الجمعة، 5 مايو 2017
More Women are Laboring on the Job While They’re in Active Labor — But Why?
A spate of recent news reports highlights how difficult it is for women to find a healthy work-life balance.
- Moneyish writes about an uptick in the number of women who continue to work while in active labor.
- A leadership coach says she believes it’s “worth it” to “have less face time with children” to have “worry-free time to do [her] work.”
- Lyft praised one of its drivers last year (in a post that’s since been taken down) for continuing to ferry passengers around Chicago while having contractions before eventually driving herself to the hospital to deliver her baby.
- In a survey of professional women, one respondent said she “basically didn’t really see friends and family for six years” to devote more time to work.
- A CEO and mom of a newborn decided to forgo her paid leave in favor of bringing her 6-week-old daughter to work with her every day.
These choices might make sense if the big picture looked favorable for professional women.
But the truth is, the wage gap is still alive and well in the workplace.
Even more disappointing is that 20% of human resources managers admit “women do not make the same wages as their male counterparts at their organizations.”
It’s no wonder women feel compelled to put their careers ahead of their families or postpone long-term goals.
Why It’s Still Hard to be a Working Woman
Ladies, we can’t blame everything on the wage gap.
The gig economy isn’t doing us any favors either.
According to a 2016 Harvard study, “women are now more likely than men to be employed in an alternative work arrangement.”
Women are told that the gig economy “provides an incredible opportunity” to women and that we are “redefining what success means.”
I call b.s.
The gig economy has its benefits, but it’s not a panacea to work-life imbalance.
It’s hard enough to find that balance when you work for one company. Add a side hustle, freelance work or part-time gig, and it’s a wonder we have any life at all.
Real talk: There’s nothing glamorous about working ourselves into an early grave.
“The contrast between the gig economy’s rhetoric (everyone is always connecting, having fun, and killing it!) and the conditions that allow it to exist (a lack of dependable employment that pays a living wage) makes this kink in our thinking especially clear, “ says The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino.
The women in today’s workforce are more empowered than ever to make choices that fit our needs, desires and individual situations.
If you want to you work until your baby’s head is crowning or skip your partner’s birthday party to complete a freelance assignment, go for it.
If those decisions are anathema to you, that’s fine too!
Just remember:
- The wage gap isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon (unfortunately).
- The gig economy looks like it’s going to stick around, too.
Do what’s right for you and your family, and don’t let what you see on the news and social media make you feel like crap.
Your turn: What’s your take on the work-life balance outlook for women?
Lisa McGreevy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s enjoys balancing work with a glass of life-affirming cabernet on the weekend — a choice that’s served her well for 20 years.
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.source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2pKJGar
Mountain View Winery expands, creates 30 jobs
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Don’t Tell Him What Direction to Turn, but He’ll Gladly Take Financial Advice
Men may not be all that interested in asking for directions on the road, but when it comes to navigating the financial landscape, they are far less likely than women to go it alone.
That’s according to a new study conducted by insurance and investment company Country Financial. The study surveyed men and women over 18 and asked if they had ever sought financial advice on a variety of topics from buying a new home to charitable giving.
Overall, 84.8% of men reported they had asked for financial advice at some point, while only 76.4% of women said they had ever sought financial guidance.
The study confirmed this trend in every common financial situation it explored, with the widest margins showing men were over 12 percentage points more likely than women to seek help when purchasing insurance and estate planning.
Men and women were about equally as likely to seek advice before making large purchases, attending college or giving to a charity.
Despite the disparity between men and women, 80.5% of people surveyed said they have asked for financial help in the past. Good thing, because 44% of Americans also report that “they are not as responsible in their spending choices as they feel they should be.”
Getting Your Finances Under Control
If you’re among that 44% — or the 51% of people who think they should be making better choices with their savings and investments — Country Financial has some advice for you.
1. Analyze Your Money Management Habits
This is a no-judgment zone. You can’t make better financial decisions if you are not clear on what you’re doing right or wrong. You need to know how much money you have coming each month and crunch the numbers to determine how much you should spend, save and invest.
2. Set Your Priorities
Once you know how much you’re spending and saving, you may want to make some changes. But don’t make arbitrary decisions — set a list of priorities instead.
According to Country Financial, most people list covering the cost of an emergency, paying for an unexpected health care expense and funding a vacation as their top financial concerns. When you know how much you’re spending, saving and investing, you can make room in your budget to cover your needs and wants.
3. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help
You knew it was coming — Country Financial is a insurance and investment firm, after all. So it’s no wonder it would suggest seeking out help when it comes time to make important financial decisions. While hiring someone is possible, that’s not the only route to go for financial advice. You may also find it useful to seek advice from friends, family members and even co-workers.
Just be sure to double-check any information that sounds too good to be true because, on average, 39% of people report they are far more comfortable dispensing financial advice than they are with taking it themselves.
Your Turn: Have you ever sought financial advice before making a big money decision?
Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She reads her coworkers posts to get financial insight.
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.source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2qJMROa
These Laws Made Saving for Retirement Easier. Why Did Congress Repeal Them?
If you’re saving for retirement at all, you’re ahead of the curve. You are better off than the 67% of Americans who are not putting aside any cash for later in life.
The shockingly high percentage of people who could retire into poverty prompted several states to create programs to get people saving. The state-run programs, made possible by Obama-era initiatives, would require businesses without employer-sponsored retirement plans to automatically enroll their employees in individual retirement accounts.
California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and Oregon passed legislation necessary to make their respective state-sponsored IRA programs a reality. Although the details varied by state, the programs did not require employer contributions and allowed employees to opt out.
These states hoped easier access to IRAs would convince more workers to save toward retirement.
California and Maryland began their respective programs in 2016, while Oregon and Illinois planned to launch their automatic-enrollment pilot programs later in 2017. Connecticut hoped to launch its program in 2018.
But Congress threw a wrench in these states’ plans and the plans of any other states considering following suit. On Wednesday, the Senate passed two bills repealing the Obama-era IRA laws. That vote came three months after the House of Representatives passed accompanying bills to do the same.
Why Congress Voted to Repeal the Key Rules
To keep the cost of the programs under control, Obama administration rules exempted state-run plans from some Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulations.
According to the Department of Labor, ERISA sets the minimum IRA plan standards.
Because Congress voted to repeal the rules, state-run plans will have to meet ERISA requirements.
Opponents of the state-run programs believed those plans should not be exempt from federal regulations that private companies must comply with. Opponents believe these exemptions could result in these plans failing to protect people who use them.
“This resolution, once passed and signed, will roll back a last-second Department of Labor regulation that eliminated long-standing federal protections for the retirement savings of private-sector workers,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said in March. “Ultimately, I have to wonder why states and municipalities want to do away with these protections in the first place.”
But supporters of automatic-enrollment plans say repealing the rules puts financial companies’ interests ahead of the needs of those who would benefit from a public option.
“Without access to easy and affordable retirement savings options, far too many workers are on track to retire into poverty,” officials from 22 states wrote in a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to vote against the repeal. “States across the country have been innovating to address this problem.”
You Still Need to Plan for Retirement
According to CNN Money, Oregon will likely continue with the launch of its program, even if the state must abide by ERISA regulations. But it’s not clear how other states will move forward following the repeal.
As the battle plays out, it is still important to start saving if haven’t already. The earlier you start saving, the less you’ll need to put away each month to retire comfortably.
Of course, saving for retirement can be a little complicated if you don’t understand your options. But don’t worry — we’ve got your back with detailed guides explaining 401(k) plans vs. IRAs and Roth IRAs.
Your Turn: Does your employer offer a retirement plan? If not, how do you save?
Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer 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.source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2qJTaS3
The Bold New Plan to Make Top Schools Accessible to Low-Income Students
We’re always taught to “shoot for the moon” or “reach for the stars.” Basically, to go for the best that’s out there, even if the goal seems unattainable.
However, when you’re a prospective college student whose family isn’t rolling in dough, you may not see the value in enrolling in the nation’s most selective — and expensive — universities.
A recent report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that about 86,000 Pell Grant recipients met or exceeded the standardized test requirements to attend selective colleges — yet don’t attend them.
The majority of Pell Grant families earn less than $30,000, according to the report. Perhaps the sticker shock of $44,990 per year tuition at Harvard or $51,400 per year at Yale is enough to turn them away. But it shouldn’t be.
The Georgetown report states that 69 of the most selective schools have average annual budget surpluses of about $139 million each — but students with Pell Grants make up less than 20% of enrollment.
The report calls for elite institutions to admit more students from low-income families so that Pell Grant recipients make up at least 20% of enrolled students.
CNN Money reports that those colleges would have to dole out more in financial aid for low-income students to attend, but using their surplus budgets could make that achievable.
“I think it’s an easy ask,” Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, told CNN Money. “These are not-for-profit institutions and, by law, they have to serve a public purpose.”
Some schools have banded together on a mission to make higher education more accessible to low-income students. That coalition, known as the American Talent Initiative, currently consists of the presidents of 68 colleges and universities, including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Princeton, UCLA and more.
According to ATI: “Highly talented lower-income students are much less likely to graduate with a college degree than their higher-income peers. When qualified high-achieving, lower-income students attend top colleges and universities, their probability of graduating increases significantly, as do potential life earnings and long-term opportunities.”
ATI’s goal is to recruit, enroll and graduate an additional 50,000 low-income students by 2025 from colleges and universities that consistently graduate at least 70% of their students within six years.
ATI plans to achieve this with “robust outreach” to recruit students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and by prioritizing need-based financial aid.
So, hopefully, low income will no longer be a barrier for high-achieving students seeking high-quality education.
Your Turn: What do you think about the American Talent Initiative’s mission?
Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She is a proud graduate of Hampton University.
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.source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2pP7sR2
How to Get Back on a Strong Financial Path After a Big Setback
You’ve finally done it. You’ve committed to making some big financial changes in your life. You’re going to plow through your worst debts, build up an emergency fund, and start saving for retirement.
At first, everything’s going wonderfully. You sell off a bunch of stuff on Craigslist and wipe out a few really bad debts. You put some money in your savings account for emergencies. You’re taking big whacks out of your highest interest rate debt. You’re spending less than before, too. You can really see the progress.
Then, it happens.
“It” can be any number of things. It might be a job loss. It might be an unexpected pregnancy. It might be an illness of a family member. It might be a car breakdown. It might be a family emergency. It might be a broken-down washing machine. It might be a flood.
Whatever “it” happens to be, your financial plans are disrupted. Some big unexpected event has just siphoned off most of your gains. Your emergency fund is gone. You may have thrown more money back onto your credit cards.
You look at your finances and… you’re back to square one, or close to it.
It’s disheartening. It makes you feel like you’re never getting out of this hole. It can definitely make you want to quit the whole financial progress thing entirely.
Before you do that, though, let me just offer a few words of advice.
First of all, this disaster would have likely happened anyway, regardless of your financial choices. Your financial decisions did not cause this disaster. This disaster is just part of life. Sometimes, life happens to us. It’s not fair. It’s not fun. It happens. Don’t try to tie together this disaster with your financial moves. You would be surprised how often that happens, and it’s absolutely the wrong takeaway message.
Second, imagine how this disaster would have impacted your life had you been doing nothing financially over the last few weeks/months/years. Imagine you hadn’t sold some stuff on Craigslist. Imagine you hadn’t paid off some debt. Imagine you hadn’t spent a little (or a lot) less in the recent past.
What kind of smoking crater of a disaster would your life look like now if you hadn’t made those moves?
Likely, because of the moves you made, you were able to deal with this crisis with much lower stress than you otherwise would have. You were able to deal with the broken-down car. You were able to deal with the family emergency. You were able to quickly replace that broken-down dryer. You had the resources in hand to deal with those things.
Without your recent financial moves… would you have been able to handle it at all? Maybe. It probably would have involved digging a bigger debt hole. It might have involved borrowing money from family. It might have involved a really badly kludged solution to the problem.
In other words, without your good moves prior to this disaster, this disaster would have been far worse.
Want to know a secret? That’s one of the best reasons to be financially responsible. It takes those crisis moments and eliminates the financial stress from them. You don’t have to worry about an unexpected car repair – sure, it’s a bummer, but you can just handle it. You don’t have to juggle accounts. You don’t have to write a check that might bounce. You don’t have to make panicked calls. You don’t have to get emergency loans. You just handle it. Sure, you wind up with a bit less money in your pocket, but there’s no additional stress involved.
The simple truth is this: given that this disaster was likely going to happen regardless of your financial moves, your life is substantially better now because you made those moves. Your financial moves have already improved your life by making this disaster much more tolerable! Rather than being frustrated by your lack of progress, you should embrace it and compare it to where you would have been had you not been making these moves and then had to deal with this emergency.
The next step, of course, is getting back on the saddle.
The recipe here is honestly much the same as it was when you were first turning things around. You want to have an emergency fund in place – some cash in your savings account, ideally enough to cover a month or so of bare-bones living expenses. After that, you want to start cutting away at your debt, especially anything that has double-digit interest rates. If you don’t have any high interest debt, keep cutting at that debt, but also start saving for other major goals like retirement.
Here’s a refresher course.
Spend less than you earn.
This is the absolute, most fundamental piece of the puzzle. If you’re not spending less than you earn, nothing else listed below works. (Ignore costs associated with the emergency when considering this.)
In a typical pay period, you need to wind up with more money in your checking account at the end than when you started. If you’re struggling to do that, evaluate your expenses.
Food is a great place to start – just eat more at home, buy more store brands, and have more low-cost meals. Meals like scrambled eggs and toast, beans and rice, stir fry, soup and sandwiches, and many others are extremely cheap.
Consider your cable bill and whether or not you can cut some channels from it (or scrap it entirely). Put a cap on your “fun” spending each month. If you buy a lot of stuff online, delete your credit card numbers from those sites. Those are immediate steps you can take, but they just scratch the surface.
Build an emergency fund.
After an emergency, you’ve likely depleted your emergency fund, so in the short term, focus on building it back up. I usually recommend shooting for a single month of bare-bones living expenses – just enough to cover the bills and keep lentils on the table.
I also recommend automating this and never turning it off. Instruct your bank to transfer a small amount each week from your checking into your emergency fund. If you don’t have an emergency fund, one great way to do it is to sign up with an online bank like Ally Bank or CapitalOne 360, link the account with your current checking account, and set up a small automatic weekly transfer. That way, if you do deplete your emergency fund, you’ll automatically start refilling it, and it keeps filling and filling during calm periods so you can eventually handle all kinds of emergencies.
Tackle high-interest debt.
In an emergency, you may have thrown a big expense onto a credit card or taken out a high-interest, short-term loan. Get rid of anything that’s exceptionally high-interest first – anything over, say, 30% – and then stock your emergency fund as described above.
Once you have your emergency fund going, start drilling down through everything that has double-digit interest rates – your credit cards, mostly, though some dodgy car loans and student loans might be that high – and pay them off in order starting with the highest interest rate. Do everything you can to make extra payments on that highest interest rate debt.
Save for retirement and other goals.
If you’ve knocked down your high-interest debt, start saving for retirement. The only exception to that rule is if your employer offers matching funds on your retirement savings, in which case you really should be contributing enough to get every dime of matching money because that’s effectively part of your salary that you’re missing if you don’t collect it.
If you’re unsure as to how to save for retirement, the easiest method is to just sign up with your retirement plan at work and choose a “target-date retirement fund” that matches a year close to when you will retire. That will usually be a solid choice for almost everyone.
You may have other goals, such as a house down payment. For those, an automatic savings plan, much like what’s described above in the section about emergency funds, is perfect. Just open up a savings account somewhere and automate the savings.
What if emergency strikes again?
If it does, follow all of these steps again. Remind yourself that you’re in far better shape than you would have been without taking positive steps and then get right back on the saddle by working on replenishing your emergency fund first and then moving right back into debt repayment.
A setback isn’t the end of the world. In fact, your ease of handling a setback is a sign that your financial progress is working. Just pick yourself off and step right back on the path.
Good luck!
Related Articles:
- Half of Americans Can’t Handle a Small Emergency – Here’s What to Do If You’re Among Them
- 60 Simple Rules of Personal Finance
- Five Ways to Bounce Back From a Busted Budget
The post How to Get Back on a Strong Financial Path After a Big Setback appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Congress Did Not Create IRAs for You to Use Them Like This
When Congress established individual retirement accounts more than 40 years ago, the goal was to provide a new retirement saving option for the millions of workers who didn’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
These retirement accounts are supposed to offer tax benefits for people who are either self-employed or working for companies — mostly small businesses — without employer-sponsored retirement programs.
However, a new study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College shows that 53% of people contributing to an IRA also have a 401(k). Around 87% of the money held in IRAs, which accounts for more than $400 billion, came from 401(k) rollovers in 2014. Only about $60 billion was from normal IRA contributions.
Rolling over a 401(k) into an IRA can be a smart move when you change jobs, and it’s definitely smart to have both a 401(k) and an IRA.
Still, these numbers show that the majority of people who use IRAs today are not the people the plans were designed to serve.
Why are People With 401(k) Plans Drawn to IRAs?
It’s not surprising that so many people with 401(k) accounts would find IRAs attractive, according to the study.
Most people open an IRA to roll over their savings from a former employer’s 401(k).
“The reason is that workers do not want to leave their money with their old employer, but moving money to their new employer’s 401(k) is difficult and time-consuming,” the study said. “As a result, most workers find it much easier to roll over to an IRA instead. They also like the idea of consolidating a number of retirement accounts in a single location.”
Who Uses IRAs?
The study breaks up most people who use and actively contribute to IRAs into three categories:
1. High-earning couples who also contribute to a 401(k).
2. Middle-income singles or one-earner couples who also contribute to a 401(k).
3. High-earning people who are self-employed.
The third group is the only one that falls within the category of workers the government created IRAs for. Those who earn less still need to put away money for retirement, but they aren’t among the people most likely to actively use an IRA.
The Boston College researchers who conducted the study support an automatic IRA enrollment plan for people who work for companies that don’t offer a 401(k).
“It is time to turn IRAs back into an active savings vehicle by auto-enrolling those without an employer plan into these accounts, with the ability to opt out,” the study said. “Ideally, such an auto-IRA policy would be a federal government initiative.”
An Obama-era mandate made it easier for several states to pass laws to create retirement savings plans, but in a recent vote, Congress repealed the law.
Your Turn: Do you own an IRA? If so, do you fit into the demographic of people they were designed to help?
Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She has a 401(k) but not an IRA.
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.source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2phtP0z
LIGHT LUNCH: Man chokes, gets black eye from laughing at TV show
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23 Passive Income Ideas You Can Start Today
Making money while you sleep.
Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
After reading books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and 4 Hour Work Week, I became interested obsessed with making passive income.
What is Passive Income?
The common definition of passive income is income that you earn without being actively involved. That typically means that you continue to make income with no or very little effort on your part to maintain that flow of income. While the IRS categorizes active income, passive income, and portfolio income as three different categories, for the purpose of this article we are going to lump passive income and portfolio income into the passive category and active income into the non-passive category. The Internal Revenue Service does treat each kind of income differently, but rest assured, no matter whether your investments are online, in a portfolio, or in a small business there will be a tax rate to deal with.
You can see why this would be appealing. Typically when someone needs additional income, you get the stereotypical suggestion to “get a part-time job.”
But what if you don’t have the time or energy to put in all those extra hours?
I know I didn't. Plus that wasn't as appealing as making money while I was trading time for money.
For that, you may need some passive income ideas – ways to make money with little investment of time and effort on your part. And a great benefit to this is if you are trying to pay off debt quickly, this is a huge help to that!
Here’s a list of quite a few passive income ideas, so it’s likely that you’ll be able to find at least two or three that will work in your situation.
24 Passive Income Ideas That Will Legit Make You Money While You Sleep:
1. Invest in Lending Club
There is probably no passive income that is more perfect than earning interest on safe investments, such as U.S. Treasury securities and bank certificates of deposit. The problem of course is that those instruments pay paltry returns – generally less than 1%. It may be passive income at its finest, but you’ll never be able to relax or retire on returns that are that low.
That makes now the perfect time to talk about Lending Club. It is a web-based peer-to-peer lending platform where people come to get loans, and investors – looking for high interest opportunities – provide the funds for those loans.
Lending Club provides an opportunity to earn interest rates in excess of 10% per year – which is about 10 times what you will earn on more conventional interest-bearing investments.
Now let’s be clear on one point: those high rates do come at a cost. Unlike bank investments, Lending Club loans can go bad, in which case you will lose principal. However, there are ways to minimize those potential losses. I talked to a LendingClub adviser and they recommend starting out with an initial deposit of $2500. Since you can invest as little as $25 in a single loan, you can actually buy into 100 different loans with a deposit of that level. So you don't have to worry about a single loan going bad and ruining your investment.
Despite the risk of default, it’s very likely that you will earn far more on your investments at Lending Club than you will at a bank and I have averages just under 9% during the eight years I have been investing with them. That is a nice residual income stream. Investing larger sums of money in different ways can be beneficial, whether it be where to invest 10K or where to invest 100K, we can help you get a better understanding of how to invest your money.
2. Invest with a robo-advisor
Putting money into an account and letting an algorithm manage the investments is about as passive as you can get. Robo-advisors like Betterment allow you to set your willingness for risk in the market and then manage the account for you.
The algorithm will do all the work for you and keeps your portfolio balanced. The fees are very reasonable and much less than with an account managed by a person. There are currently two main players in the robo-advisor game:
Wealthfront
My original evaluation of Wealthfront found them to be just OK, but they have made great changes over the last couple of years that make them even or better than Betterment for many people. Their strategy for reducing your tax burden is very well planned out and they have show to be competitive with any robo-advisor on the market. Their new PATH platform gives you a comprehensive view of your finances, putting them on part with Mint or Personal Capital.
What really sets Wealthfront apart from the others is that they charge you no fees for the first $10,000 that you invest with their service. This is a big deal for small investors who want to see their initial investments have the largest impact possible.
Betterment
I have been a long time supporter of betterment and even did an interview with their CEO in my Betterment investing review. Similar to Wealthfront, Betterment is great at reducing any taxes you have to pay on your investments and they work with you to give you the best financial advice through their algorithms. Unlike Wealthfront, you can actually talk to a human being if you want to. Betterment charges the same fees as Wealthfront, but does not wave the fee on the first $10,000 you invest.
My personal experience with Betterment is that their platform is really slick and the investments are very sound. I don't think you can go wrong with either service, but if I am investing a large sum to create a passive income investment, then I would go with Betterment.
3. Try out index funds.
Index funds are a type of mutual fund that provide you with a way to invest in the stock market that is completely passive.
For example, if you invest money in an index fund that is based on the S&P 500 Index, you will be invested in the general market, without having to concern yourself with choosing investments, rebalancing your portfolio, or knowing when to sell or buy individual companies. All that will be handled by the fund which will base the fund portfolio on the makeup of the underlying index.
Trade King is our recommended online broker for buying index funds. They make the research and process of investing into different funds very easy.
We recommend them over other options because if you ever start to look at other types of stock or mutual fund investments (see #5) you already have the account set up and it is easy to move your money over. On top of that the cost to get your account going is super cheap and the cost per trade very affordable.
If you are not familiar with them, check out more details in our Trade King review. They have become one of my best accounts for investing.
With any broker you are free to choose a fund that is based on any index that you want. For example, there are index funds set up for just about every market sector there is – energy, precious metals, banking, emerging markets – you name it. All you have to do is decide that you want to participate, then contribute money and sit back and relax. Your stock portfolio will then be on automatic pilot.
If you are looking toward retirement with your money then we would look at opening a Roth IRA. It will shield your savings from any future taxes and you can withdraw all earning tax free once you hit 59 1/2. It is one of the best ways to save money for retirement.
4. Make money for tasks you'd do anyway
Yes, you can make some money doing some of the things you're already doing.
For example, InboxDollars allows you to make money by searching the web, shopping online, playing games, and more! Swagbucks also allows to to make money doing similar activities. It's amazing. Take advantage of the compensation plan on each of these websites and make some extra money!
You can also make your own schedule with Uber and pick up extra income by driving others around when you are already out and about anyway!
5. Get cash-back rewards on credit cards
If you're already using credit for some of your purchases, pursuing credit card rewards is an absolute no-brainer. Most top rewards cards let you earn anywhere from 1-5% back on your money, and that's with almost no effort on your part!
If you're already using credit for convenience, you can also earn a huge sum of cash in the form of a signup bonus. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card offers one of the best opportunities out there. After spending just $4,000 on the card in 90 days, you'll earn 50,000 points worth $500. On top of that, if you add your spouse as an approved user, you score an extra 5,000 points. That works out to 59,000 points for just $4,000 of spending you were going to do anyway.
Even people who don't spend a lot can normally put that much on credit if they charge regular bills, groceries, gas, insurance, and all of their other expenses on a regular basis.
Our post on the top six cash back credit cards for 2017 offers an array of additional options to consider as well. With the right card, you could earn anywhere from 1-5% back on your money with almost no effort on your part.
If travel is your thing, we have seen people who are using bonus offers on travel rewards credit cards to save thousands of dollars on travel each year. You can really score big with these deals.
6. Put your photography to work on the web
Do you like photography? If you do, you may be able to convert it into a passive income source. Photography websites such as Shutterstock and iStockphoto can provide you with platforms to sell your photos. They may offer either a percentage or a flat fee of each photo that is sold to a site client.
In this way, a single photo could represent a residual income opportunity, since it can be sold again and again. You simply need to create your photo portfolio, put it on one or more photo platforms, and then the activity becomes completely passive. All the technicalities of the photo sales are handled through the web platform.
And yes, that's me in a stock photo you can purchase from iStockPhoto.com. My wife is a good photographer and has uploaded a few hundred photos to their platform and makes a good monthly residual income from it.
7. Write an ebook
This can be a lot of work upfront, but once the ebook is created and marketed it can provide you with a passive revenue stream for years. You can either sell the ebook on your own website or offer it as an affiliate arrangement with other websites that provide content related to your ebook.
After speaking to sever ebook authors, many of the tell me that the time spent putting these books together feels like finding free money by the passive stream of income they have today.
8. Sell your own products on the internet
The possibilities here are endless – you can sell just about any product or service that you like. It could be a product you have created and can manufacture on your own or it could be digital in nature (such as software, DVDs, or even instructional videos).
You can set up a dedicated website for this product or service, unless of course you have a website or blog already in place. Alternatively, you can also sell it on an affiliate basis, either by offering it direct to websites and blogs related to your product or service, or through a platform such as ClickBank.
If you make a lot of money in your current job and you're not sure that you can make a similar amount by selling products online, think again. Awhile back, I interviewed Steve Chou from MyWifeQuitHerJob.com. In our podcast interview, Steve explained how his wife quit her job to become a stay-at-home mom.
Now, being a stay-at-home mom is a full-time job – but Steve Chou's wife also started an online business that replaced her former salary and started bringing in a six-figure income! Wow, right?
You can learn to sell products online too and make quite a bit of money. While it's not entirely passive, it's certainly more passive than getting up and heading out the door to work every morning!
9. Invest in real estate
This probably falls more in the category of semi-passive income, since an investment in real estate is always at least a little bit of an active venture. Still, once you have an investment property that is established and fully rented, it’s mostly a matter of managing the property and keeping it performing well.
Additionally, there are professional property managers who can manage your property for you, usually for around 10% of the monthly rent. This professional management can make the investment much more passive, but will take a bite out of your cash flow.
According to Brandon Turner, an active real estate investor and co-host on the popular BiggerPockets Podcast,
“The key to success with rental properties is buying smart. Not every investment property is going to provide a good return or prove to be passive. Understanding how to analyze potential real estate opportunities is incredibly important. As the old adage goes – you make your money when you buy!”
Another benefit of investing in rental properties is the loan pay down. If you obtain a loan to buy the property, each month your tenants are paying off part of the loan. Once the mortgage on the property has been paid off, your cash flow will increase dramatically, allowing your mediocre investment to skyrocket into a full-fledged retirement program.
It wouldn't take many paid-off properties to provide a pretty great, and mostly-passive, future for you and your family.
10. Make YouTube videos
This is a venture that is growing rapidly. You can create videos in just about any area that you like – music, tutorials, opinions, comedy, movie reviews – anything you want . . . then put them on YouTube. You can then attach Google AdSense to the videos, which will overlay your videos with automatic ads. When viewers click on those ads, you will earn money from AdSense.
The keys will be to create compelling videos, to promote those videos on social media websites, and to create enough of them that your income will be coming from multiple sources. There’s a good bit of work that goes into creating videos, but once a video is done it can become a completely passive cash flow source for a very long time.
Don't think you can find success with YouTube? You sure can. Emily Eddington used her love for makeup and YouTube to quit her full-time job. She has received over 66 million views on YouTube. This former morning news anchor took her passion – makeup – and turned it into a phenomenal success.
11. Buy a blog
Thousands of blogs are created every year, and thousands are either completely abandoned by their owners sometime afterward. If you can buy blogs with a reasonable amount of web traffic – as well as a demonstrated cash flow – it could be a perfect passive income source.
Most blogs employ Google AdSense, which provides a monthly revenue stream based on ads that Google places on the site. There may also be affiliate programs generating additional revenue. Both income sources will be yours once you purchase the blog.
From a financial perspective, blogs usually sell for 24 times their monthly income. So if the site generates $250 a month in income, you can likely buy it for no more than $6,000. Translation: a $6,000 investment will buy you $1,500 per year in cash flow.
You may even be able to purchase the site for less than 24 months earnings, if the site owner is particularly anxious to get out. Some sites have good “evergreen” content that will continue generating revenue even years after the site has gone silent. So a simple $5000 investment can net you ongoing passive income.
Bonus tip: If you were to buy such a site, and then to reinvigorate it with fresh content, you may be able raise the monthly revenue enabling yourself to sell the site at a later date for substantially more than what you paid for it.
Finally, instead of buying a blog, you might want to create your own blog. You can make some money either way!
12. Pay off a credit card (or two or three)
Reducing a fixed expense is the financial equivalent of creating passive income. This is certainly true when it comes to credit cards. Let’s say that you owe $10,000 on a credit card, on which there is a monthly payment equal to 2% of the balance, or $200 per month.
By paying the card off, you’ll be free up $2,400 per year in cash flow that would’ve gone to the monthly payments.
That’s like getting a guaranteed 24% return on a $10,000 investment. Good deal?
You can speed up this process by transferring your current balances to a 0% APR card. You can usually get the promotional rate for 15 months or more and supercharge your credit card payoff.
13. Write a book and collect royalties
Much like writing an ebook, there’s a lot of work upfront. But once that’s done, and the book goes into the sales stage, it becomes a completely passive venture.
This is especially true if you can sell the book to a publisher who will pay you royalties for the distribution and sale of the book. You’ll get a percentage of each sale made, and if the book is fairly popular, the royalties could be substantial. Just as important, the royalties can continue flowing for many years.
Mike Piper from OblivousInvestor.com did just that. He wrote a book, Investing Made Simple, which was sold strictly on Amazon. He had decent success with the first book that he created an entire series of book. Those books now net him over 6 figures per year in residual earnings. Not too shabby.
14. Set up a website selling a product
If there is a product that you are particularly knowledgeable about, you may be able to sell it on a dedicated website. The technique is similar to what you would use for your own product, except that you will not to be concerning yourself with product creation, but only with the sale of someone else’s product.
You may even find after a while that you are able to add other products that are related. Should that happen, the site could generate substantial revenues.
If you are able to have the product drop shipped to customers directly from the manufacturer, you won’t even have to get your hands dirty. That may not be 100% passive, but it’s darn close.
15. Invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs)
In #10 we talked about investing in real estate. But let’s say that you want to invest in real estate, but do it in a truly passive way. You can do that through a real estate investment trust. This is something like a mutual fund holding various real estate projects. The fund is managed by professionals, so you never have to get involved.
One of the big benefits of investing in REITs is that they typically pay higher dividends than stocks, bonds, or bank investments. You can also sell your interest in a REIT anytime you like, which makes it more liquid than owning real estate outright.
16. Become a business silent partner
Do you know of a successful business that needs capital for expansion? If so, you can become something of a small-time angel investor and provide that needed capital. But rather than offering a loan to a business owner, you can treat this as a business opportunity and take an equity position in the business.
In this way, the business owner will handle the day-to-day operations, while you will act as a silent partner who also participates in the profits of the business. You will probably want to look at some business credit card offers in order to get a feel for how to manage your business finances while keeping tracking of how your partner is handling everything.
17. Become a referral source
Every small business needs referral sources in order to maintain sales. Make a list of small business providers that you use on a regular basis and feel you can recommend to others without reservation. Then contact the owners and see if they have any kind of cash referral marketing offers available.
You can do this with accountants, landscapers, electricians, plumbers, carpet cleaning services – the list is endless. Keep a list of these businesses, and be ready to refer them to your friends, family and coworkers. You can earn a fee on each referral just from talking to people.
Don’t overlook referral programs at work either. If your company offers a referral bonus for either new employees or for new customers, then take advantage of that plan. It’s easy money with virtually no work.
18. Rent out unused space with Airbnb
Airbnb is a concept that has only been around for a few years, but it has exploded around the globe. Airbnb allows people to travel all around the world and to stay in accommodations that are a lot less expensive than traditional hotels. They do this by staying with participating Airbnb members who rent out part of their homes to travelers. By participating in Airbnb, you can use your residence to accommodate guests and earn extra money just for renting out space in your home.
Paula Pant, cubicle renegade AffordAnything.com took a stab at making extra money renting out locations exclusively through Airnbnb. Her Airbnb experiment netted her an extra $19,000 in revenue and 1 police visit!
How much you will make will depend upon the size and condition of your home and your location. Naturally, if your home is located in a high cost city, or close to a popular resort, your income will be much higher. It’s a way of earning money on space in your home that might just be sitting empty otherwise.
19. Build an app
Apps can be an incredibly lucrative income source. Think about how many people today have smartphones. Come on, it's just about everybody! People are downloading apps like crazy – and for good reason…
Apps make people's lives easier. Whether it's an app that helps people put together nice pictures for their blog or an app that keeps track of tasks, there are helpful apps out there for everyone.
You might be asking if there are so many apps out there, why would you want to attempt to create an app? Isn't there a lot of competition? Well, yes, but fresh, creative ideas can win. If you can come up with something unique, you can make quite a bit of money. Simple – yet unique – apps can be pretty passive.
Don't know how to code? No problem. First, you can learn. Check out Nathan Barry's success in his inspiring article, How I Made $19,000 on the App Store While Learning to Code. Nathan also put his design expertise to work in an ebook teaching others how they can design their own apps.
Second, you can hire a developer to build your app based on your idea. This could end up being an expensive option, although it will probably yield a professional-looking app.
The end result is an app that has the potential to make you some relatively passive income. Don't downplay the idea to build an app – it's a good one!
20. Create an online course
Everyone is an expert at something. Why not create an online course about your passion?
My buddy Ramit Sethi at IWillTeachYoutobeRich.com is an expert at creating online courses. He has made an insane amount of money selling his lessons. Most people would be happy making a fraction of what he makes online.
There are a number of ways you can produce and host your own online course. One very simple way is to use a website like Teachable.com. Teachable as over three million students and is a great way to get your content in front of others for their consideration.
Once you create an online course, it can work for you while you sleep!
What do you put in your online course? Good question. You can add video lessons, checklists for completing steps you recommend in your video lessons, small ebooks to supplement the lessons, audio files for people listening while traveling, informative interviews with likeminded experts, and a whole bunch more!
In fact, you can create several packages at different price points. Some people will want everything, so you can include ‘the works' for the highest price point and then have two lower price points so that you can receive the largest possible volume of orders.
21. Make an online guide
If writing articles or creating videos isn't your thing, and you want to make money online, try creating an online guide.
A good example of this comes from Pat Flynn's website, SecurityGuardTrainingHQ.com. On the website, he has a map of the United States that allows someone to click on any state to see the security guard requirements for that state.
By providing specific information in a guide-like format, you can make money through some of the means already addressed: advertisements through Google AdSense, affiliate links, and even memberships you can sell from your online guide. It's a fantastic idea!
22. Outsource most if not all of your business needs
If you're spending too much of your time on an existing business running it yourself, why not outsource most if not all of your tasks? Yes, it will require you to give up some control, but in many businesses it's the only way to free up your time so you can focus on other tasks that will result in more income.
If you don't want to hire employees, consider hiring freelancers who work as contract laborers. Look for freelancers with a strong work ethic who provide quality results.
Here's a list of tasks that you might want to outsource:
- Bookkeeping
- Writing
- Web design
- Editing
- Task management
- Social media marketing
- and so much more!
Yes, many people can turn their existing businesses into passive income businesses. As long as the main product or service isn't something only you can do, you can transform your business into a passive moneymaker.
23. Try affiliate marketing and make sales
This is a passive income technique that is better suited to people who have blogs and active websites. You can sign up to promote certain products or services on your site, for which you will be paid either a flat fee or a percentage of the amount of the sale completed.
This isn’t as hard to do as you might think, since there are thousands of companies in the world who want to sell their products in as many places as they can.
You can find affiliate offers either by contacting vendors directly, or on dedicated websites, such as ClickBank. It’s always best if the product or service is one that you are either very interested in or is highly relevant to your website.
Bonus: Purchase high dividend stocks.
By building a portfolio of high dividend stocks, you can create regular passive income at an annual rate that is much higher than what you get on bank investments.
Just as important, since high dividend stocks are stocks, there is always the potential for capital appreciation. In that way, you can earn passive income from two sources – dividends and capital gains.
You can make this process very easy and affordable by opening an account with Loyal3. They have over 65 preselected large companies that you can buy as much or as little as you want with no fees. 42 of the 65 stocks available on Loyal3 pay dividends and 27 of them have raised their dividend annually for at least 5 years. You cannot get simpler than someone else picking the companies or cheaper than no fees.
If you want to do the research and investing yourself, you will need a brokerage account to purchase these stocks and complete the research needed.
I’ve purposely provided a long list of passive income ideas in the hope that there is something on this list for everyone.
Have you tried one of these or are you thinking about trying one of these ideas now? Leave a comment! I look forward to hearing from you.
The post 23 Passive Income Ideas You Can Start Today appeared first on Good Financial Cents.
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US stocks inch higher following solid April jobs report
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How to Get More Business Clients and Customers
By Holly Reisem Hanna You just launched your new business, congrats! But, now what? Where do you start? Without customers and clients, you can't make any money. I know, because I've been there. When I started my blog, it took me a little over two months to score my first paid advertiser. Getting your first […]
The post How to Get More Business Clients and Customers appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
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7 Best Buys for Mother's Day - Treat Mom Right While Saving Money
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Sift App Maximizes the Benefits of Your Credit Cards - Simplifying Credit Card Benefits
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Think Bankruptcy is an Easy Way Out? You’ve Clearly Never Filed Bankruptcy
“I. Declare. Bankruptcyyyyyy!”
As Michael Scott learned in “The Office,” getting rid of debt isn’t as simple as that declaration. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Many people think of filing bankruptcy as an easy way out. These people have never filed bankruptcy.
There are 2 Types of Bankruptcy for Individuals
Chapter 7 is the most common. It’s for individuals who can prove they don’t have the means to pay off debts. After you file, a trustee could sell some of your assets to repay your creditors, but you’re otherwise discharged from responsibility for your debts.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is for people with reliable income who are able to repay a portion of debt. In this case, a trustee sets up a payment plan so you can repay your debt over three to five years.
(You may have also heard of Chapter 11 — that’s usually for businesses.)
Why File Bankruptcy?
Wait, you might have to repay your debt, even after filing for bankruptcy? Then what’s the point?
The point is to get that “fresh start” you hear people talking about.
Bankruptcy should be a last resort for getting rid of debt, but for some people it’s better than having their wages garnished or their homes foreclosed.
It gives you a chance to get your debt under control and get creditors and collectors off your back (and out of your bank account).
So You’ve Decided You’re Filing Bankruptcy…
The process is pretty involved. For a deeper dive into the details, check out this post. Here’s a quick overview.
First of all, expect to pay $335 in administrative and filing fees. You can apply to have Chapter 7 fees waived or set up a payment plan for Chapter 13 fees if you can’t afford them upfront. To be eligible for a waiver, your household income should be less than 150% of the poverty line, and you have to be unable to pay the fee in installments.
Once you file bankruptcy, creditors and collectors have to stop trying to collect the money you owe them while the case is open.
That’s called an “automatic stay.”
If a company continues to try to collect during the stay, it’s violating a court order. Let it know in writing, and the collections will likely stop. If it doesn’t, notify the bankruptcy court, which can punish the company for violating a court order.
You’ll spend most of the process working with a trustee, who administers the case.
The trustee helps you file paperwork and oversee your estate (anything you own) during the case. They’re an impartial player who can challenge creditors’ claims or yours, based on conversations with both.
Ultimately, a bankruptcy judge decides whether to discharge your debts. They could deny you for a few reasons, but if you were able to show your inability to repay debts, you should be granted a discharge.
If they grant in your favor, you’re released from personal responsibility for your debts, and creditors can’t take any more action to collect them.
Bankruptcy (Almost) Never Discharges These Debts
Debtors typically use bankruptcy to discharge credit card or medical debt. Many types of debt can’t be discharged this way, including:
- Auto loans
- Mortgages
- Student loan debt (except sometimes)
- Child support
- Alimony
- Most tax debts
Will Bankruptcy Ruin Your Credit Score?
Bankruptcy will most likely be a black mark on your credit history — one that lasts up to 10 years.
But if you’re in over your head with debt, your credit is probably already pretty marred. Some experts say bankruptcy won’t hurt it significantly more than a poor payment history.
Just make sure filing bankruptcy is really your best option — because the aftermath is not fun.
Here’s one woman’s story on what it feels like to declare bankruptcy and how she recovered her credit afterward.
Your Turn: Have you or anyone you know ever filed bankruptcy?
Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).
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.source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2p4qK81
Deal of the week: locate UK cash machines with free app
Never be left without cash again. A new app has been launched this week, which can locate more than 70,000 cash machines across the UK.
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10 Tips to Saving Cash on a New Car (That Don’t Include Buying a Used One)
Thinking about buying a shiny new car?
Before you get caught up in sleek ads plastered with Matthew McConaughey’s face (or even better, Jon Hamm’s voice), it’s time to take a step back and do some careful planning.
Plunking down beaucoup bucks for a new car isn’t exactly the most money-savvy move by traditional standards.
But say you want a new car. You think you’ve earned a new car. Maybe you had a bad experience with a used clunker, and you’re scarred for life.
Fine. If you want a brand-new car, you don’t have to justify it to me. But I do expect you to find every possible way to save.
Here are a few tips for buying a new car that should sound vaguely familiar — and a few that might surprise you.
1. Get Preapproved for a Loan
Visit your bank, or go online to see what sort of rates and terms you can get for an auto loan.
“Know what you can afford,” said David Bennett, manager of AAA’s automotive program. “It can give you a reality check right off the bat.”
And if you don’t know your credit score, it’s a must-find before you head to the dealership.
Knowing your creditworthiness along with the loan terms you can get from your own bank helps you negotiate with the dealer’s finance office.
You can’t judge how good of a financing offer they’re making you if you don’t know what you deserve!
2. Keep a Business Mindset
“This is a business decision, not an emotional decision,” Bennett said.
If a salesperson tries to get you to test drive a car that’s out of your budget or has bells and whistles you don’t care to pay for, don’t get snookered.
“Bring it back to center and remember, ‘what financially makes sense to me?’ If you get excited about features, you lose your edge.”
3. Research Incentives Before You Test Drive
Auto manufacturers often give dealerships rebates on certain vehicles. You might see these advertised on TV or in the paper as cash-back offers of a few thousand dollars off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP.
Some of these offers have conditions. You might have to finance through the manufacturer’s preferred lender, or you may not be able to combine it with any other deal.
Search the web and check the automaker’s website before you visit a dealership.
If you don’t see any manufacturer incentives, be sure to ask (casually, so you don’t sound too excited) if there’s anything available for the car you’re considering.
Some incentives stay off the advertising radar, and dealers can offer them at their discretion.
4. Bring Your Student ID
Some manufacturers and dealers offer new-grad discounts for buyers who have graduated college in the past few years or plan to earn their degrees in the next few months.
Be sure to read the fine print on this one, as you may need good credit to take advantage of this offer. You may also need proof of employment or income.
For details, call the dealership you’re interested in or check online.
5. Repeat Customer? That’s a Discount
Say you drive a Honda and are thinking of getting a new one. Not only could you trade in your old Honda, but you might also get a “loyalty” cash-back offer just for being a repeat customer of that manufacturer.
If you’re not planning to trade in your old car, you’ll probably have to prove you own the same make.
6. Call it a Conquest
OK, what if this is your first time buying a Honda? If your old car is a competing make, you may be eligible for a “conquest bonus” of a few hundred dollars knocked off the MSRP.
7. Show Off Your Military Status
Car dealers love to wave a flag. If you or your spouse is a veteran or active-duty military, you may be eligible for cash back or a discount of $500, $1,000 or more. Call the dealership you’re interested, or check online before visiting.
8. Get the Basic Package
That fancy Bluetooth package may be sexy, but what if it becomes obsolete, and we can make calls through some other newfangled technology? (Through our minds, obviously. We’ll make calls with our minds.)
Richard Reina, product training director at CarID, warned against lusting over high-tech features. “These models often have a lower resale value than a more basic model when it comes to trade-in,” he said.
9. Haggle That Interest Rate
The price isn’t the only thing you can negotiate when buying a new car — your interest rate is on the table, too. If you have good credit but get a quote for a high interest rate (5%? That’s too high!), see if they’ll ding a point or two off. It can’t hurt to ask.
10. Don’t Compare Your Deal With Anyone Else’s
“A good deal is one you’re comfortable with,” Bennett said. He warns of situations with friends where you might get to talking about what you paid — and what others paid for the same car. Someone else’s total price might be better than yours, but you don’t know about their credit, down payment or any other factors of the sale.
“If you’re comfortable with the price of the vehicle and your monthly payment, it’s a good deal. You’re the one who has to live with the payments or the check for that much money.”
Your Turn: Would you ever buy a new car, or are you a used-car devotee?
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.source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/2pMYsfb
EE to launch free mobile roaming in Europe on same day as EU ban
EE is introducing free mobile roaming for existing pay monthly and pay-as-you-go mobile, mobile broadband and tablet customers in 47 European countries from 15 June.
Customers don’t need to do anything or pay extra to get the benefit, and will receive an SMS to let them know of the changes to their plan.
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