and respect that you do when someone genuinely apologizes for their misstep and looks to make amends?
The cost: It’s hard to do it. It is really hard to confess that we’ve made mistakes to others. It feels far easier to just pass the blame or kick the can down the road. Apologizing for a mistake you made requires swallowing a lot of pride and it may mean some consequences for the error you made, though the penalty is usually substantially reduced when you make an honest apology.
The benefit: Respect. A lot of it. Almost everyone tends to gain respect for someone who admits a personal error or failing and asks what they can do to fix the problem, especially when they do it sincerely and directly without even a hint of passing the buck. Virtually every relationship in your life moves in a better direction if you apologize for a mistake rather than passing it on, even if you don’t see it on the surface. That type of respect is the foundation of strong relationships. People who respect you will help you in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, and you earn that respect through simple actions of strong character like apologizing for your errors.
Investment #5: Genuinely listening to people and responding to them
People like to be listened to. People like to be valued. People like to be remembered. People like to feel important. When you can do that for people, they like you. Period.
It’s not even hard to do. All you have to do is listen to someone when that person is talking. Don’t stand there thinking about what you want to say next. Just listen. Focus on what they’re saying, try to understand it to the best of your ability, and ask follow-up questions to get them to expand on anything that’s unclear.
When you do that, the person you’re listening to and talking to will naturally like you. They’ll value your presence. They’ll usually start asking for your thoughts on things. They’ll respect you a little and will become predisposed to respect you more.
The cost: It takes some time to just listen to someone. It also means you don’t get to contribute as many of your own thoughts to a conversation as you might otherwise, though when you do contribute, that contribution has more value.
The benefit: It strengthens virtually every personal relationship you have. Listening is like magic for building the strength of relationships. It helps your reputation, as well. Furthermore, you often learn quite a lot about things when you’re listening rather than talking because people give out a lot of useful info when talking.
Investment #6: Living in a place with easy access to work and food and social connection
If you live close to your workplace, you can walk or ride a bike to work, which in itself fulfills the second investment above. It’s also far, far cheaper than owning and driving a car. You can even potentially divest yourself of a car. If you live close to a good discount grocer and, even better, to your social connections, those same features repeat themselves. You invest less time and less money going to the places you need to and want to go. That’s a huge thing.
The cost: You might have to give up some other elements of what would make an ideal place for you to live. It might mean a smaller living space or an area that isn’t your perfect ideal. You might have somewhat higher housing costs, too, depending on where your workplace actually is.
The benefit: You slash your commuting costs. You slash the time devoted to tasks like commuting and getting food. You slash your time devoted to meeting up with friends. You slash your social costs because it becomes much easier to just hang out at each other’s houses or apartments. Simply put, this choice saves a lot of money and a lot of time.
Investment #7: Writing in a journal about what’s troubling you in life
Whatever aspect of your life that you happen to be struggling with, time spent seriously evaluating that problem, figuring out what the true source of that problem is, and then developing a plan to fix the source of the problem is incredibly valuable time spent. It costs you virtually nothing other than a bit of paper and ink and it can help you to resolve or eliminate all of the largest stressors in your life.
The cost: It takes some time on a regular basis. You have to be able and willing to criticize yourself.
The benefit: Your stress is lowered. Almost every major problem in your life is reduced, either in a reduction of the size of the problem or in a reduction of its impact on your life. You feel far more in control of things and feel far more ready to handle things that might come at you.
Investment #8: Building a relationship with a mentor
A mentor is simply a person who serves as an example on how to live and can help guide you along the path of your life. A mentor might be a professional mentor, helping you guide your career or business, or that mentor might be a personal mentor, helping you navigate your personal life or spiritual life. Having a strong relationship with a mentor is incredibly useful, as it becomes someone that can help you steer your ship through rough waters and can point you in the right direction at life’s crossroads.
The cost: It takes time and effort and sometimes some money to build a good relationship with a mentor. You’ll want to repay some of the value they give to you, and the way you’ll often be able to do that is through spending time and giving genuine conversation, though occasional errands and gifts may be appropriate. It really depends on the relationship that forms.
The benefit: You have unparalleled personal guidance through almost every challenge that life deals you, from career crossroads to personal challenges, from figuring out your destination to figuring out how to dig yourself out of a mess. A mentor makes every knot in your life a lot easier to untie, and that’s incredibly valuable.
Investment #9: Building a skill that you don’t have but that you desire
No one in the world has the full set of skills that they need to handle all of the challenges that life throws at them. I’m absolutely awful at starting conversations with people I don’t know, for example. There are some professional skills that I definitely wish that I had, such as faster editing skills. I can name a dozen skills I wish that I had, but that I simply do not have.
The cost: It takes time and effort to master a skill, and it sometimes also takes money when you need to hire a teacher.
The benefit: You add a new skill to your repertoire. That skill, if well chosen, will frequently serve you in your personal and professional life, enabling you to take further career steps, build better relationships, complete a wider variety of tasks, and so on. The benefits very much depend on the skill learned, of course. Also, the process of learning a skill improves your aptitude for self-learning, making it easier to continue to add skills.
Investment #10: Taking a day off but using it meaningfully
Time off almost always reaps benefits. It allows you to relax and unburden yourself from a seemingly endless string of responsibilities, at least for a while. However, it’s very tempting to just waste that day off in idleness. There’s nothing wrong with leisure or hobby time, but that’s when you’re actively choosing to do something meaningful to you. Idleness is time spent doing nothing meaningful to you at all. Choose meaningful things, whether it’s personal tasks, hobby time, genuine leisure, or something else – whatever brings the most overall joy from the day.
The cost: You lose a day that you could have devoted to other tasks.
The benefit: It kills stress and worry like nothing else. It can still be quite productive, depending on what you choose. It can absolutely destroy the temptation to buy things, because the desire to buy often springs out of an unrequited desire to actually do something.
For me, the absolute best that life has to offer comes together when a bunch of your investments pay off at once. Let me give you an example.
A few days ago, I was able to spend an afternoon playing a board game with some old friends. It’s a game we all know and love. I have good relationships with all of those people (investment #5 and, to an extent, #4). I was well rested (investment #1) and felt energetic but not full and bloated (investment #3 and, to some extent, #2). I felt in control of most of my major life worries (investment #7), so I wasn’t stressed out. I was spending that day in intentional leisure with those friends (investment #10) who lived close enough so that they are a frequent part of my life (investment #6). I felt good, I had no real worries, and was surrounded by people I cared about doing something that I enjoy. It was an absolutely marvelous day, built on the back of those investments.
Want another example? How about a professional one, directly tied to not only my income, but the quality of my professional life?
Back in 2007, I was really struggling with the direction of my life. I had started The Simple Dollar in my spare time and it was becoming successful, but it was nowhere near enough to be able to support my family. I was dealing with a lot of frustrations with my main job/career, too; I liked the people and about 20% of the work, but the other 80% was killing my soul and it was straining my family relationships with travel and other responsibilities.
So, one day, I gave my mentor a call (investment #8). He offered to go to lunch with me the next day, so I spent some time the night before gathering my thoughts (investment #2 and #7) and getting a good night of sleep (investment #1) so I could talk to him as clearly as possible. We went out for a healthy lunch (investment #3) and a long back-and-forth conversation with a lot of good questions (investment #5). He gave me the advice I needed to hear, which was basically to make sure I had the skills necessary to build my side gig up (investment #9) and then make that leap and give it all I had.
That lunch changed my life. About a year later, I went full time with The Simple Dollar, mostly inspired by wanting more time with my family, and I couldn’t be happier with the choice.
The real truth? Those individual investments really didn’t cost me much. I didn’t sacrifice a whole lot to get a good night of sleep or to build good relationships. I didn’t really sacrifice too much to build skills or to practice better listening.
Over and over again, though, the small investments I have made in my life have paid off tremendously. Those little contributions of time and energy and a little money when needed have transformed into some of the best days of my life, some of the best personal and professional choices I’ve made, some of the best personal and professional relationships I have, and so many more things. Without those investments, I would not have the level of personal, professional, or financial success I have been lucky enough to achieve.
Making great financial choices is a powerful step in life, but it becomes even more powerful when you pair it with good choices regarding all of your resources: your energy, your time, your attention, your personal capital, and so on. Invest all of them wisely and they will pay out dividends far beyond your wildest imagination.
The post Ten Simple Investments You Can Make in Yourself for a Huge Return on Your Money and Time appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
Savers can now earn 2% before tax fixed for one year with Atom Bank. It is the first time rates have been this high for 10 months.
From Donald Trump to Kevin O’Leary, entrepreneurs entering the world of politics have been in the spotlight. And that has sparked a discussion about whether CEOs transition into successful political leaders.
My journey is the opposite: I went from politics to CEO.
In 2004, I began college as a political science major at the University of South Florida. During my freshman year, I campaigned for Working America. When the office closed after the November election, I moved on to Clean Water Action.
As my second semester rolled around in January, I was offered a promotion and an opportunity to work on a park bond campaign. In Texas.
My parents weren’t thrilled that I was giving up my scholarship and dropping out of school. But I took the job and later worked on various campaigns in a number of roles for the next several years. And you know what? Working on campaigns taught me a lot about running a company.
Here are five things I learned from working on political campaigns:
As a field canvasser, my job was to go door to door educating people on the issues and soliciting donations. I had a daily quota to hit, so I had to be direct when asking for money.
When the door opened, I had about a two-minute window to make a personal connection with someone. As a shy, introverted young guy, I was scared shitless to talk to complete strangers.
The bad part: I’d have to talk to 40-60 people a day. The good part: I’d have to talk to 40-60 people a day. I had the chance to get better each time.
If I had an awkward exchange, I could tweak my approach with the next person who answered the door. I learned to overcome my nervousness and shaky knees by relying on my sense of humor — it’s a disarming tool, sure, but it helped me relax, too! Plus, once I got someone to chuckle, I knew I had bought myself another 30 seconds.
I got better at reading people, relating to them and reframing my ask. I also assumed support — that the person on the other side of the door already cared about the issues and wanted to help.
It’s never easy to ask people for money. But years of canvassing helped build my confidence when selling today.
On the campaign trail, I was never in the same spot for long. Working on the Affordable Care Act in 2009, for example, I began in Ohio, headed down to Virginia for a few weeks and then drove to Louisiana. My schedule hinged on the needs of the campaign and would change accordingly.
With each move to a new city came a new office. When I became a field director, I’d have to do everything from set up an office space to hire staff to navigate labor laws that varied from state to state. It was a lot of work in a short period of time — and an office might only last a couple months!
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was building mini-startups. Assembling and scaling a team quickly? These skills came in handy when I founded my own business and had to budget for an office, build a team, do payroll and administer benefits as a scrappy entrepreneur.
There’s an infinite need for canvassers during campaign season. I would routinely place ads on Craigslist, in newspapers and on job websites. I’d set up interviews for roughly half the respondents; from there, 50-60% would actually show up. After six years, I had conducted a lot of interviews.
During this time, I really learned what to look for and what questions were important to ask. Since these interviews were five to 10 minutes long, I had to quickly evaluate whether someone was a good fit. Two things I looked for were attitude and the ability to learn new skills. And today, those are still the first things I look for in candidates at The Penny Hoarder.
I made my TV news debut at an event for Working America in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 2009. We organized an event at a bus depot with hundreds of people. Canvassers dressed up like doctors to disseminate information about the ACA and ask people to write letters to then-Sen. Mary Landrieu.
The event got national attention. As the organizer, it was my job — whether I wanted it to be or not — to speak to the press.
I gave my first on-camera quote during that campaign. I was the same introverted kid, but because I was passionate about the work, I was able to push that to the side.
I continue to do media spots as a CEO. Those earlier TV news segments helped me get comfortable in front of a camera and deliver a digestible message in a short period of time.
Because of the hourly pay and atypical hours, canvassing jobs tend to attract college students. As a director, I had my fair share of expected issues, like people showing up late or not at all. I also experienced not-so-average problems, like neighbors calling the cops on my team, or canvassers getting sick, bitten by a dog or hit by a car. I was guaranteed to deal with some kind of situation every night.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re the boss. But after a while, I started to develop a mindset of “I’ve dealt with worse before.” It’s been a helpful reminder as I scale my business. (And thankfully, no one on my team’s been hit by a car since.)
Kyle Taylor is the founder and CEO of The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites with 19 million-plus monthly readers. In 2016, the Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder the 32nd fastest-growing private company and the No. 1 fastest-growing media company in the United States. You can read his latest article here: “Here’s Exactly What We Did to Improve Our SEO in 2016… and Beyond.”
The post 5 Things Managing Political Campaigns Taught Me About Being a CEO appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
The amount Moneywise.co.uk users have spent or would spend on an engagement ring has fallen since this time last year, according to our latest poll results.
“…but in this world nothing can be certain, except death and taxes.” –Benjamin Franklin
Welcome to tax season. For many people in the U.S., filing taxes can be something to look forward to, namely those who will receive a refund. For other people, filing taxes can also be a stressful experience if you know you’re going to end up owing your state or the federal government.
Hopefully if you owe taxes, you had the forethought to squirrel away funds throughout the year to take care of your obligation to your state or the Internal Revenue Service (actually, you’d write your check to the United States Treasury).
However, if you’re unprepared you should know that trying to hide from your tax obligation is not a good solution to your problem. Unpaid taxes can lead to a lot of unpleasant consequences, including tax liens which can cause you some significant credit problems if they end up on your credit reports.
If you fail to pay your taxes, does the IRS report the debt to the credit bureaus just like any other creditor? The answer to the question is no, they do not.
However, before you get too excited, you should realize that just because the IRS or your state taxing authority does not report the debt to the credit bureaus, it certainly doesn’t mean tax liens won’t appear on your credit reports some other way.
Tax liens are different from other negative items on credit reports due to the fact that they are not actually reported to the credit bureaus by the IRS or your state taxing authority. Instead, the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian) proactively seek out information regarding public records by utilizing services such as PACER, which allows electronic access to court records and other public record vendors.
When it comes to the negative items on your credit reports, most information – whether reported by a creditor or sought out by the credit bureaus themselves – has an expiration date. That is to say, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) generally places strict and clear time limits on how long derogatory information is permitted to remain on a credit report.
Unpaid tax liens, however, are an exception to this rule. The FCRA never requires an unpaid tax lien to be removed from your credit reports, regardless of its age.
Paid tax liens, termed “released” liens, do have a credit reporting time limit, however. Released tax liens can only remain on your credit reports for up to seven years after the date of release. Unfortunately, during those seven years a released tax lien remains on your credit reports, it may continue to damage your credit scores.
A few years ago the IRS introduced some new consumer-friendly policies which can apply to many tax liens. The policies, collectively known as the Fresh Start Program, give consumers the opportunity to have certain federal tax liens removed from their credit reports much more quickly than the typical FCRA required removal of seven years from date of release.
Under the Fresh Start Program, taxpayers with eligible liens can apply for a withdrawal of their tax lien under one of two circumstances. The first opportunity to apply for a lien withdrawal is available to taxpayers who satisfy their outstanding tax liens in full. The second opportunity occurs when a taxpayer enters into an approved automatic payment plan with the IRS and has made at least three consecutive payments toward exhausting the obligations. The credit bureaus, as a matter of policy, will remove withdrawn tax liens.
NOTE: While tax liens are currently part of consumer credit reports, the future may hold some consumer-friendly changes. The credit bureaus are currently considering the possibility of removing all tax liens and judgments from consumer credit reports and not ever reporting them again. While this is good news from a credit report perspective, it should not influence your correct decision to abide by your tax obligations.
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The post Unpaid Taxes and Your Credit appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
Ditching meat and fish for Lent could save a family as much as £353, according to research by Promotional Codes.
Lent begins tomorrow (Wednesday 1 March) and ends on Thursday 13 April.
But the voucher website says a family that successfully turns vegetarian for 40 days and 40 nights can save £353, equivalent to £59 per week.
It's giveaway time! We're excited to offer one lucky reader a Weekend Getaway at the San Antonio Marriott Northwest. This prize package includes a two-night stay at the San Antonio Marriott Northwest and dinner for two at Asado Urban Grill ($50 credit) — total prize package worth $300! The San Antonio Marriott Northwest just completed a […]
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Remember when you would whip out your Nokia 3310 and play “Snake”? Or remember when you would make your own ringtone on it? That was tight back in the day!
Sadly, though, the cute little phone got lost in the shuffle of iPhones and Android devices. Until today, those phones were nothing but little tidbits of sweet nostalgia — I don’t think I’ve seen one since I was in middle school.
In case you haven’t already heard, the iconic Nokia 3310 is making a comeback!
Flippin’ sweet. Here are the details.
Finnish startup HMD Global acquired the intellectual property for Nokia products last year, giving it rights to branding and technology.
After surveying consumers about what their favorite Nokia products were, the result was unanimous: the 3310.
And why wouldn’t it be? I don’t care what you say about “Candy Crush Saga.” “Snake” is where it’s at.
As a result, HMD Global has revamped the Nokia 3310 and unveiled it at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Feb. 27, causing hipsters everywhere to freak out.
I mean, what’s hipper than a vintage cell phone? (Yes, that’s a thing now — what a time to be alive.)
The revamp is pretty sweet, too: The battery will provide up to 22 hours of talk time and lasts up to a month in standby mode. I don’t see iPhones doing that, amirite though???
The new edition will be available in four colors: yellow, red, gray and the original navy blue.
Can we also talk about how it has a COLOR screen now? In addition to that, the screen is polarized, making it easier to read in the sunlight. Talk about fancy.
And, get this: IT HAS A CAMERA AND FLASH. *drops mic*
OK, OK — it only has 2G connectivity, so let’s not pretend like this baby is fast. If you want to buy one of these things, make sure you understand that patience is a virtue.
Ringing in at only $52, I would gladly have all the time in the world for this phone. I don’t think you can even buy an iPhone case for $52. (I kid, I kid.)
For now, the details are slim. The phone is set to relaunch in the second quarter of 2017, meaning it could come out anytime between April 1 and June 30. It will be available worldwide, but HMD Global has not announced which carriers will offer it.
In addition to the 3310 revamp, the company released three new Android Nokia models. Check them out here.
I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna go throw my iPhone in the toilet. They’re so “uncool” now.
Your Turn: Will you ditch your smartphone for the modern Nokia 3310?
Kelly Smith is a junior writer and engagement specialist at The Penny Hoarder. Catch her on Twitter at @keywordkelly.
The post The Year 2000 Called. It Wanted to Know if You Missed the Nokia 3310 appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
Crispy, sweet, salty, crunchy and not even remotely healthy: Nothing says “Outback Steakhouse” like the Bloomin’ Onion.
Outback’s signature appetizer is a large onion carved to resemble a flower, battered and deep-fried. It hardly matters that this particular dish is not Australian in any way.
Now you can get a Bloomin’ Onion for free when NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick does well in a race.
Here’s how it works:
Whenever Harvick finishes in the top 10 in any 2017 NASCAR race, you get a free Bloomin’ Onion at any Outback on the Monday following the race.
You get this free appetizer with any purchase, and you don’t need a coupon. Just say the magic words “Bloomin’ Monday” to your server, or show them the Facebook announcement to get the deal. (Limit one per table.)
If Harvick does well, you won’t have to wait long to indulge in your free fried onion. NASCAR holds most races on Sundays and a few on Saturdays. This NASCAR season runs through Nov. 19. Here’s the schedule.
Harvick, who is Outback’s sponsored NASCAR driver, is a good bet for any given race. Out of 575 races over his 17-year career, he has 284 top 10 finishes as of the 2016 season.
If you’re not up for personally keeping track of Harvick’s exploits, you can sign up here to get an email from Outback whenever “Bloomin’ Monday” is in effect.
Happy crunching.
Your Turn: Despite the calorie count, would you turn down a free Bloomin’ Onion?
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. When it comes to Outback’s “Aussie-tizers,” he’s more of a coconut shrimp kind of guy.
The post Race to Outback for a Free Bloomin’ Onion When This NASCAR Driver Does Well appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
The news that AT&T is going to start offering a “free” smartphone has been bouncing around the last couple of days, and it’s bringing on some serious nostalgia.
Remember when we were suspicious of smartphones, and cell phone companies actually had to entice us into signing a contract by throwing in the phone for free (or at least cheap)?
Remember when that all changed, and people started lining up at 3 a.m. in 15-degree weather to pay $650 for the newest model?
Gone are the days of cell phone companies having to lure us in with contract deals and free devices — these days, it’s difficult to find a person who makes their calls on anything but an iPhone or Android device.
And while cell phone companies have made it easier for the average person to carry the newest smartphone by employing special financing plans, nothing really compares to the whole free phone deal of yesteryear.
Is it possible we’re headed back to the era of free smartphones?
Well, it’s a start: AT&T is now offering a buy one, get one deal on smartphones with a qualifying service plan.
But wait. Is a free smartphone too good to be true?
In the announcement, AT&T states customers can choose between “three popular smartphones” — including the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
To take advantage of this deal, add a new line (or upgrade an existing one), and purchase both new devices through AT&T’s Next or Next Every Year service plan. Eligibility requires a service plan of at least $70 per month.
And while AT&T will credit your bill up to $695 over the next 24 or 30 months (depending on which plan you choose), you’ll still shell out the first three installments on the “free” phone before the reimbursement kicks in. Plus, you’ll pay all taxes on the phone upfront.
So, while this might be a good idea for anyone nearing the end of a contract or looking to switch providers, it’s definitely not the crazy-exciting “free iPhone” deal it might look like at first glance.
However, if you’re free of a contract and wouldn’t have to pay a lump sum to buy out your device or service, then sure, it might be time to take AT&T up on its offer.
So it’s a good deal, but maybe not a great deal — unless you were already able to tick all the required boxes. In that case, this deal might make sense.
Your Turn: Would you switch to AT&T to score a (mostly) free smartphone?
Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
The post A Free iPhone From AT&T? Yes, but There Are a Few Strings Attached appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
Working from home has many perks — especially if you know how to avoid the very avoidable expenses.
I do it once a week — big fan.
So if you’ve been meaning to apply for a new job, here’s your no-excuses head start: We found three awesome companies hiring work-from-home employees, benefits included.
We wrote about this position way back when (last October). You Need a Budget (or YNAB) is, once again, seeking part-time, work-from-home support reps.
If you didn’t catch the gist from its name, YNAB is a budgeting software. It started back in 2004 and continues to thrive. That’s probably because it strives to treat its clients as good as gold through its customer support system.
And you could become part of that. As a support rep, you’ll help YNAB customers have the best experience possible by answering questions, solving problems, offering advice and being nice.
Quantitatively, you should be able to answer at least 60 emails in a four-hour shift and juggle something like three live chats at once. Bonus points if you’re already a fan of YNAB and have customer support experience.
If you successfully pass the eight-week trial period (it’s paid — $13 an hour), you’ll then work 20 to 30 hours a week and earn $13 to $17 an hour. You’ll do this from anywhere with reliable internet.
Perks include being forced to take vacation (just kidding, but YNAB takes vacay seriously) and options to open a traditional or Roth 401(k).
If you’re interested, read the full job listing and apply.
(Do note that this job is always open and operates on a rolling basis, so don’t feel like you have to skip the gym to apply — though this could be a good excuse.)
Here’s another “work from anywhere with internet connection” job!
Kayako is a customer service platform that helps companies improve their customer relationships. If you’re a big fan of customer service, this might be a fit.
Your primary responsibility will be to answer customer questions through chat, email and a community forum. To do so, you should be (or become) an expert on Kayako features.
To succeed, you’ll need excellent communication skills, at least a year of experience in customer support and know a little something about computers (like, what’s a cache?).
My favorite part of the job listing are the benefits: stock options, unlimited paid time off, a pension, private health insurance package (including 50% off a gym membership), all the gear you need, flexible hours and child care vouchers… among other perks.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out the job listing on Go Remote, and apply there.
Want the full story? OK, so technically, this job is offered by The Yeoman, a “community of support experts.” (We wrote about the company when it was hiring agents to work with Vimeo.)
Now, it’s hiring customer supporters for FullStory, an app for websites that gathers customer experience data to see what’s working and what’s not.
The only catch: You’ll work remotely from the Eastern time zone. (You’ve gotta live there.) Also, FullStory gives priority to those who live in Michigan, New York, South Carolina and Virginia.
As a customer supporter, you’ll advocate on behalf of customers with FullStory’s designers, engineers and other stakeholders. To do so, you’ll manage and develop support documentation and processes, and create productivity-improving tools.
Ultimately, you’re there to make the customers happy.
In addition to being empathetic and passionate, you should have strong written English communication skills, previous technical support experience (at least two to four years) and a high school diploma, though some college is preferred.
The benefits are nice: flexible work location, “competitive” salaries and benefits, and a new computer. The company also apparently communicates with a lot of memes and animated GIFs, so that’s cool.
If you’re interested in reading the entire job posting, check it out on Workable. You can apply there, too.
Writer’s note: I emailed The Yeoman for a better idea of what a “competitive” salary is. I’ll update you here when I hear back!
Your Turn: Are you applying to any of these jobs?
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
The post 3 Legit Work-From-Home Jobs That Pay Well and Have Great Benefits appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
