Local eatery expands for al fresco dining

Diners can soon enjoy the outside air when eating at Alaska Pete’s Roadhouse Grille in Marshalls Creek. Construction has begun on an outdoor eating area that will add about 80 seats and a separate bar.“There’ll be plenty of room outside,” said owner Frank Riccobono. “We’ll have an ice-cold tap system for 12 different beers, including craft ones.”Riccobono built the business in 1985, when it originally opened as Burgers and [...]

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Cell tower opposed by airport patrons at Stroudsburg-Pocono

A plan to put a new cell tower in Smithfield Township faces opposition from flyers of a nearby airfield. Verizon Wireless wants to build near the Stroudsburg-Pocono Airport, but a number of pilots who frequent that airspace say it would put helicopters, planes and parachutists at risk.“It’s one thing to land in a tree — it’s another to go 90 miles an hour and hit a tower,” said Township Supervisor Robert Lovenheim. “It would be nice to have [...]

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Pennsylvania sets sights on Cuban rum

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania's Cuban rum run got its start in a chance meeting last fall in the parking lot in front of the state Capitol."'You know, we have rum,'" a visiting Cuban government liaison told state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, who was walking to his car when he was introduced to her as the senator whose committee oversees how alcohol is sold in Pennsylvania. "And I'm like, 'Yeah, we should buy some.'"A few months later, the agency that controls Pennsylvania's [...]

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Ash-killing bug invades Wayne, Monroe counties

The emerald ash borer's march into Northeast Pennsylvania is nearly complete.The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said this week the exotic tree-killing beetle has been found for the first time in Wayne and Monroe counties. That leaves Pike as the lone area county where its presence has not been confirmed — and even that is expected to change soon."It's only a matter of time," said Timothy Latz, the state Bureau of Forestry service forester for [...]

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10 Ways We Sabotage Our Own Finances

While the U.S. economy has been adding jobs every month since late 2010 and several key indicators  point to strong economic growth, plenty of Americans still struggle. A Federal Reserve study from last year showed that nearly half of Americans couldn’t come up with $400 to cover an emergency expense. And even though wages in some professions are growing, the rising cost of everything from healthcare to food to childcare makes it harder for the average family to get ahead.

Of course, not all economic issues can be blamed on outside factors. For every financial burden created by inflation, taxes, or lousy wages, there are a handful of self-inflicted financial punishments we create ourselves.

10 Ways You Might Be Sabotaging Your Financial Goals

Sometimes it’s a lack of planning that leads us to sabotage our own efforts, while other times it’s bad spending habits. Either way, it’s not always easy to change long-term patterns – especially when you don’t recognize a problem to begin with.

If you’re doing well on paper but not making the financial gains you crave, it’s possible the way you view money is holding you back. If you suspect maybe you’re the source of your money woes, you could very well be right. Here are 10 ways we sabotage ourselves and our finances every day:

#1: Trying too hard to keep up with neighbors and friends

Having friends who live large can make it that much harder to rein in your own finances – and that’s especially true if you try to keep up with them. If you end up in a situation where you’re spending like they do without the income to match, you could easily spiral into a cycle of stress, regret, and debt.

When it comes to money (or anything, really), always try to avoid comparing yourself to others. Doing the best you can with your budget may not leave you with lots of fancy stuff, but it will leave you better off.

And, let’s be honest: There’s a good chance your friends can’t afford their lifestyle, either.

• Related: How to Get Past the ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’ Mentality

#2: Using debt as an extension of your income

While a lot of people think of debt as the devil, it’s possible to use debt responsibly. Most of us need to borrow money to buy a house or reliable transportation, after all. And without a business loan, it can be nearly impossible to get your new start-up idea off the ground.

But debt becomes a problem when you use it without thinking. If you use credit cards to buy things you don’t need and can’t afford, you can wind up throwing hundreds – or even thousands – of dollars in interest payments down the drain every year.

Instead of using debt as an extension of your income, use it sparingly – and only when you must. By avoiding pointless credit card debt and the bills that come with it, you can keep more money in your bank account, where it counts.

• Related: 11 Ways to Get Out of Debt Faster

#3: Buying the first thing you see without shopping around

Prices can vary on nearly everything you buy, from regular monthly subscriptions and bills to insurance products, clothes, groceries, and cars. If you don’t shop around for the best deal, chances are good you’ll overpay.

While some expensive purchases require weeks of research, you should strive to shop around for anything you buy – even small stuff. Fortunately, you can compare prices for most consumer goods online, and with very little ease. Heck, you can compare prices at almost any store on Amazon.com.

Whether you’re buying a sweater, a holiday gift, or auto insurance, make sure to compare prices with at least three competing businesses before you buy. That way, you won’t wind up paying more than you should without even knowing.

#4: Trading in your car every few years – no matter what

As of the first quarter of this year, the average car payment for a new car loan was $506 a month and 68 months long. With that kind of statistic hanging over our heads, it’s no wonder so many of us are struggling with debt and living paycheck-to-paycheck.

If you’ve gotten in the habit of trading in your car for a few one every few years, stop. Consider keeping your car a few years longer, paying it off (in full), and basking in the glory of debt freedom for a while. Once you’re no longer forking over that monthly payment, you may find a newer car isn’t even worth it.

Just think how much money you could save if you weren’t paying $300 to $600 a month for your ride! If you waited just one extra year before trading in, and pocketed the average car payment of $506 for just 12 months, you’d have $6,072!

• Related: Why You Should Worship Your Paid-Off Car

#5: Paying the minimum balance on credit cards

Carrying high-interest credit-card debt is bad news. But paying only the minimum payment is an absolute disaster.

A family with a $10,000 balance on a card with an 18% APR who pays only $200 each month would need more than seven and a half years to pay it all off. Worse, they would pay $8,622 in interest in the process.

If you’re carrying debt, making minimum payments is only delaying the pain and adding interest to your bill. By confronting your debts head-on, you can pay them down faster and get out of debt sooner.

#6: Trying to save ‘what’s left’

Far too many people wish they could save money but can’t figure out how. So, they approach their finances in the most backwards way possible – they pay all their bills and spend what they want, then try to save “what’s left.”

If saving what’s left leaves you depleted month after month, try paying yourself first instead. By setting up an automatic deposit into your savings account on payday, you can ensure you’re saving money and not shortchanging yourself.

• Related: The Upside-Down Reason Most Americans Are Broke

#7: Refusing to use a monthly budget

For some reason, many people see budgeting as something that stands between them and the life they want. But those who budget regularly see it for what it really is – a tool that can help you afford the life you want.

If you’re struggling with money, a budget could be exactly what you need. It doesn’t have to be restrictive, either. Think of a monthly budget as a plan for the money you earn — you’re simply prioritizing what’s most important to you. So if you want to plan for a splurge or a fun vacation, you can. Your monthly budget is there to guide your spending, reduce wasteful spending, and make sure you’re saving first.

• Related: Does Budgeting Seem Too Complex? Five Simple Alternatives

#8: Picking up expensive hobbies

If you have an expensive hobby and can’t seem to save much money, you shouldn’t wonder why. Following a professional sports team, playing golf, or collecting antiques can easily set you back if you’re not careful.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t have any hobbies; instead, make sure you can afford your hobbies before you invest in them. Are you saving money for retirement? Do you have a fully stocked emergency fund in place? If not, you may want to think twice and hold off before getting your scuba license or buying a new set of clubs.

• Related: Managing Expensive Hobbies So They Don’t Destroy You Financially

#9: Forgetting to set up contributions to a 401(k) or other retirement plan

It’s easy to think you’ll “save for retirement later” or “start contributing when you earn more money.” But, what happens when you don’t?

What happens when you forget to sign up… and several years go by? What happens if you don’t contribute to retirement until you’re 30, or 40, or even 50? Unfortunately, we all know exactly what happens – you wind up short on funds and working until you die.

Whether you’re self-employed or working for someone else, it’s your duty to save for retirement as if your future depends on it. Because it does.

• Related: Are You Gambling With Your Retirement?

#10: Tapping into your home equity

Banks wish you would see your home as a giant piggy bank. That’s why most homeowners get mailers for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and home equity loans ad nauseam. “Just borrow from the growing value of your home,” they’ll say, while never quite pointing out the obvious downsides.

While there are times when borrowing against the equity in your home makes sense — particularly if you’re reinvesting in the home, by replacing your roof, for example — it can be a tough cycle to break. If you continually borrow against the value of your home, you may never own it outright.

And isn’t that the whole point of home ownership – owning your home?

Stop Sabotaging Yourself, and Do This Instead

Are you guilty of any of these self-sabotaging behaviors? If so, there’s no better time to change than right now. Once you figure out what you’re doing that’s holding you back, you can figure out why. From there, you can create a comprehensive plan to stop shooting yourself in the foot and start getting ahead with your money.

Don’t let self-sabotage stand between you and your financial goals. Building wealth takes patience, perseverance, and grit, but it also requires getting out of your own way.

Holly Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer and the author of Zero Down Your Debt. Johnson shares her obsession with frugality, budgeting, and travel at ClubThrifty.com.

Related Articles:

• Eight Money Mistakes the Middle Class Keeps Making
• 10 Money Lessons Learned the Hard Way
• 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money

What ways have you sabotaged your own finances in the past? What would you add to this list?

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These 3 Moms Turned Their Carpool Woes Into a Ride-Sharing Service for Kids

Sinkhole forms at Lehman Intermediate

Lehman Intermediate School has a sinkhole situation. Multiple areas beside and behind the building in Bushkill have fallen about a foot or so from where they were before.“We have sinkholes developing around some box culverts,” said Wayne Rohner, member of the East Stroudsburg school board and chairman of its property and facilities committee.“It’s evident we have erosion occurring with the stormwater system,” he said. “It seems like [...]

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Little Caesars to open this summer in East Stroudsburg

Construction has started on what will soon be a Little Caesars Pizza in East Stroudsburg. The former vehicle repair shop on the corner of Washington, South Courtland and Day Streets will house soon house the first standalone franchise location in the Poconos.“It’s something the area has never had,” said new owner Robert O’Hara. “It’ll be a standalone Little Caesars — home of the hot and ready five- dollar pie. [...]

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Heineken to Pepsi: Hold my beer

They were strangers a world apart, brought together by a beer commercial billed as a social experiment. Along the way, they bridge political divides - with a little help from Heineken.The social media success of the beermaker's new "Open Your World" campaign is especially stunning in light of Pepsi's disastrous attempt earlier this month at showcasing "people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony."That tone-deaf ad featured celebrity model Kendall [...]

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Space-mining may be only a decade away

Is water the new oil of space?It may be to Middle Eastern oil states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who are looking at space as a way to diversify out of the earthly benefits of fossil fuel."Middle East oil states are investing in satellite technology and trying to transform their domestic economies into digital economies and knowledge-based economies," said Tom James of Navitas Resources, an energy consultant based in London and Singapore.As space [...]

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GFC 091: Dave Ramsey Might Think I’m Crazy. Here’s Why:

When I first read, Total Money Makeover, back in 2003, I was excited to find another personal finance expert that shared my recommendations regarding saving for retirement.

One of Dave's core tips regarding investing is,

Get your free money first with your 401(k) match. After that, take advantage of the Roth IRA to get your tax-free money. Then go back to the 401(k) and max it out.

This is the same advice that I’ve been giving to individuals ever since I became a financial advisor.

But over the last year or so my opinion has changed. What I’ve realized is that the majority of people that save in their 401(k) s have no idea what they’re doing.

They’ve usually let their employer decide where to put their money and they never really have no clue in what they are investing into.

Are you one of these people?

{Ahem.}

Because of this, I have changed what I believe.

The Change

I believe that everyone should first, if eligible, open a Roth IRA.

Yes, that's right Dave.

I’m a big believer and lover of tax-free money and, if available, to me I’d max out my Roth IRA in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, I’m one of the unlucky ones that doesn’t qualify.

Note: Not sure if you qualify?  Check out the most recent Roth IRA Rules.

So you're probably wondering why would I advocate first going to the Roth IRA instead of the 401(k)?

I don't blame you for questioning. Here's my logic….

What I See

I believe that people need to have more of a hands-on approach with their investments. By having to open a Roth IRA it requires you to go out and do research in where the best place is to open a Roth IRA.

You'll then have to figure out a way to get the money into it, and forced to learn how to choose the investments you place inside it. At worst, you'll have to sit down with a financial planner to help you make sense of it all.

Essentially, it makes you do some work; it makes you have some stake in the game – your game!

Without any stakes in the game you’ll just go through the motions and never really know where or how your money’s being invested.

What About Taxes?

Is there some flaws in my logic? Of course there is! Any tax expert could punch holes in this concept all day long.

But here's what I know: I've talked to several, potentially hundreds of people over the years that don't have the slightest clue what they are doing with their retirement money which is most often their 401k.

This needs to stop.

You think Dave Ramsey will call me nuts?

Let me know in the comments below.

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$1 Meal Tactics: Saving Big on Food Costs, a Buck at a Time

A little under a year ago, I wrote an article entitled Using the ‘$1 Per Meal’ Strategy to Save Big Time on Food Costs. In it, I discussed an eight-prong strategy for keeping a family’s meal costs under $1 per meal:

Strategy #1 – Plan Ahead
Strategy #2 – Base More Meals Around Sale-Priced Produce (and Meats)
Strategy #3 – Base Meals Around Low-Cost Staples and Store Brands
Strategy #4 – Take Advantage of Less Busy Times
Strategy #5 – Use a Slow Cooker
Strategy #6 – Extract Maximum Value from Leftovers
Strategy #7 – Extract Value from Scraps, Too
Strategy #8 – Keep Breakfasts and Lunches Well Below $1 per Meal

That’s the strategic backbone of how our family keeps food costs under $1 per meal most of the time, but it does take some work and some imagination to jump from that kind of “big vision” strategy to the practical nature of putting food on the dinner table.

What follows are a whole bunch of tactics that demonstrate very specifically how to take those above strategies and really implement them in your home.

The ‘Giant Pot of Soup’ Tactic

Soup is one of the easiest meals to make. All you have to do is toss most of the ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning, turn it on low, let it cook all day, (maybe) toss in another ingredient or two when you get home from work (like pasta), and eat half an hour later.

Here’s the best part: since this really is so simple, there’s no reason not to make a double or triple batch of it and store the extra soup in a bunch of smaller containers in the freezer. Why? You can reheat those containers in the microwave for a quick lunch at your convenience.

All you need is a healthy handful of small soup containers. You can use glass ones like these or cheaper plastic ones like these, as per your desire. Just eat soup to your heart’s content, then put all of the leftovers into several of these containers and pop them straight into the freezer.

I recommend labeling them with a piece of masking tape upon which the date and the type of soup is written; masking tape is perfect because it stays on in the freezer but is easy to remove and you can get giant rolls of it for a pittance.

The ‘Leftover Smorgasbord’ Tactic

One of the principles described in the original article is to try to avoid throwing away food. However, it’s easy for food to build up in the fridge over time and find its way to the back, never to be seen again in an edible form.

A much better solution is to simply have two or three meals a week that consist of a “leftover smorgasbord.” Pull out all leftovers from your refrigerator, make a plate of food (and/or a bowl), and reheat as needed.

Sure, it’s not the most appealing meal in the world, but it’s essentially a free meal, and if you top your leftovers with a few additional flavors, like hot sauce or a bit of cheese, it can be quite tasty.

The reason to do this three times a week is that you can be sure that leftovers are eaten within a three day range when they’re still safe. Sarah and I tend to eat our leftovers during the week for lunches, but on the weekends, we often have a leftover smorgasbord.

The ‘Easy Recipe Rotation’ Tactic

Most of our meals are prepared from a rotation of easy “framework” recipes. They’re ones that create a sense of variety because it’s so easy to vary the ingredients in that recipe.

For example, we have this baseline “enchilada” recipe – it’s not really enchiladas, but that’s our shorthand name for it – where we basically use whatever beans, salsa, and other flavorful ingredients we have on hand, wrap the ingredients in tortillas, put them in a greased 9″ by 13″ pan, put a bit of enchilada sauce on top, toss a bit of cheese on top, and bake it at 350 F for an hour. It’s almost impossible for this to not be tasty. You can make it with a lot of different meats, a lot of different vegetables, pretty much any kind of beans – it all works.

We have a baseline “pasta” recipe where we simply make a “sauce” out of sauteed vegetables and a bit of olive oil and serve it over pasta. We experiment with that simple “sauce” all the time, trying out different ingredients and different seasonings. It almost always works.

These recipes are really simple, and if you have a decent understanding of how to cook foods (like how to sauté three different vegetables together by cooking the firmer ones first and adding the softer ones later), you can almost cook these things on automatic using anything you have on hand – and anything often includes whatever happens to be on sale.

The ‘Omelet’ Tactic

This is something of a variation on the previous two tactics, effectively combining them together into one meal.

The reality is that a lot of leftovers work really well as the main ingredient in an omelet. An omelet, after all, is simply a few eggs beaten together, cooked in a skillet, and then folded around some ingredients, but those ingredients can be almost anything you wish. I’ve enjoyed spinach omelets and chili omelets and black bean omelets and Spanish rice omelets and stir-fry omelets. All of them worked really well at converting leftovers and changing them into something new because of the egg.

A three egg omelet costs about fifty cents in eggs and you can fill it with almost anything, so it’s a great meal idea to hold onto. Once you get handy with making them, you can cook them up really quickly and efficiently.

The ‘Seasonal’ Tactic

When fruits and vegetables are in season in your area, they’re dirt cheap. Since so many people have them in abundance locally and are trying to sell them, the prices tend to fall through the floor. What does that mean? It means it’s time to get creative with those seasonal items.

When sweet corn season arrives in August, for example, we’ll eat sweet corn over and over and over again. We don’t just eat ears of it, either – we find other ways to prepare it, like using it as an ingredient in salsas or serving it as a side dish or as an item to use in a taco bar. We’ll even buy extra ears, cut the corn off the cob, and store it in freezer bags.

If you’re not sure what’s in season in your area, watch the grocery flyers for any fresh produce that seems absurdly cheap or items that everyone seems to have at the farmers market. (Another tip: if there’s an item that everyone has at the farmers market, you’re probably going to have success if you try to bargain for a better price on it).

The ‘Wonderpot’ Tactic

Another great strategy that I often use is to take whatever ingredients happen to be on sale in a store, find out how long it takes to boil them to perfection, then start boiling water and adding the ingredients in order so that they’ll all finish at the same time. I add pasta at the exact moment that will cause the pasta to finish at that time, too.

When that time comes, I strain all of it, save about a cup of the liquid, add the liquid back in along with a few teaspoons of olive oil and maybe a can of tomato sauce if that seems like it would fit, stir it, and serve it.

A friend showed me this trick many years ago and called it the “wonderpot.” It’s just what we call this simple dish. It’s always a little different. It’s always flavorful. It costs maybe a dollar per meal for that evening. It usually generates a leftover lunch or two as well.

The ‘Loaded Toast’ Tactic

Whenever I have a small amount of almost anything left over from my meal the previous night, I’ll just eat it for breakfast or lunch the next day on top of a piece of toast. I just toss a piece of bread on the toaster, warm up the leftovers if it’s necessary, then load up the toast with the leftovers.

The only dirty dish generated is a dirty plate. The only cost is that of a slice of bread – maybe a dime. It works with almost any leftover that isn’t completely liquid – I’ve done this with everything from goulash to taco ingredients to fish filets to macaroni and cheese to rice pilaf. It’s easy to eat, too, as it requires no silverware.

This is my go-to lunch on many busy days. It’s just so convenient, so easy, and so tasty, and it changes the texture of the leftovers just enough that it seems fresh.

The ‘Egg Jar’ Tactic

I like to snack – especially in the mid-afternoon when I get a bit hungry between lunch and supper – but many snacks are super-expensive. Plus, I like the ability to just open the fridge and grab something when the munchies get to me.

My solution to that problem is to keep an “egg jar” in the fridge. It’s simple – all you have to do is hard boil a dozen eggs, remove the shells, and put them in water with just a tiny bit of vinegar and maybe a few seasonings. I like to toss in peppercorns and dill seeds.

I typically store them in an old apothecary-style jar with an attached lid. I put the dozen eggs in there, add a tiny bit of vinegar, toss in some peppercorns and maybe a couple of garlic cloves and some dill if I have any, then fill it with water until the eggs are covered and seal the jar. Whenever I want a snack, I just pop open the jar and grab an egg. The peppercorns and garlic and dill gently flavor the eggs. If you want different flavor for your eggs, try using soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce and try varying the amounts of liquids in there. Just play around with it until you find exactly what you like.

This mix allows the eggs to store quite nicely for at least a week in the fridge, and the cost adds up to maybe $0.20 per egg. It’s a great little cheap snack that packs a nice bunch of protein into very few calories.

The ‘Whole Chicken Crock Pot’ Tactic

This is one of my favorite strategies, one of the ones that we used to use all the time until we made some dietary changes for health reasons.

It’s simple. Whole chickens are cheap. Slow cookers make cooking whole chickens very easy. Combine the two. Just buy a whole chicken, remove the giblets, stuff the cavity with some tasty things (like, say, an orange separated into quarters), sprinkle the whole chicken with a bit of salt and ground black pepper, put the whole thing in a slow cooker with maybe a cup of water, and cook it all day long while you’re at work. When you get home, check the temperature and turn it up to high if the internal temperature of the chicken isn’t up to 165 F. When it’s done, the broth is amazing and the meat practically slides off the bone.

The advantage here is that whole chickens are very cheap, almost all of the meat is edible, you can use the chicken as the centerpiece of the meal, the leftover chicken can be used in all kinds of additional ways, and the broth itself can be saved and used as stock for almost anything you might want to use it for.

You can do almost the exact same thing with a pot roast by using an inexpensive large cut of beef or pork, but that’s usually quite a bit more expensive.

The ‘Divide and Conquer with Children’ Tactic

This is something that I’ve found comes in handy if you’re ever in a situation where you have to take older children to the grocery store. Older children almost always want to feel responsible and involved in the adult world, so I take advantage of this. I simply give my oldest two children very specific tasks in the grocery store.

For example, I’ll tell my middle child to go over to the banana section and select a bunch of bananas that are just slightly green and aren’t brown at all. I’ll tell my oldest child a bit more challenging task, where I’ll tell him to go to the bread section and find the loaf of wheat bread that’s on sale and bring it back.

This serves a bunch of purposes at once. First of all, it’s teaching them how to shop in a thrifty way. Second, it keeps them occupied on the shopping tasks that don’t require much focus from me so that I can stick with the ones that do require some focus. Third, and perhaps most important, it causes us to spend much less time in the store, so there’s less time to get tempted by incidental things – plus, if my children are busy on tasks, they have much less time to get tempted.

I can blow through a shopping trip in much less time these days with my two older kids in tow than I do by myself. I just need to stay super-focused during that shorter block of time, which is good because it means a lot fewer incidental items make it into the cart.

The ‘Remixable Sides’ Tactic

Whenever possible, we prepare side dishes in such a way that they can be flexibly reused in a lot of ways.

For example, when we grill, we’ll often grill sliced potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil with minimal seasoning. We just slice up several potatoes, put them in aluminum foil that’s been lightly coated with a bit of oil or butter, add an ice cube and a pat of butter, and cook them until they’re done. They make for a very tasty side dish, but the best part is that the grilled potatoes can be reused in a ton of ways.

We might use those potatoes as part of a breakfast skillet meal the next day. We might use them in a soup or a casserole in a day or two. We might just chop them up and toss them with scrambled eggs. We might use them as a taco or burrito ingredient. Grilled potatoes are really flexible.

The flexibility of side dishes is a big consideration in our cooking. If there’s something we can easily reuse in something else later on in the week, we’ll just cook plenty of it now in a simple way that enables it to be quickly used later on. Grilled potatoes are just one example – we do it with things like fresh broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and many other things. We prepare them the first time in a very simple way so that they can easily be reused later on in a more specific way.

The ‘Potluck Dinner Party’ Tactic

One of our favorite strategies over the last several years (sadly, we haven’t had one of these in a while due to scheduling challenges, but there’s one coming up soon!) is a running series of potluck dinner parties. It’s a way to have a cheap meal with a lot of friends.

On a rotating basis, one family in our regular group simply hosts a potluck dinner, usually followed by board and card games or sometimes a movie. That family usually provides the main course and then suggests a type of side dish or beverage or dessert for everyone else to bring. For example, one family might make a pot of soup and ask one family to bring dinner rolls, another family to bring a light dessert, and a third family to bring some shareable beverages.

This enables each family to just focus on one simple item for a dozen or so people. For example, two dozen dinner rolls is more than adequate to cover that many people. That person can decide if they want to just buy pre-made rolls or if they want to cut costs and make their own pull-aparts.

The cost per attendee is maybe $0.50 per person at the party when everything is added together, maybe more if they’re taking an easy route. The host often has leftovers of the main course, so something like soup is perfect as it can easily be frozen (see the first tactic in this article). Not only that, it gets a bunch of friends together for an evening without much more cost than an inexpensive meal at home.

Final Thoughts

All of these tactics fit well as part of an overall strategy to cut meal costs as low as possible and they demonstrate that you can have a wide variety of foods and have a nice social life while still shooting for a “$1 per meal” target for your food.

As always, pick and choose among these tactics and use only the ones that really make sense for you. If some of them just don’t fit, go on to the next one. Remember, some tactics will work well in your life and others won’t, but the set of ones that work well are going to likely be different for each person. Just pull the items that you think will click with you and use them to the best of your ability.

Good luck!

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Ask GFC 031: Can I Still Contribute to an IRA – Even if I Don’t Get a Tax Break?

Polish Your Budget: 9 Simple Ways to Spring Clean Your Finances

I want to like spring cleaning. I go nuts for the New Year and Lent, because I’m all about self-improvement. Similarly, spring cleaning is a time to reorganize and start over in many areas.

But I despise it. I hate any cleaning, really. Folding laundry is about the only thing I do that qualifies as housework.

Lately, however, I’ve been seeing lots of posts about “financial spring cleaning.” Applying spring cleaning to money? This idea is perfect for me! I can work toward self-betterment without having to pick up a sponge.

Here are a few ways you can scrub the dirt off your finances this spring.

By the way, you don’t have to take on all nine of these goals. Actually, please don’t! When I read lists like this one, my perfectionism kicks in and I get overwhelmed by how many changes I think I should make.

Just choose one way to clean your financial home this spring. Maybe two ways, if you’re feeling adventurous. Remember, your goal is progress, not perfection.

Start with one small, measurable goal. The sense of empowerment you will experience from being successful in that area can give you the confidence to take on the next small challenge.

1. Reevaluate Your New Year’s Resolutions

Maybe you set financial New Year’s resolutions for 2017. I know I did!

But since 80% of people drop their New Year’s resolutions by February, there’s a good chance you’ve let at least one of those goals fall by the wayside. For example, I’ve successfully followed the timeline I set up in January to pay off debts… but I keep ignoring my resolution to put money into savings.

If you’re also one of the 80%, resist the urge to see yourself as weak; instead, consider yourself older and wiser. Spring is the perfect time to modify resolutions that weren’t realistic.

So you didn’t make any resolutions? That’s OK. Peruse the rest of the ideas on this list and choose one or two personal spring cleaning goals that feel manageable.

2. Open an Emergency Fund

It’s a common opinion that people should have at least three months’ expenses in savings at any given time. Then if you lose your job or your car breaks down, your life doesn’t suddenly fall apart.

Guess how much money I have in my emergency fund? A whopping $0. Yeah, starting an emergency fund has earned its place at the top of my spring cleaning list.

To start your emergency fund, calculate your expenses for one month. Consider the cost of rent, utilities, transportation, insurance, and debt. Don’t forget sneaky expenses such as personal hygiene products.

Then multiply that number by three. That’s how much money you should aim to have in your emergency fund.

Where should you open an account? The key is that you want your money to be accessible in case of an emergency, but not so accessible that you’re tempted to withdraw it when you want to go on a weekend trip with your friends.

I recommend opening a separate savings account with your bank, or a money market account. Money market accounts typically require a higher minimum balance, but the interest rate can be higher — which means more money for you! Here is NerdWallet’s list of money market accounts with the highest interest rates this year.

3. Keep Track of Your Debts

For six months, I was aware that I had debts to repay. I knew that I owed my in-laws money, that my husband had some vague amount to repay on his student loans, and that I had a little credit card debt (although precisely how much was on each of my three cards was a bit fuzzy).

A few weeks ago, I finally took 30 minutes to create a spreadsheet in Excel listing all our debts, including the grand total. Now I update that document every Monday.

Seeing everything in print gives me a better idea of where we are financially. And every time that grand total gets smaller, I do a little dance in my chair!

Looking at those numbers every Monday, especially the total, gives me the momentum to keep chipping away at our debt.

4. Sort Out Your Credit Cards

Everyone’s credit card situation is different.

If you have eight credit cards and little willpower, consider canceling a few of those cards. (But first, check how canceling your credit card could affect your credit score. Canceling isn’t always the best idea.)

If you have a low credit score but high willpower, maybe you should get a card and use it responsibly to establish good credit.

I (incorrectly) held the belief that credit cards were pure evil for years. But some credit cards pay you for signing up, hook you up with travel points, or give you extended warranties on certain purchases.

Do your research and find out how you can make credit cards work for you rather than against you. I recently paid off the last of my credit cards that carried a balance. Yay, me! Now I’m trying to decide on my next step.

5. Act to Improve Your Credit

First of all, if you don’t already know your credit score, get a free credit report. If you don’t like what you see, don’t freak out; there are plenty of ways to boost that number!

Simply paying off your debts and paying your bills on time can improve your score. If you’re not sure what’s keeping your credit score so low, check out Credit Sesame. The free site lays out exactly what factors are affecting your credit score and offers advice on how to change them.

A few years ago, I had good credit, but I wanted excellent credit. So I set up a loan with my bank. They gave me $2,000 to pay back over two years. I immediately put that money in a separate account, set up automatic withdrawals, and never had to worry about it. (Except when I had to take out money a couple times for emergencies. See why I’m motivated to set up an emergency fund?)

That was the easiest way I could have imagined to improve my credit score. I got it all set up in just one trip to the bank. My credit score is now 787.

6. Set Short Term Goals for Your Side Hustle

Whether you’re a freelance writer, Uber driver or Etsy shop owner, it’s always good to set clear objectives.

Setting concrete goals has helped me understand my long-term vision for my freelance writing side gig. I created a list of aims in a Word document, and that document acts as a source of accountability. I look at that list whenever I decide whether to take on a new project. I ask myself, “Is this decision in line with my goals? Is it helping me move toward my long-term vision?” Setting goals has motivated me to take action.

I also have annual income goals for my freelance business. 2016 was my first year freelance writing. Now that I have more experience, I know I can make more money. I want to earn at least three times the amount I earned last year. I’m off to a good start!

In 2016, I wrote several pieces for no pay because I wanted the exposure. Now that I have this financial goal for 2017, I feel confident only writing a piece if I will be paid for my work.

Now that I have a couple of steady gigs, I’ve started setting monthly and weekly financial goals, as well. Now I have fewer surprises, and I can plan for how much of this extra money I want to channel toward paying off my debts.

7. Contribute More to Your Retirement Account

If you’re contributing anything to your retirement account, high five!

But if the very thought of doing financial spring cleaning depresses you, make your “one thing” to bump up your 401(k) or IRA contributions a tad. If you currently contribute 4% of your income, try bumping it up to 5% or 6%. Chances are, your wallet won’t feel the difference. If you find out your budget can’t handle the financial strain, you can decrease your contribution later.

Increasing your contribution by such a small amount may not seem worth it. But don’t forget the power of compound interest!

If you haven’t opened a retirement account yet and don’t know what a 401(k) or IRA is, don’t panic. Read this simple explanation. It’s never too late to start. My mom is kicking herself for putting off contributing to a 401(k) until 10 years ago, but hey, at least she started!

8. Begin Investing

Making your first investment is daunting. Especially if you’re like me and know nothing about the subject.

I urge you to take that leap, though. When you invest, your money makes you more money. There are several ways to take your first step.

My husband and I chose to pass the torch to our financial advisor. We set up automatic withdrawals with his company to put money into our IRAs. Since we are still in the early stages of saving for retirement, once we hit a certain balance in those accounts, our advisor will start making investments from our IRA nest eggs to help the accounts grow. We won’t have to worry at all.

If you don’t want to pay an advisor, ask a family member or friend who understands investing to take you under their wing and explain their strategy.

You can also use apps to get started. Stash helps you invest just $5 in the stock market. I use Best Brokers to invest fake money in the stock market to see how I would fare in real life.

9. Consider Your Insurance Needs

My brother’s apartment recently burned down, and he lost almost everything. He’s 32, and believe it or not, the exact same thing happened when he was 20! (Neither fire was his fault, by the way.)

While upsetting, the second fire was far less financially devastating because he had renter’s insurance. The insurance company paid for food and a hotel while he looked for a new place to live and gave him $10,000 to replace items lost in the fire.

We like to think we don’t need insurance. Hopefully, we’ll never have to use it. But if you don’t have renter’s, homeowner’s, life or catastrophic insurance (for those of you whose employers don’t offer medical insurance)… seriously look into it.

Of course, not everyone needs all these types of insurance! Carefully review your needs to see which ones you should consider, and which aren’t necessary for you.

Don’t freak out if you haven’t already accomplished all nine of these tasks. That’s what spring cleaning is for! Focus on one thing this season, whether it’s purchasing renter’s insurance or bumping up your credit score.

Meanwhile, I have a date with my Wells Fargo customer service agent. We’re going to open a savings account for my brand-new emergency fund!

Your Turn: What is the one thing you can do to start your financial spring cleaning?

Laura Grace Tarpley is a freelance writer who is always looking for ways to save money. She teaches English to adorable children in Shenzhen, China.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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Burnt Stroudsburg building sold

Business owner Malik Alizai wants to fully renovate and refill the spaces destroyed by fire at 715 Main Street

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Swim in Cash This Summer With These Sweet Gigs (One Pays Up to $40/Hour)

Summertime is upon us. Can you feel it in the air?

The arrival of summer always stirs up childhood nostalgia, like memories of barbeques and beach vacations.

Unfortunately for me, work tends to get in the way of engaging in my former pastime: spending days relaxing at the pool. But if you’re looking to pick up a part-time gig this summer — without sacrificing pool time — I may have the perfect opportunity for you.

Several companies are hiring mobile swim instructors. No, you won’t be teaching people to swim via your smartphone. These instructors travel to pools in their clients’ backyards, subdivisions or neighborhoods to teach folks of all ages how to swim.

These jobs are perfect for college students, teachers, part-time workers and folks who are already members of the gig economy.

What’s great about these jobs — besides that you’ll be able to keep cool in the water on hot summer days — is you can set your own hours and take on as much or as little work as you desire. Additionally, you can concentrate on the lessons while the company handles registration, billing and marketing.

The following companies are looking for mobile swim instructors now.

Sunsational Swim School

Sunsational Swim School has locations all across the country, including San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Tampa, New York, Seattle and more.

The school is hiring in all locations.

The pay range is $26-$40 an hour. You could also be eligible for bonuses, contests and other incentives.

Sunsational Swim School prefers at least two seasons of experience, and you need to have CPR and first-aid certifications. You’ll also need a dependable vehicle and a love of working with kids — clients can range from babies to adults.

Fill out the application here.

Happy Swimmers USA

Happy Swimmers USA has locations in cities across the nation. Areas it’s hiring in include Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and Orange County, California; Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Phoenix; Washington, D.C.; New York City; Orlando, Florida; and Oahu and Kauai, Hawaii.

Pay starts at $30 an hour.

You must have two to three seasons of experience, CPR certification and reliable transportation. First-aid certification is a plus.

Apply for this opportunity here.

Mobile Swim School

Based in northeast Florida, Mobile Swim School has locations in Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Ponte Vedra Beach, Nocatee and St. Augustine.

The school is hiring instructors to give swim lessons to clients ranging from infants to adults in Jacksonville.

Pay ranges from $16-$20 an hour.

Job candidates should have at least two years’ experience as a competitive swimmer, swim instructor or coach. You’ll need to get CPR and first-aid certifications within 30 days of hire, and you’ll need reliable transportation.

Apply for this position here.

The Adventure Squad

The Adventure Squad is a New Jersey-based company that provides mobile enrichment activities to children.

The company is hiring swim instructors to teach private, semiprivate and small group lessons in Monmouth, Ocean, Cape May and Passaic counties in New Jersey.

According to a company representative, pay starts at $15 an hour. There are also opportunities for bonuses and incentives.

Applicants need at least two seasons of experience teaching swimming to small children, plus lifeguard, CPR and first-aid certifications. Water safety instructor certification is a plus. You’ll also need reliable transportation and a cell phone.

Fill out an application here.

Want to be the first to know about other fun, interesting jobs like this? Like The Penny Hoarder Jobs on Facebook to stay in the loop!

Your Turn: Will you apply for one of these summer jobs?

Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She is now on the search for swim lessons for her daughter this summer.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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Banks, Credit Unions Offer 0% Loans to Military in Case Shutdown Delays Pay

Financial institutions for military members have plans to help keep customers paid in the event of a government shutdown.

Congress passed a bill earlier today to extend spending bill negotiations through May 5 — and keep the government running until then. But beyond that, the threat of a government shutdown still looms.

In preparation for any interruption in pay for active-duty military, several banks are stepping up to lend a hand — and in some cases, a loan.

Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA and First Command Financial Services have announced programs to support military members who may see an interruption in pay.

These Banks Will Help Military Get Paid if the Government Shuts Down

Heard of other banks that will provide special services to military members if the government shuts down? Let us know so we can add them to this post!

Navy Federal Credit Union

Navy Federal Credit Union will offer 0% interest loans to active-duty military members and civilian Department of Defense employees who have their paychecks direct deposited into their NFCU accounts and miss a check due to a shutdown.

You can register for this loan online. To get your loan on your usual payday, make sure you register by the day before your next scheduled direct deposit. If you miss that day, you can still register up to three days after your scheduled payday and get access to your funds on the same day or the first business day after you complete the registration, according to the NFCU site.  

NFCU will calculate your loan amount based on your last paycheck before the shutdown — the bank will cap these loans at $6,000. The loan scale shows that members who register will get advances covering 50-99% of their most recent direct deposit.

The loans don’t require a credit check, and they will not show up on your credit report.

When your regular direct deposit resumes, NFCU will automatically withdraw the amount you received from your account as payment.

New credit union members are eligible for this benefit so long as they had their most recent paycheck direct deposited into their NFCU account. If you’re a member who hasn’t yet established a direct deposit link, you’re not eligible for this offer.

First Command Financial Services

If a shutdown occurs, First Command Financial Services will email all account holders who are federal employees or active-duty military who have their federal paychecks direct deposited to inform them of their eligibility for payroll advance loans.

“Payroll advances will only be made to clients who send us an affirmative response,” the program website states.

First Command says there are no fees or interest on these payday advances, which will cover the amount of the employee’s delayed direct deposit. The bank will also provide penalty-free early certificate of deposit withdrawals and waive cash advance fees on credit card accounts during a shutdown.

The bank intends to be able to cover the client’s normal net pay, said Mark Leach, vice president of media relations, by email. When normal direct deposit starts again, the amount provided as a payday advance will be deducted from the account.

“During the previous shutdown in October 2013 we stepped up to help our clients with payroll advances and other financial offerings,” Scott Spiker, chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “As we face the prospect of another government shutdown later this month, we again commit to help our clients and ensure their family finances are squared away.”

United Services Automobile Association

USAA will offer no-interest payroll advance loans to military members in the event of a shutdown.

“If a funding agreement is not reached and a disruption in military pay seems likely, USAA will email eligible members with information about how to sign up,” a blog post explains.

Active-duty USAA members will be eligible for payday loans if they have their federal paychecks direct deposited into their USAA account and have made two consecutive deposits in the past 60 days. Like NFCU, USAA will cap loans at $6,000 and automatically debit the loan amount once normal direct deposits resume.

Your Turn: Are you a member of the military? Do you have a financial plan ready in case a government shutdown delays your paychecks?

Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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This Shocking New Study Says 1 in 10 Americans are Now in $100,000 in Debt

You’ve probably seen this bumper sticker somewhere: I Owe, I Owe, So Off To Work I Go.

Yup, we owe.

An eye-opening new study painfully details just how much debt Americans are carrying around, and the results are nothing short of astonishing.

If you look at its findings, you might have one of the following reactions:

• Man, we all have a ton of debt.

• Wow, I thought I had debt, but apparently a lot of my neighbors are REALLY in debt. Like, up-to-their-eyeballs in debt.

• Jeez, we sure don’t deny ourselves when it comes to extras like hobbies or travel or entertainment, do we?

• Ugh, I really do need to get out of debt.

Never fear. We’re here to help you with No. 4.

The new report, commissioned by financial services company Northwestern Mutual, studied the finances of nearly 3,000 people. It paints a picture of Americans who are deep in the red but keep on spending like there’s no tomorrow.

Here are some of the scariest tidbits:

• 1 in 10 Americans have more than $100,000 in debt, not including their mortgages.

• Nearly half the country owes at least $25,000.

• 3 out of 4 people are struggling to pay down their debt each month.

• 1 in 5 people with debt have to spend half or more of their income to deal with it.

• The average American borrower owes $37,000.

• 4 in 10 say debt causes them anxiety and impacts their financial well-being.

• 1 in 10 have so much debt, they’re pretty sure they’ll die in debt.

So! Now that we’ve cheered you up with these fun facts and figures, there’s also this to think about:

After paying for basic necessities like food and housing, Americans spend 40% of their income on fun things like travel, entertainment and hobbies. Meanwhile, just 33% goes to pay off debt.

Experts say that’s a no-no.

“Building financial security while saddled with high debt is like running a race with a weight around your ankle,” says Rebekah Barsch, Northwestern Mutual’s vice president of planning. “We are carrying around this debt that is getting more expensive the longer we hold onto it, and then spending on things that are not essential.”

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Trying to figure out how to get out of debt? Here are three ways to get started:

1. Map Out What You’re Dealing With

Figure out exactly what kind of debt you have.

For example, which companies do you owe money to? Are any of your debts in collections? What are your minimum monthly payments on each credit card or loan?

An easy way to do this is to sign up with a free service like Credit Sesame. This tool shows your balance on any unpaid bills, credit cards or loans. It also offers tips on reducing your debt and raising your credit score.

2. Consolidate Your Debt

Once you fall behind, you may find yourself getting crushed by credit card interest rates north of 20%. You’ll never catch up that way. You’re spending so much on interest, you’ll never pay off your balances.

If you’re financially treading water like this, it might be worth consolidating and refinancing your debt.

By refinancing an existing loan, you’re taking out a totally new loan, which comes with new terms and (ideally) a lower interest rate. By consolidating your existing loans, you lump all your debt into one big payment, so you’re only making one payment and dealing with one interest rate per month.

Make sense but don’t know where to start? Credible is an online marketplace that offers consumers personalized loan offers. Think of it like Zillow — but for personal loans.

Rates start at 5.99%, and you can check yours by entering a loan amount here ($500 to $40,000) and comparing your personalized options in under 90 seconds.

3. Protect Your Identity

What if you work hard to pay down all your debt and you’re totally responsible with your credit going forward — only to take a hit because of identity theft?

We know you don’t want to risk all your hard work.

A free service like TrueIdentity helps you avoid this situation by keeping a watchful eye on your finances. It sends alerts by email, phone or text if someone tries to apply for credit in your name.

Now is the time to start tackling your debt in earnest.

You don’t want to be one of the 1 in 10 Americans who are sure they’ll be in debt ‘til they die.

That’s no way to live.

Your turn: How much debt do you have?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. May we all be a bit richer today.

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He’s quite familiar with debt, based on personal experience.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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How to Afford Summer Camp for Your Kids, Even If You’re on a Budget

If you’ve got kids, you know that summertime is less about relaxation and more about figuring out how to keep the kids entertained! Child care expenses also often skyrocket during the summer, as working parents need to ensure their children are supervised during the day.

Summer camp is a great solution to the entertainment/supervision conundrum, but summer camps can be really expensive. If you’re thinking about what to do with the kids this summer, Get Rich Slowly has some great suggestions about how to save money on summer camp.

Scholarships, Gifts and Piggy Banks  

The first thing you want to do is see which summer camps offer scholarships. Many camps provide scholarships to families who need that extra financial boost, so check the camps in your area and start sending in applications.

Pay attention to camps that offer sibling discounts; sometimes a camp will let you save a little money while supervising all of your children simultaneously! It’s a win-win.

Consider asking your children’s grandparents for a financial gift. Most grandparents want to contribute to their grandchildren’s lives, and helping pay for summer camp is a lot better than buying the latest toy!

Don’t forget about asking your children to dip into their own piggy banks or allowance money, especially if they’re the ones begging you to let them go to an expensive camp. But don’t be surprised if your kids suddenly become interested in a more affordable option. As Get Rich Slowly writes: “it is amazing how kids’ wants change when it’s their money that will be paying for it.”

Summer Camp Alternatives

If summer camp is out of your financial reach this year, consider these cheap summer camps and camp alternatives:

• Free or low-cost day camps run by churches or local athletic organizations
• Day-long kid activities hosted at the public library
• Summer school or enrichment programs at your child’s public school

Check your local paper and visit local organizations’ websites to learn what affordable kid opportunities are available.

Get Rich Slowly also suggests that you start budgeting now for next year’s camp expenses. Get a jar and start tossing in your loose change, or sign up for one of the many bank programs that helps you save small amounts of money every week. The more you save, the more you’ll be prepared for your family’s expenses—including summer camp!

Want to learn more? Read the full story at Get Rich Slowly.

Your Turn: Do you have any tips on how to save money on summer camp?

Nicole Dieker is a freelance writer focusing on personal finance and personal stories. Her work has appeared in The Billfold, The Toast, Yearbook Office, The Write Life and Boing Boing.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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14 Fun Business Ideas for Kids and Teens to Encourage Entrepreneurship

Should you encourage your children to start a business? Are there good business ideas for teens and kids?

With police routinely shutting down kids’ lemonade stands for being “unlicensed businesses,” you might wonder if they should just put their entrepreneurial urges on hold until they get older.

But there are good reasons to let young people make some money on their own, and to let them start early. Billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett says:

There was a study many years ago questioning how to predict business success later in life. The answer to the study was the age you started your first business impacted how successful you were later in life. Teaching kids sound financial habits at an early age gives all kids the opportunity to be successful when they are an adult. [emphasis added]

Buffett’s own childhood was full of investments and businesses. At age 11, he bought his first stock. By the age of 14, he used $1,200 he earned from paper routes to purchase 40 acres of land, which he then leased out to farmers.

In high school, he and a friend bought a used pinball machine for $25 and set it up in a barber shop. They later put machines in other locations and eventually sold the business.

14 Fun Business Ideas for Kids and Teens

Of course, your child doesn’t have to be the next Warren Buffett to benefit from a small venture or two. Here are some of the best business ideas for kids.

1. Dog Walking

Busy people need help keeping their dogs fit, and this is a job most kids can handle — and enjoy. Dog walkers charge either for a set fee or an hourly rate, and the kids can even expand their business to include dog washing and pet sitting.

Kids can approach neighbors to offer their services (you may want to tag along if they’re young) or advertise their business online.

Care.com says their dog walkers average almost $11.25 per hour, and it’s free to open a basic account. Care.com’s policy for teens requires adult-supervised accounts (parents receive email notifications of all activity), and the kids have to be at least 14 to sign up.

2. Websites

Many kids are more Internet savvy than their parents, so it makes sense to consider online businesses, including various types of websites.

It costs very little to register a domain name and buy web hosting, and by relying on easy advertising revenue (like Google AdSense), kids don’t even have to sell anything.

For example, Forbes reports Ashley Qualls started Whateverlife.com at age 14 “as a personal portfolio with pictures and graphics she created.” Later, she added tutorials on creating graphics and other content for teens.

Before long she needed a dedicated server, and she added Google AdSense to the site to monetize the traffic.

Now, her website brings in “as much as $70,000 a month,” according to Fast Company. Qualls bought a $250,000 home with her profits while still a teenager, and turned down a $1.5 million offer for her business.

3. Paper Routes

Paper routes helped Warren Buffett get his start in business, and although most newspapers now rely on adults with cars for delivery, there are still a few places where kids deliver papers on foot or by bicycle.

In Carroll, Iowa, for example, The Daily Times Herald still has 80% of its papers delivered by kids aged 9 to 17, according to NPR.

One of the best things about modern paper delivery is that the kids no longer have to knock on doors to collect for subscriptions — that’s all done by credit card billing.

4. Crafts and Jewelry

If your kids are creatively inclined, they can make crafts and jewelry to sell online.

There’s no need to set up a website for this. Platforms like Etsy provide a great way to keep it simple. Vendors pay 20 cents to list a product and then a commission of 3.5% on each sale.

The policy for kids is that the Etsy Shop must be managed by a parent or legal guardian.

How much could your child earn on Etsy? By the time he was 11 years old, Mo Bridges had brought in more than $30,000 selling bow ties through his Etsy shop.

Other Businesses for Kids

Don’t underestimate the potential for big success from small starts.

Fraser Doherty started making and selling jam from home at age 14 and before long had over $1 million in annual sales.

At age 10, Juliette Brindak drew pictures of “Cool Girls,” and, at age 16, used those characters to launch a social networking site called “Miss O and Friends.” The site is valued at $15 million today.

The types of businesses started by some kids might surprise you too. Who would have thought that BizChair.com, started by Sean Belnicks at age 14, would be selling $24 million in office chairs by the time its founder was 20?

Or that 17-year-old Nick D’Aloisio would sell his news-aggregator app, called “Summly,” for $30 million?

Any kind of business activity teaches kids valuable lessons. As a child, Tyler Dikman had lemonade stands, mowed lawns and did magic shows.

He parlayed that business experience into launching CoolTronics, “a comprehensive computer sales and service solution,” when he was just 15. The company went on to make millions of dollars.

What else can kids or teens do to make money? Here are a few more possibilities:

5. Help companies with social media marketing

6. Babysit

7. Help seniors set up and use computers

8. Wash cars

9. Do garden maintenance

10. Have garage sales

11. Make greeting cards

12. Recycle soda cans

13. Tutor younger kids

14. Shovel snow

Your Turn: Do you encourage your children’s entrepreneurial plans? What good business ideas could you add to the list?

Steve Gillman is the author of “101 Weird Ways to Make Money” and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s been a repo-man, walking stick carver, search engine evaluator, house flipper, tram driver, process server, mock juror, and roulette croupier, but of more than 100 ways he has made money, writing is his favorite (so far).

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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The Ultimate Guide to Managing Money in Your Early 20s

Those first couple of years after college are an intensely exciting time.

You’ve finished school, you’ve made plans to move out of your parents’ house, and you’ve started a career and are getting paid. Maybe not as much as you’d like, and maybe not as much as some of your friends are making, but you’re finally starting to see some cash roll in.

You’re at the start of your life as an adult, and you’re finally in control of your money.

How to Manage Money in Your 20s

It’s been said that “a beginning is a very delicate time,” and the beginning of your financial life is no different: your wealth in your 30s and 40s will be largely determined by the financial decisions make right after college.

The pressure is on for you to make decisions that will ensure your security and independence later in life.

Read on find out how to lay the foundation for financial independence, how your social life affects your personal savings, and how you could enter your thirties with a fair bit of wealth and equity under your belt.

If Possible, Live at Home and Build Up a Nest Egg

Of all the monthly bills you’ll have, putting a roof over your head will probably take the biggest bite out of your paycheck — the average person spends about a third of his or her income on housing.

So how can you make your housing costs benefit you? Your best bet is to live at home for a while.

After the freedom of college and the independence of living in student or residential housing, the idea of living with Mom and Pop seems… kind of awful, really!

But other than tent-living or apartment-squatting, you’ll never have it better as a tenant: your parents may ask for a couple hundred dollars in rent every month, but that rent usually comes with a fully-furnished house, paid utilities and stocked cabinets.

Parents may make tough roommates, but over a few months you’ll be able to save a couple thousand dollars and get your own place… right?

Find Some (Good) Roommates

Right on the saving, wrong on getting your own place!

Paying full-price for housing can be a paycheck-killer. One-bedroom apartments in any major city are a major expense — usually starting around $1,000 a month — and that can be brutal for someone just out of school.

If you make between $40,000 and $50,000, that rent would be about half of your monthly paycheck. Having privacy is nice; having money is nicer.

If you’re moving to an area where you know people, make some calls and find out if any of your old friends are looking for housing.

If you’re moving to an area where you don’t know a soul, hit up Craigslist and start looking — but be very, very selective. It’s better to wait a month or two and find an ideal roommate than to spend a year-long lease with a maniac. If you’re the “in bed early” type, a roommate with a band may be a bad idea for you.

As for what neighborhood to live in, here’s my favorite strategy for finding great rent prices: avoid the hip neighborhoods. If there are nice restaurants, art galleries, and realtors on every block, it’s too late — that neighborhood has moved north of your price range.

Instead, look for the telltale signs of up-and-coming neighborhoods. Look for a growing artist community (starving artists usually know how to stretch a dollar until it’s thinner than a thread, and they usually find great places to live); a few new, but highly rated, restaurants (less than two years old) that people in your city’s Time Out magazine are mentioning; and 99-cent stores on the neighborhood’s main strip (these often signify that families live in the neighborhood and that it’s generally safe).

If you can find those three factors, you may have found the next hot spot, and you can find a cheap-but-charming apartment for a great price.

Finally, if the idea of saving money isn’t enough to motivate you, keep in mind the social value of having roommates. The creators of the sitcom “Friends,” Marta Kauffman and David Crane, summed it up nicely: your 20s are about “sex, love, relationships, careers, a time in your life when everything’s possible. And it’s about friendship, because when you’re single and in the city, your friends are your family.”

Manage Your Entertainment Budget

When people are trying to tweak their budgets so that they can save more, they tend to look at items on the spreadsheet — housing, car payments, food, entertainment — and figure out how to spend less on that particular line item.

What most people forget is that those line items are the effect, and not the cause. When you want to change your spending habits, you need to consider what is motivating you to spend that money.

For twentysomethings, the area of runaway spending is usually the entertainment category. Spending related to social events can be startlingly high for people in their 20s, and any attempts to save money usually sound like this: “Last month I spent $450 on concerts, restaurants and road trips; this month I’ll try to spend half that.”

The instinct is right — to find the high-cost budget areas that can be trimmed, and try to lower them — but the execution often fails, because the budgeter doesn’t usually look at why so much money is being spent on entertainment: because during your 20s, your social calendar is largely planned by those around you.

Does the following sound familiar? “We just got tickets to see [band that everybody loves]. $100 each. Jim, Ted, and [everybody else you love] are going to be there. Are you in?” Who wouldn’t want to do that? That sounds like a ton of fun!

Or, “Kristin just got promoted, and we’re all thinking about a girl’s weekend in Vegas. You in?” Sounds epic! Of course you’re in!

So how can you exercise more control over your entertainment expenses? One simple strategy: be the one who determines the plans for your group of friends and make reasonably-priced plans.

Instead of Saturday nights at a bar — where buying a round for everyone will cost at least $50 — have a house party and have everyone bring a six-pack or a bottle of wine or liquor.

Instead of going to a hot new restaurant, plan a BBQ in the park and have everyone bring a dish.

Instead of going on the high-priced vacation your friend suggested, make it a weekly task to scan Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz or Hotwire to find hidden gems.

In short, devise your social calendar, so that you’re not hijacked by your social calendar.

The trick is to schedule everything ahead of time, and that can take a little bit of effort. But the nice part is that you’ll always have something to do!

There will always — always — be high-priced, fun obligations that you’ll have to pay for. You will have friends who get married and insist on having a destination wedding, and you will be invited on high-priced vacations planned by a friend.

But you can budget for those, and they’ll be affordable if you’re making the schedule the rest of the time.

Buy (Don’t Lease!) a Reliable Car

If you’ve just graduated from a four-year college, you have the right to feel proud. You’ve spent thousands of hours studying (and an equal number of hours cramming), you’ve dealt with finicky professors and squabbled over grades, and you’ve been part of more group projects than you’d care to remember.

And, if you’re like many new grads, you’ll want to celebrate that accomplishment by getting yourself a gift.

For many people, that “present to yourself” is a car. Sadly, many new grads make terrible decisions when it comes to that first purchase of an automobile, and lease — rather than buy — their first vehicles.

The mistake makes sense: the post-college car purchase is often the first large-scale, independent financial decision you make, and it’s usually conducted in the spirit of celebration, and with a dash of naivete about how much car you really need. Car salesmen pray for that combination of circumstances.

So if you’re in your 20s and you’re buying your first car, here’s how you want to play it:

If your parents have offered to buy you a car as a graduation gift, do your homework and find a secondhand car whose previous owner was meticulous about its care. Scour Craigslist, talk to family and friends, and look on MSN Autos.

In the words of Mr. Money Mustache, you’re looking for “a meticulous-sounding, wealthy person who has babied their used car and done all scheduled maintenance, yet is selling it cheap because they don’t really need the money.”

It may take some time, and you may want to hurry things up and find something you like (especially as you see your friends getting cars). But your patience will pay off in the end, when you’re driving around in a paid-in-full vehicle that is sure to last many years.

If you don’t have enough money to buy a car outright, you’ll need to save enough for a sizable down payment, and then follow the same process: look on Craigslist, talk to family and friends, and look at MSN Autos.

Get an idea of what you’re looking for in a car — space, gas mileage, miles driven. Figure out a monthly amount that you can pay, and don’t forget to figure in car insurance, gas, tolls and upkeep.

If you can’t buy a car outright from a reliable and known source, go to a reputable used car dealer and finance an automobile — no leases.

So why is it so important to finance a car, as opposed to leasing it? Because when you finance a car, at the end of your payment period, you have a tangible asset that you own outright. It is 100% yours, and it will probably be the first big-ticket item you can fully claim.

But more importantly, when you own your car, you will have zero monthly payments to make, and the power of your paycheck increases. Having an expense disappear like that is kind of the same thing as getting a raise.

When you lease a car, at the end of your lease period — you’re right back where you started, and you’ll need to begin a new set of monthly payments.

If you’re in your mid-20s and have earned a raise or promotion, the same principle applies: you’ll be tempted to reward yourself with something big. Fight the urge and buy something that will benefit you financially, rather than harm your budget.

Make Extra Payments on Your Student Loans

If you graduated college in the last five to eight years, you likely have a tremendous amount of student loans. Without some deliberate action, you’re going to be paying those off for twice the amount of time you originally planned. Here’s why:

Most loans have a payment period of 10 years and a required payment every month. The average debt for college grads is almost $30,000, and monthly payments are often between $350 and $500 (depending on the interest rate). That $350 or $500 can be pretty steep, so lenders allow borrowers the option of extending the length of the loan to 20 or 25 years, and lowering the monthly payments to about $200.

Because the budget of a twentysomething is usually pretty tight, that sounds like an excellent idea. The lower payment makes it more likely that a new grad can live within his or her means.

The trade-off, of course, is that the longer you’re paying off your loans, the more interest you’re paying. So what should you do?

First, if it is at all possible for you to choose the 10-year repayment plan, do so. It may sting a little, but getting out of debt sooner, rather than later, is always a good idea.

Second, prepare your budget so that you make an extra payment every month toward the principal amount on your loan (the amount you initially borrowed). It doesn’t have to be much — some weeks, it could be $50; other weeks, it could be $10 — but send it in and decrease the amount that you’ve borrowed. Faithfully making extra payments can cut the length of your payment plan by years.

But here’s the most important part: make sure your extra payment is being applied to the principal of your loan. Your lender has calculated the amount of money you borrowed, and then calculated the amount of interest you owe them over the life of the loan.

Some lenders will take any extra payments you make and apply it to your future interest payments, instead of applying it to the principal — a lesson I learned the hard way. When you send in your extra payments, follow up with a phone call to make sure that money is being applied to the principal you owe, and not to the interest.

Start Planning Your Retirement

Saving for retirement in your 20s — when retirement is an entire lifetime away — almost seems like a waste, right? You’ve got four decades to begin putting money away. Why make that effort now, when your budget is so tight?

In a cruel twist of fate, the most effective time to contribute to your retirement fund is between the ages of 22 and 30 — when you are most likely to be earning the least. When you start saving for retirement in your twenties, your money has years — those four decades I mentioned — to grow.

Albert Einstein called compound interest “the eighth wonder of the world,” and he was right — dutiful saving in your twenties can be the difference between hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank at retirement, or millions. So you need to start saving for retirement, and soon. How soon?

It may sound silly, but you need to start thinking about the last day of your career on the first day of your career.

During your first week at your job, head over to your HR department and learn everything you can about the programs they offer. What’s their 401(k) plan like? Will they match your contributions? Many companies do. Does the company have a pension plan? If so, what do you need to do to become fully vested?

Most companies require a tenure of five to 10 years. Take the time, make the effort and learn everything you can about your options.

If you follow none of the other suggestions in this post, follow this one. Start saving for your retirement as soon as you can. The most powerful investment tool is time, and when you’re in your twenties, you may be poor in cash, but you’re rich in time. Use it wisely.

Develop Your Financial Knowledge Base

Some twentysomethings get lucky: they have a parent or a family friend who has shown them how to get the most out of every dollar that comes their way.

Or, even better, their high school or college offered classes in personal finance. Those people are the lucky ones.

The rest of us often feel totally overwhelmed in our early career years and have to piece everything together as we go along.

So get to work! With the understanding that time is money and you are in your twenties (and therefore rich with time), start building a financial knowledge base so that you can maximize every dollar that comes your way. Learn about the big financial tasks, such as:

• How to invest and build your wealth through stocks, mutual funds, index funds and bonds
• How to set and keep a budget: how to keep track of where your money went last month, and how to plan where it’ll go next month
• How to live on the cheap and decrease each of your individual expenses

You’ll also want to consider the more granular items, such as:

• How to plan a vacation on the cheap by finding affordable hotel deals and guest packages
• How to use credit card rewards programs and miles programs, so that even buying groceries or making other small purchases becomes an investment
• How to save for the big life events that are coming your way, such as weddings, birthdays, and holiday spending

It may sound a little intimidating, and it may sound like a lot of work. But remember, the more effort you put in, the more wealth you’ll get from it.

Consider Buying a House

While not everyone agrees, many personal finance experts point to buying a home as a major personal finance goal for twentysomethings.

Whether you have your eye on a one-story rancher in the suburbs, an apartment downtown or a house in the country, you’ll need to start a fund and begin the long journey towards buying a home.

Why is buying a house so great? I could list a ton of reasons (including tax deductions, appreciation, equity and borrowing power, just to name a few), but the one that seems to resonate most deeply with people is the stability that owning a home can offer.

With a mortgage, you essentially lock in the same housing payment for thirty years, while renters will likely have to pay higher and higher costs for housing. Then, after your mortgage is finally paid off, your housing payments decrease significantly! (Note that I said your housing payments decrease, not necessarily your housing costs, since you’re responsible for home insurance, repairs, landscaping and general upkeep.)

For more on the decision between buying and renting, check out this article from Time Magazine.

Final Thoughts

Your 20s are an exciting time: you create career opportunities, build relationships and embrace new financial responsibilities.

The sooner you master those responsibilities, the closer you are to financial independence. Follow the guidelines above, and watch as your wealth grows!

Your Turn: If you’re in your 20s, what’s your biggest financial consideration? If you’re older, what’s your best financial advice for today’s twentysomethings?

Matthew Burke is a social worker and career counselor who is very happy he started saving early. In his free time, he mountain bikes, fashions bird houses, and runs a site that helps people pick a barber school and start their own barber shops.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.

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