MAKE MONEY ONLINE POSTS: 04/07/17

الجمعة، 7 أبريل 2017

Wolf administration sees state job cuts in House GOP budget

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania's Democratic governor warned Friday that a newly House-passed Republican budget proposal would put about 1,500 state employees out of work, with prisons in line for the deepest job cuts.The administration produced an internal budget office analysis that indicated nearly 650 layoffs would occur at the Department of Corrections and more than 400 job losses at a consolidated Department of Health and Human Services.The state's authorized [...]

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Report contends property tax elimination would cost most people more

WILKES-BARRE (TNS) — A new study contends the current plan in Harrisburg to eliminate school property taxes would actually end up costing most middle class families more in taxes. The Keystone Research Center report estimates total taxes paid by families statewide would, on average increase by $334.The plan is to replace local school property taxes by increasing the state sales and income taxes. But the report argued that would reduce taxes paid by corporations by eliminating [...]

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Want Free Wendy’s Nuggets for a Year? Just Get 18 Million Retweets

Each of us has the ability to change the world if we start with helping just one person. Today, that person is Carter Wilkerson from Reno, Nevada.

Wilkerson has embarked on a valiant mission, and he needs our help. On Wednesday, he sent this tweet to the folks at fast-food chain Wendy’s:

“Yo @Wendys how many retweets for a year of free chicken nuggets?” — a question, I think we can agree, deserves an answer.

And answer the fast-food joint did.

“18 Million,” Wendy’s responded.

HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS http://pic.twitter.com/4SrfHmEMo3

— Carter Wilkerson (@carterjwm) April 6, 2017

The goal was lofty. But with more than 300 million active monthly users on Twitter, Wilkerson was not deterred.

“Consider it done,” he replied. (So brave.)

Climbing (Digital) Mount Everest

In less than 48 hours, Wilkerson racked up his first 1 million tweets. But it will only get more difficult as he continues to climb his digital Everest.

If 18 million retweets sounds easy to you, let’s put it into context. Remember that photo of Ellen and her celebrity friends from the Oscars a few years ago? Well, it still holds the record for the most retweeted post ever at just under 3.3 million.

Wendy’s is still watching Twitter, and I hope it’s ready to fork over some nuggets (and sauce) because Wilkerson plans to reach the summit.

If he makes it, the cost for Wendy’s will depend on Wilkerson’s nugget-eating habits and how generous the fast-food chain decides to be. If Wendy’s limits him to just one six-piece order of nuggets per day, that would have a value of $726.35 for the year. If Wendy’s lets Wilkerson chow down on nuggets three meals a day, the value jumps to $2,179.05 — a small price to pay to bring us all together for the cause.

We think Wilkerson deserves this. But he can’t do it alone.

That’s why Wilkerson needs you. That is why we all need you.

This is bigger than Wilkerson. This is bigger than all of us. Will you take out your iPhones, Androids and laptops, and help us win the war?

Your Turn: Seriously, did you retweet Carter yet?

Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She did her part for the greater good and hit the retweet button.

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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CLOSING BELL: After weak jobs report and Syria strikes, stocks stand still

U.S. stocks never got going Friday after a slightly disappointing jobs report and word of U.S. missile strikes against Syria. Investors bought shares of defense contractors and stocks that are traditionally considered safe.

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Put Down Your Phone: Distracted Driving is Blamed for 52% of Car Crashes

Hi.

Excuse me. Pssst. Hello? Over here! Hi!

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Here’s why you should care.

Cambridge Mobile Telematics studied thousands of crashes and discovered that 52% of them occurred as a result of driving while distracted.

Phones are one of the biggest driving distractions, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

You already know texting and driving is incredibly dangerous, but so is using your device hands-free to make phone calls or to interact with Siri.

Hang Up and Drive

Don’t take it from me — listen to the National Safety Council, the government organization that keeps track of such things to help keep us alive

It says “a minimum of 27% of crashes involve drivers talking and texting on cell phones.”

Yikes.

Put Down the Mascara, Too

But it’s not just cell phones that get us into trouble on the road.

Drivers do all kinds of dumb stuff behind the wheel. We eat, apply makeup, fiddle with radio dials, pet the dogs riding with us and all sorts of other things that really can wait until the car is at a full stop.

I spend a fair amount of time on the interstate, and I’ve seen more than one driver actually reading a book. I’m serious.

You Might Get Busted

If saving your own life and the lives of people around you isn’t incentive enough to stop driving while distracted, maybe staying out of jail is.

Law enforcement officers from coast to coast are encouraging drivers to contact the police and rat out other drivers they see doing reckless things behind the wheel.

If you drive while distracted or know someone who does, it’s time to stop. The National Safety Council has a bunch of resources you can tap into to make a change or create awareness of this serious but preventable problem.

Your turn: What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen someone do while driving?

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. You won’t catch her texting and driving because she’s too busy singing show tunes and car seat dancing at stoplights.

The Junk Food Tax at This Vending Machine? 25 Seconds of Your Time

You’ve heard of junk food taxes, right? Extra taxes on sugary sodas and high-calorie junk food are sometimes used as a way to fight obesity.

Well, this invention takes that idea one step further.

It’s an experimental vending machine that makes you wait about half a minute before it’ll vend the typical processed snacks like Cheetos or Doritos.

Here’s the kicker: Healthier snacks come out instantly.

Ooooooooohhh, snap. Decisions, decisions.

The nerve of this vending machine! This… this brainless machine is trying to influence our human behavior. Surely that wouldn’t work, would it?

Should I Get a Snickers Bar or Some Granola?

Turns out it really does work — at least a little bit.

We heard about this from an NPR story. An associate professor at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago invented a device that fits inside vending machines and waits 25 seconds before releasing processed snacks like Lay’s potato chips or a Mr. Goodbar. Meanwhile, healthier fare like peanuts or popcorn drops immediately.

The vending machine tells you this right off the bat. A decal on its display window informs customers they’ll have to wait for less-healthy snacks.

“Think of it as a sort of ‘time tax,’” the article suggested. “The idea is that every second you spend waiting for a snack will make you want it less, similar to how a tax on sugary drinks might get you to buy less soda.”

Brad Appelhans, associate professor of preventative medicine, created DISC, or Delays to Influence Snack Choice, to test the idea. For months, he installed his invention in vending machines around the university. He presented his findings last week at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

What happened? “We saw a roughly 5 percent change in the proportion of healthy snacks,” he told NPR. The change “is not huge, but if you are to extrapolate this out across 1 million vending machines and over time, it could add up to something meaningful.”

Why does this change the snacking behavior of 1 out of 20 hungry people? Maybe they just don’t want to wait. Maybe being forced to make this choice guilts them into making a healthier decision. Maybe the decal and the waiting period call their attention to healthier options.

“Healthy” snacks were those that met 5 out of 7 standards. Those standards included:

Having less than 250 calories, 350 mg of sodium or 10 mg of added sugars per serving.
Containing no trans fats, which are common in certain processed snack foods.
Getting less than 35% of their calories from fat.

Appelhans also tried charging more for junk food than healthy snacks, but he found the vending machines made less money that way. In contrast, the 25-second waiting period didn’t affect the vending machines’ bottom line.

It remains to be seen whether this invention will ever become widely used and suddenly appear in a vending machine in your workplace.

On the one hand — hey, healthier snacks. On the other hand, it might just enrage someone and increase their odds of taking a baseball bat to the machine.

Just some food for thought.

Your Turn: What do you think of this idea? C’mon, be honest.

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He doesn’t like to wait.

Get Into Any National Park for Free on These 10 Days in 2017

Mountains and forests. Rivers, lakes and waterfalls. The Grand Canyon. All for free.

This year, the National Park Service is offering 10 “free days.” Those are the dates when all national parks, monuments and historical sites offer free admission.

The first free day of 2017 was in January, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next one is on Monday. A couple of weekends in April will follow that.

Conveniently, all of these free-admission days fall on or around a weekend, which is super-handy for planning a three-day trip. Here’s this year’s list:

Monday, Feb. 20: Presidents Day

Saturday and Sunday, April 15-16 and April 22-23: Weekends of National Park Week

Friday, Aug. 25: National Park Service Birthday

Saturday, Sept. 30: National Public Lands Day

Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11-12: Veterans Day Weekend

Of the National Park Service’s 400 sites, more than 120 typically charge anywhere from $3 to $30 a day for admission.The big, legendary parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite cost the most money. Here’s an official list of these parks, sorted by state.

Again, all entrance fees are waived on these free days. During your visit, you’ll still have to pay for things like concessions, tours and campsite reservations.

Your Other Options for Exploring National Parks

This is one of those cases where you’ll have to make a time-versus-money decision. It’s possible that some of these national parks may be a bit more crowded on free-admission days, and you’d have the park more to yourself on a different day.

Then again, the biggest driver of national park attendance is the time of year, with summer being by far the busiest time for many of the major parks.

Here are some options to consider:

If you’re planning on hitting lots of national parks this year, you should go ahead and spring for an $80 annual pass.

Annual passes are free for active-duty U.S. military and their families, and permanently disabled U.S. citizens.

Seniors ages 62 and older pay only $10 for a lifetime pass.

If there’s a fourth-grader in your family, you should take advantage of the Every Kid in a Park initiative. Fourth-graders and their immediate families are eligible for a free annual pass good for every national park.

For more information, Travel and Leisure has a good primer on how to use a national park pass.

Your Turn: What’s your favorite national park?

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He has yet to get to Yosemite National Park, but it’s a goal.

Apply for These 5 Work-From-Home Jobs Right Now and Never Wear Pants Again

Another day, another… list of awesome work-from-home customer support jobs!

Whether you’re looking for a flexible side-gig, want to stay home to get more family time or just don’t like being around people all that much (hey, I feel you!), we found five jobs you can do from the comfort of your living room.

1. Happiness Engineer at Automattic

Honestly, who wouldn’t want to introduce themselves as a professional Happiness Engineer?!

Automattic is the company behind the software that powers sites like WordPress and WooCommerce.

To become a Happiness Engineer, you should — get this — be passionate about making people happy. You should be able to answer people’s questions efficiently and help customers understand how to get the most out of Automattic’s products.

You should have clear communication skills, a patient and compassionate attitude, and some basic technical knowledge. A good sense of humor doesn’t hurt either.

Scheduling is flexible with the ability to work around the clock. No word yet on what the position pays, but we’ll update this post as soon as we find out.

Visit Automattic’s site to get specifics on applying.

2. Reservations Agent at Vacasa

Vacasa is a private vacation home rental management company.

As a reservations agent, you’ll be the first point of contact for potential customers.

You’ll be responsible for fielding phone calls and emails about reservations and pricing, collecting payments, modifying existing reservations and, on occasion, solving problems concerning the owner of a rental property.

To qualify for this position, you’ll need:

A high school diploma or GED equivalent

The ability to work a flexible schedule, sometimes including nights, weekends and the occasional holiday

A quiet remote working environment

A computer less than three years old with a secure, speedy internet connection (the company will provide you with a headset)

Big plus if you have previous travel industry experience!

To be successful in this position, you’ll need to be able to communicate in a positive, professional and “customer-centric” way, have strong written communication skills and be able to clarify, address and solve problems and concerns.

This is a full-time position and you’ll make $12 per hour (plus commission opportunities).

And the icing on this cake? Some pretty sweet benefits, including:

Health, dental and vision insurance

401(k) with 4% employee match

Vacation time

Paid sick leave

Paid holidays

Employee discounts

Think about it: vacation time plus employee discounts on vacation rentals? Yes. Yes, please.

You can apply to become a part of the Vacasa team here.

3. Customer Service Representative for Packlane

Packlane is a company that helps business owners create custom packaging for their products and orders.

As a customer service representative, you’ll be expected to communicate with customers (especially during live chats), be a serious problem solver, keep customer accounts up to date and be a bit of a know-it-all when it comes to the product info, pricing, technical issues and customer orders.

To thrive in this position, you should be meticulous in your work, a passionate people-person, a reliable worker, a solid communicator and have a firm grasp of Adobe Creative Suite.

Pay is $10-12 per hour.

If you’re interested in working for what seems like a pretty neat company, you can apply here.

4. Customer Service Representative at Stericycle

Stericycle is a communications solutions company that provides communication-based services and technologies to customers.

In this position, you’ll be responsible for:

Answering phone calls

Providing information, answering questions, documenting interactions and scheduling appointments

Delivering messages and content to clients

Stericycle is looking for someone who:

Has a firm grasp on the English language

Is able to speak clearly during customer interactions

Can accurately document information during customer calls

Is able to multitask efficiently

Has completed at least 3 years of high school and is at least 17 years old

Is able to work flexible shifts from home

Pay and benefits are not listed, but we’ll update the post with more specifics when we know more.

If you’re interested in applying for this position, visit the original job listing here.

5. Customer Service Representative for Slingshot

Slingshot is a fast-growing startup based in Orem, Utah, focused on “shaking up the pest control industry with tools that help our clients achieve the speed, interactivity, and around-the-clock availability that modern customers expect.”

As a customer service representative at Slingshot, you’ll be in charge of providing “top-notch” customer service over the phone and live web chat, scheduling appointments and connecting clients with the company’s in-house pest experts.

Slingshot is looking to hire someone who:

Is friendly, intelligent and genuinely cares for people

Possesses clear communication skills, both written and verbal

Is proficient with computers and business communication

Has flexible, full time availability (35+ hours per week) with the ability to work occasional weekends and holidays

Is a self-motivator

For this position, you’ll work primarily from home but will need to be within a 1.5 hour drive of Slingshot HQ in Orem.

Benefits include health care, paid time off and a 401(k) match. Pay is base plus commission, and Slingshot notes that customer service representatives make between $10 and $13 hourly.

To apply for this position, check out the original job listing here.

Be sure to check out our Jobs page on Facebook so that you never miss another job posting!

Your Turn: Do you crave the flexibility of a work-from-home job?

Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

Will VantageScore 4.0 Level the Playing Field for Those Without Credit?

You might have heard the term FICO floating around personal finance advice columns, but did you know it’s not the only credit scoring formula?

FICO scoring, the system Fair Isaac Corporation developed, has been around since the 1960s. But there’s a newer kid on the block, and it’s making some adjustments to how it determines your credit score.

Meet VantageScore, which debuts its fourth iteration to the credit reporting companies — Experian, Equifax and Transunion — this fall.

Don’t Have a Credit Score? That’s About to Change

The three major credit reporting companies developed VantageScore in 2006. Both FICO and VantageScore formulas rate your credit on a scale of 350 (really, really bad credit) to 850 (how’d you get so good with money?).

But with its new version of voodoo math, VantageScore claims it can calculate credit scores for people who don’t have lengthy or detailed credit histories.

“VantageScore 4.0 scores some 30-35 million consumers who cannot obtain a credit score when conventional scoring models are used,” the company said in a statement.

Those consumers may have short credit histories (looking at you, Generation Z) or few records because they rely on nontraditional banking methods.

Picture a World With More Accurate Credit Scores

VantageScore 4.0 is the first scoring model that fully embraces adjustments the National Consumer Assistance Plan, the cross agency reporting initiative to make credit reports more fair and accurate, formulated.

Highlights of the initiative include allowing customers who dispute information on their free annual credit report to receive another report without waiting a year; not reporting medical debt until a 180-day window passes to allow for insurance payments; not including parking tickets or other fines charged when the consumer didn’t enter a transaction agreement; and additional protection for victims of fraud.

The new VantageScore model separates medical collections from other collection accounts and puts less of a penalty on them. The system also “relies less on derogatory collections and public records data” like tax liens and civil judgments.

By evaluating your credit use trends rather than just a snapshot, the VantageScore anticipates greater score consistency across the three credit-reporting agencies. VantageScore claims its formula is a better predictor of a person’s creditworthiness.

The credit reporting companies will gain access to the latest VantageScore model this fall, but it may take a while before you learn how the the 4.0 model affects your credit score. In fact, because there are several versions of both the VantageScore and FICO models, any credit report you pull for yourself could have a score based on an older version.

In the meantime, the best way to take care of your credit score is to understand how it’s calculated — and then take necessary steps to make sure your credit profile is squeaky clean.

Your Turn: Will this new VantageScore method benefit your credit report?

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

Dust Off Your Resume: Amazon is Hiring 5,000 People to Work From Home

I’m pretty sure Amazon is the Oprah of the job world.

By the end of the century, I think everyone in the nation will will be a current or former Amazon employee.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to hire 100,000 full-time workers and 30,000 part-time workers across the U.S. over the next year.

Freshen up your resumes, ladies and gentleman. Here come the jobs.

The ubiquitous online retailer said this week it will soon begin hiring 5,000 Virtual Customer Service representatives around the country.

Benefits of Nabbing Amazon Jobs

One of the most distinctive things about these work-from-home job opportunities are the benefits. If you work 20 or more hours per week, you qualify for some pretty amazing perks including pre-paid tuition for certification and degree programs in high-demand occupations.

Previously advertised customer service agent positions paid around $10 per hour and include paid training.

Amazon is keeping its ongoing commitment to flexible scheduling so employees can deal with personal or family needs as they arise.

The other 25,000 part-time jobs the company promised to create will be at various fulfillment and distribution sites around the country.

There are over 80 fulfillment centers nationwide, so that’s a lot of jobs to go around.

Get a Leg Up On the Competition

Over 130,000 full and part-time jobs seems like a lot, but that doesn’t mean nabbing one for yourself will be a walk in the park.

Arm yourself with these tips before you apply:

Pay attention to the company’s guiding leadership principles

Think about how you’ll answer 20 common interview questions

Have an informational interview with someone who already works at Amazon

Consider what questions you’ll ask your recruiter

Don’t sit on anyone’s lap (I can’t even…)

New jobs pop up at Amazon all the time (regular readers of The Penny Hoarder are nodding right now). Keep an eye on the the company’s job page so you’re the first to know about new openings.

For even more job leads and information, check out our jobs page on Facebook.

Your turn: Would you rather work from home or in one of the fulfillment centers?

Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She writes about Amazon jobs a lot because she knows you love to hear about them and she wants to make you happy.

Cool to Be Kind: How One Teen’s Character Got Him Into an Ivy League School

“Oh, you got Mark Zuckerberg to write your letter of recommendation? That’s cute. I got the ghost of Steve Jobs to write mine. Sooo…” — Some college student, somewhere, probably.

In a world where the college admissions process has turned into one giant cutthroat game of resume topping and an overload of extracurriculars, having stellar letters of recommendation signed by some prestigious names can end up being the deciding factor between you and a nearly identical candidate.

And believe me, at this point, most high school seniors’ resumes are pretty much identical. So having a good letter of recommendation? Well, that’s crucial.

There’s Good — And Then There’s This Guy

A good letter of recommendation details a student’s successes and achievements, touches on their leadership skills and their work ethic, and, for a little pizzazz, briefly mentions their passions. It’ll probably get someone into a good enough school as long as it’s signed by their principal.

But a great letter of recommendation? Well, we recently read about an example of a great letter of recommendation in a New York Times op-ed — one that addresses the things that truly matter.

This great letter of recommendation details the student’s kindness and thoughtfulness, touches on his respectfulness and helpfulness, and, for a little pizzazz, mentions that he made a point of learning the names of everyone on the janitorial staff.

And it got this kid unanimous approval during the admissions process because it was signed by his school custodian.

That’s right — a student asked the custodian at his New England public school to write him a letter of recommendation.

The custodian detailed how the student went out of his way to turn off lights in empty rooms, clean up after his peers and stop to thank the hall monitor every morning.

Rather than the typical cut-and-paste letter of recommendation the admissions board was used to seeing, this letter was distinct, as the unexpected source spoke to the student’s character, his thoughtful and caring attitude, and, overall, his kindness.

Rebecca Sabky, the director of admissions at Dartmouth College, where this student applied, wrote that during her 15 years at the school spent fielding more than 30,000 admissions applications, she had never seen a letter quite like this one.

Kindness is Key

If the new trend in college admissions is kindness, would that be so wrong?

Just imagine, if you will, a world in which students are judged not by the content of their resume and the fluffy filler in their admissions essays, but instead by their character and their desire to do good.

Imagine an entire generation of people who strive to be nicer, kinder and more tolerant and respectful than the people before them.

Sabky notes that while her essay may encourage a flood of recommendation letters similar to this one, she’ll take it as long as it means students will spend their time promoting kindness.

While no one really wants a bunch of teenagers trying to out-nice each other for the sake of a spot at their dream school, sometimes practice makes perfect — and I, for one, don’t mind giving them a little incentive.

Kindness and character as college criteria? I’m on board.

Your Turn: Do you think a person’s character should be the determining factor in getting into college?

Grace Schweizer is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She just wants everyone to be nice to each other.

How to Do an Online Giveaway That Doesn’t Suck

Who doesn’t want something for free?

It’s a very enticing proposition.

Some of my best business-boosting hacks have taken place when I’ve offered something free.

I’ve given away free tools, free software, free headphones, free trips, free cash, and hundreds of free resources.

Free is amazing.

And hardly anyone will turn down a free gift, discount, etc. when it’s bestowed upon them with no strings attached.

Research from Kontest proves that an online giveaway can have a profound impact on your marketing campaign.

More specifically, they found that one-third of entrants will agree to receive information from brands and partners:

On top of that, they found that new campaigns acquire a 34% audience increase on average:

That’s pretty serious.

But I’ll be honest. There’s a lot that goes into a successful online giveaway.

There’s more to it than throwing something together, slapping up a prize, and expecting people to sign up in droves.

It doesn’t work that way.

The last thing you want to do is create an online giveaway that sucks. This can end up detracting from your brand.

Online giveaways have been around as long as the Internet has existed. And, let’s be honest, people are kind of tired of cheap and scammy giveaways.

In fact, a lot of people think giveaways are dead.

But are they? I’m not convinced. Why? Because I still use giveaways to generate massive traffic and huge amounts of revenue!

What I’d like to do now is walk you through the process of setting up an online giveaway.

I’d also like to offer some tips I’ve learned along the way so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.

Determine your specific goal

Before you can figure out the logistics of your campaign, you must first decide what you’re trying to accomplish.

Here are some examples of common campaign goals:

Get new email subscribers
Increase social media engagement
Get more social media followers
Increase blog engagement
Get more backlinks

Knowing your specific goal will dictate the specific approach you take later on.

Choose a prize

Coming up with an idea sounds pretty straightforward.

But I feel this is an area where a lot of brands drop the ball.

One of the main mistakes I often see is giving away something irrelevant to the industry.

As I said before in another guide on Quick Sprout, not every contest should consist of an iPad giveaway.

Please. Can we stop with the iPads already?

What you want to do is offer a gift that represents you.

For instance, Airbnb might offer a free stay at an awesome location:

A clothing brand might offer a free t-shirt.

An outdoor gear company might give away a sleeping bag or tent.

You get the idea.

Why is this so important?

If you’re gathering email addresses as part of the online giveaway, you want to ensure you’re getting people who represent your demographic.

Otherwise, you’ll have a junk list of unqualified leads who will probably never convert when you attempt to move them through your sales funnel later on.

Make the prize match the entry

Here’s something else to consider.

Some entry requirements are quick and easy, e.g., liking a post on Facebook.

Others are more long-winded and laborious, e.g., filling out several forms of questions, submitting a photo, and so on.

I suggest choosing a prize that matches the level of effort it requires to enter.

After all, offering a mediocre prize for completing an arduous entry process may result in very few entrants.

In other words, as an article from Wishpond states, “The prize value should always be equal to the effort required to win it.”

Consider bundling items

Wishpond also makes another interesting point.

They say offering a bundle of items can have a bigger impact than offering only one item.

It seems that a bundle is deemed higher value (even if it’s not, necessarily) than one single item. Plus more variety appeals to a wider audience.

This logic makes sense to me.

Most people have a tendency to think more is better.

So, even if you offer three gifts that combined are worth less than a single gift, the perception would still be that the three gifts are of a higher value (even if they’re not).

This isn’t to say that you have to follow this formula, but it’s definitely food for thought and could help you increase your number of entrants.

Consider offering multiple prizes

Let’s be real.

What are the odds of winning a giveaway with only one grand prize?

Pretty microscopic.

And people know this. They won’t jump through a bunch of hoops just to enter a contest where the chances of winning are slim to none.

But when there are prizes for first place, second place, and third place, the odds of winning increase a bit.

I suggest you offer smaller prizes for runner-up entrants in addition to the grand prize.

This makes people feel like they do have a chance, and even if they don’t win the grand prize, they can still get something.

I’ve found this to serve as motivation for people to sign up.

Contest duration

Okay, so you’ve got a goal, and you know what prize you’re going to offer.

The next thing to determine is how long your giveaway will last—its duration.

Now, there can be a huge variation in terms of duration.

But according to Kontest, the best duration for your campaign is either 25 or 60 days:

Research has found that these two lengths of time are the “sweet spots,” allowing you to get the maximum number of applicants.

But if it’s your first campaign and you’re still getting your bearings, I would definitely suggest sticking with 25 days initially.

Go any longer, and you might minimize the impact because some entrants may forget about the giveaway.

There’s a fine line between too short and too long. You’ll be able to pick the right duration based on how much exposure your giveaway has.

Create an epic landing page

Design plays an integral role in just about every element of marketing and branding.

And it’s no exception when it comes to your giveaway’s landing page.

It needs to pop.

But I realize that me telling you to create an epic landing page is a loaded statement.

Here are a few specific traits of a great giveaway landing page:

It’s simple
It thoroughly explains what it takes to enter and what the prize is
It’s easy to understand
It contains high-quality images
People can enter quickly and easily

Now, let me provide you with a few examples.

Example #1 from Startup Pirates

Example #2 from Cadence Watch

Example #3 from Cocoon Spa

Gather the right information

Here’s a biggie: choosing which information to ask for from entrants.

You need to proceed with caution here because this can often make or break your campaign.

On the one hand, the more info you ask for, the more effort it takes for someone to enter and the fewer entrants there will be.

On the other hand, you want to ensure you’re getting adequate info so that you can effectively enter giveaway participants into your sales funnel.

How much is too much info to ask for?

Let’s take a look at what Kontest found:

As you can see, no one has an issue providing their email address.

And most are totally fine giving their first and last names.

But once you start getting to age, country, and address, the number of entrants drops off significantly.

The bottom line is that you should ask only for the most important information you’re legitimately going to use.

Otherwise, getting too personal and requiring too many steps can scare off many would-be entrants.

Make a big announcement about the winner(s)

A lot of time and energy goes into creating an online giveaway.

You want to make a big deal about the winner and put the spotlight on them.

I suggest asking them to take a photo with your product and posting it on your social media accounts.

This serves as added brand exposure and lets other entrants know that the giveaway was legit.

Both of which should help you build more buzz if you decide to create another online giveaway in the future.

Choosing a platform

There’s one last and extremely important detail.

Which platform should you use to run your online giveaway?

Although there are several different options to choose from, there are two in particular that I recommend.

The first is Gleam.

It’s fairly easy to use, and it integrates with most major social networks.

It’s also super customizable and makes it simple to incorporate great looking pictures.

I love the fact that Gleam is fully responsive, which is crucial for keeping mobile users happy.

In fact, you can increase your number of entrants 8x by running a mobile contest.

The second platform is Rafflecopter, which, according to its site, is “the world’s easiest way to run a giveaway.”

It’s also user-friendly and customizable.

Even if you have zero experience with online giveaways, you can usually get one up and running quickly.

Conclusion

I love online giveaways and think that when done correctly, they can rev up your marketing.

Just think about it. An online giveaway kills multiple birds with one stone.

You can:

Get great brand exposure
Increase social media and blog engagement
Build your audience
Establish brand advocates in the people who win your giveaways

And when you think about the money you would spend on other marketing techniques, such as paid advertising, you’re usually getting more bang for your buck with this strategy.

It’s usually a win-win situation.

But quite frankly, the strategy you devise is equally as important as the prize itself.

You need to cover all your bases and ensure you’re offering a prize that people actually want and that will motivate them to enter.

Once you’ve got that covered, the rest should fall into place.

Have you ever experimented with an online giveaway?

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OPENING BELL: Shaky start for stocks on Syria strike, weak jobs gains

U.S. stocks are wobbling Friday morning as the combination of a weak jobs report and U.S. missile strikes against Syria have investors on edge.

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Some Thoughts on the Battle Between Minimalism and Preparedness

One of the biggest struggles I have in my life is this constant battle between two guiding values: minimalism and preparedness. I see great value in both of these things.

In minimalism, I see the value of having fewer things to worry about and take care of, leaving me more time to actually do things instead of having to maintain stuff. It also leads to more financial flexibility because I’m spending less money on stuff overall, and my natural tendency is to spend my time making things or exploring nature, neither one of which is very expensive for the most part.

In preparedness, I see the value of having more things so that I can handle unexpected situations with grace and effectiveness. Whenever a situation comes up that I am not properly equipped to handle, I feel a great sense of frustration and disappointment.

Those two things obviously come into conflict rather often. One pushes me toward owning more things (and thus investing my money in those things and perhaps sometimes saving money due to being prepared for an unexpected event), and the other pushes me toward owning fewer things (and thus investing my money in experiences and in savings for the future). They push against each other constantly, a debate that boils down to the simple question of whether or not I actually need to own a particular item.

Do I really need this thing? Owning it makes me more prepared for whatever may come. Not owning it means I have more money and flexibility and have less stuff to take care of.

Which is the right path to choose? Quite often, whichever path I choose, I feel like I’m making something of a misstep.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that having a well-thought-out set of guiding principles in life for situations such as these makes it much easier to make those decisions with confidence and without guilt. I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on those principles over the past few years so that I can simply trust those principles when it comes to decisions like this and know that I have made a well-considered decision, even if I happen to make it quickly.

Here’s what I’ve come to realize is true for myself in this battle between minimalism and preparedness.

First, being prepared doesn’t mean more and more and more stuff; it means having items that serve real purposes that aren’t met by other items. Being prepared means I am ready to handle a particular challenge that comes into my life. It doesn’t mean having every possible color of pen ink or two hundred games on my game shelf or a ton of books on my bookshelf. It means having a reliable pen or two for taking notes and drawing. It means having a game or two to choose between depending on the guests (I think it’s reasonable to have fifteen or twenty games when it’s your hobby, because different games work best with different situations and different people and different player counts). It means having books on your shelf that you actually turn to for reference beyond what you can find with an internet search.

I use this principle when I’m tempted to buy another board game or another pen or another book. Do I really need these things? Are there situations where I would want to have these things right at hand to meet some situation that isn’t already largely met? Couldn’t I just borrow this item or use something similar in such an event?

This keeps me from buying a game similar to one I already have or buying more pens unless I’m running low (I write a lot, so this happens) or buying many books.

Second, the purpose that I have items for are actually real purposes, not fancies of the imagination. When I’m in a hardware store, it’s easy for me to visualize uses for many of the items in there, but are those scenarios that are even remotely likely to actually happen? Probably not. The same is true when I’m at a tea shop – I’m surrounded by delicious teas, but am I really going to drink any of those teas in a period of time when they’re actually fresh? Probably not – I do drink some tea and/or coffee most days, but that doesn’t mean I go through the stuff very fast.

It’s very easy for an active imagination to visualize scenarios in which you’ll really want or need a particular item, but the thing to remember is that most of those visualized scenarios will very likely never happen. Stopping and recognizing the reality of such scenarios is absolutely vital in fighting this battle.

Third, items that can handle lots of tasks are far better purchases than items that do only one or two things. A smartphone is better than an alarm clock, for example – I actually use mine as an alarm clock, among other purposes. A griddle is better than a sandwich press, and a sandwich press is better than a breakfast sandwich maker. Why? You can make anything on a griddle (within reason) that you could make on a sandwich press and more, and you can make anything on a sandwich press (within reason) that you could make with a breakfast sandwich maker and more.

What happens when you have items in your house that serve lots of purposes is that you eliminate the preparedness argument for large swaths of items. I wish I had thoroughly understood this principle ten years ago when we were stocking our kitchen with cooking supplies, as we still have quite a few things that are basically redundant buried in the back recesses of our kitchen cabinets.

Fourth, hobby supplies are fine if you’re actually replenishing something you’re going to use in the near future and not just buying something that’s a somewhat redundant replacement for something you already have. For example, I’m completely fine buying a new notebook for myself if I’m within a month or two of running out of notebooks to fill up (again, I fill up a lot of pages with handwritten notes, as it’s how I learn about topics and how I process my life and ongoing projects and think through things), but if I have a bunch of notebooks already, buying more is silly unless they’re like 90% off. The same is true for pen ink (lately, I’ve moved to using pens that last and just replacing the ink in them as the cost is lower over the very long haul). With board games, though, I’m not really replenishing anything, so buying a new game means that I’m either tired of a game I already have (in which case I should sell it) or I really have a niche in my life for playing games that isn’t already fulfilled.

If I had to boil these principles down to a single statement, it would be this: unless there is a high likelihood that I will be using this item in the next month for a purpose that isn’t fulfilled by something else I already own, I shouldn’t be spending my money on it. This even goes for fun things – if I’m not actually going to use it soon or I already have something similar, there’s no reason to buy it. The thing is, I already own items that fulfill almost every need or want that I actually spend time on in a given month and I already have most realistic emergencies covered, so I really don’t have much purpose to buy many things for myself.

For me, the challenge is now turning toward the “paring down” problem. If I have multiple items that meet the same need, why do I need to keep all of them? If I have more books than I will ever read in the next ten years, why do I need to keep them?

The purpose here is to reach a happy medium between preparedness and minimalism, where I’m prepared for almost anything I might want to do and any situation that might realistically come up in the near future, but nothing more than that. That way, whenever I do buy an item, it’s a purposeful purchase and a sensible use of my money, but I’m still spending a minimum amount of time taking care of the stuff I have and keeping it organized. I’m spending my time right now inching closer and closer to that happy medium, and it’s actually a joyful journey.

So, what can you take away from all of this? Whenever you’re considering a purchase, just ask yourself whether you’re really going to use this item in the next month for a purpose that isn’t already met by something you own. If you’re buying something that is already fulfilled by another item, why have that other item? Then, do the same thing with your possessions whenever you go through them – is this item one that I’m actually going to use sometime in the next few months that isn’t already met by something else?

If you take those questions seriously, it’s very likely that you’ll slow down on your purchasing and find yourself, when you do make a purchase, buying things that are purposeful and don’t fill you with regret. Similarly, you may also find yourself slowly paring down the number of items you own, which will make you a little pocket money as you sell them off and also reduce the time you need to spend maintaining and storing them and the space you need to devote to housing all of your stuff.

There is a happy medium, and it’s a journey finding your way there, but that journey is a rewarding one in many ways. Good luck!

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Here’s What Happens When Scammers Get Their Hands on Your Tax Data

The internet can be a scary place.

The websites we visit every day are nothing but a speck on the World Wide Web. Beyond the public internet we use daily, there’s a sometimes dangerous version of the web that goes unmonitored: the dark web.

A notorious marketplace for drugs, body parts, hit men and credit card information, the dark web is also a place where valuable pieces of people’s identities are sold: tax information, such as W-2s and 1040 returns.

Bloomberg reports that IBM X-Force, IBM’s security research group, noted a more than 6,000% increase in tax spam emails intercepted by its system from December 2016 to February 2017.

Wait, What is the Dark Web?

If you aren’t familiar with what exactly the dark web is, here’s a quick rundown.

The dark web refers to websites that you can only access through a special connection. Think of it as a different internet you can unlock only with a special key.

Search engines are unable to track sites on the dark web, which are invisible to traditional browsers.

Everyday users of the public internet have IP addresses tying them to a location and giving them an identity. Dark web users hide behind Tor, an encryption tool that allows them to remain anonymous.

This anonymity results in a complete lack of security in the dark web, which makes it open game for criminals.

Although it’s home to dangerous content and illegal activity, some argue that the dark web also contains some good. It can be a platform for the politically oppressed to express opinions that could result in persecution if they voiced them publicly, and it can also allow people to buy lifesaving medications at a fraction of their regular costs.

Criminals Can Sell Your Tax Information on the Dark Web

So, now you know about the big, bad and scary beast known as the dark web — but how does it affect you?

If you fall victim to a tax scam email, your entire tax form could get sold on the dark web. Some sell for $50 or more in bitcoin, and criminals sometimes withhold certain parts of them to entice purchasers to spend even more.

Using the information on your tax forms, criminals can take out loans in your name, open credit cards or even file for a tax refund in your name.

Sure, you could have a good chunk of change stolen from you along the way, but having your identity stolen is an even bigger headache. It can throw your credit score into the pits, drain your bank accounts and leave you struggling to recover for years.

Not fun.

So, how can you protect your tax information from getting stolen on the dark web?

Bloomberg recommends filing your taxes early. Which, yeah, would be a great idea if tax day wasn’t less than two weeks away… so let’s come up with some other ideas, shall we?

Here’s one: Never send your tax information via email. The IRS will never demand you email information. (However, it can now use a third-party debt collector in limited cases.)

Here’s another: If you’re ever in doubt, just don’t give out any information whatsoever. Call the IRS directly, and have them verify that the person who contacted you is really a representative. It never hurts to double-check.

Stay safe!

Your Turn: How do you protect your identity?

Kelly Smith is a junior writer and engagement specialist at The Penny Hoarder. Catch her on Twitter at @keywordkelly.

Heading to Six Flags This Summer? 17 Simple Ways to Stick to Your Budget

Six Flags amusement parks offer plenty of stomach-flipping action.

The fun kind happens when you go up, down and all around on gravity-defying rides.

The not-so-fun kind happens when you tally up the damage a day of thrills can do to your wallet.

From tickets to food to parking, a day at the amusement park can put a significant dent in your entertainment budget. But thanks to the following tips we gathered from money pros and savvy park visitors, you can visit Six Flags on the cheap — so the only fear you’ll need to face is the fun kind.

1. Buy Your Tickets Ahead of Time

Never, ever buy tickets at the gate. Whether your Six Flags trip is weeks away or a spur-of-the-moment decision, purchase your tickets online. You’ll save $20 on a daily pass ($45.99 versus the $65.99 full price)!

Make sure to specify the date you plan on visiting; otherwise you’ll spend $55.99 for an any-day pass. Then, simply print the pass at home, bring it to the park, and you’re good to go.

Planning your summer fun early to beat the winter blues? “Buy your tickets before the park opens for the year, because before opening day, the tickets are less expensive,” recommends Billie Jean Bateson, manager of Amazing Wristbands.

2. Buy a Season Pass

If you plan to visit Six Flags twice or more in a year, you should definitely buy a season pass.

At $84.99 a person, the cost is less than two full-price daily tickets, and you’ll get perks like passes for your friends, in-park discounts and free admission to Fright Fest.

3. Watch for Sales

When I wrote this post, Six Flags was running a Mardi Gras sale that added even more benefits to season pass purchases. If you bought four or more season passes and picked up your ID card at the park by July 2, 2017, you’d save almost 30% off each pass. You’d also get bonus perks like free parking, free admission to Holiday in the Park and more.

4. Buddy Up with Season Pass Holders

If you know someone with a season pass, plan a park visit with them on one of Six Flags’ “Bring-a-Friend” days to get in free. Season pass holders are allowed one friend per day per pass, so if your family of five is friends with a pass-holding family of five, your whole family could get free admission!

Etiquette note: It might be nice to do something in return for the family that’s helping you go to Six Flags for free. Maybe you could offer to pack a picnic lunch for everyone? (See No. 6, below.)

5. The More, The Merrier

Groups of 15 to 74 people qualify for a group discount when they purchase their passes at least 10 business days in advance. Each person pays only $33.50 (plus tax), and for every 15 people who pre-purchase, you can get an additional ticket free.

6. Eat on the Cheap

Skip the so-called savings of park-offered meal deals and bring your own food. Not only is it way cheaper, but you can pack healthier food that will actually fuel the rest of your day rather than making you want to take a nap.

Fill a cooler with ice, sandwiches, veggies, dip and other goodies, and leave it in the trunk of your car. When mealtime hits, go back out to the parking lot to fill your stomachs, enjoy some in-car air conditioning, and take a break from the noise and crowds.

What do you do if you start to feel munchies between meals? Budget travel blogger Lia Saunders of Practical Wanderlust says it’s ok to “ignore the ‘no food and drinks policy’” to an extent.

While outside food is “not strictly allowed per se,” she says, “we can all claim a medical reason for needing a few Lara Bars (low blood sugar, hanger, etc).” When she and her husband visited a Six Flags recently, “We simply stuffed some Lara and Kind bars into an extra jacket in our day pack, and security didn’t notice a thing.”

7. Drink for (Nearly) Free

Sure, you could buy a Season Drink Bottle from the park and save on refills, but that’s an amateur move, and you’re a savings pro.

Instead, bring your own reusable water bottle and refill it at the water fountains throughout the park. Plenty of sports bottles have straps on them, so you can attach them to your purse or backpack rather than holding them all day.

Prefer something to cool you down on a steamy summer day? “Buy reusable ice cubes to keep your drink cold all day,” suggests Amanda Thomas of Liaison Technologies.

Finally, if you forgot your water bottle or lose it on a ride platform, you still don’t have to pony up any money to stay hydrated. “You can always ask for a free cup of water,” Saunders reminds us. Hit up any concession stand between rides, and you’re all set.

8. Look for Six Flags Promos and Coupons

In addition to scoping out Six Flags’ own Special Offers page, there are lots of ways to knock your costs down even further.

“Plenty of Coke brand products have promo codes on their cans good for discounts,” says David Bakke of Money Crashers, “as do products from Ortega, Kraft (string cheese) and Tony’s (frozen pizza). Check your local grocery store for discount coupons in the checkout line as well — they’re usually good for about $5 off admission.”

If you live in California, you can save $15-$20 off a general-admission ticket if you bring a can of Coca-Cola to the ticket booth at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom or Six Flags Magic Mountain. (Purchase your tickets online and you can save even more.)

You can also look for coupons on group deal sites like Groupon, in local entertainment books and by following Six Flags’ Twitter and Facebook accounts.

9. Don’t Forget Membership Discounts

Save even more with the cards you already have in your wallet.

“AAA members get 30% off ticket prices and 10% off merchandise at certain AAA parks,” says Mike Catania, Chief Technology Officer of PromotionCode. “But it varies by park,” he adds, so it’s best to call your park’s ticket office to double-check.

Using a credit card to buy your tickets? “At certain times of the year, you can get 5% off your Six Flags purchases by using your Discover Card,” says Bakke.

You may also be able to get discounted tickets through your employer, alumni association or for being a member of the military.

And, as always, it doesn’t hurt to use a rewards credit card to get some extra points or cash back (if, of course, you’re able to pay off the balance in full on your next statement).

10. Consider Package Deals

“You might also want to look at ticket packages if [you’re] visiting a city with a Six Flags theme park,” says Bakke. “I live in Atlanta, and I know that there is such a program where you get admission to several local attractions (including Six Flags) at a reduced overall rate.”

If you’re making an extended trip to another city to visit a Six Flags, this might be worth your while.

11. Go on Non-Peak Days

Saunders and her husband “just visited Six Flags Magic Mountain [recently] on Superbowl Sunday,” she says.

“This is the best day all year long to go to a Six Flags park if you want to save money on a Flash Pass; the park is totally empty. We rode almost everything and never had to wait in line more than 15 minutes!”

12. Know What to Skip

Carnival games are rarely fair and typically overpriced, so it’s best to skip them. The same goes for park merchandise, which usually just ends up as clutter when you get home.

Skip using your credit cards by having cash on hand. If you want to do or buy something at a stand that doesn’t accept cards, or the card machine is down, you’ll be stuck using an in-park ATM, which is rarely from your card-issuing bank and can sock you with extra fees, Bateson points out.

13. Pack Light

Don’t take more than you can carry or you’ll face hefty locker rental costs.

If you plan on doing a clothing swap for the waterpark, you can always leave your stuff in your car and make a quick trip to the parking lot when you’re ready to change. Either change in your car or, if you want more privacy, in the restrooms near the entrance gates.

14. Save on Parking

Certain season pass holders can get free parking, but if that doesn’t apply to you, try making a little bit of an extra trek to save some cash.

“At Magic Mountain,” Saunders say, “you can save $20 on parking by taking a public bus to the parking lot entrance and walking the rest of the way.”

15. Save on Accommodations

My sisters and I have an annual summer tradition of visiting a big amusement park in another state for three or four days, which means we also need to find lodging.

But the thought of shelling out a large chunk of our vacation budget on a hotel feels like a waste, especially since we rarely do more than sleep and eat outside the park, anyway.

So we’ve turned our theme park outings into theme park/camping trips. We book a small campsite at a park or campground a short drive from the park, pool our camping gear (tent, cooking utensils, etc.) and have somewhere to crash at the end of each day for a fraction of the price.

If camping isn’t your style, consider other alternative accommodations like Airbnb, hostels or crashing at a friend or family member’s house.

16. Go Late

Some Six Flags parks offer discounted admission if you arrive when the bulk of visitors are leaving (typically around 4 or 5 p.m.). If you live close to a park and only want to hit up specific rides rather than experiencing everything, this could be a great way to do so.

Sally Ernst of Buffalo, New York, lives close to Six Flags Darien Lake and says going late still offers plenty of opportunity to do everything she wants. “The park is small,” she says, “so it actually is a good amount of time.”

17. Be an Early Bird

Last but not least, if you’re making a day of your Six Flags visit, be sure to max out your time.

“If you’re only visiting the park one time,” Bakke says, “be sure to get there early — at least 30 minutes before opening — and make sure you take advantage of all the park has to offer. This doesn’t save money, but ensures you get the most bang for your buck.”

Your Turn: Do you have any additional tips for saving money at Six Flags? Share them with us in the comments!

Kelly Gurnett is a freelance blogger, writer and editor who runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. Follow her on Twitter @CordeliaCallsIt.

20 Awesome Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

By Holly Reisem Hanna I love getting emails from readers! I enjoy the social interaction as well as the recognition, but what truly makes me happy is when I can help a reader fulfill their dream of working from home or becoming self-employed. Lately, I've received a ton of emails from new bloggers and website […]

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Over 55 and made pension withdrawals? Check if you can reclaim the emergency tax paid

Rachel Lacey

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Two years after the introduction of the pension freedoms, tens of thousands of over 55s have failed to reclaim overpaid tax on their withdrawals, according to online pension provider AJ Bell.

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5 Easter Bunny-Approved Treats You Can Make for Under $10

Deal of the week: kids travel free on Brittany Ferries this spring

Adam Williams

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Families looking for a spring getaway can take their kids to France or Spain for free with Brittany Ferries’ latest deal.

What’s the deal exactly?

Brittany Ferries is offering free travel each way for up to two children up to the age of 15, as long as they travel in the same vehicle as at least one parent. A return child fare normally costs £50.

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Latest issue of How to Retire in Style hits newsstands

Helen Knapman

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The sixth issue of Moneywise’s sister magazine, How to Retire in Style is now on sale for £5.99 from all good newsagents including WHSmith, Sainsbury’s and Eason’s in Ireland.

Alternatively you can order your copy here.

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